Craft

Sealed With A Kiss Lipstick Art – A 15 Minute Craft

May 17, 2013 by beth Leave a Comment

K, so I recently found myself with just a little bit of time alone (which is kind of hard to come by these days!) The Hubs and the two older boys were gone, and the baby was asleep. I realized I had had enough of sitting in my room or on the couch recovering. I wanted to make something! Nothing too big, nothing too crazy – I just wanted to create.

So I looked through my Pinterest boards and found a couple of cute ideas for a quick and easy craft I could make before my precious babe woke up and needed to eat. I decided to make some sweet kisses lipstick art.

Here are the supplies I grabbed from around the house:

*A picture frame

*A piece of printer paper

*Lipsticks

*A mirror

I began by applying the lightest lip colors first and just started kissing the paper. (I’ve had lots of kissing practice lately – our little baby must be getting sick of me kissing his face!) Next, I added kisses from the darker lipsticks and filled in the gaps. The whole paper was covered in kisses in less than 15 minutes.

Afterward, I added the picture to the frame and put it in my bathroom where I get ready in the morning.

Cute, fast, and a craft I could do while the baby was asleep! Now I’m ready for a nap.

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Framed Spring Gallery: A Kid-Friendly Craft

April 12, 2013 by beth 4 Comments

This post was written as part of a campaign with The Blueprint Social. All opinions are my own.

K, so as crazy as it sounds, we have been having some “cold” weather here in Texas! Usually it is in the 80′s around this time of year, but the last few days have been colder than any other year I can remember. I’m ready for spring, Mother Nature!

I decided not to let the cooler temps bug me too much (we’ll be praying for them in the middle of the scorching summer!). Instead I thought my cute boys and I could make an easy, kid-friendly spring craft for our home thanks to a package of bright Apple Barrel paint and Mod Podge Washout from Plaid Crafts.

I happen to have a stash of white picture frames that were waiting to be used as well as some leftover burlap fabric from my family room lamps. (The glass and backs of the frames have been removed.) This is the perfect time to make a Framed Spring Gallery for the mantel.

Wanna make one, too? Here’s how:

Step 1: Cut out fabric to fit each frame.

Step 2: Using the stencil and a paint sponge, stamp your bright, cheery paint onto the middle of the fabric. (Don’t worry about little messes! I learned that the paint cleans up easily with soap and water after a little bit ended up on the dining room table.)

Step 3: Using Mod Podge Washout, glue cute, spring-like embellishments to the frames. I found these paper flowers in the scrapbook aisle at a craft store.

My cute Pickle attached them to the frames with the Mod Podge, and then we added a little extra to the petals to keep them from ripping or coming off.

It was easy to allow him to use the Mod Podge Washout because it’s the same great formula as Mod Podge Gloss but washes out of his clothes – no pre-soaking needed. I’m sure lots of moms and teachers love that!!

Step 4: Mom’s turn! I hot glued the fabric to the back of each picture frame.

And that’s it! An easy afternoon craft that my sweet guy and I could make together.

We arranged our spring frames on the mantel in the family room. I love how happy this gallery makes our room!

What I like about this project is that it can be tailored to any season or holiday. Pickle asked if we were going to make some for summer and fall using paint colors of the seasons. Apple Barrel makes lots of colors, so I bet we will!

To stay connected with Plaid Crafts, check them out!

Like Plaid Crafts on Facebook, Follow Plaid Crafts on Pinterest, and Follow Plaid Crafts on Twitter.

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Filed Under: Craft, Kids, Spring Tagged With: Craft, Kids, Spring

Sharing the Love at C.R.A.F.T!

January 31, 2013 by beth Leave a Comment

Hey friends! Remember earlier this week when I promised to show you a cute craft using my second heart-shaped ice cube tray? (Not sure what I’m talking about? GO HERE.)

Well, today I’m guest posting about an easy Valentine craft on my good friend, Jamie’s, blog, C.R.A.F.T.!

Come by and see how you can make these cute crayon Valentines, too!

GO HERE.

Hope you’re having a great day!

Filed Under: Craft, Guest Post, Holidays, Kids, Valentines Tagged With: Craft, Guest Post, Holidays, Kids, Valentines

Easy Halloween Craft: Cheesecloth Ghost {Cheese Cloth Ghost}

October 15, 2012 by beth 2 Comments

Hi friends! I hope you’re having a great week! I was digging through our Halloween decorations and came across these cute ghost friends I made a few years back. This was the 3rd post I wrote for Free Stylin’, so I thought I’d share it with you again. (Sorry some of the pics are so small. That was before I learned lots of bloggy lessons like use large pictures!)

Enjoy!

When I was a little girl my mom went to craft night at the church and painted a ceramic ghost. Near the end of her meticulous painting (my mom is a little bit of a perfectionist – I’m not gonna lie), she was painting the last spooky black eye and bumped the paint brush. The result is what looks like a little tear coming down her ghost’s face. I don’t know if it was a lack of time, or if she thought it was a great opportunity to show her kids how to roll with the punches (I’m thinking both), but my mom said, “Well, we’ll call him Boo-Hoo.” So we took him home, and he’s been a family favorite ever since.

I’ve wanted a few new Halloween decorations around the house, but (of course) I didn’t want to spend a dime. Nada. Zilch. So I was looking through some (free) magazines to help inspire me, and I came across a few ghost ideas. I liked some parts of this one and other parts of that one. Finally I decided to put them all together. This cute little guy is the result:

Yes, yes I had to spend a dime (or two). $3.45 for the cheesecloth. But it came with 4 square feet, so I have LOTS leftover for future F.U.N!!

Here’s how I made my new little spooky friend (and his brother):

First, I hauled the kids over to Home Depot and grabbed a package of cheesecloth. (It’s on the painting supplies aisle.)

Then I spread out the cheesecloth on my (clean) kitchen floor. (Mostly clean.)

I wanted to measure and make sure things would work out evenly, but I had a problem: The measuring tape was upstairs. And I didn’t want to run up and get it. I’m so lazy.

So I used my kitchen tiles as my measuring “device.” And I cut the cheesecloth into four mostly equal squares.

Next I made the glue mixture. I collected a few supplies:

*wood glue

*a container to put it in

*medicine measuring cup (since I have a bajillion)

*a craft stick. (K, who am I kidding…it’s a skewer for kabobs. I told you I was lazy.)

(P.S. The medicine measuring cup is now officially used for crafts only. I marked the bottom with a big red permanent X.)

I mixed two parts glue to one part water. (4 oz of glue and 2 oz of water was just right.)

It’ll look like ice cream, but I promise you don’t want to eat it.

I shoved a piece of cheesecloth into the container and then wrang it out (wrung it out?). Squeezed all the glue mixture out. “Un-peeling” the cheesecloth was a little tricky at first – it was sticky and the threads were delicate – but it got easier with each ghost.

Then I draped the wet ghost over a plastic cup. Make sure you have a piece of plastic wrap or wax paper or foil on the bottom to keep the glue off your counter and so your ghost doesn’t stick to anything. Also make sure the cup is the right height to let the bottom of the ghost “puddle” a little bit. It makes him look ripple-y. (Is that a description? Is that even a word?)

I let my ghost sit for an hour or two – just until his head was dry (it dries first). Then I shoved one of the kids’ baseballs underneath to give his head a little bit more shape.

I let the ghost dry overnight but a few hours is fine, too.

Once he was dry, he needed some eyes. I thought about using construction paper and gluing it, but I spotted these bad boys while digging around for the construction paper:

P.S. I got that entire bucket at Goodwill for 50 cents!

(I don’t know what their real name is, but I call them foam doo dads. It’s a logical choice.) I love that they have an adhesive back, so I was sold. There weren’t any black circles, so I just grabbed a Sharpie and went to town. Then I stuck them on my little ghosty and he looked great! (I considered making a mouth, but it looked funny, so I didn’t mess with it.)

Here’s my ghost and his brother:

Another shot on the couch (I like how the red showed through the cheesecloth…a little spooky).

So what do you think? I personally love him. A fun, easy, fast, and CHEAP ghost.

A few thoughts when making this:

You could spray paint him black – I bet that would look cool. Also, instead of using a baseball for his head, if you have balloons at home, that would be a perfect way to give him some shape. Just pop the balloon when the glue is all dried.

Happy Crafting!

Filed Under: Craft, Fall, Holidays Tagged With: Craft, Fall, Halloween, Holidays

Mod Podge Halloween Sign

October 3, 2012 by beth 4 Comments

Hey there! Today I’m excited to show you a craft I made recently for our front porch for Halloween! It’s fun and easy to make, so you could make one, too!

I recently received a box of goodies from Mod Podge, and included inside was the perfect ingredients to make a sign for our front porch.

Here’s what you’ll need:

*A poster board

*pencil

*scissors

*an old book, with the pages cut into strips

*foam craft brush

*Mod Podge in Antique Finish

*black craft paint

*Glow-In-The-Dark Mod Podge

Begin by writing out what you want your sign to say. I free handed the word “BOO.”

After cutting out the poster board, you’re ready for the book pages. Using your foam craft brush, brush on Mod Podge to a small section of your sign. (I used Antique Matte finish because I wanted our sign to look a bit aged.) Add the book page strip, and brush more Mod Podge to the top, making sure you get the sides and corners well. Let the sign dry.

Next, it’s time to add some black craft paint. I outlined all of the edges so the word BOO would stand out. I also dry brushed a bit of black paint across the sign to give it more of a spooky look.

The last step is to add some Glow-In-The-Dark Mod Podge for that extra bit of Halloween fun. It takes about 5 coats for a really good glow, but it’s totally worth it. (I have to apologize…I don’t have any pics of my sign glowing in the dark because of my camera is not the best quality! It totally glows, though!!)

Once the sign is totally dry, you can add some plastic spiders or other Halloween items to your sign if you want. Our little spiders are for my cute J…he is obsessed with spiders right now! They are attached with some raffia to keep with the “old, antique” look.

And that’s it! Time to put it on the porch!

I like the subtle addition of Halloween to our fall porch. It doesn’t knock you over the head with the next holiday, but it still lets people know we’re in the Halloween “spirit!”