Hand Painted Oil Bottle

Although I'm not a big user of oil dressings or the use of oil for a whole lot in general, I love the look of oil bottles...and I loved this one in particular even more when I found it for a dollar at my local craft store! To decorate it, I simply chose four colors of acrylic paint that I thought would complement each other, in this case black, white, light blue, and red. Beginning with the lightest color (white), I used the tip of a Q-tip, dabbed it into the paint and created small dots around the entire bottle. I then repeated the same process with the light blue, followed by the red, and finally the black, until the bottle appeared completely covered in dots. After the paint dried, I sprayed a clear sealant all over the bottle to keep it protected from chipping. Although it sounds like a lot of monotony, it really is a very quick project and creates a really neat effect!

How To: Simple Baby Booties



Sweet little slippers for our upcoming arrival


Since I have FINALLY had some energy and free time this weekend (this whole developing a life inside of you thing is NO JOKE!), I decided I would do some crafting. Some crafting turned into a marathon day of gluing, painting, jewelry-making, photographing, brainstorming, organizing, sewing, you name it! All in all, my idea of a fabulous day!

My first project was finishing up the baby slippers I had started weeks and weeks ago. I have wanted so badly to make baby slippers similar to the ones my cousin, Kristin made for my nephew around Christmas time. After I found the pattern and instructions online (which I will happily share with all of you!), I got started with pinning and sewing and making a few of my own adaptations. Here is a great webpage that will take you through the process step-by-step and also includes a pattern for the slippers themselves.

Since I am not the most gifted hand-stitcher, I decided to match the thread I used to sew the slippers to the color of the fabric as best I could and create smaller stitches than those shown  in the instructions (in other words, the less people able to see my stitching, the better off we all are!). In addition, since I am having a girl and she will be the recipient of these slippers, I decided to sew ribbon along the upper edges of each pair of slippers to create a cute bow that could be tied in the front.



Black and gold slippers for baby girl to rock out during Steelers football season




Sweet little pink booties with white ribbon




Probably my favorite pair-gray felt slippers with purple ribbon.







Children's Craft-Panda Visor

Make new friends, but keep the old (sing it if you know it!) one is silver and the other’s gold. As a child/teenager, I had the privilege (yes, privilege!) of being a Girl Scout for 13 years. Scouting allowed me to meet people from all walks of life, try activities I would never have tried otherwise, perform community service projects for those less fortunate than myself and experience the joy of giving back, and travel around the country and world (That’s right, kids..my troop went on a two-week journey to London and Paris!). About a year and a half ago, I decided that it was time for me to start giving back to the Girl Scout program. I met up with someone from my local council and, before I knew it, I was the new troop leader of a Daisy (Kindergarten-1^st grade) troop!

One of the events held by the council was Thinking Day, which teaches the girls about Girl Scouts and Girl Guides in other countries. We were asked to represent a specific country at this event, so our troop chose China. With one week to plan and zero kimonos in my possession, one of the moms suggested having the girls dress like pandas…Done! I told the girls to wear a black and white outfit of their choosing and simply decorated white visors with black, hardened felt, and a black Sharpie to transform them from girls to China’s most well-beloved animal!