Make a Bouncy Ball

This was a fun little project.  I got the idea and instructions off of The Idea Door.  They were not very bouncy :(.  The kids loved doing it though and played with them for hours.  Super fun project for your science lover.  The only ingredient I didn't have on hand was Borax.  If you don't have Borax in your house, you will want to make sure to get some. It's great stuff!

Wooden Spoon Puppets

 This was a fun and cheap project.  I picked up 4 packs of wooden spoon s at the dollar store.  Turned the kids loose with acrylic paint and craft supplies.  And wala, we have our very own wooden puppet brigade! This was the best picture I could get with all of them.  I had 4 pairs of hands behind the theater, so it was a little squished!

 This project took up several hours, because after the puppets were done, we had to have a puppet show!

My little boy was doing Potter Puppet Pals!  It was hillarious.  It's fun to see how the kids will us their imagination and the things they come up and oh, the things they say! This was a great boredom buster and it cost me $2.00!  That makes it even better!!

Tangled Party Favors

 How cute are these? I can take no credit for them.  My cute sissy-in-law Maggie made them for my little girls Tangled birthday party.  I can hardly wait to see all the little girls faces when they see them!

Would you be intersted in a tutorial?  I bet I could get  her do one if there is enough interest.  I think she's done all of the princesses.  Leave some comment love if your interested.

Toilet Paper Roll Race car

 Do you ever see something and think, "Wow, that's totally cute, I'm so gonna make it!"?  And then you think afterward, "What was I thinking?".  That was totally this craft.  Holy schamolie!! Making these with 18 preschoolers was hard.  I won't lie, it was REALLY hard, but the boys totally loved it!  This one was made by my 6-year-old that night.  He totally loved it, but I had to help even him.

I won't repost it, because the great idea can be found here.

Jello, Salt & Sugar

 Everyday things, found right in your home, make for the best craft supplies.  This was a few months ago.  Tyson needed to decorate a flag for a school project.  I forgot about picking stuff up over the Christmas break and the night before he went back, we were racking our brains to figure out what to do.

We've used Jell-o at preschool before and the kids loved it.  So I broke out the Jell-o and the rock salt.  The Jell-o bled a bit into the rock salt, so we used sugar to put a light coat over the top of the salt.  It looked really cool and it smelled great too!

2011 Young Womens Theme Block

Even though it's been months since I was released from Young Women's I still miss it.  I got asked to help out with a craft project for New Beginnings and jumped at the chance.  These were pretty easy to make.  In fact, we had the girls make them.  We had them precut and sanded for them. I got the cute subway art from Melinda over at Under My Umbrella. She is seriously talented!!

We used 2x6 boards and cut them into 6 inch blocks.  We had the girls paint the entire block black.  Then we took a piece of scrapbook paper and modgepodged it onto the board. Then we took the subway art and attached it with modge podge to the front of the block.  Add another coat of modge podge, tie a cute bow and you have a way cute reminder of the theme for the year!

I had a blast coming up with them.  I tried making them in different sizes, but this was the cutest.  It was a great project to be involved in.  I came up with the idea and my friend and her hubby did all the gathering, cutting and sanding!  I got to go and help the girls make them!  It was perfect!

Tin Can Bow Holder

These are so easy to make! And chances are, that if your a crafter, you have everything you need at home to make it.  I used an empty #10 can.  I have a nifty can opener, that takes the tops off, so there is no sharp edges.

Simply adhere cute scrapbook paper around the can with modge podge.  Use a hot glue gun to add ribbon running down the sides of the can.  I glued the ribbon just inside the lip of the can and under the bottom. Embellish the top of the can as desired and wala, you have this:

 A cute bow holder that can be kept anywhere.

Inside the can  you put headbands, ponytails, anything that doesn't have a clip.

Easy Puff Paint

This is a lot of fun.  Mix 3/4 cup shaving cream with 1/4 cup white glue.  Add some food coloring and you have a fun paint that puffs up when it dries.  It feels like foam.  It does take a while to dry.  We usually let our set overnight.  Do this on Halloween and use it to make a ghost on black construction paper.  For another puff paint recipe, check out this post from years past.  It's fun, but does require a microwave.

Teepe's

 Another cute idea from Family Fun.  Frost sugar cones with white icing.  Stick some toothpicks in the top.  decorate with brown frosting for your door and any designs you may want.  Add some candy if you want to and wala!

If I let go of the notion that everything has to be perfect, I think the preschoolers can do this :).  In fact, I think we will do it for our Thanksgiving day party!

Emergency Car Care Kit Tutorial

These are stinkin' cute! 

I got one for Christmas last year and I love mine.

I decided to reproduce something similar.

I love the big chunky buttons and the cute potholders.

These cost me $3.50 a piece to make.

First thing will be to find some cute potholders.  The one that I got was a larger sized pot holder, but a standard size will work just as well.  These came Dollar Tree

Take 6 plastic, zipper seal Ziploc and place them inside the potholder.  You will want 3 going out each way.  I hope you can see what I mean in the picture.  Measure your potholder across to find the center.  I used a dry erase marker to draw a line down the center for a sewing guide.

You are going to stitch a zigzag stick right down the center of the bags.  This is kinda hard and I messed up the first one, because the bags are slippery to sew on. 

Go back and trim the excess off of the bottom of each bag.  Trim it as close to the stitching as possible.  Be careful not to cut into the stitching.

Sew a cute chunky button on the outside and now fill it with goodies!  I put in antibacterial wipes from Walgreen's,a couple of Tylenol packets, band aids, tissue, dental picks, safety pins, nail clippers and a file.  You can fill it with whatever you want.  Mine had all of these things plus an emergency sewing kit.  You can also save a slot to put in some cash.  Mine came with a $5.00 bill.

I whipped out 15 of these in 2 hours.  All of the filler came from the dollar store and Walgreen's.  This is an easy present to mass produce if you want to do them for Christmas.Happy sewing

Mock Halloween Canvas

I love making these canvases.  I've posted about them before.  This was a big, nice canvas that I got at DI for $1.50. I painted it black, because believe it or not, it was pink!!!  I printed out this fun sign, ripped the edges, and modge podged it to the canvas.  It didn't turn out the way I had envisioned, but I think it looks alright.  I put it on the top of my mantle, kinda of back in the back.  It bubbled a bit, but from a few feet away, you can't tell!  That's the perfectionist in me!

There are lots of these kind of signs floating around the web right now.  Lot's of fun subway art and great Halloween printables!  Good luck deciding which one to make.

Candy Corn Wreath

I saw this idea in the recent issue of Woman Magazine.  It's super easy.  I got the wreath at the dollar store and painted it black with acrylic paint.  They used black duck tape on theirs, but I already had paint, so it was one less thing to buy.

Once your wreath is dry, use a little hot glue and start gluing your candy corn around the wreath. Start at the same place with each layer.  That way if you have any blank spaces it will all be in the same spot.  This is where you will put your ribbon at the end.

With every layer of candy corn you will want to change the direction they are facing.



Tie some pretty ribbon around it and you have a fun Halloween wreath.  I am not loving the orange ribbon.  I am envisioning some wide, black, glittery ribbon, so I will probably go and get it today and change it out.  I found all the stuff I needed to make this at the dollar store and spent $3.00 for a cute wreath! 

The Best Applique Templates

Aren't these cute? Makes me want to have another baby boy!!! So, I am still loving the applique's. I have a few others I am working on. But it seems that I am surrounded by friends who are having boys! Gotta stock up. I want to share some great sights to find free applique templates.

Homemade by Jill, she has the cute tie printable! There is a link to Martha website, and as always, she's got the goods!!

Planet Applique, has a ton of free appliques, plus some you can buy.

Better Homes and Gardens, has a HUGE list! However, you do have to sign up to access them. But that is free.

Free Appliques, has oodles of great templates. Everything from Christmas to baby!

Scherenschnitte, has these great templates, that are used for paper cutting, but could definitely be used for some appliques!

Martha's got two darling downloads on this post. A cute wren and a horse!

Wee Folk Arts, also has a ton of free templates and huge list of fun and free patterns.

Oh, and this guitar shirt is darling and she's included a free download!

I've Been Busy

I got a new niece this week. I love babies. Who doesn't? There is something wonderful about holding a new little sweetie so fresh from heaven. Well, we didn't know what this baby was and so as soon as I found out, I started sewing.

I didn't actually make this. My friend Shelly had it in her ribbon box, but we paired it up with the cute Minnie Mouse onesies below.

Darling!! This is the first time I have ever done appliques. I pretty much just followed the directions on the wonder under and it turned out cute.

She is a Mickey Mouse fan. HUGE! So I loved this. The only thing I wish I had done differently was put the bow on crooked. But it's cute.

And of course a little, warm, snugglie, blanket!

I love any excuse to break out my sewing machine!

Easy Graduation Ideas

Bakerella has done it agian! These one's would be so easy!! Peanut Butter Graduation caps! Ingenious!

So cute!! With graduation j ust around the corner, it's one you could defiently use! You can find these cuties over at Living Locurto.

Pinwheel Centerpieces

Our theme for this baby shower was spring.

Lot's of pastel colors,flowers and pinwheels.

Look closely at the table, there are tons of little 2 inch pinwheels on the table.

We had planned on making these for napkin rings,

but we ran out of time, so we just scattered them on the table.

It looked really cute.

The tins were empty Stephen's Cocoa Honeyville Farms smoothie mix cans.

We just modge podged coordinating paper to the tins.

So cute and easy!

To make the little pinwheels we cut the paper to 2 inch squares.

Then simply cut the four corners in at about 1 inch deep.

Then you fold the four corners down and glue them.

We used buttons to put at the center.

The big pinwheel is a 6 inch square.

We attached flat thumbtacks to the back.

We painted regular #2 pencils, for the stick.

Stick your thumbtack in the eraser and your done!

They are functional and spin.

Add some craft foam in the bottom of the tins

and top that with some shredded paper!!

These could be used for a variety of things.

Heck, my kids love pinwheels.

It's a great afternoon craft!

DI Frame Extreme Makeover

This was pretty simple. I love this frame. I found at DI for $3.00.

I wasn't really digging the Avocado picture. So I popped out the canvas. Attempted to find some glass to fill in the frame. Which took me months, mind you. I eventually had my husband cut some down with this teeny tiny glass cutter we have.

I originally wanted to leave the frame white, because I thought it had a tone of character, but in the meantime I rearranged my living room and the white frame, just wasn't working for where I wanted it. So I sanded it down a bit, painted black over the top of it and then sanded it down to give it a vintage look.

I used some E-6000 (Walmart craft section), which is an industrial strength glue, to glue the glass into the frame. I had purchased my vinyl from Scribble It months ago and when it was all ready, simply laid the vinyl on and here is the finished product.

I am in love with it! I know the vinyl is on a bit crooked, my hubby reminds me often, but it has a lot of character. I am making something similar, but on a much larger scale from a sister-in-law. I love refurbishing DI treasures!

Take some time to go and check out Scribble It. I have bought vinyl from Cammi several times and have alway's been happy with it. I love, love, love the metal nativity, which I bought this past year! It's a great sight with lot's of fun ideas!

3-D Poppy Picture

Okay, so I made this using the Poppy's from yesterday! I think it's stinkin' cute. My husband thinks I'm a dork, but he totally helped me make it. He cut the dowel for me and even glued them into the frame. I told him I could do it, but he loves me and wants to help me with my wacky ideas!
There is no glass in the frame and it kinda pops off the wall. Hard to tell in a picture, since you can't make it 3 dimensional.

I just had the unfinished frame in my closet forever. I started this thinking about using it for a decoration for a spring baby shower, but I don't know that it is necessarily the direction we wanted to go. We have another idea for that, but I still finished it because I had started it.

What do you think?

No Sew Felt Poppy Clips - Tutorial

These are stinkin' cute! I have made poppies out of fabric before and had them turn out okay, but it was a complicated process with using a pattern and cutting them all out and it took forever. I made 3 of these in just under 20 minutes. They are that simple. I had a friend teach us how to make these at a Young Women's activity, but she had us sewing them together. I have made some like that, but using the glue gun is so much easier and they seem to hold up the same.

Your going to need 6 circles cut out of felt, all the same size. These are 2 inches in diameter. I used a pattern that I had already made for silk flowers. Which will be hopefully posted on here next week!

Your going to take a piece and fold it in half. You may want to put a dab of glue right in the center of that crease. I don't do that on every one, but sometimes they do unfold. Up to you!

Then fold it in half again and stick a dot of glue in the fold to hold the petal in place. You will have a triangle shape petal.

Take one of your pieces of felt and put a dot of glue and glue your petal on. Repeat this step with the other 3 circles. I like to do the first two petals right across from each other and then fill in the gaps with the other 2 petals.

This isn't a great picture, but this is what it will look like. If you have any edges sticking out, you will just want to trim them off. You can leave it just like this, or.......

Glue a cute button into the center. I love buttons! Place your last piece of felt in between the prongs of your hair clip. Smother the top of the felt with hot glue and attach it to the back of your flower.

This is seriously so easy and so cute! You can use them to embellish, purses, clothes, and just about anything you want. Tomorrow I am going to show you another use for them!

New Moon Cupcake Picks

I made these for a baby shower! That's right folks, a baby shower. My friend Shelley asked me to help her out and make some cupcakes for a baby shower she was throwing, the day that New Moon came out.
I think they turned out way cute! I only did Edward, because both Mommies-to-be were Edward fans.

I saw the idea to use forks as the picks somewhere online. I can't remember, but it was on several different sights. We cut about half the handle off the forks off so they wouldn't be so long. I got the silhouette graphic from Pin and Paper. Everything else I made using Lettering Delights products. It is seriously one of my favorite places to get fonts and I buy the graphic kits too, because they are super cute. (And they have lot's of freebies!!) I was able to get these during their dollar day's sale! I bought all of the Twilight fonts and the Edward and Jacob graphic sets. The twilight and Team Edward picks, I just made up with my fonts.

I used a 2 &3/4 inch punch to cut them out. Then I thought they were to plain, so I just took a red and black stamp pad and went crazy smudging the edges. I think my favorite one is the Volvo, that say's "stupid shiny Volvo owner,"

I also toyed around with just putting quotes on the picks, but it just didn't feel right. I seriously agonize over making things for other people. It gives me major anxiety, but I think they turned out pretty cool!!