Father's Day gifts

This Father's Day will be one without my children's father, but will be with mine.  It will be exciting to spend it with my Dad for the first time in... a long time.  But I want my kids to remember that their Dad is missing them and that they can still appreciate him and all he does for them even without him here.  So I saw this idea in multiple places online:

And decided to replicate it:  

It was a good exercise for the kids to talk about their Dad, everything that they miss and everything they look forward to seeing in him again.  Even though, I didn't get this printed off in time to include in his package, I know it will make him smile to see it online.

We all love you

and can't wait 

for you to come home

I also saw this idea online-

Sharpie Mug

And decided I needed to try it out.  Since both my Dad and my Father in Law are big coffee drinkers, I decided this would make a fantastic Father's Day gift for them.  But first I wanted to test it out to make sure it really worked before I gave it as a present.  

So I bought three Dollar Tree white ceramic mugs, two packs of Sharpie markers (colored and black) and told Gabe to draw whatever he wanted.  He made a mug for his Dad.

"thanks for your courage"

This is after it baked for 30 minutes at 350 degrees.  The mug was extremely hot, so take care not to touch it and make sure it sets completely still so the marker sets on the mug.  If you don't let it cool, the marker won't set on the ceramic.  Only the green marker changed color, the rest stayed perfectly vibrant.

The real test was when I tried to wash the mug.  I noticed that some of the pink and purple coloring wiped off, mostly where Gabe colored multiple layers of marker.  The black and green didn't fade or run at all.

I definitely will be making these for my Dad and my Father in Law, letting the kids decorate it and writing their names on the mug.  After reading another source, this blogger said to bake it at 425 degrees instead of 350 and that the mug can always go in for round 2 if the marker hasn't set completely.  

What do you plan on doing for Father's Day?  Any fun DIY projects?

 UPDATED!  I put the mug in for round two of baking (450 degrees for 20 minutes) and after it was cooled, I hand washed it with soap and water and all the marker stayed perfectly in place!!

Lesson learned - Bake at 425 degrees for at least 30 minutes and let it completely cool before handling it.

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