Epoxy-Free Ombre Glitter Tumbler: Step-By-Step – Creation Ladder

Epoxy-Free Ombre Glitter Tumbler: Step-By-Step

AT NO EXTRA COST TO YOU! Thank you!

Ombre is a pretty cool effect, so when you apply that with sparkly glitter, it only gets more awesome! This blog post will take you through each step after the tumbler has been properly prepped until the ombre glitter, epoxy-free, tumbler is complete! Please see the prep blog for step-by-step directions on how to do a proper tumbler prep! You can find that here How to PROPERLY Prep a Tumbler: Step-By-Step – Creation Ladder!

Materials:

CrystaLac Brite Tone

(Optional) CrystaLac Extreme Protection

Parchment Paper Roll or some other paper/aluminum foil to catch the glitter to save as much as possible

newspaper

turner with insert

prepped tumbler (I like to buy from this company to get a deal! They also have pre-sanded tumblers to make life easier!) and base coated with Universal White by CrystaLac

Get most of the items for this project at Makerflo!

Steps:

Place your prepped tumbler that has been sanded, washed, and base-coated (see the prep blog post for more details if you haven’t done the prep yet) on the turner with the insert inside the tumbler…it is important that it fits properly for the turner to be even and to get a uniform coat!

When making an ombre tumbler, it is beneficial to have it similar colored to the glitter that you will be applying. This will help to reduce the amount of glitter that you will need!

For this one, I did a Universal White base coat and then painted with 3 colors of acrylic to have the background be similar to the glitter colors. (You do not want to use acrylic as a base coat because it doesn’t have the properties to adhere to metal!

After it is completely dry, apply an even coat of Brite Tone or Extreme Protection over the entire cup, just enough to make the cup wet, so the glitter will stick to it! I like to use a bare finger and swipe in one-direction from the base of the cup to the rim.

Let it spin around a couple of times to level itself out!

Place a catching device under the tumbler (parchment paper, aluminum foil, or even just regular paper will work for this)! The goal is to not waste glitter!

Pour glitter color 1 on the top third, and pour glitter color 2 on the bottom third and the bottom of the tumbler (I recommend tipping the turner over the parchment paper to catch any falling glitter). Then, fold the parchment paper in half and pour the glitter into a separate container (like a recycled yogurt cup) and mix it together. Fill in the middle by shaking the container over the spinning tumbler. Next, take a pinch of the glitter that has fallen and sprinkle that that on the “sides” of the middle line. This will help to create a more ombre effect, instead of harsh lines!

It is important that it is polyester because other glitters can “bleed” and it will ruin your design! Get polyester glitter here https://makerflocrafts.com/collections/glitter?sca_ref=694763.rFFmVpmR6x! To test if a glitter will work and not bleed, simply put a little bit of glitter on a white paper and put several drops of water on it. If all the color remains on the glitter, then it should work perfectly! Make sure that you apply enough glitter and catch any of the fallen glitter on the catching device.

Let it dry for 4 hours. After 1 hour, if you want to you may move it to a drying rack or place it upright, so it is hanging with the base at the top. Try to avoid touching the tumbler while you are moving it! It is perfectly fine to leave it on the turner for the entire 4 hours, but if you want to save electricity or use the turner for another cup, it can be moved. You do not want to leave it parallel to the floor with the turner off because if it isn’t dry enough, gravity could pull the materials towards one side of the cup. If you hang it, it won’t be lop-sided.

After it is fully dry remove the catching device and place your glitter back in the container to reuse. You may want to store it in the yogurt container since you wouldn’t want to change the rest of the glitter in the the original containers! Place recycled newspaper under the tumbler to prevent your surfaces from getting sticky.

Spray E6000 all over the tumbler as it is spinning. It is okay for spots to turn white, they will dry clear! If you have bare spots or need additional coverage, you can apply more glitter now (it will stick to the E6000)! Place the catching device under the turner before adding more glitter to prevent the glitter from sticking to the E6000 that ended up on the newspaper.

Wait at least 20-30 minutes! Generally, I wait an hour because I change my turners out on the hour mark and it just makes it easier for me to work on all of my tumblers at the same time.

If you added a second layer of glitter, spray E6000 all over the tumbler as it is spinning again and wait at least 20-30 minutes.

Turn off the turner. Take parchment paper (or another similar surface that won’t stick to the glitter) and lay it down on a flat surface. Take the tumbler and place it on the parchment paper, wrap the entire tumbler in the parchment. “Smoosh” (squeeze/smush/roll) the tumbler. Make sure to do the bottom as well! This will help the glitter to flatten, which will reduce the amount of layers of Brite Tone that you would need to put on the tumbler (less cost and less time!).

Place the tumbler back on the turner and apply Brite Tone or Extreme Protection. I like to drizzle the Brite Tone/ Extreme Protection over the tumbler and use my bare finger (you can use gloves or a brush if you choose) to spread it out in one direction, from the base of the tumbler to the rim! Do this until all of the spots are covered with a thin, even layer. The product will continue to even itself out as it spins on the turner. Allow it to dry for at least 4 hours.

After 1 hour on the turner, it is safe to move it to a drying rack or invert the turner to 90 degrees (with the base of the cup at the top). Try not to touch the tumbler! Apply 3 or 4 layers of Brite Tone/Extreme Protection. If your glitter is more course, you may need additional coat before sanding.

After it is fully dry (at least 4 hours) and has at least 3 layers on it, lightly sand the tumbler with 400 grit or higher sand paper. Level sanding is helpful! Dampen an old cloth/towel and wipe off all of the dust from the tumbler, then dry.

At this point, you could add a vinyl decal, tattoo, or sublimination if desired.

Continue adding Brite Tone (as described above) and sanding after 3 or 4 layers until you reach your desired final coat! You may choose to use Extreme protection for the first part of this process, but you do want to finish the last few coats with Brite Tone!

After it is finished, I like to leave it inverted for 3-5 days to harden. Then, I CAREFULLY use a knife blade to clean the rim. ***ONLY DO THIS IN A SAFE MANNER AND IF YOU ARE AN ADULT!*** I love this knife blade kit and use it for so many projects! Next, wash with a gentle soap and water. Lastly, dry THROUGHLY!

Brite Tone is an environmentally-friendly, water-based, product that takes up to 30 days to cure! I tell my customers that they may drink out of it right away (after I had let it cure for at least 5 days, after my final coat, before I gave it to them), but to be careful with it as it is not fully cured!

Get most of the items for this project at Makerflo! https://makerflocrafts.com?sca_ref=694763.rFFmVpmR6x