Hanging Name Plates for Children's Wall

I got the idea for this craft at Michaels. I was wandering through the aisles looking for yet another misplaced item, and I saw wooden plaques with names on them. Yes! Finally something cute I can do myself to fill up the wall space in my kiddos room! Probably the hardest part was traveling to a few different Michaels looking for all the letters I needed. Here is the finished products!

You will need:

2 wooden plaques, Michales has quite a few shapes to chose from
Ribbon in any color
Wooden letters of the names you are spelling
Acrylic paint
Hot glue gun
Optional- glitter glue, wooden decorations (same aisle as the wooden items) 

1. First, paint the plaque and letters with acrylic paint. For a good visual, try contrasting colors on the color wheel. I used pink/green and blue/yellow.

2. Next, when these are dry, hot glue the letters down so they spell your child's name. I am not a fan of anything straight, so I put my letters are various angles.

3. Next hot glue your extras, such as wooden lady bugs or palm trees, and add your glitter glue. Michaels has a good assortment in the same aisle as the letters.

4. When all of this is dry, cut off about 15 inches of ribbon. This will be used to hang your plaques on the wall. Find how long you want them and cut it to size. Take the ends and hot glue them to the back of the plaque. Let dry completely.

5. Hang on your child's wall and enjoy!

Bow and Hair Clip Holder

Having a baby girl, and being a girl myself, I know we come with a lot of accessories. Hats, hair ties, hair bows, hair clips, and this is just Piper! She doesn't have 5 different kinds of boots and a rainbow assortment of scarves yet. The big dilemma comes when you try to find a place to put it all! I am not one to just throw them all in a shoebox and stuff them in a drawer either. Then they get pushed aside and never used. So, I had to find a way to organize them all. Enter Pinterest, my new obsession. I found something similar to this, and thought it was cute so decided to give it a try. Here is what you need:

1 picture frame
1 can of spray paint, any color. I used pink.
1 spool of ribbon
10 of those little half circle nails
optional- some kind of embellishment, I used 2 silk flowers from Michaels

First, you will need to take the half circle screws and screw them into the bottom of the frame. In the picture above my wonderful husband has already done this step. You can do as many as you want, but it is worth the extra effort to measure and space them evenly.

Next you will spray paint the whole frame. If you got a wooden frame this will be  easy. I was silly and got a plastic frame, and apparently no spray paint sticks to plastic. I almost gave up hope and bought a wooden frame when I stumbled upon Martha Stewart's line of paints. It actually sticks to everything! So $2.99 later I came home and painted the whole thing. Spray paint will probably take 2-3 hours to completely dry, the acrylic longer. I ended up waiting overnight since I applied many coats to cover the black color of the frame.

Next, take your ribbon and cut into strips. These will be stretched the height of the frame. I used 5 strips. Take a staple gun and secure the ends, being sure not to fray the ends.

Now. take a hot glue gun and glue your flower to the frame. I decided to use both flowers that came in the package I bought. And viola! Homemade hair bow and  clip holder:

Pretty nifty huh? And all under $10 too!

Gingerbread cupcakes with cinnamon frosting

So, I have been on a real baking kick lately. I normally love to bake, but my baking muse must be following me around because I am finding holiday inspiration everywhere! One of the absolute easiest I have made lately is my gingerbread cupcakes with cinnamon frosting. It involves taking boxed mix and a tub of frosting, and a splash of cinnamon:

1. Prepare the gingerbread cake mix as directed on the box. Line cupcake pans with cupcake wrappers, and bake them for 25 minutes.

2. In the meantime, put the frosting in a bowl. I used whipped buttercream frosting, but vanilla works as well. Add about 2 tablespoons of cinnamon and whisk well. Add more to your tasting.

3. After the cupcakes have cooled, frost with the frosting. Enjoy  :)

Here is my final product, with some red sprinkles added for festivity:

See? So easy and so yummy!

Projects finally done!

Sorry for the delay in posts. I have been hard at work on my bow holder and name plaques, and it seemed as though the forces did not want me to finish! I have been to Micheal's no less than four times in the last week, which would not be so bad if I wasn't going back to fix mistakes. Once, I bought the wrong ribbon, twice the cashier did not put the ribbon in my bag! Grrrrrr!!! Oh well, I am back :) please check out how they came out in my following blogs!

Christmas craft #1- homemade hot cocoa in jars

So, being on bed rest has left me plenty of time on my hands. Rather than sit back and watch tv (like I probably should be doing) I have taken this time to get things crossed of my life's to-do list. I have already picked out my birth announcements, got all the addresses of family and friends for that, addressed, stamped and filled out all my Christmas cards, and even tried a few Christmas recipes (FYI I STILL stink at making Rice Krispie treats). I have also started making some Christmas gifts. My first completed project is homemade hot cocoa in vintage masonry jars. Here is how they came out:

Way better than what I had originally envisioned! But that's the thing with me and ideas- it will start off small but as I get going I will get inspired to do more! Let me share how I did this:


First I dug around online and found a bunch of recipes for DIY hot cocoa. I took them all and just mixed them. My son had a great time pouring dry ingredients into a large glass bowl. He also had a great time being the guinea pig and trying each batch of hot cocoa (though he always gave it two thumbs up). Here is what I ended up using:

• 4 cups powdered milk
• 1 (6 ounce) package non-instant chocolate pudding mix
•   2 cups powdered chocolate drink mix
•   2 cups powdered non-dairy creamer
• 2 cups confectioners' sugar
• 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

It still wasn't as sweet as I wanted it to be, but hey I am not in the business of giving people diabetes either! The next step was finding the right glass jars. I wanted a vintage look, and I wanted them to be functional (ie not so old they can't open) as well. I found these beauties at Michaels for $1! So I got home, washed them, and dried them out. Next, I filled the jars about 80% full of the cocoa. The rest of the jar I filled with mini marshmallows to the top. That is when the idea to dress it up more hit me! I ran to Michaels (rather drove and waddled real fast up and down the aisles) and bought red and green card stock, crazy cutting scissors, and holiday ribbon. I got home and typed up cute printed instructions on red paper, cut it out with the crazy scissors, mounted it on green paper and hot glued them together. I punched a hole in them, and strung the holiday string through it. Then I tied the holiday string, glued a jingle bell I had lying around in the middle of the knot, stuck a candy cane stick on it, glued any loose parts, and viola! Instant gift! I plan on giving these to my mom, mother-in-law, sister-in-law, a few friends and some girls from work. I am so proud of how they came out, I wish I could pass them out now!! Until next time :)

Birthday bracelet

I finished a very special bracelet a few days ago. I wanted to make a piece of jewelry for my friend's 22nd birthday. She is very laid back, easy going, and loves nature and gardening. Very natural and unassuming. Most of my baubles are a little glitzy, shiny and dressy, which to me did not speak to her true essence. I dug through my beads and found some really neat earthy looking round ones. They look like they could be straight from a river bed! I used 5 natural looking beads, then a crystal clear 5mm bicone bead, followed by charms that I thought represented her outdoorsy side, then another crystal clear 5mm bead, then repeat all over. I used a standard lobster claw and jump ring to fasten the two ends. I just let the energy flow and this is what happened:

 I mailed it to her Monday and she got it the next day. She loved it! I am glad :) it was surprisingly easy to do, maybe because I just channeled her essence lol until next time!

Jewelry making

I started getting into jewelry making and beading last year. I got a kit from my mother-in-law for Christmas, and quickly learned how to use wire cutters like a semi pro. I would find designs that inspired me online and put my spin on them, and when I wasn't sure how to copy it I went to youtube.com and learned from the professionals. Here are some of the jewelry I have made this year:

 I made this one ^^ for a friend's daughter

 This is a St. Patrick's Day anklet for a friend ^^

 These two above were for friend's daughters as well

 This one is still mine ;)

 I gave this bracelet to a friend

 I made this bracelet for my sweet aunt, who loves lady bugs!

 I still have this bracelet

 This is a bracelet with a locket that I made for my sister

I made a few of these, each with different charms. I am thinking about giving them out as Christmas gifts!

So that is as crafty as I have gotten so far. I intend on finishing up my home made hot cocoa mix tomorrow, and posting about that. Then it is on to name plates for my kids, Christmas ornaments, a personalized wipes carrier, and eventually I intend on taking a sewing class and sewing hats, totes, and clothes! Here we go! :)

New to crafting!!

Hello everyone! My name is Jennifer, and I live in sunshiney Florida. I have another blog Gardening for Newbies that is all about my foray into gardening. I am 36 weeks pregnant and have been on bed rest for about 2 weeks now. I have always loved making jewelry in my spare time, and making little odds and ends. I have recently been inspired by some super crafty friends and blogs, and decided to chart my journey! Here I will post my new projects, details of how things are going, and pictures of the finished project! Please come along, offer advice and share in my ups and inevitable downs :)