Scrabble Charm Bracelet

Hi All,

Here is a quick tutorial of the Scrabble Charm Bracelet I made my Mom's Birthday Present.

I had found a Scrabble game a while back as Goodwill  - I was super excited to find it, because there are a number of Scrabble crafts floating around in my head that I wanted to make or use for scrap booking, etc.

Scrabble tiles are 18mm wide X 20 mm tall.

1. Place a piece of masking or painters tape over the tile to protect it from the drill

2. Mark 9mm over & 4mm down for the center of the hole.

3. Drill hole - we (My Husband) carefully drilled a pilot hole & then used a slightly larger drill bit for the finished hole.  The finished hole measured approx 2mm in diameter. 

***We practiced on the "X" first - I didn't want to risk any precious letters :)

 You can simply add a jump ring here & you are ready to wear OR ...
You can add a photo/picture to the back.

4. I printed out photos of Mom's 3 grandkids at 15mm X 15mm
5. Mod Podge the photo to the back of the Scrabble tile - let dry a few hours
6. Added a thin layer of Diamond Glaze over the photo - let dry over night
7. Add jump ring & wear

 ***While the Mod Podge & Diamond Glaze are wet, I used  needle to make sure the hole was not clogged

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM!

Love, Karla

Spiderman Christmas Ornament

Every year I make Peepers a ornament for Christmas.
His First Christmas I used Fimo clay & made a hand print ornament. I'm no Fimo expert... In fact this was the only time I've ever used it... so here is a TIP I'll share with you... to soften the Fimo clay up enough to work with it, I put it in a zip lock bag & stuck it on the front pocket of my pants while I went on with my day. My body heat warmed the clay up & made it easy to work with.
His Second Christmas I made a Photo Block ornament.

His Third Christmas I made a Birch Branch Photo ornament.
This year, while we were decorating the little tree for his bedroom, he requested a "Spiderman Tree".

In trying to surprise him , I thought I would at least get him a Spiderman ornament from Santa for next year. I was very disappointed with the selection for a 3 yr old (or any age for that matter). There were hand blown glass ones (NO THANK YOU) or nice resin ones that were $15.oo (Also NO THANK YOU).

So out of necessity, I had to come up with a home made Spiderman Ornament (actually semi homemade, but it still counts in my book).
You'll need:

a pre-made non-shatter proof ornament - I got this one at Target. I like the shape of it (kind of like an M&M) & thought it would be easy to add my idea to the back of the ornament.
Photo of Spiderman (or icon of your choice). I just googled some images & scaled them to be smaller that the ornament
Scissors or Exacto knife
marker - I used a sharpie
Mod Podge - I used Glitter Mod Podge... it is a Christmas ornament after all!
Brush
.

First I drew on a spiderweb with the marker - I also added his name & year


Then I cut out Spiderman using the scissors & Exacto knife for the small detail.

Lastly, Mod Podge Spiderman on the ornament & let dry.
Super simple & only $2.00

I do have some ideas for next year if he still wants a Christmas tree decorated entirely in Spiderman. We'll see...

Thanks for checking in, Karla

2 quick (and cheap) fall crafts

Hi All,
Are you ready for fall? Seriously, I'm not - I want another month of summer, But I have a few decorating ideas to help me get ready for a beautiful MN fall & brace myself for a not-so-beautiful MN Winter.

Candle:

You'll need: Mod Pogde, empty glass pickle jar, colored tissue paper, leaves &

candle (we use an flameless one with the boy running around) Tear up the tissue paper into random size pieces & Mod Podge on to the jar.
I found these cool leaves,I think they were all chewed up by Asian Beetles, But I loved the lacy look of them & thought light flickering thru them would be beautiful.
Mod Podge them on to the jar over the tissue paper - I used a super thick coat.
* word to the wise, store your leaves flat, not is a crumpled ball will make this project easier*
I tied on a little birch branch disc with some raffia, dropped in a candle & Done!

Pumpkin Banner:

I found these felt pumpkins at Dollar Store in WI. I was not sure what I would do with them, but I had to have them. My Mom suggested this project & I turned out super cute!

I punched some holes, ties them together with some raffia (just something about fall makes me want to decorate with raffia... must remind me of hay).

Hang it above the porch french doors with some little Command Hooks
DONE!
Each of these crafts took about 15 minutes & cost virtually nothing.

Plus I was lucky enough to have most of the craft supplies on hand.
Thank you, Karla

4th of July Wreath - the flip side

Do you remember the EASTER WREATH ???
Well flip those clothes pins over & Mod Podge the other side with RED, WHITE & BLUE scrap book paper & you have a fun 4th of July Wreath.

Instead of spelling out your celebration - I added family photos from this summer.

Happy 4th of July - Hope you all have a safe & fun Holiday!

Karla

Easter Wreath

I'm not a big Easter decorator... but thought I would make a little something to bring some spring into the house. I started with pastel cardstock, clothes pins, & Glitter Mod Podge & a large brass ring (no clue where I got this ring from... I think it moved with me from Ohio) but you could probably find one at JAF or other craft store. I cut the scrap book paper to the size of the clothes pin & Mod Podged it on... Careful not to touch (some kids just don't listen!)

Let it dry & clip them on to the ring.

Then I used heavy weight scrap book paper in fun pastel prints & patterns to cut egg shapes. I have a little cutter tool that I used, but you could easily print on out from on-line OR

if you are lucky enough to have a Cricut, you could cut them out in a jiffy. I used a glue stick to glue on letters on to the egg. Again, I had these letter in my scrap booking stash. You could use a stencil or your Cricut to cut them out.

Then just clip the eggs in to the cloths pins on the Wreath to spelling out HAPPY EASTER & add a bow.

Thank you, Karla

Calendar Puzzle

So it is 2011 & you all have 2010 calendars to toss or recycle. I chose to upcycle a fire truck calendar into a puzzle for my little man.

I purchased 15 3" x 3" squared from JAF in their pre-cut wood section. The number will vary depending on how big of a picture/calendar you have. I think they were .29 each.

I then measured off my puzzle into 3" x "3 squares

Cut the picture up & Modge Podged it on to the squares. There was a little trimming of the edges that needed to be done as either the wooden squares were not perfectly 3x3 or my cutting was a little off. (I'm blaming the wooden squares).
I did one photo on one side & another photo on the back. The pictures were completely different so it is pretty easy to see what side goes with what puzzle.

Does any one have any other suggestions for upcycling an old calendar?

Thank you, Karla