Sharpie Mug Tutorial

Hello crafters! I have picked Pinterest apart looking for the perfect Sharpie Mug tutorial. Eventually, I had to use tips and techniques combined from several different tutorials. So I thought it would be helpful to create one tutorial with all the best methods combined! Here is the result! I hope you find it helpful.

 

Tips:

- It works better to use a dark-colored Sharpie on a light-colored mug.

- Most craft stores carry the oil-based Sharpies for $3-$5.

- After you bake your mug, it is permanent and washable, but I do not recommend scraping your design with anything sharp.

- Some tutorials recommend spraying your finished project with a gloss sealer. If you use the method provided above, DO NOT spray it with anything else. It will ruin the Sharpie and your mug.

- Be creative! Do a monogram, draw a sunshine, a heart, anything! Have fun!

New Room!

I was been delaying the "New Room" blog post for so long. When I finally decided to make it, Mom's nice camera was MIA, so the picture quality isn't stunning, but without further ado, I invite you to take a look inside my new room.

Sporting the color combination of Mint Gala, Sunshine Yellow, and... something Carriage Gray, the basement room is lit up despite the lack of natural sunshine.

I could never take the credit for painting the entire room myself. No, if the blog was properly-named for this post, it would be "Done by Megan, Rachel, and Glennleigh."

The above painting is by yours truly. 

The cubbie wall is absolutely priceless. Since I don't have a dresser in my room, I utilized a few holes for boxes of clothes. Movies, books, sewing supplies, makeup, nail polish, and pictures sit in the other spaces. 

Since the counter space in my bathroom is limited, I hung a mirror and lights in one cubbie that serves as my "Makeup Box." (Hint: remember the fabric around the cup of brushes; it ties in.)

One of my favorite things about my new room is my great, big closet. Actually being able to see all of my clothes is wonderful!

Next, we move on into the bathroom, where a fourth color is brought into play.

Coral. Let me tell you, painting stripes is an incredible undertaking. My wonderful Dad taped and retaped the walls for about two hours. Then after two coats of each color, I peeled the tape (making an impressively large tape ball on the side) and then had to retouch every stripe. Needless to say, I was happy when I finished.

Excuse my bathrobe, it doesn't match. But see the fabric along the bottom of the shower curtain? Remember it? Yup. I made the shower curtain as well.

So that concludes the tour of my new room! Leave comments as you want, asking/critiquing/whatever! Keep an eye on my Woe Is Me blog for a post with room organization tips! Thanks for reading!

Creations for Baby

Baby clothes are adorable. I love shopping for them and looking at them. However, I find it even more rewarding to look at a baby wearing something that I made. I've done the trial and error part for you. You're welcome.

Monkey hat for my boyfriend's niece. The monkey's hat is the top of another hat cut off and sewn on. I do advise you to not use the braided yard around the bottom rim of the hat. It makes it hard to stretch.

The pieces to the cow look like they were legit sewn on, but I have a confession: they are not. With my sewing machine, I outlined each piece with matching thread, then hot glued them on. I know it's lazy and sneaky. But it still looks good.

Here a baby boy hat option. A sweet little bear! With this one, I had to roll the edge of the hat up because I thought it was going to be too big. Then I hand-sewed the pieces on with doubled-thread. I actually think this method was the best! 

So there ya go!

Quiet book/felt book

My mom and I made this for my nephew. We had no idea the extent of the task we had taken on. It took over twenty hours total. Of course, it was worth it, but things could have been changed to make it easier on us. However, here are some ideas if you want to make one!!!

The clock on the hands rotate!

We used a real collar on the puppy, and his ears and tail move.

You can unlace the football.

The kitty is velcro-ed to the page, and the vegetables come out of the dirt.

This car was supposed to be a Mini Cooper... but anyway, the tires come off the buttons!

The mailbox opens...

 And a letter fits in!

The opposite page has envelopes to mail and envelopes to open!

Two envelopes have letters from Nonna and Aunt Lee-Lee!

This pages have velcro-ed letters so 

my nephew can learn how to spell his name! It also has his birthday. 

It also has a face with his hair and eye color!

The shapes page teaches him to match his shapes! Since there is no velcro on the page, the shapes are kept in pocket on the back page.

This is modeled after my nephew's house! And if you open the windows or door...

Tada! Hobbes sees a baby picture of himself! And a picture with his daddy too! (There is one with his mommy too, I just didn't feature that one.)

There is a refrigerator! Which opens to reveal...

A sandwich with lettuce and tomato!

And on the facing page, a plate and napkin, with a picnic background!

The last page features an apple puzzle! The pieces velcro on and off!

 Any pieces can fit in the back pocket!

And tada! I hope if you were looking for any inspiration for your quiet book, these pictures help!

Makeup

All right, I'm not a makeup artist. This isn't outstanding, but I did do it all by myself!

Brown and gold shadow with black liner on top and teal on the bottom!

Brown, pink, and red shadow with black liner, layered with pink sparkles, and thin brown liner and sparkles on the bottom!

Nothing too fancy, just done by me!

Almond Sugar Cookies

These are some of the softest, yummiest cookies I have ever had. Like eating a cloud. I took them to my boyfriend's house when I met his family, and it was one of the best decisions ever. There is nothing like taking these delicious cookies to a party when you are meeting people for the first time; it's an instant "keep her around". Here is the best recipe option I've found: http://www.daydreamkitchen.com/2012/09/soft-almond-sugar-cookies/

They are so pretty too!

When you get to Step 3, and you go to roll the dough in the Sugar in the Raw, you can add colored sugar or sprinkles and roll them in that!

Seriously, these cookies are perfect for the holidays. Make them, you won't regret it!

Nailed It

These are a couple of simple manicures that I've done:

These are my football nails. I just used a toothpick to make the "laces" on the brown nails!

Christmas manicure! I actually used a tiny nail with this one. I used the head for the berries and the pointed tip for the leaves. 

Simple white and mint manicure. I used a bobby pin to make these polka dots. 

This was my sorry attempt with galaxy nails. I suppose it failed as galaxy nails, but it was still nice and sparkly!

This was purple glitter over black nails: one of my favorites, for sure!

Silver glitter over mint polish.

This one takes a little time. First you paint on your base coat (the gray), then you wait until it drys COMPLETELY. Then use tape to mark your lines!

This was my first water marbling attempt (also, my sweet dog, Hero, modeling in the background). It's not atrocious, but I've seen better! Youtube is FULL of fantastic tutorials on water marbling. But basically, all you need is a cup, three different colors of polish, a toothpick, and tape... nothing fancy! 

And that's all my nails! Whoohoo.