Today I’ll be sharing how to make a custom canvas tote bag with a Cricut machine, heat transfer vinyl and a Cricut easy press mini. It is so easy!
It was recently my nephew’s 2nd birthday, for his gift we got him a great set of Curious George books from Costco and a little Curious George plushie from Barns and Noble.
We are huge Curious George fans, both of my kids were obsessed with Curious George when they were younger, so naturally we have to get my nephew hooked as well.
Now I could have just stuck the gift in a cute paper gift bag and called it a day; but instead, using my Cricut, I quickly created a fun custom book bag that will not only be useful for library trips and preschool but will also be a great keepsake.
If you would like to follow along and create your custom canvas tote bag with me, I’ll have all the written instructions and a video tutorial below.
Video Instruction Found Here
Step 1: Gather Supplies
To create my custom canvas tote bag I used the following supplies:
- Cricut Maker
- Canvas Tote Bag
- Cricut Easy Press Mini
- Cricut Easy Press Mat 12×12
- Cricut Cutting Mat
- HTV Heat Transfer Vinyl
- Measuring Tape
- Cricut Wedding Tool
- Scissors
Step 2: Create Design in Cricut Design Space
- Start by measuring the space on the canvas tote bag where you’ll be placing your design on.
- Open up a new project in Cricut Design Space
- Select Text
- Type desired name
- Change font to Future LT condensed Extra Bold
- Resize name to fit on your canvas bag
- Ungroup name
- Change color of each letter to desired color
- Select Text
- Type books
- Change font to Cottage Style
- Font can be downloaded at Creative Fabrica
- Resize word (books) to fit under name
- Change font color of (books) to desired color
- Click Make It
Step 3: Cut Design
One of the most important steps when creating a design using heat transfer vinyl is to mirror the image. Mirroring the image flips the design properly so that the adhesive side of the vinyl is placed down on the shirt for ironing, and your design is correctly facing up. Once your design is flipped, click continue.
I used glitter vinyl as my cut material, so I selected the correspond glitter vinyl material in the Cricut Design Space. Then I set my Cricut machine cut dial to custom.
To prepare your mat for cutting, place your heat transfer vinyl shinny side down on your mat.
If you are using an older mat, you can reinforce your material with washi tape. Then, load your mat into your machine and press cut.
Step 4: Weeding HTV
You’ll need to weed your project after your deign is finished cutting. Weeding is just carefully removing all of the unwanted pieces, such as the negative areas in A’s, O’s, and lower-case e’s, from your project. Think of weeding your design much like weeding a garden!
I started out by removing the largest pieces surround the cut design. I gently pulled the corners and unwanted vinyl away from the mat, leaving the design attached to the clear plastic.
Step 5: Heat Transfer
Depending on the type of iron-on material and the model of your Cricut Easy Press, the temperature, time and pressure will vary. Cricut has an amazing Heat Guide with the exact instructions for each material and Easy Press model.
I currently use my Cricut Easy Press Mini for all my iron-on projects but I hope to invest in a larger model soon.
After applying your heat press or iron for the appropriate time, carefully pull back the plastic. If there are spots that haven’t attached to the tote bag completely, just place the plastic back down and re-apply your iron for a few more seconds. To help reinforce the vinyl, I always flip the canvas bag over (with the vinyl print facing down) and iron the back for a few seconds.
Allow your bag to cool for a few minutes and then it’s ready to use!
Looking for more Cricut Project? Click here for more Cricut project ideas and video tutorials.
Please share your custom canvas tote bag with me over @sprinkledwithpaper on Instagram and use the hashtag #sprinkledwithpaper.
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