Creative Organizing on a Dime, pt. 1: Sprucing Up Old Jars

With crafting and art, comes craft stuff.  And craft stuff needs a place to call home.  Even with the saying "A creative mind is seldom tidy," we try to at least keep up the facade when possible.  But, no one wants to spend a ton for expensive craft organizers.  So, this post is the first a few part series on how to creatively organize craft stuff on a budget, or on a dime, so to speak. But no one wants their craft space to look ugly, so here are also a few ways to decorate said cheap-organization tools, that you can fit to your taste and keep in the theme of, well, being crafty. :) ("Duh" note: these adorable creative organizers also work great for organizing things besides crafting supplies.  In case you were wondering. ;) )

Tonight's post: How to spruce up and repurpose old jars.

Made these decorative jars for about $3.50 total.  Clean out and use old jars from the fridge, or thrift them.

I'm sure you can tell from looking at them, that these are simple enough to make.  But in case you wanted a few instructions or tips, read on.  :)

Lace jar

Items needed: 

* White porcelain jar or cup

* Wide piece of lace (height of your jar)

* Mod Podge & sponge brush

* Scissors

Fun with Silhouette Interfacing pt.2: Monogrammed Throw Pillows

Well it took a few weeks, but I finally got my sewing machine back up and working, and thus, I was finally able to make this monogrammed slip cover for a throw pillow.

This is another great use for Silhouette fabric interfacing.  If you missed my first, more detailed post about how to use it, click this link: "Fun with Silhouette Interfacing pt.1: Dish Towels." The great thing about using your silhouette is that it can cut more intricate shapes for such applique.  So let's get to it. 

For the pillow slipcover itself, I found the following tutorial online that was pretty easy to follow:

DIY Specialty Shaped Cards, Silhouette

First, I apologize for the late post.  I was working on my Silhouette Fabric Interfacing pt.2 project, and had a little hold up with my sewing machine.  (Making pillow slip covers--stay tuned!)  So after dealing with sewing machine issues for a few hours, I decided it was time to make some cards instead.

I know that my "Bridal Shower Invites" post a few months back has been fairly popular, especially among Pinterest users. I am glad that so many of you have enjoyed it.  Being inspired by that, I decided people might like to know how to create their own "specialty shaped" cards using their Silhouette and their own shapes of choice.  So here are some detailed instructions:

First, I have examples of two main types of cards:
1.  The "Great" and "Turtle" cards, which are mirrored images of themselves (i.e. the shape of the card is the same, front and back), and--
2. The floral card, in which the front of the card is different than the back.

Both are useful types of cards to know how to make on your own, to design just the type of card you have in mind.  So here we go.

Labeled Herb Pots with Chalkboard Vinyl

Last year my roommate grew her herbs on our windowsill in empty Ben & Jerry's ice cream cartons. This year (those having disintegrated), I opted for this instead:

This is super easy, and cheaper than buying a pint of Ben & Jerry's (though, perhaps, not as tasty). Plus, you can reuse the pot as many times as you like and just erase the label since it's written on...bu bu buuuum-- chalkboard vinyl. Using a chalk-marker makes it stay on, even when you over-water the plant and the water comes dripping down on top of it (trust me, I've already done it plenty of times), but can be erased easily with water and a cloth.  Labeling it in this way means that you can reuse the pot as many times as you want to switch "crops."  Plus, it just looks darn cute.

To make this, you only need a few items:

Small pot (about $1)

Craft Paint

Sponge brush

Small piece of chalkboard vinyl, and chalk marker (or real chalk)

Fun with Silhouette Interfacing, pt.1: Dish Towels

I like cute things.  This simple dish towel, for instance.

It's cute, and I like it.

I have an old roommate who's bridal shower is coming up in a few weeks and I thought making a fun little kitchen package for her gift would be fitting, seeing as how we used to like to cook together and share our "kitchen creations."  We were both learning the art of cooking from our third roommate, Olga--a natural in the kitchen.  I still have some frozen pumpkin in our freezer left over from when she lived here... . Maybe I'll actually get around to making that homemade pumpkin pie sometime.  Or maybe I'll just call Olga.  (If interested in deliciousness, you can check out her personal cooking blog here: http://secretsfromolgaskitchen.blogspot.com/.  Mmmmmm.)



To make the decorative portion of the dish towel, I simply used some scrap fabric, some Silhouette Sewable Fabric Interfacing, and a needle and thread.  I also used Flour Sack Towels, in case you are wondering on the type of towel.  (You can use these for culinary uses like straining, and cheese and pastry making as well. I picked mine up at Wal Mart.)

First, cut a piece of interfacing about an inch or so larger than the image you want to cut.  Place the rough side of the interfacing onto the back of your fabric, then press down on it with a hot iron (set to the appropriate temperature for the type of fabric you are using) for about 2-3 seconds.  That's all it needs.  Cut away your excess fabric.

Fourth of July Cake Topper and Party Treats

I LOVE the Fourth of July.  Love the fireworks, the patriotic music and feeling in the air, the barbecues and summer foods, and especially the gratitude and chance to honor those who fight for our country and freedom.  It is one of my most favorite times of year.  So much to celebrate and be grateful for.

Though there is obviously a serious overtone and purpose to this celebratory time of year, it is also that-- a time of celebration.  And with that comes food.  Right?  We know that every reeeaally good celebration includes food.  :) For instance: cake.

I wanted to make a few festive treats in honor of the 4th, and decided to share them with you, in hopes that you'd feel inspired for your 4th of July celebrations.  

Cake and Cake Topper

I started out with this delicious red velvet cake with blueberries.  The cake itself was just from a box.  I used Rainbow Chip frosting for some added hints of color and a festive feel (it reminds me of a type of hidden confetti).  The blueberries were extras from my Fruit and Rice Krispies Treat sparklers, which I'll mention further down in this post.   The blue star at the base was made by melting some white chocolate chips and adding blue food coloring.  I then put it into a resealable plastic bag, cut a small corner from the bag, and piped some designs onto wax paper.  After they chilled, they easily removed from the wax paper.  Only put them on, however, right before serving, as they get soft again fairly soon. 

Add food coloring to your melted white chocolate to make colored filigrees! 

Because I wanted to invoke the visual feel of stars and sparklers, I thought a cake topper supported by bamboo sticks (like the sparkler sticks) would be a nice touch.  I found a simple "stars border" to cut from my Silhouette library collection (the one I used is still currently available on the Silhouette Online Store) and just used tape (how uncreative) to attach it to my sticks.  I also wrote-in the phrase you see on the finished product. 

I think it turned out pretty cute, don't you?  :) And even better that it was easy.  :)  

Rice Krispies Treat and Fruit Sparklers

I saw the idea for these on pinterest, thanks to 5minutesformom.com.  They actually took more than five minutes to make (the Rice Krispies treats take some time, especially including time to cool), and you'll want to serve them soon after making them, but they sure are adorable.  

To make the star-shaped Rice Krispies Treat, make the treats according to directions, but place them on a wide brimmed cookie sheet, so they aren't too thick. Once they have cooled, use a star-shaped cookie-cutter to make your shapes.

Hint:  Follow the recipe exactly.  I generally put in more marshmallows than the recipe calls for, and that made these "melt" a little bit easier out in the heat. I.E. they didn't want to stay on the sticks as well because they were extra soft.  It did, however, make it possible to mold in some of the "excess" cut-away portions into the mold if one section was ever too thin.  ;)

After you have your stars, thread on strawberry, blueberries, and then your star onto a bamboo stick/skewer.  Tie a colored ribbon with a knot beneath the strawberry to keep the fruit from falling down, and voila: instant treat.  

To add to the decorations,  I decided to display mine with a small "suggestion" to bring to mind what they were meant to be representative of in the form of the word "Sparkle." Using some excess trimmings of silver foil sticker paper I had on hand, as well as some scrap double-sided adhesive sheet (make the most of those scraps!!), I made a little sign to go along with my treats.  I used a Q-tip to clear off the extra glitter that caught like static to the foil. 

Use scraps of specialty media sheets to make some added pizazz and sparkle to your festivities!

My jar was a simple mason jar (actually, a cleaned out jar from some long forgotten food I once purchased) with a picture of the American Flag tapped on (so as to easily be removable) and wrapped around with some jute. I filled the bottom of it with clear stones to help hold the sticks up.

Chocolate Covered Strawberries with Festive Toothpicks

These are pretty simple.  Melt some chocolate (be sure to add a bit of shortening or oil to your chocolate so that it stays smooth and creamy), dip your strawberries in, then dip them in blue sprinkles.  The end.  Oh wait, I forgot: Then eat them. :)  If you want to make them even more cute, add these simple little festive flag toothpicks.  

To make the little flags, I used my Silhouette.  First, I used a label shape that was symmetrical so that it would perfectly match when folded in half.  I created my desired designs, and used Silhouette Sketch Pens to draw the inner portions.   I found that the fonts were a little harder to read at this size, so the shapes worked a bit better, unless you have specific "sketch" fonts (such as what I ended up using for "God Bless America").  

I had a few more scraps of some Silhouette Printable White Sticker Paper (again, get every use out of those scraps!) and used that for these flags.  Using regular paper and then gluing or taping them would also work.  The sticker paper was just easy because it already had an adhesive on the back.  Then I wrapped them around some colored toothpicks and stuck them in those strawberries.  A simple thing that I think added a lot, as with each of these projects.

I hope these gave you some fun ideas!  I know I had fun making them (and eating them)(the treats).  Freedom really is/was sweet, in this case.

Here's to you and a wonderful, festive, celebratory 4th of July!  Happy Independence Day, America!

Simple Cricut Scrapbook Pages

Well I figured it was high time I actually got back to doing some scrapbooking, what with all these fantastic scrapbooking tools I have.  The pictures themselves aren't great, but they are from fond memories and thus were worth setting down on paper. :) So here are three simple scrapbook page layouts for 8 1/2x11 inch pages.  Can easily be modified for 12x12.  

I used the following Cricut cartridges:

Calligraphy Collection, for the "Be Merry" font
Formal Occasion, for the "Winter Formal" phrase, overlay, and frame
Winter Woodland (Currently $10 off on our website!!), for the snowflakes and "Winter" word

Each has a lot of great images and phrases, which you can view off the links above (use their "digital handbook" to see all options per cartridge).

Mothers Quote and Mixed Mediums

So I know we just had Fathers' Day, but I thought it would be nice to share one more of my Mothers' Day projects because I liked the idea behind it and because...well, who doesn't love their mom all year round?  Right?  Right.  So here we are: mothers quote and mixed mediums.

I am apologizing in advance, as not many of the photos for this post turned out very bright or clear.  Not sure why, but let's blame it on the weather, right? ;) Kidding.

Items needed for the basics of this project are simple:

* Silhouette Sketch Pens (Or Cricut Color Inks. This can be done with a Cricut,  and though it would be trickier and likely have to be more piece-mealed together, the idea would be the same.)
* Watercolor Paint (I just used cheap Crayola watercolors--the kind you'd give to your kids--and they work great!)
* Watercolor paper (helps reduce the color bleeding when you paint)
* Computer Printer, if desired

To begin, I chose my quote: "Even if I didn't have you as my mother, I would choose you as my friend."  This is so true of how I feel about my mom.  She's just the best.  Then I made my design using Silhouette Studio so that I could play around with colors and spacing and get it just how I wanted it.

First design your piece using Silhouette Studio to adjust placing, colors estimations, etc.

I decided to use all sorts of different inking mechanisms for this particular piece, just to see how well they worked together, and in order to get the colors that I wanted (to match my mom's craft room. :) )

Relax, Dads...It's Your Day!

Both my biological dad and my stepdad are very hard-working men.  They work hard with their hands
and their brains, and do all that they can to be a support and an example to our family.  I am so blessed by their examples of daily hard work, service, and especially, love of our family.  There are many things I claim to know, but the one thing that I do know without a doubt is that I am loved by these great men.  No question.  I love them both, so much!

Both my dads help me to do seemingly impossible things. :) I am so grateful for them!

I guess I wasn't expecting to write any sort of tribute to them, but as I got on to do a quick post on this simple Father's Day card idea, those thoughts just seemed appropriate to share.  So, for those of you who also have hard working dads, here is a cute and simple Father's Day card that I made, primarily using the following silhouette hammock image.  Knowing how hard my dad works, I thought I'd play to one of his favorite pass times while we are camping--taking a nap in the hammock. :)  The rest was easy.   For the font, I used one called "LD Charming Bold."  As for the grass, I found an image that I had and cut out the unwanted portions of it using the "knife" tool in Silhouette studio. Then glued where I desired the little "tufts." 

Note: The knife tool allows you to draw cut lines through an image, and then it will automatically connect and close off the shape where you cut it.  Thus, if you draw a cut line all the way through an image you end up with, in essence, two images.  This is what I did, and then just deleted the unwanted portions.  No need to waste paper!  

I also added a little jute that I had for a bit of 3D effect (I tend to favor that), a cute little bird resting on the word, and voila--super cute and easy card for poppa. :)  Now sit back, relax, and enjoy your time with that great man in your life! 

We Love Dads! Easy Fathers' Day Gift Idea

So, I happen to be a bit of procrastinator when it comes to sending gifts.  ("Groan. Really?" Says my family. But hey, it's a matter of having time to get to the post office! ...Usually.) And as it turns out, May is big month for my family: Mothers' Day, parent's anniversary, and my youngest sister's birthday.  Then, right on the tail of that, we have Fathers' Day in June.  Since moving across the country from most of my family, it has become easier for me to send one big package home with everyone's gifts and let them open it all up together like it's Santa's big bag of goodies---Dad passing out gifts as he calls the recipient's name, probably chuckling and "ho-ho-ho"'ing even if it is the middle of June. (I'll imagine.) So that's the story this year.  Finally sending some gifts home that have been sitting quietly in the corner of my room, waiting for their new owners and homes.  It's sweet, really. :)

But okay, on to more important things.  For instance---what do you get your Dad/husband/the man in your life for Fathers' Day?!  I mean it.  Really.  Help me with ideas! :)  Every year it eludes me, and every year I find myself struggling as to what to buy this man who, at this point, either has everything he needs or wants, or buys himself whatever he needs or wants as soon as he sees it.  Thus, my gifts tend to be a bit more personal, silly, or simple.  But always full of love.  I'd love to hear your ideas though.  Really. One struggling gift giver to another. :)

One thing that I do know that my Dad loves is nuts.  He's a nut eater.  He's a nut in general. ;)  (Kidding Dad!  Sorta.) So that little treat portion was an easy thought.  I decided to make it cute and print out a sticker to put on top with a catchy phrase about nuts and dads.  I went with "Just nuts about my Dad!"  I made my own print and cut design using Silhouette Studio, to be cut from some of Silhouette's printable white sticker paper.  (We also have it in clear, and gold and silver foil.  Click here to see those options.  I just preferred white due to the variety of wrappings I'd be using in this package.)

After doing my own little print and cut, I realized that I had a lot of paper left on that one sheet.  (Note: You can look to either of the following previous posts, one or two, for more instructions about how to make your own print and cut designs.) Rather than waste it, I decided it'd be the perfect way to label all the rest of the gifts that I was going to be sending home in this package.  Big bows and other such things don't last too well when getting sent through the mail, but stickers?  Those have a way of staying put.  It's in their nature.  :) Okay, sorry.

As you can see here, I filled the page with various other labels and stickers for the other gifts I'd be sending home.

Fill your page to the brim with personalized labels and stickers to make the most from each sheet.

When making your own print and cut it's easy enough to put your text right where you want it.  Plus, it's fun to do more personalized designs and stickers.  The lacy/ folksy heart was chosen to seal the bag enclosing an Amish lace doily I was sending to my Mom.  I made an elephant sticker with the cut out heart for my niece, and used a lady-bug for my sister's tag specifically because we used to call her Love-Bug. :)  When all is said and done, I think they add a nice touch, don't you?

If you want to learn a little about making your own print and cut designs, you can read the two previous posts mentioned, or keep reading on below for just a few simple reminders/tips.