Craft Corner: Easy as H-T-V

Heat transfer vinyl is one of my favorite medias to use.  You can put it on so many things! If you're like me, you look at every object as an opportunity to add vinyl.  I picked up a $3 heart tote in the Target dollar spot and couldn't wait to get it home to add words.

For this project, you will need:

*a canvas tote

*heat transfer vinyl (I used black glitter)

* an iron or heat press

* design of your choice

*parchment paper

I picked a design from the Silhouette Design Store for this project, Design Id #98876.  I opened the design in the drawing area and sized it to fit the heart on the tote.

When you are using heat transfer vinyl, one of the most important steps is mirroring your design.  This allows the design to cut correctly so it will face the right way on your tote.  To mirror, you go to the top toolbar and click object, mirror, flip horizontally.

Now you are almost ready to cut!  Since this is glitter heat transfer vinyl, you must adjust your cut settings to the suitable levels.  I turned my blade to 4, selected flocked heat transfer as my material type, set the speed to 4 and the thickness to 18.

Now you are ready.  Load your heat transfer vinyl onto the cutting mat with the shiny side facing down.  Then hit send to Silhouette and let the magic happen!

Once your design has finished cutting, you will need to weed it.  Pull the backing away from the shiny front.  You want your design to stay on the shiny plastic.

Your design is ready and now you can transfer!

Place your design on your tote bag.

I placed a piece of parchment paper on top of my design to serve as a barrier between the hot iron and the design itself.

Heat press machines are nice, but you do not need one for this project.  Turn your iron to its highest setting and you are good to go! Slowly iron over the parchment paper, pressing down lightly.  Continue to do this for a few minutes.

When you feel like your design is on there well, you can pull the plastic backing away.

Now you have the cutest tote around town, so go show that thing off!

Happy crafting loves!

xoxo,

Caitlin