Instant Cemetery Can Design

Today I worked on the master copy for my instant cemetery can wrappers. Last year I just mod podged mini tombstones onto a paint can that I painted black, this year I want something fancier. I got my watercolors and went to work creating a molted background and while I was at it I made a new label for the lid too, ransom note style.I’ll have to tweak them a little when I print them, but I really like how they came out. I’ll also be including a paint can key this year, to make opening the can easier, I really pound those lids on ;-)!

My other achievement was installing a new shower head, the old one was like having someone spit on you, terrible pressure, the new one is a water saver and it really amps up the pressure, I can’t wait to take a shower!

Gift Card Holders from Trash

I have been wanting to make these little holders for a while.  I see all sorts of “fancy” gift card holders in the stores, but I am hesitant to spend few extra dollars for them, a lot of times they go straight into the trash.  Hopefully these will be cute enough to be reused, they would be great for storing essential cards and cash in a small purse or for holding business cards.  The tutorial and pattern can be found at the RePlayGround.

I used a variety of boxes from our recycling, mini nilla wafers, cake mix, and cheddar bunnies (my favorite one and really good snack too!)  I used self adhesive Velcro dots and glued the side flaps in place instead of using the elastic cord. 

Then I decided to cover a box with fabric.  Some spray adhesive and a fabric scrap made this spotted one.  Unfortunately the printing on the box shows through the fabric, next time I’ll use darker fabric!  I bet scrapbook paper would work good too!  Now I just need some gift cards to fill them with!

Paint Chip Matchbook Notepads

As I was browsing OnePrettyThing I found these super cute notepads from paint chips and I just had to whip up my own.

The tutorial is on Craft Leftovers and I really like the idea of using paint chips, so cute and colorful.  My “chips” only had four sample colors so I had to eyeball where to score them, but they turned out fine.  I did use the brad to secure the paper, but I doubt that I will actually refill these when I use all the paper (but I promise to recycle them).  The next batch will be stapled, I think I’ll make some using those wider paint chips…do you think I’ll get busted taking paint chips from every store I go to? 

Would it be something like, “Ma’am, you’ve been here several times shoving paint samples in you purse like crazy, but you’ve never bought any paint, I’m going to have to ask you to return those samples or buy some paint.” 

Me, “I thought these were free and I’m going to paint eventually I just need to make absolutely sure I have the right color.”

“Ma’am exactly what color are you looking for, you seem to have about one of every sample we carry, perhaps if you could pick a color I could help you narrow it down.”

Me, “The lighting here is just so much different I have to have a selection of everything, the colors really change when I get home.”

Or maybe I would just buy a gallon out of guilt for repurposing paint chips…I’ll tweet if I get detained (follow me just in case) or am banned from any stores.

Project Wish List

If your like me you have some sort of collection of projects to do.  I have stacks of print outs, book marks and wists, so today I thought I would share some of the projects that I would like to tackle.  BTW if you beat me to them let me know how they come out.  This is a very small sample of all the projects waiting to be completed.

From left to right, top to bottom:

Skull Isle Pouch, Clothespin Dolls, Ric Rac Flowers

Indian Mirror Embroidery, Roll-up Kitchen Play Mat, Make Your Own Shower Cap

Make Your Own Underwear, Jewelry Organizer, Sewing Machine Apron

If you’re in the market for some fresh ideas visit craftster or oneprettything, I’m sure you’ll find something to add to your must craft list too!

Twirl Skirt Recon

As I wandered through the Goodwill a few weeks ago this cute ruffled skirt caught my eye.  It wasn’t my size or even my style, but I just had to have it!  It was begging to become a twirl dress for my daughter.  It had a slight aqua color, but I am not a fan of light colored clothing for children, especially a party dress.  I used navy blue Rit dye to make it a richer blue.

I hand dipped the skirt into the dye holding it for a few minutes for each layer, I was going for a gradation dyed effect.  It’s a little wobbly, but I like it and besides she’s three, is she really going to hold still long enough for anyone to notice it’s not perfectly straight.  The top two layers were just dipped and immediately removed to be rinsed.

Now I just need to decide how to cut it apart and put it back together, Oh and I need to find my sewing machine and unpack the craft room, everything is still in boxes.  I hope to finish this up in the next few weeks, I want her to be able to wear it to my cousins wedding.