How to Paint Ceramic Mugs

You can paint ceramic mugs at home without a kiln.

While you can usually find painted ceramic mugs in most boutique gift shops, creating your own allows you to customize the mug with your own designs. You can add names, favorite sports teams' emblems and even inside jokes. With undecorated mugs selling for mere dollars at discount shops, painted ceramic mugs also make a perfect and inexpensive party favor. The only limit when decorating ceramic mugs is your own creativity and the dimensions of the mug.

Difficulty:

Moderate

Instructions

Things You'll Need

• Plain ceramic mug
• Acrylic enamel paint
• Small craft paintbrush
• Rubbing alcohol
• Lint-free towel
• Oven

1. Clean the mug's surface with rubbing alcohol and your lint-free towel. Most paints will encourage you to start with a clean surface and rubbing alcohol will remove any grease or other unwanted substances from the mug without leaving a soapy film behind.

2. Choose a design you know will fit comfortably on your mug. As well as size, consider color harmony. For instance, hot pink will probably not complement a hunter green mug.

3. Paint your design onto the mug's surface using your craft paintbrush. Allow layers to dry before applying more colors. Clean your brush between colors to ensure you don't accidentally mix shades and blend.

4. Place your finished mug in a cool oven and set the oven to 300 degrees. Do not warm the oven before placing your mug inside. Doing so can cause the glass to heat up too quickly, which can cause the mug to crack or shatter.

5. Allow the mug to bake for 30 minutes.

6. Turn the oven off after the mug has baked for 30 minutes. Allow the mug to cool down with the oven, as taking it out can cause it to cool too quickly.

7. Remove the mug from the oven and enjoy.

Tips & Warnings

• Use your painted mugs as stocking stuffers during the holiday season. Fill the mug with wrapped penny candy and place in a clear cellophane bag. Gather the bag around the top of the mug and tie off with a decorative ribbon.

• Wash the mug by hand to preserve the design.

References

• Plaid: FolkArt Enamels

Resources

• Read this Article in Spanish