Archive for Crafty Stuff

DIY “Miracle Mask”

// December 8th, 2011 // No Comments » // Balance, Crafty Stuff

A couple of months ago, I wrote about my infatuation with homemade bath and body products when I told you about the DIY pore strips.  While I think the full-face pore mask was fairly effective, it was also extremely painful and it smelled truly awful.  I mean, I can’t say enough about how terrible it smells.  One Nix9to5 reader even tagged me on Facebook as she tried the mask, saying, “Oh, why didn’t I listen to you about how badly this smells.”  She went on to ponder whether it was possible to throw up without cracking her face.  And removal didn’t go so well for her, either, as it was excruciating and left red splotches on her face.  (Think you’re woman enough to conquer the homemade pore strip torture?  Get the recipe here.)

Today I want to tell you about a kinder, gentler mask.  This one does not rip the hairs out of your face, and it smells lovely.  In fact, it smells like Christmas and would be the perfect way to pamper yourself and take a break from holiday stress.  I found the recipe for Miracle Mask (via Pinterest, of course) on College Fashion–you know, because I still think I’m 20 and all.

Miracle Mask

  • 2 tablespoons honey
  • 1 teaspoon nutmeg
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon
Mix the ingredients together until they form a thick paste.  Apply the mask to your face and let it sit for about 30 minutes.  Apply any remaining mask to a graham cracker or toast to enjoy while you wait. (Okay, this part isn’t true, but it totally could be.) Wash the mask off with warm water, gently scrubbing in a circular motion for exfoliation.
According to the original source, “Nutmeg and honey act as natural anti-inflammatories, which can reduce swelling and redness in skin. They’re also great for soothing acne scars and preventing infection. In addition, the nutmeg and cinnamon also work to exfoliate your skin when you wash this mask off.”   In addition, honey is shown to be a natural moisturizer with anti-oxidant and anti-microbial properties.
I think this simple mask smells and feels indulgent.  The only drawback?  It makes you look like this:
Enjoy.

Crazy Easy Christmas Crafts

// November 26th, 2011 // 2 Comments » // Crafty Stuff

Here are a few more Christmas crafts that I made. They were all very easy, but not all of them turned out how I planned.  I figured I’d include even the ones I didn’t like so much, because maybe you could take my idea and make something better–or at least know what doesn’t work so that you can avoid my mistakes.

First up are a couple of floral arrangements.  I use that term pretty loosely, because I did not really arrange anything.  I just bought the artificial flowers and greenery and stuck them in the vases.  I guess the vases are really the “arrangement.”

Here is my “pinspiration”:

I didn’t want to glue candy canes to a vase, because I want to be able to re-use the vase year-round, so I hooked my candy canes to the vase and just tied a red ribbon.  I also used a square vase because it’s what I had–a round one would be prettier, I think, as above.  Finally, I didn’t use a pretty pot of roses, but some red flowers that were on sale for 80% off at Hobby Lobby because they were considered “Fall decor.”  My version isn’t as pretty as the original, but it literally took seconds to complete, and I like it well enough:

I wanted to trim the plastic ends off the bottom of the candy canes, but Hot Husband said to leave it.  Since he actually had an opinion, I left it, even though I think it would look better trimmed.

Next up is an idea that can easily be adapted for various seasons.  In fact, I did this will Fall flowers and candy corn for Halloween/Thanksgiving.  Now it’s cranberries and holly.  I simply put a skinny vase (clearance for $0.10 at Dollar General after summer) inside a fat vase and filled the space with cranberries.  The I popped some holly greenery (50% off Christmas at Hobby Lobby) into the skinny vase:

Beside the cranberry/holly vase is just a trifle bowl filled with ornaments.  The combined total time for completing both decorations was, like, 14 seconds or so.  The only thing that took any time at all was chasing cranberries I spilled.

These ribbon trees from Whipper Berry were my “pinspiration” for the next project, which didn’t turn out as lovely as I had hoped:

To make these, simply use styrofoam cones, ribbon cut in lengths ranging from 4-inches to 2.5 inches (or smaller, depending on the height of your cones), and straight pins.  On my larger cone, I did two rows of 4-inch ribbon on the bottom, then decreased by 1/2 inch every two rows.  On the smaller cones, I started with 2-inch lengths.  I didn’t do the “twist loop” as demonstrated above–I just folded my ribbons in half.  I’m not thrilled with how mine turned out, but I have some ideas for what works and what doesn’t as far as colors and toppers:

I’m okay with the tree in the first picture, but I’m not as happy with the two smaller trees in the bottom picture.  They have been banished to bathroom decor.  I’m thinking I’m going to add to the red “wrapped” tree.  I just have to decide what I want to do with it.

In the top picture, you’ll also notice another easy Christmas project.  Just take a plain ol’ cheapie pillar candle, glue cinnamon sticks around it, and wrap with Christmas ribbon.  Done.  I used hot glue, thinking the warmth of the glue would melt the wax a little and help the sticks stay, but no.  Hot glue is not the right glue for this.  It just didn’t hold.  The ribbon is really holding the cinnamon sticks on for the most part.  I’m not sure what glue would be best–Tacky glue?  Super Glue?  Just not hot glue.

I think that’s all the projects I’ve done so far.  Now I just need to finish decorating the house.

I do have a cute Advent activity calendar idea to share with you, but I need to get to work on other things for now.  Enjoy your weekend!

And So It Begins . . .

// November 25th, 2011 // 2 Comments » // Crafty Stuff, Money Matters

As I write this, I am so full I could pop. My New England Maple Apple Pie was a huge success, if I do say so myself.  I was pretty impressed, but my favorite part was how Hot Husband, He of the Healthy Eating, raved about it.  I must admit I’m feeling a little proud of myself.  Bloated, but proud.  (Note to self:  In the future, do not wear skinny jeans to Thanksgiving dinner, m’kay?)

For many of us, the day after Thanksgiving is The Official Start of the Christmas Season.  I know I plan on starting the decorating right away, and though I avoid venturing out on Black Friday,  I know many of you enjoy this madness and are scrupulously developing a strategy for hitting all the best sales (and others are probably already back).  Too many years of working retail have sucked all the joy from that kind of shopping for me.  I’m more of a Cyber Monday kind of girl, preferring to do my shopping online, lounging in my fleece pajama pants and sipping a coffee flavored with one of the special edition holiday creamers (LOVE THOSE).

Speaking of sales, if you haven’t checked out NoMoreRack yet, now is a good time.  I’ve gotten some great deals there–my very, very favorite boots in the world I bought for less thann $30–and they started their Black Friday deals at midnight.  They offer electronics, clothes, accessories, shoes, lingerie, toys, beauty products, kitchen products . . . really, everything.

If you’re staying home and decorating, and if you don’t plan on spending your day perusing online sales, I want to share with you one of the Christmas decorations I made.  This is an easy DIY, and if you’re into instant gratification like I am, you can whip this out in no time flat.

First here is my inspiration from Craft Goodies via Pinterest (of course).

Cute, right?  I saw that and figured that I was smart enough and crafty enough to figure out how to make my own.  Now, sometimes (frequently) I figure that I’m smart enough and crafty enough and then realize I am not, in fact, either.  This project, though, was a success.

Here is my version:

Not as cute as the original, but not too shabby.  This project cost me less than the retail cost of the bell, which was on sale for 50% off at Hobby Lobby.

Here is what I used:

  • Wood letters (Actually, mine were MDF.  You could use any material–I just went with what was on sale for the cheapest.)
  • Wooden plaque to use as a base
  • Large jingle bell (Mine was already decorated–bonus!  If yours isn’t, find some holly or ribbon or something.)
  • Red and black acrylic paint (0r whatever colors tickle your fancy)
  • Super strength glue (I used Amazing Goop from Eclectic Products)

That’s it.  I painted the base black and let it dry.  I painted the letters red and let them dry.  Then I did another coat.  I glued the jingle bell to the middle of the plaque and then glued the letters on either side.  I did have to kind of strap them down until the glue dried–about 24 hours before I was brave enough to remove the supports.

Done and done.  Without drying time, I’d say this took me less than 10 minutes and less than $10.  I probably should have sanded the Y, because it looks a little raggedy, but whatever.  Live and learn.

Overall, I’m pretty happy with how it turned out.

Coming up, I have some other, even easier DIY Christmas decorations to share with you.

Toddler Fun: “Stained Glass”

// November 21st, 2011 // No Comments » // Children and Babies, Crafty Stuff

I was planning to write today about how to make liquid hand soap from bar soap, but right now, that project didn’t work out, and I’m busy Googling remedies to soap failure to see if I can salvage the project or if I have to start over with another kind of soap.  Instead, here’s a different kind of project that worked great.

The Amazing Amanda judges the success of any kids’ craft project or activity by whether or not the span of time during which the kids were entertained exceeds the amount of time she spent setting it up.  By that criteria, most of my projects with Bear are a Great Big Fail.  We do have fun–it’s just that I usually spend forever getting it ready and finding the materials, and he is entertained for approximately 37 seconds.  I get pretty excited about any project that gives us, as Amazing Amanda calls it, “Minutes and Minutes of Fun.”

This super-easy “stained glass” project was one that was a huge success.  Bear stayed busy and was having fun for quite a while.  I think his enjoyment had a lot to do with the fact that he got to rip things up without getting in trouble.

For this project you need:

  • Construction paper
  • Clear contact paper
  • Tissue paper
All we did was cut a “frame” out of construction paper and stick it to the contact paper, leaving a sticky window in the middle of the frame.  Bear then tore off bits of tissue paper and stuck them to the contact paper.  Once he filled the surface with tissue paper, I put another piece of contact paper over the tissue paper and frame to “laminate” the picture and seal the tissue paper into place.  I taped it to the window, and voila, “stained glass.”
Easy, entertaining, and I had everything on hand to make this project.  If you try it, let me know how it goes for you!

More Good, Clean Fun: Homemade Dishwasher Detergent

// November 20th, 2011 // 3 Comments » // Crafty Stuff, Life in General, Money Matters

While I was busily making my own homemade laundry soap, I decided to go ahead and make some dishwasher soap as well.  I was a little leery of this project because (1) I’ve never been a fan of powdered dish soap, and (2) I’ve never really been crazy about any dishwasher detergent I’ve found.  I didn’t think that homemade dishwasher detergent would work very well, and was afraid I’d end up with a dishwasher full of cloudy, spotty, half-clean dishes.

I went ahead and tried it anyway, figuring that it couldn’t be worse than the last bargain dishwasher detergent I bought.  It wasn’t an expensive project, so if it didn’t work, then I could just throw it out and count it as experience.

Instead, I was really, really happy with how well this cleaned my dishes.  It makes a gazillion loads worth, and I didn’t do the price breakdown, but I’m guessing with as much as it makes, it’s well worth the time and saves a lot of money in the meantime.

I used this recipe I found from Being Creative (to Keep My Sanity) via Pinterest:

  • 1 box Borax
  • 1 box Arm & Hammer Super Washing Soda
  • 24 packages unsweetened lemonade drink mix
  • 3 cups Epsom Salt
  • Lemi Shine hard water rinse aid
The recipe says that the lemonade drink mix can stain your detergent dispenser, but that it won’t affect your dishes.  As a replacement, you can use citric acid, but it didn’t specify the amount.  I wanted to use citric acid instead, because it just sounds weird to clean you dishes with Kool-Aid, but since I couldn’t find citric acid, I just went ahead and bought the cheapest lemonade packets I could find.
The recipe also says that the soap doesn’t work very well without the Lemi Shine.  It says to sprinkle a tablespoon into your dishwasher for each load to use as a rinse aid.  I just used it according to package directions.  I’ve also heard you can use vinegar as a rinse aid, so I might start that instead for even further savings.
Okay–to make this stuff, just mix everything together except the Lemi-Shine and find something airtight to store it in.  I used a 6 qt.  container, but then, since I read that it clumps after a while, I took a bunch out and put it in Mason jars.

Use 1 tablespoon per load.  I’m not about to try to figure out how many loads that is, but if someone else wants to figure out how many tablespoons are in 6 quarts, feel free to let me know.  I’m estimating it at roughly a whole lot.
My dishes were clean, shiny, and spot free.  I was very pleased with how this worked, and I’ll definitely continue to make my own in the future.  Has anyone else attempted homemade dishwasher soap?  Have you used vinegar as a rinse aid?  I’d love to hear your tips and suggestion.

So much to tell you about, so little time.

// November 18th, 2011 // No Comments » // Budget, Cooking, Crafty Stuff, Life in General

I just looked and realized that it has been almost a month since I posted.  And let’s be honest, I didn’t so much post as upload pictures of the Amazing Amanda’s birthday party for Super D (which was both precious and awesome all rolled into one).  Since that time, a lot has been going on that I’ve wanted to share with you, but I haven’t (1) had the time or (2) taken the time to sit down and blog it.  Since I last posted, we have had Halloween, two birthdays, and now Thanksgiving is about to roll in.  I’ve also accomplished some cute crafts and other DIY projects that I want to share with you, but now I have so much that I can’t decide where to start.  I guess the best way is to just start where we left off.  In the upcoming posts, you’ll see:

  • Bear’s Halloween
  • Bear’s Godzilla Birthday Cake (He’s three!!  Not a baby and barely a toddler anymore. He’s–dare I say it?–practically a preschooler!!!)
  • Nothing about my birthday.  I’m the Chief Cake Maker (read:  Only) around here, and so there is nothing to show you.  Besides, I’m significantly older than three, so it’s far less exciting).
  • The Wonder That is Zaycon Foods
  • Easy “Stained Glass” art project for kids
  • Homemade Laundry Detergent
  • Homemade Dishwasher Detergent
  • DIY “Miracle Mask”
  • Homemade Liquid Hand Soap
  • Cute and EASY Christmas Crafts
  • A Giveaway Courtesy of SeenOnTV Express
See.  I told you I’ve been busy!  I’ll link these items to each post once they are all finally up.
Lots and lots of stuff coming up for you.  Hang in there!

Noodle Day (by Amanda)

// October 12th, 2011 // No Comments » // Children and Babies, Crafty Stuff

We recently had another rainy day with no real plans.  I sure wasn’t dragging the boys out in the pouring rain to run errands (and I slept in a bit and didn’t really have time to get ready – so being in public wasn’t really an option anyway.)  I had to think of something to do…

Cartoons were on the TV, and I knew I didn’t want that to be what we did all day, so I decided to try something.  The boys have enjoyed stringing/sewing things lately – - I think because they’ve seen me sewing recently – - so I decided we were making necklaces.  I bought some big beads the other day, but some of the holes were a little too small and wouldn’t go over our ginormous craft needles.  Frustrating.  Noodles, however, would!  But rather than stringing plain, ol’, boring noodles, I decided to spruce them up a bit, using a technique we learned for coloring rice on teachpreschool.org.  I took 4 ziploc bags and colored sharpies and put a number on the front of each bag in a different color.  The boys counted out the appropriate number of noodles for each bag and dropped them in.  I added a dash of rubbing alcohol and a few drops of food coloring (to match the number on each bag).  After sealing the bags tightly, I let the boys shake them to mix the color evenly.

I lined 2 cookie sheets with paper towels and then dumped each bag of noodles out onto the paper.

With a hairdryer on the low setting, I let each boy dry his noodles.  It was fun to watch the noodles blow around and roll on the pan.

After they were good and dry, I removed the paper towels and evenly distributed the colored noodles in their pans.  I also strung yarn through a craft needle and tied a button on the end so the noodles wouldn’t slide off the end.  (This required burning the ends of the yarn because my button holes were small.)   After that, the boys strung their brightly colored necklaces.

I snipped the yarn at the base of the needle and tied a knot at the end, leaving a large enough loop to slide over the button.  Easy on, easy off!   The boys, being so giving, decided they had made one for me and one for daddy.  Daddy’s looked very nice with his polo and khakis at the dinner table, and I enjoy the splash of color the necklace adds to any outfit!

The Bro-Bots (by Amanda)

// October 7th, 2011 // No Comments » // Children and Babies, Crafty Stuff

The Bro-Bots

I like making things – and making holiday shirts and such for my boys is fun….BUT, my oldest boy is going on 5 and anything too “cutesy” just isn’t going to work anymore.  That’s why I was super-pumped when I found this idea for a robot shirt while browsing on pinterest. http://www.annaleahart.com/2010/04/we-heart-robots.html

(What did I ever do in my spare time before my sister told me about this site?!!)

I printed the picture so I could make my own version and showed it to my oldest son.  “Would you wear something like this?”

“No way.”

“Why?”

“It has a heart!”

Oh…  I really hadn’t even noticed that.  I asked him if he’d wear it if it didn’t have a heart and he said probably.  All systems are a-go!!!

I looked through the T-shirts that Super D has recently outgrown (and destroyed) to look for a gray one I could cut into pieces.  Not a problem.  I then located a long sleeved white T-shirt for each boy.  (I typically buy one or two when they’re on sale just for crafting purposes, so I already had a couple on hand.)  Last year we made snowman shirts and Bo Chuck’s never was great, so I decided to re-use it and just cover the snowman face.  Yay, me, for re-purposing!!

I cut the front, back and sleeves from a gray t-shirt and then ironed it onto some Heat and Bond iron-on “material” I got at JoAnn.  I was too nervous to cut out the fabric, though, so I used scrap paper to make patterns first.  I let Bo Chuck help design his robot – he told me which head, how the arms should be, which buttons he wanted to use and where, and things like that.  (Now he’ll have a vested interest in his shirt because it’s his creation.)  After I had decided on the layout of the robots, I cut out the t-shirt with the iron-on paper on the back side.  This actually made cutting knit material much easier!  I then ironed the robots onto the shirts.  I bought light-weight heat-and-bond (not on purpose) so sewing the edges was still a must.*   I very nervously began to sew with a contrasting thread (for added flair).  I’m not a great seamstress, and the shirts may not hold up forever, but I thought it turned out okay.  I also pulled out my sewing manual and learned how to make a zigzag stitch!  I don’t typically venture from what I know, so this was a big step for me!  Ha!

Because I wasn’t sure about ironing on with buttons in place and whether my buttons would be in the way when sewing with a machine, I saved them for last.  The problem with that is that I didn’t want the knot from the button on the inside of the shirt to rub and chafe my kiddos.  So, I just tied string through the ribbon and then glued them on with (what I think to be) washable, permanent glue – E6000.  The first wash will tell me if I bought the right stuff, I’m sure.  If I didn’t, I’ll get something better and re-glue them or figure out how to sew the buttons on without rubbing my boys’ bellies raw.

The boys are very excited about their silly new “bro-bots” and asked to wear them immediately.  If they hold up to a young boy’s wear and tear, their mom will be very excited, too!  (I’m always skeptical when it comes to my sewing skills!)

*  If you wanted to make one of these and didn’t want/know how to sew, you could just buy heavyweight heat and bond or stitch-witchery.

Note from Nicci:  I LOVE these Bro-Bot shirts Amanda made!  I’m thinking I may actually attempt this because it is way too cute for words.  Thanks, Amanda!!!

Bat Shirt Crazy (by Amanda)

// September 20th, 2011 // No Comments » // Children and Babies, Crafty Stuff

When I introduced myself, I told you that everything I do is a trial run and that I am completely average. Sometimes, when I’m having a good day, I forget that and think that I know what I’m doing and that I have mad skillz….and then blogs such as this are possible.

Today I decided to make a Halloween T-shirt for my almost 3 year old, “Super D”.  He informed me the other day that he wants to be a bat for Halloween, and when we later bought a black T-shirt for crafting purposes, he became convinced that this shirt was his “bat t-shirt.” He’s asked for it nearly every day since then. So, today, after some cleaning and basic household responsibilities were out of the way (and nap time rolled around so my “helpers” were also out of the way), I decided to make a bat T-shirt for Super D.

I pulled out my cricut machine and began to look at my few cartridges to see what good bats and other Halloween die cuts I had at my fingertips. After choosing a not-at-all-scary bat, I cut it out on contact paper*, just large enough to span the front of the t-shirt. (*error 1 – Note: I know that most tutorials I’ve seen always talk about using freezer paper, but I don’t have any on hand…and I did have some tacky contact paper that needed a purpose.)

So after some deliberation, I decided to use the reverse image and put the outline of the bat on the shirt and bleach the bat so he’d be a nice gray color… then I could embellish as needed. So I pulled out some bleach and a foam brush and began to blot bleach inside the lines for my cute bat image.

I put cardboard inside the shirt so I wouldn’t soak through to the back, but I think it absorbed some of the bleach and it bled… bleaching outside of my bat outline from underneath. Being terribly impatient, I took my hairdryer and dried the bat image as best I could and then removed the contact paper so I could see just how much patch up work would be needed. To my surprise, the shirt was perfect! If I was trying to make a shirt with a gray blob that looks like a storm cloud, that is.

In an attempt to fix the shirt and make some semblance of a bat, I got the actual bat that was cut out and placed it on the shirt. I then began to blot glow-in-the-dark paint around it. It turned out to be very much the same shade as the gray to which my original “cloud” had faded.

I then took out the bottle of glow-in-the dark paint again and began to outline the bat shape. I also blotted some black paint over the eye holes.

Before the paint could dry, I very carefully removed the contact paper bat to find a glowing outline of a bat. To make him slightly more creepy, I added some fangs – - which mostly look like buck-teeth. Not what I had in mind – AT ALL – but it has a bat on it, and it glows in the dark, so hopefully Super D will like it just fine! Maybe it’ll be his favorite shirt ever. Or maybe he’ll cry when I make him wear it once just because I took the time to make it. Who knows!

Oh, and another non-phenomenal mom note: I was making this for “wear black to school day” . . . tomorrow. The shirt can’t be washed for 72 hours and it’s pretty well soaked with bleach. Hmmm. Looks like we’ll be digging through the closet to find something else black for now. It’ll have to be better than last year’s black day, though, when he wore his brother’s black Nike sweatband because he had NOTHING black in his closet.