Wedding Ornament

A little over a year ago on one of my Thursday Favorites posts I shared an ornament and said I would make it for the next person that got married.  Two of my cousins got married in 2012 so I decided to give the ornament a try.  Here is the original in the post I shared.  I tried to click the link and it looks like the photo isn't on pinterest anymore so I can't give credit.

Here is my version:

These are simple to make. I got the glass ornament at Michaels at Christmas time.  I decided to etch the ornament to give it a little something extra, but you wouldn't have to.  I then cut the wedding invitation into strips, rolled the strips and shoved them in the ornament.

Now I can cross this off my list of "Pinterest ideas to make".  I like it so much, it might become my go-to extra little gift at the weddings I attend. 

Modern Silhouette Nativity

     It is finally November.  Yay!  Time to start getting ready for Thanksgiving and Christmas. I actually feel like I am on top of some Christmas decorations and presents this year, which is great because usually I am coming up with super Christmas ideas around January 1. ;)

     I have been trying to come up with new ideas of things to make with my Silhouette machine.  I want to use it and not just leave it collecting dust!  All of my ideas lately seem to use the black vinyl.  Maybe I will branch out soon, but I love this new project black vinyl and all!

     I call it a Modern Silhouette Nativity.  It is different than the nativity scenes you normally see at people's homes. This one can sit on a shelf, mantel, table, etc...or be hung on the wall!

For this project I used designs from the Silhouette store.  Each frame was one design.  I had to ungroup the shepherds and the wisemen to put them in the positions that I wanted them.  I can find the specific names if anyone wants them, but it is probably easiest to just search for "Nativity" in the shop.

I linked up to these parties:
Skip to My Lou
Sew Chatty
Sumo's Sweet Stuff
Not Just a Housewife
Fingerprints on the Fridge

Here I Raise My Ebenezer

     One of my favorite hymns is "Come Thou Fount."   If you haven't heard this song, you can listen to it here.  There is a part that say "Here I raise my Ebenezer; Here by Thy great help I've come"  For a long time I wondered what in the world an "Ebenezer" was.  I looked it up and it is actually a reference to 1 Samuel 7:12 in the Bible.  Right before this passage God had rescued the Israelites from the Philistines.   "Then Samuel took a stone and set it up between Mizpah and Shen. He named it Ebenezer, saying, “Thus far has the LORD helped us."'   That stone was to remind the people of how God had helped them.  This isn't the only time that the Israelites used stones to remember God's help and faithfulness.  In Joshua 4, after the Israelites crossed the Jordan river they placed 12 stones in the Jordan where they had crossed to remember what God had done.   Joshua told the people the stones were "to serve as a sign among you. In the future, when your children ask you, ‘What do these stones mean?’ tell them that the flow of the Jordan was cut off before the ark of the covenant of the LORD. When it crossed the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan were cut off. These stones are to be a memorial to the people of Israel forever." Joshua 4:6-7  

    The Israelites had a habit of forgetting about God and his faithfulness and needed reminders...not unlike me.  How often do I complain about the way life is and sigh dreaming about how I want life to be?  I often forget all of the blessings God has given me, all of the things he has brought me through, and how he has grown me.  So I decided to make my own Ebenezer. 

Supplies:
River Rock
Vase
Permanent Marker
Silhouette and Vinyl

I started with river rocks that I purchased at Michaels (with a coupon of course) and used a permanent marker to write down blessings, hard times God has brought me through, people God has placed in my life, opportunities He has given me, etc.  When I finished I just placed them carefully in the vase.

I used my Silhouette SD to cut black vinyl to put on the vase.  It says, "Here I raise my Ebenezer, Here by Thy great help I've come"

This Ebenezer is mostly a reminder for me, but if people ask me, "What do these stones mean?"  I will be able to tell them about God's faithfulness in my life.



Parties I link to:
House of Hepworths
Tatertots and Jello
Fingerprints on the Fridge
At the Picket Fence
Embellishing Life
Under the Table and Dreaming

DIY Heart Crayons

     There is nothing like a brand new box of crayola crayons.  They look so pretty all nice and sharp.  Pretty soon that box of new crayons becomes a box of dull crayons, broken crayons, not as fun to use crayons. :)   I had a plastic shoebox full of these used and broken crayons so I made them new again by making chunky crayons.

     I found this cute heart tray at Ikea for a few dollars.  I peeled the crayons I wanted to use and broke them into pieces that would fit in the hearts.  I kept the color families together because I can't stand the color you get when random crayon colors all mix together.  After I took this picture I actually added a few more crayon pieces to each section.  When they melt they will shrink down.

The next step is to put the tray of broken crayons in an oven at 250 degrees.  I checked mine every 3-5 minutes to see how they were melting.  It took about 15-20 minutes for the crayons to fully melt.

 (I don't know why blogger is posting this picture sideways...)

After the crayons cooled I just popped them out.

Fun new crayons!

These would be great to give as a Halloween treat for your child's class or tricker treaters (if you don't get a ton of trick or treaters) as an alternative to candy.  I think mine will become Christmas gifts for the little ones on my list. :)

Parties I link to:

Not Just a Housewife

Tatertots and Jello

I {Heart} Naptime

Ask Anna

House of Hepworths

Colorful Fall Wreath

My front door needed some fall cheeriness so I gave myself a mission to make a wreath as inexpensively as possible. 

Here are my supplies:

Burlap: $2.39/yard  Used less than 1/4 yard=$.60

Wreath:  $.97 tubing from plumbing section of Home Depot.  Used 1/2=$.50  (Will talk more about this tubing in a post later this week.)

Flowers $1.00 for a bunch.  Used 2 bunches=$2.00

Total cost (without tax)=$3.10

First, I cut the tubing the size I wanted it and used packing tape tape the ends together to make a circle shape.  I cut the burlap into about 3 inch strips and wrapped it around the wreath frame. I used a glue gun to attach the burlap.   I then cut the flowers, arranged them how I wanted them, and glue gunned them on also. 

Now I come home and smile when I see my cheery, colorful wreath!



These are parties I link to:

Tatertots and Jello
Keeping it Simple
Not Just a Housewife
DIY Under $5
Under the Table and Dreaming
Sugar and Dots
Whip it Up Wednesday

Love my new Purse!

   There are a few blogs on my favorites list that I try to check out every week (sometimes it is everyday ;) ) for new stuff.  I am Momma Hear Me Roar is one of them.  A few weeks ago she decided to find a way to encourage people to give money to aid in helping Japan after the earthquake and Tsunami.  She was (and still is!) offering the Tohoku Purse pattern to anyone who donates more than $8 to help relief efforts.  Here is the link to see details if you are interested in donating.  You don't have to donate through a specific organization, I donated through my church.

This purse is ADORABLE!  The pattern is easy to read.  I would definitely buy another pattern from Cheri.
Her pattern has a pleat on the front, but I have never been a pleat kind of girl (okay and maybe I didn't want to mess up my first try of this purse)

The finished purse is about 12" tall not counting the straps.

As usual, please ignore any threads still hanging in the pictures.  It takes a few days for me to find them all and cut them and I didn't want to wait that long to take pictures.

Here is the inside with a pocket for my cell phone and one for my keys.

Love the bow!

As you can see I already started using it.  By the way, that planner is a time.mine planner.  I have used Dot Mine planners for the past few years and they are the best!  I was not paid to say that, but if someone from time.mine sees this, getting a free one for 2012 would make me very happy. :)

Off to go make an outfit to match my purse. ;)


Here are link parties I linked to:
We Did it Wednesday on Sew Much Ado
Weekend Wrap-up at Tatertots and Jello
Tip me Tuesday at Tip Junkie
House of Hepworths

Freezer Stenciled Bean Bags Part 1

   As a teacher I am big on making learning fun.  I decided to try out alphabet bean bags as a gift for a young special someone.  I plan to come up with a some games to go with the bean bags to make learning letters and to read fun!   Today I am going to show how I painted the letters on each bean bag.

1.  Print out the letters how you like them.  I didn't use one specific font because I am big on letters looking how kids write them so I mixed and matched fonts to get each letter the way I wanted.

2.  Cut a piece of freezer paper and put it on top of the letter. Make sure the waxy side is facing down.  You should be able to see the letter through the freezer paper.  Use a craft knife to cut the freezer paper.  

3.  Take the freezer paper and carefully iron it to the piece of fabric you want to paint.  The waxy side will stick to the cloth.  Make sure all of the edges are "stuck on" so paint can't leak through.

4.  Carefully paint the letter.  I used a foam brush to do this.
5.  After the paint is dry carefully peel up the freezer paper. 

That's all!  So easy!

My next post will be the finished bean bags.

Ginormous Fabric basket

Last week I shared my desk into tv stand remodel.  I originally wanted baskets on the bottom two shelves and spent a lot of time debating what size baskets and where to find the size I wanted at the price I wanted.  I found a basket at Joann's (at 50% off!) for the middle shelf and decided to tackle a fabric basket of my own for the bottom shelf.  I wanted the dimensions to be around 21" by 20" and 10 1/2" high.
I kind of just jumped in not knowing what I was doing, but here is kind of what I did.

I made plans for figure out how to cut fabric for the outside of the box.  I wanted the front of the box to be a patterned fabric (the new colors of my living room) and the rest of the box to be black.  In the picture the colored sections meet each other and get sewn together (so green to green, pink to pink, etc) to form the four corners a box shape.

After I had the box shape I cut out pieces from cardboard boxes to make a cardboard box the size I wanted. I hot glued the pieces together. This gives the box its shape and keeps it sturdy.

Next I fitted the fabric over the box.  I folded the top edge of the fabric over the box and hot glued it down.  I almost left the box like that since you can't see the inside while it is on the shelf.

The inside fabric is all black and was made the same way the outside was only a tad smaller since it is the inside.  I used some hot glue to keep the inside fabric in place and finish off the top with a "seam."

Here it is on the shelf.  Super easy and way cheaper than buying one!

Here are the link parties I linked to:

Made by you Monday--Skip to my Lou

Tuesdays Treasures

Friday Favs Party

We Did it Wednesday

Recycled Book Wreath

     I put up a hook on my front door a few months ago to hang a Christmas wreath.  The Christmas wreath has been packed away for a while and my front door was looking a little empty...so I decided to make a new wreath to pretty up my front door.  I have been seeing styrofoam balls or wreaths covered with "roses" made with recycled book pages lately and I love the look.  I had a few books in my get-rid-of pile so I decided to give it a try.  The idea of ripping apart a book made me cringe a little, but I got over it after making my first few roses. :)

        If you make one, be prepared to roll a lot of roses.  I estimate about 100 on my wreath.  Most of the roses I made using 3 pages put together, but I mixed it up a little by making some with 1 or 2 pages to make some looser and a bit smaller looking roses.

Here is a close-up.

I am not going to write a tutorial because I saw a great one you can use if you are interested in making your own. The blog is Under the table and Dreaming. I did not make mine the same was she did, but the results are pretty much the same.


I don't know if I will leave it on my front door or not.  I am a little worried about it getting wet.  I really like the end result though!


Linked up to these parties:
Tatertots and Jello: Weekend Wrap
Feature Yourself Friday
Sunday Showcase
Whatever Goes Wednesday
Made by You Monday at Skip to my Lou
DIY under $5

Paper Crafting meets Jewelry Making

I love when I can combine crafts that I like together!  Today's project is a bracelet made out of wooden mini spools, and strips of designer paper.  I didn't take pictures along the way, but the process is really simple if you want to make your own.

Supplies:

1/2 " wooden mini spools (2 packages)

Black acrylic paint

3 pieces of designer paper (I used 3 pieces from a pad of 365 degrees 6x6 paper pad by Pink Paislee)

clear stretch magic cording (7mm)

Mod Podge

Something to apply the Mod Podge with

You can buy all of these supplies at any craft store such as Michaels.  Make sure the paper you choose has a small pattern because you only use a tiny piece for each one.

I started out by painting the wooden spools black.  After the paint dried I cut the paper to fit.  You would be surprised at the small amount paper you need to use--this would be great if you have extra scraps from card or scrapbook projects.  I applied the paper with Mod Podge and then also covered the whole spool and paper on the outside to protect.  When that was dry I strung the spools with the clear cording.  Pretty easy, right?!  

I think this bracelet will make a great addition to an outfit with my t-shirt skirt from this post.

I did not come up for the idea for this bracelet.  I try to give proper credit when I can, but when I went to where I first saw the bracelet, the picture wasn't there anymore.  If this was your idea let me know and I will give you credit!

I linked up at these link parties:

Whatever Goes Wednesday

Tatertots and Jello--Weekend Wrap-Up

These Creative Juices

A Crafty Soiree

Feature yourself Friday

Sunday Showcase

Motivate me Monday

Felt Flower Clips

Before Christmas, a friend of mine showed me how to make felt flower pins/hair clips.  She had made these flowers with her Bible Study group and thought maybe some of my youth group girls would enjoy making them too.  Two of the girls came over during Christmas break and we had a blast making flower pins for winter accessories and flower clips for our hair.

After seeing how easy and fun these were to make I thought they would make a great birthday gift for one of my nieces who loves to play beauty shop with people's hair.  Here are the ones I made for her.

I put an alligator clip on the back so she can get them in and out of hair easily (and less painfully for the person whose hair she is using them in ;)

Chair makeover

When I first moved to California I drove here in a car with all of my stuff.  Whatever didn't fit in the car, didn't come.  So, needless to say, I did not come with any furniture.  After my dad and I moved all of the boxes into my new place we went to sit down only to discover that there was nothing to sit on besides the floor!  That day we went thrift store shopping and I came home with my first piece of furniture...this chair.

 Pretty?  No it is not.  But it has sentimental value (and is comfy) so I have kept it.
I decided it was time to fix up the chair and "pretty it up" to match the room it is in.  I sanded it and gave it a good paint job (to match the desk I use it with) and recovered the seat with upholstery fabric.  I think it looks much better after its makeover.  What do you think?

Here are a few "in between shots"

Linked to:
The DIY Showoff



Metamorphosis Mondays

and sorry I forgot this one before:

Repurposed skirt

I have been reading a lot of crafty blogs lately and have been so inspired to try out a few things!  The coolest thing I have learned about is that you can repurpose clothing.  I had an old knit shirt that I loved, but didn't fit anymore so I decided to give it a try.  I decided to make a skirt for a little girl out of the shirt. I laid the shirt out and measured 11 inches up the shirt for the length (The length will be more like 9 1/2 inches when finished) and cut across the shirt.  I purposely left 2 inches of shirt under the arms to cut 2-1 inch strips.

Picture #1 is the top of the shirt after I cut the bottom off. Picture #2 is the skirt part that I cut off.  I measured how wide I wanted the skirt and then cut a few inches off of the side. Picture #3 is the 2--1 inch strips (to be used for the gathered bottom)

The next step was to sew a gathering stitch down the middle of each strip. I gathered the first strip to fit on the bottom front of the skirt.  I adjusted and pinned the gathered ruffle how I wanted it.  After I finished the front, I did the same thing to the back.   After the ruffle was finished I pinned the side of the skirt, wrong side out and sewed up the side.


I didn't take a picture of the pinned skirt, but this is what the ruffle looked like
 

I sewed in elastic to make the waistband, and here is the finished product!   My model is in another state so I will have to upload pictures of her wearing it later.

Burp Clothes

I have wanted to try making burp clothes using cloth diapers for a while now. I even bought the diapers a while ago, but just haven't had the time. A friend of mine is having a baby shower tomorrow so it was the perfect excuse to get out my sewing machine and give this project a try.

Really easy...I started by measuring the thick part of the cloth diaper and cutting flannel that was about 2 inches larger in length and width. I then folded the cloth under about an inch on each side and pinned. It got a little interesting because the cloth diapers aren't exact in their sizing or necessarily straight on the edges. I then went around and did a zigzag stitch around the edges. Some people add ribbon going down the long side, but I wanted to keep them simple.

The nice thing about these is they are cute, but also very handy :) The cloth diaper is very absorbent for cleaning up spit up and yet the flannel is soft for baby's face.

sweet, blessed, loved

sweet****blessed****loved

My mom is extremely crafty and good at sewing. When I was little she would make outfits for me or fancy up my clothes with ribbons and bows. I am so excited to have nieces so I can make girly stuff for them.
I used Fabrico ink (in Bubble Gum and Cherry Pink) to decorate a t-shirt and onesies. It was really simple and easy
step 1: make sure cloth has been washed (to take out the shrinking) and put a piece of cardboard in between the front and back of the shirt so the ink doesn't bleed.
step 2: pick out any stamps. It works better with bold stamps, not ones with thin lines. For the t-shirt I used Island Blossoms and So Very.
step 3: gently dab stamp in ink. Make sure stamp is coated, but be careful not to get too much ink on it as the ink is a little "gushy" and you don't want to have extra spots.
step 4: let ink dry. I only waited 20 minutes, but I am sure overnight would be a better idea.
step 5: use an iron to set the ink. I put a towel on top of the t-shirt and ironed on top of that. I also kept the cardboard in between the layers while ironing.

wa-la you are finished!