My favourite Cricut materials to work with are vinyl and iron-on – so naturally when they came out with heat and cold Color Changing vinyl and UV iron-on I just had to get my hands on it and try it out!
Since Summer is right around the corner, I decided to experiment with cold-activated Color Changing b vinyl and the UV iron-on materials first.
What is Color Changing vinyl?
Just like any other vinyl, Color Changing vinyl is an adhesive vinyl product that can be cut into any design and applied to a variety of firm surfaces – except it changes colours when either heated or cooled!
The cold activated vinyls change when temperature goes below 10°C. The heat activated vinyl changes when the temperature goes above 31°C. Both type of vinyls are available in three shades.
The vinyl is compatible with any Cricut machine that cuts vinyl – so pretty much all of them! However, it only comes in 12×24” rolls so you’ll need to cut them down to a smaller size to use with your Joy. You will also need a cutting mat.
Since Summer is right around the corner, I decided to test out the cold activated vinyl this time around. I tried out two different colours, turquoise to purple, and light pink to hot pink. I ended up giving a glass libby can a face-lift with the pink vinyl, and made a plastic reusable tumbler with the turquoise.
What is UV iron-on?
What is UV iron-on?You guessed it – the UV iron-on is just like any other heat transfer or iron-on product that can be cut into any design, and applied to fabrics.
It looks like regular white iron-on, but it actually changes into vibrant colours with UV-rays, or sunlight, which is just so much fun for summer!
Similar to the Color Changing vinyl, the UV iron-on is compatible with any Cricut machine that cuts iron-on materials. It also only comes in 12×24” rolls so once again you’ll need to cut them down to a smaller size to use with your Joy. You will also need a cutting mat.
I made a “surprise” cosmetic bag by putting the vinyl on white canvas fabric. It doesn’t look like much, but when you take it outside the magic happens! The sun will quickly turn the UV material into colour to reveal the design!
I also made a simple bucket hat with a flower that appears to be just white, with a black outline using layered regular iron-on. I used UV iron-on for the centre of the flower, which is also a smiley face, so when outside it turns to a bright yellow.
I love how all of these projects turned out and can’t wait to experiment more with Cricut’s Color Changing materials.
This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Cricut. While I may have received compensation and/or product mentioned in this post, the opinions and text are all mine. This post also contains affiliate links.
