[VIDEO] Easy DIY Mother’s Day Mug

I feel so on top of my game right now. I’m sure it won’t last long but this is this first time ever in the history of shartland that I have a gift idea for a holiday that hasn’t already passed. What?! Mother’s Day is fast approaching and for those of you looking for an easy DIY gift idea for Mom, here ya go, a DIY Mother’s Day Mug.

My hands have been a little shaky lately so it’s not perfect, but, for Moms, I think it’s the thought that counts.  At least that’s what they say….

I made a quick video for you to show you how easy this is but first I wanted to stress the importance of picking the right paint pen. This is serious stuff y’all.

Last year, (or whenever it was) I did the marbled watercolor mugs and went on a rant about how nail polish is NOT the thing to use on something that you would 1) put in a microwave because it’s flammable and 2) will not last a dishwasher sesh. If you’re giving a gift that can’t really be used, is it really a gift? No, not really.

Two Christmases ago, I made everyone in my family coffee mugs using the exact technique I’m about to show you. BUT, I used the wrong pen and most of the mugs haven’t lasted. I had to tell each person not to put them in the dishwasher… but, I mean, who does that, though? I even made one for myself and the Hubs and those went in the dishwasher every.single.time they were dirty. They are chippy and not at their best. Before I started the mugs that year, I gathered up alllllll of my paint pens and a dollar store mug and did some testing. Well, we’ve been using that “test mug” for over a year now so I want to show you how each pen has held up (or not).

Some of these pens I can’t even identify anymore. The top is the bakeable Sharpie paint pen, not so great. Under that is a regular black Sharpie and under that is the HobLob Treehouse brand pen. That one did the best after one washing so that’s the one I used on all of my Christmas gifts that year. So sad to see that it didn’t last. I have no idea what the blue pen is but the green is obviously DecoGlass. That one would be my second choice of paint pen for a project like this.

On the other side of the mug we have the metallic Sharpies, copper and gold. And right there at the top is my numero uno, go-to, never-fail paint pen. It should say Pebeo rather than Vitrea but Pebeo makes the Vitrea paints I used on the marbled watercolor mugs so I guess I got confused. That one has lasted the test of time; lots and lots of dishwasher action, some microwave reheating, etc, and it’s still rockin’ the mug-life.

The name of the pen is Pebeo Porcelaine 150 – it’s an opaque ink perfect for ceramics like plates and mugs and comes in two thicknesses. I snagged mine at Dick Blick but a quick google search will lead you to several places to purchase the pens.

Okay, on to the video:

So, there ya go. So easy! And you can pick any font, doodle, image, etc to use to transfer to your mug to trace. I made a Jerk inspired plate for my plate wall once using this technique with lots of random images I found.  This image transfer technique also works on other stuff (like this thrift store painting) and really makes it look like you have amazing hand lettering skills.

And, because I love you, here’s the a exact text I used for this mug. Click the link, then right click to save to your computer. The image is 3.5″ x 4″ but prints on an 8.5 x 11 sheet of paper. If you’re making your own text/image to transfer, just make sure you measure your mug and size your image accordingly. Also, keep in mind if Mom (or other giftee) is a righty or a lefty so you know which side to put the text.

Happy gifting, you guys!

***UPDATE!!!***

This technique also works on colored dollar store mugs! How awesome is that? I thought maybe baking a colored mug would mess up the color somehow, but it didn’t!