A Pin Worthy Pin Cushion

In the summer I will be teaching an adult begin to sew class at a local fabric store. The first project is a simple pincushion. I wanted to make a sample, but of course I couldn't just make a boring pin cushion. ................

Presenting the Pin Worthy Pin Cushion (feel free to pin it ;)

6x6 black duck canvas with heat transfer vinyl cut on the silhouette cameo (siser metallic red)

Future Missionary Onesie

Any occasion is a good occasion for crafting so when my sister had a baby boy (the first name carrying male for her in-laws) I just couldn't resist.

I used silhouette studio to craft my own "Future Missionary" name tags. It is cut out of black heat transfer vinyl and then the letters are weeded out to reveal the white shirt underneath.

The tie was a little trickier. I used a solid tie shape from the silhouette studio and merged it with a stripe pattern (also from the silhouette store). After the stripes were the way I wanted I added an external offset of the tie to make the tie border. I cut a solid color tie for the background color and a black tie with the stripe parts weeded out as the second layer.

Things I liked about this project: I think it looks cute. I'm not much of a sewing applique type person so this fit the bill nicely. The name tag is priceless and professional looking.

Things I would change: two layers of heat transfer vinyl is really stiff for a baby onesie. So in the end next time I think I would go ahead and sew a fabric tie on the onesie with a heat transfer vinyl name tag.

Another option if I really wanted to stick with heat transfer vinyl would be to make a blue or red or green striped tie with white as the background color. A polka dot tie with white dots would be fairly simple to make also.

Personalized Fance Floral Tote - Craft Cutter Tips

I originally made this design for my etsy shop, but today I'm sharing my tips on how I did it.

First of all, I didn't waste an entire tote bag with a "Your Name" sample. I actually used craft vinyl to put the design on the bad temporarily. That way I can still remove the vinyl and have a tote bag to decorate with heat transfer vinyl.

First, find a background design you like. I used "floral lace" by Jamie Koay, design #17681. Since I intended to sell totes made with this design I purchased the commercial rights.

Second, use the straight knife function in the designer studio edition to cut your design into two pieces. Make sure you use the "Treat unfilled shapes as: solid" function.

Third, pick your favorite font and insert a name!

Fourth, size your design to fit your tote bag and remember to mirror image it before cutting in heat transfer vinyl.

Lastly, apply your design to your bag and enjoy a beautiful creation! (I use a heat press for professional results.)

File: floral bag name

Future Missionary Scripture Tote

Zeeboy had a big birthday and made the decision to follow Christ by being baptized. That is a big deal in our family. One of our traditions is to give the kids their own set of scriptures when they are baptized. Of course scriptures need a suitable scripture tote. Zeeboy requested white and I honored that request even though I know white gets dirty.

I used a full size white canvas tote bag like the ones from my etsy shop. I had an oops bag that I cut down and resewed into a smaller scripture tote size. My craigslist serger made the project quick and easy.

Then I decorated it with heat transfer vinyl. I really like the final product and so does Zeeboy.

Be You Tiful - Beautiful - T shirts FREE Silhouette file

FREE Silhouette Studio file (created by me) to make this great t shirt design! It's my birthday this week and I just wanted to share.

I love making meaningful items. I've seen multiple variations on the "be you tiful" phrase and I've made several of my own. These clearance t shirts were just begging for me to make them into beautiful inspirational tees for my girls. So I did of course.

white and silver heat transfer vinyl on beautiful blue shirt

purple and royal blue heat transfer vinyl on heather gray shirt

If you would like to make your own shirt using the same design you can download the silhouette studio file from this link (google docs) Be You Tiful dot studio file  Please respect my creations and only use this file for personal use. And this file only works with the silhouette craft cutters.

Because of my etsy store I have a heat press which is the best way to apply heat transfer vinyl. But if you are using a home iron here are some tips for the best results.

Minecraft Throw Pillows with HTV

Today I'm over at My Vinyl Direct sharing a tutorial for Minecraft Throw Pillows. Go check it out!

If you'd like to try making your own, I have provided the minecraft silhouette studio file I created on my google drive. It's not quite perfect, but it worked for me. :)