Up-cycling Broken Pottery Planter

Posted in Decor, Gift ideas by

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I love finding new ways to use things.  I picked up these broken mugs from a beach in California that has TONS of washed up pottery and china from an old manufacturer called Tepco China Company.  I decided to turn them into a succulent planter.

I started by gluing pieces onto a piece of used fence board, using E6000 glue.  I had to “piece” them together in order to create space for plants.

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I purchased 2″ pots of succulents at the local nursery and planted them in the mugs.  Because the planting areas were pieced together, there were plenty of areas for water drainage.

It turned out really cool!  A great gift for a friend of mine!

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Happy Planting!

“Wonder what I will come up with next?”…

Spring Treats…

Posted in Easter, Tasty Treats by

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Spring has sprung and I was looking for a fun treat for my daughter’s class.  I came up with the idea to chocolate dip Peeps bunnies and attach them to a Smores Girl Scout cookie.  They turned out adorable!

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The items you will need are:

Wilton Candy Melts, Peeps Bunnies, Smores Girl Scout Cookies (Graham Crackers would work also), & parchment paper.

Start by melting the chocolate by following the directions on the bag.  Next, dip the Peeps Bunny about half way in to the chocolate and press it onto the cookie.  Let set and enjoy!

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To get them ready to hand out to the class, I wrapped each one in a fold top sandwich bag and tied a spring ribbon around it.  The students LOVED them!

Happy Dipping!

“Wonder what I will come up with next”…

How to make Wooden “Wands”…

Posted in Halloween, Parties - birthdays and more by

Now that you have learned how to make your own version of “floating candlesticks”, it’s time to learn how to make wooden “wands”.  After this, you will be ready to host your own Harry Potter party!  OR, prepare for Halloween in March!  OR make wands JUST FOR FUN!

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Supplies needed: wooden chop sticks, hot glue gun, 2-3 shades of brown paint, and gold paint.

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Step 1 is to create squiggles and lines with hot glue on the thick side of wooden chop sticks.  Be sure to make each one unique.  Let the glue cool.

Step 2 is to paint each “wand” brown.  I used 3 different shades of brown, so each wand was unique.  After the 1st coat of brown paint dries, create paint marks (using darker or lighter brown).

Step 3 add gold paint marks as highlights.  Each layer of markings makes the “wands” look like stained wood.

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SO SIMPLE!!

Happy painting!

“Wonder what I will come up with next”…

How to Make “Floating Candlesticks”

Posted in Halloween, Parties - birthdays and more by

In my last post, I shared Harry Potter party decorations that I created for my daughter’s birthday party.  I mentioned that I  made the “floating candlesticks”, and would share how to make them.  Here you go.

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Supplies needed: wrapping paper/paper towel rolls, white paint, hot glue gun, needle and white or clear thread, batter operated tea lights, clear tape.

I started by gathering wrapping paper rolls and paper towel rolls, cutting them the sizes I wanted, and painting them white.  I stood them up on newspaper to dry.

Once the paint was dry, I created “drips” with a hot glue gun.

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After the glue cooled, I painted over the “drips” with more white paint.

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Notice how I used a lot of paint, and let the excess run down the roll, creating additional “drips”.

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Next, I threaded a needle with white thread, pierced each side of the roll and created large loops to hang the candlesticks with.

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Once the candlesticks were hanging from a rod, I taped battery operated tea lights to the top.  Be sure to turn them on prior to taping them.

That’s it!  VERY easy to make, but the impact was HUGE!  These would make a fun decoration for Halloween also!

Happy painting!

“Wonder what I will come up with next”…

Harry Potter Birthday Party…

Posted in Parties - birthdays and more by

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The Harry Potter “CRAZE” hit our house, so we had no other option but to have a Harry Potter themed birthday party.  As you all know if you have been following my blog for very long, I LOVE to have parties!!!  My brain LOVES to prepare for all of the decorations and details!

I will start with the invitation that I created.  I had a blast deciding on the font!  I also included a paper “ticket” for the guests.

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When the guests arrived, they got to walk through a “brick wall” that I created by hanging brick printed fabric.

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As they entered “Hogwarts” they could see the “dining room” that I created, which included banners from all of the houses.

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The table place settings were decorated with gold chargers, clear plastic plates, and personalized mugs, for butter beer, of course!  I printed Hogwarts logos and placed them between the gold chargers and clear plates.

Each place setting also had a golden snitch that I made with paper wings and Ferrero Rocher candies.

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The center piece was a “candelabra” that I made with plungers and wrapping paper rolls.  I spray painted the plungers gold and taped battery operated tea lights to the top of the wrapping paper rolls.

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I added several battery operated candles from The Dollar Tree to the table, as well.

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I got out my Halloween decorations, and created an area for “spells”.

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There were even “eyeball” gum balls and candy “bones”!

I made flying keys with colored feathers and keys I purchased at Michaels Crafts.  I hung them above the “spell” display.

Each guest was able to choose there own unique wand.  I made these with chop sticks, glue gun & paint.  I will post a “how to make” entry separately.

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Here are the “floating candles” that I created.  I will share the “how to make them” in another blog post.  I hung them from a stretcher rod and they looked amazing when they were lit up!

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We made butter beer, and ate ice cream.  I made lightening bolt designs on the sugar cones.

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We even had a mirror, and color changing candles to increase the festivity!

The girls stayed up all night watching Harry Potter movies, and scaring each other with tales.  I’d say fun was had by all!

Happy Hogwarts!

“Wonder what I will come up with next”…

 

Simple Pop-Up Card…

Posted in Gift ideas, St. Patrick's Day by

Happy President’s Day weekend!  Valentine’s Day has come and gone, and my creative brain is thinking about what comes next.  St. Patrick’s Day!  A day that doesn’t get as much publicity, but is still an important day.  This is a great day to tell special people in our lives how “LUCKY” we are to know them.

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That being said, I took this opportunity to make a few pop-up cards for some special people in my life and wanted to share how EASY it is to create them.

Supplies needed: 8.5×11″ green & white card stock, glue stick, scissors, & shamrocks (I purchased these at The Dollar Tree)

 

To begin, fold an 8.5×11″ piece of white card stock in half.  Make 2 cuts on the folded edge approx 2″ apart, each cut being about 1″ in length.  Unfold the paper, push the “cut” area inside, so that it creates a “pop-up” cube inside the card.

 

Fold a green 8.5×11″ piece of card stock in half and glue it to the outside of the white piece of paper, see above.

 

Glue (or you can use glue dots) the top of the shamrock to the pop-up cube inside the card.

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Glue a second shamrock on the front of the card.  DONE!!!  It’s that simple!!!

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Now you can make pop-up cards for all the special people in your life.  Be sure to write inside how “LUCKY” you are to have them in your life!

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Happy card making!

“Wonder what I will come up with next”…

Painted Jars With Initials & Knobs

Posted in Decor, Gift ideas, Organization, painting by

Happy Valentine’s Day!

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I love re-purposing jars!  I am constantly washing them & scraping off the labels.  Once I save up enough, I start dreaming of a creative way to use them.  Usually I am creating some sort of gift for the teachers & friends in my life.

For this craft, I painted jars and added fun knobs.  These look great as home decor.  They can bring a unique element to a book case, or be used to store something.  I have cotton balls stored in a jar in the bathroom.

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Since I made these with the intention of gift giving, I decided to personalize them.  Prior to painting, I attached a sticker with the person’s initial.  I purchased the initial stickers at Hobby Lobby.  This gave each jar a little extra dimension.  After the paint dried, I “roughed” them up with a light sand paper.  This helped the initial become more prominent.

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In order to attach the fun knobs, I needed to drill holes in the lids.  I started by painting the lids colors that looked good with the paint color.  I kept it simple and painted lids black, white, silver, & gold.  After the paint dried, I used a drill to create the holes.

Once the holes were drilled, I attached the knobs.  I found fun inexpensive knobs at TJ Maxx, Home Goods, Hobby Lobby, & Lowes.

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I tied coordinating colored ribbon around the rim, just because it looked cute.

These jars were so fun to create & people enjoyed receiving them.  They especially liked that they were personalized.

Happy creating!

“Wonder what I will come up with next”…

Peter Pan Party Centerpieces

Posted in Decor, Parties - birthdays and more by

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Oh, to never grow up!

My daughter is currently performing in Peter Pan at her school.  This is quite a production!  There are 14 shows, with several of them being dinner & lunch shows.  To keep things festive, another mom & I created these DARLING lantern centerpieces to display on the tables.

We started with plain white lanterns, adding gold bows & gold stars.  We attached black vinyl silhouettes of Peter Pan on the glass.  Inside the lantern, we put a battery operated tea light and green tulle.  When the lights were off during the show, these lanterns left a hint of light in the room, which appeared to be Tinkerbell trapped in the lanterns.  SO ADORABLE!!!

The lanterns were placed on boxes covered with gold paper.  On each side of the box was a black vinyl letter “quote” from Peter Pan.  To finish the look, we sprinkled fine gold glitter on the box and table cloth immediately surrounding the centerpieces.  The total effect was AMAZING!

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Of course, the play was amazing as well!

Happy Decorating!

“Wonder what I will come up with next”…

Valentine’s Day Jar Decorations…

Posted in Gift ideas, Valentine's Day by

February is almost here.  I can’t believe how quickly January has blown by!  It seems like just yesterday, we were preparing for Christmas.

In preparation for February, I have started making Valentine’s Day gifts for my daughter’s teachers.  I love making gifts for teachers!  They are one of the most under appreciated people in our children’s lives.  They have so much influence on the minds & emotions of our future leaders, yet many parents take them for granted.  I am always proud to shower them with EXTRA LOVE!

Supplies needed are: Glass jars, paint, foam paint brushes, ribbon, twine, heart charms, keys, & 3-D heart stickers.

I have been saving glass jars for years, and they always come in handy when I am ready to create something.  For this project, I used several Bertolli pasta sauce jars.  These jars are great because they have character to them.

I started by painting the outside of the jars in Valentine’s Day appropriate colors.  I used containers of paint samples, so that I didn’t need to invest a lot of money in paint.  You can find inexpensive paint samples at Target, Lowes or Home Depot.  I used red, pink, lavender, and beige paint.  Once painted, I turned the jars upside down and let them dry for a couple of days.

I had quite a lot of red & beige burlap ribbon left from Christmas, so I decided to try using it.  On the red jars, I stacked both colors of ribbon for added texture.  I only used red ribbon on the other colors of jars.

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I added heart shaped charms that I purchased at Joann’s and keys that I purchased at Michael’s Crafts, attaching them with red, pink, and natural twine.  Very simple to make, yet very festive.

I also had some 3-D heart stickers that I thought would be fun to work with.  I tried several styles, as you can see.

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In all, I created over 35 jars that I will fill with Hershey’s Kisses and Hershey’s Hugs.  I will hand these out in a few weeks, spreading lots of LOVE in the process.  I mean, isn’t that what Valentine’s Day is all about?  Spreading LOVE?  I think so!!!

Happy Valentine’s Day!

“Wonder what I will come up with next”…

 

 

 

A Different Use for Crates…

Posted in Decor by

In my last post, I showed you a clever headboard idea in my spare bedroom.  In this post, I will show you how I used crates as wall decor.

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As I was decorating the spare bedroom, I wanted something unique on the walls.  I found these gray crates at TJ Maxx and fell in love!  They came in 3 sizes, so I bought them all.  I used the smallest size as a “platform” for a light next to the bed.  I turned it upside down on the night stand, then placed the light on top.  This allowed the light to be higher, making it easier for guests to read in bed.

The remaining two crates, I hung on the wall in a “nook” cut out next to the closet.  The extra depth of this space meant the depth of the crates wasn’t an issue.  I used the crates as shelves, placing some decorative items inside and on top.  I even hung a couple of items from the inside top, for variety.

The overall effect was exactly what I was looking for!

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Happy decorating!

“Wonder what I will come up with next”…