HANDMADE HOLIDAYS PAINTED MUGS

When it's cold outside, there's nothing much better than a cup of hot cocoa by the fire. Right? Well the perfect gift for all those hot chocolate loving friends is a pretty custom mug, maybe even filled with a little hot chocolate kit and tied with a pretty ribbon! You can buy mugs anywhere, and most of them are pretty inexpensive, but I think a personalized handmade mug is so special, and it's a really easy project. Plus, I made mine for only a few dollars a piece, and then I got to decorate them any fun way I wanted.

Materials: plain colored mugs (mine are from IKEA) multi-purpose acrylic paint and/or porcelain paint pen (I found both of mine at Michael's) spray glue sponge brush oven
Step:
1. Print out your letters in your desired font and size. Step
2. With a razor blade, carefully cut out the letter, as shown. Step
3. Lightly spray the back of the paper with spray glue, then let it dry for 3-5 minutes. Once it's tacky, adhere to your cup (the pre-drying allows the glue to only temporarily bond the paper to the cup). Step
4. Carefully dab the paint over the stencil. Do at least two coats of paint. Step 5. Allow the paint to dry for at least 30 minutes, and then remove the paper and let it dry completely. If there are any mistakes or bleeding, you can scratch them off carefully with your nail or a wash cloth. Follow the instructions on your paint to cure your painting in the oven (usually it's 24 hours air dry and about 30 minutes in the oven at 300 degrees (F)).
Do you like this handmade mug idea? Try it and share with us by Email.