Foot print Stool

http://www.brownpaper--packages.com/2010/03/wooden-stool-makeovergreat-mothers-day.html

Tuesday, March 23, 2010

{a wooden stool makeover...great Mother's Day idea!}

I have a wooden stool that has been a staple in our house for years, but it was needing a little facelift. I thought of all the little feet that have and will step on that stool, and I knew just what I wanted to do.

My kids' footprints add the perfect touch, and I will be able to look at those darling feet forever! (The smallest two feet are my baby boys--they are twins, but you'd never be able to tell by foot size! 

I apologize for the lack of pictures during the process, but if you could have only seen me trying to do this myself, it would have been a sight to see. It was all I could do to just get the footprints done and escape with as little paint as possible all over myself, the house, and them!

BEFORE:


ITEMS YOU NEED:

• wooden stool
• spray paint (2 coordinating colors)
• sandpaper/power sander
• scrapbook paper
• Mod Podge & foam brush
• Finishing craft spray or poly

DIRECTIONS:

1. Paint your stool. Let dry, then distress the edges.
2. Footprints: I used spray paint, because it dries faster than wall paint, and doesn't get as gloppy. I sprayed the paint onto a paper plate (fyi...it eats foam plates; use paper ones), then using your finger or small brush, apply the paint to the bottom of the foot. Place it directly onto the surface, making sure to press down each toe. Press firmly, then carefully lift up. Repeat for each footprint. Let dry.
3. Print names. date, or desired text onto scrapbook paper. (font is Wish I Were Taller) I inked the edges. :)
4. Mod Podge the paper onto your stool, then cover the entire surface to seal the paint.
5. Apply a finishing craft spray or poly according to directions.

There it is! Simple, and darling!



MOTHER'S DAY is coming up...HOW fun would this be for a mother or grandmother in your life?

*You could make this work with however many kids you had. With 1 child, you could do both footprints, with 2 kids you could one of each, or a set of each, etc.

Making a lamp

http://thepaintedhive.blogspot.com/2011/04/how-to-convert-tripod-into-lamp.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+ThePaintedHive+%28The+Painted+Hive%29

So, you will need....

Something to form your lamp base:

On a recent thrifting adventure I found this really cool old music stand for just $6 and knew straight away I wanted to try a lamp conversion. It has a wonderfully grungy patina with crud and rust in all the right places:

And the following items (all available from pretty much any hardware store)…

A lamp switch:

A power outlet head:

A length of power cable:

The steps….

1. I removed the sheet music holder from the top of the tripod which left a nice hollow shaft perfect for housing the power cable.

2. To securely attach the lamp switch to the tripod, I first inserted the plastic thread (which comes with the lamp switch as shown above) into the top of the shaft and glued it firmly in place (you can see what I mean by this in one of the following pics).

If your lamp base won't easily accommodate the plastic thread then put your thinking cap on for a way to make it work.

When faced with a conundrum like this, I usually just browse the hardware store isles til I find something I can adapt.

3. Once the glue dried, I inserted the power cable into the hollow shaft so it protruded from both ends.

4. I wired and attached the power outlet head to the rear end of the cable as per the packet instructions.

If you're lucky enough to have a lamp kit this step is already done for you.

5. I wired and attached the lamp switch to the top end of the cable as per the packet instructions and screwed it onto the glued-in thread.

Because the thread would only fit into the fat section at the top of the shaft, half of it was still visible once the head was attached (as can be seen above). I could have cut it down though instead decided to keep the extra length for greater stability and simply wrapped it in some twine as a camouflage.

6. I inserted a globe, turned the power on and crossed my fingers...it worked! I was momentarily blinded by light - mental note, do not stare at bulb in anticipation during testing!

7. To finish I simply added a budget K-mart linen shade.

Mothers Day Vase

http://www.makeandtakes.com/sweet-and-simple-mothers-day-vase

Mother’s Day is right around the corner, so I put together a quick and easy Mother’s Day vase that would be a sweet gift or an easy centerpiece for a Mother’s Day brunch. At least I know I’d like to receive one of these!

Supplies for Mother’s Day Mason Jar Vase:

• Small glass canning jar
• 18″ of at least 24 gauge (or thicker) wire
• 18″ piece of ribbon
• clear glass marbles (optional)
• Stamped tag and hanging hardware (optional)

1. Fill your jar 1/3 full of glass marbles.

2. Cut a piece of crafting wire about 18″ long. Wrap it around the neck of the jar just below where you screw the ring on top. Twist the end around the longer piece to secure.

3. Create a handle with the remaining wire and loop it under the base on the opposite side. Twist to secure.

4. Hand stamp a tag: “just for you”, “thank you”, “Happy Mother’s day” etc. I hung it on the wire with a hardware piece (all tag supplies Stampin’ Up!).

5. Tie a ribbon in a bow around the neck of the jar.

6. Fill with your favorite wild flowers!

Map wall canvas

http://www.brownpaper--packages.com/2011/04/featured-guest-creative-juices-decor.html

Today I am going to show you how I turned a $2.00 thrift store map into a large piece of art!

This project was inspired by wanting a large piece of art (on the cheap!) for my 7 year old son’s room. I had picked up this map from the thrift store for $2 and knew if I got my Creative Juices flowing I could figure a great way to use it! I went to Michaels and picked up a bunch of canvases at 40% off. I spent $29.00 on all 12.

Next I spray painted the edges with a left over blue from a previous project. I am a sucker for anything AGED looking so I lightly spray painted some brown on the edges too.

Once dry, I brushed on some Mod Podge and attached my cut out map pieces.

Once that dried (I turned them over to add some weight to the drying process) I wanted to age the edges just a little more so I took out my inking pad, or chalk pad, and “aged” the edges. I also put a little brown glaze on the map itself to try to give it some more character. Anyway, once dry I came back and put Mod Podge over the top, quite thick, and in criss-cross strokes.

VOILA!!! Really, that wasn’t too hard. Now I have a BIG piece of wall art for under $35.00!

Stay creative with me folks – even if you didn’t find a map at a thrift store you could take this same technique and make a large canvas art display. Just apply Mod Podge to your photos and apply it to the canvas. It makes it look like a designer print on canvas. The possibilities are endless. How about cutting out a favorite fabric and applying that to the canvas?

Tin Can Caddy

http://cynthiashaffer.typepad.com/blog/2011/01/tin-can-caddy-tutorial.html

Tin Can Caddy :: Tutorial

Before I start working on  really big projects, I take the time to clean and organize my studio. Here's a tin can caddy that I just finished to help me organized my daily go-to art supplies. 

And on a lazy susan...Oh my, it doesn't get any better.

Here's a photo of the caddy super loaded up, with all my stuff. This caddy can hold tons!

And I love having the outer cans up off the ground/lazy susan because as you can see it leaves me a bit of space for my favorite ink pads and spools of thread.

Tutorial:

Collect or gather 8 or so small to medium size tin cans and 1 large coffee can. 

Measure the height and circumference of all the outer cans and cut coordinating fabric to these dimensions. Next, slather a coat of Mod Podge to the outside and wrap and adhere the fabric to the cans.

Then put a coat of Mod Podge on the outside of the can. Set aside to dry. Paint the coffee can with gesso and sand lightly. Some of my cans had rust on the inside, so I sponged on some gesso there as well.

  

Arrange the small cans around the coffee can (looks super cute like this, but I knew I needed to have the cans up off the ground).

Mark the inside of the coffee can, where you want the small cans to hang.

Using an awl and a hammer, punch 2 holes in the smaller cans, close to the top rim.

And then punch the coordinating holes in the coffee can.

Next, thread a small length of wire, from the inside of the small cans, then into the coordinating hole of the coffee can.

And with pliers, twist the wire on the inside to secure the small cans.

And ... you're done. 

Hint: I did place 2 small tin cans, on wooden blocks, in the coffee can to raise the scissors and screw divers up and within reach!

Magic Jellybean Easter activity

http://somedaycrafts.blogspot.com/2011/04/magic-jellybean-turn-into-lollipop.html
Magic Jellybean Turn Into Lollipop Easter/Spring Activity

Last Easter, we did this activity for our kids! They LOVED it! Looks like it will be a tradition for us. I hope it becomes a tradition for you too!

Just like Nothing But Country, we planted some "magic jelly beans" the night before Easter. We didn't have this cute FREE downloadable jellybean packet from Nothing But Country. I'm adding it to our new tradition.

The next morning, the kids walked out to the dirt where we planted the jellybeans and there stood some giant lollipops. I bought the lollipops at Walgreens for $1 (I think.) The kids were amazed.

Stenciled Placemats

http://the-polka-dot-umbrella.blogspot.com/2011/04/spring-week-stenciled-placemats.html

Spring Week: Stenciled Placemats

I wanted to add a little spring to the dinner table, and have been really wanting to give the freezer paper a try, so I made some new placemats. If you haven't given freezer paper a chance it is definitely time! This is a really easy, kid friendly project, that brings great results.

I went through my fabric stash and found this great linen material and cut it in 6 different pieces. Mine ended up being 9.5" by 12". I also cut my little girl a piece out of different fabric so that we could make them together and she could have one that she made.

When cutting your freezer paper design, don't forget that you are using it as a stencil not a pattern. As sewers we are trained to think of patterns.

I like to use my regular paints and just add a fabric paint medium. I found this idea when looking up details on fabric painting.

Iron on your stencil and paint the exposed fabric. With my flowers, I used a sponge and made the paint un-even to give it the older look and feel.

This is such a great activity for kids!

We added a little washable glitter to my daughter's placemat. Anything glittery and pink is her favorite thing.

After painting, iron, wash and dry your fabric.

I put a piece of light vinyl plastic on top of my little girl's placemat, so that it will be easy to wipe off.


There are so many different binding techniques you can use for this project. (I don't know a lot about binding, and feel pretty inadequate in this area.) I could have added a back piece of fabric and gone for the pillow case look but I wanted a secondary color on the placemats. There are oodles of options for finishing these up. I went with this one.


These placemats definitely help make a darling dinner setting. I can't wait to put them on the patio table and eat outside. One of my favorite childhood memories is of eating dinner outside, during Spring. Until it is warm enough, inside works just great.

Happy spring to everyone!

Ready to Pop!

http://www.scissorsandspatulas.com/2011/04/shes-ready-to-pop.html

Now, I am a creative person. But favors can be hard! I didn't want to do the same old same old. So I had no idea what I was going to do, until one day I went to Hobby Lobby {What? Me? At HL, you say? I know, crazy!}. So anyway, I was at HL and saw these little favor boxes.

So cute! And they are shaped like movie popcorn boxes! But of course I wasn't going to fill them with regular old buttered popcorn. . .

Instead, I made this:

Ready to Pop, White Chocolate Popcorn Mix!

Here's how. . .

3 easy ingredients: popcorn, premier white chocolate morsels, M&Ms. 

Melt one bag of white chocolate in microwave at 75% power for 3 minutes, stirring every 30 seconds, just until melted.

Add half of popcorn and one bag of candy to a large bowl.

 {Unless you have a REALLY large bowl, you'll need to make the mix in two separate batches} 

Pour a small amount of melted white chocolate over the popcorn and candy and stir. 

Repeat several times until popcorn is generously coated in chocolate {about 2/3 of melted chocolate}. Be sure to save some to drizzle on top.

Pour popcorn mix on a cookie sheet lined with wax paper. Using a spoon drizzle remaining melted chocolate over popcorn.

Let the popcorn mix harden for about an hour and store in an air-tight container until ready to use.

Is you mouth watering yet?  This stuff is good! I was kind of sad to give it all away! 

The favors:

Aren't they darling?! 

And delish!

Ready to Pop, White Chocolate Popcorn Mix!

3 bags microwave popcorn, popped

2 - 12 oz. packages premier white chocolate morsels

2 - 12.6 oz. bags chocolate coated candies (such as M&Ms)

Mix half of popcorn {1- 1/2 bags} and 1 bag of candy in a large bowl. Melt 1 bag white chocolate morsels in microwave at 75% power for 3 minutes, stirring every 30 seconds, until melted. CAREFUL NOT TO BURN!!! Pour a small amount of chocolate over popcorn and stir to coat. Continue adding chocolate, a little at a time, until popcorn mix is fully coated. You will use about 2/3 of the white chocolate. 

Spread popcorn mixture on a cookie sheet lined with wax paper. Using a spoon, drizzle remaining white chocolate over popcorn. Allow to cool for 1 hour before breaking popcorn mix into large chunks.

Repeat with remaining popcorn, candy and white chocolate.