Hand Painted Coffee Mugs

Here is the tutorial on the hand painted coffee mugs we gave the grandfathers and uncles in our family.  It is a take on the sharpie mug you all have seen on pinterest.  I had heard though that the sharpie art didn’t hold up in the dishwasher.  I didn’t want to give them something that had to be hand washed (since I know so well how awful that is), so I searched for something more permanent.

The recommendations I found were to find a ceramic pen but I was unsuccessful in my attempts to find one.  I ended up buying an oil based paint pen, coincidentally made by Sharpie, and crossed my fingers that it would work.

We picked up the mugs second hand, 4 for $1.  The pen was somewhere around $3 I think, so we got four gifts for under $5.  Pretty good in my opinion.  I found some mugs that I liked online for inspiration (I think Anthropologie does a similar mug), then looked up a similar font.  I used Rockport.  Then, I just freehanded the first letter and hand wrote the rest of the word next to it.  Let it dry for a few hours then pop it into the oven for 25 minutes at 300 degrees.

I spoke with my Dad after Christmas to see how the mug held up to the dishwasher and he said it did beautifully!  Don’t be afraid to pick up some cheap mugs or plates and let your kids have a go at it.  They would love being able to see their handiwork on the dishes that you use!

*UPDATE* 2/5/2013 Spoke to my Dad to see how the mug was holding up under the typical usage and washing in dishwasher.  He reports that it is holding up nicely   The paint pen and baking method work!

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