Oh, hello! What’s your best hot drink?
I am a tea drinker. I love the ritual of making it (see below) and the fun of picking what to drink it out of.
Having a cupboard full of cheerful mugs to choose from is essential. We all have our favourites, right? I used to veer towards the china cup, but these days it’s all about a big mug.
I know, I know. Loads of people have too many mugs already. But crikey, when you see one you really want - you just have to get it. Right? For me, the mug is just as important as the tea itself. And if you read my guide to tea making below, you’ll know how seriously I take the drinking!
Anyway. I decided it was about time I cracked on with getting some of my own mugs made featuring my silly characters. Here’s what happened.
Auditions
As you know, I have a cast of thousands. And not all of them wanted to - or indeed were suitable for - the role of Mug Model. After a tough round of auditions and quite a lot of squabbling, Brian the Rainbow and Dot the Jelly made the final cut!
I asked Dot how she is feeling about seeing herself on a new mug. This is what she said:
I still can’t believe I was chosen! I was so wobbly during my audition but I think Jennie could see how much I wanted a chance to shine.
Obviously, I didn’t need to ask Brian how he felt. He boasted:
There was never a doubt in my mind that I’d be picked as a model. Being such a handsome rainbow, naturally I was destined for this role. People up and down the land will be admiring my face as they make their hot drinks and...
(That’s when I stopped listening)
Getting Them Made
I was very clear about the type of mug I wanted for Dot and Brian! Those smashing ones with the coloured handles and inside. You know, with perfect accents to really set of the rainbow and jelly...
Luckily, I found Andrea of B’s Clothing and Gifts! She made me up a sample of each. And holy kittens, did she deliver. The minute I got my samples back, I knew I was on the right path to mug perfection...
However! My initial suggestion for sizes of Brian and Dot were too small. Go large, or go home I thought to myself.
And so I did some very complicated maths and ‘technical drawings’ (see below)
And off they went. Andrea has created them using a technique called ‘sublimation’ and when I tried to explain that to Brian, he started to giggle. I still have no idea what he thought I meant...
My Dream Mugs
And here they are!
I couldn’t be happier with them! And both Dot and Brian are on the ceiling with excitement about their release this Friday. I’ve promised them a party, complete with balloons, cake and biscuits. What could possibly go wrong?
My Guide to the Perfect Brew
- Choose mug (have at least 5 faves on rotation)
- Boil kettle
- Pour over tea bag
- Dash of soya milk (yep, the tea bag is still in)
- Smash it to the perfect colour (Pantone ‘caramel’, ta)
- Remove tea bag, create mound on sink
- Drink it whilst it’s scalding hot
- When it is no longer the perfect temperature, let it go.
- Repeat
Later on...
- Collect ‘dead’ mugs from desk
- Carefully transfer from studio to kitchen
- Wash up
- Boil kettle
TTFN. I'm off for a cuppa...