Sharpie Mug

I made a sharpie mug for my cousin for his birthday. Well I had a bit of trouble, so I made two. The first one I made had a thick gloss and I had followed the instructions from pinterest, I baked the mug for 25 minutes at 375 degrees Fahrenheit, I let the mug cool completely in the oven, then I tried washing it. The Sharpie came right off! I had washed it with water only, and I had used a hand-knit cotton dish cloth. So I went searching on the internet for some more Sharpie Mug tutorials. They all we about the same. So I combined what I had learned from them together to try another mug.

First you HAVE to use a chep-O Mug from the dollar store. The glaze has to be light/thin. So not supper shiny. If the cup looks dull then you're good to go.

Second you HAVE to wear gloves. Why? Because you need to keep the oils on your hands from getting on the mug. The oils will prevent the marker from fusing with the glaze when baked.

Third you HAVE to let the marker dry for at least a full Twenty-Four hours. The market bakes better when completely dry.

Forth you need to bake the mug at 400 degrees Fahrenheit. The higher temperature allows the glaze and sharpie to fuse better.

Once you have your mug then you need to pick out you design. When you are ready to draw the design on your mug you need to pull out your markers and set up. Put on some gloves (rubber, latex, or latex free. No cloth gloves). Now you need to clean the surface of the mug with Rubbing Alcohol. Let it dry, it won't take very long. Now put your design on the mug. Let it dry for at least twenty-four hours.

When you are ready to bake your mug, place it on a baking sheet. Place it in the COLD oven, then turn on the heat. Let it bake for 25 to 30 minutes. When it is done baking DO NOT remove the mug from the oven, because it might crack. Allow it to cool in the oven, until the oven is cold.

Once your mug is cool, if it seems like the Sharpie might was off, you can bake the mug again.

 Now your mug is done! YAY!!

The sharpie will ware off over time. The mug must be washed by hand or else that Sharpie could wash off. There's a chance it won't wash off in the dishwasher, but if you want to be safe just handwash.

Here is a picture of the mugs I made. Good Luck if you choose to make one yourself.

September Birthday's

The first birthday in September was my Brother-in-Law.

I made him a beanie. It's made using a Garter Stitch. (Foam Head Provided by Aunt Kristy)

The second birthday was my Aunt.

I made her a soda can cozy. She loves Diet Coke, so I thought she might like a little cozy for her soda.

I think I used a moss stitch, but I can't remember. 

Have a Creative Day, 

Cera 

July and August Knitting Projects

July was my Grandma's 82nd birthday. So I knit some squares and embroidered Grandma is Love on the squares. One letter per square. I then put them on a pillow case.

July was also my little cousins birthday. He turned two. So I made him some knitted blocks. He loves throwing them. Luckily they are soft.

August was my Uncles birthday and he is a Denver Bronco's Fan. So I made him a matching hat and scarf set. (Foam head provided by Aunt Kristy)

August was also my cousins birthday. He likes to go Hunting. So I made him a matching hat and scarf set, so that he can blend in and stand out all at the same time. (Foam head provided by Aunt Kristy)

April Birthday

My Grandma Kitty's birthday was in April and I decided that I was going to make her a blanket. Well it took longer to make than I had expected. I finally finished it in June. And I am now finally posting about it. You'll notice in the first two pictures that the bottom yarn is lighter than the rest of the blanket. Well I didn't realize that until I was almost done. I checked the dye lots on all the yarn I got and they were the same. The bottom just had to be different and stand out. My Grandma loves it any way. I used the Arrowhead lace throw pattern from Red Heart, the yarn I used was Red Heart Super Tweed Landshark, I used four skeins. Even though it was a lot of work I would totally make this blanket again, because the finished product is beautiful!

June knitting Projects

Well this Month is a big birthday month in my Family. There are three birthdays one after another. So I made them something. Well expect for my Dad I still haven't gotten his gift done yet.


For my cousin I made him a drink cozy and put it on a bottle of soda that he likes. I used a variegated yearn that was kind of a bright rainbow. My Dad helped me by cutting the buttons from a piece of Salt Cedar.

 For my Aunt I also made her a drink cozy with Salt Cedar buttons. This one was also made from a variegated yarn, and I think the yarn color was called Wildflowers.  I put the cozy on a water that she could use at work or while in her garden.

They both seemed to like the cozy's.

Have a Creative Day,
Cera

12 Egg Pound Cake

Yesterday I made a TWELVE Egg Pound Cake! Now you might think I am crazy, but I have twelve Hens and they give me LOTS of eggs, and I got tired of always making breakfast foods. Plus I don't like eating eggs all that much I really have to be in the mood for them. So I started my quest for any recipe that used a lot of eggs and I found this one.

Original Recipe from: Just a Pinch Recipes

Ingredients

1lb. Unsalted Butter, softend
3 1/2 Cups Sugar
1/4 tsp. Salt
1 tsp. Baking Powder
12 Eggs
1 1/2 tsp. Vanilla Extract
4 Cups All-Purpose Flour, Sifted

 

Directions

1. In a large bowl cream butter thoroughly, gradually add sugar, beat until light and fluffy, add vanilla mix well.

2. In a medium bowl mix baking powder and salt with flour. Add 3 tablespoons flour mixture to butter and sugar mixture; beat well.

3. Add remaining flour and eggs alternating between the two until all the flour and eggs have been incorporated starting and ending with flour. 

4. Buttered and flour two 10 inch bunt pans. (I like to use a nonstick spray that already has flour in it) Bake at 325 degrees Fahrenheit  for 1 hour. Cakes are done when knife comes out clean from middle of cake.

This cake is very tasty and for me it is a good way to use lots of eggs without having to make breakfast food!

Have a Yummy Day,

Cera

Recent Projects

Okay so I am finally posting!!!!!!!!!!!! Well it's because I don't want my Aunt to have a bone to pick with me the next time I see her ;-p

Here's what I've made recently..........

A bag for my Niece's 8th birthday. I found a pattern here, Elisa Nest Tote. I made it my own though by using an Open Star Stitch.

A scarf for my Cousin's birthday. I used a pattern from the book The Knitting Experience: Book 1: The Knit Stitch by Sally Melville. I have also made a second scarf using the same pattern using  four different shades of  purple.

There are a couple more things that I have made, but I need to get some pictures to post. I've made a drink cozy, a baby blanket, and I am currently working on something for my Grandma Kitty's birthday. Although I think I will have to give her an IOU card because I started the project a little late and I don't know that I will have it done in four days...... 

Well I hope everyone has a great day,
Cera

Sourdough Dinner Rolls

Today I am experimenting with making Sourdough dinner rolls, by request from my Dad.

So far the experiment has turned out fairly well. The dough is proofing and it looks good.

I looked at a lot of recipes online and I was getting pretty frustrated, because all the recipes I was coming across used Active or Rapid-Rise Yeast! I don't want to use yeast because I am using a sourdough starter. So the search continued. Finally I found it! A recipe for sourdough dinner rolls that didn't call for yeast, only the starter.

I found it on Sourdough Companion. I used a tiny bit more milk then what is called for and my dough looked great! 

I'll post an update about this experiment with some pictures of the finished product later.

Have a Yummy Day!

Bacon Wrapped Chicken

Yesterday we had a really nice Sunday dinner after Church.
We had Bacon Wrapped Chicken, Roasted Asparagus and Crock Pot Potatoes and Rainbow Carrots! YUM!

For The Chicken I cut some boneless skinless breast and thigh meat into chunks. Seasoned with salt and Mrs. Dash Lemon Pepper. Cut each piece of bacon in half, then wrapped the chicken and placed it on a sheet pan. Baked at 400 degrees Fahrenheit for 30 minutes. To crisp up the bacon place it back in the oven at 450 degrees Fahrenheit for 15 minutes.

For the Asparagus I just trimmed them and put them on a sheet pan seasoned with salt and pepper and baked at 450 degrees Fahrenheit for 25 minutes.

For the potatoes and rainbow carrots I cut them into chunks and placed in a crock pot cooker with one small onion. Seasoned them with Salt and Mrs. Dash Table blend. Cook on high for about 3 hours or until tender.

I also made a gravy from the drippings of the chicken and bacon. So it was a chicken bacon lemon pepper gravy. I added a little chicken broth to the drippings after removing them from the pan, seasoned with a little Mrs. Dash Lemon Pepper and brought it to a boil. Thickened with a rue of flour and water. It was so GOOD!

Knitting adventures.

For those of you who have been following my blog, you know that I am terrible at posting!
Well I had a thought........ I'll change the name of my blog and I'll start posting not only about food, but also about knitting.

I taught my self how to knit the end of 2011 beginning of 2012 and I really enjoy it.

Here are some pictures of a scarf that I've knitted.



Model courtesy of M&Em's Sweetspot.