Christmas Gifts: Personalized Mugs

While I was shopping with my sister and mother this Christmas season, my sister mentioned that she would like to make personalized t-shirts for her kids but couldn't figure out the software that came with her electronic die cutting machine. I immediately picked up on this. I didn't realize she had an electronic die cutting machine. I offered to figure it out for her, since I'd love to play around with it.

It turns out she has a Silhouette Cameo! How did I not know this for several years?! (And the software was really easy to figure out. She just had the original software that came with the Cameo, which is several years old now. The newest version is very user-friendly.)

After working with her Cameo long enough to make four t-shirts, I knew I wanted one. However, I'm not in the habit of dropping $200-300 on something without researching it for months. I noticed several used Cameos (the original version) on eBay for around $100-125. That price point was a lot more appealing to me. Besides, my sister has the original Cameo, and I liked hers.

As I did the research across the three versions of the Cameo, I discovered that they can all basically DO the same things. The main differences are in how they connect to your computer. Since I don't mind using a USB cord between my laptop and Cameo, I decided on the original Cameo. It saved me half the price of the Cameo 3 on sale. (It's 1/3 of the regular price of the Cameo 3.)

You can expect to see more projects that utilize it, since I have all kinds of ideas up my sleeve.

After the shirts I made for her kids, these coffee mugs were my next project. I wanted to make something inexpensive but meaningful for my brother, my sister, and her husband. We don't always exchange gifts, and they aren't ever extravagant, but I wanted to give them something. As I looked at different mug designs, the first two jumped out at me for my brother and brother-in-law. I came up with the last one - the one for my sister - all by myself.

My brother is a bit of a "tech geek". This comes in handy when my electronics act up. He's saved my electronics (and tons of money) on more than one occasion. Since we both remember working with DOS in our younger years, and since we're both familiar with the Dick and Jane books that kids used to learn to read on, I knew he'd get a kick out of this. I was right. He loved it!

This was for my brother-in-law, an avid hunter. He really does love my sister and is a great husband to her, but I knew he'd find this amusing. I was right. He loved it, too!

Here's the other side of this one:

Lastly, I was inspired by my own "Keep Calm and Carry On" mug. My sister's first name is Carrie, so I just made a play on words:

I thought it was pretty clever, and she really liked it, too! As we inch further into our midlife years, she's going to need this reminder!

If you're going to make mugs like this, just remember to use the "permanent" vinyl. It's supposed to last for 6 years of outdoor use, so it's obviously not completely permanent. But it's about as good as it gets. Just don't run them through the dishwasher or let them soak in water overnight. Both of those scenarios could make the vinyl peel off. Some people have had no problem with the dishwasher, but I don't want to take any chances.