Elephant Birth Announcement

I use the elephants found here: http://amzn.to/2E1uGwO
The Ears are 4.5 inches tall (just the center part) and the width varies, with the widest section being just shy of 3 inches wide. 

The price fluctuates a lot!  Usually after you see them posted on cricut groups, the price jumps for a bit, then eventually they come back down.  I bought them at $9.99 each.  They are currently $16.99.   They have been as low as $6.99.  You can use any stuffed animal of course, I just like the size of the ears for the information, and the feet are great on these too.  There are other, similar elephants here http://amzn.to/2EnXywX  and here: http://amzn.to/2EnZntW


You can customize these however you want of course, but this is how I do it:

(The Sebastian Frederick in this was way too large, I had to size it down to fit the ear)

For the Name Side
For the S - the first letter of the first name - I sized it to 3 tall by 1.6 wide.   For this one I used the Starfish font - I like this S.

For the first and middle names, I like a nice thick cursive font like Milkshake.  Anydore, July 7th, and Krinkes Decor are other thick cursive fonts that I like a lot.

I get fed up quickly, trying to properly space cursive fonts in Design Space, so I just use FontLabPad, save as an svg, and upload to design space. http://fieldsofhether.blogspot.com/2018/01/using-fontlabpad-with-cricut-design.html

Don't forget to weld  - so that the names cut as one word and not individual letters.

For the stats side:
The hearts are from the shape tool on the left hand toolbar in design space.
Ounces and Pounds and the time are in the AR Bonnie font
Inches is Copperplate Bold Font
For this section, move things around as needed to make them fit.  Different stats will fit differently in the space.

The zigzag lines are rectangles made thin, and angled against each other, then welded.  It might be faster to find some you can upload into design space...   Or maybe not.  It's not that hard to make them, then you can duplicate. I'm putting a screenshot of mine here, in case you want to just upload it to design space and clean it up.

I attach all the parts I want in the same color - it's easier to place these if everything is attached.  But I usually cut the hearts off the design and apply them separately, because they are near the seams at the top.

For The Feet

The dates on the feet are the Franklin Gothic font.  They month and day is 1.5 tall x 1.267
The year is .8 tall by 1.9 wide

DON'T FORGET TO MIRROR!!!  For htv, you always place the shiny side down, and mirror the design.  I usually select all and flip vertical, because I always forget to mirror.

Application
Because of the shape of the ears, I find it easier to cut this design up to apply it.

I just use a regular iron - same iron I use for all my htv projects.  I cover the transfer sheet with parchment paper, press for 10 seconds with my iron set between wool& cotton.  Remove the transfer sheet, place the parchment paper over the top and press again for another 10 seconds.  Repeat if needed.

The HTV I use is siser Easyweed.  I buy the white by the roll and the Turquoiuse and navy I usually buy in sheets. I always buy on Amazon, because of the free shipping.

White Siser Easyweed http://amzn.to/2ElVx4p 10 feet by 12 inches for $21 (I use $3 a foot as my base for htv pricing, so that makes this a good deal)

Turquoise  Sheets  - 3 sheets of 12x15 for $9.75 http://amzn.to/2Eqw1v9