Spring is on it’s way and with it comes another season we all know and love, formal season! As many of you already know, the southern tradition of painting a cooler for your date has become popular here at Mizzou, so we thought we’d share a little how-to on cooler-making to help guide you in your crafting!
Buying your cooler:
When buying your cooler, you should try to find one with the flattest surfaces possible, so it’s easer to paint on. Some people go as far as spackling-in the logos on coolers to make the sides completely flat, but the logos aren’t too hard to paint over, so this isn’t necessary.
Gathering Supplies:
Buy lots of paint and paint pens! To cut down the costs, I buy big tubes of white, black, red, yellow, and blue, and mix the colors to get different shades that I want. Also, paint pens aren’t essential, but I think they’re easier to use for small details and words. And don’t forget to buy LOTS of mod podge. To make the cooler last, you should mod podge between every layer of paint. Lastly, you’ll need primer, sand paper and a good sealant.
Transferring Images:
Maybe you’re an amazing artist and can free hand the whole thing. But if you aren’t the next Picasso, pick an image you’d like to use from online and print it off in the exact size you would like it to be on the cooler. Next, find some tissue paper, put it over your image and trace the design with a pencil. Then place the tissue paper on your cooler and go over what you’ve traced with a magic marker. The marker will bleed through the tissue paper and it is easy to fill in this outline with paint.
Making your cooler:
1. Sand it well. When you look at your, cooler you’ll notice it has a sort of shine to it. You need to sand away the shine, because otherwise, the paint will peel right off.
2. Prime it. I think using a spray primer is the easiest. Make sure to paint an even coat of primer so you have a blank surface to start with. Primers made to bond to plastic work the best.
3. Paint your cooler. Like I said earlier, if you have the time and patience, putting a layer of mod podge between the layers of paint helps to make the cooler last, but it is by no means necessary.
4. Seal it. I suggest going to a hardware store or Wal-Mart to find a good sealer that is made to last outdoors. Miniwax polyurethane is popular among bloggers who give tips on making a cooler!
5. Impress your date. Yes, coolers take time, but they are a really cool gift for your date and something he’ll show off to his friends for a while. Who doesn’t want to be the girl that made the cooler all the boys are talking about? But coolers don’t just have to be for dates. I’m currently working on one for myself just for fun!
If you have any other questions or you’re looking for more ideas, check out The Cooler Connection on Facebook! It is a group of more than 30,000 people who post pictures of their coolers, answer questions, and just give tips and tricks to help other girls out. It’s a great reference!
Photo Credits
http://sincerely-shannon.blogspot.com/2010/04/cooler-painting-detailed-guide.html– the image of the cooler with supplies in front