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How to Make Vinyl Tumbler Decals

Home » Crafts » Cricut » How to Make Vinyl Tumbler Decals

Published June 15, 2020 Last Updated February 17, 2021 / By Sarah 12 Comments

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How to personalize a cup or tumbler with vinyl. Follow this complete tutorial for DIY vinyl tumbler decals with all the tips and tricks. Personalized tumblers make great gifts and they are so easy to make!

Two white stainless steel tumblers with straws personalized with a monogram and one with 'I'm So Fancy'

For a few years I’ve been adding personal designs to my tumblers with vinyl and my Cricut machine. It is high time for a very detailed tutorial, where I can share all the tips and tricks I’ve learned along the way! You can use this tutorial to personalize anything – a Yeti Cup, Hydroflask, mug, glass jar, etc. 
*This post contains affiliate links.

Personalized Tumblers

I love making personalized cups. There is something so fun about having a monogram, nickname, or favorite team on your drink! Song lyrics are fun too. I have probably made 50 different tumbler decals over the past few years, some for myself and many to give as gifts. Somehow I never get sick of it! 

Tips & Tricks

Before you start designing, head over to read Everything You Need to Know about Cricut Fonts – a post I wrote detailing my favorite Cricut fonts, tips and tricks for using them, and some of the best font combinations you can put together! For even more Cricut info head to our Cricut page. 

The Best Vinyl for Cups

I personally use Cricut Permanent Vinyl to personalize tumbler cups. It comes in so many colors. The vinyl lasts really well even through every day use and washing over and over in the dishwasher.

We use it to label our kids’ water bottles and lunchboxes, make teacher gifts, and label bins and containers in our house. Jessica made a really cool cup recently too with all kinds of stickers to represent her favorite things!

*Stainless steel cups, like Yeti brand or Hydroflask should be hand-washed with hot, soapy water. You can wash them in the dishwasher, but they might be discolored or damaged over time. 

Cricut maker machine and vinyl tumbler decals materials and tools, plus two plain tumbler cups on a table

Materials Needed:

  • Cricut machine
  • Standard Grip Mat 
  • Weeding Tools
  • Permanent Vinyl
  • Transfer Tape
  • Tumbler
  • Scissors

The tumblers I used for this tutorial are these Skinny Cups from Amazon.

How To Make:

Step by step how to cut and apply vinyl decals to tumbler with Cricut maker

  1. Cut vinyl design with Cricut machine.
  2. Weed excess vinyl from around the outsides and the insides of the design. 
  3. Put transfer tape down onto the design and burnish (A.K.A. rub) with your thumb or the back of a weeding tool. Make sure it is good and stuck.
  4. Pick up transfer tape and make sure the whole tumbler decal is stuck to it. Position it over the cup where you want to apply it, then press the design and transfer tape down to stick it on.

Transfer tape with black vinyl pulling off of a white tumbler.

Remove (below) transfer tape slowly, pull diagonally from one corner. If any of the design starts coming up with the transfer tape, press it back down, burnish more, and try again.  

Ta da! I hope you have fun making your own personalized Yeti cups! 

Personalized tumblers with straws - white with black Cricut vinyl that says 'I'm So Fancy'

 If you use this tutorial, we’d LOVE if you leave us a comment and positive review! Also — tag us on instagram @prettyprovidenceblog so we can see what you’re making! 

Two personalized yeti tumblers, white with black tumbler decal with Cricut vinyl

Vinyl Tumbler Decal

How to make a tumbler decal with Cricut vinyl! Follow this easy step-by-step tutorial for a personalized yeti tumbler.
5 from 4 votes
Print Pin Rate
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Active Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 15 minutes
Makes: 1 vinyl decal
Author: Pretty Providence
Cost: $5

Video

Equipment

  • Cricut Machine
  • Standard Grip Mat (green)
  • Scissors
  • Weeding Tool

Materials

  • 1 Stainless Steel Tumbler with Straw
  • Cricut Permanent Vinyl
  • Cricut Transfer Tape

Instructions

  • Open design in Cricut Design Space and size it to fit your cup. Make sure your design is 'attached. 'Weld' if you are using cursive letters. Click 'make it.'
    'I'm So Fancy' words design in Cricut Design Space
  • Select 'vinyl' from the materials list if you are using a Cricut Maker. If using an Explore machine choose 'vinyl' using the dial on the machine. Check to make sure that the fine point blade is loaded in your machine. Choose 'continue.'
    Cricut Design Space screen with 'vinyl' chosen as material and tools loaded
  • Cut a piece of vinyl to the size needed for your decal, leaving a centimeter extra on the sides. Put the vinyl onto your green mat. Follow the prompts in Design Space to cut the vinyl.
    Cricut Design Space screen preview design before cutting
  • Cut vinyl.
    white Cricut maker machine cutting black vinyl on a green mat
  • Weed extra vinyl from around the words and inside the letters using a weeding tool.
    'I'm So Fancy' design on Cricut mat with weeding tools and scissors
  • Cut a piece of transfer tape and press it down onto the vinyl design. Burnish the transfer tape. (Burnishing: Rub back and forth over the tape with your thumb or the back of a weeding tool until it is good and stuck.)
    Slowly pick up the transfer tape and if any of the letters aren't coming up with it, put the tape back down and burnish again.
    Cricut vinyl 'I'm So Fancy' with transfer tape over it
  • Place the design with transfer tape onto the tumbler and burnish with your thumb.
    Cricut vinyl on a piece of clear transfer tape ready to be applied to tumbler
  • Pull transfer tape off of the design slowly, diagonally from one corner.
    Transfer tape with black vinyl pulling off of a white tumbler.
  • Done! Now you have a cute, personalized tumbler decal!
    Personalized tumblers with straws - white with black Cricut vinyl that says 'I'm So Fancy'

Notes

  • Permanent vinyl is the best kind of vinyl to use for tumbler cups.
  • Cricut Permanent vinyl will last really well.
  • You can put this vinyl through the dishwasher but stainless steel tumblers hold up better if you hand-wash them. 
 
Did you make this?Mention @prettyprovidenceblog or tag #prettyprovidence!

Do you have more questions about Cricut or a desire for more in depth tutorials like this? Check out this amazing course! 

an advertisement for a Cricut made easy ecourse

Our friend Kim from Sweet Red Poppy made this Cricut Made Easy Course and it is beyond amazing you guys! So worth it if you really want to invest in growing your Cricut knowledge. Here is a sampling of what it includes:

  • 19 Video Modules(Chapters)
  • 50+ Step-by-Step Video Tutorials
  • 30+ Cricut Cheat Sheet Printables
  • 160+ Page E-Book “Maker’s Guide to Cricut”
  • All 3 Cricut Machines Covered (Maker/Joy/Explore family)
  • 16 Different Projects with Printable Guides
  • 80+ High-Quality SVG Files
  • Print then Cut Sticker Files
  • Design Space Glossary
  • Exclusive Facebook Support Group
  • Tips and Tricks from an Expert!

Click here to check it out! Or just go to our Cricut project gallery to see ALL of our Cricut projects and tutorials!

Sarah

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Ginny

    August 31, 2022 at 10:38 am

    What is best way to do a print and cut to put on a tumbler?

    Reply
    • Sarah

      September 13, 2022 at 3:53 pm

      Hey, I think if you want to do print then cut on a tumbler, you will want to use a printable sticker paper, and then put something over that to seal it so it doesn’t get ruined by water. With that said, I haven’t done that before, we usually use permanent vinyl to make our decals.

      Reply
  2. Karla

    February 25, 2022 at 10:48 pm

    My daughter bought a tumbler from hobby lobby. The outside has textured glitter. Would she be able to decorate it and if so what with please?

    Reply
    • Jessica

      March 02, 2022 at 1:05 pm

      Texture definitely is not ideal for vinyl application. She could try using permanent vinyl still, but it would not last as long.

      Reply
  3. Aleo

    July 09, 2021 at 4:43 pm

    What do you recommend? Matte or Glossy Vinyl for these kinds of surfaces?

    Reply
    • Sarah

      July 12, 2021 at 6:36 pm

      I prefer matte but I think either kind works!

      Reply
  4. nancy bass

    April 13, 2021 at 11:53 am

    How do you get the size of decals for different sizes and types of cups? Is there a best way or rule of thumb or a type of chart.

    Reply
    • Sarah

      April 16, 2021 at 12:49 pm

      That’s a good question. There might be a chart somewhere, but I usually just measure the cup and decide while I’m looking at it.

      Reply
  5. Lynnette Beste

    June 19, 2020 at 1:52 pm

    5 stars
    I just used your template to make a tumbler for myself. Thanks for the instructions. It made it so simple, and it looks so great. It made me feel successful! Thank you so much.

    Reply
  6. Laura Reese

    June 17, 2020 at 10:25 pm

    5 stars
    I have needed this tutorial for so long! Made the process so easy.

    Reply
  7. Trang

    June 16, 2020 at 10:09 pm

    5 stars
    I secretly love to label everything so this how-to is perfect for me!

    Reply
  8. Lily

    June 16, 2020 at 6:03 pm

    5 stars
    I love this idea, I have been looking for a way to customize a friends tumbler this will make a great gift; thank you for the simple step-by-step instructions.

    Reply

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Hey! We're Sarah and Jessica. We're BFF's and have known each other since we were 5 years old. This blog is our place to share all of our best recipes, tips, crafts and DIY projects.

You can read more about us on our about page and find us on instagram! We love making new friends.

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