Bathtub Crayons

I have been wanting to make these for M for a long time, but wanted to wait until he would actually use them as crayons as opposed to eating them (don't worry, he still felt the need to taste them). They are so easy to make and you end up with soap and crayons in one!

What you will need:

- clear glycerine soap (grated)
- food coloring (dark colors work best)
- molds
- glass bowl
- spoons for mixing
- your favorite essential oil (optional)

The first step is to grate the soap into your glass bowl. I used about 1 cup of grated soap for each mold (no need to pack it into the bowl, just loosely grate)

Melt the soap in the microwave for about 15-20 seconds. The soap is grated to it only takes a few seconds for it to melt. Then add your coloring.

Remember that more is more!!! Dark colors will work much better and the more coloring the better. My orange and red crayons did not show up very well because there was not enough coloring.

Pour the melted soap into the molds and repeat with all desired colors. Set the soap aside to harden. It should only take a few hours but I recommend leaving it overnight to be sure.

Once it has hardened completely pop the crayons out of the molds and they are ready for use.

Of course M just had to taste them.

DIY Easter fun!

Spring is here and Easter is around the corner. With just a few simple touches you can give your house a spring make over.

I was able to take my plain white yarn wreath and give it a whole new look with a little ribbon and a few decorations I found at Hobby Lobby.

I found these colorful Easter eggs at Target and used clear thread to take them from this:

to this!

I have to thank Pinterest for the inspiration for my flower arrangement. It was so simple and so bright and cheery. I took two sizes of square vases that I got from the local dollar store. I filled the larger vase halfway with Easter grass then set the smaller vase inside and slid the Peeps in between. The smaller vase hold the flowers.

Valentines Day to St. Patricks Day for $2.50

I decided to use my yarn wreath for multiple occasions. This time I was able to take it from a Valentines Day wreath to a St. Patricks Day wreath for only $2.50!

What you will need:

- yarn covered wreath (remove previous decorations)
- 2 green felt sheets
- St. Patrick's Day garland

I was able to the the felt sheets at Hobby Lobby for $ 0.25 each and the garland for $2

First, make a stencil like the white one in the picture below. It is basically a flower petal with a flat bottom. I found it easier to fold it in half to ensure symmetry. (I made several attempts prior to folding that just did not come out symmetrical.)

Trace the pattern onto the felt. You will need four leaves per clover, you can make as many clovers as you want.

Line both pieces of felt up and cut out the leaves.

Now it is time to line them up and sew the leaves together. By placing your stitches in the right place, you can create the simple fold in the center of each leaf. To do this, insert your needle into the bottom edge of the felt leaf and bring it up just before the middle of the leaf staying along the bottom edge. Make another stitch just past the middle and bring it back up close to the end. Repeat for the other three leaves. The thread should look like the picture below.

Next, begin to pull the thread tight and the clover will start to form.

Pull the thread tight and make a stitch back into the first leaf to close off the clover. Tie a knot in the thread and spread out the leaves of the clover.

Tie the clovers onto the wreath. You can do this in any arrangement and may vary depending on the number of clovers you have. I used the thread to tie on my clovers. I also found it beneficial to ad a few stitches to the clovers to hold them together in a row.

The last step is to cut your garland and wrap it it around your wreath. I used garland with wire in it so I was able to secure it by just wrapping it around the wreath and twisting it a few times. I did this twice and used the garland to hang the wreath on a hook.

Here is your finished product, a St. Patrick's Day wreath for only $2.50!

Happy Valentines Day!

I thought write a quick post for Valentines Day and share a few pictures from our adventures Making home made valentines!

Happy Valentines Day from our family to yours!

Cheap DIY Valentines garland

This will be a quick post, but this was so cheap ($3) that I just had to share my Valentines garland.

What you will need:
- Christmas garland (on clearance at Hobby Lobby 80% off after Christmas)
- Valentines cut-outs/hearts
- string

All you do is tie the cut-outs to the garland and your done! It's the best of both worlds, cheap and fool proof!

Valentines Day Wreath

I found this adorable yarn wreath on Pinterest and just had to make my own. I thought I would post a blog a bit more detailed instructions. There is a link to the originial post. I love all things crochet so I decided to do a little something different for the flowers.

What you will need:
- Styrofoam wreath
- Yarn
- Ribbon
- Flowers (crochet, felt, whatever you choose)

Take the yarn and begin wrapping it around the wreath. It seems like it will be a piece of cake, but it is a very slow process, and if you are as OCD as me every piece of yarn will have to be just so. But I assure you that the end result is work the time.

I recommend wrapping the yarn around at least twice. It will give the wreath a softer look, as if it is all yarn and no styrofoam base. When you are finished wrapping the yarn, simply tuck the end of the thread into the wreath. I used a large needle to do this.

Next take you need to make or get out your flowers. Like I said above, I love anything crocheted, so I decided to crochet flowers. The original post has instructions for felt flowers:

Valentines Wreath with Felt Flowers

Then take your ribbon and you can create whatever type of bow you want. I decided to do a simple bow and just loop each end and sew the ends together in the center. Attach the flowers to the ribbon.

Attach the ribbon to the wreath. You have two options here 1) sew the ribbon to the wreath and it will be exclusively a Valentines Day wreath 2) or you can do what I did, and just tie it on with yarn so it is removable. With option 2, you have the option of creating different ribbons and flowers for different occasions.

The last step is to attach the ribbon at the top so you can hang it on your door. I did another bow at the top and left a loop on the back that I can hang on the hook on my door. And there is your Valentines Day yarn wreath!

Valentine Votives

Today we a simple way to up cycle all of your glass jars and tissue paper. I decided to decorate mine for Valentines Day since that is the closest holiday, but they can be customized for any occasion (holidays, gifts, bridal/baby showers, anything you can think of). This is another fool proof craft, whatever you think looks best goes!

What you will need:
- Glass jars of any size
- Mod Podge
- Paint brush
- Tissue paper
- Candles

First start by cutting the tissue paper into 1 inch strips that are at least the height of your jar, or longer if you choose to cover the bottom (I did). Then take another color and begin cutting out your decorative design. I chose hearts, but you could do snowflakes, four leaf clovers, stars, the options are endless. You could also use printed quotes or newspaper text. Again it's all about your vision.

Cover a section of the jar with Mod Podge and lay the tissue paper over. Don't worry about the tissue paper laying flat, crumpling it will only add texture to your votive. Continue this until the whole jar is covered with tissue paper.

Then go over the tissue paper with more Mod Podge. If you feel an area is too thin, keep adding layers until you are happy.

The last step is to add your cut outs over the base layer of tissue paper and cover with Mod Podge. Remember that if your base coat is a darker color like the red, it may take more than one layer of a lighter cut out to show up. I used two white hearts.

Let them dry, add your candles an your finished!