'Christmas in July': SanTIKI mug

the summer heat must be getting to me,

because i'm jumping on the 'Christmas in July' theme. 

👀 WHAT???!!!! 

truth is i've been dealing with some.... stuff... and my creativity is ebbing.

i've run out of time and frankly the energy to complete the diy projects i started.

but as i was perusing photos of past projects,

i found one that i created + photographed back in late fall 2019, but never shared it.

since it just happens to fit the 'Christmas in July' theme that we're seeing everywhere,

i've decided that NOW is the time!

(granted, it's got a summer vibe,

 but it's made out of something decidedly Christmassy... so it works!)

 

...continue reading to see how Santa became a tiki!

D

i've collected vintage ceramic Santa mugs for several decades.

 i purposely seek out damaged and faded mugs... then i remove the paint,

ending up with creamy white Santas that work with many color palettes.

the box of four mugs shown above is a bunch of stubborn Santas - 

that paint just will NOT come off. i planned to spray paint them a soft white

and then i got another idea!

i grabbed the mug with the most paint still left on it,

and sprayed gloss brown paint all over him - even inside.

and then the rum drinks kicked in........

using several washes of thin paint in various brown & tan hues,

i gave the mug a 'faux wood grain' treatment by simply adding lines all over it.

then i took a dark brown and emphasized facial features with outlines.

the mustache and beard look more like dimensional lips

and the eyebrows look like part of a carved surface.

it wasn't precise painting because i was just playing around...

if i replicated this, i'd use thinner brushes and maybe add some white details

like i did to the plastic tiki mask in my last post.

if i was actually planning to use him to serve drinks or food in,

i would spray him with matte finish clear varnish to protect the paint finish.

 tho i call him 'SanTIKI', he looks nothing like a Santa mug now!

he lives with our collection of tiki mugs on our bar, holding colorful paper umbrellas.

what about that guy behind him in the photo?
it's one of the few real vintage tiki mugs i have...

he's a vintage PMP Paul Marshall 'peanut' tiki mug from the 1960's,
and is worth between $25.00 and $45.00.

i spied him on a shelf in a Palm Springs thrift store and got him for just $3.00!

will i paint the other three to match? probably not.

sometimes it's fun to just get an idea and run with it,

playing around to see if it will work out the way i imagine it.

sometimes it does, sometimes it doesn't. 

the good thing is, it usually still works as content! 😉

okay, now Deb is off to start working on FALL decor...

and yes, my friends, there WILL be pumpkins!

related content:

happy HULAdays holiday decor theme posts

shared online:

funky junk interiors | new upcycle ideas #687 

thank you for featuring my project, Miss Donna! 

creatively beth | team creative crafts linky party #156

modern on monticello | home matters linky party #440

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