Homemade coasters

Projects have been lacking due to not wanting to do anything.

This summer my kids have been going through cups like crazy.  Every night there are about 8 cups in the sink from throughout the day.  This is only from the 2 older kids.  I thought I would find a way for them to reuse cups during the day.  My resolution was homemade coasters that will sit on the counter.  When they finish with a cup then they will rinse it and place it not  the coaster for the next time they need a cup.

First I did a little research and found tons of people that make coasters from ceramic tiles.  We had some left over from a small home project.  I then went through my scrapbook supplies and found I had everything I needed to make the coasters.  No out of pocket expense.  YEAH!!!!

I wanted to make 5 coasters. The coasters are 4.25"x4.25". I cut 5 pieces of scrapbook paper 4"x4".  The next step was applying them to the tiles.  This was easily done with a 4-5 coats of Mod Podge and then I sealed them with an acrylic sealant.  In a little over an hour I had 5 coasters.

Step 1 - Apply a thin layer of Mod Podge and put the paper on top.  Be sure to smooth out any air bubbles

 Step 2 - Apply a few coats of mod podge over the paper.  Let it dry 10-15 minutes between coats.  After each coat it will look white but it dries clear.

Once dried it will look like this.

Some people like the streaked or "canvas" look.  I don't.  I decided to sand down the ridges to get a smooth finish.  I used a fine grit sand paper.  Once you are done, seal it with an acrylic sealant.  Mod Podge is NOT water proof and will become tacky if water sits on it.  I had some felt pads and put those on the bottom to prevent the tiles from scratching anything they were placed on.
 

After sanding and sealing

Now we have a place for everyone's cups except at dinner time when Vivian like to put these on the table for everyone to use.

Unique way to save

Today I was on my obsession.....Pinterest and saw this idea for saving money.  The basic principle is every time you have a $5 bill you put it away.  What a great idea.  I have been trying to use cash more and notice the more I use cash the less I spend.  When I use my debit card I don't pay attention to how much I am spending until after and I a wondering where all the money went.  Back to this idea.  The post I read was using a mason jar.  My only problem is "seeing" the money and the urge to use it.  If I was to do this then I would need to find a container that is less tempting.  I was in the kitchen thinking of what else I could use while I was cleaning when I remembered there is coffee can I could use.  It would have been thrown out in a couple of days.   This will make a great container.  I thought about how long it would take to save enough money and if I only put $5 a week in the can then it would take a LONG time to save enough  for anything. In one year there would only be $260  Now if I start using cash more and put EVERY $5 I get in the can it may not take as long.  When I am out running errands I usually stop somewhere quick for lunch even if I am on the way home.  Instead of buying lunch when I am on the way home I could put that money into the can too.  Of course I only run errands that include eating out once a week or once every 2 weeks.

Here is the post that I first saw this idea - $5 Savings Plan  In the comments people have said they do the same thing with $1s and someone said they use a debit card but when they go grocery shopping they get $20 back and put that in the jar.

Now time to redecorate the can and decide how I want to save money....should I save 1s, 5s or 10s.....what do I get most of the time when using cash and what will be easier.

Scrapbooking again

When I packed up all my scrapbook supplies to make room for Vivian I never thought it would be almost 4 years before I would do any scrapbooking.  Since I am a very organized person and like to have everything in a specific place having everything in a box prevented me from doing anything.  I hated searching through the boxes starting a project, realizing I needed something or wanting a specific item then not knowing where it was made me decide I didn't like scrapping that way.  I then set up a place in the office that was once a garage.  I didn't like it there either.  Although all the boxes were within reach, I didn't like that I couldn't see everything.  I still had to search for stuff.  When I finally found new homes for all the baby and toddler toys that were taking up the family room. I decided I was going to turn Vivian's play area into my area.  No where in the house was just for me.  There is no room in my bedroom for my desk so this was my only option.  Another plus to having it in the family room I must keep it organized and clean since I would be looking at it everyday and so would anyone that walked into our house.  Now I have an area and I posted the picture a few weeks ago.  It has evolved a little since the picture but not much.  I have added 2 lights, small desktop organizer and my Cricut is now sitting on the desk.

After many years of not scrapbooking, I have spent the last two weeks completing a book.  It took me a little bit to get started and to figure out what I wanted the book to look like.  I am very happy with it. I will post pictures.  Just not now.  I have to show someone the book first and I want to get her reaction.

To help get me back into scrapbooking I found a great online community to help get my creativity going.  It is www.twopeasinabucket.com  Of course I just lurk mostly, but seeing how much the trade has changed in the last 4 years makes me nervous to post anything or share my work.  I see a lot of great inspiration, but I also see a lot of layouts that make me wish I had an ounce of their creativity.  There are so many great looking pages.  I posted a few pages I did, but after seeing their work I wanted to remove mine.  My work looks so plan compared to their work.  I also see things that I think are over the top and would never do.  I do love seeing how people put things together whether it is my style or not.  There is also so many more products now.  Some things I have  are "out of date", but I will still use them until they are all gone.

I decided 2012 would be the year of mini projects.  My goal was 75.  So far I have completed 10 projects.  I think that is pretty good considering I didn't start any projects until mid-January.  Eight weeks into the year and 10 projects.  I think I will reach my goal of 75 projects.  I made a list but I only had 27 projects.  I knew through out the year I would new ideas and projects to do.  I will add them to my list as I see, think about or find them.  Now onto another project......What I am not sure yet.

Yes I used my KitchenAid for that

I saw a blog a few months ago about other uses for a KitchenAid mixer.  One thing I would have never thought of doing was using it to shred chicken.  I had the opportunity to test it out when I made chicken enchiladas.  The one thing that I dislike about making them is shredding the chicken.  I always use boneless chicken.  I boiled my chicken breasts like normal when they were done I tossed them into the mixing bowl attached the paddle and turned on the mixer.  Less than a minute later I had restaurant style shredded chicken.  I will never shred chicken by hand again.

A Week Later....

My goal at least 1 project a week....Well I really haven't been working on a project since the dress unless you think organizing, buying, more organizing of my scrapbook stuff a project then I have been very busy. I am getting supplies ready for 2 books I am going to start working on.  I have also dusted off my cricut and have figured out how to connected it to my Mac.  This alone took a couple of days since the software is only available on PC.  I had to buy a program to allow me to use PC based programs.  After getting that all setup I realized why I wasn't too upset when I got laid off.  I no longer enjoy computer support.  If I can't stand doing it for my self how can I enjoy doing it for someone else.  That made me decide I need to do some soul searching and decide what I would not like but love and enjoy to do.  I really wish I could find a job doing craft stuff but their are very few jobs that would allow me to do that.  Until then I will continue to do what ever I want to do and enjoy my kids.

My plans for this week include prepping the garden.  I have taken down the greenhouse I built over the 2 raised beds.  Now it is just time to get them cleaned up, refilled since the dirt has settled and start planting.  The dogs have decided they like laying in the garden so I need to find a new higher fence to go around the garden.  Looks like I will be making a trip to home depot to see what they have either pre-built garden fencing, but I have a feeling I will be making something since I am cheap.

Now what project is next on my list except for the Garden....I did return to Joann's and buy the fabric I used for Vivian's dress to make a quilt.  They had all but one of the coordinating patterns.  Of course my luck it is only available online.  Now I am trying to see what else I need from there so I may be able to get free shipping.  I found this really cute idea on Pinterest and I think this may be the next project since it will take an afternoon to do 3 of them.  It is a birth announcement type picture.

Framed Birth Announcement

Time to Make a Dress

A few weeks ago I saw a picture of a cute peasant dress and decided Vivian needed one.  After searching for a pattern, finding several and getting one from a friend, I decided on one.  The next step finding the perfect fabric.  Of course this is alway the hard part for me.  I can never find the "right" fabric.  Now fabrics have either very bright colors or geometric designs I can't stand.  I always go to the store with a color in mind but never a pattern.  This time I wanted a soft color with a more vintage look.  I love vintage patterns.  I found the perfect pattern with a coordinating pattern.  It is a quilting fabric.  I fell in love with it but still looked through out the store, but could not find anything else I liked.  Fabric normally has the designer and pattern line on the selvage but this one just says design exclusively for Joann Fabrics.  I was thinking of making a quilt out of this fabric line.  That is how much I love it.  After searching Joann's website I finally found the name of the pattern line and I am pretty sure I will make a quilt with it .  I just need to figure out what size quilt I want to make and how much of each pattern I need.  The fabric is Legacy Studio Fabric Bobbish - http://www.joann.com/search/_legacy_studio_fabric_bobbish

The dress was pretty easy to make and it took about an hour to cut and sew.  I did this while Vivian was at school.  I had to wait until she was him to complete it since I wanted to make sure the neck and length were correct.  I made the dress about 1-2" longer than the pattern.  I wanted her to be able to wear it longer and she is A LOT taller than most 3 year olds.  Most people don't believe me when I say she is 3 because of her height.  I am so happy with the dress and it fits Vivian great.  I need to get a picture of her in the dress.  Until then here is the dress.  Isn't it adorable.

Wanted to try an appliqué

I was going to make a dress for Vivian and I still plan on doing it this week, but I wanted to try an appliqué.  The Slice I recently purchased will also cut fabric.  Vivian has been asking for a butterfly shirt.  The appliqué design card has a few butterfly patterns.  I decided I would try an appliqué.  How hard could it be?  We picked a shirt and then I picked some coordinating fabric from my ever growing fabric stash.  I really need to stop buying fabric and fat quarters until I use what I have.

Cutting the fabric was a lot easier than I thought it would be.  First I had to put fusible web on the fabric.  Then I cut a shadow of a butterfly and then the butterfly.  Once that was done I ironed it onto the fabric and then did a blanket stitch around both pieces.  Much easier than I thought it would be.  Very happy with my first appliqué.