craft Archives - Page 5 of 11

Fish Soap Party Favor – a Tutorial

August 6, 2012 By Taylor 18 Comments

Remember Finn’s Fish Party last week? I was pretty casual about the whole thing because the biggest slip-n-slide ever was the main event :) But I did make the kiddies party favors. It was almost a craft fail, but I saved it and it ended up OK. Seriously though, I almost ruined the only homemade aspect of the bday party… tragedy!

When I was looking up fish party ideas, I came across this Martha Stewart Tutorial. Of course, Martha’s “Fish in a Bag Soap” were way better looking than mine- in my defense I found this the Thursday before the Saturday party. My BFF and my mom totally came to the rescue with supplies!

What you need:

Pure Glycerin

Scented Oil (optional)

Plastic Treat Bags

Fish

I wanted to find plastic fish but I couldn’t find them anywhere. My BFF called me and told me she found these erasers, perfect! I later found out the fish I wanted were available on Oriental Trading.com and Amazon. But the erasers looked good too.

About the bags, I originally bought craft bags with a pleat on the side, and the soap got stuck after drying… boo! You HAVE to get the bags with only one seam on the side and no folds. My mom came to the rescue because I found this out the day before the party.

What I Did:

Fold the bag down (about halfway)

I used clothespins and an old shoe box and clipped the bag to the side of the box, making sure the bag was touching the bottom too.

My glycerin came pre-cut, so I used one and a half squares of glycerin. Then using a glass measuring cup, I melted it in the microwave for 45ish seconds. That is when I added my Grapefruit Citrus oil, just one drop.

Then pour the melted soap into the bag carefully, you don’t want to get soap on the sides of the bag, a funnel would help but I didn’t have one… procrastinator.

Carefully place a fish eraser into the bag, make sure not to splash.

Continue with these steps and let them cool.

I used ribbon to tie them up. Because of the clear color they are kind of hard to photograph but they turned out really cute. And for twelve fishies I spent about $15ish which I was pretty happy with.

Have you ever made your own soap? I really liked doing it, I want to do another girl craft party with different girly soaps. We could use mint leaves and lemons and other cool fresh ingredients!

Dyed Ombre Lamp

July 18, 2012 By Taylor 13 Comments

Last month I received one of my favorite things in the mail… a Tie Dye Kit from Tulip. Seriously, I have Tie Dye problem… sometimes my husband calls me Rupert (survivor fans?). I’m not kidding, I am drawn to it like an old hippie and I am know to sport multiple Tie Dyed shirts around my house in one week. Anyway, I was obviously excited to see this when I opened my Tulip Box…

Tulip Tie Dye Kit, Surface Cover and Gloves- all available at Micheals, Hobby Lobby, Joanns and Walmart.

With my surplus of shirts, I wanted to make something for my house. So I did a really quick and easy Lamp Makeover for my bedroom. I have had this lamp for a year or so; the shade and the base are from Ikea and my nightstand needed some color. Enter the before and after:

I started with a 5 gallon bucket (which is a must need for crafters) and filled it with a tiny amount of water. I wanted a turquoise color so I mixed the Blue and the Green Dye together in my bucket.

Then I placed my lampshade into the dye bucket, moving it up and down in the dye a few times to get it good and saturated.

I left it there for about 30 minutes, then added a little water.

I continued doing this same thing throughout the day. Diluting the water with each step is what created the ombre effect. I set my alarm each time for 30 minutes but looking back I think I would have done each step even longer for a brighter color.

I also taped off the base cord and top of the lamp and gave it a few coats of gold stray paint.

I really love it in it’s new home, a much needed pop of color.

So how do you feel about tie dye? Check out more ideas at: www.iLovetoCreate.comhttp://twitter.com/ilovetocreate https://www.facebook.com/ilovetocreate

*I wrote this post as part of a paid campaign with iLoveToCreate.com and Blueprint Social. The opinions in this post are 100% my own*

Mini Fabric Lamps

June 4, 2012 By Taylor 155 Comments

One of the very first things I ever “pinned” were these “Lamp Shades on a String” from Rebeccas DIY. They have been on my to-make list for months. When I first found this little project, it was only written in Swedish but I think she has an English version now. These are so cute and actually really fun to make, Finn even helped me a little :) I love a simple project, and one that uses scraps.What you need:Fabric Scraps, Lights, Mod Podge and Clear Cups

Then you need holes in your cups…

Iron all of your scraps and then start cutting. I have a template HERE if you are using the same cups (9oz Hefty Brand).You can also always find any of my templates under the “freebies” tab.

Cover your cups with the Mod Podge and wrap fabric around. The template is cut for a little excess fabric and I just used more Mod Podge on that little lip.

Let them dry…

Push the lights into the holes.

Here is a little PSA: I posted a project about a year ago that involved tealights in a metal container near plastic and some commenters thought I had a death wish or something. I thought “its just a tealight people” and obviously I am always around when I burn candles. I write a craft blog not a manual on life…but if this project isn’t for you, just don’t make it and as always please be safe :)

The best part… plug them in, yay!

Look where they live now

I love them, I want to make some for every single room. Stay tuned later this week for a very ModPodge-tastic giveaway that I know you will LOVE!!

DIY Chalkboard

April 30, 2012 By Taylor 2 Comments

Last week our store, Ampersand, had its big Grand Opening! We have been open about two months now and we are loving every minute of it. I was crafting like crazy getting ready for the big day. We needed a chalkboard and my mom and I looked everywhere but we could only find one at a teacher supply store. Turns out they are $40 +. Emphasis on the +. So I decided to DIY one… because I just don’t have enough to do :) But I figured I could beat $40.

I’m not reinventing the wheel or anything, its so simple anyone could do it! For the base of the chalkboard I used an MDF board from Home Depot, it was about $3.00. They come 2’x4′ but we cut ours down to 2’x3′.

I used chalkboard spray paint (no Krylon affiliation) in green, which was about $6.00.

My best tip is to do several very thin coats. I put my board on some bricks and just left it outside all afternoon. I applied a new coat every 45 minutes or so for a few hours.