Homemade Mother’s Day Mugs

Everyone enjoys child-made Mother’s Day gifts. These homemade Mother’s Day mugs are such an easy and inexpensive idea for an individuals or groups of children . Children’s work is just special – especially their drawings.  As the room mom, I told Abby’s teacher that I would come up with a DIY Mother’s Day project that a classroom full of kids could do. It had to be accessible to a wide range of abilities, inexpensive and something mothers would enjoy receiving. Homemade Mother’s Day mugs it is! For another great classroom idea, check out these Mother’s Day frames with customized photos.

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I was inspired by the DIY Sharpie mugs done by Pounds 4 Pennies that was shared at Mom’s Library this past week.  I was really going to just do her idea and not blog about it. However, when I went to the Dollar Tree, the shape of the mugs wouldn’t really accommodate a stencil. There were smaller flat portions and random curves on most of them. Therefore, I decided I would let the kids design their own mugs for their moms.

I was equally excited about this idea because it would be their own creations from their heart. Since I did find mugs at the Dollar Tree, it was an inexpensive project and easily done in the large classroom.

How did we orchestrate the lesson and project with so many kids? We had the kids design different ideas. I also had them working on the Mother’s Day printable I designed. Between the designing and the writing on the printable, we were able to call a few kids back at a time to work on the mug.

Materials Needed to Make Homemade Mother’s Day Mugs

• White Mugs (I used Dollar Tree mugs)
• Glass or Ceramic Paint Markers

How to Make Homemade Mother’s Day Mugs

1. Read the back of the paint markers. They will need to be shaken prior to use.
2. Have kids design their mug ideas on scratch paper first. I had them fold their paper into quarters. They came up with four designs.  We asked them to pick two out of the four designs they had created for the front and the back of the mug.
3. Using the ceramic paint makers, kids color their masterpieces onto the mug. They would rest the mug on the table for one side. We would hold the cup in the air as they did their second drawing. PAINT WILL SMEAR IF IT IS TOUCHED IMMEDIATELY.
4. Read package directions. According to the directions on the pack of the pens I purchased, we were to let it air dry for 4 hours and then bake at 375 for 40 minutes. They were suppose to be baked within 4-8 hours. Let cool completely.
5. You can also add hot chocolate or tea packets to the inside of the mug as a gift.

Visual Instructions for Making Homemade Mother’s Day Mugs

Note: This post was originally written in 2014, but it has been updated and republished in April of 2018.

More Mother’s Day Ideas

Mother’s Day Gift with Dove Chocolate

Salt Dough Fingerprint Flowers

Hand & Feed Flowers

Mother’s Day Printable