Friends! I’m so pleased to share our first gift DIY of the season. Maude made these fantastic monogrammed mugs over the weekend. Don’t they look terrific? The idea came when we saw these fun initial cups at Anthropologie and remembered our kitchen was lacking in hot cocoa mugs. We decided to create a whole set.
It’s a very doable project. Inexpensive. Eco-friendly. And family-friendly too — these mugs are dishwasher safe. I can’t wait to tell you all about it.
1) We started with a trip to Goodwill, where we collected 8 plain white mugs. Enough for the entire family. There was even a little one without a handle that we thought would be perfect for baby food for June. Mugs were 50 cents each and we had dozens and dozens to choose from.
2) Then we gathered supplies. Scissors, pen, tape, graphite transfer paper, Black Pebeo Porcelaine Pen in Fine Point ($4 at Michaels, also available here) and a print out with the family’s initials.
For the font, I had something very specific in mind. I love the look of this Sketch Block Font and had it mentally filed away as the sort of thing a kid could replicate well — because it’s inherently imperfect. For this project, it worked like a charm! Since we were adding our own sketchiness, I started with a similar, but non-sketchy Rockwell font. Look for any slab-serif font (with names like Egyptian or Glypha) and they should work equally well.
3) Cut out an initial and a piece of transfer paper. Tape the initial and the transfer paper (dark side down) to the mug.
4) Trace the initial. Any pen or pencil will work and you’ll want to experiment with different pressures to see what’s best. You’ll just need a light outline. If you want, you can make your own transfer paper by rubbing a graphite pencil all over a sheet of plain paper.
5) Take your Porcelaine pen and trace over the lines of the initial. Get the edges nice and thick then fill in with diagonal sketchy strokes. A few notes:
– The sketchy strokes look best if they’re all one direction.
– The pen didn’t produce very smooth lines for us — which was fine because of the sketchy nature of the lettering. But later, I tried a red Porcelaine pen and produced very smooth strokes. So, I’m thinking my black pen was an old, dried out one. Who knows? This was my first experience with Porcelaine, so I’m not sure.
– It helped to have a blank paper handy where we could test the paint pen.
– We definitely got better at it as we practiced. So plan on it. Until it’s baked, the paint will scrub right off in soap and water. We redid mugs at least 4 times.
6) Once the lettering is done, let the mugs sit for 24 hours. Then bake them at 300 degrees for 35 minutes. It’s fine to bake them with graphite residue. The graphite will wipe right off even after they’re done baking.
7) And that’s it! Once they’re baked, they’re done. We pulled them from the oven, wiped them up and they were ready to go. For fun, we filled cellophane bags with hot cocoa mix and marshmallows and put them in the mugs.
The project turned out so well that it has my mind spinning with other possibilities. Maybe we’ll make a monogrammed mug for their teachers with a Starbucks card inside. Or a matching 2-cup set for Grandma and Grandpa. Fun for Christmas, but equally fun for other events too.
What do you think? Is this a project your kids would enjoy? Are the mugs cool enough that you would buy one in the store if you saw it for sale?
Need more sibling gift ideas? We made several fun projects this year: Bleached Out Tees, Bottlecap Magnets, Custom Leather Patches and Photo Snowglobes. You can also find a list of projects from past Christmases here.
Hmmm, I think I just found a cute gift for my son to make for his Kindergarten class. Filled with cocoa mix and marchmallows… so cute. I figure I can stencil the letters and let him color them in different colors for his friends. Now the hunt for cheap mugs begins. :)
What a fantastic idea that the kids can make with you. Thinking of doing this with my children for their Aunts and Uncles christmas presents.
Just wondering…is the graphite necessary to make these dishwasher safe or just to trace with? btw…love this!!!
The stuff is not staying on after baking. I let them cool then the next day washed and it all rubbed right off.
a nice idea and a fantastic gift from kids for their fathers.
I linked to your tutorial on my blog – thanks for sharing!
doro K.
What a cute project! I love it so much that I decided to feature it in our roundup of ideas for decorated mug! Check it out here: http://www.favecraftsblog.com/decorated-mugs/
Have a great day!
Love it!!! great gift for the festive season, I will definitely try this, thanx
I’ve heard you can do this with a Sharpie too. Anyone try it?
can this be done on mason jars for example? my kids would love cups with their names on it but it is so expensive to buy personalized cups for 4 kids.
I’m doing these now and it is surprisingly easy! I normally am horrible at crafts but was looking for a low cost gift for my coworkers and figured I would give this a shot. We couldn’t find the pen you mentioned so we used a sharpie oil based paint pen. I’m letting them sit now for 24 hours and then we will bake them and I will let everyone know how that turned out :) oh and we couldn’t find mugs at goodwill but Big Lots has white medium sized mugs for a dollar each. Win!
Ok so an update… I let them sit for 24 hours and baked them. When I washed them, the ink started coming off if I used the scratchy side of the sponge. I decided to just use the soft side but I’m worried about how long these will last.
I was wondering if there was a way to make sure the ink doesnt wipe off? I’ve put in all this work on making each loved one a mug with a quote on it but now the marker just wants to come right off. I’m afraid that the first time they wash them, the ink will all run right off! LOL … So, if you’ve found a solution, let me know. Thank you :D
Hi Michelle!
What sort of pens are you using? With the Porcelaine pens mentioned in this post, I’ve found they air dry after a minute or so and then really set up after baking them.
Hope that helps…?
Good luck!
Do you think this would work with a preschooler’s drawing? Like having them draw a person or scene? Would it smear too much? What are your thoughts?
Hey Becca!
Is your preschooler into writing any letters yet? I think it *could* be really cute to have a preschooler write people’s names on the mugs (even if they’re a bit illegible.) Not so sure they’d have a lot of success with drawing people or scenes. Drawing on a curvy round mug is a little tricky, even for 25 year old design school graduate me.
Good luck! Have fun :)
No clue if anyone will read this far down in the comments, but figured I would chime in just in case :)
I was skeptical about finding enough white mugs at my local goodwill, but it totalllly worked out (even at the very busy central Boston location.) I’ve also been having fun with different colored mugs… I’m particularly fond of a baby blue one I found.
The monograms work really well here, but it’s harder to freehand something and make it look great. It’s surprisingly difficult to draw on curved mugs, especially straight lines. I would say the more planning the better. And sticking to monograms might be a good idea, at least to start out.
Thanks for the idea!
I’m a little late to the game on this one but I’m SO GLAD that I found this post!
This is such a great idea for personalized gifts from a family on a tight budget this Christmas. And it’s also a GREAT item for my oldest daughter to make for herself; she’s 7 and has a very uncommon name (Briseis), and always gets bummed out when her younger siblings find things with their names on ’em because she never finds stuff with her name on it. She’s a sucker for arts and crafts, too, so this project is perfect.
I wonder if we can find Porcelaine pens in different colors…? Hmmm…time to go scour the Internetzzz :)
I tried to print out the font from the link you have. This is a $40 font. Is there a free version or a way to print it out for a one time use?
Can wait to do these. Thanks for the idea.
Halfway through this project as we speak. Well, a test mug. Had the same problem with a fine black pen (the online shop I used only had fine) but the thicker red one is looking promising. Going to go and risk sketching the lines in now, wish me luck! And thanks for the inspiration!
Love this look! Would it be possible to use a regular permanent marker and still be able to bake it and have it not wash off? I’m really interested in making this but live in Europe and am not sure where I could find one of those pens!
Absolutely LOVED this idea. I infact went to my local re-uzit shop and purchased a bunch of mugs and monogrammed them for all my friends. This idea was awesome and I am so glad that I saw it!!
Does anyone know if the porcelaine pen stays on any better than the sharpie marker? Also are there any tips on which muggs work best? Thanks
I just found this on pinterest, what a great idea! I bought a bunch of mugs at goodwill, and even a wine glass for my daughter to make for everyone! She had a blast!
I tried this with colored sharpies and when they were washed it ruined the color so I dont know if anyone had this experience and if there is a remedy to fix it?
please advise
Christie
can you wash them ?? or the letters will be gone if you do this ??
I love this idea! Is there a way I could transfer newspaper inside the letter instead of the diagonal lines? Looking into making a gift for someone beginning journalism school. Thanks.
What a fantastic idea, simple but so effective. Can’t wait to try it, hope it turns out just as good.
Thanks for the great inspiration. We gave you some link love over at http://4arms.wordpress.com/2013/04/21/painted-ceramic-mug/. Come visit!
I know I’m a little behind the times here but I wanted you to know that I am actually going to be using this tutorial to make beer mugs for my bridal party and the parents/grandparents! Thank you for such a wonderful idea!!
I’m three years late but I had to tell you how excited I am to find this post! I was having such a hard time figuring out what to get the men in my family. I didn’t want to spend a lot and sort of wanted to make something and this is absolutely perfect! I’m going to schedule a trip to goodwill in the next week or two so I can make these if there are enough I may end p doing it for the women too.
I must have done something wrong as twice now I have tried and both times the ink has come off with the first dishwashing. I defintely used Sharpies and in different colours as well as the black. I even tried a different brand! So this is one epic failure to me.
umm yea! I’m going to be doing this for Christmas!
Added this to a blog post I wrote and cited you: http://longtermcarelink.wordpress.com/2013/11/18/easy-and-inexpensive-christmas-gifts/ Thank you for blogging some great crafts!
Awesome idea! Love it! Quick question, do the mugs have to be porcelain for the pen to be permanent?
Fabulous, thanks for great instructions and tips! Going to try this today. They might come on TV with me for a series on Gifts from the Kitchen. I”ll be sure to provide your link on my blog post. http://www.gettystewart.com
What size font do you recommend using?
We almost purchased this kind of mugs at Anthropology, this is so much better and more personal. Thanks for sharing.
Hi thinking of doing these for a Valentine’s day gift! Are they safe to hand wash or put in the dishwasher? Thank you!
Yes. I wash mine in the dishwasher all the time!
this is a great idea that i’m going to do for fathers day. we have 22 grand children and 2 great grand sons. i checked into have all their names put on a coffee mug for my husband but that was going to cost an arm and a leg. now with this idea i can do it myself. my husband is going to love his new coffee mug.
How well did your letters stay on the mugs? Mine washed off after the first use. Any idea on how to get it to stay on? Maybe bake it longer?
Please could you clarify the temperature of the oven when baking? Is it 300 F ?
Thanks
I had so much fun doing these! Although my thrift store hardly had any white mugs, so I just bought all of their solid colored mugs, and I filled them with candy and hot cocoa mixes, and they turned out great. The different colored mugs actually added a uniqueness beyond the monograms that I think my family will love.
I just made these and could not be any happier!!! I free handed the monograms and added the full name below the large letter. I am NOT creative so I simply searched for fonts online and copied those. I started making them for my sisters but they turned out so well that I am making them for grandparents, my husband, a family gift exchange, and I will be buying ore mugs to keep on hand for any last minute gift-needing-events. THANK YOOOUUU!!!! I will also be doing the hot chocolate bags to stuff inside the mugs. What a GREAT idea ❤️
Are these dishwasher safe? I made several for my family members for Christmas.
This is so cool! My kids will love doing this for their grandparents for Christmas. Homemade gifts are the best!
Absolutely LOVE this idea! Is it possible to do with tracing paper instead of transfer paper?
Love these your mugs where did you get the porcelains markers
Can you put in microwave after they are baked? To request your
Coffee tea etc as the cups I have say they are mirowavesafe
And can you do on white pants etc as not sure if they re food
Safe could you please email me thank great job andsite
Very nice lesson! Thanks for sharing!!!
We absolutely love these monogram Mugs! They have been featured in our lastest blog post
10+ Stylish DIY Gifts for Fathers Day!
Keep up your (very,very) creative posts!
https://mammamode.com/10-stylish-diy-gifts-for-fathers-day/
Funny you should ask if we would buy such a mug. I actually saw something similar and thought I could make it myself. I ended up here because I tried to find a tutorial on how to make it. That answers your question.