Harry Potter: Ilvermorny House Shirts

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With a name like The Love Nerds, it should be pretty clear we wave the nerd flag proudly over here. We have an entire shared calendar dedicated to nerdy stuff – movie releases, tv premieres, video game releases, etc. So today is, of course, a big day with the release of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them because it’s the world of Harry Potter! I mean, we did a series of Harry Potter newborn photos with Liam which should explain how much we love Harry Potter!

As soon as J.K. Rowling released information about Ilvermorny – the American Hogwarts – we were on Pottermore to be sorted into the new houses. I was pretty happy with my placement in Thunderbird. The creature makes storms as it flies, which is a pretty cool power in my book (think Storm of the X-Men). It represents the soul of a wizard and favors adventurers. Also, it’s Rowling’s house as well, so that’s a plus in my book.

Bryan was placed in Pukwudgie. It’s a very independent magical creature which seems right for Bryan. It represents the heart of a wizard and favors healers. There is also Horned Serpent which represents the mind of a wizard and favors scholars and Wampus that represents the body of a wizard and favors warriors.

In case you haven’t read up on Ilvermorny as much as I have, it was founded by a couple – Isolt Sayre and James Steward – in their home with their two adopted sons Chadwick and Webster. They all named one of the houses after a magical creature. Their house expanded as the school grew until it was the castle it is now. Pretty cool in my opinion!

So all this excitement for Fantastic Beasts is coming out in DIY Shirts for our movie date. I love using Heat Transfer Vinyl with my Silhouette Cameo. You can get such detailed designs without a lot of work.

HEAT TRANSFER TUTORIAL

Using the Heat Transfer Vinyl is easy and the box comes with instructions for you as well. You can get the designs for the houses here: Pukwudgie, Thunderbird, Wampus, and Horned Serpent. Now, to the important steps:

When you create the design on Silhouette Studio and are ready to cut, you need to mirror the image. This is important if you want to be able to read anything on the shirt. Also, make sure you select HEAT TRANSFER VINYL on your media options.
You will just load the media without a cutting mat, so make sure you select that option in Silhouette Studio under your mat menu/button. You will want shiny side down.
After the design is cut, carefully peal away the extra. I use my little hook to make this process easier.
Line up your design on the shirt where you want it (shiny side up), put a thin cloth over it (I use a thin tea towel), and use a hot iron to heat the vinyl and transfer it over. Carefully iron every part of the design multiple times. Test by pealing up the plastic: if the vinyl stays down everywhere without pulling, you are good. If not, keep ironing.