Monday, June 13, 2016

Be Festive for the Fourth with a DIY Patriotic Tee

This post contains affiliate links and is sponsored by Expressions Vinyl.
Hey, y'all!  I have so much awesomeness to share with you in today's post!!!  First of all, today I've teamed up with fourteen other bloggers for a Red, White and Blue Vinyl Round Up!  Each of us are sharing Fourth of July projects featuring red, white, and blue vinyl from Expressions Vinyl.  My project is a Fourth of July T-shirt featuring a design I hand-lettered, and of course I'm sharing the free Silhouette cut file with you so you can make your own.  And as if that wasn't enough awesomeness, at the end of the post you'll have the opportunity to enter to win a $100 gift card to Expressions Vinyl.     Eek!  So exciting!
DIY Hand Lettered Fourth of July Tee
To make your own Patriotic Fourth of July Tee, you'll need a few supplies.
tee, HTV, and Silhouette Cameo
Supplies:
Free Hand-Lettered America Cut File

Step One

***When you click on the link, the page will say "preview unavailable" because Google Drive can't show a preview for a Silhouette file. All you have to do is click the download button under that though.

Update: Cricut users download the Free SVG file here.

***A note from my Cricut-user reader Stacey: Upload the file; then hide the United States solid piece. Then “select all” and weld everything else together. That will make the design cut as two different cuts on your Cricut.

Open the design in Silhouette Studio.

Mirroring Design for Cutting HTV

Step Two

Since we're making a t-shirt design, open the Replicate window and mirror the design.  Then ungroup the design for cutting.
Cutting Hand-Lettered America

Step Three

Cut the hand lettered part of the design from blue vinyl.  You'll see in the screenshot that I always put a rectangle around my designs so that I don't waste HTV when cutting from a full sheet.
Load HTV Shiny Side Down
Remember to load heat transfer vinyl into your machine shiny side down.  Tip: Use the Machine Settings Chart from Expressions Vinyl to help make sure you get a good cut.  (And just to be safe, always do a test cut first!)
Cutting America from HTV

Step Four

Cut the outline of America from red vinyl.
Weeding the Hand-Lettered America design from HTV.

Step Five

Weed the cut vinyl.  See how my rectangles saved HTV?  I just cut the designs from the HTV sheet once it's weeded.
Ironing silhouette of America

Step Six

Iron on the design according the HTV directions.  Expressions Vinyl has a Heat Transfer Settings Chart to help ensure you use the right settings when ironing vinyl.  You can find it here.  First, iron on the outline of America and then remove the clear plastic from the design.  Then simply line up the hand-lettered America on top of the outline and iron it on following the same directions.  Remove the plastic from the design, and your T-shirt is complete!
Fun, Friends, Fireworks & Freedom Tee
Pair it with a fun necklace, and your patriotic shirt will be perfect for your Fourth of July barbecue!
Festive DIY Fourth of July T-shirt
Of course, I had to pair my shirt with a red lip because I'm a bit obsessed with bold lip color.
DIY Patriotic Hand-Lettered Tee
While the design looks super cute on a T-shirt, it would also look great on a tote bag, acrylic tumbler, or even wall art!  Speaking of all those things, you've got to check out the awesome projects from the other bloggers participating in the Red, White, and Blue Vinyl Round Up!!!
Red White and Blue Vinyl Round Up

  1. Patriotic Shirt by Pitter and Glink
  2. Treat Boxes from a Kailo Chic Life
  3. Wall Art from Sweet Rose Studio
  4. Easy DIY Shirt from A Crafted Sparrow
  5. Star Vinyl Sign from Crafting in the Rain
  6. America Pillow from Kiki & Company
  7. Land That I Love from 733 blog
  8. 4th of July Smores Kit from A Pumpkin and a Princess
  9. Firework Tank from Artsy Fartsy Mama
  10. Festive Popsicle Bucket from Doodlecraft
  11. Polka Dot Mason Jar from MM Scrap Shoppe
  12. Little Sparkler Shirt from Made to be a Momma
  13. Star Confetti Balloons from Sugar Bee Crafts
  14. Embroidery Hoop America from A Girl and a Glue Gun
  15. Suspender Onesie from Silhouette School
I pretty much want to make every project!!!  If you feel the same way, you're probably going to need some vinyl a lot of vinyl, right?  You can enter to win a $100 gift card from Expressions Vinyl below!  The giveaway opens today and closes next Tuesday (6/21/16), so get all your entries in before then.


Good luck!
Disclaimer: Expressions Vinyl provided me with product in exchange for today's post, but as always, all opinions are 100% mine.
Festive Fourth of July Tee with Free Cut File
Related Posts:

Reversible Personalized Dog Bandana
Free Hand-Lettered Fourth of July Printable
Sew Your Own Monogrammed Fauxdori
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5 comments:

  1. WOW, Bethany, this is fabulous t-shirt! You Rock! Thanks for the tutorial!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Are any of your designs compatible with Cricut?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I only have a Silhouette Cameo, so that's why I share Silhouette cut files. Does the Cricut have a trace tool? If so, I could share the JPEG of the image, and you could trace it with your Cricut program.

      Delete
  3. What a great machine. Every year I keep telling myself to get one but I don't because something else comes up. One day! I love your shirt and it's perfect for the 4th.

    ReplyDelete

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