Vinyl T-shirt Prints

I love trying all these new ideas with the Cricut! First glass etching now vinyl prints. I made three t-shirts today within about an hour and half. First one was a Hippo t-shirt for my 3 year old. I wanted to try the Zebra but she insisted on the Hippo from Create a Critter cartridge. I cut it at 4-1/2" and I skipped the basic shape. I probably should have skipped the 1st layer instead though so that the eyes were colored. Layering is a little difficult with the t-shirt vinyl because you have to do each layer separately and they do shrink in between. You can see the tail is very different, but it kind of looks like it's wagging. :)

Next I put an owl on my wife-beater tank top. Again you can see some of the layers but it is still pretty cute. I may add the saying, "Save the Hooters". 

My husband was so impressed that he requested his own! My cartridges are more cutesy than manly but I found this moose on the Give a Hoot cartridge. It was too plain so we had to think of a saying. I used the Schoolbook letters to add the phrase. I probably should have started with this one instead of the others because doing one layer is a whole lot easier.

A few tips on applying vinyl:

1. Make sure you flip your image on the Cricut, especially for lettering! 

2. Do not apply too much blade pressure or it will cut the plastic backing that is necessary for ironing. I started in the middle and ended up reducing it once to 2. 

3. If you accidentally cut the wrong side it is okay, just flip it and start again. I did this on one layer and you couldn't even tell. Of course only if you didn't cut through the backing.

4. Do not set the iron too hot. I almost ruined my first hippo layer even though I had it set on cotton. The setting should be about half way on the dial depending on your iron.

5. Watch the video on Expressions Vinyl. I cannot explain good enough here. This is also where I bought all of my vinyl at an excellent price.