What do you do when it is the hottest summer on record???

You craft!

That's right! You heard me, well, you read me. 

I acquired a new addiction this summer along with thousands, or maybe even millions of people.  Pinterest.  Hit a girl up if you want an invite because I love to enable :)

Well, one day, while letting the children run rampent, I was "pinteresting".  Yes.  It has even acquired it's own verb.  I stumbled across something and got that look in my eye.  Brad got scared.

Melted crayon art.

A two pack of canvases and 6 boxes of 24 count crayons later I was ready to get a craftin'.

Pick your pattern and hot glue the crayons to the canvas

Now with melting you have options.  You could set it outside and use the heat or you could use a heat gun or hair dryer.

My first one I started using the natural heat and got this

It was chunky. I didn't really like it.  So, I let it cool and made another one.

This was the second one I did and my favorite

And with that one, I used Brad's heat gun and I ended up liking the results much, much better.  So much better that I, in fact, took the heat gun to the first one and came up with this

Now they are awaiting me to get up off my butt and finish painting the kids room and hang them up.

One thing at a time.  Who the hell am I kidding? I'm queen of unfinished projects.

Tile Coaster tutorial

So first off, I'm a bad crafter simply because I can't find the original post that I got this fabulous idea from.  I know, I know.  Shame on me.

But we're going to be making these bad boys

It is a requirement if you are married to a Bama fan to have at least one thing houndstooth.  Viola,  a coaster!

Yes sir, tile coasters!

All you need are the following cast of characters:

• Mod Podge
• A clear glaze to make them water-proof (I used Krylon Clear Glaze, anything works though)
• A paper cutter
• tiles (Mine cost $.36 at Lowes and were 4x4)
• Scrapbook paper in your choice patterns and colors, cut into squares that are 3.75x3.75
• Black felt for the backs
• Sponge brush
• Hot glue gun or E6000

Alright! Crafters! Start Your Engines!








First what you want to do is apply a layer of Mod Podge over the surface of the coaster like so





Then you lay your scrapbook paper square on top and apply another coat of Mod Podge and let it dry.  After that layer is dry, add another layer of Mod Podge.

Yea, I didn't take a picture of that step.  Shoot me.  Sorry to disappoint.





After it is completely dry, it should look like 'dis.










At this point, I had my own little crafter in training eyeing my every move like a hawk.

I think she might have also wanted her table back.

You can also see in that picture all eight of my coasters drying like good little children.

Then, if you are like me, it will take you a few good weeks to actually spray them with the glaze.

I sprayed them, outside of course, with two layers.  I made sure that I got the sides the best that I could as well.

Once the glaze has completely dried, take your glue gun or E6000 and glue the felt onto the backs of the coasters.

Annnnnnnnnnnnnd if you are like me, they take up residence not on your end tables or coffee tables but your sewing desk.  Hey, I'm just keepin' it real.  I'm not sure the husbeast would know what to do if a coaster ended up on our end table.

I'm thinking gifts.

The Hubs is getting crafty!!

Mwuahahaha!  Oh I have pictures of him using a glue gun!!

But no, seriously, he has taken up the hobby of making Jigs.  You fish with it and they have skirts. A lot of them, I would classify as ugly but with my help, he is bound to make some that I would classify as pretty.

I think he calls these "green pumpkin"

"black/blue"

this name makes me giggle- "ultimate pb&j"

I'm serving as his photographer, lol

I'm really proud of him. 

Crocheting saves my sanity

No, really it does.  Don't get me wrong, I love being able to stay at home with my kids.  I love seeing them grow and being able to nurture them.  But some days I'd much rather sit back and watch them grow while crocheting then cleaning the house or doing laundry.  One of these days, if the schools ever open back up, Brayden will be in school two days a week and it will just be me and Little Miss.  And hopefully, on one of those two days, Little Miss will be going to preschool.  So then for the first time since really have children, I will have a day all alone to clean.  But I'm swaying off subject...


Crocheting is my "quiet place" so to speak.  It's when I sign off Facebook and pull up Ravelry and pull up a pattern.

I've been doing good here lately with it in completing the projects that I start.  I have a ton of WIPs that just sit in hibernation haha.

Here's what I've done so far since about December.  It isn't much, but again, remember, I have two preschoolers.

12x12 square I made for an afghan I'm working on

Another 12x12 square I made for the afghan.  This was Jan '11 CAL on Ravelry.

My mother's Christmas present which she has yet to get but knows about.  She requested slippers

Another color set for another blocked afghan.  Colors are Aran(Ivory color), Rouge(a darker coral color) and Fern

Christmas colors!!! Another blocked afghan I have planned.

Eeek!!

If any of you know me or even knew me in high school, you know I tend to be a little OCD about planning.

In high school I had a planner and since I essentially had 6 classes, out of 7, that always had assignments those little boxes tend to fill up quickly when you have to write the subject and then of course the assignment.

If you also knew me in high school, you would also know that I had a slight addiction to multicolored gel pens.  I'm talking the kind that you can get with like 50 in a pack that range from neon colors to metallic to sparkles, ect.  Yes.  I had those :)  They made my heart sing.

So of course I had an epiphany.  I'm sure this happened during Organic Chem or Honors English.  Why not make even better use of my addiction.

Thus, each class had it's very own color!  That way all I needed to do was write down the assignment.  I did the same in college when I had to write down my schedule.

ANYWAYS!

I said all of that because I found the greatest thing!  I love planners but the expensive ones that I like are well, just that, EXPENSIVE.  I want one that I can customize.  One that reflects ME.

I was doing my normal blog hopping this morning and stumbled upon this beauty.  Sofia over at Sofia's World just made my year!  I'm so excited to make one of my own but for now I leave you a teaser of her pictures of her planner.

Addiction

That word applies to me.  Yes.  I have an addiction.  No.  It isn't harmful to my health or illegal although I'm sure it could fall under the first one.

What is this addiction you might be wondering.

Recipes and Cookbooks


Yes.  I said Recipes and Cookbooks.

At any given time, you can look in my house and find stacks of cookbooks, old and new, stacks of the little recipes books you get at the store that are for like the crock pot or specifically for Halloween or Christmas.  I also have a spiral notebook with recipes in it.  Stuffed in that notebook is also printed out recipes waiting to be cut and fixed into said notebook.

I also have recipes saved in my bookmarks as well as different websites like Kraft and Betty Crocker.

Earlier this summer I stumbled upon a new website and it just sent my heart into overdrive.

Tastespotting

That website right there is 3000+ pages of user submitted websites with recipes.  I was in Heaven!  To this day I am still going through the pages.  It gets updated every day, countless times.  Right now, I sit at page 822.  One day I might get to the end.  Who knows.

Combine that website with another new love of mine and I could spend all day on there.  But alas I have to do that thing called parenting and make my house look somewhat presentable.  At least as presentable as you could with a 2 year old and a 3 year old.

That other new love is called Evernote.  I think that it was created just for me and this soul purpose.

It also works well when I come across a craft tut that I want to try out or a crochet pattern.

My friend Derek said on Facebook the other day when I admitted that I had a recipe/cookbook problem that admitting that I have a problem is the first step.  Do I want to continue on with the other steps.  Nah.  I kinda like this addiction :)

Besides, it was helpful when I moved back in and we ate a new dish every night that I cooked for a little over a month.

Squee!!!!!!!!!!!!

I am so freakin excited about this!!  Remember my Christmas wish list?????  Well, I got an early Christmas surprise!!  Eric Smith and the people at Quirk Books asked me if I would be interested in getting a copy of the Creepy Cute Crochet book that I had asked for on my wish list!  Of course!!!

 

SQUEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


So I eagerly awaited the arrival of this book only to be surprised one more time by Eric!!!  He not only sent me Creepy Cute Crochet but one of their newest publications called Witch Craft which is nothing but, you guessed it, HALLOWEEN CRAFTS!!!

DOUBLE SQUEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!

I'm so excited for this opportunity!

I've flipped through the pages, picked out which ones I'm going to make and showcase and I'm warming up my hook.


My mom, who adores Halloween, is excited for me to do some of the crafts in the Witch Craft book.


So stay tuned!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Home made Kool-Aid play-doh

As a means of being a more instructive, creative parent I have spent countless hours looking at blogs upon blogs of crafts suitable for toddlers.  And I have come across quite a few good ones that I plan on sharing over time.  One that I just absolutely love is Pink and Green Mama.  She has tons of ideas that I am just aching to try.  She also puts together lesson plans centered around a certain theme that you can purchase that contain ideas and crafts, some of which she doesn't post on her blog.  I really want to see if I can convince the hubs to let me buy this one, Rainbow Fun.  And the price is a really reasonable price!  At $8.00 I really don't see why he wouldn't let me since it is for the kids.


But anyways!  


Recently the kids have shown and interest in play-doh.  We didn't have much, just the few little Easter eggs that were filled with some.  I had bookmarked her Kool-Aid play-doh recipe a while back and figured today would be the best day to make some to have.  I just wasn't feeling going outside in the slightly frigid temps that we are having right now here in the south.


I'm going to post my pictures and what all you need but you can check out her post about it here.




So as far as the cast of characters used to make you need:

1 Cup of Flour

1/2 Cup of Salt

3 teaspoons. of Oil 

1 Small Package of Kool Aid

1 Cup of Boiling Water

Mix the dry ingredients

Then add the oil and the boiling water

Stir well then knead on a piece of waxed paper.  She wasn't playing when she said it would be hot for a few minutes so be careful at this part.

I didn't have enough flour to make the third color so I only made the blue and the red.

I just stored mine in a ziploc bag in the fridge.  After their nap I'll get out the cookie cutters and let them go to town and let you know how it went!