Button Clock

We recently had an Estate Sale at my Grandma's home. One of the things my Grandma loved most is clocks, she had A LOT of them! This is one of her clocks, it had no sentimental value and was in fact still in the packaging when I got it. I got a few other cherished items from her along with her sewing table and ALL its contents! It was full of old sewing materials including wooden thread reels and tons of buttons. I thought it fitting to make something with these items and add it to my craft wall. 

Here is what I used:

Clock

White paint

Mod Podge

Foam Brush

Fabric 14X14

12 Buttons

Hot Glue Gun

I removed the hands and painted the face of the clock white to hide the design. You might not need to do this but my fabric was thin.

Next I cut a hole for the center

Then using fabric Mod Podge I began adhering the fabric to the clock face. I then added 2 additional coats over the top to seal.

 I went through all her buttons and decided to go with red. I did 12 and 6 first, then 3 and 9, then filled the rest, using hot glue to stick them on.

Here is the finished clock. I'm really happy with how it turned out. 

Here is another look at the clock on my craft room wall. I think the color pops well and I enjoy looking at it while I work in my projects!

DIY Mod Podge Switch-plate Cover

I've seen this idea floating around the Internet and have always wanted to give it a try. I found a great tutorial via shealynns-faerie-shoppe blog that gave some great tips on how to makes these covers.

Here's what you will need:

Switch-plate cover

foam brush

X-acto knife

Mod Podge

Fabric/scrapbook paper

scissors

I started the project with the intention of using fabric. I changed to scrapbook paper once I realized the fabric I wanted to use was too think and I didn't have the correct Mod Podge to make it stick well enough. 

Start by cutting your paper slightly larger than the plate you are going to cover. then apply Mod Podge with foam brush to plate and paper. Lay paper on plate and smooth out any wrinkles or bubbles. If you get bubble use a damp finger to smooth out. Wait for this coat to dry before applying the next.

Once dry cut excess paper around outer edge of plate.

Apply a coat of Mod Podge to surface of plate. And let dry completely. After this coat I cut out the opening for the switch with the x-acto knife along with the holes for the screws. You could do this at anytime but I wanted the paper to be firm before I cut it. 

Apply another coat of Mod Podge and let dry... Repeat 2 more times letting each coat dry in between fully. If you are covering a plate that is used more frequently you could then spray a clear coat to seal it.

 Here is the finished project. This is the plate for my craft room and it matches the room great. After doing this project I also did my son's switch-plate cover in Spider man scrapbook paper and it turned out awesome! 

Frame Art

I first saw a piece of art like this at one of my favorite local stores to go to called The Comforts of Ella's. I had a frame that already had an aged looked to it but was missing the wire on the back. Here is a little step by step on what I did to make this cute piece of art!

Brand new aged frame

I cut a piece wire slightly longer than the width of the frame. I then stapled one side of the wire and folded the wire down to hold. I then pulled the wire tight and stapled the other side. I chose to put my wire in the middle of the frame, but you could put it anywhere  you wanted.

Here is a look at the frame with wire done. 

 I then went in search of a quote that I liked. I found this and loved the message it had. I typed it up on the computer using Typewriter font and printed it on heavy card stock paper. The mini clothes pin I found at the local craft store.

Here is another look. I really like how simple it looks and how you could change the saying

Chicken Wire Display

I was searching the web for more ideas to add to my craft room. I was looking for different ways to display art or photos. I've seen a lot of uses of chicken wire on Pinterest and Etsy and thought this would be an easy DIY project. I found this frame at Goodwill. I took the picture  and matting out and painted the frame blue.

I then cut an old piece of chicken wire to the approximate size of the the frame opening.

Using a staple gun I staple the chicken wire in place every couple inches. I found this part a little challenging. if you pull the chicken wire too much to one side it will change shape and look crooked. After stapling all around I cut off the excess wire with wire cutters.

 I'm really happy with how it turned out. I also added some handmade fabric flowers to the corner for more color. I used mini-clothes pins to attach my favorite pieces of my son's art

Rudolph Christmas Party!

We go pretty big on out family Christmas party and this year was no different. We decided early on that we were going to do Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer theme. We generally try to make everything in this room for all the kids at the party and believe me, they had a blast!

 Here is a Semi-before picture of the room we used. Its a great sized room with high ceilings. 

 We set up a castle to represent Misfit Island and the obstacle course next to it is the reindeer games.

 The castle is an outdoor play castle that we found on Craig's List. There is also a tree behind the castle that has mini stuff Misfit Toys on it. Each kid got to bring home a couple Misfits to keep. The back wall has a wall decal of a wintery forest that makes a nice backdrop.

 We couldn't have Misfit Island without Kind Moonraser! We found him at Costco and added wings that we got during the Halloween season, he did have a crown too that was added after the picture was taken.

 I made signs for each section of the room. I made them with PVC pipe and a flat piece of plastic that we just had lying around. 

The obstacle course was great! I made obstacles with pool noodle, a sock-em bop-em and PVC pipe painted red for them to climb threw. There is another wall decal on that is of Santa's Workshop.

 Using a light projector we projected the image of a few of the movies characters onto MDF. We then traced and painted each character. 

 This side of the room was supposed to be the Abominable Snow Monsters Cave! We used a bouncy castle  covered in white sheets too look like a cave (we did take the sheets off when this kids got in to jump) The red sled has a bench across that we used to take pictures in when Santa came.

Here is a closer look!

The party turned out great and all the kids had a great time! I hope this inspires you to create your own Holiday party for your kids!!

Tile Coasters

Here is a tutorial on how to make coasters from tiles. This was an easy project to do, however it did require patients due to wait for each coat to dry fully.

Here is what you will need: Scrapbook paper or photo, Mod Podge, Tiles, Ink pad, Paint brush, Decorative scissors, clear spray paint, Hot glue and Felt

I started by cutting 4 pieces of paper to the approximate size of the tile, I then used the "ripped" decorative scissor to give it a torn paper look

I then rubbed the edges of the paper on the black ink pad. This gives it an aged almost burned look

Next step is to apply the paper to the tiles. I first started by putting Mod Podge on the back of the piece of paper and laying it on the tile. I used a mini rolling pin to get all the air bubbles out. Then I waited for this coat to dry. Once dry I brushed on a coat of Mod Podge over the top as seen in the picture below. I repeated this step 3 more times allowing each coat to dry fully in between. I also sprayed a clear coat of paint as a finishing touch to make it water proof

I cut out felt for the bottom of each tile and used hot glue to attach it

Here's a look at the finished product!

Added 2/9/13: Since posting the tile coasters I have made a few more sets. Here I used book pages and symbols cut out with my Cricut. For Christmas I printed maps of my parents favorite vacation spots and  used them for the coasters. they really turned out well!

DIY Keepsake Art

I have been trying to find a neat way to display some of my Grandpa's fishing tackle that I received when he passed away. Some of my best memories are fishing with him and I wanted to make something that did my memories justice. I decided to add it to my craft room wall. 

I took the frame apart and removed the mirror/picture art that it had in place. I saved the backing to use for later. I then painted the frame yellow. It took quite a few coats since the wood was so dark.

I used a piece of scrap fabric that I thought went well with the tackle. I used spray adhesive to attache the fabric to the original backing of the picture. I then used fishing line to sew the pieces into place.

Using a staple gun I attached the backing onto the frame and cut the excess material off. I'm really happy with how it turned out and think its a great way to display something that means so much to me.