I'm a scrapbooking failure.

I'm someone who can't get enough of different creative mediums. I've dabbled in a ton of different things: crocheting, painting, drawing, sewing, knitting...the list goes on and on. The problem with that is, I'll go on a kick where I will get engrossed in something, only to get bored with it a few months later. This usually means I end up with a heap of supplies that I no longer use, and half-done projects that need some major improvements.

Case in point: scrapbooking.

I would really love to tell you that I'm a fantastic scrapbooker. I love all the cute little dimensional stickers you can get to embellish your pages, and maybe that's the reason I first got interested in scrapbooking. I mean, it's real-life stuff in tiny form! Maybe that would explain why I like babies so much too?

From all my blog stalking, I've seen so many cute layouts that people put together to catalog important events like graduation, the birth of their children, etc. And, now that I have a Silhouette, I have no excuse right? The only problem is, I suck at scrapbooking. I mean, super hero suck at it.

Need proof? I'm glad you asked.

I have a scrapbook I started in high school. At the time, I thought I made a pretty cool scrapbook. Looking back, I wonder "what the heck was I thinking??" (On the positive side, if you were questioning your scrapbooking abilities, one look at my old scrapbook will make you feel like a pro!)

1. The cover of the scrapbook. What was I thinking with this? Is that a fork with flowers on it?
2. Magazine pages as backgrounds. Apparently a snowman without a nose qualifies as an acceptable winter background. I can hear scrapbookers everywhere screaming in agony. 
3. Sticky labels as an embellishment. The only thing labels should be used for is TO LABEL THINGS. Not as a decoration.
4. Foil, really? This may be the best page in the book. I remember being really proud of this one when I finished it. Now I just wonder why I decided foil would make a good decoration.

I am a disgrace to scrapbookers everywhere. The thing is, it's not like I didn't have materials to work with! I have dimensional stickers, letters, and even scrapbook paper that doesn't come out of a magazine. And I still have them.

Sigh. I have finally accepted the fact that I will never be a good scrapbooker. I guess that's a major step in the right direction. It's probably a good thing that I've accepted that fact because I don't think the craft world is ready for more scrapbooks full of sticky labels and foil.

Spongebob Squarepants dress

A friend of mine (the one I made the Hospital Survival Kit for last year) recently asked me to make a dress for her daughter for her first birthday. She loves Spongebob Squarepants, so of course the party had to be Spongebob-themed and you can't have a Spongebob party without the proper attire. She wanted a girly version of Spongebob's outfit, so I immediately thought of Ashley's tutorial on how to turn a onesie into a bubble dress on Make It and Love It. I liked the idea of using a onesie rather than a regular t-shirt because they're longer and also because I could still incorporate the general idea of Spongebob's outfit but make it girly by adding a gathered bottom and sparkly tie.

I used fabric paint with glitter in it for the tie (not sure if you can see the glitter well in the picture above, but it's there!) and used freezer paper to paint it on the shirt in the shape of a tie.

I also made a simple bow hair clip with some red ribbon that I had.

How cute is she??

Check out my sidebar to see where I link up each week!

On a jewelry kick

I'm sure you've noticed that I'm on a jewelry kick lately. I seem to go through these crafting phases where I get really hooked on a particular kind of craft and lately, it's been making jewelry. It's been nice to put my sewing machine aside for a little while and explore a different medium. Plus, I can kick my feet back and watch TV while making jewelry. With sewing, you usually have to stay glued to your machine until you're done with the project. Since I've been settling into my new home in PA, I've been looking for cute projects that are quick and I came across Bev's tutorial for Stacked Ombre Cording Bracelets.

Bev's blog, Flamingo Toes, is always my go-to when it comes to jewelry making. She puts together great knockoff tutorials for Anthro jewelry that you'd usually have to pay an arm and a leg for and her tutorials are always really easy to follow. I happened to be at a hardware store a couple of nights ago, so after reading her tutorial, I picked up some brass tube and modified her tutorial to make a couple of bracelets of my own!

I didn't have any cording, but I did have suede so that's what I used for mine. I also opted to be really lazy and cut the tubing with wire cutters rather than doing it the (way cleaner and better-looking) correct way of using a saw or other tool to cut the tube. Please also don't look too closely at the fact that I went with silver clasps because I didn't have gold :) My motto is "make it work" AKA "I'm too lazy to do it the right way so I'll use what I have." I bought more brass tubes to make more, and I'll definitely be cutting it with a saw next time.

Thanks, Bev, for the great tutorial (and the new addiction to making these awesome bracelets)!

Glitter fireworks (kid's activity)

Happy 4th to everyone! We're enjoying a relaxing day at home today (which basically translates to "we're doing a lot of nothing and the kids are bored.") Haley's finally at the age when I can take her to see fireworks and she won't be completely terrified (we'll test that theory out tonight :) so I'm looking forward to that later.

To get her prepared, I've been letting her watch videos of fireworks on YouTube. She loves all the colors, so I thought up a quick activity to do with her today - glitter fireworks! I saw this tutorial on The Mother Huddle for making fireworks out of pipe cleaners and thought it'd be perfect for a quick project. Yep, we're working with glitter, so get out your vacuum because it can get messy :)

You'll need:

• Craft glue
• Glitter
• Paper
• Pipe cleaners

First, Make a firework out of pipe cleaners by twisting them together and fanning out the bottom. Then, squirt some glue onto a paper plate and dab your pipe cleaner firework into it. Use your firework to stamp some glue onto a piece of paper, then let your child sprinkle on glitter to their little heart's desire.

Shake off the excess and repeat to make as many fireworks as you want.

Happy 4th everyone!

Knotted suede bracelets

I don't usually like to wear bracelets. I have skinny little wrists, so I can never seem to find one that fits just right. The bracelet usually ends up dangling loosely from my wrist as I write, and my handwriting already looks like a 3rd grade boy's, so I don't really need something that might make it even worse.

Despite my reservations, I was browsing the craft section recently on a trip to Wally World, and I spotted some suede cording that was just screaming to be made into bracelets. I'm in love with all of the pretty friendship bracelets and layering bracelets I've been seeing everywhere, so I grabbed some cording and beads and came up with these great knotted bracelets that get even ME to love wearing multiple bracelets all the time.

First to determine the length you need, wrap the cording loosely around your wrist. You need a length that is a little over 4 times your wrist size (it may seem big, but you'll be folding the cord in half and making lots of knots so if you're in doubt, make it too long so you have more to work with.) I have skinny little wrists, and my total length was 36 inches.

If you have small beads, you may want to snip the ends of your cording to make it easier to thread your beads on. Next, fold your cord in half and tie an overhand knot at the end to make a loop for the closure. Finally, thread your first bead on and tie a knot a little bit below the bead. Thread another bead on the side opposite where you strung the first bead and tie another knot. Repeat. Tie a knot at the end of the bracelet to finish.

Now you have a pretty knotted bracelet! You can buy all sorts of different colored suede cording and beads. I made a black and tan one, they go with everything :)

 

Layer them or wear one by itself, they're cute either way!

Check out my sidebar to see where I link up each week!

Wire wrapped gemstone tutorial

As I mentioned yesterday, we just got back from a relaxing vacation to Asheville, NC. While we were there, we also visited the town of Chimney Rock, which happens to have some of the cutest shops with killer deals, including these amazing new moccasins that I've been trying to wear with every outfit I own. One of my favorite parts was gem mining, where we got a big bucket full of sand and gems that we sifted through to find our treasures. We were total tourists, but it was a blast. Especially when we came back with bags full of these:

Of course, I couldn't just let these pretty gems just sit around, so I thought I'd show you a quick tutorial on how to turn rough (uncut, unpolished) gems into great little charms for necklaces or bracelets. Please keep in mind that I've never done this before and I'm sure there's a much better technique, but it worked for me! Also, this works best with gems that have rough edges to catch the beading wire on.

Supplies:

• Rough gems
• 20 gauge (or more) beading wire
• Round nose pliers
• Wire cutters
• Jump ring
• Jewelry glue (optional)

Start by placing the end of the silver beading wire on the middle of the back of your gem. Begin carefully and slowly wrapping the wire around your gem, making sure to overlap the end of your beading wire. Once you feel like you've secured the gem properly, cut the end of your wire roughly 1 1/2 inches from your gem with wire cutters. Twist your wire up through your last row, and use your round nose pliers to create a loop. Snip extra. Finish by adding a jump ring. If you want to be extra careful, dab a few drops of jewelry glue where the wire meets the gemstone.

You could leave your charm by itself, or add other embellishments like feathers or beads. Have fun turning your treasures into jewelry!

Check out my sidebar to see where I link up each week!

Fabric bolts from cereal boxes

My name is Jen and I have a problem. This is my fabric stash.

Ok, well it's part of my fabric stash. It's a giant mess. Pieces of fabric are everywhere, and I hope you're not expecting me to have everything in alphabetical order by designer, color, and pattern because that's pretty much never happening.

I feel like a crafting failure sometimes when I see pictures of peoples' gorgeous sewing rooms. Everything is in its proper, labeled place, and heaven forbid there be anything in the room that doesn't match the color scheme. There's no mess, no half-finished projects laying on the ground. And definitely no toys scattered on the floor.

I'm convinced these people don't have children. They borrow neighbor kids for photo shoots.

There's a reason I didn't show you the rest of my sewing space. I share it with a bin of toys that belong to my kids, and the bin stays organized for about 5.4 seconds before it looks like a hurricane hit the room. I love having the toys in the room because I can still craft and play with the kids simultaneously, but my pieces of fabric everywhere doesn't help the mess.

But I wanted to do what I can to organize the room because, let's admit it, I can't pin the blame for that messy fabric pile above on my kids. I saw this tip on The Little Green Bean for using foam board to make mini fabric bolts. It's a great idea, but I wanted to use something I had on hand.  Then it came to me - cereal boxes! Cereal is something I eat a LOT of, so why not re-purpose the boxes rather than throwing them away?

First, cut your cereal boxes so you have a pile of just the front and backs of your boxes.

Next, use hot glue around the perimeter of one of the front sides of your panels.

Place the other panel on top of it and voila, instant mini bolt! It may not look like anything special, but just wrap your fabric around that baby, and your stash will stay organized!

Ahhh, much better.

So much better than the messy pile right? Too bad I have 4 times more fabric in the drawers below. I have a lot of cereal to eat.

Note: Since cereal boxes are small, you may need to fold your fabric in half length-wise (possibly more than once) to be able to fit them around your cereal box bolt. 

Check out my sidebar to see where I link up each week!

Mother's Day idea: DIY photo canvas

Mother's Day is coming up this weekend, and I have 0 Mother's Day projects for you. A big, whopping 0. Probably because all I want for Mother's Day is to be served breakfast in bed while I sit around all day watching DVR'd shows and my husband cares for my angelic children and fetches me anything I want.

That's all.

Just kidding, while I know my husband is going to let me relax as much as possible, I realize that I have 2 kids under the age of 4 whose main goal in life is to destroy everything of value, and that means both parents are on Child Watch 24/7. 15 minutes of silence means that somebody probably found the Closet of Forbidden Toys (yes we have one of those) and is currently decorating the hallway with markers. In fact, just 5 minutes ago as I was writing this post I caught my son sucking on the rubber tip from one our door stops. On the plus side, he's probably immune to most sicknesses with all the stuff he's put in his mouth.
 
Even though I'm off the hook, I still wanted to make something for my Mom and Mother-in-Law for Mother's Day. Luckily, Pinterest came through for me again with this awesome idea for a DIY canvas at Sarah's Never Ending Projects. Her brilliant tutorial teaches you how you can make your own photo canvas using your printer, tissue paper and Mod Podge - perfect for Mother's Day.

I got out my supplies while the kids were running around the house like maniacs and whipped this baby out under 30 minutes (minus drying time.)

 

I used an 8x10 canvas, which left enough room to overlap the canvas on the side with the tissue paper so it looks more like the real deal. I'm super happy with the project, it really looks like I bought it online - minus the couple of spots I rubbed the tissue paper off accidentally. The colors came out a little funky, but that was my printer's fault. I probably should have played with the color a little more before printing. Oh, and if you're wondering why I didn't make one of BOTH of my kids, it's because my son can't sit still for 1 minute so I can get a decent picture of him.

So Mom or MIL if you're reading this, I didn't get you breakfast in bed, but I did get you a picture of one of my angelic children minus the destruction. And if any of your are looking for a great project for Mother's Day, I definitely suggest making a DIY Canvas. I'll be making many more of these for my house once I can get Connor to sit still one of these days.

Wooden bead necklace

I'm always on the lookout for easy projects that I can do with supplies I have on hand. You know, the kind that you can do in between dinner when you have a toddler attached to your leg and a 3-year-old begging to watch Barbie Mermaid Tale for the 30th time that day? Yup, that was me yesterday.

Recently, I've been finding a lot of really great new blogs that I keep adding to my ever-expanding list. Like I need another blog to read. Sometimes I wish blog stalking was a vocation, but then I think about how if that happened, I would probably live solely off of coffee and NutriGrain bars while my body slowly became one with my computer chair. Probably not the best way to go.

While doing my usual blog reading, I came across this awesome tutorial for a simple beaded necklace from Fine and Feathered that fit my criteria exactly. I love the simplicity of it, so I decided to make one for myself.

Oh, and did I mention that it involves only wooden beads and suede cord? I felt like I was at craft camp. Except for at my house. And macaroni art wasn't involved.

I followed her basic idea for how to make the necklace, but I used different beads and made the necklace in one piece rather than making a separate loop with the beads. What do you think? I'm really loving it. I'm really into the whole southwestern kick right now, and I feel like this necklace will be the perfect accessory for my outfits that fit that theme.

I'm kicking myself for throwing away the giant bag of wooden beads I tossed several years ago. When I was 18, I had this elaborate plan to make a bead curtain in my room (and yes, I realize that we're no longer in the 70's, I don't know what I was thinking.) Now I'm just wishing I had more wooden beads to make several hundred more bead necklaces.

A jersey skirt

I spent this weekend picking stitches. It was funny really (well not at the time) but it became my unofficial motto.

It all started with the idea to make a maxi dress out of 3 different shirts. Maxi dresses are really in right now, and I had this grand idea for a really cute striped version. I started Friday night and I clipped and sewed and measured and got my pieces ready to piece the next day. Saturday, I started piecing my maxi dress. It became increasingly obvious that the dress was going to be skin tight, but I pushed on because I refused to let my hard work go to waste. My husband stood in the hallway and said, "how are you going to squeeze into that??" Sigh.

Unpick unpick unpick.

Part of the pieced dress became a top, the other part would be a skirt. I tried on the top. The pieced parts just didn't look right.

Unpick unpick unpick.

I salvaged the parts I could and went to work making the bottom part into a skirt for myself. I tried it on. Too tight.

Unpick unpick unpick.

So, many hours, and many tries later, my maxi dress-shirt-skirt became a jersey dress for Haley. Here's Ms. Cheesypants modeling it.

You'd think one of these days I'd learn my lesson, or learn to buy a pattern. Stubborn me. It really is a cute skirt though, I'm thinking I might have to make a tutorial for this one soon. I'm definitely staying away from maxi dresses for awhile though :)

Haley pranced and twirled around outside in her new skirt as I snapped pictures with promises of coloring with sidewalk chalk.

   

Connor joined in too, but he had other ideas for the chalk. Everything automatically goes into this boy's mouth.

Even with all the stitch picking, it was still a nice relaxing weekend with no big plans It's nice to have those once in awhile.

No-sew framed fabric honeycomb

In my continuous (and extremely slow) effort to re-do my craft room, I wanted to make another picture to keep my Bee Inspired print company :) This is a really quick, no-sew project that is perfect for getting rid of those pesky scraps you may have sitting around. It's also really great for showcasing some of your favorite fabrics that you can't bring yourself to make into a piece of clothing that your child will grow out of in 2 days.

If you're not into the whole honeycomb thing, try different shapes! Triangles? Circles? Heck, go crazy with some octagons. Whatever floats your boat.

Supplies:

• A bunch of scrap fabric
• Interfacing, like Heat N Bond
• Burlap
• Picture frame
• Iron

Step 1: Iron on your interfacing.

First, decide how big you want your hexagons to be. This will determine how much of your fabric you'll need. My picture frame size was 11x13 1/2, so I decided on 4 rows of hexagons for a total of 16 hexagons that were 2 1/2 inches tall and 3 inches wide. I cut 6 each from 2 different colors and 4 from another. The white fabric was used to accent, and I cut 6 smaller hexagons that were 1 3/4"x2" each.

Follow the instructions on the back of your interfacing to iron some interfacing to the back of your fabrics.

Step 2: Cut your hexagons out.

You should now have several strips of fabric with interfacing on the back of them.

To get your hexagon shape, Google or find some clipart of a hexagon and use Word to size it to whatever size you need. Cut out and trace the hexagon to the paper backing of your interfacing. Cut out your shapes, and remove the paper backing.

Step 3: Attach your shapes on the burlap.

Cut out a piece of burlap big enough for your frame. Be sure to cut it a tiny bit larger than needed, I cut mine a little too small so you can see the frame a little on the bottom.

Arrange your hexagons on the burlap until you're happy with the placement.

With a hot iron, carefully iron on your large hexagons first by lifting and placing the iron on a couple hexagons at a time (no dragging the iron across). After your large hexagons have been ironed on, layer your smaller accent hexagons on top and iron those on in the same way.

Now, just insert your finished piece in your frame and hang!

Enjoy your art!

Check out my sidebar to see where I link up each week!