DIY Star Wars R2-D2 Bowl

I love any excuse to have a movie night. Relaxing on the couch with blankets, puppy cuddles (when the puppy will sit still, that is), blankets, and snacks is my ideal evening. And, yes, I love to watch new movies, but I absolutely love to watch my favorites again and again and again. From Harry Potter to Lord of the Rings, Star Wars to Marvel, I can watch these films non-stop. (If only Netflix could tell me how many times I’ve re-watched certain movies… lol)

And with Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker coming to theaters on December 20, 2019, we have the perfect excuse to soon kickoff a Star Wars saga marathon in preparation for episode IX — complete with themed snacks, of course.

I recently traveled to Galaxy’s Edge at Disneyland and was blown away by all of the amazing merchandise! Yes, we bought lightsabers (more on those coming soon!) and of course I had to scoop some new Rey gear, but if I could have, I would have brought one of every item home with me! Unfortunately, I only had so much luggage space. 🙁 One of my favorite items that I spotted was an amazing R2-D2 kitchen bowl! I automatically had heart eyes, but when I picked it up, I knew I wouldn’t be able to take this home easily on the flight. It was SO heavy — which normally would be a good thing — but unfortunately I knew it wouldn’t be easy to travel with. And that when I decided to make one myself — the perfect snack accessory for our upcoming Star Wars marathon!

DIY Star Wars R2-D2 Bowl with Decal

What You Need:

• 8 qt. stainless steel bowl
• R2-D2 files — main pieces DOWNLOAD, bottom pieces DOWNLOAD
• Vinyl — blue, black, red
• Transfer tape
• Cricut Explore Air II (or a similar machine) and cutting accessories (mat, weeder, scraper)

Download the R2-D2 files (found in the list above) and load them into Cricut Design Space. Size your files accordingly based on the size and shape of your bowl and proceed to cut it out on black vinyl.

NOTE: While I used my Cricut to cut out my vinyl, you could also print out the files at your desired size and use them as a stencil to hand cut the pieces on vinyl.

For my 8 qt. bowl, I chose to size my main blue vinyl pieces (for the body of the bowl) at 4.15 inches height, my red circle at 1.1 inches height, my black circles (combined file) at 2 inches height, and the bottom blue pieces at 9 inches height.

Once your vinyl is cut, carefully weed off the extra pieces. Then, using transfer tape, adhere your vinyl pieces in the following order.

Start by applying your blue vinyl pieces at the top rim of your bowl. My bowl luckily had a natural change in texture near the top edge that I was able to use to line up my pieces. I like to adhere my vinyl in small sections at a time in case I need to fix my spacing. Because of this, I started with the large rectangle in the center and then the trapezoid-like shape below it. Next, to the left of those shapes, I added the small black circle (see image above for reference), then I added the blue rectangles to the left of the circle, being careful to line the top edges with the initial rectangle. Next, repeat the step by adding your other rectangle set to the right side. Add your red circle to the left side of your top rectangle, then apply your large black circle to the middle of your blue trapezoid-like shape.

Truthfully, I feel you could leave your bowl at this point and be happy with the R2-D2 inspired design, but if you have enough vinyl and would like to add the bottom design (file above), flip your bowl upside down and adhere the large circle to the center of the base of your bowl. Remember, most of the time you won’t see it with the bowl sitting on a table, that’s why I say this step is optional. Then, carefully place each of the remaining pieces around the bottom edge of the bowl, applying them one at a time to ensure your spacing is equal.

Vinyl Tip: Okay, this might not be an official vinyl technique at all, but hey, vinyl is hard and this is what worked for me! Since we are working with a round object, many times, it can be challenging to get your vinyl to lay flat without air bubbles due to the curved edges. While I am sure this is not the proper technique, I’ve found that when a piece of vinyl starts to bubble, if I make a small cut in the vinyl piece, it will help it to lay flat on the round surface. After making your cut, smooth one side of the vinyl flat, then smooth the remaining side.

Yes, it is a big bowl for popcorn… but can you ever really have too much popcorn?! Anzu doesn’t think so…

Beep bloop blop bleep boop.