My Very First Cricut Project! Custom T-Shirts for the Baby Boys

I know I’m not alone in feeling completely intimidated by my Cricut. Before embarking on my first project, my gorgeous teal Cricut Explorer 2 had been sitting in the box since Christmas! Every time I thought about starting a project, I’d find myself going down a YouTube rabbit hole ending with no progress and a boatload of beginner’s anxiety (thanks to everyone who told me I’m not alone in feeling this way). But, two weeks ago, after a little planning and very minimal YouTube research to establish some basic skills, I pulled my beauty out, executed on my project and was immediately reminded of how much I love being creative!

So what did I make? Two custom onesies for my little guy and SDP’s little guy, born only 5 months apart! I think we can all agree that it’s been one very long and hard year. Due to Covid, SDP and I had not seen each other in over a year (although we chat everyday) and sadly, I hadn’t yet met her little guy (we always talked about being pregnant and having babies at the same time and just as our dream seemed to be coming true, Covid threw a wrench in our plans. So, in anticipation of our boys and future BFFs meeting for the first time, I had to make something extra special to celebrate our long overdue reunion.

Essential Tools and Supplies

To prepare, I purchased a few items I did not have on hand: baby blue cotton onesies (18 months), a 12 x 12″ roll of black Cricut everyday iron-on vinyl and teflon ironing sheets. Thankfully, Bugsy purchased a beginner’s bundle that contained the Cricut Basic Tools Core Kit, including the Weeder and tweezers which are absolutely essential for getting any Vinyl project started. In fact, I don’t think it’s possible to get anything done without these tools, so don’t embark on a project until you get this kit. For the actual iron-on process, I used my standard iron and a tabletop ironing board.

The Design

For my first project, I wanted to keep things relatively simple by sticking to a single colored design and added a bit of color by opting for a baby blue onesie as my base. To create the design, I launched Cricut Design Space and utilized the t-shirt template for general sizing and spacing. First, I came up with the wording and selected a font for “Mama’s BFF Gave Me Mine.” Then, I moved onto layering a few graphics to create the “cool babies.” Finally, I utilized the same font for the boy’s nicknames to be ironed on the backs of the onesies. After creating the full design, I flattened the entire image, so I could easily manipulate sizing and placement. Prior to final printing/cutting, I measured the onesies to be sure the design was appropriately sized.

The Process

After the design was cut, the really fun part began. If you’re like me, you live for taking off the protective layer on new screens and electronics. Weeding a vinyl Cricut design is exactly that! To set up my space, I used painter’s tape to stick down my cut design on the table and a loop of painter’s tape to stick the discarded portions of the design (a hack I learned from one of the many YouTube videos I watched).

After weeding out the entire design, it was ready to be ironed-on! I made sure the placement of the design was straight and centered, covered it with the teflon sheet and ironed on the highest setting for 30 seconds. Prior to peeling, I waited until the sheet was cool.