Infusible Ink Pen Mugs with the Cricut Mug Press

Instructions

STEP 1: CHOOSE YOUR MUG DESIGN

First, you need a mug design that your Cricut cutting machine can draw with an Infusible Ink pen or marker. You will find some premade designs in Cricut Design Space. Look for the Cricut Mug Press section on the Home screen and scroll until you find a design you like.

To make this super easy for you, I designed over two dozen different Infusible Ink Pen mug designs that you can download from my free resource library. You can find the designs by searching my library for design #292 or design #293 and then click it to download the SVG cut file. We'll be working with the designs in #292 for this tutorial, but feel free to use the mandala monograms in design #293 if you prefer!

Inside the folder you will find seven different Infusible Ink Pen mug designs, including butterflies, hummingbirds, a garden design, birds and hearts and small and large mandalas. For this tutorial, I'll show you how to make the butterfly design.

Now, open Cricut Design Space and upload the SVG file. If you're not sure how to upload a SVG cut file to Cricut Design Space, watch this helpful video training series I made for you.

Here's what the Butterfly Infusible Ink Pen mug design looks like in Cricut Design Space.

There are TWO sizes of mug designs in all of my files, the smaller one on top is for the 12 oz. mug, while the larger one on the bottom is for the 15 oz. mug. Both also include 3 extra cutouts, stacked on the right, that will be used to wrap and protect your mug in the Cricut Mug Press.

The first thing you want to do is select "Ungroup" on the right at the top of the Layers panel.

Next, hide or delete the size you do not need by selecting the layer and clicking the eye icon (to hide it) or the trash can icon (to delete it).

STEP 2: GET SET TO DRAW YOUR DESIGN

Now that you have chosen your design, it's time to make it.

You will notice on the right, next to the layers that say pen, there is a warning icon. All that means is you need to choose your pen colors for each layer. That's easy!

By the way, I made this with the Infusible Ink pens, but you can also use Infusible Ink markers, it's completely up to you!

First, click on the top layer, under "Attach", where it says "Pen".

Now over on the top left you will see the word "Operation", next to that, just to the right, there's a blank box with a question mark inside, click on that. A dropdown menu will appear and list all the different pen and marker choices according to size and color. I've found the primary colors and darker colors to transfer more vibrantly, whereas the light colors tend to look more like pastels once transferred.

I'm going with the fine point pen and the first one I will use is "Red"...so scroll down until you come to "Red (Infusible Ink)". Now back to the right, click on the second Pen layer to highlight it, then scroll down to "Yellow (Infusible Ink)".

And now the third pen layer, highlight that on the right and scroll down to Green and then Blue for the bottom layer.

Now click the green "Make It" button on the top right.

On the next screen click Continue, and then on the following screen you will choose your materials. Click "Browse All Materials" and type in "Laser" in the search window, then choose "Laser Copy Paper" and click "Done".

On the next screen there's a dropdown window under "Pressure". I always choose "More".

Also, it's important to note, the majority of the time you will want to "Mirror" any Infusible Ink projects, but since this is a drawing and there are no words, this is completely up to you. There's really no need to mirror it, but you can if you like. I didn't bother to mirror my design. On the next screen you will choose your materials. Click "Browse All Materials" and type in "Laser" in the search window, then choose "Laser Copy Paper" and click "Done."

STEP 3: DRAW & CUT YOUR MUG DESIGN

First, place one sheet of 8 1/2" x 11" laser copy paper onto a Blue LightGrip Cutting Mat in Landscape Orientation (so wider than it is taller, just like this) and load it into your machine.

Now place your first pen color in clamp A -- Design Space will tell you which is first, and in the case of this butterfly, it's the blue pen. Push down on the pen until it is firmly seated -- most of the time you will hear a click as it seats into place. Place the cap on your pen so you don't lose it, then press the flashing button and your machine will draw the first part of your design.

Once the first Infusible Ink pen color is finished, you will be prompted to load your next pen color into clamp A. If you forget which color comes next you can always refer back to your screen in Cricut Design Space and it will tell you what is next.

Repeat this for the next two pens. After the last pen finishes drawing the machine will cut out the mug design outline for the layer with the Infusible Ink pen design and one of the three extra Mug Design cutouts I mentioned earlier. Once that is done you will unload the mat and turn it over to remove those two cutouts.

Now place another sheet of 8 1/2" x 11" copy paper onto your cutting mat, again in landscape orientation (wider than taller), load it into your machine and press the flashing button to begin. This will give you two additional mug wrap cutouts. Remove those from the mat just like you did with the first two.

STEP 3: WRAP YOUR DESIGN AROUND YOUR MUG

Now it's time to wrap your Infusible Ink pen mug design around your mug!

First, and this is really important, begin by cleaning the surface of your mug with a lint roller. This removes any dirt or dust and get the surface as clean as possible, and makes sure the Infusible Ink transfers cleanly and vividly.

To ensure the design is on straight and centered, it's best to position the mug so the handle is pointing at you. Also, make sure to double check and make sure your design is right side up.

Now take those three extra cutouts and place them behind your design layer with the design layer facing you. Now position that stack of layers behind the mug, again you should see the design facing you and the mug.

Wrap all four layers around the mug, make sure it's a snug fit and use Cricut Heat Resistant Tape to hold everything in place.

Just tape the two ends together right inside the mug handle. And now you're ready for the fun part!

STEP 4: PRESS THE MUG WITH THE CRICUT MUG PRESS

With the Cricut Mug Press powered on and the power button green (which indicates it is ready), hold your wrapped mug by the handle and place it in the heating chamber.

Pay attention to where the mug handle is and make sure the heat plate appears to be covering all of your design. I have found that moving the handle to the left a little bit helps.

Now close the clamp on the top of the Cricut Mug Press and double check that the heat plates are completely covering your design. If not make sure to open the clamp right away and reposition the mug as needed and close the clamp again.

Pushing down on the lever starts the pressing process. There is no other button to push or settings to worry about. The Cricut Mug Press takes the temperature of your mug and the ambient temperature of your room, and determines the correct settings for you...isn't that great, takes all the guesswork out! The little lights on the top of the Cricut Mug Press indicate the progress of your press — an average mug takes about six minutes to press.

When the Cricut Mug Press is finished, it will beep at you. Lift up on the clamp to release it and pull the mug out by the handle, which will NOT be hot. Be careful not to touch the heat plate with the back of your fingers or touch any other part of the mug, as it will be quite hot.

Immediately place your mug on a heat-resistant surface to cool. I place my mug on the same mat I am using for my mug press itself as it's right there and super convenient.

Allow the mug to cool down before you peel off the tape and remove the paper. This takes anywhere from 15 to 30 minutes.

When the mug is cool enough to handle, pull off the tape and paper and check out your beautiful creation!

STEP 5: SHOW IT OFF!

Aren't the colors so pretty? These mugs are simply gorgeous and would make a perfect gift for just about any occasion.