I couldn’t resist sharing the tutorial for this DIY Christmas shirt, even if it is only 2 days before Christmas! It’s not too late to make one if you can run out to a craft store and get all the supplies. It is super cute and festive. Better yet, you’ll be the only one who has one because you made it yourself!

This tutorial uses a Cricut Explore Air to make the design. Using Iron on Vinyl, you can make so many cute projects. I also used the same method to personalize our stockings this year.

If you want to use the exact same design that I made, you can download it by clicking here. But I also encourage everyone to make your own projects and put your own personal spin onto it! There are so many cute festive words or designs you can use to make a DIY Christmas Shirt once you know how. And they make great gifts! You can make each shirt something you know the giftee will love. The materials for this project cost less than $10!

All right, if you’re ready for the tutorial, keep scrolling!

Supplies:

• Tshirt
• Iron
• Iron on Vinyl
• Cricut Explore Air
• 12×12 Cricut Mat
• Weeding Tool

Step One: Design Shirt

First, you’ll need to design your shirt in Cricut design space. I used the font bombshell. I wanted my shirt to say “fa la la la la” which is one of my favorite festive phrases.

You can design your design to be spaced exactly how you will want it in the final product. I chose to cut each “la” separately to try and use as little vinyl as possible.

When you’re using iron on vinyl, you need to print it as a mirror image. After you press “make it” in Cricut design space, below where you designate the mat size, you can choose “mirror image,” as you can see in the picture below.

Step Two: Prepare Vinyl and Cut

With iron on vinyl, you want to place the vinyl on your mat with the front facing down. With glittery vinyl, this is super easy to tell, because the front is glittery and the back is dull looking. You can see that in the picture below. You only  need to place vinyl on the mat where your design will be cut. So for my design, that was about 9.5″x6.5″.

Once your mat is ready, load your mat into the Cricut. Be sure that the setting is set to “iron on vinyl.” Then press go and let the Cricut do the cutting!

Step Three: Weed Vinyl

The next thing you want to do is called weeding the vinyl. First, you peel off any of the vinyl that isn’t part of your final design. So pretty much all the negative space will be removed. Iron on vinyl has two layers- the vinyl itself, and a plastic layer on top of that (or underneath it when it’s upside down on the mat). You peel away the extra vinyl from the plastic layer. This should be easy to do, leaving your final design there. If any of your design starts to come up, you can just press it back onto the plastic and it should stick.

Once you peel off the excess, you will still have to remove the holes from inside the letters. This design happens to have holes in every single letter. I use the Cricut weeding tool to remove the middle of the letters. I pretty much just poke it until it starts to come up and then peel it back.

Step Four: Place Design and Iron

Since I wanted to be able to manipulate the letter placement and use as little vinyl as possible, I didn’t print my design how I wanted it to look on the final shirt. So I had to cut each piece and place it on the shirt where I wanted it. The plastic front is sticky, but not too sticky, so it’s easy to lift and adjust each section until you have it where you want.

Once your design is where you want it to be, it’s time to iron. You can place a piece of cardboard inside the shirt to make ironing easier. I used a file folder. Make sure not to use any steam when you iron, and set the iron to cotton. Go over the design until it is fully adhered, and then peel the plastic off the top. If you peel to early and the design starts to come up, no big deal, just press it back down and iron again. It took me about 1-2 minutes of ironing for this design, and that was probably more than necessary.

Once you peel the plastic off the letters, your shirt is ready!

And then you’re done!

Now you’ve got a snazzy new Christmas shirt that no one else will have. One of a kind!

Mine turned out super adorable! The red and gold is very festive. I am always impressed with the quality of Cricut’s iron on vinyl. The glitter does not come off of the design or rub off the shirt, even after multiple washings. If you love your shirt you can wear it time and time again. It will last longer if you wash it inside out, but I sometimes forget to do that and my shirts are still great!

These make a great gift too! You could easily add someone’s name to it, or do different color shirts and vinyls for different people.

This shirt is so happy and festive, what’s not to love?

Now that I’m writing this post and wearing my shirt, I’m never going to stop singing Christmas carols. Tis the season to be jolly…..

And the song may be stuck in my head forever. And now yours too probably. Sorry!

I’m so excited to wear my shirt this Christmas!

Let me know how making your own DIY Christmas Shirt goes for you! You can click the thumbnail below to download the file to make this same design.

supplies in this post

The post Diy Christmas Shirt appeared first on Pins and Procrastination.

If you’re looking for a fun easy way to make DIY personalized stockings, you’ve come to the right place! This tutorial is super adaptable, so you can really express your personal style. You can use any font or design you want to personalize your stockings, that way you can know exactly who each Christmas stocking belongs to. I absolutely love the results, and can’t get enough of our super cute stockings!

This tutorial uses a Cricut explore air machine to cut iron on vinyl letters. Once you get familiar with the Cricut, you’ll find that it is super easy to use. And it makes such awesome results!

I love decorations that you DIY. They are so much more personal and can really express your style. This year, I decided to go all out for Christmas crafts. So I made these adorable personalized stockings for my family, and I made some really fun pom pom garlands for the tree. I also made a festive shirt that I haven’t posted about yet, but I’ll link to it once I have.

Cricut projects are especially fun because you can make so much with it. I could never have cut out cute iron on vinyl letters myself. Sure, I’m crafty, but I’m not quite that precise. Even better, the iron on vinyl is washable!

Well, if you’re ready to learn how to make these DIY personalized stockings, keep scrolling!

Supplies:

• Stockings
• Cricut Explore Air
• Iron on Vinyl
• Iron

Step One: Design stockings

The first thing you want to do choose how you want to customize your stockings. I’m lucky that my family has different initials, so I used just the first initial for each person. I used Cricut design space to make and resize the letters. Instead of making them all the same font size or same height, I adjusted them until they were as big as I thought looked good together. I used the font Georgia.

I set each of the letters to cut. Don’t forget to measure your stockings so that you don’t make the letters too big or too small.

Iron on vinyl needs to be cut as a mirror image. If you cut it normally, you’ll get backwards letters on your stockings. . Simply select “mirror” before you go to cut, as you can see in the image below. On the preview screen the selection is right below material size.

Step Two: Cut Vinyl on Cricut

Next you want to put your vinyl on your cutting mat. I used a regular strength mat. With iron on vinyl, you want to load it on the mat with the front facing down. With glittery vinyl this is easy to tell, because the front is much shinier and the back is somewhat dull. So you want the dull side up.

You only need to put vinyl on the areas that will actually cut. So for this project, I cut a piece of vinyl to approximately 3″x10″. You can tell what size you need on the preview screen.

Once your vinyl is ready on the mat, Load your mat into the cricut. Then make sure your cricut is set to “iron on vinyl” then press go! Let the cricut do its thing and cut the vinyl letters.

Step three: Weed vinyl

The next step is to weed the vinyl, which means removing any excess vinyl that isn’t part of the final design. You can usually just start pulling up a corner, and the cut parts will stay attached to the clear layer that makes up the front of the vinyl. I love the cricut weeder tool and use it all the time to help weeding out small areas, like the inside of the e.

Then, once the vinyl is all weeded and only your final design remains, you can cut the letters apart from each other to get them ready to go. You want each section of the design that is going on its own stocking to be separate.

Step Four: Iron

Next you’ll want to iron your vinyl onto the stockings. First, place the letter where you want it to go, with the plastic layer on top. The letter should be facing forward and placed where you want it in the final design.

I cut a piece of a file folder to use inside my stocking to make it slightly stiffer so that ironing was easier. This is optional based on what kind of stocking you use.

You will want to set the iron to a setting for cotton, and then start ironing on top of the plastic over the letter. I ironed each letter for about one minute total, but it would probably have been fine with less.

Once the letter is fully adhered, peel back the plastic layer. If any part of the letter starts to come up, just let the plastic fall back down and iron until the letter is fully adhered. Once the plastic is off, you’re done! You’ve got your awesome DIY personalized stockings.

Step Five: Display!

Now all you have to do is hang your stockings and fill them with presents!

I’m so happy with how our DIY personalized stockings turned out. I think they’re super cute. Some of my family thinks capital letters would have looked better, but I just have a thing for lowercase. I almost always like the look of lowercase letters better.

I love having stockings in non-traditional colors as well. It’s easy to find red and green stockings but other colors are more difficult to come by.

Seriously, how cute do they look on the mantle? I just love them. If you can’t already tell, because I only took about 1 zillion pictures that I couldn’t help but share. I hope you enjoy looking at them!

And if you really can’t get enough, check out my Christmas living room tour.

Let me know how making your own DIY personalized stockings goes for you! I would love to see some pictures.

supplies used in this post

The post DIY Personalized Christmas Stockings appeared first on Pins and Procrastination.

If you’re looking for a fun, easy, and adorable Christmas craft, look no further. This pom pom garland is so easy to make, and it looks great on the tree. It is the perfect festive Christmas craft. It makes my tree look so happy and unique! And it really couldn’t be any easier to make. So much cuteness from so little effort!

I wanted my Christmas tree this year to be green and white. Last year I did more traditional with a red ribbon, but it wasn’t really my style. I wanted to do a garland this year that would be a little less traditional and a lot more fun! So I figured a pom pom garland would be the perfect way to do that. And I love it!

It does take a lot of pom poms to make the garland, but it is so worth it! This is the kind of craft that is easy and meditative. You can easily do it while watching tv or listening to music and just get into a flow. Bonus points if you listen to Christmas music while you make it. It probably took me a total of 3 hours of stringing to make 70′ of garland for my tree, but it felt like 20 minutes.

And there is no reason to sit there for 3 hours straight working on the garland. I made this over a few days, in between other tasks when I had time. Crafting is such an enjoyable break. So if you love crafting, keep reading for the full tutorial.

Supplies:

• Thin string (Twine is great, this is the one I used)
• Craft needles
• Pompoms (1.5″ (what I used) or 1″)

I wanted my pom poms to be pretty big, so I used the 1.5″ ones. The 1″ pom poms are much more cost effective. I ended up using more than 70 feet of pom pom garland on my tree, so I needed tons of them! I used 35 packs, or 525 pom poms total. If I had known I would need so many, I would go back and use the 1″ ones. I had to keep ordering more!

I definitely underestimated how long the garlands would need to be, but I’m a sucker for the cascading way they are hung. If you hang them without the cascading, you’ll need much less length.

Step One: Cut String and Thread Needle

I cut my strings into approx 5′ long segments because that was about as long as I could manage without tangling the string. The first thing you want to do is cut your string segment, then thread the needle and tightly knot the string. You also want to put a knot at the end of the string so that the pom poms don’t fall off, leaving a little room on the end in case you need to tie any garlands together.

Step Two: String Pom Poms

Next step is to just go ahead stringing the pom poms! You want to pierce the pom poms slightly off of the middle. They should slip on easily. If you feel resistance, go ahead and re-align them on the needle or you will have trouble moving them down the string.

Once you get them on, move them all the way along the string until the end. Space them out so theres about 1/4″ in between each pom. It is much easier to do this as you go along than to try to space them out later.

Step Three: Tie and Hang

Once you’ve gotten all the pom poms on the string, untie the string from the needle and tie off the end. Then hang them on the tree!

I ended up hanging the pom pom garlands and then figuring out the length needed to finish that string around the tree and tying them together to get the correct size. They aren’t hung perfectly, but I really love the effect they make.

This is by far my favorite christmas tree yet! The pom poms remind me of snowballs and marshmallows and they definitely show my whimsical style. I’m a sucker for the combination of white and green.

Plus I love our tree topper that we got from Crate and Barrel. The moravian star shape is super unique.

Here’s a close up of the garland on the tree:

Seriously, how cute are they?! It still makes me so happy to look at, and I see this tree about a bazillion times a day.

Every time I see the tree it makes me smile. I haven’t decorated that many Christmas trees, but this is the first one I really feel like is “my style.” And it’s super festive.

To be honest, I think all Christmas trees are beautiful if they are lit up! And I love how the pom pom garland looks lit up.

This is by far my favorite Christmas decoration. Maybe next year I’ll add even more ;)

So go ahead and make your own pom pom garland, and let me know how it goes for you!

Supplies and Decor in This Post:

The post DIY Christmas Pom Pom Garland appeared first on Pins and Procrastination.

It’s always fun to make an easy project that the kiddos can help out with. This awesome homemade sidewalk chalk is fun, nontoxic, and it even uses an upcycled container to make it less messy to draw with. You can customize the colors however you like. It’s a cute crafty project that keeps being fun even once you’re finished!

You have to love a project that takes only 5 minutes of hands on time. And the result will give you hours of drawing fun. As a kid I used to spend forever in the driveway coloring away with sidewalk chalk. I only wish I had been able to make the chalk myself, because it would have made my creations twice as personal. That’s why I knew this would be a perfect kid-friendly craft.

I’m a huge proponent of going green- I write about green cleaning all the time. I love having an opportunity to reuse containers I have finished with, because I’m always trying to reduce waste. That’s why I couldn’t be more excited to be partnering with Tom’s of Maine during Earth Month to bring this awesome upcycling project to you as part of the #LessWasteChallenge!

I’ve been a fan of Tom’s of Maine for a long time. I love their natural personal care products. I’ve even written about their awesome deodorants before. All Tom’s of Maine products are made without artificial colors, flavors, fragrances or preservatives. Even better, they’re not tested on animals. These are all things I look for when I’m shopping for personal care products.

You can get Tom’s of Maine Products at Target. They even have some awesome Target exclusives, like the fragrance free bar soap for sensitive skin that I got.

And what’s super exciting is that Tom’s of Maine is working even harder to make their products environmentally friendly and sustainable. Tom’s of Maine is committed to reducing waste caused by their products. All their packaging is recyclable through TerraCycle- a company that recycles things that aren’t usually recycled. Visit Toms of Maine’s website for more information.

I’m taking the #LessWasteChallenge to reduce 1 pound of waste a week- and you should too! That’s why I made this awesome upcycling project to help me reuse old containers instead of throwing them away. What will you do for your #LessWasteChallenge? Make sure to share your creative ideas using the hashtag so everyone can be inspired by your awesome ideas!

Here’s my awesome project that I came up with to reuse old containers and reduce waste:

homemade sidewalk chalk Ingredients and supplies:

• Tom’s of Maine Deodorant Container
• 2-3 teaspoons tempera paint
• 1/4 cup water
• 1/2 cup Plaster of Paris
• Spatula
• Mixing bowl

Step One: Clean out deodorant container

The first thing to do is clean out any remaining deodorant from your deodorant container. If you twist the container up all the way, you can remove the plastic deodorant holder and scrape and wash all the leftover deodorant out of there. I was able to do this using a small knife and a scrub brush and dish soap.

You’ll want to leave the deodorant “residue” in the rest of the container to keep the sides slick.

Then just replace the now-empty plastic deodorant holder, and twist it down to the bottom of the container.

Step Two: Mix ingredients

Now it’s time to actually make the chalk! You’ll want to mix 2-3 teaspoons of tempera paint with 1/4 cup of water. Then stir in 1/2 cup of plaster of paris.

The amount of paint you use will depend on how dark you want your chalk colors to be. Lighter chalk is great for writing on dark surfaces like a black chalkboard, and darker colors are great for lighter sidewalks. I mixed blue and red paint to make a darker purple color. Stir until all the ingredients are well combined.

I told you it was easy!

Step Three: Add to container

Once your homemade sidewalk chalk ingredients are mixed, use your spatula to add the mixture to the deodorant container. You can push down as you add it to make sure you don’t leave too many air holes in the container.

Step Four: Let dry and draw!

All you have left to do now is set your chalk aside to dry. You’ll want to leave it for at least 12 hours to be completely dry before use.

And then go ahead and start drawing!

As your chalk runs out, simply twist some more up in your deodorant container for fun and less messy drawing. If your chalk is being a little resistant to twisting, you can use a butter knife around the edges to loosen it up a little.

I love that I was able to reuse my old deodorant container this way. I never know what to do with finished personal care product packaging (try saying that 5 times fast). I hate throwing them out. So lucky my DIY-ing made it easy to upcycle and repurpose this deodorant container.

It’s so fun to draw with too!

It was so much fun to mix my own chalk colors. I find that most sidewalk chalk is lighter, but I don’t have a dark driveway, just light concrete sidewalks. So the darker color of the chalk really pops on the concrete. Plus I’m just a sucker for purple.

Who would have thought that this homemade sidewalk chalk was in a reused deodorant container?

I can’t wait to see what other upcycling projects I come up with as part of the #LessWasteChallenge. My mind is already churning and thinking of ideas.

Good luck making your own homemade sidewalk chalk, and have fun creating less waste!

Don’t forget to check out the Cartwheel offer on Tom’s of Maine products at Target.

The post Homemade Sidewalk Chalk appeared first on Pins and Procrastination.

I love making things- be it a cute DIY project, natural beauty recipes, a cleaning product, or even a decorative printable. And I know there are lots of other DIY-ers out there who agree with me! So this holiday season, I thought I would share some awesome homemade gifts that people ACTUALLY want.

I’ve given out almost every single thing on the list as a gift, and with great responses to all! In fact I have yet to give #1 to a person and NOT have them ask me to make them more.

So, here are my favorite 15 awesome gifts you can make:

1. Aloe Vera Moisturizer

This is one of my favorite homemade gifts. Regardless of gender, everyone needs a good quality moisturizer in the winter. This aloe vera moisturizer is so gentle, and yet so moisturizing, that it works with most skin types.

As I mentioned above, every SINGLE person I have given this to as a gift has asked me for more. So I thought it makes sense to start the list with my favorite. I always have plenty of aloe on hand to make this in the winter!

supplies you’ll need

2. Peppermint Body Butter

This peppermint body butter makes a perfect Christmas gift. It’s festive, cute, all natural, and amazingly moisturizing. The pink stripe is actually made without any food dye and the recipe is without any artificial additives. It’s so natural you could eat it and be fine- but I wouldn’t recommend it, even if it smells amazing.

supplies you’ll need

3. Gingerbread Candles

Nothing says Christmas more than gingerbread! I love the smell so much, I knew I had to replicate it for an awesome holiday candle. Candle making may sound intimidating, but trust me, it’s easy! The custom blend of scents smells like freshly baked gingerbread, and is sure to get anyone in the holiday mood.

supplies you’ll need

4. Custom Sign

I love making custom signs! This DIY may be a little more difficult if you aren’t a crafty person, but it is definitely doable. These make such a great gift because they are completely customized. Plus once you figure out this method you can use it to make all kinds of homemade decor for yourself and others.

supplies you’ll need

5. Mint Chocolate M&M’s Fudge

I made this awesome mint chocolate fudge recipe and it is SUPER delicious. It makes a great gift that you can make in bulk for friends, family, neighbors, and coworkers. Lars became the hero of his office when he brought this fudge in last year. The mint chocolate flavor is perfect for Christmas, and the fudge is actually cute to boot.

supplies you’ll need

6. Laundry Detergent Tabs

These laundry detergent tabs are awesome! They are completely green and natural, and they’re easy and inexpensive to make. They make a great gift for someone you know loves to live a natural lifestyle. Who doesn’t love clean clothes, right?

supplies you’ll need

7. Cocoa Butter Body Lotion

Can you tell how much I love giving natural beauty products for gifts? They always get an amazing response. This cocoa butter body lotion is so deeply moisturizing. It feels so luxurious and expensive. It will make your giftees feel like a million bucks while only costing you a few!

supplies you’ll need

8. Homemade Lip Balm

Everyone uses lip balm, right? This homemade lip balm makes a perfect gift. I gave someone a tube once, and they told me it was “better than Bert’s.” So that’s a pretty great endorsement! It’s an easy gift to make for stocking stuffers, or as part of a gift basket, or when you just want to give someone something small.

supplies you’ll need

9. DIY No Sew Reuseable Duster

Everyone has to dust. But who likes buying disposable duster heads? They’re so costly and wasteful. This DIY washable duster head requires no sewing, and works like a charm. Since they are so easy and inexpensive to make, they make a really great gift.

supplies you’ll need

10. Green Tea Scrub

Green tea is amazing for your skin. This awesome green tea scrub is so healthy, and it smells amazing. Anyone would love to get it as a gift. This one has been highly requested by friends and family. It makes your skin feel fresh and moisturized.

supplies you’ll need

11. Etched Soap Dispenser

A cute dish soap dispenser next to the sink really makes it look better. You would never notice how big a difference it makes until you replace a plastic bottle with this adorable etched soap dispenser. That’s why it makes such a great gift- everyone uses dish soap, or hand soap.

supplies you’ll need

12. Aloe Vera Face Wash

This aloe vera face wash makes a great gift alone or with my aloe vera moisturizer. It’s one of the more popular posts on my site, and people really seem to love it! I used it exclusively for over 2 years, but I’ve since added a few more products to my rotation. It’s a great gift for the natural beauty maven you know!

supplies you’ll need

13. Peanut Butter Cookies

Everyone loves cookies. These peanut butter cookies are so easy to make with only 3 ingredients, and they are gluten free! They are a great gift that you can make in bulk to give to lots of people, or for just one person. Or for yourself. Because you might not want to share these awesome cookies!

supplies you’ll need

14. Essential Oil Kit

Essential oils are awesome because they can be used in so many ways. If you make a kit by putting together a few classic oils, and maybe even a diffuser, it makes a great gift. You could even do seasonal ones, like a christmas themed kit with cinnamon, ginger, and pine.

supplies you’ll need

15. Homemade Shower Soothers

The height of gift-giving season is also the height of cold season. These DIY Shower Soothers are a perfect gift that someone can use when they’re sick, or just for a relaxing shower that smells great. You can package them in a mason jar- which would look adorable! Who wouldn’t love that?

supplies you’ll need

The post 15 Awesome Homemade Gifts that People Actually Want appeared first on Pins and Procrastination.

All these printables are free, fun, and most importantly, beautiful! I think there’s a little something here for everyone. With more than 25 to choose from, you’ve got decor for every fall occasion. Some of the printables are halloween or thanksgiving specific, but they’re all appropriate for the fall season.

Honestly, I can’t believe how adorable they all are! Each printable is easy to find and download, and they all will get you in that autumn mood.

1. Hello Fall

A perfect way to start! This adorable printable from Glued to my crafts blog mixes a few of my favorite things- pumpkins and watercolors. Head over to her blog to download this awesome printable.

2. 10 More Fall Printables

One Sutton Place is generous enough to be sharing TEN free printable designs! I love this cutout pumpkin one- but you should really look at the whole post because they are all lovely.

3. Pumpkin Spice and Everything Nice

Yellow Bliss Road knows the key to many a woman’s heart! This adorable printable is very on point. She even links to past fall printables that are just as beautiful and fun.

4. 3 autumn printables

The Happier Homemaker  has made some absolutely beautiful printables here. All three are free, so you should definitely take a look!

5. Fall watercolor

I love this design by I should be mopping the floor. Not only does she have the cutest blog name, she’s got some great design chops. These watercolor pumpkins are stunning.

6. fall chalkboard printable

I should be mopping the floor got two features in this post, because I couldn’t resist this printable either! Who doesn’t love a good chalkboard design?

7. Fall leaf printable

This muted understated leaf would fit right into any home. A Night Owl Blog put this printable together and it is beautiful.

8. Give Thanks

Shanty 2 Chic doesn’t dissapoint with this black and white printable. I love those fonts!

9. Charcoal Thankful Printable

I can’t get enough of this print from Lolly Jane. The charcoal background really makes the colors of the wreath pop.

10. Fall Bucket List

Planning inspired has come up with an instant fall classic! These are all on my fall bucket list- and who doesn’t love seeing them all together like this?

11. Wellies Print

Falling leaves and rain are some of the best parts of fall. Craftaholics Anonymous came up with this adorable wellies print that highlights those two things.

12. Autumn printable

classy clutter came up with this adorable design! My favorite part is the swirls on the pumpkins.

13. blue pumpkin

I love that the red painted cottage used an unexpected fall color. The light blue contrasts perfectly with the fall yellow to make a lovely design.

14. Thankful printable

I love this simple design from Apartment Living Blog. The leaves also kind of look like feathers, so it’s very thanksgiving-ey.

15. 4 free thanksgiving printables

Tabler party of Two came up with 4 adorable designs that you have got to check out! I love all of them, but this “give thanks” is my favorite.

Well, what do you think? Get yourself these adorable free printables today!

The post Decorating for fall: 25 Free fall printables appeared first on Pins and Procrastination.

Last weekend, I was getting ready to go to a Halloween party when I realized I had nothing to wear! I don’t have any cute halloween clothes- how is that possible? I love themed and festive things. So at the last minute I wanted to make something fun and I came up with this adorable shirt! In total the project took me less than 30 minutes and then I was off to the party, appropriately festive. And the shirt was a hit!

I did this project using my Cricut Explore Air, which is quickly becoming my favorite craft tool. I used it to make my adorable studio sign for my office that I absolutely love. And now this shirt is so amazingly easy to make with such great results. What’s not to love?

I was a bit nervous to try using iron-on vinyl, but it went really well. For my first time using iron-on vinyl I think I did a pretty good job! I used this tutorial from Rae Gun Ramblings to figure out what to do.

Alright- who’s ready to craft? I’ll walk you step by step how to make this shirt, and you can even download the design I used for free to make your own boo shirt!

tools and supplies:

• Cricut Explore Air
• Iron on Vinyl (You can also get awesome vinyl here)
• T-shirt
• Iron
• Cricut tools (optional)

step one: download file

Click the image to download the file!

This step is pretty self explanatory! Just click the image above to download the file you need to make this shirt. My favorite part is the little ghost.

The image is backwards- but don’t worry, that’s on purpose. When you cut iron-on vinyl you cut it backwards because the underside ends up becoming the front of the design.

step two: import image to cricut design studio

Launch your cricut design studio and start a new project. You’ll want to upload the image, and you can do this by clicking the upload image tab on the left. Them press the “upload image” button.

The upload will ask you what type of image it is, and you should select simple image. Next you will click through the select and erase and press next. Because the file is in .png format, the image is already transparent and you wont need to remove the background.

The images below show you what this process looks like:

step three: insert image to cricut design studio

Now that you’ve uploaded your image, you’ll want to insert it into your design studio so you can make the cut!

Click on the image you uploaded, and click insert images. You’ll want to resize the image to your desired size. I made mine 11″ by 7.48″, because I wanted a large design. You can size it to fit your shirt.

Step four: prepare your mat

Now that your design is ready, you’ll want to prepare your mat. You’ll want to place your vinyl front side down. The back side will look much duller and you should be able to tell the difference, as you can see in the photo below.

Make sure you have enough vinyl for the size you selected in the previous step.

Once your mat is prepared, you can load it into the Cricut machine. Make sure to set your dial to “iron on vinyl.”

step five: cut and peel

Now you’re ready to cut! If you press the green circle that says “go” in Cricut design studio, it will show you a preview of your design. Approve the preview and then press the flashing “go” on the machine once you are ready to cut.

When the cut is finished, you can peel away the excess vinyl to leave your design behind.

step six: weed

When you peeled away the vinyl, the smaller pieces on the inside of letters and the ghost eyes did not come up. It’s time to “weed” those out. You can use the cricut weeder to do this- or possibly a toothpick. Just push along the edge and the vinyl should pop up.

step seven: iron on

Once you’ve got the design how you want it, you’re ready to iron it on! You will leave the plastic on the front of the vinyl to iron over.

Place your design right side up on the shirt where you want it to be located. You’ll want to use a setting for cotton on your iron without water.

I put some cardboard between the top and the bottom to keep the shirt stiff and easy to iron. Then iron away for several minutes until you are confident the vinyl has attached to the shirt. And now you’re done! Just peel away the plastic and you’re ready to go!

Woohoo- you’re done!

I love this shirt because it’s cute and festive. I can’t get over how cute the ghost exclamation point is. I’m so glad I added it- it’s the small details that really make a big difference in the final design.

And who doesn’t love a little sparkle?

I honestly can’t believe how easy it was to make this shirt. I feel like I should customize all the shirts I own now… but I won’t go that crazy.

But at least now I know I can make something pretty quickly at the last minute!

And the important part is, Biscuit approves. He even got his hair all over it. Why do I ever wear black clothes?

But who could say no to that adorable face?

All in all, one of my favorite cricut projects to date. I feel like I’m getting the hang of it now so you can expect more fun cricut tutorials from me! I might even have a little holiday idea up my sleeve… I can’t wait to share it.

But for now, I’m loving my boo shirt!

What do you think? Are you ready to make your shirt?

supplies used in this post:

The post DIY Halloween Boo Shirt appeared first on Pins and Procrastination.

I’m not the only one who is a complete procrastinator… and costumes are no exception! I love holidays and themes, but even so I am always scrambling at the last minute. Halloween is one of my favorite holidays- there are so many opportunities for crafting and creativity. That’s why I made this post- so that my fellow procrastinators can get some quick last minute ideas for halloween costumes!

All these costumes are easy and simple to put together. I tried to use a range that would appeal to women and men of many ages. Some of them can even be made with things you already have at home- perfect for when you need to throw something together at the last minute.

So here are the adorable last minute DIY halloween costumes for you procrastinators:

1. salt and pepper

Simple and sweet! I love this costume idea from evite. It’s perfect to do as a couple or with a friend. You can easily make this using only a solid white or black tshirt, and some felt cut into an S or a P. Add a hot glue gun and you’ve got yourself a 5 minute costume!

2. jack o lantern

A halloween classic! This costume is super easy to throw together using an orange shirt and some duct tape cut into eyes, a nose, and a mouth. This adorable costume inspiration comes from Hello Fashion.

3. pinterest board

This might be my favorite costume idea ever. Who doesn’t love pinterest?! Sheknows really came up with a winner. All you need is something to use as a board- a cork board is ideal, but some cardboard would work just as well. Use some cute red ribbon to hang it around your neck and pin away (with real pushpins)!

4. risky business

This costume is a classic because it’s so easy! You probably have a white button down, and if you don’t, you know someone you can borrow one from. Pair it with some shorts or boxers, crew socks, and sunglasses. This costume photo comes from HalloweenCostumes.com, but it’s so much easier to throw together yourself- and don’t forget to dance!

5. a sim

I know I’m not the only one who loved playing The Sims! Sims are easy to recognize because of the green gem over their heads- so that’s all you need for a Sim costume. Youtuber Classic Splendour gives a great tutorial on how to make an easy Sim costume with just a headband and green paper.

6. netflix and chill

This is a great costume for two people- and it is sure to make people laugh! All you need are some comfy clothes, and don’t forget the netflix and chill shirts- which are conveniently available on Amazon prime!

7. milkshake

Studio DIY does not disappoint with this ADORABLE costume idea. With a white, pink, or brown dress and a headpiece you can become an adorable milkshake. All you need to make the whipped cream head is a headband, cotton backing, a red balloon, and red paper. Who doesn’t love a cherry on top?!

8. mummy

A mummy is a classic costume- and you can go the traditional way with toilet paper, or make something a little more permanent with this tutorial from PopSugar! All you have to do is cut up some old white tshirts into strips and tie them together to make a really cute mummy costume that you can use again.

9. harry potter in muggle clothes

We see Harry Potter costumes every Halloween- but they’re usually wizard robes. Harry wore muggle clothes all the time! Just throw on glasses and a scar, and carry a wand, and you can transform into the boy who lived. You can even carry the Maurauder’s Map or a Broomstick around to make it even more authentic.

10. lawn gnome

This costume is adorable alone or in a group! This adorable group costume comes from twitter user @DevonBall111. Throw on a flannel shirt, and you can make a quick hat and beard using red paper and cotton balls. You can even carry around a fishing pole to complete the whole picture.

11. lumberjacks

This costume from lovely indeed is too cute! Break out the flannel and pair it with your favorite jeans and a beanie. You can even make a costume ax from a paper towel roll and some duct tape!

12. dominoes

This is a great costume to do alone or with a big group! All you need are some felt circles to glue onto a black top and leggings! Use some white duct tape to make the line in the middle. You can also do it the opposite- with black dots on white clothes.

13. skeleton

Martha Stewart never disappoints. This adorable skeleton costume is easy to make- all you need are a white and black shirt and a pair of scissors. Cut a skeleton out of the black shirt and wear it over the white. It’s a perfect last minute costume!

Happy Halloween fellow procrastinators!

The post 13 Easy Last Minute DIY Halloween Costumes appeared first on Pins and Procrastination.