Travel Safely

Enjoy your parties tonight. 

Drive Safely. 

And I'll talk to you next year. ;-)

Inexpensive Groomsmen Gift

For those of you who don't already know, my sister-in-law is engaged and the wedding is set for June 25, 2011. I'm so happy for her, and couldn't be more excited-weddings are "right up my alley".

Every bride has a budget and sometimes it can be hard to stay within said budget. I'm here to help with that problem whenever possible...

What Groomsmen doesn't like a good beer mug with his name on? The one pictured above was only $2.50 to make. OR The bride and groom could have ordered them online for about $10-15 each plus s & h. Let's save some money, shall we?

Here's what you'll need:

Beer Mugs from the Dollar Tree-these are nice and heavy and no one will be the wiser

Glass Etching Cream-the small container will do, it doesn't take much

Paint brush to apply cream

Stickers and Masking tape to make design on mugs

Rubber Gloves

Newspaper to protect work surface

Do a couple of tests on a jar from the recycling bin before moving on to the real thing. We used a spaghetti jar. For the design we used some old stickers and masking tape.

Once you're happy with the results from your test runs, place the stickers on your mug. We used the negative part of the stickers so that the etched part would be the letters. Press the stickers down good and tight so that no cream will seep underneath.

Using the paint brush, dab a bit of etching cream on the glass. Be careful to only put the cream where you want the glass to be etched. We decided that dabbing it on instead of brushing it on gave us the end result we wanted. When it was brushed you could see the strokes.

The etching cream said to wait 5 minutes before rinsing it off with water. We waited 10 minutes because it left a more even etch. This was something we figured out in our test runs, results may vary so make sure you do the tests.

While I was rinsing off the glass in running water it helped to rub it a bit. (Make sure you're wearing the rubber gloves or you could etch your fingers as well.) I also had hot soapy water in the opposite sink basin to help soak off the stickers after the etching cream was rinsed away. 

Here's how they turned out:

I think the guys are going to enjoy them. My sister-in-law and I had so much fun doing this that I think we will be getting together to do vases, frames, cups... everything and anything glass.
Also, she called me this morning and said that the groom is jealous that he didn't have one too.

A little something new for Mom to wear

I recently came to the conclusion that I didn't have anything to wear for the holidays. So I made a new top. Total cost $2.50. How did I do it? 

I took this:

A tank from Salvation Army (sweater knit) and some material I had left over from a dress

And turned it into this:

Here is a back view:

Anthropologie, The Buckle, and a few other well known overpriced stores are selling ruffled cardigans like hot cakes. So instead of buying one for $68 (sale price at Anthro.) I made mine for $2.50. What do you think, leave a comment and let me know. 

Happy Holidays!

I cannot believe that Christmas 2010 is over and the New Year is only days away. Our Christmas was wonderful, how was yours? (Or the holiday you celebrate this time of year.) Christmas morning was so much fun. The girls couldn't wait and neither could we (me or the hubster). I think the girls were more excited to exchange the gifts they've been trying to sneak a peek at, than the ones from Santa. Because of this we ended up doing the family gifts first and this surprise was part of the family gifts. A loved it so much that when we wanted to open Santa gifts, she kind of-but not totally-threw a tiny fit. M and C thought it was pretty awesome as well. Everyone that came to visit over the weekend was given a personal tour of the playroom and it's new addition by one or all three of the girls. So as promised, here is the post on this pretty cool Christmas gift. Sorry it is kind of long.

Here is a little recap of what I did up until Christmas in order to be ready for the surprise.

Crocheted Cupcakes-pattern Amigurumi World: Seriously Cute Crochet

Crocheted Apples-pattern Amigurumi World: Seriously Cute Crochet

 

Crocheted Eggs-pattern Amigurumi World: Seriously Cute Crochet

$5.00 Faucet-Habitat for Humanity REStore

Free Entertainment Center-from soon to be brother-in-law

I took all of the above and a little more and turned it all into this.

Play Kitchen-Total Cost: $47.18 supply list at end of post.

Here are a couple pics I used for inspiration, but was NOT going to pay that much for.

$169.99-Amazon

 $250.99-Amazon

 

$249.00-$699.00 PB Kids

So...

First, I needed some tools. I needed a jig saw for the sink hole. And since I have wonderful friends, I was able to borrow one. Once I had the jig saw I needed a lesson on how to use it. So...called up dear dad and bribed him with a secret recipe. It worked. He was over here in 2 days and we made the exchange-jig saw lesson for secret recipe-muwhahaha. He must have really wanted that recipe, because as you can see I also learned how to use a holesaw.

Second, we needed to take the entertainment center apart and prime it with adhesion primer.

I had some luan board cut to size at Lowe's for free. I need two pieces: one to replace the glass in the door, and the other to cover the hole behind where the TV used to be.

We then painted everything pink. With the exception of the two small doors and the piece of luan for the glass replacement-these later became "stainless steel appliances".

I used a stainless steel bowl for the sink. Deadbolt locks became the knobs for the burners. Old PlayStation-1 games flipped upside down were used as burners, I painted the center red-so I guess they're always on and ready to cook up something tasty.

We changed the way the doors were hung so that they were more realistic. All hardware got changed from antique gold to brushed nickel.

There is a pantry on one end, which got filled with all the play food after the picture was taken.

And a refrigerator on the other end. This is also stocked and ready. I used a mirror for the "window" and we also put in an old wired telephone.

Supply List:

Entertainment Center-0 (given to us from soon to be brother-in-law)

Material for valance and small curtain-0 (leftover scraps from the curtains in playroom)

Primer-$10 (Sherwin Williams)

Pink Paint-0 (leftover from my craft closet-Sherwin Williams "Childlike")

Hinges-$2.94 (Lowe's-2pk for $1.47)

Burner Knobs aka Deadbolt Locks-$1 (Habitat ReStore-.25/each)

Handles and Knobs-$3.25 (Habitat ReStore)

Burners-0 (Playstation1 games from box in basement)

Sink-$4.99 (Meijer-mixing bowl)

Faucet-$5 (Habitat ReStore-cleaned up with Coca-Cola)

Mirror-$3 (Habitat ReStore)

Glue-0 (E6000 on hand in my stash-used to glue down burners)

Epoxy-$4 (Target-what we used to hang the mirror)

Silver Spray Paint-$3 (Lowes-"Aluminum")

Black and Red Paint-0 (Acrylic paint in my stash-used for burner centers and oven door)

Luan Board-$10 (Lowes-cut for free)

Grand Total: $47.18 savings of at least-$120 not too shabby :)

Have a great day!

Fresh from the oven

Here is one last little accessory for the Christmas surprise. The pattern came from Amigurumi World: Seriously Cute Crochet

They just came out of the "oven". Aren't they just cute enough to eat?

So, what do you say? Want one?

I'll be putting pictures of the Christmas Surprise on the blog after Christmas. I want everyone to get the full effect with it put together. Since it's so heavy, I can't put the doors and shelves on until it's up from the basement Santa's Workshop. I've been working so hard to get this done that last night I got a blister on the middle of my palm-yeah, it's a really crappy place to have a blister. I did get it done though. Enjoy the rest of your Monday. Only 5 days 'til Christmas, are you ready?

Handmade Holiday Lotion

I love making beauty treatments that are natural, it makes me feel like I'm doing something good for the environment and myself. Do you remember the Holiday Hand Scrub? Well, this lotion goes great with it. They both use very minimal ingredients.

Ingredients/Items Needed:
1/2 c. Water
1/4 tsp. Borax powder
1 c. Olive Oil
4 TBS. Grated Beeswax
2-3 Drops essential oil (I used lavender and peppermint for this so I only used 2 drops)
Blender
Microwave
Heat Proof Bowls
Clean Containers

Bring the water to a boil. Place the borax in a heat proof bowl, carefully mix in the boiling water. Stir until dissolved. Set aside.

Place the oil and beeswax in microwave safe bowl. Microwave for about 3-4 minutes on high, stirring often after 2 minutes, until beeswax is melted.


Pour oil mixture into blender and blend on low speed, slowing add the water mixture. Once everything is in the blender switch to high speed until everything is mixed well (creamy white lotion).


Pour into a clean container. Let cool.

To use: Massage into skin. Use after the Holiday Hand Scrub.

Thanks!

I would like to thank the ladies over at Fireflies and Jellybeans for hosting their weekly Show Off Your Stuff (SOYS) party. I have submitted my Christmas Photo Card Book. I think you would like their site they have tons of wonderful crafts and ideas.

If you would like to check it out go here:


So thank you, Fawnda & Jeannine, for making it possible for newbies like me to get our blogs noticed. :-)

Only 8 days until Christmas. Are you ready?

ps. Normally I don't post on the weekend but I think there will be one tomorrow morning. Something along the lines of a quick homemade gift ;-)
Have a great weekend.