What You’ll Need:

Stamps and Ink and/or markers
A Candle (your choice of color), although I recommend white for beginners
Wax Paper
Tissue Paper in the same color of the candle
A Hair Dryer or Embossing Gun
Ribbon or embellishments (if you want).
Scrap paper or something else you don’t mind getting marks on (the ink will bleed through the tissue paper)
Scissors

Cut a strip of tissue paper approximately as wide as your candle is tall.  Stamp or draw your design on the tissue paper, remembering to have a “scrap” layer underneath so your dining room table will show no proof of this craft.

Using scissors, cut around the design, getting rid of some of the “blank” excess paper that wasn’t stamped on.  –Don’t worry, you don’t have to cut really close to the design, but if there’s lots of extra space on the back or other areas, you won’t really need that tissue paper.

Place the tissue paper over the candle as you want the design.  Carefully layer the wax paper over the tissue paper (wax side down) and pull tightly behind the candle.  –This well help keep your hands from getting burnt, as well keep your design in place.  It also keeps the wax from getting all wonky when you start heating it up.

Using your embossing heat tool or hairdryer, heat the design up.  You’ll want to keep it close to the surface, and move to another area once you see the tissue paper change color (where it’s flattening and embedding itself in the wax).  Once your design is melted into the candle, carefully peel the wax paper off.

Now, you’re all finished unless you want to add an embellishment like a ribbon or charm or what-nots.

These are great as gifts or for your own decor!

Welcome back!

*NOTE:  This is the unfinished wreath, feel free to glue fun glittery things to it, faux flowers, painted wooden things, or whatever your heart desires.  Even a bow.

You’ll need:

A wire coathanger
Either a pair of pliers (simply to twist and untwist the coathanger)
Fabric scraps in your choice of colors

Untwist the coathanger and straighten it out as much as you can, or you can go ahead and skip that and go straight to making into a circle, using your very strong hands or pliers to smooth out any bumps.  Next, use your very strong hands or the pliers to rewind the ends of the coathanger around each other, forming a circle that won’t poke your eye out.

Cut your scrap fabric (I used some old flannel pjs) into approximately 1″x5″ (or 7″, depending on how long you want it).  To give you an idea, the bottom of the wreath is a bit longer…approximately 7″, whereas the top is mostly 5-6″.  See the difference?  Choose whichever you like and go with it.  Cut the strips, and don’t worry about being perfect.  Start tying them around the coathanger, as closely or spaced as you like and just keep going until you like it.

Next up?  Make it even prettier with some hot glue and your choice of embellishments.

Start to finish time with no interruptions for what you see above (without the added embellishments): About 1 hour – Would’ve been a lot quicker if I could’ve pawned the “really strong hands” part off on my husband…or, if you set up a “line” with someone cutting while the other ties.

These are pretty spiffy when you start playing around with different colors, patterns, types of fabrics/ribbons, embellishments, and thickness.  You could make them for any holiday you can dream up!

*NOTE:  You may want to keep in mind these are made of fabric, so dust may find them easily.  IF you plan to leave yours out year-round, you may want to choose a fabric that is less “catchy” when it comes to letting dust cling.  You know?

Starting last year (2007), I began making at least most of the Christmas gifts we’d be gifting.  So, this year it was no surprise that I chose to continue this tradition.  And, with the lack of cash (seemingly) in everyone’s pockets, I’ve had a lot of people asking what sorts of things I’d be making.

And then I shut up.

I can’t very well tell everyone what TYPES of things I will be making, because that could easily give away the gifts for those receiving, but I can tell you some of what I made LAST year, so you get an idea – although, this year some of the crafts are different (but I’ll tell you about those AFTER Christmas)

These are the ornaments I already did a mini-tutorial on – but, basically it’s a clear empty ornament that you can fill with anything.  I gave these away as small gifts to the people that we don’t buy/make larger gifts for… (like for the mini gift exchange my family does)

Handbound Journal and Travel Pillow.  The travel pillow ended up slightly lopsided, seeing as I can’t cut a straight line to save my life.  For the journal, I searched for the “perfect” book cover and simply used only the cover and rebound fresh pages by hand to make a new custom-made journal.

Photo Pendants.  I made 2 photo pendants, each with a photo that the gift recipient held dear and this took a lot of trial and error.  Not the photo part, but getting it to not bubble up at all and drilling the hole just so, so it wouldn’t all break and become useless.  These are made of resin and you can buy resin kits at craft stores (like Hobby Lobby).  It probably took me a good 2 weeks on getting the pendants to look like something I’d actually give.  But honestly, I’m pretty sure these were a flop – or at least with my crowd. You can use the resin pieces to make jewelry of any kind, key chain, magnets, etc – I gave mine just as pendants so the recipient could choose what they wanted them as (with the exception of the hole I went ahead and drilled)…

More pendants, but with a variety of things inside…

T-shirt.  I didn’t actually make the shirt, but I made the stencil and then painted it.  “Herb” is a shortening of this person’s name, plus we thought it was sort of funny…

Even the dog got a homemade Christmas present – a dog bed.  She’s way past her chewing phase (unlike Chance), and prefers to only chew on toilet paper and garbage.  This was simply a hatbox, and I made a circular cushion for the inside plus an extra cushion to lay her head against, as well as some extra fabric for her to nose around to make her bed.  This was a big hit with her, and now (much to Glory’s displeasure) Chance has taken it over…leaving a few chew marks behind.

A HUGE 2-person blanket.  I didn’t use a kit, although they have those available, but I wanted something other than military/disney princess/team sports as this was for my BIL who LOVES coffee and is always cold.  Personally, I ended up deciding I didn’t like the whole “fringe effect,” but it was a little late when I decided that, and luckily he liked it.  He asked me to make another this year for his new wife so she’d give his back.  Ha.  I will warn you, though…unless you find the fabric hugely discounted, this project can end up running you $15-30 (or more) per blanket, so if you’re making gifts to save money you may want to keep this in mind and then buy the fabric on clearance when the weather gets warmer.

And, here’s one of the many Christmas photos I took and emailed out.

I made some other gifts, as well – but, can’t find the photographs.  I’m sure half of you are bored out of your gourds anyhow, so I’ll just list them real quick just in case someone is interested: loom knitted hats and scarves, needle-knitted washcloth (I taught myself to knit for these gifts and quickly found out that it’s WAY too slow if I do the needle-knitting), baked gifts (like homemade bread), and Christmas cards (these were simple, a light colored card with christmas ornament shapes cut out of red and green patterned papers, and a bit of string tied on, then it all adhered down to the front side of the card.  I made about 80, so they had to be simple!).

This post is dedicated to Miss, my partner in crime (except I didn’t do it).

Ornaments…  My family recently adopted this brilliant idea (yeh, it was mine.  So what?) that we would each get a bag with our name on it (or family’s name on it if we’ve begun our own family) and each family/person would bring a small homemade gift.  The gift could be made by you or even bought at the farmer’s market or somewhere like etsy.  Didn’t matter.  The idea was to make it personal, make it thoughtful, and …well, inexpensive.

Last year, I made everyone ornaments.  Very simple ornaments, but I loved these.  They were light and airy and …I loved them.

All you need are:

-Empty glass ornaments
-Ribbon in your choice of color/print/pattern
-And something to put inside

I filled mine with white feathers and pearlescent glitter, but you could fill it with everything and anything…

Some ideas:

Pink or white feathers and miniature pigs.  When pigs fly.  Get it?  Okay, shut up.

Miniature anything…Check out the jewelry and miniature sections of your craft store.  Ideas are endless.  Add feathers or yarn or WHATEVER.

And, if you totally can’t think of anything, just stick a $20 in it.

*If your family doesn’t do this sort of thing, these are good for smaller gifts that you need – or, could be a present-topper.  Bigger gifts to come…

The last few days have been a little nuts around here as we’ve tried to regroup not as a family unit, but also begin homeschooling again.  I re-introduced the clothespins activity (where she empties a jar of clothespins and puts them back in…a favorite of hers), as well as some new activities.

Late last week, Lorelei and and I took a walk outside and picked up some of the colorful fallen leaves.  Inside, we practiced our *tearing* skills.  Many of the Montessori curriculum recommend tearing paper, but at 18 months I’m thinking that’s not a medium I want her to get too used to tearing.  She’s too young to totally grasp why she can tear paper A but not the stack of papers on the coffee table – and, we have LOTS of paper around here.  Using a black marker, Lorelei drew her “trees” and the “trunk/stems” with a bit of help.  She helped use some Elmers glue and then she placed the torn leaves on her trees.  Fall trees, real leaves.

We’ve been practicing a lot with primary colors.  I’ve pulled out the books, toys in vibrant colors, and have been trying to use colors to describe almost anything we can.  Lorelei has just begun repeating colors like “blue” and “re(d),” although she doesn’t necessarily seem to understand (yet!) that the ball in her hand is red or blue.  We’ve also been practicing naming animals and imitating the sounds they make.  We’ve made visiting live animals, as well as looking at them in books a huge part of our days.  I feel it’s hugely important for real life experiences, as well as learning from a picture book.  She can easily identify a “kitty” and has demonstrated well that she can easily hold a small kitten and gently pet it.  She can identify and imitate a dog, and has no trouble with playing and sharing toys and petting it – although, all bets are off if they start licking her (she retreats).  Cows, pigs, sheep, and ducks are not as easy for her to identify as she tends to call anything larger than a cow, a dog!  BUT, she does seem to know them when she seems them and can also imitate the sounds they make.  She LOVES animals.

She’s shown that she somewhat understands the concept of counting to 3 by using buttons on a shirt, although she has still not yet begun to vocalize it (which is fine).

Clipping clothespins onto box edges and jar edges is still a great challenge we’ve not yet mastered, although she has become quite skilled in taking apart the clothespins (I really need to get some plastic ones).

We’ve also been practicing coloring with crayons on paper, and she seems to enjoy that for limited periods of time.  She’s still working on her fine motor skills, so she hasn’t completely gotten the hang of that yet.

Today, I introduced 2 new activities: playdough and using a sponge to transfer water.  Unfortunately, I tried to introduce the sponge and water activity while I was trying to do dishes, so I don’t think I spent enough time with her on this one.  The playdough, however was a hit!

Here’s the recipe for the playdough I made:

1 c. flour

1/2 cup salt

1 T. cooking oil

1 T. cream of tartar

1 c. water

1 packet of your choice of koolaid

Mix all of the following together and THEN (after it’s mixed) add to medium heat (on the stove).   Stir and stir and stir.  You don’t want to leave it.  The liquid will begin to clump where it is most in contact with the pot, and begin to draw up and away.  Keep stirring it until you have a large clump.  It should look really doughy, and once it does turn off the heat and remove your pan.  Spoon your concoction onto the counter and knead it until it’s completely smooth throughout (like store bought playdough).  It’ll be a little warm, so be aware of that.  Next, put it in a sealed container or resealable bag (think ziploc) to let it cool.

Instead of/in addition to koolaid, you can also add liquid food coloring, powdered food coloring, glitter, scents, etc.

Our playdough was actually “grape” but turned out blue!  And, if your kidling tries to eat this, no worries.  It’s nontoxic (do you see the ingredients?)

I have this HUGE stubborn streak in me…

When people tell me I can’t…I laugh, and do it anyways.  When people tell me “that’s just not how things work,” I ask “Why not?”  When people tell me that there’s not another way, I find one.

And, although I don’t mind sometimes being dependent on someone else for something, I like to know that at any time I would be JUST FINE should I cut off that tie that binds us.  And, so…one day as I stared at the rising prices of things, I wondered what would happen if retailers across the world should decide to inflate prices in something so simple, so “needed” as laundry detergent.  What would happen if Laundry Detergent EVERYWHERE went from $12 a box/jug to $30.  Would you still pay it?

I wouldn’t, and I wouldn’t be wearing dirty clothes either.  Why?  Because I can make my own.

And, not that our prices will be inflated like crazy any time soon, but making your own detergent can not only give you a sense of pride and power, but it can also save you quite a lot of money – and, did I mention it’s HEALTHIER?  (It is.)

Here’s how to do it:

LAUNDRY DETERGENT 

Here’s what you need:
- 1 bar of soap ( I bought Zest.  And, next time…I think I’d get something else…you know, after I use up what I have)
- 1 box of washing soda (In small towns, this can be TRICKY to find.  It’s Arm and Hammer brand and you may have to call around to smaller grocery stores (mom and pop variety) if you can’t find it at your local shopping stops)
- 1 box of borax (You don’t have to use this…but it kicks it up a bit.  Just be careful with it.)
- A five gallon bucket with a lid
- Three gallons of tap water
- A big spoon to stir the mixture with
- A measuring cup
- A knife

Step One: Put about four cups of water into a pan on your stove and turn the heat up on high until it’s almost boiling. While you’re waiting, start making soap shavings with that knife of yours.  Keep the heat below a boil, add the soap, then stir the hot water until the soap is dissolved.

Step Two: Put three gallons of hot water (11 liters or so) into the five gallon bucket (think three 1-gallon milk jugs).   Then, mix in the hot soapy water from step one, stir it for a while, then add a cup of the washing soda. Keep stirring it for another minute or two, then add a half cup of borax if you are using borax. Stir for another couple of minutes, then let the stuff sit overnight to cool.

Use one measuring cup of this stuff per load (or so).  Out of 3 gallons, you’ll get about 48 loads of laundry.  If you make more than one batch, you’ll start seeing some HEFTY savings.

We used this recipe and I thought it worked fine.  Although, admittedly…it turns out I don’t like Zest that much (the scent).  So, next time…I’d definitely use something else.  Steven, of course, prefers HIGHLY PERFUMED soap so he was a bit miffed when his shirts came out smelling like fabric and not the Queen’s garden.  Next time, I may just keep some body spray near the dryer and spritz his load.  He’ll never know…until the alcohol in it begins leaving marks (or he reads this post).

…This is…besides the stuff I’ve already posted.  See, you guys have me all wrong…haha…the following has nothing to do with me or…me.  Haha.

The dress I made for Lorelei:  Mom came over this past weekend and helped me finish it up.  I get really lazy when it comes to pressing and ripping out seams..so she did that part.  And, very patiently, I might add!

And, then… A swap package I did (our theme was “Back to Nature” – basically, inspired by nature).  I finished this up early last week, but was waiting until she received it and posted pictures before I did – so as to not be a spoiler!

Here’s the package all-together…

And, what was in it:

A beaded dragonfly.  Because she likes dragonflies…and blues and greens. (And, I made the outside of the box, too).

2 Dragonfly Notecards and a set of 4 beaded magnets.   The magnets sort of remind me of seaglass.  And, I used water bottle tops, so see, I was recycling too!

3 Ribbons Roses.  They have wire in them, so she can arrange them wherever or attach them to things.  She likes roses.

A mobile.  The top is made with a “recycled” water bottle.  I trimmed it up in a wave pattern, and used a hot glue gun to round the edges out, so she wouldn’t cut herself.  And then, I painted it.  Hanging from the top piece are origami turtles in blues and greens.  She likes turtles, also.

The owl can.  I made these little guys and covered this Baby Formula can – Lorelei’s last formula can ever.  Sniff sniff.  I put her mobile in this can for safe travel.  And, I really have no clue if she likes owls…so I made them blue and green…did I mention she likes blue and green alot?  lol

A small painting of a dragonfly with acrylics (on canvas).

A wall hanging with 4 mini clothespins at the top for notes and small pictures to be displayed – and, two hooks at the bottom to hold bracelets, necklaces, keys, or whatever.

Then, this picture and the next one in a 4×6 clear, plastic frame with a magnet on the back – because I figured she could switch them out if she wanted…

And, here’s the swap all-together (minus the origami mobile):

MOVING ON, we have Grumpy, a toy I made for a 3 year old named Sam:  And, yes.  I know Grumpy is ugly.  He’s supposed to be.

Lastly, a card I made (4×4):

A couple of weeks ago, I found this cool-looking tutorial on how to make a bikini out of a tshirt! Sa-weet! But, then I started thinking. Wait.

Wet T-shirt contests. T-shirts. Bikini. Um…

And, then someone told me that it’d be one you’d lay out in. And, of course, you wouldn’t use white. And, it’s doubled.

Okay. I’m in. I have plenty of Steven’s t-shirts that don’t fit (me).

So, today I cowboyed up and decided I’d do it. I confiscated a t-shirt and went to cutting and pinning for the top. A couple of hours later (because I was talking to Jen and then taking care of a hungry bottomless pit-stomach child), I was finished. With just the top.

Turns out. I hate it. Yeh. Go figure. You’d think once someone bombs enough projects, they’d give up, right? Yeh, well not me. I’m stupid smart like that. And, I even did pictures standing up on the chair in my dining room. Because, last time you guys got a little jealous. And, this time…I’m actually covered up. Notice that the kitchen table has nothing kitchen-y on it. A laptop, tshirt shreds, and a sewing machine.

Can you read what my top says? Yes, that’s right: Army National Guard. Darn tootin’.

And now, I’ll tell you the drawbacks of a t-shirt bikini. You’ll flash everyone. Basically, that’s all you need to know. Luckily, we have a lot of trees in our yard so all window views are obstructed.

And, now that I’ve done my part and promoted our armed forces, I’ll let you all get back to reading quality blogs. Go guard.

(PS – I totally think I should win the Nobel Peace Prize for this. That – and the fact that I totally used a bobby pin to thread the bottom “string” through because I don’t have a non-giant safety pin.)

**Tutorial here: http://www.threadbanger.com/thread-heads/episode/THR_20070622 

This dress turns out to be quite convertible. I can wear it long with the shoulders up for church, scrunch it up for dancing (or clubbing – had we one that was worth going to around here), and wear it draped on one shoulder – or not – or, tuck the sleeves into themselves and it has more of a sleeveless appearance.

Versatile. And made of jersey. It’s like the most comfortable dress, ever. (And, it so does not wrinkle)

Thoughts? Comments?

**Tutorial here:  http://www.craftster.org/forum/index.php?topic=178828.0 

Yesterday, I decided I would take on a new project.  – Not that I don’t have enough going on (in the world of craftiness – what, with making gifts and stuff for a swap, and all)…  I decided I’d try a new “sexy dress” I’d found online.  So, I grab my bag of material and the new thread and power up my sewing machine.  I was ready to rock and roll…err, sew.  Hubs was coming home early, but I still had a good hour or more before he’d be home, and I was elated that I’d be able to meet him at the door in my new dress.  After all, the chic said that the dress only took HER 30 minutes from start to finish.  And, I was a pro, right…as I’d already made one simple dress and a skirt that ended up not fitting my daughter AT ALL (I really should have rethought this).

So, I began.  I cut out my fabric, just winging it…as I had absolutely NO measurements to go by.  None.  She’s one of those geniuses that can do that and come up with stunning masterpieces…and I, well…I was hoping for the best.  Or, just stupid.  Whichever.  Anyhow, I soon figured out that I would have to modify her directions a bit (there were no patterns, just a rough explanation of how it was made to go by).  For starters, she had a um…perfect body.  Think Barbie.  No hips and a cute tiny butt.  I have hips and am ample booty.  So, yeh.  A straight triangle for my skirt-piece.  NOT gonna happen.  It suddenly became clear to me that I was going to have to make this dress …on me.  So, I sewed a little….then put it on….sewed some more…feverishly working, trying to finish before hubby got home.

Until my craft room gets totally organized (as I really REALLY need some shelving in there), my kitchen table is serving as my sewing center.  And, the only mirror is above the buffet table.  So, as I was fitting the skirt to my body, using pins to mark where the lines SHOULD be (but were not), I was also standing on a chair…in my kitchen…in my underwear.  And the skirt-part of the dress…which went right up to under my bust-line.  So, you can imagine my husband’s surprise when he walked into the door.

Not really what I had planned on.

Oh well.  At least there are LOTS of trees and we have blinds.  I really would like a sewing room now.  And a dress form to my measurements.

Oh yeh…and the dress?  It looks like it came straight out of an 80s nightmare.