If there’s one thing to love about the Cricut Maker 3, it’s what seems to be an endless evolution of product introductions to keep you thinking and creating outside the box.
A change of season was the perfect time for the release of the new UV and Temperature Activated Colour Changing Vinyls – another excuse to flex your creativity and make something magical.
@markp_ Watch this magic! Customised cloth napkins using the new Cricut UV-activated vinyls. #cricutprojects #cricutmaker3 #personalisedgifts
These new vinyls are meant to do as their name suggests: the UV-Activated Vinyl changes colour when exposed to UV, and the Temperature-Activated Vinyl changes colour when exposed to either hot or cold temperature, accordingly.
With Mother’s Day on the horizon, I set out to create a set of custom table napkins (using the UV-Activated Vinyls) as a unique DIY gift, and once again was surprised at the ease – and quite literally, the magic of this product.
This time around, I jumped into the Cricut Design Space, selected a hand-illustrated font and kept with a text-only design. The on-screen prompts guided me through the correct way to load this specific material, ensuring mirroring was on, and the correct side was facing down.
After a quick print and weed of my design, it was time to heat up the Cricut EasyPress and open The Cricut Heat app. The two connect via Bluetooth, so the settings for the material are sent straight from the App to the EasyPress, and you’re guided through the steps.
The transfer went off without a hitch, and I was left with a subtle, classic-looking white-on-white design.
The moment the sunshine broke through the window and hit the table-setting, the colour already shifted from white to a light blue.
I put it to the test and placed it outdoors in the direct sunlight, and pretty much instantly, the design shifted from white to the bold blue design as promised.
Overall, I was impressed with the result. I’ve managed to create a unique set of table napkins that feel classic and understated if used to set a table indoors, then a little more fun and summery to be used when dining in the sunshine.
I think applying the heat-transfer vinyl to a white base creates the most effective design with this product. What I mean by that is, I wouldn’t have found it as impressive if I transferred the design onto a black napkin, because yes, the colour would change, but the impact of a ‘reveal’ is lost, as the design would have already been very clear.
That being said, there’s still endless ways you could get creative with this, with other products that would typically move from indoors to the sunshine – white t-shirts, shorts, caps and hats to name just a few.
I’m looking forward to trying the Temperature-Activated Vinyl soon, but that same principle is what has held me back from jumping into it as quick. The fact that the colour changes are not as dramatic (for example, purple to turquoise and light pink to magenta) feels a little amiss to me. To feel like a ‘magical’ product, I’d want to think strategically about my design, or maybe even print on a base that hides the design a little, and make the colour-change do something more remarkable.
