DIY BBQ Gift Ideas For Dads Made On The Cricut- Perfect For Father's Day

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I belong to a family of men who love to BBQ. My Dad BBQ’s every single weekend, all year long. My husband has 5 smokers and loves making smoked salmon, he’s also pretty bad ass at the grill. My brother in law loves buying half cows and whole pigs from local farmers, and always has a freezer stocked full of meat for the BBQ. Yes the men in my family love to BBQ. When I think of Father’s Day, with the warm weather and the dads who I am closest to, I always think of gifts for the grill.

Last fall I created the above image that went viral on social media. It was given a lot of love, but there were also quite a few people who strongly disagreed with point #1. If I were to do this image again, I would move #1 to #5… but I wouldn’t get rid of it all together. Budget definitely isn’t the #1 reason to give handmade gifts and YES there are so many cases where making something costs more than buying it at the store, BUT when you have a well stocked craft room like I do, with craft supplies that have already been purchased and are waiting to be used, handmade gifts become more affordable.

I also love hunting for good deals for the things that I make my handmade gifts with. I love dollar store crafts. I adore walking up and down the aisle of the store imagining how you could change the ordinary into extraordinary. The base of all three of todays DIY BBQ gift ideas came from the dollar store– a white plastic serving tray, a colorful container with handles (perfect for marinating meat in), and a black apron.

The designs for this post were cut using my Cricut. If you visit Hello Creative Family, you know that I have a love affair with my machine. I can’t tell you how many times it has saved my butt, helping me come up with a last minute outfit, gift, or prop for a photo shoot!

Last week my daughter went away for Girl Guides Camp and I last minute had to make her a jester outfit. I knew there was no way I was going to get her into a full on jester costume (she doesn’t like to be the centre of attention), so I had to think up something cute, that would make her feel like she was wearing her own clothes, but would still fit the theme. This is what we came up with.

I purchased the SVG file from Etsy, uploaded it to Cricut Design space, changed the colors to match a blank shirt I already had, cut it out and ironed it on. Then we sewed bells onto a black headband and paired it with striped tights and a skirt! Instant jester outfit!

Here is another project I made this month with my friend Auntie T. She made these gorgeous frames for her mom and mother in law for Mother’s Day. The birds on the left side of the tree are made with Cricut’s new holographic vinyl. It is STUNNING and changes color from blue to pink as you move around the room. You can find the SVG file for the tree here and for the quote here.

I created another Cricut project this month, but I’m going to use it to tackle this month’s “Cricut Question of the Month”.

Cricut Question Of The Month: Will it be easy for me to learn the Cricut Design Space software to create my own custom projects?

When I was first trying to tackle the decision of whether I should buy a Cricut or a Silhouette I decided to ask my crafty friends which machine they use and what they like about it. Some of my friends own both machines and one thing I heard over and over again was “The Cricut is so easy to use. You can start using it the minute you take it out of the box and connect it to your computer. The learning curve is low with the Cricut and the design software is extremely easy.”

I would agree with these comments 100%. The Cricut is very easy to use, whether you are using images from Cricut Access, uploading your own images, creating Make It Now Projects, uploading SVG’s you find online or purchase, or whether you are using Cricut Design Space to create your own designs.

I haven’t yet started creating SVG’s of my own (though it’s definitely on my bucket list), but I often play with fonts to make jpgs of word art that I upload to the machine like the writing on these DIY Say Yes To Adventure shirts.

I’ve also started to play with the shapes in Cricut Design space and using the slice, attach and weld buttons to create my own designs! I made the adorable S’more on this S’mores bin using slicing and attaching circles and rectangles to make this adorable design!

I also played around with the slice and the weld function to create the flame frame that’s around the skull in today’s post!

So, thinking about buying a Cricut?

The first thing I would say is “Do it!”

The second thing I would say is “Watch some fun YouTube videos of people using their Cricut as you wait for your machine to arrive.” I watched videos while I waited for mine and when it arrived, I was practically an expert! 😉

The third thing I would say is “Play!” Get in there, experiment with what all the different buttons do, upload some SVG’s and jpgs, try some Make It Now Projects and have fun. Your Cricut will quickly become the best craft item you have ever purchased!

Ready to make some fun DIY BBQ Gifts for Dad? Read on for my tutorials!

DIY BBQ Gift Ideas For Dads

My family and I have a running joke– when my daughter does something that I think is exceptionally awesome, brave and out of the norm for her I tell her that she is “Bad Ass”. Each time I do it she gasps then giggles and say “Mom! You shouldn’t say that! That’s a bad word!” I love it. I’m doing everything I can to raise a bad ass girl (as defined above). I have a bad ass husband who works his butt off for our family, supports me through all my crazy dreams and endeavours and who loves us unconditionally. I’m also raising a bad ass little boy who will one day scale mountains, belts out songs like a rockstar and dances like no ones watching.

When I designed this project I meant Bad Ass as a compliment. I hope that you all see it the same way. However if “Bad Ass” isn’t your thing, feel free to go in, play with the file and create your own wording that’s the perfect fit for your family! Enjoy!

Materials for all 3 projects:

Materials for the apron:

Iron On Light or Iron On Glitter (For this project I used Red Glitter for the flame frame and White Iron On Light for the skull and words)
Apron
Iron

Materials for the tray and container:

Cricut Vinyl in black or your favorite color
Cricut Transfer Tape
Cricut Scraper Tool (alternatively you can use an old credit card)
Tray and/or container (I bought mine from the dollar store)
Foam brush
Mod Podge Dishwasher Safe Formula

Directions for the apron:

Step 1: Open my My Bad Ass BBQ Dad Design File in Cricut Design Space, size the design to the size that you would like it for your apron.

Step 2: Click the round green Go button. You will then be brought to the cut menu. Make sure to click the “Mirror Image for Iron On” box on in the preview box for each color of iron on that you are cutting so that your image cuts in reverse (you want to do this since the Cricut cuts iron on with the front facing part facing down). Set your Cricut dial to iron on. Follow the prompts on the screen to cut your vinyl.

Step 3: Weed away the “negative” part of the design that won’t be used on your apron, and then iron it on the apron according to the instructions for your Iron On Material.

Voila! Your Bad Ass BBQ Dad apron is ready to go!

Directions for the container and tray:

Step 1: Open my My Bad Ass BBQ Dad Design File in Cricut Design Space, size the design to the size that you would like it for your container and/or tray.

Step 2: Click the round green Go button. You will then be brought to the cut menu. Set your Cricut dial to vinyl. Follow the prompts on the screen to cut your vinyl.

Step 3: Weed away the “negative” part of the design that won’t be used on your tray/container.

Step 4: Get out your transfer tape and cut a piece as big as your largest design. Your vinyl design should be on the paper that it was cut on with the vinyl pointing up. Remove the paper backing of your transfer tape and lay the sticky side against your vinyl design. Use your Cricut Scraper Tool, a credit card or your hands to firmly apply pressure all over your design and make sure it’s adhered to the vinyl.

Peel up the transfer tape making sure all of your vinyl design sticks to it.

Position your design and lay the transfer tape on top of your platter or container with the sticky side facing down. Smooth down and use your Cricut Scraper Tool to make sure the design has stuck to the object you are attaching it to. Peel the transfer tape up, leaving your vinyl design behind.

A note about transfer tape: It’s so important to use the right tools for the right job. I can’t speak highly enough about Cricut Transfer Tape. It’s the best. For a long time I was using transfer tape that was opaque. I love that Cricut’s transfer tape is see through. With the grid lines and the clear tape it makes application a breeze. Get some. You’ll love it!

Step 5: Following the instructions on the Mod Podge, using your foam brush apply a thin even layer of mod podge over your platter or the lid of your container. Allow to dry for 1 hour then repeat. Repeat until you have 3-4 coats of mod podge applied. Give the recipient instructions to allow to cure for 1 month before washing.

Viola! You’ve created some awesome handmade gifts for the Bad Ass Dads in your life!

Tell me… What do you usually get for men in your life? Are they easy to chose gifts for or do you have a hard time finding the perfect gift? Do the men in your life love to BBQ the way mind do?

Disclosure: Thank you to Cricut for working with us on this post. As with every article on Hello Creative Family, all thoughts and opinions are 100% our own.