Life should not be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in an attractive and well preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways, chocolate in one hand, martini in the other, totally worn out and screaming,
"WOO HOO, what a ride!"

Saturday, March 16, 2013

Saturday Snapshots

 Saturday Snapshot is hosted by At Home with Books. To participate in this meme post a photo that you (or a friend or family member) have taken then leave a direct link to your post in the Mister Linky. Photos can be old or new, and be of any subject as long as they are clean and appropriate for all eyes to see. How much detail you give in the caption is entirely up to you. Please don't post random photos that you find online.
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My friend is a Harry Potter fiend and I had fun making her some recent Christmas crafts. The creative ideas are endless so I've had fun making some more. I've been wanting to try painting mugs and saw some terrific ideas on Pinterest that I modified a bit. My new Sharpie markers are so easy to use but not as effective as paint markers. I got one package of markers as a gift and bought another on sale and had a coupon so the total for 30 Sharpies was $1.00!! Each mug was also $1.00. Isn't that a terrific deal? And it's fun too! I'm still playing with the idea (there are a few kinks to work out) and have made two more since these.

I also made her an invitation to Hogwarts (Harry Potter's wizard school). I copied it from the book and typed it in an appropriate font, soaked the paper in tea to age it then pressed it between heavy books for several days to flatten it. I made the envelope from brown paper and added address labels that I also typed up on my laptop. The wax seal, owl, train ticket & ID card were designs I printed from various places on the internet then glued to stock card and trimmed. This was all made from materials I already had. I was very happy with the results and I left them at her house on two separate days. After some stressful weeks at work she loved them even more!

Total cost for both projects:
2 mugs = $2.00
Hogwarts invitation & extras = $0

Harry Potter references on the front
Fun designs on the back
More fun on the bottom
Front of the envelope I made (delivered by owl, of course)
Back with "wax" seal
Train ticket & Gryffindor ID card
Invitation and school supply list
All the goodies from the envelope

16 comments:

  1. How fun, and what great gifts! I especially love the symbols on the bottom--a very clever extra touch.

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    1. Thank you! I liked that extra touch too. I also put some fun things on the handles. I wanted to add designs inside the mug but I don't think the Sharpies last as long as paint and I didn't want it to flake off in their drinks.

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  2. Nice...cool gifts. THANKS.

    Elizabeth
    Silver's Reviews
    My Saturday Snapshot

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  3. Love the mugs. They look very professional.

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    1. Thanks! And it's not even trick photography! :D

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  4. How fun! I can see why they brightened her day!

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  5. What a great gift. I've seen the tutorials for using Sharpies on mugs. Glad to see it works!

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    1. It does work for the most part but it's not without it's problems. It seems that different people have had different problems depending on the type of markers, surface of the mugs, etc. Some of the colors (mostly yellows) change a bit too. I read the mugs have to be hand washed because the design can come off. I baked these, did a touch up with the markers, then baked again. I also added a coat of clear nail polish to protect the design. For that price it's worth the trial and error and lots of fun too!

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  6. How clever and creative (not to mention thoughtful) you are. I can see why these incredible gifts lifted her spirits.

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  7. I bet your friend will love these thoughtful gifts for years to come :-)

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  8. I've made hand-made envelopes to go with hand-made cards, and had great fun recycling books and paper for them. But I wouldn't have thought of doing mugs, and they really do look so professional, as well as being very personal. I'd love to ry it. My Snapshot is at http://goo.gl/U62WN

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    1. They really are fun and you can do anything you want! I hope you enjoy it too. Good luck!

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  9. Very cool! I love it...And thanks for visiting my little pink place...

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  10. What a great idea. The mugs are just too cool!

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  11. Those are wonderful! I love HP too! Very creative and so thoughtful of you.

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