Mommy's Little Monster t-shirt

When I was pregnant with the Wonderkid I was sick the ENTIRE time.  So, I started referring to him as "Mommy's Little Monster".  This was said only in the most affectionate terms... most of the time.  When he was little, I was able to buy all kinds of cute onesies with dinosaurs and such that said, "Mommy's Little Monster".  I haven't seen any in his size for quite some time.  

The first time I saw the Mini Monsters Cart I fell in love with it.  I'm not much of a pink flowers and fairies kind of a gal.  Provo Craft seems to have a dozen carts of princesses and fairies.  I'm sure they know their audience and they are great sellers.  I am not the one that is buying those carts.  

picture from the Cricut website

Do you see that monster hopping out of the hole.  It spoke to me immediately.  

When this cart arrived last Saturday,  I immediately pulled it out and designed this.

Isn't it adorable?  The lettering is Mickey Font cut at 1 inch.  The monster is cut at 5 inches.  

The layering on this is very easy.  After I designed the shirt, I cut it all in paper so I knew how it would piece together and to make certain the colors would work the way I had them.  

In this picture you can see a slight mistake in the green piece.  I chose a piece that was a tad to small.  You can see the edge of the black where you shouldn't.  However, the Wonderkid doesn't normally stop moving long enough for anyone else to see it.

Here is a closer shot of the front.

Here is the Wonderkid wearing the shirt so you can see where the tail falls on his back.  

Whenever you are layering heat transfer vinyl (htv) you should use a hot iron without any steam.  It needs to be very dry.  I iron the shirt first to get out any moisture (which is pretty darn tough in Georgia in the summer).  Then I place the first layer on the shirt.  Remember that the "backing" belongs on the outside.  The sandwich is shirt, vinyl, backing and then the teflon sheet or a pillowcase/piece of cloth. You don't want to iron directly onto the "backing" as it will melt.  I iron it in a circular pattern for about 30 seconds then I move onto another small section.  Some htv can be peeled while it is still hot, others need to cool.  I normally use the type that needs to cool.  So I wait a few minutes (this is not easy for me so I like to do a couple of shirts at once so I have something else to do) then I peel off the "backing".  I put the next layer down and then I place the backing on top of the entire design.  Continue until you have finished all of the layers.  

The only problem with htv is no one will think that you made the shirts yourself.  They look that good.