Make It Yourself - Personalised Milkshake Bottle

Instructions

Job Set-up

1. Create or import your design into your cutting software, I've used Silhouette Design Space. I've used small crosses as registration points and have positioned them in each corner of the design. If you want to know how to create registration shapes in Design Space you can find instructions here. If you haven't already done so assign your vinyl colour to the corresponding shapes and an additional colour to the registration points. Click on SEND to go into the cutting menu. At the top of this menu you will see a FILL command, this will allow you to cut each colour individually without having to select the shapes manually

Cutter & Mat Set-up

2. Smooth your first piece of vinyl onto the mat making sure the positioning corresponds with the position on screen. If you are using a full A4 sheet or a mini roll you can work without the mat if you prefer. Ensure you leave a small space in the upper left corner for your test cut. Load your cutter, check your blade for debris, adjust the knife depth if required and perform a test cut (see here for 'how to perform a test cut') If all your vinyl is from the same range you should only need to do this once.

Cutting the Job

3. On screen, select your vinyl colour and the colour of the registration points so that they are highlighted and send to the cutter. When done, load the second colour into your plotter, select the relevant colour onscreen along with the colour of the crosses and repeat until all 4 colours have been cut, each with registration points on. Weed as usual.

Aligning Job

4. Apply application tape to your first piece of vinyl making sure it is the colour that will show uppermost on the bottle, in my case it would be the text without the shadow. Squeegee firmly then peel the tape away lifting all the shapes including the crosses. Now, with the shapes still on it, position the same piece of tape onto the second colour. Start from the top and position the crosses on top of each other before smoothing the tape down onto the rest. If your crosses were correctly aligned your text should be positioned correctly on top of the shadow. Repeat for the remaining colours until you have all your shapes in position on the single piece of application tape.

Applying Your Vinyl

5. Clean and dry the bottle to remove any dust and grease. If you are using clear app tape which can be quite rigid, take your scissors and snip a couple of centimetres each side between the two sections of text without cutting them apart completely, this will allow the app tape to drape smoothly over the curves of the bottle rather than creasing. Using something to steady the bottle, lay your application tape lightly in position, if you prefer a second chance, tear off a small piece of the backing paper so that only a small area is adhered initially. Once you are happy with the positioning, peel away the remainder of the backing paper and smooth the app tape onto the bottle, then squeegee firmly into place. Folding a corner of the application tape back onto itself, slowly peel it away making sure that all the shapes stay in position on the bottle. If they start to lift simply replace the tape and smooth with a squeegee or your finger as your body heat will speed up the adhesion.

6. Leave for 24 hours before using or washing to allow the adhesive time to cure. Fill with as much chocolaty goodness as you can manage!