My friend Katie was over recently wearing this fab little jersey knit poncho.  I complimented her on it several times, then bravely asked if if could take a closer look. She finally ended up taking it off so that I could REALLY get a good look.  Of course, I’m thinking, “I could totally make this!”

She looked so cute in it. All she was wearing was some khakis and a long sleeve t with this cute little poncho.  She looked so fancy with it on. I had to have one.

One trip to Jo Ann’s to get some jersey knit fabric and less than 2 hours later, I had exactly that. A Katie Poncho. You can make one too!  Here’s how:

You’ll need:
1 yard of knit fabric of your choice. I used a jersey cotton/poly blend that has a nice drape.
Thread, fabric pencil, scissors, sewing machine

1. Cut out your piece to measure 28 x 60 inches.  The stretch should be lengthwise.

2. Sew a 1/4 inch hem around side and bottom edges. I used a zig-zag stitch for this. You can also do a rolled hem on your surger if you have one.

3. Now, fold in half, right sides together (see diagram below). Measure in 16 inches from the hemmed edge and make a mark with fabric pencil.  Sew a straight stitch to marked area with 1/2 seam allowance.

4.Open garment and lie flat so the seam is pressed flat.  Top stitch to neck opening, keeping fabric folded over and hem around neck opening. Continue top stitching other side.

5.This is what it will look like.  Adjust neck opening so that one shoulder is exposed or center opening around neck.  Seam should run along side shoulder and arm. Adjust and play with it to get desired draped and look.

Let me know if you have any questions.  Enjoy!

I’ve been seeing the cutest little snow globes all over the web and thought I’d try my hand at it.  I wanted to make them as gifts for a few of my friends at work.

It was so much more frustrating that I thought it would be, mostly because of the glue and the jars I picked. Once I got it all figured out, I thought that they turned out very sweet.

My first problem was the jars.  They are from the wedding dept at the craft store and they have sides–front, back and one slanted side. This made it difficult to properly place the little figurines. I had to fix several because they weren’t looking out the ‘front’ window. They are small enough to make into ornaments, which is why I bought them.  Those mini jelly jars would have been better, but where do you get those?

Then there was the glue.  At first I had tried E-6000.  Only one stayed glued together in the water, and it was the one that I put together right away without allowing the glue to set overnight.  Who knew? Should have been impatient with all of them!

I then moved on to Gorilla glue and 2 part epoxy.  Both worked well, but the gorilla glue foams up so you can only use a very small amount. The foam doesn’t bother me much, it looks like snow! All of the glues stink and they gave me a pretty good headache.  Ventilation is key!! I’ve also seen that aquarium glue works well too.

I glued the figurines (mini ornaments) onto glass stones, which helped them to be more visible in the globe, versus being so deep into the lid.  The problem with this, is holding the figurines on the stones until the glue sets enough for them to stand alone.  VERY time consuming.

Once I got the glue figured out, everything came together very easily.  You can find instructions HERE and HERE.  Basically you need distilled water, glycerine and glitter.  Once the jars are all filled, then the lids need to be glued on.  I glued painted wood discs and buttons to the tops. Some have strings to hang, the others can just sit on a shelf. They are still a little on the heavy side, but would hang nicely on a strong branch.

I’ve been asked several times for the instructions for this note keeper, which was published in Green Craft Magazine last January.  Since the magazine is probably harder to find now, I thought I’d share my original instructions before they were condensed for the magazine.

I don’t have any how to photos, just images of the finished project, so I hope these instructions make sense and are helpful.

You will need:
Cardboard box cut into Two – 9 1/4” x 12 1/4” pieces
Cereal box for inside pockets
Paper grocery bag for painting and covering cardboard
acrylic craft paint
sewing machine with thread
various decorative papers (maps, music sheets)
One long strip of canvas fabric 12 1/2” x 2 1/2
ribbon
pencil
ruler
scissors
white school glue and glue stick
One legal notepad

1. Cut open a grocery paper bag at the bag’s seams (seams are usually on the back and bottom of the bag). This will give you a large piece of paper to work with.  You can iron with steam to make flat or soak in water and hang to dry.   Cut two 10” x 13” inch pieces plus two 9” x 12” pieces.

2.  Take one of the larger pieces of paper bag, draw an image with pencil and then sew over lines with sewing machine using dark thread.  Practice sewing on scrap paper first to get the feel of sewing on paper. Adjust the tension as needed to get nice even stitches.

3. Selectively paint within the sewn lines and glue on other images with glue stick to make an appealing image.  When complete and dry, wrap your decorated paper around one cardboard piece using glue to keep everything together.  This will be your front cover. Repeat to make back panel, decorating back piece as desired.

4.  Connect front and back panels by gluing canvas cloth strip to each cover piece leaving a 1/2 inch gap between front and back cardboard panels.  Line the front and back covers with more grocery bag paper, using the 9 x 12 inch pieces that you’ve already cut, covering the edges of the canvas cloth.

5. Make pockets with cereal box board.  Cut a 9 x 7 1/2 inch piece for back pocket and glue in place along the bottom and side edges. This will be where the legal pad will slide in (can also staple this onto lining paper before gluing into place in step 4).   Make pocket for inside front panel,cover with decorative paper and glue in place with glue stick. Attach to inside panel by gluing along the left side and bottom edge. This will be where you can keep special papers and notes.

6. Use ribbon pieces to make tie closure, one on the front panel and one on the back. Glue ribbon in place and cover ends with small pieces of paper to secure.  Add a pen holder by gluing a small piece of ribbon to the middle area of the open pad keeper. Again, secure the edges with small pieces of paper.

Add in your legal size notepad and a pen and your all set for keeping some notes!

Let me know if you  have any questions.

I am completely fascinated with Day of the Dead (Dia de los Muertos).  The All Souls Procession,  here in Tucson, Az , is one of the most amazing things about Tucson.  It’s a really amazing event.  I went last year, despite an aching back and was so glad I went!

I made these Day of the Dead Calavera (skull) planters. I thought the plants would make great hair or fancy hats.  Sugar skulls, and other decorated skull like things, are given to the living and the dead.  It is similar to giving valentine’s as a way to say, “I love you forever”. I thought these would make great decor for a DOTD party or given to friends/family as gifts to celebrate life.

Here’s what you’ll need:

Now here is what you do:

1.  Thin out some white paint with water and so a white wash over the pots. Dry.

2.  Sketch out your skull face, then fill in with black paint. Leave as is, or go to the next step.

3.  Add colorful designs and use a black paint or a black marker to add swirly curly cues.

4. Pot your plants. I used succulents, but marigolds would be great too.  Marigolds are also known as Flor de Muerto (“Flower of the Dead”) which are thought to attract souls of the dead to the offerings (or altars).

I made a tutorial for this fun little activity book over on Whip Up.  Go check it out!

More tutorials HERE.

Thanks for stopping!!

I was looking back in my archives at when I started doing OCM ~oil cleansing  method for my face. It was one year ago this month!   I was given some awesome cleansing oil last may and decided to use the ingredient list and what I had learned about OCM to make my own.  I’ve been using this recipe for the last 9 months and I love it. I’ve made some for my sister and she is patiently waiting for her next batch. I thought I’d share the recipe (makes 4 oz):

For Oily Skin:
2 tsp beeswax (optional)
1/2 tsp vitamin E oil
1 tsp almond oil
1 tsp jojoba oil
2 tsp shea butter
4 tbsp castor oil
1 1/2 tbsp olive oil

For Dry Skin: use 1 1/2 tbsp castor oil and 4 tbsp olive oil instead.

For Combination Skin: use equal parts castor oil and olive oil equaling 5-6 tablespoons.

Heat in small sauces pan over low heat or in microwave in bowl. I used my favorite little electric coffee warmer (I use it for other crafty stuff too). When everything is completely melted together, add your favorite essential oils and allow to cool.  Here are the essential oils that I use:

3 drops geranium e.o
12 drops rose e.o.
8 drops lavender e.o
12 drops orange e.o

If you add the beeswax (I think cocoa butter would work too) it will firm it up just enough to keep it from dripping all over your bathroom sink when you use it (looks almost like lemon curd).  If you don’t use the beeswax, put it in a squeeze bottle to dispense.

To use: Apply a small amount to dry skin & massage gently in circles. Massage for up to 5 minutes.Wet a cotton face cloth with warm-hot water, ring out water and drape over face to allow the steam to open your pores. When the cloth is cool gently wipe away the oils. Repeat 2-3 times more.  End with a dab of this cleansing oil or your favorite moisturizer.

Enjoy!!

I made this tutorial before going to artfest, but never had time to post it.  These were one of my artfest trades and they disappeared very quickly. I had several people asking how I made them, and with what, so I thought I’d share.

First, since we rarely drink soda or beer, it took me a really LONG time to collect the bottle caps that I had. We did just recently discover Virgil’s root beer and cream soda, so I may get more bottle caps over the summer. The stuff is really good. You can’t have an outdoor picnic without a little cream soda or root beer, right?

spray painted bottle caps

You’ll need:

bottle caps, spray paint (optional), mod podge or matte medium, small circle cutter (3/4″), pretty paper, printed words, white glue, glitter, sticker gems, glass glaze, artificial flowers, brooch pin backs, hot glue gun.

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Using mod podge or matte medium, glue paper circles into center. Allow to dry.

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Print and cut out words of choice. Glue into place. Allow to dry.

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Outline circle edge with white glue and sprinkle on your favorite glitter (mine is the Martha Stewart kind).

Add a sparkly gem if desired. Allow glitter/glue/gem to dry completely. Brush off excess glitter if needed.

Fill in with diamond glaze or glass glaze from Sun & Moon craft kits (which I like a lot better). I put just enough to cover glitter. Allow to dry overnight (or at least 4 hours).

When completely dry, glue on flower and brooch pin back with a hot glue gun.

Now shake off any negative vibes, put your sparkly flower brooch on and don’t forget to shine brightly!

Remember these? It’s a Valentine cootie catcher (or paper fortune teller) made by Amy at Life in the Lyon’s Den. Click HERE to download & print, and HERE for directions on how to fold.

Here are some Valentine’s I made last year.  Click here for instructions.

Enjoy your weekend!

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Both of my kids have 2 teachers each, then the helpers and the front desk person. I wanted to make something useful but very affordable.  I have plenty of paper, glue and lots of tools so this project fit the bill costing me a total of $12 for 8 ($1.5 each). I bought the binder clips($2), sticky notes($5) and sticky magnet strip($5).

There are probably other tutorials for this (I didn’t look for very long), so I am making this a picture tutorial, with just a few words. Let me know in the comments if you have any questions and I will answer them there too. A simple glue stick works for the whole project.

Supplies:

Measure & cut: Make 2 of the smaller piece- one for covering a small pencil and one for making the pencil holding tab:

Wrap the cardboard with the large piece of pretty paper:

Glue on paper and pencil tab:

Pretty up the pencil. Wrap with paper and add yarn at the end (optional):

Cover binder clips with paper & glue:

Assemble: clip on sticky pad, slip pencil into tab and add sticky magnet to back (to keep on fridge ~optional).

I’ll be popping these into little clear gift bags, that I already have, adding some mini chocolate bars from Trader Joe’s and tying up with ribbon. The kids also made paper clay ornaments that we may add in too.

I thought these would make great hostess gifts if your planning on going to any Christmas parties.  I usually take a bottle of wine, but even better would be something that can be reuse and enjoyed long after the holidays.

Here is what you will need (I found everything at Michael’s, but there are on-line options as well).

36g soft aluminum tooling foil (comes in rolls or sheets)
38g brass tooling foil (comes in rolls or sheets) brass is more sturdy than the aluminum.
Alcohol inks*, in various colors.  Sharpie markers** work well too.
wire hoops
large jumprings
pencil, scissors and awl
mouse pad
fine sandpaper

*alcohol inks are very vibrant, give a tie-dye effect and are somewhat difficult to control, but are very fun to play with. **Sharpie markers work nicely and give you more control. Both are permanent and water proof.

1.  Cut 3/4 inch circles out of the brass, and 1″ circles out of the aluminum.
2. Using the 1″ aluminum circles, your pencil and mouse pad, crimp the edges. First draw lines all around the perimeter, making sure lines are evenly spaced. Then flip over and repeat , making lines in between original marks.  Using the soft aluminum gives a very nice crimped look (see image above).

3. With smaller, brass circles,  draw design. Make hearts, stars, words, whatever you like. I thought snowflakes would be very pretty too.

4.  If you want an embossed look (where the image is raised ~ see ‘joy’ charm above) , make your image and words reversed, so that words are readable, and paint on other side.  If you like it impressed (see ‘star’ charm) then just make your design and paint on that side.
5.  Now paint your charms however you like. Allow to dry (only a minute or so).
6. If you have made an embossed image, you can very lightly sand the raised areas, making the design show.
7. Place painted circle centered onto crimped circle and make a small hole through both layers using your awl.

8. Add jump ring through both and close tight. Here’s a great little video on how to use jump rings.
9. Simply add to your wire hoops and you are done.  Add a few beads to make it even prettier.  Watch this little video on how to use those wire hoops (you only need to watch the first minute).  Done!

Happy gift giving!