Glitzy Pineapple Tote.

I hope the signs of summer are starting to show up where you are. We've been spoiled with some pretty beautiful days lately, and it's put me in the mood for BBQ's, trips to the beach, and ice cream trucks.

I'm always on the lookout for big roomy totes, because even though there are at least 10 in my closet I can never have enough. They really come in handy this time of year from swim lessons to road trips.

I ran across some large, sturdy totes at the craft store the other day and snatched them up. When it came to making the bags something special, I had a little help. You may be wondering how on earth I cut out all of those little dots out of iron on-but the truth is I didn't! Not by myself anyway....

A few months ago, I flew out early to the Alt conference and was introduced to a new product: the Cricut Explore. I am typically wary of owning too many craft tools/machines and really prefer to do things myself. I haven't had a huge need for the previous models of the Cricut, as they didn't allow for original designs and required too much commitment and ongoing purchasing of accessories to use.

However, I was blown away by this new product! Have you heard about it? The new cutting machine plugs right into your computer (no extra software needed), where you can upload and cut original designs (like my pineapple), or choose from TONS of projects designed by someone else, which can be accessed right from the design space/website.

I finally got mine out of  the box and started playing with it, and now I'm hooked! I am not easily hooked, so it's kind of a big deal. Did I mention it can even write with a pen and cut fabric? You really need to take a look.

For this project, I designed a pineapple, uploaded it to the website, set my machine to cut iron-on, loaded gold iron-on into the machine and hit GO. Once the pineapple is cut, slowly remove the negative space of iron on material, flip over, and iron on to the bag. That's it. SO easy, and it looks so luxe.

If you already have an explore, you can download my file here! Stay tuned this week for more ideas...

Do you have a crafting tool you can't live without?