Thursday, August 24, 2017

Cricut EasyPress

I will admit, heat transfer vinyl (HTV) has always scared me!  The horror stories of getting burnt (or scorching the vinyl or fabrics) trying to apply it with your home iron or getting burnt from your big heat press....or even worse, spending all that time cutting the vinyl, weeding the vinyl, applying the vinyl...only to have it fall off!!! GASP!!!


So I avoided it. I have lived all these many years relatively happy. I had no idea that secretly I was longing to apply vinyl images to fabric items. And then Cricut introduced their EasyPress. A light weight, affordable, portable, fun way to create HTV projects at home.  And it's really pretty too! They call it 'sky' I call it turquoise. Either way, I love the color!


Mine arrived yesterday morning at around 11 am. I didn't get off work until 3:30 pm. Talk about agony!!!
But the minute I clocked out I was running to the craft room (I work from home, it's a short run lol)

I skimmed the instructions, grabbed the sample materials and off I went.

The first thing you need (besides the EasyPress) is a heat safe, flat, sturdy surface. Cricut will be bringing out a silicone mat later this year but for now they recommend a folded towel or heavy wooden surface.  Oddly enough, I have a huge, 1 inch thick, oak cutting board. I picked it up at an estate sale a few years back for only $1. It was out in the barn so I have no idea what they did with it thus I do not use it for food. I use it to cover my stove top when I have company and need more counter space.


Look at that puppy! It is big and weighs a ton! But it is definitely flat, sturdy and not going to catch on fire!

I did my sample project....I will let you be surprised when you get your own EasyPress. And I did my own project. I made a pillow with Glitter HTV. The iron-on came out great! My pillow was a bit wonky so I will spare you that mess lol

The real reason I brought you here today?  Shoes!

Yep, basic, simple, canvas tennis shoes. Last night I was so antsy. All I wanted to do was cover things with HTV. But the t-shirts I ordered aren't here yet and I wasn't in the mood to make another pillow. Then it hit me, I have a couple pairs of tennis shoes under the bed....way under the bed! lol  I bought them last summer for around $3 at Walmart. I think I wore them each once lol

So after work today I dug out the first pair I could reach. They were so dusty that I couldn't tell they were an eyelet fabric until I vacuumed them off. (I have never EVER said I was a good housekeeper lol)


The eyelet made me pause for a sec. Nothing like putting myself at a disadvantage right from the gate. But nothing ventured, nothing gained. Besides, they only cost me $3 and I obviously am not getting any use out of them right now lol

You  need a firm surface to apply the EasyPress on.  In case you haven't noticed, shoes are flat so I stuffed a small, rolled up dish towel into the toe of the shoe. 

I had an old hand towel from the garage workbench to stuff into the rest of the shoe.

I had to apply heat several times since it is slightly rounded surface but they came out great!


I used the cotton/canvas setting of 270 degrees for 40 seconds. (you can set these on the EasyPress) It heats up really fast and beeps when ready. It also beeps when your timer runs out. It even has an auto shut-off feature just in case you forget to turn it off!

Once the toes were done I thought it needed just a bit more.


It may look like the vinyl is not adhered well but that is an illusion due to the eyelet texture. I tested all the edges and everything is nice and tight. I then bent the shoes all around and nothing popped loose. 

I think I might be wearing some fancy tennis shoes tomorrow!

I think Cricut did an amazing job with the EasyPress. For those of us without room for a heat press, or are intimidated by the process of HTV, this is a great tool!  I was able to use it with confidence and produce perfect results right out of the box.

Thank you Cricut and your amazing design team!

Thanks for stopping by and Happy Crafting!

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