Ombre Epoxy Tumbler: Easy to Follow Video Tutorial From Start to Finish!!

Watch a full video tutorial from start to finish on how to make an ombre glitter epoxy tumbler.

Are you looking for that perfect gift for Mother’s Day?  I truly believe that giving a sentimental gift is the best way to go for Mother’s Day. 

As a Mom, I cherish and love everything that my kids make me over what they would find in a store.

It doesn’t have to be expensive or fancy.  That’s not what a Mom really wants.  She wants to know that someone was thinking about her and spent time making something that was special to just her.

My mom has been asking for a new glitter epoxy tumbler, so I thought I’d make her one with some help from her grandkids and my Cricut.

This is just one of the many reasons I love my Cricut.  It can cut out pretty much anything including your own handwriting.  Let me show you how to make these unique glitter tumblers.

Materials Needed for Ombre Glitter Cups with Vinyl

Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links from Amazon and/or Cricut.com. I receive a small commission at no cost to you when you make a purchase using my links (purple text).

• tumbler – I prefer to use Built, Mossy Oak, or Ozark tumblers from Walmart or Amazon
• spray paint
• mod podge
• glitter (optional: matching acrylic paint)
• epoxy resin
• Cricut cutting machine
• adhesive vinyl – I used black, brown, and holographic
• wet sandpaper
• smartphone or scanner
• painter’s or electrical tape
• a white piece of paper and Sharpie
• FREE Happiness is Being a Grandma/Gigi SVG file

You can always browse my Amazon storefront with my complete DIY Tumbler supply list.

How to Make Ombre Glitter Tumblers

I have quite a few tutorials on DIY glitter tumblers and how to personalize a stainless steel cup, so make sure to check them out for more detailed instruction on this part. 

For this tutorial, I made a full video tutorial of how I make the ombre glitter tumblers from start to finish so I won’t go into as much detail throughout the post.

Make sure to watch the full glitter mugs instructional video tutorial down below.

Let’s get started…

Wash the tumbler and apply electrical or painter’s tape to the top (and bottom – optional).

Spray paint the tumbler if needed.  I was using white glitter for the top of the tumbler, so I painted the whole thing white. Let it fully dry.

If doing an ombre glitter tumbler, paint the bottom of the already painted tumbler with an acrylic paint that somewhat matches with your other glitter color and let dry.

Apply a layer of mod podge with long even strokes over the entire tumbler.

Dump glitter all over while you are turning the tumbler so the mod podge is all covered. Tap the bottom so excess falls off.  If making it ombre, glitter the two halves in the two different colors.

FOR OMBRE Glitter Tumblers ONLY:  If you are making the DIY glitter tumbler just one color you can skip this step.

I wasn’t overly concerned with the ombre effect in the middle since I knew I was going to add larger glitter in the epoxy and that it would cover some of it.  However, to make it blend a bit more, I mixed 2/3 white glitter and 1/3 gold glitter together in a cup. 

Apply Mod Podge to just the upper part of the middle section.  Hold the tumbler at about a 45-degree angle and start sprinkling on the glitter from much higher (about 8-12 inches above) while you turn the tumbler.

Then mix the opposite combination – 2/3 gold glitter and 1/3 white glitter together.  Add some more mod podge if needed.  Sprinkle on the lower part of the middle section from farther above.

Epoxy Tumbler Time

Remove the tape once all the glitter is on and then let dry fully (overnight). Use a flat dry brush to remove excess glitter.

Time to epoxy! Epoxy resin is a fun and versatile medium. Make sure to check out how I made resin keychains for more inspiration on how to use it.

Tape off the top of the tumbler, 1-2 mm above the paint line (and bottom if you did before).

Mix A and B solution of epoxy thoroughly, should take about three minutes.  I used 15 ml of each solution.

Since I wanted a little extra glitter all over this epoxy tumbler, I poured a little bit of larger glitter directly into the epoxy.  I used some bronze stars, mauve chunks, and white jumbo glitter.  Stir the glitter in until it’s mixed well.

Put the glitter cup on a hand turner or DIY cup turner. Apply epoxy, smoothing it up and down the tumbler while you rotate it slowly. 

Continue rotating for 4-6 hours depending on temperature. Remove the tape 45 minutes into rotating. Set timer so you don’t forget!

How to Cut Your Own Handwriting with Vinyl

While the first layer of epoxy is drying, now is a good time to get all your vinyl cut out.

So, here comes the fun part!  Cutting out handwriting with a Cricut.  I used a similar method when I made DIY Father’s Day shirts with iron-on vinyl and a DIY Mom hat.

I had each of the five grandkids write down a few things that described their Gigi.  It works best to have them use a Sharpie or thicker black marker and to write neatly on a blank white piece of paper.  This will make the contrast better.

Then you have two options to upload it into Cricut Design Space.

The first way is to use an app called Adobe Capture to turn it into an SVG.  I used this method when I applied one of my Grandmother’s recipes to a pot holder with iron-on vinyl. 

Watch a video tutorial on how to use Adobe Capture in my sentimental gifts post.

The second way is to take a picture of the paper.  I used my smartphone and sent the picture to my google drive so I could open it up on my laptop easily.

Download the file onto your computer.  Open Cricut Design Space and open a new project.  Click “upload” on the left side.

Click “browse” and find your downloaded file.  Click to open it.  Select “Simple” and click “continue”

Now you’ll need to clean it up.  If you need to crop it, do that first with the crop tool on the upper left-hand side.

Now, use your cursor to remove the insides of the letters.  Place your cursor in the center of the letter where it’s still gray and click. 

Repeat for every spot of gray.  Then click continue.

Then erase all of the gray backgrounds.  Make sure the wand tool on the upper left side is selected and use your cursor to delete the background.

 Place your cursor over any part of the gray and click on it.  That will make most of it disappear.

Click on the right one, “Save as a Cut Image” and click save.  Now insert it onto your canvas.

Size it to however big you want it and then cut out with vinyl.  Weed off the extra vinyl and they are ready to apply.

For the other side of the tumbler, I applied the wording “Happiness is being a Gigi” with a shadow layer.  You can download the free SVG file here.

If  you’d like to learn how to make the shadow layer in Cricut Design Space, watch the video tutorial here (or sometimes it moves to the top!)

Next Step to DIY Epoxy Tumblers:  Applying the Decals

Once the tumbler is fully dry, spritz some water and wet sand around the entire tumbler until it’s smooth.

Clean the tumbler off with rubbing alcohol, apply the decals with transfer tape, and let it cure for an hour or so.

Or you can use an embossing gun to apply heat to the vinyl and press it down firmly with your fingers.  This prevents it from lifting during the next epoxy step.

Tape off the top (and bottom if you did before) on the same line you used before.  Repeat the epoxy step (stir solutions, apply to cup and turn for 4-6 hours).

DIY Ombre Glitter Tumbler Video Tutorial

Enjoy your nice new personalized epoxy tumbler!

I  love the holographic vinyl!  It adds such a cool color to the glitter cup.

All the words stand out with the black and brown vinyl I used to cut them out of.

Another fun Mother’s Day gift idea would be a DIY puzzle from a picture I made using my Cricut Maker.

If you’d like to save this epoxy tumbler tutorial for later, hover over the top left corner of the image below and PIN IT now.

Which one will you make??  Thanks for stopping by and have a creative day!