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DIY Sharpie Painted Mugs – That Won’t Wash Away!

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DIY Painted Mugs - That Won't Wash Away {Craft}

How many of you have seen those Sharpie painted DIY mugs all over Pinterest? It’s such a popular idea right now!

They say just write on your mugs with your regular Sharpie markers, bake and you’re done. It’s the ideal way to get a personalized gift without spending a ton.

How many of you know that the Sharpie will actually wash off in the dishwasher? Yup. Unless you are handwashing those mugs – your masterpiece will probably go down the drain. Even hand washing will probably make the design go away after time. It’s actually a very flawed concept.

So after doing some research, I have discovered the DIY Sharpie trick that does actually work. Oil based paint pens!

Sharpie happens to make these type of pens too and your local craft store will probably have them in stock. I happen to pick up mine in The Home Depot paint aisle, a few months back. They are a bit more pricey than a regular Sharpie, but if you weigh the pros {the whole not wasting your time for it to go down the drain} than it’s probably worth it. Invest in the right pens and grab your mugs from Dollar Tree 😉 Plus I’m sharing a really cute way to monogram those boring mugs. Can we say stellar Christmas presents this year???

Here is what I used to make my DIY painted Sharpie mugs:

DIY Painted Mugs - That Won't Wash Away {Craft}

DIY Painted Mugs - That Won't Wash Away {Craft}

This post contains affiliate links for your shopping convenience.

DIY Sharpie Painted Mug Craft Supplies:

* Plain White Mugs {found for $1 at Dollar Tree}
* Oil Based Sharpie Paint Pens
* Scrapbook Letter Stickers
* Oven
* Rubbing Alcohol
* Q-tips

DIY Painted Mugs - That Won't Wash Away {Craft}

DIY Painted Mugs - That Won't Wash Away {Craft}

DIY Painted Mugs - That Won't Wash Away {Craft}

DIY Painted Mugs - That Won't Wash Away {Craft}

Directions:

1. To do a monogram design you will need some letter scrapbook stickers. Pick the monogram/design you want and stick it on your mug. I did a “G” for our last name. You will want to make sure it’s in the right place/angle etc. and as FLAT as possible.

2. Next you will want to make dots ALL around the scrapbook sticker. Follow the directions on the marker packaging to get the paint going. Do some practice dots on some cardboard before hand. Once ready, start filling in the area around the sticker with dots. Really fill in the area. Add a second color if you like. If you mess up, wipe away with some rubbing alcohol on a q-tip.

3. Once you have the design you want and it’s dry – carefully peel off the scrapbook sticker to reveal your design. Do touchups if you need to.

4. Making sure your area is well ventilated – turn on your oven to 350. Set your mugs inside and let them bake for about 30 minutes. Once the 30 minutes is up, turn off the oven and let the mugs cool down inside the oven. I left mine in the oven for a few hours.

5. When done, remove from oven. Wash and then of course, fill and enjoy with your favorite beverage to enjoy.

Here are a few other mugs I made the same day. I made another one similar to the monogram G but with the phrase JOY for Christmas. Instead of just filling a small area around the letters, I did the entire mug. Then my other two mugs, I free styled with a design.

DIY Painted Mugs - That Won't Wash Away {Craft}
DIY Painted Mugs - That Won't Wash Away {Craft}

P.S. – we ran my mugs through the dishwasher the next day and my designs were unharmed. YAY! I’m loving this quick DIY and can’t wait to make some specials mugs for friends this Christmas season. Wouldn’t this be great with some hot chocolate packets and a nice bow tied around the handle?

And I know a few people are commenting that the paint has rubbed off when washed in the dishwasher. This blog post was in the works a month before this post went live. All my pieces have gone through the dishwasher several times now, with no flaw. If you don’t feel sure about the dishwasher – handwashing is recommended to preserve piece. This technique is still far better than regular Sharpies. To truly get a customized mug that won’t ever wash away, please check out your local pottery shop. They can help you pick a piece, make a design and seal it off for you. I even took my son this past summer to a pottery shop and he had a blast!

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Comments

  1. Love these mugs and have tried repeatedly to make this work!!! Got the sharpie paint pens and followed all of the directions and, like you said it did not wash off, however the paint started chipping off almost immediately! What am I doing wrong?? Would love to get this to work because, like I said, I LOVE the mugs!! Any advice would be appreciated.

    Reply

    • You can try to spray (or paint) on a sealant that is clear to prevent chipping. Honestly I have never tried that but I would think that would work. Hope that helps!

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      • I would not use a sealer if you intend yo put it in the dishwasher. I did that on a mug and it clumped on the mug after washind it in the dishwasher, and when you put liquid in the mug it gets sticky.

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      • I used an acrylic sealant spray after baking the mug. A certain patch which had a thicker coating of the spray got smudged and ruined the design! I believe the chemicals in the acrylic spray do not react well with the oil based sharpie pens. However, the other areas that had a very thin coating of the acrylic spray didn’t smudge. So if you are using a sealant spray make sure you spray a very thin layer.

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      • Please ahy away from most sealants. I tried this and two things happened.
        1) they entire design leeled up and off like a shrinkydink.
        2) a mug charred as it basically burned … Most sealants are highly flammable.

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        • Does this also happen if you use mod podge? i just want to make sure because i think mod podge is water sealant and non-flammable

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      • Can you re-color me rebake these? I did a just add color mug and when it was baking some of the color disappeared.. can I color over it and rebake?

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      • i did this with glass once, it was safer to put them in a cold oven,… let the cups warm up with the oven and cool down with the oven. then take them out.

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    • I did the exact same thing – used alcohol to clean the mug, put them in a cold oven, cranked it up to 450, left them in there for an hour, turned the oven off, let them sit there for 2 days…still HAND WASHING off. I am beyond frustrated as this is my 3rd attempt.

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      • Try putting them in at 350 for half an hour, then pull them out and let them cool by an open window on the sill. Worked for me.

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        • I would be very careful with this method … a cool breeze might be enough to cause glass hot out of an oven to crack.

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          • Mary is right, it’s called thermal shock. Typically in glass work this actually happens between 500 degrees F and 1000 degrees F. I’m not certain what the range is for ceramic as I mainly work with glass in a kiln designed for slumping and fusing glass.

      • Please make sure you are using the oil-based sharpies and not the original water-based variety. I made wine glasses and coffee mugs on two occasions and they came out great.

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          • YES! I have now made 4 projects with oil-based sharpies, and most of the colors seem to change (some of them dramatically).

            Here is what I have seen so far:
            Light Blue- turn a minty green
            Orange- turns maroon
            Red- Darkens quite a bit
            Pink- goes from bright bubble gum pink to a darker rose color
            Yellow, Dark Green, White and Black all stay pretty true to color
            Silver and Gold change a bit (gold looks more pewter when baked) but they are still metallic looking.

            I have not tried the light green, purple or dark blue markers yet, and I do not own any of the pastel oil markers.

            I have also found that I need to bake mine at a higher temperature for a longer time to get them to cure more effectively. When I baked my first set at 350 for 30 minutes, hand washing rubbed nearly all of the paint off in less than a month. After reading a ridiculous number of DIY blogs, I baked projects 2-4 at 400 for an hour. SO FAR these have not washed away, but I have not tested any in the dishwasher, only hand washing them.

            Hope this helps!

          • I know this is old, but you should bake at 250 for 2 hours instead. A lower temp will prevent the colors from changing.

      • When I did this, after they were done I handwashed them to get any of the paint that chips off. Then I touched up the parts where the paint chipped, and repeated the baking process. After the 2nd time, it was a lot better and only one tiny chip came off. If the paint is caked on the mug, it’s harder for it to back into the mug, so it tends to chip. At least this is what it looked like was happening to me. My mugs are in for a third time right now so hopefully the third times the charm!

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      • I believe it may be your mugs, not the paint or heating. If the original pottery glaze has a high gloss finish, try “roughing up” the surface with 600 grit or higher sand paper, then cheesecloth to finish it off. I haven’t tried it on mugs, but it works on furniture and original pottery which I’ve been doing for years. Good luck

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        • I’ve tried making these mugs with frustration as well. So a dull finish mug would work best? For those of you with no problems of the designs washing off, what brand name mugs are you using?

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      • I am having the same problem…. I use oil base sharpie pens, put them in cold oven at 375 for an hour and took them out the next day… set them in a box and just happens to pull one out to look at it, and they were all smeared where they touch the box. I took a wash cloth and wiped over them and some of the paint was coming off!!! I’m going to try and fix them and rebake them again. I hope this works, I want to sell them for the Animal Rescue.

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    • I used this tutorial to make Christmas gifts for all my neices and nephews and all of them started chipping off after the first use too. It was a humiliating Christmas for me this year.

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      • Oh No!! I’m in the process of making them for my nieces and and nephews! I really hope this doesn’t happen to me! Maybe I’ll make myself one and see if it happens!

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    • Sharpie has two types of paint pens… Water based and oil based. For this project you want the oil based. Did you maybe get water based?

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    • Hi Stacey!

      Did you let the mugs sit for any period of time in between painting them and putting them in the oven, or did you put them directly in the oven immediately after painting?

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    • I would make sure you also used paint markers sharpie makes chalk markers that look just like the paint ones

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    • Try baking. Other websites suggest placing cups in cold oven, turn to 400, bake for 30 minutes, and then turn off oven, leaving cup in oven to cool completely. Worthy searching out.

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    • I recently made a mug. I wiped the mug with rubbing alcohol and let it completely dry. I then made my design with a blue oil based Sharpie. I then let the design set for at least 24 hours before I baked it at 425 for an hour. I put the mug into a cold oven then after the hour I tuned off the oven and removed the mug after the oven had cooled. To my surprise when I removed the mug the blue design had turned gold. It didn’t matter much to my design but I was a little let down about the color change. We’ve used the mug everyday for 3 weeks now. We hand wash it and it still looks perfect. Just hold. Has anyone else come across this situation?

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        • Guys mine worked out . all you need to do is let the paint dry for 24 hours or bacily overnight . you do this so the colours wont dull

          good luck ;^)

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          • I let my colors sit for 24 hours and baked them and they ALL turned dull and ugly. Blue turned an ugly gray, red turned burgundy, etc. So disappointing!!

      • I saw another post that suggested baking at a lower temperature for a longer time to prevent the color change. When I made mine, I used a black oil based sharpie and when I baked it the paint cracked and looked like I had tried to age the mug… I was disappointed too. I went back over the lines again and I am letting it dry for 24 hours and I plan to bake it again tonight… I hope it doesn’t mess up again…

        Reply

    • Did you clean the mug first? With alcohol or vinager…. With cotton balls… It’s important to remove dirt and/or oils that may have come from your fingers… ect…

      Hope that helps

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    • Hey, I’m having problems with my mugs… My first batch all of the paints but the black ones turned completely brown so I adjusted the temperature and time they baked and my oil based sharpies are turning all sorts of funcky colors. Black stays black, purple turns pink, pink goes to a darker pink, blue turns green, orange turns brown, and red turns to a dark burgundy/purple color… In baking them at 350 for 30 mins? And then some bubble and the paint chips. And I did wipe them off with rubbing alcohol first… I don’t know whats wrong… Please help!

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      • Here’s what I do. Bake them at 250 for 2 hours. Put them in the cold oven, leave them in there to cool. I have used all colors and never had them change. After a few hours, brush the dishwasher safe mod podge over the design, let the cup sit for 28 days. Then it will be top rack dishwasher safe.

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        • This seems like the best method so far based on others that I have read. Did you really mean 28 days, or is that a typo? Thanks!!

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        • I know this is a /super/ old post but I’m researching this method for Christmas gifts and I’m wondering, how long have your mugs lasted now with the Mod Podge?? Did they ever chip or fade? Are they still going strong? Thanks! 🙂

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      • I know this is old, but you should bake at 250 for 2 hours instead. A lower temp will prevent the colors from changing.

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        • I couldn’t find the sharpies so I got Painters opaque paint pens.. do you think those would work okay?

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        • My colors changed too. Can I maybe recolor the red and orange then put them in the oven again at 250 for 2 hours or will the old paint chip?

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    • Try using a cheaper mug. I know I read in a few other blogs about this that if you use nice mugs they will have thicker glazes on them so it is harder for the color to bake thru. Try a dollar store mug and see if it helps.

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    • The kids made some for their siblings for Christmas and the paint immediately came off the first dishwashing cycle…Using Sharpie Paint Pens, baking, etc. Great concept, flawed idea.

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    • The same thing happened to me and I followed the directions to the T. Chipping started the very next day without even being touched. :/

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    • There are multiple kinds of sharpie paint pens. Some are water based, others are oils based. You have to use the oils based,

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    • They make a special ModgePodge that is dishwasher safe. It goes on clear and dries in about 2 hours. I put stickers on a wine glass as well as glitter and sealed it with two coats of modgepodge and they have yet to start chipping. Hope this helps!

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      • Hi! Have you done the modge podge after painting a mug like this tutorial? I painted some mugs last night (with multi surface paint) and I’m going to bake them today, but was curious if once they are cool if I should go over the paint with the MP? Or before I cure them? Thanks!

        Reply

    • They sell a glaze modge podge that dries clear and is dishwasher safe. You just paint on three coats letting it dry in between then let it dry over night

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    • In another post it says to wipe the cup with rubbing alcohol before you draw on the cups to remove any fingerprints or oils, Maybe try that.

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    • Regarding getting the paint to not chip: Using a wide, soft bristle paint brush; this utilizes a broad stroke, allowing minimal stroking to avoid a cloudy finish. The glaze is called LIQUITEX PROFESSIONAL GLAZE. However, apply it AFTER the oven, and let it sit for at least 24 hours! This is the same as double sealing, as the oven sets the paint very well, and the glaze really seals. FOLLOW DIRECTIONS ON THE BOTTLE OF GLAZE. I purchased mine at Michael’s.

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    • You could try sealing your work by putting on a little mod podge after you bake your beautiful custom mug.

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  2. Is it the fact that they are oil paints (just in pens) that prevents them from washing away? If you just had oil paints and a brush would it still be long lasting?

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    • I run an art store, and we get heaps of people who think they can use regular Oil paints for this. Most oil paints are toxic and all take a very long time to dry. Use either oil based sharpies or normal acrylic paint markers. The baking in the oven sets the paint on the mug, and hand washing would be my recommendation.

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        • Acrylic paint is water based. Oil is not. (unless it is specified–and even then those are in the fine art section, away from most “everyday” paint.) This project requires oil-based paints. In most craft stores there is a glass paint area. Martha Stewart has a line that works amazing and it’s not that much more in price. Instead of using Sharpies brand (which do work and this project is based off of) and if you don’t want the paint to chip, I recommend the special glass paint. There are writer pens with the glass paint if you aren’t too great with a brush. They use the same technique as Sharpie paint pens where you bake in the oven to cure them. The key is to let the paint fully dry before sticking them in the oven. My friend and I used glass paint last year and she is able to put hers in the dishwasher without a problem. We did wine glasses, mugs, and plates.
          -Another tip: put the glasses in the oven when you start to preheat and wait to pull them out until cool as well. You need the gradual rise and lowering of heat to not break the glasses and make sure the paint is fine.

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          • Thank you for your comment. What type of mug did you use? From reading various “it works!” and then the “fail” experiences, it seems that not having a constant factor of the mug may be part of the equation.

        • Acrylics are water based and to be waterproof, they must have a sealant. Not sure that would be food safe. And most likely would wear down after several times in a dishwasher.

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      • Can i use Microwave Oven instead of Oven? Id love to make but i dont have oven i do only have micrwave oven. How am I
        Going to do? :(( please reply!!!

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        • No, this would not work in a microwave. The heating method of a microwave is very different and would definitely not have the desired effect. It really has to be an oven for this!

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          • Does anyone know if you can use a toaster oven on these? Our oven went out and I am making a lot of these as gifts and I need to get them done lol

    • I have painted mason jars and wine glasses with acrylic glass paint using q-tips. I baked them starting in a cold oven at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. I have put them in the dishwasher on the top shelf for over a year now and they come out perfect. I have never tried sharpies.

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  6. I’ve done this process on mugs and wine glasses. Before painting, I wipe the surface with rubbing alcohol – making sure to remove any oils from my hand. I had a portion of one of my designs flake off…in the exact shape of my thumbprint! Now I wear the tight fitting rubber gloves. Hope this helps!

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      • I think the concern is more that there could be potentially toxic fumes rather than that it may smell. Ventilation is therefore very important.

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    • The ventilation needs to be during painting and baking! I learned the hard way with painting lol it does smell during baking as well, just not as strong!

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      • Uhhh … I’d think twice before putting it on a platter since paints such as this are not food-safe/non-toxic.

        Whereas the paint is on the outside of the mug, not touching what you drink from the mug, if a platter were done like this, there’s the food to consider. Not a good idea. Even if one were to try to do just the platter’s border, it’s hard to make sure that whatever is on the platter stays only in the center of it, and not touching the painted border.

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  11. Where did you get your scrapbook stickers (the bigger pink one on the mug)? I have looked in lots of stores and I can’t find that size and font. Please help!

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    • I found that sticker set a long time ago, at Big Lots. I’m not even sure the brand anymore. Best bet is to look at Hobby Lobby. They have a huge selection of large stickers. You might even look at the stickers that are normally used for garage sales/sale signs. They are pretty big too

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      • I found my letter stickers at our local Dollar Tree. They had large and small letters in block and script style. They were in the school/office supply aisle with the other stickers. I love that they were only $1.00 a pack. I hope you can find them.

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    • Hey Anna,

      I free-handed mine onto thin cardboard, cut it out and used it as a stencil on a removable wall decal I had at the house. I used the scraps around the decal. It worked like a charm. It was repositional on the mug, and peeled off easily after, even with the paint all over it. It did have a harsher edge then these do but I didn’t mind that. I could have easily printed letters and done the same thing but I don’t have a printer and it was late. 🙂

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    • I make my own stickers with a Cricut. there are other less expensive machines. I make cards, mugs, t-shirts, ornaments and other such things.

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  17. LOVE these, Stacey – I’m going to have to give them a try. Even my non-crafty self might be able to make these turn out. 🙂 Congratulations on the MoneySavingMom share – Excited to see your blog grow!

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    • It’s hard to tell without seeing it, but it might be the sticker you are using. Make sure all the edges are down and try not to put too much paint in one spot.

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    • I had the same problem, but found a way to fix it afterwards. After you peel the letter off, before the paint dries too much and before you bake it, use rubbing alcohol on a cotton swab to wipe away mess-ups. works like a charm! 🙂

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  20. I haven’t done this with mugs but the oil based pens do slowly fade off the wine glasses if you put them in the dishwasher.

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  22. Do the mugs need to be in the oven while it heats up, so they heat up slowly as well? Or do you wait until the oven has reached the required temp and then put them in for 30mins?

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  25. Hi, love it! Making them for all of the kids teacher (and stuffing with goodies!) for Christmas. Just wondering if you have any tips for getting the letters off without wrecking the paint? I’m paranoid about using rubbing alcohol in case of taking the paint off too. And the scrapbook letters I got (mambiSTICKS) are VERY on there if you know what I mean 😉

    Reply

    • I’ve been working on making some of these for my co-workers. I used a thin utility knife (or x-acto) to carefully pull up the sticker edges and once the sticker is mostly off, I took some water and lightly rubbed it on with my fingers and then used the x-acto to pull the remaining paper off and rubbed it with a soft cloth (or just old shirt) in the areas not painted to get rid of the sticky residue from it.

      Reply

    • I still had the sheet to a removable wall decal I have in my apartment. I used the scraps to cut my letters out of. Worked like a charm – super easy to remove without damaging the paint. And it was repositional so I was able to line up my letters multiple times to get it just right. 🙂

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  26. These are great! The only issue I’ve had is trying to get the sticker off the mug after painting. I can’t get it to peel off clean, resulting in a smudgy design. Any tips for sticker removal? My fingernails will thank you.

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  27. I am having trouble getting the paper stickers off without some pieces sticking and being left behind. What kind of stickers should I be using? Any tips would be helpful. Thank you!

    Reply

    • To get that papery backing off that’s left use an x-acto knife or a thin utility knife (one of the small ones with the snap blades work nicely). You can also wet the papery bits by rubbing them with some water on your finger tips and that will help pull them off easier. Then just wipe it with a slightly damp cloth to remove any residue.

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  28. I have a silhouette Cameo and cut my letters out of vinyl. It made them relatively easy to remove. I haven’t baked them yet, but they look great. Thanks for the idea!

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  29. Hi your creations are really nice and cute, I have a question, I do not have gas oven or any type of oven at home it’s because I am saving space for my apartment but I do have Oven toaster. Do you think it will work on oven toaster? if yes, how long should I bake it in there? thanks! 🙂

    Reply

    • i would think a toaster oven would work the same as a regular, just make sure that there is PLENTY of space between the mug and the heating elements!!

      Reply

  30. I’m doing this with kids next week. I was wondering how easy it will be to get the sticker off. Do I peel it before baking or after? Thanks

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    • It really depends on the sticker you use. Vinyl stickers are best. You peel the sticker off BEFORE you bake. Otherwise you will more than likely bake the sticker on

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  32. Is there any way to keep the paint from changing color after baking? I used sharpie oil based.
    Or, could you skip the baking and hand wash only to preserve original colors?

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    • I’m having the same issue! Came here looking for an answer, but haven’t found one yet.
      I’ve painted 5 mugs, but only put 3 in the oven. The light blue is now a light seafoam green, the purple is rose colored, the red is now a dark maroon (almost brown), and the gold turned silver!
      Now I’m afraid to put the other two in the oven, or paint the rest. These are intended as Christmas gifts, and I’d live to know what I did wrong!

      Reply

      • Did anyone figure out a solution to this? I’m afraid to bake mine. And air drying for a month? Has anyone found that to work without it coming off in the wash?

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  33. When you bake them, do you stand them on a cookie sheet or just place on the racks? Also, can you “paint ahead”… like a few hours or a day and then bake?

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  34. Help! I’m using the Sharpie, oil-based paint markers and some of the colors are actually changing colors once the mug/glass is baked (ie. Red becomes fuschia, Purple becomes more of a Lavender/Pink, etc) others are lightening up or becoming more muted (ie. light blue looks more like a teal). I am following the directions above. Do you why this is?

    Reply

  35. When I bake something painted with the red marker it turns pink, and some of the other colors fade, any suggestions on how to keep the color from changing?

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  36. Love these! I made some so much fun! But question when i bake my red they turned a mulberry color. Any advise? Did i bake them to long?

    Reply

    • Yes, they were either left in too long or the temp was too high. Keep in mind, the temp for glass vs ceramic mugs is different. Ovens vary, so for my glassware, setting mine at 350 and baking for 30 minutes caused them to change colors, but the next time I lowered the temp to 300, baked for 20 minutes, then turned the oven off and kept the glass in the oven to come to temp slowly for another 10 minutes and the color turned out perfect and still didn’t wash off. If you’re doing a mug the temp needs to be higher in order for the paint to adhere properly. I would suggest to just keep an eye on it if you’re doing the mug. Check it 10 minutes before the end time to see what the color looks like and maybe lower the temp by 25-50 degrees. Good luck!

      Reply

  38. i’ve done the same with porcelain dishes and porcelain paint pens…paint, bake and enjoy! i’ve had mine for years and the paint never chips or washes off!

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  39. Hello,

    I used the same markers and when I baked them they changed colors. The red is now a maroon color and the orange a brownish color. How did you get your red to stay red?

    JenniferRose

    Reply

    • I’ve been having so many issues with the Sharpie glasses so I’ve tried lots of different ways. I’ve noticed that the sharpie oil based paint pens (which changed colors on me as well the first time) don’t wash off like the regular sharpies BUT, they need to be baked at a lower temp and for less time to keep from changing colors. Here’s the directions I found that ended up actually working with both keeping the colors pretty much the exact same AND also not washing off. Put in the oven before it’s pre-heated, set temp to 350, bake for 20 minutes after it comes to the full temp. After 20 minutes, turn oven off, BUT leave in the oven for an extra 10 minutes to cool down some. I did this last night and it worked like a charm (finally!). Good luck!

      Reply

      • Oops! Sorry, I meant to say that my temp was 300 not 350 and it was on Glass, not a ceramic mug. Mugs should be a higher temp because of the coating used. I would definitely try baking it a little less time, but it should be at a higher temp if a mug. Be careful not to leave it in the oven anymore than the time stated though. Good luck!

        Reply

  40. My daughter and I did the coffee mugs last night, while the men watched football. They were fun to do and turned out great. The letter stickers she got had a good sticky back and only one of the 5 mugs we did seeped order the sticker. It was because I didn’t make sure it was stuck all around the letter. Next I’m going to try the wine glasses for a gift. I will take advice of some of the others that have done this and be sure to clean all the oils off the glasses and use gloves. Thank you so much for sharing this fun idea!!!

    Reply

  42. Hi! I love this idea and was going to make multiple mugs as gifts. But when I went to our local Menards, they didn’t have Sharpie paint pens but had more generic paint pens. Would you recommend me using these instead of the Sharpie brand? I may return them and get the Sharpie pens because they have way cuter colors than just your regular blue, yellow, green etc. but I was just wondering what you think, thanks for your input!

    Reply

    • Without seeing the pens or using them myself – I can’t really make a recommendation on what you have. I love the Sharpie brand, so that is who I root for 🙂 You can always try them and see!

      Reply

  43. Stacey, help! i purchased regular paint pens from michaels, not oill based. Now after reading all the comments I’m wondering if I made a mistake!! Do you think they will still work well?? Should I exchange them??

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  44. I just read recently that you arent supposed to use these oil based paints on anything that goes near your mouth.. so maybe keep your pattern lower on the mug.. and use a glass platter and deco the underneath where the food can’t touch the design. Just a thought 🙂 anxious to try these techniques !!

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  45. I used one of my coffee mugs from my dish set it said microwave safe oven safe just to practice the dollar tree was out of white mugs even on line.

    Reply

    • Hi!!! I so want to do this project….first, i had much difficulty finding oil based sharpies or any other brand of oil based pens where i live. I finalkh found some in singapore when we went there a week ago. I was so happy to gdt on with the project but this afternoon, i had no luck finding coffe cups or mugs that are oven safe. There were some microwave oven safe, not convection oven safe. I decided yo get one of these…a luminarc….would it be foolhardy for me to try and do this priject on that and then put in the oven to bake? thank you so much.

      Reply

  46. thanks. ur idea had inspired me so much that i decided to make christmas gifts for all of my friends. i just cant find way to use the oven bcos you say bake it for 350 but my oven is Microwafe Oven and all it got there is the Timer and ((Low,M. Low,Medium,M High, High)) i just wanna ask what could it possibly b 350? i just really hope that you could reply me asap just before this christmas cause i really need to ready the presents early. thanks. really nice job.. i like it..

    Reply

    • I can’t say much about a microwave oven. I don’t personally have one, so I don’t know much about their temperatures. Maybe you can do some experimenting or have a friend with an oven help you out?

      Reply

    • A microwave oven does not work for this. There is no way it would as the way it cooks is completely different then a conventional oven.

      Reply

  47. I bought sharpie oil based markers. Followed the instructions and baked 30 minutes followed by 3 hrs cooling down in oven. When I removed them, the colors had faded and changed…the gold looks olive green, the red looks violet only the silver remained silver. Any suggestions? These are supposed to be Christmas teachers gifts but they don’t look like Christmas colors now
    Thanks!

    Reply

  48. I used the same concept, but the red oil paint turned purple, and the white turned brown in the oven. The metallic colors, and black look good still.

    Reply

  50. I followed the directions exactly, dollar store mugs, sharpie oil based paint pens, baked in oven and after mugs cooled I swiped the painted mug handle with my thumb and the paint came right off. No idea why. Only thing I can think of is that the mugs are very shiny (glazed). Paint might adhere better to a duller, rougher finish. Frustrating!

    Reply

  51. Do you need to wait before putting them in the oven? Or when you’re done with the design can you bake immediately?

    Reply

  52. I had already bought fabric markers before finding out which kind to use. I tried them according to the ‘baking’ instructions here – success!!! No where does it say if they are oil based, but grateful they worked. Now if I was only a better artist!

    Reply

  53. Hi! Just wanted to know if it is 350 °F or °C, because I did it at 350 °F but it washes away when I clean the mug…. Thank you!!!

    Reply

  55. Hi Stacey! I was wondering – do normal sharpies work on ceramic mugs too? Or do they have to be oil-based? Thanks 🙂

    Reply

  56. Help!! I’m currently doing this project for Christmas presents. I’ve painted on the cups around the sticker. Waited for it to dry and now I can’t get the sticker off without leaving part of the sticker behind. Any suggestions? I got Mambisticks from Michael’s.

    Reply

    • I am having the same problem. My thought was maybe to try Goo-Gone, but I’m afraid it may take off the paint too! Any thoughts Stacey?!

      Reply

      • Ugh I am having the exact same problem with mine. Used the same stickers as well! I did read that essential oils would help, so I used tree tea oil, but I am worried about the oil messing with the paint!

        Katie – i didn’t think about goo gone! Maybe if we tried that and did a touch up and also used a sealer? Seems like a lot of extra work though….

        Reply

        • I had the same exact problem…. I waited an entire day after painting the mug, took a q-tip, dipped it in some rubbing alcohol and scrubbed at the adhesive really hard (but carefully). It worked!!

          Just make sure to be careful because it WILL smudge if you rub the paint long enough. I only scrubbed where the adhesive was really sticking and hardly ever touched the paint part. Also, if the adhesive doesn’t come off with the q-tip, take a paper towel and scrape it off after wetting it with the alcohol. It worked great.

          I love these mugs! Amazing and easy gift idea.

          Reply

          • I had the same problem at first. I took a thin x-acto knife, got as much off as I could, then what papery bits were left I gently wet with some water on my fingers, which was enough to make it easier to scrape off with the knife. Then, I took an old t-shirt, gently wet the mugs again, and wiped down the areas where there was the sticky residue from the stickers left. This worked perfectly without messing up the paint at all.

      • I ended up wiping my stickers with rubbing alcohol prior to placing them on the mugs, which helped remove a little of the adhesive. Then I used an exacto knife to help lift the edges of the sticker without bothering the paint. It worked really well. Now to bake and hope the paint stays put.

        Reply

  58. I’ve found that the red marker when baked turned into a magenta/ dark pink… the red when first applied was such a great bright red but didn’t stay long. Was it just mine?

    Reply

    • I used the Sharpie Oil Based paint markers. I waited over 24 hours before baking them for 40 minutes at 350 degrees. I estimated it takes my oven 10 minutes to pre-heat. I noticed that my red turned to a dark pink color. My blue (both light and dark) changed colors too. It looks like a cross between a country blue and a turquoise. The green is off and the orange looks almost like a pumpkin. However, regardless of the color changes, they turned out otherwise well. All my co-workers loved them.

      Reply

  59. I’m trying to do similar activity different pens but if requires me to bake my glass they are regular drinking glasses and champagne I’m afraid they will shatter in oven

    Reply

  60. Does anyone have any tricks to get the stickers off easily?? Mine won’t come off and I don’t know how to get it off without using some kind of oil. Don’t want to risk the marker coming off!

    Reply

    • Use an x-acto knife to gently lift the edges of the sticker, get off as much as you can, then lightly wet the papery bits that are left with some water on your fingertips. That should make the paper easier to get off with the knife. You can then wet it again and gently wipe it with a cloth to get off any sticky residue.

      Reply

  61. My daughter made a mug with the oil base sharpies, ran it through the dishwasher and half of the design came off. Any suggestions?

    Reply

  62. What if my mugs are porcelain? Does it matter? I just picked up cheap ones at Walmart and didn’t realize they aren’t ceramic until now.

    Reply

  63. I love the JOY one! That may just my bias with the name, lol. Can’t wait to try this myself. Be a great winter project.

    Reply

  64. So ive done quite a few of these mugs. But my friend wants me to make one for her with the color orange. I tried it and baked at 350 degrees for 30 mins. And shut the oven off then cooled. But the orange turns red. Is there a way for it to not turn red?

    Reply

  66. Is the smell of the paint strong in the kitchen while mugs are baking in the oven? (after painting is completed outside the kitchen in a ventilated area) And does the paint pen smell linger in the oven? Just want to ask so I am not baking a meal that evening and my meal taste like the pens smell.

    Reply

  67. I just finished doing this project with a few mugs I followed the instructions for baking and even used the sharpie oil based paint markers and the paint changed color in the oven. Has this happened to anyone else or is it common at all? They still look good just not exactly how I wanted. Thanks 🙂

    Reply

  68. Hi, I so love doing this, but my phobia is baking the glasses. Is there anything or anyway that I can decorate without baking?

    Reply

  70. I have just done some Santa plate with a different kind of oil based markers but the couloir has really faded once I baked it am I doing something wrong xx

    Reply

  72. I live in Hong King and sharpies are extremely hard to find. I found other eons that were permanent oil based. Followed the instructions. Baked for 1 hr at 400. They didn’t was off but when in scratch the ink with my fingers it does come off. Has that happened to anyone? A friend has 1 sharpie that I’m going to borrow and see. So bummed

    Reply

  73. How can you prevent the discoloring of the paint pens on the mug? All the colors, especially the red got darker so the red turned purple after I baked it.

    Reply

  74. I bought these exact markers. I followed the directions. When i pulled them out the paint was already chipping off. any suggestions??

    Reply

  75. Great idea! I did 5 mugs, I bought letter stencils at Joann’s that were sticky on back so I could re-use over and over.
    Tips: press the stencil on firmly so no bleeding occurs.
    Spend the extra money for the oil based sharpies.(home depot)
    Pull your stickers or stencils off about 15 seconds after you paint (if you wait longer, the paint sets up and pulls paint off)
    Clean the front and back of stencil with paper towel and nail polish remover (or it will smudge during next use)
    Use a small paint brush (used for models) dabbed in nail polish remover to tidy up any messes.
    Don’t use black!! After baking- the black chipped off badly and I had to start over with a different color.
    Red did change to fucia. Orange changed to a rusty red. Purple got closer to pink.
    Don’t over-think the oven: just put them in and turn it on!

    Reply

    • I did about 36 of these for gifts this year for Christmas and I, too, had issues with the black. No matter what I have done (alcohol, re-baking, etc) the black (and only the black) continues to chip off. Very frustrating. I was redoing 6 of these last night in a different color.

      I wonder why the black is affected and how to prevent this?

      Reply

  76. Thanks so much for posting this. I made them for my coworkers, filled the mugs with candy. They were so easy, and a HUGE hit!

    Reply

  77. do these need to be put in the oven immediately after they are painted? I made several tonight but didnt put them all in together so i want to bake the rest tomorrow. Will this be okay?!

    Reply

  78. Between last Christmas and this Christmas I’ve made over 50 mugs, wine glasses and plates. Its my absolute favorite go-to craft and is always a huge hit! Some pointers for those who I noticed were having some issues:
    Run the blank glass through the dishwasher, handle with gloves as to not spread oils to the surface. I found cleaning the surface with rubbing alcohol first not only ensured a clean mug but also allowed the letter stickers to adhere better.
    Nail polish remover on a q tip helps remove small smudges or errors and also helps pull the adhesive off the sticker.
    I usually paint them, dry them overnight, peel the stickers and then bake.
    When you go to bake them, PUT THEM IN THE COLD OVEN AND LET THEM COME TO TEMPERATURE. It’s very dangerous and compromises the integrity of the glass to rapidly increase the temperature.
    Only OIL BASED markers are permanent.
    I personally have not encountered the color changes after baking. Maybe the brand or ink batch was bad, Sharpie has always worked well for me. Also, try not to “double dip” your colors (use yellow right after black, etc.) It can stain the lighter color pens’ fibers and cause colors to run muddy.
    And lastly the finishef mug should ALWAYS be hand washed, its a personalized piece of art, and should be treated delicately. Do not try to put it in the dishwasher.
    Hope this helps everyone.

    Reply

    • Thank you! I’m very nervous about baking glass. I painted martini, champagne, wine glasses, etc and I’m hoping nothing will break under the heat or change color. I read to lower to 300* and only bake 20 mins and let cool slowly. Anything else?

      Reply

    • My daughter and I have painted about 50 wine glasses with the oil based sharpies.
      We had some patterns flaking after hand washing. If you rub the surface at all with water and dish soap it will come off. We recommend just rinsing and patting dry. What we’ve learned is definitely start with a clean glass (rubbing down with alcohol and letting it dry completely before painting)… Next, use gloves when you paint and handle the glass, I believe the cause of the flaking was from painting over fingerprints. any kind of oil on your finger tips create a problem after the paint dries over it.
      Also, we have used a Q-tip and acetone to clean up some smudges, I also think that paint doesn’t stick well over these areas. the sharpie oil based paints are so easy to work with, but you do have to be really careful or the designs flake after a few washes.

      Reply

  79. I love these! We’re doing them for family Christmas gifts this year. An idea for those who have a cricut- use 3 inch painters tape to make your own stencils. The tape is inexpensive, and easily sticks to your mug and then peels right off. I’ve really enjoyed making them. Thank you for this tutorial.

    Reply

  80. So i got the markers and the mugs and i followed the instructions. At first they seemed liked they were great the paint was fine but the next day i found that paint could chip away if scratched, especially the black marker, as long as nothing abraisive comes in contact with them i think they should be fine. Im going to tell everyone that a gentle handwash is the best way to clean them. I will try and experiment more and if i find a solution i will post something.

    Reply

        • yep, bake the wine glasses too. I typically put them in a cold oven and then let it come it to temperature. 300 or 350 degrees for 30 minutes. then turn it off and let them come back to room temp before handling. They do smell bad when they are baking, make sure you have a exhaust fan for your oven.

          Reply

  84. My daughter made ten adorable mugs as gifts for her friends and when she baked them the colors changed. The blue turned brown and all of the beautiful colors turned ugly browns and grays. Any ideas how to fix this or why it happened

    Reply

      • Tip from a glass artist- Some colors, especially the reds and oranges will not stay true if the oven is not vented. The fumes accumulating in the oven will cause the colors to change. Also these colors are more temperature sensitive, so, as mentioned before, pay attention to the temperature and time you are baking them.

        Reply

  85. I just did monogramed tealightholders, i am goning to be using them als place settings for christmas dinner. Love this idea, its dead simple and gives a great result!

    Reply

  88. Do oil-based PAINT sharpies prove a negative result? Or does the oven outcome stay the same as long as they are oil-based?

    Thanks,

    Inga

    Reply

  89. I’m 11 years old and my mom just found this craft on Pinterest ,my mom had to drag me to the store today ,she got mad at me because I wanted everything ,but she kept saying no ,because ,tomorrow will be the 23 and it’s to close to Christmas ,I can’t wait to try this craft ,I’m latterly jumping up and down on my couch ,

    Reply

  90. If I did use oil paints to paint my mug, what can I do to make them dry faster and stay on the mug in the dishwasher? Will it turn out ok with oil-based paints? Should I spray them with something? Please help me, Christmas is a few days away!!!

    Reply

    • Hi! This is an amazing idea I saw it yesterday and today my mugs are almost done they are in the oven right now tomorrow will let you guys know how they came out I am going to fill them up with some essie nail polish and some candys and chocolate and a mini pictures of my babys with santa this is a try to make some as a Christmas present since I am not working and situation is really bad merry Christmas everyone 🙂 and thanks for posting

      Reply

  92. I LOVED these when I saw them. I just made 2 mugs for my son’s teachers. filled them with a homemade ornament and chocolates. I also made a big soup bowl for an elderly client of mine who adores soup! They came out great. I am looking forward to making some of the kids crafts you’ve posted with my son. I am so glad I stumbled across your site. Definitely added to my favorites bar!

    Reply

  93. Not sure if you encountered this problem, it doesn’t appear so by your photos however, when I used the red, after the baking process, it turned out like a hot pink. Sadly ruined some of my sports team themed glasses. Oh well. Fabulous craft otherwise. Thank you so much!

    Reply

  94. I really love the monogram and pointillism technique you used. It is adorable. I have been using the sharpie oil based paint pens and just a disclaimer they can still come off, both dishwasher and hand wash. I bake mine at 350 degrees for 30 minutes as well to help cure. I have tried it all! However I looked into Lolita wine glasses and even they suggest hand wash immediately and focus on cleaning rim and inside with sponge and let water handle the outside. So to that even large companies that charge 20.00 a glass haven’t figured out an effortless way to clean painted glasses. Just wanted to give a heads up so no one is disappointed. Happy Crafting Everyone!

    Reply

  95. I did this just recently for a holiday party and I followed the instructions here exactly. They came out wonderful! They were able to be gently washed fine and there was no color change! I used metallic and regular oil-based paint sharpies from my local craft store. After putting them in the oven for 30 minutes, I let them sit in there for nearly four hours to cool before taking them out. They made perfect little party favors and everyone used them for the whole night! Thanks so much for this amazing idea!

    Reply

  96. Does anyone know if the gold and silver oil based sharpie ink can be microwaved ? I gave one as a gift yesterday and she asked if she’d be able to warm up her mug in the microwave. I didn’t even think about that! 🙁

    Reply

  97. I was sorely disappointed in this project. I bought about 15 mugs for coworkers and friends, followed all directions listed, and immediately after baking all of the paint began to chip. I washed the mugs and even more paint chipped off. I tried three separate times, cleaning with alcohol prior to painting, baking for longer and baking for less time. Nothing seemed to work. Very disappointing and frustrating.

    Reply

  98. Just made a dozen of these! Ran a test mug through the dishwasher and it came out perfect! However, I would recommend hand washing to preserve your art! 😉 Did anyone have an issues with a lingering odor in your oven? I have sweet potatoes roasting and praying they don’t taste like paint. Christmas is tomorrow!!

    Reply

  99. Well, a couple of hiccups along this craft’s journey. 1) The pen suddenly spirted out a long drip when I was painting the dots. I saved the project by taking off the streaks with a q-tip dipped in alcohol. 2) When I sprayed the mugs with Acrylic Sealing Spray…..on 2 of 4 mugs the Sharpie paint , which was absolutely dry from the oven time, became wet and dripped. I’m giving them away anyway. They are for my sons 29 & 31 and they’ll love my effort.

    Reply

  100. Thank you for this tutorial. I made several of these for Christmas gifts this year (and one for myself!) and they turned out really cute. Fairly easy, except I did have a little bit of a problem with the pain leaking under the sticker. I love the idea, though, and will definitely be doing it again.

    Reply

  101. Hello Stacy , how long will the paint stay on after during the whole process.
    If you wash them in the dish washer how long until the paint starts coming off and if you wash them by hand how long until it comes off?

    Reply

  103. i made these with the kids and gave them out as Christmas gifts, only to find out from Grandma, that the paint all came off. Very disappointing and embarrassing!

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  106. Has anyone tried baking the mugs with the stickers ON? It seems like they would peel off much easier. I’m going to try it!!

    Reply

  107. I am interested in doing this on a ceramic piggy bank. It has rubber non-skid attachments on the feet and covering the hole where the money is removed. Should I try to remove the attachments (which are adhered on the feet but removable where the hole is located)? I’m concerned that they would melt in the oven. Any advice?

    Reply

  108. I have successfully used Pebeo Paint Markers for years. They come in a variety of basic colors & are made in two types:
    1-Porcelaine for use on ceramics
    2-Vitrea 160 for use on glass
    After 24 hours, heat set in oven according to directions. Result is dishwasher safe. I’ve never had any problems.

    Reply

    • Have you used them on a variety of ceramics and it worked on all of them? Or does the type of ceramic mug affect the results?

      Reply

  109. I tried this project as a gift for my college friends. I used plain white mugs and oil based paint pens and I followed the baking instructions exactly but it didn’t work =( The paint started to smear almost right away when it gets warm from someone’s hands and it starts to run if there is hot liquid in it. I don’t understand what I did wrong =( Any suggestions?

    Reply

  110. Hi. Can I use Ultra Fine Point Sharpies? Will it still last long? How? And can I use microwave for heating the mug?

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  111. After I baked my mug a few spots were missing color… Can I add more of the oil based sharpie color and rebake?

    Reply

  112. Hi! Thanks for sharing this tutorial but I have one question, where did you get your stickers from?! I have been searching the web and I can’t find any the right size! Thanks.

    Reply

  115. I will have to check out Lowes for these. I have purchased another pen paint before at Michael’s craft and hobby store before.

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  116. A friend made me the cutest coffee mug ever like this for Christmas! I run it through the dishwasher at least 3 times a week with no problem at all! She used this same technique. Make sure you are using the Sharpie Paint Pens! I got mine at Hobby Lobby about $3 a piece. I’m working on clear mugs tonight…wish me luck!

    Reply

  117. I’ve done this twice in the past. Both times with regular sharpie markers. One worked and the other did not. I think it has to do with the coating on the mugs. I washed both of them before designing them but one I was able to put in the dishwasher with no change to my design and the other nearly washed off just by hand washing. IDK, some people seem to get it right an others don’t.

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  118. I am in the process of making these mugs and am wondering if you had any issues with the colours fading when you baked yours at 350 for 30 minutes?

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  122. So I really want to make one of these for my boyfriend but i want to add writing in the bottom of the cup that he can read once the drink has been consumed, any tips on what I can use for that?

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  124. STACEY! Wow some of these comments are amazing.
    Thank you for giving us a wonderful ideas and then taking all those punches! 🙂

    Reply

  125. I think the reason for the mixed results may be a couple of things: 1) maybe some people are getting the water based paint pens instead of oil based ones….FYI, I’ve seen people comment other places that they make pens especially for glass and ceramic. 2) Maybe the different glazes used on different mugs have some effect on how the paint adheres. So maybe buy one mug and try it and if it works and sticks you will know those mugs have a glaze that is conducive to painting. Happy crafting! 🙂

    Reply

  126. I tried this method exactly in the Fall of last year and it worked perfectly! I made sure the blue dollar store mug was oil spot free(I read cheaper mugs are better for these projects due to cheaper glaze or something like that 🙂 — I have washed my mug in the dishwasher multiple times with no chipping of the paint yet!

    Reply

  127. I’ve found that a tiny dab of cornstarch or flour onto super adhesive stickers works great for having them peel perfectly off without damaging the paint at all.

    Reply

  128. I’ve baked mason jar’s that I used oil based sharpies on before and they did well, no chipping of paint. What i did notice was the color went from vibrant to pastel after baking. And my purple sharpie oil paint pen turns BRIGHT pink when baked. I don’t remember what temp or time I did them at. But does anyone else’s work fade after baking?

    Reply

  130. I feel like some of these questions are so stupid, She explains most of the questions you guys have either in her paragraph or in previous questions before your own. Take time and read others comments and her answer to them before asking her a millionth time.

    Reply

  132. Looking to make and sell these, but to avoid the embarasment of having a customer complain about designs washing off, could I use a polyurethane based sealant only on the are where my sharpie drawings are?

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  135. Without your brilliant idea I never would’ve thought of this amazing idea! I’m only a 12 yr old girl and this is so much fun I made it today for my dads father day gift and it turned out perfect this means more than you will ever know thanks ~gianna

    Reply

  136. Without your brilliant idea I never wouldve thought of something this amazing! I’m only a tweleve year old and this is so much fun. This worked perfect thanks so much ~gianna

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  137. My moms birthday is in two days, and I really love the idea of these, planning to make them but…..will they be ready?

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  139. I’m not much of a coffee drinker, but I used this to decorate a plain, black lapdesk I’d gotten for school. (Minus the baking, of course!)
    It looks great, and I’m so glad I stumbled across this!

    Reply

  140. Love these! We are planning on making them at a day camp for teen moms with a ministry I run. Do you have an estimate on how many mugs you might be able to decorate with one 5-pack of the oil-based sharpies? Thanks!

    Reply

  142. These are so cute! We are going to be making these for a day camp for teen moms with a ministry I work with. Do you have an idea of how many mugs one 5-pack of the oil-based sharpies might make?

    Reply

  144. I use Enamel paints (you can find these at Walmart). Same idea as the sharpies, but these don’t wash off. I’ve had the same problem that the sharpie wash off so these paints were a great solution for me. They even make enamel paint markers for those who have difficulties with painting with brushes. I even can put them in the top shelf dishwasher – I personally prefer to wash them but I have tested it to make sure it doesn’t wash off in the dishwasher and it works.

    Reply

  145. Hi, I am really interested in making a mug for my sister for her birthday. However, I’m having trouble finding the proper sharpie pens. I was wondering if regular sharpies would work?

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  146. Just wanted to add for those of you that have been having problems with chipping; Modpodge now makes a dishwasher safe sealer. It works great, but I would suggest not being cheap when you choose/buy a brush for application. Those cheap little sponge painters leave some deep streaks in the finish.

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  147. If the mug I designed with decoArt glass paint markers is microwave safe can I use it in the microwave?

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  148. Remember that the item must be squeeky clean for the paint to adhere properly. Don’t touch the area where you want paint to stick — oil fingers is enough to make the paint flake off. I’m guessing this is why people are having problems.

    Reply

  149. I cut the letters I wanted on semi-thick paper using the Cricut and then made them into stickers using a sticker maker and the results were dreadful. The ink got under much of it and the letters were near impossible to remove. I ended up freehanding the quote and the design has stayed for a few months.

    I’d like to try this again with regular stickers and hopefully it’ll work better!

    Reply

  150. I tried making the sharpie mugs and the design came off very easily with gentle hand washing. I cleaned the surface before painting, used the oil-based pens, and followed the exact baking instructions. I don’t understand why this works for some people and not for others. I’m really frustrated because I’m tying to make this for a gift and I’ve attempted it twice with no success.

    Reply

  152. I just made 4 mugs all different colors, blue, silver, pink, orange, gold, etc. Did everything just the way you did but all the paints turned silver after I baked them.. do you know why this is or how to prevent it from doing this… there is absolutely no color left on the mugs…

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  154. Thank you for this!
    I did my own and thought it turned out great – but then after a few hand washings, the drawing came off.
    I could never figure out what happened.
    Thanks again!

    Reply

  155. Have you run into a problem with the oil based sharpie paint changing color when you bake the items? When i bake the mugs or plates the red turns black…purple turns brown….the pinks get dull….i’m not sure what i’m doing wrong. Any advice? maybe another kind of paint?

    Reply

  156. Scrap these markers. You can get markers that you bake the mug on low heat in the oven to set it. We did it for our charity and worked great. You can scratch the pain off with your thumb. How ever I have washed my mug a hundred times in past year in the dishwasher and the dots are still there, they onyl come off if I scrape off with my nail or they are scraped against a hard surface that digs into paint. Otherwise zero issues. Local craft store may have the markers you use with low heat to set. Im not sure what they are called to be honest. I just know they came form Michaels craft store in Canada and worked well for us 🙂

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  157. Hello,

    I am making these mugs as cmas gifts for my office. i am using red, green and silver. However when i baked my test mug todayy red cam out purple. Did youbhave this issue or have u found a way to make red stay red?

    Thank you!

    Reply

  160. can someone tell me do you put the mugs and wine glasses in an already preheated 350 degree oven or do you put them in a cold oven and allow them to warm up with the oven, then once up to temp then bake for 30 minutes??

    Reply

  162. I found that starting with a non gloss mug was better for it being dishwasher safe. The ceramic takes the paint better if it doesn’t have the shiny finish, and the sharpie has a gloss to it anyway. Also, let the paint dry a few hours BEFORE baking. I wouldn’t use any other paints beside the oil based markers.

    Those who had clumps or chips may have applied too many coats or the paint too thick and it bubbles under the heat then cracks when it gets wet.

    Reply

  163. I did one mug with just a black oilbased sharpie from your directions I let sit for 48 hours then baked it then next day washed by hand and its fine
    But now I’m doing a wine glass just the bottom with pebco chalk porcelains chslk paint
    And then stenciled my daughters name on top my question is the pubeo chalk porcelains I believe says 300 degrees but sharpie is 350 would it matter if I just do at 300 degrees for 30 minutes also have you ever done plates and bowls from the dollar store as would be a nice table arrangement etc could you please email me thanks a very good site of yours

    Reply

  165. Could I also just use an oil based paint rather than the markers? I’m doing Christmas on a budget this year and the sharpie pens are quite expensive in the UK 🙁

    Reply

  166. For those of you wanting a refillable paint pen that you can fill yourself PaintPenPeople.com stocks a nice aluminum one made by Pilot Pen. Reasonable prices and lots of accessories for filling and mixing the paint pens. You will also find empty felt makers there as well.

    Reply

  168. How do we know that mug will not break in microwave/ oven? Can it be put in microwave? If yes,then for how much time?

    Reply

  169. The directions don’t say to preclean with rubbing alcohol. This may be the issue many are having. It might be a good idea to add that and that the design should only go on the outside to prevent it from contaminating the food/beverage to the process.
    I am going to use this on mason jars for my salads for the week. If you layer it right, your salad on day 1 tastes as good and fresh as the salad on day 5.

    Reply

  174. Love your mugs could you tell me hoy you did your einr glasses or if you have another site how you did your wine glasses and also have you ever did plates and can you put cookies or whatever on plated please email me breast site of yourd

    Reply

  175. thanks for the idea. my 2 test mugs are currently in the oven, im really not concerned about the chipping. its the thought. what i find most interesting is that no one has mentioned how long it takes to do all of the dots, lol. My husband chuckled loudly as he went to bed and left me up with my task. oh well merry christmas to all we shall see what this oven cooks up!

    Reply

  176. This is my go-to gift for an inexpensive yet personal gift, great for coworkers. This year I’m doing stemless wine glasses for my girlfriends! Super easy, and fun to make. Thanks for posting this!

    Reply

  178. Hi there,

    Any suggestions for getting the “sticky” residue/paper from remaining from the letters off the mug before baking?

    Many thanks!

    Reply

  179. Hi there,

    Any suggestions for getting the “sticky” residue/paper remaining from the letters off the mug before baking?

    Many thanks!

    Reply

  180. If you use nail varnish art pens for your design then acrylic sealant you may have a better result or enamel sealent. No need to put in the oven.

    Reply

  181. Our office made these mugs as a holiday project two weeks ago. The project itself was easy, and fun. We all enjoyed the project and were looking forward to the finished results. I baked my mug per the directions and the colors of the paint changed as others have reported. The red turned pink, the blue turned teal green, and the bold yellow faded to a pale yellow. I was disappointed that the colors changed, but it was still pretty. After hand washing – where a minimal amout of paint flaked away – I left the finished mug on my counter by a window to dry. Later that evening I picked up the mug and the paint on the sunny side of the mug had faded almost completly away. This mug is a cute idea, but it is not a durable craft and I can’t recommend it.

    Reply

  183. This has probably been asked so many times, but I’ve literally just designed my first ever mug with the oil based sharpies as you recommended. I used black and gold, and the gold has lost its metallic look and has come out of the oven looking like a matte brown. The colour looks pretty yucky! Is there anything I can use to gloss it up? (I’m in the UK if that helps)

    Thanks in advance 🙂

    Reply

  184. if i may ask you all the expert in mug coloring, the oven you saying is like oven we bake cakes?

    i want to try it if it’s a cake oven are they using.

    Thanks.

    Reply

  188. Help!! I tried the Sharpie oil based markers on a wine glass. My red turned to purple after I let it cool down with the oven and took it out after.. I dont know why. Do you have any idea why this may have happened?

    Reply

  190. Ok so this is my first time doing this on the curing . Can someone give me better detailed like do u put the glass jar on a cooking sheet or not and does the oven need to be open when cooling or cooking

    Reply

  191. Hi,

    Thank you for a great post. I wanted to ask whether the oven temperature you gave is in Fahrenheit or Celcius?

    Reply

    • The heat needs to surround the mug/glass. Stove top would just heat it from the bottom up. I’ve been researching cooking them using the outdoor grill as an oven, which can be done, because it’s cold here and in the oven they stink! Just haven’t done *enough* research or actually cooked them on the grill yet. I’ll post anything I try.

      Reply

  193. I tried making mugs with the 24 mugs i bought from the dollar store using sharpies for a coming up craft fair. When i went to wash them the sharpie washed right off. Now i have to buy oil based sharpies and redo 24 mugs. Also, the other day i went to Walmart and noticed that their mugs only cost $0.88. I could have saved about $2.00 if i got them from Walmart (just to let you know).

    Reply

  194. I just found this post the other week and knew I was going to have to try it. I have two many coffee lovers in my life! I bought my pens today — for $16.99 at Michael’s (as compared to $19.99 at Hobby Lobby and $12.97 on Amazon for the 4 pack.) I had a coupon so they went down to $9.00!

    Had a question about the wine glasses. I’m weird about glass and heat. How do they do in the oven? Were there any that cracked or broke?

    Thanks for sharing this project!

    Reply

  195. I’ve made two so far. And so far, so good. I baked them for 30 minutes at 350*, putting them in the cold oven and letting them cool completely before taking them out. Wish I could post a picture! I washed them by hand and nothing came off. I took my fingernail and scraped pretty hard at one of the marks I’d made that was outside the design and it did come partially off but, like I said, I did it pretty hard. I LOVE THIS PROJECT! Only six more to go hahahaha

    Reply

  196. I need some suggestions. I painted mugs, bowls and plates, using the correct Sharpie oil based paint pens. I did some research as found you should let your items dry for 72 hours (3 days) before putting them in the oven at 425 degrees for 1 hour, letting them cool completely in the oven. I did this, and anything I painted black got faded, yellow turned to a brownish color, reds turned to a wine color. I’m so disappointed, I’ve put many many hours into painting these. I retraced over EVERYTHING, and that’s as far as I’ve gotten. Can I put them in the oven again? If yes, at what temperature and for how long?

    Reply

  197. I followed this post last year to make some Christmas presents and here is what worked the best for me. The first set I made I baked according to directions and had some pretty ugly chipping occur just by the slightest touch to the designs. The second set I did not baking on and the last set was no baking plus the dishwasher safe modge podge.
    The first set eventually got a coat of the modge podge as well and is currently still being used by me at home with no further chipping of the design, but some slight chipping of the modge podge itself around the lip of the mugs (I’m attributing it to user error as I took the modge podge all the way up to the lip and had them upside down when painting to the modge podge adhered to the cardboard they were sitting on). The first set has also never seen a dishwasher since I don’t have one :-(.
    The second set was given to my mom as a tester and the design is just now starting to fade with regular use and hand washing. She also doesn’t have a dishwasher.
    The third set was gifted to a friend and has lasted all year with no design or modge podge chipping after regular use and going though the dishwasher about once a week.

    Reply

  198. Help!!!
    I tried wine glasses. I cleaned with alcohol pads before beginning, painted with oil based Sharpie paint pens, baked in oven at 200 degrees for 1 hour. When I hand washed, the paint began coming off. Making for Christmas gifts – how can I get the paint to not wash off???

    Reply

  199. I made a lot of them and the one problem I had was when I used purple and I baked it, it turned to light pink. Is there way to fix this?

    Reply

  200. Can anyone tell me what the material of the mugs should be in order to paint and bake? Is it stoneware or porcelain?

    Reply

  202. For the wine glasses I tried the Sharpie oil-based markers and they worked great for the design, but they did start to chip even when I just hand-washed. Amazon has some Gloss Enamels (Acrylic and enamel mix) that work awesome. I did my design with the pen, then went over it with a fine brush. I baked it per the instructions (cold oven, 350 for 30 min, let cool in oven).

    I used these markers on a ceramic mug and it lasted much longer. I did put them in the dishwasher, but after about 6 or so runs, I noticed the design fade, so I started to just hand wash.

    Reply

  203. Hello, Air Force wife … ever bothered to reply to any of the questions raised??

    Reply

  204. Does anyone know what kind of paint would work and also be safe to use on paper drinking cups. I want to paint something on the outside of the cups for a birthday party. The cups will be stacked together before use, therefore the paint must be food safe as the inside of the cups will come in contact with the outside of a cups painted outside. Anyone got any ideas on this?

    Reply

  205. I did a ceramic coffee mug for my husband’s first father’s day, this past June. I let our daughter mark on one side and drew a design on the other. He uses it practically every day and while he did accidentally put it in the dishwasher once (he is too paranoid to risk losing it so always had washes it) it still looks perfect. Had no issues. Followed the directions and about six months later still great. Actually doing some for the grandparents this Christmas, right now! (Hoping it works out the same!)

    Maybe those who are having flaking or chipping issues are putting the color on too thick or not thick enough?

    Like I said, I just did what she said too and got a great, lasting result!

    Reply

  206. I just had great success with these mugs. I used the Sharpie oil-based paint markers on cheap Dollar Store mugs and baked for 2 hours at 250. All colors stayed true and no running at all. I washed the cups by hand and didn’t have any chipping. I then wanted to try a sealer just to make the color last even longer. This is where the trick comes in. You cannot use a spray-on sealant with black paint pens- they will run! The spray sealant, however, is fine for white paint pens and you don’t see any running at all. I also fooled a bit with Modge Podge waterproof outdoor sealant and it was fine for both colors (no running) but it does leave a definite outline of where you put that sealer on and where you didn’t. This would be fine if you have a defined edge but when you just have your painted design on a portion of the mug then it really shows where you put the Modge Podge and where you didn’t. Also, you definitely need to Modge Podge AFTER the baking or else the Modge discolors to a brown hue.

    Reply

  208. Yep, and the best way to do this is decorating in bulk. I had only heard about the decorating with Sharpies, so I bought the regular ones. (My fault entirely, I admit). The great day came for me to do the project. I had the cup….I was ready. Only to learn I need Sharpie PAINT pens. Fair enough, I went to look at the prices. My simple three colour design was going to cost £12. For one mug. If you are doing Christmas presents, the costs come down considerably. But if you are doing one cup, I’d suggest going to a “paint your own” ceramic studio that doesn’t charge for the studio use. You buy the cup, and then decorate it, about £6.

    Reply

  209. Hi! Sorry for my ignorance but what kind of oven do you use? I don’t have any othe than the one I cook in and it’s a gas oven. Is it safe to put it inside one of those if I don’t have a special one for ceramic crafts

    Reply

    • Hi Maria – I believe the oven I used was an electric oven back then {we haven’t lived in that house for five years now so my memory is very vague}

      My suggestion is, if you don’t feel like it’s safe – don’t do it 🙂 You can also let your sharpie mug sit for a few weeks in an undisturbed area, to seal the paint in. Then handwash. – Stacey

      Reply

  210. Hi, I have a couple of questions. I read your article a couple of years ago and made a couple of the mugs and followed every instruction to a tee. I only handwash my mugs but the paint chips away. It’s very disappointing, is there a way I can fix this?

    Also, do you bake them at 350 celcius or farenheit?

    Thank you! 🙂

    Reply

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