picture was taken from cforiginals.com
Monday, December 29, 2008
Polymer Clay has gone Steampunk...
picture was taken from cforiginals.com
Saturday, December 27, 2008
Fun with painting...
My son received a set of wooden blocks from Santa. They had fun making this today:
Wednesday, December 24, 2008
Merry Christmas!
Tuesday, December 23, 2008
Another great Grosgrain giveaway!
Monday, December 22, 2008
Little teddy bears
I think that I was inspired by the "Save Handmade" logo.
Have you voted at Change.org yet? That's an easy way to help save handmade.
Sunday, December 21, 2008
Felt make-up
Saturday, December 20, 2008
Friday, December 19, 2008
Thursday, December 18, 2008
What to do with a large cardboard box?
Wednesday, December 17, 2008
And the Winner of the Cupcake Giveaway is...
Congratulations Theresa N!
Thanks to everyone who entered! There were 29 entries:)
Also, thanks to Blog Giveaways for helping me get the word out!
Tuesday, December 16, 2008
Polymer Clay Covered Light Switch Plate Tutorial
Polymer Clay Covered Light Switch Plate Tutorial~
light switch plate
polymer clay
liquid polymer clay
pasta machine
various tools
find inspiration
start with a blank light switch plate (plastic or wood are easiest...metal and ceramic would need extra prep work)
rough up surface
it will help the clay adhere better
cover surface with a thin layer of liquid polymer clay
roll out clay with the pasta machine (I used setting 3)
you want it thin, but not so thin that it is hard to work with
*if you don't have a pasta machine, you can just cover the plate with small hand flattened pieces of clay...you can use different color pieces to get a mosaic effect
place flattened clay on plate
you may have to use more than one piece, just smooth seam
trim off excess clay on back
next...decorate!
this is the fun part!
use inspiration from the room the switch is for to get ideas
if you feel that your background is not smooth or imperfect in spots...you can use various tools to make impressions or designs to cover them
be aware of where you will have to cut the holes for the switches and screws
don't forget to use a tiny bit of liquid polymer clay to attach the clay pieces that you add
cut holes for the switches and poke holes for the screws
clean up all edges
trim excess clay and smooth
bake according to directions on clay package...
cool...
and hang!
Monday, December 15, 2008
Toho Treasures on Sale
Sunday, December 14, 2008
Giant Ginger Cookies Recipe
The recipe was taken from Better Homes and Gardens:
Giant Ginger Cookies
Makes: twenty-five 4-inch cookies
Bake: 12 to 14 minutes per batch
Ingredients
4-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
4 teaspoons ground ginger
2 teaspoons baking soda
1-1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon salt
1-1/2 cups shortening
2 cups granulated sugar
2 eggs
1/2 cup molasses
3/4 cup coarse sugar or granulated sugar
Directions
1. In a medium mixing bowl stir together flour, ginger, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves, and salt; set aside.
2. In a large mixing bowl beat shortening with an electric mixer on low speed for 30 seconds to soften. Gradually add the 2 cups granulated sugar. Beat until combined, scraping sides of bowl occasionally. Beat in eggs and molasses. Beat in as much of the flour mixture as you can with the mixer. Using a wooden spoon, stir in any remaining flour mixture.
3. Shape dough into 2-inch balls using 1/4 cup dough. Roll balls in the 3/4 cup coarse or granulated sugar. Place about 2-1/2 inches apart on an ungreased cookie sheet.
4. Bake in a 350 degree F oven for 12 to 14 minutes or until cookies are light brown and puffed. (Do not overbake or cookies will not be chewy.) Cool on cookie sheet for 2 minutes. Transfer cookies to a wire rack to cool. Store in a tightly covered container at room temperature for up to 3 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months. Makes twenty-five (25) 4-inch cookies.
To Present This Gift... Stamp the bag as desired. Let the ink dry. Carefully roll down the top of the bag. Using a crafts knife, cut two slits wide enough to accommodate the ribbon on each side of the bag top. Thread the ribbon up through a slit on one side of the bag, then across the top and down through another slit on the other side of the bag. Bring the other end of the ribbon under the bag and staple or glue the ends together. Let glue dry. Repeat for the second ribbon. Line bag with parchment paper or waxed paper.
Also try this... Use permanent markers instead of stamps to draw designs on the paper bag.
To present this gift you will need: Stamp pad and stamp, brown paper bag, crafts knife, 2 yards of wire-edge ribbon cut into 1-yard lengths, stapler or thick white crafts glue, and parchment paper or waxed paper.
Saturday, December 13, 2008
Fun Finds...
- First, I wanted to share this wonderful blog that is full of great crafts to do with your kids. It is called the Craft Crow and would be a great resource for teachers too.
- Here are some really cute, free printable gift tags from Inside a Black Apple. You can take maya*made's tips and print them on brown paper bags...for some "green wrapping and brown tagging". You also must check out her snowflake cutting tutorial.
- I finally signed up for Project Wonderful and have free ad space on my blog! For some reason, I was really intimidated by it, but it turned out to be really easy to set up...
- Creature Comforts has some free printable cards. They also have lots of other free printable items on their blog...like gift tags.
- Xerox is giving us the opportunity to send free thank you post cards in support of our troops.
- Tina T. has a great polymer clay tutorial on dried flowers.
- A Foothill Home Companion shares how to make origami stars.
- I have used this recipe many times, and found it a while back. It is a recipe for microwave caramel corn. It is really easy and would make a wonderful gift!