One of my favorite books of all time is The Fault In Our Stars by John Green. My aunt recommended it and I checked it out from the library without knowing anything about it. Hazel, the main character is a 17 year old girl with cancer. In the first few pages she describes the support group she attends for teenagers with cancer. I knew that the book could not and would not end well. I wanted to put the book down but it was too late! I was emotionally invested. I finished the book in one sitting with tears streaming down my cheeks. I couldn’t sleep that night because I couldn’t get the character out of my head or stop feeling the heartache. I don’t think any book has ever affected me so profoundly. I even posted about it on Facebook!

Fast forward to a couple of weeks ago when I saw a person wearing a shirt with a quote from Pride and Prejudice. I immediately walked up to her and we had a great conversation about all things Austen and Mr. Darcy of course! If there’s one thing that I gush about other than my love of scrapbooking, it is my love of reading. It’s only a third of the way through March and I have already read 30 books this year according to my GoodReads.com account. Feel free to add me as a friend on GoodReads. I love to see what everyone else is reading!

I decided to make a book related shirt for myself so that I could meet more kindred spirits who love to read. This played perfectly into the March Silhouette Challenge which is Word Art.

*** THE THE FAULT IN OUR STARS SPOILER ALERT***

In The Fault In Our Stars, Hazel and her love interest Gus have a mutual friend Isaac. Isaac and his girlfriend say “Always” to each other to declare that they will love each other forever. One night, when Hazel and Gus are talking on the phone and they decide that “Okay” might be their “Always.”

*** END THE FAULT IN OUR STARS SPOILER***

One of the famous quotes about The Fault In Our Stars is “Okay? Okay.” which I explained in the spoiler section above. Since the book had stars in the title, I decided to create the design with a bold font with stars cut out inside the letters. I think that ties the quote to the book nicely.

Now, onward to how to make the shirt and how to use heat transfer vinyl with Silhouette Studio version 3.

Supplies:

• 1 blue cotton t-shirt
• Silhouette Portrait (affiliate link)
• Silhouette mat (affiliate link)
• Silhouette heat transfer vinyl in white (affiliate link)
• Silhouette hook (affiliate link)
• iron
• ironing board
• piece of cotton fabric (I used a pillowcase)

Instructions:

1. Wash and dry the t-shirt.

2. Download my free Silhouette Studio cut file: version 2 or version 3. These files are only for your personal use.

3. Open the file in Silhouette Studio. You will notice that the entire design is flipped horizontally.

The flipped design is normal for a heat transfer project because you will flip the design over after it is cut and before it is applied to the shirt.

4. Load the heat transfer vinyl (glossy side down) into the Silhouette without a mat. Make sure you hit load media instead of load mat.

The load media button will only load a small portion of the media into the machine. The load mat loads more into the machine to account for the border of the mat.

5. Open the cut file in Silhouette Studio (SS). I used SS version 3. Select Silhouette -> Cut Settings… in the SS menu. Then choose Heat Transfer Material from the Material Type list.

6. Select Silhouette-> Send To Silhouette from the SS menu. The Silhouette cuts the heat transfer vinyl.

7. Weed the vinyl. This means remove all the excess heat transfer vinyl that isn’t part of the design that you want on your shirt. I did this in 2 steps. I first removed all the vinyl surrounding the letters. Then I used the Silhouette hook to remove the stars, the insides of the o’s and the inside of the a’s. I don’t think I could have weeded out the stars without the hook.

8. Set up the ironing board, heat the iron and iron the shirt.

9. Place the heat transfer vinyl (glossy/plastic side up) onto the front of the shirt. Smooth it down with your hands.

10. Follow the manufacturer’s directions to apply the heat transfer vinyl to the shirt. Place a cloth over the design. Use the iron to apply first pressure for 45-60 seconds. If the iron doesn’t cover the entire design then repeat this process until the entire design is covered. Gently peel away the clear plastic sheet.

If the heat transfer sticks to the shirt then you are all set. If it starts pealing away with the plastic, then smooth the plastic back down, replace the cloth and repeat the ironing process. I never know how many times I will have to repeat the ironing process. I think it depends on the heat transfer, how hot your iron is and the material you are using.

Now my shirt is ready for me to wear and meet new booking loving friends!

My Silhouette blogging friends are also sharing their word art projects today. Check out the project below for more crafty inspiration!

1. My Paper Craze // 2. The Stamp Doc // 3. Peanut Life Adventures // 4. Creative Ramblings // 5. Pitter and Glink // 6. The Thinking Closet // 7. Single Yet Married Mom // 8. unOriginalMom // 9. Sisters, What! // 10. Where The Smiles Have Been // 11. From Whine to Whine // 12. Adventures in All Things Food // 13. Practically Functional // 14. Patina Paradise // 15. Please Excuse My Craftermath… // 16. Weekend Craft // 17. Two Purple Couches // 18. Ribbons & Glue // 19. TitiCrafty // 20. Simply Kelly Designs // 21. Confessions of an Overworked Mom // 22. Get Silvered

Thanks for dropping by!

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