Layering Heat Transfer Vinyl

I absolutely love using heat transfer vinyl! At first my layering skills weren't good, at all. However, now I've been practicing and I've gotten better and better at it! I have layered both normal and glitter heat transfer! So today, I'm going to give you some tips on layering both normal and glitter heat transfer.

• For glitter heat transfer:
• To properly do the layers, you will need to use the slice "gadget" in your Cricut Design Space to slice the layers into each other.
• Sometimes if you're laying down the heat transfer on a shirt for example, and if your design has stripes or something that you're able to cut into pieces, it is sometimes better to line up the  design by cutting the stripes into pieces. 
• Place the biggest piece of the cut-out on the shirt first and work your way to the smallest piece. This will help with placement so that you know where on the shirt the design will be.
• The reason why you have to slice the design for glitter heat transfer is because since there is glitter on it, the bonding stuff that's on the back won't be able to bond very well which will cause your design to fall off quicker and easier.
• For regular/normal heat transfer:
• You do not need to slice the design in the Cricut Design Space. However, I still sometimes prefer to do it.
• Whenever you layer normal heat transfer and not glitter, you don't have any guidelines really, unless you cut the design like what you would do with glitter heat transfer, so you just have to estimate it.
• The same as the glitter heat transfer, you have to use the biggest piece first because if you put the smallest piece down first you'll have to cover it up.

To get the heat press that I have, Click Here to view it! Hope you'll come back next week to see a new post on Friday!

Working in the Cricut Design Space

There are a lot of "gadgets" in the Cricut Design Space! I'm still finding out what some stuff is for! With the current Cricut Design Space layout, the "gadgets" are mainly found in the bottom right-hand corner. So without further ado, let me start!

• Slice- When slicing in the Cricut Design Space, you are basically taking the outline from one object overlapping the other object and making a "cut" in both of the objects from the other object's outline.
• Weld- Welding in the Design Space is technically when two objects overlapping each other become one object.
• Attach- Attach is when all objects selected to become a "group" where they are cut out on the same mat.
• Flatten- Flattening objects on the Cricut Design Space is when you have put your design altogether and you select the whole design and flatten all the objects which make the whole design able to print.
• Contour- Contouring in the Design Space is when you are "filling in a space that you want to be filled".

Hope you'll come back next week, on Friday to see my new post!

Let's Talk Heat Transfer!

I love using heat transfer vinyl! I use a heat press when I do my transfers because it has even heating which the vinyl transfer best with even heating.

 I recommend you use a heat press when you are using glitter heat transfer vinyls because it always stays on better and it's a thicker vinyl which requires more pressure and even heating. Click Here to access the heat press that I have! Glitter heat transfer is a thicker heat transfer vinyl and requires more pressure when applying to things which as I mentioned earlier, I recommend that you use a heat press when working with it

When you wash the clothing that you have used heat transfer vinyl on, I don't recommend that you run the clothing through the dryer very often because if you haven't transferred the design very well, it can start to peel up. It can start to peel up again because you are technically re-heating the glue/bonding stuff again and if you run it through the dryer, it won't have pressure applied to it to keep it on the clothing. With this reason, I recommend that you should let it air dry and not run it through the dryer as often.

If you have any questions, don't forget to place them in comments and I will try to answer them! Don't forget to check in next week (on Friday) to see my next post!

Different Types of Vinyl

I absolutely love using vinyl! And there are a whole lot of different types of vinyl! But, I'm just going to list a few!

• Indoor Vinyl- This vinyl is good if it's just used for indoor use, but if you use it outdoor it wouldn't most likely last for more than a week ore two. It also wouldn't last long if you place your design on a water bottle or on a a mug. 
• Outdoor Vinyl- I love this vinyl because I'm able to stick it on almost anything! This vinyl is good for outdoor use! It is also good for putting a design on water bottles but not mugs! I also love using this vinyl for car decals!
• Foil Vinyl- I don't like using vinyl very often because the vinyl scratches easily. I'm not so sure if it's a good outdoor material or not. 
• Heat transfer vinyl- I use this vinyl very often! It transfers onto shirts and stuff like that! I use a heat press (which next week's blog will go into more depth about a heat press) because it transfers the vinyl a whole lot better and it stays onto the shirt a lot better.

There are many more types of vinyl which I will be posting more about in the future! Don't forget to check back in next week on Friday for a new post!