DIY Sharpie Mugs

As promised, here's a mini tutorial on the basics of making your own personalized sharpie mugs.

Bring out the child in yourself

Materials
Clean mugs
Oil based sharpies, paint pens, ceramic pens (I used Elmer's Paint Painter Markers)
Stencils or Internet image (if you need some inspiration)
Oven

Instructions
First,  wash and dry all of your mugs. Try not to touch them with your bare hands much.

Now, set up your work space. Then, get creative! Draw whatever you wish, write whatever comes to mind.

Finally,  the reason for all this nonsense.  Set the mugs on a sheet pan and slide into a cool oven on the middle rack. Set the oven to 375 F. Once the oven comes up to temperature,  set the timer for 30 minutes.  Once baked, leave in oven to cool completely.

Because it's bigger on the inside

We made a number of these which turned out beautifully. However, I learned quite a bit about this seemingly innocuous project at the same time.

As I pointed out, DIY sharpie mugs are still one of the most pinned projects on Pinterest. But that hardly means it's simple. A few tips after having tried it out.

1) Buy new mugs. As much as you could save by going to the thrift shop and recycling mugs, you're better off going to Dollar Tree or a similar establishment. This is because you don't know what they were used for previously. We had an unfortunate accident with a reclaimed blue mug which not only had a hairline crack in the glaze but clearly soaked up a lot of unknown oily liquid over its lifetime.

2) Wash your mugs. And let them dry completely before drawing. The ink/paint will adhere much better without the oils from your hands to muck them up.

If you do touch an area you want to draw on or make a mistake,  an alcohol wipe works wonders. Just wipe and let dry before continuing.

3) Keep a margin of untouched ceramic for your lips. While most pens proclaim to be non-toxic, it's always better to avoid ingesting more chemicals than you need.

4) Don't preheat your oven. The likelihood of having the mugs or glasses crack is lessened by allowing the vessels to get up to temperature with the oven.

5) Different tutorials will claim you can place them into the dishwasher but I would strongly advise against it. While baking does make the paint less likely to rub off with a finger, hand washing,  no scrubbing is the best course of action to extend the shelf life of your new creations.

6) Have fun with it! Don't be scared to try something new or make a mistake. And if you don't drink coffee or tea, try some glasses. Maybe bowls. Or repurpose extra mugs to house trinkets about the house.

Make a batch and have a party!