Hey friends! Happy Wednesday!! Such a beautiful week this week.. really soaking in the fun with the family and enjoying summer like nothing else. My family and HUGE extended family on my dad's side are all coming this weekend for a big Campbell Family reunion! This is my most favorite reunion. My dad had 12 brothers and sisters and most of them had large families as did he and my mom (I have 6 siblings) and so those reunions are just HUGE and so fun. Oddly enough.. though there are hundreds of us.. we are all really close? isn't that so weird? I love it. Family is so important to me.
Anyhow.. Monday we found ourselves at the new/old house again.. (i swear it's a nightly thing now.. just going over to see ben and braden who are always there working away on the house or shipping for Scarlet Lime... and then hanging out on a blanket, under the trees.. talking, laughing, creating something, looking on pinterest.. shooting bow and arrows, throwing the football. Something.) but monday night we found oursevles there having "family night".. FHE as we call it.. and after a wonderful lesson on being honest by Preston.. we decided to get a little artsy and have some fun. One of the goals I set for myself in the Living Canvas workshop, to create balance in my life was to do some kind of art project as a family at least once a month (I have actually been doing it twice a month so far). Ben and Braden (who is my oldest, 16 and too cool for just about everything).. also participate. I have to say.. Seriously that class has helped make my life SO much more organized and meaningful Reminding me what matters most (this class is currently closed but opens again next month!)
Anyhow... I am a lover of Pinterest as of late.. and saw this idea Elsie from a Beautiful Mess took a mug from the dollar store and transformed it with sharpie markers. Then you are to bake them for 30 mins at 350 degrees (though I saw on another site it was 150 Degrees..) but This the example I saw here.. SO if I would have taken the time to read the post.. instead of just look at the picture, I would have KNOWN that they are not dishwasher safe.. but I didn't.. so here is my experience with it.
So i went to the dollar store and grabbed my buckets of sharpies and we went to town.
The kid really had fun with it.. including ben...
I wanted to make a set of mugs for my new art studio..so when friends come to play and get messy.. they also have something fun and inspirational to drink out of.. so i took my doodling and went to town as well..
I even wrote a little note in the bottom of them
We had a TON of fun just being creative, sitting on blankets outside on the lawn.. kids truly had a blast.
SO then was the real test. I baked them for 30 mins at 350 degrees. I actually let them all cool in the oven for another hour.. so I could take them out one by one and make sure they wouldn't smear or brake when I was taking them out. (yeah I am pretty clumsy..lol)
Then I stuck them in the dishwasher.
and well..
nope! lol.. it wasn't quite as permanent as I had hoped. While some of the designs still stayed on them, you could see alot some coming off and since then we have washed them a few more times (because we have been using them) and they have continued to come off.
So then I decided to go BACK to the post and read a little more.. and she did end up saying she tried handwashing and even scrubbing with a sponge and it held up just fine.. however when she put them in the dishwasher it came right off.
SO i learned two things from this..
One: Always READ the research you are doing.. dont' just look at the pretty pictures lol.. and two: pinterest pretty much rocks. :)
I know you can probably also use porcelain pens on the mugs as well. DecoArt makes some that are permanent. I am going to try next time as well too. so we will keep you posted!
Anyhow.. just wanted to share with you!
Next week I want to do THIS fun little project by Chrissie Grace, I saw on pinterest as well.. a few different version..
but just rocks, paints and probably more sharpies (or even Faber Castell pens!) I loved her idea that she put them on her front table and when people came to visit, she would ask them to take one with them. I also love the idea of randomly leaving them on peoples doorsteps.. as a little bit of love. Great project for the kids on both accounts.. creating and sharing.
So I will keep you posted on what happens! I have started to pin a ton of project that I "Must create".. so when I do.. whether for family night or just for myself.. I will keep you posted on how it goes!
Have a wonderful wednesday!
