Watercolor Coffee Cups

I came across an interesting craft on Pinterest illustrating watercolor art on plain white coffee cups.

The instructions seemed simple enough: pour warm water in a bowl, add a couple of drops of fingernail polish, dip the cup in the water then allow the cup to dry for six hours.

I purchased three different types of polish: cheapo, 'extreme' hardener added and gel. The cost ranged from $4 (cheapo) to $9 (gel). I found the coffee mugs at Walmart for $1 each so I grabbed four.

Here's my setup before I began:

I had no idea what I was going to get into so I taped down a large sheet of wrapping paper, used large index cards for the cups to dry on and dug out some craft sticks to stir the polish around in the water.

Here's the final result:

Here are a few of the discoveries I made:

1. Buy straight-up polish and the cheaper the better. The more expensive brands didn't dilute as well in water and actually covered the cups in a film which is good news for your nails but not your art.

2. The polish dries on the cup almost instantly but you can use fingernail polish remover to remove any uh-oh's on your cups.

The instructions were to allow the cups to dry for a minimum of six hours before washing so they haven't been washed in the dishwasher yet. My husband Perry is a little concerned about the polish degrading in the heat so I may even add some type of sealant on it. Or not. I'm honestly not sure if I care that much about the cups but the project was quick, easy and something fun to do with your kids.