If you are like me, you probably have a large collection of coffee mugs. I know that I’m not the only one with too many mugs, based on the huge numbers of coffee cups I see at thrift stores. I try to only keep mugs that have a special meaning to me, but I am constantly stumbling onto new coffee mugs.
For example, I just got this pretty cool coffee mug at Facebook (I even instagrammed about it), and as much as I like it, I just don’t have room in the cupboard:
But since I don’t want to part with my favorite mugs, so I came up with this great little craft to repurpose them, instead of getting rid of them.
I've seen a similar project idea done with mason jars, but never coffee mugs. (And I have way more extra coffee mugs lying around than I have extra mason jars)
For this project you just need a board, coffee mugs (I used three, and they were all the same size and shape, but you could mix them up) and hose clamps.
Since I had the board leftover from another project, and the mugs were free, this project only ended up costing me $3 (99c for each clamp.)
The first thing I did was layout the mugs and divide the board into equal segments. Next I opened the hose clamps (the size of clamp you use depends on the size of your mug. I took my mugs to the store when picking out the hose clamps to make sure they were the right size).
Even though I picked the custom size, you still may end up with extra length of clamp that you can cutoff with a tinsnips so the tail doesn't get in way when hanging it on the board.
To hold the clamp to the wood I used small screws. You will have to predrill the hose clamps for this step. Because the metal is extremely hard, I had to buy a metal specific clobalt drill bit. It did a good job getting the job done.Remember when attaching the hose clamp, the tiny screws shouldn't be any wider than the board you are attaching too, so they don't poke out the back. Next I added the coffee mugs. I opened the clamp, ran it though the handle and then closed and tightened it. The coffee mug can't pull in and out easily this way. I chose to only let the blank side show, but if anyone had had cute mugs they wanted to show, you could do that too.
Then you repeat the process for all the mugs:
I took the finished project up to my sewing studio and tried it out as a supply organizer. I used it for glue and scissors and markers,. I didn't have a wall to mount it on, so I just set it above my desk:An alternative use is a as a planter. I hung it in the powder room as an example. Make sure when hanging it that you add enough support for the weight, and to keep it from falling forward.
Of course, since succulents are all the rage, I had to feature them in the planter:
I think it came out super cute, especially for a bunch of unwanted coffee mugs.