Day 22 & Day 23: Easy Maxi-Dress & Monogram Cocoa Mugs

I'm feeling a day late and a dollar short these days -- just can't keep up. My sister Leslie and her friend Kristen came down from Vegas yesterday to take Sis to the Taylor Swift concert so I spent the day cleaning and then enjoying their company.  But that just means you get a two-for-one today!  Yesterday I was almost prepared to share my super-cute, super-easy maxidress with you.

So cute and super simple.  I've had some fabric laying around for a long time for which I've been waiting and waiting to find the perfect use.  So I used some of my birthday money and bought a cute t-shirt and came up with this:

This was the first time I have used elastic thread so I was a little wary, but I followed the tutorial at A Small Snippet and I really like it.  Also, I didn't know if I would want a sash that tied in a bow in the back -- that seemed like something only a tiny girl like LeAna could pull off -- so I used the bottom part of the shirt that I cut off to make a gathered waistband.

I'm not sure if I'm loving that, but it works for now.  I'll probably keep my eye out for a wide belt in my thrifting to wear with it instead.  I think LeAna mentioned it it in her original post, but pictures of this dress on the hanger do not do it justice.  It's really pretty cute in real life.  Unfortunately I am pretty anti-photo-of-myself so you'll just have to take my word for it.  It WAS super-easy -- a good project for a beginning sew-er.  And cute.  And cheap.

Today's project is something that would be a great neighbor gift for Christmas.  I saw this idea for monogrammed cocoa mugs from Design Mom and it was love at first sight.  First of all, Sketchblock is kind of the "it" font right now and I'm not ashamed to say that I LOVE it, so instantly that caught my attention.  Then, the mismatched white mugs?  You had me at hello.  I bought some porcelain paint a while back for a project that didn't really turn out so I already had that on hand {but it's pretty inexpensive if you don't}and the mugs can be found at Goodwill for less than 50 cents -- especially if you don't need them to match.  The mugs I found were Pottery Barn mugs for 35 cents apiece.  Sweet.  The process is pretty simple, and until you bake it you can wash the paint right off if you make a mistake. Sketchblock font is pretty forgiving, too, as far as this project is concerned because it's really just a bunch of scribbles.  The best part is that my kids were beyond thrilled to have their very own mugs.

The day I was taking pictures of the mugs, I happened to find this recipe for 5 Minute Coffee Cake in a Cup on Prudent Baby so I thought I'd give that a whirl, too.  As promised, it was quick and delicious.  I love single serving treats I can make just for myself after the kids go to school!

Brent was working from home that day -- I DID NOT eat two of them.  Even though I may or may not have wanted to.  It doesn't look like much in that picture, but it was scrumptious.  Now I just need to make myself a cute mug and I'll be all set!

Join me tomorrow for some cute dishrags and hand towels I made for my kitchen and guest bathroom.  I promise I'll be on time now.  For a complete list of projects click here: