Pinspiration Sunday: Christmas Balls in a Shadow Box

So I've seen various takes on displaying either Christmas balls or bells in a shadow box with a cute phrase attached in or around it. Well here's my take on it: 

I bought 2 shadow boxes about 6 weeks ago from a local thrift store I paid $3 each for them. Since they were an already made up, manufactured decoration, I had to take it apart first. Once it was apart, I took the cardboard backing and covered it with Mod Podge and pressed the burlap onto it. 

Once that dried, I cut the excess burlap off around the cardboard edges. 

I bought some small ornaments on black friday from Kmart for about $3. I put them inside the frame. Now the frame wasn't quite deep enough from my ornaments so I couldn't use the nails that were located on the back to hold the cardboard in place. Instead, I taped the cardboard back on. Next, the fame was a little beat up with a few spots that had some sticker residue. 

For that I simply took a sanding block and sanded the white frame. Then I took a damp cloth and wiped the frame down. 

Next it was time to decide what to write on the front. I was originally thinking about cutting something out with vinyl on the cricut machine but then I remembered something else I bought on black friday. I got this from JoAnn Fabrics for $5!

I chose the word "peace".

It's a sticker, so I just stuck it on the front glass.

And there you have it....a Christmas ball shadow box decoration. 

Hope this inspires you! Thanks for stopping by!

DIY Felt Pine Cones

So I tried searching for a way to make felt pine cones...well...in the end I took several ideas and put them together and this is what I came up with.

Here's what you'll need:

Hot glue and gun

Scrap paper

Brown felt
Bottle cap

Tim Holtz On the Edge die--Brackets
Tim Holtz Tattered Florals
Sizzix machine

Here's a video to show you how to make them:

You you liked this video! Good luck on your project! Thanks for stopping by!

Today Is a Journey

Sometimes I forget to take each day as they come. Everyday is different and everyday there is a chance to do something amazing...no matter how small it is. Sometimes its hard for me to remember this. I get caught up in daily struggle of work, being a mom, being a wife and being myself. I made this birdhouse for myself....which is very rare. I almost never make anything that I plan on keeping for myself...no matter how much I love it. But this...this is for me. My daily reminder that today, anything can happen and today I can start a new journey.

I made this birdhouse by using Marion Smith Designs' Nirvana collection. I Used the pages, Family Record, Documented and Cloud 9. If your favorite craft store doesn't carry Marion Smith Designs' items yet, you can order through Amazon. The birdhouse template can be found at Marion Smith Designs Shop. I also used flowers from Michael's craft stores and the balls are from some floral picks that I had stored away. Hope you enjoyed this project. Thanks for stopping by!

Pinspiration Sunday: Wooden Letter Ornament

I found on Pinterest this cute wooden initial ornament. Unfortunately this person only posted a picture and no instructions. Not that it matters because I rarely follow the instructions anyways. I like to figure it out myself. This seemed simple enough…and it was and I think my end product turned out really cute. So here is my inspiration:

Here is a list of supplies I used:

Wooden letter
Small eye hook (same as I used on the mustache ornaments)
Wood stain
Mod podge
Ink
Scissors
Paint brush
Cricut machine
Decorative Scrapbook paper
Ribbon
Hot glue & gun
ATG gun


So I headed out to A.C. Moore and found their unfinished wooden letters. This one was only $1.19 or maybe $1.29, either way it wasn’t very expensive. This is basically all I spent because everything else I had at home.

Let’s get started…First I started by staining the letter. I knew I was covering it up with paper which meant I could do it quickly and it didn’t matter so I could be fairly messy with it. I let it dry.

Next I traced the letter once onto a sheet of patterned paper.

I then folded that paper in half and cut the letter out. Which gave me 2.

Then I covered the two sides of the letter with mod podge and placed the paper on top.

After it dried, I cut the excess paper off from around the edges. I then used ink to blend the edges so it flowed nicely into the stained sides of the letter.

After that, I cover the entire letter with mod podge and let it dry.

Once it was dry I inserted the eye hook on the top of the letter.

Afterwards, I typed up and printed out what I wanted the tag to read. Then I practiced manipulating the Cricut Craft Room software to get the tag and circle cut-out I wanted. I cut out the tag on patterned paper and tried to line up my words on the cutting mat so that the circle would cut perfectly around the words I had printed out. I inked the edge of the white circle and used my ATG gun to adhere it to the tag. Next I covered the tag, front and back, with a very thin layer of mod podge. This was in case it gets damp it would be slightly protected.

I then hot glued the tag to the letter. Next I made a bow from ribbon and hot glued that to the top of the tag.

I finished by tying another piece of ribbon through the eyehook so it could be hung from a tree. Here is how the other side looks

This was a nice and inexpensive gift that is truly one-of-a-kind. And it could be made for anyone. This one in particular is for my sister-in-law who just got married in May. After I made it, I thought it was so cute and easy that I should make more for other family members. So that’s what I’m going to do. Hope you enjoyed this episode of Pinspiration Sunday. Be sure to keep checking back to see what else I've found and made! :)

Pinspiration Sunday: Felt Christmas Tree for kids

So this year is the first year we will be decorating for Christmas with a baby. Last year I made my husband help me decorate before Thanksgiving. But in my defense, I was due Nov. 29th, so we couldn’t be too sure when our little guy was coming so I wanted it done and out of the way. I’m figuring it may be difficult with my son’s puma like moving skills…I mean honestly, he doesn’t walk but he can crawl incredibly fast that he can almost out move me. Anyways, I came across this post on Pinterest for a felt Christmas tree from Johnny in a Dress, and I thought how perfect...he can decorate and undecorate that as much as wants. Here's my inspiration:

This is how I made mine. First I went to JoAnn Fabrics. Now my intentions that day was not to buy for this project but the felt was on sale for $2.99/yd so I had to buy it. I purchased a full yard of dark green (I wasn’t too sure how big I was going to make the tree) and only a half yard of the rest of the colors. Then with my Cricut machine I cut out a star, two different sized round tags (ornaments), a light bulb tag (because I wanted the shape, I just cut the loop at the top off) and a candy cane. I believe I used the Very Merry Tags die for the candy cane, light bulb and ornaments and George Basic for the star. I tweaked the sizes using the Cricut Craftroom software. I just cut these out of cardstock then used them to trace around on my felt. Then cut out the decorations.

The tree I cut out by simply folding my felt in half and cut a diagonal line from the corner up. Then I glued the star on the top using tacky fabric glue. I cut the trunk, presents and bows by hand and hot glued those to the bottom of the tree (the tacky glue just wasn’t holding up very well).

I used fabric paint on the candy canes to make the stripes.

I started to put paint on the ornaments too but then decided I really didn’t think it was worth the effort. When it comes time to put this tree on the wall I’m planning on using the Command Velcro strips.

These things are great! I use them for SOOOOOOO much around the house. That way I can put the tree up or take it down when he’s not playing with it. My final project looks like this:

Leftover Dough Ornament

I made my mustache ornaments and had some dough left that was not large enough to make another mustache out of.I didn't want to waste it so I just rolled it out, used a wine glass to create a circle (I don't have a round cookie cutter, obviously something I need to invest in) then dusted a stamp with cornstarch and imprinted it on the dough and made a hole for a string or ribbon. This particular ornament I didn't bake...I saw a recipe where you just leave it out for 2 days to harden so I tried that. Then I sprayed it with Tattered Angels glimmer mist in Blue Skies. Next I took a sponge with Tim Holtz distressed ink in Broken China on it and rubbed all over. After that I sprayed it with Marshmallow colored glimmer mist. Finally I sealed it with Mod Podge and put twine through the hole to hang. This is what it looks like.

This picture was with the flash to show the glimmer.

This is just another way you can decorate those homemade ornaments instead of using paint or stain. The decorating literally took me less that 5 minutes. Super easy and looks pretty cool if you ask me. :^P

Pinspiration Sunday: Homemade Ornaments

I found a really fun and easy tutorial on Pinterest for DIY ornaments. So I had pinned it awhile back thinking maybe I will make Christmas gifts someday. But then I got the awesome idea to make mustache ornaments! What a great favor for Grayson’s 1st Birthday party. Especially since his birthday is just a few weeks before Christmas. Now let me start by saying that I made one batch of these and they DID NOT turn out. The directions are simple…but here’s what I didn’t do: I didn’t knead it before rolling out. I didn’t bake on parchment paper (I used a Pampered Chef stoneware bar pan). The holes I placed in them for the string left a narrow area in the middle which is where most of them broke. And finally they didn’t seem to have completely dried out. Soooo…I decided to try again. This time I still didn’t use parchment paper but I did have wax paper so I used that on a metal cookie sheet. I bought tiny eye hooks that I inserted from the top in the middle that I could then put ribbon through to hang them. I also baked them for an hour and 20min (ten minutes longer on each side). This is how it works:

Ingredients:
1 cup baking soda
½ cup corn starch
¾ cup water

Place all ingredients into a small pot over med-low heat and stir.In the orginal directions it say this process takes a few minutes (which to me means like 5) however it takes about 10-15min.

You stir the pot until it thickens like “smooth mashed potatoes”. Then place dough into a bowl and cover with a damp cloth until cool.

Once the dough has cooled then you can roll out to ¼ inch thick and start cutting. I used Fred & Friends Munchstache cookie cutters that I bought from Amazon.
I inserted the eye hooks prior to baking. I baked them at 175 degrees for 40 min then flipped them CAREFULLY as they were still fragile in the middle. Then baked them for another 40min.

Once done, I removed them from the oven and placed them on a cooling rack overnight (just to be sure they were good to go).

Then I used some paint stain I already had (from ACMoore (it’s the same stain I use on my recipe boxes)) in the following colors: walnut, cherry, and mahogany. You can use craft paint but I wanted the detail to really stick out so I used the stain. I could have watered down the paint a bit but again I had the stain so that was easiest for me.

I then sealed them with mod podge. Finally, I added ribbon through the eye hooks. Here's how they looked:

This is the walnut:

Here is the cherry:

Here is the mahogany:

And here are all 3 together:

I plan on taking a 4 foot Christmas tree to Grayson’s party which I will have the ornaments hanging from with a note telling guest to take one home. Check back after his party to see great pictures from his big bash!

Birdhouse Ornament

So I've really been slacking on this blog...but honestly I never have time to do any crafting now that I'm working...but today, since it's Christmas Eve (and I'm on call) I thought I would try out this template I purchased from Marion Smith Designs....she has the most amazing ideas! This was her birdhouse she posted awhile back but now dressed for the holiday season and made it an ornament...so cute! I bought the template last night and made this today...all I used was some scrapbook paper, prima flowers, glimmer mists from tattered angels, hot glue, the pink ATG gun, and some beads I had from another project....hope you like it!