Do you want to learn how to make dinosaur shirt? If you are a fan of the Jurassic Park and Jurassic World movies, then these two projects could be perfect for you!
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Designing a Jurassic Park Mom Shirt
I love it when I can do a project with a familiar image, but then add my own fun and creative twist on it! For this project I was asked to create a Jurassic Park themed shirt, but they wanted it to have a very Mom feel to it. That was the only direction I was given, so I really got to be creative! This Mom wanted a shirt that she could wear when her boys were wearing their dinosaur shirts.
To start off, I found a classic Jurassic Park image online, which I then uploaded to Cricut Design Space. If you have never uploaded an image that you find online to Design Space don’t worry, I walk you through the process HERE. This process is commonly called Cleaning Up an Image because you will control what parts the Cricut will cut by removing the background or other unwanted pieces.
After I had that first main image uploaded to Cricut Design Space I was able to really get creative. First, I found several different flower and leaf designs in both Cricut Design Space and on LoveSVG.com. I wanted to combine all of the various images and svg files that I found to form this floral wreath around the outside of the Jurassic Park logo. If you have never used a SVG, you can read my article HERE on the topic.
Use High Quality Vinyl
I prefer to use Siser brand vinyl for my iron on projects. I feel that is the best quality brand of iron on vinyl out there, and it weeds the easiest. For permanent vinyl I like StarCraft vinyl. People have asked me why not Cricut brand, since I use a Cricut machine. Personally I just do not like the way the Cricut vinyl cuts or weeds. I think you should find the brand you love and work with that product. Test things out for yourself. Sometimes it is just a personal preference like how some people would rather have Pepsi products over Coke products.
So once you find your brand of vinyl, where should you buy it? If your favorite brand is sold at the local craft store, then you are lucky in the fact that you can pretty much garantee that you can run to the store and pick up vinyl when ever you need it.
For me, Siser was not always sold in the stores, as it is now, so I had to get it from online retailers. Again, this is where you can either go with your personal preference of stores or go where the best deal is. One day the best price might be at one store, and then the next week it might be from a different retailer. We all do this when we sometimes pick up toliet paper at the grocery store, but then we also get it at Target when it is on sale.
I also love that I can order large rolls or small sheets when ordering Siser online. This can give you a larger variety of choices and allow to to save money on larger orders. To make sure you are getting the best price for your vinyl, make sure to check out my Vinyl Buyers Guide. Because of that, I will always share all of the different resource I am connected to and you can choose which one is best for you!
When I first started this site, I had not even heard of MyCraftSource, and now I am an influencer for them! Since all of their inflencers have a special coupon code, that means when you shop at My Craft Source you can get an extra 5% off your order just by using coupon code ShawnMosch at checkout!
Heat Transfer Warehouse is another supplier that I love, and they are actually somewhat close to me. Their headquarters are in North Dakota and I am in Minnesota. They even have their own line of vinyl, and they are partnering with other companies to really bring you a wide variety of products.
You may have noticed that there are a lot of retailers that only ship to places in the United States. This is because shipping prices can really add up. I want to be able to help my followers find their products no matter where they live and that is why I was happy to find some retailers that ship world wide! That is where the next two compnaies come in as options.
Let me introduce you to Expressions Vinyl. When you go to their site, make sure to check out the rewards program. This way you can earn points as you purchase products! Then those points can be redeemed on future purchases.
Another retailer that I work with is Vinyl and Tulle. Use coupon code SHAWNMOSCH to save 10% off your order!
Adding Colored Layers
I honestly believe that each person should use their own creativity and add the colors that they love to any project that they make. But I also know that many people will ask me what colors I used for this Jurassic Park project, so I am going to list the colors below.
- Bubblegum Pink for the center circle and the top layer of the roses
- Coffee for the circles of the wreath
- Apple Green for the leaves
- Black for the Jurassic Park dinosaur logo
- Burgundy for the background layer of the roses
- Lemon for some of the medium sized flowers as well as the inside of some smaller flowers
- Royal Purple for the inside of the Lemon yellow flowers
- Pale Blue for the tiny flowers on the right of the shirt
- Wisteria for some of the flowers on the left of the dinosaur shirt
Because I am creating this design in Cricut Design Space, as I am assigning colors to all of the different parts of this Jurassic Park Mom shirt the Cricut will help me to cut each of those colors on it’s own layer.
One tip that I do have is before you hit Make It in Cricut Design Space, select everything that is the same color and hit the Attach button. Attach will hold the placement and position of all of the items you have selected. This will help you when you are pressing the different colors on to the shirt, so that each petal of every flower lines up where you want it to be. I have a video on using Attach that you can watch HERE.
When you are done creating your design, click the Make It button in Cricut Design Space. This will bring you to the mat preview screen. Since we will be cutting all of these colors out of iron on vinyl, make sure that you mirror each mat in your design by clicking the Mirror button. I have indicated that button with a blue arrow in the image below to make it easier for you to locate..
The Cricut Design Space software will also show you the order to load the colors into the machine. You can see this on the left side of the image above. The first color I will cut will be the black layer, so I will place the black iron on vinyl onto my Cricut cutting mat with the shiny carrier sheet side down touching the mat. I will load that into my Cricut and allow it to cut this design.
Once the Cricut is done cutting, I can unload that mat with the black iron on vinyl and place the brown iron on vinyl onto the mat. Again, remember to mirror your image before you start cutting. Continue to do this for each color of your design in the order that the Cricut is showing you on the left hand side of the screen.
As the Cricut finishes cutting a color, you can start the process of weeding the vinyl as it cuts other colors. Weeding is simply the process of removing the excess vinyl from the carrier sheet. Any part that you do not want to press onto the shirt should be removed.
Once everything is cut and weeded, it is time to start to place your iron on vinyl onto your Jurassic World shirt. I highly recommend using a heat press for this process. You will get a much more professional look and quality to your projects. I love my heat press from Planet Flame, and if you want to learn more about it you can click HERE.
Because I know I will be adding a lot of layers right on top of each other, I am not going to press each layer for the full recommended time. I am going to just press it for about 10 seconds to get it to stick to the shirt. As I add additional colors and press a new layer on, that first layer will get more heat to it, and we want to avoid over heating or melting it.
First I placed the Bubblegum pink circle to allow me center the design placement of the shirt. After I press it and remove the carrier sheet, I like to let the first layer of vinyl cool off completely before I add the next layer of vinyl. This helps to ensure that you do not melt the first layer.
Next I placed the rings for the wreath in the Coffee color. Again, press for just a short time, remove the carrier sheet and allow that layer to cool off to the touch. Next, I placed the leaves in the Apple Green. I wanted to make sure the Black dinosaur image layered on next so that I could add the flowers and have some of them overlapping into the circle. And yes, I am stacking colors right on top of each other.
For the roses, I place Burgundy behind them to pop through the openings between the petals which were cut from the same Bubblegum pink as the center circle. For the smaller flowers, I used Lemon, Pale Blue, Royal Purple and Wisteria.
Some people would look at this design and say that is a LOT of layers, and worry that the shirt would become too stiff due to all of the layers of vinyl. If you really think about it, there is no one place on this Jurassic Park Mom shirt where I have more than three colors directly on top of each other. That spot would be where the pink roses overlap the Jurassic Park logo and the pink circle behind it. Most colors are touching the shirt directly.
Dinosaur Shirt for Kids
Next, I made a dinosaur shirt for her son out of the Fluorescent Green StripFlock vinyl. The soft texture of the StripFlock is amazing! It reminds me of the sensory baby books that have the soft texture added to the characters in the book.
Here is a close up of the dinosaur so you can see the texture. If you have not tried this product I highly recommend it. It is so easy to use and adds so much depth, dimension and texture to your projects.
Keep following me and join my Teach Me Cricut Design Space group on Facebook! Show me what you create with Siser EasyWeed vinyl!
Looking for MORE tutorials on making shirts?
Make sure to check out my shirt tutorials from the links below, including
Making a Shirt with your Cricut
Layering Vinyl on a Shirt
Multi Colored Layered Vinyl on a Shirt
Print than Cut Image on a Shirt
All HTV/iron on vinyl projects
Reminder
I prefer to use Siser brand vinyl for my iron on projects. I feel that is the best quality brand of iron on vinyl out there, and it weeds the easiest. For permanent vinyl I like StarCraft vinyl. People have asked me why not Cricut brand, since I use a Cricut machine. Personally I just do not like the way the Cricut vinyl cuts or weeds. I think you should find the brand you love and work with that product. Test things out for yourself. Sometimes it is just a personal preference like how some people would rather have Pepsi products over Coke products.
So once you find your brand of vinyl, where should you buy it? If your favorite brand is sold at the local craft store, then you are lucky in the fact that you can pretty much garantee that you can run to the store and pick up vinyl when ever you need it.
For me, Siser was not always sold in the stores, as it is now, so I had to get it from online retailers. Again, this is where you can either go with your personal preference of stores or go where the best deal is. One day the best price might be at one store, and then the next week it might be from a different retailer. We all do this when we sometimes pick up toliet paper at the grocery store, but then we also get it at Target when it is on sale.
I also love that I can order large rolls or small sheets when ordering Siser online. This can give you a larger variety of choices and allow to to save money on larger orders. To make sure you are getting the best price for your vinyl, make sure to check out my Vinyl Buyers Guide. Because of that, I will always share all of the different resource I am connected to and you can choose which one is best for you!
When I first started this site, I had not even heard of MyCraftSource, and now I am an influencer for them! Since all of their inflencers have a special coupon code, that means when you shop at My Craft Source you can get an extra 5% off your order just by using coupon code ShawnMosch at checkout!
Heat Transfer Warehouse is another supplier that I love, and they are actually somewhat close to me. Their headquarters are in North Dakota and I am in Minnesota. They even have their own line of vinyl, and they are partnering with other companies to really bring you a wide variety of products.
You may have noticed that there are a lot of retailers that only ship to places in the United States. This is because shipping prices can really add up. I want to be able to help my followers find their products no matter where they live and that is why I was happy to find some retailers that ship world wide! That is where the next two compnaies come in as options.
Let me introduce you to Expressions Vinyl. When you go to their site, make sure to check out the rewards program. This way you can earn points as you purchase products! Then those points can be redeemed on future purchases.
Another retailer that I work with is Vinyl and Tulle. Use coupon code SHAWNMOSCH to save 10% off your order!
