I went to a leader weekend treat this past September and the first night they had many different outdoor crafts that you could do with your troop. My favorite craft was stamping the wood slices and turning them into lanyards. It was such an easy craft to do and it turned out so pretty, I knew I wanted to do this with our troop.
Ornaments were the perfect way to incorporate this into a keepsake they can keep for years to come!!
I'm so excited to share my latest project. It's been so long since I've done something big like this and it felt great! I love transforming pieces into something new and refreshing. Since I acquired this china cabinet from my uncle I've been dreaming of the different ways update it to my style.
I'm really excited to share with you Mamas this easy and fun activity your kids can do by themselves! My 4 year old was able to do this so the younger age's can do it too!
I hinted to the girls that symmetry might look best but really let them design/color their own shoes. I do recommend sticking with 4-5 colors. You don't need to press in hard but you do want to fill in all the areas that you don't want white. This will give it the best tie dye look.
I recommend doing this outdoors or in a well ventilated area. If you don't have a spray bottle you can use a dropper as well. Spray until you get the desired look. This might take a couple rounds of spraying.
The girls REALLY enjoyed this activity! It was super easy for them and left room for creative mistakes. The best part, they did it all by themselves! They have been wearing these shoes nonstop and have been receiving so many compliments!
So to be perfectly honest, I'm not a fan of leaders giving out end of the year gifts and I totally think it should be the other other way around but I really couldn't resist these! lol
The idea is pretty simple and affordable. It could also be used as a jewelry making badge if you have the girls make their own!
Optional:
Print out your image on photo paper. Regular paper will not work and it will get wet. If you have a circle punch small enough for this that would be idea but I used scissors. Use E6000 to adhere your printable to the bottle cap. You can also use rubber cement but I find that E6000 works the best. Allow it to dry. It can take a couple hours. If you are doing it with a troop and are pressed for time you can use rubber cement but make sure you don't get it on the front facing image.
Word of advice, dispense a small amount of the dimensions goo on a piece of paper first to avoid air bubbles. Start in the center of the cap and in a circular motion fill the entire bottle cap. If you go a little over that is okay. When the dimensions goo dries, it sinks a bit. Use a tooth pic to get out any air bubbles... if you see below, the air bubbles will dry like air bubbles so get them out. Allow this to dry for 3 hours or overnight.
If you purchased the bottle caps that already have the punch with the jump rings then this will be easy. You can cut your ball and chain cord to the desirable length your girl prefers. I recommend 18 inches long. Attach your connectors and voila!
If you want to go an extra step, you can add colored dangle beads link in the picture below. If you have a stamping set, they you can also add initial plate charms too.
Have you seen our A-frame tents from our camp-in retreat!
The girls flipped out when these came out. They couldn't wait to find out what they were. To start our evening off, I handed out the tent "kits" and gave them some ground rules...
I'm really excited to share this super cheap, super easy Halloween craft that you can make with your Girl Scouts troops or just as decoration for around the house! I can't remember how I came about purchasing black tissue paper back in July, but thankfully I did and this idea popped into my head. I've been a little nutty, (with fall product..lol) using tissue paper for all of my designs, lately.
I've been meaning to post these pictures for some time now. I'm lucky to get it in before the snow starts to fall. It's amazing how the time flies when you have a newborn!
It took several weeks to complete this project as we were trying to beat the rain for 4 weekends in a row, but we finally finished our playhouse for the kiddies just in time for summer and the arrival of our baby!!
We wanted to go for a Key West theme with the colors, sort of like a beach cabana. The girls love it and picked out the colors themselves. Now we just need to cover the grass with sand and make it a beach! Right?
We found some plans online to help guide us. Here are the plans we referenced: The Handmade Home She has an amazing website! We did have to do some modifications to best suit the look and structure we were looking for.
Some structural differences to note are...
Cement block anchors
Extra support braces
Enclosed front entrance at the roof
Climbing wall (built from scratch and used these climbing stones)
Ladder (used scrap wood)
Siding of the house (much easier to put up and saves a ton of time)
This baby is solid! When I mean solid, I mean it doesn't move an inch. We fit 8 adults and a couple of children up on the deck and it still didn't budge! We get a lot of rain and I wanted to make sure the wood pillars didn't rot while touching the ground so we used the cement support blocks.
I really like how we used the white translucent corrugated fiberglass roofing. It lets in more light than the metal roofing does and it gives it a softer touch to go along with the beachy theme.
We even added some plant hooks at the front of the structure to hang some planters for the extra girlie touch! Since my daughter loves to play teacher, we definitely needed to add this chalk board that we secured on the back wall. I used the back side of the leftover siding and chalk paint.
I'm so excited to share with you today my weekend project and my latest obsession!
This is seriously so easy to do and it makes the invitation feel like a million bucks.
1) Grab my free pdf A7 envelope liner template and print it out.
2) Cut out the template and lay it on top of the paper you wish to use as your liner. I would recommend a fairly thin paper, such as the decorative scrapbooking paper.
3) Trace the template on to the paper and cut out using scissors or a paper cutter such as this one...
4) Insert liner into the envelope. Once the liner is inserted and evenly arranged, lift back the liner to separate the envelope and dab glue on the edges of the back side of the liner.
5) Allow the glue to dry before you insert the invitation to make sure there is not excess glue that will stick.
And your done! Doesn't it make such a difference? These would look really special with thank you notes, too!
Don't have an A7 envelope? Check back soon for more sizes and shapes.
Thanks for following along! I'm in the process of creating some custom liners that you can just print and cut!
I have been wanting to make one of these rag quilts now for over a year. This past week my brother and sister-in-law had their first child and I knew exactly what I wanted to make for them! It feels great to dust off the old sewing machine again.
I went to two different stores to find just the right fabric for this project. I shopped at Hobby Lobby for the cute pink and grey chevron and damask patterns. I found the pink embossed star fabric(used for the backing) and the grey and white polka dot fabric at Joann's.
Choose color coordinating fabrics that are soft and fluffy!
Baby Rag Quilt
What you will need...
1/2 yard of 5 different coordinating patterns
1 1/2 yards of backing fabric
1 1/2 yards of fleece
Fabric scissors
White thread
Not used but extremely helpful
I wish I would have used these!!!
Rotary cutter
self healing cutting mat
1)
Cut your squares for the quilt in the different coordinating patterns. I would recommend for a baby blanket cutting the squares a 10"x10" or a 8"x8". The baby blanket will be a 6 square by 6 square quilt, totaling 36 squares. You will need about 8 squares each in the different coordinating fabrics. There will be some squares left over but this gives you some options on the overall layout and design. I cut the coordinating fabric squares first.
2)
Once all the coordinating fabric squares were cut out, I matched up the fleece and the backing fabric on top of each other. Then, I pinned the already cut squares on top like the picture below. You will want your quilting squares to match up exactly, which is why I choose to cut them out directly from the already cut squares. This will allow them to match up perfectly!
3)
After all your squares are cut, you should have 36 pinned squares, 3 layers each. So, you will have your coordinating fabric on top, fleece in the middle, and your backing on the bottom. Make sure your backing is facing out ward when they are stacked. You will then cross stitch each square with a big X from corner to corner. This process takes some time.
4)
Once you have your 36 cross stitched squares, you can start to layout the squares in an aesthetically pleasing pattern. I had a lot of grey so I wanted to make sure that the predominately grey squares were not right next to each other. I laid them out every other.
5)
Once you have the layout of the blanket, start with rows. Pin together each square in one row and sew the sides together with a 3/4" seam allowance. In the picture below I have finished three of the six rows.
6)
When you have finished sewing your 6 rows, pin each row together to start assembling the quilt. Use the same 3/4" seam, having the sides fold forward with all of the layers.
7)
Once all the rows are sown together, stitch around the outside of the entire quilt enclosing all 4 sides. Use the 3/4" seam.
8)
Now it's time to clip your excess seam to make that rag quilt effect. I would recommend using a microtip fabric scissor. Make sure you don't cut your stitching! This process also took some time. Over the course of a couple days and downtime I was able to complete the clipping.
9)
Wash your quilt on a short delicate cycle. Dry your quilt on a regular cycle. The drying will help fray your clippings and make it look super cute!
What I like about the rag quilt is that it's forgiving of tiny mistakes that would be very evident on a regular quilt. Since I'm no quilting expert this was extremely helpful. I am planning on making a much bigger one for my girls beds!
Follow along on
When we were house hunting a year ago, it was one of the things "on the list".
When we found our home, it sadly lacked this feature.
So we improvised!
For Christmas last year, my parents bought us one of those portable fireplaces that you put the gel cans in. It actually generates a nice amount of heat. I love this feature for our living room. It was really boring and bare and this gives it a sort of sophistication and style.
I finally got around to taking some pictures of the current decor before it changes for the fall. I'm one of those people that like to change it up seasonally.
I believe this fireplace was purchased from
outlet store in Wisconsin.
Now we just need to put some hardwood flooring in and paint the trim white and I'll really get the design style I'm looking for! These are all plans down the line....
"Change your thoughts and you will change the world" is what is printed on the butterfly plaque.
I really love this camera and it expresses one of my true passions. The shiny silver goes along with the design and color palette and matches the frame of the mirror and the mercury glass hurricane vase.
Dollar store finds!!! The Marble vase and the angel statue were only a buck!
My little photo bomber!
Items featured above
White candle holder and Mercury Hurricane vases are from Kirkland
Alice in Wonderland Teapots from Tren-D in Downtown Disney
Camera from Ross
Butterfly plaque from Home goods store
Marble vase from Dollar Tree
Angel from Dollar Tree
Mirror from Home goods store
Don't forget to show some love and follow me on
