Have you ever wondered if the stuff people post on Pinterest is true? Well I have, and I test them all so that you don’t have to, ’cause ain’t nobody got time for that.  Click here to check out all of the pins I haven taken on. You might be surprised by some of the results!

This pin claims that you can use a permanent marker on ceramic dishes to write, draw, etc., and then bake the item to make the marker permanent(er). In the spirit of DIY Christmas, I definitely wanted to try this one out, because it would make unique personalized gifts. For a test, I bought a mug at the Dollar Store, and wanted to make something cute for The Boy. I have mentioned that we kind of have our own language. [WARNING: mushiness ahead!] It isn’t a secret language I spoke with my imaginary friend or anything weird like that, but certain phrases and words that would make strangers think we are “special” (and our friends, probably), but that only we get the meaning to.  Some we have actually forgotten the origin of, which makes me realize how long we have been loving each other. I chose “MDT” because it is our own way of saying “I love you” to each other, and we text it often. [End of mushiness]

Since I am no calligrapher, I pulled up a font that I liked, then made it ginormous on my screen, and tried to freehand replicate it, with some minor adjustments.

My version on the mug:

The Boy got home, I showed it to him, and he said, “Oh cool. Who is MDJ?” [Death of mushiness]

I baked it in the oven for 30 minutes at 350 degrees.  The marker looked the same as when it went in, and I gave the mug to The Boy with instructions to use it, which he has several times. We very rarely use our dishwasher, so we have only been hand washing the mug, and although I do not scrub it vigorously on the outside, I haven’t treated with any extra care or anything.

After about five washes, you can see a few spots where the marker is coming off.

It isn’t terrible, but this is with only a few hand washings. I can’t imagine it would fare well in a dishwasher. We will keep using and washing it, and I will throw it in the dishwasher next time we use it (Thanksgiving? ha), but it is pretty apparent to me that this pin is busted.

Sidenote: the author says this is “safe” but if tiny pieces of permanent marker are flaking off with hand washing, I cannot imagine putting hot food on a platter or plate with this marker on it. In fact, I don’t even want to try it.

Happy Friday!

UPDATE!  Two months later, and the mug is looking like this:

Sorry kids, this Pin is busted(er)!