Feelin' Crafty

Have I told you how much I love Pinterest?  I’m so proud of myself – I’ve been taking advantage of some of the gazillion crafts that are floating around just waiting to be made. 

A while ago I purchased some chalkboard paint, intending to make a perpetual calendar, but then my mother-in-law gave me a magnetic calendar to use with the kiddos.  The poor lil’ tub of paint sat in a cupboard until I came across an idea to make a chalkboard book.  I knew Gwen would love this!  She loves her magnet board and dry erase center, so this would be right up her alley.   

In all honesty, using the paint – as opposed to spray paint – was a royal pain.  It seemed to take forever to paint each page, letting it dry every few pages.  No matter how careful I was, the pages would stick together and I would have to peel them apart. *sigh*  I would love to make another one at some point, but think I would go with the spray paint, a bigger board book, and one with fewer pages. 

    

I love homemade gifts and always try to think of handmade alternatives or additions when giving to someone.  Nikki celebrated her 30th birthday last month and I wanted to add some special touches to her present.  This past Summer I scored a Pink Lemonade handbag at a local craft fair and tried this felt flower tutorial as an embellishment.  I wasn’t able to print out the template for the flower, but I cut a piece of felt in a similar pattern and it made for a super-simple assembly.

I just rolled it up, placing dots of hot glue every so often, and finished it off by glueing the last piece to the bottom as a base.  Note to self: make it slightly bigger next time.  I love how it came out, and a similar tutorial for felt flowers gave a great idea for attaching a pin on the bottom. 

 

When my grandmother passed away last year, we had to go through all her things and decide what to keep, donate, trash.  I saved a bunch of her little decorative vases that she kept on her window sill, keeping the blue ones for myself and saving the purple ones for Nikki.  I decided they needed some pom pom flowers.   

So fun and whimsical and easy to make!  I made small ones because of the small vase, but would love some big ones in bright, bold colors. 

Last but not least, a little somethin’ for my hubby.  I totally fell in love with this idea for Seven Days of Love using a pillbox, love messages, and some treats to stash inside the compartments.  This week I turn thirty-one, and I decided – why not give give it to him this week?  My husband is one of the best gifts God has given me, and I love to bless him with little things. 

 

The original printable messages didn’t print correctly, so I just handwrote my own set of quotes, verses and other sentiments.  Phil’s not big on candy, so instead of putting a different kind in each compartment I used peanut M&Ms, one of his faves.  He was so touched when I gave it to him before going to work this morning.

Next on the list: a tutu dress for Gwen, using one of the ideas I’ve posted on my Gwendolyn board.  I couldn’t find tulle in 6″ rolls, so I just grabbed some yardage in different colors, hoping I’ll have enough. Since I haven’t done anything like this before, I want to make sure I have a gameplan before I cut into the tulle – eek!  This Petti Tutu Tutorial is geared towards using tulle by the yard, so it’s proven to be helpful.  I keep changing my mind on how to best accomplish what I have in mind; keeping my fingers crossed!

What craftiness have you been up to?