January 7, 2015

DIY Coffee Mugs & A Housewarming Gift

Hi everyone, sorry for the lack of content the last few weeks. I cannot seem to shake the lazy after Christmas mode that I am in, except when it comes to food. But it's time to get my butt in gear!

Friends of ours bought their first house at the beginning of December, so I wanted to make them a housewarming gift that they would actually use. I know that they are both coffee drinkers, so I thought this would be the perfect way to try out DIY coffee mugs.





Please don't mind the saying on the mug. It is from a video game, so you may or may not know it. If you do, you've played a few video games in your time (and possibly taken an arrow to the knee). There are tons of different tutorials out there, but this is how I did it.

First, you will need to prep your mugs by cleaning the outside with rubbing alcohol or hydrogen peroxide. My mugs were from Wal-Mart and cost about $2.30 each.


I chose to not do sharpie mugs as from what I have read online they are hit or miss as far as use goes. Some people have had great success, others the marker comes right off even hand washing. So I used the glass paint from Martha Stewart; the colour was beetle black. This small bottle was about $5 with a 40% off coupon, so it's pretty expensive at full price.


As per the instructions, I applied the paint in my design. I let the paint dry on the mugs for 1 hour, then placed them in a cool oven. I turned the oven to 350 degrees and once up to temperature let the mugs bake for an hour. Once finished, you turn the oven off and let the mugs cool in the oven. I let them sit overnight to allow for complete drying.


I found that there were a few spots that were bumpy and had sharp points, so I filed them down with a metal file (you can see a spot in the very first picture on the bottom right). Once I was happy with the way they looked and felt, I packed them up in a gift basket.

 
In a basket I put the two coffee mugs (First mug says - Dovakiin; the second mug says "I need a weapon" - Master Chief), two chocolate spoons, two hot chocolate pouches, two hand towels and coffee that I knew was a favourite. Next, just wrap it all up with cellophane and put a pretty bow on it!



I thought it was a cute gift, and they really seemed to like it. In total, the project cost about $30 with the glass paint, which I will be able to use again. Not bad for a cute gift that hopefully will get a lot of use.

I will wait a little and ask how the mugs hold up. Once I do, I let you guys know. I am planning on making a few mugs for our house soon, so maybe I can do a better tutorial if needed.

If you give these a try, please share! I would love to see what you guys come up with.

Kerby 

Linking to:
Someday Crafts - Whatever Goes Wednesday #255 
Joybee, What's For Dinner - Great Idea Thursdays #801 
I Heart Naptime - Link Party Palooza #75 
Kathe with an E - You're Gonna Love It Tuesday 1/12/15 
Baking in Pyjamas - Sweet & Savoury Sundays #96 
A Night Owl - Monday Funday 1/19/15 

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