Photo Gifts

I find that at Christmas I like to give family members a nice photo of me & the fam, but I think giving a frame each year is a little much.  Really, how many framed photos does my best friend want of me?  Here's my solution.

This is a huge clothespin (the photo is a standard 4X6 to give you an idea of scale).  My good friend Modpodge makes an appearance here in adhering and sealing the paper to the peg.  Add a little stamped image and some bling and you're ready to rock and roll.  I found the pegs at a little store in town, and used some scrap paper to cover it up.  Cute, fast, inexpensive, and your friends can change out the picture whenever they want.

ps) The good looking dog in the photo is my dad's German Shepherd, Panzer.  He's about the sweetest dog you'll ever meet.  My so-ugly-you're-cute dog, Lily (she's a boxer), will make an appearance sometime later next week.

Illusions of Grandeur

My best friend was here for the Thanksgiving weekend and we got a night sans enfants.  This is a very rare happening (the first time ever, actually) so what did we do with our time?  That's right.  We brewed a pot of coffee and stayed up late crafting.  (Sadly, my idea of late is about 10:30.)

Along with a barrage of Christmas cards, I knew I wanted to try and make something different for a couple of craft fairs I've got coming up next month.  After some surfing on Pinterest, this is what I found.   Kojo Designes - Tea Wreath.  Sadly, my attempt at this unique project didn't turn out.  My measurements were funny and it was approximately the size of Bolivia - not exactly suitable for hanging in the kitchen of an ordinary home.  Had it turned out even remotely like the one I found, it would have been making it's way to my lovely tea-lover cousin.  However, I decided that I would save myself from being the target of sniggers, and my cousin from pitying looks and rip it apart to make something else.  Fear not, dear readers, I will ride again.  Just not today.

What the heck does this have to do with anything?  Well, I tore the pins off of the wreath (yes, it was satisfying) and thought they would make cute magnets.  I cut a little strip of cardstock and stuck 2 pegs together and then added a heavy-duty magnet to that layer.  One peg wasn't quite wide enough to really hold the magnet, or show off this glorious paper.  I've put them in groups of three and am planning on giving a few sets to my colleagues (teachers love magnets) and wrapping the rest up for the craft fair.

Tiles Tiles Everywhere

Ok, so here's my post about these awesome tiles.  This is definitely not my creation, but I'm too lazy to find where the idea came from, and I'm sure about 500 other people have also posted about it, so whatever.

You will need the stuff in the picture above (Modgepodge, 4 x 4 tiles - glossy finish is just fine, 3.75 x 3.75 pieces of scrapbooking paper, a sponge brush, acrylic sealer, and some felt for the backs).  Extra tools include cup of tea, stack of cookies to dip in tea, and chocolates to nibble on once your cookies run out and you're still waiting for things to dry.

Cut up your paper (I did mine in sets of 6 - 2 pieces of coordinating paper will give you 3 sets of coasters) and lay down some newspaper so you don't wreck the place.

Using your sponge brush, cover the surface of the tile with MP.  Don't be skimpy on this layer since you really need the paper to stick so it doesn't lift up.  That said, be sensible.  It shouldn't look like the kids from the daycare next door are making these things.

Once you've covered your tile with the MP, line up your paper so that all sides are even.  Gently press down on your paper and then starting from one corner, apply pressure with your fingers so that the paper is applied evenly, and there are no air bubbles.  Air bubbles = headache and cursing later on.

After the paper's down, put on another layer of MP.  Once this dries, you're going to do another layer or two, depending on how ambitious you are.  On the second layer, you'll be able to see the MP a little bit, but it dries clear, so don't freak out.  Again, I'll remind you that it shouldn't look like a four year old is in charge though.

Once your MP is dry (I left mine over night just to be sure) apply a nice generous coating of acrylic sealer to your tiles.  They should be nice and shiny.  Don't skimp here either.  The bottle is about $10 and it will easily cover about 150 tiles.  This is the layer that makes them water resistant.

Make sure that you spray your tiles in a place that you can leave them over night.  The can I used said you could handle them within an hour, but I'm not taking any chances.

After you're sure the sealer is dry, apply felt backing so they don't scratch up your table.  I bought the sheets of sticky-backed  stuff at Wal Mart for about $4, and cut it into 3x3 pieces.  One package took care of 60 coasters.  Once you're done, tie 'em up with a pretty bow and voila!  Instant present.

You can go gonzo like I am and make a whole lot in one sitting and then give them to everyone that you know for Christmas.  Of you can be like an ordinary person and just make a few for some close friends.

Oh, speaking of paper.  The thicker paper required more layers of MP than the thin stuff did.  

Hope you like this one!

Well Isn't That Completely Awesome

What is this glorious piece of art?  I can practically hear your oohs and ahhs through the fiber optics that connect us.  I'll tell you what it is - a custom coaster.  I saw this tutorial through my cousin's pinterest site and knew I had to give it a try.  You see, my cousin is one of the top 10 most amazing people in all of the world, and she's always sending me ideas that she thinks I would like.  And I'd say she's pretty much bang-on almost all the time.

Anyways, this is one of the things she sent me.  I'm in a rush to get out the door (climbing the ski hill at boot camp tonight - I can already imagine how sore I will be in 2 days...) but I wanted to share this awesomeness with you before I went out.  I've got big plans to make a schwack of these tomorrow after work, so I'll update the post then and include the link to the original site this idea came from.  What you need to know tonight is that tomorrow you will need to go out and purchase some beautiful patterned paper, some Modgepodge, a sponge brush, some 4x4 tiles (glossy ones are just fine, and they're usually the cheapest), and a can of spray acrylic sealer.  Oh, and you'll also need some little chocolates to keep you busy while you're waiting.