Category: Crafts

Today starts the auditions for the next season on So You Think You’re Crafty.

I’m one of the people auditioning and competing for 10 spots for the next season. I’m competing against my sister, so we are pretty excited and hope we make it in the competition.

The rule is that I can’t tell you which one is me, so I’m just hoping you decide to go vote for the fun of it and just maybe it’ll be me (or my sister!) you like the best.

Jump over there and check out the projects and cast your vote. It should be fun!

I wanted to make some small wired pumpkins and this time I decided to add a bit of colorful beads to give it some magic.

It’s easy to make these pumpkins fit anyone’s style and decor.

Gather your supplies.

You will need:
18 gauge wire

Floral wire or a thinner wire than the 18 gauge

Beads (be sure they will slide onto your wire) in any color you desire

Super glue

Wire cutters (oops! I didn’t toss them in the picture)

Begin by pulling off about 10 feet of wire and coil it in your hands to form a wire tunnel of sorts. You could probably wrap the wire around a cylindrical object, but I like to just wrap around my fingers because I find it easier to hold. You want to wrap it about 15 to 20 times to have enough to make the pumpkin. The more you wrap, the thicker the pumpkin will look. This one ended up with 14. Leave about 5 inches at the end to make the stem.

Begin stringing on the beads.

Once all the beads are on the wire, evenly disperse them. You can also do like me and haphazardly spread them throughout the loops with a different amount on each loop. Just be sure to have some on each one. At the end I noticed I had 5 on one loop and none on the one next to it. Oh well, good thing I’m okay with random.

Turn the coiled wire so that the beginning of the wire is facing up and the beads fall together. Gather the loops together and wrap with floral wire and then cover with some of the 18 gauge wire. If I had the same color floral wire, I would have just left it uncovered, but since mine was green and I didn’t have a thinner steel wire, I covered it. If you want to cover it in the thicker wire, the floral wire will help hold it in place while you wrap. Catch the beginning of the wire from the coil when wrapping the center.

Wrap further across than I have in this picture. Going further to the top and bottom will help secure the pumpkin for this next step. Be sure to wrap tight enough to hold the wire, but loose enough the loops will spread out and stay formed. Spread the loops out to join the ends together and form the pumpkin.

Put a small dot of super glue along the loops where you want the bead to stay and slide the bead into place. Hold the bead in place for a few seconds and then move onto the next bead. I completed all beads on each loop before moving to the next one. I forgot to take a picture of this step, but you can see an idea of placement from the way the pumpkin looks when it is finished.

Thread the beads onto the threaded piece sticking out the top. This will form the stem.

Turn the end of the stem so it points back toward the center of the pumpkin and glue the beads into place.

To make a pumpkin without the beads, follow the same instructions, but leave them off.

For this pumpkin I used a 16 gauge wire for the pumpkin and the 18 gauge wire to tie the center. I still formed the loops in my hands and there are about 40 loops to get this fullness. I didn’t measure how much I used to make the pumpkin, I just kept coiling it until it looked thick enough when I fanned it out while holding the center area.

After I finished the pumpkin, I coated it with some brown spray paint. I love how it turned out!

I wanted a quick, cheap and easy centerpiece. We are hosting a turkey dinner for my in-laws on the Saturday before Thanksgiving. Since there will be more than 20 people here, we will have several tables set up. I have  a thing for pumpkins, so this was a natural selection for the centers of the table. After a quick trip to the hardware store, I had my supplies. I have lots of wire left over and I plan to make more pumpkins, in slightly different shapes and probably some different colors.

Stay tuned for an official tutorial so you can make your own wire pumpkins!

I am also loving my new tablecloth I picked up this week at Target. It goes perfectly in our kitchen. It needs a good washing already and we’ve only used it for 2 meals.

I have been so bad about remembering to add the link for MY MAGIC FRIDAY linky party!

Please show us what is making your fall magical. Have new Halloween crafts, going apple picking or out to get your pumpkins? Link up your fall festivities here or leave a comment about what you plan to do this fall to make some magical memories.

My sister asked me to help her make a template to carve my niece a Curious George pumpkin for Halloween. Here’s what I came up with for her. I can’t wait to see the finished product. Next I’m going to work on a Snoopy one for Madison and I’ll add it when I’m finished. I need to see what my other two want for their pumpkins this year.

I use a pumpkin carving kit sold at pretty much any store this time of the year. Use the hole punching tool from the kit along the outlines of the George template. Cut the template out using the small pumpkin saw and remove the slices of pumpkin to reveal George’s face. Here are some instructions on using pumpkin carving templates and stencils.

It’s easiest to cut out the small pieces before moving onto the larger areas.

Click the link below to open a pdf and print the template.

Curious George Pumpkin Template

These days headbands are all the rage for our girls. That’s about all they want to wear in their hair. It’s funny to me since I don’t ever remember wearing headbands when I was young. I wanted a way to create headbands that are cute and not crazy priced. I set out to make some myself using store bought basic headbands.

Things You Need:
Headband

Fabric scraps

Ribbon

Double stick tape

How to cover the headband:

1. Cut a piece of scrap fabric twice the width of the headband and just a bit longer.

2. Lay a strip of double stick tape along the top side of the headband and lay the fabric on top of the headband. Make sure it’s centered so the sides wrap around to the back.

3. Place a piece of double stick tape on the underside portion of the headband. Wrap the fabric under the headband and press into place on the tape.

4. Cut a piece of grosgrain ribbon the same length as the headband. Seal the ends. I prefer to use a flame to melt them just a bit.

5. Place a strip of double stick tape along the underside of the headband and place the ribbon over the tape.

6. Add a fabric flower or other decorations, if you want.

I’m sure using a fabric glue will also work for this project, but I found the double stick tape quick and mess free.

These are fun to make for different holidays too. I went ahead and made one for Halloween. Madison claimed it when she came home from school.

This is also a great way to buy cheap, ugly headbands and cover them or recycle some you already own.

I’m linking to some of these fun parties.

Recently, I began liking jewelry. I’m not into expensive stuff, so my husband doesn’t have to worry. The only rings I wear are my engagement and wedding rings and I’m not into earrings. I think I’ve worn them once in the last 8 years. Maybe one day I will wear some again, but for now, I love necklaces and bracelets. My favorite store these days is Charming Charlie. If you have one near you and haven’t been, you will have to plan a trip.

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?

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.

I saw this idea in a catalog or magazine years ago and made this plate for our neighbors. I recently remembered a photobucket account and found some fun pictures in it from when the girls were young. This picture was in there too. So I figured I’d share the idea.

I purchased a box of clear dinner plates. I printed the poem out and placed it on the top of the plate. I flipped the plate over and painted on the bottom of the plate with glass paint. I didn’t want the paint to touch the food. This was years ago and they may have paint out now that is safe for use with food. I used the printed poem as a guide and carefully painted the words. I used a toothpick for better control. Then I painted the flowers along the border.

After painting the plate, I filled the plate with cookies and passed it to our neighbors.

The poem reads:

This plate shall have no owner

for its journey never ends.

It travels in the circle

of our family and our friends.

It carries love from home to home

for everyone to share.

The food that’s placed upon it

is filled with love and care.

So please enjoy what’s on this plate,

then fill it up again,

and pass along the love it holds

to family and your friends.

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.

The best part about these blocks is that you can customize them for the children playing with them. Making them holiday themed is fun too. I plan to make a Christmas theme set. Then you can mix and match them with the regular ones too.

I picked up these little wooden blocks at Micheal’s. They are about an inch, so they are tiny. You can paint images on them, use mod podge to glue pictures on them or stamp them with little stamps. I was too impatient for any of those methods.

I just drew the pictures with a Pigma Micron pen and covered them with a bit of varnish to protect them and make them waterproof. This is handy when they play with them at the table at a restaurant. I made the pictures simple since those blocks are little. I also sanded to blocks a bit to dull the corners.

I made a little bag to keep them in and they live in my purse. They have been a lifesaver at times like impromptu trips out to dinner, waiting in the exam room at the doctor’s office and while waiting for Daddy to arrive at the airport.

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.

To make this as a gift, you can make the blocks and get or make a little bag to put keep them together. Then if you want, add a cute little notepad and a pen so the kids can record their stories to read later.

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