My New Member

Please welcome the newest member to my blue room... A sewing machine! So thankful for my art teacher and friend from highschool gave it to me. I just picked her up from the shop where she got cleaned, tuned up and one new part! The nice elder man and ladies all said its a great sturdy machine that runs like new! Now, i need to remember the Lessons debbie taught me before hand surgery. Craftiness just a little more exciting for me!

"Sharpie" Mugs

I have an obsession with markers - it's true. Especially with sharpie markers. You walk in my blue room and you can see them all hanging by color in the cans. So, I'm always looking for new ways to use them. Now, all over Pinterest I've seen decorating mugs & bowls with sharpies. You get a mug. Take your favorite sharpie markers- decorate. Then you are to bake it in the oven at 350 for 30 minutes and poof a nice fun mug! Well... After a few hand washing the marker goes away and its not really permanent after all- bummer! I really like the simplicity of just creating with markers on a mug but knew there had to be a way to make it more permanent. So I did some digging around in my art books and thought back to my pottery days- duh!? Oil based markers! Or glass markers!! Sure enough I was correct and sorta solved the Pinterest fail.

So to make a cool hand drawn mug or bowl you will need:
- oil based sharpie markers OR glass markers (I like Decoart brand)
- ceramic or porcelain mug or bowl
- oven
- cookie sheet

1. Shake your makers really well and test them out on paper- remember these are oil based so super permanent
2. Plan out what you want to draw on your mug/bowl
3. Decorate and draw on your mug or bowl
4. Let them dry at least an hour
5. Place mugs/bowls on cookie sheet in COLD OVEN.
6. Turn oven on to 400 and set timer for 40min
7. Let mugs bake for 40min.
8. When timer goes off, turn oven off and let mugs cool in oven
9. You now have a personalized hand drawn mug or bowl!

*i have run my mug through the dishwasher on hot and it all stayed the same!

*Decoart markers colors all stayed the same while baking. However some of the oil based sharpie marker colors got a little darker.

Here are a few examples my sister an friend made with me the other day just before valentines.

Hand surgery

On Thursday i had hand surgery and thankfully the surgery went well however I can't use my hand as much as I thought I could! Which has me bummed bc I don't think ill get to craft as much as I'd like too especially with Valentines Day around the corner! So, here's hoping I get creative by using my left hand and figure out ways to use what I can of my right hand :)