My Mug Rugs

Finally, after spending all that time dreaming about mug rugs, I got around to making a few. Check out the post I made awhile back about my new obsession. I just couldn't get enough of them. I was looking all over the internet to find mug rugs to make, ideas to do, and just anything that inspired me. I enjoyed the idea of making the mug rugs more personalized and special to each person. I just need someone to make them for.

My mother-in-law and father-in-law both have August birthdays and now that August is over I can finally post their gifts. Of course I wanted to make them MUG RUGS!!!! My father-in-law has an RV and it has been one of those running jokes between us, about how much I am not a fan of the RV. I figured it would be a great idea to make him an RV mug rug. I used some flannel fabric I had on hand, and just picked matching scrap fabric that coordinated with the flannel.

I started out by drawing up the RV template on some freezer paper. I just added all the details that I wanted to sew on. I even made notes of colors and anything else.

I then cut the RV out, of course I used my PAPER scissors, not my fabric scissors.

Then I cut out all the small compartments. I made a second set, by using extra freezer paper, placing it on top of the RV drawing and tracing the small compartments. I then wrote down what they all were and cut them out.

I then ironed down the freezer paper onto the RV main body fabric. I then pinned and cut it out. I gave myself extra room on all sides just in case I needed it.

I then sewed the sides and bottom, leaving the top open. I am going to be placing the bins on the roof and thought that I might as well leave it open, that way I can tuck them in, and just top stitch across it.

I made the wheels by using two black pieces of fabric, cutting them into circles, stitching around the circle, leaving a hole, flipping it inside out and then ironed the hole so the seams all line up. I then place them onto the RV where I want them to be. You can use your template for placement.

Once I top stitched the tires on and I pretty much did the same thing with the bins for the roof. I stitched 3 sides, flipped them inside out, and left the BOTTOM open. I then slid those opened bottoms into the top of the roof (remember we left it open) and pinned those in place. Time to top stitch the RV.

Now that the RV is closed up and the wheels are on, I cut out the small pieces that go on the RV. I cut them out with about 1/2 inch extra, all the way around. I then iron that 1/2 inch under the piece/freezer paper. Then I laid them onto the RV to test if they all fit in place correctly.

I then used matching thread and contrasting thread to top stitch those pieces into place, and to add accent and details. I highly recommend using a fabric glue stick for helping place the smaller pieces down in place.

Details, like handles make this mug rug perfect!

Also, I added my handmade label onto the back of the mug rug.

The finished mug rug RV was so dang cute, I had a hard time giving it away. Ill make one for myself, someday!

The second mug rug I made, which took a little more planning; was for my Mother-in-laws birthday. Now, let me explain a little why I gave her the mug rug that I made for her. She loves to read, yes; but she is also a librarian. I wanted to make sure I had the "classics" on her "bookshelf". I even thought about making this mug rug two or three shelves, but once I saw how small the books would be, I decided against it, because the books would be to small to add titles. I really wanted to add the titles to the books to give them just that much more realistic feel.

Alright, enough gibber gabber, lets see the mug rug, right?

To start out, I cut out a bunch of scrap fabric that matched or coordinated well with each other. I made sure to write down each pieces size, for future reference. (Reference, get it? HAHA.... shes a librarian!)

I used the sizes of the books to help me cut out the black background pieces. I didn't even bother attempting to figure out how to sew the fabric onto the tilted book, so I cut several large pieces, sewed them on, and laid the book in place where I liked it. I then sewed the two books to the side of it, and trimmed off the extra fabric. Walllaaaaa, I had a tilted book! I also used a dark brown as the shelf, or base, and you'll see why in a minute.

I then cut out and made the book labels with different fonts. (If you want to see how I did this, check out how to make labels.)

When I cut out the book titles, I left about a 1/2 inch to about 3/4 of an inch all the way around them. Then I ironed the extra fabric under/to the back side, to give the labels a clean folded edge. I then top stitched them onto their books.

Once all the books were in place, with their titles, I added a back fabric, and batting.

I then quilted the brown fabric to look like wood; remember its a bookshelf!

I quilted the books by stitching around them and slightly inside the books. Nothing too fancy as I wanted the books to be the main focus, not the quilting.

I chose the black fabric to put on as the binding, and finished that by hand. If you want to see how I sew on my binding, which is super easy, check out the video.

Heres the back, all quilted up.

Lastly, I added a cute label to the mug rugs back. Perfect!

Time to Enjoy the Morning Coffee,
Sarah

MUG RUGS!!!!

Who out there has any clue what a Mug Rug is? Anyone?

Ok so I was so clueless on what these were, and honestly thought they were a carpet rug of some sort that everyone was going crazy over. Well, I was soooo wrong!

What are mug rugs?
     They are small, rectangular quilts, or hand sewn designs, simply made for your morning (or evening) coffee/tea and or snack. I see them as large coasters.

Why would they be so popular?
     I think they are popular because people are obsessed with having personalized items, small whimsical items, and hand made products. I also think they are popular because everyone loves to work on an instantly satisfying project that you can make with in a day or two, or even a few hours.

How do I get one/make one?
     They are all over Etsy, and other shops. They also are tons of ideas and tutorials on pinterest, that are easy to find. If you are one to make your own, kind of person, then think of these little guys as a quilt block. You basically make one block, and then quilt and bind it. Done!

Ok so where do I get inspiration to make one (or buy one)?
     Look no further, here you go:

Found this Halloween themed one over here on Flickr.

and heres another Halloween one, also on Flickr.

Another holiday one, except for Christmas. I am always a sucker for vintage Christmas.

and yet another more simple Christmas themed mug rug.

and just a few that I like:

Check this out over here:

and this one is so adorable, here:

and can't leave this one out:

Ill wait while you pick your jaw up off the ground.....

.......

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OK, you ok now?

Great so back to what I was saying.... Now its time for us all to sew! I am so ready to make one like the little camper, ahhh, its just so cute. I also love the idea of using everyones hobby, and making a mug rug for each person I can think of. That way I can make mug rugs for days!

So, have you made any mug rugs? If so what?

Leave a comment and let me know.

Get Inspired,
Sarah

California Vacation

Have you ever gone on that one vacation and it just starts out awesome, but ends in a huge crash and burn? The one, where when you get home you think, "I never want to remember that trip ever again." Or maybe you have had that vacation where you planned everything out and everyday had something going on, then suddenly ... you end up in the ER and your entire trip is pretty much cancelled! Anyone?

Well, if you read my last post you know the vacation had an awesome start! We even made it to Disneyland (for the first day). We booked a weekend at the local RV lot, drove the father-in-laws RV  up on Friday, and got settled in. We went to Disneyland on Saturday with some of my family and my husbands parents. It was a lot of fun, minus the fact my oldest had his top two teeth coming in and was popping fevers and crying and wanted to be held the entire day. OTHER then that, the day was a lot of fun, with a lot of laughs!

We finished up the day, and headed back to the RV to get ready for the night and our next day at Disneyland. The boys went to bed well, including my sick one, and they both slept a solid 11 hours! It was a miracle! When we all woke up, we took our time, as we weren't meeting up with anyone, and packed up for the day. We grabbed our shuttle like the day before and headed off for a day of fun!

When we arrived we just took our time. We did a parent swap so I could finally ride star tours with all those new story lines. It was awesome and I am glad I was able to ride the ride. We then went to the nursery off main street to change the boys diapers and feed them. When we got their, Jared was upset and ready to eat, so I fed Jared and my husband tried to feed our oldest. I then went to change Jared's diaper, and when I came out to switch my husband for our oldest I leaned down, and my knee popped several times, and I felt a seriously large amount of pain. My husband jumped into action and grabbed Jared out of my arms. Another gentleman grabbed a chair and helped me sit down.

The rest of the day just seemed to be a blur. The Disneyland sheriff, or cop, or whatever they are came to take a report. However, after being with me for awhile we agreed the best idea was to try and pop my knee back in (as thats what I have done in the past). When I did so, I felt even more pulling and no pops. So, they then called an ambulance to take me to the hospital. By now, both of my boys are crying and the staff had taken both of them and tried to calm them down. The staff at the nursery were amazingly nice, and helped my husband collect all our belongings. My oldest was upset pretty bad, so the staff gave him a small mickey mouse. I only learned this after the entire day was over.

Once the emergency personnel had arrived I was a hot mess myself. I was crying, I was telling my husband I was so sorry, I know I said "I ruined everything", a few hundred times. I was eventually lifted onto a stretcher, transferred to the ambulance and got to see a small part of the back stage area. Sadly, it was not how I wanted to see the back stage area. I got to see my oldest and my husband before I was rushed off to the hospital. My husband and kids were given a ride back to the RV and my husband pulled everything, cleaned everything, and drove the RV to his Aunts house.

Thankfully, my husbands Aunts house was just up the street. My husband drove the RV to her house, dropped it off, dropped off the boys with her daughters to babysit while his Aunt drove him to the hospital. While he was busy getting that done, I was at the ER getting my knee re-set. My knee cap was about an inch out of its socket, they pumped me full of pain meds and pulled my leg, what felt like, a hundred times. Once they reset my knee cap, the x-ray person came to take some pictures.

I was pretty relaxed and exhausted at this point. The doctor came by to see me and introduce himself. He mentioned he would look at the x-rays and get back to me as soon as possible. I laid in the bed for awhile. I started to feel pain again, and shortly after I was in excruciating pain. I asked the nurse for more pain meds and mentioned that I could feel a lot of pain. She said "Yeah I KNOW, but you just have to wait for the Dr to come see you first." I was so upset, and in a lot of pain. I laid in the bed crying, and crying even more.

After about an hour and a half passed without any pain meds, my wonderful husband finally showed up! I was so happy to see him. I was crying when he arrived, explained what happened, and he talked to a very different nurse. The nurse made a call, and the doctor came by about 40 minutes later. While we waited, my husband went back out to get his Aunt and she came to visit. Then when my husband came back, the Orthopedic surgeon finally showed up. As he was asking me to bed my knee and straighten it I mentioned I was off pain meds for the past 2 hours or so. He ordered pain meds right then and there. He then explained the x-rays came back with nothing out of place. In other words the first doctors had reset my knee cap. The doctor then continued to explain that he would get our paperwork started so we could leave. I started to cry because yet again I was going to be sent home and yet again leave without an answer as to why my knee was killing me.

My husband asked for an MRI to see why I was still in pain. I was crying and saying "here we go again, going around in circles." Eventually the doctor agree to do the MRI. After another hour or so, a few puke bags later and puke all over the MRI machine; I had my MRI done. I was give a nausea medicine three different times. The first two didn't work, the third one; which I received after my MRI, helped and I even got some rest.

While I was asleep, my husband made a few phone calls to let the family know what was going on. Meanwhile, I received a text message from my family that my mother was also in the hospital. Now, this day just went from bad to worse. I eventually got the information from the orthopedic surgeon that my ACL was torn, and that there was a lot of scar tissue. The pain that I was feeling was the scar tissue rubbing in all the wrong places and the torn ACL. I was given a prescription of some pain meds and headed out the door.

I arrived at the ER around 11AM and we were getting in the car to go back to my husbands Aunts house around 10pm! I had a muffin for breakfast around 9am, and nothing else the entire day. I was finally going to enjoy some food! Once I got back to my husbands Aunts house I contacted my family and found out what was going on with my mother. Thankfully she was admitted to the hospital and had surgery for her kidney. She was having pain and they caught it just in time. She thankfully is doing a lot better now, and is recovering!

The rest of our trip was pretty much something like this: I would mope around, sit on the couch, cry, and feel horrible that I couldn't do anything. Meanwhile, my poor husband was getting up at 5 or 6am with our little guy, and dealing with both our toddler and our little one all on his own. We did get to go out on a date night with my brother-in-law and my sister-in-law, thanks to my mother-in-law and father-in-law watching the kids for us. We did a lot of sitting around the house and having friends come visit us.

Our double date night! At the movies, note the crutches :(

 The vacation basically turned into a long period of time where I was in pain and my husband was left to take care of the kids. In the end the vacation wasn't a vacation. I still am so thankful for my amazing husband who has and did take care of all three of us. I could not thank him and everyone who helped myself and my kids enough! It was a lot easier with the extra help, and I'm glad we had so many helpful hands around. I don't think we could have done it without all the extra help.

We packed up our stuff, OK really my husband packed up our stuff, and we headed up to Beale AFB. We arrived Thursday morning, received our house before noon, and our TMO was delivered on Friday. Unfortunately, our TMO did not go so well, but that will have to wait for another post!

So glad to be home,
Sarah