Category: Crafts

Tuesday was Katelyn’s birthday. I still can’t believe my little girl is already 7 years old. I need to get the pictures of her birthday ready to share. She got her first American Girl doll and lots of fun stuff to go with her. I also made her a new dress to wear to school. I usually let the girls wear a pin to school that says “Birthday Girl” on it. After spending hours making a dress, the last thing I wanted to do with it was to put holes in it for the pin. So I decided to make her a necklace instead.
I found a Shrinky Dinks kit at Jo-Ann Fabric & Crafts. It was just what I needed. It came with sheets of shrinky dink paper stuff, a hole punch, jump rings, a chain and some colored pencils. That was great so I didn’t have to dig out my jump rings or my hole punch!

I made the birthday pendant and I ran a ribbon through it for her to wear.

This started more ideas in my head so this morning, I played around with them some more.

I have this cute dog fabric sitting in my stash waiting for me to make Madison a new dress. I decided to use it to make a necklace for her. Maybe it will inspire me to get more sewing projects finished.

This is a great way to coordinate jewelry and other accessories with clothing. Just trace the pattern or object. You can string the object on a pendant or leave off the hole and glue it on something, like a hair bow. These would be a cute way to make personalized wine charms. Then I thought buttons would be fun to make too!

So I’m going a bit nutty with this Shrinky Dink stuff. Here’s the process I used to make the dog.

I placed the Shrinky Dink paper over the dog I wanted to trace and colored it with colored pencils. The Shrinky Dink papers have a smooth side and a rough side. You have to be sure to color on the rough side.

Then I cut around the dog shape, leaving a small area at the top for punching the hole.

Next, it is ready for baking. I use the toaster oven because it’s easy to heat and keep a good eye on it while it’s baking. It only takes a few minutes.

I line the toaster oven tray with foil and then sprinkle it with cornstarch so the plastic does not stick. Almost immediately, the Shrinky Dinks start to curl up in the heat. Then they spread out flat again. Once they are flat, they are ready to come out. Don’t walk away from the toaster because it’s a fast process and it’s fun to watch.

I took pictures in the toaster, they aren’t the best, but you get the idea.

After it comes out of the toaster, I just rinse it off and add the jump ring and it’s ready to go. Here you can see the comparison of how much it shrinks since it was the same size as the dog in the fabric before I baked it.

After the dog, I made these two.

First, I made three pendants with the name of each of my daughters then I tried out a monogram.

Katelyn requested a mermaid and Emily is still thinking about what she wants. I am also going to make holiday ones for them.

A few years ago, we were having a party with lots of people, which also meant lots of wine glasses. My parents were hosting, but I was tasked with how to make wine charms so everyone could keep up with their own glass. For the life of me, I can’t remember the reason for the party because we continue to use these every time we get together. Everyone knows to dig for their charms. These also fit well over the neck of beer bottles.

To make them, we picked up a pack of do it yourself wine charm holders in the crafting section at Walmart. I’m sure they sell them other craft places too. Then we got a pack of the lettered beads that little girls use to make bracelets. I strung the beads onto the wine charms and they were an instant hit.

Several guests had short names, so I added heart beads to the name. Wait a second. The above picture is my grandmother’s wine charm with the added hearts. If I now remember correctly, it was her birthday party. That’s why I made the wine charms.Or maybe not.

For guests with the same name, I added a heart as a spacer and then their last initial.

These worked well because although you can make different wine charms for people with cute beads and pictures, eventually, someone is going to forget if they were the red flower or the red umbrella. From my experience, no matter how much wine the guests have, so far nobody has forgotten their name.

We keep these charms together in a bag in the kitchen. At gatherings there, we get them out and use them again and again. For new guests, we also keep extra supplies and make a new one with their name on it.

These would also make cute party favors to send home with guests.

For parties without alcohol or wine glasses, you can string these to the top of soda cans or carefully punch a hole in the top of a plastic cup.

I link to these parties.

These blocks are finally seeing the light of day. They have been waiting for me to get to them since I painted the peg people. I saw several places online that sell them or where people made them for their kids. Some people call them story dice. I probably call them both.

We have plans to go out to dinner with two other families. Seven kids hanging out with adults who like to talk may get easily bored. So I figured this was a great time to make these blocks so we can take them with us to dinner for the kids. The girls have been having a blast playing with them and helped me think of more pictures to add to more blocks.

I picked up these little wooden blocks at Micheal’s. They are about an inch. Some people paint images on them, mod podge images or stamp them. I was too impatient for that. I just drew the pictures with a pen and covered them with a bit of varnish to protect them. They are very simple designs, since those blocks are little! I also sanded to blocks a bit to dull the corners. I need to make a little bag to keep them in now.

Story blocks are pretty self explanatory, but there are several different ways to play. You can play alone or in a group. Each person can take a block or one person can have them all, it’s up to you. To play, just throw the blocks out and tell a story based on the pictures that land face up. If you are taking turns, each person tells their portion of the story and the next player adds onto the story based on their picture.

Here are some other sites with ideas of how to make them for further inspiration.

The Toby Show

Stitch/Craft

There are also several cute options on etsy if you just want to buy some!

Linking to

We spend lots of time at the pool during the summer. The girls turn into fish and then into prunes! They also need a few breaks from the pool to rehydrate, reapply sunscreen, etc. I was trying to figure out a way to keep them busy and entertained without begging for food each trip out of the pool. That’s when I decided to do pool “paper” dolls. I got the idea from the foam letters we had stuck to the wall in the bathtub. The clothes stick on the dolls when they are wet. These are also great for the tub. Our girls love paper dolls and are happily entertained with these. We couldn’t have a paper doll at the pool without a mermaid tail!

To make the dolls, I bought a stack of craft foam without the sticky back. The pack I got was had about 10 different colors and was about 50 sheets for $5. I cut out a paper doll shape for the body for each of them and then basic shapes for the clothing. I let the girls use Sharpies to draw details on the dolls and clothes. It was a fun project that will have lots of use over the summer. We have lots more foam left to make more outfits.

When I told some friends about this project, some wanted ideas for boys too. With all girls, I have a hard time coming up with boy ideas! So thoughts were cars, dinosaurs, etc. You could cut basic car shapes and trucks as well as different colored wheels, windows, etc, maybe?

If anyone has an idea for boy foam pool toys, please share it!

I swear I thought I posted pictures of Katelyn’s new desk, but I guess I was wrong. I found this desk at the Salvation Army and got them to give me a discount on it. The following day I went in search of a cute chair to go with it. I peeked into the back room at Goodwill and saw this cutie sitting there waiting for me. I convinced a worker that I really needed it and they drug it out for me and priced it at $4. Score!

Desk before:

Chair before:

Katelyn wanted the desk red, but we compromised with painting the chair red instead. I just love how it turned out.

After:

Now I just need to get the rest of her room finished. I have plans for the little table next to her bed, different window treatments and I need to finish painting the details on the walls. She’s been patiently waiting for an owl in that tree.

Last night Emily pulled the “Make Self Portrait Dolls” from the summer fun jar. I had a vague idea about how I wanted us to go about making these, but I figured I had some time to think about it. Guess I was wrong. It’s the second activity chosen.

These dolls were quite the trial and error project. I think they got tired of drawing by the end! We started off with them drawing a self portrait. Madison used some creative license with her portrait.

First I had visions of stitching their creations onto the fabric to make the dolls. Then I decided that was too time consuming for a toy they would probably toss aside after a day or so. If they end up loving these, we can try that next time.

So then I decided to try to do a crayon transfer from the paper to the fabric. That didn’t go so well either. The crayon transferred, but it was too light to see no matter how dark the original crayon marks were. Crayola makes fabric crayons, but I don’t have any and I wasn’t willing to drag a sick child through Walmart to find some.

At this point I decided to begin researching online about another way to do a crayon transfer. Turns out regular Crayola crayons don’t do well. I guess that’s why they make the fabric kind. Some people said they have had luck with using generic crayons. I found some generic ones my mother-in-law bought the girls and tried those. They didn’t work any better than the first try.

Moving on to the next idea. You can color on sandpaper and iron that to the fabric. So I went out to the garage to snoop through Jon’s sandpaper supply. He had a new sheet of drywall sandpaper, but it wasn’t big enough for all three girls to use. Then he had small sheets of a very rough sandpaper. I colored a corner of one of them and tested it out. It worked well, so I passed out the sandpaper with instructions to draw another picture. The rough grit didn’t work well with the details the girls wanted to do in a small area. So we decided that idea didn’t work well for this project, but I think it would do well for other projects. I gathered up the sandpaper and put it back in a pile on the shelves in the garage. Wait until Jon needs sandpaper again and finds crayon drawings on them!

So after some more brainstorming, we tried to use freezer paper. That stuff does great for so many projects and it did better than using the regular paper, but wasn’t what we wanted either.

Then I decided I needed to stop wasting time trying to figure out how to do a crayon transfer. I just let them color directly onto the fabric. Then I placed a sheet of paper over it and used the iron to melt the crayon and set it right onto the fabric. Who needs to use a transfer?

After they finished coloring them, I let them go through my scrap fabric and choose something for the back of the doll. I stitched around the edges and turned them right side out. After stuffing them a bit, I sewed the bottom shut.

Now they have little self portrait softies.

Here are the backs of the dolls.

Today is what I consider the first official day of summer vacation. I didn’t want to spend everyday trying to figure out stuff to keep the kiddos from being bored. So we compiled a list of stuff we thought would be fun to do over the summer. In addition to the usual stuff like going to the pool, we now have a jar of fun ideas. I planned to get a cute jar with a lid to put the paper in, but since I had a leftover teacher gift with the letter “S” on it, I decided the S could stand for summer and used it instead. To make the jar, I simply cut strips of scrapbook paper and wrote a fun idea on each strip. I curled the strip and tossed it into the jar. Now each night, the girls will rotate choosing one strip and we will do that activity the next day. That give me a bit of time to plan the day and gather supplies. Every now and then we will have to alter plans if it’s a rainy day and the activity is outside, but most ideas are doable in all types of weather.

Now we are ready for summer! I also have strict instructions from a friend of mine to call her each night after we pull the strip to see if her and her girls want to join us for the fun.

Tomorrow’s activity is bubble blowing in the backyard. We will make some bubbles, use some store bought kind and experiment with different objects as bubble wands. Should be fun!

This year for end of the year teacher gifts, I made monogrammed vases. I got the idea after making a vase for a birthday gift. I ended up making 8 of these things! We only have these two left and I just remembered to take a picture of them. I cut the letter out of clear contact paper to use as a stencil. Then, I used Armour Etch to etch the letter. I was happy with the results and I hope the teachers are too!

I tried glass etching for the first time. A friend of mine had a birthday and I made her this vase. I got the idea from a cute vase my sister made me for Christmas. I cut my own stencils out of clear contact paper and used Armour Etch. I was tickled with the way it turned out. I love being able to personalize a gift.

Next, I’m going to etch a teacher gift. I hope it turns out as well.

I got on a kick before Christmas about painting little people for my niece. She loves Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and Curious George. So after searching the web for inspiration for painting these little little dolls, I decided to just paint what she already loves. I also made some to resemble her family.

On Christmas I was so excited to give them to her. I forgot that I didn’t take any pictures of them before wrapping them up, so I put them on the floor to take some pictures. She kept trying to pick them up and play with them during the photo shoot. I’m glad she loves them so much.

I found the wooden dolls at Michael’s and used acrylic paint on them. I then coated them with a clear coat of non toxic stuff to make them shiny.

The wooden pegs start off life looking like this. They have different shapes available with more of a flared bottom for the female. They are all just under 2 inches in size, so be careful about making them for little ones who may try to put them in their mouth.

Here’s the finished product. Melissa was kind enough to send me a picture of them all together since I was having difficulty on Christmas! I first made my BIL too light and then too dark. Maybe one day I’ll try again. They are expanding their family in the next few weeks, so I’ll have to add a new baby to the peg family anyway. I was also going to add something like a pompom to give Mickey and Minnie ears that stand up, but I didn’t want them to accidentally come off and become choking hazards.

Here are the ones I tried to get…complete with little hands playing with them.

Now I need to get busy painting some more for the little girls in our house.

Last year for Christmas I made several gifts for family and friends. I loved this tile coaster idea. Thanks Melissa for sharing with me! I made these for friends of mine and for some teacher gifts, but I used their last initial and last name. After some trial and error on Melissa’s part, I used smooth tiles and Staz-On ink. It worked great. I also used he self adhesive felt on the bottom to keep them from scratching furniture. I love that they absorb the condensation from the glasses too.

We don’t have much in the way of Valentine’s Day decorations around here. I saw this idea in a magazine I read while I was recovering from surgery. I caught up on many magazines during those two weeks!

During nap time today, I whipped up this faux topiary. I cut hearts out of felt and used pins to attach them to a Styrofoam ball.

Then I stuck the ball on a dowel and into some Styrofoam in the little pail I found. I added a few rocks to the pail for added weight. Then I cut strips of paper and curled them to fill the rest of the pail.

Finally, a few ribbons finished the topiary.

Hosted by Cecily and MamaGeek

“In the sheltered simplicity of the first days after a baby is born, one sees again the magical closed circle, the miraculous sense of two people existing only for each other.”

-Anne Morrow Lindbergh

I decided to try my hand at a homemade Christmas gift for my sister. I got the idea to make some marble magnets from my friend, Jamie. I was happy with the way they turned out and they were super easy. I used photos of my sister’s family and names. You can also use small pictures or words cut out of magazines.

What you will need:

• Photos or magazine cutouts
• 3/4 inch magnets-I found them at Walmart and Michael’s
• Silicone Sealer-got it at Michael’s; It has quite a strong smell, so use it with caution
• Floral marbles that are flat on one side
• Thin grosgrain ribbon-optional

Directions:

1. Cut out your photos or magazine pictures, making sure they are 3/4″ around and fit well in the visual space of the marble. I learned that it’s best to make the image pretty small because it will appear bigger after you apply the silicone sealer. So you may want to do a couple of practice magnets before using an image that would be difficult to replace.

2. Break open the packages of marbles and magnets.

3. Place a small drop of the silicone sealer on the magnet and smash the photo onto the magnet.

4. Place a small drop of silicone sealer on the photo and smash the marble on the photo.

5. Let it dry.

6. As an option, you can add a small piece of ribbon around the magnet so you can’t see where the marble meets the magnet. I like to use Fabri-Tac glue for the ribbon.

7. Stick them on the fridge and enjoy!

8. If you want to give them a gift I found that gift card tins work great!

“Before we can leave our parents, they stuff our heads like the suitcases which they jam-pack with homemade underwear.”

-Maxine Hong Kingston

While I was sitting at the doctor’s office yesterday, I picked up a Family Fun magazine and flipped through it.

That’s when I found this idea.

Button Bookmarks!

I now have another use for my neverending supply of ribbon and a new reason to love buttons.

If you would like to make a button bookmark:

• Simply cut lengths of ribbon-12 to 14 inches long, to fit a standard-size hardcover book is a great length
• Attach buttons to the ends using tacky glue or a glue gun. Shown in the photo are just a few of the decorating options: sandwiching the ribbon’s ends between two buttons; stacking smaller atop larger buttons; and grouping several small buttons in a pattern.

Our girls love a great doll house. One for Disney Princesses, one for Polly Pocket, one for the little Wizard of Oz dolls Mommy keeps making them collect from McDonald’s, etc. I went looking for an idea of how to make more dollhouses and be able to customize them. That’s when I found this idea from Cookie Magazine. I will be heading out to find some foam board. This looks like a fun project! It’s portable too!

Directions:

1. Start with a piece of 20″x30″ foam core board (a standard size at art-supply stores), and using a box cutter and a T-square or yardstick, cut 10 inches off of the longer end to make a 20″x20″ square.
2. Cut the board horizontally right across the middle to create two 10″x20″ rectangles.
3. Measure 10 inches across the bottom of one rectangle, and cut a notch 1/4-inch wide and 2 inches tall. At the top of the second rectangle, make a notch the same size.
4. At the bottom of both rectangles, measure 4 1/2 inches from both ends, and cut doorways 2 inches wide and 5 inches tall.
5. Slide the notches into each other to form the x-shaped house.