Mother’s Day Gift Bag with Cricut Infusible Ink

How perfect is it that Mother’s Day is celebrated during prime gardening season? I think this DIY Mother’s Day Garden Gift Bag will be a huge hit with any mom who enjoys spending time in the garden. I used my Cricut Easy Press to add Infusible Ink and Iron-On Vinyl to a blank Cricut Canvas Tote. I was so happy with the end result that I just had to share this project with all of you lovely people!

I love using Infusible Ink and the Wildflower Set I used for the BLOOM text is perfect for this project. If you haven’t used Infusible Ink before, it is a little different than your usual Iron-On Vinyl. Don’t worry, I’ll walk you through it. 

Get Started Using Infusible Ink

The first thing we’re going to do is open up the design for your tote in Cricut Design Space.

If necessary, click customize to resize the design to fit on your tote. Click on ‘Make It’ in the upper right corner of Design Space. On the prepare screen, be sure you click to mirror the image or text on each mat. Click Continue.

On the Make screen, choose Infusible Ink Transfer Sheet as the material for the BLOOM mat. If you’re using the Explore or Explore Air set the dial to Custom Material.

You can cut the entire design from one Infusible Ink Transfer Sheet, or you can do what I did and use vinyl for everything else. It’s a few extra steps, but it’s not hard. You’ll just need to adjust the material section for the other mats.

Add the Infusible Ink sheet to the cutting mat liner side down (design side up). Follow the onscreen prompts to load the mat, start cutting, and unload the mat. 

How To Weed Infusible Ink Transfer Sheets

Before you begin weeding Infusible Ink Transfer Sheets you should trim away the unused part of the sheet and store it somewhere dry so you can use it later. 

You might be tempted to use the weeding hook to remove the negative space from the Infusible Ink sheet. DON’T! It’s easier to loosen the cut parts by rolling the sheet around in your hands.

Trust me, you’ll be a lot less frustrated.

Use your fingers to remove the excess transfer paper so only your cut design is left. If there are small pieces you can’t get with your fingers, use tweezers.

 

How to Prepare a Tote Blank For Infusible Ink

There are a few things you need to do before using Infusible Ink on a tote blank. These steps will ensure the quality longevity of your project so don’t skip them. For simplicity’s sake, these directions are using the EasyPress 2 for pressing. If you’re using a heat press, please follow the directions for that and the Cricut Heat Guide.

First, you’re going to get rid of any lint or dust that’s on the surface with a lint roller. Go over it a few times to be sure it’s free of any loose bits.

 

Next, we’re going to preheat the tote. To do this, set your EasyPress 2 to 385°F. Lay a piece of cardstock on the EasyPress Mat and insert them into the tote. Lay a sheet of the butcher paper that came with the Infusible Ink over the outside of the tote. Set the timer on the EasyPress 2 to 15 seconds and put the EasyPress 2 over the butcher paper. Press the (C)ricut button to start the timer and use light pressure until the timer completes. Remove the paper and let the tote cool completely.

How to Transfer Infusible Ink to a Tote Blank

Now it’s time to add the transfer. Position the transfer on the tote where you want it, liner side UP. I like to use Cricut’s heat-resistant tape for this step to make sure the transfer stays in place and doesn’t shift.

Put the butcher paper on top of the transfer and set the EasyPress 2 timer to 40 seconds. Set the EasyPress 2 on the paper and press the (C) to start the timer. Use light pressure the entire time and don’t move the easy press 2 around.

Let the transfer and tote cool completely then carefully lift the butcher paper and transfer sheet away from the tote. You should have a perfectly vibrant design!

Using Iron-On Vinyl with Infusible Ink

If you’re using vinyl for the other elements of this design, now’s the time. Set the EasyPress 2 to the correct heat setting according to the Cricut Heat Guide. For Everyday Iron-On Vinyl, set to 350°F. Press, using firm pressure, for 15 seconds. Flip the tote over and repeat.

Let the liner cool completely (cold lift) and then carefully lift it away. If the vinyl is coming up with the liner, carefully set it back down and press again.

I did the WHERE YOU ARE PLANTED LAYER first (after the BLOOM) so I could use it as a guide for placing the remaining elements. Next, I did the green, then the white, then the red, finally the pink. I used old liners over the areas that were already transferred so I didn’t touch them with the bare press. 

Finishing the Gift

Once the tote is done, it’s time to fill the tote with gardening goodies. I added a beautifully designed set of gardening tools, a kneeling mat, and a bag of soil to mine. You can use anything you want in yours, that’s the beauty of this gift. What you put in it is just as important as the gift itself. 

This is a gift mom will love and remember for years to come. The fact that you made it will make it even better.