Cooler painting (as in "the painting of coolers")
 

http://pinterest.com/kjbama14/cooler-connection/

I haven't seen this in California.
Where is this a trend?
There's a column on TSM (Total Sorority Move) that makes it seem mandatory to craft a masterpiece when you get asked to a fraternity formal.

This is definitely a trend in the south...and it basically is mandatory to craft a cooler for a fraternity formal on campuses where it's popular

They do it in south Georgia for sure!

ETA: my son has an ADPi/Sig Ep one that someone gave him--maybe he went to an ADPi formal? His fiancee is a Phi Mu and I don't think she cares for it too much.:D

The trend has migrated to Ohio. Both at Cincinnati and Miami, I know such gifts were given this semester.

Cooler painting is pretty popular here in Florida colleges, but not so much with my chapter. For formal its not really a mandatory thing but some girls do it. The ones who are in sororities usually paint one.

Everyone at Mizzou does it. If a guy asks you to his fraternity formal, it's basically mandatory that you make him a cooler.

I know some sisters from Virginia Tech who own decorated coolers, and it was the first I had heard of it.

Pledge moms (similar to the old-school Little Sisters) give painted coolers to the new fraternity initiates at my son's school. My friend said the Big Sister Thetas at UGa gave them to their Littles when they initiated as well.

Painted coolers are pretty big at Clemson too-one of my friends in a sorority was working on one in our hall the other night. If you walk by one of the sorority dorms on a nice day you can usually see a few girls painting them on the outdoor tables.

I was at a hotel in Tennessee when two winter weekends were being held, and one painted cooler was better than the next! One that I thought was skillfully painted had ice cubes on the sides, with cans of beverages riding along on the ice. Here are some ideas.

The trend is starting to pick up at ASU. Hopefully I'll get one at our next formal!

It's starting to pick up in Oregon too.

I don't understand how these cooler painters who are presumably in college to study have time to make these creations. Beyond the actual designing and painting, there is a ton of prep work to prime the plastic and then to seal the designs. You have to wait for one application to dry before putting on another so I suppose these crafters are studying while waiting for layers to dry.

The designs seem to be evolving as well. Many of the more complicated designs are actually color pictures decoupaged onto the cooler. Again, these need to be sealed multiple times to prevent damage from normal use. Some coolers have bottle caps lining the entire floor of the cooler and I saw one clever woman who incorporated a waterproof sound system into hers.

All about time management. We all learned that through pledging and being an active how to best manage our time.

We did similar stuff in college...party cups. Igloo used to make large insulated cups that we decorated for EVERY party. You made one for you and your date. By the end of college, you'd have hundreds. I used to be the resident painter for AOII and literally spent days prior to a party painting dozens of cups, each set with a different design.

There's a facebook group dedicated to these puppies (Cooler Connection)--quotes, designs, tips/tricks, troubleshooting, etc. I made one for myself just to see how it worked and it takes a while to get the hang of it. It took me about a month to finish it last summer since the trick is to mod podge the whole thing after every layer so it is less likely to chip, and when it does, it takes off less of your design. I would do a section/layer and then modge podge and wait a day or two for it to dry. They aren't super time intensive in the sense that it doesn't take that long to paint on the designs, but it's the 'down time' in drying that takes forever

Can't believe the time taken to design & paint is for a guy (& a date weekend).
Seems like all the hours involved of crafting a cooler masterpiece would be really appreciated for something like Big/Little Sis Reveal.

They spend a month or more planning, then building, homecoming decorations.

I made my first quilt, all hand-stitched, when I was in college. (Actually in grad school, but I lived in the chapter house.) That was 39 years ago I still have the quilt and use the degree. ;)

I'm glad these were not a thing when I was in college. I'm just not that artistic, and I'm sure whoever ended up getting a cooler I painted would have been disappointed!

I am shocked that people don't do this everywhere!

At least one of those elephants is "Big Al" - The Alabama mascot.

http://media-cache-lt0.pinterest.com...604e940d63.jpg

Well, for starters, I'm not even sure people would know what to do with a cooler at many schools, i.e. anywhere that tailgating isn't really a thing.

Or is there some other use that is eluding me right now?

(They're still awesome, though...I have a rolling cooler that's been used many times in my post-collegiate life)

Waiting to see a custom, motorized cooler.
http://www.cruzincooler.com/main%20art/CS.jpg

Almost did a marketing promotion for a bottled water brand using this scooter-cooler. You can send in your logo & the company will customize it for you.

I realize I may have given some women an expensive idea, but please note that you CAN get a DUI driving one of these if you are over the limit.

From what I’ve seen, they are not just used at school related events (tailgates, house parties etc.), but anywhere one would use a cooler. And in the South, there are lots of opportunities for a cooler – especially in the summer.

So what do you do if you end up at the end of your college career with multiple painted coolers?

Party at the lake. :D

Um NO. Unless they are all attached to one fraternity and have a pledging program, they ARE NOT.

This whole cooler painting thing is stupid. If we would have given guys those, they would have said "Why the @#$% did you waste money on this crap when you could have spent it on alcohol?"

According to my nephew, the coolers come filled with beer - allegedly. ;)

Now when I was an undergrad, the coolers I saw (and used) were white styrofoam coolers. And the “really cool" ones might have a decal (school logo and/or GLO letters) slapped on it. :cool:

But even so....if you didn't buy puffy paint YOU COULD BUY ANOTHER 6 PACK.

Ha, that's true...I wonder if men think they are cool, or just pretend to because the women put so much time into them.

They are very big at Arkansas - some girls have small cooler painting businesses going! The frat guys consider them a bit of a status thing - like, hey, look how cool my cooler is compared to yours. My date rocks!

However, if you are really cool, you already own a Yeti cooler which trumps any of these and everyone knows it. In that case, you can just add another decal to it and your date is off the hook. Yetis covered in various stickers and decals are trendy in this neck of the woods.

I had to google Yeti cooler. Didn't realize it was a brand.
$279 for the least expensive cooler! $799 for top of the line.
OMG

For that much money, the cooler better produce its own contents!

The guys I know who have Yetis use them for serious stuff like hunting and fishing. The painted coolers are more for social things.

Those Vineyard Vines coolers are unbelievably awesome.

My roommates and I have talked all the time about how we wish this was a thing in Michigan. We use coolers a lot, in and outside of Greek Life, and I love the chance to show off cool stuff I own. :P

I'm thinking about taking the time and making one this Summer, though.