Creative Mug Ideas1.0 - App Store

I m sure you ve no doubt seen the idea for DIY Sharpie Mugs floating around and I wanted to try my hand at them. I noticed a lot of people who ve made them say that the black Sharpie tends to fade rather quickly or doesn t do well in the dishwasher, so I wanted to do it a bit differently. Enter, the oil-based Sharpie marker.

What I used:

Cheap ceramic mugs (the cheaper the better) I chose black mugs instead of white

Oil-based Sharpie marker I used white

1-2 Q-Tips

Rubbing alcohol

A pencil

Instructions:

Ensure the mugs are fully washed and dried to remove any residue.

Using a pencil, sketch your design on each mug. I, being the cornball that I am, came up with two cheesy hot beverage-related puns. It s not an easy task, drawing on a curved surface (or being so witty!), let me tell you. Just wait until you have to retrace the sketch with the Sharpie that s where the rubbing alcohol and Q-Tips come in!

Once you re happy with your sketch, carefully trace it with the Sharpie. Like I said, this is not an easy task. You will mess up. About 100 times. More than once. When you do, just dip a Q-Tip into the rubbing alcohol and carefully rub off what you don t want. The marker comes off really easily. Just ensure that you wash the mug off each time you use the rubbing alcohol.

I let my mugs sit for a few days before I threw them into the oven to bake the design on them. Preheat your oven to 425 and bake for 35 minutes. To prevent any cracking in the mug, I put the mugs on a cookie sheet and put them into the oven as soon as I turned the heat on letting them heat up with the oven. Once the 35 minutes was up I turned the heat off and left them in the oven to cool down as well. After an hour or so I took them out.

I let them sit for a few days before (hand!) washing and using them. And there you have it your very own DIY Sharpie mugs! A perfect customizable DIY gift!

Side note: When I baked the mugs, the white writing did yellow a bit, so I have a feeling that if you use any other colour it will also change slightly when baked. They still look great through. I have heard mixed opinions when it comes to washing them some say they are okay in the dishwasher, others say they aren t and fade quickly. Given the amount of time it took me to design, I have opted not to test them in the dishwasher and to hand wash them. I ve hand washed them well over 20 times since I made them and they still look as good as new!

Requires iOS 6.0 or later. Compatible with iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch.