Tomorrow I am having dinner with one of my cousins, Katie. She recently moved closer to me and got engaged. I haven’t seen her in several months though. It’s been so long because I have just been extremely busy and in and out of health. I should point out that whenever someone that I am close to gets engaged, I usually buy a really nice set of champagne glasses for them to celebrate. Also, they can use them at the wedding. This is a little bit of a problem though, seeing as she and her fiance are sober. So I took to the web to find a substitute gift. Although not the same, I decided to make her a DIY Personalized Mug with a cute saying.
The Idea
The idea was to use my Cricut to cut a simple vinyl saying, “Does this ring make me look engaged?” on one side. And on the other side would say, “Soon-to-be Mrs. …” I decided on this because it would be very quick and easy to do, considering I only had one night to make this. Let’s see how this goes- Here is my DIY Personalized Mug.
(Please note that all information provided here is editorial. I am a participant in the Cricut Affiliate Program and Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites. Although this post may contain affiliate links and/or ads, this post solely based on my experiences. I have not received any free items for this post. Please note that although there are enclosed affiliate links, they are to the actual product I used or an equivalent product, which I will fully disclose as such. In addition to this, please note that I am not making any guarantees or promises regarding the accuracy, reliability or completeness of the information presented. These are just my personal experiences. Read more)
The Mug
The other day I stopped in Walmart and picked out the travel mug, in case I needed to do this (I also bought one for my mom because she LOVES the blue that this came in). I chose the one shown below. I also included a link directly to the product on Amazon.
For more cup ideas, Click Here to read my roundup of 14 Acrylic Tumblers on Amazon.
The Design
First I did a quick search on Pinterest for a free SVG with the saying. I scored within minutes. Check it out –
“Does This Ring Make Me Look engaged?” Cup From Whatcha Workin On?
I downloaded to my computer then uploaded it to Cricut Design Space. Since it is an SVG, the settings are already set. This design that I chose, has included the copyright as part of the image as a “grouped” set. On the bright side, the parts that I wanted were also grouped together. So I was able to ungroup the whole SVG and deselect everything that was not then grouped. I was able to cut the design without copyright information.
If you need some help with the Upload process, check out my post on this topic Here.
The next step was to change the layer color by pressing the colored circle next to the layer button (shown as silver below). I had to dig through all my vinyl. But, I found a color that would go well with the mug I was using. It was a silver color for the diamond and a matte black for the text. I put that color in Cricut Design Space for that layer.
I then went to the ‘Templates’ tab on the Cricut Design Space toolbar and selected the Drinking Glass as it was the closest in shape to the mug.
Then I measured the size of the travel mug and used those dimensions to put in the selected template, and changed the color of the template. To read more about the Templates Function on CDS and how to make a custom size, please Read Here about the whole toolbar and its functions.
This allowed me to see exactly what the mug would look like after I applied the vinyl. So I was able to size out the design on the mug itself. I made sure to take the curve of the mug into account. To begin, I measured the circumference, then divided it by 3. I made that number the max-width of the design. This was so that I can also apply the “Soon-to-be Mrs…” on the other side, without them being too close together. The goal was to be able to see only one of the designs at a time.
I then used the Text tab to create the “Soon-to-be Mrs…” on the backside. I went through the options to find the font closest to the design I downloaded. I then sized it the same way as the design above. This is where you can make this your DIY Personalized Mug for whomever you’d like.
And that was it for the design unless it didn’t fit as I wanted it to (famous last words). I stupidly did not take my own advice and didn’t attach the layers, I just left them grouped. Do not make the same mistake. Attach your layers so they cut as you designed them. If you do not attach them, then they will cut separately as shown below.
For a more detailed description of the differences between Attach and Group, Click Here.
Make It
I then hit “Make It” and followed the steps to cut my vinyl designs. Stay tuned for my future post on the “Make it” stage of the Cricut Process.
I then cut the vinyl to be each design separately (this made it easier to weed and apply). I used my Cricut Bright Pad and Cricut Tools to easily weed the vinyl.
Once they were weeded, I used Cricut Transfer Tape to line up the design. I choose to use Cricut Brand for the transfer tape because it has gridlines and measurements on the actual transfer tape (as shown below). This allows you to line up your design perfectly you put the tape on the design and then again when you go to apply it. It saves a lot of headaches.
This note is optional, depending on the size of the design. I decided I would cut slit marks around the design to account for the curve of the bottle. It gives you extra wiggle room when applying. I made sure to be careful to not cut it too much because then it would be too much wiggle room.
I then just applied the vinyl and removed the transfer tape on an angle. Then I put pressure on the design to ensure it fully adhered. I did the same for the second design. Later I decided that the “Soon to be Mrs…” design was a little plain, so I added two smaller diamonds to each side. And that was it. This project to a total of an hour- quick and easy.