{fluffy lantern - DIY}

Need a project to do...then why not buy 1200 coffee filters and make a sweet fluffy lantern. That is exactly what Nichole over @ Parlour did. I say it makes for a huge impact over her table. Love it and think this would also be great at a really special party. I am pretty sure there was some finger burnage going on from using all of that hot glue..at least there would have been if I were the one handling the glue gun.

Go here & here to read more about it.

nautical nonsense in a bottle {erasers & toothpicks}

With school coming to a close this Momma has already had to deal with the whole, "Mom I'm bored, there is nothing to do" thing. We have been scrambling over at our place to keep the girls entertained. I did set a goal to try and find one new craft to do every week so we'll see how that one pans out. So far though our TV has gotten so much usage since schools been out that I think it almost over heated....BAD MOM.

Anyway with our family planning to go to the beach soon I thought it would be cool to get the girls all pumped up for our upcoming trip by incorporating something along those lines. I had once seen somebody who had made Christmas snow globes out of baby food jars so that's when a "beach in a bottle" started to formulate in my brain. The only problem was how were we going to construct it. I first needed to find miniature pieces that could get wet. Once I had settled on sand dollars and starfish, how in the world were we going to get them to stay put in the bottle just right. So one night as I started to drift off the thought came to me "erasers & toothpicks". That is how this craft came to pass.

Supplies needed:

baby food jars

epoxy glue

glycerin

miniature objects to display (I found the mini sand dollars @ Michaels by all of the other sea shells)

eraser

toothpicks

spray paint (optional)

trims (I already had mine from all of my trim hoarding ways, I just knew I would need them sometime)

First spray paint the lids to the jars. Then glue the miniature pieces to the toothpicks and let dry. Next glue the erasure piece to the inside of the jar lid and let dry. Take your miniature pieces on toothpicks and push into the eraser. Then fill the clean baby food jar with water and a few drops of glycerin and glitter (so far my favorite glitters have been carrara marble coarse and crystal coarse,both by Martha Stewart). Lightly glue the inside of the lid and screw it on tight. Now take trim and glue it around the lid. Now play with it before you give it to the kids because you'll never get it back. The girls have already put them by the sides of there bed so that they can dream of their sea-side adventures.

***Pls. send any links or ideas for crafting with kids over my way. I would forever be grateful. I do have the admit the actual part of making the snow globes is not as kid friendly as I would have liked because of all of the heavy duty glue. I think I let the girls push the toothpicks in and that was it. They sure liked the end result though.

I am a little bit obsessed with the above brown planting containers. I have big plans for them. I also have a friend who is getting married and when I showed them to her, she thought that she would use them as wedding favors all dressed up and filled with a little succulent. Also I think they would make a great Easter craft. The best part about it is that they can be picked up @ the Target gardening section for $1.69 for a package.

{candle sleeves}

I have always admired the look of the KaarsKoker candle sleeves from the first time I saw them in one of my magazines. When in Portland we had a chance to look @ them firsthand in one of the shops. Sister & I almost walked out of the store with some in hand but we couldn't decide which ones we wanted. When I got home I went to KaarsKoker's website and was pleased to see that you could order them direct. In the meantime I thought why not play around with pretty papers. I think it is fun and I plan to switch the candle sleeves out on a regular basis. I feel that they can give my chandelier either a festive or an updated look depending on the paper that I choose. So simple & fun.

  

  

Here's mine except they aren't crafted with as much quality but hey for $1.00 not too bad.

Go here to see more of the fabulous desgins KaarsKoker has to offer.  I still am trying to make up my mind on which ones I want.

A quick & easy creative..Hello Kitty made me do it.

Man being a parent requires so much creativity. Not just the kind of creativity that is well thought out but also the kind that has to come quickly.  

I wonder how many times I say "NO" in a whole day. Actually I don't think I want to know because it wouldn't be pretty. 

Today I glanced quickly over @ Hello Kitty sitting so calmly on top of the chalkboard after I had just hollered to the girls to come @ eat their food for the twentieth gazillenth time.   It was then & there that I decided to recruit Hello Kitty to take over as "Mom".  Out of desperation I finally yelled out, "Girls, Hello Kitty said you need to come over to eat lunch".  Well to preface a bit, Hello Kitty isn't a normal visitor in our home but she came over late last night after a trip to Wal-Mart to help Momma get the girls to listen & obey, if you know what I mean.   I told them that they had to work to get Hello Kitty to come down & if by Friday they were good girls then they could have the Pez.  Of course their ears perked up when I mentioned Hello Kitty in the whole come over & eat jargon (I only use the word jargon because clearly to the girls my language is just pure gibberish).  Anyway Hello Kitty continued to make all sorts of appearances & used me as her translator.  Together we said things like, "Hello Kitty says no" or "Hello Kittty thinks it is time to now take a nap".   It was so nice to put some of the "mom mantle" on that cute little cat with a bow in her hair.  If this continues to keep working Hello Kitty has a permanent place to stay, I say.  Now if I could only teach her to change diapers, cook & fill up cups & sippies all day then we would be set.

 

Want to see what else Hello Kitty made me do.....

well she made me buy a white t-shirt for $5.00 last night because it seemed liked a nice shirt to add the fun beaded thing to.  You see after I saw a few of the beaded shirts at J. Crew & being as cheap as I am I couldn't resist this little project.  Now I won't be as upset when Manny, Moe or Jack rips the beads off & then I will think to myself, "I'm sure glad I didn't fork over the $125 for that beaded shirt I fancied so".  

This little craft goes down in the record book as the quickest & easiest one ever.  Remember the little field trip I went on a few weeks ago with my friend to one of my favorite places?  Well it is called SAS fabrics by the pound and I picked that beaded thing up for a whole dollar.

Ok not quite the same but who cares mine was $6.00 & now I think I will go look for some more embellishments because that is what Hello Kitty would want.