The Best Gifts Are Handmade.
How to make cute potholders with personalized saying to give to all your friends. These are easy, inexpensive, and do not require sewing!
I got it again… Every year when the holidays are approaching, I begin to get a serious case of the crafter’s itch. I blame Pintrest for my exposure to this disease. While perusing through the pages of Pintrest, I came across this fantastic idea for inexpensive and easy to make potholders to give as Christmas gifts. These potholders (from the Dollar Tree) were printed with clever Christmas sayings using heat transfer vinyl and stuffed with bags of cookie mix and Dollar Tree spatulas. These are adorable! And so very inexpensive to make. I started making my list of all the people for whom I wanted to give one. I would need to make about 20 and of course I needed one or two for myself. However, most of these had cute Christmas and holiday sayings and I have a handful of people (a few men in particular) who might not appreciate the cute sayings or glitter lettering no matter how adorable. And after all, the beauty of making a homemade gift is that it can be personalized, right?
Gathering my materials…
Excited about getting started, I search my stash of heat transfer vinyl (HTV) and found that I would definitely be needing more white vinyl but probably could use a couple of more colors. After all these are custom potholders and I want color. And Amazon is so quick to deliver straight to my door. I love this vinyl by Impressed Vinyl as it is very easy to weed and to apply to your fabric. Plus it comes in flat sheets and not a roll. This helps tremendously when storing vinyl. And when applying vinyl, I have discovered that using a Teflon sheet for heat press makes the vinyl adhere more easily and faster.
My next step was to find some potholders that I liked and that I could purchase in bulk. The Dollar Tree only had the big gloves which I didn’t care for so I kept searching. The next logical stop was to hit up WalMart. And I found sets of potholders with silicone pads that I like a lot better than the Dollar Tree potholders even though they cost a bit more. The better quality is worth the extra cost.
The design phase…
Next, I started combing the internet looking for svg cut files and was able to find a ton of clever quips and sayings that would suit anyone. My favorite sayings all referenced the coffee addicts. Many sites offer free svg files for download and I am so appreciative of these individuals! I did pay for a few designs as they were just so cute that I couldn’t resist. Here are the links to my favorite sites
LoveSVG.com
I scrolled through the pages and picked out my favorite files for download. Next, I uploaded the files into my Cricut Design Space. Sized the image within a 4″x5″ grid to fit my potholders. Then clicked ‘Make It’ and flipped the toggle to cut a mirror image. Selected my Iron On Vinyl material setting on the Cricut and then continue to make the cut. It is that easy! And everyone loved the potholders!
Now I wonder what else I can iron on to start my next project.
Happy Crafting!