It has been over a year since I bought my Cricut vinyl cutter, so thought it was about time I tried something new.  I ordered this very cool looking Holographic sparkle iron-on mosaic vinyl, but I had no idea what to make with it. 

It also happened to be time for our next International Blogger Club (IBC) challenge, this month’s theme was “Local Love”. My interpretation of this theme is what Australia is great for.  The list is very long so I chose to stick to animals native to Australia. More about IBC at the end of this post.

One of the main things I realised during the COVID 19 crisis is that we are really blessed to be Australian. Like all countries around the world, our lives started to charge from Friday the 13th of March.  But we Australians were very lucky compared to most countries because we all got government assistance to help us through this crisis.  This was the only time in our lives that we could sit at home, watch Netflix, get paid and be a hero for not spreading the virus.

Although I am South African by birth, Australia has offered our family safety, security and lots of wonderful opportunities since 2006. So for my blogger challenge this month I made a small tribute to Australia. My idea for this project was to have the map of Australia cut out in brown leather for the background.  Then on top, I wanted to add some images that make Australia unique using the holographic iron-on vinyl.

How to use Iron-On vinyl

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Create your design

To make this project you will need a vinyl cutter.  I have only used the Cricut Explore Air 2 and the Silhouette Cameo and they are both great machines.  Start by finding the images you would like to add to your cushion and turn them into SVG files. I use Inkscape which is a free online programme to create mine. 

To keep the layers matching you can duplicate the image, one will be for the leather and the other for the images on top. Ignore the flag in the image below, I changed my mind about adding that. On the top layer, you can move the images around until you are happy with the look of the design.

Group the top layer and move it to one side and change the colour of the second map outline. (Mine is the green one). The reason you do this is so the Cricut will arrange the mats into colours for cutting.

Cutting the leather

The Cricut machine is so cool it will cut the leather for you.  Load the leather onto the purple cutting matt.  The purple mat will prevent the leather from moving during the cutting process.

Once the design is cut, weed the design.  This means you must remove all the excess leather you do not want on the cushion. Remove the leather from the mat and place it to one side for now.

Next, you cut out the images into the holographic iron-on vinyl. You can now ungroup the design and delete only the map shape and regroup the images and select the attach button.   This will keep all the images in the same position as you wanted them on the leather.

Cutting the Holographic iron-on vinyl

Place the holographic vinyl shiny side down onto your cutting mat.  Before you cut the iron-on vinyl make sure you check the mirror image button on the cutting settings.  This is a very common mistake people make and it is very frustrating if you have text because the text will be backwards. Cut out the design in the same way as the leather.

When your design is cut, you can weed the vinyl by removing all the excess vinyl. Once you have done this you will be left with only the images which should be in the correct position.

Cushion Cover

I must be honest I did not make the cushion cover, because it is a waste of time in my opinion.  By the time I buy the fabric, zipper and sit and sew it, it will take me at least an hour. For $8 on eBay, this one was a bargain. I would also mention that I make up each project as I go along which does not always work.  So, I will also show you my failures, so you don’t make the same mistakes.

Transfer the images

I keep an old iron for my DIY projects, which works well if you don’t want to splash out on an easy press iron. To transfer iron-on vinyl designs I have always just used parchment paper between the iron and the fabric.  In this case, it did not work.   I placed the holographic vinyl on top of the leather and lined up the design in the correct position.

Using a hot iron with no steam, I use the hottest setting.  Then push down onto the vinyl for about 30 seconds.  Straight away the iron melted my faux leather and ruined my ironing board cover.  All the adhesive from the faux leather melted onto my ironing board cover.

And my faux leather shrivelled up. Sad to say I only had one sheet of silver, so I had to cut the design again onto some gold iron-on vinyl. Because I saved the design, I only had to cut out a new one.

Transfer Attempt two

For my second attempt, I lined up the new iron-on vinyl on top of the faux leather using the carrier film.  You can see in this image how my previous attempt melted the faux leather onto the cover.

This time I used a tea towel on top of the parchment paper.  This did work well but the images do take longer to transfer. Using the hot iron, I pushed down for 30 seconds in each area. Let the vinyl cool off a bit then remove the carrier sheet.  I did find I had to go back for another 10 to 20 seconds using this holographic vinyl. But this could also be because I used the tea towel in between.

Once the vinyl has cooled down you can remove the transfer film.

Pull the film back slowly across the leather.

Attach the leather to the cushion

My original idea was to sew the leather on to the fabric but thought it would look tacky. I used some tacky glue instead. Haha. Tacky glue is an all-purpose glue which dries clear and is bendable when dry. To protect the back of the cushion cover from seeping glue you can put some plastic or saran wrap inside the cushion cover.  I covered the back surface of the leather with the tacky glue and placed it onto the cushion cover. To make sure all areas of the leather were glued down, I used another piece of plastic and weighted it down while the glue dried.

Making the tassels

To make the tassel I cut some strips of leather lace and added so beads from some old costume jewellery. These I sewed onto the top corners.

The camera does not pick up the true colours on the cushion, which change depending on the angle you look at it.

About IBC (International Bloggers Club)

If you follow my blog, you will know I am part of IBC (International Bloggers Club) which is a group of talented bloggers from around the world. We have members from Spain, South Africa, Australia, the United States, and Canada. Each month we come together and create a project in a common theme.

If you missed last month’s “Sands of time” theme here is the link to my upcycled sand timer.  The contributions from my fellow bloggers are listed below, please feel free to jump over and give them some love.

1. A Crafty Mix| DIY Ndebele planters
2.  Raggedy Bits – How to Make A Whitewashed Farmhouse Sign
3. Me| Unique creations By Anita
4.  Birdz of a Feather – Pop Art Serving Tray
5. Interior Frugalista – Alberta Wild Rose Decoupage Napkin Coaster

Cricut project ideas

These cool dog bandannas are really easy to make, and you will have the coolest dog in town.

This Game of thrones lamp is my favourite Cricut project and can be adapted to any theme.

If you are looking for any of the items used in this project, please consider using our links. By clicking on the links we will earn a small commission at no extra cost to you.  Which helps us come up with new and exciting ideas to share with you.