A Snow Day, a Four Year Old & DIY Button Magnets

Good Morning To You!

I am officially old. I have a big birthday coming up tomorrow (that I may or may not be dealing very well with), and I find myself knitting at night. But, one the biggest indications came a few days ago when I found myself doing two things. (1) complaining to my husband about "back in our day" when the weather was cold, we would go to school, and we'd even go out for recess (!), and (2) spent all night looking at the closings list praying that school WASN'T cancelled.

It's not that I don't love spending time with my two cooped up kids, that right now, more resemble a wild pack of dogs than children. I do. But I work. I work because it gives me a little break from the kids, helps pay for half of this house, and I really like my job. We're really (really) busy at work right now, and taking a unexpected day off is hard on my workload. Trying to work with them in the house is like trying to drive a car and text. It's a terribly bad idea that sometimes works but can go terribly wrong. Like when your children decided to have sort of ultimate fight with the dogs barking them on all the while you're on a conference call. It doesn't end well. That's why I take the day off anytime they are going to be home. It's necessary.

My office and craft room are one of the same. My daughter was bored during our snow day this week, so I looked in the crowded craft closet and looked to see what I could come up with. I came up with one super easy cheap craft that she could do on her own, and I can actually use after she's done.

Button Magnets

Supplies

Round Magnets (just a couple of dollars in the craft section of Wal-Mart)
Buttons (I have a stash I add to whenever I find cheap/free buttons)

Directions

1. Peel back off the magnet

2. Stick a button to the sticky side.

Okay. Was a tutorial really needed for this? No. But it's a really easy project that a four year old can do on their own. Then they can draw you some pictures and stick them to the fridge with the magnets they made. I also think they are a fun addition to my over crowded fridge. They also pair well with a metal message board made from a old serving tray. I much prefer these magnets over magnets from random businesses that I moved away from  years ago. (I don't think I'm going to need to call the vet in Iowa anytime soon)

DIY Sunday: MOPS Handprint tree

Hello Everyone!

A couple of weeks ago, the moms at our local MOPS got together and did a really fun craft. I have been stalking this project on Pinterest for a while, and it was really fun to do it with a group of girls.

The tutorial for the project is by Naptime Decorator. Our group did a few things differently. We didn't use paint markers. We used vinyl on the glass of frame I cut from my Silhouette. The rationale behind this change is when you have another child and need to do a new tree, you don't have to rewrite the quote. The quote is a bit different (mostly because my Silhouette screwed it up, and this is what I got.) We used poster board for the backing, brown paper for the tree (I found a tree Silhouette online to use as a stencil) and acrylic paint for the hands. So in short, we didn't need the paint markers at all.

I spray painted my frame white, and I really like the place I found to hang it.

Enjoy!

 

The picture works perfect above our little important things nick-nack shelf. There's our unity candle, our cross we got for joining our church here, sand from our honeymoon and a pair of Koren kissing ducks I got from a friend. (Noses are together so we're a happy couple!)

My daughter has the little glittery purple one at the top. :) If I do another one, I might change the background color to a light blue or something.

 
Linked Up At:
Funky Junk Interiors

DIY Sunday: Heart Wreath

Hi There!

In our MOPS group this last week, we did a really easy, fun and cheap craft for Valentine's Day. We used the tutorial at The Hybrid Chick. We did a few things differently. We didn't use glue dots, we used staples. It worked fine since we used patterned paper the staples didn't show. Since were using our scrapbook collections, we didn't have double sided paper. So, we took two different papers and put them back to back. To keep them from slipping, we did one staple by the fold. We did find that thicker paper (cardstock) did work better. I did thinner paper and it didn't keep the shape as well as the girls that used the thick stuff.

Enjoy our wreaths!

 

This wreath was done by Bethany, one of the girls in our MOPS group. She used the more sturdy paper and her's turned out great! I love the black and white paper with the pink ribbon.

 

Here is another one by Shelby, another mom in our group. Her's is so nice and round! I might have to give mine a little more love to make it as nice as hers!

 
Linked Up At:




Between Naps on the Porch
Craft-O-Matic
Today's Creative Blog 
The Trendy Treehouse
The Thrifty Home

MOPS Craft: Hot Glue Letters

Hello Everyone!

This week at MOPS we tried a project I've seen floating around Pinterest. You use hot glue to create raised letters and then paint over the entire thing. Since we are doing it for a group, we did a more economical version with cardboard; however, I do think it would work better on a canvas or glass jar.

Hot Glue Letters

Supplies:

Cardboard (or preferably canvas or even a glass jar)
Hot Glue Gun
Acrylic Paint

Directions:

Step One: Cut to Size

If you're using cardboard, cut to the shape and size you'd like your sign to be. Most people in our group did 8x 10 so it could be dressed up and put in a frame (without glass)

Stretched canvas does not need to be cut to size. (Not to state the obvious)

Step Two: Make a Draft

Using a light hand and pencil, create the saying or word you'd like on the cardboard. Some that we had was "Our Family Name Est. Since Anniversary Year" or "My favorite hugs are sticky" or "What Makes a Home is Who is In It" or "Yarn and Love are the Best Gifts" or "You Are My Sunshine"...lots of great ideas. I have also seen a cursive "love" that I really like.

Step Three: Trace With Hot Glue

Trace your light letters with hot glue. Don't worry about strings. You can pick those off once you are done!

Step Four: Paint

Using acrylic paint, paint over the entire thing. I mostly see these projects done in white, but black and yellow also turned out great. You may want to do a layer, let it dry, and try again. I dabbed on the letters to get better coverage.

Generally, cardboard will start out kinda soggy but will harden up as it dries.

Step Five: Put in a Frame

Dress up your sign by putting it in a frame with no glass or you could try putting ribbon around the outside.

Check out some of our creations!