In this summer heat, you’ve gotta make sure you’re drinking your water. My kids love being outside. So to avoid the whole inside, outside, “don’t slam the door,” “close the back door” drama, I make sure that they have their water bottles to take out with them. I recently created a super cute, extremely easy faux tie dye sublimation water bottle that my kids love. Read on to find out how I used Artesprix Iron-On-Ink to make it happen.
What is Artesprix Iron-on-Ink?
Artesprix Sublimation Markers, Ink, and Paint are specially formulated to allow you to use basic copy paper to: color, stamp, stencil, and monoprint anything you wish and turn it into a heat-transferable design. These designs are then applied to a polyester or polyester coated substrate with heat and pressure. You can use a heat press or a home iron! These designs, through this process of sublimation, will become permanent on your substrates.
Supplies
Sublimation Oven
Sublimation Markers
Heat Tape
Transfer Mask
Sublimation Wrap
Copy Paper
Pencil
Tape Measure
SVG Design (The one I used is from Ultimate Crafters Club)
Cricut or other cutting machine
Lint Roller or alcohol and lint-free cloth
Heat Glove or Oven Mitt
Step-by-Step Tutorial
Step 1: Measure your water bottle to determine how large your design needs to be.
Step 2: On your copy paper, draw a rectangle the same size as the measurements of your bottle.
Step 3: Starting from the center of the rectangle you drew, draw random sized lines from the center out to make a circle or a spiral
Pro Tip #1: To find the center of your design, lightly fold your paper in half horizontally and then vertically. The center point will be where the lines intersect.
Step 4: Choose a different color marker and draw lines the same way outside of the lines you’ve already made.
Step 5: Repeat until you have filled the rectangle completely.
Pro Tip #2: Overlapping each layer with the previous layer will give a really nice effect.
Step 6: Upload the svg file to your cutting machine software (Cricut Design Space in my case).
Step 7: Insert a rectangle the same size as your water bottle measurements.
Step 8: Position the svg on top of the rectangle, centering the design both horizontally and vertically.
Pro Tip #3: Designs sized 2.5’-3” wide are usually a safe measurement.
Step 9: Use the “attach” feature in Cricut Design Space to attach the svg to the rectangle and send to cut.
Pro Tip #4: Be sure to mirror your design
Step 9: Add the mask to the back, blank side of the copy paper design.
Step 10: Cut your design on your cutting machine.
Step 11: Remove the cut-out letters from the design
Step 12: Clean the water bottle with a lint roller or lint-free cloth
Step 13: Our sublimation sandwich for this project looks a little different. First, wrap your design around the water bottle and use heat tape to secure it. Next, place the sublimation wrap over the water bottle and use a heat tool to shrink and secure it.
Step 14: Place the water bottle in the sublimation oven.
Pro Tip #5: Craft oven should be set at 370 degrees Fahrenheit (about 188 degrees Celsius) for 6 minutes.
Step 15: Remove the water bottle from the oven when the time is up and set aside to cool for a few minutes.
Pro Tip #6: The water bottle will be EXTREMELY HOT. Use a heat glove or oven mitt to remove.
Step 16: Time for a “peek test.” When cool enough to handle, remove the sublimation wrap and design from the bottom edge of the water bottle and see if the print has transferred. If it looks good, you’re good to go and can move on to the next step. If not, you can tape it back up and place it back in the oven for a couple of more minutes.
Step 17: Congratulate yourself for a job well done!
About My Sublimation Water Bottle Design
As I mentioned in the supply section, I got the design I used for this tutorial from Ultimate Crafters Club. The club is a community for hobby and business Cricut crafters and is hosted by Stephanie Moore of Lettered By Stephanie, and Megan Meketa of Lovebird Heartworks.
Inside the club you’ll experience new crafting projects each month, find resources to help you in your crafting journey, and, of course, gain access to tons of Stephanie’s beautiful hand-lettered designs.
The Ultimate Crafters Club offers 3 membership tiers, including a FREE tier, a crafters tier, and business tier.
Interested in checking it out? Use my link here. And when you get in, tell them Mrs. Craft Lady sent you.
For more refreshing ideas for your next Iron-on-Ink project, check out the Artesprix Blog. Let us know if you try out this project by using the #Artesprix & #IrononInk or post your project to the Artesprix Facebook Group. Be sure to tag me as well. I’m EJsFunCrafting everywhere. And don’t forget to order your water bottles soon so you can get to creating right away!
To find more sublimation and Artesprix tutorials here on my blog, click on the links below.
Now, go make something cool!
