Paint marker mugs

Hey Guys!

If you are stuck for ideas for last-minute Christmas gifts, I have a winner right here. Everybody uses mugs, and you can easily customise this present to the likes of whoever the recipient is. E.g. Their favourite movies, TVs programs, bands, jokes etc.

You will need:

- Paint markers. Don't use sharpies!!! I tried that, but it all washed off after once in the dishwasher :( . Mine are from Amazon, and they come with 12 colours. They seem good.

- A mug. It doesn't really matter what sort of quality. I just got mine for £2

Steps:

1) Get your equipment ready. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius (350 degrees Fahrenheit for all our American readers). With the pens, you may have to shake them a bit, then press the nib up and down a few times before ink starts to come out.

2) Start drawing your designs. I would suggest relatively simple ones, as the nibs are quite thick, about the same as that of a felt tip pen.

3) Place your mug in the oven for 30 mins. When finished, wait a while for it to cool down before you take it out. Then, you can start using your new mug.

By Annie

PS: Here is a picture of some shaved alpacas. I just thought you might like to see that.

Washi tape Christmas tree cards

Hi guys!

Are you not at all arty (like me!) but you still want to make nice, handmade cards for people? Don't want to spend hours copying out finicky patterns? Well, you've come to the right place. These cards take almost no time to make, and they use items you probably allready have.

You will need:

- two pieces of a4 paper. I used the brown for outside, and normal white paper on the inside.

- washi tape, the more designs the better

- scissors

Steps:

1) Collect your materials. Fold both pieces of paper in half, and put the white one in the brown one.

2) Get two short pieces of greenish-coloured tape, and stick them horizontally at the bottom. You could cut each piece, but I like to rip them, as it makes it look more handmade.

3) Get another strip of tape, and put it vertically on top of the two previous ones. Then, keep adding more tape, making each piece shorter until you get to the top. I have a nice gold sparkly tape that I put as the top, as it's similar to the star on a Christmas tree.

Now you've finished, and you can write a nice message inside, and give it to somebody who I'm sure will appreciate your handmade card.

By Annie