Glitter Candles

I've been working towards my graduation date. At this point, I'm less than two weeks away. That being said, I've been making decorations for my graduation party. With this project I re-purposed battery operated candles that we used in our wedding. They are great because they smell like vanilla, but that's because they are made out of real wax. Plastic candles will work just as well.

 ITEMS YOU NEED

• Bare candles - any size candles works, even tea lights
• Mod Podge - make your own using this previous post or go buy some
• Glitter - any color you want, I did silver and black
• Masking tape
• Paint brush
• Spray Can of clear top coat

Make sure your candles are clean of any dirt, dust or debris.

To start, you will want tape off the area that you don't want glitter. For me, I wanted the glitter on the bottom.

Next, take the paint brush and brush some Mod Podge on to the desired area. Just a thin layer is fine. Too much will clump the glitter or drip off.

After you've applied the Mod Podge, you will add the glitter. I did this by dumping some into a bowl that I didn't care about and then dunking the candle in. I then rotated to make sure that I got the candle all covered. Once you have all of the candles covered, let them dry. I would suggest at least a couple of hours if not overnight.

After they have dried for at least a couple of hours (I'm impatient), apply the clear spray to the candles to hold the glitter on. This is so it doesn't flake off and get glitter everywhere. Let's face it, glitter projects create a glitter mess everywhere. My instructions from the spray can said to let it dry for 2 hours. I was patient and let it dry overnight.

Once the candles are dry, remove the tape and enjoy your pretty newish candles.

I borrowed this project from The Pinterest Project. I will suggest that these are not to be lit with a real flame. Fire and sealants tend to not get along.

DIY Mod Podge

Mod Podge or more honestly named, watery glue. Mod Podge is obnoxiously expensive and for the amount of projects it is used in, not worth my money. Like at least $5 for a tiny bottle. IT IS LITERALLY WATER AND GLUE!!! So, no.

So, being the overly cheap person I am, I made my own...

SUPPLIES:

• White Glue - I used Elmers Glue All which cost around a dollar and some change
• Empty Jar or container with secure lid - An empty mason jar, spaggetti sauce jar...anything you heart desires. Personally though, I would go with something glass. 
• Water 

This is so easy, you should be laughing... mix equal parts glue and water. So, however much glue you put in the container of your choice, put that same amount of water. I suggest using warm, if not hot water out of the tap. This helps is mix together more effectively.

Once you have both the glue and the water in the jar, SHAKE IT! Shake, shake, shake, shake...until it is mixed well.

That's it. Your very own container of Mod Podge, for less than $2. And it works really well. I've actually been using it for some other projects that I will be showcasing here soon. 

Here is the link that I followed. 

DRUM ROLL PLEASE.....

AND NOW I'M BACK!!! (from outer space...)  And have I got some awesome projects to show. I'm very excited to start sharing what monkey and I have been working on. But first, to explain the long absence on us.

To be quite honest, I just got overwhelmingly busy. And with that gave me less and less time to craft anything. And when we did do anything, I would forget to take pictures or it didn't turn out the way I had hoped.

We also started to deal with an unknown illness that had taken over hubby's life. After months of not knowing what was wrong and how to fix it, we finally got an answers. Chris was diagnosed with MS last year and while it was not ideal, it was definitely not the worst case scenario. Because seriously, they told us he could have a tumor...

BUT, I am happy to say, life has finally returned to some form of normalcy, if there ever was any before. J is going to be 4 here soon and starting preschool in the fall. I'm starting to feel old...
I, dear friends, will be graduating in about a month and 1/2 and I have been counting the days...

SO, to recount, the monkey and I are back and ready to share all of the exciting projects we have!! Some will be more advanced than before because I've been making oodles of decorations for partys and some will be toddler oriented just like before. 

Wrapping Presents

Here's a sweet idea for grandparents, aunts, uncles, and other relatives. Take a piece of finger paint paper and have your child paint the paper. Let it dry and use it as wrapping paper for the presents. Trust me, everyone will go crazy over it.

Door snowman

Easy and fun holiday decorations are always a winner in my book. I found a picture on Pinterest of a snowman on a door and loved the idea. I actually made one for the outside first and since Monkey was so in love with the snowman, we made another for the inside of the door so we didn't have to keep opening the door and saying hi everyday.

Necessary Items
 Sheets of fleece or felt - black, orange, and whatever color for the scarf.
 Tape - I used double sided
 Scissors

Step One
  Trace circles on black for eyes, mouth and buttons. Of course, make the eyes bigger than the buttons, We needed three sheets of black for all the buttons, eyes and mouth pieces. Cut out pieces.

Step Two
  Fold the scarf color in half and cut. Do the same for the other sheet. We used two sheets of our scarf color. On one half that you cut, cut fringe at one end.

Step Three
  Take the orange sheet and at whatever angle or size you choose, cut the nose out.

Step Four
  Take pieces and place them on the door. Start with the eyes and get them placed where you like.

Step Five
  Place the nose, mouth and buttons.

Step Six
  Place the scarf.

You can also put a hat with the snowman, but I didn't want to block up our window too much. Happy decorating everyone!!

Here's the original link.

Mini Christmas Trees

Getting in tune with the Christmas spirit is so much fun! We made mini Christmas tree's from pine cones that I got off the WU Campus. I originally wanted to make bird feeders from them as I have done in the past but I didn't have any bird seed, so I found another post that suggested a different idea. These turned out a hundred time cuter that I imagined, so here it is.

Necessary Items
 pine cones
 glue
 pom-poms

Step One
  Dab glue on pom-pom

Step Two
  Place pom-pom on pine cone

Step Three
  Repeat. A lot.

Here's the original link.

Happy crafting!

Candy Canes Ornaments

Red and white are those iconic colors of Christmas for candy canes. I found a pin that showed a craft that I thought would be a cute present for relatives and it could be something that Monkey can do all by herself, for the most part.

SO we are going to make candy cane ornaments.

Necessary Items
 Green Pipe Cleaners (I really do have a love for pipe cleaners)
 Red and White plastic beads
 Glue
 Scissors

Step 1
  Cut one green pipe cleaner in half to create the base for two candy canes.

Step 2
  Bend over a small portion of the pipe cleaner to keep the beads from falling off.

Step 3
  Start sliding on the red and white beads alternating colors to create the candy cane pattern.

Step 4
  Once the pipe cleaner is almost full, bend the other end of the pipe cleaner.

Step 5
  Shape the beaded pipe cleaner into the shape of a candy cane.

Step 6
  This step is optional, but I would suggest it, I glued the ends of the pipe cleaners to the keep the beads from falling off.

 Candy canes!!

My inspiration was a picture that I found on Pinterest, but the link it came to is in a different language that I don't speak or read, so I just kind of guessed what we needed.