How to: painted porcelain mug

Today I’ve got a super quick and easy DIY for you: a how to paint or decorate your own porcelain mugs. I think hand painted mugs are an awesome gift idea, you can basically decorate them to fit anybody’s taste and you know the recipient will use them, because nobody ever has enough mugs. I’ve wanted to try this for a while, so let’s get cracking!

Things you need before starting this project: white porcelain mugs (mina are Värdera from IKEA), a paper towel (for wiping away mistakes) and a porcelain marker. That’s it! Sometimes (it depends on the marker) you’ll need an oven for baking your mugs after decorating them, but my marker said my mugs would be safe after three days of air drying, so no need for an oven. Also make sure to wash the mugs or the dishes you want to paint beforehand. It’s important they’re grease-free.

If you’re not sure what you want to draw on your mugs, you can always make a couple of quick sketches on paper. I had a bunch of ideas, but I didn’t want to make it too hard for my first try, so I picked some simple designs.

If you’re in need of some inspiration, what about:

• letting kids draw on them, which will make the mugs look very modern artsy
• draw a quote from your favourite tv show. Or just put a pattern of all the letters of the alphabet
• Look up the chemical formulas for coffee or tea and make your inner nerd happy
• Let Pinterest help you with a search for “painted mugs” or “decorated mugs“

I really liked the idea of putting a gradient in the patterns I used. It’s a nice twist to a simple pattern. I started off with the bubbles, which wasn’t a smart move because I still needed to get the hang of drawing on a round object. Start off with your most simple pattern. Also, make sure you don’t touch the mugs too often with your fingers. I noticed the marker didn’t stick very well on places I touched.

Take your time when you’re decorating the mugs. Afterwards let them dry (or put them in the oven, if your marker’s instructions says so) and enjoy the view! I haven’t put them in the dishwasher yet, but I’ll update this post when I have. Fingers crossed for not ruining my mugs. (*update* The mug with the bubbles didn’t keep up at all. I first washed the mugs in hot water and the ceramic marker came off almost immediately. Strange enough the other mug kept up almost perfectly. It has since been in the dishwasher multiple times and still looks the same! I think the difference between the two mugs was that one was only washed by hand (the bubbles) and the other one had also been in the dishwasher before putting the marker on and was thus better de-greased).

That’s it! What would you put on a mug?

Project costs: Glass marker, €4,5 – IKEA mug, €1,99/mug