Valentine Hand Print Tins

With Valentine's day approaching, here is a fun and thoughtful craft you can do with your kids for your spouse, grandparents, aunties or BFF's.  You can transform a simple candy tin into a heartfelt memory your receiver will cherish for years to come.  My girls and I just loved making this for their Daddy, and I now he is going to love it!  Here's how.

You'll need:
A heart shaped candy tin.  Mine was a "Mrs. Fields Assorted Chocolates" tin, measuring 8"x 8"x 1". 
Decorative paper
Spray glue
Sand paper
Plaster of Paris - Available at any craft store
Acryllic paint


First thing is to cover part or all of your tin with decorative paper.  One of my favorite things to do as a paper crafter is to choose contrasting papers that look great together.  Take your time choosing papers and put together pattern combinations you might not think go together.  Be careful not to choose too many patterns.  Two or three will do the trick.  My tin had a decorative embossed floral pattern on the top that I chose to display, so I just covered the center heart with paper.  To do this, I turned the lid over and taped a upside down piece of decorative paper over the embossed center heart.  I used a boning tool to score the edge of the heart, and then cut it out.
I covered the heart on the front lid, and placed a heart on the inside of the lid as well, so I could write a little message.  You are welcome to cover the entire tin with paper too.  That was actually my original vision for this project.  I also covered the bottom and the sides of my tin.
To get the perfect shaped heart to cover the bottom or top of your tin, trace the candy holder insert and cut out.  I then used a piece of coordinating paper to frame a name tag on the front and a message on the inside of the lid.  I used letter stickers to write out the recipients name on the front of the tin.  "Daddy."  :)  Use spray glue to secure all paper into place.
Once your tin is covered in paper, take a piece of sand paper and sand the bottom of the inside of your tin.  This will help the Plaster of Paris stay put.

Then mix plaster in a disposable container according to the directions on the box.  Use a disposable spoon or a pair of chop sticks to mix.  I used 1 1/2 cups of plaster for my tin.  You want to fill your tin about 1/2" full.  Too much plaster will make it too heavy.  Do not use something you have to wash out, you don't want this stuff going down your drain.  When you first mix the plaster, it will be very liquidy.

Pour it into the tin.  Don't worry, it firms right up!  Wait about 10-15 minutes before testing it.   As you wait, you can shake the pan gently to see how the firming process is going.  If it jiggles, wait a bit more. You can test it lightly with your finger tip.  Once it is firm enough to take a print, place your little one's hand firmly in place and hold there for 20 seconds.  Carefully remove and set aside to dry.   Wash hands immediately after!  Plaster of Paris can irritate skin if left on too long.  Let dry 8-10 hours before painting.

Once dry, you can scratch their names or a message into the plaster with a bamboo skewer or a sharp point.  You can also sand down the inside of the prints a bit with sand paper if you got any sharp ridges.  Then, paint your little one's hand and press into place.  So cute!  Your Valentine is going to LOVE!

Child's Silhouette Frosted Mirrors

I love the vintage look of a silhouette.  I collaborated with my crafty friend Sonya Nimri of Sonyastyle.com on how we could make modern silhouettes of our children. Here is what we came up with!  Love them!  And, quite easy to make. 

You need:
A digital photograph of your child's silhouette
printer 
craft mirrors - I used 8"
shelving paper
glue stick
sharp little scissors
a can of frosted glass spray paint
ribbon
glue gun
rhinestone "bling tape" or scrapbooking embellishments - optional

Begin by getting a silhouette photograph of your child.  The best way to do this is to sit them down on a chair against a blank wall.  Take photo's of your child looking slightly up, straight and slightly down.  You can decide which is best when you look at them on the computer.

Once decided, play with the contrast and definition controls if your photo program allows.  Try to obtain a nice crisp outline of the silhouette.    If taken inside, it helps to brighten the exposure up a bit.  Crop the photo so it's just your child's head and top part of his/her torso.  Print a Black and White 4x6 print onto plain printing paper.  This should give you the right size for an 8" mirror. 

Glue your photo onto shelving paper with a glue stick, or even better, spray glue.  Carefully cut out your child's silhouette.  I did this two ways so I got one mirror as a negative and one as a positive.  If you are going for the negative effect, meaning you want the silhouette frosted, make sure your shelving paper covers the entire mirror, and carefully cut a single slit at the bottom of the shelving paper.  once placed on the mirror, you can use an extra piece of shelving paper to block this cut off, so no spray gets in. 

When you are ready to place the silhouette positive or negative on your mirror, make sure the mirror is squeaky clean and dry.  Un-stick the backing from the shelving paper and stick down firmly, rubbing out any bubbles and securing all edges with a paper towel.  I don't suggest you use your fingers for this.  You want to keep your mirror very clean.

In a well ventilated area (the stuff stinks!) spray the mirror with your frosted glass paint.  Follow the directions on the can, as many brands vary in direction.  Once dry to touch, again on the can's guidelines, carefully remove shelving paper from mirror and reveal your child's silhouette! Carefully!  You don't want to nick the paint when removing.  Do this once the paint is dry to the touch.  If you wait until it drys completely, the shelving paper could pull of extra paint when removed.  If the paint has leaked in places, you can carefully scratch the leak off with a razor blade.



My octagon shaped mirror had a bevel on it, which I blocked off with extra shelving paper before I sprayed.  Then, once the mirror dried overnight, I used "bling tape" (it was actually called this) to fancy up the edges.  I then hot glued a ribbon on the back of my mirror as a hanger, and covered it with a piece of felt so it stayed nice and secure.  One of my mirrors came with drilled holes in the front for hanging, so I didn't have to do this to that one.

TIP:  Careful when cleaning!!!  If you smudged your mirror in the process, don't go spraying it with Windex once you think the paint is dry. I actually did this and had to re-due one of my mirrors completely.  The image speared badly.  My paint can recommendation was to wait 1 hour before cleaning, but NOT the case!  Next time I'm gust going to dust it lightly with a cotton towel, no Windex.

Rosette Friendship Bracelets

Wondering what to do with your left over holiday ribbon?  Try making these adorable, modern, chic bracelets!  It's easy to make a group of them at a time to give away to friends or just keep for yourself. 

You'll need:

Hot glue gun
Needle and sturdy thread.  I used upholstery nylon.
Stretch cord
Scissors
Filigree jewelry findings 1-1 1/2" wide.  You can easily get these at the craft store or on line.  Mine were actually "charms" at about 75c each. 
A handful of scrapbook embellishments or pretty buttons to go in the center of your rosettes.
A strand of pearls.  Mine were from a thrift shop, but also available at the craft store.  One 12" strand makes 2-3 bracelets. 
Jewelry clamps or jewelry crimps.  Discovered this after my first bracelet broke 3 times.  That stretchy cord is slippery!  Craft stores have these. 
Oh and I guess a pair of small jewelry pliers.  Or needle nose pliers if you're in a pinch.  (hehe)
Ribbon!  The nice stuff you just couldn't throw away.  1" diameter, or trim larger ribbon down, remove wires if necessary.

Start by making ribbon rosettes.  Take a 7" piece of ribbon and sew a loose straight stitch down the length of one side.  The cut side if you trimmed.  Leave a generous tail of thread on both sides.  Tie thread ends together in one overhand knot and pull, causing the ribbon to bunch up into a circle rosette.  Tie off tightly.  Easy!  Have fun making a handful of these.

Next, take some stretchy cord and secure one end to the edge of your filigree charm, using a jewelry crimp.  Thread pearls onto stretchy cord and tie off other end to opposite side of filigree charm.  

Hot glue rosette onto the center of your filigree charm and finish with a nice embellishment hot glued in the center of your rosette. 

Make a bunch to give to friends or stack them up on your wrist for a statement. 

How to Make Paper Snowflakes

 It's official!  Winter is here!  I'm celebrating winter by making paper snowflakes.  Want to join me?  These snowflakes are made from old book pages and finished with a vintage pin to give them a little vintage charm.  You can use an old book, colored paper, white paper or even an old Hymn book (dang!  I wish I would have done that!) to personalize them to you.  This is a great craft to do with your older kids over winter break to get them away from the television ;). 

You need:
6 book pages per flake cut down to 5" x 5"
scissors
ruler
pencil
glue- I used Yes! paste because that's what I had. I'm all about using what I've got.  A glue stick would have been better. Hot glue if you're doing these with out kids.
Stapler
A vintage pin if you've got a collection like I do.  If not, A pretty button hot glued in the center would do the trick.

Okay, let's start!  Take a 5x5 page and fold it diagonal so it makes a triangle.  Crease the edge well.   I'll refer to this edge as the "hard edge."

Fold your triangle in half to make a smaller triangle, but don't crease it too hard.  This is your "soft edge." Take your ruler and line it up on the bottom of your soft edge.  It should be 3 1/2".  The 3 1/2 mark on the ruler should be at your hard edge.  Mark 1", 2" and 3" off on the soft edge.

 Cut from your mark diagonally towards your hard edge, stopping about an 1/8" from the hard edge.  Don't cut all the way through!

Open your page and it should look like this.

Take the center small diamond shape and pull the edges up and glue together overlapping one on top of the other.  It helps to do this over a thin brush handle or pencil. 

Turn the whole page over and do the same to the next diamond.  Turn over again, and finish with the largest diamond. 

You should get a cute little paper swirly thing that looks like this:

Do this 5 more times, a total of 6 swirly things.
Stack all 6 of the bottom points together on top of each other and staple together.

It will open up into your snowflake.  To secure it together, glue the middle points together where they touch. 
Finish by pinning a pretty pin tn the center. 

Happy winter solstice!

Make your own Snow Globes

Snow globes have always intrigued my curiosity.  Ever since I was little, I've loved peaking in on little worlds through gingerbread house windows and tiny menageries. That's what makes this one of my favorite holiday crafts.  Unlike a snow globe, there is no water in the jars of these globes, leaving a world of crafting possibilities!  Epoxy and waterproof materials not necessary!  I like to think of them as Display globes.

You need:
A handful of glass jars - Whatever is in cupboard.  I used a jelly jar, a mason jar and a baby food jar. 
Gold spray paint or enamel paint for the lids
White felting wool or cotton balls
White glue
cardboard
scissors
glitter
Assorted figurines, small trees, little forest animals, small mirrors, jewelry - Whatever you want to display!

Start by painting the lids and let dry completely.  Overnight if necessary.
Start with one jar and 1 lid.  Practice setting up little scenes in the lid.  I did this over and over until I figured out what was going in each jar, on each lid.  Have fun!  Get detailed or stay simple! 
Once you have your scene, trace your lid onto the cardboard 3 times or more.  This is to build your scenes up a bit so you can see it nicely through the jar.  I learned this crucial step the hard way.  Cut your cardboard circles out about 1/4 - 1/2" smaller than your tracing.  You want them to fit in the bottom of the lid, leaving a generous space between cardboard and lid lip, so you can get your jar on with ease.  Another "learned the hard way" step.  Stack a few to reach the appropriate height for your particular scene and jar.

Make sure your jar fits over everything!  You don't want squashed tree tops.  Once again, learned the hard way.  Yeah, these were pretty much a big 'ole pain in the rear to figure out, I must admit.  Easy breezy now though!  Next, glue the cardboard stack in your lid.
Tip: Use white cardboard if you've got it, or paint your little cardboard stack white.  This will keep the snow nice and clean and will keep you from using too much. I learned this the... just kidding!
Now you can start reassembling your scene using lots of glue!  Hot glue works great if you've got a glue gun.  Take wisps of felting wool and layer over the cardboard.  Glue down and add another layer.  Start with just a little and build as you go. 

Tip: You can take the mirrors out of old makeup compacts for little lakes in you scenes ;).  I know you've got those lying around.  I sure did!  I used a little polar bear I found in my kids junk drawer, a red and white paper clip to make a candy cane, a little tree I glued glitter to, and compact mirror in one.  Then I let my 4 year old dump glitter over the whole thing.  So cute and sparkelly!  In another, I painted one single tree pink in honor of my daughter who practically insisted we get a pink flocked Christmas tree.  Sorry honey, but your momma's not that hip.  I finished it off with sequins and a scrapbooking embellishment for the top.

The little baby food jar I displayed one single piece. It's an old broach of my grandmothers.  It was the perfect tree shape and reminds me of her.

  Assemble your jars and that's it!  Enjoy! 

How to make Glittered Christmas Trees

I was trying to figure out what to do with a leftover bag of corn husks I had from my Thanksgiving crafting.  Make tamales?  Sounds okay.  Make corn husk glittered trees?  Sounds great!  These actually turned out way cuter than my vision, and the best part is, they are super easy to make!  Here is what you'll need:

A bag of corn husks
Paper birthday hats
Scissors
Glue gun
Acryllic paint
Glitter to match your paint
White glue
Paint brush
Ruler

Start by disassembling a paper hat.  Then, reshape the cone to a thinner, taller cone, and hot glue shut.  I tried a tree with out thinning the cone, and it looked like a birthday hat tree. Not so great.  You can make smaller trees by disassembling a hat, lying flat and trimming the bottom edge staying with the curve.  I trimmed one down about an inch, and another about two inches.  If you want a taller tree, you can trim about 3" off one hat and glue it to the base of another hat.
Next, Cut up your corn husks into 2" x 1 1/2" rectangles with the grain of the husk running long. Then, round the bottom of the rectangles with scissors into a scallop shape.  Don't worry about being perfect.  They don't all have to match.  For the smaller trees, cut the rectangles a bit smaller.  about 1 1/2" x 1".
 Take one long corn husk strip and glue it around the base of your tree form, and trim off any extra so your tree sits upright properly.  This is to hide your hat once the tree is finished. I figured this out after the fact, that's why it isn't in the next photo.

Then, start at the base of your tree hot gluing corn husk strips so the scallops just touch the edge of the bottom.  Continue all the way around.  Next, start another circle up about 1/2 an inch up and stagger the strips like you are laying bricks.  Keep going until you reach the top! You can take a pencil and turn out the edges of your "boughs" just a bit if you'd like.  Your finished, unpainted tree should look like this:

Then, paint it whatever holiday color you fancy! I decided to go retro with white, hot pink and teal blue.  Let dry completely.  You may have to apply two layers, drying completely between coats.  Once your tree is colorful and dry, brush with a thin layer of white glue and sprinkle with glitter.  This will help hold the glitter in place extra well and sturdy up your tree a bit.  The glue will give your tree a glossy shine too.  If you are more of a matte kind of crafter, skip the glue step and apply the glitter directly too the wet paint. ;)  
Now, set your tree right up on the mantle where it belongs!  Enjoy!

Watercolor Leaves - Kids Craft!

Wondering what the kids are going to do while you're busy entertaining on Thanksgiving day?  Craft!  That's what!  Aren't these watercolor leaves gorgeous?  So, so simple and really a "set up and leave" (hehe) kind of craft.  Every kid, big or small will know exactly what to do when they approach the craft table without adult supervision or too many directions.  Yay! And, you can set it up entirely the night before.  Here's what you do:

Set aside a low work station for  the kids, somewhere where they can all gather and not worry about staining your carpet.  I covered my coffee table with craft paper and set it in the corner of my kitchen. 

You are going to need a hanging mobile with little clips attached to hang the leaves from as they dry.  You can make your own like I did, or you can buy one designed for photographs.  Either way, make sure it has little clips attached. This is also instant fall decoration!  So pretty!  And, you can reuse your mobile over and over with different crafts as the seasons change.

Here is how to make your own mobile.  You need:
A 10" craft ring.  Or, use a coat hanger if you're in a pinch.
Baker's twine or string.
Scissors
A handful of little clips.  I got mine at the craft store.  They conveniently have little loops on the end for easy hanging. You could use small clothes pins or little hair clips and hot glue them to the end of your strings.
Here's what you do:
Take 3 long pieces of twine, about 4' long.  Just eyeball it.
Tie the ends to the craft ring in thirds, so they form a triangle if you were to connect the dots.  Next, place your ring on a flat surface and pull your strings up, and tie all together in one overhand knot when all of the strings are an even length about 12" above the ring, so your ring stays level when you lift it.  Tie tightly.
Now, trim one of the three strings off above the knot. Thread one string down through the ring, and pull the other up in the opposite direction.  You'll hang the mobile from this string. Let the other dangle through the center of the ring for now.
Next, tie different lengths of strings to the ring all the way around. I used 8 strings with 2 clips attached to each.  You can add more or less depending on how many leaves you make.  It is best to hang the mobile from a doorway so you can see what you are doing.  Tie a clip to the end of each of the strings and a second clip above it somewhere random between the ring and the end clip.
Make all of your clips staggered at different lengths.  I think it is best to keep it random, but if you feel better making a pattern, go for it!
Hang a couple of clips from the middle string too.  Trim all of the ends. 
Hang your mobile directly above the kids work station.  They can drip a little when they dry.

Next, make your leaves!  Here's what you need:

My 2yr old made this one.  Love it!

4" white coffee filters.  The cone ones rather than the wavy buckets.
Leaf template (download mine) or, you can draw your own. 
Pencil
Scissors
Washable magic markers in red, orange, yellow and brown.  Make sure to use washable or your sister in law's gonna get mad when your son draws all over hers.
A spray bottle.
Paper towels.

Here is what you do:
Cut out your leaves from template and trace them onto a filter, and then cut out the filter leaves.  I double stacked (okay, triple stacked) my filters.  I cut about 20-25 leaves.
Place just the leaves and markers on your craft table for the kids.  If you leave the spray bottle, you'll have a water fight, so keep that up.

Have the kids draw on their leaves with the markers.  When they're done,  hold the leaf above a paper towel and mist with about 3 squirts of water.  Don't over spray or all of your color will drip off.  And, don't set the leaves down on the paper towel or the color will all bleed into the towel. The colors of the markers will bleed together beautifully!  Don't judge the look of the leaf before it's sprayed.  They all turn out great!  

Clip them up to dry and that's it!  Easy as pie!
If you want to keep track of whose is whose, write their names in pencil on the leaf before you color. 
Have fun everybody!  Happy leaf making!