Featured Artist: My Perk Me Up Cup

Marker Supply has encountered a variety of amazing artists over the years! We’re very happy and thankful to have so many loyal customers that love creating art with our markers.

To help highlight the works of these talented folks and the drawing tools they use, we are excited to have a series of Featured Artists here in the Marker Supply Blog!

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Artist: Samantha @ My Perk Me Up Cup
Project: Painted glass & dishware
Products: Pebeo Porcelaine 150 and Vitrea 160 Markers
One of our favorite Pebeo-painting mug artists is Samantha at My Perk Me Up Cup. She creates custom mugs with a LARGE variety of free-hand designs including characters, colors, and clever couples’ sets! Her work is a great example that whether your pieces are simple or elaborate, done as a business or a hobby, they will stand out either way as being special & unique works of art!

Samantha has been awesome enough to share with us some insight into her craft- about the markers she uses, as well as some tips and techniques:

What made you decide to get started with this mug-making hobby?
I saw a dragonfly mug on a TV show that I was watching, and fell in love with it, but could not find one like it anywhere. After searching everywhere for it, I found that it was a prop from a different TV show and they are not sold anywhere. I really wanted a dragonfly mug after all of my searching, but couldn’t find anything that I liked. So I thought to myself, maybe I could make one. And it took off from there.

You’ve got such a variety of designs! Do you have any favorites? Which have been the trickiest to paint?
I have enjoyed making each mug so far! They have mostly been special requests, but I would have to say I love the dragonfly ones the best.
I would have to say the watercolor horse mug that was requested was the trickiest to paint.

How do you prepare your mug surfaces before painting?
I wash the mug with soap and water first and then wipe the mug with a paper towel and alcohol to ensure a clean workspace.

Which markers are your go-to choices for mug decorating?
I really like using Pebeo 150 ceramic paint markers. I find myself using the black fine tip marker most frequently. The fine tip markers are great for detail and writing names or phrases on the mugs. If I am painting a larger area I prefer to use the medium tip. I have used both [the Pebeo Porcelaine 150 and Pebeo Vitrea 160] and found that they both worked fairly well on glass. I have just noticed that you may have to go over your work once or twice with the 160 markers to make the colors pop.

You’ve also used Sharpie Oil-based paint markers for decorating.. How would you compare them to the Pebeo pens?
The Sharpie Oil-based paint markers are slightly easier to work with, but if you want to microwave or put your work in the dishwasher, some of the colors do not hold up. The black Sharpie’s paint started to crack after going through the microwave.

Do you use any other tools to create special effects?
To get the water color effect I dipped a cotton ball into alcohol, then I pressed the Pebeo marker down until it released a small amount of paint. I dabbed it where I wanted the color, and also blew through a straw lightly as I dabbed the paint on the mug to spread the paint out.

If you make any mistakes while painting your designs, how do you erase and redo those spots?
Pebeo paints are so forgiving if you make a mistake. All I do is dip a Q-tip in alcohol and clean up the area. I have a two-year-old who climbs on me while I am working half of the time, so I had to learn this quickly.

About how long does it take you to finish decorating a mug?
The amount of time it takes to finish a mug depends on the design I’m doing. Some mugs have only taken me about 5 minutes to do, and others have taken me an hour or two. You have to let the mug dry 24 hours before baking, and then follow the baking instructions. You may need to adjust your baking time or temperature slightly, some appliances can vary.

Have you had any issues with the finished artwork coming off when the mug is used/washed?
I have not had any issues at all with the Pebeo paint coming off when used, microwaved, or washed. The main issues that I have had was the black Sharpie paint chipping, and the gold fading after going through the dishwasher and microwave. I made a test mug with all of the colors of the Pebeo, Sharpie, and Painted by Me brands to test how the colors held up through various types of washing and going through the microwave. Through doing this I found out that you should not use dish soap with bleach because it will clean your work off of your mug.

Any other tips or tricks you have learned from your experience with dish painting?
I enjoyed trying different surfaces to paint on. Definitely buy a few mugs and practice. I keep a paper towel handy when I am using the fine tip Pebeo markers, if they start to flow a bit too slow I just press down on the paper towel a few times to get the paint flowing again.

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Thanks for sharing your work and your knowledge with us, Samantha! 🙂

*Check out more of Samantha’s mugs HERE!*

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Do-it-yourself dish art is such a fun trend in the world of arts & crafts. Just take a plain ‘ol mug, plate, etc. and give it a unique design- great for personalizing your own items, or a wonderful gift idea!

Marker Supply always recommends using Pebeo Porcelaine 150 markers and paints for your dish designing. After being baked on in a regular kitchen oven, your artwork will be permanent- even through washing!