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Personalized Insulated Mug Tutorial & Silhouette Winner

InsulatedMug-Square

For Christmas this year, we had a Secret Santa gift exchange among the adults in Mark’s family.  I drew my SIL Ashlee’s name, and one of the items on her wish-list was an insulated travel mug.  Naturally, I snatched up one of Pick Your Plum’s daily deals on stainless steal mugs and immediately started scheming how I might decorate it.  (They’re the nifty kind of mugs where the bottom unscrews so you can insert a personalized design.  You know the kind….)

Pick Your Plum Insulated Mug
Love all the daily deals on PYP! (affiliate link)

Well, Ashlee has a Bernese Mountain Dog named Joy who really is so true to her name!

Joy the Bernese Mountain Dog and her owner, my SIL, Ashlee.

So, I decided to build the design for my Christmas gift to Ashlee around “Joy,” and after I found a free clip art file of a Bernese Mountain Dog to trace in my Silhouette Studio software, I found a fitting quote to include, as well.

Joy joy joy joy down in my heart.
{Pin}

In typed up the quote in Silhouette Studio,using a frame from my favorite KG Flavor & Frames font.  For the text, I used the Optima font, but typed out the word “Joy” in Coneria Script Demo, so it would stand out.  Here are a few tips if this is your first foray into cutting text out of vinyl.

Tips for Cutting Text Out of Vinyl

Thin or intricate fonts can be tricky to cut on vinyl.  But there are a few things you can do to help the process go more smoothly.

1.  Make your text a bit thicker by using The Offset Tool.  Even just a slight increase can make a world of difference.

2.  You can also add a frame outside your text and then weed out text portion so only the negative space remains.  That way, if you have a few missing dotted “I”s, it’s no biggie.

3.  Slooooooow down your cutting speed to a 1!

Tips for cutting text out of vinyl.

As you know, this is my eighth vinyl project of the year, so I will keep the rest of the tutorial simple with just photos.  But if you’re a beginner looking for even more detail on the process of cutting and applying vinyl, check out my tutorial for creating custom vinyl labels.  That’ll give you what you need!

Personalized Insulated Mug! Fun and easy gift idea!

Now, wasn’t that easy?

Personalized Insulated Mug!   A fun and easy Silhouette vinyl project.

And you can tuck a few hot chocolate packets inside to sweeten the gift!

Tuck a few packets of hot chocolate inside an insulated mug gift to sweeten the deal!

Here’s Ashlee on Christmas Day with her new mug.  I tell ya, that “Joy” is infectious!

A personalized insulated mug proves to be a great gift idea!

And it goes on and on and on…

Here’s some follow-up reading:

Silhouette Winner

Silhouette Portrait Giveaway (valued at $180) at The Thinking Closet 12/26 - 12/29

Thanks to everyone who participated in the grand giveaway we hosted here at The Thinking Closet last week.  It’s now time to offer to our congrats to the winner of a brand new Silhouette Portrait machine!

The winner, as chosen by Rafflecopter and powered by random.org is…

Giveaway Winner!

Whoo hoo!  Congrats, Cheryl!  What a way to ring in the new year.  {Fine print: I’ve contacted you for your shipping information; be sure to respond to my email in the next 48 hours or else I have to choose a new winner.}

Promotion Reminder

And I’ll take this opportunity to remind everyone that through January 2nd, you have the chance to get your hands on that Silhouette you’ve been dreaming of because Silhouette America is still running a massive sale on their machines and vinyl galore!  Here’s the skinny:

Readers of The Thinking Closet can use my affiliate code, CLOSET, to buy any of these discounted bundles:

  • Silhouette CAMEO® and Vinyl Starter Kit: $339.98 $269.99
  • Silhouette Portrait™ and Vinyl Starter Kit: $219.98 $129.99
  • Vinyl Starter Kit: $39.99 $29.99 (25% off)

Plus…

  • 25% off all vinyl and transfer paper

Silhouette Promotion on Machine Bundles & Vinyl - December 26th - January 2nd using the code CLOSET.

There are just a few more days left if you want to nab this deal!  To get the discounted pricing, visit the Silhouette Promo page (click here for my affiliate link) and enter the code CLOSET at checkout.

Thanks for tuning in, friends, and I hope you enjoy these final days of 2013!

{Linking up here.}

Full Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links, meaning that if you make a purchase using my code, I receive a small commission.  Please rest assured that as always, I only recommend products that I use and love like my Silhouette Cameo!  (In fact, I’m officially obsessed.)

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23 Comments

    1. Whoo hoo! Thanks so much for the feature, Sumo! And for being such a fantastic hostess week after week. I appreciate it!

    1. Thanks, girlfriend! I had WAY too much fun scouring Pinterest for that quote…you know how that goes! 😉

  1. Oh, I love this! The proverbs really seem to fit great!
    And I need another insulated mug anyway and I think, I will have to look after one that can be personalized… This inspired me 🙂

    Love, Midsommarflicka

  2. Yay! Hooray for Cheryl! Congratulations.

    Lauren, I just bought the vinyl starter kit plus a roll of teal for kicks. Can’t wait to start crafting!!! I love this mug…I may have to make a few. I wonder if this is one of PYP’s 40 blowout items for the New Year.

    Happy New Year, everybody!!!!

    1. IT IS! IT IS! I was so excited to see it there today (they must have had some extras from the last sale). Snatch those puppies right up, Heather. They’re a steal for only $5.99! And have fun with your new vinyl starter kit and roll of teal. I’m sure they’ll keep you busy for quite a while. 😉 Happy New Year to you, too, girl!

  3. Very cool, Lauren! What a sweet gift for Ashlee. I haven’t ever made a thermos/mug with my Silhouette – must put it on the “to do” list!

    1. It’s an ever-growing list isn’t it? I can think of SEVERAL of your Silhouette creations from 2013 that I’m hoping to try in 2014 (an HTV pillow and ornament cube for example).

      Thanks for your friendship and sweet comments galore from this past year, Tara. I treasure it all!

  4. Just beautiful! Ashlee will love it! What a thoughtful gift. And we won’t even get started on the beautiful etched 9 x 13 casserole you gave me. I’ve already used it, and it is wonderful. Thank you so much! Love you!

    1. Thanks, Mom! And I’m delighted to know your casserole dish has already been put to use. Really looking forward to enjoying your sweet gift to us this March! Yippee!

    1. Thank YOU for entering! I’m so excited for you, Cheryl, and cannot wait to see what you craft with your new machine.

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