Dream Fairies Wooden Plaque

On my most recent trip to Hobby Lobby (an AWESOME craft store that just arrived in Pittsburgh...Woot!), I found the most adorable item. In the wooden items section of the store, I came across a wooden plaque decorated to look like the entrance to a fairy castle and meant to hang in a room (and, in my case, my own future baby girl's nursery) for fairies to enter the room. Does it get cuter than that?



Plaque as sold at Hobby Lobby



Using colors similar to those that will be used in the baby's room, I used acrylic paints to decorate the plaque. I then used scrapbooking letter stickers to create the words "Dream Fairies Enter Here" surrounding the plaque. Finally, I sprayed the entire plaque with acrylic sealant and Wah-lah!!! More pictures to come when the nursery is completed, so STAY TUNED...







Fairy entrance for baby's room



Baby Tutu for Monthly Photos



Cutest little model I ever did see!

The inspiration for this project was an adorable sticker pack called "Sticky Bellies" that I found at Hobby Lobby ($9.99 for a pack of 12/ $6 if you've got one of their 40% off coupons)! In the package, colorful stickers are labeled 1-12 months and meant to be displayed on baby's onesie or shirt for monthly pictures. A picture of an adorable baby girl wearing a Sticky Belly on a shirt and a sweet, little tutu gave me the perfect idea for the ensemble my baby girl could eventually wear. I have seen instructions for and pictures of adorable ribbon and tulle tutus that I have been meaning to make for what seems like forever now. I went to my local Wal-Mart and bought 1 yard each of brightly colored blue, pink, purple, and green tulle, along with polka-dot, pink ribbon and followed the directions I found online through the website indicated below (keeping in mind I measured the ribbon according to baby's potential waist and height adding lots of extra so that it expands as she does; the directions call for a larger child's dimensions):

http://bebehblog.com/the-most-unnecessary-craft-tutorial-ever-baby-tutu/

A view of the entire skirt...I may add more tulle pieces to fluff it up a bit

Bonus pic of a Steelers tutu I made for my little munchkin (please pray she doesn't hate me some day for making her wear all these flippin tutus!)

How To: Decorate a Ring

Here's a SUPER easy project for anyone to try:

Materials:
-Craft glue (I use E6000)
-metal ring base (usually can be found at any craft store)
-large bead (or any craft item you'd like to wear as a piece of jewelry; in my case, I used a flat, turquoise bead)

Example of a ring base used for this project

 Instructions:
1. Squeeze a dime-sized drop of craft glue onto the bead
2. Place the center of the ring base onto the glue to adhere
3. Allow the glue to dry overnight (keep the ring bead-side down to allow to dry appropriately)
4. Enjoy!!!

Trying My Hand at Metal Stamping

I have always admired crafters on Etsy and other sites that create metal-stamped jewelry. Being the type to leave no craft unturned and wanting to try my hand at this task, I asked my mom for a set of metal stamps for my birthday a few years back. Little did I know just how much more I would admire those types of crafters, as metal-stamping is a very precise craft that requires an extremely steady hand. How metal-stamping crafters are able to stamp names, dates, and quotes onto pendants with consistent pressure and uniformity, I will never know. In other words, I stick to one-letter stamping and often go through multiple stamping disks and plates before getting even one centered and looking the way I want it. For this particular project, I decided to create initial and birthstone charms for my sister and sister-in-law in honor of their little ones, Royce and Camdyn, respectively.

Materials:

-metal alphabet stamp set
-metal stamping disk (with hole drilled)
-small anvil -hammer
-necklace chain
-permanent marker
-steel wool
-craft epoxy
-flat-sided rhinestones

1. Line up the alphabet stamp of choice in the middle of the disk and hold it steadily

2. Using a small hammer, hit the flat end of the metal stamp repetively, making sure to hold the stamp steadily

3. Once the letter has been successfully stamped, scribble over the entire letter with a permanent marker

4. Using a piece of steel wool, rub off the permanent marking, leaving only the outline of the letter stamped darkened

5. Wipe off smudges and fingerprints with a dry cloth

6. Using craft epoxy, glue a rhinestone to the disk for decoration or, in this case, to symbolize birth stones

7. Add a split ring through the hole in the disk and string onto necklace chain to wear proudly

Children's Craft: paper bowl Easter basket

Easter chick basket

This was a waaay cute project completed by my students in their Home Ec. class. Perfect for the upcoming Easter holiday and so simple!

 Here are the instructions:

Materials:
-brown and yellow construction paper (shredded)
-sturdy, paper bowl
-two pipe cleaners in colors of choice
-hole punch
-3 plastic eggs (various colors)
-google eyes (6)
-feathers (6)
-orange foam-cut into small triangles for bird beaks (3)

Instructions:
1. Using the hole punch, make one hole on each side of the paper bowl's rim
2. Twist pipe cleaners together and thread one end into each side of the rim, folding and twisting to secure.   
    The pipe cleaners should form your basket handle
3. Place paper shreds into the paper bowl
4. Glue google eyes, foam triangles and feathers onto each egg to complete your "chicks"
5. If you wish, place sweet treats or toys in the eggs for an extra special surprise (my students actually made their own chocolates, which went inside of their eggs. How cool is that?)




One of my students modeling his adorable creation

Wishing all of you and those you hold dear to have a wonderful Easter holiday! May your baskets overflow with love, family, and  friendship.

HAPPY EASTER!!!!!!!