DIY Personalized Mugs

I had seen tutorials all over Pinterest and blogland for personalized sharpie mugs. They all seemed to say different things, so I combed through each tutorial and picked out what seemed to work and what didn't. If I am going to sit down and craft, I want the craft to last and be well-made. I originally bought these mugs to decorate for a Christmas gift, but then I got greedy and kept them for myself. Oopsies! Seriously though, I am so pleased with how they turned out! Even the husband loves them, and he's not usually all too thrilled with crafting. Now that I have the technique down and have found the method I used works, I really can't wait to make more! This will be so fun to do with kiddos one day too!
Below is one of the mugs I made that I will be using for this tutorial. Want to know how to make one too? Then follow the steps below!

Supplies: Ceramic mugs from Dollar Tree- The cheaper mugs work better for this project, and they only cost $1 per mug. Winning.  Sharpie oil-based paint pens- I bought mine on Amazon, but they can be purchased at any craft store. Make sure it says non-toxic. Oven

Directions: 1. Make sure the mugs are clean. I ran mine through the dishwasher and let them completely dry before I worked with them.  2. Start designing your mugs. For the design I chose, I placed letter stickers on the mug and then drew around the stickers. To achieve this look, firmly press your stickers onto the mug. Next, take a sharpie paint pen and draw dots around each letter. Place the dots close together around the letters and farther apart as you navigate away from the letters. The dots need to touch the edge of the sticker in all places. When you peel the stickers off, the letters won't look right if they are not completely outlined by dots. Let your first color dry (it will dry within a few minutes) and begin dotting with a second color. I didn't follow a set pattern. Let your creative juices flow and just keep working until you think it looks good.  3. When you have finished designing your mugs, let them sit and dry for about 24 hours. This helps to set the paint for the baking process.  4. Place the dried mugs onto a cookie sheet upside down, and set it in the middle rack of the oven. Do not preheat the oven! Once the mugs are in, set the oven to 425 degrees. Start timing 30 minutes once the oven reaches 425 degrees.  5. Once your 30 minutes is up, turn off the oven and leave the mugs in there to cool. You want to avoid sudden changes in temperature as that can cause the mugs to crack. To be safe, just leave your mugs in the oven for several hours while it completely cools down to room temperature. 
That's it! This method does make them dishwasher safe, but I really would recommend just hand washing them. 
I also made one using our Taylor Grace's name that I am pretty obsessed with! Here's a 360 view of the mug. I included the date she went to Heaven on the back of the mug. 

I had a lot of fun with this little DIY. I look forward to making more in the future!