How to Make a Cupcake Stand

Recently I made this cupcake stand for a party I attended. The nice thing about making one yourself is you can design it to match your colors and theme instead of trying to find one that "will work". That's not even the best part. The real selling point to this is it costs less than $10 to make. Here's what you'll need:

I got my supplies from a local dollar store but many of these items can be purchased at Wal-Mart or wherever it is you shop.














1 pizza pan
2 pie pans (I prefer pie tart pans because they have the fancy rippled edges, but you can use the regular ones like I did for this project)
3 candlestick holders
1 can spray paint
Decorative items such as ribbon, rhinestones, etc.

Spray paint the pans completely ensuring even coverage on both sides. Align the candlesticks in the center of each pan. If you prefer, you can mark the location with a pencil or other washable method. I used hot glue to secure the candlesticks in place. Before the glue cooled, I added a row of rhinestones to hide the ugly glue line. Finally, I added a ribbon trim to the outer edges of the two pie tins. You could also decoupage your choice of scrapbook paper on top of the pans instead of or in addition to the spray paint for extra patterns and flair.

Baby Name Frame

Although I know I’m late to the party, I’ve finally discovered the absolute awesomeness of Pinterest. To give myself a little credit, I have known about it for a while and was introduced to it months ago; it’s just taken me way too long to “find the time” to sign up and get to work with my pins.

Now that I’m in the cool club, I’ve started getting all sorts of new inspiration for projects, recipes and just general “why didn’t I think of that?” ideas. I have had an idea of adding the boys’ names to their nursery somehow and had a vague concept of what I wanted to do, but after browsing the pin boards high and low, I came up with this:

I found the frame at a second hand store for 50 cents. I wrapped it with some leftover yarn I had from the project I did with my step son last Christmas (hats for the homeless) using hot glue to attach it to the frame. The background is some scraps of scrapbooking paper I had with calligraphy writing and I used my Cricut to cut out the letters, also using old scrap paper.

I brushed the background paper with some olive green ink from an inkpad and brushed over it with a mix of glue and water after gluing it to the backing for the frame (that little cardboard piece that holds the glass in place). Then I scrubbed the edges of the green shadow letters with the same olive green inkpad and glued the letters on top.

I decided not to use the glass from the frame because I didn’t want it to look like a “picture frame” and also because after wrapping the frame in yarn, it wouldn’t fit anyway. So I used more hot glue to attach the cardboard backing to the frame, then added a small raffia bow under the letters to give it a 3 dimensional look.

As far as how I plan to display this in the nursery, I bought an inexpensive curtain rod at Big Lots for $2. It has tiny little acorns on the ends which matches the Frog and Toad swamp/forest theme of the room. The plan is to hang the curtain rod on the wall and wrap it with raffia, then hang the name frame from it using brown ribbon. To see pictures of the nursery, you can visit my baby blog for even more inspiration!

Yo Yo Necklace

It has been way too long since I’ve posted something new! I now realize what it actually means to be “busy”. And I’m only in the pregnancy stage. I can’t imagine how much worse it’s going to get once these babies actually get here!

Anyway, I have been working like mad on quite a few different projects. One of my latest endeavors is this yo yo necklace I made for my best friend who generously hosted a baby shower for me a couple of weeks ago.

It’s so simple to make! Just follow the tutorial for yo yo’s and sew them together in the desired pattern. I used a chain but you could also use ribbon. The fabric is a black chiffon as I wanted it to be a dressier style. For the center decals, I used glass rhinestones and small glass beads. The glass beads were strung on floral wire (although I wish I would have used the white fabric covered floral wire I used in my fabric flowers instead since they are white and would have matched the beads) and wrapped around a marker for shape, then hot glued around the rhinestones.

The whole project took me a couple of days, but that’s mostly because I was making it up as I went. If I were to do another one, it probably wouldn’t take more than a couple of hours. This necklace is the perfect accent to a low scoop neck or even as an accent piece to a turtleneck. You can use a variety of fabrics to make it more chic or dress it down with a simple cotton fabric for a fun, casual look.

Fabric Wire Flowers

A few months ago, when I wanted to attempt making some wire flowers, I ordered some thin wire online. I received my order in April, but finally found the time and energy to work on them this weekend. I'll share a few pictures (the best part of blogs, IMHO) then scroll to the bottom for the "how to" instructions.

By the way, if you love these vintage books, you can purchase your own set of three at this adorable shop for only $15! 



First attempt. A little sloppy, but still so cute!



Fun zebra print. I was getting better by this point.



Here's a side view of this little pretty.

 

Oh. My. Gosh. I made some "mini me's" using the same
technique and absolutely fell in love. I'm thinking of
using them for hair clips, headbands or just making a bunch
of them into a bouquet.

 

Yep. I definitely love these. I want to put them on my nightstand so they're
the first thing I see when I wake up in the morning. Except my darling husband,
of course.



Here are all the fabric wire flowers I made. I can't wait to
makre more!



 

 Ok, now for the directions!

 

You'll need:

• fabric scraps (the super nice thing about these is they make excellent use of your scrap fabric)
• white cloth covered floral stem wires, 26 Gauge (I bought mine from this site in bulk - they are pretty inexpensive)
• floral pins
• floral tape
• tacky glue or elmers glue

After making my first flower, I decided the wire was much too long. You can use the entire 18" and have a longer stem, or you can do what I did and cut the wire in half first (which also gives you twice the flowers!).

1. Wrap the wire around something circular that will form the shape of your petal. I used a jumbo size permanent marker for the large flowers I did and a regular marker for the smaller flowers. Twist the short end around the stem enough to secure the loop (about 3 or 4 twists should do it). 
2. Grab a pencil and pull the end of the petal enough to give it an oblong shape. 
3. Squeeze a quarter-size amount of glue onto a scrap of paper and apply a thin coat of the glue on one side of the petal with a paintbrush. Bend the stem so it stands at a 90 degree angle from the petal and place firmly onto your scrap fabric, right side up. I used the other end of the paintbrush to roll over the wire to ensure a firm, flat bond on the fabric. Repeat steps 1-3 a total of 5 times. 
4. Once the glue is dry, cut closely around the wire. Bend the stem 180 degrees and shape the petal using a marker or something else round that gives you the amount of bend you want on your petals. You can use your fingers for this if you want, but it will be more uniform and "nice looking" if you use something as a template. 
5. When you have all 5 petals, take the first two and start wrapping the floral tape around them. Add another petal after each pass until you have all 5 petals together, then move down the stem with the tape until you reach the bottom. Tear or cut the tape and secure firmly. 
6. Insert the floral pin into the center of the flower and voila! Variation: You can add the floral pin when you start wrapping the first two petals instead of inserting at the end. This method works well if you are having trouble getting the pin to sit in the center without poking out of the stem.

 

 



Nursery Blocks

I have so many ideas going on right now, but I just don't seem to have the time for any of them. Since we are preparing for not one, but two babies in the coming months, that has been occupying most of my time and attention.

I've started working on their baby quilts. I don't have much experience with detailed quilts. The one's I have done are just block quilts, so these require much more time and precision. I'll post pictures of the finished products once they're done - though I have feeling it's going to be a while. The two of them may have to share one until I have the time to finish the other.

I ran out of thread after 6 blocks, so I started looking around the craft room wondering what else I should work on. I found some small canvas blocks and decided to make something out of them.

It's hard to think of anything non-baby related, so the first thing that came to mind was the word "baby". I have never really learned to paint, or know any special painting techniques. But, I took some inspiration from Joshua Radin (my background tunes) and made these little pretties:

How cute are these? I love, love love them! I know the flower throws you off a bit, as these are obviously meant for a boys room. But I don't care. I love them!

Photo Book Craft

Most of us have family members who live pretty far away. Sometimes the distance can be a blessing. But sometimes it means your children may not get to visit their favorite Aunt Mildred or cousin Lenny as often as they would like. Additionally, they may not even remember or recognize said relatives. Yes, modern day convenience has provided the means to visit our far off relatives, but there’s this annoying little thing called reality – finances, work, chores, and the indefinite feud over who REALLY broke grandma’s vase that one Thanksgiving – that usually gets in the way of our good intentions to see them.

I grew up not knowing many of my relatives. I wouldn’t know most of them if I saw them in person and I definitely couldn’t give you more than a handful of names. This means I know little of my lineage and even less about who/where they are. I decided I wanted my children to grow up knowing their aunts, uncles, cousins, grandparents, etc. Even though we may not see them all the time, they should be able to recognize them and know about their families. So, I decided to make some family books.

There are many ways to create these. You could build them in the form of a scrapbook. You could upload your photos to one of the many sites that offer photo publishing such as Blurb, Photobucket or Snapfish. Or, you could even go green and recycle an old children’s book with your own photos. I haven’t decided which route I’m going to take yet. There are pro’s and con’s to each option. For example, the scrapbook way gives you ultimate creative freedom and expression. You can also add small trinkets and keepsakes specific to each family or family member. That may not be the best option for a young child, though. With the published copy, you have a nice clean design but the pages are usually thin and can tear easy. So I think for small children, the recycle idea might be the best way to go.

Here’s what I’m thinking. Take a few old books you have around the house, the kind with really thick pages designed for babies OR visit a second hand store that resells these books. Then, trace the shape of the book “page” on the picture you want to use. Close portraits will work best. Cut around the line you traced and use plenty of non-toxic glue to adhere your picture to the page. Print off the name and relation of the person using photo finish paper for the other side of the page. You can get more elaborate and include some things about that person if you like. Then make a cover for each book you create. If you have enough pictures, you can create one book per family. For example, you could make a book for each of your siblings: “The Jones Family”, “The Harrison Family” and “The Smith Family”. Or, if the families are smaller, you can make one big book with everyone and call it “My Family Tree”.

Since families can change quite a bit in their first few years, you can also make a binder book with plastic sheet protectors so you can interchange pictures more frequently. This will allow you to finally do something with all those 2”x3” school portraits you get from your nieces and nephews each year. If you want it to be an interactive book, you can allow them to color, paint or otherwise “play” with the faces of their family members to their hearts content. Maybe next time they see dear old Uncle Bob, they can remember how they gave them a curly moustache. Hehe. I think I’ll make a copy for myself to doodle on, too.

Once I have a finished version of this project, I will post some pictures to give you more inspiration. If you take on this project before I get around to it, though, please share!

Happy Crafting!

Yo Yo's

Don't buy me. I will suck the life out of you.

While waiting for my animals to receive their annual shots, I decided to visit the craft store. My daughter has taken an interest in crafting - sewing in particular - as of late, so I decided to help that seed grow. I found a simple sewing machine which I thought would be great for a beginner. Not too many bells and whistles, just the basics.

This thing made me want to whip out the old needle and thread, hand sew what we were working on, then climb to the top of a 30 story building, throw this "sewing machine" over the edge and watch it plummet to its death. We spent more time re-threading this thing than we actually did sewing. You can't even use normal thread with it. You have to buy special small spools with poor-quality thread. It is the worst possible investment ever! Maybe I just got a lemon, but if you are considering purchasing the purple Pixie machine (made by Singer), save yourself the $40 and pay someone to make your project instead.

Adorable yo yo's!

Anyway, now that I've done my consumer report, I wanted to tell you about a fabulous new discovery I made over the weekend. I learned about Yo Yo's!

I know, they've been around forever and I can't believe I'm just now hearing about them, but these things are capital-A dorable. My daughter and I made some simple children-sized aprons and attached some of these little delights. They make a world of difference to the overall appearance and detail. They're also easy to make while sitting around. I bought a couple of plastic yo yo makers at the craft store. I think this is probably the easiest way to make them, but I also found some instructions on how to make them without the plastic forms (see below).

Contributed by ehow.com

INSTRUCTIONS

Things You'll Need:

Circle Template

Pencil

Scissors

Small scraps of fabric

Needle

Strong sewing or quilting thread

Gather your supplies. If you are working on a specific project you might want to coordinate your fabrics. I like to sew a bunch of these up while watching NCIS or Burn Notice so I just grab whatever fabric scraps I have, whip up the yo-yos and pop them in a storage container for a "rainy day".

Trace around your circle template on the "wrong" side of your fabric. Remember that this circle will be come quite a bit smaller when you make it into a yo-yo. If you want a specific size keep these measurements in mind:

1 1/2" circle makes a 3/4" finished yo-yo

2" circle makes a 1" finished yo-yo

3" circle makes a 1 1/2" finished yo-yo

Following the line you've drawn with your template, cute out the fabric circles.

Thread your needle and tie a knot at the end of the thread. With the "wrong" side of the fabric facing up, turn over 1/4" of fabric toward the center. Push your needle up the the wrong side of this little bit of turned fabric so the knot is in the fold.

Work a running stitch around the circle turning the fabric over 1/4" as you go. Try to make your stitches about 1/4" apart. Any smaller and the hole of the yo-yo will be too big.

Sew all the way around the circle until you come back to where you started. The yo-yo will starts to curl up a bit.

Hold the fabric circle at the knotted end of your thread and pull the needle firmly to gather up the stitches. Your flat circle will bunch up and become a 3D yo-yo. Take a couple little stitches where the thread comes out to secure your yo-yo in place.

Once you make a fabric yo-yo and see how simple it is to whip up a bunch you'll look at your scrap fabrics in a whole new way. Glue them to a hair clip or barrette, cover a pillow, layer different colors and sizes and make into a pin; the possibilities are endless!

Some Organization is in Order!

Brag Board

This idea comes from Lindy in Utah. I love this!

"This is my project from today and yesterday.

I just cut boards to size of a hallway or space...I made it easier and bought ones that were already painted white. Then I screwed them to the studs in the wall...then mod podged (is that a word?) polka dot scrapbook paper onto the face of them.

I pulled apart wooden clothespins, painted them,  reassembled them then glued them on.

Now all my daughter's paintings and things she brings home from nursery don't have to live on my fridge - and she feels special to have her very own art exhibit."

Hair Clip Organizer

Here is another clever idea from Lindy. If you have little girls, you undoubtedly have a drawer full of clips, bows and other hair accessories. Lindy came up with a clever idea to organize all of her items. The hanger on the left has different colored ribbons with corresponding colored hair accessories clipped on. If you know how to macrame, you can cover your hanger with whatever color you want. Then just loop the ribbon pieces and attach your accessories.

The second item in the picture was inspired by the recent Disney movie, Tangled. The movie is about Rapunzel who is known for her long blond hair. This braided yellow yarn is tied off at each end with a ribbon and holds her hair clips with ease.

I love this idea because it encourages young children to want to be neat and organized. Rather than nagging your child to put something away, you can make it fun with simple ideas like this.

Kusudama Flowers

Kusudama Flowers
 I've always loved the art of origami. My step daughter and I decided to make some paper flowers for her mom last Mother's Day so she could keep them forever instead of having them die. It would also be something pretty to show off instead of a card that would eventually end up in a drawer.
After googling high and low, we found this site. Emilee and I worked on the Kusudama Flowers. We made a bouquet for her mom and a Kusudama Ball for her grandma.

These are so fun to make! Our fingers were pretty sore after making 36 flowers, but the end result was definitely worth it. We used a pop can as the vase and prettied it up with some transparent paper.

Heart String Craft

Heart String

Transform cardboard tubes into love tokens, then display them as a mantel garland or door decoration.

Materials

Cardboard tube
Paintbrush and red paint
Pushpin
Needle
Embroidery thred
Beads (with holes large enough for the needle to pass through

Instructions

1. Cut the tube in half and brush the halves inside and out with red paint. Let them dry.

2. Flatten the halves, then cut them into one-inch segments. Shape each segment into a heart by pushing one creased side toward the center. Pierce holes in the top and bottom of each heart with a pushpin.

3. Thread the needle and knot the end. Slide on a bead until it stops at the knotted end, then loop back and push the needle through the bead again, going from bottom to top.

4. Thread on a heart, then add a bead just above it, using the same looping technique to secure it in place. Repeat to create a string of hearts and beads.