i have searched everywhere for tshirt iron ons from the early 80's.  They were very popular but i don't believe they were from a cartoon or series.  they were just cutsie cartoon animals like a lion and a bear.  I know this is vague but I can't think of any better info.  Anyone have any ideas where i can start to look?

  Well, the bad news is that you might not be able to find the iron-ons that you want ready made. Most "80s" iron-ons available are for TV shows and movies. The good news is that you can make them yourself if you can find images you like on your computer and you have a good printer.
  You can buy "transfer paper" at most fabric stores (i.e. Joann Fabrics, Hancock Fabrics, etc.). I hear the directions are very easy to follow. But make sure that you buy the right paper for the job. I found this article that should help:

About Iron-On Printer Paper
  First, there is NO white ink in ordinary inkjet printers. When you print a picture that has 'white' in it, for example a red and white candycane, the white you see in the printed picture is just your background paper, usually white. If you printed the same candycane picture on a piece of blue paper, your cane would have red and blue stripes (NO white)!
  The transfers made for light colored fabrics work the same way... no white ink, so where you think you will see white, you will really see whatever the color of your fabric is, whether white, light yellow, light pink, etc. If you iron one of these transfers onto dark fabric, say black, where you expect white you will see black. Furthermore, for a lightcolored picture, say a pastel of flowers, if you iron it onto dark fabric, it will look muddy and faded.
  The transfers for dark colored fabric are special... they are a sheet of white 'stuff' that your picture is printed onto, so that where you want white you get white (absence of ink, therefore the background white 'stuff' shows through). Then you iron that white 'stuff' with your picture printed on it onto the dark fabric. The result is bright and clear, even if your original picture is light, pastel, etc. It is just like printing on a very white sheet of paper and attaching that paper to your fabric.
  Also, usually you have to 'flip' the image for light colored transfers because when you iron them onto the fabric, they go on face down. This is NOT the case for the transfers for dark fabric. The image is printed onto the 'stuff' right-side up, and then the BACK of the stuff is ironed onto your fabric.
  Hope this helps. I used to have a shirt with the cutest iron-on fox when I was a kid, so I think I know what you're looking for. Now I want to make one, too! :)