Homemade Glass Hurricane Jar

I've seen these all over the place. I have 3 sons, who bring over their friends, who are usually boys, and as mothers of boys know, even though the rule is no throwing balls in the house, something gets thrown, and Mom's expensive glass jars get broken in the process. I figured this out a few years ago after a trip to the Home Goods store to buy apothecary jars and other cute glass display jars was all for naught within 3 weeks of my purchases. I'd pretty much sworn off the idea of buying anything glass until they've moved out... UNTIL... I saw I saw homemade glass hurricane jars that you made yourself from the dollar store! They're everywhere, and I don't know how I missed it until now.

Supplies
E6000 glue (this will be the most expensive part of the project- I had some so I didn't have to buy new)
Glass candle holder- I got a votive (dollar store)
Hurricane jar (dollar store)

Directions
1. Remove the price tags from the bottom of the jars. Clean well. Rubbing alcohol works really well. 2. Put a dollop of the glue on the candle holder and put your jar on top. Hold it securely for a few minutes. 3. Add candy or whatever you want to put in there. Decorate with a ribbon (I haven't done this yet...) and you can use it for all seasons of the year.

Terra Cotta Mummies

I got the idea from Inspiring Creations. I tweaked it a bit because I liked the mummies being thicker in the middle.
Supplies 2 same size of terra cotta pots White Paint Googly eyes Strips of white material Hot glue/glue gun Black or dark brown ink pad Foam brush Directions 1. Glue together the lips of the pots and press together until dry. 2. Paint the pots white. Use a couple of coats, but they don't have to be completely perfect since you're covering them with the material.
3. Glue the eyes on the pots.4. Take a strip of the material and adhere it to the top of the pot and wrap it around, gluing every so often to keep it on. Make sure to avoid the eyes!5. When you're done with the material add some ink to it to make it look older. I used a black ink pad and a brown ink dauber to get the colors I wanted. (Here's one that I hadn't distressed next to the one that I had.)Display with your other favorite Halloween decor!

Decorating Flip Flops with Ribbon

Items you need:

2-3 different 1/4" - 5/8" coordinating ribbons or pieces of fabric

Flip flops

Scissors

Hot glue gun

Directions for tied ribbon flip flops:

Get your ribbon and flip flops. Decide which color you want to start with and tie it around the strap near the bottom. (I didn't pre-cut the ribbon.) I cut the ribbons at an angle to reduce the fraying. I only used 2 ribbons so I did every other one. Keep going until the straps are covered.

Covered straps: (Showing children's shoes. Adult flip flops coming soon.)

Choose your ribbon. If there's enough give, push down through the hole, fill it with hot glue and the end of the ribbon. If there's not enough give then just place a dot of glue at the very bottom of the strap, near where you foot goes. Start wrapping, and continue wrapping until the entire strap is wrapped on both sides. Place more hot glue at the end- the way you did when you started. Put a bow or flower in the middle where your toe goes.

Bejeweled flip flops:

Get ribbon with sequins or crystals and hot glue it on the straps. I added a satin flower with a jewel, but you can add whatever fits your style.

End of year teacher gift ideas

As the end of the school year approaches I am filled with a sense of dread. I've been so busy that I haven't come up with teacher gifts this year! As a room mother for one of my children I have been working on a group gift with the other moms. I can't post it yet because her teacher visits my site occasionally. (I will post a picture on Thursday- after she gets her gift.) That gift is taken care of, but I have 3 other children with teachers. I try to give something homemade to each teacher because I think those gifts mean the most. I try to find something that is inexpensive because buying for several teachers can get pricey.
Here is the list of ideas that I have come up with tonight. Hopefully this will help spark your imagination and help you come up with something for the teachers in your lives.
A mini scrapbook- You don't have to buy an album from the store. You can use paper bags folded in half. They can have pictures, sayings and gift cards inside the pockets.
An inexpensive pitcher with several fresh lemons
Personalized stationary
Etched glass vase with fresh flowers
Potted flowers in a painted terra cotta pot A personalized calendar
A personalized tote bag
A homemade cook book
Homemade goodies (recipe included)
A tote bag filled with sunscreen, a towel, a water bottle and a book (or a gift certificate to a local bookstore)
An apron with the teacher's name embroidered on the front. If you can't embroider use fabric paint.
Garden gloves with packets of seeds, mini shovel and trowel
Classroom supplies- teachers run out of tissues during cold season, hand sanitizer, hand soap, pencils, reams of white copy paper, dry erase markers or chalk, pink erasers, stickers or stamps with ink for younger grades, craft supplies
Magazine subscriptions
Children's books for the classroom
Rainy day activity boxes for the classroom- ideas include coloring pages, crossword puzzles, sudoku puzzles, pencils, crayons, etc. or a craft with the necessary supplies included
Extra fruits and veggies from your garden in a basket tied with a cute ribbon
Floor pillows or bean bags for the reading area in your teacher's classroom
A night at the movies- gift certificate for local video store, movie candy, microwave popcorn, bottled soda
A paper floral arrangement with gift cardsDinner in a box- Don't throw away those drink carriers from the drive-through! Fill one side with the pasta, the other side with a jarred pasta sauce. If it comes with 4 slots, put a loaf of bread in one and a drink in the other. You can decorate the box easily with stamps and stickers.
Personalized post-it notes- stamp the sides of a stack of post-it notes.
Decorated notebook with a matching clipboard.

Remember the packaging can make a difference. If you have something small enough use an empty, clean and dry 2-liter bottle. Cut a flap out and insert the gift. Tape it up with packaging tape, cover with decorative paper, add ribbon and you have a great gift.
I hope these ideas have helped you. Please comment if you have any more ideas!

Terra Cotta Treat Jars

Supplies
Fine grit sandpaper
4" diameter terra cotta lid
3" diameter terra cotta lid
6" tall terra cotta pot
6" round glass bowl
Strong adhesive- I recommend E6000 (Glue guns will NOT work for this project!)
Acrylic paint
Foam brushes
Wood knob
Clear acrylic sealer (Spray or a liquid decoupage medium)
Paper to cover your table where you'll be painting.

Directions
1. Place your cover on your table.
2. Completely remove all the stickers and sand all the residue off. Fine grit sandpaper works really well. Also sand any rough edges from the terra cotta.
3. Glue small lid in the inside of the larger lid, applying glue around edges of smaller lid. Press together and let dry completely. (Tip- I put a cup on there to keep it in place while it was drying.)
4. Paint the outside of the pot, the wood knob and lid (top and bottom). You will need to do several coats of paint, especially if you use a light color. Allow to dry completely between each coat of paint.
5. Apply clear sealer to all painted areas and allow to dry completely.
6. When paint is completely dry glue knob to the top center of the lid. Press down and hold until secure. Allow to dry completely, approximately 20-30 minutes.

7. Turn your pot upside down. Next put glue on the bottom of the glass bowl and place on the top center of the pot. Hold in place for several minutes until it's secure and allow it to dry completely.

8. When it is completely dry clean out the jars and put in your treats. Decorate with a ribbon around the bottom of the bowl. The ribbon can completely change the look and feel of the bowl so if you choose a neutral color you can use your jar for several different seasons.

The total cost of this is approximately $10. If you already have the paint, sealer and brushes it's even cheaper. With help kids 7 and up should be able to do this project.

Decorating Papier Mache letters

Here's a quick and easy activity that makes for a quick decorating project or gift.
Supplies needed:
Papier mache or wooden letter
Acrylic paint
Decoupage medium (I use Mod Podge)
2 foam paint brushes
Various decorative paper

Directions:
1. Paint the sides of the letter with your paint. Let dry. Paint a second coat, and let it dry completely.

2. While the paint is drying cut or tear your paper. When the paint is dry lay it out on your letter to arrange it the way you want it.
3. When you have the paper arranged the way you like it use your second foam brush and dip it in the Mod Podge. Brush a medium coat large enough for your paper. It dries pretty quickly so don't try to do the whole thing at once! If your paper is large then apply the MP in small sections. Do this until you have all your paper on there. Let it dry completely.

4. When this is all done then brush MP over the entire thing, including where you painted, to seal it. Let it dry completely.

5. Add coordinating embellishments... ribbon, boas, stickers, etc. My daughter did this and she only wanted ribbon.

You can hang them up, have them sit on shelves or counter tops. Fun, quick, easy and cute!

Floral Hairbows with photos

I see these all over the place, and my daughter wanted me to make her one. I've seen them sold for up to $20. I can make several for that amount.

Supplies:

Hot Glue Gun (and glue)

Large daisies or your preferred flower (I buy a bunch from my local craft store when they're on sale.)

Coordinating ribbon

Metal hair clips or barrettes

Small wire cutter OR a pair of sharp scissors

Directions:

1. Cut a piece of ribbon long enough to cover the clip.

2. Use hot glue to attach to the clip. You need to do this in short sections. I started with gluing the ribbon underneath, secured that, then put more hot glue- to about the middle of the barrette, secured that, the other half, secured that, and then the under side and secured that. If the hot glue does harden up before you get the glue down just heat it up with your hair dryer and reattach. (HINT- This also works if the ribbon or flower gets detached.)

3. Separate the flower layers from each other. Use the wire cutters to cut the flower from the stem. When you pull the center of the flower out there will be a little green nub that everything went into. Cut this so it's even with the bottom. Set aside.

4. Glue the flower in layers, from the bottom up. Push down firmly between each layer to make sure that they are attached well. I glue clear across the barrette for the first layer, and then a dollop of glue in the center for the remaining layers.

This shows how it looks as you glue the layers together. It looks kind of funny until you get them all together.

This is how it will look when you end with the center of the flower.

They're really quite quick and simple to make. I made 21 flower barrettes for my daughter's luau party in under an hour.

If you want to embellish further you can add glitter, sequins, etc. Now I just need to make something so I can store without mushing them up!

Here is how it looks in our hair. You can make them big or small.

Valentine's Wreath

Here's the Valentine's wreath for which I also used Chantal's idea. It's quick and easy. I think I'll be using some extra fabric to make some for Halloween and Christmas!

First start with a Styrofoam wreath like this one. If you prefer you can use a wooden "O" from the wood craft section of your local craft store.
Get several different Valentine's Day fabrics and cut out 1 1/2" - 3" strips. Organize the fabrics in the order you like. (Instead of measure twice, cut once; arrange twice, glue once.)Apply a liberal amount of Mod Podge the size of your fabric strip. Press the fabric down well, making sure to get rid of any air bubbles. Allow the MP to dry, and then apply another coat over the top if desired. (I applied another coat so that the wreath would be more weather-proof.)

After the top coat of MP dries, select several ribbons and/or rickrack. Measure and cut to the necessary length. Use craft glue to adhere to the wreath where the fabrics meet. Make sure the ends are glued down well.

To embellish a little more I got a couple of Styrofoam balls, and covered them with fabric. Then I wrapped ribbons around them and tied them to the wreath. Hang it on your door and enjoy!

Valentine's Crafts Heart Table Runner

I will be upfront and admit that I shamelessly stole these ideas from Chantal, Charmaine's sister. (Charmaine is a contributor on this blog.) Chantal did several crafts for Halloween, that I decided to convert to Valentine's ideas because I have very few Valentine's decorations.

This first project is the heart table runner. I have stopped here because I can't decide how to embellish these without making them look overdone. So for this year this is how they will look. If you have any ideas on how to make them cuter please comment!

First cut out a template. I used my Cricut and cut out a large and a medium heart. I traced the large heart on the red felt, and the medium heart on the pink felt.I cut out a total of 10 red and 10 pink hearts.Next I sewed them together using a zig zag stitch with about a 1/4" border.Lastly I sewed the hearts together, alternating right-side-up and upside down hearts.

This is the finished runner. It looks okay, but I'd like to make it pop. Any suggestions?

Homemade cars birthday party decorations

We had a Cars themed birthday party for my youngest son. I was unable to find all of the decorations we wanted so I made my own. It was pretty easy to do, and they turned out pretty well. (The pictures didn't turn out as well as I hoped, but you can get the gist from them I think!)

I wanted to have some race flags so I got 1 1/2 yards of black and white checked fabric from Wal-Mart. I cut the fabric into 16" squares, which I cut diagonally corner to corner to make triangles. I sewed hems on the two angled lines. Next I got 1/4" white rope that we had in the garage and sewed the last hem around the rope. I made a total of 16 flags.

Here are two views of the flags that I had hanging from the canopy. It was a bit breezy so I couldn't get a better shot... sorry!

I used my Cricut machine to cut out blue ribbons for everyone. I used them as the thank you notes that I put in the treat bags that all the kids took home. You could also use them as awards for any games that you play.

I cut the tops and bottoms off 2 boxes and then cut holes on 2 sides as handles.

I covered the "cars" with aluminum foil and taped around the edges to make sure that it would stay put.

I cut out 2 different sizes of circles using my Cricut machine to make headlights.

These are the headlights on the box cars.

Here are the numbers on the side of the box cars.

For the activity you have the kids step into the center of the "car" and hold it up by the handles on either side. Then they do a relay race going around a "race track." For our race track my husband used blue painters' tape and made 2 lanes so both teams would have their own lanes. It was inexpensive, quick and easy to set up and clean up, and effective.

I used the lids from the box cars to make license plates that all the kids got to decorate. Here's a picture of the birthday boy with his license plate. (He was in a funny mood and all of his pictures are cheesy smiles with his eyes closed. Silly boy!) I let them all decorate their plates with foamie stickers that had pictures and letters. Then I wrote their names on the side because most of them wanted to cover as much as they could before I could write their names in the center. One idea is when they get thank you cards you can edit these photos to make them look like driver's licenses.