Category: DIY

Mini DIY Office Makeover [Photowall Review]

Photowall was kind enough to send me this wallpaper for my project in exchange for an honest review.  This review is 100% authentic and my full opinion.

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My style is pretty simple and clean. I don’t love a mix of patterns or designs in any of my rooms, especially one where I have to concentrate and focus hard in.  I prefer clean lines, neutral colors, and classic styles.  So I knew exactly what I wanted to do when I decided a few months ago to do away with a separate playroom for our son and convert it (partially) into my home office.

I didn’t want anything oversized or cluttered.  It’s a small space and my home office is only taking up about 25% of the room – the rest is designated for my husband and I’s dressing room/closet and a few stray toys that didn’t fit in our son’s bedroom.  It needed to be professional, but not overwhelming.  I needed a place that I could focus in while getting a ton of work done and still have it zoom-call ready at all times.

Prior to make the transition, whenever I would schedule a call with a client I would have to scramble to hide things in the background, move pictures around so that it looked nicer and stash my papers on the floor so that I didn’t look to overwhelming and cluttered.  I hated it.  I wanted something that looked polished, professional and was ready at a moment’s notice.

I found an old desk at my office and decided it would work just fine.  It was the perfect size and it was free!  I also grabbed an old waiting room chair from the office.  It’s actually really comfortable and the style fits my personality.  I wouldn’t mind if the fabric was a different color, but only one project at a time for now.

I decided after bringing home the desk and chair that I need to start with the wall directly behind me.  I didn’t want to face the wall while I worked, but I didn’t have a big, beautiful window to face either.  So I picked a nice small corner where I could easily design a wall that worked for me.  I toyed with the idea of painting the wall, but honestly that seemed like a big job for such a small wall.  Then I thought about wallpaper and honestly, I had never hung wallpaper before.

I do remember being a little girl and my mom attempting to hang it on our home.  I don’t think it was a pleasant experience at all and then fast forward a few years when it was time for an update and I spent days taking that paper off our family room walls.  It was awful.  But I couldn’t get the idea of wallpaper out of my head.  It was such a small wall that I convinced myself it wouldn’t be that terrible to do.  Plus, I wasn’t looking for a crazy pattern so hard could it be to hang…?

That’s where Photowall came into the picture.  They have so many different designs, prints, and even photos that you can choose from to create your space just as you want.  I knew I wanted to go with a neutral gray color, but wanted something a little more interesting than just a solid color.  So I went with a watercolor version.  The ordering process was so easy – I measured the wall in inches and then headed over to site to add them in.  From there it allowed me to select which portion of the piece I wanted. I chose one that was bit lighter in the middle.

I ordered the design and within a few days the shipment arrived.  It was packaged perfectly in a long cardboard box with the glue, the pieces and directions perfectly inside.  I was shocked by how fast it came!

Now before I share just how easy this whole process was, let me share with you a cringe worthy picture of how it looked before.  It was just so boring. It lacked any creativity, any thing.  My hangings just looked and felt out of place.  And below you can see a nice after picture – the hangings are back, but with the colored background they just don’t feel out of balance any longer.

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This project was just so easy to tackle.  It took me less than 2 hours from start to finish – it probably could have taken even less than that, but I was doing it by myself.  I’m not the tallest girl in the world, so even on the step ladder I struggled to reach the top of the wall.  Plus, every time I turned around a dog was under my feet or laying on a tool or trying to carry a tool off so that added time.

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Photowall made the whole experience super simple.  Inside the box was the numbered sheets for the wallpaper so I knew exactly which piece was next and which direction to put it on the wall.  The glue was easy to make – they send it in powdered form, you mix with a gallon of water and let sit for 5 minutes then voila – you can get started. I didn’t even tough 1/10 of the glue that it made.  Then the directions were easy to follow and they have a video on Youtube I found that made it look really simple.

I did purchase a wallpaper kit off amazon, but Photowall does sell them.  I had this for another project that I didn’t end up doing so I just used what I had.

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I even added an art piece I had ordered from GraceLaced and a knit creation I made with some yarn I ordered from Hobby Lobby and this gold circle off Amazon.  I was tired of having piles of paper on my desk from current projects, upcoming projects, and just endless to do lists (you know what it’s like) so I found this great fabric drawer chest from Amazon for under $30!  I also have one more piece to add, but it is still at the framers and I could not wait to share my final space with you.  So I’ll do an update once that gets in.

For someone who has never hung wallpaper before, I have to say it turned out great.  You can’t even see the lines between two pieces. Every speck and piece of watercolor art lined up perfectly.  It was easy to trim off the excess and the quality is outstanding.  I have to give a huge thumbs up to Photowall. Not only was the ordering process super simple, but the customer care has been fantastic.  I highly recommend working with them on your next project! I’m already planning my next wall (hint hint – the master bedroom), too!

They even were kind enough to send me a discount code for you, too!  You can use merelynne25 for 25%off your order until July 31, 2020.  So as you’re staying home these days, now is the perfect time to work on some DIY makeovers to those tired rooms you’ve been staring at.

Let me know in the comments which room you’re going to makeover first!

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photowall, wallpaper home office, diy office makeover, easy office makeover, affordable office makeover

DIY Gallery Wall

how to hang a gallery wall

Do you love the look of a perfectly polished gallery wall, but aren’t sure how to pull it off?  Well you’re in luck! Today’s post is all about making your gallery wall look effortless and perfectly paired without nailing wrong hole after hole into your walls.

Measure First

Grab a tape measure and make sure you know how wide and how tall you want your gallery wall to me.  Grab some painters tape to mark the boarders so you can visualize it.

Layout Second

Next take your measuring tape and painters tape to mark off a matching-sized section on the floor.  This will give you a chance to check your spacing and see how each piece will look next to one another.

Snap A Photo

Grab your phone and take a photo of the final layout to refer back to if needed.

Measure Again

This time you need to measure the space between each picture.  That way you know how much room to leave to get your perfect look.

Only Put One Hole

Grab your painters tape and flip over your picture.  Lay your tape on the back of your picture, making sure it’s level.  Then take a pen to mark the spot where the nail needs to be.  Peel off your painters tape and put it on the wall in the spot the picture will go.  Grab a level to make sure it won’t hang crooked and then hammer in your nail.  You can easily peel off the tape around your nail or hook.

There you have it – the perfect DIY gallery wall tips.  When we recently did our family room makeover and our playroom transformation, we opted to change up some of our pictures.  Which meant all new gallery walls that needed to be designed.  Luckily with these tips there wasn’t one singly mistake made and we were able to knock out all three walls in less than 45 minutes.

Posted in DIY

Our New Family (DIY Decorating On A Budget)

family room update on a budget

Ever get an itch to start a new project, but you’re not quite sure where it came from? Well that’s what’s been happening around our home for the past few months.  We’ve been purging – a lot, organizing everything I can get my hands on, and even transforming a few of our rooms.  It all started when our old couch finally bit the dust, luckily we knew it was coming and had been saving for awhile to replace our furniture.  Been when the couch finally went, so did a lot of other pieces around our home.

You see what started as a simple – “oh let’s go buy a new couch!” Ended with us buying a couch, a recliner, and a dining room table.  You’re probably thinking, “That’s not a big transformation, Meredith.” And you’d be right.

BUT…

Getting rid of the couch prompted us to sell…

a desk
an office chair
a full bedroom set – bed, dresser, night stand and all
a dresser
and lamps

It also forced us to throw out…

a coffee cart
broken couch
broken dining room table

We had been using the bedroom set for mainly storage so when we sold it faster than we anticipated it forced us to start using the floor as  a shelf.  That drove me crazy and I needed to find a new home for all these things.  So that’s when I decided to clean out every single closet in our home – J’s, the coat closet, my closet, the linen closet, and the medicine cabinet (the only one I skipped was Dent’s and that’s because I had just done it a few months earlier).

In the end we ended up selling a few items, donating over 15 bags to our local Rescue Mission and throwing out another 10 bags of pure trash.  It felt good.  We decided to make our guest room into a playroom for son and the only thing left was the family room.  But much to my disappointment the couch that was delivered was the wrong one and the dining room table was on back order.

So instead of taking 4-6 weeks, it took over 8 weeks for us to get everything.  I’m not going to lie – I could have hugged the delivery man when he brought in the RIGHT couch that day!

Also, I discovered that we needed to do something with our dog kennel.  It was big and ugly.  The only purpose it served was holding the dogs while we were away.  We have two kennels, this metal one and a plastic one.  We used to keep them in the eat-in part of our kitchen before we got a table, but they wouldn’t fit any longer.  So we had to find a new place.  On Pinterest I noticed a great idea for turning one into a side table.  That led me to go to Home Depot and purchased a piece of plywood and a few pieces of 1″x2″ trim.  I even found a nice associate to cut the pieces to my right measurements (I went late at night when they weren’t that busy).

I glued the trim to the piece of plywood and then used a few brad nails to secure it.  After it was put together I took a few coats of high gloss white paint to it and that’s it.  It sits neatly on top of our kennel and works as the perfect side table.

A few weeks ago I started cleaning up from Christmas and realized that I never showed off our new frugal family room makeover.  I call it frugal because the only new pieces are the couch and recliner, which I mentioned how we saved for already, AND we did purchase one new piece of artwork.  The rest came from other places in our home, hand-me-downs from my mom and a little creativity.

P.S. If you notice Sir Rines III standing in the corner – don’t even ask!  He was a wedding present from my sister and brother-in-law.  J loves him, I hate dusting him and Dent thinks he bites! But he stands guard when no one is around, so I guess we’ll keep him! HA!

Blessed Artwork from Small Wood Home (around $30)

Console Table from Amazon (less than $65)

Easy DIY Grandparents Day Card {The Perfect Craft for Your Kids}

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Are you needing a last minute Grandparents Day card for this weekend?  Well I got you covered! This is actually the gift we put together last year when I realized it was National Grandparents Day around 2:30 in the afternoon (oops!).  You can use what you already have on hand, which means no running to the store and you can save a little bit of money in the process.

 

Here’s what you need:

2 pieces of construction paper (you’ll need two different colors, I used white and blue)
2-4 different colors of paint
1 sealable baggie
pair of scissors
glue
stick on letters or markers (if you don’t have any stick on letters OR if you have nice handwriting)
1 marker

Here’s how to make this super easy DIY Grandparents Day Card:

Cut out a shape with one of the colors of construction paper – I picked a heart, but you could pick a circle, square or even a star.  

Add a few drops of paint to your shape and then slide into a baggie.  I used my mess-free baby painting technique at this point.  It really helps save the clean-up time and you don’t have a toddler running around your house covered in paint.

Slide the painted masterpiece out and let dry.  You can take a hairdryer to it to speed up the process like I did (I told you I remembered late in the day).

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While the paint is drying you can decorate the front part of the card.  Here you can have your little one color on it, you can write on it or you can take the easy way and use stick on letters.  I found a sheet of silver letters in my old scrapbooking materials that were hidden in a closet.  After realizing I had just enough letters, my decision was made for me.

After the paint has dried, glue your painted piece into the middle and fold.  You can take a marker to sign your little one’s name and put the date on there, too.

That’s it.

Super simple.

Like I said above, this is what we did last year for Grandparents Day.  It was a huge hit!  Every grandparent loves to get artwork from their grandchildren – it’s a known fact.  Why I like having the artwork take up the whole inside of the card was because they can now frame it or hang it on the fridge to see the whole design.  

Denton’s Birthday Recap

 

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We survived!  We had our son’s second birthday party over the weekend at a park with friends and family.  It was a blast!  So. Much. Fun.  I just love watching our son play with his cousins, he always looks so much bigger when he plays with the big kids.

We decided to do something easy this year – we had the party at a park instead of our house.  We also opted to have it later in the day to save on our food costs (we didn’t have to serve lunch!).  Here’s a few snaps from the party.

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I ended up starting to plan for our son’s party back in February.  I knew with tax season, my exam, and a few other parties I had in the works I would need all the time in the world to make it happen.  I also wanted to keep ourselves under a pretty tight budget this year.  Last year for his first birthday party, I worked hard at making a lot of things myself (like his smash cake) so I could stay under budget.  This year, I wanted to do the same thing, but with less work (HA!).

The first thing I did back in February is I created our party budget (I used this template HERE).  I wanted to be realistic, but also not get too crazy.  I think kid’s birthday parties are so easy to overspend on.  You’re trying hard to make it fun and have lots of yummy food for everyone so it can be easy to get carried away with.

Once I had the budget, the next thing I did was transfer by saved Ibotta reward dollars to our paypal account.  I had close to $60 saved, which was the bulk of his budget.  Once the money hit that’s when I booked the pavilion at the park and started looking at decorations.  I browsed Party City and Amazon, and they had some great decorations, but they were a little on the high side.

So I opted to do a mix – I bought one tablecloth, a set of plates and napkins from the store (just like these HERE) and then I went to Dollar Tree to buy the rest.  I ended up spending around $8 for the rest of the plates, silverware, cups, napkins and tablecloths for the party.  I also decided to not go too crazy on the decorations.

At the park there were 8 tables, but I only bought tablecloths for three – thinking one or two for food and the other for the kids to eat at.  I also made the number two out of tissue paper (keep reading for directions on how to make it yourself!), which was really cheap since I used what I had on hand.

Finally, I used the leftover Halloween costume iron-on fabric to finish his outfit.  Using Canva, I printed out dinosaurs onto the transfer paper, ironed it on his shirt and that was it.

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easy birthday costume for a dinosaur party

We also made most of the food ourselves and by having it later in the day, we decided we only needed snacks.  We ended up making pinwheels, meatballs, chili cheese dip, rice krispie treats, fruit tray and a veggie tray.  I bought chips and dips to have with it.

We ordered a few items for the party to make it easy on ourselves – I bought a cupcake cake from our local bakery.  It turned out perfect.  J also found a great pretzel place, called Pretzel Boys not too far away so we ordered a dinosaur shaped pretzel from them.  On top of that, I found these perfect dinosaur toys at Dollar Tree.  So I picked up eight of these bad boys to hand out as favors.

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I made a quick (less than 4-minute) video on how to make the tissue paper sign.  It was so easy to make and took us less than 20 minutes to finish.  You can watch the video online or down below:

diy tissue paper number

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That’s it!  That was our son’s second birthday party.  I think it turned out perfect.  The weather was perfect for a park party, we were close to the playground for all the kids to have fun on and the food turned out great!

Simple DIY Christmas Gifts On A Budget

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I love a good deal. I mean, that should come as no surprise since I am a budget strategist.  During the holidays budgets can kind of take a backseat with all the stress we put on ourselves. I love the idea of a few simple DIY projects to make for people. You can find a ton of great ideas over on Pinterest that can help take some of the financial stress off you this time of year. I usually make one to two different gifts by hand for family each year. That way I can make sure to give something with meaning all while sticking within my Christmas budget.

For us, especially with J back in school this year, Christmas is more about being present with family. It’s not about the presents we give or how much we spent of our family and friends. To be honest, this year has probably been the least stressful holiday yet. We know how much we can spend on Christmas gifts and that’s it. It has made justifying what we spend (or how little we spend) a lot easier in our heads. We’re able to treat everyone equal – from his family to my family. Everyone has the same budgeted amount based on our gift guide.

Here are a few of my favorite past DIY Christmas gifts:

Personalized Oven Mitts

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Easy Sharpie Mugs

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Personalized Photo Frame

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Front Door Wreath

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Personalized Wall Art

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Christmas Photo Ornaments

DIY Christmas photo ornament how to

What are some other DIY Christmas gifts that you love to make for family? Leave a comment below!

How to Make Gift Bags from Wrapping Paper

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It never fails – we’re running late and should have left the house 20 minutes earlier.  Our son has decided that he doesn’t want to wear shoes, our dogs know something is up and are following me through the house, I have a gift to wrap before we leave and I can’t find a big enough bag.  

Luckily there is a trick you can do to turn wrapping paper into a gift bag that is just the right size.  Plus, it only takes a few minutes, which is perfect for me since I’m almost always running late and never seems to come easy this time of year.  

I created a quick video you can watch online or below to see just how to make gift bags from wrapping paper.

This technique comes in super handy around Christmas time. I don’t know about you, but it seems that gift bags cost so much more than a simple roll of gift paper.  So to save money, just buy a few extra rolls of paper and make a few bags to have on hand for those last minute gifts.  The gifts will be unique and impressive, but at the same time you’ll be saving money!

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DIY NASCAR Costume for a Toddler

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This family loves NASCAR (well actually J loves it and I’ve learned to like it over the past 5 years). When it came time to decide on a Halloween costume for Dent, we agreed on a race car driver outfit.  Of course he had to be our favorite driver, too – Tony Stewart.  

I started searching online and the prices were ridiculous! $30 for a Halloween costume?!?! … No thanks…

The ones at Walmart weren’t NASCAR themed and had way too many fake muscles for my liking. Why do we have to put fake muscles on everything for little boys… what kind of message is that sending?? I don’t know, but I didn’t care for it.

Then I decided to just make a DIY NASCAR costume for our son.

I even gave myself a budget of keeping it under $15.

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I headed to Walmart where I had hopes of finding a solid black sleeper, but wasn’t in luck. Then I found a long sleeve shirt and sweat pants that were under $4.00 each, so I spent less than $8 for the outfit.

Next we headed to Hobby Lobby to try to find some ribbon with a checkered flag. They had one kind and it was $4.00, but with a 40% off coupon it came out to be $2.40 for the spool. Perfect.

I knew I had some fabric glue at home, so I decided to just use it. I washed the clothes once we got home and then got to work. I took the ribbon down the sleeves, sides of the shirt and pants, which didn’t take long at all.  I let it dry overnight just to be sure the glue held.

It needed just a little bit more so I bought some iron-on transfer paper for less than $8.00. I googled Tony Stewart to see what type of sponsors he had on his uniform and went from there.  Once I decided on a few brands, I googled their logo and then uploaded them into canva.  I saved the sheets as a PDF and then printed them on an inkjet printer. 

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I had never used iron-on transfer paper before so I was a little unsure of how good it would turn out, but I followed the directions to make sure I was doing it right. It does say to wash it after 24 hours and turn it inside out, but honestly I didn’t.  I figured since I already washed the clothes when I bought it that it would be fine.  Now after he’s done wearing it then I will wash it, but I don’t want to take the chance of the transfer coming off in the washer.

Overall I spent right at $18.40 for the whole outfit.  I wasn’t under my $15.00 goal, but I only used two of the sheets of transfer paper so now I have it for next year’s costume or some other craft project down the road.  So I still consider it a win!

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We headed to a trunk-or-treat earlier this week and had a blast.  Dent loved getting candy from everyone and showing off his outfit.  We’re planning on walking around the neighborhood on Halloween. I can’t wait!

DIY Dog Emergency Kit

DIY dog emergency kit

With three dogs running around our house at all times, J and I have finally learned what we need to have on hand.  You see, if all of our dogs were like our sweet Maggie then we would have no problems.  They would sleep under the bed all day, eat their dinner like a good girl and then cuddle up next to you on the couch.  

DIY Dog emergency kit

dog emergency kit

But the other two dogs….

Well let’s just say they are the complete opposite of our Maggie girl.

….oh Tiny and Bud.  Those two are a bit crazier than most.  They run, they tackle each other, they slide into the door and then they run around outside.  So it’s inevitable that these two would get hurt.  We like to keep a dog emergency kit on hand to be prepared for those little emergencies.

One of the last time we left town, we dropped the dogs off with this amazing lady who takes care of them.  Each dog had a great time and she even spent time with Bud on doing some training.  He was doing great.  I got to work with him and see which command words worked for him.  Then I took all three dogs home.  We get in the door and I realized Tiny was missing her collar.  Normally that isn’t a big deal until I noticed Bud was expelling the neon green collar from a not so pretty place.  Then he started choking and coughing, a lot.  We rushed him to the vet and after a few X-Rays we learned it was in small pieces and nothing was wrapped around any organs.  He would naturally expel the collar.  Yay!

Okay, okay so that story really had nothing to do with a DIY dog emergency kit and why you need one, but it is a reminder to always pay attention to your dog.  I’m adamant about making sure everything is okay and their habits are running like clockwork.  Bud is still a bit young and has a lot of learning to do.  He’s not afraid of anything, which is not always a good thing.  He’s more curious than anything.  So with him, I’m especially careful when he starts acting a little different.  

The little emergencies are the ones we can treat at home.  A nip here, a scratch there, etc.  I talk so great about Maggie, but when she was a young pup she got into a whole brand new container of birth control pills.  Plastic, foil wrapping, pills and all.  I called the emergency vet clinic and luckily because she was female and I could find majority of the pills they weren’t too worried about the pill ingestion.  They knew and warned me it would make her sick, but not fatal.  They were more concerned about the consumption of plastic and foil.  So I had to induce vomiting.  Thankfully they talked me through it and all was fine, nasty, but fine.  

Around our house, we see quite a bit of these little accidents, especially in the summer.  Something about the warmer weather has our dogs stir-crazy so they end up outside a lot more.  We put together this easy to use dog emergency kit that has really paid off.

Here’s what we have in our DIY dog emergency kit:

  • antiseptic wipes
  • Hydrogen Peroxide
  • gauze pads
  • medical tape
  • self-cling bandage wraps
  • q-tips
  • cotton balls
  • disposable gloves
  • tweezers
  • phone numbers to your local veterinarian’s office.  Ours even has an after hours line for emergencies, that’s in there too
  • ASPCA poison-control center hotline, which is 1-800-426-4435
  • leash – we use the freebie we received from the vet awhile back.  It’s not the nicest, but with the loop that goes around the neck, it’ll be the easiest to use in case of an emergency.

I went to the Humane Society’s website and found this article.  Luckily, I had most of what they were recommending on my list.  They do have other items too that would be great to have on hand.

dog emergency kit

I would highly recommend creating a dog emergency kit for yourself to have.  I mean, with some adjustments this would work for your cat, too.  We just don’t have any cats – darn allergies!  These little guys can fit nicely into a small plastic tote and then be sealed, labeled and stowed away until they are actually needed.  

I would also suggest setting a reminder to go through your kit each year.  Throw away anything that is out of date and replace any used or old product.  I have a alert in our Google Calendar for each January to go through ours.  

DIY Sharpie Mugs

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What do you do when you have a ridiculous early flight out and need a ride?  You bribe your sister and brother-in-law to take you to the airport.  Well technically I didn’t need to bribe them, but I still wanted to say thanks for getting up super early, driving us to the airport and still making it to work on time.  

Of course, I was trying to stick within our budget especially with our Florida vacation that we were flying out to.  I opted for a simple homemade gift.  I love homemade gifts.  I have made quite a few over the past few months.  Usually I save them for Christmas, but I’ve been known to break out my crafting skills when the occasion calls for it. 

Seriously – I have an addiction to homemade gifts.  

Here are just a few of the others I’ve made over the years.

DIY Front Door Wreath

DIY Ribbon Wreath

DIY Mother’s Day Picture Frame with handprints gift

DIY Father’s Day with Handprints gift

DIY Christmas Picture Ornaments

Let’s get back to this DIY project – making Sharpie mugs that are super easy. 

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All you need is a plain mug and a few sharpies.  The best sharpies are the oil-based Sharpies, but when you don’t have them then you make it work.  You can be as creative or be as basic as you want.  I wanted to keep the message simple – best aunt ever and best uncle ever.  

Once you have the design on your mug, just let it dry for a few hours.  I let mine dry overnight before baking.  After a few hours then you can bake it at 350 for 30 minutes.  

TIP: Put the mug in the cold oven before turning it on.  Once the oven hits 350 degrees then let it bake for 30 minutes.

These mugs should be hand washed (even if using the oil-based Sharpies) to help preserve your design.

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These mugs turned out so cute!  Totally makes up for the early flight, right?  That’s what I was thinking! What thank you gifts are your go-tos?