Chalkboard Mugs

What to do when inspiration strikes over breakfast, but a notepad is nowhere in sight?

Chalkboard coffee mugs!

Pébeo makes a chalkboard paint designed specifically for porcelain.

The directions are straightforward:

1. Use tape to mask off the area you want to paint.
2. Paint.
3. Let dry for 24 hours.
4. Bake for half an hour.

Voila. Your mug is now an easel.

Pébeo have put together a how-to video. (It's in French, but there are English subtitles.) And Google turns up a number of artsy blogs, all of which imply that making a perfect chalkboard coffee mug is dead easy. But I'm still struggling to make one that I'm completely happy with.

1st attempt. Masking tape leaves an uneven edge.

2nd attempt. Remove tape quickly or paint will peel away.
Still can't get a really smooth surface.

3rd attempt. Mask with electrical tape for an even edge.

5th attempt. Good enough.

Here's what I've learned:

Don't use cheap painter's tape to mask off the area you want to paint. The paint will bleed under the tape. (See first attempt.)

Black electrical tape leaves a much cleaner edge. (See third attempt.) You'll still get some bleeding at the corners. Scrape that off with a toothpick.

Peel the tape off immediately. If the paint has started to set then it will pull away from the mug when you start to peel the tape off. (See second attempt.)

I haven't been able to get a completely smooth surface. If you paint too thin then you get white streaks of porcelain showing through. But if you paint too thick get 'drips'. (You can see the drips on mug 2.) Some user recommend painting multiple layers, but you can't paint multiple layers and still peel the tape off quickly.

Dollar store bristle paint brushes drop their bristles, which then get stuck on the painted surface. A foam brush is easier. You can trim the tip down small enough to dip it in the paint container. Pébeo recommends a "fan" bristle brush. I may try that next to see if it gives a better surface.

After five mugs, there's still a little under a quarter of the paint left. One jar of paint can certainly make a half dozen mugs, assuming you don't screw any up. How likely is that?

Trying to write on a full mug of coffee is risky.

To increase the odds that you'll have something novel and clever to draw/write on your mug, better drink decaf.