DIY Watercolor Coffee Mugs

These watercolor Coffee Mugs are easy to make!  You just need a few simple craft supplies and less than 30 minutes to make these gorgeous mugs.

There are two things that I LOVE – my morning coffee and fun coffee mugs.  I may have a small problem when it comes to coffee mugs because I can’t resist buying them when I come across one that I just have to have.

So, let’s make some awesome DIY Watercolor Coffee Mugs.  I kept seeing tutorials on Facebook and Pinterest and decided it was a simple craft project that I had to try.  I like this craft project because you can find everything at the dollar store.  They have $1 coffee mugs and nail polish.  They also have nail polish remover to clean up your mistakes:)

Supplies needed to make Watercolor Coffee Mugs

• white coffee mug
• nail polish
• plastic bowl
• warm water

How to make Nail Polish Coffee Mugs

Step 1:  Fill plastic bowl with warm water.

Step 2:  Add a few drops of nail polish to water.

Step 3:  Dip coffee mug in water and remove.  Let dry for 24 hours before using.

Look what you get in three easy steps – A beautiful Watercolor Coffee Mug!

And, here are a few tips that I learned (the hard way) when making my watercolor coffee mugs:

• Let the water sit for a few minutes to make sure there are no air bubbles or you’ll have circles throughout your watercolor design.
• Swirl the nail polish around in a circle as you drop it in the water.  Then wait about 5 seconds for the coloring to settle.
• Use a deep bowl especially if you want to cover more of the mug.  My bowl was pretty shallow so I couldn’t dip it far enough.
• Dip your mug in the water and twist it about 90 degrees.  Then, hold it for about 30 seconds before removing from water.
• When all else fails and you don’t like your watercolor design, run it under warm water and scrub it with a sponge.  You can also let it dry and use nail polish remover to remove nail polish.  Then you can start from scratch.
• There are tons of videos on YouTube if you are a visual learner like me.

I’ll be honest, I started with the teal nail polish and redid the mug three times but then I got the hang of it and it only took one try with the purple nail polish.  Don’t be afraid to play around with the watercolor technique.  You can easily wash your mug off with nail polish remover and try again.

I think this would be a fun girl’s night craft project.  Invite the girls over and have them bring a white mug and a bottle of nail polish.  Then, have fun making watercolor coffee mugs and hanging out with the girls.