4th of July Candle holder/center piece

My roommate asked me to do "Art with Ali" Day in her classroom. I was so excited and I figured this would be a great project for the kids to do since the 4th of July is coming up.

It was a little wet when I took the picture but it looks even more awesome when its dry.

From the dollar store I used a glass vase and squares cut from paper streamers (there is a ton of streamer left over so you'll have some to decorate too). By watering down some elmers glue it was easy to "paper mache" the squares on. When you do this make sure that the red stripes go OVER the white stripes. It looks cleaner that way. The pattern is pretty simple and its a great project for kids to do or for adults to make as table decor.


You can use these to hold silverware, food or flowers instead of a candle. During the day you can put these balloon weights from the dollar tree to make them look like fireworks. Then at night remove the weight and put a candle in them. Here is a picture of them with a candle in it. It was during the day when I took this but it looks really cool at night.

Have fun! And Happy 4th of JULY!! Be safe everyone!

Whooo wants to see and ugly tank top???

You!! Obviously, thats why you are here! So I'm not perfect, (you're shocked, I can tell) and I make a lot of crafts and think "this is sooo not cute and sooo not going on my blog".  Well I think I'm going to start a section called "Things that turned out Crappy!" Hahah Check this thing out. First I tried to do some rosettes.  Hoooooorrendous! Then, I tried for some ruffles (this was round one), They sucked so then I made them dangly-knotty-strings. Yea, say it, so bad!

 Here's a close-up of the ugly-non-matching rosettes. 

This thing did not get worn for fear of scaring the children. I clipped the flowers off and used it to clean my kitchen. It was more useful in the "rag-basket". *sigh* It's ok, I made a cute ruffle shirt on round two (see below).

Ruffles and stuff

Ive seen so much of this ruffle all around "Blogland" so I thought that I would try it. It was super easy! Which surprised me a little. I used fabric on hand and a tank top I already had. The tank top actually had a stain from work so the ruffle was perfect to cover it up.

Here is a picture of me in my newest creation that I paired with a skirt that I got at TJmaxx on Clearance for $5. I just wanted to brag about my good deal :P

If I were to do this again I would:
-use fabric that doesn't unravel
-not be lazy and use the same color thread as the fabric :P
-do the first stitch off center, pull the 1 thread to ruffle, sew it to the shirt down the center of the ruffle, then pull out the first stitch so that you are left with 1 stitch down the middle instead of two mish-moshed together.

I Think it turned out so cute. I plan to make more :)

When I Drink Beer I Like To be Girly About it.

I'm Back! I just got home last night from 5 days at the Colorado River. Amazing time! Since I just got back I thought I would show you guys the project I did last minute before we left.

 

Cool picture huh? I feel like Corona should give me some sponsor money ;P I was proud of myself for that pic. Anyway, I saw some of these "can-coozies" at the dollar tree, but they all said stupid stuff like "the words you are looking for are 'yes dear' " and "you don't have to be crazy to work here, we'll train you". Uhhhh if it was kind of funny I MAY have kept them, but they were all pretty stupid. Plus, Now I have the opportunity to craft. YAY!

Super simple steps after the jump!

I'm Loved!! My First Award.

I was delighted to check my blog today and not only did I get a new comment, (I REALLY love comments...*hint*hint*) but I got an award! Beth Anne over at "The Thrifty BA" gave me the "Versatile Blogger Award"!

I must say, I am Dork-ishly excited :P I am also very honored that she loves my blog, since I love her blog. You should all check it out. I would give it back to her if I could :)

Sooo,

the guidelines for accepting this award are...

-Thank the person/people who gave it to you (check)

-Tell 7 things yourself.

-Pass the award on to 15 10 bloggers,

whom you have recently discovered,

and think are fantastic.(I'm going to do 10..is that bad?)

Stuff you didn't know about me:

1. I'm 21 and there are many nights where I would rather craft than go out to a bar. (L on the forehead)... actually this is something you probably DID know.

2. I hate spoons and use a fork to eat everything (yes, soup and ice cream too)

3. I love playing games of any kind and I always have to convince people to play with me.

4. I eat raw pasta...and enjoy it.

5. I dance and sing REALLY loud in the car. And no, I don't care what you think

6. I love lemon in and on everything. Ice tea, chicken, sause, martini, fish, heck Ill just eat them plain. But I hate lemonade.

7. I am a huge goof ball. I dance in public, make stupid noises and I think I'm super funny....... oh man.. I just realized.... I am my father. EEk! Alright, fine. I guess I'm ok with that. My dad is pretty awesome. Since I just scanned this one in here is a picture of me and my dad when I was 5 (I think?)

And Now for the 10 Blogs that I love! 

They may not know that I love them. I could be stalking following them and they don't even know. :P

1. A Girl and a Gluegun 
2. Ashley's Thrifty Living 
3. It's Merely Authentic 
4. Made By Nicole 
5. Sean and Nicole
6. Simpsonized Crafts
7. Stepping Thru Crazy
8. A Doctor in the House
9. Crap I've Made
10. Creating Balance

Fathers day Gift!

My dad is the HARDEST person to shop for. He has everything and wants nothing. Ive only been able to give him home made things or "coupons for a dinner date". So this year since I've been so crafty lately I thought I would craft him something. But Dad and Craft don't always go well together.. for my dad anyway.

Then I thought I would design him a personalized shirt! This cost me $1! If your sneaky you can even snag one of his own plain T-shirts and personalize it. Then its free :P

Read how to do this after the jump!!

Craft Fair Burglar

I went to a craft fair yesterday in Santa Ana, CA and I bought....Nothing!! However I did walk away with lots of ideas! And my best friend walked away with a list of things I need to make for her. :) I "stole" a few ideas but I'm definitely putting my own twist on them.

I hear they do one in my city, Long Beach. I'm hoping to maybe take my stuff to a craft fair this summer. That would be so much fun! If anyone knows of one or a website that has craft fair info please let me know.

I can't wait to show you all of my ideas for crafts to sell. So far I think I will make:
-magazine wreaths and add clocks to them
-flowers: clips and headbands
-painted plates
-decorated notebooks
-rings

I think that's all I have so far... I'm sure I forgot something. I'll keep you guys updated!

Decorate your own Dishware: Less than 50 cents each!

I stopped in my favorite thrift store and I never fail to leave with a great find. I found 2 sets of plain, clear, plates. One was 5 smaller plates for $2 and one was 4 medium sized plates for $2.40. That's 48 cents a plate. With paint on hand, I have a 2 sets of plates for less that 50 cents each.

You will need:
-acrylic paint
-spray paint, clear and or color
-clear plates

ONE: Paint whatever pattern you like on the BACK of the plate. I chose a branch and a little birdy.

TWO: Spray paint a color over the design on the back of the plate. If you would like the plate to stay clear, then just spray a clear coat. I chose red to match my kitchen.

THREE: Spray a clear coat over the color for extra protection.

After it drys you are all done!!

Now I haven't washed them yet, But I would suggest hand washing them. Since you only painted on the back, you don't need to worry about eating off of the paint. They are still safe! They make great dishware or you can decorate your kitchen walls and display them with plate hangers. You can even have your Kids paint their own plates!

This is my first set (the small ones) I will let you know what I do with the large plates!


UPDATE: After using these plates for a little while the paint started to peel off the back. These would be be better for hanging on the wall as decoration. Your other option would be to spray the back of them with a glass paint, I just used regular " whatever I had" paint.