Teacher craft in process

I saw this cute birthday countdown calender (on Pinterest I think) but the sign holder- although very cute- is like 8 bucks at office depot.

Kinda blowing my cheapie budget considering I was thinking of making at least 6 of these, maybe more like a dozen.

But then I looked up and saw this

Remember I had made it awhile back? So I had hubby drill the holes and I made this:

(sorry for the blurry photo – too lazy busy to take another one). I used the binder rings and lots of stickers and scrapbooking leftovers. The numbers are these big black old stickers I have had fovever. I used the cropadile to punch the holes and computer printed a bunch of holidays so the teachers can just change out the holiday bit. The hard part (because math and logic is hard for me) was figuring out what number to go on the back so that once the cards are flipped to the back, they can be turned around on the rings as needed. (Boy, that makes no sense- I mean I wanted to use both sides of the cards as effectively as possible)

Then I got the bright idea that since this would be in a class there would be lots of grubby paws on it so I laminated each number card. But that created some issues. Since I had not originally calculated the laminated edging into the size, each card was too long now and I had to trim each card before laminating and then trim and round the corners with scissors because no one has made a frigging corner rounder that work on lamination (I wish to heck I could patent that idea and make a fortune!). And rounding the corners always makes me grumpy because they never look identical. ugh (ok, just me, right?) I also used the cropadile once again to re-punch the holes.

And it seems that in a fit of purging I let go all my clear acrylic frames and none of the thriftstores have ANY all of a sudden. I got one from Dollar General but it is kinda flimsy. Will try it and let ya know how it goes.

My plan is to pound these out over thanksgiving weekend and gift them to the teachers on the 12th day before the end of school before winter break when I start my 12 days of gifting. (other gifts I have set aside: bacon chocolate bars, chalkboard spraypainted mugs, chalk pens, chalkboard thought bubbles- still have to make those- fleece blankets with names on them, our annual xmas music cd and more).

crafting with a 4 yr old

With Christmas less than 100 days away crafting is in full swing.

I got some little flat wooden hearts at Michael’s (thank you, 40% off coupon) and sprayed them with chalkboard paint (define obsession- I am not obsessed *twitch twitch*). Some I punched with my handy dandy cropodile (I was skerred but it punch right through like buttah!) and will use those as gift tags and some I am glueing to clothespins and will pin a gift’s ribbons (that sounds confusing – I just wanted tag options)

Then I had a craft fail (I stuck some cork tiles on some more kitchen cabinet doors and for some reason they made the cabinet doors not close all the way- ugh- so I ripped them off) but I made lemonade outta lemons. I traced the little chalkboard hearts and cut them out with scissors, punched cropadile holes in them and was going to leave it at that but . . . we had the glitter out and, ya know, I have glitter in my veins! They kinda look like sugar cookie ornaments now.

So, Miss Crafty 4 year old painted on the glue and I poured on the glitter (sorry, she is not to be trusted with a paper plate full of glitter on her own!) I used modge podge instead of elmers just because when I cleaned my craft closet recently I discovered a plethora (a plethora I say!!) of bottles of modge podge.

But then we had this leftover glue and glitter and the pile of clothespins was RIGHT THERE. Before I knew what happened we had glittered tiny, small and regular sized clothespins. Not sure what to do with them other than glue magnets to the back and gift them out at the holidays.

Best Sellers

Here are a few of our favorite books at the moment.

• Vintage Rose Red and Snow White
• Machines
• The Aristocats
• Snow Bear
• The Three Little Kittens – what do you call that kind of pictures?
• Kitty’s Outdoor Day (the page where she gets wet from the sprinkler send the kids into gales of laughs – no kidding.
• Giggle Giggle Quack
• Counting on Calico – love the illustrations! Had to buy another copy we wore it out so good!
• Babies and Baby Animals- I admit it is more for the Gyo Fujikawa artwork (*love*)
• I love you with all my heart
• Bear snores on
• Meet my cats (again *love* the drawings!)

Easy cheesy homemade gift idea! Post It holder!!

  

This is one of those crafts that is sooooo easy and doesn’t need a lot of directions.

Pick up a few of those clear acrylic angled frames. Cut scrapbook paper to fit.

Stick the post it pads to the outside of the frame (I used glue dots to do so) and stick small photos on the paper. Insert paper (play with photo placement if you are as spatially challenged as I am) and there you have a gift to brighten someone’s work cube!

This one was last father’s day I think.

Crafting with candlesticks

  I have been busy making these lately. I saw this craft making the blog rounds and was inspired. Then it became something of a passion and now I would say we are entering addiction territory. The recipe is simple: plate + adhesive + candlestick. Buuuuut the plate can be a small saucer or dish or bowl or platter. The candlestick can be tall or squat or something else (I have used a vase, a drinking glass and more!). Alot of folks on the web are picking up candlesticks at the dollar stores- trust me, get one without wax on it if you get it from the thrift store. It will take you longer to remove the wax than to make one of these! The plates, saucers, bowls, etc I have been mostly picking up at the thriftstores for under a buck each.

  The adhesive is supposed to be E6000 but I happened to have an opened tube of Plumber’s Goop in the shed so I used it and it has worked like a charm. Both are washable (although I hand wash not dishwasher for these) and stable. They do stink so proper ventilation, ok, people?

  You turn the plate (or bowl or saucer etc) upside down and then take the candlestick (or similar) and neatly glob or squeeze the adhesive onto the candlestick and adhere it to the plate. I sorta use my finger widths to judge if it is centered because some of the backstamps are not in the center. I put another plate and a weight on top to help it adhere well and give it a few hours before turning it rightside up and letting it sit for another day or two to cure.

Any clue what the base on this one is?? It is a ceiling fan light fixture!! I found a set of 5 at goodwill. They are gorgeous with cut diamond pattern and etching. And they nicely work on the larger charger sized plates.

  I have them all over- on my dresser to hold earrings etc, one on hubby’s dresser for change, one by the sink to hold bits and bobs, a big one on the island with fruit. The plan is to give them to some teachers at the school for val day (even though a couple have xmas poinsettias on them). I store them upside down on my pantry. I used them at the holidays and the varying heights make a nice display on the buffet.

       But I think I will be making these for awhile. Can you see one holding a cupcake as a birthday gift, or cookies (wrapped in plastic wrap) or in a bathroom with a bar of soap (not with my kiddos around but it would look cute in someone else’s house!). The only downside seems to be that my taste is vintage floral and glass and that might not be everyone’s cup of tea.

~~

Pocket Magnets

      I’ve made these for over a decade. They are a standard gift for teachers and I make them in batches to have on hand year round. They stick to ‘fridges to hold coupons and pens, lockers to hold pens, metal file cabinets to hold scissors- whatever.

They are super handy and easy cheesy to make. I use outgrown jeans or pick them up for cheap at yardsales. I look for the rattiest jeans and offer 50 cents. Since all I use is the pockets, I like to freecycle the denim – usually to a quilter.

     How to:

Usually I trim all my pockets in small batches and toss the pockets in one bin and the denim in a bag to pass on.

Trim as close to the pocket as you can leaving a bit at the top to fold over and make a nice hem. (is it called a hem if it is at the top? I dunno).

I run a bead of glue along the flap and fold the pocket over (as opposed to folding the flap over the pocket).

 

    

I am not sure if it saves me some burns but that’s how I do it.

Warning: glue guns are hot and you WILL burn yourself. I keep a glass of ice water handy to plunge my fingers in when I do get molten glue on them.

 

I do all the glue gunning in batches, too.  Even if I do not have enough magnets in one sitting I usually finish out the hemming since I know it will just save me time next round.

    

I buy the magnet strip on a roll (using a 40% off coupon when there is nothing else I need so I have a good stockpile of it). Dryfit the pieces and trim to size. I use a lot of magnets because I know how much handling I do with these pockets. But I also recycle those freebie magnets- but keep the ratio low. Most are pretty lightweight.

 

Place the first strip across the top and then fill in the back.

      Running the bead of glue on the magnetic strip and then using your fingers to turn it over and place it down is the hardest part of the project- the glue overflows or squeeze out from under and gets ya!

 

This took about 2 hours.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

See the layered ones? And the embellished ones? I love finding toddler jeans or embroidered jeans and layering different shades of blues. The jewel stones were leftovers from another project.

  ~~

Gifts I am giving (or have given)

Here is a roundup of some gifts I am gifting or have gifted that have been big hits. I keep a folder with a file for each year and what I am giving each person on my list. It helps since i wrap all year long and often forget what I bought them.

All of the teachers are getting what I gave family members last year- fleece blankets with machine embroidered names on them. I bought the blankets on clearance or at thrift stores or yardsales and found a lady through craigslist who does machine embroidery.

Last year we got the Eyeclops. It hooks to the tv and can be really gross! I got mine from ebay but on the amazon link there are some photos of what it looks like on the tv screen: here.

 

 

 

 

 

 

This clock is one of my go to gifts. I actually found a better price on Amazon than in my local Bed Bath and Beyond store with a coupon! That was a shocker. Here.

 

 

 

 

This year the gadget of choice is this. It is handy and comes flat packed (hubby put it together as I am inept at stuff like that). I was worried it would be wide and scratch my ankle as I walked by it but it is not at all.

I found them for 5$ for a 2 pack through amazon. Even with the shipping, it was cheaper than what I had been paying on ebay.

 

I was looking on Etsy  for those jars with LED lights that look like lightening bugs but then I found this. It is really lightweight (the 2 yr old kept walking off with it) but is cute and kinda looks real or faux real. It is very bright but does not come with batteries (screw on batt cover- good thing!).

 

 

 

 

These are awesome and perfect for teachers- they clip to your keys, camera case, etc. I buy them here on etsy. Handmade, 5$, you get to pick the fabric. I always opt for a dark inner band (so it does not look grubby after awhile) and let the seller, Lara, pick the fabrics. I like that there are masculine fabrics, too. And she makes pet collars, too. How cute!

 

 

I  am also giving out these cool chalk markers. They work on car windows, dry erase boards,mirrors, etc. I have been buying them here on ebay in various colors for about 4$ each (free shipping and speedy, too!). I don’t even wrap these. I wrote on the cap in fine sharpie “to: From :” and send them to the teachers via the kids backpack.

I do this thing where I have this giant basket and all year I put stuff in it from yardsales or clearance or little stocking stuffer size things. Then I take this basket to the school at xmas and teacher appreciation week. The teachers (and office staff!) love pawing through it to pick things out.

And if you are looking for last minute gifts- don’t overlook craigslist. No shipping fees!

Lara is playing elf and offering 2 ready made and oh so super dooper cute wristlets to one of you lucky bugs – one to keep and one to give away! Leave a comment with a good gift idea (from this year or that you have done recently). Contest closes midnight the 18th and Randomizer will pick a winner.

~~

Felted Cat Balls

ok- Bear with me here.This post will definitely add to my Crazy Cat Lady persona but is not as odd as the title sounds.. 

I use a Furminator comb on my pets. Kinda pricey (check ebay!) but it works great!. It actually combs out the fluffy underfur if you know what I mean. So I was thinking about how this fur mats into balls and thought I would try making one by hand.

I am not a felter at all so I was totally winging it based solely on a bit of a Martha show I remembered where she made felt mittens out of wool fluff.

  So I took all the fur and put a drop of liquid soap in it and a dribble of water and just rolled it in my hands- adding water as needed.

Rolling, rolling, rolling, rolling. . . . Before long, it was tightening up nicely and when it was a tight little ball I rinsed and blotted and squeezed and rolled it some more on a towel.

I was  thinking I did not want it smelling like my Bath & Body Lime Verbena hand soap so I rolled it on the cat as I was petting her – to make it smell more like her.

The cat went nuts with it! Prrt-ing and  meowing at it, batting at it and tossing it in the air – MUCH bigger reaction than with other toys.

I then made this one from another of my cats to take the pictures and, surprisingly, the fur felted differently. Not as tight and with some hair poking out a bit. Next time I will try to comb her belly more. But she loved her ball, too and it reminded me of how she plays with those tiny very expensive little fur mice I buy her once in a blue moon (she destroys or looses them within minutes!).

Then I thought I should see if I did it right and found out this is not a new idea. There are videos (although I prefer my ball shape to his cigar shape), other tutorials (I have no patience to dye them but cute idea) and sculptures (I’m not that talented).

So, it is not as weird as it sounds. Try it and drop me a line on how your cat likes it.