Vintage Doily Window Ornaments: Part 2

A few days ago I posted on how to snowflake window ornaments from crocheted doilies. Here are a few of the finished results. My granddaughter, Olivia, and two of her friends had a great time sprinkling the glitter on the doilies. Of course, the island counter in the kitchen was one sticky mess.

A spray adhesive was used to apply the glitter. The technique was more like spray, sprinkle and shake. The excess glitter was collected off the craft trays for a future project.

My personal taste leaned more toward white sparkle and iridescent shred glitters, but the girls were all about pink and purple. No matter the color of glitter used, they were all beautiful. Each of the girls took home two snowflake doilies to hang in the bedroom window.

Picture Frame Christmas Decor

This easy holiday decor was made from a thrift store picture frame, minus the cracked glass, and and miscellaneous ornaments. Ribbon remnants were used to string the ornaments to the back of the frame. For ease, I used a general purpose staple gun to hold the ribbon-strung ornaments to the back-side of the frame.

The original color of the frame was silver, but I painted it red and then sanded areas of the frame to allow the under-layer of silver to show through.

This holiday frame has so many possibilities. You can hang on the wall or place on a shelf unit. A over the door hanger is another option (the kind you use to hang a door wreath).

The glass could have left in the frame and a window rub-off applique applied beneath the Christmas bulbs, i.e., Happy Holidays or Merry Christmas.

An affordable handmade gift for the holidays.

Vintage Doily Snowflakes

I am always in search of new craft ideas to do with the grandkids. Last night we mixed glue and water to make a DIY fabric stiffener for these doilies that will be used to hang in windows for the holidays.

My five-year old grandson got a bit carried away with the dipping process and we may have to let his doilies dry for another night.

Tonight, we will be using glitter spray on the snowflake doilies and then hanging them from the sliding glass doors using suction cup holders. The kids are excited and I will post the final glittered snowflakes tomorrow.

Hobby Lobby sells doilies in 12-packs at a reasonable price, or check out Ebay. Here is what you will need for this project.

• 50:50 ration of white glue to water. Mix well in an large mixing bowl until the consistency of milk.
• Cloth doilies
• Plastic garbage bag for laying out the doilies after they are immersed in the stiffener
• Spray glitter product (or you can spray the dried doilies with adhesive glue spray and sprinkle with glitter
• Suction cup window hangers
• Invisible thread for hanging the snowflakes

Submerge each doily into the glue mixture until fully saturated. Gently squeeze away any excess liquid and lay the doily flat on the plastic garbage bag.









Allow the doilies to air dry overnight. If they still appear to be damp, let them set out until completely stiff and there is no sign of moisture.

Gently lift the doilies from the plastic bag and flip them over to allow air to completely circulate to both the front and back sides of the fabric. You can either hang the doily snowflakes as is, or add sparkle by applying iridescent glitter to each side. (see my Part 2 post for using glitter).

The stiffened doilies also look nice inside a picture frame. Remove the frame's glass and cut and cover a piece of cardboard to fit the frame opening. Burlap material works well, or use brown Kraft paper or scrapbook paper. Hot glue the doilies in place.

Vintage Baby Shoe Photo Gift

This is one of the many holiday gifts that I am giving to family this Christmas season. I purchased two vintage baby walking shoes from a local thrift store (bells included). To give added weight to each shoe, I poured plaster Paris into a zip lock bag and tucked into the shoe. The plaster was still wet so it formed to the shape of the shoe.

Thrift store doily finds were tucked inside the shoe and hot glued in place. The photos are held in place by silver place card holders I had left over from a wedding event. A small pine and berries were seated in place with hot glue.

Decorative scrapbook punches can be used to dress up the photo backing. To add to the vintage flair, I place satin ribbon just below the shoe tongue. The doily behind the picture was Mod-Podged to make it stiff (lay it flat for 24 hours to stiffen) and then glued to the picture back.

These cute keepsake frames look adorable on a fireplace mantel or bookcase.

Franken Soap...Fun Party Favors

Sophie Soap Chick has been at it again. She created a number of ghoulish soaps to inspire you. Mold Market's Beveled Square mold was used for the above Franken-soap design. These soaps aren't just for Halloween, they are fun soaps to be used all year round.

I plan to make these soaps for my grandson's schoolmates when I read the book Frankenstein Makes a Sandwich by Adam Rex.

SUPPLIES

• Beveled Border Rectangle Mold (Mold Market)
• Neon Green Colorant
• Fragrance (optional)
• Alcohol Spray
• Black Oxide Colorant
• Clear Soap Base
• White Soap Base
• Soap Injector Tool
• 8-Inch Silicone Jelly Roll Tray
• Recessed Smoother Soap Tool

 HOW TO

Green Head:
Melt six cubes of white soap base in microwave safe measuring cup. You will want a pouring temperature of around 140 degrees. Remove from microwave; add fragrance and 2 drops of GPE Neon Green colorant.

Spray the inside of the Beveled Border mold cavity with rubbing alcohol and then pour soap.Allow to set up until firm before removing from the mold.

Face:
Melt six cubes of clear soap base in the same manner as the white. Add a few drops of black colorant to the melted soap and pour into the jelly roll tray.

After the black is set, repeat the steps with White Soap Base to use for the back of the eyes. Use the Recessed Smoother Soap Tool to out the black pupils, hair, eyelids, nose, and stitches from the layer of black soap you removed from the jelly roll tray.

When the white soap is set, carve out the back parts of the eye and made sure they fit behind the already carved eyelids. Once all the cut-outs are completed, melt a block of Clear Soap Base and  attach all the facial features!
Now you have a creepy and spooky Franken Soap!

Clear Soap Base from GoPlanetEarth

Oh the Things You Can Do With a Drawer!

This idea started with a small dresser I purchased at a garage sale for $30. At the time, I was clueless what I would do with this piece of furniture until yesterday when I learned a good friend's father had passed away suddenly. I wanted to gift something more than the usual florist arrangements. I surveyed what I had on hand and pick up additional items at the local farmer's market to make a Bountiful Blessings basket.

I started by spray painting the drawer in contrasting fall colors. The local farm down the road donated a garbage bag full of  unbundled straw which I used to fill the drawer.

Holes were drilled in the sides of the drawer to create faux handles. I used the straw rope that was attached to the dried vines I purchased at the market.

The drawer knobs were reattached for decoration and the Bountiful Blessings lettering was applied.

 I played around with the arrangement to get a feel for item placement and balance. The Osage Oranges were a great addition and freely drop from the trees that line my property.

Osage Oranges

Green and orange ribbon was casually woven throughout the arrangement and hot glued in place.

There were faux autumn leaves leftover from a Halloween costume I made for my granddaughter. They were a perfect fit for my Bountiful Blessings basket. With a few snips of my garden clippers I added some colorful oak leaf branches.

Once the funeral is over, this arrangement will make a wonderful addition to the front porch as a memorial to a special dad.

The total cost of this DIY arrangement was $30 and it will have more meaning to my friend than any florist arrangement I could have sent.

Under $2 Victorian Centerpieces

I've been on a Goodwill store craft craze the past month. There are so many wonderful finds that can be re-purposed for just a few dollars. I spotted six clear glass vases for 49 cents each. My mind whirred as I imagined all the things I could do with these vases. This pictures shows my final results.

I printed Scott's Rose pictures and sized them to fit the vases. Using a foam brush, apply Modge Pod to the back side of the pictures and carefully position in place. Let dry for about 15 minutes and apply a coat of Modge Pod to fronts of pictures. I used an antique Modge Pod for a vintage look.

The faux rose flowers stems were purchased at the local Dollar Store. The entire bunch cost $6 and filled six small vases and one large drain tile vase (pictured in the middle). The grand kids picked mini apples from the fruit trees in the yard and a wooden skewer was inserted to showcase them in the vases.

I had a couple of foam blocks leftover from another craft project and cut to fit inside the vases to hold the faux roses in place. Water was added to the vase to keep the greenery fresh (I snipped branches from trees in the yard).

Each vase cost less than $2 to make, and as you can see, the finished results were quite striking.

Melt & Pour Soap Making: Bunny Rabbit Soap

 

I meant to have this soap posted before Easter but it didn't happen due to my crazy travel schedule. In March, I asked Sophie Soap Chick to come up with an Easter bunny soap using Mold Market's cupcake base and bath bomb mold. Sure enough, she came through with this adorable design. I love it!

Items Used:

White Soap Base

Fragrance

Black Oxide Colorant

Clear Soap Base

Neon Pink Colorant

Mold Market's Cupcake Mold

Mold Market's Small Bath Bomb

Recessed Smoother Tool

8-inch Silicone Roll Tray

Here are Sophie Soap Chick's instructions:

 

1. You can start with either the head or the cupcake body. I used white soaps base for. For the head, all I used was white soap base and fragrance (Make sure to make extra and pour into the 8-inch Silicone Roll Tray for the ears that you will later carve out). For the body, I used white soap base mixed with Neon Pink Colorant (Only a drop or so) and filled the base of the cupcake mold. Make sure to also melt down extra so you can pour the remainder in the 8-inch Silicone Roll Tray for the inside of ears and nose. You will also need to melt down some clear soap base mixed with Black Oxide Colorant for the eyes and mouth and will also be put in the tray mold.
   
2. Make sure to melt down the ear part first so you can work on that while the black is setting. To cut the ears I used the Recessed Smoother Tool and it took a little while to make them look perfect. Make sure to also smooth the edges to give it a rounder look. The same goes for the inside pink part.
   
3. Once you have all these made and set, you can then melt some clear soap base and start attaching everything. I started attaching the head and the body first. I then moved on to putting the pink inner ear on the white ear. After that dried, I attached the ears on the body. I found it easier to attach them first and then the eyes and mouth.

 

This soap took about an hour or so, but was SUPER EASY to make. He is so cute you can make anytime, not just for Easter! 

How to Make Flower Pot Soaps

FINALLY! The flowers are beginning to bloom in Michigan. To celebrate, Sophie Soap Chick, planted a few soap flowers in Mold Market's flower pot mold. Sophie shares the 'how-to' information below.

Items Used:

Brown Oxide Colorant

Orange Oxide Colorant

Black Colorant

Neon Yellow Colorant

Neon Pink Colorant

Neon Green Colorant

Mold Market Mini Flower Pot Mold

Recessed Smoother Soap Tool

Flower Cutter Set (The Smallest One)

Clear Soap Base (Only a few cubes to stick together the pot and flowers)

White Soap Base

Fragrance of your choice

8-inch Silicone Roll Tray

First, I started mixing together ingredients to make the flower pots. I used white soap base and then added two drops of brown oxide and 1 small drop of orange oxide (Don’t forget to add fragrance). This made the creamy looking brown color that works perfect as a pot. I then poured this in the Mini Flower Pot Mold and let set.

Flower Pot Halves

While the Mini Flower Pot was setting, I moved on to making the flowers. For this I used the 8-inch Silicone Roll Tray. For the yellow flowers, I melted down white soap base and then added two drops of Neon Yellow. Make sure to spray down the tray with alcohol spray so there will be no sticking. I only poured the yellow until it covered the bottom. Do not make it too thick or your flowers wont stand correctly on the pot. After the yellow set, I then continued this process to make the pink flowers, the flower stems & leaves, and the dirt (one black and one brown, later will cut little pieces and mix them together).

During those setting, I took out the Mini Flower Pots and began cutting the tops with the Recessed Smoother Soap Tool. Make sure to keep a lip to hold in the dirt and to give the effect of a real flower pot. Once they were both even and fit properly, I used clear soap base to attach the two parts. Some of mine didn't stand up straight, so to fix this you can use the tool again and shave the bottom a little bit until it sits properly.

Join the two flower pot halves
with clear soap base.

To make the flowers, I used the smallest of the Flower Cutter Set and used it with the pink and yellow. For the stems I used the Recessed Smoother Soap Tool and then rolled with my fingers. For the leaves, I used the same tool and carved them out by hand. To attach all these I used the clear soap base.

For the dirt, I used the black and brown that I made out of the tray and used the same Recessed Smoother Tool. I used the curved end and with a flicking motion, popped out little pieces of black and then brown. This did take a little while, but after getting the hang out it becomes quicker. Make sure to attach the flowers in the pot prior to putting the dirt in. Once the flowers were in place of where I wanted them, I then sprinkled the dirt all over.

These turned out SUPER CUTE and I hope you all have a great time making these! Although, these take a few hours to make, the end result is so worth it!!!

Made in the USA Cupcake Soap

 

 

Our Soap Chick, Sophie, has been at it again. This "Made in the USA" cupcake soap was inspired by nothing other than the American flag.

 

 

Sophie used Mold Market's cupcake base and Mold Market's large bath bomb mold. The stars were hand-cut from red and blue soap. You can also use varying sizes of star cookie cutters.


Score the cupcake base with fork prongs to help seat the cupcake top. Clear, melted soap secures the two pieces together as well as the stars.

Sophie used white soap base in this project so the red and blue colors don't really POP. I suggest using clear soap and red colorant for the cupcake base and pour the top in white soap along with clear soap (add ultramarine blue to the clear soap).

Using clear soap would give the same red and blue colors in the American flag.





Other ideas for the Made in the USA soap:

• Pour the top in alternating blue and white colors only make the stripes thinner
• Use clear soap for the first layer of the top and embed a star, sprinkle with silver glitter. Pour remainder of top in stripes.
• Make the cupcake base blue and the stripes white and red

How To: Mother's Day Picture Frames

I've been on a Mother's Day craft marathon this past week with my grandkids. We've made paper Mache vases, sun catchers and our final project is ice cream stick picture frames.

These refrigerator picture frames are easy, inexpensive and colorful. Supplies include:

• Craft Popsicle sticks
• Craft glue
• Glitter
• Paint
• Plastic buttons
• Scrap ribbon
• Business card magnets
• Printer and camera

Form a square frame with the pop sticks. I attached two parallel sticks at the top and bottom, and one stick between the two layers. A diagonal stick was used on the back side to keep the picture in place.

Spray paint or brush on tempera paint with a brush. I used spray paint. Allow the sticks to dry between each coat of paint.

Decide how button arrangement and where you want to place glitter. Layering the buttons by size will give added depth. Allow the picture frame to set up overnight.

When the embellishments are dry, print and trim photos to side into the sides of the frame. The diagonal pop stick will help keep the picture in place.

The last step is to adhere the business card magnets to the back of the frame. I used on full magnet and trimmed a second to fit. Hot glue worked best for securing to the wooden sticks. Even though the magnets had an adhesive backing, they didn't seem to stick well. The hot glue worked great.

Glue the business card magnet to the back side of the frame.

How To: Mother's Day Sun Catcher's

This year I am committed to giving handmade Mother's Day gifts. The grand kids are excited about these colorful sun catchers that we made by melting plastic beads. You can find beads at just about any retail craft or online store. I used leftover beads I had from other summer craft projects I have done with the grand kids.

This short tutorial gives instructions to make these colorful sun catchers. If you're looking for something to craft by hand for Mother's Day, this might fit the bill. The cost will also fit your wallet. One 8-inch round sun catcher cost me under $1.00 to make.