HAPPINESS!!!!

Wow! Never thought this day would come! Whoever said money doesn't buy happiness, has never bought a cricut!!!

I went to Roberts this past week and took advantage of their amazing 50% off everything (no exlusions!) sale. I had to wait in line with my treasure for a good hour or more, but so worth it! (plus I met some fun people while waiting!) I got a cricut expression, plus three cartridges (all normally $60-$70) for $250! Wow!!!
Sighhhhhh...I am in LOVE! :D

Quick & Easy Gift Idea

(this is one I did for me a year or so ago)

I needed a quick and easy gift to donate for a Relief Society Bingo night that my ward was doing. I have made several of these signs over the years, and thought they would be a perfect prize for the bingo champion! They also make great, inexpensive gifts. (like less than $2 a piece!) And the best part, if you don't have power tools, no worries - the guys at Home Depot or Lowes will do the cutting for you. Okay, here's the how to:
Things you will need:
* a 2x6 (about $3.50 for a 6' piece)
* paint
* 12x12 scrapbook paper
* contrast paper
* sander or sand paper
* mod podge
* apholstry brads ($1.24 for a 25 pack at Lowes)

1. Cut the 2x6 with a miter or chop saw to 12" long. If you don't have one, just ask them to cut them for you when you buy it - they will be happy to do it for you.

2. Sand the edges smooth and paint with color of choice
(I love this Valspar Satin paint $8 for a quart @ Lowes - it dries fast, goes on smooth, and usually only requires one coat)

3. Sand the edges for a distressed look

4. Cut background paper to a 4 1/2 x 11" rectangle (I inked the edges of mine with a brown ink)


5. Use vinyl (will up the cost) or if you're cheap like me, just use paper. If you don't have a cricut, no worries! Just get it to the size you want in a word document, and go into the "font" section and choose "outline" Then print it out on cardstock and cut it out with scissors (that's what I did, and it didn't take too long- plus I saved my file so if I do it again I am all ready to go) - if you look closely you can see the faint outline of the letters

6. Ink or stain (my stain was all gone since my son decided to drink it!) the sanded edges of the wood

7. Mod Podge the BACK ONLY of your background paper, and adhere it to your painted wood.
8. Align your letters how you want them and mod podge the BACK ONLY again of each letter, gluing them down to your background paper. (if you mod podge over the top, you will get wrinkles, and it won't look as nice)

9. Hammer in the upholstry brads to the corners of the paper (I like the bronze ones from Lowes)

Enjoy! These didn't turn out as well as some of the others I have done. The words kind of get lost in the background. (I usually use a bolder font so they stand out more) Oh-well. You get the basic idea.


So if you are looking for a cheap gift idea that is easy to mass produce, hope this helps!

Paper = about $ .50
Wood = about $ .55
Brads = about $ .20
Total = $1.25 (that is if you already have the paint)
NOT BAD!!!

Fall Craft Night Date

For all of you who have signed up to do the pumpkin blocks, I am planning on doing them next Thurs. the 26th. Let me know if that works for you or not, if the majority can't make it then I will pick a new date. Originally I wanted to do the 25th but my husband won't be home to babysit. I am thinking 7:30 or 8:00 so that kids can be in bed and husbands will be a little more willing to babysit. :D Can't wait!

Question

Anyone know where to buy Mod Podge Dimensional Magic? I live in the Salt Lake area and can't find any! I am hoping for a store with coupons. :D

Emergency Room Pumpkins

WOW!!! What a crazy few days I have had! I started these pumpkins last week, and was hoping to post them a few days ago, but they have been the cause of 2 (yes TWO!) ER visits!
When I started these pumpkins, the cost was $0 because I was just using scraps and paint I already had, but after two ER visits, and the ruined clothes and porch, I would have to say they cost me a whoppin' $150!!! Probably the most expensive craft I have done yet! :D
So, here is where it all started...I am shopping at Hobby Lobby (big surprise) when I see these:

I instantly fell in love and thought, I can make those!

I bought them to duplicate (shhhh...don't tell, I still have to return them) $3.99 each!

I raided my scrap wood bin, then free handed the pumpkins on the wood.


It took all of 5 mins (if that) to cut the pumpkins out with my SCROLL SAW (can I just say I LOVE my scroll saw?!)

I then took my DREMEL with a drum sander bit on the end and gouged the edges and rounded details. See the difference?



For those of you who don't know what a dremel is...

Next I painted them black (not completely) just where the crackle would go.
Once the paint dried I put on the crackle medium

After about 30 mins of dry time, I was able to paint my pumpkins orange. (I mixed a couple of different versions of orange by adding brown and red)

I love the way crackle works! (I have to confess, I haven't used my crackle in 8 years or more, remember when everything was crackled? I guess it has made a come back!)
I am lovin' the results!

I let them dry overnight (and finished reading the Maze Runner while I waited!)

I free handed the damask designs on with pencil (I copied the ones on the HL pumpkins) and I also copied some damask designs from some scrap book paper I had.

I then took brown paint and hand painted over my pencil designs. It was a little tedious, but didn't take too much time - maybe 30 mins tops...


This is where ER visit #1 comes in to play!
So I am just about done painting the damask designs when my little one year old, Josh, bangs his head on the bar stool I am sitting on! (you know how they like to play at mom's feet at all times) I pick him up and see this instant bump right between his eyes with a pretty deep cut.

I rushed him to the instacare by my house, and they said I needed to take him to Primary's in downtown SLC. So we head down there, and wait 5 hours to get two stitches.
He was such a trooper! He laughed and smiled most of the time!

He loved the slurpy they gave to wake him up!

I think he got a little drunk from the drugs and slurpy! :D

Red crayon bandaids are the best!

We were both exhausted by the time we got back, so I decided to finish the pumpkins the next day.
So this morning (the very next day) when I laid Josh down for a nap, I decided I could FINALLY finish the pumpkins. I finish the paint from yesterday, sand the edges up a bit, then it is time to stain.

Being good I go out on my porch to stain the pumpkins. There are only 6 of them, so I figured it would take about 5 mins. I am half way through staining them when my 4 year old has a lost shoe crisis. No big deal right? Just help him find his shoes, then finish the staining. Here Comes ER visit #2! I go inside, can't find them anywhere and decide to look in the room where my baby is sleeping (and of course he is wide awake and won't let me leave w/o getting him out) so I get him out, find some shoes, and go outside to talk to my neighbor who was taking my 4 year old to the park. About 1 minute later, we hear this coughing, I turn around to see my little one year old Josh coughing with a ring of stain all around his face, and stain pouring out his mouth and all over my porch and him. AHHHHHH!!!! I rush to him, my neighbor calls Poison Control for me, and I try to help him. He is coughing like crazy and trying to throw up. PC tells us to get him to the hospital ASAP, good thing it is only 1 mile from my house! I rush him there, PC has called ahead and informed them I am bringing in a baby who swallowed wood stain, they immediately take him back, get his vitals, then nothing. After all that rushing, I end up sitting in a room trying to keep him entertained, and I wait for 1 1/2 hours! The doctor finally comes in saying that PC will call me 6 hours after the incident to check on him and that I am free to go. Seriously ??? I just payed $50 bucks to have someone tell me to wait for a phone call??? They thought they would x-ray his lungs, but then decided not to, and said to wait a few hours to see if his lungs would start reacting to the stain. I guess if he inhaled any it can cause pretty bad pneumonia, so we are still waiting to see. Personally I think he is fine, thank goodness!

The nurses were great and brought him plenty to play with, unlike at primary's!

Josh and I getting pretty used to this ER business!

I feel so horrible about the whole thing! And now I have a constant reminder stained into my porch concrete of what an idiot I am!!!
Once we got home, and I got him back down for a nap, I decided it was now or never to finish them. My stain was gone, but I was able to salvage enough from the shirt he was wearing to finish the last few pumpkins. (how sad is that?) I then threw away his clothes, and mine are next. :(
Last step, FINALLY! :D
I twisted some bailing wire around the stems with some needle nose pliers to finish them off.

What do you think? I think they are cuter than the store bought ones! Even if they ended up costing a whole lot more! :)

I love them on my shelf wedges in my kitchen! Too bad it is only August, I want to leave them there!

Fall will be here soon enough...patience!



Cost:
Wood: Free
Paint: Free
Wire: Free
ER visit #1: $50
ER visit #2: $50
ruined clothes: about $50 :(
Cost: Way too much for little wood pumpkins!!!
Oh well, at least Josh is okay (number 1 priority), and besides, I still think they turned out great!

Moral of the story...don't leave stain out where a small child can get it! And ALWAYS have the # for Poison Control where you can see it!
Happy Crafting! :D


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