SISTERKINS

A Bunkbed For My Princess

2015-09-23T18:59:00.000-06:00

Hi there! My name is Kirky and I am one of the Sisterkins. I am the least creative of the bunch, but darn it I can follow a pattern like nobodies business!

My kids have a ton of stuff. I don't mean "Oh, wow, look at all the stuff your kids can play with! (eyes rolling.)" I mean "Holy Mother, what the heck happened in here? Did you buy the toy store???" My kids are very blessed to have a loving generous family, which translates into lots of gifts, year round.
Anyways, because we have all these wonderful gifts, (everyone of which my children have formed emotional attachments to), and limited space in our little 4 level split, we needed a solution to add more space, without sacrificing our treasured belongings.
My daughter had a nice little Ikea bed, but the room is so small, it just wasn't working. I searched FOREVER for an affordable loft bed. Everything I found was out of our budget.
I am by no means a skilled wood worker, but I found a design online to build my own, and it seemed so straightforward, I figured I could try it. The design claimed I could build this bed in a few hours for about $50.

Loft Bed Plans

I grabbed my trusty tools and went to work and created this perfect space!

The princess is a bit of an artist, so having space for her desk and creations was the most important feature.

The Ana White design has a staircase, but with our limited space, a ladder was the only way to go. Because we only had a few extra inches to the wall, I simply made the platform a little larger. Its a perfect place for some cozy reading. I LOVE how safe it is climbing up and down.

I added curtains, because apparently 6 is the new 13, so my princess needs extra privacy to be alone with her thoughts. She also likes to dabble in magic, so it doubles as a stage for magic shows.

The area underneath the platform is a perfect little get away (or secret hiding spot for all the stuff we are supposed to be cleaning up when we clean our room, but instead just toss under here. I discovered this when I started to take the photos. Needless to say, a quick tidy was done before the pic was snapped).

The biggest test was to see if it passed with her. She spends a TON of time in here.

She gives it two thumbs up! So does her little bro!

In the end, it cost about $52.00. THAT'S IT!!! For a really well finished product I would recommend using all the tools the instructions call for.
It took me all day. However, I did it by myself while daddy was at work (ask for forgiveness instead of permission, right?). He was really impressed, so that was a big relief. It was SUPER hard to do alone. I don't recommend that. With two people, it would probably only take a couple of hours.
Now we just have to give it a final sand and stain.
I did this project in an attempt to reduce the clutter and mess. I am constantly cursing the lego I step on, and the constant toys and crap everywhere. I am always trying to get better organized so the "stuff" doesn't drive me to the brink of insanity. But then I remember one day the babies will be big, and my house with be quieter and emptier and I will long for the days of noise and clutter and lego embedded in the soles of my feet. And now I will always have the pride in knowing I made something that brought my daughter a great deal of joy when she was little.

Kirky

Sisterkins

Linking up with

Cutting Board Divider

2012-03-26T20:40:00.000-06:00

We use a lot of cutting boards. You would think that I love to cook if you look at the tools in the kitchen. I like it as much as a trip to the dentist. Always a necessity but a real pain. Actually, I am lucky enough to have a Cooking Man. You can probably buy your own on Ebay, but they are not cheap. Bids happen fast and if you aren't sitting by your computer at the end of the auction, they will slip right through your fingers. I was lucky!

I do enjoy to build though. This was a quick little project, but necessary. Our cutting boards were leaning up against the vent on the microwave. Here's my solution:

Vent area needs circulation.

Cutting board storage area. I measured height and depth to determine size of divider.

Oak banding to finish off the visible edge of divider.

Get out the household iron

Iron on the edge, sand and stain.

Divider was held in place with long finishing nails.

Insert cutting boards and hurry to Ebay for your own Cooking Man!

Happy Bidding!
Oonga
Sisterkins

Linking Up With

Versatile Blogger Award

2012-03-17T06:53:00.000-06:00

So YAY for us....and of course a big thank you to

Wendy at Herballistic Garden!

She has chosen our humble little blog for

Gosh, she sure has a lot of faith in us!

Wendy was one of the first blogs that we followed.

If we could award her back, she would be one of our choices!

So we have to share seven facts about ourselves and pass the award on to five blogs that we love

So here we go!...in no particular order...

1. Spittin-Toad

2.Cat Nap

3.Lovely Light

4Michelle's Craft

5.The Artsy Girl Connection

Here are seven facts about us.

1. We love to share our birthdays together. It's a sister day out and we never miss it! Why some of us have been known to call in sick to work, ....ahem.......cause they were really sick!

2. What happens at girls day out stays at girls day out.

3. We all like the ultimate bargain. It's bragging rights for the best deal.

4.Always take the ignition keys from the car when peeing roadside, as sisters like to drive away while you are in your most vulnerable position. (pants down)

5.We all hate cooking!...with a passion

6. We all love dogs and can milk a goat.... or five and still catch the bus after we have slept in.

7.And lastly, we are crazy Halloween fanatics. We pick a haunted house every year and have a girls night out and try to scare each other. In fact we made the local news one year!

Well that's what we are all about! Girls just wanna have fun!

XOXOXO Sisterkins.

Window Bling

2012-03-07T06:12:00.000-07:00

Time for some Spring Bling. Just looking out the windows this morning at a winter wonderland. Nice picture until you pull the shovel out and wonder when your poor hearts gonna give out! Well to put a positive spin on this pretty ominous day, we needed to pizazz with some color jazz. Actually when the weather was beautiful, I was inside sewing. Whats wrong with this picture?

Hopefully these pics paint a brighter day:

I measured my windows and added 1/2 inch seam allowance. Marked out my fabric with my chalk marker. Notice I laid this out on the fold. This fabric was a buck a meter.

This is my lay-out

Four windows = eight pieces.

Wanted to put some coordinating trim. I also inserted a tassel at the center point.

I cut strips of a coordinating fabric and sewed them together to insert my welting

Trim is ready to use.

I put my fabric right sides together with trim and tassel inside.

Sewed all the layers together!

Turned right side out....and voila!

All three done for the bigger windows. One left to make for the smaller window.

I originally stapled my valance to a trim board cut to the width of my window frame. When I dry fitted into place, I realized that the trim piece was visible....duh!

I covered the trim piece with some fabric.

I used some double sided tape to hold in place. I must confess I only used this for one as the fit was tight enough to hold them in place while I tacked them up.

First window.

Second window

Third window.

This is how I installed them.

A look from underneath.

I used two finishing nails to install the valances.

All three big windows done!

Small window complete.

Well that's my Window Bling!

Hope you are having a great week

Oonga

Sisterkins
Linking Up With

Circle Quilt

2012-03-05T13:19:00.001-07:00

I purchased this circle template. It was expensive!, so needless to say I will be making lots

of Circle Quilts!

I started cutting circles out of a denim and flannel fabric.

Sewed right sides together, made a slit in the fabric, and pulled right sides out and pressed.

Next, you mark all the circles with the template which has the square markings on it.

Start sewing them!

Sew strips then join the strips together.

Always press! Very important !

TA DONE!!!!!!!

Happy Circles to You!
Until We Meet Again!
Bessy Boo
Sisterkins

Linking up With

A Little Umbrella

2012-03-01T19:10:00.000-07:00

Cheers!

I was watching TV early one morning, and a Canadian show with two guys named Steven and Chris was on. I think that's what it's called but I could be wrong. I don't usually watch it but it was around 4:30am and believe me, out in the boonies without satellite, that is all that's on....well except for the Amazing Gain Two Cup Sizes "Bra" infomercial.

Anyways, the boys were making these cute little drink umbrellas and I thought, "Hey I can do that too". I started at about 5am and by 7 am, this is what I accomplished.

I actually just lied...I have no idea what time it was that I started or finished, but from what I accomplished, I would say maybe two hours.

I used my new cutter and set the dial for 4 3/4. I cut any circular pattern with a solid center

I also cut just a circle. (Not shown)

I took a gold felt marker and just went around the outside of this style

Now cut a slice of pie.

Glue the two cuts together and you get an umbrella.

I cut the last three.

This was two bamboo skewers from the dollar store. I cut them in half with a pair wire cutters.

I pushed the skewer through the umbrella and glued a bead to the top.

I found this grommet in my button stash. I actually think it's the other end to a snap. I glued it to the center, with hot glue. I put a fancy bead on top of one and a button on the top of another.

Gee, it kinda looks like I'll be doing a lot of "drinkin".

Well, I"ll hope for a mild hangover....haha just kidding!

Soda and lime juice.

These would look cute skewered into food too.

Cheers!

Oonga

Sisterkins

Partying at

Simple Art Project

2012-02-26T15:17:00.002-07:00

Hello fellow bloggers. This is a project that I found somewhere on the Internet but have no idea where. I remember that they used spray paint, but with the cold weather here, spray paint was not an option for me.

I started with two 70 x 90 cm canvases.

Covered them in fabric.

I cut some fabric larger than the canvas.

Used some spray adhesive on the canvas.

Placed my canvas on the wrong side of fabric.

Wrapped each side of the canvas and secured with staples.

Then I pulled each corner in and made as neat as I could.

Voila!

I cut out some letters onto a roll of mac-tack that I got on clearance. I used my Cricut for this task. The letters are from a song, What A Wonderful World.

I drew lines on the boards so that I would be able to keep the letters straight.

Kilz primer was used and rolled over both boards.

I also put two coats of cream colored craft paint on, and forgot to take pictures. Oops, but you get the idea!

I mixed up 2 parts linseed oil, 1 part naphtha, and 1 part raw umber acrylic paint.

I used a rag and rubbed the mixture all over the canvases.

Now for the fun part. Start removing the letters.

All done. Now to find the pictures a new home!

Have a good week!

Oonga

Sisterkins

Linking Up With

Shadow Box Quilt

2012-02-23T09:23:00.000-07:00

Shadow Box Quilt

I saw these quilts on the blogs and always

wanted to make one. I would suggest you try your

hand at it. I am not an experienced quilter,

but sure had fun making this one.

Here are my color choices. Picked up the pan

for 5.00 dollars so I thought if I fudged this fabric

it would not break the bank.

I cut 2 1/2 strips of the beige, and the dark brown was 1 1/2 inch

strips. Sew the dark brown strips to each 2 1/2 strip that

serves has the actual frame of the shadow box. Sew those

onto the picture fabric and mitre the corners.

Now, if you have any trouble, just go to

you tube and watch all the videos on how to do it.

It's Just That Easy!

Like I said, don't look too closely at the quilt , there is

a lot of mistakes! I need to take a course on binding!

But I get so rushy rushy, and have to get done!

Don't be intimidated by mitered corners. They are easy!

Hope you are having a good week!

Bessy Boo

Sisterkins

I Party At

A Vacation / Birthday Gift

2012-02-14T16:12:00.000-07:00

OH BOY!!!
I have to make a birthday present
in a pinch! So here it goes!
I had bought a jelly roll from a department
store last year and never knew what
to do with it!

                                             I sewed 11 strips together, using 1/4 inch seam
                                     allowance. Pressed seams opened. Then added the quilt batting
                                   and interfacing and went to town quilting it. Whew! One bobbin later!

I sewed up the sides. I also sewed the

corners off to make a square bottom.

Next was the liner, and I have to tell you,

the pattern was very hard to understand so I would never

recommend anyone buy the Grids and Grommets IJ805

pattern, look for an easier one. I even went on the

Internet to see if I could get visual help and many other bloggers

said they did not recommend this pattern.

So this is the beginning of
the liner.

The lining is placed with right sides together. This ensures a finished interior. You leave a small opening in the side of the liner to pull your bag right side out.

AND PRESTO!!!

The inside even has pockets!

I hope she likes it! She can use it on her cruise!

Have an awesome week!

Bessy Boo

Sisterkins

Linking Up With

A Pretty easy Flower

2012-01-28T19:25:00.000-07:00

This is a fun project and is virtually free to make.

I found it on this WEBSITE and just had to run to my craft room and give it a try. I couldn't believe how easy they were to make. You can check out the video tutorial at Gauche Alchemy or just follow along with my pictures. I must say the video tutorial is pretty awesome if you find you are having difficulties following along with my pictures.

I started with seven - 3 1/2 inch squares of newspaper.

Now make 6 more. You need 7 total.

Hot glue each section to the next.

You should have seven sections.

Now glue the two ends together to form the flower.

Now glue a jewel or a fancy button to the center.

Twist your pipe cleaner together to make it a bit stronger.

Push it into the back with a dab of hot glue.

Hope you are having a wonderful weekend!

Oonga

Sisterkins

Building Wine Storage

2012-01-23T04:00:00.000-07:00

Good morning! Hope you all had a great weekend! I had an awesome weekend. On Friday night, I went to a local ceramics place with my daughter and had a great time. Then we went for supper and met up with her best friend (Hi Cayla) and bought a dress or two. Will share pics when I pick up our projects. Saturday I dove right in to my wine storage solution. More storage is needed as our winery is growing. One can only make so much jam when you have an abundance of raspberries. So we took up the art of wine making. I shared our raspberry wine recipe HERE! We made a few kit wines too.

Anyways, I bought 5 sheets of sheathing plywood as I didn't want to sell my first born for the good both sides plywood. I kinda like to keep her around. As hubby was out of town, I didn't have the get-up-and-go to handle five 4x8 sheets so I had the lumber store cut the wood into 13"x48" strips. Then I was able to cut the smaller pieces by myself. For each unit I cut 2 - 13"x42" pieces,

4 - 13"x40 1/2" pieces, 6 - 13x13" pieces. And then I assembled all four units........

I guess I could paint the shelving but it kind of matches the pine shelving in our cold room already. So meh......I will just leave it for now. Looks like we need to make a lot more wine.

Wine for all!
Have a great day!
Oonga
Sisterkins
Linking up With

A New Bathroom

2012-01-17T17:23:00.000-07:00

Well I guess it's been a while since our last post. I don't even have a good excuse for not posting. We started renos in the old house and installed some tubing for in-floor heat. We are building a second bathroom in our old kitchen. Sounds kinda weird....a bathroom in a kitchen? lol Hubby and I have built a few walls, and tiled. This is what we have done so far......

Guess there will be no more eating in the bathroom!

Have a good day!

Oonga

Sisterkins

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Homemade Christmas Crackers

2011-12-16T06:41:00.002-07:00

Something a Christmas table can't do without is the traditional Christmas Cracker.

Where everyone has to look dorky with their cool hats, tell a stupid joke, and be told, "That is so dumb!" Of course the awesome prize that you brag about cuz you are so sure that yours is the best (and then leave it on the table to be taken out with the trash. Yes the infamous Christmas Cracker....ahhhh.

This year is the year for the cool cracker.....well maybe not so cool, but big. And you know what they say, Bigger Is Better!

Dollar stores are a haven for Christmas Cracker supplies. That's where most of this came from. *Note to family*.....This came from the DIAMOND dollar store, cause I only buy the best for you! NOW LOOK AWAY!

I found the cheapest, cutest hats they had, but forgot to try them on. Maybe I just have a big head???

So I had to do a little alteration on them.

I cut the back open and sewed a piece of elastic in.

This worked pretty good, and fit somewhat bigger.

Red elastic would have been nice but I used what I had in my stash! We call it Big Heads Stash.

I cut up some cardboard that my awesome sister gave me. (NEED SOME MORE CARDBOARD AWESOME SISTER hint hint). This is the same cardboard I used for my scented trees. Click Here if you would like to see the tutorial for these. I made seven of these crackers so I cut seven pieces 6"x12".

I rolled them into a tube, overlapping maybe 1/2 inch. I needed the bodies to be big for all the Diamond awesomeness I was stuffing in there. I hot glued the seam and reinforced with duct tape, but I must confess, I only did two that way. The rest were just hot glued.

It had to be big cuz I wanted to pack them full!

Bigger is Better!

I took the tube and hot glued it to the edge of some wrapping paper.

The snapper part was put inside of it but not glued in.

I cut fourteen more pieces of cardboard. These were for the ends that held the snaps. I put a bit of hot glue on the edge and attached a tube to each end of the snapper. Through trial and error, (that's why you only ever see six in the photos), I realized that they needed to be smaller than the center tubes. I cut these at 3"x7". Rolled them into tubes and hot glued them.

Now you get to roll up your stuff to fit in the tube. Good Luck! Nah, it was pretty easy. I rolled the goodies up inside the hat, and stuffed away.

Roll your paper tightly around the center tube and hot glue it together. The end tubes must be free from the paper so no glue is applied to these. I did glue the ends where you see my fingers, just to hold paper to paper.

Now this is a bit tricky. Kinda scrunch up the paper between the end tube and center tube on each side. I did one at a time so that I wasn't putting tension on the snapper. Once one end is done, you can push it towards the center tube so that the other end has a little more play for you to scrunch it up. I sure hope this isn't the blond leading the blond cause I just can't word this any other way.

We are almost done! You get to put your pretty ribbon on the end and tie. My ribbon had wire in it so it was pretty stable without a knot or a bow.

I must admit, I could have made them a little more glitzy, but this project turned into a four hour ordeal. I quickly put initials on the round stickers. You could put names on but nobody has the same initial in our family. Any sticker will do, maybe an address label, as everybody has them.

I poked a hole through the sticker with my scissors and hot glued on a pretty button.

I used my trusty glitter glue and went around the perimeter of the sticker.

Next year these babies will be all decked out with this and that. They are pretty simple but I think the family will enjoy them.

Hope your week is going well!
Oonga
Sisterkins

Orange Garland

2011-12-12T09:56:00.000-07:00

Life as an orange is good...well at least for these oranges. They were dehydrated. That will make them last for a long time. I just gathered a few supplies that I actually had in my stash. Some dried oranges, buttons, a roll of jute, raffia, and hot glue. I strung my oranges together, few buttons, tied some raffia on and then put a bit of hot glue to hold the oranges in place. Hope you like them.

And now......with the annual railing garland. I usually wrap my garland around the railing, but I was a little lazy this year.

P.S. Please don`t mind the dust. We are renovating the old house.
In the process of building a new bathroom so my posts (both blog and railing),
could be a little dusty from here on out.
Have a Dust Free Day!
Oonga
Sisterkins

Lavender Heat Bag

2011-12-08T08:03:00.001-07:00

Good morning or afternoon or evening. Not sure when and where you are so I covered all my bases. I would like to share with you how I make my Dad, his annual heatbag.

I started this time with a towel.

I usually use corduroy but I am out. You have to use 100 percent cotton fabric and thread, as polyester thread and fabric wont hold up to the heat over time.

I figure out what size I am going to make him and fold the fabric in half and cut. This bag is 16" x 12" so I cut my fabric 17" x 26". You can make whatever size you want! Sew up the sides and press the top over for a finished hem.

Turn right side out and sew tubes from the bottom to top. Fill these with rice and lavender. I add about 1/2 cup of lavender to 3 cups rice. It probably took around 9 cups of rice and 1 1/2 cups lavender.

Fill each tube about 2/3 full. Sew the top closed. I double sew this so no rice can escape from its little cell.

I like to make covers for the bags as they can be taken off and thrown in the wash. I make them the same way, except I don't sew the tubes.

I add a piece of Velcro to the top and that's his annual heatbag.

Microwave for about 2 to 3 minutes at the most. The rice will burn the bag if left for too long in the microwave. You can use these as cold packs too. Just pop into the freezer and leave them in there all the time, until you need it. It will stay cold for quite awhile. *Note* The lavender scent will eventually fade.

Stay Warm!

Oonga

Sisterkins

Party With Me At

Storage for Wine

2011-12-08T01:00:00.000-07:00

Welcome. It's been a while since I have blogged but I am back and I bring wine! My other half and I are into the art of wine making. It's a wonderful hobby and a win win for all. We get the excitement of creation, and rewards of drink. It's great to have a bottle of wine to just drink, to enjoy with company, to take as a hostess gift or crack open after a crappy day....or just to drink. And did I mention just to drink? Anyways, my other half scored these awesome shelving units from his previous employer. They were going to take them to the dump....I am sure they meant my basement. We are renovating our basement and was able to plan for the ultimate wine racks in our new cold storage room.

We fit them in and went to work painting the fronts with chalkboard paint and lined each bin with shelf paper. We can keep track of what's in the bins, and when finished, just erase. It works great for us, and looks great too.

Well I am off to get a wine glass.

Bye for now.
Eeesh
Sisterkins

Pine Cone Trees

2011-12-06T07:51:00.000-07:00

Here's another take on the use of non Styrofoam forms.

Click HERE for my first.

I gathered pine cones, almost a garbage bag full for these trees. Actually I made four but I gave two away. I had some inserts from a box that I purchased at a thrift store. They were thin plywood pieces, about 3/8 " thick, and they had slots cut in them. They fit together kinda like those shoe storage systems that my daughter needs. Actually she would need a huge walk in closet for her shoe dilemma but that would be another blog. As we used the box for a base for a worktable in the shop, the inserts were garbage. I decided to make 3-D trees. I cut two tree shapes and measured the slots so they would slide into one another and meet in the middle. The total height of the forms is 30 inches. You can make them any size.

This would be easily done with some thin MDF and a table saw, jig saw or whatever you have on hand to cut with. I just have issues with throwing out usable pieces of wood.....(kinda, a little, sort of a hoarder)... I slid them together to form a 3-D tree.

Next step is to start gluing pine cones on. Start with big ones all over and fill in any bare spots with smaller ones until no wood is visible. It takes awhile to do this but they are so pretty when all done.

It also takes a lot of glue and a whole whack of pine cones. (Ouch to my fingers too). After the pine cones were placed and glued, I sprayed some cinnamon fragrance oil directly on the cones, and I must say they are wonderful. You can add holly and other embellishments to them. I did that with the ones I gave away. They were very pretty but unfortunately I didn't take pictures.

They scent up the whole entrance with Christmas smells, and

guests think they are in for a real treat when they step in the house :) until I

break the bad news and tell them

"I wasn't baking. Sorry, all I have are store bought biscuits." :(

That's it.....just another way to make none Styrofoam forms and a little way to disappoint your guests.

Have a Creative Day!

Oonga

Sisterkins

The Rowdy Boys

2011-12-04T09:48:00.001-07:00

Hope you all had a great weekend. My next post is a copycat from I don't know where. I saw it last Christmas on the computer somewhere. I think it was on Tipnuts.
I decided to make these for some young visitors that were coming this weekend.

The Drunkin Rowdy Party Boys

Gather your goods and away we go.

As it turns out, I didn't have any fruit roll up so I had to use gummy worms.

I placed a marshmallow on the graham wafer and microwaved for 7 seconds. This was through trial and error that I figured this out. Every microwave is different so you might have to do a bit of experimenting yourself. They "blow up real good". Lotsa fun!!!!

With the second marshmallow, grab a pretzel and poke it in the center. Place it on the melted marshmallow. I cut a wee slice of the gummy worm for the nose.

With a few melted chocolate chips and a toothpick, paint on some eyes and a mouth. I really would of preferred to pipe on the chocolate, but my baggie broke and I had to work quickly, so I just used a toothpick. You could also buy those little icings in tubes for this job. I think it would do a neater job, although little mouths didn't seem to mind.

I separated the Oreo into 2 and glued a Rolo on top with some chocolate. This makes a hat. Glue it on the marshmallow with some melted chocolate. Stick in two pretzels for arms, but make sure Mr. Snowman doesn't get fingers or he will eat his hat. True story.....


The one in the background started to eat his hat so I had to take his fingers off

I had to cut the gummy worm in half as it was just too thick for a scarf. Chocolate up some buttons for him too.

They look a little drunk and rowdy, but they were the hit of the party.

Cheers!
Oonga
Sisterkins

Party With Me At

Solar Snowmen Light The Way

2011-12-01T06:25:00.000-07:00

Winter is in the air. This is a Christmas take on my solar bears....solar snowmen. I will just post pics. Hope you enjoy the visual tutorial.

That`s a lot of pictures. Hope you like it!

Oonga

Sisterkins

Partying With The Best At

A Christmas Tree Or Three

2011-11-30T06:01:00.003-07:00

Welcome. I have been busy. I was creating some trees yesterday. Well actually I started the day before. I finished the first yesterday morning, and after a day of construction, I created the final two. Hubby cooked so that was awesome. We are starting on our new bathroom which will be another blog...but not until its done. Well maybe an update here and there.

I was noticing Styrofoam trees all over blog land. Wow those things are crazy expensive at Michael's. I decided I could do without and went to my stash. Behind my door I found my roll of cardboard that my Sisterkins had saved for me.

I got my trusty roll of duct tape out and went to work to create my "NOT Styrofoam" cardboard forms. CHEAP.

I started to cover the largest form with dried oranges.

I kept going until it was almost covered.

I then went out to my pump house and grabbed a bag of pine cones that I had gathered up last year. It cuts down on all the little spiders and buggies that like to crawl out if you pick them fresh from the ground......yucky. I filled in all the blanks with pine cones, not bug screams

I added a few Christmas sprigs of red and green and that was tree number one.

For a topper, I first had to build a jig. I grabbed a star pattern which was available all over google. I got a scrap piece of 2x6 and put my star pattern on and nailed at all the folds on the black dots. For a five point star, you will need ten finishing nails. I used finishing nails so that the wire would slide off easily. I wrapped the copper wire around the nails on the jig. That's my star. I made two more so I had three in total.

I pushed the wire through the top hole and filled in the top of the tree with glue and pine cones and embellishments. This acts as a way to transport the tree too.

My next tree was covered completely with dried oranges. Some a partial pieces and some I kinda broke to wrap around the curves. I stuck in the star and put a few pieces of orange and Christmas sprigs around it with glue to anchor the star. That was tree #2.

For tree number three, I got some jute and started wrapping. I loved it, just plain with the star, but when I put it up to the other two i felt it was lacking.

I grabbed some raffia and wrapped it around the tree like a garland. I took some Christmas sprigs and pine cones and glued them on around the raffia.

Well that's all. It seemed so quick to blog about them but it seemed so long to make them. lol.... I guess I put about 6 to 7 hours total into the three so that's not too bad. Anyways I hope this inspires someone the way that I get inspired from all of you!

Cheers.
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The Last of The Glycerin Soap Ideas

2011-11-29T09:00:00.003-07:00

One more time!

From the previous blog, I had made some little flower soaps.

I pushed a wooden skewer through them and lined them up.
Then I put them in a Pringles can and poured clear
scented glycerin melt and pour soap in the can.

Here I put clear glycerin chunks in a container and
poured pink all over that.

And......

Presto!!!

Presto Again!!

Have a Clean One!
Oonga, this is my blog!
The direct hint was taken!!!
LOL (Lots Of Love!)

Bessy Boo

Sisterkins

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Single Wash Rose Petal Soaps

2011-11-28T05:23:00.004-07:00

Here I am again with more glycerin soap ideas.

I thought this was sort of boring when i first saw this
on the Internet until I tried it. It was so easy too.
I bought some cheap silk roses, took them apart
and cut them into petals.

Dipped them in scented glycerin soap.

Arranged them on anything I could recycle or find in my stash
of "One Day I Will Use"!

Now I have gifts to give at Christmas time for Sisterkins!

I hope they will like them.
Have a Great Day!
Bessy Boo
Sisterkins

Oh we will Bessy Boo. These are amazing. I am very excited for them.....Oonga

Linking Up With

Christmas Card Chai

2011-11-25T05:46:00.008-07:00

Today I had an idea. In my stock pile I dug out some card stock.

I decided to go to The Graphics Fairy and have a look at her labels. Thanks again Graphics Fairy!!! I found one that, of course, has nothing to do with tea, but looked pretty. I downloaded it and played with it in my label program. I printed four per page. I tore the labels with a ruler into equal sizes. I didn't want the edges to look cut.(Or maybe I just couldn't find my scissors...hmmmm, now I have you wondering.)

I sewed each one onto a piece of card stock.

I grabbed another piece of card stock, and sewed it onto the back, so that it formed an envelope with a label on the front.

Two holes were punched in the top.

This was so I could put some chai into plastic bags, put a bag into each card, and tie them with some ribbon. To see my dried chai mix recipe, click H E R E !

Now I don't have to sit and hand write a whole lot of cards......maybe that would have been a lot easier.... ....duh!

Have A Great Day!

Oonga

Sisterkins
Linking Up With

Making Pinecone Candle Holders

2011-11-24T07:58:00.010-07:00

I belong to a Garden Club in my nearest small town.
We often have classes on garden ideas, crafts, and tours to unique places.
It was my turn to have the tutorial on garden creations using items from outside.
We had some old barn board cut to approximately 18 inches in length.
We glued glass candle votives onto them.
These lovelies are often picked up by the glass candle holders, so
we used epoxy as it needs to be a strong bond.

Started to hot glue pine cones that we collected from our
yards.

Some used large pine cones and some used small ones.
Others had brought some that were sprayed with gold, silver or
even dusted in white.

All the pinecone holders were different but all so beautiful!

The finishing touches were with nuts and whatever else we had around the house
that was Christmas-y.

Now everyone has table center pieces for Christmas or Gifts!
Have fun with these!
Bessy Boo
Sisterkins

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We've Been Featured With The Best

Homemade Linen Spray

2011-11-23T09:09:00.010-07:00

Attention Daughter and Sisterkins.....Do Not Read this post!!!!!

I found this recipe on line after doing a lot of research on how to make linen spray. The ingredients were easy enough to get, in fact you can order them through the site that I got the recipe from. Find it here!

I was able to buy some heavy duty sprayers, and I downloaded a cool label from The Graphics Fairy. I was able to put Linen Spray. the scent and ingredients on the label with my print program. I grabbed my trusty scale and started to mix my ingredients.

LINEN SPRAY RECIPE

Sprinkle on sheets or other other linens to freshen. Spray on linens before ironing.

1 teaspoon (100 drops) lavender essential oil

5-10 drops peppermint, spearmint or rosemary essential oil (optional)

2 oz. formulator's alcohol

24 oz. distilled water

Pour essential oils and alcohol into a bottle, cap and shake to emulsion. Mix with distilled water. Mix will cloud, and eventually separate.

Shake well before each use.

I added polysorbate 20 to my mix. You don't need it using the formulators alcohol, but it is added assurance that my water and oil will not separate. I didn't want them to have to shake really well before spraying. I added the same amount of polysorbate 20 as the essential oils

Measure the oil, polysorbate 20, and formulators alcohol. Shake it up to mix well.

Add water.

Pour into spray containers

Label from The Graphics Fairy. See link above.

Now I can hardly wait til Christmas to see if my daughter and sisters like the spray.

Have a Great Day!

Oonga

Sisterkins

I Party With