Teacher Appreciation Craft

It has been a while since I posted. I have been extremely busy with church, my son's school and of course my job of being a stay-at-home mom. Needless to stay it has been a hectic last couple of months and somewhat stressful. However, another school year is coming to an end and I will have more time to post and share some of my crafts with you.

Since the school year is ending I wanted to get my son's teacher something special for her hard work and dedication, but nothing at the store seemed original. Then I got the idea of doing something for her, something she can actually use at home or her classroom. I came up with making a personalized pencil, pen, ruler holder from a recycled formula tin can and the best part was that my son was able to help out.

The materials used were:
Black scrapbook paper (1 piece)
A recycled can of formula (got it from my sister in law)
Wood letters I got at Michael's for about $1.50
White and orange acrylic paint
Hot glue gun
Flower stickers I got at The Dollar Tree for $1.00...lol



Here's how I did it. First, I measure the can and cut the paper accordingly. I used my glue gun to make the paper stick to the tin can. Once the glue had dried, for a decorating effect I glued some ribbon on the top and bottom edge.
Second, I painted my letters white and orange to fit the color theme. Once the letters were dried, I once again used my glue gun to attach the letters to the tin can.


Here you can see the ribbon decor and letters being glued on.

Once the letters where done drying, I added some more decor by attaching some flower stickers I got at The Dollar Store.


I love how nice and detailed the flowers are and they only cost $1.00.

Once I added the flowers I was done. I stuffed the tin can with some goodies from Michael's that were 50 cents each.



In total I spent about $5-$7 to make this project. I love it because it is something she can always use and hopefully she likes it.

DIY Canvas Pictures

As I have mentioned before I love photography, I'm not an expert but I love taking pictures. One of the things that used to frustrate me the most was taking pictures, but not displaying them. Now thanks to Pinterest I have gotten a lot of ideas of how to do this. One of my favorite is the canvas display. As you may know canvas pictures are pretty expensive, but I have found a cheap and easy idea on how to make these.

Materials needed are the following:
Canvas
Picture
Acrylic Paint (any color you want)
Sponge Brush (2)
Modge Podge (make it yourself 1/2 half glue and 1/2 water)



I got my canvas at Michael's. Most of the time they have awesome coupons and you can get a great deal. I got a 10 pack of 8x10 for $14. First, I painted the edges of the canvas dark brown to match my other picture frames in my living room. This project is so easy that even my 6 year old helped out.



Let it sit for a bit and once it is dry modge podge the top of the canvas. Give it a nice layer, but not too much. Place your picture on top of the modge podge (picture face up). I ironed out the bubbles by touching my picture with a tissue and I was done. I let it dry out overnight and hung it up in the morning.

Here is what the edge looked like after I laid the picture on top.


Here is the finished product.




For now I only have two pictures hung up, but I plan on making the rest of my canvas soon. I will update this post when I'm done with my wall.

DIY Tutu Tutorial

Our Easter was awesome. I went to church with my babies and celebrated the Resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. This is a very important celebration for me and I always like to make sure we are on our Sunday best. This year I got a bit inspired and I decided to make my baby girl a tutu for our Easter service. It was easier than I thought it would be, here's how I did it.

The materials I used were:

6 yards of Tulle. I bought 3 yards of pink and 3 yards of white tulle, but I didn't use it all.
1" non-roll elastic band
Glue gun or if you don't have one you can sow the ends of your elastic band
Scissors
Tape measure or ruler

First, I measured my daughter's waist to size the elastic band. A lot of websites say to subtract two inches from the size of your kids waist for a good fit, but I only subtracted 1 and it was perfect. I then used my glue gun to attach the ends of the elastic band together (If you don't have a glue gun you can sow them together).

Second, I cut 20" strips of tulle for the length of my tutu, I went with the recommendations of the chart below. It all depends on how long you want it.

Waist Size-these are very general
Preemie (under 7 pounds)-14 inches
0-3 months: 17/18 inches
6-12 months: 18/19inches
1-2 years: 20 inches
2-3: 21 inches
3-4: 22 inches
4-5: 23 inches

I then began wrapping the tulle on the elastic waist band. So the elastic band wouldn't slide I wrapped it around a paper towel roll. You have to fold your strips of tutu in half, like so:


Place the tulle in front of the elastic band and pull back at the fold. The keyhole should come out at the bottom of the elastic slip the two ends inside the keyhole and pull. It should look like this once you pull:


I cut 30 pink strips of tulle and 15 of the white tulle you of course can use more. The more tulle you add the puffier it will be. I only used two colors, but you can use as many colors as you want. I made a pattern with my two colors of 1 white, 2 pinks, and 1 white. Here is the end result:


It was a fun project and needless to say I can't wait to do other tutus for my baby girl. Let me know if you have any questions.

DIY Pen & Pencil Holder

I'm excited because next week is spring break for my son, therefore life will be a bit less hectic, hopefully. I will have more time to do some of my projects, which I'm sure my son will love to help out with. I'm on a mission to get my little craft station organized. Right now I have things all over the place and it bugs me.

I needed something to keep my pens, pencils, markers, scissors and brushes sorted out. I also wanted to make some sort of container(s) to my liking, like I did here for my Scrapbooking paper. I came up with a super cheap idea that was incredibly easy to make. All I used were a few cans of Pringles chips, which I had already collected for another project, Modge Podge, Scrapbooking Paper, and scissors.



I first cut the Pringles cans to the size that I wanted (You can make them as tall or as short as you want).



Select the color of scrapbook paper that you want and measure according to your can size. Paste around your can with your modge podge using a brush or sponge brush.



I left a little extra paper at the top, so that I could cover the rough edges where I cut the can. I then added modge podge to the extra little bit of paper and I folded the edge towards the inside of the can. It gives it a better look. Once you do this you're pretty much done.




Now my son has requested some for his desk, so it's a project I plan on doing with him during spring break. You can also use these as make-up brush holders or add a magnet to your can an pin it on your refrigerator to hold pens for quick notes. It was a cheap project that gives my craft station some much needed organization and great personal touch. My station is looking up if I do say so myself.

Chalkboard DIY Project

I had a very productive weekend. For a while now I had wanted to make a chalkboard for my son. I saw the procedure on Pinterest (my current addiction) and went on Friday to get the materials. I went to my local Home Depot and found exactly what I needed.

The materials needed:
-Non-Sanded Grout
-Acrylic Paint Big bottle, not the two little ones I have on the picture(any color you wish)
-Piece of Wood (any size)
-Sand Paper
-Paint Brushes or Foam Brushes
-Whisk or piece of wood to mix the paint and grout

The first step is to mix a cup of paint and 2 teaspoons of Grout. Mix until the lumps are all out. (Tip: I couldn't get the lumps out and when I did it was a real thick mush ball, therefore I added a little bit of water to make it runny)

I got a large piece of cork board from Home Depot for 51 cents. (Tip: Home Depot has scraps of wood that they sale for 51 cents. It's great to use for DIY Projects and of course super cheap). I sanded the wood a bit began putting the paint with a foam brush.

Awesome project to have your kids help you with

I put 2 coats of paint on it and let it dry overnight. The next day I added a coat of chalk. Yes, chalk not sure why they suggest to do this, but I read it everywhere. Once you have done this clean it with a damp cloth.

Once you clean off the chalk your new board is ready to be used. My son loved it, he won't stop playing with it and now he's talking about doing a white board. He says he is now ready to teach his class.