Multi-Tasking

I LOVE multi-tasking! If something can be used in one way, it can probably be used in another. Which is why, when I started this project, I decided that if the front was good, the back could be used as well. But, I wanted to make sure it would work before I did two. Since it did, I made a back side to my word blocks of yesterday.

Front:

Back:

Front:

Back:

Inspiration in the form of a wooden board

While eating breakfast this morning, I looked out the window and saw this board on my back porch. It isn't unusual for me to see random pieces of wood on the porch - when my parents moved they left us a bunch of wood to be burned in the fire pit, and Paul likes to haul it out to build bridges. What is unusual is for me to be inspired by said wood. And, that is what happened this morning. I'm not sure why, but some days are just more inspirational than others.

So, with an idea in mind, I set to work. I measured and found the board to be 2.5" wide and 0.75" wide. I pulled out my handy-dandy saw and started cutting.

The idea was to cut them into squares, and that worked, for the most part. So, now I had a bunch of 2.5"x2.5" squares.

Next comes paint. Lucky me, I had a bunch of black left from Halloween. A few coats, and all my squares were black.

And, this is the part where I forgot to document steps. I recently made labels for my dry goods containers on the counter, and I really liked the font. This font was perfect for my inspiration, so I pulled my spandy new Silhouette out and got to cutting. Since my blocks were 2.5" squares, I cut the font about 2.25" tall. Then, I painted a layer of Mod Podge on each square. On to each square I stuck a letter. And ended up with "LAUGH" and "LOVE". Add another layer of Mod Podge, and now my blocks are shiny as well as black with letters. Almost there, I thanked my lucky stars that I picked up eye hooks at Home Depot this morning. So, in the top and bottom of each block I screwed in an eye hook. Whew! Now a picture.

With the hooks in, all that was left was to attach the letters to each other. I bent the bottom hook out -

and slid the following letter on.

I repeated this process until I got the whole word together. And hung.

With "LOVE" I decided to hang them staggered. Due to their location, I couldn't get a good picture front on. They are really more even than they look. I promise.

I still haven't figured out exactly how to hang them. I mean, they are on the wall, but they need something more. Anyway. My favorite part of this project was the price. $2. Really. I bought the eye hooks for $2 this morning, but that was all I had to buy. The wood was scrap, the spray paint left over from Halloween, and the paper some of my stock on hand. Yeah! (One day I will have to learn to take pictures well so that you can really see how cute these babies are!)

Alphabet Blocks

You may have guessed by now that I have a child who is obsessed with letters. So, for Christmas I made a set of alphabet blocks for Brigham. Here they are.

I made them by cutting a 1.5"x1.5" board into cubes, sanding, mod-podging on paper, and then adhering vinyl lettering. If I did them again, I would not use the letter paper in the background, it makes it just a little too busy. But, overall, I was pleased. And Brigham was ecstatic. Thanks Brya and Erin for cutting my letters!

(And yes, I do know that there is a "w" in the alphabet. Much to my chagrin, the dog has already gotten hold of one of Brigham's blocks!)

Easy Ruffle tutorial

Okay, I have been working on a little project that I decided needed a pleated ruffle on the outside edge. I have never done a pleated ruffle, so I just decided to wing it. And, it was super easy and looks great when finished! So, I thought I would share.

First, I pulled out a handy-dandy craft stick. I have a million of them on hand because Brigham is slightly obsessed with them. Then, I added some marks. I just eye-balled what looked good, but in case you are interested, the measurements are 2" for the length and 0.75" for the fold. (I am sure that must be some mathematical ratio of some perfect form!) Anyway, I laid the craft stick down and put the "length" mark at the top edge. If you are just starting, this would be the edge of your ruffle fabric.

Then, I folded the fabric from the bottom back over the stick until it got to the "fold" mark.

Pull the craft stick out, and pin your fold down.

Repeat as many times as you need to get around your piece.

Then, you put your seam in, and flip it out. This is what the finished ruffle edge on mine looked like...

Aren't you dying to see what I made? Oh well, you will have to wait until I get Joy's done too...

Sock Puppet tutorial

So, you want to make super-fantastic sock puppets that all the neighbor kids will be jealous of? Well, I guess I can let you in on my little secret. It is a piece of plastic in the mouth.

Here's how it works: Get an old milk jug and cut out a section of flat surface.

Now, fold that piece in half and cut a couple of ovals out. The size of your flat space will determine how many ovals you get out of it. And, your ovals should be about the size of your little one's finger-to-thumb space where they would normally stick the sock puppet mouth.

I can usually get two ovals out of a large flat. One..

and two. These don't need to be perfect, they are just going to be inside the mouth to give it some permanence.

Now, this step is really important if you want to spare your fingers glue gun misery. Push the toe of the sock inside to make a pocket. Don't go too far back, just a couple of inches. Test the space by sticking your plastic oval in it. The folded edge goes in first and should hit the toe of your sock, the rounded edges should about sit on your socks lips.

Now that you have your sock in position, take your cut and folded plastic between finger and thumb,

and run hot glue along the edges of both sides. Don't worry about that spot where you are holding, you can go back and get that later.

Now, this is the trickiest part of all. Really, it is persnickety. And I am not just saying that 'cause I like the word. You need to slip that hot-glued plastic into the pocket you created for the mouth, but you don't want the hot glue to touch the sock until it is in place. Just slide it in and squish it down. But, don't squish too hard or you will glue his mouth together. (If you need to do this for therapy since you can't do it to your kids, go ahead, glue those lips together.)

When you have this done, you can go back and glue those little spots on front and back where your fingers where.

Once you get the mouth in, it is the traditional stuff - eyes, hair, etc. Okay, I only do eyes and hair. But let me tell you, this little plastic bit makes the sock puppet SO much more functional! It will get played with far more often, because the mouth works! Hope you have fun!

Happy Birthday Banner

Did I mention my most favorite gift for Christmas this year was a Silhouette? Well, I got one, and am in LOVE! Today was Joy's birthday, so I whipped out this super cool pendant banner, and she LOVED it! And, it was pretty easy.

To make it, I cut triangles from cardstock, and then cut her letters (500 pt Curlz font) out of coordinating paper. I glued the letters on with good old-fashioned Elmer's Glue (since I didn't have anything easier on hand). Then, I punched holes in the corners and threaded them through on 5/8" grosgrain ribbon. All in all, it was a pretty easy project, and the receiver appreciated it, which is even better.

I ordered a laminator which was supposed to have arrived on Friday, but when it gets delivered tomorrow, I will be laminating these puppies so this can be pulled out every year. I have decided that, when I do the boys, I will use darker colors for the background, they stood out much better. And, since they are boys, I will use a chunkier font so it shows up better. Who knows, I may even redo a few of Joy's. Nah, who am I kidding?

Corn husk wreath

I found this cute wreath on HowDoesShe the other day, along with instructions. So, I tried it. And, although the copy of their copy of someone else's wreath didn't turn out perfect, it wasn't too bad. And it was really easy to accomplish.

I am not sure how I am going to store it, but I am certainly going to try!

Block Pumpkin

Looking for a cute, easy, fast, cheap Halloween/Thanksgiving decoration? Look no farther. These pumpkins are SUPER easy, and they turn out pretty darn cute. Ready for the instructions? Okay, here we go.

First, cut your block. I used a 2x2 (which really means a 1.5"x1.5") that I then cut down square. I also did a 4x4 (which really means 3.5x3.5) and squared that. Next, cut 5 pieces of orange-y scrapbook paper to the same squares. You can use all the same, all different, or any variety of the bunch. Just cut them. Next, follow these instructions and mod podge all sides of your block but one. (You know, six sides to your block, five pieces of paper...) Make sure you sand the edges, it will look MUCH cuter!

You will end up with one side of the block not covered, this is the bottom of your pumpkin. You could cover it, but no one will ever see it, so why bother?

Okay, now pull out your hammer and nails. I used a 2" common nail here, but if you can get a hold of horseshoe nails, those would be SO much cuter!

Hammer your nail on the side opposite the un-covered side. So, like, the top. Hammer the nail in until you get a good length stem. Now, if you can find nails a little shorter than the 2", that probably wouldn't be too bad. If you hammer the 2" ones in too far, your block will split in half. I only pounded them in about 1".

Wow, you are almost there! So far you have the pumpkin and the stem, now you just need leaves. I used some green grosgrain ribbon for this part. Feel free to get creative. I cut a piece about 4", but again, this is totally a matter of taste. A little more or less probably won't kill you.

Take your ribbon and tie it in a single knot around your nail, then slide it down to the base, so it is sitting right on top of the wood.

And, you're done! Cute pumpkins, very little time or expense. Enjoy!

Wood Words

In quest of more Halloween decorations, I made these over the last two days. I got 4x4s, 2x4s and 2x2s and cut them down to fit the words that my sister Brya so kindly cut out of vinyl. Then, using some modge podge and scrapbook paper, I covered the boards in paper. After a little sanding, I added the letters and now have these great word boards!

When I feel like Brya has had enough of a break from her cutting, I am going to cover the back and bottom with autumnal paper and try a fall bunch! For easy modge podge instructions, see How Does She.

More flowers

I know, I have gone a little crazy. But, they are so darned cute! I figured out today, that with 45" wide, 6" strip of fabric, I can make 8 flowers. With the fabric I got today, that means I have the potential of 56 flowers, and I only paid $2.50 for the fabric! I got lucky a year ago and and friend gave me a bunch of great buttons, and in my mind at least, the button makes a big difference. I guess I have a new treasure to look for at the thrift store now!

Halloween Decor

After pulling out all of my Halloween decorations, I just wasn't quite satisfied with what I had. So, I thought, did some Internet research (I love http://www.howdoesshe.com/) and got to work. This was the end result. The mantle, at least. How did I create this work of art? Well, let me share.

First, I made a trip to the thrift store. There, I found the black roses, a brass candelabra, assorted round tins, and I stocked up on picture frames. None of them matched, but that doesn't really matter. Once I got everything home, I took the frames, the candelabra and one of the tins back and spray painted them all a glossy black. It took a couple of coats, but for $0.98, I got seven black frames, was well as a spooky black candelabra.

Then, came the making of the silhouettes. Yes, those are actually my kids. I tried the old fashioned - get the kids to stand next to the wall, shine a light, and trace - method, but that would require children to sit still for more than 5 seconds. Not even Joy is capable of that. So, after several failed attempts, I just stood the child against the wall and took a picture of their profile.

Then, I opened up Word, inserted the picture, and used the line drawing feature to trace the outline of their profile. Once they were all done, I sized them to fit the frames I had, and printed the profile on black card stock. Then, in the back of each frame, I put in some Halloween colored card stock and added the silhouettes. They turned out really cute. As you can tell from this picture, Joy did not have a ponytail on the night her picture was taken, but she does in her silhouette. I added that later, because it just looked weird going straight down the back.

For the bats, I went to http://www.familyfun.go.com/ and looked up their printable bat template. These were printed on black card stock and framed like the silhouettes.

After the mantle was done, I moved into the bathroom. I covered the assorted tins with scrapbook paper, stuck tapers in the black candelabra and put in the bat picture that didn't fit on the mantle. If I had a Silhouette, I would have gotten clear hand soap, pulled off the label, cut the word "Boo!" out of black vinyl, and stuck it on the front of the soap container with an orange ribbon. As it is, I only dream of owning a Silhouette. However, I am vastly contented with my decor for the year, and the kids are loving looking at their silhouettes on the mantle!