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When I got my Cricut Mug Press one of the first things that I thought of doing was using it to let my kids make mugs to give to people with their drawings on them. With Infusible Ink Pens and markers it is so easy for them to draw pictures that can then be transferred onto a mug for a fun personalized design.
With Mother's Day and Father's Day coming up, as well as Teacher Appreciation Week and the end of the school year, I thought this would be a really fun project to make with my kids.
The only challenge with this project is that when you use Infusible Ink your words need to be mirrored. It isn't a huge problem with pictures since most of the time it doesn't really matter which way they go, but for words it is kind of a big deal.
To work around this problem I used my Cricut Maker (but any Cricut machine would work) to cut out the paper wrapper for them to draw on, and I also had the Cricut write on the paper "Best Mom Ever" or "Best Grandma Ever" so that it was mirrored. Then I gave those cutouts to my kids and told them to draw pictures around the words, but not to write any more words. They didn't all listen to me and we now have a mug or two with some backwards words, but for then most part they did well.
I also cut out some blank wraps that they could just draw pictures on. I had my 3 youngest kids draw their designs. Then we taped them onto the mugs and put them in the mug press to transfer them.
The kids loved when we peeled the paper back and they could see their drawings on the mugs. Of course my 4 year old was really excited to use his mug that he drew a picture for, not realizing that that particular mug also said "Best Grandma Ever". I guess maybe we need to make some more with just pictures that they can have for themselves.
How to Make Infusible Ink Mugs with Kid's Artwork
You will need:
- Cricut Maker or Explore
- Cricut Mug Press
- Sublimation Mugs
- laser copy paper
- Infusible Ink Markers
- Heat Resistant Tape
- butcher paper or extra copy paper
Instructions:
Open Cricut Design Space and open the Drawn Mug Design Setup. Select the mug size you are using, large (15 oz) or small (12 oz). Then click customize.
Create your design using the template. You can add text using a writing style font. Use the guides to place your writing either in the center (opposite the handle) or on one or both sides of the mug.
When you have your design ready (or if you just want to cut out a blank template) cut the design out of laser copy paper. Be sure to mirror if you added text.
Give kids the cutout mug wraps and let them draw pictures with the Infusible Ink Markers.
Once they are finished wrap the paper around the mug with the colored side down against the mug. Make sure the design is right side up. Tape in place with heat resistant tape.
Add 2 or 3 pieces of butcher paper over the top of the design and tape in place. I have also used extra layers of copy paper and it seemed to work fine. This helps the designs from transferring onto the heat plate of your press.
Turn your press on to heat up and make sure you are in a room that is well ventilated. When the press is ready place your mug in and press the lever down. Wait for all of the progress lights to light up and the press to beep. Then carefully take the mug out bu the handle and set on a heat resistant surface to cool.
Pull the paper off carefully to reveal your design.
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