Stenciled Plate

A week and a half ago, I took one of my 4 year old twins on a mommy-daughter date.  She had been feeling left out of things for a while...her twin sister and her older brother have both been going to occupational therapy for a few months now (for their Sensory Processing Disorder), and while it truly is *work* for them, to her...well, it just looks like she's missing out on all the fun!  She peers through the glass on the door at the O.T. office, and sees the big gym, with the giant therapy balls, the multiple types of therapy swings, the rope ladder, the tunnel slides, the ball pit, the mats everywhere, all the bright colors...and she just thinks she is somehow getting the short end of the deal.

Thus her special day was born.  I love that my daughter shares my love of art, and so our first and longest stop of the day was at a local "paint your own pottery" place.  She had never done this before, and I wasn't sure how she would do.  True to her personality, she struggled with taking direction from the store owner...she is fiercely independent and wanted to do it her OWN way.  She chose to paint a 2-part cupcake - one with a top and a bottom, which she can hide her tiny treasures in.

I had a hard time choosing my own piece, but finally settled on a large plate.  I had some ideas about what I might want to do - but the owner looked at me a little bit strangely when I set my things down on the table and pulled out about 30 stencils (mostly from The Crafter's Workshop!) and started rifling through them trying to decide which to use.  She acted as if she'd never seen a stencil before!  I finally decided on my stencil, and picked my colors of paint.  Then when I told her I thought I would use a make-up sponge to apply the paint, she REALLY disagreed vehemently...practically said it just wasn't going to work.  She kept telling me how "different" this was than other kinds of painting.  And she just didn't see how I was going to manage the stencil with the plate.  She also wanted me to apply the paint to the sponge with the paint brush, rather than dipping the sponge in the paint and tapping it off, which is what I wanted to do.  Because I try to be cooperative, I gave that a try...and it did NOT work...so I went straight to the way I learned from Julie Fei-Fan Balzer...dip the sponge into the paint, then dab it off on a paper, then apply the paint to the stencil.  It worked just fine!  I thought it was so funny how she kept being so discouraging and seemed so rigid about how things had to be done!

Anyway, today I went and picked up my plate...and I just LOVE how it turned out!  When the owner asked which projects I was picking up, I told her "a plate and a cupcake."  She asked which plate it was, and I said, "The one with the peacock feathers."  There was another lady there who said, "OH, the beautiful one!"  The owner, however, said nothing...just brought it to me.  Ha ha...I think she's still holding a grudge against me for using a stencil and a makeup sponge!

The stencil I used is Peacock Feathers, a Balzer Designs stencil made by The Crafter's Workshop.  It is available in both 6"x6" and 12"x12" (which is what I used).  If you've never checked out the stencils from TCW, you MUST - they have TONS of fabulous designs...I can't stop collecting them!  Seriously, though, I used their stencils several times a week in my art journals, or on canvases, on scrapbook pages, on tags...on plates...LOL.  And they have some incredible new ones coming out really soon - check out their blog! 

{My daughter loved her cupcake too...so much so that the minute we got home, she rushed it up to her room before I could even get a picture of it, and now the girls are sleeping...and I'm not about to wake them up!  So hopefully I can add a pic of her cupcake later!}

Darcie's Printable Shrink Plastic

Ornament made using Darcie's Ink Jet Printable
Shrink Plastic Project CD, "Nifty Gifty"

I just LOVE Christmas time...I think from about October 1 through the end of the year is my absolute favorite time of year.  From the minute the leaves start turning and the temperature starts dropping, through the last notes of "Oh Holy Night," and "Baby, It's Cold Outside," I am in awe at the beauty both inside and outside.  I'm such a sensory-oriented person, and the beautiful sights, wonderful scents, tempting tastes, memorable sounds, and delightful textures of this time of year just envelop me in a blanket of familiarity and comfort that leaves me feeling so full of joy and warmth. (And to be honest, I do feel a little let down when January comes around, because I just love these 4 months SO much...I'm always a little sad when they're finally over.)  

Anyway, I've been loving getting into the Christmas spirit, making handmade gifts for loved ones, decorating the house, looking at decorations with my little ones.  I wanted to share these fun little things I made using a fun new (to me) product I reviewed for Craft Test Dummies.  My review is posted today, so make sure you go check it out to see how I made these!!

Cardinal embellishment made with Darcie's Ink Jet
Printable Shrink Plastic Project CD, "Nifty Gifty"

I just love the little cardinal ornament - I made it for one of my kids' bible study teachers as a little Christmas "thank you" gift.  And the card - oh my goodness - I think that little shrink plastic cardinal adds just the right "pop" to the card!!  I haven't decided yet who I'll send it to, but I might end up making more of them, because I just love it so much, and it was so easy to make!

Easy No-Sew Tutu With Butterflies

With Easter fast-approaching, I know many moms who are looking for non-candy Easter basket goodies for their little ones.  This super sweet - and sugar free - butterfly tutu definitely fits the bill.  What little girl wouldn't LOVE to find this in her basket on Easter morning?!  To find out how to make this sweet fairy-tale tutu, at very little cost (both time and money-wise), head over to Crafts Unleashed today for a step-by-step tutorial.

And this doesn't have to be limited to Easter, either!  Dress-up trunks, birthday parties, tea parties...these are so easy and affordable to make, your little girl will probably want one in every color, for every occasion!

Elmer's Giveaway for National Crafting Month!

So...I told you what a GREAT time my friends and I had crafting the night away last week with all of the awesome products Elmer's sent us, right?  Well, check it out.  Elmer's was SO generous in sending the crafty goodness that I actually had some leftover goodies after my party - and since we ARE wrapping up National Crafting Month, I decided I'd like to share the goodness with one of you, my readers!  

First - what do you win?  Everything in that picture above!  

• A pair of regular scissors
• Two pairs of decorative scissors
• An ergonomic delux craft knife
• A second craft knife
• A circle cutter
• A corner punch
• Two boxes of photo corners
• Two boxes of adhesive squares
• Two giant extra-strength glue sticks
• A quick-dry dual tip glue pen
• A roll of scrapbooking tape
• A box of glue spots
• Two boxes of 5 acrylic paint markers each
• A package of 18 gel pens

Whew...that's a LONG list!  I'm telling you - this is one AWESOME box of craft supplies!  Regardless of your level of crafting - even if you just have kids or are a homeschooling mom, you NEED this box!  You will be able to use everything in this box!

How to win?  Just leave me a comment on this post telling me what you would do with all of this crafty stuff...that's it.  Please only one entry per person.  The giveaway will be open through Friday, 4/1/11, at 7:00 a.m. PST.  I will choose a winner that morning (after I've had my coffee!) and post the winner that day!  Good luck!  

Easy Birthday Banner

I've been wanting to make a birthday banner for our family for a long time, but like so many projects, it just hasn't gotten done.  But my baby, my oldest son, turns 6 today!  (SO hard to believe!)  Last week, I was determined that I would have a banner to put up for his birthday, but I knew I didn't have the time or energy to do the kind of banner I've had on my mind (a fabric banner), so I decided to figure something else out that would make do until I can do something else.

I found the site Lettering Delights a while ago, and I just ADORE their graphics and fonts - they have SO many cute things.  There are lots of freebies you can get just for signing up (which is free), and then there are various things you can purchase and download as well.  Right now they are actually having Dollar Days, and have TONS of stuff on sale...I have a long wish list!  Fonts for a dollar, graphics sets for $2.00...really great deals!!  You can print these things out - OR, you can CUT them out on your craft cutter - like your Cricut (using certain programs), your E-Craft, or your Silhouette.  Click on the link to go check them out!

Anyway, I downloaded this free Banner Day Alphabet, and printed out the letters I needed for a Happy Birthday banner on matte photo paper, 2 to a page at the 5x7 size.  I cut them out using my paper cutter.

Then I laminated them using my Xyron 900, using the double sided laminated cartridge.  

This is how they look after going through the Xyron

Then I cut them apart into individual pieces.  You don't have to be exact on this step, because the laminating is clear, so people won't really be seeing that part once the banner is hung.  Just be sure not to cut too close to the paper, or you will separate the laminating sides from each other and create an opening.

I used my Crop-a-dile to punch holes in them - I just separated them into two stacks and was able to punch through them more quickly that way.  I strung the pieces on simple white paper twine (Ikea), and the banner was finished.  It took me less than an hour, and my son loves it!

National Crafting Month Giveaway and Other Fun Stuff!!

Hey everyone - did you know that March is National Crafting Month?! Yes it sure is!! Not that I need a special month to do crafts...but how great is it that there's a whole month dedicated to celebrating our love for creating beautiful art?!

So anyway, I wanted to let you know about several great things going on...

First, you've gotta head on over to Craft Test Dummies and enter your name in the drawing for the awesome National Crafting Month giveaway! While Jenny and I were at CHA, we had a bunch of crafting celebrities sign an apron, and that's just one small part of the giveaway package; she's put together an awesome bundle of goodies for some lucky winner!

Second, Glue Arts is hosting a great contest you might want to check out.  It's called, "Recycle, Reuse & Repurpose," - and you KNOW by now that those are ALL things that I LOVE to do in my crafting!!







Next, I wanted to let you know that my review of the LaBlanche stamps that I used in my UTEE Tag post here is up today over on Craft Test Dummies, so you should definitely go check that out and give me some love over there!  ;)

Finally, have you heard about Stumble Upon???  I just recently learned about it, and you should DEFINITELY check it out!  I've been finding all kinds of great new blogs and posts using it, plus it helps me get more traffic on MY blog.  It's free to join, and super easy to use.  And it's SO easy to share pages with each other - I LOVE IT!  Go check it out NOW!!!  :)  (My username is CraftyFriendJen, by the way, so come find me!)

Happy Crafting!!!

LOVE Banner Tutorial - Valentine's Home Decor

I have really great memories of Valentine’s Day from my childhood.  My mom really went all-out for the holiday…from decorating the house with hanging tissue-paper hearts and banners, to breakfast on a table covered in red and pink decorations, and dinner with more surprises and fancy decorations…she really out-did herself.  As a mom now, I wonder how she did it all.  After all, she was a working mom; and as a stay-at-home mom, I am ashamed to admit that I, um, have NEVER put up a single Valentine’s decoration, or really done anything spectacular for my kids for the day.  I think I *did* buy some “x” and “o” shaped pancake molds one year, and they were a flop.  Anyway, this year, I am resolving to start doing a little more – and THIS banner is my start!

To create this banner, you’ll need these things:

• some recycled corrugated cardboard (try the box your project supplies arrive in!)
• Core’dinations Jenni Bowlin Red and Black Collection
• Nestabilities Labels 14, largest die
• Any Cricut font cartridge
• Sweethearts Cricut cartridge
• White pigment ink pad
• Perfect Pearls, Pearl color
• Distress ink pad
• Ink applicator w/foam pad
• Glossy Accents
• Hot Fix Rhinestones, Black
• Black 6″ tulle
• Ivory 6″ tulle
• Black 5/8″ poly ribbon
• Black 5/8″ organza ribbon
• Ivory 1/4″ double-sided poly satin ribbon
• Red 7/8″ grosgrain ribbon
• Twine
• Fabri-Tac adhesive
• Small spray bottle
• water
• sanding block

First, you need to prepare your corrugated cardboard backing pieces.  Cut 4 pieces of cardboard, about 5″ x 7″.  Then, peel the front off one side, revealing most of the corrugation inside.  Take the white ink pad, and rub it directly over the corrugated cardboard, so that the bumps of the corrugations are highlighted with the white ink.  Set the cardboard pieces aside to dry.

Peel most of the facing off the cardboard

Next, take a sheet of black text paper from the Core’dinations paper pad, and lightly sand the surface of it using a sanding block, revealing the contrasting color beneath the black.  Cut four pieces of paper, 4″ x 6″, and adhere one to each piece of cardboard using Fabri-tac (I like using this glue due to its great grab and ability to use with wet applications).  Next, place your pieces in a protective spray box (I have a homemade one), and spritz each piece with a homemade Perfect Pearl spray (instructions to come!) or your choice of shimmery mist.

Background misted with homemade Perfect Pearl mist

Now you will cut take a sheet of the ivory-colored large dotted paper from the Core’dinations paper pad, and sand the dots, revealing the lighter color.  Then, you will use the largest die from the Nestabilities Labels 4 set to die cut a label shape for each of the four banner pieces.  Glue them onto the foundation pieces.

Adhere Nestabilities Label 4 to background

Using the Cricut font cartridge of your choice (I used Alphalicious), cut the letters to spell “LOVE,” at about 3″ size (depending on their width, you may need to adjust, to fit on the label), out of a sheet of the damask Core’dinations paper in red, sanding it before cutting.  Use Distress Ink and an ink blending tool with foam pad to add ink around the edges of the letters, and then glue the letters to the labels.

Using the Sweethearts cartridge (or any cartridge with a heart shape), cut several hearts in 1.25″ and 2″ sizes, also from the red damask paper.  These will be used for embellishing.

Cut four 1.75″ x 12″ strips of the red damask Core’dinations paper and lightly sand them.  Take a strip of the paper, and lightly spritz both sides of the paper with water to make it more pliable.  Begin folding the paper to make pleats in it.  Put a strip of Fabri-tac adhesive down across the very bottom of one of the banner pieces, and lay the pleated red cardstock across it, pushing down and holding for a short time until the glue grabs and holds the pleats in place.  Lay another bead of  Fabri-tac down on top of the pleated cardstock, at the very top of the pleats, and cover it with a 1/2″ wide strip of the ivory dotted Core’dinations paper.  Trim both the red and ivory cardstocks even at the sides of the banner piece, and then use scissors to cut a slight wave pattern in the pleated cardstock at the bottom.  Repeat for all of the banner pieces.

Begin embellishing the banner pieces with the red hearts, hot-fix rhinestones, and handmade tulle flowers as desired.   Use Glossy Accents to add a glossy, dimensional accent to areas of cardstock or entire pieces of cardstock.  I used it on embossed (raised) areas of some hearts, or on entire hearts, and on the dots of the strips at the bottoms of the banner pieces.

Use Glossy Accents to accent embossing or add dimension

Twisted tulle flower with hot fix rhinestone and cardstock heart center

You can get creative with Fabri-tac and tulle in making flowers.  In the above flower, I covered a piece of cardstock with adhesive, then took a length of tulle and began twisting it and laying it down on the glue, going round and round until I covered the cardstock.  Below, I also covered a piece of cardstock in adhesive, but rather than twist the tulle, I simply gathered some between my fingers and pushed it down into the adhesive, then repeated over and over until I had a nice, floofy flower and the cardstock was covered.

Bunched tulle flower and distress-ink heart

You can see above that I rubbed a distress ink pad directly over my heart, so the ink hit only the raised, embossed areas.  I also inked the edges of the heart.

Continue to embellish the banner pieces as desired until you are satisfied.  Once completed, punch holes in the top corners of each piece, and thread twine through the holes of each piece, leaving about 3-4 inches between each banner piece and about 18 inches at each end for hanging.  Cut pieces of tulle and ribbon approximately 5 inches long and tie them around the twine all along the twine, as few or as many as desired, until you reach the look you desire.

Now…isn’t that LOVE-ly?!

*****

Note: This project was made for the Crafts Unleashed blog, as part of a "LOVE" home decor competition amongst the Crafts Unleashed design team this month.  Go check out the other projects, and vote for your favorite (hint, hint!!) here!!

disclosure

Snow Day Project - Foamies Snowflakes

Anyone who has children knows that while the words “SNOW DAY” bring shouts of excitement from the mouths of any young children in the household, those same words may NOT bring the same level of excitement for the parents of those same small children!  For that matter, “sick day,” “holiday,” or “parent-teacher conferences” may also have the same effect.  The kids are home, mom and/or dad are off work and have things to do, and in spite of the dozens of “I just *have* to have THAT!” toys and activities received mere weeks ago during the holidays, suddenly…the kids are “soooo bored!”

Enter the wonderful line of Foamies Activity Buckets!  For these particular snowflakes, you’ll need:

• Foamies Glitter Baby Bucket of Stickers – Snowflake Shapes
• Foamies Activity Bucket – Glitter Snowflakes

I opened up both containers of these Foamies and literally just dumped them on the kitchen table, and let my three older children, along with a couple of my friend’s children, just go at it.  The larger Activity Bucket contains 24 circle bases, with holes punched in the top (so they can be hung from the included pre-cut fishing line), a large assortment of shapes and sizes of snowflakes (self-adhesive), several jewel-rhinestones, a small tube of white glue, a small tube of silver glitter glue, and a small package of white/iridescent glitter. All of the foam items and “jewels” in the Activity Bucket are in white or blue tones.   The smaller Baby Bucket contains a wonderful assortment of glittered snowflakes in smaller sizes, plus circles in two different sizes – all self adhesive as well.  There were two shades of pink, two shades of blue, and a beautiful glittery white.

Spread on table for kids to easily choose from pieces

The children were all quite creative in how they assembled their snowflakes, each taking different approaches.  I watched as one child even tore the balls off the tips of one snowflake to suit his liking, before sticking it down onto another snowflake.  One of my three-year old twins was content to just tear snowflakes apart – which is par for the course – she enjoys tearing almost anything apart…yet, it DID keep her occupied!  My 5-year old most enjoyed two different aspects – one, the silver glitter glue, and two, stacking as many layers as he possibly could – proudly telling me exactly how many layers he was able to add to each snowflake.

Kit includes rhinestones and glue to adhere them!

Layer upon layer upon layer!!

Even I couldn’t help but make a few snowflakes myself – the glitter just called out to me!  I tried removing the backing from one of the self-adhesive snowflakes, and dipping it in the glitter (much easier than spreading wet glue around and applying glitter that way).  My son watched and then had to try it himself, of course!

Dip adhesive side in provided glitter for alternative effect

I say you can’t go wrong with the Foamies Activity Buckets – and I’d definitely encourage you to stock up on a few to keep on hand for those days when you just may have some “bored” children at home!  For a great selection of Foamies Activity Buckets, other Foamies kids' crafts, and other kids' crafts in general, check out Consumer Crafts!!

Disclosure

Last minute Christmas gifts - handmade ornaments

If you are one of *THOSE* people, you know, the ones who have had all of their holiday shopping and gift-giving needs taken care of since July, well, then, you may just want to skip right over THIS post.  ;)

BUT, if you are anything like ME, and you are still frantically trying to finish up final handmade gifts and trying to make sure you haven't forgotten anyone on your list,...well, then, I have some really beautiful and quick last-minute ideas to share with you!

For all of these ornaments, I used vintage sheet music - which I absolute LOVE using on projects.  I think it just adds such a wonderful charm and loveliness to any project!!  

For the ornament pictured above (the inspiration for which I got here), of which I made 3 variations, I started by cutting a background from red foil cardstock using the largest of my Classic Scalloped Circles Large Nestabilities die-cutting set.  I then used my hot glue gun to attach ribbons and pieces of Christmas picks.  I used the Tim Holtz Sizzix Rosette die to cut the rosette from the sheet music, and assembled it per the instructions; then attached it with hot glue as well.  Finally, I took grunge board letters spelling "JOY," inked them with Fired Brick distress ink, and applied Fired Brick distress stickles to them.  Once dry, I glued them onto the rosette, and my ornament was complete.  (Note: you can use a heat gun to dry the ink and the distress stickles, but do NOT use a heat gun on regular stickles.)  

I think even my husband was impressed - since I saw him grab one off my craft table this morning on his way to the office to drop off Christmas gifts to the supervisors he manages!!  (That, and he wants to get some return on the "investment" he has made into my crafting supplies!!)

The second ornament also has a rosette made of vintage Christmas music - but it is much larger, and was made using the Martha Stewart Scoring Board.  The ornament has about a 6" diameter, and I had to glue two strips of music together to make it.  Once I made the rosette, I inked the edges and ridges with Fired Brick distress ink.  I then applied a line of glue around the edges and sprinkled silver glitter over it.

For the center, I again used my Classic Scalloped Circles Large Nestabilities to die cut two pieces from a pad of K&Co Christmas paper.  I inked them using distress inks and glued them to the rosette using hot glue.  Finally, I added a dimensional K&Co sticker to the center.  I punched a small hole in the top of the ornament and tied a piece of silver cord through it for hanging.  

 

I hope this gives you some ideas for quick but beautiful last-minute gifts.  What are your go-to crafts for last-minute gifts?