Miniature Cereal Box Valentines

I know it's down to the last minute.
That's how we crafty peeps like to roll. Am I right?

Well, I'm here to share with you the Valentines I created for the girls' school mates this year. I decided I wanted to do something with miniature cereal boxes, but I didn't know what. So I googled, found THIS, & immediately pinned it to my Valentimes Day board so I wouldn't forget. (Thank you Lily Jane for such a fun Valentine project!!)

Because I already had the paper, the twine, & the spoons, the only expense for these Valentines was the cereal boxes. (Forty Valentines for only $15.00!)

I changed up the layout of the wrap-around labels from the inspiration website. I didn't have the same cereals accessible & I just couldn't get creative enough to come up with a Valentine pun for each stinkin' cereal. So, instead, I found a silly knock-knock joke & decided to create THE SAME label for each box of cereal. That was just easier for me. (It took me a second to understand the knock-knock joke though. haha!)

As you can see, the cereal box was first wrapped in brown kraft paper, which I adhered with a bit of tacky glue onto itself. Then, the Knock-Knock Joke label was wrapped around, using double stick tape. I used glue dots on the back of the spoon & stuck it to the side of the box, & finally wrapped twine a couple times around the top of each spoon & tied it in a bow. (I only included a "From" on my girls' Valentines, just to make it easier when they pass them out to their class.)

I'm so happy to share with you my first real PDF that you can download yourself!!! I'm seriously sending major hugs to Jo, of the blog "A Bit of This & A Bit of That", who directed me in the way of Scribd., & a tutorial on her very own website on how to embed a PDF to my blog. Click HERE for her tute. I can honestly say I'm not afraid anymore & I'm pretty sure I'm about to go all PDF-embeddin-crazy up in here.
(And P.S.: I love you Jo.)

I think I did this correctly? It might take me a few go's to get it right.
Print the labels onto an 8 1/2" x 11" piece of paper. Cut along the dotted lines. The narrow strip on the bottom is just a throwaway piece.

Cereal Valentines Label

Soda Pop Caddy

A refreshing soda pop in a glass bottle---complete with straw of course---is one of the nicer things in life. At least I think so. I'm easy to please, I suppose.

But what to do with the handy cardboard carryin' case once yer soda's been sipped?

Why, make it into a handy dandy soda pop caddy, of course!!

I found that the 10.75 oz soup cans are the appropriately snug size—PERFECT to replace those empty ole bottles. Peel the labels from the cans. And don't forget to wash & dry 'em!

Fill your caddy with art supplies, school supplies, handyman tools, your rare collection of swizzle sticks...You get the idea.
Make larger caddy's with the 6-packs!

Fits swell on a desk!

And the best part? It's portable!!

♥

Lunch Notes: Tea-ny Tiny Notes

Lately, when I've been drinking my tea in the morning, I've been saving the little envelopes that the tea is packaged inside, certain I'd be able to find something to do with them in the near future. I came up with a silly fun way to recycle these envelopes: little notes to insert in my kids' lunchboxes.

You simply cut cardstock to a size that will fit inside.

(I cut these particular notes to 2 1/2" x 1 13/16".)

If desired, snip a decorative edge with some fancy schmancy scissors.

I left my notes pretty plain.

You could certainly make a tiny little card that folds in half.

Or embellish with inks or stickers, etc.

Write a tiny note & stick it in your kid's lunchbox!

(My kidlet's lunchboxes are waiting in the fridge as I write this, with tiny happy tea notes inside!)

Other ideas: fill out a month's worth of tea notes & give to a friend to open every day of the month.

♥

Crafty Fun: Anklets!

 Supplies:

stretchy jewelry cord

super glue

beads

scissors

Measure your ankle & cut that amount of cord PLUS a few extra inches for tying off the ends.

 Now, string on your beads. I find it much easier to work on a piece of felt. The beads don't roll around. Once you're sure you've got the correct amount of beads strung, tie a knot. (Pull nice & tight. You don't want any saggy beads floating around.) Then dab the knot with super glue. I tie off two more times & dab with another dollop of glue. Just to be extra super-duper sure it won't come undone. Then cut off the excess cord.

Done!

(And of course this same process applies for bracelets!)

 

This was the project I taught at the Crafty Night this month. 

 I've been obsessed with making them for the past few days. Gosh, stringing things is so relaxing & enjoyable.

Zoey models the sweet anklet I made for her---complete with a tiny butterfly charm.

Her ankles are so much cuter than mine. 

Yay for fun summer gifties for friends!

♥

Craft Foamie Tutorial Extravaganza!

Here's 4 super duper fun projects ALL using craft foam. Have fun!

#1: PENCIL TOPPERS

I found this first idea while browsing through a Woman's Day Special Interest Publication called Cool Kid's Crafts. I created my own designs, which you'll see here.

The supplies are very simple: craft foam (which I purchased at The Dollar Tree), glue (optional), scissors & pencils. Also optional: stencils or templates. Not optional: your imagination.

First you'll need to decide what shape you want. I found that cookie cutters make great templates, especially for the kidlets. Just press the cookie cutter very firmly onto the crafty foam & it leaves a nice imprint of the image--very easy for the little ones to follow along & cut.

Once you've got your shape cut out...

...fold the piece in half & cut two small slits with scissors. (One near the top & one near the bottom.) Don't cut the slits too big or the foam piece will slide right off your pencil.

Now slip your pencil through....& that's it!

You can also use extra bits of foam to embellish your pencil topper. Or use gems, glitter, paper bits, ribbon, sequins, stickers, etc. Use a really strong glue though. I would even recommend a hot glue gun. We used some clear tacky glue, but the pieces wanted to come apart too easily, so a glue gun did the trick. Wait until your glue is COMPLETELY dry before sliding the pencil through.

This is one of those crafts with endless possibilities!! Party favors (make them to match ANY theme!), cheap-cheap-cheap gifties for school mates (to pass out on holidays or birthdays), teacher gifts, a quick after-school activity with the kids, etc...

#2: PRINCESS WAND

 (After making the pencil toppers I thought of these next 3 projects.)

For the princess wand I painted a piece of dowel in a light pink color. Once that was dry I wrapped strips of painter's tape in semi-equal intervals all the way along the dowel & then spray painted it a grape color. Once that was dry I peeled off the tape to reveal alternating stripes of pink & purple.

I used THIS LINK from Family Fun to print out a star template. After you trace & cut your star onto the crafty foam, fold it in half & cut 2 slits -one near the top & one near the bottom.
Ooze some glue all around the edge & sprinkle with glitter. Decorate with jewels.

Once the glue is dry, slide the dowel through the slits & you're done! Ta-da!

#3: MOUSTACHE ON A STICK

Naturally, moustaches come next, right?! Click HERE to print out 3 moustache templates from the Martha Stewart website.

Trace & cut the moustaches from crafty foam. (I didn't have brown foam, so I used a peach color & shaded it with a brown Sharpie.)

You can definitely just glue the moustaches directly onto your dowels, but I kept with the theme of the "slits" & cut tiny ones along the middle of the moustaches. It's a fun idea to have one dowel with many interchangeable dress-up pieces that can slide on & off. I found that a bamboo skewer (found at the grocery store) worked great for the moustaches. They're much smaller & able to handle the narrow parts of the moustaches.

I colored in the bit of exposed dowel to match the color of crafty foam. But this is not necessary.

#4: ARRR! PIRATE PATCH

Cut out a pirate patch shape from black crafty foam. Again, cut 2 slits on the patch.

Cut 5 pieces from white crafty foam: 1 skull & 4 bones. Lay the bones as seen in the picture. You can slide your dowel through at this point so you get the placement of the skull correct.

Dab a litte glue just above & below each slit. This skull & crossbones disguises the wooden dowel. (You may certainly omit the slits in this project & glue the pirate patch directly onto the dowel.)
Use a black Sharpie to draw eyes, nose & mouth on the skull.

I'm pretty sure you can now officially search for lost treasure or make someone walk the plank or something.
(For an accessory to your pirate patch, a Pirate glossary can be found by clicking HERE.)
That's all me hearties! Now get to craftin' before I order you swab the poop deck!

Fair winds!

♥

Whimsical Fairy Doors Tutorial

The girls & I just finished a 2-day project & we're so excited to share it with you! I recently found these Fairy Doors on Flickr & immediately fell in love. Ann Arbor, MI even has tours of secretly hidden fairy doors scattered around the city!

First, I cut some rounded door shapes, with a jigsaw, from a leftover piece of wainscoting/bead board. Any type of wood will work though as long as it's not too thick.

We spray painted the doors. House paint or exterior paint would work too.

Earlier in the summer we collected all sorts of fallen twigs, pine cones & acorns, etc to use for this project. We covered a table with newspaper & set out the twigs-n-stuff, along with acrylic paints, brushes, water bowls & paper towels.

You can leave your twigs natural, but we decided to add a bit of whimsy & paint them bright colors.

When your twigs are dry, you can adhere them to the door. First we played around with the design, getting the sticks to lay however we chose. Then, we applied floor & wall adhesive (the same stuff you use to lay tile floors) to our twigs & mushed it into place. I would've opted first to use my E6000 glue or even wood glue, but both those things are hard for my girls to use & I liked the spreadable texture of the floor adhesive. It is a bit stinky, so use ventilation or do this project outdoors. Wearing gloves is a good idea too.

I told the girls to really glop it on--so that it would stick. I really like the look of the adhesive oozing through the branches too. I suppose you could clean it up as you go along if that's not your style.

We constructed extra accessories for our fairy door with clay. (Fimo or Sculpey). I made some door hinges ...

...a mushroom doorknob & a "window". The window is just a small piece of round mirror I had. The girls used lids from the frosting of cinnamon roll tubes I saved. We just made snake-like shapes, wrapped it around the "window" & baked it in the oven just like that. I also added some leaves 'cause I thought mine looked a bit twiggish.

Zoey's door (my almost 7 year old):

Find a sweet little place to prop (or attach) your fairy door.

The fairies & pixies will know your kindness & hospitality when they see your magical & whimsical creations!

Here's my finished door:

Pazely's door (my 5 year old):
♥