Wednesday, May 17, 2017

Quick Craft: Retro Epcot Holographic Tee

You might remember seeing something shiny on my Instagram a few weeks back:


And you hardcore Dizgeeks might even recognize it! If not, I'll give you a hint:



And now that I've only confused most of your further... those are the old Epcot symbols used for the different areas of the park back in the day. The one I used was for the Imagination area, where the ride with Dreamfinder and Figment used to be. (And technically still is, if you acknowledge the current iteration of Journey Into Imagination. :D)

As a happy coincidence, that's also the easiest symbol to cut into a template. SCORE.

I decided to make a holographic t-shirt for Dapper Day, since I didn't plan on being all that dapper. Instead, I went for a retro Epcot vibe with metallic silver sneakers, a metallic silver skirt, and this bad boy:


You definitely couldn't lose me in the crowd.

This is a super easy quick craft, but I do have a few tips to make it easier. And keep in mind, you can make ANY shape out of this holographic film, so start brainstorming now!

First, you'll need these metallic iron-on sheets from the craft store:


John found ours at JoAnn's, and with their coupon got the whole pack for less than $10. (They also come in individual sheets, but I wanted the rainbow holo which only came in the 4-pack.)

You'll also need a blank shirt/skirt/bag to iron on to, and of course an iron.

First find and print out the symbol you want:

I found a 6-inch square to be a good size for my shirt, if that helps.

Cut it out to form a template, then flip the template over and tape it to the back side of the foil:
The back side is the one with the glue texture.

Now trace that with a regular ball-point pen:

Again, remember to flip your template over on the foil, so things like wording or directional marks face the right way when you're done. VERY important.)

Ok, next slightly tricky part: cutting.

The foil is literally blinding if you have a light source overhead, so in order to see where I was cutting I had to fold the foil over like this to shade my cut lines. Fortunately the glue makes it very easy to cut, though; gives it just the right amount of grip for your blade to glide through. (Scissors work, too.)


And that's the hard part done! Now position your iron-on where you want it on your shirt, place a cloth over it, and iron in place.

 DONE.

Because the foil is essentially a thin plastic, I wouldn't recommend huge patches of it over the tracts of land, ladies. Only because it's stiffer than fabric, and may fall in a weird way. Fortunately mine had the inner cut-outs, though, so it lays just fine:

 

Also, you may notice cutting the foil with a craft blade puckers the edges a little, but don't worry. Those puckers iron out, giving it an almost perfectly smooth edge:

 It's  hard to capture the glittery goodness on film, but this is the closest to how it looks in real life.

(I've washed mine twice now, btw, and the foil holds up like a champ!)

And finally, since I know you're wondering just how ridiculous I looked in my metallic skirt and shoes:

 About this ridiculous. :D

(I got the skirt on Amazon for $10, and not gonna lie: kiiiinda loving it. Plus it comes in fun colors!)

I'd love to do more with this holographic film: so many geeky possibilities! How about a Rebel logo, or the Bat symbol? Outline of the TARDIS? Or there's all the *other* retro symbols from Epcot. 

Hmm, what else? Help me brainstorm!

***

Want more? Then be sure to check out my Craft Page to see ALL of my tutorials and projects in one place!

31 comments:

  1. You're so SPARKLY!!

    How about something like an outline of a phoenix, for Fawkes?

    Cuttlefish! Their chromatophores let them change color in a different but also pretty way!

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  2. If you listen to The Adventure Zone podcast a Void Fish would be perfect. In fact y'all just may see me at DragonCon wearing one.

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  3. Love this! I was so sad that I didn't get to see you guys at Epcot on Sunday. Glad I got to see your outfit online since I missed it in person :)

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  4. It's so shiny! Perfect for Serenity, or the Blue Sun logo.

    OH or a wonderflonium case!
    Apparently I'm in a Nathan Fillion mood.

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  5. So adorable! Long Live The Old Symbols!

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  6. In the immortal words of Kaylee, 'Shiny!'

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  7. I would definitely do a Tardis or Star Trek insignias.

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    1. Ooooh, one could Star Trek EVERYTHING with this stuff. Who doesn't need that logo on all their shirts? Not red shirts, though... ; )

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  8. That is seriously awesome. :)

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  9. Jen, you need a plotter! I use a silhouette cameo but there are so many to choose from and the crafts you can make with them are endless!

    I make foiled shirts and bows with mine and I love it! Shiny stuff is so fun to work with.

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    1. Yes! I was going to suggest the same thing. I use a Cricut Explore, but there are lots of options. Y'all should look into one.

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    2. Yes! This. Sparkly htv is sooo much better when you can easily cut it into any design you want! You could cut any and every Epcot symbol you want.

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    3. +1 for craft cutter. silhouette cameo.

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  10. I totally want to do this with a Rebel logo now, or maybe with Sabine's phoenix from the Rebels cartoon. So cool!!

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  11. I'm pretty sure you can hand cut designs from the rolls of iron on glitter and holo vinyl sold for Cricut/Silhouette machines as well, and they have a lot more colors available.

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  12. You spelled 'fabulous' wrong. It's F-A-B-U-L-O-U-S, not R-I-D-I-C-U-L-O-U-S ;)

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  13. Can I just say that I would NEVER have thought to layer a tank top over a tshirt?? I would have been searching for the right tshirt to use that wasn't crazy expensive, or been frustrated at bra lines/etc showing under the tank. This is stupid genius LOL

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    1. Oh! I should have mentioned: I'm actually wearing a bolero (made of black t-shirt material) over the tank. It only covers my shoulders, which is perfect - and even better, John made it for me! Here's the template we used, though it needed sizing up, I think.

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  14. I think that gold foil would be amazing for a Legend of Zelda or triforce cut out!

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  15. Aperture Laboratories!
    Jen you got me into Portal 2 all those years ago
    ...

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  16. Oh my goodness! That's EPIC! And yes, there are SO many other symbols you could do it with. A patronus would definitely be cool with the silver foil.

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  17. My daughter is obsessed with Moana currently, so I'm thinking the Heart of Tefiti in a green foil! I know what I'll be surprising her with in a few weeks!

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  18. Love it and the ensemble! Are you a Firefly fan? Because SHINY seems too good to pass up... or maybe a silhouette of the Serenity... or just the "firefly" handwritten word logo? :)
    Or on a totally different note, Shiny now also makes me thing of Moana... perhaps a golden crab?? :) hehe!

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  19. There's a benefit to your being on the shorter side. I went to look at that shiny skirt, and it's 4" shorter than would be appropriate on my 5'9" self. :(

    Super cute on you, though.

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  20. You know...I *just* bought some of this stuff (40% coupon, don't you know) at the craft store this past weekend and have been trying to figure out what to do with it: I don't have a fancy cutter and was wondering if I'd made a mistake to buy it. Once again, you have inspired me; now I just have to decide on a design that I'm capable of cutting. ;)

    Thanks Jen. And I agree with tal: fabulous is the word.

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  21. That outfit is sheer awesomeness. Though I hope you didn't blind anyone with the shiny-ness. ;)

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  22. Not ridiculous at all, girl! Thanks for all the tips, this has so many possibilities (and is a craft I might actually be able to do)! :)

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