Star Wars Light Saber Father's Day Card

This is the Star Wars themed Father's Day card I made for my husband in 2014.  My original idea was that I would be able to change out the glow sticks. I painted the plastic holders black and glued them to the card. I didn't glue the glow sticks but they kept rolling off the card and therefore, was forced to glue them down. Another mistake I made was I didn't buy fresh glow sticks. They glowed but not very well in the dark. I should have tested the sticks before Father's Day. I was actually finishing up this card the morning of right before church and didn't have time to run out and buy new sticks. Oh well, live and learn.  It still turned out pretty nice if I say so myself.  

Sources:  Tim Holtz stickers, Dollar Tree glow sticks, glitter paper from Joann's

 

Old glow sticks don't glow very well in the dark. 

inside of card

My children do not smile for pictures. It drives me mad. 

Reindeer Gift Bags

I had so many ideas as to what I would do for my son's "Holiday" party for school.  There are 23 kids in his classroom so I needed time to gather the materials and candy on my budget. Still more time to do the cut outs.  In the beginning of December I was gung-ho to be super crafty especially seeing all the cute gift ideas on Pinterest.  But as each day quickly passed and the last day of school loomed ahead my ideas for the treat bags became easier and easier.

Here is the progression of the treat bags from original thoughts to what I actually did.

1. 
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2. 
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3. 
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4. 
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5. 
What I actually did.  Ha ha!

I'm a little disappointed that I didn't do a reindeer treat bag but I can still try to make it for my nephews and nieces this Christmas.  So I better stop blogging and start crafting.

Merry Christmas!

Monster House Costume

My youngest child never wants to buy Halloween costumes from the store. He always wants me to make his costumes. I don't even know where he got the idea that I could make his costumes. The problem is I don't really know how to sew so I'm always hard pressed on what costume to make.  I made this costume 5 years ago when he was still small.  I wish I took more pics from start to finish.  But these few pics are all I have.  

I used one big box for the house and another box for the chimney and the protruding window.  I used shipping tape to adhere the window and the roof is actually the flaps of the box taped up. I cut the the arm holes, windows, door, and the flaps of the shingles which is also the eye holes. Then I papier-mâchéd the entire box to reinforce the strength of the box.  

Paper Mâché Paste Recipe

Flour and Water

Mix 1 part flour to 2 parts water until you have a thick glue-like consistency. You want it a little runny. You can add more flour if needed. If you live in a high-humidity area add salt to prevent mold. Mix until there are no more lumps.

Allow to dry overnight and paint. I used acrylic paints.

I also bought a big car wash sponge from the dollar store and glued it inside the roof for cushion because the box was slightly heavy. I used a white styrofoam plate for the teeth, yellow paper for the windows and stretched a couple of big-sized cotton balls to form hazy smoke for the chimney. I used Elmer's glue to glue it all, nothing fancy. 

eye holes

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This project was shared at:

Happy Hour Projects Freestyle Fridays

Roca & Company

DIY Showoff

The Shabby Nest


No Minimalist Here


DELICATE Construction


the letter 4



Where Nothing Good Comes Easy

20th Wedding Anniversary

After spending hours and hours on Pinterest I finally got off my bum and did one of the ideas that I pinned.  

Hubby and I just celebrated our 20th wedding anniversary. I feel very blessed that our marriage has lasted so long. I give Jesus all the credit that we are still a happy couple. I can't take any credit whatsoever. I know this to be truth because the first 10 years of marriage was under my own efforts and I screwed it up.

I'm usually really good at gift giving. But I was having a huge mental block for an anniversary gift. I don't have a large budget and the few items that I did order for my husband is on backorder until October 24. So that really threw a wrench in my original idea. I also have a problem buying gifts for my husband with his hard-earned money. I know it is really OUR money but I still have a mental block on the subject. I gave a lot of thought about what gift to buy hubby but nothing ever seemed right or it was too expensive. I kept warning my husband, "You know I don't have anything to give you." He said he didn't care about gifts and said it's not like he doesn't know that I don't have a job. I know he means it, but I wanted to do something...it is after all our 20 anniversary. Late Monday night as I was falling asleep still trying to figure out what to do I remembered an idea that I saw on Pinterest and inspiration finally hit me. I'm really surprised that I was able to complete this at all. I like a lot of planning because I am a slow crafter. On Tuesday I took my son to the doctor and spent 3 hours running around town trying to pick up supplies and started printing pictures. I had to stop working on it as soon as hubby got home so he wouldn't get suspicious. On Wednesday I jumped out of bed at 5:30am to start decorating.  Much to my chagrin hanging the photos is not as easy as it looks. It took me several tries getting the shape of the zero to work. In addition, I baked the ultimate vanilla cupcakes (which I will blog about), took my other son to the eye doctor which took 3 1/2 hours of my time, and made the number 20 button craft for the frame. I did it all by myself w/o any assistance from anyone. Eat your heart Martha Stewart (who has over 250 crafters and assistants who do most of the work for her).  

The traditional gift for 20th anniversary is china. The modern gift of a 20th anniversary is platinum and the gemstone is emerald.  So the color scheme I chose was silver and green. 

Hubby was really surprised when he got home. He loved it!

The silver circle is a table cloth.  I picked up 8x10 photo paper and the balloons from the dollar store. I love the dollar store! It sure is a money saver. I used Powerpoint for printing the pictures.

It takes at least 40 sheets of photo paper for this project. You need to give yourself extra sheets in case the ink runs out. I printed out 3 bad pictures before I noticed I needed to change a cartridge. 

Make sure you have extra ink too. 

I also printed out verses of the Kenny Roger's song

 "Through The Years" and posted them around the pics.

For the hanging circles I used a circle cutter and placed ribbon

 in between the circles before I glued them together.

The paper lanterns are $1 each at Michaels.

Make sure you don't apply too much glue. 

See the big circle on top. It's bending from the weight of the glue.

Ultimate vanilla cupcakes and the button craft project.

We brought the frame with us to Piranha's.

On the Beach Roll and our drinks: Raspberry Bonzai and Cowboytini.

This is my dish Chicken & Shrimp Pad Thai. I had already eaten some of it before 

I remembered to take pictures.

The inspiration came from Martha Stewart 50th anniversary party ideas.  

This anniversary idea was shared at:

I

http://www.happyhourprojects.com/

http://rocaandcompany.blogspot.com/
Frugalicious Me
http://www.frugaliciousme.com/2011/10/haute-stuff-thursday.html
Confessions of a Stay At Home Mommy