Candy Wrapper Bracelet

This is a project that just about anyone can do!!  My 11-year-old did this one all by herself!!  :)  I showed her how to do it & watched her work - - love it!!  ;)

We used:
* raw wood bracelet (Michael's - on sale for $0.59!!!)
* candy wrappers
* Mod Podge (we used clear & glitter)

Simply apply clear Mod Podge to the back of a candy wrapper - (we used Starburst), then apply wrapper to bracelet!  Continue with the rest of the wrappers, until the bracelet is covered as desired!  Once covered, apply a coat of glitter Mod Podge.  Allow it to dry!  THAT'S IT!!!  So simple - I think there might be a few other projects in the near future. . . being that I bought a ton of wooden pieces!!  ;)  (You can see my teacher necklace I made over HERE!!)

 We didn't use the square piece yet - - but soon!!!  ;)

Costumes - A Queen Bee!

Happy Halloween!!!  :)  Ok, so I'm barely making it in the same month as my last post, but oh well!!  ;)  Wanted to post some costume ideas, even if it's too late for this year!!  :/  The skirt ideas could be used all year long!!  This year, the costumes I made were: a Queen Bee, an Alien, a Safari Guide, and Minnie Mouse!!  :)  They were all relatively easy, but the skirts took a while!
**** NOTICE: I do am not, nor do I claim to be an expert seamstress!!  I can sew ok, but not perfectly!!  Being that these are only "costumes", which will be worn at night. . . in the dark - - I wasn't going for perfection!!  ;)  With that said. . .

This is the Queen Bee costume I came up with:

* 1 yd. striped fabric
* 1 yd. black tulle (had extra)
* 1 yd. yellow tulle (had extra)





** Yes - her shirt is crooked!!  It's not sewn crooked, just didn't straighten it for the picture!!  :(

I started with a black skirt we already had.  This skirt was knit & kinda hard to work with! :(  (Could have been from the shape of the skirt!!)

 I trimmed a little off the bottom, to remove the "angled" shape.

 I took my (pre-washed) striped fabric, and cut 6 strips.  (Sorry, don't know the exact length - can't think of the length of the fabric off hand!!  :(  The width will depend on the size of skirt you will be making.  I believe mine were around 6".

I hemmed the tops & bottoms of each layer & sewed 2 pieces together, giving me enough to make 3 layers. 

Then, I gathered the tops of each layer.  I repeated this process for both tulle layers.  The black tulle went on top of the stripes & the yellow went on the bottom. 

 I sewed the striped & the yellow layers together, then pinned them onto the skirt, attaching the black tulle at the same time.  I repeated this process until all three layers were on the skirt.

The finished product!!  :)  For the shirt - we went to Goodwill & found 2 cute shirts (on dollar day, I might add!! ;) & we were set!  I cut the straps off the black shirt, only because they were "itchy", so I just stitched the shirts together in 2 spots!  (This way, I can remove the black shirt & the yellow shirt can be worn again!!)



Accessories:
Since she was a "Queen Bee", she had to have a crown & a staff!!  ;)  (I found the wings at the 99 cent store!!! :)

For the staff:
I started with a paper mache ornament & a dowel - found both at Hobby Lobby.

 

 I took the ornament, and cut off the "hanger" part!  (Technical name, huh?? ;)  Then, I poked a hole in the bottom & made it large enough for the dowel to just fit.






 Next, I painted the dowel black, and the top gold.  After the pieces dried, I put the dowel into the top & hot-glued along the base.  I added some misc. gold ribbons & stuff that I had left over from my wedding (forever ago!!)!!  :)




 For the crown:

I drew a crown shape, free-hand (don't laugh!!), onto a thin piece of card stock (it was packaging from a scrapbook kit, so it was larger than 12x12").  It was folded in 1/2, so it cut 2, but I didn't cut on the fold!  (Wanted it to be thicker!!)  Then I cut 2 straps - again, wanting one thick strap!




I spray painted the pieces gold & hot glued them together!!  I added some more of the gold accessories & viola!!  A crown!!  ;)

Calendar Puzzles

At the end of the year, (or just after the beginning of the next year), you can find calendars very cheap!  (And usually anytime at the Dollar Store!!)  With 2 calendars, you can make 11-12 puzzles!!  (Depending on how the first month is printed!)  Cut up one calendar for puzzle pieces & use the other to show what the finished puzzle will look like!  The calendar I used fit inside a letter-sized envelope.  I laminated the pieces & labeled each puzzle!  Easy peasy!!  ;)

 I number my puzzles & then number each piece - in fractions - this helps so much when ALL 12 puzzles get dumped at the same time!!!  ;)

Dress-Up Box

OK - I'm sure everyone out there with kids, has some form of "dress-up" box, stash, closet, etc.!!! Well, we do for sure!! (Ours is practically over-flowing!!) I don't like my kids to wear their actual Halloween costume to school, so I always come up with a quick & easy 2nd costume that can be worn at school!! Well, with Activity Day, a book report, 4 Halloween costumes, etc, etc, . . . . I didn't manage to create an elaborate 2nd costume, so off to the dress-up box I went!! :) Being that Noah was the only one "allowed" to wear a costume at school, (Madelyn's bummed that she's in the "upper grades" now!! :( , I figured it would be easy to find something for him with all the JUNK (I mean great dress up stuff) the boys have!! ;) We managed to come up with a vest, tattered pants, an eye patch, and a few other things & ta-da. . . . . a PIRATE!! :) Not too original, but it will work!! Noah is so easy to please & is excited to wear it all tomorrow!! (I think mostly for the clip-on earring!!) ;)

Dance Bag

WOW!! I actually managed to fit in a project in our busy Fall Break week!!! :) - - Not saying it was a super elaborate one, but a project is a project!! ;)

Madelyn performed at the State Fair, so she wanted a cute dance bag. She had a pink bag that I had made a while back, but was starting to look a little blah! (Not to mention had a lovely blue ink stain!!) So, I got out my supplies & jazzed it up a bit!! Perfect for carrying her dance shoes!! :)

The before:

The after:


Simply pulled off the old ribbon & flower (not pictured), cut strips of fabric & hot glued them on:

Then, hot glued silver wired tinsel/ribbon along edges to cover up fabric edges:

Cut squares of fabric, (I believe I used 4?? Maybe 3 in.- sorry, didn't measure!) :( , then frayed the edges a bit, pinched the center together, making a "bow", then fold that in half:

Simply glue the folded "bow" down & repeat with the other squares until you make a circle!! (Sorry - once again, no picture!!) :(

Next, I took a small chipboard circle & covered it with ribbon - didn't have one (or a button) in the color & size I needed, so made my own embelishment:

Then, added a little white button & a diamond accent on top of the pink ribbon & tied a few strips of ribbon & tinsel to the handles!! Ta-da!! A new (or updated) dance bag!! Madelyn loved it, so I guess that's all that matters, right!!?? :)

General Conference Packet

Ready for conference this weekend?? Just in case you need it, here's a fun packet for the kids!!

Conference Packet
(From The Idea Door)

Sassy Lunch Bag

I was so excited when I found a lunch bag (well, actually it's a lunch purse) at Wal-Mart the other day for only $1!!! It was cute, but nothing fancy. I added some "bling", ribbon & a flower & now it's a sassy lunch bag!! :)

Super easy - grab your hot glue gun & go to town with what ever embelishments you want to add & you're done!! ;)

BEFORE:

AFTER:

Madelyn can't wait to take her lunch to school tomorrow!! :)

Iron-Ons

Looking for an easy shirt make-over?? Well, here it is!! (Easy & cheap - even better!!) ;) I went to Big Lots the other day & found these:

Iron-on letters, that came with 2 skulls . . . for only $1!!! I also found white letters, but forgot to take a picture before I cut them apart! :( The directions are on the package, but all you do is cut the letters out, arrange them on the shirt & iron!! Super easy!!

Using plain t-shirts, (the red ones were only $1.99!!), I let the kids decide what they wanted to put on them. The boys each got a skull - Hunter, who loves Indiana Jones, wanted "Mutt" (Indy's son in the last movie), under his skull, and Noah wanted "Rock On" under his! :) I already had the "girly" skull for Madelyn's shirt, so she decided to add "Glam" under it! They turned out pretty cute!!

Get Messy With Your Kids

Just wanted to post some recipes for some summer time fun with your kids!!!

Homemade Goo
* 8oz. white glue
* 3/4 c. water
* 1 tsp. Borax
*1-2 Tbl. water
* food coloring
Combine glue, 3/4 c. water & coloring in a bowl. Combine Borax with 1-2 Tbl. water. Mix together until a blob forms. Remove blob from mixture. Add a new batch of Borax mixture to glue mixture. Repeat process until glue mixture is gone. Knead all blobs together. Store in airtight container.

Bubbleology
1 c. liquid dish detergent
1. gallon water
1 c. light Karo syrup
Mix all ingredients in a bucket. Use tin cans, (with tops & bottoms removed), to make great bubbles. The larger the can, the larger the bubble!

Homemade Chalk
1 c. Plaster of Paris
1/2 c. cool water
Liquid tempera paint or food coloring
Mix plaster of paris with water, then add paint/coloring. Next, pour mixture in ice cube trays & let harden for a day. You can also use small sandwich bags, molding mixture into tube shapes.

Funny Putty
* 2 parts white glue
* 1 part liquid starch
* tempera paint
Mix glue & starch together. If too sticky, add more starch. Add paint for color.