Up until now, I’ve perceived Cricut users to be a little cult-like. You don’t just dabble in Cricut, you live and breathe it. After trying the Cricut Maker 3 and new Cricut EasyPress 3 for the first time recently, I get it. This thing is addictive. Once you start with your Cricut, you cannot stop.
Jumping into the Cricut Design Space is a little overwhelming at first, due to the sheer number of options. The projects, but also the design elements, and even the fonts. Without a clear vision or inspiration at-hand, you may get a little lost. Lucky for me, I had the perfect excuse to try out the new Cricut Maker 3, but also the Cricut EasyPress 3. I needed a fun, bespoke T-Shirt for the Harry Styles concert.
After starting with a Pinterest board of inspiration, I jumped into the Design Space in search of some elements. There’s thousands.
I’m no graphic designer, but I found the Design Space really quite intuitive. I played with sizing and scaling without any issues – and when I was ready to get creating my design, the guided steps and prompts made it pretty much fool-proof.
For the T-Shirt design, I chose to use a Smart Iron-On Holographic Vinyl. The Cricut Design Space guides you through the steps for loading the specific vinyl correctly, and before you know it, you’re using your Weeding Tool to finalise the design for transferring. So far, so good.
THE CHEAPEST PRICE: CRICUT EASYPRESS 3 – $320 FROM SPOTLIGHT / CRICUT MAKER 3 – $620 FROM SPOTLIGHT
I was nervous to use the Cricut EasyPress at first – but it turns out, there wasn’t any need to be. This thing is ingenious! Think of it as a Smart Iron. You use it in the same way as you would an iron, but it connects to the Cricut Heat app on your phone which tells you exactly how to heat it, how to prepare what you’re transferring, how long to press for – the lot!
Before I got started, I downloaded The Cricut Heat app, which connects to the Cricut EasyPress via Bluetooth. Then the rest is pretty much done for you. All I had to do was select from the options what vinyl type I was using, and what material I was transferring to. The settings are then registered on the app instantly, giving you the option to send them to the EasyPress.
The EasyPress registers your desired settings, and with the touch of a button, it heats to the required temperature, and the app feeds you the step-by-step instructions and optimal timing for the process.
After a quick ‘Preheat Blank’ step (pressing the EasyPress onto the T-Shirt without the design, which aids application), I placed my vinyl design in the desired position and manoeuvred the EasyPress on top. I must admit, this part was probably the trickiest, only because once you’re covering your design, you’re a little blind to whether or not it’s stayed in its place, or shifted with a little nudge. Nonetheless, there’s no going back from here, so you…press on.
Press I did, followed by leaving the transfer to cool, as prompted by the app.
It all felt way too good to be true – so much so that I was still nervous right down to the reveal of the transfer. But it was perfect. I built up some confidence to add a little more to my design, following all those same steps again, before finishing it off.
The quality of the transfer is genuinely better than some T-Shirts I’ve bought in popular clothing stores, too. The Holographic Vinyl still is yet to scratch or show any signs of wear, tear, or peeling.
@markp_ A Satellite x Harry Styles inspired T-Shirt DIY for AUSLOT. Should I add some lyrics to finish it off? I wanted something simple, but something fun that still felt Harry inspired and I’m pretty pleased with my result. Don’t worry, there will be more colour in the final ‘ft! #harrystyles #hslotoutfit #auslot #cricut #cricutprojects
Since creating the T-Shirt, I’ve also gone on to create decals for some decorative mirrors, and a large-scale decal for a friend’s baby shower signage with the Cricut Maker 3 – and I’ve still got a bank of ideas for what to use the EasyPress for too.
@markp_ Instant joy on your wall. Here’s how to make a super cute squiggly clay frame decorative mirror. #diydecor #squigglymirror #polymerclay #clayproject #cricut #cricutprojects
As a beginner Cricut-er, the process was a little daunting, but the step-by-step prompts not only in the Cricut Design Space, but for the EasyPress via the Cricut Heat app, definitely filled my confidence to continue creating. It takes the guesswork out of it all, and the end results really speak for themselves.
