How to Make An Infusible Ink Mug In Your Oven

Infusible Ink on a MUG. Yep, you read it right. Last summer, Cricut released a new product called Infusible Ink. At the launch, Cricut released a handful of blanks that you can work with— t-shirts, baby bodysuits, coasters and tote bags. You can use these with the Infusible Ink transfer sheets and Infusible Ink pens. Our team has made tons on Infusible Ink projects using these Cricut-compatible blanks, but today we're stretching out of the normal blanks and using a non-Cricut blank, a sublimation mug!

If you're not familiar with sublimation, you might be thinking— what the heck is a sublimation? I'm not going to get into the nitty gritty, but in a nutshell it's the transition of a substance from a solid to a gas with heat. And then in the process of transitioning, it bonds to whatever material it's attached too. This is exactly what Infusible Ink is! You're taking a solid transfer sheet and then with heat, turning it into a gas and then it infuses onto the material it's on. Because there's so much science involved, sublimation ONLY works with specific blanks. Cricut has a line of their own blanks which is awesome, but there are tons of other sublimation blanks out there...like these mugs I'm going to show you today! This means to make this project, you can ONLY use sublimation-compatible mugs {but don't fret, you can easily find some on Amazon!}.

You might be thinking— that's great, but how do you apply heat to a mug since it's a curved surface? There are actually two ways to do it. You can use a mug press, which is a specific heat press designed for mugs. These are great if you're making hundreds of mugs, but they'll run you about $100 or more. You can also use a silicone-wrap and then put your mug in the oven with the wrap! That's what we are going to do today. I've seen people try to use their EasyPress or EasyPress Mini, but it doesn't work since you need consistent, even heat.

Are you tracking a little bit now? Let's get to it!

Materials:

• Click here for the project in Design Space
• Infusible Ink Transfer Sheets, Mint
• Sublimation Mug, 11 oz
• Sublimation Silicone Mug Wrap, 11 oz (there are different sizes if you want to use larger mugs)
• Heat Resistant Tape
• An oven
• Cricut Maker or Explore Air 2
• StandardGrip Cutting Mat

I'll explain everything in the video below, but if you're a quick learner, here's the general gist:

• Place your Infusible Ink Transfer Sheet on a StandardGrip cutting mat, ink side up. Mirror your image in Design Space and then cut on your Cricut!
• Remove the transfer sheet from your mat and weed it.
• Wipe down your mug with some alcohol or a lint-free cloth to makes sure there isn't any dust or debris on your mug.
• Line up the transfer sheet on your mug and hold it down with heat resistant tape.
• Place the silicone wrap around the mug and "lock" it in place.
• Preheat your oven to 400F.
• Place your mug on a cookie sheet. If you're worried about odors or fumes in your home, you can place an oven-roasting bag or crockpot bag on your mug.
• "Bake" your mug for 15 minutes.
• Let it cool completely and then remove the transfer sheet to see your beautiful mug!

Isn't that AMAZING?! It's dishwasher-safe, microwave-safe...and you never have to worry about anything peeling off. It's literally printed on your mug! It's my favorite way to make mugs now. That's all there is to it, you guys. It's SUPER simple!! I think the hardest part is weeding the transfer sheets, honestly! If you have any questions, shoot us a comment below and we will follow up with you in an email. :)

Thanks for reading and happy making!

-Courteney

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