Handmade Coffee Mug Set

My last blog post was about the wedding invitation ornament I made and this one is about another wedding gift I made but I’m pretty sure this will be the last one since my dreams of making an end grain cutting board didn’t pan out, I think I’m just going to get them….. a gift card.

It’s a cop out and not really in my set of rules or exceptions either but I just can’t show up to their wedding which they have spent so much time and money making perfect for all of their guests (they hired babysitters to stay with the kids in an adjacent “kid” room so the kids could have some fun too but still be able to run back and forth to the reception hall if they want) with a .50 cent ornament and handmade set of coffee mugs.

But before I bow out of the homemade gift arena, here is my tutorial on how to make your own monogrammed coffee mug set. These may not be the best wedding gift ever, but they would make awesome gifts for teachers, a housewarming, a birthday, retirement, or basically anything else not as fancy as ummm….. a wedding…. sigh.

You'll need a few thing- scotch tape helps to peel off the stencil from it's backing, a pin, scissors to cut out your stencils, paint that is made for glass or ceramics, a brush or sponge, vinyl stickers and mugs or dishes.

First I found a great deal for a set of used Pflatzgraff plates. I had to buy the whole set, so for $15 I got 12 dinner plates, 12 salad plates, 12 bowls, 3 platters, 20 coffee cups and their saucers all in white and another smaller set of the same Pfaltzgraff pattern in red. It was a great deal, but I didn’t need and wasn’t able to use a lot of the set so I donated what I couldn’t use. This is an example of one of those times during this challenge where it really would have been cheaper and easier to just run to the dollar store to grab a set of all white mugs. The good news is that I can still make 2 more sets of these mugs and I have several plates that I will use for baked goods gifts.

Then I had a friend with a vinyl cutting machine help me with the fonts and layout and she printed out the stencils for me.

Next I just placed the big “S” sticker and painted that with a pewter color. Before I peeled the stencil back off I let it sit for a minute or two to let the paint dry a little.

There was definitely a happy medium though. If the paint was too wet it smeared, if it was too dry it peeled off. Once the stencil sticker was off I was able to go back over and remove unwanted areas with a pin. I used the same pin to also fill in areas that were splotchy or that didn’t turn out.

Then I baked all 6 mugs on a baking sheet for 30 minutes on 400.

After letting them cool, it was time for the next round of stencils. This round was much trickier because of how teeny tiny the stencils were but I still think they turned out okay. I had to be very careful peeling the stencils off and I used the scotch tape and my tweezers a lot and had to rely on going back with the pin to make a lot of touch-ups.

I used different colors for each mug but if I had to do it over again I think I just would have used one brighter color like red or orange.

After the second round of stenciling was over I baked for another 30 minutes at 400. I pulled them out, let them cool again and now I just need to find a cute way to wrap them so they arrive safely in Cincinnati after being in the car for 17+ hours.

Well, I love them and would love a set myself. I just think they’re so cute.

Unfortunately that’s also the problem; they’re cute. More like something that you’d make at camp and bring home to your mom but what’s that saying again? It’s the thought that counts, right? And now you can see why I feel like I also need to give them a gift card.

People always mention how Patrick has such a deep voice
for a little kid. But every once in a while his voice will get really high,
like the other day when he snuck out of his room after nap
and told Tim and I that we had to "go check out Shannon because
her little piggy tails were sneaking up out of her covers
and she's just so cute." :) I just love them!

Let us consider how to provoke one another to love and good deeds, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day approaching.

- Hebrews 10:24-25