Yarn Money Ornament

We have reached the stage where the cousins are getting old enough to want money for Christmas.  I don't mind giving money but I wanted to make it a little more special and take a little longer to open.  I have seen a lot of ideas for making monitary gifts more special but none seemed quite right.  While looking at my tree I decided to make a yarn ornament.  I had the yarn so it wouldn't require another trip to the store and is something I could do while watching TV. 

 

I started by folding a bunch of dollar bills.  I folded some in squares and some in rectangles.  I took one of the bills and started wrapping the yarn around it.  Once it was completely covered I added another bill and started wrapping yarn.  I did this until all the bills were covered and it made a big circle.

 To finish it off I added some ribbon and a note so he will know what to do and who it is from.

I decided not to wrap the gift.  Just had my sister in law hang it on the tree and it is ready for Christmas morning.

Quick and Easy Christmas Card Holder

The other night I attended my MOPS leadership Christmas party.  We had a fun night of eating and crafting from things that were found on Pinterest.  One of my friends brought this fun and simple Christmas Card Holder for us to make.  I love that you can add extra holders depending on how many cards you receive.

 You will need:

thick ribbon

clothes pins

various buttons including a large one

thinner ribbon

hot glue gun

 Start by cutting the thick ribbon to the length you want.  The more cards you receive the longer you will want it to be.  Hot glue the buttons to the clothes pins.  Use as many as you think you may need.

 Glue the big button to the top of the ribbon.  I also added a smaller button to the middle to add more color.  Attach the thinner ribbon to the back with glue to make a loop to hang it with.

Now it is ready to hang and add your cards.

We made ours so they hang vertical but it would also be cute hung horizontal.  You can add big buttons and loops to each end.

 

I can't wait to display my cards on this super cute holder.

10 Days til Thanksgiving- Thanksgiving Day

Happy Thanksgiving!

 

 We will be busy celebrating with family today so won't have time to do crafts.  Instead I thought I would share one that I made.  I made these Pilgrim hat place cards a couple years ago. 

 I took small clay pots and painted them black.  Cut a piece of black foarm that was a tad bigger and glued to the bottom.  I then painted the "band" of each hat a different color and glued on a yellow foam "buckle".

 On the back of each hat I wrote the name of the person.  It has been a fun way to show each person where to sit and added some color to our table.

Have a very Happy Thanksgiving!  I hope you enjoy spending time with friends and family.

Dried Leaf Craft

My oldest son is on track break the month of November which basically leaves us a lot of time to do some fun crafts.  I saw this idea in Family Fun magazine and thought my boys would love it.  We started out by going to the park and picking up some dried leaves.  This was our favorite part of the project.  Gave us an opportunity to go play at the park and take advantage of the nice fall weather.

 

Start out with some construction or stock paper, pencil, glue and dried leaves.

 Draw a picture that is fairly big and not too detailed.  We did a simple leaf and pumpkin.

Trace over your lines with glue.  Make sure you have a decent amount so the leaves have something to stick to. 

 For this part we took the leaves in our hands and crushed them up over the paper.  When the glue areas were entirely covered we dumped the extra leaves off into the trash.  Let your picture dry before hanging.

This was a pretty simple project but a little messy with crushed leaves all over the floor.  My boys liked the idea of it but had a hard time crushing the leaves up because they were still a little wet.  It would work better with extremely dry brittle leaves.

 

Have fun playing in the leaves and don't forget to throw in some fun crafts with the supplies nature gives up.

Cardboard Box Cars

My boys Awana group is having "Drive-In" movie night tonight.  We were instructed to make a car out of a cardboard box that they could sit and watch the movie in.  Luckily we still had two moving boxes laying around that we could use for the project.  We stared out by looking up some ideas online.  The boys each picked out a car that they liked and we used the ideas as a starting off point.  From there we decorated based on things the boys like. 

 My youngest son chose a jeep type design.  He helped me paint it blue which is his favorite color this week.

 My oldest son is really into bats and anything Halloween.  He helped me design the symbol we used on the front and the headlights.  He loves flames so we added some to the side.  When I was finished I realized we forgot wheels.  Unfortunately I put the flames where the back wheels should go so I had to make up a way to add wheels in the correct spot but still have the flames visible.  I decided to use a straw and make them stick out a bit.

 

The boys love them and can't wait to use the m tonight.

Ornament Frame

After Christmas last year I bought a bunch of ornaments on clearance.  I have had a lot of fun this Christmas coming up with fun ways to incorporate the ornaments in my decorating.  I saw an idea similar to this on Pinterest.  I didn't pin it so not sure where the idea came from...sorry.

 I started out with an old picture frame I found at a yard sale over the summer.  I primed and then spray painted it a flat black.  The ornaments I planned to use were shiny so I used flat paint so they wouldn't compete.

 I used the painted frame, 4 ornaments, white ribbon and an "A" I found in the Dollar Spot at Target.

 I dismantled the back of the frame and took out all the screws and moved them to the top.  If I had a staple gun (which is on my Christmas list) I would have stapled things on instead of using the screws.

 I cut the ribbon and played around with different lengths until I had it the way I wanted.

 I stuck the ribbon under the screws and then tightened them down, then cut off the extra ribbon.

It is now sitting on my mantle until I find where I want to hang it. 

This was an simple project that cost less then $2 to make.

Linked up to Ginger Snap Crafts!

Pumpkin & Spiders

Can you believe it is one week until Halloween?  I feel so far behind.  My sons costumes aren't even finished.  I am usually on top of things but this year, not so much.  While trying to think of easy and inexpensive ways to decorate my house for Halloween I came up with this idea.  I just used a glass display (I think it is for a cupcake), Spanish moss, a small white pumpkin and plastic spider rings.  It was quick to make and turned out pretty cute.  I plan to share a few more decorations I came up with later this week so check back.

Monster Tooth Pillow

My son lost his first tooth today.  While he is really excited for the tooth fairy to visit I was a little stressed because I hadn't made his tooth pillow yet.  Luckily I was prepared with an idea I found here.  I didn't have any material so I just used felt and hand sewed it together.  Now my son is ready for his special visitor tonight.

Linked up to Wow Me Wednesday!

Disneyland Map Redo

Last December we took our first family vacation to Disneyland.  I had been there a couple times but my husband never had.  My boys loved every minute of it and were sad when we had to leave.  Being that my 5 year old really likes maps we picked one up for him on our way out.  It has been put up and moved several times so the edges were starting to look tore up.  I know we won't be going back for some time so want to make sure we keep it in the best shape possible.  After thinking of some ways to preserve the map I came up with a plan that I thought would look really cool.  I plan to do several map projects in his room with this being the first.

I started by taking the measurements of the map and then removing it from the wall.

 My plan was to have it look like the map had a border around it so I got 4 canvas' that are bigger then the actual map.  I painted them gloss black.  I started with acrylic paint but didn't like the way it looked so painted a couple coats of spray paint over the top.

 Next I cut around the edge of the map to take off the extra white boarder that was tore up.  I then cut it into 4 sections.

 After laying the 4 canvas' out on a table and figuring out the placement of each map section I used Mod Podge to stick them to the canvas.  I ran my hands over it to get the air bubbles out and make sure it was as smooth as possible.

 Once the Modge Podge was dry I let my son paint a top coat of Mod Podge to protect the map.  He loved being able to help on a project for his room.

I have not been able to hang it in his room yet so I took a picture laid out on our carpet.  I love the way it turned out.  Now my son can look at it and point out the rides without getting it dirty or ripping it.  He loves that he will now have his own piece of "art" to hang in his room.

 

Linked up to A Diamond in the Stuff , Today's Creative Blog, Ginger Snap Crafts and Not Just a Housewife!

Initial Collage Painting

 A few weeks ago I saw this project on a linky party.  I wish I would have made note of the blog I saw it on.  If it is yours please let me know.  Anyway, I liked it instantly.  I have always enjoyed making collages so this was a fun project. 

 I started out by getting a canvas.  I cut out several colorful pictures from magazines.  Sadly the only magazine in our house was ESPN so a lot of them are sports related but I still love all the colors.

Next I laid them on the canvas to figure out how I wanted them to go.  I then took them off, painted the canvas with Mod Podge and placed them back on.  I smoothed them out as much as I could and got the air bubbles out.  I then let it dry over night.

 The canvas I chose just happened to be the same size as the scrapbook paper I had so I used my Cricut and cut out a letter A with the fit to page option.  This allows the Cricut to cut out  the biggest letter that will fit on the page.

 I then placed the letter on the canvas where I wanted it to go.  Some how when I started painting it I moved it down so it isn't as centered as I would like but it still looks great.

I painted three coats of paint.  The first is a vanilla color.  Then I used a dark blue mixed with the vanilla to make a light blue.  I then used the dark blue mixed with a bit of water to make it streaky.  I love how the color turned out and you can see the different layers of color.

I love having lots of brightly colored art in my house and this piece definitely fits the bill.  I love how easy it was to make and how you can see different parts of the collage showing throw.

Linked up to Today's Creative Blog!

Buffet Redo

While looking through some pictures I came across this one of our buffet before we refinished it.  It brought back a lot of memories.  Before my husband and I were married (8 years ago) we found this piece in an old antique shop in Texas.  We instantly fell in love with it.  The top drawer has a green velvety lining and it has a very distinctive smell.  It had brown paint on it that was peeling off and really ugly wood handles.  We took this piece home for $75 with big plans to refinish it over Christmas weekend.

 After removing the old paint and handles, sanding, staining and adding new handles, we ended up with this gorgeous piece.  After 8 years it is still my favorite piece of furniture that we own.  Now if I can just get my boys to stop storing their Play Doh in there life would be great.

Linked up to Today's Creative Blog and A Diamond in the Stuff!

Serving Tray Redo

My mom purchased this serving tray at a yard sale recently for a dollar.  While she liked the style of the tray, she didn't like the color and how scratched up it was.  I offered to fix it up for her.  I decided to repaint it and line it with scrapbook paper.

 Once the piece was clean and dry I painted it with two coats of primer.

 Before I painted a final coat I figured out the placement and measurements of the scrapbook paper.

 I used my paper cutter to cut the paper to size.

 I painted two coats of satin black spray paint.  I didn't bother with the middle since it would be covered with paper.

 The size of the tray is longer then standard scrapbook paper so I had to use two sheets.  I painted on Mod Podge and laid the paper down.

 I smoothed the paper out to make sure to get all the air bubbles out.

 I let the piece dry for a couple hours then spread on a thick layer of Mod Podge over the top.  It goes on white but will dry clear.

 I think it looks great in my moms new kitchen.  I just wish I had one for myself.

Linking up to A Diamond in the Stuff , Not Just a Housewife, Ginger Snap Crafts and Get Your Craft On!

USA Letters

I wanted to add something festive to my new entry way mirror and thought this would be the perfect touch.  I love the way the letters turned out.  I think they look great sitting on the shelf of the mirror and really stand out against the black.

 You will need:

Wooden Letters- I got mine at Michael's

spray paint

scrapbook paper

pencil

scissors

Mod Podge

sponge paint brush

 I started by laying the letters out on newspaper.  I only wanted to paint the back and sides so I laid them with the fronts facing down.

 After the paint was dry I traced them on the back of scrapbook paper.  To figure out which way to trace it, I placed the paper on the letter the way I wanted it to look then flipped it over to trace.

 I cut out the letters and stuck them on using Mod Podge.  I did this by painting a thin layer to the front of the letter and pressing the scrapbook paper cutout on top.  Make sure you rub your finger over it to get all the air bubbles out.

 It took a bit to get the letter straight so just go slow to make sure it is all lined up.

 I let it dry for a few hours.

 Once the letter was dry I painted over the whole thing with Mod Podge to seal it and make it shiny.  The Mod Podge goes on white but will dry clear so you don't have to worry about painting it on perfectly.

It only took me an hour total, not including drying time, to complete these letters.  I love how they turned out and plan to make more for other holidays.

Linked up to Get your craft on, Not Just a Housewife, Ginger Snap Crafts and A Diamond in the Stuff!