Mod Podge Jewelry

One of the coolest, simplest craft projects that I have seen throughout the many (and I mean many) craft blogs I've perused involves using glass beads, typically used as fillers for vases and decorative pieces, Mod Podge, scrapbook paper or pictures, and magnetic discs to create adorable, decorative magnets.

I decided to alter the idea a smidge and turn them into cute, inexpensive pendants that could be interchangeably strung onto a chain to match every outfit or theme you've got goin' on!

Here's how its done:

Materials:

-clear, glass stones (typically sold in packs of 20ish for $1 at your
 local, dollar store...whoop!)
-Mod Podge
-paint brush
-computer/printer
-scissors
-E6000 glue
-circular bail plate

Directions:

1. Search personal pictures and images/patterns online and print out (I copied/pasted into Microsoft Word and adjusted the pics into circles approximately the same size as the beads).

2. Cut images to fit the flat side of the glass beads

3. Using a paintbrush, coat the flat side of a glass stone with a thick
    layer of Mod Podge. Lay the image on top of the Mod Podge so  
    that the non-image side is facing upward. Allow Mod Podge to
    dry

4. Paint a layer of Mod Podge over the image to seal. Let dry.

5. Using E6000, glue a circular bail plate to the back of each stone and let dry.

6. Trim off any excess paper around the glass stone.

These make adorable pendants, but could also be put onto ring bases to be made into chunky rings! Enjoy!!!

Lookie What I Found!!! Panda and Penguin Beads!

While walking through my fave store (ok, so I have a lot of "fave stores," sue me!), Hobby Lobby, I found the cutest glass beads!



How flippin' cute are these penguins???





So stoked about these panda beads, too!





Since we are planning a panda-themed party for Claire's first birthday, I am particularly excited about the panda beads! Aaaand, since Pittsburgh is represented by the best hockey team on earth, I look forward to rocking out some penguins jewelry to support them in the very near future! Here are the pendants and earrings I made thusfar:





Pendants-I added noses and beads to resemble bodies to the pandas. The penguins were perfect on their own!



A panda pendant and matching earrings I intend to wear to the party

  



Taking orders, if anyone else wants!

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!

Valentine's Day Gift Jars

Valentine jars for each of my classroom assistants



A view of one of the jars



Here are the Valentine gifts I made for my fabulous teaching staff! I simply used glass, airtight containers I bought at a dollar store and filled them with cute, Valentine-y stuff (Valentine socks, lipstick pens, candy necklaces, chocolates, etc.). I then hot glued artificial roses and leaves (also purchased at a local dollar store) to the tops of the glass containers and added glittery letter stickers (bought at...you guessed it! Dollar stores rock!) to spell out each of their names on the front of the containers.

Happy Valentine's Day!!!

A view from the top of a jar

Another glance

Children's Craft: Family Fun Jars




Family Fun Jar and contents


A cute and inexpensive craft project done with the girls in my Girl Scout troop is a “Family Fun Jar.” I found really cute flip-top glass jars at a dollar store for $1.00 each. Each of the girls were given the opportunity to decorate the outsides of their jars using glitter alphabet stickers (also purchased at the same dollar store for $1.00 per five sheets of letters) with the phrase “Family Fun,” their last names, or names of the people in their families. I had pre-printed a large list of ideas for families to participate in together using a number of various websites and had the girls cut apart each of the items, fold them, and place them into the jar. They were then able to wrap them and give them to their family members as a holiday gift. The idea is for families to take turns choosing an item out of the jar when looking for fun activities to do together on the fly!



Flip-top jar




Front of family fun jar




Back of jar




Inside of jar-filled with ideas for families to spend time together