This is my second project in what I am calling my “back to school” DIY series! The first was a DIY Cricut backpack with a mermaid theme. To complement this, I decked out my daughters lunch box and water bottle with seashells as well!
Let me show you how I did both the DIY lunch box (Cricut) and DIY Cricut water bottle projects! All of the seashell designs are original and you can use them for free with the links below.
Disclaimer: Please note that some of the links below are affiliate links, and I will earn a commission if you purchase through those links (at no additional cost to you). Thank you for supporting me.
Supplies
- Bentgo Lunchbox
- CamelBak Water Bottle
- Cricut (I have the Air Explore 2. They also have a newer model, linked here.)
- Green standard grip mat (you only need one, they are reusable until no longer sticky)
- Cricut Premium Vinyl Spring Sampler – Pink, Ivory, Mint
- Two design files-Free! (Seashell Lunchbox & Seashell Water Bottle)
- Weeding Tool
- Transfer Tape
- Craft Stick or Cricut Scraper (I used a craft stick)
- Scissors
Lunchbox
Step 1
Open up my “Seashell Lunchbox” design in the Cricut design space.
Resize if necessary and click “Make It”. You will need to drag and move the seashells to give them some more space.
Set your dial on your Cricut to “Custom” if you have the Explore Air 2 like me. Material is “Premium Vinyl”.
Lay your vinyl “liner” side down on the green standard grip mat. The liner side is the white side with the squares (not the shiny side). Shiny side is up.
Load it using the flashing arrow button. Make sure it actually loads. Hit the flashing C button.
Step 2
Unload the mat and remove the vinyl piece. Everything will come off of the mat.
Remove everything except for the shells using a weeding tool, leaving the liner in tact. You will weed on the shiny side and should just see the shells surrounded by the liner. Be really careful weeding this since the shells are so tiny. Then, cut out a square for each shell.
Step 3
Cut out small pieces of your transfer tape, one for each shell. Remove the transfer tape liner. Gently place the transfer tape (adhesive side down) over the shell starting in the center. To prevent bubbles, start in the center and move out toward the edges. I put a craft stick in the center and slowly moved it to the left and right.
Step 4
Peel away the vinyl liner (Cricut recommends at a 45-degree angle). You may have to use your craft stick to put more pressure if the vinyl is not sticking to the transfer tape. Now you are left with just the shell and the transfer tape.
Step 5
Place the transfer tape onto your lunchbox (making sure it is clean and dry). Start in the center and use your craft stick to gently smooth it out to the edges. Remove the transfer tape slowly. Mine came off with no issues.
When I started this project, I tried to add just one large shell and layered over it with her initials. After 5 tries and no luck with the bubbles, I switched over to the smaller shells. Any Cricut experts out there have a trick for the bubbles when adding large vinyl decals? Let me know!
Now lets move on to the water bottle!
Water Bottle
For the water bottle, you can open my “Seashell Water Bottle” project in the Cricut design space and follow all of the steps above. The process is identical to the lunchbox.
For the pink bottle, I did green seashells from my trio pack. This design is a little annoying to weed, so I have another shell design that is easier if you prefer.
This vinyl says hand wash only, so that makes me hesitant to also do this to her purple water bottle. I am going to test it in the dishwasher to see how it does. Who has time to hand wash stuff!? Not me. If I end up doing it, I will do pink vinyl seashells on the purple water bottle.
Update 9/14/21: I have been washing the water bottle everyday in the dishwasher for weeks now and it still looks great!
As for the lunchbox, the entire shell of it says it is hand wash only (the inside tray where the food goes is dishwasher safe), so I have no problem adding the vinyl to it.
That is it! What do you think!? Thank you so much for stopping by! Come back soon for the next part in my “back to school” series!
If you liked these projects, you may also like:
- DIY Cricut Backpack (Mermaid Theme)
- Father’s Day Shadow Photo Gift
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