Sharpie on Ceramic Dish: Trinket Dish

We’ve been talking about woman’s health a lot lately, with my 3 part series on bra fitting. Let’s do something artsy, mkay? 

I present to you my version of Sharpie on ceramic dish: 

 Ain’t she purdy? 

I’ve seen a lot of hype on Pinterest about this craft project. I’ve also read a lot of bloggers claim that this particular craft is a bust/hoax/fail. Well, with a little bit of research, common sense, and careful handling, I can proudly confirm that this craft can be very successful. 

Supplies: 

• A regular black Sharpie (or colourful ones if you’re feeling ambitious) – you do not need special oil based Sharpies! 
• A glazed dish (Get one from the dollar store. I read that cheap dishes work better because their finish is more porous, but I can’t confirm this. I got mine from Dollarama.) 
• Rubbing alcohol 
• A cotton ball 

If you’re planning on transferring an image onto the dish, you’ll also need: 

• An image printed on a piece of paper 
• A heavy leaded pencil (I used an 8B) 
• A light leaded pencil (I used a 2H) 
• Tape 

The Process: 

I got these dishes from Dollarama for $2 each (so my total project cost was $4, since I already had a black Sharpie at home). The little bowls came in a pack of three. I only wanted one little bowl to set on top of the larger dish, so the others will find a home elsewhere. 

Wipe down your dish with a cotton ball saturated with rubbing alcohol. Do not touch the area you want to draw in ever again until the project is totally done! If you get any of your finger oils on any area the Sharpie will be applied to, the Sharpie will not fuse with the dish, and your project will be a fail. Let the rubbing alcohol dry fully before moving on. 

If you want to transfer an image for a guide, this is when that would happen. The method I use is easy, cheap, and effective. First, cut out around the image, leaving about ½ an inch white space around the design. Flip the paper over, and colour on the back of the paper with a heavy leaded pencil (or chalk if it will be transferred to a dark surface). 

Tape the paper right-side-up where you want it to appear on your dish. Using a light leaded pencil or a pen, trace your image, pressing with a decent amount of pressure. Once everything you want has been traced, remove the paper. Whatever you have traced should show lightly on your dish! 

 I turned up the contrast as far as it will go, and this is the best I could photograph. You can just barely see the outline in this picture. In person you can see a faint pencil line quite clearly. 

Then simply colour in your design with your Sharpie. Remember, do not touch the dish with your skin! Wear some gloves if you don’t trust your ability to keep your fingers back. Apparently if you mess up, you can use rubbing alcohol and a Q-tip to erase the Sharpie, but I did not have the opportunity to test that. 

Ok, this part takes some excruciating patience. The dish looks like it’s done, and it looks awesome! But it’s not really done! Don’t touch the Sharpie ink! You need to let the dish sit for 24 hours… Which is a long time in Kneesh’s artsy land! This is so that the Sharpie ink dries fully, 100%, more than you knew was possible, before baking. 

*24 hour time laps* 

Put your dish in your oven then turn the oven on to 400ᵒF. It’s important that you turn on the oven after you put the dish in, so that the dish is slowly heated up with the oven. Otherwise there could be cracking/breaking/exploding issues. And yes, I said 400ᵒ, not 350ᵒ like everyone else says. One tutorial I read stated that she has tried this project using a few different temperatures, and she has found that 400ᵒ works better than 350. 

 

Put you dish in the cold oven. 

Let the dish bake for about 30-40 minutes from the time the oven is turned on (not from the time it is fully heated), then turn the oven off, but leave the door closed and leave the dish inside. The dish needs to cool down with the oven the same way it heated up with the oven for the same explosive reasons. I baked my dish right before going to bed, then took it out the next morning. It was nicely cool by then. 

And that, ladies and gentlemen, should be that! Your Sharpie design should be fused to your dish! I have successfully hand-washed my dish with dish soap. I didn’t put it through the dish washer… I’m a little scared to try. But hand-washing is alright. 

*Note*   Sharpies are not food safe, so if you’re doing a mug, do not colour on the top part where your mouth goes, or on the inside. Same for plates and bowls; not food safe. 

*Double Note* The baking process makes the Sharpie ink fade. Apparently different colours fade in different ways. My black ink turned a dark charcoal grey. 

But look how cute it looks for non-food-related things! I use this dish on my dresser to hold whatever jewellery I was wearing that day, along with some basic hair accessories. 

 Love!