It’s May y’all… May! Which means it’s officially summer which means down here in Alabama it’s H-O-T. The hour or two I spent outside blowing bubbles were absolutely scorching! Of course, that all pales when you’re having a blast creating this fun summery unicorn canvas!
I am literally in love!
I love all of my Cricut projects but this one was so much fun to make. I mean bubbles y’all… playing with bubbles is way more fun then I remember. I highly recommend an afternoon with a few bubbles in the backyard as a fun stress reliever… add a kitty and a puppy to chase the bubbles.
Just trust me on that one!
Supplies
Bubbles!
Glue
Disposable Bowls or Cleanable Jars
Watercolors
Rose Gold Glitter
Silver Glitter
Cricut Explore Air 2
Cricut Cut Files
Vinyl
Scissors
Canvas
Paper Towels
Small Paint Brush
Need help picking your perfect machine? I’ve got you covered!
Step 1: Cut Your Vinyl
The first step is to cut your phrase out of vinyl using your Cricut. I decided to go with “Be a Unicorn in a Field of Horses” since I wanted to use fun summery colors! You can download the Cricut Cut Files for this project here! Once your vinyl is cut use your transfer tape to place the letters onto your canvas.
Make sure to smooth down the edges of each letter very carefully. Since we’re using watercolors they have a tendency to bleed and you want as little bleeding as possible since the bubble solution will help spread the color.
Step 2: Blow Your Bubbles!
This is the fun part… go ahead and mix all of your colors using your watercolors and bubble solution. I found that about an inch of watercolor squeezed into your container with about 1/2 of bubbles was a good mixture. It allowed for vibrant colors that still worked with the bubbles.
No I didn’t measure… I just eye-balled it and added a bit more pigment or bubbles if it was too saturated or too liquid. This isn’t science… it’s art!
I did try acrylic craft paint just to see how it would work and the paint was way too dense to work with the bubbles… which is sad because I had a beautiful blush tone I wanted to use!
Try to blow your bubbles when it’s not very windy and from a couple feet away from your canvas for larger bubbles! For smaller spots I like to dip my fingers or bubble wand in the bubble paint and kind of fling it at the canvas. You do get a bit better control this way so you can direct where you want the spots to go… and is the reason why I put paper towels on the supply list!
Step 3: Add Glitter
If you are looking for a little more sparkle try adding glitter! I made a mixture with 1 part glitter, 1 part bubbles and one part clear glue (the kind you buy at WalMart for kids projects). That way it sticks to the canvas but isn’t a huge clump of just glitter and glue.
Now just let your canvas dry! I like to make sure it’s out of the wind so that dirt and leaves can’t blow into the glue but it can’t get knocked over.
Step 4: Take off the Vinyl
Now it’s time to take the vinyl off! This is the fun part.
Just make sure when you go to take off the vinyl that all of the letters are clearly defined first. While there are plenty of bubbles on the canvas I used my watercolor pens to add a little more color to the lines in between “horses.”
Then I used my metallic brush pens to add a boarder around the letters so that they popped just a tiny bit more!
Step 5: Brighten up your Letters
Remember when I said your letters might bleed a little if the paint went under the vinyl? Well luckily that’s fairly easy to fix. Since we used watercolors the first step is to use a water pen (or a small brush and water) to pick up as much of the pigment as possible. Simply brush water over the white letters (where the pigment is) and either push the pigment to the edge of the letter or pick it up with a bit of paper towel.
If there is still a bit of pigment left simply go over the letters with white watercolors and a small brush! Easy peezy lemon squeezy. Just make sure the water from picking up the pigment is dry before adding more watercolors… otherwise they’ll just mix.
Step 6: Add Glitter!
If you’re up for it go ahead and add a little more glitter! I decided that I wanted “Unicorn” to stand out even more so I went a little further off the grid and added a rose gold glitter boarder to “Unicorn.” I used a little fine tip needle bottle to add clear craft glue around the letters and then shook glitter onto the canvas.
Make sure to brush all the excess glitter off the canvas and back into your jar… and then you’re done!
Time to enjoy!
If you’re looking for a few other summer cricut crafts I’ve got you covered! The ladies in the Craft & Create With Cricut Challenge have whipped up quite a few fun summer projects… check them out for yourself!
12 Summer Projects to Make with Your Cricut:
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- DIY Beach Art
- Personalized Popsicle Banner
- Summer Tank Top using Printable Iron-On
- Flip Flop Summer Sign
- Wooden Summer Sign with Iron-On Vinyl
- Flocking Fabulous Sunglasses Case
- Summer Ball Cap DIY
- Rapunzel Magic Hair Disneyland Shirt
- Summer Sun Drink Tray
- Holy Guacamole! It’s An Avocado Topiary!
- Fun Summer Unicorn Canvas
- Take Me Out to the Ballgame Onesie
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This sign is so cute & extra fun to make! Love Love Love this idea! My kids would love trying something like this (& me). Pinning!
Betsy!!!! This is so cool! Unicorns, bubbles, and glitter! What’s not to love!!! Me and my granddaughter are going to try this!
It would be such a fun project with kids! It made me think of childhood the entire time! Hope you have a blast.
This looks like it was a blast to make! I love the way it turned out and as a lover of glitter, I fully support you adding even more glitter, lol.
This looks like such a fun project and it turned out so pretty!
This is such a cool project!! I have never tried this bubble technique. I will have to test it out with my kids! Thanks for sharing this tutorial!