Category: Cricut

It’s been a long time since I’ve done anything involving a heat transfer vinyl (HTV,) and the times when I did use it, I just used a regular iron. From what I’ve read, while a standard iron can get up to high temperatures, which is needed for HTV, the irons (typically) don’t maintain the same consistent temperature over the entire surface. It’s typically the hottest at the center of the iron. OK, well, that explains why some of my HTV’s years ago didn’t turn out the best, and I was OK with that. Those were projects that I created with my daughter using my Brother Scan N Cut, she was happy with the sayings made and cut with that die cutting machine, and that’s all that mattered.

Now, I’d like to do a bit more than the cute little mom/daughter projects that I did with her. I have designs and sayings that I’ve created that I would love to see on clothing. I’ve done extensive research on the different types of methods used with fabric, and the styles that appeal to me at the moment, are HTV and sublimation.

Initially, I was planning on trying Sublimation printing onto shirts first. I’ve already printed a few images that I wanted onto sublimation paper; however, since I don’t have polyester fabric, that will have to wait a bit longer. I have 100% cotton apparel, so HTV is the right choice. I haven’t taken the leap and purchased a heat press yet; however, I have the Cricut EasyPress 2. It’s my newest Cricut device, Which I’ve had for almost a month, and I ONLY got to use it today. It was still in its original box, unopened. So much has happened in my life that I had to put most of my crafting adventures on hold while I tended to a sick parent.

Over the past several years, I’d watched numerous videos on printable HTV, so I was familiar with the process. However, I must say that it was exciting turning what I’d learned from watching and reading those tutorials into me creating my own HTV print.

What did I press? The cartoon version of Set it Off. I purchased the .png file on Etsy and knew it would be the first printable HTV I used with my Cricut Press.

I’d seen the movie, Set It Off, starring Queen Latifah, Jada Pinkett, Kimberly Elise, and Vivica Fox, when it came out years ago. I enjoyed the movie, and I loved this cartoon interpretation from that scene even more.

I’d purchased two long sleeve black cotton shirt blanks yesterday; one for myself and the other for my daughter. They’d been washed and dried and were ready for their HTV press. Unfortunately, the only printable HTV I could find locally was Silhouette Printable Heat Transfer Dark Fabric. So I picked that up early today.

I’d already purchased a sturdy, heat-resistant mat. Isn’t it cute?

I printed the designs using my Canon Pixma 8620.

Settings I use with my Canon Pixma 8620

1. Commonly Used Settings: Photo Printing
2. Media Type: High-Resolution Paper
3. Print Quality: High
4. Paper Source: Rear Tray

 

I made a mistake. On the first sheet I printed, I reversed the image. I was thinking about sublimation printing, where you do reverse the image. With printed HTV, you put the printed side face-up. So there’s no need to reverse the image.

No problem, I placed the first image on the bag that came with my Cricut. The design turned out great.

Shirt Prep

I lint rolled the shirt, and the instructions state to prime the surface where the HTV will go. I did that. I set the temperature to 320 F, and the timer set at 20 seconds. I placed the design face up and the Teflon sheet on top of the design. I applied firm stationery pressure, pressed the button so that the timer would count down, and 20 seconds later, I had created my own HTV printed shirt. The next level of HTV printing for me will be HTV layering. I’ve watched a few videos about that and will continue to increase my knowledge on the subject before I test it out myself.

I’m thrilled with how my HTV print turned out, and I’m looking forward to creating more designs with my Cricut EasyPress 2.

Cricut’s Heat Guide

I just discovered that Cricut has a Heat Guide for their Easy Press. It will give you the suggested temperature. I just used it, and based on what the website recommends, it’s stating that I should press 100% cotton at 340 F, and the press time should be 30 seconds. My temperature was 320 F for 20 seconds. Since I plan to create more shirts tomorrow, I’ll try it out then.

I am wishing everyone a fabulous 2022.

 

I’m looking forward to some more time to be creative. I ordered 50 sheets of Graphix Inkjet Shrink Film which should arrive sometime today. Early this morning, I bought Siser Easy Subli HTV and Mask Sublimation Sheets, five sheets each. That should come sometime next week. I’ve read that it allows you to print your sublimation designs on fiber that is not polyester. I also ordered Sihouetee heat transfer HTV for dark fabric, which I’ll be picking up later today. I also bought two long sleeve black shirts; one for myself and the other for my daughter.

I’m curious to try them all out; I’ve seen a few videos about it from various Youtubers; I’ll order it in larger batches if I like how they feel.

It’s currently 11:03 AM, and I’m tired. I’ve been awake since 2:00 AM. Don’t ask me why? I most likely will try to take a nap for about an hour. Currently, I’m sipping some Earl Grey tea and am thankful that I’m not working. I plan to create more shrink film crafts, and perhaps I’ll sublimate a mug? If I do so this evening, I do believe I’ll post my results on Threadlover.

I must say that I’m pleased with my first attempts at printing on Shrink Film. Since I was in middle school, I haven’t used shrink film, which was a long time ago. Back then I knew the film as “Shrinky Dinks.”

Over the past few weeks, I’ve watched a few videos about shrink film, and I finally got to create a few shrunken images on Sunday. I was excited to make some charms. My goodness, was it a challenge to find printable Shrink film locally? I finally found it at a JoAnn Fabrics, which was about 40 minutes away from our home. I just added that to the list of errands that I completed on Sunday.

However, since I was unsure exactly how large I wanted the pictures to be before shrinking, I thought it would be a good idea to watch another video. While this Youtuber didn’t say the size she started, I could easily see her images that were to be shrunk. So I used that as a guideline; I also took her advice.

1. I reduced the Opacity under Transparency to 50%.
2. I increased the saturation by 50%.
3. Increased Contrast by 50%.

Shrink film can be cut using my Cricut Maker 3, I hand cut the images since I did not have the proper blade tool. I plan to use the Cricut Deep Cut Blade. Before placing these in my portable oven, I ADDED A PUNCHED HOLE since I wanted to attach these to my keys or planner. I experimented with adding three punched holes to the design and creating one hunched hole. Interestingly, there wasn’t that much difference between the one-hole punch and the multiple-hole punched items. Since I’d already heated my convection oven to 350 F, I only had to place the shrink film images inside the oven. I set the pictures on a silicone sheet and put them in the oven to bake. It took about 1.5 minutes for them to shrink. Once removed, I placed it on a mat and pressed it.

I’m loving my charms made from shrink film. I purchased UV resin and Modge Podge, and I applied one Modge Podge coat to the charms. In a week or so, I’ll add UV resin. I purchased ArtResin from the store today. I already have the proper ventilator mask to use when working with the resin. I have goggles, gloves, and old clothes that I don’t mind tossing. I know you have to work with resin in a well-ventilated area. I’m seriously thinking about painting them outside.

Hello, three-day weekend! I’ve been looking forward to having some time off of work. Funny that! I’ve been off more than I’ve worked the past few weeks. About four weeks ago, my father returned to my parent’s home after being in the hospital for about six weeks. Healthy man one day, came out an invalid utterly dependent on others for primary care.

The week he arrived home, I took about a week off work to assist my mother with his primary care. THAT’S NO EXAGGERATION when I say that he cannot do anything for himself. He has to be changed, bathed; he’s eating through a tube. However, despite all those obstacles, he’s made progress. The following week, I returned to work, only to go right back out because my work laptop was not working. My computer finally arrived on Saturday, so this week was my first week back at work.

Christmas Eve, we celebrated our Christmas a day early. The family was over, and today, I’ve spent the majority of my day creating with my Cricut. Unfortunately, because of the events that transpired, I have not had a chance to devote a lot of time to my Cricut, and I’m OK with that.

Today, I was finally able to finish creating the stickers for my friend Julie,

and I’m going to add stationery paper to that list. And later this evening, I do believe I’ll do some sublimation printing on a tote bag. Julie loves Mickey and Minnie Mouse, and so the items I’m creating are all about them. I’d never sell Disney-related items; that’s a copyright infringement; however, I’ve made Disney personal use items for my enjoyment.

I’m hoping to meet up with Julie tomorrow to gift her with the items that I’m creating. I’ll be sure to update Threadlover with the additional items that I’ve created for her. A few hours ago, I did some research to locate a Cricut file for making a stationary box. I’ve found a few; however, none that interest me. I’ll keep searching.