Homemade Chalkboard Mugs

Things you’ll need:

• A porcelain mug
• Painters tape (optional)
• Porcelain chalkboard paint
• A soft bristle brush or a watercolor brush
• Some chalk for after the mug is done

1. Make sure your mug is clean and dry.
2. Use painter’s tape to mark off the areas that aren’t going to be painted. Or you could skip this step entirely and either eyeball 2” from the bottom of the mug or just paint the whole thing.
3. Apply the paint with a soft bristle brush. If you mess up, just wipe the paint away with a wet towel or paper towel and continue.
4. When you are done painting, remove the tape (if you used it) and let it dry. If you remove the tape after it dries the paint is likely to peel off. Let the paint dry for 24 hours then, bake your mug for 35 minutes at 300° F. After baking turn the oven off and leave the mug inside until cools to room temperature. Depending on the paint, it’s dishwasher and microwave safe.
5. Enjoy!

Christmas Tree Out of Magazines

Things you’ll need:

• A magazine(s) of your choice
• Tinsel, ornaments, other decorations

1. Tear the front and back covers off
2. Fold the upper-right corner of the first page. Just line it up with the spine of the magazine.
3. Crease the first fold. Fold the page along the magazine’s spine yet again using the same page you folded before.
4. Turn the page and fix the flap. After step 3, you’ll notice a bit of the page hanging down below the magazine. Once the page is turned fold that flap up so it’s aligned with the rest of the pages.
5. Repeat all of the steps page-by-page until you’re through with the whole magazine. To speed things up you can fold 2 pages together.
6. Once you’re done, add tinsel or ornaments to spice up your tree!