- Hello everybody. Jennifer Maker here. It's a beautiful day to
work some sublimation magic. Have you ever made a mistake
sublimating a tumbler? Me too. We all have, but don't
write it off just yet and definitely don't throw it away. Instead, I'll show you how to transform your messed up tumbler into something new and beautiful in this video. (bright music) You probably know by now that all kinds of things can go wrong
when you're sublimating. Sure, it produces beautiful
and amazing results too. But let's be real. We've all had our share
of missteps when working with sublimation, and
when you consider the time and the money spent on
sublimation projects, ruining a tumbler with a
poorly positioned transfer, a ghosted design, the wrong color profile or a messy seam can make you want to give up on sublimating altogether. But please don't give up. Did you know that with
the right technique, there's a pretty good chance that you can actually remove much of the sublimation
design from your tumbler? Really. I'm serious. You can. While not every sublimation
blank can be reused and your results may vary
depending on the original design, it's definitely worth a try, especially for a tumbler that you'd otherwise not use like this one that I put on backwards. I forgot to mirror it, right? Now, we all know that crafting produces some waste, unfortunately, and it's often unavoidable,
but when possible, I try to repurpose anything I can and I encourage you too also. So today I'll show you
two different methods for removing sublimation
ink from a tumbler and I'll share all of my tips
to help your project rise from the ashes too, with one of these stunning new
Phoenix designs that I made with AI art technology and Photoshop. To re-sublimate a tumbler, you're going to need a design
dark enough to cover most of the mistakes that might not
lighten all the way to white and I'm going to tell you how
you can lighten your projects and these designs are perfect for that. You can use mine or your own but you do want dark
designs for this technique. I'll show you how to get my designs later. But first, let's talk
about the standard supplies for sublimating a tumbler real quick. So you need a dedicated convection oven. You don't want to use
your kitchen oven, right? You need some blowout
paper, sublimation printer and the paper, the usual things. And if you need a refresher on sublimation you'll find an in-depth video over at jennifermaker.com/sublimation
for beginners. You'll also need a heat gun like this one for lifting the ink from smaller areas and a silicone mat for a
really important safety measure I'll show you in a moment. All the tools and materials for this technique are
listed below this video and in the tutorial over
at jennifermaker.com/507. One more thing that
you'll need is some time. How much time depends on a lot of factors but you need to expect
the un-sublimation process to take anywhere from an
hour to even four hours. Yes, I said four hours. This is not a quick process,
but if you're ready to try it, let's remove some sublimation ink from your tumbler and
give it some new life. I'll show you the two approaches I tested and then I will reveal which one I loved and which one I would not recommend. So let's get started. Step one, get my free
re-sublimation designs. Download my Phoenix sublimation designs at jennifermaker.com/507. You can either download them right from that link by saving
the project or download from my entire free design collection. To find it, look for libraries
in the red bar at the top, and then click either get a password if you don't yet have one or click enter the
library, search thr page for design number 507 and click the link to download
the designs, unzip the file and in the folder you'll find a PNG folder with three Phoenix designs. These are perfect for re-sublimating a tumbler because they're dark and will nicely cover any ink left behind from your previous sublimation design. If you want to use something else, look for dark sublimation
images or create your own with AI art using my AI art workshop. You can get details on that over at jennifermaker.com/ai-art. I'm going to show you
how to do this technique with the free designs I
provided for this tutorial. So pick your favorite, then prepare and print it with your
sublimation printer. If you're not sure how to do this, check out my helpful tutorial at
jennifermaker.com/sublimation-print-method. If you need any help figuring out what size to print your
sublimation design, be sure to watch my easy sublimation tumbler tutorial at jennifermaker.com/404. If you're using a tapered tumbler rather than a straight sided tumbler, my How to Sublimate
Tapered Tumblers tutorial has some helpful tips that
you'll want to know too. You can find that over
at jennifermaker.com/501. Step two, remove the sublimation
ink from your tumbler. Before you begin,
un-sublimating your tumbler, make sure you're in a well ventilated area with a fan or even completely outside. This process produces a lot
of fumes which are unsafe for you, your family, and
your pets to breathe in. Remember, safety first. These are a couple of tumblers that didn't quite
turn out the way I wanted. Remember, mistakes can
happen to all of us. That's just the nature of crafting especially with sublimation. (bright music) Option number one, use a heat gun. For our first test,
we'll try out a heat gun. If your tumbler has one small mistake like this white spot here above the words, this is a great method to try. Now it does require some
important safety measures though, the fumes will be extra strong when you're un-sublimating your
tumbler using a heat gun. So be sure you set up an
area to do this outside. Put on your heat-resistant gloves. Then place the tumbler on a heat safe surface like
a Cricut easy press mat. Start by turning the heat gun on its lowest temperature
setting and keep it at least a quarter of an inch away from the tumbler and keep the heat moving over the surface. If the ink doesn't start
lightening after a few minutes, try turning the heat gun up to the next highest temperature setting. Apply heat to your tumbler in the area that you'd like
to correct or sublimate over. Once the area you'd like to
remove has lightened as much as possible, allow the tumbler to cool on your heat resistant surface for at least 20 minutes
before touching it again. While this method can be effective for covering small mistakes
or doing spot corrections on your sublimated
tumbler's design, it would take quite some time to remove
the whole design this way. So if you want to remove the whole design, try my next method. (bright music) Option number two, use a convection oven. Some tumblers end up with more mistakes and
they have better results Re-sublimating if the
entire design is lightened, so preheat your convection oven to 385 degrees Fahrenheit
or 196 degrees Celsius. Now, these small convection
ovens can sometimes be off on their temperatures, so use
an oven thermometer placed in the center for an accurate reading. Next, use rubbing alcohol
and a lint-free cloth to clean dust, debris, or
fingerprints off your tumbler. Now we need to protect the inside of the cup from ink vapor too. I got this idea from Daniel and JZ over at Just Might DIY. Cut a square from a silicone mat just big enough to fully
cover the cup's opening. You may be wondering why we don't do this when we sublimate blank
tumblers, and that's because in this case, we're
releasing the ink that's on the tumbler instead
of just transferring ink to a tumbler. That sublimation ink we release
is going to go somewhere and we don't want it to
go into our tumbler where it could be reactivated with
a particularly hot drink. So we cover it to protect it. Use the cut mat to cover the cup's opening so the ink won't settle inside when it's sublimating in the oven. Without this step, the cup
won't be safe to drink from. Once your convection oven
has come up to temperature, put on your heat-resistant gloves then carefully place the tumbler
in the center of the oven. Close the oven to begin
the transformation. After 15 minutes, with your
heat resistant gloves on, rotate the tumbler 180 degrees. Be sure to keep the silicone
square covering the opening. And depending on your project,
the ink could take more than an hour to fade. Every 15 minutes, put on your
gloves to check the progress and rotate the tumbler 180 degrees. This will make sure that all parts of the tumbler are heated
equally and evenly. After the fourth 15 minute cycle, the ink should be significantly lighter. If the ink has released in
some places more than others return the tumbler to the
convection oven, check it and rotate it every 15 minutes
until it's more evened out. My tumbler took about four
hours to lighten to this state. Yes, I said four hours,
but yours might take more or less time depending on
the tumbler and the design. However long yours takes, remember to be patient and
rotate the tumbler often. Once the ink is lifted evenly
and isn't getting any lighter set a pressing mat or another heat resistant
surface near the oven. Carefully remove the super
hot tumbler using your heat resistant gloves and let it cool on that safe surface
for at least 40 minutes. Don't touch it without gloves before then and remember to turn off
your oven too, while some of the original design still
remains on the tumbler, yes it is now light enough to sublimate over with a darker design
like our Phoenix, I found that the convection oven
method produced the most consistent results and probably in less time, really less time. Just be absolutely sure that you are in a well ventilated area
outside when you do this. Now that we removed as
much ink as possible from our tumblers, we're
ready to sublimate over them. Step three, re-sublimate your tumbler. Remember to keep up your good ventilation and then depending on
your tumbler's shape, you can use the steps for
my skinny tumbler tutorial or my tapered tumbler
tutorial to re-sublimate. I have linked to both
of my blog posts about removing the sublimation ink
at jennifermaker.com/507. So you'll want to preheat
your dedicated convection oven to 385 degrees Fahrenheit
or 196 degrees Celsius. Use a flexible measuring
tape to measure the tumbler from top to bottom and
get the circumference and get your printed sublimation design and a paper trimmer and some scissors. Trim the top and bottom edges of the design right on the
edge of the printed area. Then trim the left edge so there's just about a
quarter of an inch strip of white left next to the design. Place the print face up
on your work surface. Then place the tumbler on top with the open edge of the
cup facing away from you. See where certain areas didn't
lift as well as other ones? Let's orient the tumbler
so the darkest parts of the wrap will cover that residual ink. Now wrap it tightly around the tumbler, as tightly as you can. Where the edges overlap. make sure the end with the white is showing
on the outside of your wrap. Check that the top and bottom edges of the design are even on your tumbler. And make sure that the cup is completely
covered all the way around. Holding the bottom edge of the
wrap securely to the tumbler, add a piece of tape to the middle of the free end with the white edge. Then holding the wrap
tight to the tumbler. Pull the loose side with the tape as tight
as possible around it. Then press the tape and
place on the lower layer. Add two more pieces of tape
above and below the first piece. Add more tape perpendicularly making sure the entire seam is covered. Now add some tape to
cover the topmost part of the seam with some
extending past the edge with your thumb on the
bottom part of the tape. Use your other hand to pull
it tightly over the edge. Then press it down inside the tumbler. Repeat for the bottom
part of the tumbler too securing the paper and tape
to the bottom of the tumbler. Continue to tape all along
the top and bottom seams. Now feel for the edge of the
paper underneath the seam. Use your small scraper tool or your fingernail to
press along that line so the paper is completely touching every bit of the tumbler. This may seem like a small step but it's the best way to
get the ink to transfer with a less obvious seam. Continue to use your
scraper to burnish the tape around the top edge of the tumbler too. This is to get any air pockets out which may interfere
with your sublimation. Then do the same on the bottom. Cut a sheet of butcher paper big enough to wrap around your tumbler. Then tape it around the outside of the cup the same way you
did with the printed wrap. And now it's time to add your
last layer to your tumbler. I really like to use
these thick silicone bands to hold the wrap in place. Slide the bands onto your
tumbler, and for the best results, be sure to space them out evenly. Make sure that your top and bottom most bands are as
close to the edges as possible. And if you don't want to
use the silicone bands you can also use shrink wrap tubes or a silicone sleeve. Instead of silicone bands, you can also use shrink wrap tubes. Your shrink wrap tube
should be the right size to easily fit the widest
part of your tumbler. Insert the tumbler into the tube then put on your heat resistant gloves and use a heat gun to slowly heat the wrap so it conforms to the tumbler
and wrinkles smooth out. Don't make it too tight though or it will pull apart in the oven. Another option is to
use a silicone sleeve. You can make it tighter by
pulling in the edge pieces. It's pretty easy to use
and locks with a click. When your convection oven is
up to the right temperature place the prepared tumbler in the center of the oven and set a
timer for six minutes. At the three minute mark, put
your heat resistant gloves on and rotate the tumbler 180 degrees. This helps to evenly sublimate it. After your six minute timer is up put your heat resistant gloves back on and remove the tumbler from the oven. Set the tumbler down
on a heat safe surface like a pressing mat and leave it to cool
for at least 40 minutes. Then remove the tape, butcher paper and sublimation paper to
reveal your reimagined and re-sublimated tumbler. Step four, show it off. Here are all the tumblers
that I've saved today with this method. Aren't they beautiful? Now, instead of becoming
trash or having unsightly and annoying mistakes on
them, our oops tumblers have risen from the ashes
into tumbler phoenixes. Didn't these turn out amazing? I know I always say a cup with a messed up design
will hold a drink just fine. But if you want to try a do-over, I highly recommend this method. I have saved so many tumblers
this way, and instead of being reminded of the
mistake, every time I use it I have this awesome reminder that I can turn mistakes into
something really beautiful. And don't forget, you
have that superpower too. So what do you do if your original sublimated
image just won't lighten or your unhappy with the results of your re-sublimated tumbler? Because I know that happens. If that happens to you, you can try redecorating your
tumbler in a different way like coding it in glitter
epoxy resin, right? I have a whole tutorial on that over at jennifermaker.com/134. Now, if you do go to the epoxy route, be sure to check my safety tips at jennifermaker.com/epoxy-safety. Don't skip these. They're super important, but
if epoxy isn't your thing my best advice would be
to cover the mistakes with vinyl or put the cup
in a coozy, or is it cozy? I don't know how to say that word. Or decorate it with stickers and put some pens or
Cricut tools in there. There are a lot of ways to repurpose it so it doesn't end up in a landfill. Just be creative. Now to care for you're
a re-sublimated tumbler and keep it looking its best, I recommend hand washing
it with warm water. Just like any other sublimated tumbler. they're typically not supposed
to go into a dishwasher. You're probably can if you really want but if it gets too hot,
it can re-sublimate. So just keep that in mind, right? Everyone's dishwasher's
a little different. So the safest thing is hand washing. However, I did find that
the coating may be prone to scraping or scratching
after it's been re-sublimated. So take a little extra care with these. There's so much to learn
about sublimation, I know. So if this got you excited to learn more, come check out my sublimation
startup mini course over at jennifermaker.com/sublimation-startup. I walk you through all the basics from setting up a sublimation printer with the right ink to which
tools are helpful for beginners. I also show you how to
use the free software to print designs and share all of my tips on getting the best
results with each press. Not to mention, I've got tons of ideas and designs for
projects that you can sublimate. You can sign up right now and learn at your own
pace without any pressure. You'll find all the information over at sublimationstartup.com. I also have a Facebook
group just for sublimation which is a great way to see all
of the fun that you can have with it and all of the amazing
things that you can make. It is an awesome group filled with really, really good people. And whether you're new
to sublimation or not I invite you to come join us at jennifermaker.com/sublimation-group. I'd love to have you come
ask questions, share ideas and get inspired. And that's it for today. Until next time, this is Jennifer Maker, reminding you to craft a life you love. (bright music)
