In honor of gearing up for Cinco de Mayo, I tried to come up a more sophisticated style wall hanging in lieu of a usual fiesta garland.  Originally, I had created this wall hanging for my husband’s surprise 30th birthday party, which just happened to be taco themed. So if you have a rainy afternoon to kill, I have the perfect DIY for you.

Material List:

• A Wooden Dowel (available at your local hardware store and they should be able to help cut it to whatever size you want or do it at home – I used a 3/4″ wide and cut it down from 48” to 24”)
• A Variety of Colorful Crepe Paper (I purchased mine from PaperMart)
• A template
• String, I recommend just nylon string from the hardware store.
• Clothes Pins, or Clips
• Scissors
• Screw Punch
• Pen
• Wooden Beads (optional)
• Hot Glue (optional)

Instructions:

As you can see by the complete image, there are a lot of little crepe paper petals required.  To assist in the process, fold the crepe paper over in two inch increments and then clip together.

Use the attached (template) that I have found from one of my favorite go to blogs:  Oh Happy Day

Trace in pen or pencil around the template, going with the grain of the crepe paper.  I would recommend punching holes into the petal stacks before cutting them out, it will hold the stacks together more easily.

Cut out the petals, and continue cutting for each color.

Once all are cut out, and before stringing, you can gently pull and stretch the crepe paper giving more of a fuller, ruffled look.

The next task is optional but adds so extra texture to the wall hanging.  It is to tightly wind string around your wooden dowel. (After attempting, I did end up using tiny dots of hot glue every couple inches for extra security.

After you wrap your dowel, it is time to attach long strings to the rod, that your petals will thread onto. My are placed every two inches and I have a total of 11 strings. (I also added a dot of hot glue for extra security.)  

I measured each string to 24” and then trimmed after the petals and beads were added.

It is time to now thread all of the petals onto the string, and tie each one off at the desired length.  I took time beforehand to create a pattern within my colors. Also if you are adding wooden beads to the bottom, be sure to knot the string multiple times to secure them. Enjoy!

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It is only the third week of the new year but it feels like this cold winter has been dragging on for way too long.  I am here to help brighten your day and bring some healthy greenery to mix with the winter blues.  I am the first to admit it, but I love succulents and cacti.  Since I used them for my wedding nearly two years ago, I have keep the little guys strunned about my house.  It has been a cheerful spot in my day to tend to them, but unfortunately they come in some plain, boring little pots.  This quick and easy solution will help update and personalize your succulent pots!

Materials:

• Mini pots
• Air dry clay
• Wood rolling pin
• Clay modeling tools
• Spray Varnish (Optional)

For this project I used the mini pots that my cacti came in.  They are the perfect size, and come with drainage holes already in the bottom.  (Which is very important for cacti and succulents!)

Working with clay will take you back to your childhood play doh days.  I find it very therapeutic working with clay, just a slow and steady process of warming the clay up to a more malleable state.  

Once the clay is softened start to roll it out with your roller until it is smooth and a large enough to cover your little pot.  I ended up grabbing a straight edge to help mark a large straight line.  You could use a clay tool, your straight edge or some other craft knife to cut the edges of your clay.

Wrap the clay around your pot, trimming off extra and smoothing the seam down with some water and a blunt craft knife or wood clay tool.  My small pot had a lip around the top, which I included in the forming of the clay.  I molded the clay around the bottom and smoothed it by pressing it on the table.  Once again I used water to smooth the edges around the bottom.  Also don’t forget about drainage holes!  Succulents do not like a lot of water and the holes help them push the water on pass but be sure to give them lots of light!

To add some detail I used the end of one of the clay tools to poke little dots and for the second pot I made, I pressed straight lines in a pattern around it.  Once you have completed your pot and any possible design, set aside to dry.  Follow the clay package for any specific drying instructions.

A last and optional step would be to spray with a clear varnish, to give it for a ceramic look.  I tried this on one of the pots and was not thrilled with the results but I also like the matte white!  Drop your dirt and succulent/cacti back in the pot once it is dry and enjoy a little extra green!

The post DIY Mini Succulent Planter appeared first on Clutch MOV.

There is no better time of the year! We have successfully made it through Thanksgiving and gearing up to tackle Christmas.  So what better way to get excited with a quick DIY!  The himmeli is a 19 inch geometric wreath made from the simple material of straws to give such a clean, chic and expensive look to your home.  So get ready to dress up your house with this festive geometric wreath.

Materials:

+ A package of cocktail straws (plastic is easier than paper straws)

(For some reason it is impossible to find,  so I ordered a larger straw from Amazon.)

+ Your choice of yarn or floral wire.

+ Cutting mat and straight edge

+ Cutting roller

+ Optional:  Spray paint

Keep in Mind:

This project is not overly time consuming, once you get your first shape completed, it will be nothing to do it seven more times.  Remember straws are not the most sturdy material out there, so be gentle in this process.  Also a little tip is while I used yarn to put my wreath together, I did have a small piece of spare wire on hand to help push the yarn through the straw more easily.

How to Make It:

The first step is to cut all of your straws down, whether you can find smaller cocktail straws or go with the larger 8 inch straws that I used.  You will need the straws cut to 4 ½ inches so your final wreath diameter will be 19 inches.  For the actual cutting of the straws, I used two cutting boards, just to make sure I could apply more even pressure and not lose any of the straws as they are cut.

Once everything is cut, you will need approximately 120 straws.  Fun side note, you can use all of the extra 3 ½ inch straws for geometric ornaments for your Christmas tree.

In these directions I will walk you through one full shape, then you get to repeat it seven more times until you have eight shapes.

First take 2 ½ arms lengths of yarn or wire (I needed three for my short arms) and string on the first four straws.

Then tie them off, making sure you either double knot the yarn or one solid twist of the wire.

Be sure to an inch or so for your short end when tying off and the rest so you can continue to add straws to the shape.

Next slide two straws onto the long side of the yarn and tie off on the opposite end, at the space between two straws.

Once this is complete you will need to repeat, two straws at a time, two more times.

There will be a total of five sets of two straws.

Now gently press the star shape so that the short end of the yarn is in the middle and feed the long end that was in the middle back through one straw, so that it is coming out at an elbow on the outside of the shape.

Directly from the elbow, four more straws are needed, to close off four of the five sides of the star.

You will be connecting these four straws at each of the elbows and tying off with a simple knot at the elbows. This will leave one end open, which is the space used to connect to the seven other shapes.

Be sure to keep 5-6 inches of yarn or wire at the end to be able to tie each shape together!

NOW to repeat SEVEN times!

Lastly it is time to connect all eight shapes, it will be the exact same way the four straws were added at the elbows.  You will be connecting the last open space to the side of the next shape and tie off at the end, which will end up being the center of your wreath. Make sure all knots are secure and trim the extra yarn or push it/the wire back through the straws to hide the tails.

Once completed, I ran an extra wire through the center circle, through all eight shapes to give it extra stabilization and form.  

Optional:  Spray paint your wreath whatever color suits you best!  Add some fun decorations to it such as succulents, extra scraps of your Christmas tree or even some bright ribbon!

Enjoy!

The post Himmeli Wreath appeared first on Clutch MOV.

We have heard  it all, it starts the day after Christmas and doesn’t stop until weeks after the new year. It’s a new year, new you: read more books, eat right, lose weight and every other resolution cliche you can think of. Whether you agree with kicking the new year off with a bang and setting resolutions/goals or you set out to simply better yourself, it is hard to try to follow for the whole year through.

I am here to help you better yourself and focus on you (while being mindful of all the other wild thoughts and worries in the back of your mind).  And all it involves is essentially a running list. No longer just a grocery list here, to-do list on this stray post-it note, but here you will find the  inner workings of one of the newer listing and organizing trends.  The bullet journal. There are more than a few versions of how to set up your personal bullet journal but in the end you do what works for you.

A Quick Run Down

You can make this as simple or as intricate as you like.  Your journal will at a minimum consist of a key, an index, and your schedule spread – whether that is daily, weekly or by month is up to you.  From there you can add anything from future goals (i.e. New Year’s resolutions), reading list, homework, monthly budgets and even thoughts and ideas you have along the way.  Best of all you will have as much blank space to create as you need and it is kept in one perfectly compact space.

What you need:

• Journal  (I prefer a Moleskine with grid paper)

There are dozens of options in any notebook or journal of your liking but gridded paper will make your life so much easier.

• Colored pens or highlighters
• Washi tape (optional)

How to put it together:

• On page one of your journal create a key, in which you will follow through the entirety of the journal.  Make it simple enough that you won’t have to reference it every single time, but make sure you have enough different characters to cover your everyday needs.

• Next up is to number every page in the journal so it will be easier to find the correct page when looking within the index.  The index will be your color coded reference, listing the happenings on each page.  [For the time being I only have four colors; work, home, blog and health.  Take a look at the Index image for an idea of how to list out your info.

• My work color code ranges from PTO, office happy hours and even to reviews and meetings.  My orange home code ranges from cleaning the bathroom to utility bills throughout the month.  In a way, it is possible to keep your everyday tasks through the house and also to keep track of budgeting for the household.

• Purple is for my extracurricular – that is the blog. It is meant to keep me on track for what kind of blog post ideas I have, and when I need to accomplish them.

• Lastly, are my health goals; it wouldn’t be a new year without the outlook of working on mental and physical health.  I have been working at getting back to my physically active self, being able to run a couple miles without feeling worn out.  I have hopes that the bullet journal will help me stay on track and accountable.

• After the index pages, add a yearly calendar to keep track of important dates.

• All that is left from there is to start your daily list. Take a look at Boho Berry ! It is where I got a lot of inspiration and details on the ins and outs learning how to bullet journal.  Also allow pinterest to be your best friend for added inspirations on journaling. For New Year’s day, I did a complete page of my yearly goals. A reminder to myself to be a better person and to stay positive while improving my overall well being. From there I went into my regular daily schedule/lists.

The key to bullet journaling is that you have a blank canvas in front of you – you can use as much or as little space per task or day as you would like. You can keep everything in a running list so you don’t lose sight of your task or those wild thoughts running around the back of your mind.  I look at bullet journaling as a form of therapy and meditation. Releasing everything in your mind onto paper, but still being mindful and recognizing all of your “distractions” at hand. I, like most 20-somethings, always have worries and distractions; from finances to work to life.  By compiling everything together, I can watch my progress and assure myself that I am on the right track.

The post Bullet Journaling appeared first on Clutch MOV.

The way this year has been going so far, it just doesn’t seem November! With our oddly warm (and much appreciated) weather, fall has just crept by without much notice.  BUT before the busy rush of travel, holiday shopping and family get-togethers are upon us, take a little bit of time to relax and enjoy your closest friends with a Friendsgiving.  The Thanksgiving season is one of the few holidays where gifts are not required and you are able to reveal in the company of loved ones.

I have some great, quick and easy solutions to help entertain all of those close friends and family members when they decided to descend upon your house! In this posting I will help walk you through a quick but classic tablescape for the holidays.

This post includes: a table runner, painted plates, the discovery of wood flatware, and some fun wishbone place card holders that can help make your existing party supplies POP!

Please note:

Majority of my supplies came from Dollar Tree, my goal was to merely accent some fun pieces that I already had! Plus when you can find your plates cheaper than your paint pens, you are still winning! Also when it comes to paint pens, please make sure whatever brand you use is food safe!

Project 1: Table Runner

Supplies:

• Your favorite fabric cut at 14-17” wide and a foot longer than your table
• A thick/long needle and a handful of pins
• Yarn to coordinate with your fabric colors

How to make it:

1. Instead of using my sewing machine, I used yarn and a large needle for more of a simple chic stitch.
2. For both ends of my table runner, I doubled my yard for a different stitch. I knew I would not need a lot of yarn for only 16 inches so I used about three times that just to make sure. (Take a look at the picture below to see how I doubled up on yarn)
3. For the two long sides I just left the edges raw and put a nice long stitch to give the rest of the table runner a more finished look.

Project 2: Painted wood utensils and plates

Supplies:

• A package of wood flatware , I found mine at JoAnn’s
• Inexpensive dishes, like from Dollar Tree
• Oil based paint pens (these are also used on the painted plates)

How to make them:

1. For wood utensils, it is as easy as drawing fun patterns on the handles. Who would have thought of finding wood flatware? Thanks to Brit+Co for this Friendsgiving inspiration!
2. As for the plates, it is a very similar process. However, I learned from experience; remember to wipe down the plates with rubbing alcohol on a cotton ball.  The rubbing alcohol helps remove any oils or dirt that might affect the paint’s ability to adhere to the plate.
3. Get creative with your plates! Since I stayed with the same two colors on both of my plates I felt comfortable mixing up my prints on the plates.

Project 3: Wishbone Place Card Holder

Supplies:

• Clay (I prefer Staedtler, after years of architecture studio)
• Nice card stock
• And once again use your paint pens

How to make it:

(Just a little reminder, the clay I used requires kneading and being warmed up in your hands. Also once formed this brand is required to be baked in an oven. It is possible to buy air drying clay as well.)

1. This project will take you back to your childhood play doh days. It is a fairly simple process of kneading and warming the clay in your hands. Note: the clay will be crumbly at first but just keep working, it will hold together once it is warm.
2. Once the clay has been warmed start by rolling the clay into a ball, and then slowly work a section of the clay into a snake.
3. At this point it is up to your preference of how large and thick you would like your wishbone.
4. Once your snake is at the right size, fold the clay in half and twist the top to make sure it stays connected.
5. From there feel free to continue to form your clay by curving it, turning up the ends as well as giving it a textured look by twisting it.
6. After the clay is formed, either let it air dry or place it on wax paper on a cookie sheet and bake it according to the clay package instructions. (Mine was at 300 degrees for 30 minutes.)
7. Be sure to take a peek every now and then, but once the clay is thoroughly dry take them off of the clay and prepare for the final stage.
8. Once I remembered that white clay would bake into a funky red color I decided to paint them. One got painted solid silver, while the other one got tricky.  I attempted to make the wishbone look marbled.  Since the white baked differently, I colored only the white for a black and gold marble.
9. Following the wishbones being painted and dried, cut the cardstock to the size of place card you would like. After playing with the letter stickers, I opted to just hand write the names, by once again using my paint pens.
10. Cut a small slit into the card and string some leftover yarn though and tie a nice bow to the wishbone for a finished look and place on the now complete table set up!

Now that your four quick and easy tablescape DIY’s are done, it should be nothing to throw together a quick turkey dinner to finish off a fabulous photo ready table!

Hannah Kern, born and raised in Marietta, eventually made the move the great white north, also known as Cleveland.  After graduating Kent State she began working for a commercial real estate company. Outside of office life, she love to explore CLE with her boyfriend and play with her dog Indie Jones– and most importantly, make the trek south to visit Marietta.

The post DIY Friendsgiving appeared first on Clutch MOV.

As summer is on the slow decline, it is time to really embrace what is still left. Before you go outside to spend time around campfires with family or relaxing in the shade with a good book, you should tackle this awesome DIY rope ottoman to have inside or out.

If you are thinking about a tire change before fall, ask your local garage to bag up your old tires or stop by and ask if you can take some off of their hands for a possible small fee.  I have toted two tires from my old apartment over a year ago to my new place, where they have been living in my garage ever since in anticipation for this project.

The time has finally come for the perfect recycled tire ottoman to complement my soon-to-be finished office, and maybe someday a home with a perfect patio.

Follow along as I show you the simple ins and outs of putting together the perfect ottoman:

What you need:

• Tire (my car has rim diameter of  15” tires, which is the size of the hole)
• Wood Circle (Lowes has 18” pine circles which does the trick)
• Scissors/Box Cutter
• Staple Gun
• Hot Glue Gun (and lots of glue sticks)/Spray Glue Adhesive
• Rope and/or Jute
• Batting
• Foam
• Fabric of Choice

Keep in mind:

This is not the cheapest project, but the results are amazing and long lasting.  Once I was ready to wrap the tire, it hit me that it would take me an entire day if I chose to stick with jute.  Lucky for me, there is a Home Depot just a couple of miles away, so I ran over and found ⅝” nylon rope.  The rope was the most expensive part of the project at 58 cents per foot.  While trying to guess how much rope I would need I settled on 50 feet to start, and I was way off.  For a 15” tire you would need close to 90 feet of rope.  To be more cost effective, I broke the rope portions up with a stripe of natural jute.  You will see this further along in the instructions.

How to Make It

Part 1:  The Cushion

• For the cushion you will need your round wood panel, batting, foam, fabric, scissors and spray adhesive.
• I look at this cushion as though you are building a sandwich, but be sure to do a dry run before applying the adhesive.
• Apply a thin coat of adhesive spray to your pine round
• Cut a square that gives you several inches around the pine round (Note, I folded over so there was double the amount of batting cut, allowing half to lay on the table as the foam is affixed to the first layer of batting.)
• You should try to do a quick measurement of your foam as well.  I only had a square 15”x17” segment so I did the best I could to cut the corners and then fill in the missing gaps.  If you have or have bought a large piece of foam then you can easily trace around your wood circle and cut the foam out.
• Once my quick adjustment was complete I sprayed the batting and placed the foam on top and pressed hard, to make sure the foam was adhering to the batting.
• The next layer of the sandwich is to flip the extra layer of batting over the foam, repeating the same step of spraying your adhesive between layers.
• The final layer is your fabric.  I had picked this fabric out over a year ago in anticipation of the project; it will blend great with my soon-to-be-reupholstered reading chair.  I tried to center the pattern as best as I could.  Then I folded half of the fabric over to spray the glue to the batting as to keep my center point marked.  Repeat for the other half of the fabric.
• Allow everything to dry, give everything a good press to make sure all corners and edges are stuck together.
• Next and final step requires your handy dandy staple gun.  Since everything adhered to the pine round you can flip it over allowing all of you extra edges of batting and fabric splay out.  Begin to take section by section and staple it as tight to the bottom of the board as you can.  Think of it as wrapping a present and trying to make it look like the corner folds are even.  The bottom of the board will not be seen so it doesn’t have to look pretty.

Part 2:  The Tire

• Now that the cushion for the tire is complete it is now time to jump into the rope section. (I used about 12 glue sticks on the entire tire.)
• For a reference point I placed my cushion on top of the tire where it would typically be so I could easily wrap the first several rows of rope around it. (I DID NOT attach the cushion seat to the tire because I plan on using the inside for storage.  If you would prefer to attach the seat, you would need to have you cushion face down on your workspace, and place your tire on top of the cushion.  This allows your to staple from the underside of the tire and seat itself.  This will require a lot of staples to ensure it is not going anywhere.  I would recommend even using something along the lines of Gorilla Glue between the outside edge of the wood circle and the tire.  I have learned from experience that Gorilla Glue is a top-notch super glue.)
• Once I have looped the tire two or three times, I made it to the edge; at this point I removed my cushion to make the gluing process easier.  I spun my tire instead of trying to walk about the tire with a hot glue gun and rope in hand.

• Once my rope made it to the edge I decided I was going to break up the rope with the jute. (This is completely optional, I did not have the time to run back to the store for more rope. Trust me this project requires a lot.)  That being said, I used the treads as markers, both of how straight and even the rope was being applied and where I would stop the rope and start up with the jute.
• I only did a single center tread in jute then picked up with the rope again the following day.
• For the sake of time, money and traction, I did not wrap the rope all the way down and around the bottom of the tire.
• Instead I painted the bottom in the process of painting the rope.  I decided to go for a cleaner look and to match my fabric, so I chose white spray paint.

• Since the cushion was not attached I was able to easily carry the ottoman outside and spray paint the nylon rope.  I did leave the jute natural for some added texture.  I also did not tape off the tire or the jute, allowing the spray paint to go on it’s own.
• Once the top half of the rope and tire where try, I flipped over the tire and repeated on the underside.
• After all is done, remember to allow plenty of dry time for the paint (if you are bring it inside for everyday use) and allow the fumes from the paint to air out.
• Once completed, place next to your favorite chair as a foot rest or near a coffee table for extra seating and enjoy your new creation!  It will be the perfect complement for a summery touch around the house (or apartment).

The post DIY Rope Ottoman appeared first on Clutch MOV.

Back in March I claimed a very solid and very clean pallet from the loading dock at my work.  When I see a clean blank slate like that of my pallet, I have all sorts of ideas for it.  Luckily I was able to get two projects out of this pallet.  At first I borrowed a couple center boards for my wax-paper image transfer for the Clutch MOV magazine.  (Grab a copy if you have yet to buy one!) Once the image transfer project was complete, I  had a perfect pallet sitting in the corner of my dining room, collecting dust and begging to have something done with it.  Alas!  Summer was creeping up fast and I was craving fresh veggies.  One of the few downfalls of my awesome apartment is the lack of yard space for a garden.  But an upside is that there is plenty of open wall space.  It was a perfect combo, a vertical pallet garden, out of the way but still offering all the veggies I could ask for. So it began:

What you need:

• Pallet (already missing two boards)
• Roll of landscaping fabric
• Chicken wire/pliers
• Staple gun
• Potting soil
• Veggies of your choice
• Chalkboard paint (optional)

Keep in Mind:

This is a semi labor intensive job, it took my fiance and myself to tote everything around.  Two is better than one, we were able to complete the whole project in just about two hours.

How to make it:

• First of all, lay out all of your supplies to make sure you have everything you need.  I learned the hard way by having to run up several flights of stairs for odds and ends.

• I kicked off the DIY by painting my pallet.  It got two light, even coats of chalkboard paint.  This is where you can get super creative and paint/decorate your pallet however you would like – show us your creativity! (I only painted the front side of the pallet, since it will be leaning and/or hanging on a wall)

• Once everything is dry you can start to measure out your landscaping fabric.  You will need a total of six sections of fabric to attach to the planter. (Make sure your staple gun is fully loaded. You will go through a lot of staples!)
• You can go about attaching your strips of fabric two different ways.
  1. The hard way, which is a cleaner look and what we did: Stapling all of the fabric in-between the two boards. Essentially making pockets at the bottom of each section. AND don’t forget to staple the fabric to the sides of the pallet to fully secure the now fabric pocket.
  2. A simpler way would be stapling flush at the bottom of the painted board and wrapping it back to be stapled to the back board. This simply gives a flat bottom to each section vs a pocket that gives a deeper area to plant.

• One extra step we took, that is not necessary but we did as an extra precaution, is to attach chicken wire to the bottom of each section for reinforcement. Once again we cut strips of the chicken wire in the same manner we did the fabric, except this time you will be using pliers to cut the wire and then stapling to the boards right over the fabric.

• Once everything is attached, go ahead and start planting! We chose a lot of herbs and typically they come in biodegradable containers.  First we lined the bottom of the pockets with top soil, then crumbed the containers and mixed them in with the soil as extra filler.
• After everything is planted, don’t forget to water, mark all of your plants, sit back and enjoy!

Hannah Kern, born and raised in Marietta, eventually made the move the great white north, also known as Cleveland.  After graduating Kent State she began working for a commercial real estate company. Outside of office life, she love to explore CLE with her boyfriend and play with her dog Indie Jones– and most importantly, make the trek south to visit Marietta.

The post DIY: Urban Vertical Pallet Garden appeared first on Clutch MOV.

Now that the snow is finally melting and spring seems to be coming around the corner, it also seems like the perfect time for muddy shoes to come around too. When I was racking my brain for a quick and easy spring project, I turned to some of my favorite bloggers for inspiration and finally landed on the perfect project. A festive spring doormat – what yells spring more than birds on a line?

What you will need:

• Doormat, most local home improvement stores will have these
• Spray paint, one color, two colors, whatever suits your fancy (I prefer Rust-Oleum)
• Painters tape

Keep in mind:

• Depending on what kind of design you want to create on your mat, you might want to have a cutting board and exacto knife on hand, which I will explain further into this DIY.
• Also, consider the scale of the image in relation to the size of the mat. My only regret throughout this process was not going bigger with my two birds for a cleaner end product.

A couple examples from my favorite bloggers that you can use for reference are:

Young House Love & Sarah Hearts

How to make it:

• First of all, I would recommend sketching out your design or at least have something in mind if you are the kind of person to wing your projects. (I sure am!)
• Make sure you have everything you need laid out on a flat surface (sans spray paint)
• Depending on how intricate, this is where your cutting board and exacto knife come into play.
• After everything is cut out, start to place on the mat and make sure the tape is secure on the mat
• Once everything is attached to the mat, it’s time to paint. Be sure to paint in an open, well ventilated area, if you are not painting your mat outside.
• I recommend at least two coats if not three, and remember to paid the edges all the way around the mat, too.
• Please allow enough time for the mat to dry according to the dry time on the spray can.
• Place proudly in front of your door and ENJOY!

Hannah Kern, born and raised in Marietta, eventually made the move the great white north, also known as Cleveland.  After graduating Kent State she began working for a commercial real estate company. Outside of office life, she love to explore CLE with her boyfriend and play with her dog Indie Jones– and most importantly, make the trek south to visit Marietta.

The post DIY Painted Doormat appeared first on Clutch MOV.

Living in Ohio has it perks, but gray winter skies can really put a damper on a normal cheery day.  If this is the case for you, have I a simple DIY to help brighten your day and put a smile on your lips!  Literally.  Marbled watercolor mugs offers a burst of color to counter the dreary skies and bland morning cup of joe.

What you will need:

• White Ceramic Mug
• Old or Disposable Bowl/Container
• Nail Polish
• Nail Polish Remover (just in case)

Keep in mind:

You will need a decent quality of nail polish.  Notice later on in the images that the green polish did not make it very far.  I ended up using a couple OPI colors I hadn’t used on myself lately.

How to make it:

1. Fill your bowl with warm water.
2. Start off by adding a drop of nail polish and allow it to spread out. ( it is very similar to food coloring in water)
3. You can change it up as many times as your heart desires, multiple drops of polish, even use a toothpick or some sort of small pointed utensil (i.e. end of a paint brush)  Once you have the desired swirls, dip your mug into the water.
4. The water will have a film on the top from the nail polish, just keep in mind that this is normal.
5. Once you have dipped the mug, feel free to clean up unwanted paint with the nail polish remover or completely change it.  (I changed my mind more times than I could count)  You can even layer and add more colors for different effects!
6. Carefully pat the mug dry with a paper towel.
7. Be sure to allow the mug to sit for at least 2 hours after you have completed marbling.

I would recommend hand-washing these mugs. I personally do not have a dishwasher in my apartment to test the durability, but keep in mind that the quality of the nail polish you use echoes the overall integrity of the adhered paint – just as it would on your nails.  I let mine sit for about 5 hours before I scrubbed them. If you run into problems, try coating the outside with a clear coat of nail polish or a non-toxic finishing spray.

Last but not least — ENJOY a hot cup of coffee, tea, even wine…whatever you might fancy!

PS. Here is my little helper for the evening– Indie Jones!

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