How to Apply HTV on Metal Tumblers

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Who doesn’t love a fun tumbler?  I bought my daughter a new tumbler in a beautiful color and wanted to make it a little special.  I’m going to share some tricks I discovered while learning how to apply HTV on metal tumblers.  Here is my first attempt.  It’s not perfect, but my daughter is quite pleased.  She loves how glittery it is.

Tricks for Applying HTV on Metal Tumblers

The Cricut Easy Press has been my go-to tool for applying HTV to just about any surface you can think of.  I recently applied HTV to a hat using the Easy Press check out the post here.  It was definitely awkward using the Easy Press on the hat, so as I planned this project I knew the Easy Press wasn’t going to work.  Luckily I found this little gem. That iron along with this tape made this project doable.

What You Need For This Project

A metal tumbler-I bought these.

high-temperature heat tape

mini iron

HTV glitter vinyl in assorted colors-I love this brand

HTV black vinyl

HTV pink vinyl

Cricut

towel

Parchment Paper

Applying the HTV on the Metal Tumbler

Fold the towel a couple of times so that it makes a nice cushion for your tumbler. Attach the carrier sheet to the tumbler using high-temperature tape.

I know the picture looks like I put all the vinyl on at once, but you want to do it piece by piece.  I started with the horn.  I set the iron to the highest setting and applied heat for one minute.  Allow the HTV to cool before removing the carrier sheet.

Be sure to cover your design with parchment paper as you work.  This keeps the already applied vinyl from melting to the iron.  This was my first attempt, so I did have some trouble. One of the ears was very challenging for me.  I was able to pull off the vinyl and scrape the residue with my weeding tool.  On the third try, I got the ear on!  It’s not perfect, but my 7-year-old isn’t too picky.

Since she is always losing her water bottles, I put her name on the back.

I can’t wait to try another one!