Monogrammed Pressies

Like almost every year, well, it has been so for the last few years, I like to make gifts for friends during Christmas. 

It is a yearly routine. Around May or June, I would start thinking about things I can make to give away during Christmas. 

Please, hold your thoughts if you think I am some Santa Claus or whatever. Now, with that thought held, banish it!

=)

That is because the reason for gifts this festive season is because God first gave us the greatest gift, His Son, Jesus Christ to forgive us of our sins. 

Ain't that great??

Okay, now back to the gifts I made this year.

I decided to make monogrammed bowls. Actually, my initial plan was to make monogrammed mugs... but when I got to Ikea, there were no mugs that I could scribble on, not that I wanted to scribble... 

ANYWAYS, I just got bowls. 

If you want to know where I got my inspiration from (and the reason that my initial plan was to monogram mugs) you can click the on the link.

Monogrammed Mugs

After I bought it, I Facebook messaged my cousin from New Zealand asking her if she got me my porcelain pens because they don't sell them in Malaysia.

She said no.

She didn't get it!!!

Dilemma, dilemma, dilemma.

WHAT IN THE WORLD AM I GOING TO DO WITH SO MANY BOWLS AT HOME????

MY MOM IS GOING TO KILL ME!!

As it is, I am (to her) a hoarder. 

I know I am not one, but she classifies me that way, so I am going to tell you what I am classified as.

Next move?

I need to get through to her to HELP me!!

I mean, I can't use Sharpie to write on bowls, the ink would just come off after one wash! And I am sure you would not want to have poisonous ink stuck to your food stuff.

EEEEEK!

So anyways, I prayed and I begged and bla bla bla...

And, look below!!

I GOT IT!

She came back around a week before Christmas and passed those precious pens to my hands.

It is around NZD8.99 so... okay, I shall not convert it to MYR. Too lazy.

Almost instantly, I started on the project!

Catherine (my cousin that brought back those pens) and I got the fonts printed, cut and traced, using graphite paper (or carbon paper).

One important tip is to use a pen to trace. I don't know why but with a pencil, the graphite does not really stain the bowl well. I guess carbon is softer that the tip of a ball point pen.

After sticking them and tracing them...

It was all going according to plan.

After tracing, we slowly peeled off the two layers. If you want to do this also, remember to check if the graphite is transferred before you peel of the whole thing.

Then, it's the scary part.

Writing on the alphabets that were traced!
I didn't dare to do polka dots and other designs because I was afraid that I would ruin it. But I don't think it looks that bad from the picture right?

After 24 hours, I baked it in the oven at 150 degrees Celsius for 35 minutes.

AND IT IS DONE!!!!!

After looking at it, the bowl looked a little weird to be given as a Christmas present just like that so I baked sugar cookies, thanks to Martha Stewart.

So yeah, mine was not that great, seriously.

But I hope those of you who ate it felt the LURVE I poured into making the cookie. 

That was about what I did for Christmas pressies this year.

Last year, it was skirts for the girls and chocolate cookies for the guys.

The year before last was box files with some memorabilia...

I wonder what I'll be up to next year. =) 

MERRY BELATED CHRISTMAS and a HAPPY NEW YEAR folks!