DIY Bon Voyage Cake

Hello Everyone!

This post is my first posting about baking. At the end of August, I had a get together for a friend who was leaving to go to Korea to teach. This is the cake I made for the occasion.

Things you need:
-cake mix
-icing (2-3 cans)
-rice crispies square ingredients
-tooth picks
-paper flags
-mini paper airplane
-string
-tape

Step 1:
First thing you need to do is make the cake. Follow the instructions on the box and bake the cake.

Step 2:
Next make the rice crispie squares recipe. With some of the mix, you will need to make a round ball. This will become the earth.

Step 3:
Once the cake has cooled, you can ice the cake in any color you choose. Then take tooth picks and stick the earth onto the cake. The tooth picks will help it stay in place.

Step 4:
Once you have stuck the earth in the cake, you will need to ice it. I dyed white icing blue and then covered the round ball. Then I took the green icing I already had and made some land masses. I then stuck the paper flags in the rice crispie earth. The flags were the flags of Canada and South Korea. I then attached the mini paper airplane with string and tape.

Step 5:
Last, I wrote a Bon Voyage message on the cake! It turned out to be really good.

Happy Baking Crafters!

DIY Miss you card

Hello my fellow crafters! So sorry that I have been M.I.A. since the beginning of September. Having started Teacher's College has taken over my life so I haven't had time to post on here. Anyway, I'm going to be spending my time over the holidays posting ideas on here for you all! Hope you enjoy!

Today's idea is a card I made for a friend when she moved from Ottawa to Toronto to attend Teacher's College there. I found this idea online and decided to modify it a bit.

Things you will need:
-card stock in your preferred colors
-scrapbook paper scraps
-scissors
-sharpie
-string/ twine (optional)

Step 1:
First, you will want to fold the card stock in half. If you choose you can cut the card stock so that the corners are rounded.

Step 2:
Next you will want to draw silhouettes of owls. Cut them out and draw faces and wings on them. Then you can glue them onto the paper. If you would like you can use a string as a spot to place the owls. You can also chose to do something other than owls. It is entirely up to you. If you choose to do the string part, you will need to do this before the owls get glued on.

Step 3:
Next you will want to chose a font and draw the letters on the card. Then go over it with a sharpie. You can get sharpies in different colors from your local dollar store.

Step 4:
Next, write a message inside the card and let the glue on the owls dry. Voila! You have made your own card. Hope you have fun!

Happy Crafting!

DIY Heart Rings

Hello my fellow crafty people!

Hope you are having a great night. This is my last post of the evening considering I am sick, emotionally exhausted and sweating to death for some strange reason. I thought I would post this last post in dedication to my best friends in Ottawa. This is one of three gifts I made for each of them to a)show them how much i love them and b)send them on their way with a little piece of me!! Ya, its been and is going to be a rough week for me!

Things you will need:
-needle nose pliers
-wire cutters
-bendable wire for jewelry (available at craft stores)
-nail polish (color[s] of your choice and a clear one)

Step 1:
Create the ring using the needle nose pliers and wire cutters. I started by making the heart first and then making the part that wraps around your finger. This may take a few tries to get right. It took me a little bit to get the hang of it. If you are really stumped, you can find step-by-step guides by people who make this kind of jewelry all the time online. (Sorry for the blurry pics, I'm not sure what happened!)

Step 2:
Once you have gotten the ring assembled, take your nail polish in the desired color and paint the metal. You can also just leave it metal if you prefer.

Step 3:
Once the coat has dried, apply the clear coat. You can just apply the clear coat if you didn't paint the ring a different color. Let it dry.

Once it is dry, you can wrap it up and give it to a friend or family member. Or you can sport it yourself. Enjoy! Happy Crafting! xoxo

DIY Cake Stand

Hello my fellow crafters!

Hope you all are enjoying this lovely August night! It rained nearly all day today! Today was also the day I said goodbye to one of my best friends. She is going to Korea to teach for a year. I'm excited about all the adventures she will have there, but sad that she is leaving myself and our group of friends. It's kinda a sad week for me this week, and I also have a cold. Anyway, today we shall be making a Cake Stand out of things I found from the dollar store.

Things you will need:
-glass or plastic plates of your choosing
-a decorative candle holder of your choosing
-crazy glue or waterproof glue for dishes (I was unable to find the second type anywhere so I used crazy glue)

Step 1:
Decide how you want your cake stand. I chose to do two plastic clear plates, with a pink votive candle holder in the middle. But you can get really creative with this, just make sure it wont tip over or is unbalanced.

Step 2:
Carefully using the crazy glue, glue the votive holder to the bottom plate. To do this, run the crazy glue around the outer edge of the top of the candle holder.

Step 3:
Hold down for about a minute. Then rim the bottom edge of the candle holder with crazy glue and place the top plate on top of the candle holder. Put something on top of the plate to apply pressure. Let sit for a minute.


NOTE: Do not wash in water if you have used crazy glue. It will come apart as crazy glue isn't waterproof. I learned this the hard way when my boyfriend washed it by mistake. Put something on it or just wipe it down with a damp cloth. Happy Crafting! :D

DIY Earring Holder

Hello my crafty friends!

I apologize for my lack of posting. Things have been pretty hectic personally. I figured I should post some new blogs considering the last one was the beginning of this month. Sorry for the delay. Anyway, this new post is a DIY earring holder. It is fairly simple.

Things you need:
- paint
-paint brush
-cheese grater
-duct tape
-gold hooks
-glue gun
-glue sticks (for the glue gun)

Step 1:
Paint the cheese grater in your desired color. (I chose red). I bought my cheese grater at the dollar store seeing as I didn't want to use the one my boyfriend and I have been using for the past couple years. The cheese grater was a dollar. You may have to do a few coats of thick paint to make it so you cant see any silver.

Step 2:
Once the coats of paint have been applied, heat up your glue gun and glue the gold hooks in each corner of the bottom of the cheese grater. Make sure they are all glued at the same height so that it will be level when sitting right side up.

Step 3:
My cheese grater came with a little handle. I took this off because I didn't like the color and replaced it with four pieces of duct tape which I wrapped on the inside too. Once that is done, you can choose to varnish it. (I haven't decided if I want to yet)

Step 4:
Put your earrings in the open holes on each side of the cheese grater. Enjoy your new earring holder

This craft is super easy to make. It took me about a day or two. This was mainly because you have to wait for the paint to dry, but after that, it is pretty simple. Enjoy! Happy Crafting!!! xoxo

DIY Rainy Day Change Holder

Hello Again, my crafty friends!

I figured I'd post a few more ideas so that I can start posting the new ideas I've been busy creating.

So the deal with this craft is that my boyfriend really doesn't like change, but I always end up with loose change somehow and it's always laying around our apartment. I figured it would be good to keep it in a jar and to save it for a rainy day or for something we both wanna buy. For awhile, I kept it in a mason jar with a post-it note taped to it that said "Vacation Change" but it was very boring. One night, while searching for ideas, I came across this plastic bottle piggy bank and was like "I bet you could do something similar (but more mature) for the same thing". So I put my creative thinking cap on and went to work. It is another easy project. And it didn't take me a whole lot of time.

Things you will need:
-a small cannister (hot chocolate or coffee works best)
-scrapbook paper
-scissors
-tape
-marker
-glue

Step 1:
Clean the cannister out and dry it.

Step 2:
Wrap your preferred piece of paper around the cannister and tape the ends together. Tape the edge of the scrapbook paper to the top edge of the cannister. This make it easier to put the lid back on. Next make a little sign that say "Rainy Day Savings" or "Vacation Savings". It can be whatever you want it to be.

Step 3:
Cut a rectangular slit in the lid long enough to fit toonies and folded up bills in. Once the hole is made, cover the lid in glue. Then put the preferred piece of paper on the lid.

Step 4:
Once dry, cut the paper where the slit is. Put the lid back on the cannister and enjoy saving for something with this bank that isn't boring!


Happy Crafting All!!!

DIY Plastic Bag Holder

Hello my crafty friends!

I have decided to post a few more posts considering I have been slacking lately. One morning, while I was tidying up my living room and kitchen, I noticed that my boyfriend and I have seemingly collected a large pile of plastic grocery bags. They were everywhere: shoved in cubby shelves, in a box, under the sink, in another basket. I decided enough was enough, we need to get rid of some and to put some in a place that would make the kitchen look more cluttered than it already is. So I came across this idea to make a plastic bag holder. It was super easy to do and didn't take a lot of time (maybe an hour)

Things you will need:
-an old litre coffee cannister (big one from Timmy's is what I used)
-scissors
-scrapbook paper to decorate it
-tape
-glue

Step 1:
Clean out the container and dry it.

Step 2:
Cut a hole in the lid about the size of toonie. You can make it bigger if you like.

Step 3:
Cover the cannister with the scrapbook paper of your choice and tape it together. With scrap pieces of paper, make a little sign that says "Plastic Bags" in the font of your choice.

Step 4:
Cover the lid in glue and then glue down a piece of scrapbook paper. When it has dried, cut the paper where you made the hole.

Step 5:
Tape the edge of the paper to the edge of the cannister. This helps the lid go on properly. Put the lid back on.

Step 6:
Fill with plastic bags and leave one sticking out so you can grab it. If you have time, roll the plastic bags so that each time you take one out, another is left sticking out in its place. (You can google how to do this - I didn't have the time)

After that, you are all done! Happy Crafting!

DIY Organizer for Flyers and Coupons

Hello my fellow crafters! Sorry for the delay in posts. I was away at a family reunion this past week so I didn't have a chance to post any blogs! This evening's DIY idea is a binder to store those coupons, take-out menus and flyers you find all over your place. As I was tidying up one night, I noticed that my boyfriend and I have a lot of these, which makes it harder to find stuff when it's needed. So one night, when I was searching for more ideas for this blog, I came across a binder to hold things in. I figured it might work for holding this kind of stuff too. It's super easy and doesn't take a long time.

Things you will need:
- a binder (2")
-dividers (i have four in mine so far)
-plastic page covers
-coupons, flyers and takeout menus

Step 1:
Empty any old or unwanted things out of the binder. Put the dividers in and label them. I labelled mine with the following:
-Cheap Things to do in the City
-Hygiene/Cleaning Coupons
-Grocery/Food Coupons
-Takeout Menus

Step 2:
Put the plastic page covers behind each divider and then put your coupons, flyers and takeout menus in their designated areas. You can decorate the front if you want to. I left mine how it was decorate before I made it an organizer. It is entirely up to you.

Step 3:
Stick it in the kitchen where you wont forget about it and that is easy to find/get to and enjoy having a place to put all those flyers and coupons that take up so much space on counters.




Happy Crafting! xo

DIY Soap Dispenser

Hello All! Here is my second post for the evening! Tonight's DIY project is a Soap Dispenser. I was finding that where I like to shop for hand soap has been having a serious lacking of pretty and inexpensive soap dispensers, so I decided to make my own. It was fairly easy to make and only took one evening to finish!

Things you need:
- a clean jar with a lid (I used an old relish jar)
-paint
-mod podge
-masking tape
-white string
-a shell (or whatever you want to hang from the string)
-paintbrush
-a nozzle pump

Step 1:
Clean the jar. Once the jar is clean and dry, take the masking tape and make stripes with it. Make sure you have enough to reach all the way around the jar. I did two stripes. Paint your first color (I did blue because I'm going for a nautical theme). Let that dry

Step 2:
Take the masking tape off carefully and paint your second color on the stripes created by the tape. Let that dry. While it is drying you can work on attaching the nozzle pump to the lid of the relish jar. (Make sure the lid is clean too)

Step 3:
Punch holes in the top of the jar lid. I used scissors for this. Once you have a big enough hole for the pump to fit in, insert the nozzle pump. You can secure it with crazy glue if you have any. If not, you can secure it when you apply the mod podge to the outside of the lid and jar.

Step 4:
Paint the lid. You may have to do more than one coat. (I did two or three) After everything is dry, apply the mod podge to every area that has paint on it. Let it dry

Step 5:
Once the mod podge is dry, it will be sticky. You can sand it down a bit... just very lightly. After that, cut a long piece of string and wrap it several time under the lid.

Step 6:
Cut out your starfish or shell (you con improvise if using something else... be creative) and cut a hole in the top of  it, insert one end of the string through it and then tie the two ends into a bow.

Step 7:
 Fill it with your favorite hand soap and enjoy! Happy Crafting!

DIY Vase with Flowers

Good evening my fellow crafters! Hope you all are having a pleasant evening! I'm sorry I have not been posting as regularly as I should but I have been busy trying to get ready for teacher's college and completing other tasks that need to be done. Anyway, tonight's craft is fairly easy to do and would make an excellent gift for a friend or family member or even if you just need a little color in a room in your apartment or house.

Things you will need:
- wine bottle
-dried flowers
-hairspray
-scissors

Step 1:
Clean the wine bottle out. Instead of throwing them in the recycling, wash them and let them dry. There are hundreds of websites with ways to reuse old wine bottles. So next time you have a party or get-together, think about what you can do with the empties instead of throwing them out.

Step 2:
Once the bottle is dry, decide how you want to decorate the outside. I left the labels on mine because iI felt like it gave it that vintage feeling. It was also a nice bottle of wine.

Step 3:
If you are like me and love it when your boyfriend or husband gives you flowers, and you are always wanting to save them, try doing this instead. When they start to die, take them out of the vase and hang them individually or in small bunches upside down. This dries them out. Once they are dry, (it usually takes a day or two) coat them in hairspray. You may want to do two coats of hairspray, just to be safe!

Step 4:
Once the hairspray has dried, (it usually doesn't take that long) trim the stems. In mine, the stems were already different lengths so I staggered the heights. Then put them in the top of the wine bottle. Be careful as the flowers are fragile due to being dried out. I had to put mine in nearly all at once because they wouldn't fit otherwise.

Step 5:
Once that is done, give it another coat of hairspray (if you feel it needs it) and then place it where you want it to sit.

This isn't a very time consuming project but it makes for nice decor especially if you dry the flowers out before they start to wilt. It will instantly give any room a pop of color. It is also so versatile that it can be done for a child's room as well. All you have to do if spray paint a cool design on the bottle and follow the rest of the steps. Hope you enjoy this one! I certainly did seeing as I did it right before company came over! Happy Crafting!!!

Garbage Bag Wreaths

Hello my crafty friends! Hope all is well in your worlds! This is another post as promised! Tonight we are making wreaths made out of garbage bags. It is a simple project but is time consuming. I liked to work on this one while catching up on my favorite television shows.

Things you will need:
- a metal hanger
- colored garbage bags
- pliers
- card stock
- string
- tape

Step 1:
First you will need to take apart the metal hanger and use the pliers to bend it into a circle. Make sure it stays together.

Step 2:
After this, you will need to cut strips of your garbage bags. I bought mine at the dollar store. They are the small ones for the smaller garbage cans. Do not open them. Just leave it how it unrolls. Separate them at the perforated holes.

Step 3:
Once you have separated a bag from the roll, cut off the bottom of the bag. Then fold the bag in half to make two smaller rectangles. Cut on the fold. Repeat this until the strips are essentially the size of 8" long and the width of a small ruler. Cut the ends off each end of the strips.

Step 4:
Once you have a large amount of these strips, start tying them to the metal circle you made. Make sure you knot them so they do not fall off. Continue this until you have cover the whole circle.

Step 5:
Once you have completed the garbage bag part, its time to make the "welcome" sign. For this, tie one end of the yard to the metal circle. Decide how you want the string to hang within the wreath and the cut the other end leaving enough to be able to tie it up.

Step 6:
Once tied up, work on your letters. All I did for this was take a small ruler and trace around the edges on a piece of white card stock. Then, with a pencil, I drew out my letters. I then colored them in with a black permanent marker and cut them out.

Step 7:

Carefully tape them to the string (or hot glue gun) so they are even. Hang them and enjoy your new wreath. Happy Crafting, my little crafters!

Key Holder

Hello my fellow crafters!

As promised, I am posting new blogs today to catch up with the postings I've been neglecting to post. Today's craft is another fairly simple one. Its a key holder. If you are like me and are finding keys everywhere in your house or are always misplacing them, this is a good craft to do as the end result will give you a place to put all those keys.

Things you will need:
- piece of wood (square or rectangle, whichever you prefer)
- paint in the color of your choice
-mod podge

-paintbrush
-gold screw-in hooks
-two different scrapbook pieces of paper of your choice
-sandpaper
-picture hanging kit

Step 1:
First you will want to smooth any rough edges down on your piece of wood. Once you have done this, you should clean off any dust and then paint it in your chosen color. (I chose black) Let this dry.

Step 2:
Once the paint has dried, figure out how big you want the first piece of scrapbook paper to be on your piece of wood. This will be the background. After this has been figured out and cut out, attached it to the piece of wood using the mod podge.

Step 3:
Once you have secured the background piece of scrapbook paper (see pictures for reference if you are confused), make the letter of your last name in the other sheet of scrapbook paper. Once you have put it on the piece of scrapbook paper, cut it out and use the mod podge to seal it onto the background piece.

Step 4:
Once the mod podge has dried, screw in the gold hooks. I put in three because my piece of wood wasn't as big as some of the others I've seen. You can put as many has you want in but typically I think four or five is the general amount.

Step 5:
Once everything is complete, get a cheap picture hanging kit (I got mine from the dollar store) and attach a little jagged edge hanger on the back. (I'm not sure what it is actually called but it looks like a jagged tooth mouth. It has two holes on either end). Once this is complete, enjoy your new key holder. Now you can relax because you have a place to hang your keys now and the chance of losing them is a lot less now. Happy Crafting!!! :

Melted Wax Canvas

Hello All! Since I have been slacking, I have a bunch of stuff I have been making to post so I will try to get them all up before the end of this weekend. This one is fairly easy, children could definitely do this; however there is hot gluing involved so it wouldn't hurt for an adult to help with that part.

Things you will need:
- Canvas
-box of crayons (24 or 48 depending on size of canvas)
-garbage bags or newspaper to cover your workspace
-hot glue gun and glue sticks
-hair dryer

Step 1:
First pick the colors you want to include on your canvas. I bought a box of 24 crayons and chose all but the brown crayon. I was going for a rainbow type effect so I didnt think brown would look good in the scheme of things.

Step 2:
Then I lined them up how i wanted them and was careful about keeping them in that order. I plugged in my glue gun and once it was hot, I ran a strip of glue down the seam of the label for each crayon and then placed it across the top of the canvas.

Step 3:
Repeat this until all crayons are glued on the canvas. Once this is complete, put newspaper or garbage bags to cover your work space because the hair dryer will blow some of the wax right off the canvas.

Step 4:
Plug in your hair dryer and turn it to high and hot. Aim it at the middle of the crayon. If you aim it at the bottom, the wax will chunk up. This way, it melts the top and bottom. Once you are satisfied with the look, turn off the hair dryer and let the canvas dry.


After it has dried, hang it up some place and enjoy your melted wax canvas. Its super fun and fairly easy. It definitely makes a cool gift for a friend or younger family member. I have also seen them where they leave a space on one side and write something like "create" or "inspire" on it. Happy Crafting!!!

Wooden Black Shelf

Hello all my fellow DIYers! Hope you all are having a pleasant night. I am sorry for the delay of recent posts. I have been super busy getting stuff taken care of for teacher's college and around my house. Anyway, tonight's craft is just a black shelf and it's super easy to do. This would be a good thing for a dorm room or if you just need a little extra storage shelf in a room.

Things you need:
- a piece of wood (mine is approx. 10-12" long)
-black paint
-varnish
-yarn
-little silver screw in loops

Step 1:
Sand any rough edges of the piece of wood and then wipe it down. Next paint it black or whatever color you want it to be. I just used folk art paint.

Step 2:
Once the paint is dry, apply a coat of varnish to it. I put a couple coats on it just to give it an extra shine and it adds to the protection of the wood. Once this is dry, then you can add the little silver loops to each end of the front of the wood. Make sure you buy the ones that are nearly closed, not the bigger gold ones that are not closed in a loop at all. (See picture if you are confused)

Step 3: Once you have the loops place on the front of either end, place two more in the wall where you want the shelf to hang. Once this is done, string the yarn through the first loop on the wall and tie it to loop on the shelf on the same side. Repeat this for the other side. Make sure they are tight enough that the shelf stand at a 90 degree angle to the wall. Enjoy!

DIY City Maps

Hello my fabulous crafters!
Today's craft is one that is totally kid-friendly. There could be many uses for this craft. The kids could make treasure maps or scavenger hunt maps or you could even have them create their ideal city. I did this craft with three children I babysat during the summer a few years back. They really enjoyed doing this craft and being creative in designing their very own cities.

Things you will need:
-white computer paper
-markers in several colors
-tape

Step 1:
The first thing you will need to do is tape several pieces of paper together, depending on how big you want your city to be.

Step 2:
This is the fun part. This is where you create your city. Put houses, roads, stores etc. Use your imagination.

Step 3:
After the city map is complete, you can hang it up or you can give it to the child to send them on a scavenger hunt or treasure hunt. All depends on what the child is up to.

After we made the city maps, we re-drew them on the driveway in chalk so the kids could use their hot wheels cars in the city map. Kids have a lot of fun with this. Hope you enjoy! Happy Crafting!

Nifty Night-tables!

Hello my crafty crafters! I figured I should write another post considering I've been slacking a bit. Today's D.I.Y. craft is a Nifty Night Table! I decided that my current bedside table is too big for the bedroom so I designed and made this smaller one. This is a difficult craft. I had to have my boyfriend help me with the drilling. Also you will want to designate a few days to complete this project.

Things you will need:
- wood (i used wood boards from an old ikea bed frame.)
-saw
-nails (size is at your discretion. I can't remember how big the nails were that we used)
-paint (in the color you want to paint it)
-varnish to seal in the paint so it won't get ruined
-paintbrushes
-measuring tape
-sand paper

Step 1:
Figure out how tall you want the bed side table to be. I decided that 21" was a good height. So I took four pieces of the ikea bed frame and measured out 21" on it. I then drew a line across the piece of wood and had my boyfriend saw on excess wood off. I did this four times. These are the legs of the bed side table. Label them in pencil lightly.
NOTE: It is a good idea to label all pieces so you know what is what. It can get a little confusing with all the wood lying around.

Step 2:
To make the shelf and the top and bottom drawer enclosure of the bed side table, I took 6 pieces of the old ikea bed frame and sawed them in half. This is approximately 15". The side pieces of the drawer enclosure was the width of the table top. I think it was approximately 8 or 9". With the side pieces and the four pieces of wood for the top and bottom drawer enclosure, make a box shape.

Step 3:
Once you have made the box shape, attach the legs of the bed side table. We found it easier to drill holes first and then to drill the screws in. For the back of the enclosure, I found a piece of random wood that I hammered into the spot. You can glue it or drill a screw or two if you are concerned about it staying.

Step 4:
To make the shelf, you need a couple of small pieces of wood. This was just scraps we had left over. We screwed one piece to two of the legs and the other to the other two. Then we placed the last four 15" pieces of wood across the two pieces and drilled screws into them.

Step 5:
If you want to make the drawer, I used the door of an old entertainment unit. I had to saw about half an inch off the one side. This becomes the bottom of the drawer. Then I used some of the scraps to make the sides and back of the drawer. You may need to measure and cut to make it fit. Once that is complete, cut one 15" piece. This is to be the front. You will need to screw it to the sides and bottoms. My boyfriend and I used a combination of finishing nails and screws. Once the drawer is fastened securely, attached the drawer handle. The one I used was on from an old cabinet that I had taken the doors off of.

Step 6:
Once completed, sand any rough edges. You may want to do this as you are going along, because there will be rough edges from sawing. Once that is completed and you have wiped away the sawdust, start painting. I did this the next day... as putting it together took me from noonish to about 7pm. Depending on the color of the paint, you may have to do more than 1-2 coats. I did 4 coats because I chose to do it in white. Let each coat you do dry completely.

Step 7:
Once the paint is dry, you can decorate it however you want. The pattern on mine is inspired from a scrapbook paper I bought. I tweaked it a bit and added the letter b to the shelf. I used black folk art paint for this. I did two coats for this. Let this dry. I waited overnight.

Step 8:
After the design is complete and dry, you will need to varnish it so that all your hard work does not get ruin. To do this, you will need varnish. It's about 16 bucks at Canadian Tire. I got a semi gloss because the paint I used had a bit of a glossy look to it already. Semi-gloss is good if you don't want high shine on your end table. I put one coat on mine. You are supposed to put two or three coats on but when I went to apply the second coat it was going on yellow, not clear. I think one coat is okay. Each coat you do will have to dry 4-6 hours.





Once this is done, you have your very own bed side table. This is an extremely lengthy project but the outcome is worth it. I love my new bedside table. Like I said, you will need to make some time for this project... or do it when you have a lot of time. Happy DIY crafting!!!

Colorful Coffee Filter Snowflakes

Hello my fabulous crafters!

First off, I would like to say Happy Belated Canada Day to my fellow Canadians, and if there are any American readers out there, Happy 4th of July! I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday! For today's craft, I'm going to do something fairly easy to make. I know summer has started and so I thought this would be a great craft to do if you have kids or are babysitting. I call this craft " Colorful Coffee Filter Snowflakes", but honestly you can make whatever shape you want.... perhaps flowers?

Things you will need:
-Coffee Filters (I got mine from the Dollar store - you can get a lot for cheap)
-Scissors
-Markers (Washable works best)
-Spray bottle filled with water
-Newspaper (to lay on the table to avoid mess)

Step 1:
Lay down the newspaper. Color the Coffee Filter with all of your preferred colors. Once it is done, it will look weird but don't worry because those colors will be faded.

Step 2:
Take the spray bottle and spray the coffee filter until it is wet and the colors are bleeding into one another. Once complete, set out to dry. It might help to have a designated area of newspaper that is dry so the coffee filters can dry. You can also take a hair dryer to them if you don't want to wait.

Step 3:
Once dry, cut out desired shape and decorate if you want to. I decided to do colorful snowflakes. We cut out patterns to make the snowflakes. Then for extra bling, I glue tin foil to mine.

It is entirely up to you how to finish off the project. I hung mine in a window and when it was sunny, the tin foil would catch the light and sparkle. This craft is easy to do with kids! If you wanna get really creative, you can try making fake flowers with them. I do not have a post for this but perhaps sometime in the future. Happy Crafting!

Splatter Art Canvas

Hello my fantastic crafters!

Again this week, I am doing a double posting because I have been so busy doing things that need to get done that I have been slacking on posting! Anyway, today's craft is called Splatter Art Canvas. It is fairly simple and cheap to do and makes great decorative pieces if you are a student like me and can't afford to go out and buy art for my place.

Things you will need:
- Canvas (can get these cheap at a dollar store, sometimes in multi-packs)
-black paint
-different colors of paint that will be visible on top of black paint

Step 1:
Paint the canvas black. You may have to do this twice as sometimes you will still have white showing through after the first coat. Let it dry!

Step 2:
Take a paintbrush and a color. Get a bit of paint on your brush and flick it towards the black canvas. You may want to do this outside as it will get on more places then your canvas. Repeat this step with however many colors you want.

Step 3:
Let it dry and if you want you  can modge podge it so that it has a shiny protective layer on it! Also if you dont have a canvas that is stretched over a piece of wood, you will want to find some way of hanging it. I used some extra ribbon I had lying around and a hot glue gun to glue the ribbon on.

Hope this was as fun for you as it was for me. This craft could make a great gift for a friend or relative as you would have to use a black background. Play around with it and make it unique to you! Happy Crafting! xoxo

Paint Smudge Butterflies

Good Morning Crafters!

Hope everyone is having a great Thursday morning and isn't melting in this sweltering heat! Today's craft is something a little more kid friendly, so if you have young children or are in need of an activity for babysitting, this one is for you. They are called Paint Smudge Butterflies and are incredibly easy to do.

Things you will need:
-Various colours are paint (preferably bright, colorful ones)
-cardstock or computer paper (Computer paper is a tad easier to fold fyi)
-newspaper
-scissors

Step1:
Cut out a template for a butterfly ahead of time. It doesn't need to be detailed or perfect. A simple one will do. Also lay down newspaper as this craft can get messy, especially with children.

Step2:
Trace around the template on the cardstock or computer paper. Then either you or the child(ren) doing the craft can cut out following the lines you made while tracing.

Step 3:
Once the butterfly is completely cut out, fold it in half carefully. If the child(ren) are super young, you can do this for them.

Step 4:
Have the child(ren) or yourself put paint in the colors they want. Try not to use too much so the paint doesn't mix together and the butterfly doesn't turn completely gray. 

Step 5: 
Once one side is completed to satisfaction, fold it in half again so that the paint smudges onto the other half of the butterfly. Carefully open it back up and allow it to dry. 

Presto! You have a colorful and beautiful butterfly. These can be used to decorate a child's room, door, or another spot in your house. It's a good spring/summer type craft! Happy Crafting!

Popsicle Stick Birdhouses

Hello my fellow crafty friends! In honor of my mother, who just celebrated her birthday this past weekend, I thought I would share with you the gift I made her. This craft is time consuming, and not entirely as easy to make.

Things you will need:
-Popsicle sticks (a lot)
-a hot glue gun
-glue for the glue gun
-paint to decorate
-varnish or modge-podge to seal the paint

Step 1:
Make a square out of Popsicle sticks (approximately 11 sticks). Once you have 11 laid out and in a square take three more Popsicle sticks and glue them in a "z" shape across one side of the square. Do this again to make another two squares. This will become another wall and the bottom. For the other two walls, do the same thing as you did with the other three squares but make sure the square only has 10 Popsicle sticks. The side walls need to be slightly smaller than the front and back walls.
NOTE: Make sure you cut a hole for the bird to enter the birdhouse in the wall that is going to be the front wall. I did this before gluing that wall together as I found it to be the easiest way.

Step 2:
Once you have all your walls, carefully glue then together using a hot glue gun. Do this one wall at a time and not all at once, as you will have to hold them together until the glue hardens. once they are all together, glue the walls to the bottom of the birdhouse. Next cut off the end of a Popsicle stick and glue it in the inside middle of the front wall. (Make sure the cut half of the Popsicle stick is sticking out above the end on the walls). Do the same for the back. Next glue a third Popsicle stick to the two Popsicle sticks you just glued to the house. This is the start of the roof. Then glue a Popsicle stick to the corner of the front wall on an angle (see picture). Then, on the other side, do the same. Do the same for the back. After this, glue a Popsicle stick on top of the points made by the triangles in the back and front of the birdhouse.Next glue a Popsicle stick to either side of the one you just glued.

Step 3:
Next you will glue approximately 11 Popsicle sticks to make up the roof. You will have to determine how long you want the roof to hang over the edge and then cut each Popsicle stick to fit. Once you have cut them, glue the cut edge underneath the little ridge you made in step 2 (Not the one attached to the triangles, but the little one underneath it). The round pieces of the side walls will also have to have glue on them as you need to glue the roof to this as well. Do this over and over until both side of the roof are complete.

Step 4:
Once you have finished step 3, you will need to add the trim. Take a Popsicle stick and place it to form the bottom of the triangle. Mark where it needs to be cut and then cut there. Glue it into place. Do the same for the back. Once you have done that, make a ledge for the hole to the birdhouse. I just used an extra little piece I had from a Popsicle stick I had cut. If you would like, you can fill in the little triangle parts of the roof with left over Popsicle sticks. This is quite difficult, so you can choose to leave them open or to fill them in only slightly.

Step 5:
If you choose to fill them in. Take a Popsicle stick and hold it next to the one in the middle. Mark off the angle you need to cut and then cut it. Also cut the end off so you're not wasting Popsicle sticks. Do this as much as you like and then glue them into their proper places. *NOTE: This is really tricky and help may be needed.

Step 6: Once you have completed the birdhouse, you can paint it however you like. I did two coats of paint on the walls and roof. Once those have dried, you can decorate it. After that is complete and dried, seal it with varnish or modge-podge. (I used modge-podge because I didn't have varnish). I then sanded it after it dried to make it look kinda old. It also takes away some of the stickiness that modge-podge has when it has dried.

Step 7:
Once everything is dry, get a thick piece of rope and loop it through the ridge part of your roof. Then find somewhere to hang it and enjoy the bird who comes to live in it.

I hope you enjoyed this craft. It is a lengthy craft so you could even just buy a birdhouse that is already built at a dollar store. It might make it easier for kids to do. I gave this to my mom last weekend as a birthday gift.  You could give it as a gift or make it for your own backyard. Happy Crafting!

Initial Picture Frame

Hello All! So sorry I wasn't able to post a new blog last week. It has been a stressful and exhausting few days. This week I shall do two or three posts to make up for it. As I was looking for more ideas to post one night, I came across crafts I have done in the past, some are kid-oriented, others are more for adults. This first one is one I enjoyed doing a lot and it's super easy to do. It's called an Initial Picture Frame.

Things you need:

- a cute picture frame (I got mine at Dollarama)
-scrapbook paper of your choice (2 different colors or prints)
-a traced cut-out of your initial
-tape

Step 1:
Find a template of your initial you like and either print it out or trace it. Since I didn't have any computer paper at the time, I traced mine using a piece of sketchpad paper and my computer screen. I suggest it would be easier to use the printer. Make it the size and font (I used Arial in size 46) you want. It depends on how big your frame is. Trace it (or print). Once you have done that, cut out your template carefully.

Step 2:
Once you have your template, pick your scrapbook pages and cut them so you have two pieces that fit inside your frame. Choose one to be the background. They other will be your initial. You can play around with it as well to see which you prefer. Get creative! Once you have decided, tape your template to the piece of scrapbook paper you want as your initial. Remember to tape it to the front with the color or pattern, not to the white or plain back of the paper.

Step 3:
Once you have taped it to the designated piece, lightly trace around it. If you are using a piece that will show the pencil marks, carefully cut around the template instead of tracing around it. the pieces I used were dark and pencil showed up so I just cut around the template instead.

Step 4:

Once you have cut out your initial, carefully take the template off. Take some more tape and put it on the back of your scrapbook initial. Place it on the background piece you have chosen in the center of the frame. Then put the piece into the frame and close the frame. You now have an initial picture frame!

Hope you all enjoyed this craft. It's a neat and easy way to personalize a bedroom or a space in a home. I made mine for my old roommates I had before moving in solely with my boyfriend. They are some of my best friends and I really wanted to do something nice for them. So I got even more creative and made it so that all for frames are linked somehow. This is so that no matter where we go in life, we will always take each other with us. They make great little gifts! Happy Crafting!

Hello All!

Hi Everyone! My name is Brittany. I am a university student with an interest in arts and crafts. I figured I would start a blog and share my projects and ideas with you considering the crazy times we are living in right now. If you are anything like me, you appreciate the countless craft and DIY websites, magazines and television shows that are full of ideas. Each week, I will post a craft or DIY project that I have done along with at least one picture. I have so many on the go right now! Anyway, I hope you enjoy my blog and get some interesting ideas from it! If you have suggestions about new projects, please feel free to comment. I am also open to suggestions about the blog itself.

Happy Crafting!!! xoxo