Martha Shmartha

Red Clay Voting

2011-11-10T09:42:00.004-06:00

Do you like what you see?

Please come vote for my entry here!

THANK YOU!

Easiest Star Wars Cupcake Toppers

2011-04-22T10:39:00.002-05:00

What is it about Star Wars that makes little boys (and girls) go nuts? My eight year old knows more about Star Wars than anyone I know. So for his birthday last week, of course he wanted Star Wars cupcakes. At first he requested that I use frosting to create Yoda, Obi, etc. on the top of each cupcake. That was quickly vetoed (not only am I on bed rest for this pregnancy, but there's no way on earth I was going to do that!). This is what I came up with:

Blue for the good guys

Red for the bad guys

Seriously, these were so easy to make! I grabbed two packs of Star Wars stickers from Target (24 stickers in each pack), then stuck two matching stickers together with a toothpick in the middle. The kids loved them and they only took a few minutes to make!

I'm linking up to:
Tatertots and Jello Weekend Wrap Up Party

Red Clay

2011-04-21T16:22:00.000-05:00

Have you heard of Red Clay yet? If not, I'm sure that you will soon! This is probably one of the coolest ideas I've seen for the creative world. The idea came from founder, Abigail Kiefer, who just happens to be one of my childhood friends. Of Red Clay, Abby says, "Red Clay stages challenges to solicit designs from the design community at large. Each challenge sets design parameters by selecting a sustainable material, such as organic cotton, and identifies a provocative theme. Red Clay searches out up and coming designers to contribute, giving them a platform on which to build their portfolio."

Not only is this a place for us to share our creative designs, it's also a place where we have the opportunity to vote on which designs we want to see produced. The top ten designs receive a monetary prize, but even better than that, your design will be PRODUCED and SOLD, through Red Clay. How cool is that?!

The first design challenge has already begun--Let Summer Shine In: The Textile Challenge. There are already some amazing ideas out there. I love that the only guideline given is the fabric. You can literally create with any color that you can imagine. Red Clay encourages you to think outside the box. This is so much more than just a summer pillow design: Bags, ottomans, picnic blankets, wall decor, table settings! If you can imagine it, they can make it!

I am definitely not a graphic designer, but more of a hands on person. The design submissions don't have to be created on a computer. Feel free to draw your idea, take a picture, then submit that. The most important things right now is that the current design challenge ends at 6PM PST April 22, 2011. The voting period ends Sunday May 1.

This is an amazing opportunity. Where else can you design something in your own home, knowing that there's a possibility it will be produced and sold around the country? Go visit Red Clay now!

Rainbow Cake

2011-03-22T20:45:00.000-05:00

Remember this, last year's attempt at a rainbow cake for St. Patrick's Day? What can I say, I'm a glutton for punishment--I had to try a rainbow cake again this year. I know what you're thinking... But it worked! I went smaller, lots smaller this year. Let me show you.

I only used one box of white cake mix. I just divided it into six bowls, used food coloring to create six different colors, then poured them carefully into the bundt cake pan. I started with the red, then poured the orange on top of that, then the yellow on top of that, etc. I wasn't sure if I'd end up with a big brown mess, but as you can see, it worked wonderfully! So simple, so fun.

St. Patty's Day Centerpiece Tutorial (Kid-Friendly!)

2011-03-08T19:51:00.000-06:00

This is one of the cheapest and easiest projects I've ever done. I am a leader for my daughter's Frontier Girls troop--We have six girls ages 4-6. I did this project with all the girls on Monday afternoon and it went fabulously. I was a little worried about Mod Podging with six wee ones, but they did a fantastic job, which emphasized to me how simple this project really is.

Want to know the best part? Each centerpiece costs under $2! All of the supplies (except for the Mod Podge) were purchased at our local Dollar Tree.

SUPPLIES

-Small square candle holder

-Scented tea candle

-Green decorative glass

-St. Patrick's Day Napkins

-Mod Podge (Not pictured)

-Foam brushes (Not pictured, but available at the Dollar Store)

-Scissors (Not pictured)

Unfold a napkin. Use your scissors to cut out two of the green squares with clovers inside.

Mod Podge a clover square to two opposite sides of the candle holder.

Fill the candle holder with the green class about 2/3 full. Place the tea candle into the center of the candle holder. (You can kind of twist it down into the green glass a little bit.)

Enjoy!

I'm currently working on a Home/Life Organization Binder. It's nearing completion, so I hope to have photos up soon.

Also coming soon... A Spring Wreath!

Clovers

2011-03-06T13:34:00.000-06:00

I love St. Patrick's Day. Maybe it's the Irish in me or maybe it's just another excuse to celebrate and decorate... Whatever the reason, I'm excited for the 17th! Last year, I snagged a couple of wood clovers from Goodwill. Each one cost me under a dollar. I finally got around to Mod Podging them last week.

Later this week, I'll have a tutorial for a kid-friendly St. Patrick's Day centerpiece, made completely from Dollar Store supplies and costing less than $2!

Valentine's Day Tic Tac Toe

2011-01-14T16:22:00.002-06:00

I have to say that I'm really quite pleased with how this turned out. It was inspired by my daughter's love for Tic Tac Toe. Actually, it was mostly her idea. I just took care of the details. This is a fantastic craft for kids, as my daughter (5 years old) was able to share in the work and do a lot by herself.

This was so easy to make. I simply cut a heart template out of construction paper, then used it to cut 10 red hearts and 10 white hearts. (Even though there are only 9 hearts on the board at a time, you want to be sure that each color has enough to win!) I put two hearts together, used a hot glue gun to glue almost all the way around the inside edge, filled the hearts (through the unglued opening) with pinto beans (my daughter did all of the filling), then used the glue gun to seal the hearts. Voila!

Next I cut a big heart out of pink fleece. I chose fleece because it doesn't fray and I wanted to create a no-sew project. Before you cut the heart, lay your bean bag hearts on top of the fabric to ensure that your game board heart will be big enough. I cut four pieces of ribbon, pinned them to the heart in the shape of a Tic Tac Toe grid, then used the hot glue gun to glue them in place. That's it!

The best part? The game board ties up around the bean bags, creating its own storage space. What more could you ask for?

Finally.

2011-01-13T12:19:00.000-06:00

It's been a while! I apologize for my long absence in crafting and posting; I have spent the last months experiencing all of the joys that a first trimester of pregnancy can bring. It was rough, but I am finally regaining some of my energy and trying to find the floor in my craft room again (kids...). I have a fantastic Valentine's Day craft in the works and will hopefully finish it by tomorrow. Thanks for sticking with me!

Emily

Triplet Train Bunting

2010-10-15T10:08:00.000-05:00

A friend of mine has triplet boys--Can you even imagine? She is a complete saint and one of the best moms I know. With three infants, though, she has people in and out of her house (helping) day and night...Lots of people. I've been going over every Thursday night; in the beginning, I had trouble remembering which baby slept in which crib, as they are all three in one room. I wanted to make something special for her boys and thought of a name bunting to hang over each crib, a way to make sure that all of her helpers know which boy sleeps where. Here they are:

What do you think?

wingflash designs Giveaway WINNER

2010-10-04T12:53:00.001-05:00

Thank you to all who entered the giveaway! RANDOM.ORG chose the winner:

The Giveaway Diva said...

love the little treasure necklace!

SEPTEMBER 27, 2010 3:42 AM
Congratulations, Nicole! Please send me an email by Wednesday, including your address, to claim your prize! marthashmartha@gmail.com

A special thanks goes to Laura at wingflash designs! Please keep her in mind whenever you're in need of new, beautiful, and unique jewelry!

Glow-in-the-Dark BOO

2010-09-30T14:18:00.000-05:00

I must admit that I was skeptical about Martha Stewart's glow-in-the-dark glitter at first. After using it, though, I am a proud supporter! The bottle was so easy to use, with the easy-pour lid, and the glitter was just right for the coverage I needed. I painted BOO onto a plastic pumpkin with Mod Podge, then poured the glitter on top.

VOILA!

Articles of Faith Book

2010-09-30T14:08:00.000-05:00

A while ago, I came across a huge poster with the 13 Articles of Faith (from the LDS Church) in a closet. I didn't really have anywhere to hang it, but decided that it would make a fantastic book. My five year old daughter has already memorized the first three Articles, but would really like to know the rest. The only problem is that she can't read fluently yet, and thus needs photos to help. I had a book from Bare Books in my supplies that was perfect for the project. The book was so easy to make! I simply cut up the poster, put an Article of Faith on the left page, and cut up pictures to match each Article for the right page. My daughter is ecstatic about the book. I'm excited to have a wonderful addition to our Sacrament Meeting bag for Sundays!

FRONT COVER

INSIDE FRONT COVER

PAGE EXAMPLES

INSIDE BACK COVER

BACK COVER

***Don't forget to enter the wingflash designs giveaway by Sunday!***

wingflash designs GIVEAWAY

2010-09-26T12:21:00.000-05:00

I am so excited to be hosting this giveaway! Today's giveaway comes from wingflash designs, a jewelry store owned by my high school friend, Laura, who is unbelievable talented.

wingflash designs is a tiny, one-woman-run jewelry business in Tucson, AZ. Owner/Designer/Jeweler Laura Kepner-Adney has been making jewelry since she was five, but only started marketing her work in the past three years, after apprenticing for a jeweler in New Zealand. Her goal is to make pieces that are practical enough for everyday wear, but classy enough for a night out; she says, "I design jewelry that looks equally sexy with a shovel and a cocktail dress."

Laura has generously agreed to giveaway this stunning necklace:

It is a shark tooth electroformed with 24k gold, and a ruby, hanging on a gold-plated sterling silver chain. The necklace retails for $120.

What I love about Laura's jewlery is that, not only is it absolutely beautiful, it is completely unique. I'm quite jealous of all of you who are eligible to win--I wish that I could enter!

How to Enter:

1. Visit wingflash designs and let me know which piece is your favorite.

2. Like wingflash designs on Facebook.

3. Become a follower of Martha Shmartha.

4. Like Martha Shmartha on Facebook.

5. Link up to this giveaway on Facebook, Twitter or post it on your blog.

Please leave me a SEPARATE COMMENT for each way that you enter. (i.e. Comment 1: I follow your blog. Comment 2: I blogged about the giveaway, etc.)
This giveaway is open until 11:59PM on Sunday October 3rd. I will chose a winner randomly on October 4th.

GOOD LUCK!

Fall Blessings Barn Star

2010-09-22T10:26:00.001-05:00

I've been eyeing barn stars for months now, but haven't wanted to spend the money to buy one. Yesterday, though, while walking through Michaels, I found a paper mache barn star that was much cheaper than the plastic/metal ones I've seen previously. I simply mod podged each star face with a different paper representing many of my favorite things about fall. My 5 year old summed it up perfectly when she said, "I love it, Mommy. I could just stare at it for hours."

I'm linking up to:

Princess Tea Party

2010-09-05T21:09:00.002-05:00

My daughter turned five years old yesterday, so we celebrated with a Princess Tea Party! Because she's still so young, we only wanted to do something small. We had six girls, for just an hour and fifteen minutes. It was perfect... Any longer and I think it might have lost its magic. Let me show you what we did!

Decorating was the main event. Luckily, we were able to dig around our house and find just about everything that we needed. I had purchased the giant rose wreath months ago at Goodwill--I was going to pull the roses off and use the frame, but it was perfect for our tea party. The lamp is from my kids' bedroom. Then we just filled every glass jar we could find with pretty candies. I picked up the china cupcake stand for a couple of bucks at Goodwill, as well. We really only bought candy and balloons!

The cupcakes were a cinch to decorate. I whipped up a batch of buttercream frosting, dropped a dollop of white onto each mini-cupcake, refrigerated them until set, then dropped another dollop of either pink or purple on top. I topped them with a tiny pearl candy.

The cake is a two layer chocolate cake with chocolate buttercream frosting between the layers and on the outside. I then used giant confetti sprinkles to polka-dot the whole thing. I used the mini candy pearls (like on the cupcakes) to make a "5," and to outline the rose. I created the rose from marzipan, then used edible pearl dust to color it pink.

To begin our tea party, we rang this beautiful bell. It was my grandma's.

My daughter found this fancy hat candle holder at Goodwill, too, for only $2. I always think of big hats when I think of tea parties, don't you?

To set the table, I purchased a cup and saucer for each girl, from Goodwill. Each cup and saucer only cost about $.30, so to say that it was cost effective is an understatement! We sent them each home with their own teacup and saucer, in lieu of goodie bags.

We began the party by decorating the crowns you see at each place setting (12 for $2.50 at JoAnn's). The girls could color their crowns or glue tiny jewels onto the front. (We already had the jewels, as they were actually the dragon scales that we used in the wand cores for my son's Harry Potter birthday party in April.) This was a good opening activity, as it gave the kids something to do when they arrived, and while they waited for the actual tea party to begin.

After crown decorating, we painted their fingernails. I just grabbed a few dollar varieties, plus some cheap decals that we put on once their nails were dry. This was a big hit; all the girls talked about how excited their moms would be to see their pretty nails.

While the girls had their nails painted and waited to dry, my husband did face-painting. We didn't do anything crazy, just whatever little thing the girls wanted. It was mostly balloons, butterflies, hearts, etc. I do think he did a castle with a moon in the middle and a red Christmas tree, though...

After the nails were dry and faces were painted, we served pink hot chocolate. We don't drink real tea, plus I figured the girls would prefer hot chocolate to tea any day. I simply heated eight cups of milk on the stove, poured in a bag of white chocolate chips (once the milk was steaming), added a touch of vanilla, then some pink food coloring. Voila!

We also served the cupcakes, candy, cookies, etc. that were being used as decorations during this time. This was the actual tea party!

Once the hot chocolate was poured, we sang Happy Birthday and ate cake. Did I serve way too much sugar? Yes. Was it worth it, though? Definitely!

Then we opened presents and time was up! Short and sweet describes our Princess Tea Party perfectly. My daughter loved it, the other girls had fun, and it was so very simple to do. What more can you ask for?

I'm linking up to:

Easiest Fall Monogram Wreath Tutorial

2010-09-03T09:59:00.002-05:00

Fall is absolutely, without a doubt, my favorite season. On September 1st, I pulled out all of my fall decorations and spent the morning transforming my home. (That was also the day my son started school, and I had to keep busy to keep from crying the entire day!) Today the weather has cooled enough to make it feel like fall--What perfect timing, as I made a new fall wreath for our front door last night!

SUPPLIES
Styrofoam wreath form (mine was 10")
Fall Ribbon--Enough to wrap the entire wreath and cover the door hanger
1 Strand/Garland of fall leaves (On sale now at JoAnn's!)
Floral Pins (Sewing pins would work fine, too.)
Door/Wreath Hanger

Wrap the fall-themed ribbon around the entire wreath, covering it completely. I used floral pins to secure the ribbon, as I like to be able to change my wreaths around, but you could use a glue gun, instead.

Create a loop at the top of your wreath with one end of your leaf garland. Secure it with a pin.

Continuing from where you started the garland with the loop, wrap the garland in and out of the wreath, until you've used the entire length. (Sorry if this isn't too clear; just wrap it around, the same way you did the ribbon.) Secure the end with another pin.

You can see the pin that I used to secure the end of the ribbon in the first step. Don't worry about those pins because you can arrange the leaves to cover anything that shows.

Wrap your door hanger in ribbon, too, if you like. I used double sided tape to secure the ribbon.

This is what I first hung on my door. I really liked it, but felt like it needed something else. So I scrounged around my craft room and found a letter "D" that I had mod podged a few months ago, but never did anything with. Luckily it fit perfectly inside my wreath, and matched!

Here's the final product! I love the monogram in the middle; I feel like it really makes the wreath. How easy was that?!

HAPPY FALL!

I'm linking up to:

"Sit in Your Seat" Pants

2010-08-22T23:28:00.001-05:00

I want to apologize for my extended absence. To be perfectly honest, I recently had a miscarriage, which left our family going through a pretty hard time. I'm sharing this because I believe that if more women talked about things like this, we wouldn't feel so hopelessly alone when it happens to us. I'm finally getting back into my crafting; it's as good as therapy for me, so I hope to be posting more now. Please understand, though, if it takes me some time to get back into things. Thank you so much for giving me a good reason to get out of bed, a reason to do something rewarding and productive.

On to the pants! My seven year old son has a habit of standing at the dinner table. He stands with one foot on the ground, the other foot kneeling on his chair. He also just plain stands, hanging off the table. This irks me to no end; I cannot even count how many times a day I tell him to seat in his seat. So what did I do? I turned to my sewing machine and created this:

SIT IN YOUR SEAT PANTS

Yes, I am the meanest mom ever. I even took pictures of him wearing the pants, although I did promise him I wouldn't put his face on my blog. Let me tell you, though, that no matter how hard he tried, he just could not get out of that chair.

They were so simple to make. I grabbed a pair of sweat pants from Wal-Mart, under $5. I picked a size a little bigger than normal so that he could put them on over his shorts, also hoping they'll last for a while. I had him put the pants on so that I could measure where on his pants legs to place the ribbon. I put the pants on the chair to measure the length of the ribbon. Then I pinned and sewed the grosgrain ribbon to the back of his pants. Done! Simply put on the pants, then tie the ribbon under the seat. Done! No more getting up from the table!

Pretty funny, right? DISCLAIMER: In all honesty, these were just a joke. I wouldn't actually tie him to the chair for dinner; I'm not that mean! But they do make for a nice threat... "If you stand up one more time, I WILL make you put your 'Sit in Your Seat' pants on!"

Disobedience Dimes

2010-08-06T12:38:00.000-05:00

I know that it must appear that my children are little heathens, based upon all of the chore charts and discipline crafts I come up with. It's not true (all the time), they just need a little help along the way. My newest creation is Disobedience Dimes. Each time that they are disobedient, rude, whiny, etc., they have to pay a dime to the Disobedience Dimes jar. Don't worry--I have to pay into it, too, if I'm rude. They are earning money by doing their chores, but know that if they want to keep all of that money, they need to be on good behavior. I'm not a horribly mean mom; I do give warnings and freebies sometimes. So far, the results have been promising!

This was my first try at rosettes. So simple! This rosette covers the words on the back of the jar.

I couldn't find the metal cover for the jar, so I just used paper coated in Mod Podge, then cut a slit into it.

Allowance Chart

2010-07-31T19:33:00.002-05:00

Remember our cookie sheet chore chart? My husband and I decided that it needed something to go along with it, a chart to keep track of chores on a weekly basis. The cookie sheet chart is perfect for assigning chores, serving as a visual reminder for what needs to be done, and keeping track of which chores have/have not been completed. It lacks a long term record, though, for what has been done throughout the week. We are going to be instituting an allowance for our children, something that they can earn for completing all of their daily chores for an entire week. So I created a new chart that will record when all of the chores from the cookie sheet chart are finished each day, allowing us to know if all chores have been done every day of the week.

I snagged this sign from my son's school rummage sale last spring. I just covered it with paper and Mod Podge, then used a set of hooks and clips that I had lying around from Ikea. The two little bees and beehive are stamps from Stampin' Up.

When they reach "HIVE SWEET HIVE, " they get their allowance!

I'm linking up to:

Georgia Peach Goodness

2010-07-30T22:21:00.000-05:00

Each summer, a magnificent company called Tree-Ripe Citrus brings truckloads of sweet Georgia peaches straight to Wisconsin. They sell these gorgeous peaches right out the back of their truck in twenty-five pound boxes. Thank you, Tree-Ripe Citrus, for the Peach Cobbler we ate tonight, for the Peach Pound Cake, Peach Ice Cream and Peach Freezer Jam that I'll be making tomorrow. I do love me some good peaches.

Do you have a favorite peach recipe? If so, please share! If I get enough responses, I'll put together an entire post dedicated to the most scrumptious peach recipes. Thank you!

PB Cord Cover Knock-Off Tutorial

2010-07-28T11:34:00.004-05:00

While ~~drooling over~~ browsing the Pottery Barn catalog, I came across this:

It's a burlap cover for the hanging cord on a chandelier. Immediately I thought of the chandelier that we have hanging in our dining room, and of course imagined it in red. Then I went to work. Here's my version:

It was actually fairly simple to make, once I figured out how I wanted to make it. I wasn't sure if I should actually gather the fabric, or just make it long enough that it would scrunch itself on the cord. I finally decided on gathering, which I think was the right choice. Enough talking--Here's the tutorial.

Supplies

Fabric--I used 100% cotton. You'll need (Length x1.75) + (Circumference of the cord +1").

Fusible Interfacing

Thread (Match your fabric)

Sewing Machine

Snaps

Step 1

Cut your fabric to the dimensions described above. The x1.75 is for gathering and seam allowance (.5"), and the +1" is for the .5" seam allowance. I am NOT a sewer, so please don't judge me too harshly on my technique/vocabulary here. Please.

Step 2

Cut your fusible interfacing to 1" less than the length and 1" less than the width of your fabric. (One inch off of one side and one inch off of the top.)

Step 3

According to the directions on the package, iron the fusible interfacing to the wrong side of your fabric. The interfacing gives some strength to the fabric, which helps it stand up, instead of slinking down the cord.

Step 4

Hem the top and bottom, i.e. the width, of the fabric. I didn't do anything fancy for my hem. I simply folded it down to the fusible interfacing (.5"), pinned it, then sewed.

Step 5

Pin the hem (same method as Step 4) on both of the remaining sides (lengths). Then fold your fabric in half lengthwise. You'll end up with a long rectangle. (My fabric was a little bit see-through, which is why I used two layers.) Now you're going to re-pin the hems together. So, keeping the hems folded in, pin the fabric together.

Step 6

Using a basting stitch, sew the two sides together (along the hem line). Gather the fabric until it is the actual length of your chandelier cord. Sew over the basting stitches using a short stitch length. Backstitch at the beginning and end. (This will hold your gathers.)

Step 7

Use a basting stitch to sew .5" in from the folded edge, the entire length of the fabric. (Sew a parallel line to the one in Step 6, but on the folded edge, instead of the open edge). Gather the fabric until it is also the actual length of the cord. Sew over the basting stitches using a short stitch length. Backstitch at the beginning and end.

Step 8

Sew on your snaps, being careful that they match up on each side. Place your snaps so that only one seam shows--One snap goes directly under the gathers (on the wrong side of the fabric), while the other snap goes on the right side of the fabric, next to the gathers. Sorry, I don't have a picture of this. I'll get one up as soon as I can.

Now you can climb up on a chair and snap that sucker on! Enjoy!

I'm linking up to:

Today's Creative Blog

2010-07-23T09:15:00.000-05:00

Check this out! Martha Shmartha was featured on Today's Creative Blog. Kim features crafty bloggers regularly, but never did I imagine myself among their ranks! Wow! Thank you, Kim!

Ribbon and Brad Flower Headband Tutorial

2010-07-20T20:43:00.000-05:00

I only had time to get the headband done tonight, but I'll try to get the bracelet finished soon. Here you go!

Supplies
6" Ribbon
1 Large Brad
1 Headband
Needle and Thread (matched to the color of the ribbon)
Glue Gun

Cut a piece of ribbon to 6"

Fold over one end of ribbon and insert the needle through both layers. (This creates a clean end.)

Use a running stitch to sew along one side of the ribbon from one end to the other.

When you reach the other end of the ribbon, fold it over just like you did on the first end. Place your last stitch through both layers of ribbon.

Gather the ribbon by pulling on one end of thread, while holding the other.

Once your ribbon is gathered into a circle, tie off your thread with a knot.

Place your brad through the center of your ribbon circle.

Open the brad across the back of the ribbon circle.

Adhere the ribbon and brad to a headband using a glue gun. I glued the brad to the headband because I didn't want it to poke my daughter in the head or catch her hair.

DONE!

Summer Madness!

2010-07-18T18:34:00.000-05:00

Is summer as busy for you as it is for me? Choir camp, tennis lessons, ballet, swimming lessons, playtime at the pool, weddings... It's been ridiculous! I think that in the next couple of weeks things are going to start to slow down. That will mean more time for crafting! I have a lot of projects in the works, but I haven't had any time to craft in way too long. I haven't forgotten the tutorial for the bracelet and headbands with ribbon flowers; It's coming! I also have a really amazing giveaway coming up, as well. So thank you for your patience and I hope that you're enjoying your summer as much as I am!

Wedding Gift

2010-07-11T18:16:00.007-05:00

I went to a beautiful wedding yesterday for a friend whom I've known since fifth grade. The wedding was gorgeous, original, sweet and fun. I wanted to create a gift that would capture the feeling that they had yesterday, and remind them of it each time they glanced at my gift. This is what I came up with:

I hope they love it!

I'm linking up to:

Fourth of July Table Runner ($4)

2010-07-04T20:46:00.000-05:00

I picked up the supplies for this table runner during my recent trip to the Dollar Tree. I used three place mats and one dish towel. I cut the dish towel into strips that I then used to connect the place mats. This is an incredibly simple project (and only costs $4!)!

Before

After

We used this table runner at our BBQ tonight, as well. It held up great and added some festive, Patriotic cheer to our table. Not bad for four dollars!

Patriotic Serving Tray

2010-07-04T20:27:00.000-05:00

I know that the 4th is almost done, but if I post it by midnight, I think it counts, right? I have been eyeing big and fancy serving trays everywhere I go. We have a screened porch right off our kitchen and dining room, so I dream of having something lovely on which to carry food to the porch for our picnic dinners. I'm stingy, though, and am not willing to pay ~~$10~~ an arm and a leg. Lucky for me, while wondering the aisles of Target (you know you do it too) the other day, I found a $20 extra-large serving tray that was clearanced down to $4.98! It was a bit scratched up and one of the handles was loose, but it was nothing a little Gorilla Glue couldn't fix! Perfect! I headed to our local Dollar Tree to check out their Patriotic Decor, and fell in love with two gift bags. I cut them to pieces, patchworked them onto the tray, then Mod Podged the heck out of them. What do you think?

Before

After

We used the tray tonight for a big BBQ that we hosted and it was just right! Hurray!

Guest Project: Karen's Explosion Album

2010-07-03T23:34:00.000-05:00

I am so excited to be featuring my friend Karen's project today. Karen is an extremely talented Stampin' Up demonstrator. Karen hosts a monthly scrapbooking class, as well as a monthly technique class for card-making. Today, though, Karen is going to be showing us how to make a Photo Explosion Album. This album is simple to make, but looks really nice and holds a good number of pictures. I'm so excited, so let's get started!

Supplies

2 4 1/2" x 4 1/2" pieces of chipboard (or cardboard)

2 6" x 6" pieces of decorative scrapbook paper or card stock (for the front and back covers)

3 10" x 10" sheets of cardstock (this will make the actual album)

1 18" length of ribbon

Metal Buckle

Cardstock cut to the same size and shape as the buckle

2 Brads

2 Velcro Dots

Glue Gun

Double Sided Tape

Cardstock, stamps, and embellishments for the cover and interior

**Supplies in italics are for a buckle embellishment on the cover. You can also close the album using only ribbon.

The Cover

Place double sided tape around the edges of a piece of chipboard.

Center the chipboard, tape side UP, on the wrong side of your cover.

Fold in the corners first, and then use a bone folder to fold in the sides between the corners.

This is how it should look when you're done.

Repeat for the back cover.

The Inside Pages

Fold the 10" x 10" cardstock in half.

Open, and fold in half again the other direction. Open. (It should look like the photo below.)

Fold along one diagonal. Open.

Turn your cardstock over, and push the center of the cardstock down.

You now have four squares on your cardstock. Two squares have a diagonal fold and two do not. Fold the diagonal squares down, one side at a time, until you have a square.

Repeat on each sheet of 10" x 10" cardstock (three total).

Assemble the Album

Place one sheet so that the diagonals point up, the next sheet with the diagonals pointing down, and the third sheet with diagonals pointing up.

Take the center sheet and overlap each non-diagonal square with a non-diagonal square on the other sheet. Use double sided tape to adhere them together.

Lay your back cover face down. Tape your ribbon to the back of the right (as in right and left) side of your cover so that it will wrap across the front like this:

Lay your back cover face down. Tape the remaining non-diagonal square of the third page to the wrong side of the back cover.

Tape the non-diagonal square of the first page to the wrong side of the front cover, checking that your cover is facing the proper direction.

To create the buckle-look on the front cover: Place brads through the holes on the buckle. Use a glue gun to seal the back of the brad, then trim the brad to fit.

Wrap the ribbon around the album, leaving some extra slack (album with be thicker once filled with photos), to determine where the buckle will be placed.

Place the buckle in its correct position on the ribbon. With the ribbon in the middle, use a glue gun to glue the buckle to its matching cardstock.

This step should be done AFTER you have filled the album with photos. (You have to know how big the album will be to determine where the velcro should be placed.)

Affix a velcro dot to the front of the album, in the location that the buckle will sit. Affix another glue dot to the back of the buckle. This is how you'll latch your album closed.

Fantastic--Your album is assembled!

This is the fun part. Add pictures, embellishments, and journaling to both the front and back side of the album.
You can use the following technique to trim and fit your photos:
Cut a 5" x 5" square, then fold it along the diagonal. Cut into two triangles. Use the triangles as a guide for determining where to cut photos.

Here are some finished photos of Karen's album:

Karen, thank you so much for sharing this amazing project! I truly appreciate all of the time that you put into making it so wonderful.

If you are interested in learning more about Stampin' Up or would like to purchase supplies to make this project, you can contact Karen here.

Home Grown

2010-07-02T19:36:00.001-05:00

While not a craft, these do fall under the category of My Attempts At All Things Homemade. I am very proud of my garden this year. We started almost everything from seed in late March and are finally reaping the benefits of all our hard work.

Ribbon and Brad Flowers

2010-06-28T09:37:00.001-05:00

I was inspired at my card class last Thursday night to make a few new pieces. We made a card using these fancy ribbon flowers you'll see below--Some of us thought they would make gorgeous hair accessories. I created a couple of headbands and one bracelet. Let me know if you'd like to see a tutorial--They take less than 5 minutes to make, so I definitely plan to make more!

Butterfly Flutter

2010-06-23T21:08:00.002-05:00

I finally got my butterfly punch from Stampin' Up. Wahoo! Aren't you excited to see what I made? I got the inspiration here, but changed it up a little bit. I put my butterflies into a shadow box, as it seemed a little bit more like the real butterfly display cases I've seen. I also liked the depth of the box, as well as the glass cover. Let's be honest--If I had left those butterflies out, we all know what my dear, darling, always well-intentioned children would have done with them! My daughter fell in love with this, after waking up to find it hanging next to her bed. I'm pretty happy with it too.

All of the paper came from Stampin' Up's Tea Party paper pack. I love how well all of the patterns go together--There's a perfect blend of dark and soft colors. Just right for butterflies! I used a glue gun to glue their bodies to the paper, giving a 3-D look to the wings. I also used the glue gun to glue the purple paper directly to the back of the frame. Easy and beautiful. What more could I ask for?

I'm linking up to:

Cupcake Clock

2010-06-23T20:26:00.002-05:00

I continue to have a major infatuation with cupcakes. Not only can they taste amazing, they can look adorable just about anywhere. Remember this mirror? I casually glanced towards my fabric this afternoon, only to find the leftover cupcake scraps calling my name. Loudly. Lucky for me, I found a clock in our basement that the glass front had fallen off of, which had also called my name earlier in the day. And so, after some very simple crafting, I now have a fantastic cupcake clock to hang in my kitchen, perfectly matched to my sweet cupcake mirror. It's the simple pleasures in life, people. It really is.

I'm linking up to:

Summer Door Decor

2010-06-18T16:43:00.002-05:00

As June arrived, I realized that my Happy Spring front door decor wasn't all that appropriate anymore. Let me show you what I came up with!

Supplies:
Watering Can
Red Spray Paint
Patriotic Window Cling
Flowers (Fake or Real)
Glossy Mod Podge
Paintbrush

This is how my watering can started out. (I got it at JoAnn's for $5, in case you want one too!)

I began by spray painting the entire watering can red. I used a fairly light coat, as the base was reddish to begin with. I did spray the inside, but only the top section that's easily visible.

Go grab your window clings!

(I'm using the house.)

Hang the watering can on the door to determine the best location for the window cling. Hold it in place after you remove the watering can from the door (so you know where to put the Mod Podge).

Paint a thin layer of Mod Podge directly onto the watering can, trying to match the shape of the cling as best you can.

Carefully lay the window cling over the Mod Podge. Now the cling is going to be slippery! To remove the air bubbles, hold the window cling in place with one hand, while you press out the bubbles with the other hand. You really want to get rid of those bubbles, as they will be visible under the cling if you don't. (You can see a lot of air bubbles in the photo below, but I promise I got them all out!)

LET THE MOD PODGE COMPLETELY DRY. The cling will slide around if you move onto the next step before the Mod Podge is dry. (Don't ask me how I know that...)

Once the Mod Podge is totally dry, paint another layer of Mod Podge over the top of the window cling.

Let that Mod Podge dry completely as well.

Fill the watering can with flowers and hang it on your door! Now you've got a lovely summer door decoration--Easy as pie, right?

HAPPY SUMMER!

I'm linking up to:

My First Guest Blogger: Amy from Mod Podge Rocks!

2010-06-17T11:18:00.000-05:00

I'm so happy to be blog swapping with Amy today! Amy is the Mod Podge Queen--She hosts lots of Mod Podge giveaways, features some crazy stuff, and can do just about anything with Mod Podge. Please stop by Mod Podge Rocks to see all of Amy's amazing work, and to check out my Father's Day Coaster Tutorial.

Well hallo! It's Amy from Mod Podge Rocks. Emily has so kindly invited me to do a Mod Podge project for you, so I'm here to show you the latest. I'm always Mod Podging something, but hardly ever on glass - I wanted to show you that Mod Podging on glass works well too! If you know me already, the the polka dots and color blue won't surprise you.
Not a bit.
These are decoupaged glass containers, recycled and given a new life. They can now hold anything really, but I like them sitting in the window. I took a pic for you outside so you can see how pretty they are when the light shines through the tissue paper. Aw yeah!
So how did I make them? I started with the glass jars above, which I got from a friend who wasn't using them. I washed them to make sure the oils were off of the surface. I also grabbed:
-tissue paper
-die cutter (or some other way to make circles/shapes)
-Mod Podge Gloss
-flat paintbrush
That's all you need!
First grab your tissue paper. I had an assortment of colors, and you can buy tissue in colored packs at craft stores. After that, you are going to want to make your shapes. I do have a Sizzix Big Shot, but I was crafting at a different location - so I pulled out this antique Sizzix machine and grabbed one of my circle dies. You don't have to cut circles, and you don't even need a Big Shot! You can cut random shapes freeform, use templates to trace and cut particular shapes or you can even tear the tissue. It's up to you.
See my circles? I love die cutters. I couldn't cut a circle correctly if my life depended on it. Cut enough shapes in enough colors and varying sizes that you have a lot to choose from. Set them to the side.
You are welcome to be organized about the entire process, but dear readers, you know me way better than that by now. I simply picked tissue paper circles in random shapes and sizes and stuck them on wherever. You don't need a ton of Mod Podge because the paper is so thin. My technique was to paint Mod Podge directly on the glass, place a circle down and then go over it lightly with Mod Podge.
Here's the blue one. Coat gently - you don't want to tear the tissue. Keep layering all the way around until you have covered the entire jar. Allow to dry for about 20 minutes.
Oh, the lids are up to you. On the blue one I left it plain, and on the purple one I put one circle in the middle.
After the first round is dry, give the outside a medium coat of Mod Podge all the way around. You can see that I had some little wrinkles in my tissue paper - don't worry at all! They are hardly visible when the project is dry, and it adds to the character. I've NEVER Mod Podge tissue without a few wrinkles.
Here's the finished product in the sun! Look at the pretty blue.
The purple is so awesome.
Thank you so much to Emily and to MS readers for having me. If you are a beginning Podger or just need some inspiration, head my way to Mod Podge Rocks. There are more projects than you can shake a stick at. We'd love to see you!

Thank you so much, Amy!

Come See Me @Tatertots and Jello!

2010-06-09T10:12:00.000-05:00

Good morning! Come visit me at Tatertots and Jello if you want to learn how to make this:

See you there!

Freezer Paper Monogrammed Doormat Tutorial

2010-05-31T13:14:00.000-05:00

I found this fantastic doormat at TJ Maxx for only $8! I've been dreaming of making a monogrammed doormat for ages, but haven't been able to find a plain doormat anywhere. This one looks just right on my red front porch! Sweet!

This is so easy, you won't even believe it!

Supplies:

Doormat

Freezer Paper

Exacto Knife

Spray Paint

Iron

Step 1: Trace a line onto the freezer paper, marking the top, bottom, and sides of the box in which you can place your monogram. (This was the burlap box for my doormat.)

Step 2: Draw your monogram! (I found a font I liked in Word, typed the "D," then freehanded it onto my freezer paper.) Be sure to stay inside your box.

Step 3: Using the Exacto, cut out the letter you just drew.

Step 4: With the shiny side down, iron the freezer paper to the doormat. Make sure that it's centered and straight!

Step 5: Spray paint the monogram. Cover any areas of the doormat that are close to places you'll be painting. I didn't have any problems with the paint bleeding under the freezer paper, but I also did a couple of light coats, instead of one heavy one.

Let the paint dry, peel off the freezer paper, and you're done!

I love my new doormat! Our TJ Maxx had tons of these doormats on sale--This was so easy, I'm honestly thinking about going back for more! Wouldn't this make a great wedding present? Anybody want one?!

Technique Night!

2010-05-28T11:46:00.000-05:00

Last night I attended a Technique Card Making Class for Stampin' Up. I absolutely love going to these classes, although I can't decide whether I love making the cards or just getting out of the house during bedtime more. We made three amazing cards last night, so I thought that I would share them with you.

I also want to introduce you to my Stampin' Up demonstrator, Karen Clark. I'm so excited to tell you that Karen is going to be doing some guest blogging for me in June! We're still trying to work out the dates, but I think that we're going to put together a tutorial for a Vacation Explosion Album! She's amazing, so you should be very excited!

Here are the cards we made last night:

This was made using a stencil and sponges

This was stamped with white craft ink, colored with watercolor pencils, then given some extra "pop" with a white gel pen.

Wow, right? The petals are made with the butterfly punch (which I ordered last night!). We used ink from the reinkers to dye the petals.

Do you love stamping as much as I do?

Respite

2010-05-17T23:10:00.000-05:00

I won't be around until late this week because my husband and I are on vacation! We left our kids (for the first time!) to explore Washington State, a place neither of us had either visited. We have been here for a couple of days and are absolutely loving it. Other than crying at the sight of a pink donut in a grocery store because I miss my daughter (and son, but the donut didn't remind me of him) SO MUCH, we're having an absolutely wonderful time. So I'll be back sometime soon, nice and relaxed.

Teacher Appreciation Gifts

2010-05-12T20:18:00.001-05:00

As you may have guessed from the title of the post, it's Teacher Appreciation Week at school. My son, who is in first grade, has the most wonderful teacher. She is everything a first grade teacher should be, which for my son means that she loves him and treats him like an individual little person. She runs a tight ship, but knows each sailor's special needs and knows how to best help each one learn. We decided that Mrs. Powell deserved something wonderful this year. Let me show you what we came up with and how we made it!

Every day, my son's first grade class has Writer's Workshop. They write, then edit. For writing, they use black and blue gel pens. For editing, they use green pens. (And ever first grade class uses pencils!) So we decided to make a pen holder! My son said that all of their pens and pencils are just in a bucket right now, and as a crafty lady, well that just won't do! So this is what we made!

I am on a strict no-buying rule right now at home. I have to use up all of my supplies before I can buy anything else. Luckily I had this wood caddy that we hadn't used in years, just sitting in my basement. BUT, if you want to make this too, I checked Target and you can find one just like it here.

SUPPLIES

Wood Caddy

Scrapbook Paper

Mod Podge

Paint Brush (to apply Mod Podge)

Ruler

Pencil

Scissors

Yarn (for measuring)

Exacto Knife

Silhouette (or some other cutting machine--You could also just paint the letters on!)

Trace all four sides on the back of your scrapbook paper. If you trace onto the front, your pencil marks will show. Now cut out all of the pieces.

Mod Podge the paper on all four sides. (This could take a while because you have to let one side dry before you can work on another one. Hang in there!)

Measure the width and length of the top of the side. Cut a strip of scrapbook paper to fit those measurements. Paint a thin layer of Mod Podge onto the caddy, then lay the strip of paper on top. Use your hands to gently scrunch the paper to fit.

Paint another layer of Mod Podge on top of the paper. Scrunch the paper again, molding it to fit over the rounded top. (This is messy and imperfect, but it's the best that I could do. I actually liked how it looked in the end too!)

Use a piece of yarn to measure the circumference of the handle.

Trace (onto the backside again) around the top half only of the caddy. We'll only be Mod Podging paper onto the top half--inside.

Take the following measurements: (The point of this is to help us know where to put the circle of yarn that we measured, so that we'll know where to cut the circle from the paper. It's ridiculously hard and there's probably a better way, so if I'm missing something obvious...)

Here's the hard part and I cannot believe I didn't take a picture! I'm so sorry! Mark your measurements on the paper, lay your yarn circle down, then cut. Just do it and pray that it lines up. My circle was a little off, so I just cut a little more from one side to make it even. The hole around the rod was a too big, but hey, that's just a tiny detail! Good luck! After you cut your hole, cut a slit from from the top of the paper down to the hole. Then Mod Podge it in place!

After Mod Podging, if your edges hang over, use an exacto knife to trim them even. Do a better job than I did!

Measure the width and lengths of the top the compartments. Mine was the same width for every piece. Cut your scrapbook paper to match.

Mod Podge the paper on to the top of each compartment.

Measure the length of your rod. I was able to do this by measuring the length of the inside of the caddy, as my ruler wouldn't fit directly next to the rod.

Use a piece of yarn (cut it) to measure the circumference of the rod. You can use the same one as before if it hasn't magically disappeared.

Cut a piece of scrapbook paper to the length of the rod and the height equalling the circumference of the rod, plus a little bit. I know that's not mathematical, but I didn't measure how much I added. Just add enough for the paper to overlap when you wrap it around the rod.

Coat the rod in Mod Podge, then wrap the paper around the rod. Let that dry, then coat the paper with Mod Podge.

Now you're done with the hard part! If you have a Silhouette or Cricut, you can continue on with that. You can also just leave it as is (because it looks awesome already!). If you don't have a paper cutting machine, you can use paint instead!

I used white vinyl for the two long sides of the caddy. I put the teacher's name on one side and a "phrase" I heard somewhere (but can't remember where) on the other side. Then I filled it with pens and pencils. Let me show you:

That's all for the tutorial. But I do want you to see what else we gave to my son's teachers. My daughter and I made these fantastic cookies. She loves to cook, so this worked out wonderfully. I got this cookie cutter set as a gift, but I happen to know you can find it at Williams & Sonoma. (FYI, Mr. Seth is the student teacher.)

We added a little bit of icing, then stuck them in these sweet little boxes that I had picked up on clearance at JoAnn's a while ago. I wish that I had had more time because I would have added a little color to the boxes, but I'm reminding myself that it's what's inside that counts!

The best part of all of this was the smile on my son's teacher's face. She was so happy, so touched. I think that we made her day. But boy did she deserve it.

Inspiration Board Winner!

2010-05-09T19:18:00.002-05:00

Thanks to all who entered the giveaway. I was completely flattered that so many of you actually wanted this board--There were thirty entries! Woohoo!

I used www.random.org to choose the winner. It chose:
Edwards Family said...

So much fun, I can't even stand it! You are become a celeb blogger! So stinkin' cool...I can't believe I wasn't an actual follower yet! But you can bet it's on my blog now (c:

I happen to know Aubrey (I promise that it didn't influence her winning, though. Otherwise I would have chosen my mom, as it's Mother's Day, and she entered!), and she is a pretty amazing lady. Aubrey has the best sense of humor and she makes any situation fun. She's also a mom of two adorable kids, so Happy Mother's Day! I hope this makes your day!

Just send me your address, Aubrey, and I'll have this in the mail sometime in the next couple of days. Congratulations!

Thanks again to all who entered. I truly love knowing that you all appreciate my creativity. It's so neat to know that there are people out there who care about what I'm doing. Thanks for supporting me at Martha Shmartha!

Cabinet Door to Picture Holder

2010-05-05T20:42:00.000-05:00

Remember this trip? During that IKEA run, I picked up a couple of white cabinet doors. At the time, I wasn't sure what I was going to do with them. I had seen a bunch of DIY projects using cabinet doors floating around blogland, but didn't have one pinned down. Once I got home, the cabinet door and I stared at each other for a long time (several times). I literally had no idea what I wanted to do with it. Then one night, I just started working. And suddenly, I had created a picture holder that had become one of my favorite creations ever. I still haven't decided how to hang it one the wall--I'm up for suggestions! I can't wait to show you!

I used stamps on the sides and the the bottom. I wanted to used stamps for the top too, but couldn't find anything just right. So instead, I used my Silhouette to cut vinyl, and laid that along either side of the photo clip. I just glued the clip to the cabinet door. I like it because I'll be able to swap out the photos so easily.

I couldn't be happier. And guess what? This cabinet door cost me $2. Sweet!

Good News and a Few Cards!

2010-05-05T20:12:00.000-05:00

It feels like I haven't posted anything in forever! I've been busy, so busy. The end of the school year seems to bring endless concerts, field trips, performances, and lots of work! On top of it all, my back is still giving me trouble. The good news, however, is that crafting is my respite. So despite not posting, I am still crafting little things here and there, where my back allows it.

I have good news! I am going to be doing some guest blogging and blog swapping! This is unbelievably exciting for me--I even called my mom when I got the good news (yes, I was that excited!). On the first Wednesday of June, I will be guest blogging over at Tatertots & Jello. Jenn runs an amazing blog over there with tons of creative and fun ideas. She's sort of my crafty idol, so this is a pretty big deal. :) Then on June 10th, I'll be blog swapping with Amy from Mod Podge Rocks. Amy is the QUEEN of Mod Podge and has the most unreal collection of Mod Podge projects that you could ever imagine. This is also a pretty big deal. As you can imagine, I'm ~~completely freaking out~~ calmly thinking of great tutorials for my guest posts. Send crafty thoughts my way!

Do you love the UPS man as much as I do? That guy gets a pretty big smile at our house. Well, a couple of days ago, he brought me the most amazing stamp. I ordered this stamp from Stampin' Up a little while ago, but forgot about it until it came. I am in love with this stamp. Let me show you:

It's a giant cupcake stamp! AMAZING! The coolest part of the stamp was that it had a thank-you note written inside it. I cut that part out, though, and put it on the back of the stamp. That way I can use it just as a cupcake or I can stamp the thank-you note inside the cupcake as it was meant to be. My son used it to write all of his birthday thank-you cards and I have made a bunch of different cards from it. You can cut it out and send it just as a cupcake. You can cut the frosting part of and stick it on the base with a dimensional. There are so many neat ideas. (Did I mention that I just love cupcakes?)

I've been trying to replenish my card supply. I looked for birthday card the other day and realized that not only did I not have a birthday card, I didn't have any kind of card. I try to keep a good stash so that I can send them out when I need them. Here's one my daughter and I made today:

I'm going to try to crank out a few more cards tonight. I'll try to get pictures when I'm done. Sometimes I look at the pictures on other craft blogs and get so jealous that they are taken during daylight hours. How do people find time to craft when their children are awake? I can maybe get 10 minutes. MAYBE. Oh well, that's what the evenings are for, right?

Inspiration Board GIVEAWAY!

2010-04-30T21:47:00.003-05:00

It's finally here! I cannot believe how long this project has taken me to finish. There was nothing difficult in its making, but I couldn't seem to get the details just perfect. Lucky for you, though, I did, because now I'm going to give it away!

It's an inspiration board! You can use the (nicely coordinated) clothespins for magazine clippings, pieces of fabric or paper, pictures, notes, or anything else that might inspire you! I want to give it to one of you, for your support inspires me greatly, and I want to help to inspire you.

There are five ways to enter. Please leave me a separate comment for each of your entries.

1st Entry: Leave me a comment telling me one thing that inspires you.

2nd Entry: Become of follower of this blog.

3rd Entry: Share the link to this giveaway on your blog.

4th Entry: Share the link to this giveaway on Facebook.

5th Entry: Share the link to this giveaway on Twitter.

This giveaway will end in one week, on Saturday May 8. I will randomly choose one winner the following day. Giveaway open to anyone living in the United States.

I'm linking up to:

Cookie Sheet Chore Chart

2010-04-26T20:09:00.000-05:00

After spending ~~a completely ridiculous and infuriating amount of time~~ two hours cleaning the house this morning, I decided enough was enough.

Now their responsibilities are clear as day. I wanted something that would be flexible, that I could change as needed. So I spray painted a cookie sheet and hot glued down some ribbon. I Mod Podged their names, and the To-Do and Done papers to the painted cookie sheet. Then I wrote all the chores (I've been adding things all evening) on various pieces of paper from my scraps pile. Finally I stuck a piece of magnetic tape to the back of each chore. I added a few buttons on for decoration, then I was done.

The best part of this was that I already had all of the materials I needed. I just rounded up a bunch of stuff from my crafts supplies, grabbed my least favorite cookie sheet and got to work. Simple but effective. The kids really like moving each task from the To-Do area to the Done area. I guess it's the same as how I like to cross things off of my to-do list. There's some satisfaction in seeing that it's done. We'll see if they're as enthusiastic tomorrow, but at least my house is clean tonight...

Freezer Paper Stenciling Tutorial

2010-04-25T21:14:00.004-05:00

I absolutely love Freezer Paper Stenciling. The possibilities are endless and the results are amazing. Your friends will be astonished that you made these things!

Things you'll need:

An image to paint

Freezer Paper

Exacto Knife

Cutting Mat (You can use cardboard too!)

Iron/Ironing Board

Fabric Paint

Sponge Brush

Cardboard (To place inside the shirt)

How-To:

Print the image that you'd like to paint. This should be a silhouette type image, so that you'll have an outline to paint inside of.

Cut a piece of freezer paper to size. The paper should be larger than your image because you'll want some extra paper around the outside of your stencil when you paint. If you don't leave enough extra paper, you'll end up painting outside of your stencil.

The freezer paper has a shiny side and a dull side. Tape your freezer paper over your stencil, shiny-side down. Later, when you iron the stencil to the fabric, this is very important--If you cut the stencil with the shiny side up, when you go to iron it, your stencil will be backwards.

Use your Exacto knife to cut out all of the image that you'd like painted. (Cut to create the stencil.)

Be sure to save any cut pieces that you'll need to complete the stencil (see the triangle?).

This is how it should look when you're done cutting.

Place the stencil onto your fabric, shiny side down, in the location you'd like to paint. Remember to replace all of those pieces you cut out.

I decided to add some words after I had cut the Autobot symbol. I used my Silhouette to cut them directly from the Freezer Paper. I hadn't done this before, but it worked wonderfully!

Carefully iron the stencil in place. I suggest lifting, then replacing the iron, versus sliding it around like you typically iron. If you move from side to side, you're likely to snag an edge and tear the paper. If you just pick it up and then put it back down, your pieces won't move and you won't get under the edges at all. The paper sticks quickly, so you don't need to go crazy with the iron here.

BEFORE YOU PAINT, PLACE CARDBOARD INSIDE THE SHIRT! BE SURE THAT THERE IS A BARRIER BETWEEN THE LAYERS OF FABRIC OR THE PAINT WILL BLEED. Just trust me on this one.

Now you get to paint! Use your sponge brush to paint inside the stencil. Again, be careful around the edges. Depending on the color fabric and color paint, you may need more than one coat. I would let the paint mostly dry before adding another coat.

Let the paint dry before removing the stencil. The paint will smear if it's at all wet. Once dry, pull up the stencil. Some paints have to be heat-set with an iron and washed inside out. Just follow the directions on your paints for setting and the first wash.

Enjoy!

Cherry Blossom Mirror

2010-04-23T16:17:00.001-05:00

This was my first attempt at etching a mirror. While the process is the same as glass etching, I felt like there was more to consider when etching my mirror. I wanted to preserve the function of the mirror, so I tried to etch on the side. I worried about the placement of the etching because mirrors are for looking at, whereas things like cookie jars look nice etched, but their appearance is not their sole function. Maybe the more-complicated-feeling came from the sheer size of the mirror that I was etching. I've never etched anything even half as big as this mirror. Eventually I decided to do something simple, cherry blossoms. The image that I used was from Martha's site and the mirror is from IKEA. I'm probably going to give the mirror as a gift, so the photos are of the mirror on our table, as I didn't want to hang it on the wall. Please let me know what you think--I'm not sure about this one!

I'm linking up to:

Coming Soon--New Tutorial and Giveaway!

2010-04-23T14:13:00.001-05:00

I'm working on a Freezer Paper Stencil Tutorial! ( I should have it up sometime this weekend.) I'm just wondering if there is anything else you all want to see? I think I've said it before, but please feel free to request something--It makes it easy for me to know what to do!

I also wanted to thank everybody for supporting Martha Shmartha--I've been absolutely blown away and incredibly touched by all of the features on other sites, and sweet and kind comments. I can't believe I've only been doing this for two months! Thank you for inspiring me to create and craft!

Here's a sneak peak of something I'm working on:

And get ready for a GIVEAWAY coming up too!

More Than Meets the Eye

2010-04-21T20:01:00.000-05:00

Remember that ditty? Transformers... More than meets the eye. One of my nephews is turning four tomorrow. This kid spends a good deal of every day dressed as Optimus Prime. Of course I had to do something Transformer-related, and boy do I love freezer paper. My kids recognized it when I was done, so I'll call it a success!

From Dishtowel to Decor

2010-04-19T20:35:00.000-05:00

My husband and I loaded our kids in the car on Saturday, after our son's early morning soccer game, for our annual trip to IKEA. Sometimes I wish we lived closer to an IKEA, but then after I go, I think it's a really good thing we don't, because otherwise we might be broke. Anyways, I picked up some great project supplies on Saturday, one being a small wood-framed mirror. I had imagined Mod Podging some gorgeous paper on to it, but tonight, I was inspired to go elsewhere.

Also from IKEA, I snagged some adorable dish towels, cupcake themed. I'm a sucker for cupcakes as is, but add a cute polka dot tag, and I'm done for!

Knowing that there were three dish towels total, I felt free to hack one of them to pieces. So I did, and now I have the cutest little mirror hanging in my kitchen. I'm thinking of checking IKEA's website to see if I can order more of these towels--I'm in love!

An Article. A Real Article!

2010-04-19T17:11:00.001-05:00

Check this out! I'm astounded, completely astounded. We just wanted to throw a fun party for our son. We honestly didn't plan it to be so huge, but we had so much fun creating that it sort of blossomed into a life of its own. And now an article on CafeMom? I'm over the moon right now. (Would it be overdoing it to go out for dinner to celebrate?)

The Making of the Golden Snitch Cake

2010-04-17T21:22:00.000-05:00

The cake. Finally. Before I start, though, I have to make a confession. Here it is:

Yup, my first attempt was a massive fail. And let's be honest, that fail should be FAIL. The final cake was the top of the snitch (half-sphere), whereas my first try was the entire round snitch (whole sphere). Yes, I thought it would be awesome to make a ball, filled with Jelly Bellies. Needless to say, it didn't work. Let's move on to what did work, shall we?

I used a Betty Crocker Bake'n Fill Cake Pan. This is crucial if you want to fill your cake with Jelly Bellies. You can find it here. The secret is a dome pan, seen below, with an insert pan that molds your cake, so that it bakes hollow.

So I baked my dome cake, with the insert, then filled it with Jelly Bellies, after it cooled. I also baked a flat round cake. I coated the rim of the dome cake with yellow buttercream frosting, then laid my flat round cake on top. I then laid my cake plate on top of that and flipped it over. See below:

Magical, right? I then frosted the entire cake with yellow buttercream. I used Wilton Gold Sparkle Gel to create the decorations on the outside of the Golden Snitch. To be honest, I paused Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone a million times, trying to see the front, back, sides and top of the Snitch. To be even more honest, embarrassingly so, I took pictures of the TV with my cell phone, so that I could refer back to the paused pictures while I was working in the kitchen. My husband kept telling me that nobody would care, but, well, I cared!

The wings... I thought for days about how to make the wings on the Golden Snitch. I considered using real feathers, painted cardboard, card stock, cookies. I even tried a few of those things. What finally worked came from here. I used yellow Wilton Candy Melts. I melted the candy inside a decorating bag, with a thin tip already in the end of the bag. I drew a wing on a piece of paper (trying multiple times!), then placed a piece of wax paper over that paper. I used the decorating bag to pipe the melted candies onto the wax paper, tracing the shape of the wing onto the wax paper. Then I slid the paper with the wing drawn on it out from under the wax paper, flipped it over, and traced another wing with the decorating bag. That way, my wings were symmetric. Lastly, I painted the wings, front and back, with Wilton Pearl Dust that I had left over from this. I hope that makes sense--Please leave me a comment if you need more details. I'm sorry I don't have pictures of that.

I did not put the wings into the cake until it was time to bring the cake out during the party. I left the cake in the fridge over night and the wings in the freezer overnight. Then I gently slid the wings into the sides of the cake. I think that they would have been fine all night, but I didn't want to risk them breaking or sliding down the sides of the cake.

So there you have it! Nothing too difficult, just a little time-consuming. But it was so worth it when I saw all those little faces light up, first upon seeing the cake, then as all of the Jelly Bellies spilled out. Good luck making your own cake!

Hallmark Inspired Winnie the Pooh Plate

2010-04-15T10:20:00.001-05:00

I was at Hallmark the other day when I saw the most wonderful collection of Disney things. They have quotes from Walt Disney, himself, plus quotes from lots of Disney characters, all written on a variety of backgrounds. My favorite was a quote from Winnie the Pooh--I cannot resist Winnie the Pooh! The problem was that it cost like $15. In our household, that's serious dinero. So my husband said, "Just make it." Thanks, Honey.

I used my Silhouette to cut the vinyl, and I found the graphic free online--Perfect! The plate is from Target and cost me $4. I love how it turned out. It's sweet, just like I wanted it to be, but looks sort of fancy too. And every time I read it, I think about my husband and me.

Yes, I'm aware that some of the letters aren't the right size. I'll fix it someday, but the vinyl gave me ~~SO MUCH~~ trouble, so I'm just going to leave it until I'm ~~not tempted to throw it out the window~~ ready to work on it again.

Placemat to Project Holder Folder

2010-04-14T21:13:00.000-05:00

I am one of those people who has to write things down. If it's not on paper, I will most likely forget about it. Craft ideas are definitely among the things that float right out my ears into lala land, unless I write them down. So I have been trying to come up with a good way to keep track of my ideas so that they don't disappear forever. Post-it notes are a must have because I can stick them to fabric, furniture, paper, etc. when I have an idea for that particular item. Pens are also important. Lastly, a place to store all of the pictures and pages that I rip out of magazines. Let me show you what I came up with!

Supplies:

Placemat

Button

Ribbon

Needle

Thread

Sewing Machine (Although this could definitely be done by hand!)

I got this unbelievable placemat on clearance at Target. Less than three dollars!

Lay out your placemat, right side down. Lay all of the items you'd like to store on top of the placemat. Fold the bottom of the placemat up as high as you'd like it. Pin the sides closed.

Place a pin between all of the items.

Sew the sides closed. I just used a short straight stitch

Sew a straight line where you place each pin, between all of your items. (Just sew as high as the fold, not all the way up the placemat.)

Fold your placemat closed. I folded the left side in, then the right side over the top. Place a button on the bottom side (or the side that is not the flap).

Sew the button on.

The smart thing here would be to use a thin piece of ribbon. I, however, did not have a thin piece of ribbon. Here's how to create it: Cut a piece of ribbon to the desired length. Next cut it to the desired width. Use a lighter to seal the ends and length. Voila, a thin piece of ribbon.

Create a loop with your ribbon, criss-crossing the ends, large enough to fit over the button that you just sewed on. Sew it on to the edge of the flap of your folded placemat.

You're done!

Literally a 15 minute project and just perfect for what I needed. I'm so happy!

Welcome to Hogwarts!

2010-04-11T10:23:00.004-05:00

The party was amazing. AMAZING! (If I do say so myself...) The kids had a wonderful time, the parents were blown away, and I didn't even end up with migraine! My husband and I spent countless hours planning, creating, and preparing for this party; It was worth every minute.

Upon arrival, children were escorted through the front door, which had been transformed into Platform 9 3/4. I made a Platform 9 3/4 sign by painting a piece of wood red, then using my Silhouette to cut "HOGWARTS EXPRESS" from sparkly gold paper. I Mod Podged the letters to the board, along with a Hogwarts crest that I found on Google Images, then printed and cut. I used a bowl to draw a circle on the board, painted it white, then drew and painted the 9 3/4 with black paint. I think it looks pretty close to the sign from the movie!

The brick wall was made from a light blue sheet that I picked up at Goodwill. My husband cut it to fit our doorway, then drew the bricks on with a Sharpie. He also cut the slit for the kids to run through. I spray painted it red, keeping the spray can at a bit of a distance so as to create an uneven look, like bricks.

I made this flag to hang outside our house. Sort of like balloons for a regular party, right? The how-to for the flag can be found here.

Inside our house, the kids found The Great Hall, with a nighttime sky on the enchanted ceiling.

In the books and movie, robes are a must-have at Hogwarts. I sewed a robe for each of the kids, nine total. They took me about a half-hour each, although eventually I just assembly-lined them, doing all the ironing at one time, hems at one time, etc. I will post a robes how-to soon. I haven't gotten my pictures from that organized yet.

After they had their robes, the children were taken to Ollivander's Wand Shop. There, they could choose a wand. My husband carved unique patterns into all of the wands. Didn't he do an incredible job?

The kids decorated their wands with markers.

They also could choose Phoenix feathers or dragon scales for the core of their wands. My husband drilled holes into one end of each wand. The kids stuffed them with feathers and small jewels (dragon feathers), and then I sealed the holes with hot glue.

Next was the Sorting Hat. I created this hat using crumpled brown paper bags. I hot glued torn pieces of the bags to a black witches hat that we had in our dress up clothes. I tried to make the face look like the hat from the movie--My son loved it, but I'm not so sure.

I thought long and hard about how to have the Sorting Hat speak. We thought about walkie-talkies or recordings. But eventually, we decided to go with a baby monitor. We hung a the speaker-end of the monitor inside the Sorting Hat, then put the other end in our basement. My husband went downstairs and spoke into the baby monitor as the Sorting Hat, so it sounded like the hat was talking. It worked perfectly--One of the dad's even asked me afterwards how we did it. Success!

After being sorted, we went to Potions Class. Each child got a small ceramic cauldron (found at JoAnn's). The first potion contained an explosive clear liquid (water), jellyfish serum (bubble solution), and fire rocks (dry ice). The kids were amazed by this.

We had to rinse out the cauldrons between potions, so the kids spent the time stupifying each other. We brought the benches for our picnic table inside and covered them with Dollar Store black tablecloths (same for the table). It really added to the look of The Great Hall.

The next potion was a mixture of water and Iocane Powder (cornstartch). This went unbelievably well. Everybody had fun mixing, then being shocked that their solid turned "runny." One kid said, "It's like a solid liquid!" Yup, you got it.

This made a huge mess, so I was very glad that we had put down the tablecloths.

After Potions was over, it was time for a little QUIDDITCH!

Everybody got a broom, made from sticks and brush, found on the side of the road, courtesy of my hubby.

We had three foam balls, all red--One large one that was the Quaffle and two smaller ones that were the Bludgers. The kids were separated into two teams. They had to try to get the Quaffle through one of the hoops, but if they were hit by a Bludger, they had to drop the Quaffle. They also had to stay on their brooms.

The rings were made by spray painting hula hoops that were nailed to wood, stuck in the ground. There were three on each side, just like in real Quidditch.

That's a Bludger.

Prior to the party, I spray painted a golf ball gold, then hid it in our yard. We chose a Seeker from each team, and rotated the Seekers each time a team scored--Those kids were responsible for searching the yard for the Golden Snitch. Here it is after being found.

Quidditch took a lot of energy, so it was time for some food! Cake time! My son wanted a Golden Snitch cake--No pressure there, right? This is what I came up with:

I have a lot of pictures from the making of this cake, so I'll post a how-to sometime in the near future. In case you're wondering, though, yes, the wings are edible too!

Edit: Here's the how-to on the cake.

This was the coolest part of the cake by far--It was filled with Jelly Bellies, i.e.. Bertie Botts Every Flavor Beans! When I cut the first piece out of the cake, the Jelly Bellies all spilled out too. The kids (and adults!) thought that it was pretty amazing. One of the dads was completely incredulous that I had made the cake--He told me that it was "just so magical." Talk about a compliment!

We also served Butterbeer. It was Cream Soda (CAUTION: Be sure to buy non-caffeinated soda! The first time my husband bought it, I checked the can and it had caffeine. Can you even imagine?!?), mixed with Butterscotch Syrup. I served it in small Ball glass jars that I had put in the freezer before the party, and then sprayed some Ready-Whip on top. I liked it, so did a few of the kids, but I'm not sure I'd make it again...

So that's our party! I forgot to take any pictures of the invitations--They were invitations to Hogwarts, printed on parchment paper, then sealed with red wax and the Hogwarts H. I'll see if I can scrounge one up for pictures. I think the reason this party worked so well was because of all the prep-time. We also kept each activity to 15 minutes, so nobody got bored. Everything moved quickly and fluidly, because of the preparation. My son said that it was the best party he'd every been to, and, pardon my lack of humility here, I'm going to have to agree with him!

Edit: All photos were taken by a dear friend, Jennifer Stock. Didn't she do an amazing job?

I'm linking up to these parties:

Hogwarts Flag

2010-04-10T18:09:00.000-05:00

When you have a half an hour until the party and a fantastic idea pops into your mind, what do you do? Ah yes, you use a glue gun and Mod Podge! This flag was so simple to make, it's ridiculous.

HOW TO:

I Googled "Hogwarts crest," and found an image that was fairly large. I opened it in Photoshop, resized it to fit my 8.5x11 Inkjet Fabric Sheets, then printed it. Then I cut the three pieces of the crest from the sheet. (Here's where I wished I had iron on fabric sheets!) I didn't have time to sew the crest onto my black fabric background, so... I Mod Podged it! I used the Mod Podge as glue, only applying to the back of the printed fabric, so that the crest wouldn't look different on the flag. I folded my long black fabric in half, then used the glue gun to create a casing along the top (folded edge), where it would hang from the flag pole. I folded it in half lengthwise, cut a triangle from the bottom, opened it up, and hot glued the sides and bottom together. Basically I used the glue gun in place of my sewing machine, creating the casing and the seam. I love it when I can cheat on a project and it turns out so well! What do you think?

Creating Hogwarts

2010-04-09T23:55:00.000-05:00

My son is turning seven (SEVEN!?!) next week, but we're celebrating with his friends tomorrow. He loves Harry Potter, has read the first book and half of the second, and spends hours casting spells with his sister around the house. I'll have a nice long post about the party, with details on all of our creations, after the party, but I did want to show you all what has been keeping me so busy! Here's a quick sample of my doings...

I sewed 9 robes! The sorting hat that I made is on the piano.

Brooms (Thank goodness it's tree trimming season--We scoured the streets!)

The brick wall at Platform 9 3/4--The kids will run through it to get into the house.

My Sorting Hat

My husband made all of these by hand!

The Golden Snitch cake, without the wings--I'll add them tomorrow.

The wings for the cake! Can you see that they are sparkling?

We've had so much fun getting ready for this party. I can't wait for tomorrow!

Potter on the Brain

2010-04-09T11:52:00.000-05:00

I feel like I'm living in Hogwarts! Robes, brooms, wands, Platform 9 3/4 sign, potions--We're getting ready for a party! I'm overwhelmed and busy, but I'll try to post pictures of it all soon, plus a monogramed canvas I just finished last night. I'm off to work on the Golden Snitch cake!

ROUND TOP!

2010-04-07T20:51:00.002-05:00

Heaven. That's what I found in Round Top, Texas. Not in my wildest dreams could I have imagined a place like this. Furniture, do-dads, art, books, mirrors, vases, dishes, farm machinery, lights, silver, glass, jewelry, clothing. linens, quilts. If you could think of it, it was there. There were barns filled with antiques, surrounded by tents also filled with antiques. Heaven. I only wish that my photos could do it justice.

I have a thing with polka dots right now. If I had had a way to get them home, these would have definitely been mine.

I found a tray like this in my grandma's things last week. Then I saw this! I found out that the shape is the Tree of Life and that it's a meat tray. The tree collects the juices from the meat. How cool is that?!?

I want to make one of these!

$1500!?!

We were gifted a plate with this same print for our wedding, but just a little bit larger. It was like finding a needle in a haystack for me--So exciting!

Typewriter keys. I want to make one of these too!

On my to-do list. I even bought a couple of little things to frame!

Buttons...

Gonna try this too.

These are ALL pressed flowers. The maker grew all of the flowers in her garden, pressed them, then turned them into art. Stunning.

I want an armoire.

This would be an awesome Goodwill creation.

My sweetest purchase is there, in my hand. I can't wait to work on it!

Deep in the Heart

2010-04-02T21:42:00.000-05:00

I'm in craft withdrawal! We're on a (much needed) vacation, visiting my family in TX. Luckily our trip coincided with the biannual Round Top Craft/Antique Fair. This thing is huge. HUGE! I spent the morning there today and was in total heaven. I scored a couple of sweet items and a ton of incredible ideas for new projects. I also took a gazillion pictures. Here's a preview to tide you over until I'm home and back to work...

It's a very good thing that we live so far away. Otherwise, we would now be very broke and our home would be overflowing with old furniture and project supplies!

Newest Off-the-Side-of-the-Road Find

2010-03-30T13:00:00.001-05:00

FYI--8 weeks after back surgery, while wearing heels, DO NOT (under any circumstances), pick up large pieces of furniture off the side of the road and lift them into your van alone.

Driving home from church on Sunday, while my husband was working a 24 hour shift in the hospital, I spotted this:

It's solid wood and completely beautiful. How could I just leave it there? So I hopped out of my van, asked my kids to climb out for moral support, and proceeded to cram this thing into the back of the van. How I did it, I do not know. It seems completely impossible now that it's home. But that's not the point--The point is that I snagged this amazing piece of furniture for FREE!

I'm thinking that I'll probably take the doors off to use it as a bookshelf. Or maybe we'll use it as a supply shelf in our Arts and Craft room. I also want to paint it. Maybe white, with some distressing to make it look older? Really, though, I want to paint it a Robin's egg blue. Wouldn't that be gorgeous? Ideas? Opinions? I can't wait to get started!

More Chocolate Buttercream (w/Glitter!)

2010-03-30T12:48:00.000-05:00

March 19th was my husband's half birthday. He is now thirty-one and a half. (Crikey!) Anyways, on March 19th, he was taking his Boards. Doctors have to take these ridiculous two day exams, some time between Intern and third year of Residency. So he took his on his half birthday. Yuck. Being the wonderful, always-on-top-of-things wife that I am, I, um, forgot his half birthday. Half birthdays are a big deal around here, as it's an opportunity to celebrate, and we love to celebrate. But I forgot. Until yesterday. Crap. So we celebrated yesterday. It was fine and fun, and everybody had a great time. I made chocolate cupcakes with chocolate buttercream frosting. We are loving the chocolate buttercream these days. I had my daughter decorate the cupcakes with her very own glittery icing. Needless to say, they looked and tasted wonderful. Happy (late) half birthday, Honey!

For Baby Noah

2010-03-30T12:31:00.000-05:00

I love babies, LOVE BABIES. When I was young, I wanted to have 13 children. If I didn't have such total nightmare pregnancies (Preeclampsia, HELLP Syndrome, Placenta Previa, Preterm Labor, etc.), I would probably have at least four kids by now. But since I'm not able to have a lot of my own babies, I have to dote upon everybody else's babies! A friend of mine had her second baby a couple of weeks ago, and I wanted to make something special for her. This is what I came up with:

I purchased the frame a while ago, 75% off at Hallmark, but didn't have any good use for it until now. I wanted to keep it simple, so I just used my Silhouette to cut the letters from a chocolate brown vinyl. I think that it turned out beautifully, exactly as I imagined it. They can just add a photo when they get a chance (or I'll get one for them sometime soon, as it may be years before they have time to do it!). Hurray for new babies!

Goodwill Galore!

2010-03-27T20:20:00.000-05:00

I dragged my hubby to Goodwill after our movie date last night, sans kids. (He was thrilled.) Check out what I, whoops-we, scored, though!

NEW PROJECT

I've been looking for a set like this for a while now. I'm not sure what I'm going to do with it yet (Hubby's first question), but I still love it. I'm not loving the cow theme, though I did love the size and shape. Paint? Mod Podge? I need ideas, please!

Newfangled Candlesticks

2010-03-27T20:08:00.000-05:00

Isn't using old stuff to make something new wonderful? I've been having such a fantastic time with all of my Goodwill finds! For this project, I actually had everything already in my home. Even better! The glass candlesticks that I used were picked up off the side of the road, post-garage sale, a few years ago. The mini-vases were my grandma's.

I wanted the candlesticks pinkish white, but didn't have any primer. What to do? Call me the queen of laziness, but I used Mod Podge! I actually mixed some Mod Podge with red paint to create a pink color. I then painted the candlesticks with the Mod Podge mixture and waited for it to dry. This created a very streaky pink with a lot of glass shining through, but it was textured enough that I could spray it with my handy white spray paint. Then I had some pretty sweet light pink candlesticks.

Next, I glued the glass mini-vases to the tops of the candlesticks. I would suggest Epoxy glue for this, as I don't think that a hot glue gun would be strong enough. Let the glue dry and you're done! I filled mine with chocolate Easter eggs, then topped them with Easter egg suckers from The Dollar Tree. What I like about them, though, is that I'll be able to coordinate different fillings with each season or holiday. Cheapest project ever! What do you think?

Fancied Frame

2010-03-26T21:16:00.000-05:00

A boring frame, with way too much white, turned fancy shmancy!

Thank you, Mod Podge and gorgeous scrapbook paper. I like how the orange in the paper matches the orange on our walls. I'm all for brightening things up!

Cherry Blossoms. Sigh.

2010-03-26T21:09:00.001-05:00

Disclaimer: Please forgive me for the quality of these photos. Should I have waited for morning to take the pictures? Yes. Is natural light always the better choice? Yes. Do I feel bad about it? No, because I spent the day with my kids and will do so again tomorrow. Crafting, for me, is an after-bedtime hobby. Just pretend the pictures look amazing, okay?

I love cherry blossoms. I want them all over my house. I love the trees, the sticks, and the flowers themselves. Unfortunately, I don't live in DC. And cherry blossoms aren't exactly a year-round flowering plant. What is a girl to do? Yup, you got it, buy the plastic ones.

So thus was born our Tree of Kindness.

Next to my cherry blossom and pussy willow branches, I placed a small crystal bowl filled with tags. I cut out (Thank heavens for punches!) the tags, then punched holes in their tops, then tied a loop of thread through the hole. Each time that you do something nice for somebody else (it doesn't have to be family only--Kind deeds at school count too), you write it on a tag and hang it on the tree.

I have found that when I give my children an outlet to share their acts of kindness, they spend real time seeking out opportunities to do something nice for somebody else, just so that they can share it. We have a similar tradition that we do at dinnertime. We go around the table while we're eating, and each person shares something nice that they've done that day. Even if the kindness is acted solely to be able to report something at dinner time (or write it on a tag), at least they are thinking about being kind. I'm hoping that this will encourage my children (and myself) to act a little more kindly to the people around us.

Here's my favorite:

Prayed for Abbie's finger.

That's my six year old, praying for his little sister. She burned her finger on a tea kettle. So sweet.

Giveaway Winner

2010-03-24T20:09:00.001-05:00

Thank you all for participating in my first giveaway! I wish that I had made enough plaques for each of you. I am grateful to each and every one of you for the sacrifices that you and your families have made.
The winner, randomly chosen (my son picked the number), is TheAlbrechtSquad!
"I am grateful to the men and women in uniform for the sacrifices they make daily on behalf of my family. They don't even know me and they do it willingly. They leave their families and their luxuries and often have to abandon their own freedoms to provide me with mine. Thank you isn't enough."

Congratulations! From my entire family, thank you for your service and the service of your husband. Know that your sacrifices are not unnoticed, nor forgotten.

Please email your address to me at marthashmartha@gmail.com, and I will send you your gift!

Decorative Tray Redo

2010-03-23T18:40:00.000-05:00

During the same Goodwill trip that scored me the grapevine hearts for my spring wreath, I picked up this:

It cost me a whopping $2.50.

Don't you think it's just perfect for my dining room? Nothing like farm animals and pineapple to add a touch of elegance. Alright, maybe I made a few adjustments. Like a coat of white spray paint. And some fancy paper. And of course, I covered the entire thing with my trusty old Mod Podge. Ready for the reveal? Okay, here's the after:

The photo is of my dad's parents, from 1943. Isn't it amazing? Do you recognize the paper lining the tray? Yes, it's the same as this paper. I liked the idea of having some consistency across the room. (And I just loved the paper!) I was very frustrated by the bubbles under the paper, but now that it's done, I don't really mind them too much. Although I did go out today to purchase a brayer. I'm hopeful that it will save me some stress on future projects.

I'm so happy with the way that this turned out. The tray was my first real redo and I couldn't have hoped for it to have turned out better. I'm almost positive that I couldn't purchase this for less than $2.50. Hurray for Goodwill, hurray for Mod Podge, and hurray for fantastic old pictures!

Spring Wreath Tutorial

2010-03-22T20:57:00.002-05:00

I searched high and low for a spring wreath to hang on my front door. I searched craft blogs and stores, but found nothing that I loved. (I really have to love it if it's going to be on my front door.) After a very successful Goodwill trip on Saturday, though, I at least had something to work with. Here's what I did:

Materials:

Twig Wreath Form (Mine was in the shape of three hearts)

Silk Flowers (Number will depend on your base--I used about 30)

Miniature Rose Blooms--2 colors (Again the number will depend on the size of your wreath)

Small Half-Pearl Beads (One for each silk flower)

Ribbon (About as thick as the outside width of your wreath)

Twine

Glue Gun

Step 1: Keep kids busy

Wreath Base (69 cents at Goodwill)

Step 2: Using your glue gun, cover the outside of the wreath with ribbon.

Step 3: Hot glue the silk blossoms to the front of the wreath. My wreath base had small sticks, equally spaced, around the wreath. I glued one blossom to the top of each of those sticks. At the center of each heart, I used a large bright pink blossom, instead of the small yellow ones that I used around the rest of the heart.

Step 4: Ask your kids what you should do next.

Step 5: Follow their advice. Glue a half-pearl to the center of each blossom. ("What about jewels?") I used a larger pearl for each of the large pink flowers.

Step 6: Cut miniature roses from their stems. I cut them right at the base of the bloom.

Step 7: Cover the bottom of each rose with hot glue. Then place it into your wreath, holding it in place for about 10 seconds to be sure the glue will hold. Please just trust me on this. I tried a gazillion ways of getting the roses to stay in place in the wreath. Don't put the glue on the wreath and then the flower on the glue. It won't work. I promise. Just use a lot of glue on the bottom of your flower and you'll be fine.

Step 8: Completely stuff the wreath with roses. Seriously pack them in. When they dry, they'll shrink. I know you don't want holes in your wreath!

Step 9: Tie two twine handles, one along the front of the top of the wreath, and one towards the back of the top of the wreath. If you only use one piece of twine to hang the wreath, it will tip forward or backward. Again, just trust me.

Step 10: Twist the front twine handle with the back twine handle.

Now hang your wreath! You did it!

I'm linking up to:

Pretty Clothespins

2010-03-22T20:14:00.000-05:00

In a vain attempt to organize the massive piles of artwork that were slowly overtaking every open space in our home, I created an Art Wall. I strung wire across the wall at three levels and we hang the artwork on the wires using clothespins. It seemed a little ridiculous, though, to hang such beautiful works of arts from plain old clothespins. The remedy? Mod Podge, of course! I Mod Podged strips of paper onto the clothespins. Now we have pretty clothespins for pretty art.

China Cabinet Redo

2010-03-22T20:02:00.000-05:00

I saw this idea somewhere on the blogosphere, but I can't remember where. (If it belongs to you, please let me know so that I can give you credit!) I instantly thought of the built-in china cabinet that we have in our dining room. This is one of my favorite features of our home. Unfortunately, it's sort of turned into a storage area for vases, "chotchkies, " as my dad calls them, and other things that don't really have a place. Our dining room is the one area in our home that's somewhat fancy--It's hard to have anything fancy with kids, isn't it? So I fancied up the built-in cabinet and reorganized the things inside.

This is how it started:

I emptied it out, including the shelves. That's when I found that the previous owners were idiots and replaced the shelves while the paint was wet. I had to rip the paint just to get the shelves out!

Then I covered the back wall of the cabinet with... WRAPPING PAPER! I used removable double sided tape to adhere it to the wall. I had to search three stores to find something that would work. My 4 year old was convinced that princess paper would be the best choice. Do you have any idea how many different princess wrapping papers there are? I ended up at Hallmark which is where I found this:

I love it. The glare from the window directly across the room creates a lot of shine during the afternoon, but I couldn't stop staring at dinner tonight because it looked so lovely. I think that it adds some depth to the cabinet, makes it look fancy. And all for $4! Sweet.

Homemade Orange Juice

2010-03-21T15:10:00.000-05:00

We received oodles of oranges and grapefruits from the local children's choir fundraiser. After eating so many that our fingernails turned completely orange from peeling, my husband decided to make juice. We had a Lemonader (yes, that's a real appliance) that we got as a wedding present from my parents. So out came the Lemonader. We juiced a bunch of oranges and two grapefruits. It was so good!

Flower Sand Box

2010-03-21T14:54:00.000-05:00

On our last Ikea trip (dangerous!), I scored some red and beige sand bags, and some beautiful red flowers. Unfortunately, I forgot to get the giant vase to go with them. Crud. Yesterday, though, I decided the time had come to do just do something with them. It's been long enough. I'm talking years here. Seriously.

Luckily, I had this gorgeous glass "thing," that was my grandma's, sitting in our basement. My grandma had some amazing stuff that we were blessed enough to receive after she died. How wonderful to be able to fill our home with things that remind me of her. Anyways, the flowers I had were going to be way too tall for this glass container. So I cut off the plastic stems, then hired my hubby to take care of the wire cutting that was inside the stems. I poured the sand in colored layers into my container, then decided the zebra look wasn't as cool as I thought it might be, so I blended the sand with a giant spoon.

I have a current obsession with buttons, and thus had to find a way to include them! I wrapped thick white satin ribbon around the top of the glass. The angle of the glass, though, prevented the ribbon from laying flat. I twisted the ribbon in two places, then hot glued it to the glass. Voila! I placed red buttons on each of the twists, and white buttons on the seam where the ribbon ended.

I wanted the top and bottom to match, so I wrapped the same white ribbon, folded in half to fit the right width, around the stem of the glass. Then I put another red button on that seem, because you can never

have enough buttons!

And here it is! I'm so pleased with the final product. I placed it in our dining room, on top of a piece of furniture that was my grandma's. Our dining room is tan and red, so it fits in perfectly. I love it when things work out!

And don't you love the name of my post? I asked my 4 year old what I should call this post--She said, "Flower Sand Box."

Coming Soon!

2010-03-21T11:22:00.001-05:00

I spent all morning (between tying doll shoes, using scraps of fabric to create doll bedding, making snacks--every ten minutes, etc.) crafting a wreath for our front door! Normally we'd be at church, but I still can't make it through three hours sitting in a pew and chairs. Hubby's on call today, so the kids stayed home with me! Sometimes I just love spending the day at home.

We made a super successful Goodwill run yesterday where I scored the base for my wreath. So, coming soon is a tutorial for a spring wreath, using feux and real flowers! Check back soon!

Happy Sunday,
Emily

My First Giveaway!

2010-03-20T20:43:00.002-05:00

There are times in my life when I am struck with gratitude towards those who sacrifice their lives for our country, for me. And "sacrifice their lives" is not exclusive to those who die serving (although that is the greatest sacrifice), but also includes those who leave their families for extended periods of time, those who leave their jobs, school, life plans, etc. I often complain about my husband being a Medical Resident, and the long hours that he spends at the hospital, away from us. But I am quickly silenced by thoughts of those women and men whose spouses leave for years at a time, living in volatile and dangerous places. That sacrifice is extreme. It is trying, and it is humbling. My gratitude, humility and awe led me to create my most recent project. Here it is:

And now for the giveaway (US only, please). I would love for this to go to somebody who really deserves it--A member of the Armed Forces, a family member of a soldier, a close friend, a supporter of the United States Military. I would like to share my gratitude for his or her service. The plaque is 7"x7."

Here are the ways that you can be entered into the drawing (Leave a separate comment for each entry):

1. Leave me a comment telling me how you're connected to the Military.

2. Leave me a comment expressing your gratitude to "The Brave."

3. Become a follower of my blog (Be sure to leave a comment saying that you became a follower).

4. Leave me a comment telling me what you're looking forward to in this coming week.

I'll choose a winner on Wednesday March 24. Thanks!

Our Family Rules Canvas

2010-03-19T17:22:00.000-05:00

Blog-surfing one day, I stumbled upon this on The Pleated Poppy. I fell completely in love, ran to the craft store, and set to work. Pass at least one month... I finished it! This was a lot of work for me. I am absolutely not an artist, so the task of free-handing twelve different fonts, just by looking at a sheet I had printed, was very difficult. (Visualize one pencil and at least three giant erasers.) But now it's complete and I love it. I won't give a tutorial because Lindsey gives a wonderful how-to over at The Pleated Poppy, but I will add a few tips: 1) Download fun fonts (free)! Copying the fonts onto my paper was much more exciting after I downloaded some really neat ones. 2) When it's time to Modge-Podge the paper to the canvas, coat the canvas, lay down your paper, use a credit card (gift card, etc.) to smooth out the bubbles. LET IT DRY before you Modge-Podge over the top of it. I still ended up with some bubbles, but a lot less than I would have had. 3) Talk to your kids about the rules! My daughter (4 y.o.) actually came up with a good chunk of these. 4) Splurge. Please. Go to the craft store and buy some amazing paper. You'll be much more motivated to finish if you like the paper you're using.

Here are our family rules:
Be kind always
Protect your sister
Always tell the truth
Clean up your messes (please)
Too much TV is bad & too much reading is good
Yes, please & no, thank you
Hugs, snuggles and kisses are always a good choice
Work hard
Laugh, especially when you don't want to
No fussing. No whining. No yelling.
Thank God for all we have.

And finally, our Family Rules Canvas!

Happy St. Patrick's Day

2010-03-17T20:07:00.001-05:00

What does St. Patrick's Day mean to me? Well, I'm not Catholic. And I don't drink. That about does it. No wait, I'm like twenty-five percent Irish. Sweet, I can celebrate.

Last night, in preparation for today's festivities, I had the grand idea to bake a rainbow cake. Yes, I'm talking about a six layer cake. Genius, right? Let me tell you, it was AMAZING. About a foot tall. Four containers of icing and an entire bottle of red food coloring (red, orange and purple all use red!). Awesome. Check it out for yourself:

And then this happened. Suck.

That about did me in. Do you have any idea how much time I spent on that thing? Time I'll never get back. Oh well. My kids still thought it was cool. It's the taste that counts anyways, right?

On to today. Breakfast was green mini shamrock pancakes, made using a heart shaped cookie cutter.

Green applesauce. I had to post the close-up for the nastiness factor.

I sewed this cute little leprechaun shirt for my son last night. He loved it and wore it to school today.

Dinner was green spaghetti (I cooked the noodles in water with food coloring) with Pesto Alfredo sauce.

Cucumber Salad

Asparagus

Green Shamrock Rice Crispy Treat

And finally, mint Oreos dipped in green chocolate (white chocolate dyed green).

My six year old can't wait to see if his pee turns green. After all the food coloring we ate, I wouldn't be surprised. Happy St. Patrick's Day!

10 Minute Sewing Project

2010-03-16T14:54:00.000-05:00

Aren't they cute? One of my pet peeves is having to dig through my bag to find a kleenex for my kids, only to find it all wadded up and nasty at the bottom somewhere. Solution? Kleenex holders! I found this amazing project over at Very Purple Person. She has a wonderful PDF tutorial for you. I made the little flower one last night, and seriously, it took me 10 minutes. I AM NOT A PROFESSIONAL SEWER. Let's just make sure that's clear. Then this morning, if you had any doubts, my daughter made the pink flower one. People, she's 4 years old. Yup. She helped cut, pin, and sew.

So hurray! No more nasty kleenex at the bottom of my bag!