Painting cups in black and white

An original gift idea: cups with polygon art

If you’re searching for a fabulous present for your best friend, you really can’t go wrong with these striking tea or coffee cups. And if you design them yourself, this naturally makes them all the more special. We painted our porcelain cups with polygon-shaped animal motifs, which are easy to apply with the porcelain brush pen. Just follow our step by step instructions and you can’t go wrong! Once you get started, you’ll no doubt come up with some more ideas for animal patterns that are easy to represent as polygons. Porcelain brush pens in co-ordinated colour sets are ideal for painting on oven-proof porcelain and glass because their special ink has a creamy texture, producing an even finish. When you’re happy with your design, leave the paint to dry for a short while and then make it permanent by baking it in a pre-heated oven. After baking, your cups will be dishwasher-safe.

Categories: Special gifts
Kitchen
Difficulty: Easy peasy
Downloads: Images (ZIP)

Step-by-step

Step 1

For best results, start by washing the cups with water (a dishwasher is ideal for this) and then wipe over with methylated spirits.

Step 2

Using the motif as a stencil, print it out in the size required, cut it out and transfer the pattern onto the cup with the porcelain brush pen. We recommend you leave the inside of your cups paint-free and only paint the outside. The tip of the brush pen is very versatile, allowing you to create very fine lines by applying the tip only, or broader brush strokes by holding the pen flatter.

Step 3

Don’t worry if you make a mistake, you can simply wipe it off with a damp cloth or cotton bud. To create the polygon pattern, use cotton buds to remove thin lines of paint between the shapes to form triangles and squares.

Step 4

When you’re happy with the design, leave the cups to dry for 15 minutes. The painted design now has to be heat-fixed in the oven. Place it on a cold oven rack, slide it into the preheated oven and bake it at 160°C for 25 minutes. Leave in the oven to cool afterwards. After baking, your hand painted cups will be dishwasher-safe.