Recycled tee shirts

So, I made a couple of these at Christmas as gifts and now here's how.

Supplies: several tee shirts with words or pictures on them, one blank tee shirt, thread, sewing machine, extra embellishments or paint.

I first decided what I wanted to spell. Then, I cut out the letters from the old tee shirts and spelled my new word. Then I layered it on top of the tee shirt fabric and scrap fabric I have around the house. Pin it down. Or, you could use heat seal to iron on the back and iron it together before you sew it. I just layered until I liked the look, then added it to my blank tee. I also like to use fabric glue and add rhinestones, sparkly paint, and sequins to make it girly and chic.

What will you spell today?

Daily Doodle notebooks

It's been a while since I've written but I've been so very busy.

I did this little project with my art groups at church and the kids just loved them.

Supplies: scrapbook paper or handpainted paper, hole punch, scissors, ribbon

Cut the paper into small squares or rectangles. We cut ours slightly bigger than a playing card. Punch two holes in one side with about an inch between. Stack together and string the ribbon through the holes and tie in a pretty bow (double knot).

Now you have a pocket-sized notepad, doodle book, or prayer list to keep with you all the time!

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas

Even without the cold and snow, I'm making it look like Christmas around here a little at a time. I started today with my fireplace mantle. I've never had one before to decorate and make pretty. So, it's been fun today.

I started by making my teenager drag all my Christmas boxes out of the garage. That was really the hardest part!

I have too much fabric lying around and never enough time to make something with it all so I found a fun printed one with trees and snowmen to hang on the mantle. Then, I rearranged our family photos on one side of the mantel and sat a big Christmas canvas on the other side, leaning in front of the mirror. I spaced out the stocking hangers and alternated a shiny silver one with a rustic bronzed one. I found a hanging etched glass ornament that we received last year as a Christmas gift and sat it in front of the painting. I also added some red netting, dotted ribbon and white sheer ribbon around my Woodwick candle. Then, I added the stockings. Magical.

I'm sure as the season progresses and I give Thanksgiving time to come and go, I'll add some whimsical art done by the kids, the tree will be up in the corner next to the fireplace, lights glowing...this place will be a winter wonderland fit for Santa.

It's been a while but I've been busy

Sorry folks but I've been really busy since school started back. I miss not having time to give you craft ideas and projects to do with your children. But, then again, most of you probably don't have the time either.

Fall is upon us, football season has begun, and Halloween is just around the corner. I love the Fall! It's my favorite season.

I've been doing crafts and art projects with the kids at church and one project we are going to start this week is making paper mache pumpkins.

Supplies: newspaper, liquid starch, a bowl for the liquid, balloons, a large workspace, and a place to put your project to dry overnight.

Pour liquid starch into a bowl and shred or cut the newspaper into strips. Blow up a round balloon. Begin dipping newspaper strips into the starch, sliding your fingers down to shake off the excess. Layer the strips onto the balloon leaving an opening at the top. It is best to put a couple of layers of newspaper on top of each other. Let dry overnight or for 2 nights.

When dry, pop the balloon and pull it out of the paper mache "bowl". If necessary, cut the opening to make it more even and pumpkin shaped. Paint the paper orange and let dry. Using black paint, make a jack o'lantern face on the pumpkin. Coat the inside and outside of the paper mache pumpkin with clear acrylic paint or spray.

You can use heavy jewelry wire or scrap fabric or ribbon to make a handle for your pumpkin basket and use it to store candy for trick or treaters or as a treat bag for your little one to carry and gather goodies in.

Christmas in July!

What a fun project - make Christmas ornaments or gifts in the middle of July to mark the half-way point. So many things you could do here.

1) Peruse thrift store shops for wooden candlesticks to paint in red, white and green. Or find old spoons, bend the handle so it will hang, and paint it with snowmen, Santa, or trees. Or keep it simple and paint stars in traditional (or non-traditional) colors.

2) Go ahead and make a Christmas tee or sweatshirt. Paint a green triangle. Let dry. Paint a gold or yellow star on the top. Use red, blue, and yellow to paint balls on the tree. Let dry. Outline each ball, star, and tree with black paint that has a pointed writing tip. Let dry.

3) Use scrapbook paper to make Christmas cards. All you'll have to do is insert a family picture, sign it, and send! No more spending money on boxes of cards and your recipients will appreciate a handmade gesture so much more.

So...happy early holiday season and happy crafting!
jen

Cloud drawings

I recently took a little day trip with my hubby. On the way home, there were so many white puffy clouds in the Alabama sky that we began picking out what they looked like. Some were animals, others were random objects. My daughter and I saw a Yoda shaped cloud one day last week when we were out. I love doing that. So...it got me thinking how fun it would be to take the kids out with just a sketchpad, some markers or pencils, and sketch what we see in the sky. Simple. Fun.

Another thought was to take a digital camera and actually photograph the clouds before drawing them. Sometimes they change so quickly you need to capture the moment before it becomes something else. That way, you could have 2 craft days - one to photograph the clouds, then another (maybe a rainy day) to sketch the photos onto paper.

So, the next time you see those little puffy white clouds in the sky, grab your kids, art supplies, and spend quality time together. You never know what might be up there.

Happy Birthday America!

Well, it's finally here. Independence Day! I love this holiday - sun, lake, pool, red, white and blue, BBQ, and my favorite...FiReWoRkS! I don't know what it is about fireworks that I love so much but I could sit and watch a good fireworks show anytime. They make me happy. Maybe I'm just intrigued with the fact that you can light a fuse and this thing explodes and paints pretty pictures and shapes and colors across the night sky. I just love it.

Things have been pretty busy this week and I didn't have time to post a craft but I'll be back on it after the wonderful weekend and fireworks extravaganza...hopefully a bit inspired.