How to Use The Cricut EasyPress like a Boss

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This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of JOANN. The opinions and text are all mine.
How to Use The Cricut EasyPress @JOANN #handmadewithJOANN
Those of us that are old enough remember know that back in the day, in order to text someone, you had to hit each numerical button a specific number of times in order to get the letter you wanted. There was no alphabetical keyboard. Just to get the letter S, you would have to hit the number 7 button 4 times. Eventually, technology advanced to the smartphone era and now the thought of typing a text that way is just plain crazy. Now that I’ve used the Cricut EasyPress, the thought of using my iron to adhere my heat-transfer cutouts seems just plain crazy as well. You guys, this thing is a game changer. But before I tell you how to use the Cricut EasyPress, let me tell you why it’s better than the old fashioned iron.

How to Use The Cricut EasyPress @JOANN #handmadewithJOANN

Why is the Cricut EasyPress better that your iron?

1. You can control the temperature to the exact degree, whether that’s in farenheight or celcius.
2. The heat is evenly distributed throughout the plate. Irons are hottest at the tip, and have colder spots towards the back.
3. The EasyPress is very efficient, saving you time over using your iron.
4. The EasyPress comes with a hot plate that makes it safer than an iron, which has it’s heated side exposed when not in use.
5. It doesn’t require a press cloth the same way your iron does.
Added Bonus: It looks cuter next to your craft supplies than your iron does. And now JOANN is carrying it in the new Wisteria hue, which just furthers the cuteness factor.

The Cricut EasyPress is as simple to use as it sounds; but I thought I’d give you a quick tutorial just to show you how awesome it is.  For this tutorial on how to use the Cricut EasyPress, I’m going to assume that you already know how to use your Cricut cutting machine.  I’ll be showing you the EasyPress on a project you can find in Cricut Design Space.  It’s only about $1 to buy.

 

How to use the Cricut EasyPress

How to Use The Cricut EasyPress @JOANN #handmadewithJOANN

  1. Prep your iron-on materials to be transferred by cutting, and weeding them.
  2. Place your shirt (or whatever you are transferring you cut files onto) on a flat, stable, heat resistant surface.  I like to fold a large towel into a square and place it on a solid table.  The EasyPress is a bit heavy, so I don’t use it on my flimsy ironing board.
  3. Plug in and turn on the EasyPress by pushing the power button.
  4. Push the temperature button and then press + or – to adjust it to the desired temperature.  You can change it from fahrenheit to celsius by holding down the temp button.  As it heats, it will show the current temperature on the screen. Once it hits the desired temperature, the indicator light will turn from orange to green.
  5. To set the desired timer, press the timer button then + or – to the desired time.
  6. Once the indicator is green, use the EasyPress to heat your shirt surface for about 5 seconds.
  7. Place your iron-on materials on your shirt in the desired location, then place the EasyPress directly on top.  Press the Cricut icon button to begin the timer.  Be sure to apply some pressure on the EasyPress as the timer counts down.
  8. Once the timer goes off, place the EasyPress back on it’s base, flip your shirt over to the back, then use the EasyPress on the backside like you did the front.
  9. Allow the shirt to cool, then remove the transfer sheet.  If the decals aren’t sticking to the shirt, simply repeat the process with the EasyPress.  *Note:  I haven’t ever had to do this with my EasyPress, but I have with my iron.

The manual that comes with the EasyPress will tell you the appropriate temperature and timing for the different materials that can be heat transferred, and what they can be transferred on.  You can also find that guide here.

How to Use The Cricut EasyPress @JOANN #handmadewithJOANN How to Use The Cricut EasyPress @JOANN #handmadewithJOANN

The first time I every used my EasyPress I was awestruck by how awesome it was.  It works lightning fast, and I’ve found that my iron-ons stay on significantly better than they do with my iron.  You definitely need to try it!  And if you have any questions that weren’t addressed about how to use the Cricut EasyPress, please let me know in the comments below.

How to Use The Cricut EasyPress @JOANN #handmadewithJOANN

This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of JOANN. The opinions and text are all mine.

Easter Eggs with the Cricut Wisteria Explore Air 2 Bundle

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This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of JOANN. The opinions and text are all mine.#handmadewithjoann #ad

Easter egg designs with your circut machine

Okay friends, if you’ve been around here for a while you know that I am in LOVE with my Cricut machine and all the wonderful things it can do.  In the past, I’ve shown you how to make custom t-shirts, like this mermaid maternity shirt, or this Harry Potter shirt.  Both of those designs required some technical effort to get the final product.  Today, I want to show you a much less complicated craft because the Cricut can be as easy as you want it to be.  Like stupid-awesome-easy.  Since Easter is coming up, today’s craft is all about creating some cute and nifty Easter eggs.  I’ll be showcasing images that you can find for FREE in design space, as well as a little sample of what you can do once you’ve mastered your machine.

 

New purple colored Cricut machine only @JOANNNow, you may have noticed that my Cricut Explore Air 2 photographed above is a unique shade of lavender.  This is a new shade called “Wisteria” that is going to be released in JOANN stores the week of March 7th.  It comes in a bundle with lots of extra goodies and you can literally only get it at JOANN.  They are also releasing the Wisteria Cricut Easy Press there as well.  So get ready to head over there because you want this thing, trust me.

Now onto the eggs!

There’s just a few easy steps to create these egg designs in Cricut Design Space. The materials I’m using are black vinyl, and gold foil Washi sheets.  Both of these are made and sold by Cricut.

Easter egg designs with your Cricut machine

  1. Open Cricut Design Space on your computer, iPad, or iPhone.
  2. On the top right hand corner, click “New Project.”
  3. On the left hand side click the “Images” icon. Pick whatever images you want to be cut out.  You can select more than one.  You can also use the filter to only have free images show up.Using Cricut design space to create custom Easter eggs.
  4. Once images are on your canvas, you can resize them by clicking on one shape at a time, then using the arrow on the bottom right hand corner of the shape to drag it to make it larger or smaller.
  5. To separate your images onto specific pages, make all the images you want to be cut on a certain page the same color.  So I made all the images I wanted cut on my washi tape yellow, and all the images I wanted cut on my black vinyl black.Using Cricut design space to create custom Easter eggs.
  6. Load your machine, and cut your images!Using Cricut design space to create custom Easter eggs.
  7. Weed, and decorate your eggs!  I used my BrightPad to help me see where the small pieces were that I needed to remove.  I also used Cricut Transfer Tape to made placing the cut decals on the eggs super easy. And I was done!Using Cricut design space to create custom Easter eggs.

I had some fun incorporating gold paint to really make the black pop.  I also added some old cut files I had created to make a silhouette of both my older boys, and my sister’s dog.  That is a bit more technical, so I’m just sharing it to show how open the possibilities really are with the Cricut Explore Air 2.  If you want a tutorial for it, my friend Jenny made one here. You can be as creative and technical as you want to be, or you can stay in the happy-easy zone and let Cricut do the work for you with their ready made cut files.Using Cricut design space to create custom Easter eggs.

Overall, I’m pretty ecstatic about how cool and modern these eggs look.wisteria wreath circle

 

wisteria wreathDIY CUSTOM EGGS (1)

PS: Next time I talk about Cricut I’ve going to give you a few good reasons why it’s time for you to update if you have an older model. As someone who has used three different generations of Cricuts, I can tell you, the Explore Air 2 is where it’s at.

This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of JOANN. The opinions and text are all mine.

New Years Eve Dress with JOANN

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This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of JOANN. The opinions and text are all mine.










DIY Wrap Dress using Vogue V9251 and fabric from @joann_stores Perfect for a New Years dress #handmadewithjoann #ad

This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of JOANN. The opinions and text are all mine.

@joann_stores #handmadewithjoann #ad

DIY Wrap Dress using Vogue V9251 and fabric from @joann_stores Perfect for a New Years dress #handmadewithjoann #ad

It’s not every day I have a good excuse to get dressed up; so when the chance presents itself, I take it! I’m really excited to share this New Years Eve dress with you guys. Though the pattern, Vogue V9251, is labeled as “very easy,” this piece took me quite a bit of time. It was well worth it though.

IMG-3087

When we think of New Years attire, gold, silver and sequins are almost always at the forefront. I wanted to stick with this tradition, but present it a little differently this year. When I found this peachy/gold swimsuit fabric, I was so inspired by the color that I used the fabric for the dress. The wrap dress pattern isn’t typically meant for this kind of material, but I like to mix it up. I decided to pair it with some sequin appliques courtesy of some gorgeous fabric I found in their special occasion section.

DIY Wrap Dress using Vogue V9251 and fabric from @joann_stores Perfect for a New Years dress #handmadewithjoann #ad

I individually cut out different sequin sections of the fabric and used those sections on the shoulders of the dress, the metallic belt and even in my hair. I love having the fabric do the work for me.

DIY Wrap Dress using Vogue V9251 and fabric from @joann_stores Perfect for a New Years dress #handmadewithjoann #ad

I love the length of the dress and the weight of the material. It has a fluid-like appearance and the way it reflects light makes it almost ethereal.

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