Today’s DIY Sharpie art bowls are kind of instant gratifications for you and me. We are going to pretend that we are ceramic artists, and create our own hand painted designs with… a blue Sharpie marker!
Are you in love with hand painted ceramics as much as I do? And secretly wish you have a whole shelf of glazes and ceramic paints and a kiln? I know how that feels! 😉 Let’s make our own designs with some sharpie art!
There are three video tutorials to walk you step by step to create each of the three Sharpie art bowls.
Have you seen how many Sharpie mugs on Pinterest that suggest you to bake them at 250 to 450F degrees? Please don’t do it!!
I will share at the end why you should NOT bake your DIY Sharpie art bowls or mugs, etc, and what to do instead.
* Some resources in article are affiliate links. Full disclosure here .
Materials and tools for DIY Sharpie art bowls:
( Some of the helpful resources are affiliate links. Full disclosure here. )
- Sharpie or other brands fine point permanent markers . Use the regular, NOT the oil-based markers. Some readers told me oil based markers may rub off when applying mod podge!
- a foam brush , Gloss finish Mod Podge . You can also use Martha Stewart Decoupage Formula or the Mod Podge Dishwasher Safe Sealer: a non-toxic sealer, dishwasher safe after 28 days of curing. Comparison of these at the end.
- white ceramic bowls, mugs, anything
Although the sealer and Sharpie makers are non-toxic, if you intend to drink or eat out of these bowls or mugs, please follow this guideline from Sharpies website:”While Sharpie markers are AP-certified non-toxic, we do not recommend using them on areas of items that may come in contact with food or the mouth, such as the rim of a coffee cup.“
I am using these DIY sharpie art bowls for things such as candies, fruits and botanicals, such as our lovely indoor plants that are grown in water, see this tutorial for more details!
Let’s start with the easiest DIY Sharpie art bowls of the three designs!
It’s a fish-scale pattern that you see in a lot of traditional designs from many parts of the world.
Start at the bottom, keep drawing rows of the fish-scale until you reach the top rim.
Add decorative details on each piece of the “scales”.
Simple repetitions can create such pretty patterns, and it is so relaxing to doodle away.
Below is the video, let’s doodle together! ( It also shows what to do if you “mess up”.)
2. DIY Sharpie art bowls with tulip flower designs.
This one is really easy and has a folk art feel to the designs. Below is the video tutorial:
Start by placing the eight stems evenly around the bowl.
Draw the tulip flowers and leaves. Add details with simple lines and dots. Dots are fun, aren’t they?
Related:Â Paint watercolor flowers in 15 minutes!Â
3. DIY Sharpie Art Bowls with a toss pattern!
This design is a “toss pattern”, like how a huge bouquet of flowers are tossed in the air and land randomly to create a natural looking pattern.
The key here is to make everything look natural. Try to vary the directions of the stems and fill the entire surface with flowers and leaves.
This one is a tiny bit more challenging than the first two bowls. Just remember: it is easy to wipe out the “mistakes”!
Below is the video tutorial –
Let these bowls dry for 1-2 days.Take a foam brush and brush a thin coat of Gloss finish Mod Podge or any kind of clear sealer for ceramics.
I have used Martha Stewart Decoupage Formula which is a non-toxic sealer, dishwasher safe after 28 days of curing. The Mod Podge Dishwasher Safe Sealer works the same.
The key is to quickly and gently put the first thin coat on, and do not go over an area back and forth with pressure. This will cause the designs to bleed. After the first coat dries, you can add 1-2 coats without the danger of smudging. The Gloss finish Mod Podge is the most forgiving of the three when it comes to smudging.
Now let’s talk about 3 reasons why you should NOT bake your Sharpie mugs, bowls, and other ceramic creations:
- Sharpie markers, both oil based and regular, are NOT designed to be baked. If they were, I am sure we would find some mentions on their official website. Many of the colors change to yucky tones when baked at over 300 degrees! There are ceramic paints that are formulated to be baked and the colors come out vibrant and true.
- Baking does not incorporate Sharpie colors into the glaze. Sharpie designs come off with hard scrubbing no matter we bake it or not. Ceramic glazes are fired at much higher temperatures than our home ovens can reach. Think about it: any chance your pies and casseroles have incorporated ceramic glaze in them?
- Because of reasons 1 and 2, baking your Sharpie creations is a waste of electricity, or any type of fuel.
The best way to clean your Sharpie ceramics is to gently wash them with a soft sponge and dish soap. They will stay gorgeous for a long time!
You may also love: Anthropologie style watercolor flower DIY sharpie mugs!
Anthropologie style watercolor flower DIY sharpie mugs!
Happy creating! =)
Love this post. My daughter made a coffee mug for me and used the bake method. First time I washed it I discovered it began to wash away. I away currently working on an outdoor project on vinyl and would like to use sharpies. I wonder if you have had any experience in using a spray on polyurethane for better outdoor durability?
hi gina, i have not tried it, and not sure if spray would dissolve the marker ink. there are these Permanent outdoor Marker you could look into 🙂
Beautiful project, can’t wait to acquire more white pieces to my collection so I can add my personal spin to them. Thanks for the inspiration and the oh so relaxing video tutorial.
thank you diena! happy creating! =)
Could you use Modge Podge instead?
Thanks!
yes, if you don’t plan to wash it too much. otherwise the dishwasher safe mod podge would be better =)
Love your designs & thank you for posting an alternate to baking.
I tried this method with a wide mouthed mug. I used oil-based Sharpies, let it dry for about a week, then softly applied a coat of dishwasher safe modge podge, and it started dissolving the black sharpie away…I had to completely erase an entire part, it looked so bad. I’m not sure what I should do next, or what I did wrong.
Any feedback or thoughts? Thank you!
Hi kelcy, i used regular sharpie, i wonder if oil based is the reason? i packed all my supplies because we are moving, will test it in a few weeks and let you know! 🙂
Hi. I just wondered what you found out about this particular problem. I made the cutest mug for my boyfriend and when I put on the dishwasher safe mod podge a lot of it rubbed off. ? I am so sad. It wasn’t quite a week but close. What can I do? Any tips would be greatly appreciated.
hi melissa, you can use a scrub sponge and rub it all off and redo it =(
use regular instead of oil markers, and put a thin coat of mod podge, don’t go over it too much, let dry, and put a couple more coats on. good luck! =)
Thank you so much for the advise on why not to bake Sharpie creations. All my hard work has been washed off and the colours came out really weird after baking. With your wisdom I shall keep on trying! Sealing the end product seems to be the way to go.
thank you amanda! That happened to me too! 🙂
I have 6 grandsons that will be making these to give as Christmas gifts to family and friends or make their own personalized hot chocolate mug and cereal bowl. But what do you mean by it has to cure? Everything else made sense to me but don’t know how to “cure” the dish.
Thanks
hi! the curing process is to let the piece dry after the final coating, and do not wash it for 28 days. 🙂
Is that the absolute minimum number of days for curing? Thank you for posting this btw. It’s a much needed crafts project in this single gal’s life.
hi crystal, you can start using it after 24 hours, just don’t wash it or touch it too much in the first few days. =)
THANK YOU FOR SHARING A COOL IDEA
These are so cool! I think this is something kids would really enjoy doing.
Xx,
Amanda || http://www.fortheloveofglitter.com
Love them!! Such a great idea, and the videos are absolutely amazing 🙂
These sound great. I think my niece & nephew would love to have a go at decorating a bowl 🙂
Very cool! I don’t think my hand is steady enough, though!
Wow! All these designs were made with Sharpies? They look amazing. I’ll have to watch your tutorial to see how I can mimic these.
Always you are an artist Ananda…Your drawing is so nice…An it’s so nice what you create…
Take care of you and tenderness for you and all your family…
About how long do you have to wait for the sharpie to dry enough to handle without smudging? The videos are time-lapsed so it is hard to tell.
hi cindy, about 10 minutes =)
It is one thing when the person with the Sharpie has some artistic talent, but I can see mine on one of those Pinterest Fails sites.
These are very pretty and I now regret throwing out all my plain white kitchen pulls I replaced as soon as we bought our house. Maybe I could have done something small.
These are adorable and would make great gifts!
What a cute idea!! I really need to work on my artsy fartsy penmanship first! lol
Amber | http://www.everydaydame.com
Wow these are really gorgeous! I don’t know if mine would look this cute.
LOVE these designs, and I love even more that you share specifically how to create them! Thank you! Can’t wait to try some of these designs soon on some mugs.
These are so cute! Love how easy they are too!
I LOVE hand painted, or should I say “sharpied” ceramics. I don’t consider myself that great of a drawer, but some of these patterns look simple enough to tackle..and super cute still too!
These are really cute! I’ve seen so many different takes on how to get the Sharpie to stay, but this seems like a really good method!
So, baking sharpie ceramics is essentially useless? I was always a bit skeptical about the whole baking thing, but that totally makes sense. Those bowls are SOOOOOO cute-I need to make a few of these. Thanks for sharing <3
What a cool idea! I am definitely going to try this!!
I love this! Do you think that it is something my toddler and I can do together or would you suggest certain modifications?
yes, i think you can! that would be so fun! =)
I was skeptical about sharpie pen mugs and now I can give this a try instead. Have you tried handwashing to see if it holds up?
yes, they hold up well! the medium must cure for at least 28 days though! =)
These bowls are beautiful, So many ideas going through my mind.
How cute! I thought that even with Sharpies, the colour would come off in the wash. I’ll have to try!