New Table Area

Just before Christmas I got a table from my Grandmothers house. We are still in the process of sorting out her belongings after her death in December. I got a bunch of cool old quilts that I have been cleaning and will post here eventually. The table held Katie's pink Christmas tree until a few days ago but then I needed to decide what to do with it. Here is what it looks like tonight!

Katie and I created this Pinterest art piece and finished it in early December. Simply search for toilet paper roll craft and you will be amazed at what people can create. Basically you collect then cut up toilet paper and paper towel rolls, hot glue them together and spray paint it. I dont know how long it will last but looks good on the wall.

Tonight I decided to make a table runner. I used fabric squares I had from an early quilt I made in 2008. It was super easy and I made it in about 30 minutes. 

The back is a red fabric, no batting was used and it was very basic construction. It fits perfect and will protect the table.

The table was in questionable condition when I brought it home. I thought I would need to refinish it but after a few coats of Old English it took on a whole new look and was in great shape. There is some staining and it will eventually will need to be refinished but work for now.

Here is another look at the table...

And another...

I am very pleased with how this area came together.

Peaceful Mind Globe

I recently found a great book called Just Us Girls: 48 Creative Art Projects for Mothers and Daughters to Do Together. This book has a lot of fun and creative crafts that use nature and things you can find around the house and yard. The first project we set out to make was Peaceful Mind Globes.

These use jars, water, food coloring, glycerin, glitter and glue. Fill the jars with distilled water, then add food coloring.

Next add glycerin and glitter.

Mix it up a little to see if you have enough of each item.

Finally glue the lid on and shake!

The final result is a colorful glittery jar, sort of like a snow globe but is supposed to bring peace and calmness as you look at it and watch the glitter swirl around.

Beading Loom

I have recently brought out my beading loom, it has been awhile since I used it. Here is the first project on it.

Button Monogram

Time for the first craft project of 2014! I saw a craft project on JoAnns site a few months ago and wanted to try it. It was a monogram on a canvas made from buttons. I purchased a 10x10 canvas with a coupon from JoAnns and set out to find some inexpensive button. I ended up purchasing them from Oriental Trading Company for a really good price.

Here are the supplies I started with, not pictures is the glue, I used my E6000. The K was created in PhotoShop, made a 10x10 image the looked for the font and size that I thought would work.

I cut the K out and traced it on the canvas with pencil.

I then sorted through the buttons looking for the pink shades. I then set them out in the K to make sure I had enough. Next came the glue and gluing them down. 

This project took no more that 30 minutes and was very easy. Here it is on Katie's bedroom wall.

Getting Christmas Started

It may be Thanksgiving but after a long day of cooking the was right to start with some Christmas crafts. A few months ago Katie, my Mom and I picked out some Christmas crafts from Mary Maxim. Tonight we started with a simple ornament, here is the package.

It contained silver pipe cleaners and beads. We were quickly able to set it up and Katie followed the graphic to put the beads in the correct order. 

We did run out of pipe cleaners so I substituted a yellow from from our craft supplies.

Cute and easy to make, what more can you ask for!

Wrens & Friends Stacked Coins Baby Quilt

This is a quilt pattern that I have made a few times before. This time a baby was coming, gender unknown, my AmeriCorps team mate was having a baby and was six months along, this was the first quilt I thought of. When discussing colors with her she said she was decorating with greens and oranges and of course Snoopy. I saw the fabric set Wren & Friends by Moda and it fit perfect.

The back was a brown print and the binding orange.

The back also had a strip of coins across it.

Here is the wide view of each side.

Baby is due December 3rd and has not arrived yet but we cant wait to see him/her!

Candy Corn Pumpkins

Have you ever seen a beaded banner? I made one several years ago for Christmas, a few years ago I bought one that was Halloween themed. While on vacation a few weeks ago I decided to finally make it. Katie is finally old enough that I can work on something and leave it sitting out without worry. The kit I had was from The Beadery and called Candy Corn Pumpkins. I purchased mine from the online craft super store Mary Maxim, banners are available for just about every holiday you could imagine.

The kits come with all the supplies you need. There is a real size pattern that you tape down and construct on top of. Here is a look at the completed banner and the pattern

And a closer look at the completed banner, bring on Halloween!

Rainbow Party

When discussing her birthday about a month ago Katie said she wanted a rainbow cake, not the awesome seven layer cake where each layer is a different color but one with a rainbow on it. I thought this was a good idea and so we went with it. I browsed Etsy and Pinterest for rainbow ideas. I was still considering throwing a large party and found some great ideas. In the end I decided to go small. Grandma, Papa, Uncle and their doggies were invited for Katie's 4th Birthday Rainbow Party.

One item I saw in my research was a rainbow twirl dress. It is a dress with the ROYGBIV colors in each layer down the dress. I thought this would be pretty easy to do. We looked and found Simplicity pattern 2377 which was the closest I could find. I figured I could break the two ruffled layers into as many as needed. When we went to pick fabric we found some new broadcloth fabrics with built in sparkles. The fabric looks like it has glitter in it but it doesn't fall off, it was perfect. My mother helped with the gathering but other than that I actually made a dress! It is a size 5 so is a little big but she has some room to grow into it.

Katie loved the dress and wore it all day. She got many complements and we were even asked where we got it.

For decorations I found a few rainbow things at Party City like these hanging flower like things.

Inspired by what I saw online I decided to make bunting. I got the rainbow colors of felt and added pink. My brother cut them into triangles then I used bias tape to sew them together.

It is a great reusable decoration and it came together really quick and easy

You can also see the rainbow streamers I found at Party City. They were pretty awesome and made the picking of streamers much easier.

Of course we had to have balloons, lots of ballons.

I asked my mom to make a few things as well. She made this rainbow scarf which Katie wants to wear in the snow. She also bought rainbow beads and made a matching necklace and bracelet for Katie which I did not get a photo of. With the leftover yarn she is now working on a rainbow blanket.

Katie's original idea for a rainbow cake changed at the last minute, like I am getting ready to pour the cake in the pan last minute. She changed to wanting dots on a cake, no rainbow.

I made a plain rectangle cake and used Wilton's basic buttercream icing to decorate it. First I frosted it white then had Katie choose four colors for spots. Katie picked yellow, pink, red and violet. She was pretty happy with the results.

The cake was chocolate and accompanied by none other than chocolate ice cream. BTW you can see the rainbow bead necklace in this photo. 

I can't believe my baby is 4! It seems like just yesterday I was holding this:

More Christmas

Christmas craft making has continued around here. The photo quality is a little poor as most pictures are taken late at night but the general idea comes across.

Katie gets Turtle magazine which always has good games, activities and more in it. She usually finds a craft or food project she wants to try. Her most recent issue was all about the holidays. She found a craft project she has really been wanting to do, basically it is a tree made from craft sticks.

Here is the finished product:

We also made some bell necklaces.

Foam reindeer ornaments.

Bell snowmen. These were a few weeks work, wooden balls have to be painted, hats have to be cut and sewn, etc... Some of their faces are a little odd looking but I never claimed to be a painter, I still think they came out cute.

A felt, sequin and bead snowflake.

A foam Christmas cookie ornament.

Paper ball ornament.

Foam garland.

Paper chain garland.