'Enjoy An Egg-cellent Easter'

I fell in love with the "For Peeps' Sake" stamp set

 from Stampin' Up!'s Occasions Catalog. 

Such cute images! 

Since Easter is almost here, 

I figured I'd better get crackin',

and whip out some treats.

Here's one that I came up with... 

I ended up repurposing a bottle like this 

from some sweet & sour sauce.

All I did was remove the label,

wash it really good,

and spray paint the lid.

Here's a view from the side.

And a close up of the cute bow on top!

This was such a fun project!

Supplies Used (all are from Stampin' Up! unless otherwise noted):

Stamps: For Peeps' Sake

Ink: Calypso Coral

Paper: Whisper White, Calypso Coral, Best Year Ever DSP (Sale-a-bration)

Other: Bow Builder Punch, 1" Circle Punch, Scalloped Tag Topper Punch, Project Life Corner Punch, Twine (non SU!)

More DIY Magnet Boards

There are a few thrift stores in my little town, and my SIL and I 

like to go to them each week to see what treasures we can find.

Last week I found some gold trays hiding on a bottom shelf of one of the stores, 

and knew immediately what I could make with them.....more magnet boards!

These trays were gold, so I spray painted the edges a chocolate brown color 

before mod- podging scrapbook paper onto them.  

They turned out so cute!

I think there may have been a few more trays at the store....

and I'm hoping they're still there!  

My girls and I will be making more of these 

for Christmas gifts for their friends this year.

(if I can find more trays!)

Upcycled Soda Box Pencil Cases

I've got a daughter who is a pencil/crayon/marker/pen hoarder.

Seriously. (can't imagine where she gets that from :)

I thought that if I made her a fun case for her pencils, maybe she'll use them.  We shall see.

These cute pencil cases were made using a 12-pack Fanta soda box.  

Turned out adorable!  

And this one was from a 20-can Diet Coke box.

Each of my kids have requested one now, 

so I guess we'd better find some more soda boxes!

These would also make cute back to school teacher gifts!

You can make your own by using THIS TEMPLATE.

If you don't want to use soda boxes, 

you could also upcycle some cereal boxes, like THESE.

**a little tip** the pencils that I bought were too long for my cases.  

This could be solved simply by lengthening the box as you assemble it, 

or just sharpen your pencils before putting in your case.

{Jewelry Made by my Girls}

**This year's '12 Days of Christmas' features the items that my daughters and I made for our very first craft fair**


Day 12: {Jewelry Made by my Daughters}

The whole reason why we had a booth at the craft fair was so my daughters could sell the jewelry that they make.  They are pretty crafty, and I adore their creations!

I've got 4 daughters, ages 13, 11, 10, and 7.  The older 3 made jewelry, and my youngest helped me out with all of the other crafts.  Here's the pictures of their jewelry.

Duct Tape Feather Earrings and Candy Wrapper Bracelets

Duct Tape Flower Rings & Pop Tab Bracelets...

Scrabble Tile Earrings

Here's a list of the items, who made them, and what we charged...

Duct Tape Feather Earrings- $3.00/pair (made by my 13-year-old)
Duct Tape Flower Rings- $5.00 (made by my 13-year-old)
Pop Tab Bracelets- $3.00 (made by my 13-year-old)
Scrabble Tile Earrings- $5.00/pair (made by my 11-year-old)
Candy Wrapper Bracelets- $3.00 (made by my 10-year-old)

Their jewelry didn't sell as well as they had hoped.  We sold only 3 of the Candy Wrapper Bracelets and 1 pair of the Scrabble Tile Earrings.  My girls were heartbroken!!  The Duct Tape stuff sold better, but not by much.

I talked with my girls a lot before the craft fair about not getting their expectations up too high.  It's hard to know what people will be interested in, but there's always the hope that they will buy your stuff.  My warnings didn't help their feelings OR mine!  I felt so bad that they worked so hard on their jewelry and didn't see the results that they had hoped for.

Although they didn't do as well as they would have liked, we DID have a great time.  There's nothing better than spending time with my kids, doing something that we all enjoy.

**I don't have tutorials to show how to make the jewelry.  We just googled them and found some videos and written tutorials online.

That brings us to the end of this year's '12 Days of Christmas'!  I hope you enjoyed the items featured, and found some inspiration for gifts to make for your friends and loved ones!!

{Spooky} Banner

Okay, here's the Halloween banner I made last year...and forgot about!

You can probably tell how these were made, but here's a run-down on it anyways.

*trace around a CD onto cereal boxes, and cut out the circles
*mod podge scrapbook paper onto circles
*cut out the letters for SPOOKY using the Cricut, mod podge them on
*punch a hole on each side of circles, and tie on some orange ribbon

Bats & Pumpkins {Halloween Banner}

Funny story.  I decided a few weeks ago that I wanted to have some Halloween decorations ready to go on October 1st.  I needed a banner, and got to work making a special one to hang up on our wall.  It turned out even better than I had envisioned (love it when that happens!).

Bats and pumpkins were on my mind, so I decided to go with that theme for my banner.  Here's how it turned out.

I used cereal boxes for the bats and pumpkins, spray painted them, added glitter, then hung them up on some twine.  You can't tell from these pictures, but the bats and pumpkins are super sparkly!!

I tried to get a few shots in the sun so you could see the pretty sparkles...

Now for the funny part of this story...

I hung my banner up on October 1st, then got the rest of my decorations out of storage.  Turns out I had forgotten about a banner that I made for Halloween last year!!  Oops!!  Hate it when that happens!!  Oh well....you can never have too many banners hanging up, right?

I never got around to sharing my banner from last year on here (that's probably why I forgot about it!).  I'll work on getting pictures of it so I can get it posted. 

Pull-Tab Treat Can Tutorial

Last week I had the opportunity to guest post at Meremade.  In case you missed it, here's the tutorial I shared...

Finding ways to recycle 'trash' has become a hobby of mine.  I love taking something that would otherwise be thrown away, and turning it into something useful and {cute}!  Today I'm going to show you how to make a Pull-Tab Treat Can... 

 
These Pull-Tab Treat Cans would make a fun addition to your kids' lunch boxes, or even a great gift for a teacher or friend!

Let's get started, shall we?!  Here's what you'll need:

*1- Fruit Can with a pull tab on top (I used an 8.75 oz. can of peaches)
*1- Safety Can Opener
*1- 3.75"x8.75" piece of scrapbook paper
*ribbon & other embellishments
*hot glue gun
*scrapbook adhesive
*candy

First, using your safety can opener, open your can from the BOTTOM.  Empty the fruit out of the can and wash both the can and the bottom lid well.  Dry thoroughly.

Adhere the 3.75"x8.75" piece of scrapbook paper around the can, and decorate as desired.

Fill the can with candy, leaving a 1/4" to 1/2" head space.

Put some hot glue on the edge of the bottom lid and quickly place back on the can. 

And there you have it...easy peasy!!

You can get really creative and use other items besides candy to go inside the cans as well.  How about putting a few bracelets and maybe some earrings inside?  Or what about some small toys?  The sky's the limit!!

Soda Can Coasters

I've got bags and bags full of empty soda cans, so as soon as I saw THIS TUTORIAL from The Idea Room, I just had to give it a try!

This first set was made using energy drink cans.  My husband thinks they're pretty cool!

And then I had to try some soda cans.  Blogger doesn't want to load this picture the right way, but you get the idea.

These would make a perfect gift for Father's Day....or birthdays....or Christmas!  I'll definitely be making more! 

Candy Wrapper Button Earrings

We've been saving our candy wrappers to make more bracelets like THESE.  As I was sorting our collection, I was thinking about how I could make matching earrings.  And then the idea came.  I wasn't sure if it would work, or if they would even be cute, but I must say that I LOVE the result!

Cute, right?  I used a 5/8" covered button kit for these...

and these...

And a 7/16" covered button kit for these...

Here they are together so you can see the difference in size.

Did I mention how much I love these?  I don't know what it is about recycling, but I love taking 'trash' and turning it into cute, wearable items.  What do you think?

FYI:  For some reason, the 7/16" size was harder to make than the bigger size.  I ended up having to hot glue the bottom on because it wouldn't stay otherwise.  Also, to protect the wrappers, I brushed each earring with a few coats of Mod Podge. 

**Edited to Add:  A great tutorial for making covered button earrings can be found HERE**



I'm linking at these fabulous parties:

It's Stinkin' Cute Craft Thursday @It's Sew Stinkin' Cute
Tuesday Tell All @My Craftie Life
Get Your Brag On @Gluesticks
Fantabulous Friday Link Up @Momma's Kinda Crafty
I'm Crafty Party @So You Think You're Crafty
Take A Look Tuesday @Sugar Bee Crafts
Ten Buck Tuesday @Young Nester

I'm a little OBSESSED with these...

Yes...I'm admitting it.  These cuties have become my latest obsession!  My 2 older girls were horrified when I saw some cans lying by the side of the road and stopped to pick them up.  I guess it won't be the last time they are embarrassed by their mother!

Here's a few samples of the latest earrings I've been making.

Have a great Thursday!!

Candy Wrapper Bracelets

We've been on quite the 'repurposing' kick lately!!  Our latest project has been making Candy Wrapper Bracelets.

I remember making these bracelets all the time when I was a kid, so it's been fun for me to teach my own kids how to make them! 

If you want to make your own, check out THIS TUTORIAL from Cut Out + Keep!