DIY Beverage Tub

It’s summertime and we are ready for those fun backyard parties! How about you? Make your own DIY Beverage Tub using your Cricut (or other die cutting machine) and our FREE SVG files.

This fun ice bucket is a great way to keep your beverages cool all through your party. Or take this along on a picnic, to the beach, or while watching your kid’s ball game. It’s perfect for on the go.

You can find more Cricut crafts here!

Cricut DIY Beverage Tub (with FREE SVGs)

Choose from “Chillin” or “Enjoy” or add one design to each side of your DIY beverage tub. It’s up to you! This step-by-step craft tutorial will show you everything you need to know. Let’s get crafting!

Materials Needed:

• SVG Files – Chillin, Enjoy
• Cricut Maker with Fine Point Blade 
• Permanent Glossy Vinyl, white (I love Oracal – if you’re going to leave this outside a lot, you might want to use their outdoor permanent vinyl. Cricut also makes an outdoor permanent vinyl)
• Standard Grip Mat
• Transfer Tape
• Galvanized Beverage Bucket
• Scissors
• Weeder tool
• Brayer or burnishing tool
• Measuring tape

Instructions:

Gather supplies.

Preparing the Images:

Open Cricut Design Space. 

Click on the “+” sign to start a new project, opening up a blank canvas.

Click on the “Upload” button from the toolbar and browse your downloaded files to insert the SVG file.

The cut image will appear on the canvas. 

With each layer of the image selected, click on the “Attach” button to secure all parts of the image together for cutting. Do this for each one of the designs you are using. You can choose to use just one of them or put one on the front and one on the back.

Using a measuring tape, measure the size of your galvanized tub. Adjust the size of your design(s) to fit accordingly. To adjust the size, highlight the image and click on the size box in the top toolbar. You can type in the dimensions that you’d like. Or you can also size by clicking and dragging.

Cutting the Vinyl:

Select “Make It” in the upper right corner to proceed with cutting.

Choose the Outdoor Vinyl, Permanent from the list of options in the drop down menu.

Place the Permanent Vinyl on the standard grip mat. Use a brayer or burnishing tool to make sure it is well adhered.

Following the instructions prompted on the screen, cut out the vinyl.

How to Apply Your Design

Cut around the image(s) with a pair of scissors. Alternatively, you can leave the vinyl on the mat and use your TrueControl knife (or other craft knife) to cut away the excess reusable portion of the vinyl to save for another project.

Weeding

Using the weeding tool, peel away the excess vinyl around the cut images and discard. I like to weed on the mat. I learned this trick from the Makers Gonna Learn team. It’s like having a third hand to help you hold the vinyl down while you’re weeding.

Pro Tip – If you’re having any issues weeding, be sure to burnish your design well to help it stick to the backing as you weed away the bits you don’t need.

Cut a piece of transfer tape a bit larger than the size of the image. 

Peel away the transfer tape backing and place the transfer tape overtop of the cut image. Once again, you want to use your brayer or squeegee tool to help it stick to the transfer tape.

Peel away the vinyl backing, leaving just the image adhered to the transfer tape.

Application

Clean your surface well to avoid having any dirt, debris, or fingerprints interfere with having your design adhered well. I generally use rubbing alcohol for this on non-porous surfaces like glass and ceramic. For this galvanized metal, I would test that on the bottom before using it where it will show. Otherwise, just use a cloth dampened with water.

Carefully consider the placement before applying as the permanent vinyl is nearly impossible to remove if placed incorrectly. That’s kind of the point of using permanent vinyl, but it does mean you need to use some caution. Position the image with the transfer tape on to the beverage tub and press in place. 

Pro Tip – Since it’s a rounded surface, you can cut some slits in the transfer tape (use care not to cut through your design) and this will help your design lay flat on the surface.

Press the image down with your fingers or with the scraping tool to help it to stick to the tub.

Slowly remove the transfer tape leaving the vinyl image on the tub. Repeat with the other image on the opposite side of the tub if desired.

Fill the tub, chill and enjoy:)