Personalize Casserole Dish

From: http://www.craftskeepmesane.blogspot.com/

With Christmas coming up, I thought that this would be a perfect gift, a personalized casserole dish. Everyone goes to some kind of potluck dinner and we all have had problems of getting our dishes back. So here is a way to personalize it so you don't have that problem anymore!
This is what you'll need

- glass casserole dish (any size)
-contact paper
-glass etching cream
-gloves
-sponge brush

This is how I made it

1) I used my Cricut to cut out the letters on a 6x12 inch piece of contact paper. You can also use a craft knife to cut out your letters. Make sure that you cut your letter in the side that says contact paper

This is what it looks like once the letters are cut out.

I made it so you can read the name with the casserole is facing up, but if you want to do it so you can read the name from the bottom, then cut on the other side of the contact paper.

2) Place your contact paper on the casserole dish, without taking off the backing.

This is for you to kinda see where you want to place the paper. I would even maybe tape a piece of tape to make where you want the paper to begin. I didn't do that and mine it is a little off center

3) Now start to take off the back of the contact paper.

I took off a little bit and then pressed it onto the casserole dish. I slowly continued to take it off while pushing the paper down.

4) Make sure to get all of the air bubbles out, especially around the edges of the letters. If you have letters that have holes, make sure to add those also.

5) Using your glass etching cream and sponge brush, apply it onto the contact paper. Make sure to wear gloves

You will want to put a generous amount on there. Start by going up and down and then from side to side.

6) Allow to sit on there for 5 minutes.

-Here's a tip, when it's done sitting you can put the excess cream back into the bottle and use it again

7) Rinse the cream off with tap water and peel off contact paper

8) Wash with window cleaner and dry

You Light Up My Life

from:  http://www.alittletipsy.com/

I have really wanted to have a focus more on gratitude and appreciating those around us this month. This is a fun idea to surprise someone who has made a difference in your life. I call it You "light" up my life.

Supplies needed:

• Black, red and green cardstock
• Double sided tape
• Scissors
• Black marker

You can literally finish this in 15 minutes or less. It could be a fun mutual or family home evening activity where you could choose some family members, neighbors or community members you admire.

1. Start off by cutting the light string out of black paper. It can be any shape you like, just squiggle it around. I kept mine about 1.5 inches thick so it would be sturdy to lift once I got it all put together. I overlapped the edges about 1/2 inch and secured with tape.

2. Next, add the little black rectangles where the lights will go. I made these about 1.5 x 2 inches so I could overlap them a 1/2 inch to secure with tape.

3. Now fold and cut your red and green paper in fourths. I placed the paper next to the rectangle and freehanded a light shape. Then, I cut it out and used it to trace the rest of the lights.

4. Once you have all the lights cut out write notes on each one about what you love and appreciate about that person. We did ours for daddy so I wrote notes from me and each of my boys. It could be fun to do this for grandparents, ward members, neighborhood elderly, etc. Also, be sure to write "You light up our lives!" on one of the lights.




5. Then comes the fun part, tape it to their door and let them know how much you appreciate them.

Homemade Bath Salts

Treat the special ladies in your life to an at-home spa treatment with this simple recipe for natural bath salts. You only need a few ingredients to make up batches of scented bath salts, which you can then package and give as gifts for the holidays!

These directions make enough bath salts to fill up a 6.25 ounce glass bottle.  According to the instructions, you can also add powdered milk or finely ground old-fashioned oatmeal (moisturizing agents), but I opted to keep the bath salts recipe as is.

What you’ll need ~

• 1/2 cup coarse sea salt
• 2 tablespoons Epsom salts
• 2 tablespoons baking soda
• 1 to 2 drops premium fragrance oil in cinnamon or pumpkin*
• Red and/or yellow food coloring, if desired
• 1 4″ Cork Top Round Glass Bottle 6.25 oz

*Naturally, you can choose any fragrance you’d like for the bath salts (I just chose cinnamon and pumpkin for the holiday season) ~ just be sure the oils you choose are safe for bath products. I purchased mine from Save-On-Crafts.com, and they had a great selection of other scents.

How to make them ~

Combine all your dry ingredients in a plastic container with a lid on it (I recommend an old plastic food storage container you won’t miss). Add the essential oil and food coloring (if you want the salts to have color), place the lid securely on top and shake, shake, shake!

If the essential oil and food coloring cause little lumps to form, just use a fork to break them up. Shake and stir the salts until you feel the color and fragrance is distributed thoroughly. Remove the lid from the container and let the salts air dry for an hour or so before transferring them to the glass bottle.

Use a funnel to transfer the salts to the glass bottle, pop in the cork, and you’re done!

If you’re going to make both fragrances, I would recommend using a different plastic container for each because the fragrance oils are quite strong and can leach into the plastic. Also, don’t use these containers for food afterwards ~ set them aside for other non-edible craft projects or recycle!

Your last step is to add some cute gift tags.

Ornament Wreath

This is a great project to do with your left-over ornaments after you are done decorating the tree this year. Or a great excuse to scour the local dollar store or Christmas shop!

You will need a hot glue gun, a lot of ornaments (shatterproof unless you are very brave) in a variety of sizes (I used 55 total, Eddie Ross used 80 I believe, you can use less though for a smaller wreath), a wire hanger, wire cutters and a bit of patience.

First things first. Take all of the metal or plastic tops off of your ornaments. Seriously. (I mentioned you would need a bit of patience for this first part.)

Then, hot glue them back on.  Really. I am not joking.

We have all had ornaments become detached from their top, well, when placed on a wreath and bent in a circle, they will surely pop off. So save yourself some time in the years to come, and glue the tops on now. (After this is done, the project goes very quickly! I promise!)

Secondly, untwist the wire hanger, leaving the hook on the top, and start stringing the ornaments on the wire, one at a time, varying sizes and colors as you go.

This can be done with any color ornaments: red and green for Christmas, blue and silver for Hanukkah, red, green and black for Kwanzaa, pastels colors for Easter, browns and golds for the fall etc., let your creativity run wild here and have fun with it!

After the entire wreath is full of ornaments, play with the ornaments until the all lay close together, trying to fill in all gaps on all sides of the wreath.

I held mine up and gently shook it until the ornaments settled and then went back and fixed a few ornaments, as needed, until they all lay correctly. (You will be happy you put some smaller size ornaments on the wreath at this point!)

Next comes the hardest part of the entire project. (I have to confess I enlisted my husband’s help with this part!)

Bend the wire into a circle and twist the opposite side of the hanger-wire back around the hook part until it is secure.

Use your wire cutters to cut off any excess wire left over.

Add a bow and voila! Your ornament wreath is complete!

Family Tree Pillow

What a great idea for a family tree pillow, you could even personalize it with names.  This is also a great way to use up scrap pieces of fabric

Cute blanket idea too.

Turkey/ Pumpkin/ Snowman Pavers

Turkey Pavers!

Isn't this just the custest thing!!  It is using concrete pavers...who would have thought??

I was able to do one real quick last week, so I thought that I would share it with you all. I just took a paver and made it into a turkey! I have it outside with my pumpkin one!


These are from http://www.nightowlcrafting.blogspot.com/

She used foam for the beak and the feathers and some buttons for the eyes.

I just used orange and brown spray paint and tied some raffia

Paver Pumpkins!

Back in the spring I made ladybug pavers and I thought how fun it would be to make pumpkins for the fall.

Supplies:

pavers
orange and brown paint
wire, ribbon, fabric, or raffia
paint brush


Step 1~ paint your paver orange. I spray painted mine.

Step 2 ~ Paint the stem brown. I used paint and a paint brush to do this, because it got dark before I could cover the bottom part and spray paint the stem.

Step 3 ~ Grab some wire, ribbon, fabric, raffia, or what ever you like to
tie between the stem and the pumpkin.

I used green wire and curled the ends.
Now you have a cute little pumpkin. It is really that easy.

Snowman Pavers !

Art Board

At a mere $159 it was about $142 out of my price range :-) Theirs is made of metal…mine is made out of MDF (Medium Density Fiberboard). So this is how my vision came to fruition...


Supply List:

3/4” MDF board
1” Wood Screws
1/4” x 2” boards (2)
3/8” nut
two knobs
rescued shelf or some korbels and wood shelf
primer
paint
1” x 4” board
2 L brackets
7/8” dowel rod
Paper Roll from IKEA
Hook and Loop Tape
Gorilla Glue
Electric Drill
Various drill bits
Level
Drywall screws (capable of holding 50 lbs)

I found two of these shelves laying curbside. I really don’t know why someone would throw them away. They really were in great condition. So being the Roadkill Rescue hero that I pride myself in I threw it in my car for that “someday” when it would be made into something fabulous.

Well the day came. I first unscrewed the hangers from the back.

I went to Home Depot and purchased a piece of 3/4” MDF. I think it was around $8. I had them cut it down to 22 1/2” x 34”.

Using the same hole on the back of the shelf I measured and marked those holes onto the MDF and predrilled my holes.


Using a 7/8” drill bit I also drilled holes into the side of my curbside castaway. This is where the dowel rod holding the paper roll will sit.

It is a perfect fit for a 7/8” dowel rod purchased at Home Depot as well.

I wanted a little shelf at the bottom to hold crayons so I cut a 1” x 4” board down to 22 1/2”. I also cut two 1/4” thick x 2” boards to 22 1/2” in length for the paper stoppers.

I purchased some L brackets to hold the shelf and predrilled those holes as well. I also had these little knobs from who knows what that I decided to use on the end of the dowel rod. I secured hook and loop tape to one side (using Gorilla Glue) so that I could remove the knob when I needed to change out the paper. And glued the other knob on the other end.

Then I primed and painted everything including the screws and four 3/8” nuts. I used BIN Stain Blocker and Krylon Black spray paint.

Then I attached the shelf to the top of the MDF board.

Then I predrilled through the 1/4” x 2” x 22 1/2” boards. I used 1” wood screws and put a 3/8” nut between the boards to serve as a spacer so I could slide the paper underneath.

Attached the bottom shelf… Slid the paper roll in place… And added my hook and looped knob onto the other end… Then using a level and some heavy duty drywall screws I attached her to the wall.

It hangs on the wall in between the playroom and the kitchen.

Then I let the little artists loose.