If you’re looking for a gift for a coffee lover, make this DIY But First, Coffee mug. It’s easy and you don’t need a vinyl cutting machine to make it.
For more crafts, check out all of our DIY posts.
Life starts after coffee. At least mine does. Okay, fine. It starts with getting out of bed and brushing my teeth — but mostly because morning breath and coffee just don’t mix.
I have a really cute owl mug that I use all the time when I’m having coffee but sometimes, it ends up in the dishwasher. And sometimes, I hand wash it and make a second cup of Joe because everything tastes better from your favorite mug.
You can make your own favorite mug. I just made this “But First, Coffee” mug and I’m obsessed with it. It was pretty easy to make too.
This would be a really great homemade gift for a coffee fan. For more ideas of what to get them, check out our list of 10+ Best Gifts For Coffee Lovers.
DIY But First, Coffee Mug
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DIY But First, Coffee Mug Supplies:
- Oil-based paint Sharpie marker
- Plain white mug
- Pencil
- Tape
- Scissors
- Free “But First, Coffee” printable (below)
How To Make A DIY But First, Coffee Mug:
Print out the free printable on a 8.5×11 sheet of paper. To get it, just right click the image above and then save it to your computer for when you’re ready to print it.
Cut it down to a more manageable size.
Color on the back of it with a pencil.
Tape it to the mug.
Then, trace the letters. I actually used to use this technique a lot when I was little. I had a pillow I loved with cartoon characters on it and I would use this method to make birthday cards with these cartoon characters. Everyone thought I had really fantastic drawing skills. I had no idea this method would come in handy years later so everyone would think I had great handwriting too. Actually, my handwriting it pretty good when I’m on paper, but I wasn’t sure how it would be on a mug. And with a permanent ink marker, you only get one chance.
Carefully peel off the tape and you’ll see the outline of the letters.
Color/trace them with the marker. Be really careful when you’re doing this. If you lean your hand down on the pencil marks, they’ll wipe away and you’ll have to freehand them.
When you’re done with your lettering, put the mug in a cold oven, set it for 350-degrees, and leave it for 30 minutes. Cool down the oven and then take it out.
Well, at least, that’s what you should do. Me? I put mine in the cold oven, set it for 350-degrees, and was eight minutes in when my little brother called me from two doors down. “Can I borrow your oven to bake one of these pies for Thanksgiving?” he asked.
“Sure,” I said. Because, when you’re an adult, part of the holiday season involves sharing your appliances. “When?”
“Now,” he said and over he came with a pie that really needed to bake at a lower temperature, but we all make sacrifices this time of year.
And, honestly, that’s the truth. We spend so much of our lives accommodating other people and making sure that their needs are met. You do it with your family all the time: hunting down that elusive toy then driving two hours to pick it up, eating the burnt pieces of the meal and giving everyone the better bites, sitting through yet another sports event when all you want to watch is trashy reality TV. And you do it with compete strangers too. You let them merge into your lane, you hold doors open for them, you let them take your parking spot at the mall even when you’ve been sitting there with your blinker on waiting for the car that there already to get out.
Tis the season, right?
More But First Coffee Projects:
Want another similar project? Check out our DIY But First Coffee Mug.