Tea Party Thank You Cards

What you need:

Cricut Mini

Black card stock 

Orange card stock

Yellow card stock

Red card stock

White card stock

Circular rhinestones

Glue stick

Bakers twine 

This was the firs time I used the Cricut Mini. .... LOVE! 

When making this thank you card you glue 2 tea cups back to back so you can make a little pouch for the tea bag to go in. 

I used the bakers twine to make it look more like a tea bag. 

Write your thank you on the tea bag and stick it in the cup.

Painted Pumpkin Clown

What you need:

White plastic pumpkin (Michaels Craft Store)

Elmer's Painters Pens (Michaels Craft Store)

Crayola Molding clay (Michaels Craft Store) In Red

Orange fake cobwebs (Michaels Craft Store)

Pencil

Hot glue gun

Staple gun

Hard Hair spray

Big bowl

White Puffy Paint

What I did:

1. Pencil on the face that you want to paint on your pumpkin.  I chose a clown... A creepy one ;)
2. Use the paint pens to color it in.  I only had to do 2 coats for perfect coverage. 
3. Use a big bowl to put the pumpkin in to keep it from rolling around. 
4. Mold the red nose out of the Crayola molding clay.  It dries on it's own over night. 
5. Let the paint and the nose dry over night 
6. Glue on the nose with a hot glue gun 

7.  Use white puffy paint to make the center of the eyes. 

8.  Let the puffy paint dry 

9.  Use the orange fake cobwebs for hair.  Staple gun it on and pull on it to give it a cool shape.

10. Use a strong hold hairspray to keep the shape.  

11.  Scare all the neighbors!! *Evil Laugh* 

Wood-Burning Tips and Tricks for Beginners

I got totally into wood-burning about a year ago. On this blog there are a couple of examples of my work and little tips and tricks that I found out in my playing with wood-burning. 

I got this wood-burning tool and any tips I offer are associated with this tool considering it is the only one I have used. 

Wood-burning tool I bought.

These are tips and tricks for beginers

I bought all my wood at Michael's Craft store. 

Some of the wood I used:

A slice of tree with the bark still on

A wood bangle bracelet

A frame

Finished wood plaques

Wine bottle holder

I noticed that this wood burning tool did much better on smaller projects.  I feel like the tool could not sustain high temperatures for a long time,  so residue would build up on the tip of the burning tool and I would have to turn off the tool and scrub off the residue before I could continue with my project.  Possibly, I should have bought a more expensive tool, but I didn't know if I would enjoy burning. 

I found that softer/smoother woods were better than rough/knotty wood. The burner would get stuck in any inconsistencies and cause dark spots in the burn. 

I learned that I had to draw what I wanted to burn on the wood with a pencil first.  When i tried to freehand the burn it was a disaster. I would even print up templates from the internet and then trace it on the wood with tracing paper. 

This wine bottle case was one of my favorite burns. People love wood burnt gifts. They aren't supper hard, but look expensive. Give it a try it's fun! 

PS.  A lot of my wood-burning inspiration came from this artist. 

https://www.facebook.com/nidhichananiartist

New baby shadow box

What you need:

Shadow box (Michael's craft store)

Wood Letter

Wood frame

Blingy flowers

Scrapbooking paper

Mementoes from the babies birth

glue stick

hot glue

wood-burning tool 

What you need to do:

1. Gather all the mementoes from the babies birth.  I chose one of her first onsies, her hat she wore after birth, a headband from her first photos shoot, her info card from the hospital and her foot print. 
2. Arrange the items in a cute way
3. Open the shadow box
4. Lay scrap book paper in the bottom and glue stick it on. 
5. Hot blue the mementoes on.
6. Add wooden frame with picture. I burnt the little birds on it with the wood-burning tool. 
7. Add the wooden letter.  I also burnt on this.  You could paint it too to match. 
8. Add blingy flower or anything else that will go with the theme of the shadow box
9. Hot glue everything down so it doesn't move 

I can't tell you how happy this box makes me every time I walk by it. This is one of my most cherished crafts.

Enjoy :) 

Custom Bleach Pen Shirt

Custom Bleach Pen Shirts! 

What you need:

Cotton Shirt 

Hard plastic for between the shirt.  (I used a cutting board)

Clorox Bleach Pen 

What you do:

1. Put the hard plastic in the shirt to protect the bleach from bleeding through. 
2. Take your bleach pen and draw whatever you want. 
3. Let the bleach sit for about 10-15 minutes.  May need to test a small section to make sure the desired color is achieved.  If it's not the right color reapply the bleach to the area you tested. 
4. Rinse the bleach off.
5. Wash and dry the shirt
6. Wear your work of art with pride. 

In my experience this does work better on darker color clothes.  The pink one turned out white and the black one turned out orange. You could definitely see the difference in the fabric on the black one better than the pink one. 

Have fun!! 

Baby's Bundle O' Stuff... Baby shower gift.

Baby's Bundle o' Stuff! 

What you need:

Basket

Newborn diapers

Receiving blankets

Newborn socks

Wash clothes

Pen

Straight pins

Anything else you want to tuck in there.

What you need to do:

1. Roll up newborn diapers and secure them with a push pin. 
2. Take a newborn sock and roll it down to make their hats
3. Swaddle the diaper with the washcloths. Secure with pin.
4. Draw little eyes and eyebrows on the exposed part of the diaper. 
5. Put the rest of the unrolled diapers in the bottom of the basket to fill it up
6. Put the receiving blankets on top of them to make it look like a crib. 
7. Arrange the little bundles of joy to look cute. 
8. Lastly put a tag on the basket to explain what is in the basket. 

Happy and useful! :) 

Vacation Picture Magnet

I love to collect picture frame magnets from all the places my family travel to.  When we went to Cape May, NJ last year we couldn't find one.  So I made one! 

What you need:

Hot glue gun

Clear picture frame magnet (dollar store)

Assorted items from your trip

A picture from the trip

My assorted items from the trip were the key holder from the hotel, a pin that says cape may that I found in a gift store and the little rocks that are called Cape May diamonds.  They are found on the beach there. 

What you do:

1. Put the picture in the picture frame.  
2. Glue the edges of the picture frame shut so the picture doesn't fall out. 
3. Arrange your items so they look good around the picture 
4. Glue the items on the frame

Out of all the store bought magnets I bought this one is my favorite.  It's more personal. :)