Megpie Designs

Painted Denim

2012-02-21T20:42:00.001-06:00

My daughter wanted a denim jacket.

When I saw one on sale, I bought it.

And then I wanted to paint it.

Sometimes that happens.

First, I washed and dried the jacket.

I wanted to give the buttons

a little bling:

I used E6000 to attach

my stones to the center of each button.

Then I made a sketch of my idea.

Then I made a second sketch.

And a third.

My daughter loves hearts,

but really dislikes peace symbols,

so I knew I wanted a heart.

Then I wanted some swirls ...

but I wasn't crazy about any

of my sketches.

I decided I would just paint without

using an actual pattern.

Sometimes that happens.

Not often.

Just sometimes.

My canvas.

I mixed my base color with

DecoArt Fabric Painting Medium.

I started with my favorite brush,

and right in the center of the back shoulder

panel, I started my heart.

I painted over and over the heart

until it was the size I wanted

and I had good opaque coverage.

Then I used a paper towel to blot

the excess paint and give the heart some

texture. This also made the paint

dry a little faster.

I mixed Shimmery Silver paint

with the fabric painting medium, and

used a liner brush to add my swirls.

I mixed some Starlite glitter

with the fabric painting medium, and

went over the largest parts of

the heart to give it some shimmer.

Then I went over the design with my

permanent black marking pen.

And added some more bling:

The most important thing is,

she LOVES it!!!

Peace and Painted Denim

Sports Angels

2012-02-14T17:02:00.002-06:00

These started out (in my mind)

as little Love Bugs for Valentine's Day ...

but I quickly realized

(as I gazed at the many shades

of pink and red paint in my hands)

that my boys were definitely NOT

going to be crazy about my Love Bug idea.

For Valentine's Day.

So ...

They became angels instead of bugs,

and I used their favorite color

(instead of many shades of pink and red):

Start with a wooden ladybug shape,

a large mustache or wing shape cutout,

and make a halo from craft wire:

For the halo:

snip a 6" length of craft wire and wrap it

around a bale handle (or a large glue stick -

or a chubby round paintbrush handle)

Use needle nose pliers to wrap the short end

of the wire around the long end to

secure the loop.

You'll end up with something like this

pic above ^

Trim the long end to size (about 1").

I painted the body orange,

the wings a darker orange, and the faces

with a flesh tone acrylic paint.

The cheeks are blushed with pink powder

blush, and the eyes are black dip dots.

Also, I put some black dip dots

around the neckline ~ it was too boring.

Use hot glue to attach the wings

to the back of the angel's body, and use

hot glue to attach the halo behind the head ~

pressing a button magnet into the glue

while it is still hot and smooshable.

I got out the old calculator to determine what

years my kids would be graduating from

high school ~ and used that number for the

front of each angel (instead of their names).

Coat bodies and wings with Extreme Glitter Orange

and Multi-Purpose Sealer.

These will hold up artwork, sporting event notes,

and permission slips from school.

Nice and neat on the fridge!

Who needs Love Bugs when you have

Sports Angels?? LOL!!!

Peace and Sports Angels

~ Be My Valentine ~

2012-02-14T13:46:00.000-06:00

I painted some names on these

buckets, and I think

they look much better now!!

Peace and Happy Valentine's Day!

Happy Heart Day!!!

2012-02-14T08:14:00.000-06:00

~ Happy Heart Day!!! ~

This is what's waiting for me in my studio today ~

These Valentine's Day buckets just

need a little paint (and maybe some glitter)

and then I'll inadequately position all the goodies

to look not quite as *WOW* as

my Crafty Girlfriend could make them,

but at least a little bit *wow*

for my sweet kiddos.

Oh! Also of note,

due to poor driving conditions yesterday,

the tall people that live here ...

wait.

When I used to refer to the

"tall people" who live in my house,

that would have meant Doc and me.

If I say "tall people" today,

it means Doc and my oldest, tallest son.

(sniff)

Anyway!!

We have canceled

dinner reservations for this evening,

because we will be spending our

Valentine's Day in a school

gym, eating Frito Chili Pies and drinking

soda from a can.

(insert violent shudder here)

BUT! On the upside, we will be

spending Valentine's Day with our

short(er) people ... watching

our oldest, tallest son play basketball.

Since my two oldest

(including my tallest)

sons were already in the vehicle

impatiently waiting to get to school

early enough to shoot baskets before the

bell rings, here is a pic of my

two youngest, shortest Valentines.

Sweet little boogers.

They'll probably be taller than me by

next Valentine's Day.

At least my feet reach the pedals in

my swagger wagon. They still need me!!!

Have a Super Terrific and Wonderful

Happy Heart Day!!!

Yellow Cheese Dip

2012-02-13T14:07:00.001-06:00

Also known as ... Sausage Dip,

Velveeta Cheese Dip, Ro-Tel Dip ...

but my variation will get my seven-year-old's

title: Yellow Cheese Dip

This certainly qualifies as a

Super Simple Recipe!

Here's why:

Velveeta, Sausage, Ro-tel,

Green Chilis, Diced Tomatoes

Cube 2lbs of original Velveeta Cheese.

Place inside crock pot.

Brown 1lb sausage.

Pour over Velveeta cheese cubes.

Add one can of each:

diced tomatoes, chopped green chilis,

Ro-Tel. Stir. Heat in crock pot on low,

stirring occasionally.

To speed up the process,

you could place the crock in the microwave

and heat on high - stirring every

three minutes until thoroughly mixed.

Forget to take pics of this heavenly

dip covering tortilla chips ~

remember that you forgot to take a pic and

then ask your hubster to please

eat some more dip so you can take the photo.

Thanks, Babe!

Fabric Flower Hats

2012-02-13T13:39:00.000-06:00

Fabric Flowers

On the heels of my last project

~ also known as a Craft Fail ~

(see previous post)

I've tried another new technique:

(that's new as in, New To Me)

and it was definitely NOT a Craft Fail!!!

There are two or three big reasons this

new technique was not another

Craft Fail ...

Reason Number One:

Crafty Dance Mom Girlfriend, Laura

Reason Number Two:

Crafty Dance Mom Girlfriend, Jen

Umm ... Reason Number Three ...

the brains behind this particular creative

project ... and not pictured
per her own stern request:

Crafty Dance Instructor, Miss Sherry.

We started with the vision

in Miss Sherry's head, and this amazing

compilation of fabrics, trims, buttons, beads, and bling.

And pin backs. And hot glue.

Lots and lots and lots and lots and LOTS

of hot glue.

I'm not even kidding about that.

I have to say, I didn't get as many pics as

I would have liked.

Mainly because I was so excited every

time we got a new flower together it became

my new favorite - but also because

every time I picked up the camera I heard a

small groan. That could

have been the roaring of blood in my ears

from the excitement of creating all day -

I can't be sure.

Hours and hours of fun crafty business later,

we had enough unique fabric flowers

to make twenty-four hats.

Or twenty-six. I forget.

We used cotton fabrics, upholstery fabrics,

felt, a satin fabric ~ we burned the

edges with a lighter to curl them

(photo of this would have been nice)

tulle, laces, beads, trims,

feathers, a black cotton rope fabric

(the edges did NOT burn well, btw)

antique jewelry, and even the threads

removed when we frayed the edges of the

fabrics to make these.

Oh ~ and we don't recommend

burning the edges of the fabric after

the materials have been put together ~

only before.

I'm not telling you why we recommend this,

just trust us. ;)

Beautiful!!!

Oh, what a happy baby!

He had a whole happy conversation

with the owl on this canvas!

And what a good listener the owl was!!

It was a crafty kind of girl day, for sure!

These happy girls were covered

in decoupage, bits of tissue, paint, hot glue,

feathers, and a fine sprinkling of glitter.

Creating memories is hard work!

Peek a boo, sweet baby!

Please note: he was a wonderful

and absolutely pleasant Valentines Dinner

Date the other night!

He has my heart. What a doll!!

Lunch was super supreme nachos ~

here's a ginormous THANK YOU to my crafty

dance mom girlfriends for bringing

all the fixins for said nachos!

At one point, we actually lost our girls.

Unthinkable, I know.

But they were only lost for a moment.

And then we found them.

Inside the swagger wagon - in the third seat -

and ...

I'm thinking maybe I should have

asked my Amelia what in the world she was

introducing these girls to,

because they look rather ... serious.

Troubled, even.

hmm

I love these girls!

Next Generation Crafty Girlfriends,

in the making!!!

Peace! and Fabric Bows

Clever Valentines

2012-02-10T09:14:00.000-06:00

Happy Almost Valentine's Day!

I turned all this (^) into this (V) in just four hours!

(LOL!! I had actually planned to spend

a little time each day on these for a week - but

that old stomach virus foiled my plans!)

So ... I had to get 92 Valentines together

yesterday, for the kids' parties this afternoon.

I'll show you more detail, but first -

I have to brag on my crafty girlfriend for her

*ULTRA* Clever Valentine's Day Card Idea!!!

(soooo stinkin' clever!!)

I LOVE THIS!!!

And I also need to show you the

groovy Valentine Mailbox

she made from a race car shaped gift box:

We spiffed up the wheels a bit AFTER I took

this photo ... and then I didn't

remember to take another photo of the finished

box. Cuz that's how I roll.

I forget to remember things.

And then Crafty takes a super relaxing trip

over the weekend and I can't

dash over and take the pic I forgot to remember

to take after we spiffed up the wheels.

But, whatever.

CUTE, huh??

Anyway ... here are the ideas I put together

for my munchkins, please keep in mind these are only

slightly clever and shouldn't be categorized

with the ULTRA clever skunk and whoopie cushion idea

posted above. Also, because I had zero

intention of writing out 92 (that's ninety TWO)

To and From Valentines cards,

I cheated and ordered cards online.

I didn't even design my own. Sheesh.

What a cheat I am!!!

For my 13 year old boy,

the only suitable Valentine short of designing

my own (which again, I did NOT do)

was this groovy Dragon card.

The only suitable goody to go WITH the

groovy Dragon card, was the Chinese New Year

Dragon gum tape from OTC.

Even though said 13 year old boy wears

braces on his teeth, and cannot eat the treat

that goes along with his groovy Dragon card.

But I DID score these super cool dead head stickers!

What 13 year old boy wouldn't want

THIS stuck on his school notebook?? Huh?? I ask you!!

But then I realized the super cool dead head

stickers would not fit into ANY of the SIX treat bag

packages that I had picked up for treats.

So ... I compromised (time was running out and

I still had 77 more Valentine goody bags to make):

I stuck them in freezer bags.

Ugh!! I'm sorry Brady!!!

But I did put lots of candy in there, too:

And the boy CAN eat the fun dip and the

gummy hearts and the suckers.

And he can play with the super sticky gel

hearts on a string which I think are

disgusting, but boys seem to love them.

eew

Next up: my 11 year old creature-lover

chose the shark card:

I found shark squirters and gummy sharks

and lots of un-shark-related candy

to put into his goody bags.

My 7 year old boy is an astronaut

in his version of the Valentine card, and I

found the create-a-space-scene

sticker cards to go along with his theme.

Also, lots of tiny trinkets and yummy candy

and disgusting super sticky gel hearts on a string.

Now, my 9 year old girl was a tiny

bit more particular.

For instance, she wanted boy and girl treat

bags to be separated and filled with different treats.

I don't know where she gets her creativity.

(hee hee)

Her little Valentines are dancers,

and they include her photo on the inside.

For our competition dance girls,

we bought 7" ballet fairies and candies,

and put them in the fun zebra treat bags:

Then for her classmates,

everyone got the same candies, but the

girls got a bendable ballerina doll and a token

bling ring (in tiny sizes! so cute)

and the boys got WHOOPIE CUSHIONS

because what 7 year old boy doesn't need one

of those to play with for three minutes

until they pop? Huh?? I ask you!!!

And then I cheated (again!) and bought the

teachers a box of candy instead of

painting a super cute container and filling

it with clever theme-related gifts.

But, remember! I did paint little

Valentines "chalk boards" for them, so I get

a little credit for that.

Of course, as it happens, I forgot to remember

to put the hanger on the back of

one of the teacher's "chalk boards"

(made from a ceiling tile - see previous post!)

so now I have to run back out to the

studio and hopefully remember that I'm there

because I forgot to remember to glue

the hanger to the back of the "chalk board" so

that I can get that done and get it to school.

Hopefully in time for the Valentines party,

but at this point, just getting it there today would

make me happy.

I did make quick little gift tags for the boxes

of candy - just to personalize them

a tiny bit. I asked Crafty Girlfriend to cut

me some tag shapes from Kraft cardstock and her

Cricut machine. Then I stamped a groovy

heart at the bottom, and cut some circles out of

colored paper. I stamped those with tiny

stamps and chalked them in.

Talk about a craft fail!

I've had the chalks for years, but just

pulled the wrapper off yesterday.

I couldn't get good coverage with the tiny

applicators so I wet a brush.

A Big Fat WHATEVER because that didn't

work. And I didn't want to paint them.

~And for the record, it's okay that I can't chalk.

I mean, I'M okay with it.

Or maybe not. I will tackle it again,

but first I will do some research.

Just not right now.~

I don't remember how many goody bags I still

had left to make, so I just did this:

Strung them all together and attached them

to the Kraft tag and wrote the teacher's name

with a permanent marker.

And in case you're wondering,

NO, I did not get the hole punched in the

right place on this particular red circle tag,

and NO I did not fix it.

I'm giving it to her just like this.

I am.

Unless I decide to run out to the studio

and fix it. Because I'm OCD like that.

Sheesh.

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!!!

I hope this post was mildly inspiring at

least, and WILDLY inspiring at best!!!

Peace and May You Be Wildly Inspired!!!

Valentine's Day Teacher Gift

2012-02-03T14:06:00.001-06:00

WELCOME!!!

It's a dark and dreary day here,

so I thought I'd buzz out to my studio

and create something FUN!!!

Here's a quick and easy teacher's gift idea

for Valentine's Day:

Supplies: *Ceiling Tile (mine is 12" square)

*Fringed Valentine Garland

*Acrylic Paint (Black and White)

Hot Glue

Scissors, Paintbrush, Transfer Paper

and a Sawtooth Hanger

I used a sponge roller to paint the

ceiling tiles black.

Next, write the teacher's name

in 3" block letters on tracing paper.

Here's a TIP:

The copier is your friend.

If you aren't comfortable writing in 3" block letters,

write the name in normal-sized lettering

and use the copier to enlarge

the letters to the desired size.

Also, I love graph paper.

And I love enlarging graph paper with

my copier, and using it as a guide

for all my handwriting patterns.

Hope this helps ya.

Center the words on the tile

and transfer your pattern lines

using light colored transfer paper and a stylus.

I thinned white paint with water to

an ink-like consistency, and

painted over my pattern lines with

a round paintbrush.

Allow the paint to dry thoroughly,

and trim the Valentine garland to 48".

Starting at one corner of the tile,

use the hot glue gun to attach the garland

to the outside edges of the ceiling tile.

I used the hot glue to secure

a sawtooth hanger to the back of the

ceiling tile for easy hanging.

Line up the hanger and mark

the holes with a pencil.

Two dollops of hot glue

right on top of each of your marks.

Smoosh the hanger in place for

exactly a quarter of a second and VOILA!!!

Instant hanging awesomeness.

Peace and Super Easy Giftyness!!!

Personalize It!!!

2012-02-03T14:06:00.000-06:00

We are invited to a Birthday Party

for two seven year olds ... it's at the school

gym and it's all about BASKETBALL!!!

Here's what we're giving

the birthday boy and girl:

A cute little personalized

cork panel plaque!

Here's what you need to make one:

A cork panel from the stationery section

at your local office supply store,

and some acrylic paints. I used our

school colors, plus Flesh Tone and Orange

for the basketball.

Use a sponge roller to paint the front and sides

of each panel with your base coat color.

Spend lots of time and paper sketching

possible character details for

each board, and finally settle on the

ever popular stick figure. Too easy.

Transfer the main pattern lines using

a light colored transfer paper.

Go over pattern lines with acrylic paint

thinned with water to an ink-like consistency.

Shade around the lettering with a darker

shade of your base coat color, and use a thin

liner brush and inky black paint to outline

all your details ... including

a super smiley face and some weird hair.

Peace and Happy Basketball Birthday!!!

Journaling

2012-01-08T18:31:00.002-06:00

The topic for today's blog hop is Journaling.

Journaling, for those who would like
a quick definition, is:
a personal record of occurrences, experiences,

reflections, or sketches kept on a regular basis.

I may or may not have added a word or two.

I kept a diary growing up,

and I kept a huge three-ring binder full

of my sketches and my ideas for sketches.

Today I'm not nearly that ... organized.

Today, I have countless journals.

I call them notebooks, or sketchbooks.

At least they're all in one place.

Not really.

There are at least two baskets
full of journals I've written or drawn in,
and at least two baskets of
blank notebooks and sketchbooks
waiting to become my next journal.
Maybe I have a fetish for paper.
Maybe I don't.
I'm not saying.

I can look at my own drawings
and paintings, and not always recognize them.
That's how poor my memory is.
I try to sign and date my sketches,
and I go through my drawings often,
just to stay fresh and inspired.

I can't function without
my sketchbook journal! How else
would this:

become this??

and this???

This may or may not have something to do

with the fact that my memory is

so lousy:

I have actually started several

journals full of magazine cutouts that

inspire me.

When I was going through some

of my journals for this post,

I realized that the same kinds of things

inspire me today as the day

I started cutting up my magazines
ten years ago.

I have some nearly identical journals,

is what I'm saying.
Or, I've cut out the same pics
over and over again.

I'm not efficient.

I'm not organized.

Do as I say, NOT as I do.

Ha!

Here's a sneaky peek at a

couple of the journals that I keep today:

I encourage my kids to keep a

journal, also. I think someday it will be

a lot of fun for them to go back and read

about how they viewed life when they were

thirteen years old, or seven, or four.

Before every trip,

I gather art supplies, puzzle books,

and a fresh composition notebook for each kid,

along with stickers and plenty

of colored pens and pencils.

Sometimes they write about the trip

while we're in the car,

sometimes they don't write about the

trip until after we're home,

sometimes it's just one page that

says, "We went to the zoo"
accompanied by one of their drawings.

For the kids' journals,

I usually print up something for the

cover like this:

Amelia has a sticker journal, also.
She sort of carried that sticker theme
over onto all her other journals.
;)

Here's a sample page

from one of my daughter's journals:

(She said it was okay to post this~
it is about Friendship,
which she now knows is one word).

Here is one of my son's journals:

He said I could post a page,
but only if I laid the background.
So, here's the background:

He wrote:

Wednesday:
I hurt my foot running.
Brannon

Thursday:
Jumping hurdles,
I hurt my foot and scraped my
shoulder and smashed my face.
Brannon

Friday:
(here's what he wrote:)

Ha!!!

I don't scrapbook, exactly.

I have thousands of unprinted pictures

on my camera chips from

the past thirteen years.

Actually, I have actual PICTURES from

twelve and thirteen years ago,

it's just the last eleven years that are

trapped on those little disks.

I have pounds of scrapbook papers.

I have a plethora of scrapbook supplies.

I have journals full of noted milestones

like potty training and teeth pulling and

glitter spilling and Kleenex piling
and shot records, and height and weight notations,

and swimming and diving and birthday parties

and ... you get my drift.

I just don't have them all in one

place ... yet.

I have an "official" baby book for each child

and an "unofficial" three ring binder that

holds all the things I couldn't get in the baby book.

Like baptismal cards, copies of each year's

Christmas letter, baby hand-prints in paint,

etc. I have filled the binders with

clear plastic pages that open at the top.

Here's what I NEED for each child:

I made this so many years ago,

I think I only had two kids at the time.

But now I need four new ones.
It stands neatly on a shelf like an
ordinary book, but it opens!
The whole cover opens
and there is a tray inside for
"stuff"!!

I found this at The Container Store.
I need a new one. Actually, I need four.

For all the craft projects they've made

and I can't bear to part with:
salt dough ornaments,

Rudolph with hand-tracing antlers

and a fuzzy pom pom nose,
macaroni necklaces,

glittery, textured, three-dimensional

craft projects. And special awards they've

won, like the First Place Medal

for track or their karate black belts.

Those items just don't tuck

neatly between the pages of an

"official" baby book, or the plastic

envelope-style page of a three-ring binder.

Here's the one I did for
Brannon about ten years ago:

I am working with each kiddo on what

design they want on their new "textural" storage journal -

but I had to talk Ayden out of Woody from Toy Story.

I just think there are other things he

could come up with that he likes right now at

age seven, that won't embarrass him

when he's sixteen. So he went with his

favorite team mascot, who just happens to be

our namesake, Pistol Pete Maravich.

Since I'll be storing
all their "school" crafts and trophies,
I wanted the title page to
look like a school chalk board.

I bought acrylic paper, (which is just

heavy, textured white paper that doesn't

curl when you paint it).

Correction. It doesn't curl a LOT when

you paint it. It did curl a LITTLE.

I trimmed the paper into four 9" lengths.

I base coated the papers with black,

then I sanded the edges with a sanding block.

To give the impression that their name

is written on a chalkboard,

I used white paint to add their name.

Then I added a mat to their school photo

and attached both to a sheet of card stock.

So each Textural Journal will have a
cover with something special painted on it,
their name painted on the spine,
and this will be on the inside of the lid:

Another idea would be to use

a sturdy white gift box - shirt size - from

Christmas. Decorate the top of the box

and store all those special

memories inside.

I am so excited about this idea,
I'm going to make these for my niece
and my nephews, as well!

I hope my post inspires you
to create something wonderful!

Please use the DCC Blog Hop button
at the top right of this post
to hop Forward or Back to view other
blogs by my fabulous artist friends.

Peace and Journaling ... and Storage ;)

Until the 9th ...

2012-01-03T14:53:00.002-06:00

I "so" do not want to take down

any of my Christmas decorations yet!!!

Just a glance at the tree

lit up with all my favorite decorations

makes me happy ... truly happy!

Here is the view at night from

our back deck ... gorgeous!

We'll be Blog Hopping again on January 9th

so tune in for some great journaling tips

from our talented artist group.

I'm not sure what I'm posting yet,

but it'll definitely be of the "painting" variety.

See you soon!

Peace and Christmas Lights

Kitty Blu

2011-12-30T12:04:00.000-06:00

I have one more batch of cookies

to make (Peanut Butter)! and then I'm

off to my studio to paint.

Yay!!!

And for the record:

She could at least unload it for me!!!

;)

The next topic for the Designer Crafts

Blog Hop is Journaling ...

so check back on January 9th for lots of

great ideas and inspiration!

Peace and Painting

Merry Christmas!!!

2011-12-25T09:24:00.002-06:00

I hope everyone is having a

Merry Christmas!!!

Woodsies(TM) Believe Sign

2011-12-21T19:09:00.001-06:00

Okay, I'll admit it.

I'm a little obsessed with

Believe signs this year. I've made

about three dozen. Or so.

This one is super easy!!!

For each Believe sign,

you'll need one Woodsies(TM) wood slat,

acrylic paints in red, white, and two shades of

green ... and Extreme Glitter in Red.

A Crop-o-Dile or hand drill to

make holes in the corners of the sign for

hanging; craft wire for hanging,

and jingle bells or snowflake buttons

to accent the craft wire.

Base coat the wood slat with red.

Don't forget to paint the back and the sides.

I used a paint roller, because I made

twelve of these.

Paint the fronts of the slats with

Extreme Glitter in Red for extra glitz.

I taped off the top of each slat

with painters tape, and used a paintbrush

and green paint to make a stripe.

You could skip this step.

I wrote the word Believe on tracing paper

and transferred the word to each wood slat with

light colored transfer paper.

Use white acrylic paint and a round brush

to go over your pattern lines.

I decided to dot the "i" in Believe

with a sprig of holly leaves and berries.

I made a tiny pattern and transferred

the design directly over the "i"

Paint the holly leaves green.

Use a lighter shade of green

and a liner brush to outline the leaves.

Make holes in the top corners of the sign and

thread the wire through for hanging.

Before threading the wire through the

second hole, thread on jingle bells or snowflake

buttons for accents. Then thread the

loose end of the wire through the second

hole and twist to secure.

Dot holly berries with bright red paint.

Dot berries with white paint.

Coat sign with Multi-Purpose(TM) Sealer.

I didn't have my camera in my studio the day

I finished these signs, so I took

a pic with my phone. I LOVE the way this looks!

It's my profile pic on fb and it's my

screensaver. It makes me happy!!!

Use a black permanent marker to outline

the sign and the holly leaves.

Peace Out!!!

Beaded Snowmen

2011-12-21T17:20:00.000-06:00

* Beaded Snowmen *

also previously referred to as the

particular ornament

"specifically requested ... by my 11-year-old,

which would be difficult and time-consuming

to make for his 14 classmates"

Above photo is the beaded ornament

I made several years ago;

here is this year's Beaded Snowmen ornament:

Here are the supplies you'll need for

each ornament:

three 5/8" wooden beads,

six buttons (3 red, 3 white)

tiny wreath ornament,

pink powder blush and a cotton swab,

acrylic paint in white and black,

Tulip Dimensional Paint in orange,

and an 18" length of craft wire.

An 1/8" dowel and a paint roller

to make painting the beads easier,

and a paintbrush and stylus

for touch-up painting and dip dots.

In order to paint these beads more

efficiently, I threaded them

onto a 1/8" dowel

and used a paint roller dipped in

white acrylic paint.

After I rolled several coats of paint

onto each bead, I used a paintbrush dipped

in white paint for the touch-ups

(the paint roller didn't reach the area of

the bead nearest the holes)

Use the cotton swab to apply pink powder

blush to the cheeks of each

snowman bead.

Tape the dowels securely to the table

to make painting the details easier.

Dip the stylus into black paint

and dot the eyes and the mouths on

each of the snowman beads.

Use the Tulip Slick Dimensional Paint

in orange to apply the carrot noses.

To see step-by-step photos

of blushing the cheeks,

dotting the eyes and mouths, and

creating the dimensional noses,

click here.

Fold the 18" length of craft wire

in half around a paintbrush handle to create

a loop (do not twist to close ... yet)

Put the loop over the bottom

of the mini wreath ornament and twist the

ends to secure the wreath.

This will be your hanger.

Thread your beads and buttons

in the following order:

snowman bead, two buttons, snowman bead ...

alternating until you have an ornament

with three (or more) snowman beads

and a red and a white button

on the bottom.

Twist the ends of the wire to secure

the buttons and beads;

use the paintbrush handle to curl

each end of the wire into

a spiral curly cue.

Hang ... and Enjoy!!!

(NOTE: I used a small dot of

hot glue to attach each red button to

the snowman bead so the

heads wouldn't spin around).

On my old ornament, I painted a face

on both sides of the bead so

the extra glue wasn't necessary.

Peace and Beaded Snowmen!!!

Merry Christmas Program

2011-12-20T19:14:00.001-06:00

Merry Christmas!!!

We had a Christmas Program at school

last Thursday night.

Having a student in the

First, Third, Fifth, and Seventh grades

meant we were always on our toes

and waiting for the next part of the play.

School Room Snowmen

2011-12-20T19:03:00.000-06:00

This year, I had 70 ornaments to make

for the classmates of my children.

Since my 11-year-old had already

specifically requested a particular ornament,

which would be difficult and time-consuming

to make for his 14 classmates,

I knew I had to find something super

quick and easy to make for the remaining

56 children in my other kids' classes.

I decided to make
School Room Snowmen!!

(or Ruler Snowmen)

whichever of those names you prefer

For every FOUR ornaments, you will

need one wooden ruler
(look for a ruler without pre-drilled holes)

acrylic paint in white, black, red, and gold.

Extreme Glitter in Black,

and Plaid Dimensional Paint in orange.

Also, mini craft sticks for hat brims,
wooden birds for the school mascot,
red ribbons for hanging and

a permanent black marker for outlining.

Use the Midwest Products Easy Cutter Ultimate
to trim each ruler into four 3" lengths,
and trim the mini craft sticks to just a hair
wider than the ruler, so the hat
brim hangs over just a bit on either side
of the snowman's head.

Use Aleene's® Tacky Glue®
to adhere hat brims to each ruler segment.

I attached my hat brims
towards the top of the segments,
rather than directly in the center.
However, I've made many of these types
of ornaments, and attaching the brim
a little lower makes for a totally different look:
a really tall hat and a small face,
versus the small top hat and the larger face.
I wanted to date these ornaments,
so I made the hats smaller.

Paint the craft stick and the
top half of the ruler segments with
black acrylic paint.
Brush Plaid's Extreme Glitter Black
over the hats for extra shine.

Pain the bottoms of the ruler segments
with white acrylic paint.
Leave the backs unpainted;
to keep the "School Room" feel of
these ruler ornaments.

I use a cotton swab and pink
powder blush to blush the cheeks of
each snowman's face.

Use a stylus dipped in black paint
to dot the eyes and the mouths.

Dip the stylus before each dot
for same-sized dots ...
dotting two or three times before
re-dipping into the paint
gives you descending-sized dots.

I used my Crop-o-Dile to
make a hole in the top center of
each snowman's hat,
so I could thread some ribbon
through for hanging.

NOTE:
For step-by-step photos
of how to paint dots and carrot
noses, please click here.

Because I am making these ornaments
for the classmates of my children,
I want to add our school mascot,
the cardinal.

Here is a quick tip I found for painting
small wooden pieces, such as these
bird cut-outs:

Spread out a piece of GLAD®
Press'n Seal® sealing wrap,
sticky side up,
and press the birds onto the paper.
This holds them in place while
you use a paint roller dipped in red
acrylic paint to base coat the birds
quickly and easily.

A quick way to make the triangle
shape on the cardinal's head,
is to use a small flat brush dipped
in black paint; lightly press the brush
diagonally across the bird's head.
Ta Daa!!!

Allow to dry before dotting the
eyes first with white paint,
and then with black paint.
Brush on a coat of Plaid Extreme Glitter
in Red for extra shine.

Use a detail brush dipped in
gold or yellow paint to highlight the
bird's beaks.

I threaded the ribbon through
each hole in the hat before I attached
the birds ... I thought it was
easier than waiting to thread the ribbons
and possibly running into a hat
whose hole was covered by a bird.
;)

There we go!
56 School Room Ornaments!!
As a final touch,
I used a black permanent marker
to outline the snowman faces,
define each bird's wing,
and add the year to the bottom.

* Peace and Snowmen *

Cork Board Sign - Believe

2011-12-20T13:47:00.001-06:00

My new favorite surface to paint on?

Cork!!!

I especially love these little cork boards

I found in the stationery aisle at Walmart.

Paint the front, back, and sides with black
acrylic paint.

Once the black paint has dried thoroughly,
paint with two coats of white acrylic paint.

Use a sanding block to lightly remove
paint from the sides and corners of the cork board.

I trimmed a piece of tracing paper to the
size of the cork board, and wrote
the word BELIEVE to make a pattern.

Line the word BELIEVE along the left side of
the cork board, and use transfer
paper and a stylus to apply the pattern.

I left some space at the far right edge
of the cork board for a tree design.

I sketched the tree to scale on scratch paper,
and made a pattern with the tracing paper.

Center the tree design in the space
to the right of the word BELIEVE, and use
transfer paper and a stylus to transfer
the design to the cork.

Use a round brush to paint over the pattern
for BELIEVE with red acrylic paint.

Paint the tree a bright green with
a dark brown tree trunk.

Use a holly green acrylic paint to add the
stars to the tree pattern.

Outline a star shape for the dot
of the letter I in BELIEVE.
Paint the star with gold acrylic paint.

Use Extreme Glitter periodot green
to coat the entire tree with glittery paint.

Use the round brush and green paint
to make a swirly border around the edge
of the cork board.

Brush acrylic sealer over the entire
piece, and allow to dry.

Use a black sharpie marker to
outline the entire piece, as shown
in the photograph:

There you go!
A super cute and whimsical BELIEVE sign
that can be incorporated into your
Christmas decorating.

Makes a great gift, as well!!

Peace,
and always BELIEVE in the magic!!

Teacher Gift Basket

2011-12-20T12:48:00.000-06:00

This is what I decided to do for the

school teachers this year -

Here's a little background info on these

particular gift baskets:

I wanted to give each teacher something

homemade, and I love giving lots of little things

in a bin or a basket. I enjoy putting them

together and painting something fun on the

container, and I imagine it's fun for

the teachers to pull things out one by one.

Like a clown car, so to speak.

I bought food-safe jars at Hobby Lobby

to hold the spiced tea mix I made.

(Recipe to follow)

Then, I purchased a cute mug for each

basket; I found mugs at TJ Maxx, but I know

the dollar stores carry them, also.

I bought a tin of shortbread cookies for

each basket, and a bag of Ghirardelli chocolates

to split among my baskets.

Because I made EIGHT baskets this year,

I purchased two four-packs of shortbread

cookie tins from the warehouse store.

I found my red and green bins at Target in the

dollar aisle ... $2.50 per bucket. Wow!

I thought that was a great deal.

Here's how to make the personalized bin.

First, I wrote the alphabet in capital letters on

a sheet of notebook paper.

Then, I enlarged them 200% and used

tracing paper to make a pattern for

each teacher's name.

I cut each pattern apart so the letters would

curve around the bin.

Use transfer paper and a stylus to apply

the name to each bin.

Use a flat brush dipped in black acrylic paint

to go over each letter.

Once the names were dry, I used a liner brush

and thinned white paint to outline the letters.

I had planned to leave the bins painted

with just a name, so that the teachers could

use these all year.

But my Christmas spirit got the better of me!

I had to add a sprig of holly to the

top of each bin.

First, I used a fat stencil brush to pounce

green paint onto the bin in the general

shape of the holly sprigs,

to give the design a little opacity.

Next, I outlined the holly leaves

and painted them in with green paint.

I used a grayer shade of green to outline

one side of each holly leaf.

Next, I used a bright green paint to

outline the opposite side of each leaf,

and the center of each leaf.

Use the handle of a paintbrush to add

a cluster of bright red holly berries.

The berries show up a little better on

the green bins ...

I added some Extreme Glitter hologram

to each holly leaf; then I used

a stylus to add white dip dots to each

berry, and gold dip dots to the edges of

the leaves.

I filled my jars with Spiced Tea mix,

and used Marvy Uchida punches to make

little double-layer tags for each one.

I wrote the instructions

for a cup of tea on the tags:

Now, to fill the baskets.

Please note, filling baskets is NOT

my specialty. Nor is tying bows.

Which is why I didn't tie ANY bows on

this project; but I couldn't avoid

actually filling the baskets.

So I did.

I filled em.

But it ain't pretty.

Stuff in the tissue paper.

Then add mix, mug, cookies,

a few Ghirardelli squares,

and an ornament or two.

(The snowflake ornament came from

Target - a pkg of 4 for $1)

A better person than me

(I'm speaking about Crafty Girlfriend here)

could have made these bins look

like *WOW* !!!

But, it was just me, so they

look like ... wow.

Merry Christmas!

Peace and Gift Baskets

SPICE TEA MIX

3 C Orange Breakfast Drink Mix

2 C Granulated Sugar

1/3 C Instant Tea (I used Decaf)

1 t Ground Cinnamon

1 t Ground Cloves

Combine all ingredients.

Store in an airtight container.

Stir 1 1/2T into 1 C hot water.

Just Some Pics ...

2011-12-06T10:13:00.001-06:00

I have so many projects

that I should be working on, I thought

I'd use my typical escape route:

Procrastination.

Sometimes Kitty Blu is an excellent reason

to put things off ...

in this pic, I think I am nearly finished

with the laundry, and then I realize -

wait! First Kitty takes a nap,

THEN I re-wash all the socks and underwear.

Bah!!!

Here is Kitty Blue.

When she realized I left the linen drawer

open, she nearly broke her neck

leaping out of the sink (where she'd been

drinking water from a soaking pot),

scrambling across the countertop

(displacing all sorts of items like draining tupperware

lids and the vegetable peeler),

and throwing herself haphazardly into the drawer,

then recovering and looking not-quite innocent.

And like she had every right to be there.

And then she saw me with another stack of

kitchen towels.

Foiled again!!!

But best of all,

I nearly broke my neck leaping

(okay, just running) across the slick floor,

scrambling to my camera bag,

fumbling with the zipper that has

never given me trouble before,

and racing back to the window

(removing the lens cap while I ran)

just for this shot:

Wow! What a buck!!

Peace and Merry Christmas

Balsa Board Santa

2011-12-01T12:04:00.101-06:00

Balsa Board Santa

(not to be confused with "Bored" Santa)

This guy is really not hard to make at all,
and he looks equally smashing
hanging on the wall, adorning a wreath,
or my own personal favorite -
smooshed into the tree.

I love to hang over-sized ornaments!
This Santa is made from balsa wood so he
is practically weightless. Seriously.

I started with a Midwest Products
balsa wood board, and used my Midwest
Products Easy Cutter Ultimate
to cut the board in half.

Base coat the 18" board with
white acrylic paint.

I made a pattern for the mustache
by tracing around my board
on a piece of tracing paper, and then
adding a hat brim and a mustache.

Please ignore the hat brim pattern!
Initially I planned to make the hat brim and
the mustache out of paper clay,
but then I had a better idea ... the No-Sew Hat!

I honestly don't know what happened here.

Why don't I have how-to photos of the mustache?

Maybe my hands were covered in clay,
maybe I was focused on the outcome,
maybe I just "forgot" to take pics.
So sad.

I can tell you how I did this,
and you can take my word for it.
Next time I work with paper clay,
I'll make sure my photographer is handy
for the step-by-step shots.
(sorry!)

I put down waxed paper to work on.

I pinched off a piece of paper clay,
wet my fingers, and patted it nice and flat.

Then I placed my tracing paper mustache pattern
over the flattened clay, and outlined the
mustache with a paintbrush handle;
this left the indentation of the mustache in the clay.

I cut the mustache out with a palette knife,
smoothed up the edges with wet fingers,
and pressed a swirly-design rubber stamp
into the wet clay.

Allow the mustache to dry thoroughly.

(Note: it will have to dry about one day
before you can glue it on)

Next, attach a 1/2" wood button plug
to the top center of the board.

Paint the top 4" or so of the board flesh.
Use pink powder blush and your finger to swirl
rosy cheeks and a pink accent to his nose.

Dip a brush handle into white paint
for the eyes.

I made a quick pattern of some holly leaves
and added swirls to the beard
with a liner brush and medium green paint.

I shaded the holly leaves with
dark green paint and added highlights
and more curly-cue swirls with gold paint.

I also added gold dip dots along the swirls.
Dip a larger paint brush handle into
red paint and add holly berries.
Allow paint to dry thoroughly.

I used a sanding block to lightly
sand the entire beard, and to heavily
sand the edges of the board.

Next, attach the dried mustache to the
board with Aleene's Tacky Glue.

Add smaller dots of black to the eyes.

I decided to make a simple,
no-sew hat for Santa.

Starting with a 9"x12" piece of wool felt,
I cut it in half diagonally.
Then I folded the larger portion into a
long thin triangle.

Cut off the lower "extraneous" portion
of the triangle hat.

Starting at the pointy tip,
use a hot glue gun to glue the triangle
into a cone-hat shape.

Once the seams are glued together,
shift the hat around until the seam is in the back.
Then roll up the edge of the hat
for a brim, and secure with the glue gun.

Attach the hat to Santa's head.

At this point I decided to add some contrasting
ribbon trim to the hat brim.

This cotton ribbon is fun, and I love the
red and white, but I didn't like it on the hat.

I love the homespun look, but this look
isn't right for this particular Santa hat.

I love this ribbon!
I reach for it all the time, but I haven't
found the perfect project for it yet.

Now we're talking!
As soon as I held this ribbon up to the hat,
I knew it was the right look for this Santa.

A little sparkle on the edges,
and a green holly print that helps pull
in the holly I've painted on the beard.

Attach the ribbon trim to the hat with glue.
I love this pointy hat! But I decided
to turn it into a floppy hat ...

... so I pulled the hat down in the back
and glued it to the back.

Then I attached a glittery jingle bell
to the pointy tip of the hat.

Thoroughly coat the mustache and beard
with Plaid's Extreme Glitter in Hologram ...
and seal the face with the Multi-Purpose sealer.

All finished!
Here's a pic of the one I painted
last year ...

I cut the corners of the board with the
Easy Cutter Ultimate
(top and bottom)
painted a glittery red hat and
used the paper clay for the hat brim
as well as the mustache.

It needed "something" more, so I used
my Crop-o-Dile to punch a hole
in the top right corner of the hat,
and I put a Christmas poke through the
hole, bending the back of the pick and glueing
it in place.

Peace and Santa Claus

Believe Sign

2011-11-29T17:15:00.001-06:00

I was shopping in the craft store ...

and I found some fun holiday signs that

were already painted, glittered, and strung with hangers -

but they were blank.

Hmm.

I love blank!!

So, at 50% off I paid $1.50 - $2.00

for a few of these painted, glittered, hangered (ha!)

blanks.

This one came with a beautiful glittery silver bow

tied on as a hanger, but it had to go.

I can't get all "paint-y" knowing I'm trying

not to mess up the bow.

So the bow had to go.

(I actually tried to untie the knots first

to salvage it and use it again after

I painted, but that didn't work out).

I must have left my bow un-tying fingers

elsewhere today.

I wanted to make a glittery "BELIEVE" sign.

So I made a pattern by writing the word

"BELIEVE" on tracing paper.

I centered it onto the front of the sign

and used transfer paper and a

stylus to outline the letters.

I outlined each letter with red paint

loose and quick - not trying to get perfect

coverage ... just a starting point

for the shading I did next.

To shade, wet a flat brush

and blot it on a paper towel.

Dip one corner of the brush into a puddle

of paint, and brush back and forth

on a palette (or waxed paper) until the

paint becomes distributed along the bristles.

It will be stronger on one side and fade

towards the other side.

You want the part of the brush with the

most paint against the letter,

and the faded side away from the letter.

Think "LEFT" and "LOWER" when

shading; meaning you'll be putting paint

on the left and lower sides of whatever you're

shading - in this case, letters.

Once dry, go over each letter again

with the red paint, this time you're trying

to achieve good coverage

and an overall "even" look to the letters.

Then go over the bottom third of each

letter with a darker shade of red.

Use a liner brush to outline each

of the letters with thinned black paint.

I decided to add some holly leaves,

so I made a pattern and transferred them

onto my sign board.

I painted the leaves a medium green,

and outlined them with the liner brush

and thinned black paint.

Then I dipped a paintbrush handle into

red paint and added some berries.

I LOVE GLITTER!

So I added some of Plaid's Extreme Glitter

... green to the leaves ... red to the letters and berries.

Then for good measure,

I coated the whole thing with

Plaid Extreme Glitter - Hologram.

It looks great smooshed into the Christmas tree ...
here's the one I made last year:

Peace Out

Happy Thanksgiving

2011-11-24T21:15:00.000-06:00

I am thankful for all the happy, healthy

children in my family.

We miss you, Jordan, Macy, Silas, and Logan!

Our Thanksgiving Day just wasn't

the same without you.

Peace & Love, Aunt Meggan

Oh, and P.S.
How great would it be if I made this
my Christmas card??

LOL!!!
Just keepin' it real ...

Decorating

2011-11-22T21:56:00.000-06:00

Decorating for the holidays this year,

I noticed something.

Actually, I noticed several "somethings"

but the one I'm referring to now is:

I thought I was finally past the days when I

have to child-proof decorate.

You know, all fragile ornaments above

average short-person reaching distance?

But ... now I have to Kitty-Blu-proof decorate.

You know ... all fragile ornaments nowhere near

the tree because she can climb it and

nothing is safe??

Good thing I paint wooden ornaments.

(sigh)

At least the tree will still look fully-loaded -

just not quite up to "Meggan" quality this year.

Peace and Kittens

Oh, Deer ...

2011-11-17T12:48:00.001-06:00

I've been in the studio all morning;

just had to run back to the house to make

my sick boy some soup.

I was listening to the Who's greatest hits,

and here is the view from my window:

I thought she might have been drawn

to the bright green grass that has grown

up out of the decaying piles of trees and leaves

left behind by May's tornado,

but instead she wanted to eat bark.

Quite a large, rough, and uncomfortable

looking sliver of bark.

bleh

On another note,

I'm participating in a craft show

this weekend! Yay!!

I'm super excited!

The kids have been home sick all week

and I'm getting that feeling like

I'm way behind where I should be ...

so I'm headed back out to the studio to paint.

The little ones are back in school

and my big boy is snuggled up and sitting

at the bar doing homework.

(The pic below is NOT of my big boy).

Peace & Painting