DIY Chalkboard Art Coffee Cup

Chalk Art Coffee Cup

If you’re a regular visitor here, you’re already well aware that I have a love affair with coffee. Iced coffee, in particular, is my favorite, and for better or worse, I drink at least 16 oz of it a day…which means I’m always in need of good coffee cups. This weekend, hubby took me to a local Starbucks to try their newest frappuccino when I spied a “chalkboard” cold cup. At first, I figured it was like others I’ve seen, where you draw on the outside and then wipe it off, but when I picked it up, I realized it was actually something entirely different. Here’s how I turned it into my absolute favorite cup ever…

You’ll need:

Coffee tumbler with removable chalk paper insert
White paint marker, extra-fine tip

Here’s what makes this cup so different from the others. When you turn the bottom, it allows a center tumbler to pop out of the outer shell. Inside, there is a piece of black chalk paper just waiting to be decorated! The cup comes with an actual piece of chalk, but I wanted the control as well as the permanence that an extra fine tip paint pen provides.

As soon as we got home, I popped out the insert and got to work. Ideally, I’d have liked to somehow work the design around the logo on the outer tumbler, but I just couldn’t come up with a simple way to determine exactly where it would fall. I decided just to letter all over the paper and let it fall where it may.

I started by writing as many coffee related words and short phrases as I could think of. Here are some ideas: coffee, coffee time, cafe, mocha, vanilla, toffee nut, peppermint, latte, salted caramel, espresso, macchiato, frappuccino, tall, grande, venti, creative juice, iced or hot, cream & sugar, black, dark roast, light roast, brew, drink, caffeine. 

To add variety, I used a few different fonts, including faux calligraphy, dot-style letters, uppercase print, and more.

Once my words were in place, I went back and filled in the empty spaces with a variety of embellishments. First, I put banners around a few of the words. Then, I added some simple swirls and dots, as well as arrows, coffee beans, tiny hearts, and coffee mugs & cups.

Hubby sat and watched the process, and he captured this rare photo of the artist at work in her natural habitat…

There is no right or wrong to chalkboard art, it’s just a matter of mixing styles and filling in the spaces so that your eye always has something fun to see, no matter where you look. You can certainly sketch out a plan before you get to work on the actual chalk paper if you like. All you have to do is cut a piece of scrap paper the same size and that will give you a place to plan your word placement and make sure you like the design before committing to the final copy. I have done enough of these to be comfortable diving right in, plus {truth be told} I’m not much for pre-planning and extra work. Shhhh!

When your paper is covered and the paint is dry, it’s time to place the insert back into the tumbler for display! Here’s how mine looks from the front!

Part of the fun is that no matter what way you turn it, there’s more art to see!

Chalk Lettering Coffee Cup

I am absolutely in love with the way this turned out. Plus, I know my design is safe inside the tumbler, so it won’t be damaged when I wash and use the cup. You can always take the insert out before washing if it makes you nervous, but your art is securely sealed inside. {Note: this is NOT sponsored in any way by Starbucks, it’s all my own excitement about my cup!}

Chalk Art Coffee Cup

What do you think? Is this a lettering project you’d enjoy? If you create your own, I’d love to see how it turns out! Be sure to share your photos in the One Artsy Mama & Friends Facebook group so we can all be inspired.

Chalkboard Art Coffee Cup

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5 Comments

  1. Given our shared love of coffee and Sbux; you inspiring me to start lettering ; did I mention iced mochas….I am SOOOO on the lookout for this!

  2. So stinking cute!! Love this so much that you’ve inspired me to try one myself. Hoping my Starbucks has some of these cups in stock.

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