Hi, you can paint a plate and the cup, or try a little decoupage on them. After you do that then glue the cup to the plate and put a little piece of Styrofoam in the cup to hold fake flowers and even some picks. All of this is available at craft stores. You might even get this stuff free on freecycle.com. These make cute gifts. We made some years ago as gifts to folks in the hospital. Use a good glue. Have fun, Travis
Fill them with mixed nuts, jelly beans, or licorice bites...wrap that it Xmas "sell-a-phane" (do not know the proper spelling of the word) and gift them to folks on your list to get gifts for this year. Your only out a coffee cup & 8 ounces of nuts or candy. Perhaps the mixed nuts is the better idea as you do not know if the people receiving them are diabetic or trying to watch their waist line.
I have a mug with an odd shaped handle with my tooth brush and toothpaste in it. I also have 2 that were gifts from my son and daughter in law that I don't want in "circulation". They are sitting on the counter with small items in them, measuring spoons etc.
Use one in your bathroom for toothbrushes - prettier and easier to use than those that have holes too small for today's brushes. Also useful for make-up brushes & nail files. Pen & pencil cup, obviously. The handles make mugs easier to eat from - soup, chili, ice cream, etc. (I don't eat as much as when I use a bowl!) I keep one in my flour canister - I don't need an exact measurement when I make biscuits.
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Request: Uses for Old Coffee Cups (10/13/2009)
Ideas for reusing coffee cups for something other than drinking a beverage. Post your ideas.
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Request: Uses for Old Coffee Cups
Archived on 10/13/2009
Ideas for reusing coffee cups for something other than drinking a beverage. Post your ideas.
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Uses for Old Coffee Mugs
They make excellent containers for a small plant to give as a token gift. Also, use them under the sink to store dish brush and scrubbies. On your desk they're great for pencils and pens. In your craft room to rest your bottles of tacky type glues tip down, so glue is in the tip when you want to use it.
By Syd (06/17/2005)
I use one for putting bacon grease into and then leave it on the shelf by the stove. I pour the grease straight from the hot pan into the cup. Never have I had a coffee cup crack from the heat of the bacon grease. Once in a while I just put the coffee cup, with only the scrapings of bacon grease left in it, into the dishwasher to clean it. (06/17/2005)
Thrift stores usually have all kinds of mugs or coffee cups at really cheap prices. When I'm out and find a few mugs/cups I like, I'll put them away till I need them. If I need a small gift, I'll bring out a mug and put some earrings, makeup items, aromatherapy bath salts packets, candies or cocoa packets or whatever inside, wrap pretty with a bow and there you have a great looking gift, with little expense. After all, it's the thought that counts. (06/17/2005)
I used to help out at a local thrift store. One day a lady came in said she had several plants she needed to take the babies out of and; she'd donate the baby plants to the thrift store for sale, if we could give her something(s) to put the plants in for the return trip. The store manager took her over to the mug wall rack and said "help yourself". The lady took several of the cups/mugs and brought the baby plant clips back, for re-sale. Anyone could do this for school projects, church fundraisers, Vacation Bible School projects, yard sales, etc. (06/17/2005)
I purposely look for interesting mugs at yard sales and thrift stores. I got into candle making for a while and using the plain wax plus adding good smelling older used candles would mold a candle inside the mug. Sometimes I'd use the method with crushed ice to make a "frothy" look to the top of the candle. In my search I found mugs for teachers, with angels, for boss, for friends.
Cleaned up and made into a candle these sold for about $5 apiece at flea markets. A friend with a consignment shop saved her used candles and we worked up a partnership. She helped furnish candles, I made them and she helped me sell them. (06/17/2005)
By Sharon from KY
RE: Uses for Old Coffee Cups
I keep one in the cat food bag. It scoops out just enough for the bowl. Over the years, we had been given many unusual or really cute mugs and my late husband had put up a big pegboard in the kitchen and this holds all the "special" mugs. (07/13/2005)
You could also bake a "Koppiepoeding" (Cup Pudding) in cups, providing individual servings. (03/29/2006)
By Carol C.
RE: Uses for Old Coffee Cups
I often go to the Goodwill, yard sales, etc. I started a bunch of cactus seeds (like a nut) and they went crazy, so I started potting them up in all types of cups and wineglasses, etc. and I have been giving them away. They need homes and I can't keep them, and they need attention. I have actually packed plants (baby spiders) around in my in my car and gone through the bank drivethru (where they know me) and given them away. As a matter of fact, I took a seedling cactus to the local Goodwill today for one of the ladies there and will be taking some more for them. And the nicest thing about it, they actually seem to appreciate it. (02/06/2009)
