This is a sponsored paid post courtesy of Cricut.  All thoughts and projects are my own!

I’ve got a new addiction folks!  Me and My Cricut Explore Air 2 are now joined at the hip.  I’m excited to share what we’ve made so far and a simple-but-oh-so-useful tutorial that just may change your life (ok, maybe not truly but it certainly will make laundry day a bit easier).

I’m lucky enough to be joining the Cricut Sewing Blogger Tour.   Cricut generously set us up with EVERYTHING we’d need to create to our hearts content.  Our package included the Cricut Explore Air 2, the Essential Tool Kit, a mat multi-pack, and the most gorgeous assortment of heat transfer vinyl ever!

You only get a quickie cell phone shot because I didn’t waste any time before digging in to all this good stuff.  My kids and I spent the evening perusing all the designs available on Cricut Design Space.  We had a stack of tees from good ‘ol Target just waiting to be spiffed up. The hardest part was narrowing down our choices- with over 60,000 images at our fingertips, you can imagine that the possibilities seemed endless.  It was so fun finding images to match their personalities and current obsessions (just look at all these cute flamingo images!).  My son was also able to easily create a graphic tee featuring his newfound favorite tv show, The Office.

Let’s just say we sufficiently broke in our new machine and got comfortable with how easy it is!

I had a little ah-ha moment a couple weeks ago.  How fantastic would it be to make vinyl size tags for all our handmades?!! My kids just might not put their tees on backwards anymore and Dad will be able to tell front from back too!  Our handmades are starting to be passed down to cousins and it would sure be nice for them to have a size inside.

After playing around just a bit, I knew this would be an easy, fun solution and save my sanity while sorting laundry and outgrown clothes too!  I’ve got an easy tutorial on how to make your own and all my tips I’ve learned in the process.

Setting up your cut file is a breeze.  I found it easiest to type each number and letter in it’s own text box, placing at least one space between each character.  So all my S’s are in one text box, etc.  Try to pick a thicker font since we will be cutting these fairly small, you can always ‘BOLD’ a font to thicken it up.  I like them between 3/4″ and 1″ tall.  I spaced each line at least 1/4″ apart also.  Once you’ve got each line how you’d like it, select all and attach the lines together.  This will keep your spacing as is when you go to cut.  You can also easily duplicate your lines and groups this way too.

For my file, I cut my kids current sizes, my current size, and my girls initials.  My girls wear the same size in many things and can be super picky about sharing all their things.  This helps me so much at laundry time when I’m sorting their clean clothes.  I put their initials on their ready-to-wear things too- think underwear, pj’s, you name it!

I cut each line with my portable trimmer then roughly cut out each character.  You’ll want to leave each piece fairly big- this will make it easier to stick it on your garment later.

I found a plastic jewelry organizer that works perfectly for sorting and storing all my tags.  It’s clear and easy to see exactly what I’m looking for.

I love how easy it is to apply these.  I always do one last good press when I finish a sewing project and that’s the perfect time to take the 20 seconds to apply the tag.  I love that they melt right into the fabric leaving it soft and smooth.  Hooray for no itchy woven tags!

I have a few patterns that I use in multiple sizes depending on fabric and the fit I’m after.  I can never remember which size I used for each garment though and this will be a huge help later on when I go to remake a pattern.

I think my favorite tag I did was this little hidden ‘Rock Star’ tag in my first ever denim project.  I feel like this was such a huge, fun accomplishment and wanted to celebrate that in my own little way.  I think it’ll be fun to do this in future projects- a little personalized tag for special makes.  Maybe that special first day of school outfit, Halloween costumes, Holiday dresses- it’s just a cute way to commemorate and remember why and when each piece was made.

There are so many amazing sewing bloggers joining in this fun tour.  I have been blown away by their creativity and my list of projects has grown with each post I read.  You won’t want to miss a single one!  Make sure you enter to win your very own Cricut Explore Air 2.  It’s been so fun having one of my own and I can’t wait for you to get one too!

Enter to Win a Cricut Explore Air 2 HERE

Week One: July 19th

Week Two: July 26th

I was invited to participate in the Cricut Party Blogger Program Kickoff.

This experience is based strictly on my opinion. Others may have a different opinion or experience with the product listed above. I was provided the sample free of charge by the company or PR agency and I have given my honest opinion.

This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Cricut. The opinions and text are all mine.

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