#DIYyour4thOfJuly Superhero Flag Shield Backpack and Water Bottle with Cricut

Hey party peeps! I was so excited to be asked to be part of a DIY hashtag campaign #DIYyour4thOfJuly where we will share ideas for cool DIY crafts and activities for the 4th of July. Today I’m sharing my #DIYyour4thOfJuly DIY Superhero Flag Shield Backpack and Water Bottle. This first week of the campaign is focused on how to use the American Flag in fun, DIY projects. I decided to go with interpreting the flag as a superhero shield!

LET’S MAKE A DIY SUPERHERO FLAG SHIELD BACKPACK AND WATER BOTTLE!

My son is five years old and he ALWAYS has to take toys with him whenever we go ANYWHERE! Instead of me having to keep up with 5 action figures, I prefer to have a small backpack for him that he can carry his toys in when we go out. This 4th of July, I made him his own special backpack with matching water bottle personalized with a Monogrammed Flag Shield graphic vinyl that I cut with my Cricut Explore Air™ 2 machine. He LOVED it and is now all set when we head out to see the fireworks this year…action figures and all!

HERE’S WHAT YOU NEED!

– plain water bottle
– small drawstring denim backpack (from Oriental Trading)
– Cricut Explore Air™ 2 machine
– Cricut Printable Vinyl
– Cricut Printable Iron-On, Dark (optional)

HOW TO MAKE IT

This project is easy to make with my new Cricut Explore Air™ 2 machine. Do you have one of these? It is truly amazing and makes personalizing any item super easy. You can get more info on the Cricut Explore Air™ 2 machine here.

GIRLFRIEND TIP: I chose to use printable vinyl on the backpack so that it would be temporary and can be removed so I can make him a new one for every holiday! If you prefer to make this permanent, use the Cricut Printable Iron-On (dark) instead of the printable vinyl on the backpack.

STEP 1: IMPORT YOUR GRAPHIC INTO CRICUT DESIGN SPACE

As a graphic designer, I am pumped up that I can upload any design I want into Cricut Design Space and it will print and cut it out for me! OH THE POSSIBILITIES! For this, I uploaded a super cool flag shield that I personalized in Adobe Illustrator with the letter M for my son, Michael. I then uploaded it into Cricut Design Space. Once it’s uploaded be sure to save it as a Print then Cut image.

STEP 2: PREPARE YOUR GRAPHIC

Once the graphic is on the digital mat, duplicate it so you have two of the flag shields. Size each one for the size to fit a small backpack (5″) and water bottle (2″). Once you’ve done that, click on MAKE IT.

STEP 3: PRINT YOUR GRAPHIC ON YOUR PRINTER

Place a piece of Cricut Printable Vinyl in your printer and click on CONTINUE in Design Space. You will be taken to a page where you will select your printer and select PRINT. The graphic will print out on your printer. Remove it from your printer.

STEP 4: CUT YOUR GRAPHIC ON YOUR CRICUT

Turn the Smart Set Dial on your Cricut to CUSTOM and then select VINYL, PRINTABLE in Design Space.

Place your printed graphic on a standard grip mat (starting in the top left corner of the mat) and smooth it down.

Place the mat under the clips on the Cricut and hit the LOAD button. The mat will automatically be loaded into the machine. Then hit GO! Your image will be scanned first and then cut out. Hit the load button again once you’re prompted in Design Space and the mat will be ejected from the machine.

STEP 4: REMOVE YOUR GRAPHIC AND ASSEMBLE IT ON YOUR BACKPACK AND WATER BOTTLE

Carefully remove the printable vinyl from the mat, leaving your graphic on the mat.

Carefully remove the vinyl graphic from the mat, remove the backing from the cut graphic and place the larger one on the backpack and the smaller one on the water bottle and smooth them down until adhered fully.

Now we’re all set! My son has his own Personalized 4th of July Backpack and Water Bottle to carry his toys and juice as we head out to see the fireworks this year! How do you #DIYyour4thOfJuly? Share your ideas over on Instagram and use the hashtag #DIYyour4thOfJuly for a chance to be featured by all 9 of my fellow DIY bloggers! Can’t wait to see what you come up with!

PIN FOR LATER!

WANT TO SEE MORE OF MY CRICUT PROJECTS & POSTS?

Click on any of the projects & posts below:
– Check out the NEW Cricut Explore Air™ 2 and up your DIY game!
– My First Project with the new Cricut Explore Air™ 2
– Make Custom Party Plates with the new Cricut Explore Air™ 2
– Make DIY Sweet 16 Party Invitations with Cricut™
– How to Make #16ROCKS! Sweet 16 T-Shirts with Cricut!
– How to Make Your Own Personalized Unicorn Party Plates with Cricut

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Cheers!
Tonya

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– DIY Project & Photography: Soiree Event Design