We’re down to the wire here.
Christmas is 7 DAYS, count ’em, 7 days away. I have a really fast, easy and inexpensive craft project for you that’s perfect for teachers, caregivers, friends, just about anyone!
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All you need is:
- White coffee mug, wine glass or any glassware that has a flat surface–I got mine at the dollar store and it cost—a dollar.
- Alphabet Letter stickers or if you have a cutting machine like a Cricut Explore
you can cut your own.
- Sharpie
Paint Pens OIL BASED–not markers–paint pens.
- Rubbing Alcohol
The Dollar Store has quite a few mugs in different sizes and colors. I chose white and thought this mug was a nice size and had pretty detail.
Step 1.
Wash and dry your glassware. Wipe down each piece of glassware with the rubbing alcohol to remove any oils on the glass.
Now for the fun part.
Step 2.
Choose your initial sticker and apply it where you want it on the glass. I did some initials and a few with words. For this example, I used stickers I cut with my Cricut Explore that spelled “SHINE”. You can form words with the alphabet stickers as well.
Step 3.
Grab your paint pen and shake it well. Remove the top and depress the tip onto a paper towel until the paint wicks down to the end. Then start placing “dots”. I started with a silver paint pen. Note how I overlapped the dots onto the sticker sometimes. This will help give you a very sharp line when you remove the sticker. Be sure to allow the one color to dry before you apply the next. I used gold, green and silver dots for this one. I did the other mugs in red, green and gold.
Step 4.
Allow the paint to dry for at least 8 hours.
Step 5.
Now you are going to heat set the paint by baking the glassware in the over. Place glassware on a cookie sheet being sure they aren’t touching each other. Place in the COLD oven. Set the oven to 350 degrees and set the timer for 40 minutes. When they’re done turn off the oven, but DO NOT remove the glassware–allow it to cool down in the oven slowly or your pieces will crack.
Once cooled you can remove them from the oven and wrap them as a gift! I also found really pretty little boxes with glittered tops to package them in, just add a gift tag and ready to go!
You can use this technique on wine glasses, decorate charger plates, or any type of glassware.
Another option is to use an adhesive stencil and fill in the stencil with the paint pens. I cut this purchased svg file on my Cricut Explore and simply adhered it to the plate and filled in the stencil with two or three coats with the paint pens. Then baked according to the instructions above. It’s a big hit with my grandchildren!
There you go, the perfect fast, easy and inexpensive gift for teachers, bus drivers, child caregivers, or anyone you want to recognize over the holidays. Fill them with candy, or tea bags and some cookies, tie them up with netting and they’re a lovely gift. Doesn’t get much easier than that!
I want to wish you all a Merry Christmas or Happy Hanukkah! Whatever you celebrate, I hope you have a wonderful time with those that you love. I wish you peace, joy, and love.
