Hey friends! I hope you are having a great week. I am currently on spring break from my classes, so I am really enjoying a little more free time (even though I still have work #adulting).

This weekend, I decided to do something crafty with my old nail polish, because I have about 7 bottles that are too thick to use. Sometimes if there is a good amount left, I add some nail polish remover to thin it out. Other times the polish is too thick to redeem, but I can’t bear to throw it away because nail polish can be expensive.

I came across this idea of using nail polish to create a marbled design on a mug, and what do you know–I actually had a plain white mug to use! I have tried marbling my nails before, but they never seem to turn out well for me. I figured a mug would be a bit easier as it is much bigger than my nail.

I found this video that had a good explanation of how to do the craft. It’s pretty simple – all you need is a bowl, warm water, nail polish, and something to marble! A toothpick is also helpful to remove the extra polish – it creates a thin layer and can get wrinkly if it’s not removed before taking the mug out. Nail polish remover is also helpful to have on hand in case you mess up.

Since my tupperware seems to be constantly in short supply, I didn’t really want to get nail polish all over one. Thankfully, I had one of those aluminum lasagna pans, so I decided to use that. It wasn’t very deep, so I bent up the sides to form a workable yet sketchy looking bowl.

After attempting to use some of my old polish, I quickly realized that the thick polish would not work, as the nail polish needs to drip on the water quickly and be thin enough to spread out on the surface. Thankfully I had some old cheap bottles that were still pretty thin because I hadn’t used them much. After dropping a few colors in, I dipped my mug in. It didn’t look terrible, but I wanted some more color on the mug, so I dipped it a few more times. It ended up looking weird, so I decided to let it dry overnight and then wipe it all off and try again the next day. It was a little labor intensive to rub all the nail polish off, but I think the second time was a bit better. I learned to pour two bottles at once so that I would have enough time to dip the cup in before the polish hardened. I think it turned out pretty well!

This was a really fun, easy project for me to do over the weekend, and I would recommend trying it out! There are a lot of things you can make with it. It is important to note that the mugs will not be microwave or dishwasher safe, and you should have some room at the top of the cup to drink out of that isn’t covered in polish. Other than that, happy crafting! Check back soon for a Fine Dining at Home post!