Simple Kid Craft : Personalized Sharpie Mug

I was looking for a simple kid craft to entertain the kids with last week and stumbled upon the personalized sharpie mug idea.  Genius.  I had two purposes to the craft I wanted to try.  One, it needed to be kid friendly.  Two, it needed to double as a Valentine’s Day gift for grandma and grandpa.

Now, I know what you’re thinking.  Those are the most beautifully sharpied mugs I have ever seen.  You could totally sell those on ebay.  I know.  But riches are not what we’re after here.  We’re after thoughtful gifts for grandma.  And grandma loves coffee.  Score!

Simple Kid Craft: Sharpie Mug

Here’s what you need:

Mugs
Sharpies
An Oven

Update ::  Rachel commented below that using Sharpie Oil Based Paint Pens will make these last longer!  Thanks Rachel for the tip!

That’s it!  I found our mugs at the thrift store for only $0.50 each.  There is no reason to spend one penny more.  If you don’t have a thrift store nearby, I would suggest checking out the dollar tree.  We already had the sharpies on hand, so the next step was to let the kids go wild.

In my mind, I thought my four year old would draw a tree, or a house or a car.  Instead, he just started swirling it all around. This was his design, so who was I to stop him?

Once the sharpie mugs were decorated by each of my kids, I let them dry overnight.  The next day I placed them in a COLD oven and turned the heat on to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.  I let it “cook” for 30 minutes and then turned the heat off.  IMPORTANT:::  Let the oven cool before you pull out the coffee mugs.  You don’t want an extreme temperature change.  And an extreme temperature change will happen with the negative temperatures we’re having.

That’s it!  A fun and personalized mug for grandma and grandpa that will be worth millions one day!  If… we’re lucky.  🙂  I would recommend hand washing them only to preserve the masterpiece.

So after creating these masterpieces, I suddenly had the desire to “add my touch”.  I held myself back.  What do you think?  Should you add your own interpretation to your kid’s art when you think it needs it, or let it go?

Find more Easy Kid Craft Ideas!