So over the last year or so, my collection of jewelry grew quite a bit. I quickly discovered I needed a better storage system than what I was currently using. I have two beautiful jewelry boxes, but neither work for big, clunky necklaces or bracelets.

This weekend, I picked up supplies while we were getting plumbing parts for the leaking toilet. First I thought I would use a peg board to hold my stuff, but decided to just get a piece of plywood. They have 2-foot cut square sheets that are perfect for what I needed. I also grabbed a pack of cup hooks.

Later that day, I used some white spray paint from the garage to put a light coat on the wood. I decided that even though I planned to just hang it on the back of our bedroom door, I wanted it to look cute. I thought about putting my monogram on it or my initial, but settled on drawing a picture.

So I sketched in pencil (getting the idea from the cutest doodle book I picked up at TJMaxx one day) and used paint pens to draw on the board. I screwed in the cup hooks and hung up my jewelry.

I love how it turned out. If I need more hooks for the future, I have plenty of room to hang more.

Now I just need to get it hung on the back of the door. I’m thinking of adding some eye hooks to the top and hanging it that way. Any other suggestions?

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.

]]> http://mymagicmom.com/shrinky-dink-necklace-pendants-tutorial/feed/ 2 http://mymagicmom.com/diy-personalized-wine-charms/ http://mymagicmom.com/diy-personalized-wine-charms/#comments Mon, 05 Jul 2010 13:57:41 +0000 admin http://mymagicmom.com/?p=302

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.

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!