Tile Coasters

For the benefit that was last night, I decided to make some coasters.

When I got the tiles, I had addition gift ideas in mine. I knew I was going to make one set for my mom...the far right column, since her birthday is coming up. Don't worry, she got them early. So not spoiling the surprise here. :) I also made myself a set. The 2nd column from the left.

I already have requests for some, because the 3 I took for the silent auction were fought over in bidding wars. If anyone else out there would like a custom set of coasters, let me know. I just might have to finally start an Etsy shop.

Easy Decorations

If you read my other blog, you know that I have been helping out with random things for an upcoming benefit for a young gal that has been fighting various forms of cancer off and on for the past 11 years. Because of the many unknowns with the benefit...like number of people for one, we needed table decorations that were easy to replicate, but on the cheap side.

My idea....flowers in ball jars, with scrapbook paper underneath. It was my mom's idea to try to put the pink cancer ribbon on the top of the jar, where brown and pink polka dot ribbon was placed to add a little color. But, I inquired about if it would be seen, or if the flowers would cover it up. So instead, mom thought we could just scatter the ribbons around the tables.

Thanks for Hobby Lobby having their sales at the right time, I got various forms of pink ribbon at 2 for $1. I also got a bunch of pink and brown 12x12 sheets of scrapbook paper at 3 for $1.

I was thinking about how to make them...and didn't really want to use glue dots (even though I picked up a box). I was wanting something a little more fun! I decided to go with brads. I just used my small hole punch, because it was faster than a push pin, and then put the brad through. I originally had small round white brads that came 50 in a pack for $2.99 (which were not on sale). But then I saw a pack of small square white brads that came 100 in a pack for $2.47. I think it's obvious what I went with. I think they turned out great!

And here is what I have done as of now. I might do a few more, just so we can use them in other places.

I'm excited to see how the table will all come together. I think it will be great!

Printable Calendars

Who isn't in need of a fun, simple, colorful calendar? I enjoy the calendars from the ISU Alumni Association. But after they put in any and every activity happening on campus or with the association, there isn't any room to write the important things in life.

Cameron over at Cottage Industrialist made a fantastic calendar that you can go ahead and print off on your own. The calendar starts this September, and continues through August of 2010. It's simple, but colorful.

Click on the calendars, and it will take you right to the site. The calendars print off in sets of 3. If you have cardstock on hand, you might want to use that to print on, just to make it a little more sturdy.

Also a great Christmas or birthday gift idea would be to put the calendars together like your typical calendar (with the spiral binding), but add photos, scrapbook paper, or have kids color on the back (and upside down) of each of the pages.

Be sure to check out all the other 'Good Stuff' on the site. Fun stuff!

Happy crafting!!

Free Printables & Ideas

Are you looking for some great, free printables for yourself or to give to others as gifts? Head on over to Leo on the Loose and see what Erin has to offer. There are tons of free printables, in addition to links to other printables, and numerous fun ideas for the freebies.

One that quickly caught my attention was her grocery list. On the list you are able to check if you have a coupon for it or not. What a easy and simple idea to add to a list. That way you won't have to dig through your coupons while at the store. Planning ahead of time will save you time while in the store.

Happy Crafting!

Bath redo

A couple-three years ago, my sisters and I did a little bathroom makeover for our mom for Mother's Day. At the time, it worked.....but not for long...thanks to the paint. I picked out a nice light sage green color that worked with the new towels and all. However, once the paint got on the walls, it looked more like a neon green. So thanks to Martha and her bad paint color, it never looked completely right. Now, it has been repainted with a tan, and looks much better.

But while planning for this, I made a 'BATH' sign that had some knobs below it. I painted a base color that matched one of the accent towel colors, then crackled white over it. It looked nice when everything was put together. But with the new bath colors this time around, it was all wrong.

Finally a couple of weekends ago, I tackled the sign again. But due to the original crackle finish, I had to start from scratch on a fresh piece of wood. I also changed up the font, to be a little more fun. The sign looks much better now.

I also finally made one for my brother and sister-in-law. When I helped her redo their bathroom, I said I would make a sign. But I finally got the sign done (well, started and done) the weekend before the 4th. For theirs, I think I did a tan base, followed by crackled brown. Then the 'bath' was tan as well. I then tried to match the blue in the bathroom and put a border around the sign. I still haven't seen the finished product, since I had to leave before the knobs got in. So hopefully I can get over there sometime and take a picture of it.

But here is what mom's looks like close up, and how it looks with the other accessories around it. If you would like one for your bathroom, let me know, I'd be happy to make you one.....for a price. :)

If you notice....the knobs on the sign and the knobs on the box below the towel match. Too bad I can't find them at Hobby Lobby anymore. I really like them!

Father's Day Gift

Thanks to Living Locurto, I came up with this for my dad for Father's Day. To make it, I used digital scrapbooking paper and elements (that I have gotten for free). It would have been just as easy to do this with real paper and elements, but I didn't have them handy or available. I made them in Publisher. And here they are.
The outside says 'One COOL Dad - Happy Father's Day'

The DAD COUPONS are good for one free: yard work pass, chore pass, show sweeping, cheesecake or other dessert, control of the remote (for one day only), car or truck wash.

In addition to the coupons, I made a 'sticker' for dad that said 'Cool Dad' on it. Since mom's always seem to get flowers, I thought it would be good for dad to get a sticker. :)

Happy crafting!

Buttons Galore!

[I apologize for the blurriness of this picture. That's about as good as I could get it with my camera and the fluorescent lights.]

What you see here are mini buttons I put together for my upcoming Citizen Washington Focus trip to Washington DC. I am a chaperone for this trip, and am looking forward to it. One big part of the trip is that the students take pins/buttons that they purchase, make, or request from business, and swap them with other youth from around the country. After some of the chaperones made calls, sent emails, etc, we realized we weren't rounding up the pins like we had hoped. That's where these guys come in.

I recalled that the Workspace on campus often advertises that people can make their own buttons. So I checked in to it. The above buttons are what myself and 2 other chaperones made one night, in about a 3 hour time span. After work, before the others got there, I cut out 400 (100 of each) of the designs, and had a good start on assembling them. We could have been done a lot faster, but they have only 1 of each button machine size. So we just assembled them one at a time. It was really quite easy. The hardest part was getting them all cut out. I think next time I'll take a Stampin' Up punch (or something similiar) and cut out the circles that way. It would be much easier and more accurate.

The top left button says 'Iowa - Youth - Power', with 4 hands clasping a wrist, with the 4-H clover in the middle. (The hand graphic and saying was sent in by one of the youth. I added the 4-H clover.) The top right is an outline of Iowa, with the 4-H clover on it. There is a green border that you can't really see. (I would like to have made it wider, so it could be seen on the front. Oh well.) The bottom left is my favorite! It says 'Fresh Picked - Sweet Corn - Bushels Ahead! - 2 Miles'. I then added 'Iowa' to one of the ears of corn. To me, sweet corn and Iowa just go together. I sure can't wait to finally eat some! The bottom right button is a picture of a covered bridge, since we are famous for our covered bridges. This was sent in by one of the youth as well. I added 'Iowa' to this one as well.

To make 400 mini buttons and use the Workspace's equipment, it cost about $65.

So if any of you are looking for a fun project to do with kids or adults, or cheap and easy gifts to give out, or maybe you feel like putting your picture on a button, this would be the thing to do.

Happy Crafting!