Key Takeaways
- Deepest mug cut this week: The Cricut 12 oz beveled blank 6-pack is sitting at 57% off, the largest drop in this batch.
- Legal-size sublimation paper: The HTVRONT 8.5×14 pack covers wraparound mug art and tumbler templates that get cropped on letter paper.
- A press-free option: The Tulip Painted by Me kit swaps the heat press for brushes and a home oven cure.
- Colored 15 oz blank: The Cricut Ocean beveled mug is nearly half off, useful for testing white-ink sublimation designs.
- Prices verified May 29, 2026.
Late May has a specific energy for crafters. The school year is winding down and graduation gifts are on the calendar. Anyone who got a Cricut for Mother’s Day is about three weeks past unboxing and ready for real supplies.
This week’s Berry Basket leans hard into mug projects. Two Cricut beveled blanks made the cut, a starter 6-pack in white and a single 15 oz in Ocean, plus two HTVRONT sublimation paper sizes for anyone working through teacher gifts or wedding favors. There’s also a Tulip ceramic painting kit in here for crafters who don’t have a press and don’t want one, just brushes and a dishwasher-safe mug.
A quick note on what’s coming. The Cricut blanks are the deepest cuts I’ve tracked in arts & crafts this week. The HTVRONT paper deals are smaller but worth knowing about if you’re mid-project.
What blank mugs work best with the Cricut Mug Press?
Cricut beveled blanks are built specifically for the Mug Press, with a ceramic coating that lets infusible ink or sublimation transfers bond properly. Generic mugs without that coating will smear or wash off, so blank choice matters more than people expect.
Cricut 12 oz White Beveled Blank
The 12 oz white blank is the default starter for most Cricut mug projects, and a 6-pack is the right quantity if you’re working through a batch of personalized gifts. They’re rated dishwasher and microwave safe, which sounds basic but plenty of cheaper blanks fail one or the other. The beveled bottom gives a cleaner finish line at the base, useful if you’re doing wraparound designs.
- 12 oz capacity, 6-count pack
- Ceramic-coated for Infusible Ink and sublimation
- Dishwasher and microwave safe
Cricut 15 oz Ocean Beveled Blank
This one is a single 15 oz mug in Ocean, a soft seafoam color that takes white-ink sublimation designs surprisingly well. The 15 oz size is closer to what most people use for morning coffee, and the colored exterior gives you a base that white blanks can’t. Worth grabbing one to test before committing to a full colored set, especially if you’ve only ever done white.
- 15 oz capacity, single mug
- Ocean (seafoam) colored exterior
- Mug Press and Infusible Ink compatible
Which sublimation paper holds up for mug transfers?
Sublimation paper quality affects ink release rate, which directly affects how vivid the final transfer looks on a pressed mug. HTVRONT sits in the affordable-but-functional tier, popular with hobbyists who don’t want to pay A-Sub prices.
HTVRONT 8.5×14 Sublimation Paper
This is the legal-size pack, 150 sheets, useful for wraparound mug art and longer tumbler templates that get cropped on standard letter paper. Bestseller rank #14 in its category tells you it’s the size hobbyists keep returning to. The ink release is solid in my experience, though it’s not at the level of premium sublimation paper.
- 150 sheets, legal size
- Quick ink release for tumblers and mugs
- Works with most Epson and Sawgrass printers
HTVRONT 8.5×11 Sublimation Paper
The standard letter-size version, 120 sheets, marketed as quick-dry with no curl. That second part matters more than it sounds because curled paper jams Epson and Canon trays constantly. At bestseller rank #6 it’s outselling most of the higher-priced competitors, which tells you something about the price-to-quality ratio.
- 120 sheets, letter size
- Quick-dry, no-curl coating
- Compatible with Epson, HP, and Canon
Is there a no-press option for painting your own mugs?
For crafters without a Mug Press, Tulip makes a paint-it-yourself ceramic kit that uses food-safe paints and a home oven cure. It’s a different category from sublimation but lands in the same personalized-mug use case.
Tulip Painted by Me Ceramic Kit
The kit comes with 4 paintable mugs and 8 food-safe colors, with brushes included. That’s enough to do a full set without buying anything else. The cured paint is dishwasher safe, though Tulip recommends hand-washing for longevity, which is the realistic answer for any painted ceramic. Bestseller rank #182 in its category means it’s a steady seller without being a viral craft trend, usually a good sign.
- 4 paintable ceramic mugs
- 8 food-safe paint colors
- 4 brushes included
Frequently asked questions
How long does Cricut iron-on vinyl last on a mug?
Cricut Infusible Ink, which is what the beveled blanks are designed for, fuses with the ceramic coating and is permanent once pressed. It won’t peel or wash off the way iron-on vinyl can on fabric. Iron-on vinyl isn’t recommended for mugs that go in dishwashers because the heat eventually lifts the adhesive.
Can you use any sublimation paper with the Cricut Mug Press?
Yes. The Mug Press works with any sublimation paper that’s compatible with your printer. HTVRONT, A-Sub, and other major sublimation papers all transfer fine. The paper quality affects color vibrancy more than press compatibility.
Do you need Cricut-branded blanks for the Mug Press?
No, but they’re the easiest option. Any sublimation-coated ceramic mug works, including third-party brands. Cricut blanks are sized to match the Mug Press heating element exactly, which reduces the chance of uneven transfers along the edges.
What’s the difference between the 12 oz and 15 oz beveled blanks?
The 12 oz is closer to a tea cup size and works well for compact designs. The 15 oz holds a standard coffee serving and gives more printable surface for wraparound art. Both use the same ceramic coating and both work with the Mug Press.
Are the Tulip Painted by Me mugs dishwasher safe?
Tulip says yes once you complete the oven cure, but hand-washing extends the life of the paint. Repeated dishwasher cycles will eventually dull hand-painted ceramics, which is true of every paint-your-own kit, not just this one.
This week’s arts & crafts cuts ran from 6% on the HTVRONT 8.5×11 paper up to 57% on the Cricut 12 oz blank 6-pack. The blank mug discounts are the real story. Both Cricut beveled blanks landed at half-off or deeper, the kind of pricing that usually only shows up around Mother’s Day or Black Friday. The HTVRONT cuts are modest in comparison, but the bestseller ranks tell you they’re already priced near the floor.
If I were buying one thing from this batch, it would be the Cricut 12 oz 6-pack. The discount is real. The white blank works with every transfer method, and six is the right starter quantity for testing designs without committing to a case you’ll never finish. The Tulip kit is fine, a decent gift for a kid or a beginner, but the price drop is small enough that I’d wait for a deeper cut. The HTVRONT papers are workhorse purchases. Grab them if your drawer’s running low, otherwise skip.
Memorial Day weekend will probably push more craft brands into deeper discounts as the week progresses. Cricut tends to run accessory sales alongside their hardware promos, so watch for Mug Press bundle pricing in early June. If you missed last week’s Cricut heat press accessories roundup, those picks are still relevant for anyone scaling up from mugs to t-shirts. You can also browse all deals for the full Memorial Day rundown as more brands flip their pricing this weekend.
