DIY Wednesday - spray painted votives

I love candles...and when I saw this tutorial on how to create striped pillar candles, I had to try it for myself...and when I was home in NJ with the family I had the most room to attempt this project...

I added my own little spin on it...instead of the frosted glass spray paint- which I do want to try next- I used a glitter spray paint!  yup, they make glitter spray paint! 

the tutorial from Polish the Stars is here...but here are a few of my notes :)

make sure you work outside, and I put the candles in a cardboard box so the spray paint didn't get everywhere...I got it all over my hands, but I think wearing gloves, or using something else to prop up the candles would eliminate that...and I had a hard time spraying too thick of a coat in some spots, and not enough on others..I'm not so skilled with the spray paint can...but I think I'd get better with practice.

here are some photos of the steps and the results:

DIY Wednesday - Candy Dot Flags

Happy July 4th Everyone!!!

Since it is a Wednesday, there aren't really any big plans we have for the day...off to the gym, probably some laundry after our quick trip to Boston, and before our next trip to North Carolina...here is a cute, and patriotic candy dot tutorial...enjoy!

images and tutorial from Sweet Sugar Belle

tutorial - clothespin planters!

I came across this adorable tutorial the other day after just having made tuna for lunch, and if I had clothespins on hand, I would have put it together right away!  a really cute project for spring- and one that is environmentally friendly - putting old tin cans to use...from the Family Chic Blog, clothespin planters!

 

you just need a few simple materials, and you have yourself a pop of green inside your house!  perfect for this time of year :)

for the entire tutorial, click here!

tutorial - framed!

jewelry truly is a work of art...so why not display/store it that way?  I love this tutorial, brought to us by the Poopscape Projects blog, on how to turn an old frame, into unique and beautiful jewelry storage!

What you'll need:

• Frame
• Paint (if you need to paint your frame)
• Foam core or heavy cardboard
• Fabric to cover the foam core
• Hot glue gun
• map pins or hooks to hang jewelry from 

the steps to this tutorial can be found here!

tutorial - chalkboard frames!

I'm always looking for cute arts and crafts to make with kids, now that I'm an after school teacher, and aspiring full time teacher...so when I came across this idea, it seemed just the thing that my kids could handle, and would really enjoy!

they always love to paint, and what better then to make their own chalkboard!? 

another awesome idea, courtesy of Real Simple:

What you need:
Frame
Chalkboard Paint 
Chalk
Newspaper

1. Place frame on newspaper in a well-ventilated area. Paint frame and let it dry.
2. Pop in a favorite photo. Using the chalk, write your special message.

this of course was featured around Valentine's day, but doesn't have to be limited to that...you can find many colors of paint, and customize to any holiday!  also, you can just paint other wooden surfaces, to make your own mini chalkboards!  kids can practice their letters and numbers, erase and start again!!

tutorial - pom poms!

my wonderful and crafty friend Kollen of Design by Night posted this awesome tutorial on her blog- and it took me back to college, when my room mate Kait and I were big knitters...so naturally, we used our yarn to make fun pillows- essentially these pom-poms in a MUCH larger size...but I wanted to share with all of you, because Kolleen is the queen of tutorials, and these are just too much fun, not to make!!

happy crafting :)

for the step-by-step instructions with awesome pictures, click here!

a Valentine's tutorial

I'm always looking for cute (and very important- simple) arts and crafts projects to make with my Kindergarten class, and I think this week we'll try this on for size...

cute Valentine's day garlands!  I have plenty of spare paper lying around the house, so all I need is a hole punch and some string...

we can decorate our room, and then the kids can take them home to decorate their houses :)

here are the directions:

What you need:
Assorted Paper
Needle and Thread
2” Scalloped Shaped Hole Punch

1. Fold 3” to 6” paper squares in half and cut a half heart from the fold.
2. Thread needle and string hearts together through the top center of the folded paper hearts.
3. Using scalloped hole punch, make shapes from paper. Thread needle and string through the opposite sides of each scalloped paper.
4. Add as many hearts and scallops as it takes to raech your desired length.

tutorial from Real Simple

A cute Valentine's Gift idea

who says gifts have to be expensive to be nice?  not me...in fact, I am much more a fan of thoughtful gifts than anything else...so I thought this tutorial for a cute gift I found on the blog Family Chic was perfect for Valentine's Day- and it involves chocolate!!

the best part is that it's a simple template that you can then customize and use so many ways!

for the whole tutorial, head on over to the Family Chic blog!

Blog Carnival for May

The Carnival for this week, is to post a tutorial to share with my fellow etsy bloggers...

I saw some people were posting recipes, and off the top of my head, I can't think of anything else to make a tutorial of :p

I give you, the famous chili dip! It really is almost like an instant party snack...takes about 5 minutes to make, and it's always completely gone when I put it out for any party!

1 block of cream cheese
1 can of chili
1 bag of shredded Mexican cheese

in a microwave safe dish, mix the cream cheese and the chili until combined

top with shredded cheese

microwave until melted (usually 2-3 minutes)

and ta-da...literally the easiest party dish...ever :p and mighty delish as well...sometimes I eat it for dinner...don't tell ;)