DIY SHARPIE MUG

Have you ever searched for that one mug with the perfect saying that will bring a smile to your face every day as you drink your morning coffee? Well, creating your own design on a mug is actually quite simple! All you really need is an idea, a blank white mug, and some Sharpies!

Step 1: GATHERING SUPPLIES

Gathering supplies for this project should be fairly easy! You will need:

1. A PLAIN WHITE MUG

The best is to find a cheap one, so that the glaze is not as high quality as an expensive mug. The dollar store is always a good place to look!

2. SHARPIES

I like to use primarily black Sharpies, but you can use colored ones, although you do run the risk of the color darkening or changing slightly during the baking process.

3. RUBBING ALCOHOL & PAPER TOWELS

For cleaning the mug before beginning and for removing unwanted marker strokes while drawing on your design.

4. AN OVEN

You will need two hours to bake your piece at 250 degrees.

Step 2: PREPPING YOUR MUG

To start things off, it is important to first remove any stickers on the mug, otherwise they will burn during the baking process. Make sure to check the bottom of the mug, too!

Once you have removed the stickers, pour some rubbing alcohol onto a paper towel and wipe down the entire exterior part of the mug in order to remove any remaining sticky areas and oils from your fingers.

Once you've finished these two steps you will be ready to start drawing!

Step 3: DRAWING & ERASING

If you have a design in mind, and are as much of a perfectionist as I am, then at some point you'll most likely wish that you could erase, start over, or just remove a small area of your drawing.

Not to worry!

Using the same rubbing alcohol that you cleaned the mug with, wet a small corner of a paper towel and simply wipe away the Sharpie. It will smear if you're not careful, so go slowly and make sure not to accidentally rub off parts of the design that you want to keep.

Step 4: FINISH YOUR DESIGN

You can cover as much of the mug as you like with your design, and of course the darker the line, the better it will hold on the glaze.

I always go over each line twice just to ensure the design will be dark when it finishes cooking!

Step 5: BAKING

The final step in creating your own personalized mug is to bake your mug in the oven!

Set your oven to 250 degrees and let it preheat before placing your mug inside.

Once the oven is preheated, put your mug on the middle rack and leave it inside for two hours.

After two hours is up, you can remove your mug and let it cool.

Once it's cooled off, I would suggest washing it, but then you can use it to your heart's content!