Every now and then, I try to find something crafty to do with the kids that we can actually keep (hopefully forever).  I was much better about it when wild thing #1 was the only wild thing in our house.  Still, if I can find something that won’t take hours, or can be age appropriate for a wide range of ages, I’m all over it!  I’ve had my eye on these sharpie mugs for years.  They are all over pinterest, and they really seemed so easy.  I am happy to report, they actually are as easy as they seem!  The kids had so much fun making them, and did I!

DIY sharpie mugs

*there may be affiliate links throughout this post.  by using this links, your pricing stays the same, but i earn a small commission.  you can see my full disclosure here

Supplies

• oil based sharpie markers
• ceramic mugs
• washi tape or painter’s tape or self adhesive stencils

Directions

So, we did learn a few things while working on these, and there are about a million tutorials online.  Most of them vary a little, but we took pieces from several different tutorials. And, I have to say, that I have been wanting to do this for so long, I can’t even pinpoint which tutorials I grabbed from.  It’s not a hard project, so it’s pretty simple to remember.  Anyhow, the point is, unless you’re living under a rock, you know I’m not the first to do this, so I’m not trying to take credit for this genius idea!!

1.  Clean your mug and dry your mug, and use the washi tape to make stripes or add a design to your mug.  OR if you’re making one yourself or have older children, you can actually draw on the mug with a pencil first.

The first batch we made were made with 3 kids under the age of 5.  I wanted the design to be very basic and let them be creative and do their thing without me being a control freak, and insisting they weren’t doing it right.  I asked each child how many stripes they wanted on their mugs and taped them off.  Keep in mind, depending on the type of mug you’ve chosen, the lower you get on the mug, the more curve there will be and the more difficult it is to keep a straight line.  That said, I really wasn’t worried about perfection.

2.  Start coloring!

I did instruct the kids to give each color a minute or 2 to dry before moving onto the next color.  It’s very important to use the oil-based sharpies as opposed to water-based.  Water-based sharpies will wash off.  Hint: the more coloring that happens around the washi tape or your design, the better it will show up!

(Someone got a little overzealous!)

3.  Peel off the washi tape after the markers have had a little time to dry.

4.  Bake in the oven for 30 minutes at 350 degrees, then turn the oven off, and leave the mugs in the oven to cool.

5.  Done!

There was basically no clean up.  Although, I would recommend laying something down on your table before you begin to work.  I was silly not to do that, and basically got lucky that there was no mishaps.  The kids quit when they got bored.  The big kids were a little more creative, and took more time. Both groups were so proud of their mugs!

Are you as shocked as I was at the ease of this project??!!

xoxo,
lorrin
come hang out with me!!
twitter
facebook
instagram
pinterest
and don’t forget to subscribe if you haven’t already to get YOUR FREE 14 page ebook– 10 photo projects for ANYONE with ANY camera!!!

You may also like