DCC Blog Hop - Buttons Galore! and More

Hop through the web ring and comment
on your favorite BGM projects
to be entered for a chance to win!
BGM buttons and a container from Viewtainer
VIEWTAINER containers have clear walls, come in fun bright colors
with an easy dispensing cap and NO spilling! Proudly made in the USA!
 

 
I'll admit it ... I have a button fetish.

I LOVE buttons.

I have jars and jars of them.

I love to pour them out and sift through them.

See?  Lots of buttons.

And I couldn't have been happier or

more excited when Buttons Galore! and More sent

me some of their buttons!!

* LOVE *

The arrival of the buttons happened to

coincide with my daughter's

new earring purchase for competition dance.

(Doc and I made her wait until

after Nationals last summer to pierce

her ears, and then she had

to prove that she could take care of them.

So other than the spontaneous

purchase of birth stone mouse ears while

we were at the Happiest Place on Earth! last

summer, she hasn't been allowed

to purchase new earrings or remove hers).

She wanted to keep the earrings

in a small box so she could pour them out

and sift through them ... ah hem...

(I'm not sure where she gets that).

So I used an inexpensive wood

picture frame and a sheet of plastic canvas.

Added a little paint and glue,

and a LOT of buttons,

and ... voila!!!

She loves it.
Here's how I made it:

 
 I painted the frame with two coats of
acrylic paint, then sanded the edges.

Next, I arranged the first layer of buttons

onto the frame, starting with some of

the larger buttons, and attaching

them with Aleene's Tacky Glue.

 

 

 I continued around the frame with the buttons,
using some of my own stash to fill in
the blanks (since they're not as pretty as
the Buttons Galore and More buttons).

Here are the links to the BGM buttons:
I used their Stitched Buttons,
their Spring Buttons, and their Color Mixes.

 I used the cardboard insert from the frame
as a stencil for cutting the plastic
canvas to fit the frame opening.

 Insert the canvas into the frame
opening and bend the brads back to secure.

 To add extra sparkle, I randomly placed
Swarovski crystals onto the buttons,
and I brushed on a few coats of 
Extreme Glitter Hologram paint.

She loves the earring holder!
I can tell.  Every time I go into her
bedroom, the earrings are rearranged.

 
~ Peace and Buttons and Earrings and Stuff ;) ~

Ladybug Reindeer

What do you get when you

cross a ladybug with two cacti?

A reindeer, of course!
Well, a reindeer made from
pre-cut wooden shapes, anyway.
;)

For this reindeer ornament,

you'll need (1) 2" ladybug shape,

(2) 1.25" cacti shapes,

(1) 4" length of ribbon,

acrylic paints in Honey Brown,

Chocolate, Tuscan Red, Black, White,

One Step Crackle,

Gel Stain, a Multi-Purpose Sealer,

and Extreme Glitter Hologram.

(or Extreme Glitter Red, but I was out).

Paint the following:

Cacti - Honey Brown

Ladybug Body - Chocolate

Ladybug Head - Tuscan Red

Brush a generous coat of

One Step Crackle onto the cacti

and allow to dry thoroughly.

Apply Gel Stain and wipe off with

a clean, dry rag.

The gel stain works its way into

the tiny little cracks made

by the One Step Crackle ...

See the tiny crackles??

I Love it!!

Apply Extreme Glitter Hologram

generously over the Reindeer nose.

(Previously referred to as the "Ladybug Head")

Next, cross ribbon ends to form

a loop for hanging.

Attach the ribbon to the back

of the reindeer head with

a hot glue gun:

Attach the two cacti to the

back of the reindeer head;

it's fine if the cacti overlap the

ribbon, that will help keep it in place.

I dipped a paintbrush handle into

white paint to dot the eyes.

Once it was completely dry, I

added black dots to the eyes.

I brushed Multi-Purpose Sealer

over the entire piece.

NOTE: I almost always paint the backs

of my ornaments, but since I was

going to use hot glue to attach the antlers,

I wanted a good adhesion so I

left the back of this ornament unpainted.

Just keepin it real.

Sometimes those boogers fall off,

and we don't want any of that going on,

am I right??

Up next: I have eighty ornaments

to make for classrooms this year.

(that's an 8 and a 0

it's also 10 times 8, or

8 times 10, or 20 times 4, or

4 kids times 20 students per

classroom.  And, I should probably do

a recount before I get started.

Cuz I'm pretty sure I heard about

new students somewhere).

What kind of ornament do I want to

make in bulk?  I want the ornament to

be special for the kids, something to bring back

(hopefully!) fond memories of elementary school.

So I'll use the school name and/or

their mascot somehow ... but, hmm ...

 Here's my 2010 design:

 Here's my design from last year:

Oh, wait! Do you hear that?

Yeah, that's Hobby Lobby calling my

name.  I'm going to have to make a trip.

No, wait.  That's my studio calling

reminding me that I have enough supplies

to make ornaments for the entire town

and I shouldn't be buying more "stuff".

Christmas Inspiration, HERE I COME!!

And I think I might just challenge myself

to make all these ornaments

with supplies I already own.

What d'ya think of that??

  

~ Peace and Lots of Christmas Ornaments ~

 

Mummified Pumpkin Jars

These are really quick and easy to make!!

 

 

 

 

 I have eight teachers to keep in mind
for Halloween, so I've been
trying to come up with something
inexpensive, but still fun and appealing.

I had a few little fake pumpkins
left over from my fall craft bazaar last year.
I purchased the stretchy gauze,
and I had the canning jars on hand
(an impulse buy - because I thought the
size was really cute and fun, and I
knew I'd find something to make with them!)
And of course, googly eyes.
I have loads of those.
I was able to weed through the kids'
Halloween crafts from last year, and I
found one orange spider ring.
I will be purchasing more from OTC -
of the black variety. ;)

This photo drives me flat crazy.
Let me explain why.
I spray painted the jar rings
with a super fun green spray paint.
Then I left them to dry.
When I came back, the wind had
blown up a corner of the blanket and
the jar rings looked like this.
I tried to recreate the perfect spacing
I had between each ring ...
... and that's when I realized they were
still wet.  In 110 degree heat.
After ten minutes.
So I looked at the can.
"Dries to the touch in 2 to 4 hours"
UGH!!!

So now I can't touch the rings
to move them back into their perfect
spacing on the blanket,
which poses two issues for me.
One, I am obsessive compulsive and I
REALLY wanted the rings to be
in perfect alignment,
and B, who in the world wants to wait
2 to 4 hours to touch their
painted surface??  Immediate Gratification,
that's what I'm about.
Oh, well.

Since I planned to fill the jars with
unwrapped candies, I wanted to keep the
canning jar lids unpainted,
and as "untouched" as possible.
What can I say.  I'm a germaphobe.

At first, I used scissors to cut a slit in
the gauze for the pumpkins stem.
Then, I realized I could just push the
stem through the gauze.

Pull and stretch the gauze as you
wrap the pumpkin ... the
result is much nicer than if you loosely
wrap the gauze.  Trust me ;)

Loosely wrapped.
No likey so much.

After wrapping the pumpkins in gauze,
I used one giant circle punch
and one large scalloped punch to
make tags for the tops of the jars.
I had 2 to 4 hours to kill, after all.

 I used Aleene's Tacky Glue to
attach one big and one small googly eye.
I like the lopsided look of this.
Isn't it just so cute???
(Is the lopsided look sort of contradictory to
my usual OCD tendencies?? huh)

By the way ... 
DO NOT attach the mummified
pumpkins to the lids
until AFTER you've filled the jars.

Wanna know why??

Because the rings won't fit over the
mummified pumpkins.


Resulting in a CRAFT FAIL.

Personally, I suggest you fill your jars with
something tasty, THEN put the lids on the jars;
followed by the jar rings, and finally,
use hot glue to attach
your little mummified pumpkins to the
paper-covered jar lids.

Remember that orange spider ring I was
yammering on about?
Well, I pulled out my trusty-rusty pliers
and snipped the "ring" right off.

And then I used hot glue to attach
the spider to the top of my pumpkin mummy.

Hmm.  I think I like the orange spider,
but a BLACK spider would be
really super creepy!!  So I'm ordering some.
Enough for next year.  Who KNOWS
what use I'll find for black plastic spider rings
next year!  Am I right?? 


Peace and Plastic Spider Rings

Halloween (or not!) Skull Magnets

Who says skeletons are just for Halloween??
I keep this in front of the boys'
bedroom all year 'round:

You can turn a wooden circle cutout

into a spooky skull magnet!!
And, you can keep it around for the
rest of the year.  Especially if
you're a teenage boy.
Or a pre-teenage boy.
Of which I have a few.
Just sayin'.

I have a house full of boys.

The boys have lockers at school.

These school lockers need

groovy magnets to hold up class

schedules, phone numbers, and

other important information.

(Sometimes I employ the "don't ask,
don't tell" tactic.  This may
or may not be one of those times).

I thought it would be fun

to make some "Halloween" magnets

for their lockers ... and the

Jolly Roger seemed just right

for boys.

For each magnet, you will need

a Woodsies(TM) Jumbo circle

cutout, a large (1/2") circle magnet,

acrylic paints in black, white, gel stain,

One Step Crackle finish, and

clear gloss varnish.

You will also want two sizes of

paint brush (a large flat or wash

brush to base coat and seal, and a fine

detail brush for the skull and bones),

a sanding block, a clean rag, some

crafting glue, and

one tiny acrylic stone.

Base coat the front, back, and sides

of each circle with black paint.

Here's a tip:

Use a sanding block to remove the

paint from the edges of the circle.

 Apply main pattern lines with

light colored transfer paper and a stylus.

Paint the skull and the bones
with white (or cream) paint.

I couldn't decide whether to

go with a white or a cream color

paint for the Jolly Roger.  I know which I like

better now that I'm finished ...

let me know what you think!

Once the paint was dry,

I used a white eraser to remove

all transfer paper lines.

 I brushed on a thick coat of

One Step Crackle paint and allowed

the pieces to dry thoroughly.

Next, I wiped a small amount

of Gel Stain onto the front of each

circle with a corner of my rag.  Then I wiped off

the Gel Stain with a (different)
cornerof my rag.

Finally, I brushed on a coat of

Multi-Purpose Sealer.

I (photographed my child using)
a hot glue gun to apply

the magnets to the back 

of each wood circle.

Mainly because she begged,
but also because it's really
difficult (read: impossible) to
hold the glue gun, the wood piece,
and the camera all at once.
Unless I somehow wedge the camera
under my chin.  But then I
can't see nor can I press the button.
So it just made sense
to let her glue for me.  I love helpers!!

 and I attached

the tiny acrylic stone with

Aleene's Tacky Glue
and a toothpick.

I think the stone makes it awesome!
The glue dries clear, btw.
I hadn't made enough of these
initially and had to dash
back out to the studio after dinner and whip
up a few more.  Somehow I didn't
get a final pic of the magnet.

Good mom that I am,
I have already texted each boy
and requested they take a photo of
their magnets for me.
I figured, even if they don't get the
texts during the school day,
surely (at least one of them)
will be checking his phone immediately
after school, leaving him
enough time to dash back to his
locker and take a picture.
For me.
Mom.
Because I forgot.
Because that's just how I roll.
Remember??

~ Peace and Jolly Roger Magnets ~