Occasionally, you come across people on Instagram that spark some inspiration into you. That was the case when I came across @amandaescoe. Her profile says she likes to make pretty things and she really does follow through with that. She has given me some great ideas and on how to DYI being budget conscious while still creating such beautiful pieces. Go give her a follow on Instagram and here is her story.
My name is Amanda Escoe and I love all things art. It has been a part of my life for as long as I can remember. From drawing all the time as a kid to taking every art class I could in high school. My creativity from all that just transitioned into crafting after being a stay at home mom.
The first project I started was building my daughter Raine a dollhouse. I already had the kit but never got around to putting it together. Once it was assembled I just had so much fun painting furniture to wallpapering with print I found online that I wanted to do more creative activities.
This just got me into painting anything from toys to ceramics, to doing more DIYs and crafts. Just having fun changing items more to fit my style.
The process I use for painting mugs is first ensuring my mug is clean and dry before prepping the paint. I recommend using acrylic paints with a bit of baking soda. Roughly ¼ teaspoon baking soda to 1 tablespoon of paint is good enough to thicken the paint and get it to adhere to the ceramic. Add more baking soda if you feel necessary. After the first layer is dry add a second layer of just the acrylic paint. Add a third layer if needed. After all your paint is dry you can start applying sealer. I would do 5 coats, giving an hour in between each application to dry. Doing this amount of coats really helps protect from chipping. The sealer I use is All-Purpose Sealer from Hobby Lobby. But for safe measures I do not paint the lip of the mug and would not recommend it as either dishwasher or microwave-safe.
Some of my other DIY’s include an overhaul of a kids wooden train set into a Sugar Rush themed candy train, play pretend Christmas cake pops, and an Anthropologie inspired Santa doormat. All these things are just fun to do when you let yourself be creative and make something for yourself.