Tutorial // Gold Heart Mug

I have been obsessed with everything gold lately, and by lately I mean for the past year or so.  So have you, I know it!  So, this past weekend I set out to make a few DIY things, gold themed.  My first project was this little mug.  I have seen tons and tons of mugs floating around the interwebz with these little gold details and I think that they are just the best and I wanted one for my own.

This is super, super easy, but I thought I'd make a little tutorial for you anyway.  

Supplies: painters tape, scissors, sealer (for ceramics - I got mine at hobby lobby), gold spray paint, a mug, a heart print out

First, I printed out a heart.  I used the heart shape in photoshop but you could also use that dingbats font (or whatever it's called) in word.  Then, I turned the paper over, heart facing down, and covered the back of the paper with painters tape.  Make sure that the tape is overlapping so that you will have a solid piece when you cut it out.

Then carefully cut out the heart shape.

After I cut out the heart, I added an extra piece of tape where I had made the initial cut through.  I wanted to make sure that it was a "solid" piece.  That's probably confusing, but here's what I am talking about:

Next, peal the tape off of the paper.  I had to do this really slowly because the tape strips didn't want to stay together.  But… when you're done, you should have a nice cut-out heart.

Then, stick the tape heart to the mug, making sure that it is centered.  Also, make sure that the tape is really stuck down, with no creases or bumps along the edges that paint could seep into.  After that, continue to cover all parts of the mug that you don't want any stray paint on.  I even covered the top third of the inside, just in case!

Take your mug outside and spray it down.  I used the gold spray paint and went over it a few times with very quick passes.  You want to make sure that the paint doesn't go on too thick and cause streaks or runs.  I let it dry for about 10 minutes and then I sprayed a very light coat of sealer on top.  I let that dry for another 10 minutes and then took the tape off.  I didn't want it to dry all the way with the tape still on because I wanted to make sure that the tape wouldn't pull off any of the paint.

Let it continue to dry and voila! you're new mug is ready.

This is definitely not dishwasher safe.  You can hand wash, but do so very gently.

I feel like there are so many variations that could be done… polka dots, gold-dipped looks, gold rimmed… I'll be trying at least a few in the future.