November is flying by, so if you have not starting thinking about holiday gifts… you better start! Each year I come up with all these fabulous DIY ideas that I convince myself I am going to make for the important people in my life. (I swear, one day I WILL give out little mason jars full of homemade sugar scrub! I WILL!) Then I obviously never make them… and end up scrambling to buy a bunch of (overpriced) gifts for all my kids teachers, neighbors… etc.
This year I finally found the PERFECT, meaningful, customized gift… that takes only minutes to make! Watercolor coffee mugs! I have seen a number of variations of this craft on Pinterest and I wondered if they were really that easy. (since I have tried the DIY sharpie mugs as well, and it took me forever to create something on there and it didn’t look that great.) It turns out they ARE easy, and trust me when I tell you that if I can do it, so can you!
Since the supplies to make the mug only cost me $1, I decided to include coffee with the gift. When Door County Coffee & Tea contacted me, I was thrilled. Then when I tasted their coffee I KNEW I wanted to include their products along with my beautiful mugs!
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Door County is a family-owned, artisan coffee roaster
located in Door County, Wisconsin. Founded in 1993, they welcome hundreds of thousands of visitors to their facility where they serve up breakfast or lunch along with their specialty.. gourmet coffee.. roasted right on the premises! (in fact, each bag is roasted, packaged and shipped right there!)
They sent me a box full of coffee… including all their famous holiday blends! (they are only available from September through December… so you better stock up now!)
Door County Coffee has 5 holiday flavors:
- Candy Cane
- Hot Buttered Rum
- Jingle Bell Java
- White Christmas
- Door County Christmas
All of them are really good, but Jingle Bell Java & White Christmas are my favorites. We have been LOVING this coffee and it is definitely a treat!
For this craft you will need:
- Mug (I got mine at the dollar store)
- Nail polish
- Toothpick
- Tupperware or Tin baking pan (deep enough to dip the mug)
Fill the tub with warm/hot water (this is important since if you use cold the polish dries up right away)
Pour a small amount of nail polish on top (just one or two drops)
Swirl it a bit with the toothpick
Dip the mug in the water and pull it right out
Set the mug on a paper plate to dry
You need to work quickly, since even with the warm water the nail polish dries fast on top of the water. If you want to do 2 colors, I recommend doing one color at a time… and layering them on top of each other. I tried doing two at once and it clumped up. Also, don’t be afraid of testing color combinations or doing a few colors at once… since if you don’t like how it looks, you can clean it right off with nail polish remover and try again. (you can also clean up edges or anything on the bottom of mug with the remover as well)
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These should be hand washed to keep them looking their best. (I did put one of them in the dishwasher, just to see what happened… the polish stayed on, but it changed color a little bit)
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Be sure to check out Door County Coffee & Tea’s website. They also have a Facebook & Instagram account!
Here’s a quick video showing the process:
These look really fun! We did the sharpie mugs last year, which my daughter loved, but these look really cool! And the Holiday coffees sound amazing!
My sharpie mugs looked horrible and they changed color when I baked them! ha! These took some practice but look SO cool when they are done!
You can now seal them with Mod Podge dishwasher glue/sealer. Yeah!!!
This is so awesome and would be such a great gift idea! I'd love to do a set of 4 different ones!
Annessa / http://www.seekingsunshine.com
Yes once you get the hang of it.. it takes just a few minutes to make! So fun!
These are so cool! Such a great idea. I really love how they turned out. Such a cute gift idea for teachers, friends, etc. Thanks!
yes and so cheap too! A mug with some delish coffee and I am all set.
Love how they turned out. Looks like a cool diy. Pinned to try this sometime!
It is a lot of fun! 🙂
it's like Easter egg dying for mugs! Love this idea…I want to try it now! Super cute, and need to try that delish coffee too! YUM!
Yes!! It is a lot of fun and they all turn out so different!
What a great gift idea! I am going to try this with the kids.
They will love it! My kids didnt want to try, but they loved seeing how each one would turn out!
What a cute idea! This would be such a fun DIY Christmas gift.
Yes! I cant wait to give them to my kids teachers.. they have a lot.. so this is a good way to give them all something special (& who doesnt love coffee?) without spending a lot of money!
Sharing everywhere because when I saw the scope I immediately screamed out, "WHERE IS MY NAIL POLISH?!"
haha I bet you would rock this! I had a lot of fun with it!
I love this! its beautiful and rather simple! I am not crafty but my daughter loves to be. These will make great gifts she can give out! Glad I found you through mommymeetupmondays!
Thanks for stopping by! 🙂 I hope you guys have fun making them!
Such a cool mug! Never thought to use nail polish!!
Yes! It works perfectly! (but hand wash the mugs.. for sure!)
Oh the Jingle Bell Java coffee sounds yummy! I love the DIY watercolor mug, I want to make one for myself and for some teacher gifts! Thanks for sharing 🙂
All the coffees are SO GOOD! Seriously such a difference from the stuff in stores..
Cool craft! I think with the coffee it makes a nice teacher gift! Can't believe we're already thinking about holiday gifts for the teachers!
I know! Where did this year go??
The mugs are super cute! They'd be a great gift for teens, and a fun craft for them too. The coffees sound amazing!!
Yes! I have been in coffee heaven! All of them are amazing, and the flavors are so good, but not too overwhelming. 🙂 Have a wonderful week!
This is a seriously cool idea! I have a white mug actually, so I think I'll give this a try during nap time!!
You should! (and if it doesnt turn out right just wipe it off with nail polish remover and try again!)
I love this. I could go to one of the local craft stores and get a few mugs and decorate. I might do this for my Christmas party giftbags instead of the plastic throwaway bags and make them custom. Thanks for sharing 🙂
That is an awesome idea! (and check the dollar store.. they have lots of white mugs around the holidays.. that is where I got a bunch!) Have a great week!
That's a really cute idea, and it seems pretty easy too. Great craft 🙂
This is so cool! I love the way your mugs turned out! A great and easy gift idea!
Shannon
Clothes & Quotes
Those are beautiful!
These are gorgeous! I always do DIY gifts for my family but I hadn't decided what to do this year. I really think this is it!
This is a fabulous, fabulous, fabulous idea. i may use it for my classroom winter party!
good video too!
These are so cute! Perfect gifts for the holidays. www. alwaysalldressedup.com
How fun!!!! I want to try these!! my son's teachers would LOVE them!!
Adorable!! This would be such an easy christmas gift.
Pretty mugs! Great post and site! I found you on FB GYB page. Let me know if you’d like to collaborate, be a guest writer with links back to your blog (or vice versa), or get together to do a giveaway with some other bloggers, just support each other in some way. My site is http://www.4hourbodygirl.com.
All the best,
Heather
This is so neat!! I'll have to make a few to add to my gift baskets this year!!!
Thank you for sharing with us at #MommyMeetupMondays!
I am the happiest when I am creating – whether it be beading jewelry, painting, creating recipes, crocheting, or anything else I come up with. In other words, this is right up my alley! What a great gift! I am pinning this so I have a reference for Christmas presents.
These are so neat! I haven't indulged in my crafty side in a while. I may just have to make these!
Oh this is AWESOME and I have a mug exactly like that, which I can use for this. So pretty!
I've never seen this before. It's really cool. iI'll have to try it sometime.
Do you need to bake them for 30 minutes at 350 degrees like the Sharpie ones??
Could you ‘cure’ these like you do with the sharpie mugs to keep the polish looking good?
I am not sure, but I dont think so… a sealing spray would be a better option I think. 🙂
Can I use nail polish with harder n it?
I dont think that would mess anything up. 😉
I love this so much, the finished product looks amazing! I have featured this on my holiday DIY gift roundup. You can see it here. https://adollarearned.com/quick-easy-diy-christmas-gifts-family-will-love/ Feel free to share!
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tried did not work looked horribe I look like full of heaps of stuff
do not reccomennd use acrylic paint pens
Great tutorial! Do you have any idea if these would be microwave safe?
Do I have to put the mugs in the oven to seal? If so, what temperature and how long?
It is easy once you get the hang of it.
Thank you