Make these custom chalkboard mugs for your wedding party

Guest post by Lauranette

Screen shot 2012 11 27 at 7.31.28 PM alternative wedding ideas from Offbeat Wed (formerly Offbeat Bride)I was totally stumped about what to get our wedding party as “thank you” gifts for helping us out on our wedding day. I mean, nothing I found was going to say thank you quite the way I want. After a lot of thinking, and probably too many hours on Pinterest, I settled on an idea I thought was fun… chalkboard mugs.

Here's how I pulled these off…

I got some sturdy glass mugs (you can find these at the local dollar store or Goodwill), and some chalkboard paint.

WARNING: Not all chalkboard paint sticks to glass, so check the label before you buy. I used Valspar Chalkboard paint, several layers of it, and it seemed to work okay, but because it's not technically for glass, I'm not sure how durable it will be over the long haul. Looking back, chalkboard spray paint would have been more smooth – the brush strokes made it harder to write on the glasses.

I painted the midsection of each glass using painter's tape as a guide. Waiting an appropriate amount of time between each coat (going off the label), I put about six layers on each glass until they felt pretty sturdy. In retrospect, I would have used some sandpaper or something to rough up the smooth glass, and to help the paint stick better, but it still worked without that.

After 48 hours, I tested the chalk and was pleasantly surprised how well it worked, considering the paint I got wasn't guaranteed to stick on glass.

Screen shot 2012 11 27 at 7.32.09 PM alternative wedding ideas from Offbeat Wed (formerly Offbeat Bride)I put the chalkboard mugs wrapped in tissue paper, along with candy and a pack of chalk in each box. And voila! Gifts everyone seemed to love. The idea was that they could write whatever they wanted on the glasses and carry them around with them on the night of the wedding.

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Comments on Make these custom chalkboard mugs for your wedding party

  1. I love this idea….but did you have problems with the condensation on the glasses when they were being used? Wondering how they held up through the evening. I was thinking of doing this for all guests.

    • Mine were given to the groomsmen the night before and were filled with candy. Some of the guys used them the night of the wedding but others kept them as keepsakes. I’m not sure about condensation though, but I had no complaints.

  2. I am planning on doing this, but am wondering how it works…doesn’t the chalk come off and get over everybody’s hands?? Is there chalk you can use to make that not happen….?

    Thanks!

    • No, these had handles like big beer steins. You might have a problem if you’re trying to use pilsner glasses or something similar though.

  3. If you want the chalk not to rub off on your hands you could use the liquid chalk pens that you get for doing pub blackboards – doesn’t wipe off unless you use detergent. Would need to make sure you had plenty layers of the blackboard paint though so that it was durable. Love this idea, set me thinking – possibly might see if I can custom paint some shot glasses to do something with favour wise…

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