Yesterday, I met up with my friend Julie for lunch. We had a great time together, and the time flew by.

I didn’t arrive at the restaurant empty-handed; I came bearing sublimation gifts. I made J a sublimation shoulder bag, tumbler, and hoodie. The theme was Mickey and Minnie Mouse for all the items gifted to her. I had wanted to make these things for her when I surprised her with the Mickey and Minnie Mouse stickers almost a month ago now. However, due to time constraints, I was unable to create those items at that time, and so they were placed on hold.

But, back to the tumbler. I chose the design I wanted to make for Julie printed out the design on A-Sub, the sublimation paper I use. I placed it into the convection oven that I use exclusively for sublimating, and five minutes later, I had an awesome tumbler.

Sublimating Skinny Tumblers

1. Print design on sublimation paper, use mirror image.
2. Allow a few minutes to dry.
3. Apply lint roller to tumbler to remove any dust
4. Try not to touch the exterior of the tumbler to reduce transferring oils to the surface of the tumbler.
5. Wrap tumbler with sublimation paper, secure with sublimation tape
6. Place shrink wrap tumbler sleeve over tumbler
7. Use a heat gun to shrink the shrink wrap
8. Place oven thermometer inside the oven
9. Set convection oven on bake.
10. Set temperature to 350 F
11. Set timer for five minutes
12. Place tumblers into the 350 F oven
13. Turn tumbler at 2.5 minutes
14. Take tumbler out of the oven, and submerge into a pot of cool water
15. Remove from water
16. Peel off sublimation paper
17. Dry and enjoy your sublimated tumbler

I linked to Snazzy Moon’s design on Youtube in my last video. I’ve found their youtube videos to be very helpful for tumbler sublimation, and they are my go-to videos for creating sublimated tumblers. Additionally, the owner is amiable and responds to comments left on their Youtube page.

Friday, I created the sublimation hoodies. Yes, I said hoodies. I made her two; however, one of them did not turn out well, so I’ll be redoing that. And I finally had time to complete everything I wanted to create for her this past weekend. I made her two shirts. One turned out great, the other? Meh, I need to remove the vinyl and try again. I’ll have to write a post about that and show the before and after.

 

In other news…

I purchased two pairs of heat-sensitive gloves. I have several pairs; however, a few are used for our wood stove, and I also have a few sets for baking. So I’m not using those for sublimating.

I purchased a few more project folders. I have eight of them which I use for my sticker papers, shrink film, and sublimated paper. Since my stock-pile is growing, I discovered that I needed a few more.

I also purchased a T-shirt folder; three sizes. I actually think I do a great job folding t-shirts; however, I must say that I’m wanting to check this tool out for myself.

 

As I mentioned in my last video, I was up much past midnight. I finally went to bed around 3:00 AM. I thought about sublimating; however, I decided to take it easy and wait until I awoke later this morning. I was up around 5:40 AM. And started getting ready to sublimate. Here’s what I did!

I sublimated a shirt and tumbler for my nephew. I sublimated the shirt first. He loves the manga One Piece, and so that’s what I created for him. I purchased both designs on Etsy.

Sisir (pronounced Ceasar) Easy Subli HTV was used to sublimate on a 50% Cotton, 50% polyester shirt.

I must say that I love this product, and it’s definitely worth the price you pay per sheet. I first printed the graphic onto A-Sub Sublimation Paper, and then I transferred that onto the Sisir Easy Subli. I’d washed the shirt last night. I prepped the shirt by using my lint roller on the shirt. I then placed it on the new table that I’d opened up this morning and prepared the surface for 15 seconds with my Cricut EasyPress 2.

I loved the results. There was no ghosting today since I remembered to prep my surface and the shirt by placing my Cricut EasyPress 2 on the surface for 15 seconds. Then, I neatly folded up my nephew’s shirt and moved on to the 20oz. Skinny tumbler. I’ve sublimated tumblers twice before and was not happy with the results.

If you’re looking for great tips on tumbler sublimation, I would highly recommend watching Snazzy Moon Designs on Youtube. The videos are incredibly informative. As before, I followed the directions Tracey mentioned in the above video.

The design was printed on A-Sub Sublimation paper. First, I used my lint roller to wipe down the tumbler. Next, I applied the printed design to the tumbler, wrapping the A-Sub paper firmly around it and securing it in place with heat-resistant tape. Next, I placed a shrink-wrap sleeve over the tumbler. Finally, I used my heat gun t shrink (not melt) the shrink wrap. I then put it in the oven for five minutes (turning at the halfway mark). The temperature was 350 F.

The tumbler turned out perfectly!

My nephew loved the shirt and the tumbler. The long sleeve shirt was promptly put on shortly after we arrived at their home, and when we left (hours later), he stated that he’d be wearing it again and again. He thanked me again, through my daughter, shortly after we arrived home.

Tomorrow, I have a few more sublimated shirts and tumblers to make. This time, I’m making them for a former co-worker/friend.