Welcome back to the craft room and today’s Interlocking Hearts Phone Case with the HTVRont Press post. With Valentine’s Day right around the corner, I wanted a new phone case. With the help of IdeaStudio and my HTVRont Phone Case Heat Press, come along as I show you how I created the design. Let’s jump right in!
Designing in IdeaStudio
Setting the Background Color
Once IdeaStudio is open, head to the upper-right corner of the screen and make sure you’re using the H17 Phone Case Heat Press canvas. Today I’m designing for an iPhone 16, so I’ll select that option from the iPhone menu.
To add the background color for the phone case, click “Shape” from the right-hand panel and select the square. To stretch the square into a rectangle, unlock the aspect ratio under the “Design” tab on the right side of the screen.
While we’re in the Design tab, go ahead and change the color. I’m using a very light yellow with the hex code #FFFEF7.
Creating the Heart Focal Image
To create the hearts for my phone case, start by going back to the “Shape” panel and clicking “View All.” When the panel expands to show all of the basic shapes available in IdeaStudio, select the heart.
With the heart now on the canvas, copy and paste it to create a second heart. Back in the Design tab, change one heart to a golden yellow using hex code #FFC917, and the other to a deep red, #8C0000.
I want the red heart nestled inside the yellow heart. Select both shapes, choose “Align,” and align them both vertically and horizontally. Before resizing the red heart, return to the Design tab and lock the aspect ratio. In Idea Studio, if the aspect ratio is unlocked for one element, it becomes unlocked for everything on the canvas.
Once the hearts look the way I want, I create another set to have on hand for later. You can either copy and paste or use “Array” from the upper menu bar. After adding as many hearts as you like, click the Confirm button.
Making the Interlocking Hearts
Select one set of hearts, group them together, and move them off to the side for now. Using the second set, we’ll create the interlocking heart design. With both layers selected, choose “Combine” from the upper menu bar, then select “Slice.”
At first, it looks like nothing happened. Both hearts are still visible, and nothing new appears in the Layers panel. This step honestly took me a bit to figure out, but it’s actually very simple.
With the only the yellow heart selected, click “Offset” in the upper menu. You’ll see an outline showing where the red heart was positioned. Once you click Apply, the sliced heart will appear in the Layers panel.
Deselect the yellow heart and move it aside to reveal the new heart shape on the canvas. Create a second sliced heart by either copying and pasting or selecting the yellow heart again and choosing Offset.
After adjusting these two hearts, head back to the Design tab and change their color to the same golden yellow.
Adding Our Initials
To complete the interlocking heart design, I wanted to add my husband’s initial and mine. From the left-side menu, I selected the Text tool and added our initials, along with a lowercase “n,” to the canvas.
While the default font would work, I decided to change it. Over on the right side of the screen, I opened the Design menu and, under the color options, selected Font. For this project, I’m using LOKLik – Dancing Script (Regular).
After adjusting the size and rotation of each letter, I grouped them together with the hearts. I then moved the entire design back over the iPhone 16 phone case outline and resized everything to fit perfectly.
Decorating the Design & Printing
With the focal image complete, I wanted to fill in the background using more of the yellow and red hearts. I selected the heart I had set aside earlier and once again chose Array. Since I wasn’t sure how many hearts I would need, I gave myself plenty by selecting 2 columns and 4 rows.
After resizing and rotating the hearts, I arranged them on the phone case in what I felt was a pleasing pattern. A few of the hearts will sublimate onto the sides of the case, but most will remain on the back.
Once the design looked just right, I saved the file and selected File > Print. The first window that opens is the print preview, which includes a reminder to mirror your image before printing. Because I’m using the Epson SureColor F170 sublimation printer, mirroring is handled automatically.
After clicking Print, I opened the printer settings in the next window. I made sure the surface was set to Ridged and the quality was set to High. Under More Options, I turned off bidirectional printing and confirmed that mirroring was enabled. Before sending the file to print, I loaded one sheet of HTVRont sublimation film, shiny side up, into the printer.
Sublimating the Phone Case
Prepping the Phone Case & Press
While the image was printing, I started prepping everything else. From the Universal Phone Case Fixture Set for iPhone, I pulled out the base and the I-9 lens pad. There are two small spacer bars included for the iPhone 16, but I find them a bit too fiddly and not entirely necessary, so I don’t use them.
After placing the fixture into the heat press and turning it on, I set both the upper and lower heat plates to 275 degrees. I also set the timer for 305 seconds total: a 5-second preheat followed by a 300-second transfer time.
As the press heated up, I cleaned the phone case using a lint-free cloth and 91% isopropyl alcohol. Once it was dry, I flipped it over to add the lens pad. One important step here is not taping over the two small holes in the pad. These holes allow air to be vacuumed out so the film can properly mold around the camera area. I used just a small piece of heat tape to hold the pad in place.
Once the HTVRont Phone Case Heat Press reached temperature, it was time to load the phone case. For some reason, it took me five tries to get the case secured to the base. Total struggle bus moment! I’m not entirely sure why this was an issue, but it may just be the way this particular case was manufactured.
After finally securing the case, I closed the lid and placed the printed film—shiny side down—on the cover of the press for about five minutes. The lid gets quite warm, which helps dry the ink on the film.
When I first removed the film from the printer, I didn’t notice the soft yellow background. Even after placing it on the white lid of the press and taking a closer look, the color was still very faint. Even in the zoomed-in image below, it’s barely visible.
Pressing the Phone Case
Once the five minutes were up, it was time to place the film into the press. It’s important that the sublimation film completely covers the gasket. If it doesn’t, the press won’t be able to vacuum seal properly, which can affect the final transfer. Below, you can see images showing the phone case before and after pressing.
The Finished Interlocking Hearts Phone Case
I absolutely love how this phone case turned out, even though it isn’t 100% perfect. The golden yellow and red hearts are stunning! It’s hard to tell in photos, but in person the yellow almost has a subtle glitter-like look.
I was a bit disappointed with the background color, but it turned into a great learning moment. When I opened the press, it looked like there was some color present. However, when comparing the side-by-side photos, the background is very subtle. Note to self: extremely light colors may not show up as strongly as expected when sublimating.
Final Thoughts
Thank you so much for joining me for today’s Interlocking Hearts Phone Case with the HTVRont Press post. Creating this phone case was a great way for me to really dive into Idea Studio and learn some of the differences between it and my other design software.
One thing I did notice with this design is that even though the sublimation film was fully positioned against the hinges of the phone case press, the image is slightly off-center. At first, I thought this was a placement mistake on my part. However, after looking back at the photos, there really wasn’t anywhere for the film to move in order to center the image.
In the two phone cases I’ve made so far, the designs were much busier, so the offset wasn’t noticeable at all. This is definitely something I’ll be keeping in mind for my next phone case project.
Let me know in the comments if you’ve sublimated a phone case using this amazing press. If you have, did you notice any offset between the screen image and the final printed result? And if you haven’t but are interested in this machine, be sure to check out my other posts: Unboxing the HTVRont Phone Case Heat Press, HTVRont Phone Case Heat Press Demonstration, Testing the Limits of the HTVRont Phone Case Heat Press, and Sublimating Pens with HTVRont Phone Case Heat Press.
Until then, have a fantastic week, and I’ll see you back in the craft room soon!
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