The best thing about making these epoxy tumblers is that there is an endless number of choices when it comes to designing them, so you can match your personal style, whatever that may be! Being so highly customizable means they also make fantastic gifts. You can match their favorite sports teams’ colors or use waterslide paper to print out a decal of pretty much anything. There’s no end to the possibilities, and if you’re anything like me, you’re going to want to make quite a few for yourself too!!
Because this project uses two-part epoxy, safety is incredibly important. If this is your first time working with it, I highly recommend checking out my article on making an epoxy vanity tray. I’m going to go over the important things in this article too, but that one has pretty much everything you need to know to work with epoxy resin safely.
Always remember when working with epoxy resin:
*Work in a well ventilated area. If you have to work inside, always do so with open windows and/or doors and be careful not to leave your projects to cure somewhere where they can’t “breathe” to let off the smell and fumes they create while they harden.
*Be aware of the dangers that epoxy resin can pose to children and pets. They only need to touch the uncured resin once to put themselves at risk for a nasty reaction (The same goes for you!!) never leave uncured epoxy resin somewhere where it can be at risk of being disturbed. Of course accidents happen, so if anyone does happen to get it on their skin take them to the sink and wash it with liquid soap right away. Never use solvents like rubbing alcohol to remove the sticky residue from a person, they cause the epoxy resin to be able to go deeper into a person’s skin than it would be able to on its own.
*Always wear gloves, every time! Epoxy resin can be a lot of fun, but it’s definitely not your friend so be sure to protect yourself, your clothes, and the area where you’ll be working.
*Temperature is incredibly important when working with two part epoxy resin. Working in a cold area (Below 72F/22C) will affect the time it takes your project to cure. It can take days instead of hours and if it’s too cold, your project may not cure properly at all. If you’re planning on working with unmixed epoxy that has been sitting somewhere cold, you’ll have a harder time mixing it too. Undermixed resin is usually what went wrong if you have parts of a project that won’t harden. To warm up your two bottles before you pour, place them in a bowl of warm water for a while. You’ll have a much easier time combining them when they’ve had a chance to warm up first.
*Always follow the instructions that came with the specific resin you plan to use. Be sure to read them completely before you start.
A Steel Tumbler: Or other metal cup or water bottle. You’ll want to make sure that the size of the cup you plan to use will fit on your tumbler turner. If you plan to spray paint it with a base coat first, be sure to work outside and allow it time to dry before you get started. I didn’t give mine any base coats of paint, but you might want to if you’re working with very fine or light colored glitter. Having a white base coat will make them stand out better.
A Tumbler Turner: Whether you choose to buy one or make one, there are many options available online and in stores. I’m using an electric store bought turner, but there are also instructions online to make either a manual (hand cranked) or electric one if buying one isn’t for you.
The Digital File You Plan to Use: For one of the tumblers I’m making, I’ll be using one of these beautiful rainbows and a line of hearts from the Boho Rainbow Bundle https://www.creativefabrica.com/product/boho-rainbow-bundle/ref/520878/
Two Part Epoxy: The amount you need will vary depending on the size of the cup and the particular decorations you’re using, but generally about an ounce and a half per layer is plenty. You’ll also need cups and something to stir your resin with. Be sure to follow the included instructions on what materials are safe to use with your particular brand.
Gloves: As mentioned above, gloves are incredibly important. They’re your first line of defense, so be sure to wear yours every time you’re working with or handling uncured epoxy.
Waterslide Decal Paper: They come in both clear and white. You’ll want to choose the type that works for the colors you plan to use. Clear only shows up on very light or white backgrounds, so you’ll probably want to choose the white kind to be sure the image or words you’re printing actually show. Also be sure to buy the correct type for the kind of printer you have. Waterslide paper has to be sealed with an acrylic spray sealant before they can be used (Or all the ink will wash away in the water) I used 2 coats of Mod Podge brand acrylic spray.
A Printer: If you’re planning on using a waterslide decal or printable vinyl. You can also use a Cricut or other brand cutting machine to cut your designs out after you print them.
Glitter: The choice is yours! You can stick with one color of glitter or mix and match as many as you’d like. Be sure to have a couple pieces of paper or a paper plate to put under your cup while you apply the glitter, that makes it much easier to put the extra back in the bottle as you’re working. If glitter isn’t your style, you can use mica powders or even just a couple drops of acrylic paint mixed into the resin. Just be sure not to put too much, or you’ll cause the resin to not be able to cure properly.
Spray Adhesive: There are many options. I used Loctite multi purpose spray adhesive to coat my cup before I added the glitter. Be sure to clean the entire outside of your cup with rubbing alcohol before you start to clean off any reside or finger oils that may be on it. Use short bursts of spray to coat your cup and be sure to work in a well ventilated area.
Wax Paper: Use it to protect your work surfaces and also place it between your cup and the turner, there will definitely be drips.
Painters Tape: Or electrical tape, to protect the drinking edge of your cups while you’re applying the glitter and epoxy. Just be sure you set a 30 minute timer and remove it from the edge of your cup before the resin has a chance to set too much.
Be sure to read through the instructions completely before you begin
Start by cleaning the surface of your cup with rubbing alcohol and give it a moment to dry. Take a strip of your painters’ tape and wrap the top lip about ½ an inch down. Remember that you’ll be removing the tape while your cup is covered in epoxy and spinning, so fold a small piece from the end over so it overlaps just a little and gives you a place to grab it. Also, you can fold the extra overhang of tape down into the cup so you can set it on its mouth if you need, but don’t actually press it onto the inside walls if you want an easier time removing it. If you’re going to spray a base coat now’s the time. Be sure to give it time to dry before moving on.
Set up the area where you’ll be applying the glitter before you apply the adhesive. Lay down the paper you’ll use to catch the extra glitter and open up the containers also (As long as you don’t have children or pets who might knock them over while you’re outside) You’ll have the sticky cup on one of your hands when you come back to put the glitter on, so you don’t want to have to fuss with opening up your glitter containers while you only have one hand free. Take your cup outside and (with your hand inside the cup to hold it) spray the entire outside using short bursts of the adhesive and turning the cup as you go. Once the entire outside has been covered, take the tumbler (Still on your hand) back inside to where you set up to add the glitter. Tilt the tumbler at about a 45 degree angle and begin shaking the glitter onto a small strip of the cup, working in small sections as you turn it until you have the bottom half completely covered. you can encourage the glitter to go further down the cup (Towards the mouth that’s at the bottom) by gently tapping on the bottom and wiggling the cup on your hand. Continue until you’ve covered the whole outside. Be sure to catch the glitter that doesn’t stay on the tumbler with the paper you’re working over so you can tilt it back into the bottle. You can spray the whole thing with another coat of adhesive and add a second layer of glitter if you’d like. Set the cup down on its mouth to dry, depending on the conditions where you live, it should only take 30 minutes or so.
If you’re not using glitter you can move to the first epoxy step.
Make sure your tumbler turner is in a safe, level area and protect the base and the area around it with a few pieces of wax paper. Put on your gloves now (Especially if you’re not using glitter, you don’t want to accidently get and oils from your fingerprints onto your already cleaned cup) Place your cup onto the end of your turner and attach it to the base. Measure out the correct amounts of the two part epoxy and mix them according to their included directions. Be sure you’ve gotten a good mix by scraping the sides often, and by pouring the mix into a second cup and stirring it there for a while before pouring back into the first one and continuing to stir it. You don’t want to find out after hours of turning that you didn’t mix it well enough so parts of your tumbler didn’t harden.
Turn your tumbler turner on a medium speed and using a spoon, scoop up a small amount of the mixed epoxy resin. You’re going to want to always apply the resin on the side of the cup that is turning up and over (If your tumbler turner spins clockwise, you’ll work on the left side) If you apply your resin on the side that is about to be upside down you’ll end up with a bunch of the liquid spilling straight off of the cup and onto your wax paper. You’ll use small scoops of the resin to cover the turning cup in drizzles going back and forth. If you’re having too much spill off try turning up the speed just a little at a time. Being careful not to bump the spinning cup, use your spoon to scoop up resin that dripped down onto the wax paper and use it to fill any thin spots you see as the cup turns. once you have an even layer over the whole outside start a 30 minute timer. When the time is up put your gloves back on and carefully remove the painter’s tape from the top edge. Work slowly, you don’t want the tape to accidently touch the still very wet epoxy. After you have it off you can drop the speed a little bit and leave the cup to continue curing. The time needed depends on the conditions where you’re working, usually around 4 hours.
Follow the instructions above, but before you apply the epoxy, separate about 2/3 of the amount you mixed into a second cup. Leave the remaining 1/3 in the original cup and set it aside for now. Take a clean spoon and scoop up a very small pinch of the color mica powder you’d like to use. Stir it into the 2/3 cup and mix until it’s blended in. Apply the colored epoxy to the spinning cup following the directions above, but stop before you get the cup completely covered. Take the uncolored resin and use it to fill in any thin spots that you see as the cup spins. You can take the spoon from the colored cup and use it to gently swirl the two parts together. The spinning around will help smooth out any bumps you made and cause the colored and uncolored parts to start marbling together. Once you have the whole cup covered you can stop there, but if you’d like to get an effect like the one I made take another clean spoon and scoop up just a very fine pinch of the dry mica powder. Use your other hand to lightly tap the edge of the spoon so that the small amount of powder sprinkles down onto the cup as it spins. Continue sprinkling very small amounts of the dry mica powder until you’re happy with the look. Remember that the cup still has a few hours of spinning before the epoxy sets, so the design you end up with might change as it turns. Set a 30 minute timer and return when it’s done to turn down the speed just a little and to carefully remove the painter’s tape from the top edge of your cup. Pay attention when you’re removing the tape, you don’t want it accidently falling onto the still very wet epoxy. Leave your cup to spin and return to check it after about 4 hours.
Use the time while your epoxy is curing to prepare your waterslide decal. Download the image you’d like to use and upload it into the program you’d like to print from. If you plan to use your Cricut (or other cutting machine) upload the image into design space, and scale it down to fit the size of your tumbler. For these 16 oz cups I made my decals around 4 inches big, but you can go bigger or smaller depending on the size you need. Just remember that you’re going to be applying it to a curved, sloped surface, so the bigger you make it, the harder it’ll be to get it to lay flat. There are a few things to keep in mind, depending on the type of waterslide paper you buy (Either clear or white) First, remember when making your choice that (most) printers don’t actually print white. They leave white spaces blank, so if your design has white in it you’ll want to avoid the clear waterslide paper. You should also avoid using clear if you’re applying the decal to a dark background or to any background that might be very “busy” (Such as glitter.) Clear Waterslide Paper really is clear, you can see though it even at the printed parts. I made a glitter coaster as an example, to show you up close what it looks like to use the clear kind. 
Once you’re ready to print, place the paper into your printer. No matter whether you’re using clear or white, you’ll print on the shiny side of the paper. Remove your printed image from the tray when it’s done and set it aside for a little while to let the ink dry. After it’s done take the sheet outside and use the acrylic spray sealant to cover the image completely. Use short bursts of the spray and work in up and down sweeps. Let it dry again and then take it back outside to give it another coat of sealant. Leave it to dry again before cutting it. If you’re using a cutting machine you can place the decal on your cutting mat and then tell it to make your cuts like normal. If you don’t want to use a cutting machine, you can also cut your decal out by hand. Once it’s all done set it aside until your first layer of epoxy is cured (Or not sticky anymore)
Once you have your first layer done you can sand it if you’d like to make sure it’s very smooth. (It’s probably not necessary if you didn’t use glitter) Once you’re ready to apply the top coat use another strip of painter’s tape to protect the top edge and then replace your tumbler back on the cup holder if you removed it. Leave it turned off for now. Take a bowl of lightly warm water big enough to hold your decal and place it underwater with the printed side facing down. It will probably curl up right away, but that’s not an issue, just make sure the whole image gets submerged. You’ll know it’s ready to place when the backing is able to slide right off. Take it out of the water and place it where you’d like it to be on your cup. Gently slide the backing away from the image and then, using your fingers, smooth the edges down onto the surface of the cup until its smooth all over. Water and epoxy don’t mix, so very gently pat it dry with a paper towel and leave it to sit on the cup while you mix the top layer of epoxy. Put your gloves back on if you removed them, and replace the wax paper under and around your cup turner. Measure out the two parts (You’ll need less than you did the first time) and mix it according to the instructions included with your brand. Take a small amount of the mixed epoxy on a spoon and use it to cover the top of the decal. Be careful with the spoon so you don’t rip your image. Then, turn your tumbler turner on to a medium speed, and use your spoon and the remaining mixed epoxy to cover the rest of your tumbler just like you did the first time, working to the side of the spinning cup that’s moving up and around to try to keep it from just dripping right off. Once you’ve got it all covered set another 30 minute timer and come back when it’s done to remove the tape and to slow the speed just a little on your turner. After about 4 hours you can turn the machine off (as long as you don’t see that the epoxy is still wet.) Take your cup carefully off of the machine and set it aside to finish curing.
These might be my favorite epoxy project so far! Did you make one too? I’d love to see it! Comment here or on my Facebook page (1) SaraLux | Facebook and let me know what your favorite part was! I love seeing everyone’s unique creations, and as always, happy crafting!
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