Chevron Mug

I have been looking forward to making my very own "Chevron Mug" for a few weeks!  Wit and Whistle, the amazingly talented author of the tutorial, used black porcelain paint from Blicks.  There isn't a Blicks near me but I found a tube of red paint on Amazon.  I was so excited to have red for the holidays!  My imagination was going wild with ideas for red, red, red!

Spoiler alert!!!  This project is riddled with disappointment.  I've had a good and long run of recent successes so it's about time for a bust.  It's ok... You can laugh!

You should know three things about me pertaining to this project...

1. I have a freakish phobia of eating/drinking/cooking out of non-foodsafe surfaces!
2. I am awful at painting my nails.
3. I suffer from delusions of crafting grandeur.

I was very worried about drinking a hot beverage from a crafted cup... so I used masking tape to create a no-paint zone so my lips wouldn't touch the paint.  Although the tube does say the dried paint is oven and dishwasher safe, nowhere could I find the word "non-toxic".  

By the time my first stroke was complete I knew where this project was going... The color of the paint was not red, but instead a very pinkish fuchsia.  Not very holidayish... The paint was really goopy and clumpy.  Trying to thin out the lumps created new blemishes.  It only took 3.5 columns of chevron to realize that this design was not going to see the light of a breakfast table...  Uneven, clumpy, drippy, smudgy sadness.  I peeled the tape away, smudged it some more, snapped a few pictures of the disaster, and washed it all away.  (I'm pretty sure a similar craft must have coined the phrase 'down the drain'.)  

This is the exact feeling I have almost every time I paint my fingernails.  I foolishly get all excited thinking my nails will sparkle and shine, only to find my hands covered in a light tint of polish and the trash full of muddied cotton balls.  

Ok, the thin lines were not my thing but a different design would work!  Right?  Wrong.  I won't bore you with the details of how many attempts were fruitless...  The author of the tutorial made it look so easy!!!

I was so discouraged with the outcome of my mugs.  I had envisioned beautiful photos with perfect chevron print and felt like I couldn't post my flops for the world to see.  But that's just not me!  I'm not perfect and I just love to craft!  It's not about the finished product-- it's all about the love of the craft.  Anthropologie-ish chevron mugs are just a bonus!  Anyways, I'm sure every crafter has their day... You have to take the good with the bad.  For me, projects like this make my home runs that much more special.  

What a hot mess!  

I kid! I kid! But seriously, I had such high hopes for this project and really wanted to have something to show for my troubles.  I knew exactly who would appreciate my ridiculous, sloppy mugs!  

My "Chevron Mugs" for John

Let me know if you try this project!  I would love to see your mugs!!!