Plaster Thumb Tack Tutorial

So I'm totally being a smart alec today. Sometimes I just can't help it. I had some left over alginate and plaster of paris from Gomez, my freaky statue I made from a foam wig head thingie and decided I needed to do something with it. Since it does eventually expire and there was hardly any of the purple powder left in my bag, it needed to be something small, small scale. 

Somehow one thing lead to another and I was like, "oh, yeah?" and I got the big idea to make these. Really have no clue how I got from Point A to Point B on this one, but here we are!

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Project Planning Binder Tutorial & Printables

It's been mentioned before that some don't understand how I get so many crafts done and how I can work up posts for up to 3 weeks in advance. My bloggy pal Lauren over at The Thinking Closet was very encouraging about working up a post to share my plan, so thanks, Lauren!

I really thought about how what I do works and I guess it is because I try to stay organized (which is no small feat for me, let me tell ya) and plan things down to the supplies I MIGHT need. You see, I have to drive to get to a craft store. It isn't just a 10 minute or 20 minute trip, we're talking at least an hour and a half to get there, run in and grab something and get back home. Now if I want to browse, we're really going to be throwing time away. 

So when I am working on a project and realize that even though I purchased everything BUT the glitter to get this thing cranked out, it puts a humongous damper on things and totally jacks up my flow. You see I love, love, love to craft and that's why I do this. But since I want to do what I love for a living I have to be effective and get my posts out regularly and that is why I have devised an almost fool proof system. I say almost because I'm hardly perfect and even with a perfect list, I'm going to forget something almost every time!

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Bright & Cheerful Zen Garden Tutorial

I have some issues that I deal with all of the time. The best thing for me is basically keeping busy (which is why you see 5-6 craft projects a week coming out of me), but some things come to a head. One of the non-pharmaceutical ways I have of bringing things back down where they need to be on any random day is doodling. I'll sit and doodle on my desk, a receipt, my sketchbook or whatever is handy and I've always found it soothing. Plus it is something I can easily concentrate on no matter what is happening around me. 

This whole project came about when I saw a movie that someone else was watching from the 80s where a guy was raking his little zen garden and it looked so peaceful. Then I saw colored sand at the hobby store. Lightbulb!

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Cute, Homemade Padded Envelopes Tutorial

Some days you just aren't going to win. I very recently had a day such as that. It began with fighting (and perhaps a little bit of crying) on the phone with my insurance company. Now I know that I am not special on that account. We've all done it because insurance companies can be evil. I finally got everything straightened out, hung up the phone and was out the door.

Since I was in a hurry I didn't connect my MP3 player to the stereo in my car as I usually do and planned on just listening to whatever piped out of the radio. I was in the process of backing up when the CD player got going and a song incredibly nasty and so, so foul came on. I'm pretty sure the volume was set at "speaker busting".

I nearly ran into another car it surprised me so, so badly. I'm stopped with the car all wonky mid-backup trying to STOP THIS AWFUL SONG. But the problem is that the song was on a CD and I have never, ever used the CD player, so I sat there FOREVER trying to figure out how to skip the song or eject the darn thing but I COULDN'T FIND THE BUTTONS. Plus I was so worried someone would overhear but so flustered turning the volume down didn't occur to me! Guess who isn't going to be allowed to borrow my car again...

Upon returning home I noticed a package at my doorstep. Confused because I hadn't ordered anything for myself I went and opened the box. Only to find that it was my grandmother's medicine that I ordered for her online and accidentally shipped to myself. *sigh* Really?

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Cloud Cork Board Tutorial

So I was on Pinterest when I saw these four cloud cork boards. Now I have to admit that they were totally cute, but they were teeny tiny (smaller than a 4x6 picture each). Plus add on the $20 price tag that doesn't include shipping and I was over it.

In the heat of my humongous 'reorganize the heck out of my office' fascination, I removed four cork board squares that were where I intended to place my new DIYed erasable wall calendar. Tossed to the side, they were forgotten until that pin came along yet again.

My nephew is obviously an artistic genius. He's going places.

And guess, what? My new boards are sized well enough that a pic isn't going to totally cover them up, plus since I already had everything on hand the total cost was totally FREE! Who am I to turn down a free project?

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Magnifying Paperweight Revamp

I am currently typing this post on my bed in my bedroom at my grandmother's house in Odessa, TX. It's a boom town here and things are CRAZY. A trip to the grocery store today took hours because we were dealing with holiday weekend prepping never mind the hundreds of people that probably would have been there anyway. I've been here just over 24 hours an the traffic and general ballyhoo is already starting to wear me a bit thin. 

That being said. I'm really, really happy to be here. We visited with some of my Mimmie's lifelong neighbors today, went thrifting and are having a really nice time. A girl that I played Barbies with is now a woman with a family of her own. It's amazing seeing these old friends and the happiness they have come into as an adult. But I'll stop being sentimental and get onto today's very, very lately posted post.

Paperweights are great gifts. Nice segue, huh? You can often find generic ones in clearance bins at big box and hobby stores. Remove the pics that come with them and add an image of something important to the recipient and you have an inexpensive and highly personal gift.

My most recent paperweight I made as a gift. I found it in the clearance section at Hobby Lobby for 3 bucks and change. Round and made of magnifying glass, the effect created when you put in a new picture is pretty awesome.

Beginning to end, this is an easy, easy project. 

STEP 1: Take your paperweight and remove felt backing and image. Clean with alcohol to remove any traces of adhesive.

STEP 2: Print the image you want to place inside and trace the weight on top. Use scissors and trim a bit inside of the mark. Place in the weight and trim again if necessary.

STEP 3: Use spray adhesive to attach the paper to the glass and then spray with adhesive to affix felt onto the back. Trim excess felt and get that sucker wrapped up. Bingo bammo, your easy peasy gift is complete!