DIY Bird Print

Have you ever had inspiration for a project get into your brain and you just knew that you would explode if you didn't make that project right away?  That is how I felt about this one.  The inspiration hit me for this idea out of nowhere.  I had the image in my head of what I wanted the finished project to look like and I just had to get it onto the canvas.

Here is what I made and I will try to give you a tutorial of some sorts for how I arrived at this finished project.

Creative Easter Eggs

Here comes Peter Cottontail.  Can you believe Easter is almost here?  Where is 2012 going?  I have gathered together some inspiration for decorating Easter Eggs. Nothing against the Pas kits, but there are other adorable options out there.  Enjoy!

Paper Cone Wreath

I originally saw the tutorial for this adorable wreath here.

Her instructions are so thorough that I am not going to re-invent the wheel here but I did want to share my own pictures with you.  The wreath is not complicated and makes an inexpensive give (Christmas, anyone?)  I purchased the book I used at the Goodwill for $1 and used scrapbook paper that I already had on hand.  It did take some time to do but I think the end result is certainly worth it.

Christmas in July

For the next several days I will be posting Christmas in July ideas.  Can you believe we are this far through the year?

I actually bought my very first Christmas gift yesterday - a Melissa and Doug Band in a Box for K.  How long do you think she will have it before I regret that purchase?

I love all things Martha Stewart.  I've been a fan since she first started out.  She has come out with some really adorable ideas for Christmas crafting.  Now is a great time to start on some lovely handmade gifts, before the hustle and bustle of the holiday season.

First up this really sweet Sock Dog.  How can you not love that face?

He would make a cute gift.  Ooh, could you imagine a fleet of these antlered cuties attached to a little sleigh???

I really L-O-V-E this next project.  It would look so great on my table.  I can imagine using it for spring holidays as well.

  

And last but certainly not least - don't these candles look super chic?  These would make delightful teachers gifts, co-worker gifts, favorite blogger gifts (just saying).  Everyone uses candles in their house either lit or just for looks.



So there's your inspiration for holiday spirit for today.  Break out those glue guns and get cracking!  We'll be hearing the jingle of sleigh bells before you know it.

Tomorrow I will highlight some creative gift wrap ideas.

Birthday Countdown Calendar

K is so excited about her birthday.  At almost 3 she lacks a concept of time.  I remembered how much she loved the Advent calendar we use at Christmas and thought a Birthday Countdown Calendar was in order.

I used one piece of canvas, different colored felt, Velcro & a little paint.

You can chose to paint the canvas if you want but I really didn't think it was necessary.

Decide how many days you want to countdown.  We chose 15 days and decided we would use felt balloons.  You could do stars, flowers, candles on a birthday cake - the possibilities are endless!

Decide on a shape and cut out the pieces from felt.

Assemble the pieces on your board.  I experimented with different layouts - in rows, in a bouquet, scattered around the page and decided I liked them in a row the best.

Once you have your shape laid out, attach Velcro to the back of the shape and the corresponding spot on the board.

Number your shapes and paint the title at the top and you are good to go!

DIY Tutu

This afternoon K will take her very first ballet class.

So in honor of her new adventure I want to encourage you to make a tutu for your Prima Ballerina.  You only need two things - elastic (enough to go around the child's waist) and tulle in your choice of colors.  You can always add embellishments as well if you would like.

Measure the elastic and tie it in a knot or stitch the ends together, whichever you prefer.

Stretch the elastic around a book or binder.

Cut the tulle into strips based on your child's height.  Stack two pieces of tulle on top of each other and either tie it around the elastic or fold the pieces in half and pull the ends through the loop so it secures the pieces around the elastic band.

Continue all the way around the elastic.

Once you have finished you can add a satin bow or large flower to the center of the band.  One of the prettiest examples that I have made was a tutu made with dark purple and lavender tulle.  We then glued small silk violets all over it.  Of course, I gave it as a gift and never photographed it...

Another option is to make matching tutu's for dolls.  For a Barbie use a hair rubber band.  For a larger doll, use thinner elastic and follow the steps above.

Photo courtsey of Family Fun

Preserving Family Recipes

Last year I had the honor of working on a project with my grandmother.  We started in March of last year and worked until November collecting and archiving her recipes.  My grandmother cooks by taste and by feel.  She is an incredible cook and I wanted to have her recipes available for generations to come.

We started by compiling a list of what recipes we wanted to include.  The list eventually grew to include over 60 recipes.  Then over the course of the next several months, as my grandmother cooked each of the items she didn't use a written recipe for she carefully measured out everything and made detailed notes.  The items that she cooks that she already had recipes for were written in her handwriting on 5x7 sheets. 

I collected all of the papers, organized them into categories and started designing the template.  We decided on a wire bound book.  I typed most of the recipes but scanned in a few that she had written so everyone would have recipes in my grandmother's handwriting.

We decided against taking pictures of the food and instead put family pictures in the book.  My grandmother wrote a letter of dedication for the front of the book which we also scanned in.  The book was professionally printed and bound and each of my grandmother's children and grandchildren received a copy this past Christmas.

This was one of the most rewarding projects I have done.  I encourage you to preserve the family recipes that are special to your family.  It is not necessary to do a complete recipe book. There are plenty of other options out there.  Martha Stewart has a great article about other methods here.

Preserve those treasured memories.  One day you will be so glad that you did.  For those interested in the recipe book template, leave your email address in the comments section and I will put together a document to send to you.  We don't mind sharing around here!

Pirate Party Post #1

Over the next month I will be posting several pirate party ideas. My little girl, K's third birthday is coming up. I know, I know a pirate party for a little girl? This is how the conversation went -

Me - your birthday is coming up. What kind of party do you want? A princess party?

K - no, a pirate party.

Me - pirates?

K - yeah pirates, you know mommy, like captain hook and swords.

Me - I know what pirates are, but how do you? Are you sure you don't want a princess party?

And so it goes that we are having a pirate party. So far it has been an absolute blast to plan! Like I said, this will be the first of many more pirate party posts. Say that three times fast will ya?

So for today's first post I am going to show you the weathered bottles we have made.  This is a great way to recycle empty spaghetti sauce jars or other glass jars.  All you need is a glass jar, some regular masking tape and either brown shoe polish, brown paint or a distressing ink pad.

This one is being made with an empty wine bottle.

Tear the masking tape into small pieces.  Don't cut the tape, you will want the irregularity of the torn edge.  Layer the tape all over the bottle until you cover the entire thing.

This is a great activity to let the kids help with.  I lined up several pieces of torn tape for K and she went to town covering the bottle.

Once the bottle is covered, take your medium of choice - we used brown paint because that is what we had on hand, and blot it on your bottle.  Don't paint it on there, you want it to be uneven to give the bottle a worn look.  I found that with brown paint it works best to crumple up a paper towel and use that to blot the paint on the tape.

Cover the entire bottle and let it dry.

We have also made this project with a Coke bottle, spaghetti sauce jar and a pizza sauce jar.

Happy crafting ye landlubbers!