Project Bag with the Cricut Easy Press

-This post sponsored by Cricut, contains affiliate links-

A couple months ago I had the opportunity to try out the new Cricut Easy Press at the Cricut Mountain Make-A-Thon event they held in Salt Lake where the Easy Press and the Maker were announced. Last week I got one in the mail and was able to try it out again. I made a bag to take with me to the Cricut event, I felt like I had to bring something made with a Cricut to a Cricut event, and I have been meaning to share the project and Design Space file but I hadn't gotten around to it yet. I decided to make another bag with the same design using the Easy Press. As I was creating the design I wanted something that kind of represented me as a crafter, the word Create, along with shapes representing different crafts I enjoy- yarn, a paintbrush, a needle and thread, and scissors.

I love to take crochet projects along with me when I go places, like picking up kids from school, or to the park, or even just around the house, and I like to keep the yarn, hooks, scissors, and anything else I might need all together. The original bag I made was large which was great for attending a conference but I thought it was a little too big to hold most of my projects. I thought a slightly smaller bag would be nice which is where this bag comes in. This one is about 12" x 14", the other one was larger, about 16" x 14" I believe. Obviously you could use any size bag you would like. The larger bag was gray and I used white vinyl, for this one I chose a natural color canvas bag with black vinyl.

There are lots of opinions about using an iron vs. a heat press, and how the Easy Press compares to each. I do not have a heat press for 2 reasons, first, cost, and second, space. For these reasons I have always just used an iron. Now how does the Easy Press compare? Cost wise it is in the same price range as the lower end of heat presses so it isn't necessarily cheaper but you would probably spend at least as much, if not a lot more, on a heat press so it is definitely something to consider. Also, if you pay for Cricut Access you get a discount on anything you purchase directly from Cricut, including the Easy Press and any machines.  My second reason, space. I just don't have the space for a giant heat press in my craft room. Also, I don't know if that is something I want to have set up with little kids around if there is a possibility they could turn it on. This is a huge factor for me and the Easy Press is a great solution to this problem. It fits perfectly on my shelf. I can take it down, plug it in, use it, let it cool down for a few minutes, then put it back on my shelf out of the reach of kids. To use it I just put it on the ground with a towel underneath of it which meant I could use it right in my craft room, no need to set up an ironing board or anything like that.

Now for the other important question. Does it work? My experience has been good, I think it is easier to use than an iron, it always seems to take me a long time to get the iron on to stick with an iron but I felt like with the Easy Press it didn't take as long. It stuck well, when I peeled up the plastic I had one little bit of the A that wanted to come up so I just put the Easy Press back on for just a few seconds, let it cool a little and peeled it up and it stuck great. I didn't put a lot of pressure on it and I think if I had put just a little more pressure it probably would have stuck the first time. There is a little cheat sheet of settings for different types of iron on and different types of fabric which I thought was really handy.

I felt like overall it was really successful and it worked better and was easier than an iron. I didn't feel like it took as long and I didn't have to press as hard. I really love the portability of it. It doesn't take up a lot of space in my craft room and if I am doing an activity with a group and we are making something with iron on I can easily bring it with me. For me those are huge positives. I have done activities in the past for scouts or family things where I have cut out a bunch of things and brought them somewhere for people to iron on their own and this would be so much easier, just set up a pressing area on a table and it would work great.

How to Make a CREATE Project Bag

You will need :

• Cricut Machine (I used the Cricut Maker but an Explore machine would also work)
• Cricut Easy Press
• A blank canvas tote bag
• Iron on vinyl 
• My Design Space File
• A towel or other surface to press on

Instructions:

Open the Design Space File, make sure it is the size you want it cut. Cut it out being sure to place your iron on shiny side down and mirror your image.

If you are using a towel like I did just fold it a few times and lay your bag on top of it. Iron on using the Easy Press according to the time and temperature needed for your materials.

Have you tried the Easy Press?  If so what did you think?

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