Making Personalized Gifts With Vinyl and Cricut

Everyone loves personalized gifts  With a name like Carmel, I can never find gifts with my name on them.  I can’t even find gifts with Cordelia’s name on them.  So I make my own with Cricut.

Some of these projects I already shared, some are new.  But the people that received them are all touched that I made something original for them.  I have included the pattern for the Daisy Drink Cup pattern in the download for January.  The other patterns are available in other downloads in other months.  If you can’t find one just email me at blog@crazycricutlady.com and I will find it for you.

What you need:
  • HTV for fabric projects
  • Removable or permanent vinyl for non fabric items
  • Permanent Vinyl for anything non fabric that will get wet or washed
  • Something to put it on
  • Ruler
  • Various tools for working with the appropriate type of vinyl (like an iron or transfer tape)
  • Get the Daisy pattern here
 
Where To Get Base Materials for Making Personalized Gifts

Most of the base materials can be found at the Dollar Store.  This makes them inexpensive and easy to find holiday themed or not items.  They have a vast collection of stuffed animals and drink cups and other items to be personalized.  I found everything but the t-shirts and the phone case there.  Resale shops are a great source for t-shirts and other items.  Or Walmart if you prefer new items.  I always have my eyes open for something I can use.

Measuring the Size of Your Design for Making Personalized Gifts

The first thing to do is find out what size your design needs to be.  Take a ruler and measure the spot where you want to add personalization. If it a small object there may not be a lot of room, maybe for only an initial.  Watch out for curves and make sure the design will work with them.

Stuffed animals are a special case.  Long fur does not take HTV vinyl well.  With the stuffed monkeys above I had to stay on the short area on the stomach.  But the stuffed toys and elves didn’t have “fur” so I could put the designs anywhere (legs, hats, feet , etc.)  

Curved objects like the Daisy Drink cup also created special considerations.  Make sure your design is flexible enough to fit around the curves.  You may need to snip the transfer sheet to let the design lay flat and avoid wrinkles.

T-shirt designs vary based on size.  I usually put the shirt on Cordelia and measure the area between nipples and between neckline and belt buckle then subtract about 2 or 3 inches from each measurement.  A t-shirt form will work too.

Different Types of Vinyl and When to Use Them When Making Personalized Gifts

There are so many different types of vinyl and instead of giving you tips to work with each one here I am including links to the pages I already have for each type.

Select the type of vinyl you need and visit that page.  If you need help deciding which vinyl you need or more basic information go here.  All of these pages can be reached again by using the TYPE dropdown menu at the top of the page and selecting VINYL.
In Conclusion

What ever project you decide to make with vinyl, there are letters and text available to personalize your design.  Be creative and try something new.  If you are hesitant, cut the design from paper first and place it on the object to see if it will fit and how it looks.  I look forward to see how your designs turn out so post a picture in the Facebook  group or at the end of this post!

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