DIY {sharpie} Coffee Mug

I've seen these DIY Coffee Mugs floating around Pinterest for a while and I thought it was time to make one. 

In case you didn't know, there are a TON of Pinterest Fails in regards to the sharpie "wiping right off", so I decided to ask a friend who makes them regularly.  She told me that sharpies didn't work for her and to use Ceramic Paint Pens.   

Now normally I would have run down to the craft store to by some paint pens BUT those who know me personally, know that I'm a MAJOR procrastinator.  Unfortunately,  I had planned to give this gift to my mom... who I was going to be seeing in a few hours... eeeckkk!  

I thought... it only needs 30 min in the oven, I can do it the morning of... no such luck!

On to plan B!

I scoured the internet looking for Pinterest Success with regular Sharpies and luckily I found a bunch!  Here are a few things I learned:

* The type of mug you purchase makes a difference.  The cheaper the better.  Why?  Well it seems that cheaper mugs don't have as strong {or nice} of a glaze ---> which means the sharpie actually adheres to the mug better.
* Everything I read says "30 min at 350°" so most people would preheat oven, then put mug in - which is WRONG.  You want to put your mug in the COLD oven and then turn it on to 450° and bake for 30min.  Then let your mug cool completely before removing from oven {crack the oven door to help the speed up the cooling process}.  
* The colors will change.  So don't get upset when your red sharpie turns pink :)
* Handmade = HANDWASH.  I thought this was kind of a given, but it's amazing how many people thought they'd be okay in the dishwasher... hand wash only
* Pure dumb luck - even if you do everything right - it still might turn out wrong.  

Luckily my mug turned out perfectly - hahahahaha - except for my terrible penmanship, but heck, it give it character :)

I did a simple design  ------>  Madison + Riley = Happiness for Nana

See the date?  My momma's birthday {well minus the year}....  and here is a picture from April 16, 2014 {almost 7 months later} via my mom's FB page

I must say that it still looks pretty darn good!  Hopefully you'll have the same dumb luck as me :)

HAPPY CRAFTING!

(to see where I've linked up - click here!!)

Photo Flower Pots

Being a blogger can be very frustrating.

I spend a lot of time taking photos, editing photos and then writing posts and I sometimes wonder if anyone is even reading what I'm writing?!?!  Getting people to visit your page is tough work and getting them to come back is even harder!  I seriously think my sisters and hubby are my only true followers - haha.  

So last week when I received an email from Parenting.com saying that my blog had been featured on their website I.WAS.ECSTATIC!!!  I couldn't believe that a website {who's magazine I subscribe to} featured my blog!  

Click here to see ---->  Colorful Initial Art - Parenthood.com

It was such a nice confirmation that other people {besides my family} actually read my blog AND that they enjoy the content I provide.  So if you're reading this, please remember that blogging can be very time consuming with little rewards, so spending an extra minute to leave a comment or share a link, really REALLY makes us bloggers happy.   

{okay, stepping off my soap box now}

Onto today's craft - this lovely little Photo Flower Pot I made for Mother's day - for the grandmas - to go along with my craft from yesterday {click HERE to see it}

This was really easy to make, however I apologize for not taking ANY photos of the process.  I made these 2 years ago, about 2 weeks after my daughter was born... I had to make these in between feedings and after I was done I looked at my hubby and said, "Ahhh, I forgot to take pictures!!"  I blame pregnancy brain - hehe :)

Anyhow, the process is very simple.
1) Spray paint a ceramic pot {any color}
2) Print photos from a regular printer on regular paper {NOT photo paper}
3) Place the photos on pot and cover with 2-3 coats of Mod Podge {let it dry in between each coat}
4) Spray with an acrylic sealer - which makes it water resistant
5) Plant a pretty flower

Here is a picture of all the pictures :)

I think what made this gift so special was that my sister-in-law & I both had babies born only a few weeks early {my daughter was 2 wks old and her son was 3 wks old} and I was able to include a few photos of all our kids together.

These turned out so cute and I love how versatile this gift is.  You can make one for your kids teacher or give one as a house warming present, the possibilities are endless :)

HAPPY CRAFTING!
(to see where I've linked up - click here!!)

Family Hand Tree

I can't believe how fast these past couple of weeks have flown by!   I didn't mean to disappear but it's been CRAZY around here.  First I was up to my ears in Minnie Mouse decor {post to follow soon} for my little girls 2nd bday party.  Then I got this cold... ugh... I hate being sick... especially when it's sunny and 90° out.

Anyhow, I'm so excited to share this easy and cute Mother's Day craft with you.  I made these a few years ago for our moms "the grandma's" and they absolutely loved them!  

Here is how you can make your own Family Hand Tree :)

First cut out the tree from brown paper 

Time to add your hand prints.  

Instead of making a tree from MY family (me, hubby & kids), I chose to make a tree with my hubby's family {for his mom} and a tree with my family {for my mom}.   

This was my mom's tree.  We started with our hand prints {me & my girls... my littlest one was only 2 weeks old, her hands were sooooo little!} and we added my 2 sisters later.

Then I added the wording "Other things may change us, but we start and end with Family"

Next was my MIL's tree {hubby family}.  The hubby & kids did their hand prints first, then we added his sister & her son {who was also only 3 weeks old}. 

Let me tell you, trying to get a 2 & 3 week old to cooperate with painted hands was NOT easy, but they turned out pretty good, considering...

Since both our moms live over an hour away, we weren't going to see them on Mother's Day, so I drove up the Friday before to surprise the moms "grandma's" with their gifts.  Both moms absolutely LOVED them!! It was a hit :)

 {Do you see the flower pot?  I'll be sharing that Mother's Day craft later this week}

HAPPY CRAFTING!
(to see where I've linked up - click here!!)

Sunflower Cupcakes

After we made the hamburger cupcakes for Father's Day, my sister and I couldn't wait to make more fun cupcakes.  We went to the store, bought a few cookbooks and picked out our favorites.  So when Mother's Day came along, we thought it was the perfect opportunity to make more cupcakes!

We decided to make a make two different types, the Sunflower cupcakes and the Butterfly Cupcakes.  I have to admit, decorating them was a lot more difficult that it looked.  Making flower petals isn't very easy, but after a few hours I think we had it down.  Here was the finished product :)

 

Idea, Recipe and Instructions here ---> Hello Cupcake!

Butterfly Cupcakes

As I mentioned in my Sunflower cupcake post, we also made Butterfly cupcakes for our mom.  These were actually VERY easy, however we had a few technical difficulties.  We couldn't find the correct melting chocolate, so the butterflies didn't harden properly.  However, they still turned out really cute and tasted delicious! 

 Idea, Recipe and Instructions here ---> Hello Cupcake