DIY Disney Inspired Sharpie Mug

Yeah, another Sharpie Mug project. There seems to be another one every time I turn around. Here's the deal: I had to know. Does it work? How? How long does it stay? Can it go in the dishwasher? So I decided to give it a whirl here at the cottage and let you all know exactly what I discovered.

I found this adorable little mug and immediately thought of my favorite Disney artist, Mary Blair, and how precious a little Small World & Sword in the Stone inspiration would be right there on the side of it. Done! I found these adorable little squirrels in the Silhouette shop. Specifically, I used "Squirrel" (design ID 31948), "Retro Tree" (design ID 3343), the heart from "I Love You Card" (design ID 24426) and the leaf from a random "flower" design. I then aligned them on the Silhouette using the alignment feature and cut out this vinyl stencil.

Applying the stencil to a curved surface was tricky. Cutting slits along the bottom of the stencil between shapes was helpful, but there was plenty of finagling involved.

I used Whipperberry's Sharpie Mug Gift Tutorial. Which means I used regular Sharpies so this mug is not headed for the dishwasher. (Apparently the oil-based Sharpies do well in dishwasher. But given enough research, they too seem to fail.) I used both my fine tips and my broad tip markers with great results, at first. You can see the marker lines on some of the colors, but try as I might (and I am generally adept at such things,) I couldn't find a way to completely eliminate these. Also, if you do this, use the light colors before the dark ones. I drew the yellow spots on after the outline of the tree and the marker wanted to bleed into the yellow, even though I had applied it 24 hours before.

I baked this mug at 350 for 30 min and let it cool down in the oven. The lighter colors turned a little browner after baking. I wasn't prepared for that. I waited 24 hours before hand washing. And in the end, the design still scrubbed right of. Bummer.

At this point I was thinking about using the mug to hold little bits and bobs in the studio. But I read in the comments on Pinstrosity that baking at 450 for 30 min might do the trick, so I gave that a try. (By the way, the comments on this were all over the map. Seems that mugs can vary greatly even when you buy the same brand and use the same pens and oven. Boo.) No such luck. It looks like this sweet mug is destined for the studio after all. So until next time, may all your days be filled with fairy dust!

DIY Hollywood Brown Derby Grapefruit Cake

This is my go-to cake recipe. I know, the grapefruit sounds really weird. I hear that you either love it, or you hate it. I happen to love it. And at every event I've taken it to or served it for, it has been a roaring success. I first ran across it in a copy of Flour, Butter, Sugar, Eggs (which appears to be out of print, but still available through Amazon). I didn't even realize you could get it at Disney until a few years ago. This is a photograph of the slice I had during our lunch with an Imagineer in October 2012. THAT was as amazing as this cake. (If you've never done this and your family is full of Disney geeks, this is SO the event for you. We were with 10 others who were just as geeked out as we were. Squee!)

The Grapefruit Cake very dense and the frosting is of the cream cheese variety. I also tend to like my sweets a little less sweet and a little more savory or tangy. So there you have it. If you like a dense cake with cream cheese frosting, give this recipe a try. It could really surprise you. I think it's the perfect thing for Easter brunch. Oh, and I make two cakes so my layers aren't super thin. Here's the recipe:

Disney's Hollywood Studios Grapefruit Cake:

Ingredients:
1-1/2 C sifted cake flour
3/4 C sugar
1-1/2 t baking powder
1/2 t salt
1/4 C water
1/4 C vegetable oil
3 eggs separated
3 T grapefruit juice
1/2 t grapefruit zest
1/4 t cream of tartar

Prepare:
Sift together flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt into mixing bowl. Make a well in center of dry ingredients. Add water, oil, egg yolks, grapefruit juice, and lemon rind. Beat until smooth. Beat egg whites and cream of tartar separately, until whites are stiff but not dry. Gradually pour egg yolk mixture over whites, folding gently with a rubber spatula until just blended. Do no stir the mixture. Pour into an ungreased pan. Bake at 350 for 25-30 min., or until cake springs back when lightly touched with a finger. Invert pan on cake rack until cool. Run spatula around edge of cake. Carefully remove from pan.

Yield 4-6 portions

Cream Cheese Frosting:

Ingredients:
2 6-oz packages of cream cheese
2 t lemon juice
1 t lemon zest
3/4 C powdered sugar
1 16 oz can grapefruit sections (or one grapefruit, sectioned)

Prepare:
Let cream cheese soften at room temperature. Beat cheese until fluffy. Add lemon juice and zest. Gradually blend in sugar. Beat until well blended. Crush several grapefruit sections to measure 2 T. Blend into frosting (this makes it so pretty!). Spread frosting on bottom half of cake, cover with second layer of cake. Frost top and sides. Garnish with grapefruit sections.

It's a bit of work, but SO worth it! Until next time, may all your days be filled with fairy dust!