The DIY Coffee Mug

I am sure you have seen the dollar store mug + sharpie floating around pinterest. I have. It keeps popping up! I decided I would try it out before I bought a bunch of mugs and sharpies to "create" with the Princess only to discover it was not such a great idea.

Dollar Store Mug + Sharpie = ????

My first attempt did not work as I had hoped. I decorated my mug which was causing me gobs of grief towards the end because I wanted to freehand my fancy lettering, baked it and let it cool. I was so happy with my artisan self. Seriously, I was already planning all the other "mug" designs. I have hundreds.

Then I washed my mug in hot, soapy water...the ink came right off. I nearly cried into the soap bubbles.

Then I decided to investigate. Perhaps the 350/for 30 was not the correct setting to help the ink set. Maybe there was a trick I was not aware of? Or perhaps the blue ink I used was no-no and I had no idea and just learned the hard way?

Turns out it's just luck. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't. I read the original blog and she posted an update (you can read it here A Beautiful Mess ) that several people tried it and it failed. This project is also NOT dishwasher safe and they must be handwashed.

However if you would like to give it a try here are instructions of what I did for the first attempt:

Materials needed:
* plain mug
*sharpie
* oven preheated to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
*some kind of idea of what you want on the mug (this was the hardest part for me)

I recommend that you have on hand:
*Q-tips
*paper towels
*nail polish remover

Okay...so take the sharpie and draw or write on your mug. Or have your kids write a cute message to the person of their choice.

I chose a quote from a book series that my husband likes since this mug would be for him--if it turned out. I wrote it out on the mug with blue sharpie and then got to the last two words...and kept messing up. Glad I had some Q-tips and nail polish remover! Helps the sharpie come off! SAVED!

Baked the mug for 30 minutes as the directions said. I put it on a cookie sheet. However, when I washed it, it did not stay on. I cried.

I refused to be defeated so I gave this craft another go. I modified to directions and got success! Here is what I did for the second time around.

Materials are the same, only instead of using blue I used BLACK ink.

Same quote but used black ink.

Baked the mug at 375 degrees Fahrenheit for 30 minutes. I put the mug directly on the oven rack this time.

Once it was done, I let it cool overnight.

Out of the oven and ready to rest overnight.

Here came the test. I took a deep breath and braced myself. Using a the soft side of the sponge, dish soap and hot water, I washed the mug! It stayed on!! I was so happy! My recommendation is when you wash this  use a soft cloth. I am not sure exactly what change helped keep the the ink on, but at least it worked!!

See the water drops? It survived it's bath! 

Hubby likes his new mug. I am happy.