The Gift of Creativity

 

For my nephew's birthday this year I sent him a big box of art supplies!  I hope he likes it, I know I did when I was little!

Here's the loot:

 I included a note with some ideas of things to make to get him started.

All boxed up and ready to go!

Stenciled Wall Art

I saw a similar piece of art at a gift shop and thought it would be great for my bedroom, but it was over $300.  I knew it would be easy to make and way less expensive. I only had to buy the canvas, which with a Michael's coupon was less than $20.

First, I laid out the saying on the canvas using two sizes of basic poster stencils I picked up at Staples.

Once the spacing was done and I knew it would fit, I traced the letters onto the canvas using a pencil.

Then, I painted in the letters using silver acrylic paint.

It was so easy and I did it all while watching Pretty Woman on a Sunday afternoon!  It looks great in the bedroom!

New Lights

This is our new foyer light that we had to get, because I am crazy and I saw it at Home Depot.  

Not sure what I mean? Here's the old light that we got less than a year ago:

Wine Bottle Candles

I've been seeing these wine bottle candles at gift shops and restaurants lately, so I thought I'd make some to have and give as gifts!

Start with an empty wine bottle (not hard to find!)  I tried to use bottles with unique labels that were placed lower on the bottle, so I could make shorter candles and use less wax.

Wrap painter's tape around the bottle at the desired height of the candle, about three layers thick.

Using a glass cutter, score the entire circumference of the bottle using the tape as a guideline.

Here's what a scored bottle looks like without the tape:

To actually brake the glass, we started off pouring very hot water on the scored line.............

then cold........

hot again.......

cold again...........

 

hot ...............

cold..............

 
CRACK!!  

Eventually the top of the bottle just breaks off!

The edge that's left from the break is a little rough and needs to be sanded.

Here's the sandpaper we used.  We started with the real gritty stuff to smooth smooth out the sharp edges, then finished with the finer grit.

 
We moved to the garage for this part--it got messy.

To make the candle I bought soy wax, lavender candle scent, and wicks from Michael's.

The wax came shredded into small pieces and was microwaveable so it was really easy to use. 

Almost melted...

Melted.  Once the wax had melted, I stirred in about 1/4 tsp. of the lavender scent before pouring into the bottles.

Appetizer picks held the wicks in place while the was set up.  The excess wick was cut off once the was hardened.

Here's the finished product!  I wrapped brown paper ribbon around some so that they'd be ready to give for gifts as I needed them. I'll definitely be saving wine bottles in the garage to make these again!

Pleated Purses

For Christmas last year I made a few purses to give as gifts (and one for myself)!  Since spring has sprung I just began using mine.  Can you guess which one? Mine's black and white. 

The pattern I used can be found here . I modified the straps from the original pattern so mine only have one strap.  I bought most of my fabrics for the purses at a great store here in Minneapolis called Crafty Planet.  I love using fun fabrics for both the outside and the inside!

 

 

 

Bird Themed Easter Dinner

Last year we hosted Easter for a small group. Since I didn't have any Easter decorations, I decided to plan the decor around a set of bird and leaf plates that we had, keeping it simple but still a special occasion.

I wanted to make some unique nest chargers to jazz-up my plates.  To make the charges, I started with a random assortment of red, green, and gold chargers from goodwill, painted them brown, and adhered some brown grass I bought at Michael's using Aleene's Tacky glue.

 Here is a close-up of the grass:

 And the finished product! See the bird?

 Here he is........

 Believe it or not I didn't have napkins or napkin rings!!! I bought these khaki colored napkins at Target, along with these napkin rings that reminded me of a bird nest.  Both also go well with our white square everyday plates.

For place cards, I found a bird silhouette graphic on the web, pasted it into word and typed every one's names. After printing and cutting, I glued a toothpick to the back to hold it up later, then glued the name tag to a heavier piece of card stock and added the gem for fun!

 I found these great mini-nests and eggs at Michael's to hold the name cards.  I glued the eggs so they'd stay in place, and also glued the toothpick into the twigs of the nest so it would stand up.

 

I borrowed this wrought iron bird candle holder from my mom for a centerpiece--it was perfect!