Mod Podge Letters

The original one I did a few years ago and posted about on my monogram wall.  I cannot find the picture on my computer, so this is as good as its gets.  Can you see it?  Or the bottom part of it?  Up at the very top? ;)  Sorry!

The "B" and "H" were Christmas gifts for my mom and sis.  Christmas 2011, not 2012.  This is why its Finish It Challenge #4 and #5. :)  Yep....I'm behind. Although these were finished a month or so ago, I just haven't had time to blog them. 

I thought I had done a tutorial on them....so if I didn't, I will....soon. ;)

Fall snack mix

I put together a little snack mix for all the kids teachers and helpers.  The only thing I had to buy was candy corn, all the rest was snacky stuff that we always have on hand.

Candy corn

Pretzels

Cheese-its

Peanuts 

Honey roasted peanuts

Dried cranberries

Golden raisins

Eyeball the amounts and mix together.   Enjoy!

Simple Superhero Cap and Cuffs {tutorial link}

 

My son was invited to a Birthday Party and like always, I ask the mom what she wants the kiddo to have as a gift.  (A mom's and kid's idea of a good gift often differ, plus I wouldn't want to get them something they already have! :)

She knows me well and knows that I rather enjoy crafting, so sent me this link that she found on pinterest.  Blankets weren't staying tied on when used as capes, so something else was needed. Never fear....Kelly to the rescue.  :)

The tutorial is great, I just made a few minor modifications.  

I bought 2 tshirts at the Dollar Store, since they weren't on sale at Hobby Lobby this week.  From now on....I'm saving the shirts that dear hubs donates.  This is such a perfect gift!!!

I opted for snaps (at the mom's request) at the neck instead of velcro, but am going to let them be tested and can add velcro if snaps seem to be cumbersome.

I used the green scraps to make these appliques.  I cut 3 squares bigger than my star shape out of wonder under, ironed them to the knit scraps, then die cut the stars (you can trace and hand cut though), ironed onto cape, and then stitched with contrasting thread.

I used a freezer paper stencil that I cut with my silhouette to put the "M" on the back.  The Birthday Boy's name started with an "M."

It wasn't very nice of me to have my sweet boy model for me then make him take it off so I could wrap it. 

No worries....I promised him a set of his own.  Hopefully he will forget until Christmas! ;)

Since I sewed on the appliques and the cuffs, this is SC#31....wow I am sooo behind!

Cake pan turned recipe holder {quick tutorial}

A friend found this old weathered cake pan at a flea market for change.  She knew I could do something with it.  The first thing I did was see if it was magnetic....and it was!

I cut some brown vinyl on my silhouette and applied it to the the inside.  Popped a couple of marble magnets into it and voila!  Instant recipe holder.

Stamped Garden Marker Spoons {tutorial}

Taking the metal jewelry stamping in a different twist, I stamped some spoons.  I am NOT a gardener.  I love the look of plants, but just cannot keep them alive (maybe its because I forget to water them???  Just a thought...)

Anyway...I've seen these garden marker spoons around and have found some old spoons for pennies at garage and estate sales. So...here ya go.

Supplies:

Old spoons

Metal stamping set

Dish towel

Rubber mallet

Hammer
Permanent marker

How to:

I first took the spoons out onto the driveway, set them (one by one) on a dish towel, and pounded them out with a rubber mallet.  My kids rode circles around me in the driveway and the neighbors were wondering what the heck I was doing (especially since it was in the high 90's and late afternoon.)  Put the spoon bowl side up and start pounding away.  

Tip:I found that they all flattened differently.  Some got a little curvy in the middle, so I took a regular hammer and gently pounded (can you do that?) the roundness flat.  Next time I'm going to try the hubs vice and see if I can get them totally flat.

Once you have them relatively flat, go inside and nurse the blister on your hand then proceed onto the next step.

Figure out what you want to write (stamp) on the spoons.  Like I said before, I am no gardener so I had to google common herbs.  Silly, I know, but I did.  I wrote my words down the spoon because I was worried about spacing the letters across.  The shorter herbs would have worked fine across.

I marked where my letters were going to go with a dot of the permanent marker before I stamped.  Then stamped the letter, colored over the letters again with the marker and polished it off.

A perfect gift idea for someone who grows their own herbs, mother's day gift, thank you gift or for yourself.  (Maybe I should have stamped "please water me?")  The best part...if you already have a stamping set, these are dirt cheap. (Hee hee :)  You could give them with a live herb, or pot and seeds.

Next I'm going to try to flatten them and bend the handles to make hooks.  Saw that somewhere? and LOVED it!

Applique Monogrammed Onsie {tutorial}

 

This was one of my baby shower gifts for my friend (does the fabric look familiar).  The process is very similar to my heart applique shirt and my knee patches.

Supplies:

Clothing

Fabric

Wonder under

Iron

Pencil

Scissors

Optional: machine stitching edges

How to:

Figure out what letter you want (I use a template.) Cut a piece of wonder under a little bigger than your final shape, and a piece of fabric a little bigger than your wonder under.

Iron WU onto fabric per included instructions.  Flip it over and trace or draw your letter onto the back.  IMPORTANT: Draw your letter in reverse.  

Cut it out, peel backing of your letter, place in center of your shirt and iron on following instructions.

 With that, you can be done, but you can also take it a step further and sew the edges of the letter.  I use heave duty wonder under that says "no sewing needed" but I always finish it off.  I have found that maneuvering those tiny little onsies on my sewing machine is a little bit easier if I take off my tool box.  Also make sure when you are sewing you are only sewing the top layer!  (Ask me how I know that?? ;)

I straight stitched my edges this time, but sometimes I zig-zag.  Just depends what kind of mood I'm in.  Around the tight little corners, I don't use my foot pedal and "hand crank" the machine.

There you go!  You can put these on blankets, bibs, burp cloths, you name it! 

(This is also Sewing Challenge #19)

Baby shower favors {quick tutorial}

A candle!  

One of my co-hostesses found this wonderful little poem, which is printed on the front.  It says...

"Here's a candle for you today,

to light when baby is here to stay.

When you light its flickering flame,

say a prayer in the baby's name."

I made these to match the invites, which I made to match the bedding.  Change the poem and these could be made for teacher gifts or thank you gifts.

Supplies:

Card stock and cutter

Ribbon and sharp scissors

Hole punch

Candle 

Cello bag

How to:

Punch or cut your mat.

Print and cut your poem.

Adhere poem to mat and punch a hole in the corner.

Cut ribbon to approximately 10" pieces, but cut on an angle.

Drop candle in cello bag.

Tie ribbon around, but don't knot.  (Just tie it like the first step in tying your shoes.)

Put the two pointed ends of the ribbon together (this is why you cut on an angle) and poke them through the hold that you punched.  Much easier to grab and pull through.

Pull ribbon through until tag is at the base, then tie another single knot.

Cut the ends at an angle.

Tip on tying ribbon: If you tie it upside down (this goes for bows or knots) they always look prettier!)  I sat the candle in my lap, tag facing out and tied.

Soap re-do

This is what I gave as teacher gifts this year and a thank you to the leaders in our Sunday School class.  I got the idea from here, but tweaked it just a little.

She has a thorough tutorial and its easy to follow, but here are my (minor) modifications.

*I had a really hard time getting some of the labels off, so decided to leave the front one on.  (Keep in mind, I did about 20 of these, and was too lazy busy to be goo-gone-ing (technical term) that many.  The back label came off just fine, so I made the back the front.  

*I did not spray prime these, instead bought spray paint suitable for plastic.  It said no priming needed and I was all about skipping that step.  

*Since you could still kind of see the label in back (even after 3 coats of paint) I opted to punch a scallop circle out of scrapbook paper and modge podge it on to cover the label.  Worked out just fine and had an added touch of color.

I have a handful left over, so will be finishing them in various ways, just like the original.  I'll do one in black with a "G" for our kitchen sink.  I might do them for Valentines day with a big white heart?  I already have the red paint!

Personalized Christmas Decor

A post from Christmas last year...

After getting our tree up and decorated (in a minimalist way), I decided it needed a little something extra. I've seen variations of these with the numbers 1-25 (but really...who's going to buy 25 frames???) or ho-ho-ho, but I decided our tree needed a little personalization. And since there are 6 of us now, that ought to fill it up, right? Somehow my car managed to drive me to Hobby Lobby this morning, where there table frames were all 50% off. I rarely buy anything at HL unless is on sale, cuz lets face it...sooner or later everything is on sale there! Anyway...this little project only ended up costing $15...and that's for 6! These would be great gift for a teacher or friend or neighbor, since they were $2.50 each. Who doesn't like a little personalization?

Supplies Needed:

Frames,

Spray paint

Paper

Here's what you do:

Disassembled the frames, so they are just the frame part.  Take outside and attack them with a bottle of flat black spray paint.  Let them dry. In the meantime, find a font that you like and print out initials.  Cut into squares, then reassemble with the initials and viola!

Variations:

Vinyl on the glass with a Christmas paper backing

Embroider or cross-stitch initials on fabric

Print on Christmas paper 

I really just stuck them in the tree like that! Next year, I'm hoping to embroider the letters, but we'll see. With "B" coming in Feb, I know I'm not going to have much free time. :)

Glass Etched Monogrammed Hurricanes

I have always wanted to try glass etching but have been intimidated by its chemical-ness.  I'm a huge fan of personalization and love monograms.  Christmas season is right around the corners, so I wanted to try this to see if it will make great gifts.

  Let's just say every one's getting glass this year for Christmas!  This one hurricane cost me $2.50 (aside from the etching cream, which I can use over and over and over.)

Supply list:

Glass (hurricane from $1 store, but you can use votives, beer mugs, plates, etc.)

Candlestick ($1.50 from a yard sale)

Contact paper

Etching cream (using 40% coupon from Hobby Lobby)

Paint or foam brush

E-6000 or epoxy (for attaching candlestick to hurricane, optional)

 I cut the contact paper in my Silhouette, but you can print and cut with an exacto knife. 

Clean your glass with window cleaner.

Place contact paper on glass, making sure to press ALL the edges so the etching cream doesn't bleed.

(I saved the inside of the letter just in case I find something to put it on, which I know I will.  The contact paper looks a lot like the finished product, so you could actually just use that! :)

 Paint on etching cream.  Directions say to wear gloves, but I was to lazy really careful.

 Watch the timer as it (very slowly) counts down the required 5 mins.  Follow directions on your etching cream as they may vary.

 Rinse your project under warm water and peel the contact paper off.  

Be utterly amazed that you've been afraid of this for years since it was so easy and you LOVE the results!

Attach your candlestick base with the E-6ooo and set aside for 24 hours to bond, or leave as is.

Count the minutes until the baby gets up from her nap so you can put the kids in the car and head back to the $1 store to get more glass.  In the meantime, dig through your kitchen looking for something else to etch.

Chalkboard Plate Tutorial

I gave these as Christmas gifts last year.  These are so much fun.  It's a REALLY stinky project, so make sure you do it in a well ventilated area.
{Round one is SOLD}

Supplies:

Pewter or silver plate

Chalkboard paint (I bought mine from Sherwin Williams)

Foam paint brush

Here's a plate I found at our local flea market.  I scuffed it up a gently with some sandpaper (but I don't think its necessary).  Using my foam brush, carefully paint the edge.  This is the hardest part because you have to keep a pretty steady hand.  Then start painting in to the middle, covering the plate.  Let dry overnight.

Wa. Lah.

I painted 12 last weekend.  Garage sale and flea market finds.  This one is for sale here. {SOLD}

Pumpkin Cakes

Are these the cutest things or what? This looks like a fun after school project to do with the kids and something they can give to their teachers.

Fussy Monkey Business has a great tutorial.


(Post note: I finally made these.  Yes it's the 31st, but I did it.  I bought a mini bunt pan just for this!  They are sooo cute.  I'm giving them to my Steering Team (MOPS) and one to each of the kids teachers.  I wrapped them in pumpkin cello bags and had the kids make cards.  One piece of advice (might be a no-brainer to the bakers out there)...wait for them to completely cool before putting the chocolate bar in.  Even slightly warm the bar melts into the pumpkin. :)

Stamped Metal Jewelry

If you have ever wanted to make your own stamped jewelry, it's really pretty easy. I have seen these in shops all over etsy and online and have always loved them...but not the prices. I knew that buying the supplies was going to be a spendy addition to my craft room, but then the perfect opportunity presented itself. I had 7 wonderful friends throw me a baby shower and these were the perfect thank you gifts. The added bonus....I got to keep all the tools to make more! (8 months later I still have not made my own necklace! :)

I decided to make each necklace different so figuring out which styles I wanted was the longest part of the process. Once I chose my stamping blanks, I ordered all the tools and most of the supplies from here, but bought the necklaces and some of the blanks from Hobby Lobby (on sale, of course).

Its as easy as taking the stamp, placing it on the metal blank, and whacking it with the hammer.
I recommend buying a practice piece because is does take a few whacks of the hammer to figure out the correct pressure and spacing.

The shower theme was pink, black, and white, so I packaged them in cute little tins with pink paper backing.

In trying to decide who got what style, I had to think about who was going to be having more kids, so that I could add a name or initial as part of my baby gift to them in the future. I forgot to take pictures of the first few, but I love how they all turned out. Will be making mine and one for my sister (who is due with baby #1 in a few weeks) as soon as they decide on a name. I'll post those pictures when they are done.