This post is brought to you by Cricut. All opinions are my own.
Justin and I love a good date night, but for the last year and a half those date nights have looked a little different for obvious reasons. We’ve had to skip going out in favor of staying in- but luckily, I have lots of date night at home ideas to keep it interesting! While we’ve tried a few different things, our favorite tried-and-true is a movie date night at home. It’s a classic for a reason!
We order in {or curbside pickup} dinner from a favorite restaurant to start the night off right. The kids join us for this part of course, and love having a special dinner! The real star of the show though? Unlimited popcorn in the fun DIY Popcorn Bowl I made for our movie date night at home with my Cricut Explore Air 2!
Whether it’s a family date night or a true date night, we pop some popcorn, settle in on the couch and watch a movie! Family movie nights are a big deal around here but during our movie date night at home time, we watch movies that the kids either aren’t old enough for or would just be totally bored by.
Since our at movie date night at home nights have become kind of a regular occurrence around here, I thought it would be fun to make a cute popcorn bowl for the occasion! We used to just use whatever bowl was around but it feels more special to have a dedicated date night popcorn bowl {it can be used during family movie night too of course}!
If you’re looking for a great way to make your date night at home extra special, you can make your own special popcorn bowl at home using your Cricut machine!
What you’ll need
A bowl: I got my bowl at the local homewares store, but you could find something online too! I picked a blue one because blue’s my favorite color and the bowl happened to be the perfect size for sharing popcorn, but you could use whatever color you want.
Cricut Machine: I have the Cricut Explore Air 2, which is perfect for all kinds of tasks. You could use any Cricut machine that cuts vinyl for this project though.
Cricut materials: This simple project uses only Cricut vinyl! I used the Cricut Premium Vinyl- Permanent in White so it would really pop against the dark blue, but feel free to get creative here with your favorite color combo! Cricut has so many different colors of vinyl, there’s definitely something for everyone.
Cricut supplies: To help make this project, you’ll want to use: Cricut StandardGrip Machine Mat 12×12, Cricut Weeding Tool, Cricut Transfer Tape, and Cricut Scraping Tool.
How to Make a Popcorn Bowl with your Cricut for your Movie Date Night at Home
First, you’ll need a design to use. I made this one using Cricut Design Space- you can download my design right here or make your own using the software! If you have Cricut Access Premium, you can get access to thousands of images and fonts for one low price.
To make it:
1. Type the words you want to use- I used “Popcorn” and “Time for a Refill!”
2. Change your color in the program and check your sizes. For my large sized bowl, I kept the words large- the Popcorn word was about 10 inches wide and just about 3 inches tall, while the rest was just over an inch tall and about four inches wide per part of the phrase {“Time for” and “a refill!” are each about four inches wide.}
3. Select “Make it”, and check to make sure your words are still within the perimeter of your mat. Make sure mirror is OFF!
4. Place your vinyl on the mat and load it into the Cricut machine. Check your settings on the machine and make sure you have the material dial set to Vinyl!
5. Let your machine get to work and when it’s done, gently remove your mat from the machine.
6. Remove the extra vinyl, leaving your design behind. Use a weeding tool to remove the extras, like the holes in O’s and other small pieces that may still be attached.
7. Apply transfer tape over your design and use a scraper tool to help your design attach to it. Once it’s attached, slowly and carefully peel up the transfer tape.
8. Carefully place your design where you want it to go and using the scraper, dislodge it from the transfer tape and adhere it to the bowl. Ta-da!
Other ideas for popcorn bowl designs
If you want to customize your design even more, you can change up the design! The options are limitless when you use Cricut Design Space. Try one of these ideas:
- Your family name or monogram
- A quote from a favorite movie
- An “established” date with your wedding date
- Individual bowls with each family member’s name on them
Caring for your new bowl- are dishes with Cricut Vinyl dishwasher safe?
Vinyl is very hearty and is likely to last a long time- but how long exactly depends on which type of vinyl you choose and how you treat it! I used the Permanent Premium Vinyl which is designed to last a few years and is even water-resistant and UV-resistant.
You can in fact put dishes with vinyl in the dishwasher- as long as they meet a few criteria. First of all, make sure the dish {in this case, the popcorn bowl} is dishwasher safe in the first place. Then make sure you have no air bubbles or folds in your design as those can cause the vinyl to lift after washing. Let the project sit for a day or two before dishwashing it and when you do so, stick to the top rack only and avoid heated drying, sanitize, or steam cycles. You can learn more about vinyl and the dishwasher here!
Whether you’re trying to make more time for movie date nights at home or you just want a special bowl for family movie nights, I hope this helped you create something fun! If you make a popcorn bowl, I’d love to see a photo so be sure to share it!
What’s your favorite date night movie?
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