Back to School Teachers Tote & Tag using Cricut Tutorial 2018

Welcome to this weeks guest blogger Amanda Eaker!

Hello everyone, I chose to do a back to school tote because my stepmom is a Kindergarten teacher that LOVES Pete the Cat. Everything in her room is decorated with Pete the Cat. 

Supplies
Items listed with an * are clickable links to the products

* Black Canvas Tote

* Siser Glitter HTV (Heat Transfer Vinyl)
 
* Triangle Bails

* Oval side cut jump rings

* Swivel Lobster Clasp

* Blue Saphire Birthday Charm

* Red Apple Acrylic Charm

* 1" Clear Acrylic Circle

* 2 bent nose pliers (I used needle nose ones I already owned)

Electronic Cutting Equipment   

Transfer tape

Cutting Mat and weeding tools

Heat Press or Iron

SVG or other digital design

I used the tote bag template on Cricut Design to make sure my wording was sized correctly and visually appealing.

Here, the cut file has been arranged to gain the best utilization of the glitter htv.  Now we are ready to cut...almost! 

Be sure to set up your material size and turn on Mirror Cut. Mirror Cut needs to be selected since Siser glitter HTV has to be cut in reverse (shiny side down).  Make sure to set your Cricut Machine to cut mirror also. 

Weed the HTV and place on your tote. To use an iron consider placing a large tile on the floor, cover your project with parchment paper and press applying as much pressure as possible. You will not move the iron back and forth. You will select an area and apply pressure per the manufacturer's instructions on time. Repeat over the entire area. Make sure to follow the time and temperature dictated by the HTV manufacturer.

If your bond is not complete, try leaning on the iron throwing some body weight aka pressure down your arm/hand. Repreat the pressing process again. Applying HTV requires heat AND pressure, not heat alone.

Now for the bag tag, I added the glitter Initial to the 1" clear acrylic disc (be careful too much heat will cause the acrylic to fog.) Then I assembled the clear disc, the red apple charm, and the birthday charm.

Here is a great tutorial on this blog showing assembly methods:  https://craftchameleon.blogspot.com/2018/05/how-to-make-acrylic-keychains-easy.html

Now is my stepmom going to be thrilled for Kindergarten to start this year!

Thanks, Amanda for this Cricut post! Makes me want to plug mine in and take it for a spin! If it has inspired you, please comment below!

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