Mom's Crafty Space

Fun With Paper: Lightsabers

2012-05-26T14:37:00.001-07:00

Hope you're having a lovely holiday weekend as well!

Best of the Web at Craft Corners

2012-05-24T00:10:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone! Just a quick hello to say that I'm featured over at Craft Corners in the current installment of their "Best of the Web" series. Come stop by and check out the other great sites that were featured this week, and take a peek around Craft Corners to see all the fun ideas they have to offer!

Thanks so much for including me in the "Best of the Web!"

Make Your Own Fairy Garden

2012-05-23T17:36:00.000-07:00

Interactive fairy gardens are a magical space for children to play and a lovely addition to any garden. Making one is quite simple and quick, but will bring hours of family enjoyment. The real imagination and magic comes alive when choosing the small details to place in your garden...with so many fantastic possibilities your garden will always be changing and evolving!

Start with a box for your garden - we used this gorgeous old wood reclaimed from a demolished home. Isn't the detail and character in this wood amazing?! Get creative with your box - old drawers, shelving units, and many other items are perfect to repurpose into your fairy garden!

Next, add your dirt! This step is especially fun if you have a house full of dirt and digging obsessed boys like I do!

Start laying out your plants (we used a mix of mosses, grass, alyssum and succulents) and getting a general feel of how you want your garden to look. We decided on a "treasure cave" in the back corner, so I partially buried a 2" pot and covered it with dirt.

Be prepared for fairy garden making to be an all-day-long project! Playing in the dirt and arranging and rearraging the layout a hundred times is a big part of the fun!

Friends and neighbors might even come over to get in on the garden-making-action. It's super fun! You can make a pond with a small saucer, a pathway with gravel (colored aquarium gravel would be really fun!), fairy houses and castles, a dining area, a dancing space...anything you can imagine!

All finished! Well, phase one, at least!

This garden has meandering pathways - one that takes you past the wishing well and gazing ball (hidden behind the wishing well) to a small bench and resting area (where Gnomeo is currently hanging out!); the other takes you to the hidden treasure cave. Along the way, glass gems are hidden throughout the moss. The boys love placing them in and out of the cave in hopes that the fairies might delight in their found treasure.

My 5 and 6-year-olds put this garden together completely on their own (with help from their little friends, of course!). The back right corner has been deemed the "rock desert," the stacked pots in the back are a fairy castle (that will soon be painted to look like a real castle), and the front is a butterfly garden. You can see bumblebee Super Mario has stopped to rest in a nest in the "big bush." ;)

The magic of a fairy garden is in the addition of all those teeny details! At Sawyer's insistance, our wishing well is filled with blue glass gems to resemble water. If you look closely you can see the fairy's gazing ball peeking out in the background. Make your own by gluing a swirly glass marble on to a wooden golf tee.

The boys' rock desert has its own silver gazing ball, glass gem stepping stones, a roadrunner, and a wheelbarrow full of garden tools. You know, for when the fairies feel like tending to the rocks or clipping the moss grass. That holey rock in the back corner is from our last trip to the beach, and the boys love that the holes are still filled with teeny tiny seashells.

A mama quail (Sawyer's favorite bird these days) sits on a nest in the flower field next to a brightly painted wooden toadstool.

I love that the different plants resemble grass, bushes and trees. It really creates an inviting place for the boys (and the fairies, naturally!) to come and play.

We added a few additional touches to our fairy garden area - this planted teacup is one of several that sit upon a built-out shelf on the fence near our fairy gardens. I love repurposing old things that have been sitting around the house unused into something fun and pretty!

All that's missing is our garden prayer flags over the fairy gardens...more to come on those later!

Hubby built this bench at a perfect height to allow our big boys to play in the gardens while still being tall enough to keep the curious toddler from destroying them. We still let the little guy play in there with supervision, but it doesn't last long before he wants to start throwing rocks and stealing glass gems from the wishing well. Maybe next year!

The big guys can't seem to stay away from the gardens though. I find them out there all the time moving butterflies around, hiding treasures and setting up places for the fairies to sleep and play. I love that it has really sparked their imagination, and we have big plans for lots more special fairy garden additions to come!

If you make a fairy garden of your own, be sure to stop by and link up at The Magic Onions Fairy Garden Contest!

Pour Painted Pots

2012-05-22T00:09:00.000-07:00

Look what I found, thank goodness! Bright and cheery felt flowers to go with our pour painted pots - yay! I was really worried for a minute there that we weren't ever going to find them!

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The boys saw the idea for these pour painted pots on In Lieu of Preschool a few weeks ago, and they couldn't wait to try it out to accompany their felt flower bouquets.

We taped up the holes on the bottom and they got to pouring the paint. Note: make sure your kid isn't wearing parts of his school uniform when you turn him loose with acrylic paint. Aye aye aye.

It's really simple to acheive this swirly and marbled effect - just pour a bit of paint, and then keep adding new colors on top of the old ones until they drip off the edges and run down the sides of the pot.

The colors were so pretty dripping and swirling down the sides of the pots. There are so many moments where I just wanted to freeze it and keep it that way, but you can't fight gravity!

Sutton very deliberately chose to make striped paint drips on his pot (in the middle) instead of letting the colors mix and swirl. It was a really neat effect as well!

In the end we only covered about 90-95% of the pot with paint, (mostly because it was bedtime, and we were all tired of getting eaten alive by mosquitoes!), but I still think they came out great!

It took two full days for all of the paint to dry. We coated it with four layers of glossy spray varnish, and we were ready to add our felt flowers...well, after we found them ;)

Recycled Rainboot Planters

2012-05-21T11:45:00.000-07:00

This one is pretty self-explanatory...grab some spray paint (primer first!), some old boots and some new plants and have fun!

Mother's Day Failure

2012-05-20T00:30:00.000-07:00

Hi, my name is Heidi, and I'm a Mother's Day Failure. It is now a week after the holiday, and my mother and mother-in-law haven't received their gifts. The boys worked really hard on them, and they were totally excited to give their grandmothers their gifts...but then their scatterbrained mom LOST half the present. Totally and completely can't find it anywhere. I've literally torn the house apart and turned everything upside down, and still nothing. See? Total failure!

The boys and I made these sweet flowers a couple of months ago for the current issue of Sacramento Parent Magazine, and then last week the boys made a couple of gorgeous rainbow pour painted flower pots to put them in. The flower pots came out lovely, but then I drew a total blank when trying to remember where we stashed the flowers. The sad part is that I can remember that I put them "somewhere safe where I'll remember them..." Riiiiiight.

So, Happy belated Mother's Day, Grandmothers! Here's your sneak peek, and hopefully it won't be 2013 before I find your gift! *Fingers crossed* because I have two disappointed little boys who are quite ticked at me for being irresponsible with their things. Oops.

Paper Poppies and Elephant Poop

2012-05-19T14:38:00.003-07:00

Poppies are one of my favorite wildflowers - naturally, since they're the state flower of California! These days I can't seem to turn around without seeing another bunch of their bright orange blooms waving in the breeze. It's always so tempting to pick them and bring a little bit of that cheer indoors, but in California its illegal to pick poppies. I'm sure that no one is actually looking, but rather than risk a fine and a misdemeanor, we created these realisitic beauties to bring indoors.

Want to know what they're made out of?

Well, if you want to get technical...ELEPHANT POOP!

Yep, you read that right!

Roaring Spring has created a line of journals and notebooks made from 100% recycled elephant poo! Despite my initial shock and cries of "Eeeeeeeeew," Roaring Spring Elephant PooPoo Paper is actually really cool. It's completely odorless (and has been sanitized), and it resembles any other paper made with natural fibers. Since elephants eat mostly grass, and their systems don't really break down the fiber during digestion, Roaring Spring has taken a material that is in huge excess and turned it into something useful and sustanible. Pretty neat, right?

Roaring Spring also has another awesome environmentally friendly and sustainable line with their Environotes Sugar Cane Notebooks made from the leftover fibers of sugar cane plants. The sugar cane paper is thinner than the PooPoo paper, so it's more suitable for every day use and note taking.

While I'm on the topic, can I also mention that I was SO excited to discover that Roaring Spring also make landscape format writing pads? Roaring Spring Landscape Format Writing Pad – College Ruled AND quad ruled - Love it!

To make our paper poppies, we used watercolor paint to add color to a few sheets of the PooPoo Paper. You'll need to paint enough pages so that each flower has four orange petals and a dark brown center. We fit two petals per sheet, so each of our flowers took 3 sheets of paper. Full directions and a tutorial for assembling the flowers can be found at Wedding Bee.

Aren't they pretty? Who would have ever known that something so lovely could be made from such crazy beginnings!

Thank you to Shoplet for sending us these products to test and review! Shoplet is a fantastic source for office supplies, note pads and notebooks online. If you're in the market for paper notebooks, definitely head over to Shoplet and take a peek at their great selection!

Note: I was provided with these products by Shoplet.com in exchange for a review; however, all opinions are 100% mine!

Guest Post at Turning This Into That!

2012-05-15T11:56:00.001-07:00

Come over to Turning This Into That today and check out my guest post about my latest washi tape project! If you haven't been bitten by the washi tape bug yet, you should definitely pick up a roll or two and discover all the incredible crafty possibilities!

Kids Craft: No Mess Finger Painting

2012-05-14T02:00:00.000-07:00

Mess free finger painting is an oldie but goodie around here, but it had been ages since we had done it when I set it out for Simon and Sutton the other day. They were both really excited to see it, and it kept them entertained off and on for the better part of the day.

The set up is super simple - just add a few squirts of paint into a gallon size ziploc bag (we used fingerpaint for a more authentic experience). Make sure that you're using a good quality bag with thicker plastic and durable seals. I use duct tape to enforce the closure of the seals and the edges. Tape the bag to your table using blue painters tape so that it won't damage the surface. I also put a piece of white paper underneath our bag since our table is a dark color, just so that the paint would show up better.

Q-tips work great for "painting" on the bag. They're soft enough that you don't have to worry about them tearing the bag, but sturdy enough to push the paint around really well.

You can use mess free painting as a really great lesson in color mixing for toddlers or as fun letter/word writing practice for the older kids.

This kiddo will take any opportunity that he can get to climb up on the table, but I drew the line when he stood up and tried to finger paint with his toes! :)

We painted all day, and the only clean up was untaping the bag from the table - throw it away or save it in a safe place for another day. Gotta love zero messes!

Sensory Play Time: Water Beads & Light

2012-05-11T00:01:00.000-07:00

Have you introduced water beads into your play time yet? If not, I highly recommend that you do so. Soon! These squishy little balls start out as hard pinhead sized orbs, but after a few hours in a tub of water they turn into soft beads that deliver an almost silky sort of texture as you run your hands through them. I truly believe they are one of the greatest sensory experiences you can give your child...not to mention that they bounce, which is always a big hit around here!

Sutton is keen on using the overhead projector whenever he has the chance, so he immediately asked if we could play with the beads in the light.

They look so pretty and gem-like glittering in the bright light!

Simon worked on his fine motor skills by stacking the water beads one-by-one on to the top of the light housing. Since he's only 19 months I make sure to keep a ridiculously close eye on him when we're playing with water beads. They claim to be non-toxic, but I can't imagine that swallowing something that absorbent could be good for your stomach!

He really liked to balance them on top, so he got in lots of pincher grip practice today!

We used an assorted mix of colors this time, but water beads are also available packaged as individual colors - perfect for creating seasonal or holiday themed sensory tubs (check out this seaside themed tub at The Imagination Tree!)!

They played in the water beads for the better part of the day, and Sawyer joined in on the fun when he got home from school. They had a blast arranging the water beads on the projector screen to make pictures and pretty colored patterns appear on the wall.

The water beads look like glowing bubbles projected upon the wall. They're really quite lovely and kaleidoscope-like.

Simple Science: Color Changing Carnations

2012-05-10T00:01:00.000-07:00

Dyeing flowers was always one of my favorite science fair projects, so when we added a white carnation plant to our backyard this spring I knew that this simple science lesson wasn't far off. The boys and I were really anxious and excited to see if our flowers would actually change color since we had bad luck with the last batch of store bought flowers that we tried. We started with a few white carnation (stems freshly cut at a 45 degree angle) and placed them into water that we had dyed blue with food coloring.

The boys wondered how long the process would take, and we didn't have to wait long for them to find out the answer. Within an hour the tips of the flowers began to take on a blueish tint, and the bees in the garden seemed to take notice as well!

After a couple of hours we brought the flowers indoors since it had gotten really windy outside. The tips of the petals were noticeably blue, and the few bright colored specks that were originally pink had turned purple.

After 24 hours the color absorbption had maxed out, and this is the most blue that the flower became. Next time I might try using a knife instead of shears to cut the flowers since it may treat the capillaries more delicately and help avoid crushing them for better water flow and brighter all-over color.

We read this article on ehow that helped me to explain to the boys how plants absorb and move water through their system. We got some fun ideas from the articles that we read online as well as Sawyer's school homework, and next we're going to try making rainbow roses!

Kids Craft: Styrofoam Printing

2012-05-09T11:03:00.000-07:00

I remember making styrofoam prints in art class when I was in 2nd grade, and I thought it was one of the coolest art activities that I had done at the time. I have been wanting to recreate that fun experience with my boys, so I've been trying to save up flat pieces of styrofoam. Most of our foam came from take-out containers or meat trays - just make sure that the edges are flat or else it makes printing difficult!

Start by drawing your design on to the foam. You can use ballpoint pen or pencil, but be sure to press down hard to indent the lines. We went over our drawings a few times just to be sure the lines were deep enough.

Give the foam a light and even coat of paint (we used tempera). It would be handy to have a brayer for this step and the next, but we made do with a foam brush and my rolling pin.

Flip the painted piece of foam over on to a sheet of paper and give it a firm pressing with the brayer/roller - make sure that it doesn't move around as you're rolling it!

Peel back the foam and marvel at the amazing negative image you've just created! (I swear he's totally excited here...I obviously did a great job of capturing that emotion, eh?)

It also made for a great lesson in mirror imaging as some of the boys' first attempts had backwards lettering when we made the prints. Don't forget that everything will print in reverse!

I wish we had more foam because we whipped through these pieces SO quickly! The boys loved it, and it's definitely an activity that we will revisit again in the future.

Magnetic Chore Chart

2012-05-03T12:50:00.003-07:00

A few weeks ago I came up with this fun magnetic chart as a way to help me get the kids back on task and off of the television/wii/computer (yes, I've really been that busy that I haven't even had a spare moment to post this in weeks!). The base is a piece of framed sheet metal, divided into sections with vinyl and covered with wooden disks and stars that have been turned into magnets.

My oldest isn't really interested in video games, and he'd much rather be outside playing with his friends, but my five-year-old has fallen in love with Super Mario games, and I needed a way to help him earn his screen time while helping out around the house. We've tried traditional chore charts and rewards charts, but nothing has worked as well as this! I think the issue with the other charts is that they are "chores" that must be done vs. jobs that they may do to earn their reward. Giving the boys the choice has worked out SO well, and they are happily doing many more tasks than they ever have before (yay!).

The chart is broken down into "to do" and "done" sections, that way I can easily move a task back to "to do" if it needs to be done several times a day (like sweeping the floor and wiping down the table). For each completed job my boys get to choose a colored star to move on to their section of the board; for every three stars they receive a ticket that can be exchanged for a half hour of screen time. My oldest loves to let his tickets roll-over from one day to the next and see how many he can save up!

I used the Citra-Solv method for transferring the lettering on to the disks, and I think it came out pretty well for my first attempt. I was worried that it wouldn't work on painted wood, but it did, thank goodness! The favorite task (of both my boys and myself) is "Mom's Choice" - they always choose to do it first, so sometimes I have to resort to delegating tasks that are already on other disks as my choice, but there's always something to be done!

Fabric Button Accessories Tutorial

2012-04-25T00:01:00.000-07:00

I've been bitten by the accessory making bug. BIG time. They're so fast, easy and fun that I've made way more than I will ever be able to wear. I will most definitely be adding a bunch to my Etsy store (grand re-opening very soon!) for those of you who don't have the time to make them yourselves. But, if you're a crafty do-it-yourself kind of girl like me, here's the lowdown on how to make your own:

First, gather your supplies. You'll need some fabric scraps, bobby pin or ring blanks, scissors, a button covering kit (available here - I'm using flat-backed size 30 buttons), and some E-6000 Adhesive. I purchased my fabric scraps, bobby pins and ring blanks from Mindy Mae's Market.

Mindy Mae's doesn't alway have fabric scraps, and when they get them in stock they sell out quickly, but they are soooo worth it! If you "like" Mindy Mae's Market on Facebook you'll get the inside scoop on when they'll be available. I just had to show off some of these prints because they're totally adorable!

Cut a fabric scrap into a circle (or circle-ish! it doesn't have to be precise at all) large enough to cover the entire button and wrap around the edges. Lay the fabric circle over the larger sized bottom piece of the button making tool (print side down).

Place the button top face down into the bottom of the tool with the fabric. You may need to trim off the excess fabric a bit at this point. There should be enough fabric left that it fills the button and overlaps the edges, but not so much that you can't get the button backing to fit on. Place the button backing on top of the fabric, and use the small part of the tool to push the back into place. It will snap into place easily as long as you don't have too much excess fabric. Finally, use your E-6000 to glue the button on to the bobby pin. Easy peasy! It literally only takes about a minute and a half to make each hair pin!

Now go make them in every color and pattern you can think of ! I'm warning you though, it's highly addictive!

Fabric buttons also make super cute rings! I got these filigree ring blanks from Mindy Mae's Market as well. You'll want to stock up so that you can make rings to go with every outfit, naturally!

Ice Cream Sandwich Fun

2012-04-24T10:56:00.001-07:00

Whew, we've been busy around here! This guy just turned FIVE (wow!), and we celebrated with a super fun and messy art party. I was working on party prep right up until guests arrived, so I didn't get as many pictures as I usually like to...as soon as I round up pictures from everyone else's camera, I'll post them up!

In the meantime, check out Sutton's awesome ice cream sandwich that he made using the Wilton Ice Cream Sandwich Panthat his Grandma brought for us to try. They are SO much fun and super easy to make - a HUGE hit with the kiddos! Highly recommended for Summer fun (we're counting down the days til Summer Break already!)!

Lawn & Garden: Snap Spreader System by Scotts

2012-04-19T15:00:00.001-07:00

This post brought to you by Scotts®. All opinions are 100% mine.

Have you heard about the Scotts® Snap® Spreader System yet? I love anything that makes my life easier, and this new product line looks awesome!

The Snap Pacs quickly and easily lock into the spreader, so there's no more need to cut open and pour fertilizer or grass seed like you would with a traditional spreader. That also means a lot less mess since I can never seem to keep the cutting and pouring of other heavier bags contained to just one small area! The Snap Pacs self-seal when you remove them from the spreader, so there's no spillage, waste or clean up involved. LOVE it!

Between baseball games, birthday parties and other obligations, weekend family time is at a premium these days, and I like to take advantage of every single extra minute I can spend with my husband and kids. Scotts® Snap® Spreader System seems like it would be a great addition to our weekend lawn care routine, making fast and easy work of seeding and fertilizing.

Scotts recently launched a new program - Snap perks on Facebook - if you "like" them you will have the opportunity to win all sorts of fantastic prizes including patio furniture, gift cards and even a trip to the 2012 World Series! Not to mention that there's loads of great information about Scotts products and tips and tricks for taking care of your lawn!

The Start of a Gallery Wall

2012-04-19T14:01:00.001-07:00

This post brought to you by Leviton. All opinions are 100% mine.

Every day I stare at the same wall about a zillion times a day. It's directly across from my kitchen island where we spend a good part of the day, so I decided to use that space to create a gallery wall of photos and artwork. I figure that if I have to constantly look at it, I might as well dress up the space with things that make me happy.

I spent a couple of weeks hunting down a frame that would accommodate the non-standard size of my new Katie Daisy art print, but as soon as I hung my lovely new artwork on the wall I couldn't help but be distracted by those ugly light switches! I certainly don't want to waste my time creating a wall full of whimsical frames and bright cheery colors only to be overshadowed by those dingy plates that stick out like a sore thumb!

Luckily for me, Leviton has come out with Renu, a new line of switches, wall plates and dimmers in 20 different designer colors! I was so excited to discover that they offer switches in a Pebble Gray color that will match my family room walls perfectly. They also offer yellow Corn Silk that would be fantastic in my kitchen, a Granny Smith Apple green that would be a fun contrast to the turquoise walls in my boys' bedroom, and Sea Spray that would look lovely in my bathroom!

No need to paint = no mess, which is always an added bonus when trying to convince my hubby that I've added something new to his "Honey Do" list. When I told him that I want to change out our switches and plates to Renu switches, he had nothing but great things to say about how nice they look and how easy they are to install...he's an electrical contractor, so he knows what he's talking about!

Check out the Renu collection, and like Leviton on Facebook. They are hosting three different Twitter parties on Wednesday, April 18th @ 9pm EST, Thursday, April 26th @ 9pm EST, and Wednesday, May 2nd @ 9pm EST where you can have the chance to win Home Depot gift cards (to purchase your Renu switches, of course!). Just follow @Leviton and #Renu for your chance to win!

Bunkbed Pirate Fort

2012-04-16T12:10:00.001-07:00

Last weekend at our Easter party my awesome aunt, F.A.J., (that's Favorite Aunt Judi for those of you not in the know!) pulled me aside and gave me a whole bunch of great pirate themed fabric she'd been saving in her stash for awhile. Once I got home and opened up the yardage, I was SO excited to discover that there was enough to make a pirate hideout for the boys' bunk bed!

At first Sutton wasn't sure if the skull and crossbones motif was super cool or if it might look a bit too scary at night time, but a closer look at those skulls revealed that they have hearts for eyes...naturally, that isn't scary at all!

All I needed to do was to measure the necessary width (I kept the fabric's 44" width as the length) and sew a 3" wide casing on top so that I could slip in an adjustable shower curtain rod (held between the wall and ladder of the bunk bed). I also added some fun party lights to the wall behind the bunk, also courtesy of F.A.J.

Yep, those are parrot lights! Amazingly, these little lights have kept Sutton quietly in bed at bedtime for the past two nights! If you ask Sawyer, who is usually on the receiving end of a non-stop gab fest and in-and-out-of-bed dance every night as Sutton tries to fall asleep, these parrots must be a miracle! Who knew that plastic parrots would be my sanity saver!?! Thanks, F.A.J.!

I used the 10-minute pillowcase tutorial from Little Bit Funky to make the big boys each their own pirate pillowcase with trim that matches their new fort. I might truly be the world's slowest seamstress (all that fabric cutting and ironing takes time!), so it actually took me about 30 minutes per pillow. In case your wondering (and questioning my amazing sewing skillz!), I didn't even realize that I had cut the pattern on the blue pillow sideways until I was slipping Sutton's pillow into it. Oops. No worries...

This kiddo loves his new pirate bunkbed, and he thinks that his pillow is "super awesome...even with the trees going sideways! It's really cool!" That's all the approval I need ♥

Buggy Tic Tac Toe Chalkboard

2012-04-09T00:00:00.000-07:00

These days it's all about tic tac toe in our house. My older boys play every chance they get, and since they will play it for an hour it's great when I'm running around trying to get dinner ready. I saw an idea on Joann.com awhile back for a ladybug tic tac toe set made with a chalkboard and rocks, and I knew I had to make it.

I had some chalkboard vinyl from Mindy Mae's Market leftover after making the boys art armoire chalkboard, so I simply cut a piece to size and wrapped it around a scrap piece of wood I found in the garage. I used my favorite chalk markers to draw a quick tic tac toe grid for the boys, but since it's all erasable we can use the board for messages or other purposes in the future as well.

We painted some rocks from our garden to look like bugs, but since the boys wanted to play ASAP our poor little buggies still need to have their black paint and eyes painted on. Oh well, in time.

Tic tac toe, I win! These guys love our new game, and it was so quick and easy to create!

Candlestick Ribbon Holder

2012-04-07T11:00:00.000-07:00

Look at that lovely tower of ribbon! It reminds me of a tall and skinny layer cake set upon a fancy cake stand. I have seen a lot of great horizontal ribbon organizers, but I decided to take that concept and turn it vertically! This ribbon holder stands nearly 3 feet tall and holds an impressive 27 rolls of ribbon (which is only about half of my ribbon collection, so I foresee another one in my near crafty future)!

I started with a wooden candlestick from Mindy Mae's Market, a 1.5" wooden disk and a 3/8" dowel (cut to approximately 26" long, but you could make it any size you want - just don't go too much taller or it will get wobbly) and gave them all a few coats of watermelon spray paint.

Drill a hole in the center of your wood disk and slide the end of your dowel through the hole about 1". It should be a snug fit to ensure that the dowel will sit straightly and not lean to one side. Fill the well and the rim of the candle holder with hot glue, and attach both the disk and the dowel to the candleholder at the same time. You may need to hold it in place for a few minutes until the hot glue starts to set and firm up.

Start stacking up all that pretty ribbon, just like a layer cake. Easy peasy, fun and totally functional! I might just have to make myself another one for my growing collection of washi tape as well!

DIY: Mercury Glass Revisited

2012-04-06T12:36:00.002-07:00

A couple of weeks ago I showed you how I made my own mercury glass, and I mentioned that you could get really shiny results if you use Krylon's Looking Glass spray paint instead of the metallic silver paint that I had used. I wanted this to be one of those projects that I love as-is, but I have to admit that my curiosity got the better of me, and I went out and purchased the Looking Glass spray to see what kind of "mercury glass" it would produce.

Wow!

I am SO glad I tried it! The new paint made for a super shiny mirror-like finish, and I think that I really love the new glass better than my original pieces. In these photos, the square vase was made using the original method, the small votive holder has one coat of Looking Glass paint, and the cylinder vase has two coats.

You can see that the glass gets shinier with each coat of paint, but don't forget that you will also have to spray your water again before each additional coat of paint. I used a 50/50 mix of water and vinegar this time (based on a tip from a reader!), and I like that it produced more irregular shaped blotches instead of just water-drop spots. I waited until the Looking Glass spray paint was tacky, and then I used a paper towel to very gently blot the water inside of the glass.

Here's one taken with a flash, just so you can really see the difference in shine. The two on the left are done with standard silver metallic spray paint; the right with Looking Glass spray paint. They both look really nice, so use whichever method works best with your decor or go crazy and mix it up!

Tattoo Eggs

2012-04-04T15:51:00.000-07:00

I {LOVE} dyeing Easter eggs. My boys and I could easily dye a dozen a day during Easter time (luckily Sutton loves to eat eggs almost as much as I like to dye them!), so we've tried plenty of different techniques for making our eggs fun and fancy.

Today we tried decorating our eggs with a stash of temporary tattoos we had leftover from my nephew's birthday party. I saw this idea over at Country Living - they used gorgeous nature designs printed on tattoo paper and applied to blown eggs, but we went with the rock star tattoos we already had and some neon food coloring (our eggs were hard boiled).

Apply your tattoo to a clean, dry and undyed egg. Use a lot of water and gentle pressure. It takes a little practice to get the tattoos to lay flat against the curve of the eggs. Let it dry completely before dyeing or else the tattoo won't stay stuck to the egg.

We also like to add secret messages to our eggs using white crayon. The boys love watching their doodles appear like magic in the dye bath.

I alway dye my eggs in mugs...just like we did when I was a kid!

Love it! The tattoos worked great, but you do need to be careful not to stir them around in the dye too much. They need to be treated rather delicately any time the tattoo is wet so that they don't start to peel up at the edges, but they set up perfectly when they were dry!

Bird Seed Ornaments

2012-04-04T09:29:00.000-07:00

Last year the boys and I made pinecone bird feeders, but since we were running low on peanut butter this time around I went in search of a new recipe for bird seed treats. I found this great recipe from Infarrantly Creative that was super easy to whip up (my nearly-five and six-year-olds mixed it up all by themselves), and the results were fantastic!

You'll need:

4 cups of bird seed

1/2 cup of warm water

1 envelope of Knox gelatin

3/4 a cup of flour

bundt pan (we used a mini pan)

nonstick spray

3 tbl. light corn syrup

Combine the water and the gelatin, then whisk in the flour and corn syrup. Finish by mixing in the bird seed and pressing the mixture into a lightly greased pan.

Let dry for a few hours in the bundt pan, and then pop 'em out of the mold so they can dry out completely for the next 24 hours. Add a length of ribbon for hanging, and go outside to deliver your birdie treats!

Note: these do NOT hold up in the rain, so be sure to hang them somewhere covered or be prepared for them to end up as bird seed cake chunks on the ground after the next storm (not that I'm speaking from experience or anything) :)

Spring Break!

2012-03-31T16:25:00.002-07:00

Yay, it's Spring Break!

10 days of NOT having to wake up my happily sleeping kiddos sounds fantastic. My kids are always super cranky on mornings when I have to wake them up! I'm thinking that the very best part of Spring Break is 10 days without after school pick-up. These days Simon would love nothing better than to fall asleep 30 minutes before we have to go pick up Sawyer from school. Since he generally naps for around a couple of hours, I usually make him wait until we get back home to take his nap. That means that at pick-up time I'm usually sitting in the car with a baby who has either just fallen asleep (on rare days when we're lucky!) or who is hysterically crying and screaming his head off because he's overtired and cranky (let's just call that his "usual.") So, yay for ten days without that, right?

The boys have started a Spring Break to-do list on the fridge to ensure that we'll have lots of fun things to do and places to go this week. I can't wait! What's on your bucket list for Spring Break?

DIY Light Box

2012-03-31T00:58:00.000-07:00

Last week my camera finally kicked the bucket. It had been moments away from death for quite awhile, and it was actually a miracle that it survived as long as it did. After convincing my dear husband that I had been in need of an equipment upgrade anyway, I spent the better part of the week trying to figure out the basics of the new camera's menu - it's amazing how completely different two cameras can be!

When I received a package of Duck EZ Start Premium Packaging Tape from Shoplet Office Supplies to review, I knew right away that I wanted to use it to create a light box where I could play around with the camera's settings in a different environment.

I wanted a nice clean and sturdy box, so I picked up a new one from the Depot that was 18"square. They come flattened, so I used my Duck Tape to close the bottom of the box and reinforce the edges. The "EZ Start" part really proved to be true, and I had no trouble at all with this tape sticking to itself (unlike practically every other brand I've ever used!).

After the bottom of the box was closed up I cut a 14" square window in 3 of the sides, leaving a 2" border around all of the edges. Leave the original top of the box open, as this will now become the opening in the front of your light box from which you'll take your photos.

I cut three pieces of thin white fabric and attached them to the outside of the windows with the Duck Tape. The tape is really nice and thick, so it only took one piece of tape along each edge to hold it securely. I almost always double or triple tape things, so it was a pleasant surprise that this held up so well with just one strip. Another single piece of tape was used to hang a half yard of fabric inside of the box to serve as my backdrop.

My husband quickly built a couple of stands for my clip-on utility lamps, and I used the back of a kid-sized chair to hold up my top lamp. The lamps are equipped with daytime fluorescent bulbs directed to shine straight into each of the windows, and the fabric diffuses any shadows that the lamps might create.

Duck EZ Start Premium Packaging Tape w/Dispenser

See that white roller near the cutting edge? It makes this dispenser sooo easy to use - I could even do it one-handed!

All done, quick and easy! Now go grab your camera and start snapping a gazillion shots. It's addictive, and the endless background options make it even more fun!

Shoplet also sent me a roll of Zebra Printed Duck Tape. This stuff is super cute, and I love that it unrolls and tears much easier than the silver duct tape. The boys and I are going to be making lanyards for our community clubhouse cards out of this, so be on the lookout for that tutorial soon!

(Disclaimer: I was provided with products from Shoplet for this review; however, all opinions expressed are 100% mine)