A friend is giving away a copy on her blog.
Enter Here
20 August 2012
18 August 2012
Easy Art and a tough lesson everyone else probably already knows
I posted the other day about the nifty Scrabble-themed wall art I made for Mommy Person. Prior to making the giftier version, I decided I'd test the waters with a little home decor trial run of my own. We moved recently and now the boys have their very own bathroom. All of my fru-fru gardeny bathroom decor didn't exactly fit. Thanks to the genius inspiration that is Pinterest, I had a plan! It's a simple plan, too. I bet your kids could even follow this plan. Your kids... not my kids.
I used canvas board for this project because I had them already, but cardboard would probably work just as well. [Note: I bought I 3-pack of 8 1/2 x 11 boards and Hero Man cut them in half for me.]
You will need:
I went outside and I still used newspaper (horrible, evil things, I'm tellin' you). I was inadvertently morbid though, and use the obits. Don't use the obits. That's disrespectful. *oops*
After you spray the board, center a sheet of scrapbook paper of it, then carefully, very carefully, starting at a corner works best, lay the paper on the board. The spray adhesive isn't exactly permanent, so you can pull it up and rework it if needs be.
Then you just flip it over, trim the edges, and wrap the edges like a present, gluing them with tacky glue. Don't forget to crease the corners at a diagonal. It will look a little neater that way.
That's it!
As I've said before, I'm not creative, so I used Command strips to hang these. Look how cute they are in the bathroom!
I'm sure the brighter among us have already figured out the inherent flaw in my plan. These were hung... in. the. bathroom.The place with the steamy shower and 4 hoodlums splashing water. You know, the wet place?
See, apparently Command strips don't like moisture. Apparently spray adhesive doesn't either. Apparently, neither does paper. Who knew?
So while this is a craft that simple and worth repeating, don't bother if you're gonna put them in the bathroom.
I am my mother's daughter! Look what I remembered! My mom did exactly the same thing to cover a hideous glass block window between our kitchen and living room. Well, sort of the exact same thing.. she used fabric and a wooden frame she made/had made to fit the window. Ignore that doofy looking girl who may or may not be me. I'll admit to nothing.
I used canvas board for this project because I had them already, but cardboard would probably work just as well. [Note: I bought I 3-pack of 8 1/2 x 11 boards and Hero Man cut them in half for me.]
- Scrapbook paper
- Spray adhesive
- Scissors
- Canvas board (or other sturdy backing)
- Tacky glue
After you spray the board, center a sheet of scrapbook paper of it, then carefully, very carefully, starting at a corner works best, lay the paper on the board. The spray adhesive isn't exactly permanent, so you can pull it up and rework it if needs be.
Then you just flip it over, trim the edges, and wrap the edges like a present, gluing them with tacky glue. Don't forget to crease the corners at a diagonal. It will look a little neater that way.
As I've said before, I'm not creative, so I used Command strips to hang these. Look how cute they are in the bathroom!
I'm sure the brighter among us have already figured out the inherent flaw in my plan. These were hung... in. the. bathroom.The place with the steamy shower and 4 hoodlums splashing water. You know, the wet place?
See, apparently Command strips don't like moisture. Apparently spray adhesive doesn't either. Apparently, neither does paper. Who knew?
So while this is a craft that simple and worth repeating, don't bother if you're gonna put them in the bathroom.
I am my mother's daughter! Look what I remembered! My mom did exactly the same thing to cover a hideous glass block window between our kitchen and living room. Well, sort of the exact same thing.. she used fabric and a wooden frame she made/had made to fit the window. Ignore that doofy looking girl who may or may not be me. I'll admit to nothing.
15 August 2012
Adopt-a-monster give-away
Lots of hyphens in that title.
All to say, Adopt-a-monster is doing a give-away. I want to win. Because I want one for myself but I can't justify spending money on one for me when I should probably spend money on buying them for the boys. If I win, I get to be guilt-free in my selfishness.
If you don't win, visit her FaceBook page or Etsy Cart to buy your own (or one for me).
All to say, Adopt-a-monster is doing a give-away. I want to win. Because I want one for myself but I can't justify spending money on one for me when I should probably spend money on buying them for the boys. If I win, I get to be guilt-free in my selfishness.
If you don't win, visit her FaceBook page or Etsy Cart to buy your own (or one for me).
The Leftovers
The last two posts were about the primary Scrabble-themed crafts I made for Mommy Person (Scrabble Coasters and Scrabble/Bible Wall Art). Today I'm going to show you the beyond-simple way to use leftover tiles.
In case you're just joining this adventure, I needed three Ws for my main craft. Standard distribution of letters means only 2 come per 100 tiles. I bought two bags of tiles and had 160 tiles left over!
Remember those fridge-poetry-magnet-thingies? How about with individual letters, instead?
I had actually pictured a fancy-shmancy looking, well-used serving tray. But our local Goodwill failed me repeatedly. Fortunately for Mommy Person, she's married to the king of the Pittsburgh garage sales! I'm certain that Grandpa T will find something more suitable than this.... blahness.
At least the clearance-find cookie sheet I settled on came with two super-cute cookie cutters (which may or my not have had anything had all to do with my choosing this particular cookie sheet).
I used magnet strips that had peel-n-stick backing. I had to cut them into smaller bits. I originally intended to get magnetic dots, but the circles would have cost me twice as much.
In case you're just joining this adventure, I needed three Ws for my main craft. Standard distribution of letters means only 2 come per 100 tiles. I bought two bags of tiles and had 160 tiles left over!
Remember those fridge-poetry-magnet-thingies? How about with individual letters, instead?
 |
| (Just a handful of the letters.) I could NOT get a decent picture! |
At least the clearance-find cookie sheet I settled on came with two super-cute cookie cutters (which may or my not have had anything had all to do with my choosing this particular cookie sheet).
I used magnet strips that had peel-n-stick backing. I had to cut them into smaller bits. I originally intended to get magnetic dots, but the circles would have cost me twice as much.
14 August 2012
A Word of Art
Yesterday I posted the super simple Scrabble coasters I made for The Mommy Person. Today I'm going to show you the highlight of the gift set: the wall art. This was the project that I really, really wanted to do. The rest was incidental (I needed 3 Ws for this project; two Ws to a set meant buying two sets... 200 tiles. I wasn't about to waste the rest!).
As a reminder, even sets of Scrabble tiles sold for the purpose of crafting come in the standard letter distribution. Planning is key!
This particular project was a little more involved than the coasters, but the end result was totally worth it!
There is a song, by Sara Groves, called The Word that contains the chorus, "The Word was, the Word is, and the Word will be." I love it. It's an amazing song. Learn it, love it, live it. Those phrases also seemed fitting for this project.
Supply list:
just blow you off listen earnestly to your concerns, so speak your mind. ;) [Side note: I was originally looking for scrapbook pages that had Scripture on them; our local purveyor of all things scrap looked at me like I had three heads when I asked.]
About the Bible: you really need pages that aren't velum, which is very difficult to find. Our local Goodwill has a Bible cart (a grocery cart full of Bibles) and it took several trips to dig through before I found one that would work. The pages weren't exactly regular paper weight, but they were heavier than velum. Also, if someone asks you what version you're buying while you're digging through the cart, ignore them. It might turn out that they are a crazed Jehova's Witness that will use your answer as an invitation to prattle at length about the ills of that particular version, resulting in several futile minutes spent tuning her/him out as you are stalked through the store (and even, for a moment, cornered with no hope of escape). Not, um, that this happened to me, um, or anything.
The method:
Your mind may work differently (Lord, for your sake, I hope so), but this is what made the most sense to me. Because the canvas had been cut, it had a raw edge that I wanted to cover. I started with 1 piece of canvas and 1 sheet of sketch paper.
I used the spray adhesive to cover the sketch paper and layered the Bible pages on it (applying more adhesive to the pages where there was overlap). I kept the pages mostly right-side-up, but wanted a messy-ish look. I suggest doing this bit outside. Spray adhesive has a mind of its own.
Then I used adhesive on the canvas to stick the paper to it (trying to center it).
After that, it was a matter of trimming the excess and using tacky glue to wrap the canvas.
Use some heavy-duty textbooks to squish it all flat as it dries. I'm partial to A Complete History of the Theatre. But Introduction to Engineering may be more your speed.
When it was all dry, I set it aside for four months. Because I had already missed Mother's day, and Mommy Person was coming to visit in August. Naturally, I waited until the night before she arrive to even dig these out again. All that was left to do was add the Scrabble tiles. I didn't want the weight resting solely on the paper pages, so I used a razor knife to cut small squares, down to the canvas, under each letter. Add more Tacky Glue and *poof* done.
(I'm well aware that the letters, especially on the last one, are cock-eyed. Remember yesterday when I said the tiles aren't square? They aren't. Add that to the 'crooked' pages and my eyes didn't compensate very well. But I'm still 100% happy with how they turned out.)
I gave Mommy Person some Command strips to hang these. I figure that's the best bet. Maybe you can devise a fancier style hanger, but for me? I'm not nearly as creative as one might think. [How would you hang these?]
Tomorrow I'll cover what to do with the leftovers.
As a reminder, even sets of Scrabble tiles sold for the purpose of crafting come in the standard letter distribution. Planning is key!
This particular project was a little more involved than the coasters, but the end result was totally worth it!
There is a song, by Sara Groves, called The Word that contains the chorus, "The Word was, the Word is, and the Word will be." I love it. It's an amazing song. Learn it, love it, live it. Those phrases also seemed fitting for this project.
Supply list:
- Canvas board (the only boards I found, with limited selection, were too large. So my Hero cut them in half for me)
- Sketch paper or other heavy craft paper
- An old Bible with pages that are not velum
- Spray adhesive
- Tacky glue
- Scrabble Tiles
About the Bible: you really need pages that aren't velum, which is very difficult to find. Our local Goodwill has a Bible cart (a grocery cart full of Bibles) and it took several trips to dig through before I found one that would work. The pages weren't exactly regular paper weight, but they were heavier than velum. Also, if someone asks you what version you're buying while you're digging through the cart, ignore them. It might turn out that they are a crazed Jehova's Witness that will use your answer as an invitation to prattle at length about the ills of that particular version, resulting in several futile minutes spent tuning her/him out as you are stalked through the store (and even, for a moment, cornered with no hope of escape). Not, um, that this happened to me, um, or anything.
The method:
Your mind may work differently (Lord, for your sake, I hope so), but this is what made the most sense to me. Because the canvas had been cut, it had a raw edge that I wanted to cover. I started with 1 piece of canvas and 1 sheet of sketch paper.
I used the spray adhesive to cover the sketch paper and layered the Bible pages on it (applying more adhesive to the pages where there was overlap). I kept the pages mostly right-side-up, but wanted a messy-ish look. I suggest doing this bit outside. Spray adhesive has a mind of its own.
Then I used adhesive on the canvas to stick the paper to it (trying to center it).
After that, it was a matter of trimming the excess and using tacky glue to wrap the canvas.
When it was all dry, I set it aside for four months. Because I had already missed Mother's day, and Mommy Person was coming to visit in August. Naturally, I waited until the night before she arrive to even dig these out again. All that was left to do was add the Scrabble tiles. I didn't want the weight resting solely on the paper pages, so I used a razor knife to cut small squares, down to the canvas, under each letter. Add more Tacky Glue and *poof* done.
I gave Mommy Person some Command strips to hang these. I figure that's the best bet. Maybe you can devise a fancier style hanger, but for me? I'm not nearly as creative as one might think. [How would you hang these?]
Tomorrow I'll cover what to do with the leftovers.
13 August 2012
Words for Friends
And by "Friends," I mean my mother (AKA, The Mommy Person).
There are two things you should know about The Mommy Person:
1. She is a pastor who loves the Lord with every fiber of her being.
2. She loves Scrabble more than any sane person I know.
A couple of months ago, I ran across an image of Scrabble tile coasters. As with many things I find on Pinterest, I didn't bother pinning it. I'd like to give credit to the original inspiration, so if you happen to have the link, feel free to comment with it.
The coaster image led me to create three different crafties as a gift set for my mother. I'll start with the coasters and blog about the other two over the next few days.
There are a couple of things you need to keep in mind when crafting with Scrabble tiles. First, they aren't square. Not only are the tiles not square, but the letters are often stamped on all willy-nilly. If you are OCD, skip this post. Skip this idea, entirely. In fact, don't even bother playing Scrabble.
Second, know your letter distribution. Many crafters use Scrabble tiles as the basis for their work (mostly jewelers), so the tiles can be purchased from a variety of vendors in bags of 100; they are still the standard distribution. What does that mean for you? For example, in one of the other crafts, I needed three "w"s. There are only two in each set. That means I had to order two sets. Before you order tiles, plan out exactly what letters you are going to need and determine how many sets will be required.
Back to my recreation of the coasters...
Thing is, the original image contained, shall we say, drink-inspired words. My mom... yeah, that wouldn't fly. My solution? As you can see, I picked a different theme for each coaster (names of God, important people, books, "power words").
And now it's time point out that I currently reside in a tiny town in Arkansas. My supply options were limited. I purchased a 4-pack of corkboard tiles, but you can probably find a less expensive cork sheet. I found it easiest to cut the cork a little smaller than the finished coaster. Then I arranged the tiles on the coaster and glued each tile one-by-one. I also ran a thin bead of glue around the edges of the tiles to glue them to each other. Super simple, fairly quick (the longest bit was finding words that didn't require more tiles than I had of a particular letter).
1. Cut the cork - I used a razor knife to cut one of the pieces of cork board into four squares roughly the size of 4x4 Scrabble tiles.
There are two things you should know about The Mommy Person:
1. She is a pastor who loves the Lord with every fiber of her being.
2. She loves Scrabble more than any sane person I know.
A couple of months ago, I ran across an image of Scrabble tile coasters. As with many things I find on Pinterest, I didn't bother pinning it. I'd like to give credit to the original inspiration, so if you happen to have the link, feel free to comment with it.
The coaster image led me to create three different crafties as a gift set for my mother. I'll start with the coasters and blog about the other two over the next few days.
There are a couple of things you need to keep in mind when crafting with Scrabble tiles. First, they aren't square. Not only are the tiles not square, but the letters are often stamped on all willy-nilly. If you are OCD, skip this post. Skip this idea, entirely. In fact, don't even bother playing Scrabble.
Second, know your letter distribution. Many crafters use Scrabble tiles as the basis for their work (mostly jewelers), so the tiles can be purchased from a variety of vendors in bags of 100; they are still the standard distribution. What does that mean for you? For example, in one of the other crafts, I needed three "w"s. There are only two in each set. That means I had to order two sets. Before you order tiles, plan out exactly what letters you are going to need and determine how many sets will be required.
Back to my recreation of the coasters...
Thing is, the original image contained, shall we say, drink-inspired words. My mom... yeah, that wouldn't fly. My solution? As you can see, I picked a different theme for each coaster (names of God, important people, books, "power words").
Much more fitting than "shot," "pint," etc.
And now it's time point out that I currently reside in a tiny town in Arkansas. My supply options were limited. I purchased a 4-pack of corkboard tiles, but you can probably find a less expensive cork sheet. I found it easiest to cut the cork a little smaller than the finished coaster. Then I arranged the tiles on the coaster and glued each tile one-by-one. I also ran a thin bead of glue around the edges of the tiles to glue them to each other. Super simple, fairly quick (the longest bit was finding words that didn't require more tiles than I had of a particular letter).
1. Cut the cork - I used a razor knife to cut one of the pieces of cork board into four squares roughly the size of 4x4 Scrabble tiles.
2. Then I glued each tile in place, one at a time. That's it. Easy-peasy. (The glue I used was Tacky Glue.)
11 August 2012
Sneaky, sneaky
I was asked recently about my propensity for crafting after the boys go to bed; the inquisition was centered on the idea that children are capable of creating wonderful crafties that are not only gift-worthy, but have an extra aaawwww factor. This is an indisputable fact.... if you have children who aren't mine.
My children on the other hand - - -
Something mystical and evil happens to my otherwise glorious progeny the moment they see a bottle of glue. Really. It's very Poltergeist. You should see it some time. You'd be safe viewing fromthe other side of the room behind bullet-proof glass the safety of your own home, via live video feed. If you're Catholic, have your priest on speed-dial.
My children on the other hand - - -
Something mystical and evil happens to my otherwise glorious progeny the moment they see a bottle of glue. Really. It's very Poltergeist. You should see it some time. You'd be safe viewing from
"Elmer's is the Debbil!"
07 August 2012
A little craftiness to reboot life
Why does this ancient blog now only have one post? Well, because I'm starting over. The past is old news and today's crafty problem-solving is new news.
This post could be subtitled "I hate suction cups." Really... I loath them. They never stick. Or they stick too much (though rarely). So how does one store bath toys without those cutesy little bags that adhere to the tub with suction cups? We tried the "pile them in the corner of the tub" method, but that is irritating. We tried the "throw them in a large bowl" method, but they got grodey pretty quickly.
$1 for a mesh sock bag (it was with the baby items) + $.97 for 10 child-sized plastic hangers + My trusty sewing kit = My solution to the most pressing issue of our day!
Now where's my Nobel?!
[If I were to do this again, I'd go for the embroidery floss instead of regular thread. I doubled the thread, but I think the floss would hold the weight better in the long-run.]
This post could be subtitled "I hate suction cups." Really... I loath them. They never stick. Or they stick too much (though rarely). So how does one store bath toys without those cutesy little bags that adhere to the tub with suction cups? We tried the "pile them in the corner of the tub" method, but that is irritating. We tried the "throw them in a large bowl" method, but they got grodey pretty quickly.
$1 for a mesh sock bag (it was with the baby items) + $.97 for 10 child-sized plastic hangers + My trusty sewing kit = My solution to the most pressing issue of our day!
Now where's my Nobel?!
[If I were to do this again, I'd go for the embroidery floss instead of regular thread. I doubled the thread, but I think the floss would hold the weight better in the long-run.]
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)