Crafty Adventures...

Recently, I ran across a pin on Pinterest for DIY Personalized Coffee Mugs.  The instructions read: "2 Dollar Store white mugs + black sharpie + bake at 350° for 30 minutes, and it's permanent!"  Look familiar?

Source: dollarstoremom.com via Caroline on Pinterest

With a friend's wedding shower near approaching, I was excited with this idea; it seemed both simple and promising.  However, putting it into practice was another story altogether!  

To begin, I searched multiple Dollar Store for pure white mugs and came up empty.  I ended up buying two at Target, which were nicer quality and around $3. 

Next, I messaged a designer on Etsy that sold personalized mugs, asking her for suggestions on my mug-making endeavour.  She assured me that I would be disappointed with Sharpies, as they're only semi-permanent on ceramics and would eventually wear off.  Also, the writing wouldn't be dishwasher safe.  She highly recommended buying a ceramic pen.  No one wants to give a gift that is accompanied by a list of "do and don'ts," so off I went to Michael's.  After exploring the far-reaches of their warehouse, we settled on a DecoArt glass paint marker in blue.  We = C.J. (my man) and I.  Now, to work!

Step 1: Washed the outside of our mugs with soap and warm water to remove any dirt or grease.  

Step 2:  Practiced the designs on paper.  I recommend measuring the circumference of the mugs, so you know how much space you have. 

C.J.'s handiwork...

And mine!  (The Carmichaels were our soon-to-be-wedded friends. :)

  Step 3: Taped the mug rims.  This helped with alignment, keeping the words parallel to the top.

Step 4:  Deep breath, steady those hands, and begin to mark up the mugs!  C.J. and I wore vinyl gloves so no oils from our hands would transfer to the clean surface of the cups.

C.J. pensively begins...

We found that a spritz of 409 cleaner on a piece of paper towel easily removed mistakes if used immediately.  (See the little wad in the background?) The trick was to assure all the cleaner was wiped off the mug, or it would mess with applying new marker.

   
This one was mine.  I re-traced the lettering a few times to achieve the desired colour shade.  The trick was not to trace too soon, or it would smudge the previous layer.

Some of the letters took two or three attempts...

Yay for lovely-looking results!

The final step was to allow the mugs to air dry for four hours, then bake at 375° for forty minutes. Overall, I was very pleased with the results. A relativity simple and affordable way to create a unique and personal gift!


Here are a few tips:

• Be wiling to pay extra for a quality ceramic marker; they can be used again, and produce better results than a cheap one. 
• Look for the words "dishwasher safe" when searching for a ceramic or glass paint marker. 
• The pen I used instructed that the mugs be baked in a non-preheated oven, meaning they're put in while the stove's cold, and allowed to heat up as the oven temperature rises. Also, allowed to cool in the oven with the door open. That is, the mugs and paint both heat up and cool down slowly. 
• Be creative! C.J. and I did "Mr. Carmichael" and "Mrs. Carmichael" in respective masculine and feminine fonts. Smileys, hearts, nicknames; the ideas are endless!