3 Simple Heat Press Projects to Do With Your Kids This Spring

If you love customizing your kids’ apparel, a heat press is a great investment. With spring in full swing and summer just around the corner, now is the perfect time to start making fun projects with the kids to gear up for the warmer weather.

From tanks to beach totes and dog shirts, here are three fun heat press projects you can do with the kids this weekend.

1. Summer-Themed Tanks

Whether you live on the coast or the Midwest, summer is all about sunshine and enjoying some much-needed time outdoors. Tanks keep the kids cool in the summer heat, but the ones with fun designs can be expensive if you buy them in the store.

You can make your own fun designs with plain (and cheaper) tanks using your heat press machine.

From quotes to your child’s name or a customized graphic, the design options are unlimited.

Here are some ideas:

• Let’s just be mermaids
• Suns out, guns out
• Beach Babe
• Mermaid Squad
• The Mountains are Calling, and I Must Go

Of course, you also have the option of buying premade heat transfer vinyl designs.

Summer tanks are a fun project for kids because it gets them excited for the season. Kids will love this project even more if they can come up with their own designs and actually help with making the tanks.

2. Beach Totes

Every year, my daughter carries her own beach tote in the sand, plops down and gets ready for her day in the sun. But because she loves to bring so many things with her to the beach, we go through totes like crazy.

Rather than spending a fortune on fancy bags that already have designs, I decided to buy the cheaper plain bags and make my own designs.

She loves being able to make her own beach bag, and I love saving a little extra money.

The great thing about this project is that it’s so easy to do. Totes also have a nice big canvas, so you can use big, fun designs.

The possibilities are endless when designing beach totes, and that’s part of the fun for kids.

Here are some ideas:

• Your child’s name or initials
• Your child’s favorite character
• Starfish and seashells
• Anchors
• “Beach Babe”
• “Adventure Awaits”
• “Sun, Sea, The Sand And Me”

We’ve also made fun custom totes to take with us on vacation, which had the name and date of the place we were visiting. My daughter still has many of these totes, and she loves to drag them out every once in a while to relive those fun memories. If you’re planning a beach vacation this year, this may also be a fun project for you and the kids.

3. Dog Shirts

Your dog is part of the family. While you’re making fun summer-themed tanks for the kids, why not make one (or two) for your pup?

Now that the weather is warmer, Fido will be spending a lot more time outside and joining you on family outings. Dress him up in style when you take him out to give the kids – and everyone else – a good laugh.

Just like with the summer tanks, you can include quotes, sayings or fun graphics in your design.

Here are some ideas:

• Beach hair, don’t care.
• Scratch here
• I’m the big brother
• It’s a dog’s life

If you can’t find a plain dog’s t-shirt, you can modify a onesie or use a toddler’s plain shirt to make your dog’s apparel. Do yourself a favor and measure your pooch before you buy your shirt just to make sure that it will fit him.

For extra-small breeds, I like to use newborn onesies. I trim off the bottom, and sew in a new seam before pressing. You can also use fabric glue if you don’t want or have the time to sew.

Let the kids go to town with designing the pet shirts. They’ll have a blast coming up with funny sayings for Fido’s new summer shirt.

All of these projects are simple, fun and easy to make. Just remember to choose a heat-safe fabric, and to mirror your design (it will come out backwards if you don’t). Don’t forget to follow your machine’s instructions when making your project.

Also, if you’re not feeling ultra-creative (don’t feel bad), you can buy premade heat press vinyls that are just as fun to work with. Let the kids pick out the design. They’ll love and appreciate their new gear.

Do you have any heat press projects planned for this spring or summer?

Bio: Joe Hughes, known by most as the Heat Press Guru, is an expert in DIY crafts, with a particular focus on utilizing heat press machines to create beautiful, long-lasting creations. He runs the very popular website, https://heatpressreview.com, which provides the latest heat press techniques, tricks, and ideas. He can be reached at [email protected]