What they don’t tell you about mug decorating

I got a ‘paint your own mug kit’ for Christmas, which was great because I’ve got enough mugs and I couldn’t justify buying more just to doodle on them.

Unfortunately, this falls into one of those: “Do you really want this craft hanging around your house, keeping up space and being generally disappointing” categories. So, I’m taking mine to work.

Unless you’re a great artist or calligrapher, there’s really not much you can do with a ceramic pen and a white mug. The one positive is that you can wipe off the marker easily if you make a mistake, because you’ll be making A LOT of them.

Ceramic mug, ceramic marker, scalpel, cutting board, paper, tape, oven.

It was a present, but I can't imagine any more than $40 if you're buying the materials separately.

1.5 hours incl. oven time.

Here are the instructions I got in my kit from Typo:

Here’s what they don’t tell you (honestly, there’s enough room on the box to put a few little tips):

1. It’s so freaking hard to write on a curved surface! But don’t be scared to really press the pen down. It gives better coverage anyway.
2. Basically, all the photos on Pinterest are a lie! Or they’re doing it wrong. Google ‘Sharpie mug fail’ and you’ll see. Don’t do this craft for longevity, people!
3. I tried it free hand and completely failed. So I ended up making a stencil and taping that to the mug, which is quite time consuming (especially if you’re working one handed at the moment like I am).

To make stencil:

Measure out the width of the mug onto a piece of paper. You will be tracing the design in this area, but make sure the actual paper is larger so you have more purchase when using the scalpel.

Trace the design you want, then cut with a scalpel. Make sure to put a cutting board underneath the paper.

Now cut the stencil, and tape it to the mug. Pieces of mine stuck up a bit, but I just pressed them down when I was filling in the blanks.

Trace the stencil once, and then remove. Wait for the ink to dry, and then go over the fuzzy edges once more.

Once you’re happy with the design, follow the instructions in the image above!

I went for "Kind of a Lady" and "More of a Perve" figuring I can use a cup for whatever mood I'm in!

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