clay conversation heart pendants for valentines day

(click the pic to see a super cute valentines day DIY)

repurposing a tin can into a sweet lil plant pod

good morning....

wanted to show you guys a lil prezie i just made for my friend Gabby. going to have tea with her in a minute and thought i'd bring her a lil something.  i did this with a tin can, washi tape, some soil, a baby from my spider plant and a hammer and a nail.

first off, i sort of have a love hate relationship with spider plants. they're kinda meh but produce these cute baby plants that literally fall off when they are ready to become grown ups and venture out alone into the world. so, i put them in a tiny vase (a mason jar) until they grow some roots and then pop them into tin cans i gussy up for thank you gifts and plant sales at my sons school. here's a photo DIY that is pretty self explanatory. enjoy....

cupid's arrow valentines

okay, finally it is february!!!  i have been sitting on the edge of my seat to "get it on" with valentines day up in this mug!  these are the valentines that we made for Loji's class last year.  we put the kids names right on the wooden dowels so that when the kids threw them around they wouldn't get mixed up AND we didn't need to use ANY paper.  so good, right?

wooden dowels
feathers
embroidery thread (or yarn, twine, use what you have)
glue
thin tip sharpie
felt or and thick fabric you already have. (you could even use foam paper or construction paper)
heart rhinestones  (optional, i couldn't figure out if i adored them more with or without these)

draw first, then cut the hearts so that  two hearts are mirrored and touch at the bottom point so that they can stay together and can be glued around the wooden dowel.  they will kind of look like bow ties until you fold them in half.  then they will look like hearts.  i used fabric glue, but you can use a glue gun, or most faster drying glues probz.  you'll have different drying times for different glues obviously.  i used clothes pins to hold them in place while they dried.

cut different sized lengths of red, pink, purple or hot pink embroidery thread and have handy.  3, 6, and about 9 inches is great. 

then if you snip the very middle spine of the feather, and only the spine,  then when you pull it apart, it will form a V shape of feather that will be used for the end of your arrow.  you can draw a line of glue onto the end of the dowel and hold the feather in place while you tie one of the threads tightly at the very top to hold the feather in place.  then wrap carefully around until it ends. make sure there is enough glue to hold the string in place and start another colour of thread. i didn't tie the new colors on, the glue was enough to hold them on.  you can do it as simple or complex as you want.  careful not to put too much glue so that it is super messy for you to work with. 

if you want to dress them up with a little rhinestone, do so.  personalize them with names and who it's from if you'd like...

these are adorable and the kids LOVED them. i still see them at peoples houses.  enjoy guys.

make super cute crayons out of, you guessed it, crayons!

i’m sure you’ve seen this before.  i first saw it on miss martha stewart’s website and fell in love with the idea.  so, when i saw some molds at the recycling depot  for 25 cents (holler!!!), i snatched them right up with wild eyes along with a bag of…wait for it…wait for it….drum rolls…a huge bag of broken crayons. seriously.  same trip.  game on!  so, i came home and had the funnest afternoon with my lil man!  check it!

first off, you can use silicone ice cube trays, candy molds, or mini muffin tins for these but be aware, once you use them for this, they will always be for this…because the crayon is impossible to get off.  you can thrift them of get them from ikea for $1.  true story.

first, pull out all of those old broken crayons and start peeling all the papers off. (or, you can buy a freshie new box).  if you cut a slit down the side of the crayon, it’s easier to peel the paper away. or plan ahead and soak them in water.  either tip will save you some time trying to get the papers off.  employ the kid lets. they love this part.  we listened to disney stories on vinyl and pretty much whistled while we worked.  

you will need a nice variety of colors, all freshly peeled and broken into little pieces.  i used a knife and cutting board.  Loji just went to town breaking them.

we had fun separating colours into little bowls.  i loved how the skin tones and gold came out in the end.  next time i want to try primary colour mixing…like blue and yellow to make green when you draw.  and red and blue to make purple…an so on.  you could also do these to fit a holiday or theme.  for instance, if you want to make these for a st. patties day celebration, take out just the green toned crayons and find a shamrock mold and save the other colors for another time.  oh ideas.  oh the babbletron.

start filling up the little molds with a variety of colours, breaking up the crayon pieces a little smaller if necessary.  

then place the molds in a pre-heated 250 degree (F) oven for 5-10 minutes…….peeking in on them every so often.  depending on the quality of the crayons, some melt faster or waaaay slower.  also, place tin foil down on a baking sheet under the molds, in case there are any spills.  melted wax is absolutely no fun to clean out of the oven or smell for days after.  believe me, i learned the hard way.  oof.

once the crayons are completely melted, pull the molds out of the oven and allow them to cool completely. takes about 15 minz.  careful, silicone trays are wobbly.  you don’t want to spill or burn yourself with hot wax. or do you? 

run the bottoms of each mold under hot water, to help soften up the silicone tray and help separate the crayons from the bottom of the mold. then push the molds from the bottom and pop out each crayon.  note: don’t use too complicated of a shape or they might break when you pop them out.

enjoy!!!!

scrabble tile pendants

i will be the first to admit it.  i am a bit addicted to two things, as i pour a glass of wine, Scrabble and making, crafting and/or creating wonderful things out of materials that have been thrifted, found, recycled, repurposed or reused.  that is why this particular project has me blushing still.  i found a travel Scrabble game at the Salvation Army one day with tini tiles that inspired these pendants.  also, i have been holding on to these precious old maid cards for a while waiting for the perfect use.  this was totes perf!! 

i got everything i needed from the hardware store, which i was pretty amped about.  i tried a few different types of glue before settling on Titebond premium wood glue, but seriously, i bet most proper wood glues would work....no dollar store scores on this one.  i paroozled the isles until i spotted these cute little mini vices that worked soooo good!  they were about $8.  i glued between each tile, tightened the vice and then used a paint brush to paint the whole thing with a coat of the wood glue.  then, anxiously, waited for 24 hours for the glue to dry all the way because that is what the instructions on the bottle said.  man, i am impatient sometimes.  i was beside myself to finish one and see if they were going to come out as wonderful as the idea was in my head.  i then, very carefully, screwed in the smallest loop screws i could find (i have no idea what they are really called-but the man at the hardware store knew what i was talking about when i asked for them).  use pliers and go slow or you might split the wood.  i did 2 for the tops on some and one on the side on some, so they hung long ways. does that make sense? check out the picture to see...

i used them to decorate other gifts...i'll make a DIY on these cordials soon!!

sparkle

my friend Kelly threw a SPARKLE party and these were pins she made up to promote it.  i helped her with decor one afternoon and my hands were glittered for a week...i shit you not.  spray adhesive, glitter, paper orbs, fumes, and sticky sparkled extremities.   oh my.

winter wonderland~holly daze wrap up

yes, t'was the night before Christmas and all through the house....there were snowballs and pouf balls and pompoms and such.  thought i'd show you the poufs i made from old sewing patterns and pom poms made from white yarn from the thrift store. love me some recycled and reused christmakkah fabulousness!

this guy came out soooo super ultra mega sweet sauce big time awesome.  i love him.  i got the idea from a store window that used the light up lawn deers all bundled up with scarves for their holiday display.  i cut up some thrifted sweaters, a crocheted blanket, swirled some scarves and ribbon here and there, and slapped some googly eyes on him. adorable.  he was the life of the xmas party last year.   i had strands of white pompoms hung straight down from the ceiling to look like it was snowing all around him.   kinda missing him in this moment.  those eyes!!

about a week before the big day, sandwiched in between holiday parties, events at the kids schools, and all the rest, are the sweetest nights when the tree is all lit up, you're listening to nat king cole on vinyl all shnugged up with your fam and last thing you want to do it cook.  so, knock knock...who's there? the pizza guy!!! yay.  the crowd goes wild!!  kind of becoming a tradition in our house to have a pizza night and see how creative we can get with reusing the pizza boxes and making ornaments with them.  i gave my little man a thick paint brush and some white tempera paint and he went to town on the box.  my older son, Malakai, went out and found a beautiful cedar bow with a candy cane shaped arch in it.   We cut out and hung stars from it and propped it up just right with moss and beach stones in a tall glass vase.  i really loved it.   i'm going to do a mini version in the bathrooms next year.