How to Make a Balloon Girl Tumbler

3D tumblers are some of the coolest designs out there. These functional pieces of art are sure to draw eyes. Whether you put one on your business page or take yours out and about, people are going to notice. Kelley of Dixie Darlins is back to show us how to make a balloon girl tumbler that is as 3D as they come!

Intro We know that thinking about starting a 3D tumbler can seem intimidating. But you don’t have to be a sculptor or a painter to get fabulous results. In the video below, Kelley shows us step by step how to make a balloon girl tumbler. And the results are adorable!

Kelley uses Culture Sculpt, our sculptable epoxy, to make the little girl and her balloons. Then she uses Dispersion Colors to paint the cured Culture Sculpt. A layer of Artist Resin finishes the 3D tumbler and makes it ready to show off. Even if you have never sculpted anything but playdough, you will be able to make this cup after seeing how Kelley does it. So, grab your Culture Sculpt and let’s get crafting!

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How to Make a Balloon Girl Tumbler

Blurb If you have never worked with Culture Sculpt, you are in for a fun surprise. Culture Sculpt is a 2-part, easy-to-use sculpting epoxy that can be modeled by hand, pressed into molds or tooled for fine detail. Simply mix together equal parts of A and B, and get sculpting!

Artists have used it to make coasters, ice cream tumbler toppers, and loads of amazing 3D tumblers. It is easy to work with and cures like a dream. None of the cracking and drying that comes from working with clay. Want to learn more about Culture Sculpt and its uses? Check out our post Culture Sculpt: All your Questions Answered.

You will find lots of information and inspiration there! And, if you can roll out some playdough worms and cut out some shapes, you can make this amazing balloon girl tumbler and other fabulous designs too.

Other Culture Sculpt Project Ideas

Like we said, there are lots of different ways that you can use Culture Sculpt. And some of our artists have been kind enough to share their projects with us. Here are a few of our faves…

3D Resin Coasters

Meg Epps of Lyndly Grove showed us how to make her “cake topper” coasters in this post. She used cake decorating molds and tools and turned her Culture Sculpt into gorgeous coasters with an antique feel. We loved learning how to make these beautiful and unique coasters!

Gnome Tumblers

These are of our favorite 3D resin tumblers. Misty Leonard of MD Leonard Designs showed us how to make a Valentine’s Day gnome tumbler. It is beyond cute and can be adapted for any holiday or event. You can add as little or as much detail to these little cuties. And Culture Sculpt can do it all!

Tumbler Toppers

Ice cream scoop tumbler toppers are the perfect addition to your summer or sundae themed cups. And Culture Sculpt makes them easy peesey to make! You can paint them to be any flavor you like. And add fabulous clay sprinkles to finish them off. Learn how to make them in our Ice Cream Scoop Tumbler Tutorial.

You can also make adorable snow cone tumbler toppers. Ashley Lee of Craft Crate showed us how she used Culture Sculpt, faux ice, and alcohol inks to create hers. You can learn how here!

How to Make a Balloon Girl Tumbler…

Watch the Video Tutorial Here!

How to Make a Balloon Girl Tumbler

Yield: tumbler

Materials

Instructions

Start by cleaning and prepping your tumbler.
Then give it a base coat of whatever color you want. You can use Prime Time, Dispersion Colors, or Pop of Color Paints for this.
Once your base coat is dry, mix a batch of Artist Resin according to the package instructions and apply an even layer to your cup. Allow it to cure before moving on.
Scoop out equal amounts of Parts A and B of the Culture Sculpt. Then smoosh and knead it together until it is all the same color.
The following sculpting instructions will make much more sense when you watch the video. Kelley does an amazing job of showing and explaining each step...
To make the skirt, flatten your ball of combined Culture Sculpt out and shape it into a pancake. Then start to fold the sides down to that the skirt will stand out from the cup a bit.
Next, cut the top of the skirt off so it's square. Then start to bend and work it to make the pleats.
Place the skirt onto the cup where you want it. Then use your clay tools to finish the pleats and add any details that you want. Lift the bottom of the skirt from the cup a bit so you can fit the legs under it.
Use a tiny bit of alcohol or water and a brush to smooth out the Culture Sculpt.
Now take a small amount of combined Culture Sculpt and roll it out into one snake shaped line for the legs. Cut it in half and your have your two legs. Then put them onto the cup, under her skirt.
Use the alcohol or water to smooth them out.
Next roll out two tiny strips and put them in a U shape under the legs to make shoes.
Then roll out enough for the head. Use the top of a glitter bottle or toothpick container to cut out an even circle. You can use anything you have on hand that will work for this.
Place the head on the cup, leaving a little space between head and skirt. Then add a little section to fill in the gap. This will be the top of her dress.
Now roll out 2 little balls for buns on either side of the head. Make sure they are as close to the same size as possible. Place them on the cup and smoosh them down to flatten them a bit.
Next, roll out a thin section and cut it in half to be bangs on both sides of her head. Imagine a part in the middle. Lay them both down on the cup where her hair line should be.
(You will want to watch Kelley go through this step, it will make much more sense!)
Now roll out small lines for the bows in her hair. Shape them into bows and put them under her buns.
Use a sculpting tool to make little cuts in the hair to make strands and add texture.
Next roll out her arms and put one pointing down and one pointing up to hold the balloons.
Then roll a line for a belt that will blend the top and bottom of her dress and set it aside.
Then make the top of her dress and use whatever you used as a cutter to cut out a neck hole. Then put it in place and add the belt.
Now it's time to make the balloons. Kelley made 6 big ones on the bottom and let them cure and painted them. Then went back in and layered on the smaller balloons.
Allow the girl and balloons to cure. Then choose your favorite Dispersion Color shades and paint right onto the cured Culture Sculpt. For the balloon strings, use acrylic paint or a paint marker.
Once your colorant is dry, add another layer of epoxy to the whole tumbler and allow it to fully cure.

The Finishing Touches

And that’s how you make a balloon girl 3D tumbler. If you are familiar with sculpting this will be super simple for you. But even if you aren’t, remember that Kelley didn’t have any experience with it or painting and she was able to make an amazing cup!

A big thanks to Kelley for showing us how to make this fabulous tumbler. If you loved learning from her, you can subscribe to her YouTube channel and watch all of her awesome video tutorials. You can also follow her on Instagram and join her Dixie Darlins Facebook group.

You can also check out her Linktree where she has discount codes for some amazing tumbler making supplies! Oh, and don’t forget about TikTok. You can find Kelley just about everywhere and we hope you do!

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