Today's post is brought to you by Megan, She restyled coffee mugs with a little bit of porcelain paint. Megan found the grey mugs on Etsy a while back and the white coffee mugs at a thrift store. Both are great options for cheap vintage mugs that can easily be restyled.
Hello, everyone! I'm Megan from The Nerd Nest! As a book lover and linguaphile, my eye is always caught by items using words decoratively, especially if that word describes or inspirers me. I also drink an kidney-damaging amount of coffee, so combining two loves into one is a no-brainer for me! Follow this tutorial along to learn how to make your morning cup speak to you.
You'll need:
The first step is to choose your word or phrase and your font. When choosing a font, keep in mind that you'll be cutting it out later: if you're new to the knife, you'll want something pretty simple without a ton of curves and fancy extras that you might cut off or find difficult to trace around with your knife. Before you print your word, you'll want to make sure that you're printing in the size you want the word to be on your mug. Measure your cup, decide how much space you'd like your word to take up, and choose a font that fits that size. You don't even need fancy software for this step, you can even use the "rulers" in a program like Word! After you have your word(s) chosen and printed, make a stencil by cutting out the letters with an Exacto knife. Confession: I have a digital cutter (a really old version of Silhouette
), so I usually let the machines do this step for me, especially if I'm making multiples!
Hold your your stencil firmly on your mug and begin to fill in each letter with Pebeo paint. If you're using outline paint, then you can apply the paint directly from the applicator. If you're using filler paint, you'll need to apply the paint with a paintbrush. Having trouble keeping it held down? Tape your stencil on temporarily! Made a mistake? Wipe off the excess paint with a damp paper towel or cloth before the paint dries and try again.
When you're through, allow the paint to dry for the amount of time specified on your paint package. Then bake the mug as directed by the package.
Of course, you don't have to limit yourself to coffee mugs! Anything porcelain that can withstand the heat of the oven will do. For example, I used these $1.00 vases from Target to hold toothbrushes! Want to get even more creative? Try free writing on mugs with Pebeo Porcelaine Markers
, painting images on your mugs instead of text, or mixing colors.
Have fun experimenting with your own words and phrases! If you make a project inspired by this tutorial, make sure to leave a link. I'd love to see it!
Megan Anderson is a crafty nerd, aspiring novelist, and avid life documenter. She reads piles of books, loves city life, and blogs about her nerdy family life with her husband Jake at the Nerd Nest. You can also find her at Document Life Workshop, a creative space made to challenge and inspire memory keepers. Get to know Megan better by chatting with her on Twitter.
Hello, everyone! I'm Megan from The Nerd Nest! As a book lover and linguaphile, my eye is always caught by items using words decoratively, especially if that word describes or inspirers me. I also drink an kidney-damaging amount of coffee, so combining two loves into one is a no-brainer for me! Follow this tutorial along to learn how to make your morning cup speak to you.
You'll need:
- Pebeo Fill Paint
or Pebeo Outline Paint
- Ruler
- Word in your favorite font (printed from your computer or handwritten). I like to print on photo paper, because the paint doesn't bleed through!
- Exacto knife (If you have a digital cutter like a Silhouette Cameo
- Porcelain cup, vase, plate, bowl, etc.
- Oven
The first step is to choose your word or phrase and your font. When choosing a font, keep in mind that you'll be cutting it out later: if you're new to the knife, you'll want something pretty simple without a ton of curves and fancy extras that you might cut off or find difficult to trace around with your knife. Before you print your word, you'll want to make sure that you're printing in the size you want the word to be on your mug. Measure your cup, decide how much space you'd like your word to take up, and choose a font that fits that size. You don't even need fancy software for this step, you can even use the "rulers" in a program like Word! After you have your word(s) chosen and printed, make a stencil by cutting out the letters with an Exacto knife. Confession: I have a digital cutter (a really old version of Silhouette
), so I usually let the machines do this step for me, especially if I'm making multiples!
Hold your your stencil firmly on your mug and begin to fill in each letter with Pebeo paint. If you're using outline paint, then you can apply the paint directly from the applicator. If you're using filler paint, you'll need to apply the paint with a paintbrush. Having trouble keeping it held down? Tape your stencil on temporarily! Made a mistake? Wipe off the excess paint with a damp paper towel or cloth before the paint dries and try again.
When you're through, allow the paint to dry for the amount of time specified on your paint package. Then bake the mug as directed by the package.
Of course, you don't have to limit yourself to coffee mugs! Anything porcelain that can withstand the heat of the oven will do. For example, I used these $1.00 vases from Target to hold toothbrushes! Want to get even more creative? Try free writing on mugs with Pebeo Porcelaine Markers
, painting images on your mugs instead of text, or mixing colors.
Have fun experimenting with your own words and phrases! If you make a project inspired by this tutorial, make sure to leave a link. I'd love to see it!
Megan Anderson is a crafty nerd, aspiring novelist, and avid life documenter. She reads piles of books, loves city life, and blogs about her nerdy family life with her husband Jake at the Nerd Nest. You can also find her at Document Life Workshop, a creative space made to challenge and inspire memory keepers. Get to know Megan better by chatting with her on Twitter.