I saw one of many examples of these scribble mugs on Pinterest and decided to give it a go myself. Now it is one of my favorite toddler-made gifts. All the grandparents got one, and so did daddy for father’s day. The scribble mug here was a gift for my mother. My son was delighted to present his grandmother with such a beautiful gift that he had made himself!
What do you need?
It is pretty easy too! But you do need some supplies:
- Porcelain markers (I used porcelain brush pens from edding)
- Contact paper
- Mug
- Cutter knife or scissors
You will also need an oven.
How to make a scribble mug with your toddler
Prepare the chosen mug before handing it over to your toddler to scribble on.
First of all, clean the mug to make sure it is fat-free. Then decide on which shape you want to have on the mug. For this gift, I chose a heart and the word Oma, which means grandma in Dutch.
Cut your preferred shape out of the contact paper with a cutter knife or with scissors. Then stick the contact paper onto the mug.
You could also decide to do it the other way around; I mean, you could stick a heart-shaped piece of contact paper or a word onto the mug and have your kid draw on the rest of the mug. So the heart or word stays white, and the rest is colored.
Now it’s time for your toddler to get scribbling. I used markers, especially for Porcelain, so that the mug can be actively used and even cleaned in the dishwasher.
After your kid is ready, you could still decide to draw the outlines of the shapes yourselves, as I did in this example, to make the figures stand out more clearly. It depends on how much of the form your kid has colored in if this is necessary or not. Then gently peel off the contact paper.
You can clean any smudged edges or spots with a moist piece of paper or towel while still wet. But don’t wait too long because once it is dry, it’s not possible anymore.
Finally, I added the name of my son on the mug. You could also write down the date if you like.
Put it in the oven
The next step depends on which markers you use. We needed to let the mug dry for 15 minutes and then put it in the oven at 160 degrees Celsius for 25 minutes. Then turn off the oven but leave the mug in the oven to cool off.
My son was very aware that he was making this for his grandmother and was very proud of the result. He loved it when he got to give the present to his equally pleased grandmother.
