It’s mid-July so the dog days of summer are already in full-swing here in the Deep South…..ugh.  My least favorite time of year.  It’s HOT!  Like seriously, uncomfortably, miserably, H-O-T.  And even worse, humid as a rain forrest…..my frizzy hair that currently resembles a furry lampshade can attest to this.

Most days this time of year, I just wear a lightweight tank top and shorts (and try to avoid going outside at all costs).  Instead of just rocking my plain solid Target tanks like I normally do, I decided to whip up a cute summery tribal design to throw on one in some glitter heat transfer vinyl…..because you had me at glitter!

It’s also Silhouette Challenge time again!  Woot Woot!  This month’s theme is Summer….nailed it!

[This post contains affiliate links.]

 

DIY Tribal Summer Love Shirt with Glitter HTV

My Inspiration

I love daily deals sites like Zulily, Beyond The Rack, and Groopdealz, and one day while perusing the latter, I spotted a super cute summertime shirt.  It would be a perfect DIY project for this month’s Silhouette Challenge and served as my inspiration!  I loved the tribal vibe and bright colors….but holy weeding nightmare!

 

I decided to whip up my own version that was much simpler (a.k.a. faster to design and weed) and also utilized colors of HTV that I already had on hand.  So that meant no neon pink….boo.  But oh well….it’ll still be cute!

 

Supplies

• White shirt
• Glitter heat transfer vinyl (HTV): blue, light purple, dark purple, cherry pink, & neon orange
• Silhouette Cameo & 12″ x 24″ cutting mat
• Iron
• Spare cloth
• Scissors

 

The Glitter HTV

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: I LOOOOOOOVE glitter HTV!!!  Seriously, if you have a cutting machine like a Silhouette or Cricut and you’re intimidated to give HTV a try (I was), grab some of the glitter variety and get crafting!  I think it’s the easiest medium to work with: cuts perfectly, weeds like a dream, and is super simple to apply to fabric with just a household iron.  I’m slightly obsessed with it now.

Like I mentioned, I used colors of glitter HTV that I already had on hand.  I flipped through my artist’s-portfolio-turned-vinyl-storage-organizer and pulled out my sheets: blue, light purple, dark purple, cherry pink, and neon orange.

The orange is a little more sherbet and less neon than I was expecting when I purchased it, but it’s still pretty…..and sparkly!  I used some of the purples in a few shirts I made for a friend’s wedding (look for a post on these soon!) that coordinate with the DIY wedding invitations and mobile invite I made for them.  The blue’s been put to good use on a shirt for my son which I’ll be sharing later this week (so stay tuned!), and I grabbed some pink a while ago too because why not?

 

My Tribal Summer Love Design

I whipped up my design in Silhouette Studio using both a file that was a free weekly download from Silhouette America’s online store last year, as well as a few additional elements I created and added in, just to give it a little more variety.  I then flipped the whole thing horizontally since I’d be cutting it out in glitter HTV.

{And before anyone asks, I am unable to share this cut file since the one I incorporated from Silhouette America is no longer available for free….sorry!}

 

Cutting the HTV

Working one color at a time, I loaded the sheets of glitter HTV onto my 12″ x 24″ cutting mat and into my Silhouette Cameo.  Then in Silhouette Studio, I moved the elements on or off my digital cutting mat depending on which particular color was being cut at that moment, then finalized my cut settings before letting my Silhouette run free.

Silhouette Cameo Cut Settings for Glitter HTV: I always use the default settings for Heat Transfer Material: Flocked, but make sure you do a test cut first.

• Blade: 3
• Speed: 5
• Thickness: 33
• Cutting Mat: Checked

 

Once all the elements were cut, I trimmed all the pieces off the larger sheets then got to weeding….my favorite part!

 

It’s starting to come together!

 

Applying Glitter HTV

I had already washed and dried my shirt, so I gave it a quick pass with my hot iron then placed all the HTV elements into position.

Oh, I’m lazy and hate dragging the ironing board out of the laundry room, so I just use our dining room table as a stand-in.  I usually remember to put a piece of cardboard down first to protect the table from the heat….most of the time. ;)

 

Next, I laid a spare cloth (a.k.a. my husband’s ratty old t-shirt) overtop then started ironing.

 

After a few minutes, I started checking all the elements to make sure they were adhering nicely to the shirt.  If any pieces came up as I peeled the clear backing away, I simply laid everything back into position, recovered them with the spare cloth, then gave another round of ironing.

 

The Completed DIY Tribal Summer Love Shirt with Glitter HTV!

And here it is!  Not a bad quick and easy DIY project using supplies I already had on hand, huh?  It’s not the bright neon colors that I loved in the original but this is still a cute shirt to rock…..like Demi Lovato sings, “We’re cool for the summerrrrrrr!”

 

And ohhhhh, I just love that glitter!  Sparkly things of all kinds make me a happy lady.

{Did you catch the, uhhhhh, little problem I encountered after putting the shirt on??  Did you notice it??  Huh, huh, did ya??  If so, nuts!  If not, yay for me!  But I’ll go ahead and spill the beans so everyone learns from my mistake….and then it’ll be all you see from now on, whomp whomp.

Look at the top blue line….see how it split apart on the right side?  Yep….my bust busted the vinyl!  I had no idea I had that kind of power, ha!  I showed my husband/photographer before our photoshoot and he was all “Well aren’t you a little Miss Dolly Parton?”  Guess I should have used some stretch HTV or a not-so-form-fitting shirt….whoops!  Oh well, live and learn.  I just reironed those areas back down (now fully separated of course) and I still wear the shirt with pride….and a chuckle.}

 

The Silhouette Challenge!

It’s the second Monday of the month so you know what that means…..Silhouette Challenge time again!  Yep, this month’s theme is Summer with a bonus theme of Jars, so hop on around and see what 13 of my bloggy buddies are also sharing today!

1. Home At Eight // 2. DIY Just Cuz {Sam} // 3. DailyDwelling // 4. Where The Smiles Have Been // 5. My Paper Craze // 6. Get Silvered // 7. DIY Just Cuz {Brittany} // 8. Whatcha Workin’ On? // 9. The Stamp Doc // 10. Practically Functional // 11. Simply Kelly Designs // 12. Patina Paradise // 13. Architecture of a Mom // 14. Weekend Craft

 

If You Enjoyed This….

Make sure you check out my Project Gallery to see all of my other crafty creations, including lots more glittery HTV shirts and Silhouette Challenge projects!

 

Thanks so much for stopping by….and I hope you’re having an awesome summer (with or without busted vinyl)! ;)