We made Sharpie mugs at our MOPS (mother's of pre-schooler's) meeting today and they were a big hit! Jenny and I teamed up to lead the craft and put together a step-by-step presentation, along with a design template and a take-home instruction sheet. There are TONS of Sharpie mug tutorials on Pinterest and various blogs. After some trial and error, we found the best method that worked well for us.
SUPPLIES
Dollar store white mug (the cheaper the mug, the better)
Sharpie OIL BASED Paint Pens (regular Sharpie's will wear off quickly)
Rubbing alcohol
Cotton balls
Pencil
Paper template (or freehand your design)
Tape
Here is our visual step-by-step guide. The design template and instruction sheet will be at the end if you wish to download and save. We used the pencil transfer method to put the design on the mug. Be sure to add "Hand Wash Only" to the bottom. Let the paint dry for 24 hours. Place the dried mug into a cold oven on a baking sheet and set the temperature for 250 degrees and bake for 2 hours. When the 2 hours is up, leave the mug in the oven to cool completely. That's basically it! Now you'll have a cute mug to sip your morning coffee.
I designed this template with Mother's Day in mind. You could give mugs as gifts or keep them for yourself!
DESIGN TEMPLATE
*Be sure to print this template on 8.5x11 inch paper and check to make sure the size will work for your particular mug.
FULL INSTRUCTIONS
Here is another example of Sharpie mugs that I've made: Wedding Gift Mugs
Did you ever play with salt dough when you were a kid (aka knock off Play-Doh)? I forgot all about that stuff until I was perusing Pinterest and saw a few variations of salt dough ornaments. What a cute and easy idea! I made the dough with simple ingredients I already had on hand. I got out some cookie cutters and alphabet stamps and set to work crafting a batch of homemade ornaments. This blog was especially helpful.
Ingredients:
1/2 cup salt
1/2 cup water
1 cup flour
Directions:
Preheat oven to 250 degrees.
Mix ingredients together to form dough and kneed for 7-10 minutes.
Roll out dough and cut shapes with cookie cutters. You can imprint different patterns and textures too. Be creative!
Use a straw to poke a hole at the top for ribbon or string, before you bake.
Bake on ungreased cookie sheet for 2 hours.
Let cool completely before painting and decorating ornaments.
I was able to stamp LOVE, JOY and HOPE onto the dough. I even made a few stamped with OHL (the perks of having a short last name!).
I painted both sides with gold and bronze craft paint and added a twine bow to each one. They look cute and very handmade, hanging on the tree. I also added them to gift wrapping. Isn't that fun? These would be a great project to make with kids. They could even be personalized wedding or party favors. Monograms would be pretty, too. Just don't eat them!
This is a fun little project I found via Pinterest - painting stemless glasses (or your choice of glassware). I've been seeing stemless glasses everywhere lately (Marshall's, Target, Bed Bath & Beyond). This project is relatively inexpensive and quick to do (just my style). You can make some for yourself or give a set as a gift.
Marlyn (my MIL) sent me a fun pair of hand-painted glasses for my birthday. Aren't they cheery? She too, has a craft night and enjoys making new things. When I was at her house, we got to have a little craft time of our own.
I painted a polka-dot design in pink, orange and red. I really like how this one turned out! I also tried painting stripes on one, but the results were not as attractive.Whomp whomp.
These confetti glasses from Anthropologie originally inspired this DIY project by Radical Possibility.
You can use any size and style glasses that you like. The stemless ones work really well and have a wide surface for painting (we did not paint the bottom).
Martha Stewart Glass Paint is specifically for glass (hence the name) and will last longer than acrylic paint.
Supplies:
Glasses
Martha Stewart Glass Paint
Paint Brushes
Rubbing Alcohol
Oven
Directions:
1. Clean surface of glasses with rubbing alcohol.
2. Paint glasses with Martha Stewart Glass Paint in desired design.
3. Place painted glasses on baking sheet and into oven.
4. Turn oven to 350 degrees (with glasses inside) and bake/cure for 30 minutes (DO NOT PREHEAT OVEN).
5. After 30 minutes, turn oven OFF and leave glasses inside to cool completely.
Enjoy your one-of-a-kind glassware! Marilyn even suggested using them as votive candle holders. Wouldn't that be pretty? You could store cotton balls, makeup brushes or items on your bathroom vanity. Or paperclips on your desk. I bet this recipe would taste extra delicious in one of these beautiful glasses.
