DIY Gold Striped Mug

We have the most boring plain dishes ever. And I'm ready for a change. *Cue the paintbrushes and gold paint!* Here we come... again. This time, I got our hands around a mug (literally) since the temperatures are cooling off and hot tea is a ritual in the Gordon household. My hands are always freezing and looking at a boring white mug will no longer satisfy me, not since I've seen how easy it is to gild anything from Oreos to signs to notebooks.  I wanted a dishwasher safe striped mug with that was easy to make and definitely not something that required any freehanded script. {You'd understand if you'd seen my handwriting.} Ok, let's get gilding!

For this project, you will need:

• Painters Tape
• Martha Stewart Metallic Paint and a paintbrush!
• Scotch Artist Tape for Curves
• Scissors
• Mug ($3.99 at Target!)

Instructions

Step 1: Arrange your tape in a pattern for your stripes. Keep in mind that your stripes may not end up perfect  but we happen to embrace imperfections. We wanted our lines to be close together so we kept our tape almost touching at the bottom. This made the paint peel off  a little at the bottom when we pulled off the tape, so if I redid it, I'd leave a little more space between at the bottom. Don't worry about the height of the tape at this point. BUT, do leave "drinking room" at the top. While the paint is non-toxic, you probably don't want your lips touching it.

Step 2:  Once you have placed your stripes all the way around the cup, place painters tape around the top of the stripes. Be sure it is parallel to the top of the cup. The bottom of the tape will be the top of your golden lines.

Step 3:  Using a paintbrush or sponge brush, dab the paint on the mug, making certain to stay inside the outer most tape lines. We applied 3 coats since we needed the coverage, letting each coat dry in-between. However, this made the coats very thick and some peeled up a bit when removing the tape... I'm curious to try another brand of paint with another mug. Yep, we'll be making a set of these since they are so easy!!

Step 4:  Once completely dry, remove tape and enjoy! If you plan to dishwash your new gold striped mug, cure in the oven (place in a cold oven, set to 350 and bake for 30 minutes after reaching 350 degrees and remove after oven and mug are cool), or by letting air cure for 21 days. Plus, the mug should be food and drink safe since your mouth will not come in contact with the paint.

That's it, pretty simple and pretty stunning. We'll be back with more ideas to complement the beginning of a mug set! Enjoy!

And once again, we hope you get some holiday inspiration from our FALL FRIENDS. CLICK each PHOTO below for more information on how to create these fun holiday projects!

No-sew DIY Placemats + Fall Friends!

Inspired by the simplicity of the linens at Mark & Graham, we decided to try our own DIY placemats to prepare for fall festivities.  What's not to love about a monogram and matching border, right? Also, we wanted to pull in the colors of our china so we chose a black border and monogram, but you could choose any color combination. Supplies: Plain placemat Scissors Ribbon Paint Liquid Stitch Stencil Paintbrush Pencil

Directions: 1. Cut ribbon to length of each side.

2. Apply ribbon to edges with a washable glue.

3. Apply stencil to top center and paint.

4. That's it! You have the first of your DIY placemats!

Three steps to a simple no sew DIY placemats ready for any table setting. Party on!

FALL FRIENDS

We also have some fab projects from our friends for some fall fun! (ooh, isn't that festive!) Enjoy! Click on the picture you like and you'll go straight to their website!

Each Monday from October 28th - November 18th you'll find Holiday decorating ideas, DIYs, crafts & so much more from our friends at Sews N Bows, Fresh Idea Studio, PinkWhen, & The Pinning Mama.. We hope to see you!

Table Runner - The Pinning Mama

Apron Set - Sews N Bows

Fall Porch - Fresh Idea Studio

Fall plaque - PinkWhen

Striped Pumpkin

Thanks to BuzzFeed (yeah, that BuzzFeed!) for featuring the 1st pumpkin on their front page and also for the super chic ladies at The Chic Site for sharing our interview with their readers. On The Chic Site, you can get the scoop on how we work together, what inspires us, and what leads to arguing {hey, we're human}! But back to pumpkins.... We're enjoying the ease and simplicity of decorated no-carve pumpkins this year! While our pink & green Lilly Pulitzer pumpkin is an option, we also wanted a more traditional black and orange pumpkin, but with a twist, so we decided on a striped pumpkin, which we think is more modern and striking. Plus, it's simple and finished in under and hour. The lure of the design, like the Lilly Pulitzer pumpkin, is that the only limit is your creativity. Like spiders? Use a spider ribbon or washi tape and embellish with spiders. Like skulls? Go crazy with them! It's all up to you. We kept it clean and simple with black, white & gold while letting the orange peek through... and you know how much we like hearts.

Supplies:

1 craft pumpkin (not pictured) carving knife pencil paint brush gold paint Modge Podge scissors gold glitter paper ribbon in black and white pattern {tip: choose a lightweight ribbon -works best- or a non-sheer patterned washi-style craft tape}

Instructions

1. With your pencil, mark the area where you will carve the top of the pumpkin. Use your craft knife to carve the top of the pumpkin.

2. Apply Modge Podge in a stripe down the length of the pumpkin where you will be placing your ribbon.

3. Firmly press your ribbon against the Modge Podge and let sit a moment. Then place Modge Podge on top of the ribbon to glue it to the pumpkin (i.e., your ribbon will be glued to the pumpkin from the top and bottom). Let dry completely.

4. Paint the stem gold.

5. Trace a heart to the size and shape of your liking on the back of your glitter paper. Cut out the heart shape, apply modge podge to the back, and apply to the pumpkin.

6. Cover the hole inside with heavy paper, or, as we did - place it on a plate, and fill with candy.

7. Enjoy your simple carved striped pumpkin (or make it no carve if you don't want to fill it with candy)! Options: embellish the heart with letters, spiders, or whatever you and your family desire! We like candy, so we labelled it for Treats... chocolate is preferred!

What type of pumpkins are you preparing for Halloween? Carved, no carve, decorated, painted...?