So what is a VSCO girl? I was really feeling my age when I had to ask that one, too. Especially after I found out that the VSCO girl trend completely robs its look from the same styles we moms wore in the 90s in high school. All the way down to their adorable DIY VSCO Girl Shoes. 

It’s cool though, I laughed and laughed and laughed all the way to the store this school year to buy scrunchies, Vans, oversized t-shirts, mom jeans and friendship bracelets. I’m waiting for the bushy eyebrows and rolled-up notched jeans to also make an appearance. 

VSCO girls will tell you it’s an aesthetic, not a label. Part of this “aesthetic” is that they like to decorate their stuff, in particular their shoes. 

Cricut EasyPress Mini and VSCO Girl Shoes

Cricut just came out with this amazing little heat press, the Cricut EasyPress Mini, that helps get into small spots to make projects. It is PERFECT for shoes. You can design, cut, and press a pair of shoes that look fairly cool and professional at home with this Cricut EasyPress Mini  and the Cricut Explore Air 2. 

But the Mini isn’t just for shoes! It’s designed for tight spaces and you can also use it on:

• hats
• shirt sleeves
• cuffs
• pockets
• can cookies
• coffee mugs
• even stuffed animals!  

It’s definitely not a replacement for your bigger-sized EasyPress 2 machines, but a great compliment to its bigger brothers. The Cricut EasyPress Mini  has the same heat plate technology as the other EasyPress machines, just shrunk down for tiny projects! Like these DIY VSCO Girl shoes. 

before you make your own VSCO shoes

If you’ve got a picky teen, they’ll probably want to do this project on a pair of Vans. That’s the VSCO girl gold standard in shoes.

However, if you’re a beginner at the Cricut EasyPress Mini and ironing on to shoes, I’d pick up a pair of inexpensive generic canvas shoes first and hone your skills before moving on to a more expensive model. 

Since the shoes are bound to get a lot of wear and tear, limit your designs to two layers. 

Ready to get crafting? Here’s how to make sunflower themed VSCO girl shoes. This project will take some time, so be patient!

DIY VSCO Girl Shoes with the Cricut EasyPress Mini

Get with the VSCO trend and make a sick pair of DIY shoes using the Cricut EasyPress Mini. It's perfect for getting into tiny places!

There are two VSCO girl shoe patterns listed below. For the sunflower shoes, you'll need brown, yellow and black iron-on vinyl. The turtle shoes need light blue, teal and light green vinyl. The step by step of how to put each detail of the shoes together is less important than the HOW and METHOD to using the EasyPress mini sucessfully. One you know how to do it, you can put any cerative VSCO pattern on a pair of shoes!

Note on shoes: I picked up a pair of canvas shoes from my local big box store to make these. They come in both lace up and slip-on.

Print

Materials

• White shoes
• Cricut Iron-on Vinyl
• VSCO girl shoes Cricut Design Space file in sunflower
• VSCO girl shoes Cricut Design Space file in sea turtle
• Green Sharpie marker

Tools

• Cricut EasyPress Mini
• Cricut Explore Air 2
• Cricut weeding tools
• Cricut mat
• Washi tape (optional)
• Tea towel

Instructions

1. Start off by opening the design file for your chosen pair of shoes. The files are already set up to the proper dimensions, so you only have to click "make!"
2. Cut the vinyl. If you happen to use SportFlex on for any of your vinyl pieces, here is a PRO TIP: SportFlex vinyl is super slippery. Use the stickiest mat you own and then use a few pieces of washi tape to hold down the edges before you send them through the machine. The Cricut Explore Air 2 is perfect for cutting this project!
3. Weed all your vinyl pieces. You may end up with more checkerboard than you'll use in the end, but it's good to have on hand in case there is a mistake made along the way.
4. Just like with the regular size easy press, vinyl still needs a little pressure to stick to your material. To make a firm area so you can press down with the EasyPress Mini, stuff your shoe with a dish towel or something similar until it's tightly packed.
5. Turn on Cricut EasyPress Mini and wait for it to heat up. There aren't a ton of controls on this machine; it operates with a single button and will do low, medium and high settings. Press the button to advance the temperature setting and when the lights turn green, it's ready to press.
6. Place your cuy vinyl on your shoe in the desired location. Be creative here!
7. Press for 30 seconds. I tried warming the area a bit before pressing, but it didn't seem to make any difference in whether the vinyl stuck immediately or not. You'll likely end up re-pressing several times to get the vinyl completely stuck to the shoe.
8. My biggest piece of advice after making these shoes myself is to work in the smallest sections possible. I'd cut out two checks at a time to iron on if you can. The surface area that can be pressed all at the same time with pressure is very small.

Layer the vinyl just like you would any other iron-on vinyl project. I wouldn't recommend any more than two layers of vinyl.

A Sharpie was used to draw the leaves on the shoes.

Recommended Products

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• 
  Cricut Iron-On Vinyl 
• 
  Cricut Explore Air 2

DIY VSCO Girl Shoes Project Helper Notes

Here are a few things you might run into during your project and how to fix (or avoid) them. 

Bend Stubborn Vinyl to your will

After heating (and reheating) the vinyl, it just DOESN’T WANT TO COME OFF the carrier sheet! If this happens to you, take the backside of your weeding tool and rub it over the carrier sheet where your vinyl is to coax it to stick to your project. Be persistent! Reheat if necessary and rub again.

Making your graphic fit your space

Obviously, if you can do this part in Design Space it’s best, but if you can’t, there are scissors. 

When putting the checkerboard onto these shoes, you’ll notice the Design Space file only has a row of three checks. Why? Because on a curvy space like shoes, you simply can’t put the whole image on at once like you would a t-shirt or other flat fabric.

You’re going to have to cut up your graphics to fit your space.  With the checkerboard, cut as small a piece as you can mentally handle and iron it on. 

For the sunflowers, some you’ll want whole, some you’ll want peeking out over the edge of the shoe. Take your weeded vinyls and put them against the shoe where you’d like them to be.

Take that Sharpie marker you’re going to have handy and draw a line over the carrier sheet where you’d like to cut while you have the vinyl against the shoe. Then get your scissors out and cut!

Instantly, your graphics will fit the space you decided they needed to be in. 

Watch where you put that thing!

Another thing to remember is that your EasyPress Mini will get very hot. It’s a heat press, after all. If it gets too close to the sole of the shoe…the shoe will melt like you see in the picture above. (On the toe of the shoe.) 

I look forward to hearing about all the fabulous VSCO girl projects you make with the Cricut EasyPress Mini. And be sure to show me your DIY VSCO girl shoes!

This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Cricut. The opinions and text are all mine.

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