I love cute and easy crafts, don’t you? These valentine’s day painted coffee mugs are a snap to do and, then, you and your honey can spend a quiet morning reminding each other how great your life together is!
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Have you seen all those adorable sharpie painted coffee mug projects on Pinterest? Although I am a big fan of sharpies, they aren’t dishwasher safe or even remotely permanent on surfaces such as ceramic, glass, or even most fabrics (horrible fading). I shared my chalkboard message board last week and I was using a multi-surface craft paint from FolkArt. Guess what?! It is top-shelf dishwasher safe for ceramics. That got me thinking about making some cute painted coffee mugs for Valentine’s Day.
I used an old technique from art class called stippling. Stippling is basically creating any shape or object out of drawing only dots. I once did a project making a picture of a tiger on safari with this technique. I love to look at it but I think my hand cramped so many times from making all those darn dots. Slowest form of drawing ever! But not these mugs. Total time drawing took maybe 15 minutes.
Instructions for Painting Ceramic Mugs
1. Draw or trace outline of a shape on ceramic mug with a pencil. Pencil wipes off easily but also provides a good guide.
2. I used FolkArt Enamel satin paint to make the little dots in the shape of a heart.
3. Let paint dry for 1 hour.
4. To cure the paint and make it top-shelf dishwasher safe, you can use 1 of 2 methods:
Hope you get to make you sweetheart a painted coffee mug! I think I am going to show these babies off with breakfast in bed or maybe just a quiet coffee in the morning before the little one wakes up. Whatever you do, I am sure it will be lovely.
Want more Valentine’s Day and Mardi Gras Ideas? This post is part of
More Valentine’s Day Crafts
LOVE Letters 
Free Valentine’s Printables. 
Candy Pouch Tutorial
Sarah says
Hello Friends!
Thank you for this great tutorial! I haven’t been able to find something as well layout as this.
I have a few questions that I cant seem to find the answers to:
*Can do this same process with glasses (like drinking glasses)?
*For ceramic, does it matter if the purchased white ceramic has a shinny glaze on it? Will this still work?
*What kind of paint is FolkArt? Can I used another brand of the same type of paint?
*Can I put the paint on the inside of a mug or on a dish and still have it be safe to drink or eat from (& will the heat break down the paint)?
Thank you again for a easy to understand tutorial!
Happy Painting!
Rachel says
Hi Sarah! Thank you for the nice compliment. Yes, you can do this with drinking glasses and ceramic with a shiny glaze on it. Since I did this tutorial in February, I have used the mugs occasionally although we have lots of mugs so I wouldn’t say they are used frequently but they have held up pretty well. I did scrub a couple of the dots off with a scratcher pad. That was definitely user error, haha.
FolkArt is a line of craft paint from a company called Plaid and I know that it is sold in Micheal’s Craft Stores. It is just a brand that I used since I already had it on hand. Paint can be finicky so I always list the products I used in my tutorials. You can use another brand but you will need an Enamel paint and it should say “for use on ceramic or glass”. Here is some pretty good information about glass painting: https://www.plaidonline.com/glass-painting/dept/home.htm (I am not paid or anything by plaid. I am just going off what I used). The FAQs on that site do state that although the paint itself is non-toxic, it should not come into direct contact with food. And lastly, enamel paint is generally the type of paint that is generally more durable and resitant to heat. However, I would always check a particular brand as sometimes Enamel paint can also be used to describe any glossy, hard paint. Hope that answers your questions and feel free to contact again if you have more. I will do my best! Good luck and let me know how it turns out!
Bonnie @ The Pin Junkie says
Love these painted mugs! Thanks for sharing at The Pin Junkie! They’re part of today’s Valentine craft roundup!
Christie says
These are so perfect for Valentine’s Day! I love them! Thanks so much for stopping by and linking up at Totally Terrific Tuesday!
candace says
I always wondered about the Sharpies and the dishwasher. Thanks for sharing this method! Thanks for linking up with the Creative Spark Link Party!
Glenna @ My Paper Craze says
I love the stippling technique you used on your mugs! It adds so much more interest to the design. Thanks for sharing with Creative Spark Link Party. I hope you can join us again this week.
Glenna @ My Paper Craze
Jennifer Dawn says
These turned out so cute! I’m wanting to give it a try now. Just wanted to let you know that I’m featuring these at our weekly link party! http://www.thelifeofjenniferdawn.com/2015/01/a-little-bird-told-me-link-party-125.html
Allison says
These are lovely! I love that they are painted! Thanks for linking up – I am featuring you tomorrow at A Little Bird Told Me Link party!
Jeannine O'Neil says
Love these! I made a few gifts over the holidays but I did the Sharpie method and just warned off my giftees to hand wash. Such a fun and personal present. I was thinking of doing just this for my hubby for Valentine’s day and writing a post. Ha! Great minds think alike! AND “You and Me” by Lifehouse is our wedding song!
Rachel says
I was pretty excited when I figured this out! I love all those sharpie mugs on Pinterest. Great choice on wedding song!
Erica says
These are so cute! I think these will have to be our Valentines for our teachers this year. Thanks so much!
Erica says
So cute!! I think these will be our Valentines for our teachers this year!! Thanks so much!!
Rachel says
What a great idea! I still haven’t decided what I want to make for my son’s teachers. Funny that I hadn’t even thought of these! Thank you for the idea!
Michelle@TheRibbonRetreat says
What a fun and festive Valentine’s Day project. I can’t believe how adorable those mugs are and that you free handed the whole thing! You are amazing! Thanks for sharing this fun idea! PINNED!
Michele says
I <3 sharpie mugs and your sweet designs! Pinned:)
Pam says
Such cute ideas!! Great for gifts. Thanks for sharing with the Thursday Blog Hop!
Rebecca says
I’m a big fan of the dots though I feel ya on the hand cramps. lol This project is ADORABLE! I want to do it! This is the third pin I’ve taken from your site today. You’re making my boards better! Thanks!
Jen says
This is completely adorable and you free handed it! Just pinned, thanks for sharing!
Rachel says
haha, I traced around a paper heart cutout with pencil. It was light enough to see on the ceramic but wiped off easily. I am so not that good!
Jessica cramer says
I love these mugs! I have been wanting to do ceramic painting for a long time, thanks for the great idea! Visiting you from the Spring Blog hop!
Amanda says
So cute! I’ve always wanted to try decorating coffee mugs with the sharpie, but didn’t like the idea of them fading. This is a great idea! I love how the heart turned out!
Rachel says
Thanks Amanda! I am so glad to have found this product. And the best part is that it is pretty inexpensive and available in a whole lot of colors! Do I sound like a salesman? haha! I guess I am just pretty thrilled with these.
Erlene says
Very cute. We tried the Sharpie and it was a total fail. I was planning on using ceramic paint, but I may have to take another look at all my FolkArt paints to see if I have any that will work.
Rachel says
I have a tackle box full of folk art paints and I didn’t even know they made this until we got our boxes. Now I want more colors.
becka says
Oh wow these are pretty! I love the idea and can see it has many possibilities. 🙂 You have alot of patience to do all those little dots. 🙂
Rachel says
Thanks Becka! While I made these, I was honestly just chillin on the couch watching some tv. I never get to watch tv so it was awesome! The dots were nice since I didn’t really have to think about them or concentrate that much.
Beverly says
These are so cute! I love the method you used. I’ve had two plain white mugs for a year now with plans to paint something on them. I’ve been a little skeptical of various methods I’ve seen. Thanks for the tip about the paint you used. Pinning so that I’ll actually be motivated to do this project!
Rachel says
I was totally skeptical too of the stuff I have seen. But gah! I see so many cute ones everywhere. Now I can have my own and I am pretty happy. So far, they have done as advertised as I have washed them in the top rack twice. I just rinsed the cocoa I was drinking out of it.
Emily, Our house now a home says
I love this idea, I have to say, you have one steady hand to do all of those little dots. I feel like I would have a few smudges. I love the colors you used.
Rachel says
The nice thing about this is that if you do happen to make a mistake, you can just wipe it off before it dries with a q-tip or something small. I made these little mugs while catching a tv show. I never watch tv so it was nice to craft and catch a show at the same time.