If you don’t follow me on Facebook, you may not realize just how much of a sarcastic side I can have.  Especially in the world of blogging where everything always APPEARS to be rainbows and sunshine it is so fun to just laugh at the ridiculous things that happen in life.

I mean, Martha Stewart is making her MARSHMALLOWS FROM SCRATCH!  What?!  Why?!  She does know Stay-Puft sells those suckers in a bag right? And you won’t be cleaning up sticky sugar-covered posts in pans for the next two weeks!

But I digress..





Channeling my inner sarcasm, I came up with three tote bag designs that I turned into SVG files (for use with Silhouette or Circut machines) to use with HTV.  (These designs are mirrored.. so I you want to use them for regular vinyl you will have to flip them back over!)  

The first is this tongue and cheek look at how making something yourself doesn’t usually end up saving you any money.. but the JOY is in the JOURNEY not the DESTINATION  << Look at that overly sweet sentiment.  I’ve fallen back into my blogger-speak.

Since I’ve recently jumped on the crochet bandwagon, I had to make a tote for my yarn.  This will make the old ladies at the craft store do a double take!

Finally, for anyone who doesn’t have time to craft.. and barely has time to shop, I have this grocery bag design.  Here in California plastic bags are banned and so you always need a grocery tote.  I thought this design pretty accurately reflected my average grocery trip:

Making the totes was a piece of cake. I bought blank bags on Amazon and use my Cricut to cut the designs out of heat transfer vinyl.  I have always applied all my HTV with an iron. I don’t own a heat press, and you could make the bags that way.


However, for this batch Cricut recently provided me with an Easy Press to test out.

It is super straight forward to use, and the box come with everything you need (other than a pressing surface.) 
They even include a little test project so you can try out your easy press without actually risking your own project. 
The machine comes with a reference card of temperatures and pressing times so you know exactly how long you need to leave the machine on the vinyl. It even has a countdown timer.

As someone who has always used an iron here are my pros/cons of the Easy Press vs. an Iron:

Pro:

• Larger Surface (10x10)
• Smoother surface  (no steam holes which can give you little bumps and bubbles)
• More accurate temperature control (I was always just using my iron on the cotton setting, which wasn’t ideal for more sensitive fabrics)
• Heavier (I still press down like I would with an iron but the machine is heavier to help with pressing)
• More ergonomic handle (unlike the iron, the hands on the Easy Press makes it easier to press with)
• Built in timer

Con:

• Larger than an iron and requires a storage pad (since you don’t set it on end up like an iron)
• Shorter cord than my iron (I have to either use an extension cord or be closer to the outlet than I would with my iron)
• Heavier (I know that was also a pro, but if you have to do a lot of shirts, it gives your arm a workout)