Mod Podge Mania: Decoupage Jewelry

It’s Mod Podge Mania over at Xazmin’s today. How could I pass up the opportunity to make something using my favorite medium? I have been thinking for awhile of ways to make jewelry using Mod Podge. After some experimenting, here is what I came up with.

I made two different kinds of beads. I had some bead napkins rings that I found at Target a while ago for .25 each. I had been saving them thinking they would make cute beads for jewelry. I decided to try to decoupage them. It ended up being pretty messy and tricky. First, I cut small strips of paper and then I let the paper soak for a few minutes in a bowl of water. To make these you really need to get messy. I applied the Mod Podge with my fingers. Then I wound each strip of paper around the bead until the entire bead was covered. I then let each bead dry out on wax paper. Once all of the beads were dry, I applied a really thick coat of Shiny Mod Podge so they would be glossy. Once THAT coat of Mod Podge was dry, I then had to find the holes which I had covered over. I used the small end of a pair of pliers and estimated where the holes would be. It worked out pretty well. A way to make this project easier would be to use printed tissue paper which is much thinner and perfectly round wooden beads.

The second type of bead I made was a cylinder. This type was much easier.
First I cut out different strips of scrapbook paper in different widths. Then I took a wooden shish kabob skewer and wound each strip around tightly. At the end of the strip I attached the paper with good glue (I use E9000). Once all of the paper was wound into beads, I gave them all a good coat of mod podge all over. Then I threaded them onto the skewer and let them dry.

They were fun to make. Go over and see all of the fun Mod Podge ideas and project’s at Xazmin’s!

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Have a wonderful day!

XOXO

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SImple Woman’s Daybook for June 29, 2009

The Simple Woman’s Day Book

FOR TODAY, June 29th, 2009 …

• Outside My Window…It’s very late, and I really should be in bed. I just finished working on a project in my craft room and thought I would check on some blogs before I went to bed…

• I am thinking…About friends. I was able to spend some time with my friend Susan, who is battling breast cancer. She is such a sweet, wonderful, talented person. And today I met my friend Chrissy to giver her a birthday gift. She means the world to me. And when we were in Portland I was able to have dinner with my friend Jill. Jill and I reconnected through Facebook after 15 years of not being in touch.

• I am thankful for…My kids. I was able to take my two oldest children to BYU for some camps today. My son Nick is going to something called EFY (Especially For Youth) which is a church camp for kids 14-18. And my daughter Hayley is also at BYU at a lacross camp. They are able to stay on campus in dorms and hopefully meet some other kids while they are up there. It was fun to take them to BYU and drive around the campus where Jeff and I met. It has changed alot in some ways, but the dorms are virtually the same as they were.
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• From the kitchen…Jeff barbequed some whole chickens tonight and they were so tasty and moist. It was a very good experiment.

• I am wearing…I am still in my clothes that I have worn all day. I really need to get in my PJ’s and go to bed!

• creating…I finished a fun project for Xazmin’s Mod Podge Mania tomorrow. I think it turned out really well. I am really thankful for this blog because it makes me get some of these projects done that I keep putting off!

• I am going…I am excited to get up in the morning and going walking down in the wilderness area. It is my new thing that I have been doing this summer. It is so beautiful and I love thinking about my day as I see such beautiful scenery. I am going to take my camera with me tomorrow so I can get some shots of the mountains where I walk. They are so green and beautiful right now since we have had so much rain this year.

• I am reading…I just finished a fascinating book called Mistress of the Sun by Sandra Galland. I love historical fiction, and this one is based on a real person who lived in the time of Louis the Fourteenth – in France.

• I am hoping…I need to get my house ready for my sister and her family who are coming to spend the 4th of July with us.

• I am hearing…My fridge is being so loud! I don’t know what is wrong with it, but it is making a buzzing sound. For as expensive as it was, I am not impressed with how loud it has been. The ice maker is very noisy!

• Around the house…I finally got all of the laundry done from our trip. I think I did about 20 loads.

• One of my favorite things…I love blogging and I am sorry that I haven’t been better about commenting lately. First with our trip and then trying to get caught up with things after. So if I haven’t been over to see you, I will be soon!

• A Few Plans For The Rest Of The Week..I am going to try to get my house ready for company. Plus my yard. There are a ton of weeds that I need to pull. So maybe I can do that soon. I am going to take my little girls to the pool tomorrow. They are very excited about that! And of course, 4th of July. We have a really fun community parade in our neighborhood every year. It starts off with a big pancake breakfast and then the parade. Anyone can be in it. So my kids love that. They love decorating their bikes and scooters and throwing candy to the people watching. My sister and her family will be with us and then my other sister and her husband a little baby Hudson will be coming out and staying with my mom. It will be fun to have all of the cousins together!

To see more Simple Woman’s Daybook entries, go on over to Grandmother Wren’s . And don’t forget Mod Podge Mania is tomorrow at Xazmin’s – it should be really fun!

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Have a wonderful week and a Super 4th!

XOXO

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Emerald City Giveaway Winner

Congratulations to Staci at Playing House! She is the winner of my Emerald City Giveaway.
Thanks everyone who participated. I just realized that I have 26 days before my 1 year blogoversary. So if you didn’t win today, you can enter the one in July! I am working on something really fun!
And, you know how I love vinyl wall art? I found out about a great site that has jeweled Vinyl Art! So fabulous!


You should check out their website: House of Three. What cute ideas!

{To do this: use sharpie marker on the mirror. It comes off with a cotton ball and nail polish remover!}

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I hope you are having a super weekend!

XOXO

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Seattle/Portland-fest 2009

We had a great trip to Seattle and Portland!

(Sorry, many pictures to follow)

The LiveStrong ride went well. Jeff really enjoyed riding for such a good cause.

{Jeff and Matt}

We had a great time getting away as a family. Seattle was a rainy most of the time, but so beautiful! We explored downtown,

Went to music stores
Had seafood at the Pier
The Experience Music Project:
University of Washington:
And some shopping time:

Found an incredible noodle place!

And a wonderful diner with fantastic desserts!

We were able to spend time with our friends Matt and Tena and their cute family too.
Portland was great. We only spent a day there, but we crammed as much as we could into the time we had.
We got trolley passes to explore downtown Portland.
We went to used bookstores:
Visited China Town and the Chinese gardens.
We had dinner with my friend Jill, her fiancee Rob and his son Mack.



And some Dim Sum!

We explored colleges in Portland too.

And thanks everyone who entered my Emerald City Giveaway. I will announce the winner tomorrow!

XOXO

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Emerald City Giveaway!

We are having a ball in Seattle. Yesterday we went to the world-famous Pike Place Market. We saw fish vendors throwing fish around, beautiful flowers, scrumptious local produce and all sorts of wonderful Seattle artists.
I found some really fun things for my giveaway! First of all, a hand-crafted crystal with a real flower from the Stillaguamish River Valley in the middle. It is a beautiful, heavy pendant that is hand-soldered on all sides with sterling silver and hangs on a 30-inch silver ball chain.
Then 4 different honeys from Washington’s Snogulmie Valley Honey Farm. There is Wild Blackberry, Amaretto, Strawberry and Seattle Espresso flavors.
And finally, Chocolate Cherry Hazelnuts from Holmquist Hazelnut Orchards. Yum!
To enter: please a leave a comment on this post. All of my followers will automatically be entered to win. The contest ends Friday night at midnight (EST). Thanks! And sorry I haven’t been able to comment on your posts this week, the internet connection in the hotels has been very s-l-o-w!

Have a wonderful day!

XOXO

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Guess What I’m Doin’?

We are on our way to Seattle where my hubs is taking part in a biking LiveStrong fundraiser. His friend from college, Elden has a very popular cycling blog, Fat Cyclist.com. He started writing about cancer too, not just about cycling, after his wife and our dear friend Susan was diagnosed with breast cancer. His friends and blog readers have formed teams to ride in the LiveStrong.org cancer fundraising event. If you are interesting in sponsoring a wondeful event to fight cancer, you can donate here. So far they’ve raised $334,868! So yay – WIN SUSAN!
And, I know this is horrible, but I hate traveling in the car. It’s so boring. So before we left hubs bought me a really cool device. And now, we are cruising down the road doing 75 mph while I BLOG! How cool is that? I can check my email, order something on Amazon or watch something on Hulu. Pretty fun!And I was thinking it would be fun to do a Seattle-themed giveaway. So tomorrow I will be out finding some fun loot from the Emerald City. I will let you know tomorrow what I find.

Have a fabulous Friday!

I hope it’s sunnier where you are – it’s raining and 60’s here.

XOXO

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Last Minute Father’s Day Gift : Photo on Canvas Tutorial

It is Wednesday and time for Extreme Makeover: Me Edition, but since we are running around trying to get ready for our trip, my fridge is almost empty and needs a good clean out. Go over to Amber’s to see everyone else’s fridges and helpful snacking ideas.

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I realized that it’s Father’s Day on Sunday and wanted to make something special for my sweet husband. So my kids and I made this yesterday. This is a project that is fast and easy but meaningful.

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Father’s Day Photo on Canvas

This is what you need:

1. 1 canvas (I paid $4 at my local craft store) 11 x 14
2. White cotton fabricthat is 100% cotton
3. Printed fabric that is also 100% cotton
4. scissors
5. iron
6. staple gun
7. Iron on transfer paper (you can find this at your office supply store like Staples or Office Max)

{this is the original, very old picture}

• Upload your picture to your computer. I added a little bit of text through a fun editing program called http://www.picnik.com. I also added the year for fun. If you add text, you meed to be sure to reverse it so when you iron it on it will be the right side. Or you can check you printer set up, some have a print out option that says iron on transfers – it will automatically reverse your text.
• Then you need to make your picture bigger. My picture is a really old one so the quality was horrible when it was blown up. If you have a more recent picture, yours will turn out much clearer than mine. I used Microsoft Picture Manager and made the photo into a 8 x 10 size.
• Print out the picture on to your photo transfer paper.
• Iron the print onto the white cotton fabric. You need to have your iron on the highest setting with no steam. Apply pressure and iron for at least 3 minutes.
• After a few minutes — peel the transfer paper off.
• Now cut around the image.
• Take your printed material, lay the canvas frame on top of the material. Cut out the material around the canvas, leaving about 3 inches on each side.
• Lay your photo on the u[ side of the printed fabric. (The reason I transferred the image onto white fabric was so that the image will show through better against the print.)
• Take another, blank sheet of transfer paper and lay it over the photo that you already ironed onto the printed fabric. Iron that blank transfer page over your photo. This will attach the photo to the printed fabric. (If you don’t want to do that, you can use adhesive to attach the photo to the printed material — but it might not lay flat.)
• Wait a few minutes until cool – then peel off.
• Lay your printed fabric inside out with the photo on it on your work surface, lay the canvas over the top. Carefully turn the canvas over, holding the cotton material tight. Position the picture where you want it in relation to the canvas.
• Turn the canvas back over, then pull th material taut and staple one side of the frame. Turn it back over to make sure it is still in position. Then staple the other side, making sure to keep tightly pulled. Do this on each side until you have stapled all of the material on the frame. This may take a while to get everything straight and pulled tight.
• Once you have the material attached to the fame, the fun begins.
• Take some contrasting fabric and ribbons and embellish it whatever way you choose. I cut a 3 inch wide section of a contrasting cotton material and stapled it underneath at both end across one side of the picture, Then I took some other ribbons and strips of other material and tied it. It would also be cute to add other embellishments. You could hot glue those on to the canvas.

A picture of your kids would also be really cute for Father’s Day. Or for a grandpa, pictures of his grandkids would be fun! It would also be a special gift for a birthday present, a anniversary gift (you could do an old wedding photo), or even a picture of a flower would be nice all embellished.

Have a Wonderful Wednesday!

XOXO

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Trendy Tuesdays: Fit Flops — Fabulous? or Fashion Faux Pas?

Have you heard of these shoes that claim to help you exercise while going about your normal life? I am always up for something that helps me get healthier while exerting no extra effort. Do these shoes really work?

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One brand, MBT has many different varieties of shoes and they are kind of cute. Here’s what they claim.

MBT shoes are designed to provide a pro-body experience with every step. MBT shoes increase muscle activity; improve circulation, posture and balance; tone legs, hips, abs and gluteus; reduce stress and pressure on the back, feet and joints; and help with pain and injuries. Wearing MBT shoes makes traversing ordinary hard surfaces as beneficial to your body as walking on soft, uneven, terrain. With MBT shoes, all the world’s a gym!

While another brand of shoe, Fit Flops, claims a similar story:

How does the FitFlop make you fitter? Every step you take in the FitFlop helps tone and trim your legs, improve your muscle tone, increase muscle activity and circulation, improve your balance and posture, and burn calories. In fact, FitFlops are biochemically engineered to absorb shock, lessen joint strain and recreate the gait of barefoot walking-but with a powerful new built-in microwobbleboard workout-enhancing effect.

What do you think?

Would you be seen in these shoes?

Do you think they do anything to make you fitter?

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And — have you ever wanted to look like this?
For those of you who live in the Salt Lake City area, Kami from No Biggie is hosting a great giveaway for a free program called LIVE THE LIFE. So go on over and sign up to win!

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Have a terrific Tuesday!

XOXO

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Friend Makin’ Mondays: My Guilty Secrets

It’s FMM! Brought to you by the lovely and sweet Kasey at All That is Good. So today’s task is:

Confessions!!!

Ahhh, this could be scary. (You know, my husband reads this blog.) Although he is out of town for the week… Maybe he won’t see it…

1. I hate to grocery shop. Sometimes I grocery shop at Target so I can look at the cute things and buy a few extra things along with my groceries….
2. I love to vacuum – but hate cleaning my closets. They are always a disaster.
3. I hate cleaning out my fridge.
4. I have terrible eyesight, but keep putting Lasik off because I’m a chicken.
5. I have terrible PMS – my poor husband!

What a your secrets?

Go on over to Kasey’s and sign up to join in the fun!

XOXO

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Creative Fridays: Decoupaged Summer Stars

I love to decoupage. I am always on the lookout for a new project. So when I saw these stars last month I picked them up. I finally got around to making some!
I traced each arm of the star onto paper and cut it out to make a pattern. I then traced the pattern onto my scrapbook paper. I thought it would be fun to do 5 coordinating papers on each star.
After the stars were decoupaged, I cut coordinating ribbon and attached it at the top.

Have a fun Friday and a great weekend!

XOXO

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