Spider Web Door Hanger For Halloween

It's hard to believe that Fall is fast approaching and that Halloween is "creeping" up on us!

Of course what would the Holiday be without a little "Craft Lightning"??!!

This awesome series has been hosted for a few years now by Angie at Country Chic Cottage and Carolina from 30 minute Crafts and it is always so much fun!

This edition is highlighting Halloween and is co-hosted by: Jen Goode from the blog "100 Directions".

I have been collecting bottle caps for awhile, just imagining all the crafty possibilities they hold...so I decided it was time to try and use some of them up before Hubby asks that inevitable question..."What are you going to do with those?" 

At first I wanted to make a Halloween-themed wind chime, but soon discovered that in order to make these babies "chime" I would need a ton of them and couldn't possibly get it done in 15 minutes or less, so I moved on to a simpler solution: a Door Hanger!

The most obvious thing I could think of that resembled the shape of the bottle caps was of course a pumpkin or a spider and I settled on spiders and a spider web!

This project was so easy to make and really the only time consuming part was taking the rubber seals out of the bottle caps. For this reason, I recommend you purchase the regular metal bottle caps that are made specifically for crafts, that don't include that seal.

If you aren't in a hurry though and you don't mind the tedious task of removing them, then by all means go ahead and recycle/upcycle!

Here is a short slideshow/video I made of how I assembled this project:

Here are the tools & supplies I used to make this project:

Supplies/Tools List:

(*Disclosure: Some text may contain affiliate links) 

Wire Clothes Hanger

Pop Bottle Caps
Cricut Cuttle Bug Embosser (To Flatten Caps)
Black Spray Paint (Krylon)
Wood Block and Nail (To punch holes in bottle caps)
Hammer
Hot Glue Gun (AdTech Dual-Temp)
Glue Sticks (AdTech Multi-Temp)
Ruler
Lace, Black (Remnant from stash...brand unknown)
Lace Trim, Black (Remant from stash...brand unknown)
Scissors
Paint Pen, Silver (Marvy/Uchida DecoColor)
Decorative Bead Trim, Plastic, Silver (Hobby Lobby)
Needle Nose Pliers
Nylon MonoFilament (aka:Fishing Line)
Metal Scribe and/or wooden popsicle sticks

Be sure to check-out all of the other Halloween Goodies in this series by clicking on the info-graphic below!

Thank-you for visiting my blog today, hope you found some fun and inspiration and will visit again soon!



(*Stuff-n-Such, Lisa Hall, is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, and affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com)

Father's Day Dresser Catch-All for Dad

Time for another round of  Craft Lightning and this one is a first...a Father's Day theme!

I really had to wrack my brain for this one...I am NEVER good at gifts for men or even boys for that matter!

I guess I just typically like the "girly" stuff...but fortunately while cleaning out some storage areas on our property, I came across this old crusty tool box (carrier) that hubby was going to throw out because apparently it had outlived it's usefulness...to him anyway!

I knew that I had this Craft Lightning post coming up and I thought surely I could think of something to make from this for Father's Day...and It finally came to me...a "catchall" box for that special "Dad" in you or your children's lives.

I don't know about the guys in your life, but I know my son's and my hubby in particular are not super concerned about where stuff goes when they are tired after a long day at work!

This catch-all will help keep them organized and not lose those important items they need for the next day or in the near future.

Perfect place for a wallet, work ID badge, watch, spare change, neck ties, fitbit, and a wedding ring or other jewelry for those guys who can't wear them at their jobs!

Really the hardest part of this project was getting the old, rusty, grubby tool carrier clean!
I'll have to admit that it took a lot longer than 15 minutes to do that part alone, but of course you don't have to start with something in such bad shape...you can always use a nice wooden box purchased from your local craft store and skip the cleaning step!

I just like to re-purpose old stuff that is headed for the landfill...if I can think of a way to make it useful.

I tried to only use tools and supplies that I had on hand for this project and this time that almost caused a big craft "fail", because the spray paint I used was some paint that had been in hubby's garage stash for quite awhile and I didn't realize that older spray paints can lose their air pressure after awhile and cause spotting.

If you look closely, you can see this is what happened to my project and I started to panic, because I didn't have a lot of time to start over...but after spraying the rest of the project I started actually liking the mottled/splotched look of the paint...it made it kind of gritty looking...more like it was suited for a man, so I left it be and hoped for the best.

Here is a short video of the steps I took to make this project:

Here are the tools/supplies I used for this project:

Tools/Supplies List:

(*Some Text May include affiliate links)

Old Metal Tool Carrier/Toolbox
Primer Gray Spray Paint, Rust-Oleum
Spray Pain, Blue
Cricut Explore
Cricut Design Space (Online Software)
Plantin Schoolbook Font (DAD)
Indie Art Cartridge (Wrench)
Freezer Paper, Reynolds
Recollections Turquoise Geometric Patterned Scrapbooking Paper, 12x12
Fiskars Paper Trimmer
Scissors
Ruler, Wooden
Ruler, Plastic, Cricut
Sharpie Pen, Black
Non-Slip/Grip Material (Not sure of the brand, I had it on hand in my kitchen!)
Aleene's Tacky Glue
Krylon Workable Fixatif
Mod Podge Clear Acrylic Gloss Sealer

Thanks so much for stopping by my blog and I hope you liked my Father's Day upcycled project!

Be sure to click on the graphic below and see all of the other great projects brought to you by other creative bloggers.

Many thanks to the hosts of Craft Lightning also: Angie from the Country Chic Cottage, Carolina from 30 minute Crafts and Danielle from Busy Mom's Helper.

See ya next time!

(*Stuff-n-Such, Lisa Hall, is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, and affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com)

Valentine Love Letter Keepsake Box

I know it might be "Old School" now...but back in my day, we wrote letters on paper to people we loved and cared about and what better way to store those precious memories than in an upcycled embellished old wine box!

My Sister recently sent me a ton of personal love letters that my Dad had sent to my Mom when they were dating and newly married and he was in the service.

These are precious to me and I wanted a way to store them where I could find them easily, as one day I want to read them all and gain more insight into my parent's relationship. Unfortunately they experienced rocky times in later years and ultimately divorced which was a sad and confusing time for me, but I know these letters will remind me of the love they once shared!

When Angie and Carolina announced the upcoming "Craft Lightning" for Valentine's Day...I knew this project I had in mind would be perfect for these special letters!

For those of you who are new here...Craft Lightning is a great series for craft & DIY bloggers that is hosted by Angie from the Country Chic Cottage and Carolina from 30 minute Crafts, where bloggers/crafters are challenged to create a quick craft that takes 15 minutes or less...minus drying time!

For this project, I kept it simple to meet those requirements...but you could of course get more fancy with this wine box and add more customized graphics or photos, or even stain it and give it an "antique" look!

So many fun and creative ways you can decorate these boxes and upcycle them into something useful and beautiful!

Not only can this box be used for special love letters, but it would make a cute collection box for a child's valentines from school or special photos near and dear to them or to you!

Here is a short video showing the steps taken to make this love letter keepsake box:

Here are the tools and supplies I used for this project:

Supplies/Tool List:

(*Disclosure: Some text may include affiliate links)

Wooden Wine Box
Rust-Oleum Primer and Sealer
ACE Enamel Spray Paint, Antique White/Cooler Beige
Paper Napkins, Heart Themed, (From WalMart)
Scissors
Aleene's Tacky Glue
Mod Podge
Foam Paint Brush
Rubber Stamp, Love, By Craft Smart
Q-Tips (if necessary for touch-up)
Ink Pad, Red, Studio G, Dye Ink*
Krylon Workable Fixatif
Mod Podge Gloss Sealer

* One note about the materials I used...I was a bit inexperienced in using ink on wood and probably did not use the best type of ink or medium to stamp this box. The ink I used was a "dye" type ink and it did not adhere well to the spray enamel paint on the wood and it never really fully dried to where I could coat it with Mod Podge.
What I did to remedy this situation was spray over the stamped areas with a light mist of the workable fixatif. I let that dry and then lightly sprayed it a second time.
Even then, I was not able to cover it with Mod Podge because it began to "bleed" red when I did.
(That is why I needed the Q-tips...to try and fix my messy looking, smeared boo-boo!)
So, I ended up just using the mod podge on the napkin cutouts and after the ModPodge and Fixatif dried...I covered the entire top of the box with ModPodge Gloss Sealer and it worked great to seal the whole thing so it looked shiny and the stamps didn't rub off!
(I think in hindsight I should have used either pigment stamp or acrylic paint to stamp with...oh well...live and learn!)

Hope you are inspired to create by visiting my blog today and be sure to click on the graphic below to see lots of other great Valentine Inspired projects from Crafty Bloggers!

(*Stuff-n-Such, Lisa Hall, is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, and affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com)

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

http://www.craftsalamode.com/2017/02/what-to-do-weekends-party-211.html

Wedding Noisemaker Favor from Soda Can

Summer is here and with it brings the wedding Season and what better time to have another round of the ever-popular Craft Lightning Series hosted by Angie at the Country Chic Cottage and Carolina from 30 Minute Crafts.

Guest host for this Wedding Series is the crafty and talented Katie, from "Sweet Rose Studio".

I'm so happy you all have stopped by to see what sweet and sassy wedding crafts can be whipped-up in a jiffy (15 minutes or less...minus drying time)!

When I think of weddings, my favorite part has always been the cute favors offered to the guests as a token of thanks and remembrance of the big day!

A tradition that is repeated at many a wedding is the celebrating or encouraging of a kiss or two between the Bride and Groom and I wanted to think of something different to signal that public display of affection besides the traditional bell.

With a little help from hubby (whose brain I was picking for ideas...), I came up with this simple noisemaker made from an aluminum soda can with bottle caps inside to create the "noise".

I wasn't quite sure how to make an old soda can look elegant (or at least appropriate) for a wedding...but I figured I'd give it the old college try and see what I could come up with.

I spray painted the can with an antique white color and bent several bottle caps in half and placed them inside the can so that it would make lots of noise when it was shook.

I sealed the can top off with a flattened out bottle cap and secured it with E6000.

I decorated the painted can using die-cuts that I made using my Cricut Explore and then accented the can with sheer ribbon and a paper flower on top.

Of course, you don't have to use a Cricut Explore or any other die-cut machine to do this, there are so many possibilities for embellishing the can but for the purpose of keeping this craft to 15 minutes or less, I decided the Cricut was a timesaver.

Here are the steps I took in making this project:

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

Tools/Supplies Used:

Empty/Used Aluminum Soda Can (Small/Mini)

Soda Bottle Caps

Ruler

Scissors

Pliers

Hammer, Small

Spray Paint, Krylon, Cover Maxx, Primer, Color: Gray

Spray Paint, Ace, Interior/Exterior, Color: Antique White/Cooler Beige

E6000 Adhesive

Scotch Advanced Tape Glider Gun

Cricut Explore Die-Cut Machine

Cricut Design Space Online Software

Newlyweds Image (#MB9501) from Cricut Cartridge (Library) "The Good Old Days"

Cricut Explore Antiquity Pen Set, Fine Point (Color: Midnight)

Sheer Ribbon, Details & Accessories, 5/8", Off White/Cream

Recollections Paper Flowers, Rolled

Recollections Cardstock Paper, Cream

Be sure to click on the info graphic below to see more great wedding projects that can be made in  15 minutes or less!




Thanks for stopping by for a visit...Please leave a comment and let me know what you think!

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