Bridesmaid Gifts

I made these a while back, and actually forgot that I had not posted them yet!

One of the big trends right now are the plastic tumblers with the straws . . . and CUSTOMIZED ones are an even BIGGER TREND!  Since one of my husband's cousins was getting married I asked her if she would like some custom tumblers to give to her bridesmaids.

I went to the store and I could not find tumblers with straws, so I went with some plain clear ones.  

Each one was less than $1!

I found a heart that I liked in the Sweethearts Cricut cartridge, so I decided to put that on the tumblers along with each bridesmaid's first initial.

I used a red permanent vinyl.  I cut the hearts about 3.75" tall, doing what is called a kiss cut.  This cuts through the top layer of the vinyl, but not through the backing, so that you can peel it off like a sticker.

When doing a kiss cut, remember 3/3/3 . . . speed of 3, pressure of 3, blade depth of 3

Look how nice that comes right up off the mat!

Then I placed the hearts on to the tumblers.  Now it is time for the letters.  I really liked one of the font styles on Calligraphy Collection, so I decided to use that.

Since these letters were very thin I decided to use blue painter's tape to help me transfer the letters from the sheet to the tumbler.  I placed a piece of tape over the letter, than ran my fingernail over the top to get the letter to stick to the tape.  Then when I peeled it back I just held down the uncut piece of vinyl and pulled out the letter.  Another way to do this would be to make all of the letter cuts and then do a process called weeding.  Weeding is when you removed all of the vinyl that is surrounding the image you cut.  Now, I do not like to waste ANYTHING, so weeding to me is a waste of product . . . once you pull off all of that extra stuff, what are you going to do with it?  If I can get the image to stick to the painter's tape without weeding, that is what I do.  If there are small pieces that stuck to the painter's tape and came up with the cut, like the inside of a letter D, then I use a pin to peel that portion away from the painter's tape.

Now the next step is to line up the cut where you want it and smooth it down.  You can see the general outline of the image through the painter's tape . . . yes, it is not perfectly clear and see through, but you can get the placement good enough . . . or at least I usually do.

And this is what the finished tumblers looked liked

I even put Bride on the back of the one for the Bride.