Mug Mania...Gifts Under $5...Girls Night In

I couldn't decide what I wanted to call this post, so I titled it all three things I was thinking about...feeling indecisive this rainy Monday morning. But all three do apply.

I did go into a kind of manic mug painting  episode last week. Was having so much fun with my new ceramic markers and paints that I spent almost every evening getting Pintrest inspiration and trying out the paints and markers. Click here for previous post on Playing with Ceramics for details.

You can see here my drying area was getting pretty full.

I have in my mind to get my technique good enough to sell some of these guys at a craft fair, but that means practice. So some friends and family got mugs...whether they wanted them or not.

My dog and cat loving friends got some of these...

For my yoga loving friends these...

For those friends who might enjoy Irish Coffee in their mug...

It is so easy to personalize these mugs that they do make nice under $5 gifts. After the initial cost of the pen, markers and paints (which totaled around $35) all the mugs I found at thrift stores and spent no more than .25 cents a piece. And even after making all these, my pens and paints look barely used, so the initial investment will last you awhile.

Ways to personalize are subject matter, names, favorite hobbies. On the back of the dog mugs I put the fur-babies names, and the yoga poses were favorites of their recipients.

When I delivered my mugs, almost everyone I handed one to said they wanted to try it themselves and asked to come over and play with the paints and markers too. 

So I realized this was not only a fun way to spend an evening by myself, but could be a very fun Ladies Night In with your friends. All you need  is some thrift store mugs, ceramic markers/paints and a bottle of wine, and you've got a fun night catching up with your friends!