There’s a big trend to create varsity-style hoodies that have collegiate looking numbers on them. In today’s tutorial, we’re going to create a varsity shirt using one of my varsity designs. The crewneck sweatshirt will feature the word MERRY on the front and a big December 25th on the back!

For this project, I’m using a super soft BELLA+CANVAS hoodie in a natural color. Neutrals are also very trendy right now! This is the perfect cozy shirt to wear all holiday season long–and beyond! The numbers are quite large, so I’ll show you how to create the oversized, larger than mat project using your Cricut. You could use this technique to personalize with jersey numbers or any other special number you’d like to show off.

Did you know you can buy BELLA+CANVAS garments at wholesale pricing without a reseller license? Get a BELLA+CANVAS Maker’s Account! This account allows you access to the wholesale side of their business without the need for any permits or licenses. Even better? It’s free! Learn more in my post Buying Wholesale Blanks without a Resale License!

For this project, I’m using this super soft crewneck sweatshirt. BELLA+CANVAS shirts work great with any type of HTV you can imagine!

For this particular project, I’m using a few variations of B-Flex HTV. This HTV is low temp and low time, so it’s really easy to use and it’s fast! It also has a really nice feel and washes well. You can, however, use whatever type of HTV you’d like, in whatever colors you’d like! I used traditional red and green for this one. I know, I know…not my usual colors. But, I thought they accent the natural shirt color well!

Watch the Video

Want a video overview of this Cricut project? Just hit play below! Or keep reading for a written tutorial.

Supplies

• BELLA+CANVAS fleece hoodie or other shirt
• Cricut (I used my Maker 3) or other cutting machine
• Green Standard Grip cutting mat
• Brayer (optional)
• Regular HTV
• Weeding tool
• EasyPress or regular heat press. I used my large WalaPress for this project.

Set up the File in Cricut Design Space

I’m using Cricut Design Space because I am using my Cricut, but the process should be similar in other cutting machine software.

Start by uploading the file you downloaded from my craft library. I am using the December 25 design, but you can choose any design you’d like. You can delete or hide the images you aren’t using.

Start by resizing the image for your sweatshirt. Let’s start with the word Merry. I want to make this basically as big as my mat, so I’m going to lock the dimensions and select 11.5″ wide.

For December, I actually want it larger than 11.5″, so we’ll need to mess with the file a bit. I could’ve built the file larger, but I wanted to show you how you can actually edit it to be larger than your mat. To start, ungroup everything. Let’s start with the word December. Make a copy two copies of December.

Use the contour tool to cut out some of these letters. Let’s keep DECE. Cut out the M and the B and the E and the R plus all of the little pieces inside. Then click out. You are left with just the first three letters.

Do the same with the copy, but contour out the first four letters. Click contour and choose the D, E, C and E and the middle of the D. Then, click out of it. You now have two pieces for December.

Let’s make it a bit bigger. Select both together and make them 12.5″ wide. It’s not much bigger than the mat, but it’s bigger for the shirt and will stand out well. You want to make sure that these stay in two separate pieces, don’t weld them or anything like that. They need to be cut separately.

Now do the same with both pieces of the 25. Make a copy of both numbers.

Go to the first one that’s red and click contour. Contour out to the five.

Do the same with the green and contour out the five.

Now, do the same to the second one by contouring out the two. Now you have two numbers that you can work with separately.

Zoom out a little bit and put the numbers next to each other. Make those 12.5″ wide as well. Now if all of this was together on a single mat, it would be too big, but because we’re cutting it in pieces, we can then piece it together on our sweatshirt.

That’s it! Click Make in the upper right corner. In the Load screen, choose On Mat (unless you are using Smart HTV).

You can see here that it’s sort of putting everything in basically kind of a weird place.

We are going to have to piece everything together, but I think it will be worth it for the back of this shirt. One thing I am going to do is go to my second mat and I’m move the second half of December back to that first mat because it will fit. This will fit easily here below our number. So we have the outline of our number two, the E and the R for Merry and the whole word December.

On our second teal mat we just have the outline of the five.

On mat number three, we have both of our numbers. I’m going to spread them out just a little bit.

And then on mat number four we have M, R, and Y for Merry.

Let’s go back to that first mat and make sure we are mirroring all of our mats. Go back to that first mat and click Continue.

Cricut design space will connect to your machine. I’m going to choose everyday iron on as my project and get everything set up to cut.

Cutting Your HTV

Next it’s time to cut our HTV! I like using a brayer to help adhere the HTV to the mat. Each of these is cut with the shiny carrier sheet down. You can learn more in my post How to Use HTV.

Insert your mat into your Cricut and your Cricut will cut your HTV! Repeat for all of your mats!

Weeding Your HTV

The next step is to remove all of the excess HTV we don’t need in our images. I prefer to weed on the mat. To do this, use a weeding hook to pull up that excess HTV.

If you need help, I have a post called Weeding Iron On Vinyl that offers tips and tricks for making it easy.

Making Your Varsity Christmas Hoodie

All we have left to do is apply our HTV to our shirts!

Start by pre-pressing your shirts for 10-15 seconds. This removes any moisture and gives you a nice flat pressing surface.

Now you need to position your design on the hoodie. I cut my two and my five apart because I think they need to be a little farther apart. I then cut apart the other sections.

Let’s start with the word Merry. Go ahead and center it on your shirt. Normally I do three fingers kind of from the top, but it feels like for this one it’s going to go just a little bit lower.

Then press your project! Make sure you are pressing according to the manufacturer’s instructions for your specific HTV. Now again, this is a low temp low time press, so it’s only 285 degrees for five or six seconds. You can get away with four seconds on a t-shirt, but I do like for a hoodie to do it for just a little bit longer to make sure it sticks really well.

Then peel back the carrier sheet! Your instructions should say whether or not you should peel it back while it’s warm or cool. If you’re having trouble getting your HTV to stick properly, check out my post Tips to Get HTV Stick and Last Longer.

Then I’ll take my other two letters and repeat the process. If you also have HTV that is not covered by the plastic, grab a piece of cotton or parchment paper to protect that HTV from your press.

Now flip it over and do the back. Let’s start with the word December. Lay out both December and your numbers so you can make sure everything looks good before pressing. Press according to your manufacturer’s instructions.

Then repeat and press the 25 onto the shirt.

And that’s it! This is such a cute varsity-style hoodie! I cannot wait to wear it. If you want to make this hoodie, definitely check out BELLA+CANVAS. They make such a wide variety of garments perfect for all your holiday projects!

The post How to Make a Varsity Style Holiday Hoodie with a Cricut + FREE Christmas SVGs appeared first on Hey, Let's Make Stuff.

After years of being dairy-free due to lactose intolerance, I recently started incorporating a bit of cheese back into my diet from higher end creameries (along with a Lactaid!). I can’t tell you how much I’ve missed cheese and having a slice now and then has made me so happy!

If you’re also a cheese lover, I have a fun sublimation project for you today—sublimation cheese boards! These cheese boards are a fun sublimation project to make and are the perfect gift for the holidays, a hostess, a housewarming…or for yourself! These are a great way to make something special for a loved one and can be personalized in any way you’d like.

For these cheese boards, I am using my new Brother SP-1, along with Adobe Photoshop. You can also make this project using a different sublimation printer using another type of software if that’s what you have! I was really impressed with the quality of these cheese boards—the wood is nice and the sublimation surface is really flat, making them easily sublimatable.

In this post, I’m making Santa a wine and cheese tray—we all know he’s probably tired of the milk and cookies by the time he hits us here the west coast of the US! But you could also make a traditional cheese board maybe with a monogram, a tray for mixed drinks, a mini charcuterie board, or whatever else you’d like.

Additionally, for my press I’m using my WALApress, which is regular heat press. For this project, I recommend a big heat press vs. a handheld press like the Cricut EasyPress. You really need firm, even pressure for the sublimation tile inside the cheese board and I am not sure you’d get the best results with a handheld press…and these blanks aren’t cheap!

If you are new to sublimation printing and need to review the basics, see my post The Ultimate Guide to Sublimation Printing & Crafting.

Watch the Sublimation Cheese Board Video

If you’d like to see this project in video form, just hit play below! For a written tutorial, keep reading.

Supplies to Make Sublimation Cheese Boards

Get everything you need to make this project on my Amazon sublimation shopping list!
Get the cheese board and green pad below.

• Sublimation printer
• Sublimation paper
• Blank sublimation cheese board
• Alcohol + microfiber cloth
• Heat-resistant tape
• Butcher paper
• Heat press
• Green pad
• Heat-resistant gloves
• Sublimation PNG (see below)

How to Make a Sublimation Cheese Board

Print Your Image

When using my Brother SP-1, I like printing from Photoshop. You can also print from other programs like Google Docs or Cricut Design Space.

I uploaded the Santa wine and cheese board file to Photoshop and resized it to fit my cheese board.

Then I went to File > Print to print my image.

In the Print screen, I chose my Brother SP-1 and made sure “Printer Manages Colors” was selected. If you have a converted Epson printer, you’ll want to choose your ICC profile here, if you have one. Also scroll down and under Functions, make sure you have Emulsion Down checked—this will reverse your image.

Prepare and Prepress Your Blank Cheeseboard

Before we begin, I want to talk about using a sublimation green pad. This pad conducts heat and is particularly important if you are doing an image that goes edge-to-edge because it forms to the shape of the tile while still getting crazy hot so it sublimates your image. You can try it without, but because the tile in the cheeseboard isn’t perfectly flat, you could potentially end up with faded edges. I know it’s not cheap, but if you are doing sublimation on some of these harder blanks, I recommend investing in a green pad.

Check the manufacturer’s instructions for the recommended settings for time, temperature, and pressure. For my cheese board, they were as follows:

• Time: 300 seconds
• Temperature: 400° F
• Pressure: medium to firm

Set your heat press. Test your heat press pressure before it gets hot so you know it will be correct when you press your cheese board. Like I said above, I recommend a sublimation green pad, so if you are using it make sure to take that into account as you are setting your pressure.

Remove the tile from the wood part of the cheese board. Use the alcohol and microfiber cloth to clean your tile.

Trim around the edges of your transfer.

Use heat-resistant tape to secure your transfer to the cheese board. I taped it from the back.

Place a piece of butcher paper on the bottom pad of your press. This will protect the pad of your heat press from any ink that may escape from your paper.

Put the tile with the transfer face down on top of the butcher paper.

Add add another piece of butcher paper on top of the transfer. This will protect your green pad and press plate from any ink that goes through the paper.

Add the green pad on top of your sublimation stack.

Press for the recommended time. When the time is up, slowly open your press so your image doesn’t shift and you’ll get the best results.

The tile will be HOT! Let your image cool for a bit and then peel back the transfer to reveal your final image! Place it back inside the wood board. I don’t glue it—I want to be able to easily wash the tile and I don’t like the idea of anything getting under the glue if it’s adhered to the wood.

And that’s it! It’s really easy to add any image to a custom sublimation cheese board! Cheese boards should be hand washed only and don’t use sharp knives on the ceramic surface or you may scratch it.

Want a full overview of sublimation? Check out my helpful ebook, The Ultimate Guide to Sublimation!

Print

SUBLIMATION CHEESE BOARDS

Looking for a unique sublimation gift? These sublimation cheese boards are perfect for the holidays, hostess gifts, and for housewarmings! Here's how to sublimate this fun project.

Keyword Cheeseboards, Sublimation

Author Cori George

Equipment

• Sublimation printer
• Heat press
• Green pad
• Heat-resistant gloves

Ingredients

• Sublimation paper
• Blank sublimation cheese board
• Alcohol +
• microfiber cloth
• Heat-resistant tape
• Butcher paper
• Santa Cheese Board File under S19

Instructions

• Print Your Image

  If using a Brother SP-1, print from Photoshop. You can also print from other programs like Google Docs or Cricut Design Space.

  This Santa wine and cheese board file was uploaded to Photoshop and resized to fit the cheese board.
  
• Then go to File > Print to print the image.

  In the Print screen, if using a Brother SP-1 make sure "Printer Manages Colors" is selected. If you have a converted Epson printer, you'll want to choose your ICC profile here, if you have one. Also scroll down and under Functions, make sure you have Emulsion Down checked—this will reverse your image.
  
• Prepare and Prepress Your Blank Cheeseboard

  Before beginning this next step, lets talk about using a sublimation green pad. This pad conducts heat and is particularly important if you are doing an image that goes edge-to-edge because it forms to the shape of the tile while still getting crazy hot so it sublimates your image. You can try it without, but because the tile in the cheeseboard isn't perfectly flat, you could potentially end up with faded edges. It's not cheap, but if you are doing sublimation on some of these harder blanks, it is recommended to invest in a green pad.

  Check the manufacturer's instructions for the recommended settings for time, temperature, and pressure. For this cheese board, they were as follows:

  Time: 300 seconds

  Temperature: 400° F

  Pressure: medium to firm

  Set your heat press. Test your heat press pressure before it gets hot so you know it will be correct when you press your cheese board. Like what was mentioned above, a sublimation green pad is recommended, so if you are using it make sure to take that into account as you are setting your pressure.

  Remove the tile from the wood part of the cheese board. Use the alcohol and microfiber cloth to clean your tile.
  
• Trim around the edges of your transfer.
  
• Use heat-resistant tape to secure your transfer to the cheese board. On this board, it was taped from the back.
  
• Place a piece of butcher paper on the bottom pad of your press. This will protect the pad of your heat press from any ink that may escape from your paper.
  
• Put the tile with the transfer face down on top of the butcher paper.
  
• Add add another piece of butcher paper on top of the transfer. This will protect your green pad and press plate from any ink that goes through the paper.
  
• Add the green pad on top of your sublimation stack.
  
• Press for the recommended time. When the time is up, slowly open your press so your image doesn't shift and you'll get the best results.

  The tile will be HOT! Let your image cool for a bit and then peel back the transfer to reveal your final image! Place it back inside the wood board. For this project, the tile was not glued in order to be able to easily wash the tile and to avoid the idea of anything getting under the glue if it's adhered to the wood.
  
• And that's it! It's really easy to add any image to a custom sublimation cheese board! Cheese boards should be hand washed only and don't use sharp knives on the ceramic surface or you may scratch it.
  

The post How to Make Sublimation Cheese Boards appeared first on Hey, Let's Make Stuff.

We’re heading into the holiday season which means it’s the perfect opportunity to make custom stockings using sublimation! Stockings are a great way to make something special for every member of your family and can be endlessly personalized!

Sublimation Christmas stockings are a pretty straightforward project, so they’re really good for beginners. I particularly like the Christmas stockings I purchased—they are the linen-feel stockings that are a little off-white vs. pure white.

For these stockings, I am using my Sawgrass SG1000 along with Photoshop. Because I’m printing an all-over pattern for the bottom of the stockings, I’m using the 11″ x 17″ paper so I don’t need to piece my image together. If you have a smaller printer, you can piece together or you can use a smaller single image vs. an all over pattern.

Additionally, for my press I’m using my WALApress heat press. You can use a Cricut EasyPress, just make sure that you are using a firm mat under your project instead of the EasyPress mat and that you’re using firm, even pressure. If you’re using a Cricut EasyPress, I would suggest sticking with a design that can be completely covered by your press plate so you don’t end up with press marks.

If you are new to sublimation printing and need to review the basics, see my post The Ultimate Guide to Sublimation Printing & Crafting.

Watch the Sublimation Stockings Video

If you’d like to see this project in video form, just hit play below! For a written tutorial, keep reading.

Supplies to Make Sublimation Christmas Stockings

Get everything you need to make this project on my Amazon shopping list!

• Sublimation printer
• Sublimation paper
• Sublimation stockings
• Lint roller
• Heat-resistant tape
• Butcher paper
• Heat press
• Heat-resistant gloves
• PNG sublimation image (see below)

How to Make a Sublimation Christmas Stocking

Print Your Images

For this project, I am using Photoshop, and there are two different images: the pattern for the bottom of the stocking and the name on the cuff. You can use whatever program you’d like, but I find that Photoshop makes it easy to tile the PNG to fit an 11″ x 17″ piece of paper.

I created a Photoshop document that is 11″ x 17″. I then placed my PNG image (using Place Embedded) and hit enter. Then I placed the same PNG image right below it and hit enter.

Then I went to File > Print to print my image.

In the Print box, I made sure to click Print Settings to change my paper to 11″ x 17″. I chose my Sawgrass printer. You can also print through Sawgrass PrintMate, which will give you more sublimation settings, but I went straight to my printer with these. You also want to select “Printer Manages Colors” if you are using a sublimation-specific printer. If you are using a converted printer, choose your ICC profile here if you have one.

If you have an image that must read a certain direction, make sure to scroll down in the print setting and choose “emulsion down” under Functions—this will reverse your image. Then click print and your image will be sent to your Sawgrass or other printer!

For the cuff of my stocking, I went back into Photoshop and created a simple file with the names for all my stockings (using the font Jolly Wonder) and printed that as well.

Prepare and Prepress Your Blank Stocking

Check the manufacturer’s instructions for the recommended settings for time, temperature, and pressure. For my stocking, they were as follows:

• Time: 60 seconds
• Temperature: 400° F
• Pressure: medium to firm

Set your heat press. If you are using a traditional heat press (rather than an EasyPress), test your pressure before it gets hot so you know it will be correct when you press your stocking.

Lint roll your stocking to remove any fibers, hair, or dust.

Pre-press your stocking for 15 seconds to remove moisture and give you a flat pressing surface. Because the stocking is larger than my heat press, I pre-pressed it in two parts.

To make it easier to sublimate the bottom part of the stocking, unroll the cuff.

Trim the excess paper from around the edge of your image so it will fit nicely over your stocking without having too much extra paper.

Then use heat-resistant tape to secure your transfer face down on your stocking. I actually taped from the back because the image covered the entire front of my stocking.

Cover the bottom pad of your press with butcher paper. This will protect the pad of your heat press from any excess ink.

Put the stocking with the transfer face down on top of the butcher paper.

Add butcher paper on top of your image. This will protect your press plate from any ink that goes through the paper.

Press for the recommended time. When the time is up, slowly open your press so your image doesn’t shift.

Let your image cool for a moment and then peel back the transfer to reveal the first part of your stocking project!

Then re-roll the cuff and add the name in the same way.

Cover with butcher paper and press. Make sure the bottom part of your stocking is not in the heat press so you aren’t double-pressing it.

Let your image cool for a moment and then peel back the transfer to reveal your final stocking!

And that’s it! It’s really easy to add any image to custom sublimation stockings!

Want a full overview of sublimation? Check out my helpful ebook, The Ultimate Guide to Sublimation!

Print

CUSTOM SUBLIMATION CHRISTMAS STOCKINGS

Create one-of-a-kind stockings using sublimation! Here are all of my tips and tricks to make sublimation stockings. They are a perfect project for beginners and make a great addition to your holiday mantel!

Keyword Christmas, Stockings

Author Cori George

Equipment

• Sublimation printer
• Lint roller
• Heat-resistant tape
• Butcher paper
• Heat press
• Heat-resistant gloves

Ingredients

• Sublimation paper
• Sublimation stockings
• Free Christmas Sublimation Patterns Bundle #S18

Instructions

• Print Your Images

  For this project, Photoshop was used, and there are two different images: the pattern for the bottom of the stocking and the name on the cuff. You can use whatever program you'd like, but Photoshop makes it easy to tile the PNG to fit an 11" x 17" piece of paper.

  A Photoshop document that is 11" x 17" was created and then PNG image was placed (using Place Embedded) and hit enter. Then place the same PNG image right below it and hit enter.
  
• Then go to File > Print to print the image.
  
• In the Print box, make sure to click Print Settings to change the paper to 11" x 17". The Sawgrass printer was chosen. You can also print through Sawgrass PrintMate, which will give you more sublimation settings. You also want to select "Printer Manages Colors" if you are using a sublimation-specific printer. If you are using a converted printer, choose your ICC profile here if you have one.

  If you have an image that must read a certain direction, make sure to scroll down in the print setting and choose "emulsion down" under Functions—this will reverse your image. Then click print and your image will be sent to your Sawgrass or other printer!

  For the cuff of these stockings, go back into Photoshop and create a simple file with the names for all your stockings (using the font Jolly Wonder) and print that as well.
  
• Prepare and Prepress Your Blank Stocking

  Check the manufacturer's instructions for the recommended settings for time, temperature, and pressure. For my stocking, they were as follows:

  Time: 60 seconds

  Temperature: 400° F

  Pressure: medium to firm

  Set your heat press. If you are using a traditional heat press (rather than an EasyPress), test your pressure before it gets hot so you know it will be correct when you press your stocking.

  Lint roll your stocking to remove any fibers, hair, or dust.
  
• Pre-press your stocking for 15 seconds to remove moisture and give you a flat pressing surface. If the stocking is larger than the heat press, you will need to pre-press it in two parts.
  
• To make it easier to sublimate the bottom part of the stocking, unroll the cuff.
  
• Trim the excess paper from around the edge of your image so it will fit nicely over your stocking without having too much extra paper.
  
• Then use heat-resistant tape to secure your transfer face down on your stocking. I actually taped from the back because the image covered the entire front of my stocking.
  
• Cover the bottom pad of your press with butcher paper. This will protect the pad of your heat press from any excess ink.
  
• Put the stocking with the transfer face down on top of the butcher paper.
  
• Add butcher paper on top of your image. This will protect your press plate from any ink that goes through the paper.
  
• Press for the recommended time. When the time is up, slowly open your press so your image doesn't shift.

  Let your image cool for a moment and then peel back the transfer to reveal the first part of your stocking project!

  Then re-roll the cuff and add the name in the same way.
  
• Cover with butcher paper and press. Make sure the bottom part of your stocking is not in the heat press so you aren't double-pressing it.
  
• Let your image cool for a moment and then peel back the transfer to reveal your final stocking!

  Want a full overview of sublimation? Check out this helpful ebook, The Ultimate Guide to Sublimation!
  

The post How to Make Custom Sublimation Christmas Stockings appeared first on Hey, Let's Make Stuff.

Who doesn’t love freebies?! Today I’m sharing a bundle of twelve free Christmas sublimation designs that you can use to make all sorts of fun sublimation projects this holiday season! 

One of the best parts of the holiday season is crafting handmade gifts for others. I truly love to gift handmade as often as possible. Whether it’s something I’ve created, or something I’ve purchased from a small business, it always feels a bit more special. 

And don’t get me wrong, I love to create for myself, too! I absolutely love decorating for the holidays and usually create something to add to our decor collection. There’s something so special about creating cozy Christmas decor for your own home!

That’s exactly why I designed this bundle of twelve free Christmas sublimation designs. This bundle includes a zip file with 12 PNG files, each with a transparent background, and comes with a commercial license up to 500 handmade goods (physical products, no POD). There’s truly something for everyone on your list! Whether you’re decorating your home or giving handmade gifts this holiday season, I’m sure you’ll find something you love!

​New to sublimation printing? Check out my Beginner’s Guide to Sublimation Printing!

Watch the Video and Make with Me!

I used these files to make five fun projects for the holidays over on my YouTube channel! You can watch as I make an apron, a garden flag, a pot holder, a baby bodysuit, and a tote bag, all with these files! AND you’ll be redirected to my friend Angie Holden, who has even more free Christmas sublimation files for you! Just hit play below to watch. Then keep reading for even more ideas for using these Christmas sublimation designs!

Get everything you need to make these Christmas sublimation projects in my Amazon store!

How to Use These Files!

Want even more ideas? Here are some to get your creative mind going!

This time of year is definitely mug season! Create a merry mug for yourself using the Merry design. Use the Holly Dolly Christmas design to create a gift for the Dolly-obsessed, pink lover in your life or the adorable Christmas Gnome to make a wine or coffee tumbler!

Need a refresher on how to create mugs using sublimation? Check out my beginner’s guide to sublimation on ceramic.

While you’re cozying up with your new mug, use these Christmas sublimation designs to create updated seasonal decor.

Make an adorable pillow with the Warm Wishes design and your heat press. You can use these pillow covers for sublimation! Just add an insert and swap out the covers whenever you need an update!

Want to make some holiday ornaments? The Peace Christmas tree sublimation image is made just for that! Sublimate on these ceramic or metal ornaments and use them to decorate your tree. They both sublimate beautifully! Want to make something for your fur baby? Grab the Ho, Ho, Ho pawprints and create an extra ornament or add a sublimation stocking to your mantle!

Planning some holiday baking? Use the Cookie Baking Crew image to design a custom sublimation apron. Looks festive and keeps everyone just a bit cleaner in the kitchen! While you’re at it, why not create matching shirts for your whole crew? Grab the Oh, Snap gingerbread or Christmas Calories Don’t Count designs to keep with the baking theme! Have you heard of Subliflock? It’s a great way to sublimate on dark colors if you’d like to use something other than a white shirt!

I hope these free sublimation designs inspire you to create some holiday items of your own! Comment below and let me know what you made!

Get everything you need to make awesome sublimation projects on my Amazon shopping list!

If you’re looking for more holiday gift ideas, Cricut makes a wide assortment of sublimation-ready blanks, or check out my Sublimation Blanks and More post!

Want more free files? Head to the sublimation section of my craft library, where you’ll find all sorts of high quality free sublimation files, SVG files, printables, and other digital files! Especially check out this blog on How to Make Custom Sublimation Christmas Stockings and this one on How to Make Sublimation Cheese Boards!

The post Free Christmas Sublimation Designs + Ideas for How to Use Them! appeared first on Hey, Let's Make Stuff.

Ready or not, the holiday season is upon us! My crafty friends and I have created a bunch of elf SVG files for your holiday crafting! Bring even more joy to your Christmas season by creating home decor, apparel, and more!

Grab these adorable elf files and bring a bit of magic into your home and heart this holiday season!

For this month’s free SVG, I created an elf monogram frame file! It’s perfect for personalizing shirts, drinkware, blankets, and more. Create a custom water bottle for your little one with permanent vinyl or sublimation!

Want even more elf monogram SVGs? Check out my Elf Monogram SVG Bundle featuring four cute monogram options in my shop!

Get everything you need to use these SVGs on my Amazon shopping list!

Get More Free Elf-themed SVG Files!

Now take a look at all of these totally free elf-themed SVG files from my friends! It’s truly the most wonderful time of the year!

Teacher Elf

Use this elf SVG to create something special for the teacher(s) in your life!

Get the file from Hello creative family

Jollier than your Average Elf

Use this Jollier than your Average Elf design to create custom shirts and more!

get the file from happiness is homemade

Elf Outfit

This adorable elf outfit is perfect for creating onesies and shirts for the little ones in your life!

get the file from Everyday Party Magazine

Elf Approved

On the nice list? Use this Elf Approved SVG to design gift bags, totes, and more!

get the file from 100 directions

Express YoursELF

This fun Express YoursELF design makes the perfect t-shirt for the holiday season!

get the file from mad in crafts

Elf Squad

Get your elf squad holiday-ready with this adorable elf cut file!

get the file from Artsy-Fartsy Mama

The Elf Made Me Do It

Use this whimsical holiday design to make matching shirts for yourself and loved ones!

get the file from Hey, Let’s Make Stuff

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My brother and his family are coming to visit for the Christmas holiday this year and we’ve decided to make this The Ultimate Cozy Christmas Season. We’re talking cookies and Christmas movie marathons and mulled wine and candles and all the things that make Christmas warm and cozy. We’re hoping for a snow storm too!

One of the things on our list is Christmas crafts with the kids, of course. My nephews are close in age to my boys so it’s always fun to do craft time with mom/Auntie Coco (as my nephews call me). I thought coloring ornaments would be a fun craft to do with them this year during our cozy Christmas season!

This is an easy project if you have a laser cutter. I’m using my xTool M1 (see my review of the xTool M1) but I’m sure any laser cutter would work.

Supplies for Wood Coloring Ornaments

Get everything you need to make this ornament project on my Amazon shopping list!

• xTool M1 or other laser cutter
• 1/8″ wood of your choice (I am using white oak plywood)
• Pens or paints to color
• Twine or ribbon for hanging
• SVG to make this file (see below)

Instructions for Wood Coloring Ornaments

Again, I’m using my xTool M1 so the following software instructions are for that machine. If you’re using a different machine, you should be able to set up and use this file similarly in your software.

Start by turning on your machine and placing your material in the bed of the laser. I don’t generally mask my xTool diode laser projects. Because the laser is much less powerful than my Glowforge C02 laser, charring tends to be minimal and 80% of any that I do get comes off with a bit of alcohol. That being said, you’re welcome to mask your material if you’d like!

The camera inside will snap a photo of your material.

Then click File > Import Image in the upper left to upload the SVG file to the software. Once it’s uploaded, move the files to the correct place on your wood.

When images are imported to Creative Space, they are automatically turned to score lines (orange). But the outside lines need to be cut, not scored. So carefully click on just the outline (clicking up by the circle at the top of the ornament is easiest) and change each of the outer lines to cut lines (purple) in the right sidebar.

Set your material to whatever you’re using (I was using oak plywood but there’s not a setting for that—the walnut plywood worked well) and make sure you say whether or not you’re using the triangle prisms (read more about the prisms and how to use them in my xTool review). Once you have double checked all your settings, click Process.

The software will give you a most likely WILDLY inaccurate cut and score time. Mine says 2 minutes. It took closer to 15.

From there, you can push the button on your machine to score and cut your project! Like I said, it took way longer than the estimated time. The Walnut was set to do 4 passes, but I found 1 pass was actually enough to cut through the oak, so I just canceled the cut once each ornament had been cut. You may want to do a test cut to see if you have the same results with this particular material.

Once your material is cut, remove your wood ornaments for coloring from the bed of the machine. If needed, uses a bit of alcohol on a cotton swab to remove any charring.

And that’s it! Now your ornaments are ready for coloring with pens or painting with paint. I can’t wait to give these to my nephews and my boys to color during our Cozy Christmas!

Print

LASER CUT WOOD ORNAMENTS

Break out your laser cutter and make these cute wood ornaments that are designed to be colored or painted! These make a great Christmas craft for kids, or sell them as kits with paint and brushes!

Keyword Laser, Ornament, Wood

Author Cori George

Equipment

• xTool M1 or other laser cutter
• Pens or paints to color

Ingredients

• Twine or
• ribbon for hanging
• 1/8" wood of your choice this project using white oak plywood
• Laser Christmas Coloring Ornaments File

Instructions

• For this project the xTool M1 is being used, so the following software instructions are for that machine. If you're using a different machine, you should be able to set up and use this file similarly in your software.

  Start by turning on your machine and placing your material in the bed of the laser. Masking for the xTool diode laser projects is not generally necessary. Because the laser is much less powerful than the Glowforge C02 laser, charring tends to be minimal and 80% of any that comes off with a bit of alcohol. That being said, you're welcome to mask your material if you'd like!

  The camera inside will snap a photo of your material.
  
• Then click File > Import Image in the upper left to upload the SVG file to the software. Once it's uploaded, move the files to the correct place on your wood.
  
• When images are imported to Creative Space, they are automatically turned to score lines (orange). But the outside lines need to be cut, not scored. So carefully click on just the outline (clicking up by the circle at the top of the ornament is easiest) and change each of the outer lines to cut lines (purple) in the right sidebar.
  
• Set your material to whatever you're using (for this project oak plywood is being used, but there's not a setting for that—the walnut plywood worked well) and make sure you say whether or not you're using the triangle prisms (read more about the prisms and how to use them in this xTool review). Once you have double checked all your settings, click Process.

  The software will give you a most likely WILDLY inaccurate cut and score time. For this project it said 2 minutes. It took closer to 15.
  
• From there, you can push the button on your machine to score and cut your project! It took way longer than the estimated time and the Walnut was set to do 4 passes, but found 1 pass was actually enough to cut through the oak, so canceled the cut once each ornament had been cut. You may want to do a test cut to see if you have the same results with this particular material.
  
• Once your material is cut, remove your wood ornaments for coloring from the bed of the machine. If needed, uses a bit of alcohol on a cotton swab to remove any charring.
  
• And that's it! Now your ornaments are ready for coloring with pens or painting with paint.
  

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