The Bishop is the Father of our Ward

I had thought that it would be a good idea for the Primary kids to give a Father's Day gift to the "Father" of our ward, the Bishop.  I had found this super cute idea at Make It and Love It that I knew we had to make one (sorry, I didn't get any pictures).  But instead of the little flag that she recommends, I made subway art (inspiration found here) that can be framed and kept on his desk in his office or at home.

I LOVE how it came out!!  This was my first time making subway art and it was so fun.

Skirt Preview

Teacher Thank You Gifts

Today is the boys last day of school (hooray?) and I spent a little time making their teacher a small thank you gift.  Both boys had wonderful teachers this year and deserved something special.

I took these simple wood frames.

And painted the edges to match the paper I had already selected.

Then I glued the paper to the frame without making any cuts.  I used Mod Podge.

Then I took my craft knife and cut around the outside of the frame, then the inside.  Sorry, no pictures of that.

After that I used the embellishments that I had to finish it off.  I used coordinating paper, some stickers that I found at Hobby Lobby(with a 40% coupon, of course), and two sizes of circle punches.  I also cut out the apple shape from the one paper because it looked good on the other.  I used glue dots and pop-up dots to give the project dimension.  To finish it all off I put in pictures of the boys and their teachers that I had taken earlier.  This was my finished project.

Here is a closer picture of each frame. 

(Please ignore the fact that I cannot take a straight picture.)

I am so thankful for all the work and effort these fabulous ladies put in this year for my boys.  They are so much better off after having them as teachers.  Thank you Mrs. Gale and Mrs. Parks for a great year!!

If you want more ideas for techers gift check out this link where you will find my idea and many MANY more!

More crafts

Remember this super cute wreath that I made for my MIL?

Well, I made another one for my friend.

These are fun to make, so easy too.

Valentine Wreath

I found this super cute wreath at The Girl Creative.  I had to make it for my mother-in-law.

Instead of using ribblon, like she did, I went to Hobby Lobby and got three great fabrics at 30% off!  They were so perfect to create the soft, sweet look I was wanting.  And for only about $4.00

I purchased 1/4 of a yard of each one.  I was not sure how much I needed and it was not mentioned in the orginal tutorial.  It turned out that I had enough for two.  So if you are looking to make just one, an 1/8 of a yard would would be perfect.

I tore the fabric to create the frayed look.

Then I had my husband make me a heart with an old wire hanger using the suggestion that she had to link the ends.

Then I tied each strip of fabric on, using the same order each time.

This was the result.  Not as whimsical as the example, but I think that it is perfect none the less.  It was fun to make and I love the way it turned out.  Thank you Girl Creative!

Crafty Christmas ~ Cupcakes

Well, I guess that this is not super crafty, but more creative. 

Eric wanted me to make cupcakes to bring to his class on their last day before the Christmas break.  This is what he had in mind.

Well, I am just not that talented.  So I got creative with a cake mix, Wiltons food coloring, and sprinkles.

Good ol' Pillsburry white cake is what I use for the cupcakes.  I have it on hand so I used it, but overall I am not a big fan of it (by accident I only put in 2 eggs instead of 3 and it improved the quality of the cake a ton).

I added "leaf green"coloring and got this.

After I baked them I whipped up some frosting (I always make my own from scratch) and added "christmas red" food coloring.  After I frosted the cupcakes I rolled the edges around some green sprinkles.  This is the result.

Eric said all the kids loved it.  Success.

Crafty Christmas ~ Ornaments

So, like most of America, money is very tight in our house.  It really hurts to have me back in school (but so worth it!).  To compensate, I have been making a lot of our presents this year. 

This is what we gave to the boys' teachers.

This is so easy to make.  I even had the sense of mind to take pictures for a tutorial.

This is what you need.

1. clear ornaments (I bought mine @ Hobby Lobby with a 40% coupon!)
2. scrapbook paper in a holiday theme; two different kinds.  If you can find some that is double-sided, even better!
3. cutter
4. pencil
5. ribbon

Cut the paper into thin (or thick) strips, whatever your heart desires. 

Then take a pencil and start to wrap the strip of paper around it, like so.

When you are done wrapping it, slide it off of the pencil, and hold it for a moment or two.  This is to keep its shape.  Then slide it into the bulb.  (sorry, I did not get a picture of this.)  It will open into the curls that you see.  Fill it as much or as little as you like, put the top back on, and tie a ribbon at the top.  So easy and so cute.  A great little gift for anyone!

The how and why of the tooth fairy pillow

Josh is at the age where is starting to loose teeth. He lost his second tooth the other day. So that evening I stayed up to sew a tooth fairy pillow.

Why, you may ask? Well, I thought every kid had a tooth fairy pillow growing up. I really did! Then I learned that no everyone had them, but I didn't care. I had one and I wanted my kids to have one too. I did look around to buy one, but I quickly learned that they were not available so I brought out the sewing machine to make one for Eric. He loves it. Now it is Joshua's turn.

please ignore his dirty face!

He LOVES football. So I took some scrap sports fabric, brown felt (felt holds the teeth really well before the tooth fairy comes. less stress for everyone if it stays put!), batting, and a clip art football. I cut the felt into the football shape and added the "laces" to the top of the football. Then I sewed the bottom part of the football to one side of the fabric.

Then I put the two wrong sides together and sewed three sided together.


I turned it right side out.

Then added some batting.

Then I sewed the fourth side closed. I added a zig-zag stitch all the way around to make sure that it would not come undone. Plus, it looks good.

Viola, the finished project. Super easy and I have the worlds happiest kid.