Christmas Nails

I got this great poem from Vicki at Bountiful Blessings.  She has a great setup that she can print and attach the nail.  What an awesome idea!  I changed it up a bit to give to my family and friends and also to use at my last few craft shows of the season.  Wish I found it sooner!  Anyway, this was pretty simple for me.  I printed the poem, cut it to size.  Next, I cut a frame and a shadow frame to fit with my cricut on scal.  I used a frame from 09kutups.  The nail is a masonry nail, found at Lowes or HD, and actually not all that heavy.  I hope you enjoy!  The poem follows... thank you Vicki!


The Christmas Nail

Each year on my Christmas tree,
I hang a nail for all to see.

It’s for all the nails
In the manger where He lay,
And for the nails piercing
His body as His life drained away.

It’s a reminder of His love
Midst the green of the tree,
Of the gift that was given,
For you and for me.

Hanging there brightly
On it’s little red cord,
Telling of Jesus,
Our Savior, our Lord.

"Resticky" your Cricut mat.

I know there are ideas everywhere about how to recondition your Cricut mat.  There are a ton of ideas, but I want to share what has worked for me.  I use the Zig 2-way glue.  It comes in different sizes from a pen, to the one that I use that is almost an inch wide.  First you clean your mat with dish liquid, water and a sponge. I Dry it with a non-shedding cloth and lay it out to dry for about an hour.  (it can be shorter if you just can't wait)  Then I lay the glue on, completely covering the sticky part of the mat.  Be careful not to get it out on the non-sticky part.  It will gum up your rollers.  Let it sit overnight, uncovered.  In the morning you will be ready to go.  I love this stuff!  When you use it, it actually holds the paper better than the original adhesive and lasts longer, plus I think it releases easier.  I have torn many sheets of paper trying to get them off the mat, but with this glue, it sticks when you want it to, but it releases when you pull.

I have been using the same 2 mats for a year and I use my cricut every day for a few hours most days.  I finally have to retire one because it is warped from going through the machine so many times!  This stuff really works.  As always, do your research to decide if this is the method for you, understanding how it affects your warranty.  Hope this helps you get a lot more use out of your mats!

M&M Christmas poem

This is the m&m poem that is circulating the crafting community.  Great for church craft shows.  Of course, I somehow forgot them when I did one this weekend!  Enjoy!


As you hold these candies in your hand,
and turn them, you will see...
The M becomes a W, an E, and then a 3.
They tell the Christmas story. It's one I'm sure you know.
It took place in a stable a long, long, time ago.
The E is for the East, where the star shone so bright.
The M is for the Manger, where Baby Jesus slept that night.
The 3 is for the wise men, who came bearing gifts.
W is for Worship. Hallelujah, praise His name!
So as you eat these candies, or share them with your friends,
Remember the meaning of Christmas. It's a love story that never ends.

As always, I am happy to give credit where it's due!  If this is your poem, let me know.

Coupon code for SCAL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

New coupon code for scal is   9794821.  I have tested it and it is active!  It is for 10% off and brings the price down to 67.50.  The link is in my sidebar.  Hope you enjoy as much as I do!

Magic Reindeer Food


The poem is as follows:


Sprinkle on the lawn at night
The moon will make it sparkle bright
As Santa's reindeer fly and roam
This will guide them to your home

I mixed one big container of oatmeal with red and green sugar sprinkles and a little non toxic (in case the kids eat it) glitter dust.

I will be making this for my son's kindergarten class.  How cute!

Beaded Glass block Light

I have recieved a ton of questions about my glass block lights, so I hope that this tutorial will help to clear those things up!

First, I can't take credit for the idea.  I saw it on SplitCoast, only without the beads.  Then, on pennywise arts (my source for the beads and tape sheets) I saw a beaded one.  So  I am just sharing my process.  The credit for the idea lies elsewhere!

Supplies:
Glass Block- I get mine from a local building supply.  They are 8*8 and we drill the hole for the lights.  If you are only doing a few, you may want to get the predrilled variety available at Hobby Lobby.  A bit of advice we got from the glass block supplier is not to use a glass drill bit as sometimes suggested.  Instead we use a Dremel with a diamond grinding stone.  My DH keeps it lubricated by dipping it in baby oil occaionally during the process.  We drill the hole just big enough to fit the lights, about 1".  It is in the bottom of the block near one edge.  Because the block has raised edges, there is room to run the cord out without the block tipping.  After your hole is drilled, you will need to rinse out the block, and then leave it to dry.  Mine took about 24-36 hours.
Picture- 6"*6".  I use computer images, printed on a lightweight computer paper, so the light can shine through.
O'so Sticky adhesive Sheets- Available at www.PennywiseArts.com
Microbeads-  these are available in different sizes.  I order mine from Pennywise, and they are the mini microbeads.  They are about the size of a grain of salt.
Lights- I like to use a 35 light strand of Christmas lights.  A 50 light strand heats the block too much.  You could get burnt.  If you are making a child's night light, I would use the LED lights, as they let off virtually no heat

How to: the fun part
Insert your lights through the hole.  I do this first so I don't have to mess with it after I get the beads on.

Center your picture on the face of the block.  Attach with a small amount of adhesive on the corners.  (I like AdTech tape runners).

Peel the backing off of your trimmed adhesive sheet (sized to fit over your image, in this example 6"*6"), and carefully place over the picture.

Peel off the remaining backing sheet and sprinkle your beads on.  Press firmly.  Pour off excess beads.  Repeat on the other side of the block if desired.  I make mine 2 sided with a different pic on each side, so it's reversible.

Last but not least, I wrap mine in ribbon and tie a bow.  If you need a bow tutorial, try you tube.  I stink at bows!

Enjoy!

Nov. 14 Craft show. Solon PTA.

My 2nd craft show was this weekend and I would say it was a success.  I sold out of a few items, and I even sold a few of my glass block lights.  One thing I will ask as I book future shows is how many jewelry vendors there are.  At this show, of the 109 vendors, there were at least 25 jewelry vendors.  It was just too much.  They weren't selling anything so they were grumpy, and I think it affected the shoppers.  Also, because they were upset with their sales, they were packing up and leaving early, effectively ending the show an hour early and depriving me of an hour's worth of sales.  But, I would still call it a smashing success!  Mike and I had a great day, really enjoying eachother's company, and we met some other great crafters, and made some good customer contacts.

Our Halloween Costumes, Wizard of oz

Just wanted to post a pic of our costumes.  We have dressed up as a family for the last few years.  I had a lot of fun sewing these, but I was a little disappointed at how my costume came out.  I actually added an inch and a half to my skirt, but I still felt uncomfortable in it!  Don't my boys look handsome?

Hmmm...Artistic ability?

When I went to the school to pick Michael (6 yo ds) up today, the principal brought him to me.  He had written on the bathroom floor with a crayon.  He claimed the scribbles, but not the smiley face. lol.  The kid is in sooo much trouble.  Right now he is writing apology letters to his teacher and principal.  His principal is keeping him in from recess tomorrow to clean the floor.  I think he needs practice.  Maybe I will have him practice on my floors tonight.

Grinch Pills

Had a few requests for the grinch pills poem, I didn't write it, but I can't give credit to whomever did, because I found it all over the place, so I don't know who to credit!
Here it is...
Feeling kinda grouchy?
Holiday spirit can't be found?
Just try these little "Grinch Pills"
They're the best medicine around.
Whether eating a whole handful,
Or eating one or two,
These tasty little "pills"

Take the Grinch right out of you.

Tile Coasters

I have received some questions about my tile coasters, so I thought I would post the answers here!
This is how I make them...
I have used 3 types of tile for these, please learn from my mistakes.  Do not use any tile that has ANY type of a coating.  The first ones I used had some texture and didn't look glossy,so I thought I would try them, but they run, even after my stringent baking process.

My favorite are the 4x4 Chiaro tumbled marble from Lowes.  They are shrink wrapped in groups of 9 for 4.86.  These are natural tile and you may get some that are pretty pitted.  A moderate degree of pitting is ok and just adds to the effect IMO.   Lowe's won't take back singles, but if you get a lot and can come up with a group of 9 to return, they will exchange them for you (if you get deeply pitted ones you can't use.)

On to the crafting...
I wipe these down with a baby wipe and lay on a towel to dry.  When they are dry, I stamp my design with Stazon ink.  I think it's very important to bake after this step to set the ink so it doesn't run when you color.  I bake at 350 for 30 minutes.  (If you aren't going to add color, bake an extra 30 min, to really set the ink.)
Let cool.  This will take a while, these babies hold the heat.
Now you can add color.  I use colored sharpies to color them in.
*tip* yellow seems to bleed.
After they are colored, bake for another 30 minutes, and let cool in the oven.  I don't add any kind of  coating, like clear coat and they don't run.  IMHO a clear coat impedes the tile's ability to absorb the liquid, one of the reasons these coasters are so great!

When they are cool, I add cork to the bottom to keep them from scratching the table.  I get a roll of already sticky cork from Lowes for about $10 that does at least 12 sets of coasters.  you can also get the little sticky things you get to put on chair legs and put on all four corners.

My first post!

I just can't wait to get blogging. My goals for this blog are...

1. to share crafting ideas

2. to discuss life as a mom

3. to share product reviews about products I feel strongly about

4. to share tutorials

5. to make some blog friends

It's overwhelming to start a brand new blog, but today I start, and I will continue, one post at a time!