Monday, November 18, 2013

Washi Tape Gourd Ornament - Craft Lightning Holiday Edition 2013

Happy Holidays!

Yes...I know it's a tad early...but really the Holidays are upon us with Thanksgiving coming up next week!

Are you prepared or way behind like me?

At least I've started on my Christmas ornaments and this year I'm obsessed with gourds!


If you saw my last post, then you know what I'm talking about.

I purchased a good sampling of dried gourds at the pumpkin patch in October and have been trying to come up with various crafty and thrifty ways to decorate them for the season!

It occurred to me that time is always a factor when preparing for the Holidays and so I wanted to use a technique that was fast, yet would still be cute and  worthy of display.

Then Washi Tape popped into my head!


Of course you've heard of it...it's one of the latest craft trends and SO easy to use!


It just so happens that it was time for another fabulous "Craft Lightning" Series hosted by my awesome bloggie friends Carolina at 30 Minute Crafts and Angie at The Country Chic Cottage, so this project is a perfect fit!


If you are new here, then I'll fill you in on what "Craft Lightning" is...it is a craft that you can make in 15 minutes or less (minus drying time)!

This edition of Craft Lightning features a roundup of great Holiday Projects from a awesome bunch of Craft and Home/DIY Bloggers, you won't want to miss one minute of it!

Here is a photo collage of the steps I took to make this ornament...


I somehow forgot to get a photo of the part where I added the thin gold ribbon to the top and bottom of ornament, but you can see it if you look closely at the pics.

Here are the tools and supplies used to make this project:


Materials/Tools Used:

Dried Gourd
Delta Ceramacoat Acrylic Paint (White)
Paintbrush
Washi Tape, Tape Works by Sandy Lion (#SC9518) Red/Pink Paisley Design
Aleene's Original Tacky Glue
Darice Glitter, Lt. Pink
Braided Ribbon, Metallic Polyester, Gold, 1/8", Berwick/Offray
Scissors, mini
ModPodge Gloss
Foam paint brush
Satin Ribbon, Pink, 3/8" (Brand Unknown)
Faceted Faux Jewel, Gold/Yellow, 1/2", in Blook By Design (Hobby Lobby)

Thank-you for joining me today! 
Be sure to check out all the other great projects in this series, you'll truly be inspired!

This project/post is linked to the following sites/link-up parties:




Friday, November 8, 2013

Gourd Ornaments

Christmas is just around the corner and it sure snuck up on me fast this year!
I wanted to make some ornaments, but wanted to try something "new" so I decided to give gourd crafting a shot.


In October we took the Grandgirls to the Pumpkin Patch and I purchased some dried gourds and couldn't wait to make something with them, so when I realized the "No Ugly Ornament" series was coming up, I knew it would be a perfect time to "experiment" with my new craft materials!


I started out by cleaning the gourds, as the one's I purchased from the local farmer had been dried, but not cleaned. Some places sell cleaned gourds, but you will most likely pay more money for them and it's really pretty easy to clean them yourself if you have time.


I won't repeat the entire cleaning process here, but instead I will direct you to two of the sources I used to guide me, since this was my first time using gourds.

I watched this video on YouTube which was very informative and helpful:


I also visited this webpage on cleaning gourds: http://www.instructables.com/id/How-to-clean-a-hardshell-gourd/

Once the gourds were clean and dried it was time to get busy!

At first, I wasn't sure how I wanted to decorate them, but I knew most likely they would need to be "primed" in some way, so I painted them with some white acrylic paint (2-3 coats).

I decided to try a few different techniques since I had several gourds.

For this series I decided to make a Bejeweled "Blinged-Out" Ornament and a Hand Drawn Mosiac design ornament.


Here are the supplies I used for this project:


Materials/Tools List:

Sanding Pads (Coarse, Fine)
Delta Ceramcoat Acrylic Paint (White)
Paint Brush
Bic Mark-it Ultra-Fine Permanent Markers
Sharpie Ultra-Fine Permanent Markers
in Bloom by Bead Design, Faceted Faux Gems, Assorted 
One Button (from misc. stock on hand) - (for Hanger atop gourd)
Aleene's Tacky Glue
E6000 Adhesive
Krylon Workable Fixatif 1306

I used the fixative spray (not shown in photo) on the mosiac gourd, to keep the colors from smearing when the ornament is handled.

(This also helps if you are going to add lacquer, mod podge or other decorative coating to the surface, as some of these coatings will make the color from the ink pens run and a very light spray of fixative will help prevent this problem)

Be sure to stop by and visit all my crafty friends who are part of this great series hosted by my friend Erin at My Very Educated Mother.

I know you'll have fun and be inspired!

 photo NUO2013_zps3547e5dd.png


Friday, September 27, 2013

Halloween Mummy Pumpkin

Once again, I am excited to be a part of a "Craft Lightning" event put together by Angie at The Country Chic Cottage and Carolina from Thirty Minute Crafts.

This one is a special "Super Spooky Edition" featuring Halloween projects in 15 minutes or less (minus drying time of course)!


My project is a super cute and easy Mummy Pumpkin, inspired by a flyer/brochure I picked up at Hobby Lobby a few weeks ago.


I really had fun making this mummy pumpkin and my Granddaughter liked it so much she asked if she could have it and asked if we could make one for her teacher!
(Something we haven't done yet, but will be on the list for next week's activities)

The good thing about this craft is that you can find most of the items just laying around your house or in your craft stash to complete it!

I purchased the faux pumpkin at Hobby Lobby, but I've heard that the dollar store also has these pumpkins, so check that out for sure if you are on a budget!

To keep this craft under 15 minutes, you'll want to choose a fairly small pumpkin.
The one I chose was 17" around and 6-1/2" Tall (to the stem).

Of course you can use a bigger pumpkin, but covering it will take a little bit longer time wise.


You can use gauze wrap or cheesecloth to wrap the pumpkin, though gauze wrap would be faster as it is usually cut to a good width already and cheesecloth is not.



I used cheesecloth and cut it in strips and then I used Mod Podge to apply the cheesecloth and seal it.


There is nothing more fun than playing with mod podge!


For the eyes and lips I used some white, black and red felt I had in my craft stash.

I found the fake eyelashes at the  "99 cent only" store, but you can use pipe cleaners or even craft paper to make eyelashes if you want.

It's crafting...and anything goes here!

Just use your imagination and create away!


I used the Hobby Lobby brochure as inspiration, but tried to make the mummy pumpkin "my own" by adding my personal touches, like the purple netting with glitter dots!


The purple satin flower spray was something I had laying around and I can't even remember for sure where I got it, but I think it was on a present I received years ago.


I thought the touch of purple was fitting for Halloween and added a pop of color that was needed to make this pumpkin stand out!


Here is what I used to create this project:


Faux/Fake Pumpkin (small to medium size)
Cheesecloth
Mod Podge
Felt, Sparkle Black, White & Red
Fake Eyelashes
Nylon Netting, Light Purple
Flower or Bow Embellishment
Crayola Glitter Pens
Aleene's Tacky Glue
Stamp Pad, Purple
Straight Pins
Foam Paint Brush
Flat Bristle Brush
Pencil
White Marking Pencil
Black Sharpie Pen
Scissors

Thank-you to Angie from Country Chic Cottage and Carolina from 30 Minute Crafts for hosting another great Craft Lightning Series, I always enjoy being a part of it!







This project/post is linked to the following sites/link parties:


Wednesday, September 25, 2013

Disney Little Mermaid Princess Outfit for 18" Dolls - Simplicity 5705

As my regular visitors have already surmised...I have a lot of doll loving little girls in my life at the moment (3 Granddaughters and 2 nieces)!
So, you won't be surprised to see that I've made another doll outfit.


I tend to be a pattern hoarder and have purchased almost every American Girl (18" Doll) Pattern out there, so about a year ago, I showed a good sampling of these patterns to my sweet little ones and they all picked out an outfit that they wanted, so I had to get busy!

This is the second outfit of that bunch, you may have seen my first one, this pajama ensemble that I made for my niece "K".

Her Sister "H" picked out the Disney Princess Little Mermaid Dress from this adorable Simplicity Pattern:


I was a little worried, as I am still somewhat of a novice sewer and wasn't sure I could handle the fabrics that are required for this project, but it's the one that sweet "H" wanted, so I was going to give it my best shot!

I did have some problems with the purple fabric used in the bodice.
It was called "Confetti Dot, Purple" and contained nylon filament and metallics.


I kept getting the fabric stuck in the hole of the throat plate and tore up several pieces of fabric before I realized that I needed not only to change the needle (fine needle 60-70) but needed a different or "special" throat/presser plate made for sewing such delicate materials on a small scale (doll clothes).

I did not come to this realization on my own however...as much as I'd like to claim credit...lol!

After total frustration, I did a lot of "googling" to try and find a solution to my problem.

I finally found a somewhat obscure site that solved my problem: http://www.sew-fashion-doll-clothes.com/sewingmachines.html .

There was some great advice on this site and best of all it addressed my specific issue with the delicate fabric and presser plate.

The only problem was...Singer (the mfr. of my machine) does not make a straight stitch plate for my model, so I was still in a bit of a pickle...I tried making a makeshift cover made out of card stock per the instructions on the above site, but I just couldn't get it right.


It did work, for a bit, but it definitely wasn't a long term solution.

Fortunately, my good friend "D" has a Janome machine that has a straight stitch plate and she let me borrow her machine to finish my project!

I think I will stay away from the delicate fabrics for doll clothes for awhile...at least until I can afford a different machine that accomodates a straight stitch plate!

Overall, I was pretty happy with the finished product!









I was really excited to finally get it to my sweet niece "H" and was so pleased she was happy with it!


Hope you all enjoyed looking at my project and if you'd like more info or have questions you can e-mail me or message me on my facebook page

If you'd like to see more pictures of my project check out my Flickr page.

Thank-you for visiting!

Skip To My LouThis post/project is linked to the following sites/link-up parties:
 sweetcsdesigns.com


Creative Corner Blog Hop

Monday, August 19, 2013

Discovery Museum - Sunshine Kid's Blog Hop

I've found that one of the great things about living in California is all the fun places to visit and play!

Recently we took our Granddaughters to a great museum in Sacramento called the "Discovery Museum - Science and Space Center".


I wasn't sure at first if it would be "age appropriate" for our little one's (ages 2 and 5), 
but we were pleasantly surprised at the versatility and amount of exhibits!

Most of the activities could be easily enjoyed by a child or adult of any age.

The animal exhibits were really nice and geared so that even little ones could see and enjoy them.




I was very happy to see how interested our five year old Granddaughter (Little B) was in the more sophisticated displays, such as the mars soil, pine cones and bicycle gyro!




The museum has "rotating exhibits" and currently they have the "Space Quest" exhibit going on until January 2014.

I was not convinced that our "girls" were going to be interested in space stuff, but boy was I wrong!

They had a BLAST and our two year old Granddaughter is STILL talking about the robot "COSMOS" that she met there!


Here is a cute video of her and her sister having a "convo" with Cosmos!


Little "B" was really excited about the rocket ship play area and donned a space suit and played in the rocket ship with other kids that were there.



Another favorite for both kids was the "Cosmic Cafe" where kids can prepare play foods and serve them to Parents, Grandparents or each other!



They had a special show in the Planetarium for the younger kids, a movie of "Sid the Science Kid" which was perfect for Little B but a little tedious for the two-year old "C-Bear"!

We stopped for a short break and had a snack outside on the beautiful grounds of the museum and sat next to the duck pond.



My only regret is that I wish I had planned better and brought a more "healthy" snack for the little ones.

They had vending machines at the museum and we bought our snacks there.

To be honest, I did not think we'd be there long, as I mentioned before, we did not expect children as young as our grandkids to really enjoy the museum that much but I was really happy and very impressed with the whole program!

We had such a great time and our Granddaughters learned a lot and had fun doing it!

Here are some more photos from the fun activities the kids participated in while at the museum:
(You can click on this collage to make it bigger)


I would highly recommend this place to anyone in the area who is looking for a fun place to hang-out and learn with family and children, or to those traveling through Northern California who want to see the local sites!

We will definitely be visiting here again soon!

For more information on hours, pricing and upcoming exhibits see their website here.

Thank-you for sharing our adventure!

I am happy to be participating in a fun blog hop this week...

Sunshine Kids California Blog Hop

The Sunshine Kids California Blog Hop celebrates all that is wonderful about raising kids in the Golden State.

Link up your kid-centered posts about California: places to visit, books to read, crafts to create, recipes to try, and so on.

The blog hop will run from August 19 to September 2.

Thanks to Akane of Juggling With Kids for the beautiful photo!

You can also check out even more California posts on our collaborative Kid Friendly California Pinterest board!

 Be sure to check out our upcoming project, Exploring the California Missions!    
    

Participating Blogs:

All Done Monkey InCultureParent.com - Raising little global citizens.
Kids Yoga Stories The Silly Pearl
The Art Pantry 2KuriousKids
A Mom With a Lesson Plan
Adventure Bee
Capri+3
Juggling With Kids
Little Hiccups
Slow Family



Link up your kid-centered California posts below!