Craft Club April 2012

 Craft Club for April was at my place last night. We had a great turn out: 13! (14 if you count me!)

We learned how to make a variety of felt flowers to embellish a wreath.

 

This is how mine turned out. I especially love the dahlias and the little bunting in the middle. The hardest part was the burlap ruffle. Burlap + hot glue= ouch! But a little pain was worth the end result.

 

The dahlias are really easy but a little time consuming as you have to cut all the petals out individually. I made a little template which made things a lot quicker.

Teacher Conference Gift

I worked on Teacher Conference gifts this week as we are meeting with the kids' teachers this week. I like to go with something small to thank the teachers and to brighten those long days they have meeting with parents one after the other.


These boxes started out white. They were glittered and decorated. One teacher is a beach type and the other is very elegant. I tried to take that into account! Made some pretty fabric flowers, addred some tulle, feathers and bling. Inside will be gift cards to Barnes and Noble and some personalized bottlecap magnets to match the outside.

I think it's important to make sure our teachers feel appreciated throughout the year!

Kid Contact Cards

The kids had a lot of friends they wanted to hang out with this summer so I made them some cards to pass out on the last day of school.



It has my contact info for easy contact and playtime set up.

I used a business card template on Microsoft Works, added a cute picture and voila!

Teacher Appreciation Door Decorations

It's Teacher Appreciation week! Have you done anything special, something above and beyond for your teachers yet?

Yesterday I went in and decorated their doors. I prepped everything at home beforehand so that all I had to do was put up the paper and decorate once I got to the school. I used my Cricut to cut out the letters and shapes. I timed it so that the kids were gone at the time (PE and Music) and it worked out great.

I wanted to tie in each theme with what the kids were doing in class right now. Elli's class is doing plants and flowers. Lucas' is raising caterpillars right now. I am so happy with the connections!

Wedding Wreath

My brother is getting married this month and my Mum wanted something pretty to decorate her door. I thought if I let her do it, it might be covered in foamie glittered hearts :) So we came up with this idea together and created it together. It was nice crafting with my Mum!

Valentine Water Bottle Label

I was assigned water bottles for Ellie's Valentine party. Well, I can't just bring regular old water bottles, now can I?? :)
I made some cute labels for Jess' shower so I modified the template to celebrate Valentine's Day.
Send me an e-mail if you'd like the template!

iPod Valentine

Another cute idea, taken from Family Fun. This is a Sweethearts box with peanut butter cup "earbuds". There are some very creative people in this world!!


I think Ellie really loves this idea for her friends, and it matches her since she is so into music. Easy to make and the website has the template for the screen and wheel :)

Photo Valentines

Want a cheap, easy and unique idea for Valentine's cards? Well...take a gander:



This is very, very simple.

-Take a photo of your child with their fist outstretched.
-Do a little photoshop by adding text on the photo.
-get your photos printed
-once you get the pics, cut a small slit at the top and bottom of the fist and slide in a lollipop
-a little tape on the back and VOILA!

A little creativity+photo paper+sweetness= 23 cents per Valentine.



inspired by 7/24/365

Repurposed Old Chairs

This is a pretty easy project to do. I bought the bench but it was super cheap otherwise I would have made one.

It's basically 2 old chairs, tops taken off, placed side by side, and a wood top screwed in to the top of the chairs to create a bench. The lady that made this also had benches with 3 seats. Super cute!

I have painted this a couple of times, and today I painted it red for my entryway. It's Colonial Red matte spray paint. I also added on the barn stars to jazz it up a bit!

Girlfriend Glitter Cups

Pretty over the top, aren't they? But super cute and a great way to let a girlfriend know how special and unique they are.

Here is the scoop! You will need:

• Modge Podge (I used Gloss)
• Foam brush
• Glitter (I used Martha Stewart)
• Insulated cold or hot cup
• hot glue gun and glue
• eyelets
• eyelet setter
• strong hole punch (ie: Cropadile)
• acrylic sealant
• coffee sleeve (or use this template with cardstock)
• fabric to cover coffee sleeve
• ribbon to tie on the sleeve
• embellishments of your choice: the blingier the better!

1. With a foam brush, paint modge podge all over cup in an even layer. Sprinkle glitter to cover the modge podge (do this over a paper plate to re-use glitter). Shake off excess glitter.

2. Allow to dry (I let mine sit about an hour near the heater) and repeat 2 more times.

3. Once it is completely dry (maybe leave several hours or overnight), spray with an acrylic sealant. I used DecoArt Triple Thick Brilliant Gloss Glaze. This sets the glitter. Make sure you handwash only!

4. Next, make the sleeve. Unglue the coffee sleeve and cover with fabric using modge podge or a glue gun. Make sure that the areas where the eyelets will be (on the ends) are not too bulky so you can get the hole punch through it.


5. Punch 3 holes on each end and set the eyelets. String through some cute ribbon like a corset. This allows the sleeve to be removable for cleaning of the cup.

6.Next, bling it up using glitter picks (from Michael's), feathers, flowers, initials, beads, ribbon...whatever you like! Make it personal and over-the-top! These are meant to be fantastic. Adhere all of the bling with LOTS of hot glue.


Imagine these for your friend as a Birthday gift, a fun New Years cup, Girl's Night Out, Secret Santa.

Have fun!

First Crop

Last night, I took Elise to her first crop. I decide to just be her support while I was there and teach her the basics of scrapbooking. I had her pick out all the photos she wanted to scrap from our Mexico trip last year and we picked them up at Costco.

At the crop, I had her plan her first page out, picking the pictures that would go on that page. Then we selected the paper (she did this herself out of papers I had on hand). Mostly, she scrapped by color which is what I do too! I emphasized the importance of journaling on each page, trying to get her started on the right foot! She did a great job and scrapped all the photos we printed. I am very proud. She loved it too!

I took a peek at the Creative Memories digital software while I was there. I think I may take the plunge. It was very cool and easy to use.

I am so looking forward to a lifetime of scrapbooking with my sweetheart!

Teacher Gift: altered tins for gift cards

These are some altered tins I made today. I bought some Glimmer Mist by Tattered Angels and decided to play around.

These tins are for the kids' teachers. Ellie has 2 teachers. We had conferences today and I don't like to go empty handed :) So I altered these tins ($1.99 ea at Michael's) and tucked in Starbuck's cards.

I think it's nice to do something personalized for the teachers, something different and not just your average apple themed gift. Take something along for your teachers!

Celebrating Gold

GO CANADA! Finally a gold medal on home soil! A great reason to craft something, right? ;)


How cute is this? There's a cookie in there!



You will need:

• Nice big cookies
• aluminum foil
• gold paper cut into squares and circles (to cover the back of cookie after wrapping)
• scotch tape
• ribbon
• hot glue gun

First, we helped the kids wrap up the cookies with foil. You can make this project even easier by buying gold foil or just making "silver" medals. I was just too cheap to pay the $9 for the gold foil :)


Next, place the cookie face down on a square cut from gold paper and gently wrap it up making sure to keep the edges nice and round. Don't worry about gaps in the paper as it will all be covered in the end.



Finally, we took the lengths of ribbon and hot glue gunned them onto the back, then cover the back with a gold circle to cover everything.



We had a little fanfare and "medal presentaion" and the kids loved them. This would be a great favor for parties too or sports events!

Inspired by Skiptomylou

Cute Valentines

We decided to forgo the traditional boxed Valentines this year and get creative. We made ice cream cone treats! They turned out very cute and the kids had a lot of fun helping me make them.

Stuff cotton candy into and ice cream cone. We used the colorful ones. You can stuff about 8 cones per package of Fluffy Stuff ($1 store or Target dollar bins).


Put the cones into individual cellophane bags.

Then we printed out cute sayings like "Here's the scoop: you are cool!" onto cardstock, cut them into tags, hole punch.

The kids wrote their names on the back of the tags.



Finally, tie the tags onto the bag with some cute ribbon.

Spread the Love: Heart Attack!

What a fun way to spread the love this Valentine's Day! It has hit our neighborhood and we are next to carry it on.

Cut out a bunch of hearts, write some heartfelt messages for your "victims". Get the whole family in on it! Creep out in the darkness and Heart Attack your friends and neighbors.

Valentine Banner

I made a cute Valentine banner for my hallway table yesterday. Very easy and affordable!

You need:

1 roll of crepe paper streamers (I used white)
2 colors of cardstock
ribbon
glitter
glue
chipboard letters

First, we will make the crepe paper rosettes. I cut about 40 cm (16") of crape paper and folded it fan style. Fasten with a staple as close to the edge as you can.



Pull the ends together and fasten at the top on the backside with a little tape.



Make as many as you need for whichever phrase you decide to use.



Glitter the edges. I used Martha's Glitter Glue and Martha's glitter.



Layer on 2 circles. Base is a 4 1/2 inch circle, then the rosette, then a 3" circle, followed by your glittered letters.

String it onto some co-ordinating ribbon. The method I used for this was to use an exacto knife and cut 2 slits close the the top of the circle and thread it through.


Happy decorating!