Purchasing a heat press 10 years ago was one of the best decisions of my life. There are so many things that can be done with a heat press besides making T-shirts, hoodies and tote bags.

I recently took a trip to our local Dollar Tree and pick up a few stuff animals and these adorable conversation hearts for my nieces.



One thing they know about their aunt is that I'll personalize just about anything so with that being said I wanted to make them some cute gift baskets that included items with their names on them.

Supplies you'll need:

1.) Teddy Bears or plush dolls/items
2.) HTV-Heat Transfer vinyl (I use Siser Easyweed or Siser Glitter)
3.) Heat Press or Iron
4.) Teflon sheet or pillow case
5.) Scissors
6.) Tweezer or weeding tool (optional)
6.) Silhouette Cameo or other die cutting machine

First you'll take a trip to your local Dollar Tree. You can even order by the case by going online to www.dollartree.com

Once you've picked up your items you will need to cut out your design with your silhouette cameo or die cutting machine. Get onto your design studio software (for Silhouette users only) and type the name of your receipient. Try to find a font that is slightly thick or you can use the offset feature in your design software to thicken the font up.  Once you've typed the name and thickened your font you will want to scale it down to the size you need it by measuring the area where it will be placed. 

TIP: You can purchase your designs or names already cut online or from us.

TIP: When using HTV you will need to flip your image in the design studio software so that it appears backwards. HTV has two sides, a shiny side which is your carrier sheet, it's sticky and keeps your htv in place and the other side is the htv itself which is the material you will cut. Lay the shiny side of the htv down on your mat leaving the other side, the htv, face up. Select your heat transfer material in the silhouette software (Heat transfer material smooth or flocked (flocked for glitter) then adjust your blade to those settings. Cut your heat transfer material. After cutting your text, you will weed your text (weeding is removing the excess or extra htv and leaving the design behind). 



Now you are ready to apply to your items. Flip the HTV back over so that it reads properly, lay your text onto your bear or plush toy right where you want to apply it, lay your pillow case or teflon sheet on top being careful of not shifting the design/text, then use an iron or heat press to press it on.

TIP: 
Heat press settings
Temp: 310-320
Press for 10-15 seconds
Peel Hot or cold  depending on your application settings
If pressing a bear, leave the head sticking out of the press to get an even press.

Iron Settings:
Temp: Medium heat, I used the cotton setting with the steam turned off
Press for 15-20 seconds
Peel Hot or cold depending on your application settings
Use a flat surface such as an ironing board or counter to get an even press.