sewing

Is Sewist.com worth it? Is it legit?

Hello! Have you wanted to make a dress or outfit that is completely unique but has little to no pattern drafting experience? Is there a specific design that keeps you up at night but you just don’t know how how to make it a reality? In comes a website called sewist.com. The idea of this website intrigued me as I always have big dreams of dresses and things that I want to make but I’ve been sewing clothing for less than 2 years and still have so much to learn. What I liked about this website is that you have total and complete control of everything about the item. I’m going to use dresses as an example. You can pick if you want it fitted, the sleeves, the neckline, darts, skirt, do you want ruffles, the length of the skirt, waistline, and more. It uses AI to create a pattern based on the items that you select. Then you can purchase the pattern from them and it supposedly comes with instructions. Just to put this out there, this post is not sponsered in any way by the site. This is my personal opinion and experience with it. My goal is to make others aware of the pros and cons of this tool. So let’s talk about this.

Interface

It has a very nice beginner and user-friendly interface. It is simple so you don’t get overwelmed and confused by unuseful graphics and it’s easy to just click on the things that you like.

Options

For the basic items to start with they have a good variety of options. At this time for Women’s clothing they have Dress, Top, Skirt, Pants, Jumpsuit, and Lingerie. For Girl’s Sizes they currently just have Dresses and Skirts but Tops are coming soon. That said if you are looking for men’s patterns they do no carry those. Once you actually started selecting what you want after picking the main type of item the options are actually very impressive. I was surprised by the amount of neckline and sleeve options. Some of them I had never seen before. Each option has a drawing to give you an idea of what you are looking at.

Personalization

Once you get to the part where you have selected all of your options it gives you a preview of what you dress looks like. But you can actually personalzie the preview even more by adding the colors that you are going to use or selected a pattern from their preinstalled library. This helps you visualize it even more. You can also decide if you want to add seam allowance or not.

Sizing

This one kind of goes right along with personalization. One of the things that I love about this website is that it is size inclusive. I am a mid-size queen. In normal sizes I wear around a 14ish but could go one smaller or bigger depending on the design. I find it incredibly hard to find sewing patterns my size as everyone wants to make them for the thin girls or if I’m lucky they list me as a 4XL. Every body is beautiful and I’m not ashamed of my curves. However I do get frustrated easily with this lack of inclusivity. This website is different though. It goes from 4XS all the way up to 9XL. This means that no matter what size you are, you can design somethign that makes you feel confident and to me that is the most beautiful thing in the world. You can also have the sizing personalized even further by entering your measurments and then the AI will make the pattern to fit your specific body. If you do this option, keep in mind that if you sizing goes between two sizes they will pick the bigger size. You can also use the size chart to determine your size. For the users in the United States be sure that you click the inches buttons on the side panel otherwise the size chart will be in centimeters. You can also include multiple sizing optiongs if you are making the same dress for several different people or if you want to sell the pattern.

Pattern Instructions

I found the instructions complete with basic information on how to put it together. It does have a picture of your finished design in the instruction files and but when it comes to necklines it just has basic facing pictures and things however it is written in a way that is easy to follower. I also love that it’s not just limited to english speakers. You can download the instructiongs in English, German, French, Spanish, Italian, and Russian.

Price

Last but not least, we are going to talk about price. To me this is probably one of the most important things. Patterns can be very expensive especially if they are bought from the store. I don’t know about you but I’m all about trying to save money. Can you guess how much it costs for the pattern. $3. Yes you saw that correctly. Only 3 US Dollars. You can also download a Preview for FREE so you can make sure that it’s set up in a way that you want. There is another site called Tailor Nova that offers a similar program but it is I believe $13 for the pattern at each size. However I was incredibly impressed by everything that it offers. That said if you want an additional sizing of the pattern it is $3. So if you were putting it up to sell and you wanted 10 different sizes for example, it would be about $30 ($3 x 10 patterns). To me that is still a fantastic deal.

Things I Don’t Like

I want to give you a fully transparent review and there are a couple of things that I really wish were different. For example, when selecting your pieces you have to remember and visualize what you already selected as there isn’t a Preview that updates on the side as you select things. That is one of the things that Tailor Nova has and I found incredibly helpful. Another thing that I don’t like is that you can’t upload your own picture to use in the finished preview. You are limited to the short supply that they already have in the system.

Final Word

Would I use it again? Absolutely! I loved using the designer. I input my measurements and height and it came out perfectly. I like how size inclusive it is. The different options that you can add to the design and that they keep adding even more options. This is definitly not a scam. When I first saw this the old say came to my mind “If it sounds too good to be true, then it probably is.” So I was worried but for $3 dollars I was willing to try it and I was not disappointed. I can’t wait to design more items in the future and browse the collection that others have made as well. If you are interested in designing your own patterns, give this a try. Did you know about this tool? Have you used this or Tailor Nova? Let me know in the comments. To finish off, I’m going to post a picture of the dress that I made using this tool. Let me know what you think.

cosplay

Learn Well! The Master Roshi Style is With You!

Hello, my friends! I’m so excited to be back with you to share another Cosplay adventure. So we went to our local comic con not too long ago and my husband wanted to go as Master Roshi. This is only the second costume that I have made for him so I was a bit concerned in addition to trying to get my own costume done to enter the competition. However, I absolutely love how this turned out. If you are interested in learning a bit more about how I did this then please keep reading. Since my costume was taking must longer than expected, don’t worry I’ll make a post about that one later, we needed to pick a costume that we knew for sure we could have time for. Though my husband loves to dream big, as I do, we had to be realistic and this seemed like the perfect option. He already had the shorts and flip-flops as part of his regular wardrobe so the only real thing for me to make was the shell and shirt. The accessories like the staff and facial hair we were able to buy from Amazon, fortunately.

The Shirt

I started with the shirt because I had never made a men’s button-up shirt before and it was kind of intimidating especially with the collar. I was able to find a sewing pattern on Etsy, you can find it here. The price was great and my husband wears button-ups several times a week so I thought this would be great to make summer shirts that he can wear any time. We were on a tight budget so after looking at several different fabric options, I opted for an orange 100% cotton fabric from our local Walmart. I spent and afternoon and evening making the shirt only then to realize it was too small. I was completely defeated because I then had to reprint the pattern, tape all of the pieces together once again, cut the pattern pieces out, and then cut the fabric. I will admit, I did procrastinate a little bit because of my ADHD because it was completely overwhelming to me. Thank goodness for talking to my amazing cousin on the phone as it helped me get it done. So after I went and bought more fabric from Walmart I started again. Since Master Roshi’s shirt is supposed to be loose anyway I decided to just go with the biggest size thinking that if needed I could just take it in later. As it ended up I didn’t have to do that and it worked perfectly. When the shirt was done it looked something like this:

I then used my Cricut to cut out some purple triangles and black letters. I was really fortunate with how Design Space put the triangles as I was able to use not only the ones that I added but also the “negative space” triangles so I didn’t have to cut more. As it ended up with the letters, I needed two cut 1 1/2 sets of the alphabet to cover the entire shirt. I bought some 5/8 white buttons from Hobby Lobby and used the setting on my machine to do the buttonhole.

The Shell

I’m not going to lie, the shell caused me severe anxiety. I had never made anything this big with foam and I was so scared that I was going to ruin it. I only had a month so if something went sideways I did not have a chance to Fix it. I started out trying to find a pattern. I searched the internet trying to find something that I could use. Eventually, I found a EVA foam shell on Etsy for a Mario Cosplay, you can find it here. I bought it quickly and taped the pieces together then cut it out. I quickly realized that this was not going to work for my over 6′ husband as it’s made more for a child or teenager. I started to panic and messaged the seller and she told me how I could adjust the size. With my dad’s help and his handy dandy compass drawing tool, we added 4 inches all the way around and it worked perfectly. The cosplay foam was pretty expensive and since it isn’t Halloween they didn’t carry it at the majority of the craft stores in the area. So for this one, we actually opted for the foam floor mats from Harbor Freight. We used the Weldwood Contact Cement to glue the panels together and traced out altered pattern on the foam and cut it out. (I took inspiration from the video found here for the main construction and top details)This time I wanted to try one of those breakaway blade knives to cut the foam. When making my Ahsoka Tano cosplay I used an X-Acto knife and it was a pain to keep changing the blades. This stuff was much thicker as well and I like that I could adjust it to make the blade long enough to cut in one pass. I glued the darts shut and we had a shell! I bought a white foam dowel rod and cut it in half to use as trim.

After that, I covered it in painter’s tape. Lesson learned…..if you are doing something this big, use tape that is at least 2.5 inches wide otherwise you will use a whole bunch of tape and get little accomplished. I wanted my husband to be able to participate in this and so I had him draw the lines of how he wanted the raised parts of the shell. Afterward, I cut them and unstuck them from the shell and used the left over foam from the mats to make them. For the areas that were really curved, I made single cuts to great a dart so that they would lay flat on the foam. I then started to glue them to the shell. It took me a morning and afternoon to do all of this with plenty of breaks as I was also sanding the edges to get a rounded and more natural look and the smell of the glue got to me a couple of times. I let it completely cure then I hit it with the heat gun to seal the foam. Now it was time to seal it again. Admittedly what I used, I would never use again but I bought a can of flex seal rubber sealer for roofs and figured I would just paint it on. For the Ahsoka costume, I used a spray but it’s winter time and we kept getting snow or rain and I thought it would add texture. Well… it was a pair to work with and this stuff took 3 days to fully cure. It was also incredibly thick and liked to run, but hey that’s even more texture, right? When that was finally all done and cured it was time to paint. I used some of the Flexible FX paint in purple at Hobby Lobby. It just so happened to be on clearance for 86 cents so that was a major win. I mixed it with some black FX paint I had left over and painted it in between the raised parts of the shell and on the edges. After that dried, I took the straight purple and put blended it around the edges, and applied it to the middle. Then mixed the purple with some white to get a lighter shade and use a natural sponge to apply it to the very center or the parts that stuck out for highlights.

The last part I had to worry about was how we were going to make it wearable. This was difficult because I wanted something he could take off for panels easily and if he dropped something I wanted it to have enough give to stretch. As it ended up we were able to upcycle some old dress suspenders and hot glued them to the inside. This allowed the straps to even be adjustable and comfortable all day.

So that’s pretty much it for this costume. He loved it and got so many pictures with different people and those Dragon Ball Z cosplays and best of all it was comfortable and affordable. If you have any questions don’t be afraid to let me know! Thanks for joining me today!

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Cosplay In A Galaxy Far Far Away – Ahsoka Tano Cosplay

 Hello and thank you for joining me again for another cosplaying adventure. From the moment that the last Comic-Con was over, I knew the next one that I wanted to do. While I had originally planned to take it slow, I learned that once I get excited about something I can’t stop and even found another convention to attend exactly one month after the first one. Let me tell you this was a crazy month and I had a lot of moments of frustration and tears but I absolutely love how it turned out.

I started with the headpiece because I knew that was one of the most important parts of the whole costume. This was only the second cosplay I had ever made and NEVER have I used foam so this was going to be interesting. I was able to find this pattern on Etsy for the Lekku (Click Here to be taken to the pattern) I tried a variety of different adhesives on the 3mm in an attempt to find one that would actually work. In the end, I used Weldwood Rubber Cement. Something that I look is most important with this is to apply a THIN layer then you want to let it dry for a couple of minutes. It should not look wet. You can use a heat gun to bend the foam to get it to the shape that you need. A video tutorial on Youtube provided by the seller helps to show you how to put it together. Please note that it can only be printed on A4 paper so if you are in the US you’ll have to buy special paper.

After you finish putting it together, you need to seal it with your heat gun. This will close the particles and help to make sure it doesn’t melt or get deformed when painting. The foam will be shiny when it is properly sealed. Next, I highly recommend sealing it again, some recommend Plasti Dip though I used a spray rubber by Gorilla. Personally, I used the white color so that I could make sure that everything was covered and sealed properly. I let it cure for the full 24 hours before painting. For the paint, I used Plaid FX Flexible acrylic paint in a couple of different blue colors to add depth to the piece. 

For the armor, I purchased the pattern from the same seller HERE. It came with no instructions but was able to figure it out. Eventually. Please note that I am a size XL and the belt part I had to adjust because it was not long enough to go around. After everything was put together I sprayed it also with the spray rubbed and painted it. For the silver parts I was running out of time and opted to pair it with spray paint with a hammered metal texture. For everything except the belt, I added elastic straps. To keep it secured I sewed a piece of nylon webbing (or straping) and then hot glued it to the back of the piece. For the belt, I hot-glued the buckle to one of the sides and then put velcro to hold the other end of the buckle to the other end of the belt. However, I was worried it would randomly fall off so I bought some parachute clips from amazon and attached elastic to each one, and put it on the inside of the belt so that it would have doubt security but still stay hidden.

Last but not least is the dress. I purchased this pattern from Etsy HERE. Admittedly at first I was worried because there are no sewing instructions what’s so ever. However, it is a pretty easy sew. I started with the shoulder seams and then the side seams. I trimmed the extra from the seam allowance and clipped the curves in the side seams. Since I have a bigger chest, it didn’t fit quite right there so I added a couple of darts that fixed the problem. For the silver details, I traced the guides on my computer and had my Cricut cut everything out of silver HTV and then applied it with my Cricut Easy Press Mini.

I finished off the look with a $5 pair of navy blue leggings from Walmart and some tall boots that I used that I already had.

Dress fabric: Click Here
Silver HTV: Click Here
Navy Forearm Sleeves: Click Here

Now with the final reveal of the whole costume:

If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to reach out. Until next time!

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Can I do it? Let's find out!

 Hello everyone! Thank you for joining me today. I’m super excited to announce that I have decided to do an Arts and Crafts Festival. In a local town, they are having a market just for handmade goods. This is only the second one that they have ever had. I have never done a market like this and so I’m super excited to delve into the world of farmer’s markets and festivals like this with you. 

As you may have seen on my Instagram, I have already started making some products to sell. If you would like to stay up to date on the creation process of the pieces be sure to check out the highlight story on my Instagram page called craft festival.

For this first item, I wanted to make something that was eco-friendly and could make with things that I already had in my fabric collection. These make-up remover pads are a life saver. They have a fun cotton on the front with a flannel back that is super soft against the skin and gently exfoliates. So far the ones that I have planned are the seashells (pictured above), fall leaves with acorns, and a gamer fabric. These are so easy to make and they are amazing for extra fabric that is too small for another project. I do plan to make two sizes of these as these can be rather small to do the whole face but they are the perfect size for removing eye makeup. The best part is that you can put them in the washing machine and they are as good as new.
I want to hear from you! Have you ever gone to an Arts and Crafts Festival? Until next time, Stay Crafty!

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Ena from Monster Hunter Stories 2 — Cosplay

 Hello everyone! I’m so excited to share with you the first-ever cosplay that I made! I am still new to sewing (only being learning to make clothes for maybe 6 months or so) However, after over 2 years without a vacation due to COVID, we decided to do a mini weekend getaway and go to our first official comic con near us. We of course didn’t decide that we were going to do this until the last minute so I had to pull everything together in 5 days. It was a struggle for sure with trying to work and make this costume but it turned out so well that I have to share it with you. 

If you have not had to the chance to play Monster Hunters Stories 2: Wings of Ruin for the Nintendo Switch I highly recommend it. It has a great storyline and the action is not too intense. It’s an open-world adventure that is so relaxing as you can explore and the character customization is top notch. One of the characters that travel with you is Ena. 

So first off one of the most important things for this character is the jacket. This is ultimately what took the most time. I was able to find this pattern on Etsy and I highly recommend it. What I loved about the pattern is that it has not only the jacket pattern but also the dress, bracers, belt, and pauldrons. I also loved that the price was so reasonable. I also found the seller was extremely helpful and willing to answer all of my cosplay newbie questions. When it came to the fabric for the jacket I had a hard time trying to figure out what to use. I get overheated very easily and was worried that in a busy convention center this was going to be an issue, especially since it had a lining. I finally decided on this linen blend on Amazon and purchased the green color. (For fabric listing click here) For the inside lining, I just went to my local JoAnn Fabrics and bought a basic white cotton fabric. 

For the dress I didn’t have enough time to actually sew it so I went to Walmart and purchased a short-sleeved shirt that was 4 sizes bigger so that it would have the right length. I cut out the details for the dress and hood of the jacket with the included SVG files on my Cricut and then ironed them on.

For the belt, bracers, and pauldrons I used a microsuede fabric in Chocolate on Amazon (you can find it here) For the scales on the pauldrons I purchased some silver rolls of faux leather from Hobby Lobby and had my Cricut cut that out as well so that they would be even and then hot glued them on. 

The accessories were what really finished it off. In the listing for the pattern, they recommended someone who had the 3D print files for all the accessories. Needless to say, I purchased those and 3D printed them and hot glued them on or hot glued to a broach pin to easily take it on and off. (Click Here for the link to the 3D print files.) 

I finished off the outfit with a pair of shorts and a pair of tall boots that I already had as well. 

Wig: Click Here
Ears: Click Here

Now I present you with the finished cosplay:

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Custom Monogram Coasters – A Must Have!

Hello, my friends!

I hoped that you are all are fairing well with this COVID-19 pandemic. Finding myself at home all the time has been really hard. I’m used to always being on the go and I have never been good at sitting still. However, it has been let me do more creatively which I am always thankful for. That brings us to today’s post.

Today I am going to walk you through how you can make beautiful customized coasters for only about $6. Below is the set that I made.

So to make these you need some beauties you are going to need some things:

  • 4 Coasters (Or as many as you want)
  • Permanent Vinyl
  • Transfer Tape
Coasters: For coasters, there are many different types that you can get. The ones showed above I bought from Dollar Tree for $1 apiece. They are really nice because they have cork on the bottom so it will not scuff your table but the stone on top is absorbent. They also come in different designs which is super fun to play with.

That being said there are other options as well. I have also used just regular cork coasters (those require HTV) I have also use slate coasters that I bought at Michael’s. So you can buy new or if you already have some and what to give them a fresh look. You have plenty of options.

Vinyl: Like I mentioned before for these coasters from dollar tree I just used regular permanent vinyl.

Transfer Tape: Naturally you don’t want to use a strong grip transfer tape. My personal favorite transfer tape is the Paper Studio Transfer Tape you can buy at Hobby Lobby.

How-To:
1. After you collect your materials you want to get on design space and create your design. Right now I’m going crazy over these split monograms that are part of the image library. Before you move to on make sure that everything is attached if you are using all one color.

2. Make sure that your image is within the dimension size and duplicate the design for how many coasters that you are making.

3. Cut out the design.
4. Weed out the extra vinyl
5. Apply the transfer tape to the image.
6. Carefully apply it to the coaster.

7. Repeat to the other coasters and enjoy!

Remember that the permanent vinyl takes 24-48 hours for the adhesive to cure. That being said I suggest not using these for 2 days. After that, that’s pretty much it. I have been using the ones that I’ve made for several months and they are still perfect. When their dirty you can just spray them with clean and then you’re all good. Until next time, stay craftalicious everyone!
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Custom Cutting Board – Great Housewarming Gift

Hello everyone! I wanted to share with you today a gift that is easy to do and makes a fantastic addition to a housewarming gift and/or wedding present. It is these custom cutting boards. The things needed for this project are: 
  • Cutting Board
  • Vinyl
  • Transfer Tape
  • Squeegee or card
The best part about it is that you can pay as much or as little as you want. The cutting boards that are below I got from the dollar tree. They would be perfect for a cheese cutting board. If you wanted to do something bigger or a full-sized one, you can find those at any bigger store.

How to Create These Beautiful Cutting Boards:

  1. Design your image on Design Space — Personally, I love split monograms. You can find these images on Design Space under Cartridges → Split Monograms
  2. Use your Cricut or cutting machine to cut out your vinyl — You can do this as big or as small as your cutting board will allow. You have to make sure to MIRROR YOUR IMAGE. For your vinyl, I recommend Oracle 651 since it has a permanent adhesive and the color goes all the way through.
  3. Weed out the extra and apply the transfer tape.
  4. Clean the bottom of the cutting board with rubbing alcohol – This is important because if there is any fingerprints or anything on it, the vinyl may not stick all the way.
  5. Carefully apply the decal to the bottom — You want to do this slowly using your squeegee. This will help prevent bubbles in the vinyl.
  6. Voila! You’re done!

Because, the vinyl is applied to the bottom they can still use the cutting board and they look beautiful! I made these for a total of $3! How amazing of a deal is that!?! That wraps it up for today, talk to you next time!

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Make a Shirt with Glitter HTV like Pro

This tutorial is going to show you step by step how to make a shirt using Glitter HTV.  Without further ado, let’s get right in.

First, you want to start with the image that you are going to use for your shirt. I found this lovely pinup girl and then added a sentiment that I really liked. Once you have everything all set up click the make it button.

Then we want to make sure that it is on there just how we want it. This is important: DO NOT FORGET TO MIRROR THE IMAGE!

Because glitter HTV is thicker than traditional HTV we need to have it on a different setting. So you want to hit the continue button then set your Cricut to the custom setting. When you do so you will see this:

You then want to click browse all materials and search for glitter iron-on.

When you have done that you will see a screen like this:

This is your chance to check all of your settings to make sure they are where they are supposed to be. If you notice there is a pressure drop-down box. You can decide if you want it to be a default, light, or heavy pressure. The Siser glitter HTV is very thick so I opted for heavy pressure. Now you need to get your vinyl ready. I used the guide on the digital cutting mat and cut my vinyl 11 X 5.5. I then applied it shiny mat shiny side DOWN. Always apply the shiny side of the vinyl against the mat.

Then you want to load your mat and start to cut. Depending on how intricate your design you wait for it to finish cutting.

So now that it is all cut you can take it off the mat. So now comes the fun and time-consuming part. You need to weed, or remove the extra vinyl. I find it easier by taking the extra around the edges before doing little details then I use the picture on my computer to help me find what I need to weed out inside the image.

When you are done it should look like this:

Not that is done you want to arrange your shirt and heat transfer pillow right where you want it. It is important that you wash and dry your shirt without fabric softeners before continuing.

Next, you need to know the temperature that you need to use so you can use a quick search on google like so: 
You then want to set your heat press to the temperature and time and then let it warm up. Before you start applying the HTV you need to pretreat the shirt. To do this you need to hold the heat press to the shirt for 15 seconds after it has warmed up.
Then you want to carefully apply your decal just how you want it to be on your shirt. Make sure that it is even.
Then you want to apply either a Teflon sheet or parchment paper to the top of your design and then press it. It will probably take more than one time of pressing. When you start to peel off the clear plastic you want to make sure none of the edges are peeling off. After you get the plastic carrier sheet off you want to press it one or two more times just to make sure.
Then you want to flip the shirt inside out and press again. This is to make sure that it stays. Then that is all, you’re done.
Then you get to wear and enjoy your beautiful creation. Just remember that you are not allowed to wash it for 24 after attaching the vinyl.
That’s all for today! Until next time have a craftabulous day!
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Personalized Gift Basket for $25!!

Welcome back! I have been planning this post for a little while but had to wait to post it. I made this gift basket that I was super excited about but didn’t want it to get back to the couple. So let’s jump right in.

So first up is this beautiful split monogram cutting board. I had been watching various youtube videos trying to find an idea of what to make them. One of the first videos that I came across was how to make a custom cutting board. Believe it or not, the glass cutting board was actually bought from Dollar Tree. How cool is that!?! So this gift is so easy to do. I designed it on Cricut DesignSpace. I use Oracle 651 vinyl because the color is on both sides. When I cut the image I mirrored it so that I could attach it to the bottom so they could still use the cutting board. When I applied it I used a ruler as a squeegee to make sure there were no bubbles and voila, this one is done.
So for my next part of the gift I bought this luxury plush blanket from Dollar General. I love how soft it was and since it is starting to get cold weather a blanket it seemed like a great idea. I used the custom monogram that I used above but put it on some gold HTV and applied it using my easy press 2.
Next, I made this beautiful tray. Lately, I have been really into these Split Monograms so I wanted to use this again. I wanted to add a little spice to it though so I added the leaf frame. I spray painted the tray black then added the details in a light blue Oracle 651 permanent vinyl.  After I let it fully cure for 48 hours I sealed it a clear coat by Rustoleum. 
The last part of my gift was these adorable coffee mugs. I bought them at Dollar Tree. I looked online trying to find the perfect saying. Then I found these and I loved it so much. It perfectly describes my friends. I made sure they were fully cured before giving them away so they would be able to be hand-washed.
I packed it into a collapasable cube and a gift basket bag and it was ready to go! If you would like to have a step by step tutorial on how to make any of these items then let me know in the comments below. Until next time, stay crafting my friends!
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Personalized Starbucks Cups for $5!?!

Thank you for joining me again today. If you want a personalized cup but don’t want to spend big bucks then you have come to the right place. I am a barista at Starbucks. We are encouraged to use reusable cups for our drinks while we are working to reduce the amount of plastic that is thrown away and to save our Earth. In the past, I have tried a couple different designs on my cup and haven’t found one that I absolutely loved and have had problems with the vinyl bubbling. So this morning I decided to take a different approach. If you have seen any of my recent posts you know that Autumn is my favorite season. So I decided to do an Autumn inspired cup. You can see what came up with below:

I absolutely LOVE this design. If you would like to know how I made this then please keep on reading. One of the things I like about Starbucks is that if you bring a reusable cup in with you, you get 10 cents off for helping to save the planet. Naturally, Starbucks has its own reusable cups that you can purchase. Of course, the prices vary where you live, but the cold cup that you see above around me is only $3 plus tax. That is really a good deal. It is made out of hard plastic and the lid actually fits securely on there so that there isn’t any leakage. If hot drinks are your game they also have reusable hot cups for around $2 plus tax.
So far you have $3 invested in this project now, you just need to decorate it. Since in the past, I had a problem with Cricut permanent adhesive sticking to the cup I went with a different vinyl this time around. I bought Oracle 651 permanent vinyl. I love this stuff because it works really well, has a shiny finish, and…. it is only $2 per 12 X 12 sheet at Michaels. They recently had a sale that each sheet was $1 so I bought a lot of colors. If you want, on this brand you can also use a coupon if it is not on sale which is nice.
So since I knew that I wanted it to be autumn-themed I picked a dark red and orange. Now for the fun part. So for the around the siren logo, I found a free SVG that looks like fall leaves. It was actually a set of 2 different frames. You can find it here. So I just had to decide which one I wanted so I picked the first one. Next, I had to get the right sizing for around the logo. This could be challenging because the logo is actually an oval, not a perfect circle. I wanted to leave a tiny bit of space between the frame and the logo. So the custom size of the frame was 5.306″ wide X 4.917″ high. 
When doing the name I looked through the different fonts that I had on my computer. I wanted the name to stand out so I picked the bright orange vinyl. I am also a super Star Wars nerd, so I ended up using the Star Jedi font from dafont.com. (If you want a link to the font click here.) I picked the one Star Jedi Outline found out of that bundle and cut it using my Cricut.
When I did the weeding I started with the leaf frame first. I didn’t want to waste vinyl so I took the leaves out carefully as I was weeding and set them aside on some leftover backing from a different vinyl sheet. This way I could use them again and finish decorating the cup. I applied that directly to the cup using transfer tap as carefully and evenly as I could.
Next, I started weeding out the letters and put them on the opposite side of the cup where the boxes are and lined them up. 
Lastly, I took those leaves that I had saved and put half the amount on one side, then the rest on the remaining side. Then, Voila! My custom Starbucks cup. You can use the same color vinyl for everything if you want, totally up to your preference. You still have a lot of both sheets left for another project. So $3 for the cup plus $2 for both sheets of vinyl equals a custom cup for $5. 
I hope that you enjoyed this little tutorial. If you did please comment below and I’ll make some more instructions like this. Until next time, have a craftastic day!