No crumbs about it Crafty Cup Cake liners

Have  the kids been kicking around at home and You’re activities for them indoor and out?

 

My favorite home hacks blog One Good Thing, always has loads of great ideas, natural ways to clean, preen and dream.

These little and regular sized liners of paper, foil and even shapely silicone are an all around utility item.

(as well as their ice cube tray counter parts)

From Keeping bugs out of your drink while outdoors, to dressing up homemade gifts, decorating lights on a string of lights and even dressing up tea lights. They make clean up easy and even great for making serving sized snacks, dividers, and food preparations easy. Silicone ones are great to use for making frozen treats (or jello shots) as well as DIY natural cleaning and beauty bars and and make fun ones that are in different shapes. No crumbs about it, they are Crafty Cup Cake liners freezer friend. Need to use a small amount of cream for baking? Then freeze it to use for next recipe (will be good for a few weeks.) So its a great idea for around the holidays! Use as a disposable liner for those little items rolling around in your junk and utility drawers and best of all

Bookthongs

My apologies for a lack of posts, my computer died and it took awhile to get a new one.

Have a late secret Santa gift or just don’t have a clue what to give to a family member or a friend?

Give something truly from the heart,  for anyone who likes to read (print) book, writes in a journal or just needs to keep their place in something! Also if they don’t do any of that, you could always make one to be a necklace (justs be sure its long enough to be wrapped round the neck, to look like a choker, or just drape around one’s neck.

 

I’ve started making  book thongs this year. I had purchased a couple in the past in Waldenbooks

and a friend gave me one as well (sadly it broke I used it so much! I still have yet to repair it)

In my opinion, they are better than those boring ribbons that are bound in journals (and likely not the color(s) you want), and these are much nicer looking than actual bookmarks. They are like jewelry for your book! They also stay in place better than a book mark (which always sseems to fall out) as they are weighted by the beads and charms.

Here’s a few of the ones I’ve made on your left…

The first one is a holiday gift for a friend who Likes penguins

The one in the middle was part of mom’s mother’s day gift, one year.  Mom said its so pretty it should be earrings (I think she was referring to the bottom part)

The Chinese themed one on the right is mine. I need to get a better picture of it as well as, I should take a picture of the journal(s) it should be with, (see the bottom of post.

 

To make these you need some beads, some charms, as well as chord/string.

I have leather like cord as well as some hemp twine.  Just be sure if you are buying the beads specifically for this project, that you make sure all the beads have the same size hole and the chord fits in the beads!

I’ve seen some book thongs (like the one on right)  where people have made them fully beaded (with small seed beads for the spot where it goes in the book, but that will mess up the spine of the book, as well as the book thong won’t stick in the book as it should.)

I have also thought of making my book thongs long enough to be a wrap around necklace/Choker.

One of My favorite things about book thongs is I don’t think I saw any 2 alike in the store. And when you make them for you they have your personality and likes (color, maybe interest like a Harry Potter themed one) Even when you make a gift for someone, likely it’s not just made for their interests and personality nor does it show yours, with these it does both!

 

 

If you are giving it as a gift, I came upon this cute little card one could make

I’m going to have to see if I can make some business cards with that on it (or my own version) to stick with mine.

I sell the book thongs by request, you tell me a color and a theme you want and I’ll see what I have in stock to make it and give you a price on how much it will be. I can also make matching earrings and other things if I have enough of supplies. You can make your requests in the contact form below.

 

Here are those Journals The Chinese themed bookthong goes with.

 

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Paper Roses & Butterflies

Make them in Black for a Macabre Halloween decoration

Make your own Potpurri

Simmer a pot of this natural air freshener to add instant fall to your home.:

Here is what you will need:
– the peel of one orange
– one cut up apple
– 2 large cinnamon sticks
– 1 tablespoon of cloves
– 1 tablespoon of vanilla extract
– 1 tablespoon of almond extract
– 1.5 cups of water plus plenty more for refill

Place all ingredients in a cooking pot and simmer throughout the day while adding a bit of water from time to time. Also, you can reuse this mix for three days and store it in the fridge overnight

 

(click the image for the site it’s from and a few other combinations you might like.Ugh they couldn’t have just made a listing of the other combos.. you have to keep clicking through)

 

I love this easy gift idea (pic below)  for neighbors etc includes the ‘recipe’

Herbs and Spices Good for Potpourri Allspice Bayleaf Cardamom Caraway Seed Cinnamon Cloves Coriander Lemon Verbena Mace Marjoram Nutmeg Rosemary Sage Thyme

Flowers Gardenia Geranium Honeysuckle Hyacinth Jasmine Lavender Lilac Lily of the Valley Marigold Orange Blossom Sweet Pea Violet and, of course . . . Roses

Fruit Orange peel lemon peel lime peel

Wood Shavings Cedar Cypress Juniper

Fixatives (prevents evaporation of fragrance)

Ambrette, Asafetida, Balsam Peru, Balsam Tolu, Cedarwood, Gum Mastic, Orris Root, Patchouli, Sage, Storax,Sandalwood, Sumbul, Vetiver

Homemade Potpourri Recipes

General proportion of ingredients: 1 ½ quart / ½ quart / 1 oz Lemon Verbena, Lavender / Rose Geranium / Clary Sage Honeysuckle / Sandalwood / Balsam Tolu or Gum Mastic Rose / Rose Leaves / Vetiver Lavender / Any scented botanical / Gum Mastic Lavender and Clove / Vanilla / Orris Root Clove / Orange Flower, Lemon Peel, Cassia, Rose Leaves / Orris Root

Tips for Using Homemade Potpourri Recipes and General Instructions

Dry flowers and herbs before use.

Methods of drying:

• Tie bunches with ordinary string and hang upside down in a warm, dry place. Near a stove or in a closet, works well.
• Or, drape a length of cheesecloth between two chairs and cover with pedals, adding another layer of cheesecloth on top.
• This will allow the flowers to get air circulation above and below, helping them to dry more quickly.
• Or, scatter on a cookie sheet lined with cheesecloth and dry in the oven set on the lowest temperature with door open.

The slower your dry your petals, the more supple they will be: fast drying makes petals brittle. Read here for more information on drying roses

Cleaning herbs – After picking herbs, rinse lightly with water to cleanse. Too much water will drown them.

A note on roses – Damask roses are the most fragrant, but if your blooms aren’t excessively fragrant, add a touch of rose oil.

Don’t use toxic sources. Only use ingredients that have not been treated with insecticide or fungicide. Their toxicity can effect you.

Don’t use metal bowls or utensils for handling potpourri, except for the knife to cut them. Use wood or plastic to stir, baskets, enamel or ceramic to carry and mix.

Mix powder or crushed spice in a separate bowl before adding to mixture. Mix oils separately as well.

Add the spices to the mix, then the oils.

Once mixed, pour mixture into a large glass jar, store sealed in a cool dark place for a couple of months. Occasionally remove the jar and shake to blend.

Collect flowers on a dry day or at least 1-2 days after it has rained. The best time is in the morning after the dew has dried but before the sun is high enough to have dried out the flowers’ oils, about 8-10 am.

Collect 3 times as many flowers as you think you will need because their weight decreases by 2/3.

For roses, cut off the little white area at the base of each petal (if you want the color to be uniform).

For annual flowers, cut to the ground, for perennials, cut half way down. Pick off bad leaves and rinse lightly to remove dirt.

 

 

Pinecone flowers…

Gotta love being able to upcycle nature for something other than head or scents.

Make these beautiful pine cone flowers not only a centerpiece (or part) for Thanksgiving but they’ll be a conversation starter!

HandMade Envelopes for Gifts

It’s november and that time to if you have not been throughout the year… to buy your holiday gifts and get your ass going on making all those handmade gifts and things.  These are a great idea you can use bright colors for birthdays,

for X-mas use Red & Green for X-mas& gold

For Yule / Winter Solstice  Purple or blue w/ Silver

Hanukkah dark & regular or light blue with Silver

and Kwanzaa Black Green & red

 

Halloween treat bags,…   Black, orange, Purple (green can also be used)

 

Easter use pastel colors

 

Making your own Ribbon choker

I came across a Camo pendant last year, that is just my taste, sadly it did not come with the backing of a pin so I am going to make it a choker for my Halloween costume so I added the loop on it in the 2nd picture

 

Step 1 ~ Tools & Materials

 

Scissors, Measuring Tape, sewing Thread & needles,

Ribbon (size depends on the size of your loop,  mine I think was around an inch give or take) Lace,  or something solid with a ruffle (like what I picked out)

&  Ribbon Ends  also you will need some form of pliers. I used my 3-in-1 tool  (use one that does not have any grooves in it)

Step 2

fold one of the ends & sew it as it is a bit difficult to hold it in a fold & put the Ribbon end over it and be sure its all the way in and then clamp it shut. Sewing it will also help keep the ends from fraying alot

 

Step 3

making sure you have the ribbon all the way in the Ribbon end, use your pliers and Clamp the ribbon end on

 

 

 

Step 4

You are finished with the hard part…

 

Step 5

now just need some sort of clasp, (which I had to wait til I went to Joanns or Michaels for. For the best look, being as this is victorian style something with a filigree is best.

 

Well surprisingly michaels didn’t have it, but for once Janne’s actually had something I was looking for.

 

The You put the hook through, then straighten out and push into the ‘clasp’

 

 

Bat stencils Template

Gifts for the Crafty -Beading

Are they just starting? actually I’ve been doing it on and off for about 5 years and I still don’t have a full set of tools!

The 2 tool kits have some varying items in them. The first one has storage to put some beads and ‘findings’ in.  The 2nd one has 3 different tools (one in which is an extra set of ‘pliers)

Beadalon 7-Piece Tool Kit Zip Pouch, Econo

Totally Tools 7-Piece Professional Jewelry/Beading Ergonomic Tool Kit with Leather Case

I still need to get myself one of these to make patterns on bracelets and names and such

Beadsmith Bead Loom Kit for Beginners, Includes Weave, Necklaces, Bracelets and More

A ‘jig is to make the wire into pendants, earrings and so on. If I have not already published it, look up wire weaving or you can also check out my pintrest crafts alabum (via my about contact page)

 

Thing-A-Ma JIG Clear Acrylic Jewelry Wire Wrapping Tool

Blue Moon Bead Boutique Bead Box, Multi Color Silver Lined Seed Beads

There’s so many more options  I couldn’t possibly add everything but let me know what you had in mind want beads?

 

 

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Last minute Gifts for the Crafty- artist edition

Here is some for the artist

So You know someone that likes to do crafts. They either make stuff as gifts for friends & family (like my aunt does sometimes, and I do when I think of something like the charm bracelet I mad for a friend who loves horses & riding, as well as making them a wrist bag that looks like a bandanna but has horse heads on it and the bandanna patterns.

 

The first question is… What kind of craft do they do (or want to start?)

For those that like to draw and color like those that may be fashion designers, architects, illustrators and so on

Royal & Langnickel Essentials Sketching Pencil Set, 21-Piece

Darice 80-Piece Deluxe Art Set
i came across this and thought that is a great price. Anywhere else I’m pretty sure it would be about at least $50!

 

Painters

Royal & Langnickel 104-Piece All Media Easel Artist Set
Great for those in an art class and free shipping! here’s a cheaper alternative Art Advantage Wood Art Box Easel Paint Set
DOn’t forget the Art Alternatives Paint Tray Palette, 10 Wells with Thumb Hole

Art Alternatives Canvas Panel (8 X 10) PACK OF 12

 

 

also you can check here http://www.createforless.com/

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