Sun City resident Cheryl Ross has been bitten by the crafting bug.
“I never had time before retirement,” she said. “I came here and took a class on a Cricut machine. I thought, ‘I can’t do this.’ It’s too complicated.”
But then, Ross got a Cricut Explorer and started crafting.
“I made 3D cards and other projects and started learning about heat transfers, and pretty soon, I got a sublimation printer for Christmas. Sublimation produces a quality product for personalizing t-shirts, tumblers, coffee mugs, plates, totes, and more,” Ross said.
Sublimation printing embeds the ink into the fabric, while screen printing sits on top. Sublimation is usually only printed on polyester, while screen printing is mainly done on cotton. So, when you put a design on a cup, it will stay embedded and won’t peel off.
“I like making printed t-shirts the best. I have produced shirts for members of various charter clubs here in Sun City. I started thinking of ways to do something and creativity just flowed. My daughter is a teacher, and she has a lot of great ideas for me to do for her school activities. I made a shirt for her around Easter that said, ‘Teacher of some awesome Peeps.’”
Any occasion is an inspirational challenge for Ross. She created whimsical tote bags for a girls’ getaway weekend. A Super Bowl party inspired her to make shirts for the guests.
Ross said, “They just loved it. It is so rewarding to see how it is appreciated.”
Ross’ daughter was getting married, and a request was made for all wedding-related events.
“When we went shopping for wedding dresses, I had paddle signs for a rating system for everyone who came along. The signs gave feedback to the bride: yes, no, love it, OMG yes, totally gorgeous, keep on looking, I need a tissue, not a fav, I’ve seen better, heck yes, and so on. It was fun.”
One of Ross’s first shirts was for her son, who likes fishing. “The shirt had a figure of someone fishing with a rod and a line out fishing, and it said, ‘Sorry I missed your call. I was on my other line.’”
Ross is in a bowling league and created shirts for her team. “I learn with each project. Sometimes, it’s a trial-and-error process, but I enjoy it all.”
It turned out that my future mother-in-law, sister-in-law, and aunt loved working on projects. We would get together and work on a new or challenging project. We had a lot of fun, creating something and learning a new technique most of the time.”
Cheryl finds every opportunity to put some fun in every event, adding to the festivities by making party favors.
Ross said, “I like the creativity. It’s a new side of me. I love it when I see someone wearing a shirt I created.”
