Customized mugs are SO easy to make. Easy enough that kids can make them. Give them as a gift to a friend, family member or teacher.

You can personalize them with pictures, names, dates, etc.  Add your own flair and personality to each mug - it's sure to be treasured by the recipient.

It's our Second Day of the Fourth Annual 12 Days of Christmas Series!

We have teamed up with 50 plus bloggers to bring you a oodles of DIY Ideas and Recipes to make your holiday season merrier. There are 12 different posts in the series and we have spread them out over a four week period with three posts per week. Now is the time to subscribe!

GO HERE for the complete list of Dates and Topics plus a collection of most popular holiday ideas including ornaments, games, recipes and more from all 50 plus talented bloggers!

Day 1 was a DIY Poinsettia Wreath

It's Day 2 and we are sharing DIY Gift Ideas!

Customized Sharpie Mugs - A DIY Gift Idea

Several years ago, our family started a new Christmas tradition. Instead of having the kids pick out gifts from the store for each other, they make each other gifts. This is more work for me, since I often help them come up with ideas and then help them make the gifts.

Toss in a few of the recipients favorite things for an easy mug gift.

Need more Christmas gift ideas? Try these Mason Jar Gifts.

However, they are SO much more excited to GIVE their presents. And that's exactly what I'm trying to teach them. Giving should be more of a focus than getting. They, of course, are still excited about opening their own gifts, and aren't always focused on giving. But they're learning.

Two years ago, my then 9 year old made these mugs for her siblings. It's an easy project, that she did mostly by herself. Once she was done with the artwork, we baked the mugs to seal the marker paint.

I did a little research about sharpie mugs and found this awesome blog post from Destination Decoration. She tested out different temperatures and times to bake the mugs to avoid color changes and to see what held up best when washed by hand and in the dishwasher.

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Supplies Needed for DIY 

mugs - dollar store or other inexpensive mugs work just fine
oil based paint markers - any color, but we used silver and gold
stencils {stickers or cut out vinyl shapes}
oven

How to Make Sharpie Mugs

1 - Wash and thoroughly dry the mug.

2 - Determine the shapes/design you want to use. We decided on four different Christmas shapes we wanted and then cut them out with vinyl using my Silhouette machine. You can cut shapes out by hand, or use stickers. I liked the vinyl shapes because it allowed for a little more detail.

3 - Apply the stencil to the mug. Rub sticker all over to be sure it adheres firmly to the mug.

4 - Using the paint markers, apply dots all around the outer edges of the stencil, outlining the shape.

5 - Add other details, such as a name, date or more designs. My daughter went to town with additional dots around the shape.

6 - Let dry completely.

7 - Bake at 250 for 2 hours.

8 - Once baked, the mugs should be sealed and ready for use. They should be top rack dishwasher safe, but we always hand wash ours just to be sure.

Scroll down for many more DIY Gift Ideas!



Stay tuned, next up we're sharing Christmas Countdown Calendar Ideas