Father’s Day Sharpie Mug and Plate

I really like the idea of decorating crockery with Sharpie pens to make personalised gifts. I’ve seen artistic designs, clever slogans, and cute kid drawings baked onto mugs, plates and bowls. They look so fun to make and I thought for sure – this is something I could do with my kids! We could make Daddy a Father’s Day Sharpie mug and plate for his keys.

So as I do with each project – I did my research. I was really surprised to find very conflicting information about it all. Some people had no trouble making their DIY sharpie mugs yet others had total failures. These are the kinds of processes discussed:

• type of mug
• type of pen
• how long to bake
• temperature to bake
• cold or preheated oven
• to leave or not to leave to set after baking
• hand wash versus dishwasher
• glass versus porcelain or ceramics

And so on and so on….

So I decided to my do own experiment…..

What you need:

• cheap porcelain/ceramic mug or plate (Kmart has them for $1 each)
• Sharpie pen
• paper and pen for practising your design
• flat baking tray
• oven

What you do:

1. Remove bar codes and stickers
2. Wash mug and let it drip dry
3. Practice design
4. Wash hands thoroughly!!!
5. Draw design onto mug
6. Put mug on baking tray into a cold oven
7. Bale at 200 degrees Celsius for 40 minutes
8. Turn oven off and leave mug inside until completely cooled
9. Take mug out of the oven and set aside for at least 24 hours
10. Test wash your mug before gifting
11. Voila it should be ready to use!

My results:

I decided to test out a Father’s Day Sharpie Mug and plate, and a glass jar. My daughter and I followed the above directions with hopes of giving them to Daddy for Father’s Day. I baked all 3 items at once and set them aside for a couple of days. I then ran them all through the dishwasher (not sure which settings) using ALDI brand dish washing tabs. Thankfully the mug and the plate’s drawings were still visible after washing but they were slightly faded. I’d have to see over time if they would continue to fade but I think I will hand wash them from now on. I was surprised to see the glass jar’s design had almost completely washed off. This didn’t bother me too much as I think a paper label is a better choice for a sweets jar.

Although this activity provided a fun craft afternoon, I’m not sure if this is something I would try again. We found drawing on the round surface of the mug rather difficult to do.  I was not vigilant in following step 4 – wash your hands thoroughly, and as a result brown spots from my daughter’s inky hands were baked onto the mug……….and they didn’t fade, I’m sure Daddy will think they add character!  The plate’s flat surface was much easier to draw on! My daughter drew a pattern around the edge and I wrote ‘Daddy’s Things’ in the middle.  I’m thinking the plate will last longer than the mug because I will only use a dust cloth to clean it.

Finally here is a good blog that gives tips about Sharpie mugs.

Have you ever made a Sharpie designed mug? Was it a success? Is your design still visible or has it faded? Do you have a fail proof process you can share with me? If you haven’t already tried making a Sharpie personalised gift, and you decide to give it a go, please tell me how you go in the comments. I’m really curious to see how other Wide Bay families go with it.

Happy Father’s Day everyone!