Crafts Beautiful - Quick & Crafty - Let's Make Cards Magazine

These chic little espresso cups look stunning, with retro geometric patterns in shades of purple and green. They are also extremely simple to create, despite their professional appearance; simply mask off with tape and sticky labels, then sponge on ceramic paint for quick and easy results!

Cup and Saucer

Mask off a 0.5cm rim around the top of the cup and a wider border at the base. Also tape either side of the handle, leaving a rectangular panel around the outer surface. On the saucer, cover a 0.3cm rim around the edge. Stick the self-adhesive labels in a stepped, up-and-down row around the masked area on the cups, as shown.

For the green paint, mix together malachite and ivory with a touch of citrine yellow and sapphire blue. For the purple, combine ruby red and ivory plus a tiny amount of sapphire blue. When you are happy with the shades, sponge the paint onto the masked areas, then dab the area immediately with a dry piece to reduce the bubbles, leaving flat colour.

When the paint is touch-dry, carefully remove the tape and stickers. To achieve a clean line, run a craft knife along the edges first. Use a damp cotton bud to remove any colour which may have bled under the tape and labels. You may need to clean up some of the edges with a fine brush and a little more paint.

Using the brush, form small purple spots inside the white areas left by the self-adhesive labels on the cups. Finally, leave the china to dry for 24 hours before following the manufacturer’s instructions to bake the paint onto the surface.