What's New

Here's a few things we've got done this week:

First, I bought a few packs of large buttons on sale at WalMart this week, along with metallic glue sticks that my KL decided needed to be tried out- more specifically as new hair bows.

She picked out the ribbons, designs, and buttons for each.

Here's the first one, my first of this style boutique bow:

She very much loves pink. And really wanted to use the heart buttons.
(My husband was kind of happy with this one because it ended 2 different rolls of ribbon, he thinks I have too many.)

Here's the second:

She wanted to help with this one, however, when she did she shifted the layer of red loops so one is a little out of place, but she didn't mind so I don't mind. This one she chose the star ribbon because I "haven't used it in a while" (I've got some ribbons I've never used but she's worried about the one's that have been a while since used). Then she chose the yellow and red to match and the blue star just seemed perfect to finish it all off.

The metallic glue sticks weren't really all that impressive. The only time I could tell it was a metallic color was when I would use a large spot, and even then it was really just a little shimmer looking more than full on metallic looking- oh well, they were cheap (cheaper than a pack of regular).


After we made new bows we tried a science experiment/DIY art supply- turning run down markers into liquid water colors. Here's how they looked just about 10 minutes after adding the markers. I'll edit later to see how they look later- they're supposed to sit for about a week to pull all leftover ink out.

You can see the water already pulling the color out of them.

This is approximately 18 hours later:

(We had neon dry erase markers that left those colors with an almost cloudy look, we will have to see how those turn out.)

Before I'm completely done I will probably cut the ink tube out to get the most out of them, but for now we will let them sit like this for the directed week. I'll update this post, or make a new one, when they're all finished.

That's all for now,
Jo!

Apple Pull Apart Bread

Fall is upon us, well almost, and that means all the wonderful flavors of fall are returning.

My parents have several apple trees that were thriving at the beginning of the growing season and then it dried out for a long period and the skins of the apples grew with a bit of fungus on them. However, it's all on the outside of the skin and most of it washes off- not that we would eat the skin, though- so they're perfect for peeling and baking.

Then I found this recipe for a caramel apple pull-apart bread. It is amazing you guys.

The recipes is there for you so I just have a few picture to show you.

This dough was so soft and easy to work with, the only problem was that it stretched a little because of just how soft it is.

Here's a quick look at how I stacked the layers, I found it easier to add the filling in the stack instead of covering the dough and then stacking.

(See, there's the stretching issue, but it really isn't a big deal.) 

Look how cute that little stack of apple, cinnamon, yeasty goodness is

Here's after they came out of the oven. I had a little bit of a hard time telling when they were done because of the moisture from the filling but I actually seemed pretty perfect (although a few extra minutes than given in the recipe) after cutting into it.

 And of course, here it is iced (and there may already have been a taste test off the top too).

This was amazingly delicious!! (I may have ate half a loaf the first day.) The recipe yields 2 loaves so I froze one for my parents (before icing- but it tells you that in the recipe) and it was still soft and delicious after thawing it out. (And since I knew it would be less than a week when I saw them to deliver, I just refrigerated the leftover glaze. It had to be reheated to pour easily but it kept just fine and saved me from having to waste some and then make more.)

That's all for now,
Jo!

Grandparents Day

Since we were headed to Grama and Papa's house last weekend, for a family event with the other Grama and Papa we decided to throw together some quick Grandparents' Day Gifts.

I'm sure you've seen Pinterest pins or Facebook photos about how to set Sharpie on ceramic mugs and how quick and easy it can be- so that's what we did. Three of the four grandparents wake up to coffee every morning, and the forth likes to drink tea so I figured it would be great.

Here's the shots:

Here was the final products.

KK coloring one.

 

KL coloring one.

KL was taking her sweet time. I went to take a picture of the three that were completed and she reminded me that they aren't all done yet. So I took a picture of her coloring the forth with the three completed next to her.

And one more picture because I think KL looks adorable in it:

Just admiring her work :)

After they finished we let them dry overnight, and in the morning put them in the oven at 350 for half an hour. I also sprayed a thin layer of acrylic seal (with the rims covered and the cups upside down so none got inside).

That's all for now,
Jo!

Medicine Cabinet

I told you I was working on my first refinishing project and unfortunately I don't have a before photo but here's where I am now-

I need to buy new knob, but I haven't found what I want yet. 

(Please ignore the mess in our "3 seasons room" it's been where most of the remodel magic has been happening- mostly because it's indoors during disagreeing weather and easy to shut the kids out of.) 

Here's a few in-progress shots: 

 This is how the back looks after covering it with chalkboard self-adhesive vinyl paper (because that was the only black I could find). If you look hard enough there are a few bubbles, I should have sanded a little for better adhering but I think it will do just fine, especially since most of the bubbles sit on the outside edge which is covered by the cabinet doors.

This is the small mirror side. Originally I was going to keep the frosted glass but you can see the tape I used to protect it from pain removed some of the edge- so I went ahead and removed it all. (Which is a really simple process, it just takes a little patience.) 

That's all for now, 

Jo! 

Mermaid Necklaces

I saw this idea on Pinterest and thought it would be a good way to use up some of the sea shells that I bought for ocean week over the summer. And this long weekend my nieces came up to visit so it was a chance to use up even more.

These came together pretty quickly and the girls had a blast.
We started by gluing a blue flat marble with some E6000 (I used the heavy duty glue) to the shell, pinning the ends of the necklace cord (we used an elastic cord) under the marble.

Then I let them use Mod Podge to adhere the glitter- which they did, a lot!

Here's a few shots of my K girl wearing them- my nieces left before I got a shot of them:

The original idea was a lot less glitter and a subtle sheen behind the marble, but you know kids, especially little girls, and their love of all things glitter.

That's all for now,
Jo!

More Bows

I did find time to sit down and make a few bows.

Here they are:

Can you tell that I'm ready for fall?

The top one was super easy- just two 8" pieces of each color, folded in, hot glued in "flower" shape on top of a foam/felt circle base, and a button to cover the middle (it's kind of a pale yellow, the photo makes it look more off white).

The second one was inspired by a Pinterest pin that really has no destination (you know how that goes). At least is was one that was a step be step guide.

I had these two pretty ribbons that me grandmother sent me while cleaning out her crafting supplies before a move. I've wanted to use them for a while but wasn't quite sure how to but when I decided to try this pin I figured they'd work alright.

So I layered them and stitched them together for the back of the bow.
Then ran a basting stitch to help pinch the middle of the bow.

Since the back of the bow is 4", I used a 3" template to measure the white ribbon I put on front- wrapping it around 3 times.

I put a small stitch in it to hold it together and then fanned it out.

I used just a small dot of hot glue to attach the white ribbon to the gold, you have to be careful because too much glue makes it so you can't pinch the middle tight.
I then used a little florist wire to pinch the middle as tight as possible (it's the easiest method I've seen yet, because it holds it so well). Finally I finished by using the white ribbon to tie a knot (as seen in the linked pin) and hot glued it on using the ends to help hold the alligator clip on. Then a quick touch of hot glue to the ends of the alligator clip to attach it to the base of the bow.

That's all for now,
Jo!

Sorry

I apologize for the inconsistent posting. Right now I feel like I'm working on a million different projects and nothing (other than laundry and dishes) is actually finished yet.

My biggest project right now is refinishing a medicine cabinet for a bathroom remodel, although right now I'm waiting on supplies to ship. I'm also spending quite a bit of my free time hanging trim for said bathroom remodel, which limits time for other crafts. However when I do have a chance I am working on a new counted cross-stitch that my Ks bought me for Christmas (while I was working on the "Family" cross-stitch already so it got delayed).

Hopefully it won't be too long before I have something to post for you all. Maybe I'll sit down and make a few bows tonight... or not, we'll see.

Nothing for now, sorry,
Jo!