Sharpie Decorated Plates and Mugs

 I have a perfect last minute project and gift idea for you. Sharpie decorated mugs and plates are easy to personalize for anyone, or any occasion.  Best of all, anyone can do it.  

Basically, you start with a blank white plate, mug, or bowl; and decorate away.  Regular colored sharpies are used to add the details, and then heat set in the oven. 

Clean and dry your plate.  Remove all paper labels from the back of the plate. You can then free hand your favorite image, or use some stickers and a stippling (dotting) technique to create a fun look.

If you mess up, no big deal.  Perfection is overrated, and a cotton swab dipped in rubbing alcohol will remove the sharpie before it is heat set.

I picked up some alphabet stickers at the dollar store, and they were really fun to use. Place the stickers where you want the, start adding dots close together, and then space them further apart as you work you way out.  When your done stippling, carefully peel away the stickers. If there is any residue left behind from the stickers, bust out the rubbing alcohol.

Once everything is all decorated, pop them in a 300 degree oven for 30 minutes, and  allow them to cool in the oven. If you remove them prior to cooling the ink will smudge.

Fill your mug with some hot chocolate, top your plate with cookies for Santa, and call it a gift.  Super easy!

All of our mugs/plates were picked up at the dollar store.

We've washed our mugs in the dishwasher without any problems.

Tutorial: DIY Cord Keeper From Fabric Scraps

Am I the only one that has a basket full of charging cords?  It seems that everything has it's own charging cord, and all of the cords turn into a jumbled mess in the basket.  I decided that some nice little cord keepers were in order.  All you need is a couple of scraps of fabric, some medium weight interfacing, about an inch of velcro, and about 20 minutes.  These make up really quickly, and are the perfect quick project to use up the last bits of your favorite fabrics. As a bonus, they make a perfect gift for anyone and any occasion.  I made up a couple sets of these for Mother's Day, but they'd make great stocking stuffers as well.

Wouldn't these be so nice to keep your chargers nice and tidy in a bag or suitcase? 

Print off the Cord Keeper Template.  Apply medium weight fusible interfacing to the back of one piece of scrap fabric.  Cut one piece of interfaced fabric with the template, and one without.  You will need 2 total pieces of fabric for each cord keeper. Cut two small 1 inch pieces of velcro.

 Place the two fabric pieces with right sides together.  Stitch around the fabric pieces, 1/4" from the raw edges, leaving 2 inches or so open for turning.  Clip the corners close to the stitching line.  Notch the two curved ends of the cord keepers.

 Turn the cord keepers right side out through the open space.  Press.  Stitch 1/8" away from the pressed edges, to both secure the layers, and close off the open turning space.

Attach the velcro pieces to either end of the cord keeper.  One side should go on the front, and one on the back.

Wrap around your cords and chargers to keep things nice and tidy.  Who doesn't like a bit of organization?

Some of you have had trouble opening the template.  Here are the dimensions: 2 3/4"x 4 3/4".  Ends are rounded.

Last Minute Gift Ideas

Have you run out of time and money?  I feel like we have, and yet I keep thinking of a few more people that I'd love to give gifts to.  If you are feeling the same way, here are a few gift ideas that don't require much time or material.  You may even have the materials on hand.  Let's take a trip through the blog archives and rediscover some quick crafts.

Tortilla Cozy

The tortilla cozy will take you about an hour to whip up.  It is great for anyone on your list that loves mexican food, or baked potatoes.  Just throw a stack of warmed tortillas in the cozy and it will keep them warm all through dinner.  You can also put it directly into the microwave to heat your baked potatoes.  

You can find the tutorial here.

Dressed Up Reusable Shopping Bag

This is a gift that can work for just about anyone.  It would be a great teacher or school bus driver gift (probably a bit late for that though).  Simply gather all of those free reusable shopping bags that you've collected, the ones with the store's logo plastered on the front.  Find some scrap pieces of fabric that are large enough to cover the front panel, press under the raw edges, and stitch it to the front and back of the bag.  Easy, practical, and inexpensive. You could even stitch some Christmas print fabric on the front and use it as a gift bag.  See the original post here.

Magnetic Shapes and Numbers

 These magnetic shapes and numbers would make a great gift for any toddler or school age child.  They are made using craft felt (inexpensive), and some small magnets.  The magnets are encased in the fabric, so there's little risk of the magnets coming loose and being ingested.

If you wanted to take a short cut in making these, you could use hot glue in attaching the felt, but I prefer sticking to the sewing machine.  See the tutorial here.

Chunky Braided Bracelet

These chunky braided bracelets are made using strips of old t-shirts.  They are easy to make, and comfortable to wear.  You can find the full tutorial here.

T-shirt Scarf/Necklush

Since we've already started cutting apart our old t-shirts, why don't we make a trendy and warm scarf/necklush.  All you need is a soft old t-shirt.  This is a super quick and fun project. Find more information here.

Paper and Vinyl Wallets

These paper and vinyl wallets can be made using an available paper on hand, maps, phone books, photos, scrapbooking paper, ect.  The vinyl can be purchased for less than $3 a yard.  Don't want to set in snaps? Use some adhesive velcro to make this project go really quickly. Find the tutorial here.

Knotted Hair Elastics and Headbands

These elastic hairbands and headbands, are fun and easy to make.  All you need is some oval elastic cord, embroidery or friendship bracelet floss, and some felt and a button.  This would be a great project for any bored tweens in your home.  Find more information here.