DIY Saturday Gift Giving Mugs, Bowls & Saucers

Coffee Mug Design Photo Credit:  Michelle Somers

This is the last DIY in our 30 day blog challenge and I wanted to share something really fun. It’s a great  project for kids and adults.

You will need nail polish in whatever colours you’d like. Word of caution it you want a more simple design and not something wild and crazy I recommend using only 1 or 2 colours that complement each other. ie. light blue with light green, light pink with light beige, light purple with light pink etc.

Buy some white cups, saucers and bowls if you like. I had cups and saucers already that were white so I just used those. Start with cups and then decide if you want to add in saucers or bowls.  It does take some practice to get a design you are happy with but this is meant to be fun and not perfect so don’t sweat it if it’s not exactly as you planned.

Summary of supplies needed:

• A few cups depending on size of your group
• Nail Polish in various colours that complement
• A plastic tub or bucket that you can throw away, it has to be big enough so your cups have ample room to move around
• Toothpicks or Q-Tips for the design part
• Wax paper to lay wet cups on
• Nail Polish Remover
• Throw away gloves
• clear acrylic sealant to protect your design

Optional

This is the last DIY in our 30 day blog challenge and I wanted to share something really fun. It’s a great  project for kids and adults.

You will need nail polish in whatever colours you’d like. Word of caution it you want a more simple design and not something wild and crazy I recommend using only 1 or 2 colours that complement each other. ie. light blue with light green, light pink with light beige, light purple with light pink etc.

Buy some white cups, saucers and bowls if you like. I had cups and saucers already that were white so I just used those. Start with cups and then decide if you want to add in saucers or bowls.  It does take some practice to get a design you are happy with but this is meant to be fun and not perfect so don’t sweat it if it’s not exactly as you planned.

Summary of supplies needed:

• A few cups depending on size of your group
• Nail Polish in various colours that complement
• A plastic tub or bucket that you can throw away, it has to be big enough so your cups have ample room to move around
• Toothpicks or Q-Tips for the design part
• Wax paper to lay wet cups on
• Nail Polish Remover
• Throw away gloves
• clear acrylic sealant to protect your design

Optional

-Saucers or bowls

 Various Mug and Saucer Designs Photo Credit:  Michelle Somers

1. Get your bucket or tub and fill with lukewarm water

2. Add your 1-2 Nail Polish Colours on the surface of the water

3. Use your toothpick to make a design. Move quickly as the nail polish does harden up somewhat.

4. Dip mug straight in and out avoiding the inside. You will get some on the bottom that’s okay

5. Pat with paper towel, DO NOT WIPE. I didn’t use the paper towel at all.

6. Set on wax paper  to dry for about 3 hours.

7. Apply clear acrylic sealant to finished design but avoid the area where your lips drink from the cup. I didn’t use this but you can try it out.

You will need to hand wash your mugs. Do not use the dishwasher to wash them or it will ruin the design. I didn't wear gloves and got nail polish on my hands. Also I got the design on the inside of the cup on the first try so just used nail polish remover to get it all off. It’s easy to avoid the inside just dip your cup in and try to swirl it  around on one side end to end as much as  you can. I also continued to add colours in the same batch of water and didn’t really care if it didn’t look as pretty but fresh lukewarm water is probably best. You can see in the last saucer photo I kept layering on colour and even using a Q-Tip to push the colour onto the saucer in spots. This is a great idea for gifts for weddings, teacher’s, friends, birthday parties etc. The possibilities are endless.

If you try it I’d love to know how it turned out. I haven’t tried it but thinking this may look neat on clear glasses too. #IBN30

Do you like the DIY posts or would you rather see another topic covered?  Let me know.

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About Michelle
Michelle is one of the blooms and founder of Two Blooms Design Studio Est. 2002. She is in charge of production, designing all of our labels in house, photography, customer service, alchemist behind all of our scent blends, designer, creator and pretty much whatever else needs to be done.