Oh Deer Vinyl Tee Shirt Using the Cricut Explore

(This post is part of my Frosty Festivities 2014 Blog Event – see the beginning HERE!)

This time I’m sharing a gift that could be for the man in your life. I find it hard to think of handmade gift for my husband, but he likes a good Christmas tee shirt, so I think he’ll like this one:

I wouldn’t mind wearing this myself… we might be fighting over this tee shirt eventually!

Here’s how to make it:

Step 1: Open up the Cricut Design Space software and click the ‘Create New Project’ button. From the left hand menu select ‘Set Canvas’ and find the ‘Classic T-Shirts’ option, then click ‘Done’. Now you can check the settings to make sure you have the right size tee shirt, I chose a short sleeve medium tee shirt for men:

Step 2: Go to ‘Insert Images’ and search for the ‘Deer Head’ #M35136, and add it to your canvas. Resize it to how big you want it to be, mine is 5.51 x 7.53″:

Step 3: In the layers panel, click on the eye icon next to the bottom light brown layer, so it gets hidden. This means it won’t cut. I relied on the white of the tee shirt as my base layer:

Step 4: Change the colour of the dark brown deer head piece to match the vinyl you want to use, by clicking on the icon of it in the layers panel:

Step 5: Insert an image of a string with lights on #M32C31 (‘Lights’):

Step 6: Change the colour of the lights if you wish, then insert a bauble image #M449C5 (‘Ornament’):

Step 7: Use the eye icons to hide all the stripes and other layers of the bauble, so you have a plain shape:

Step 8: Recolour the bauble if you wish, duplicate it, and re-size the two baubles so they fit on your string:

Step 9: Click ‘Add Text’ and choose your font (I used ‘Country Life’), and type in your phrase:

Step 10: When you’ve got it sized how you want, click the ‘Go’ button at the top of the screen. In the mat preview make sure you click ‘Mirror Image (for iron-on)’ for each layer:

Step 11: Feed your vinyl into the machine following the on screen instructions. When the vinyl is cut you can barely see the shapes:

Step 12: Use a weeding tool or pointy object to weed the spare parts of the designs, leaving only the shape you want on the sticking backing (I took the deer nose off too as I didn’t want it):

All your weeded shapes should look like this:

Step 13: Check the placement of the deer head on the tee shirt:

Step 14: Move the tee shirt to an ironing board, cover the design with greaseproof paper, and iron it on a medium setting, moving over the design a few times. Lift a corner carefully, and see if the vinyl is stuck to the tee shirt, if it’s not then iron it for a bit longer:

Step 15: After the deer head your should iron on the black string, then the gold lights, then the baubles, and finish off with the text:

Your tee shirt is done! Gift it to someone this Christmas! You could also use the design on tea-towels, bags, cushions… what ever you fancy!

Be Inspired:

Use a deer on your next project, and tangle some lights or baubles in its antlers

Use a big bold character on your next project

Use a play-on-words phrase

Do you know anyone who’d like a tee shirt like this?

I’ll see you again at 5pm!

P.S. I’m linking this up to the Snap Show & Tell Linky Party!

Jennifer x