homemade crayons

Having seen an idea for do-it-yourself crayons here on Pinterest, I decided Eli and I needed to make some for Valentines Day goody bags for his preschool classmates. The tutorial I saw used hearts, but I thought stars made a lot more sense for crayons - 5 points per crayon!

I went to Michael's and bought two 64-ct boxes of crayons ($1 each) and a Wilton silicone star baking mold ($6 with coupon).

First, we had to soak the crayons to get the paper off.

The soaking time will vary based on the strength of the paper adhesive. I soaked these overnight. There was a little bit of scrubbing required, but mostly the paper came off without issue.

Next, I broke the crayons into 4 or 5 pieces per crayon and mixed them up in a bowl.


Then Eli and I filled each mold about halfway up with various blends of colors.

We baked them in the oven at 230 degrees for 20 minutes. Then we took them out and let them cool for about 45 minutes to an hour. Then, we very carefully peeled the sides away from the points (the benefit of silicone), one at a time and then popped them out of the mold completely.

And here is the finished product!

crocheted joy

Here are a couple of the things I've crocheted recently:

Retro-style winter hat


The hat is a basic beanie. The challenging part for me was the flower. My Mama taught me to crochet, but I've never learned the "lingo" of the craft. So I cheated. I made a long chain, then added two rows. I attached it to the hat by starting in the middle and tying the bottom of the chain on, through the hat, top then bottom, all the way around. Once that was done, I took some yarn (since the flower was all the same color) and tied it about every two inches. The parts where it's tied blend right in!

For the chain itself, the first row was every stitch, then I skipped every other stitch on the second row. That makes it curl around naturally. The second row is actually the bottom of the flower - the row tied down.

Scarf


I made this using two skeens of very soft multi-colored yarn. I cannot stress counting your stitches enough! (If you don't want a lop-sided scarf, that is.) Once I was satisfied with the size, I cut 30 equal size pieces and tied them to each end. They fray beautifully!

etsy

I've finally gotten my etsy site up and running. I'm selling my handmade cards here:

Madison Hollow

:)

my craft haven

I have all of my crafting materials and tools stuffed into the two feet between my bedside and the wall. Until I have a dedicated craft room, this is it. It's squished, but it is mine, and I love it. This area is my escape when life gets crazy and I need to medicate myself with creativity. Also, it is an outlet for my organization sickness :)

father's day

Our gift to Jim for Father's Day:


Ingredients: paper, triple flower punches from stampin up, shadow box frame, embellishments, adorable picture, love :)

crafting joy

I recently ordered some goodies from Stampin Up, out of their summer mini catalog. Here are a few of the things I've been working on:


These are a couple cards I made using two different triple-layer flower punches from Stampin Up, cardstock, and Stickles.


This is a little travel folder I made for Jim and I to keep track of places we want to go. We have so many places we'd like to see and things we'd like to experience, and this is a cute way to keep the lists. The supplies I used here were cardstock, twine, a binder clip and the newest travel stamp set from Stampin Up.


These cards are not finished yet. One of the items I got in my recent order was a crop-a-dile for setting eyelets and such. These two cards are the result of me experimenting with it. But they will get finished soon.

I'm also working on a special Father's Day gift for Jim, but I'm not done yet. I'll post pics as soon as it is :)

my homemade advent calendar

Eli is getting old enough to start appreciating special holiday family traditions now, so I decided to make my own Advent calendar based on what I saw in volume 18 of Better Homes & Gardens' "Christmas From the Heart".

First, I ordered a 3D boxed calendar from Karen Foster designs, as seen here. It consists of 24 2" x 2" boxes that slide out to hold goodies or small toys. It also comes with a sheet of adhesive numbers.

Here it is before I decorated it:




I went to Michael's and picked up 4 different designs of coordinating Christmas scrapbooking paper, some embellishments, and some beautiful metallic red adhesive letters. I cut the paper into 2" squares, cut out the finger notches with a 5/8" hole punch, attached the numbers, and adhered the pieces of paper in a random pattern with a glue stick. Then I added some embellishments to some of the pieces, and two large embellishments to the front cover of the box. I finished up by gluing the adhesive letters to the front cover of the box. Here's how it turned out:




I can't wait to start our family Advent tradition! Eli will get a surprise each night in December up until Christmas day!

As Eli would say, "Num NUM!"

recipe cards

I've been given several recipes over the years, and even with the most amazing recipes, the recipe card itself was always very plain. So I designed my own:



Standard recipe cards can be either 3" x 5" or 4" x 6". I chose the smaller size, because it best suited my needs. After you've decided on a size, choose a color scheme. I chose pinks and browns.



Helpful Hint: To get a variety of designs within the same color, opt for the smaller sample pads of cardstock, usually 6" x6" or smaller. The size is much closer to what you need, meaning less waste, and you'll get a lot more variety for your money.

Cut a variety of 3" x 5" (or 4" x 6") cards out of your card stock. These are your backer cards. Then print your recipes on contrasting card stock. I used a standard package of 8 1/2" x 11" mottled pastel card stock, available in any office supply store. Make sure to print the title and ingredients in one section, and the directions in another (adjusting the font based on number of ingredients and length of directions), and then cut them out separately and adhere them to opposite sides of your backer cards. It's very important to make sure you leave enough space on both sides of your text so that when you cut it out, the width will match the width of your backer cards. Here is what they should look like when you're done:



And there you go! Simple and easily replicated. For some additional little fun touches, I bought some notecard dividers, and printed categories on white labels:



I also created a cute little title card for the front:



And to house my cards, I bought a fun little notecard box from an office supply store:



If your recipe collection is too large for a small box, an easy (and very attractive) solution is to buy a larger, clear notecard holder. That would not only house all of your recipes, but people could see your beautiful handmade cards right through the box.

This project might take a little time, depending on how many recipes you have, but these cards will not only be beautiful, but also be durable and last :)

invites

Here is one of my designs for simple hand-made invites.



There are five basic parts to this card: the backer piece, the printed piece, the vellum cover, twine, and of course, the envelope.



When printing the actual text on the card stock, I use the column feature in Word to separate my page into two columns, and then print the text twice in each column. This makes getting an even border when cutting it out a lot easier. I also prefer to use scrapbooking fonts, although handwriting invites can add a nice personal touch if the handwriting is clear and neat.

Your backer cards and vellum should measure 4 1/4" x 5 1/2".

Helpful hint: Each 8 1/2" x 11" sheet of card stock and/or vellum makes four 4 1/4" x 5 1/2" pieces, when cut down the center both ways. And these cards fit perfectly into 4 1/2" x 5 3/4" envelopes - a standard size carried by craft and stationary stores.

Trim the printed card stock to a slightly smaller size than the backer card. This will reveal a nice border of contrasting color. I prefer to use Zots to adhere the printed piece, because it gives it some depth. Then cover with the vellum (do not adhere), which not only looks nice but also protects the printing. Tie it all up with a piece of twine and it's ready to be put into the envelope and mailed!

The best thing about this design is that it can be adapted for various occasions, just by changing the color scheme and vellum cover. Having a fall wedding? Just coordinate the shower invite colors with the wedding colors:



Or say you're making baby shower invites. Change your color palate to pastels, and use blue or pink ribbon in place of the twine.

The possibilities are really endless.