Quickie Valentines

I don't like to spend a ton of time on the kids' Valentines. I like them to be cute, but the fact is that kids just want the candy! I saw these packets of Wonka Fun Dip Valentines at Aldi, and I knew they would be perfect for a fast project.

You'll need a sheet of 12x12 paper for every 3 Valentines. You'll also need the free printable located here: Secret Agent Josephine

Cut your paper at 9.25 inches. Turn and cut at 8 inches and 4 inches to get 3 strips at 4 inches by 9.25 inches. Holding paper horizontally, score at 5/8 inch, and then turn and score at 4.25 inches. Turn up the short tab and staple close to the fold. Decorate your cover and tack your treat inside. Easy!

January To Do

I'm resolved to be against resolutions. They're meant to be broken. Instead, I'm posting a list of goals. They (you know THEY are always talking) say that you're more likely to achieve your goals if you write them down.

Here goes nothing!

1. Locker hook new bathmat, thereby using up scraps
2. Finish 2nd Cracker Box Christmas ball. It's started, I swear!
3. Post some things to my Etsy stores. Both of them.
4. Knit new Odessa for my daughter. Yarn and needles are in stock.

Reflections ornament

reflections ornament
Originally uploaded by phunkymama

As I settle into my new craft room, I'm taking on the UFOs. I bought this kit about 10 years ago from Cracker Box. If you subscribe to "more is more," then these kits are for you!

I worked on this for a few hours at a time over about 4 days. My fingers got really sore by the end! I'd tried using a thimble, but it was just too big to get down into the spaces between the beads. I know now why they recommend a tool which is used for countersinking nails!

I did need to modify the instructions a bit. See the circular section of the silver braid, most evident on the hanger? In the instructions, it was an oval, so there were fewer wedges of bead designs on the sample. I guess the tension on the braid machine was extra tight on the day mine was made! At any rate, the increased number of wedges left me short on a few styles of beads, so I modified and simplified every other wedge.

I think the end result is still pretty fantastic!

Quickie Ikea Hack

My daughter has been wanting a clock in her room, more for decoration than for telling time. I've never been able to find something that matched her decor (aqua and lime) without it being emblazoned with characters.

Ikea to the rescue! I purchased the Rusch clock in white, bargain basement price of $3. I pried off the clear dome over the clock face and went to work. First, I colored the white plastic frame with Ranger Alcohol Inks. Then I went to work on the face itself. The hands of the clock lift right off, allowing you to pull up the paper face. I simply covered the numbered paper face with glue stick and slapped it onto a piece of scrapbook paper. When that was dry, I cut out the circle, using an eyelet tool for the center circle. The numbers were cut with the George cartridge on the Cricut. I put the clock face on a window so that I could use it as a light box to line up the numbers--even with the scrapbook paper over the paper face, the numbers showed through really well. The numbers were just glue sticked into place.

I went over the red second hand with black StazOn ink. I guess if I wanted to really get into it, I could've spray painted it, but I wasn't that committed. I did add a nice rhinestone to the center, though. I put everything back together and noticed something I didn't like. There's a channel all around the clock frame where the alcohol ink didn't go. I decided to make it part of the overall look by filling the groove with Glossy Accents by Ranger, and then pouring on the holeless microbeads in a lime color. It does take a while to dry, but I think the effect is worth it!

Treasure Hunt Kit

Treasure Hunt Kit






Originally uploaded by phunkymama

More crafting fun! I created a fun Treasure Hunt kit with stamps from Clear Dollar Stamps. It was a bit work intensive, but definitely worth it! I'm sure my son's next birthday party will involve a fun frenzy of treasure hunting!

I had a bit of a hard time getting the red cellophane for the lenses. They did have it at AC Moore (but not at Michael's) but it was a pretty large roll, and it was $4. I'm sure you will understand when I say that I am a frugal crafter! I ended up scoring the cello at a local art supply store which also has a decent candy making department. The roll was nearly as large as the one at the Big Box, but it was only .99!

The lenses were punched from two layers of cardstock, which allowed me to sandwich the cello. They were also nice and sturdy, but I wanted to be able to have a way for the kids to carry them along from spot to spot. I decided to add an eyelet and a bit of heavy elastic thread. Mission accomplished!

To write out the clues, you just write lightly in pencil on the red stamped box on the clue card. If you're using a red lens, I also found that pale green marker works really well.

Don't make these mistakes!

A couple of years ago, a dear friend gifted me a beautiful Odessa hat. My sweet daughter promptly stole it from me. While she loves the hat, it isn't her favorite color. I decided to go ahead and knit her another Odessa in the turquoise she so loves.

Mistake 1: not printing out the pattern. The Odessa was originally published in MagKnits, an online zine that closed up a while back. The pattern has been moved to Ravelry, but I had never joined. If you're at all interested, do request an invitation, it only takes a few days! So I got about as web savvy as I could (read: not at all) and plugged the old Magknits link into the Wayback Machine, and I got my pattern.

Mistake 2: cheap yarn. OK, pure laziness on my part. My local yarn shops aren't all that local, or they don't have convenient hours. Thirty minute drive to a yarn shop, or hit the yarn aisle when I'm at Michaels three times a week? Sadly, I bought the yarn at Michaels, and it was cheap Red Heart. I was forced into it by weight and color--they do have a few decent balls of yarn there, but none suitable for the Odessa.

Mistake 3: not making a swatch. OK, more laziness. But I'm not a master knitter, so I can't even wrap my brain around swatching this pattern. It's knit in the round, so I'd have to basically knit up a hat to get a swatch anyway. See where this is going?

The finished project:


It doesn't look terrible lying flat. But it's too big for Emmy. It's OK, I'll wear it, but it's nowhere near as lovely as the gifted Odessa. Let's just say that Red Heart DK isn't at all DK. It's more like worsted. Plus, my hands started to hurt after a couple of hours of knitting. I hate hate hate it when yarn creaks. Lessons learned! I'll hit the yarn shop after Thanksgiving and find some proper yarn. I still have half a ball of crummy Red Heart left. I swear I'd burn it if I knew it wouldn't release toxic gasses and immediately kill off an acre of rainforest!

Jumping on the bandwagon

I think everyone has bought the Top Note die from Stampin' UP! Mine finally arrived last week, and I just got some time to sit down and play with it. First, I die cut the Top Note in Tempting Turquoise and Pacific Point. I cut off the outer border of the Tempting Turquoise piece, and used my Quickie Glue Pen to attach the thin border to the Pacific Point piece. I'll put aside the inner piece to use on another project.

For the focal image, I stamped the butterfly image from Stampin' UP! Garden Collage set in Ranger Archival black ink. I used watercolor paper, so that I could go in with my watercolor pencils to color the image. Just a bit of blending with an Aquapainter and it looks great! Then I coated the image with 4 layers of Ultra Thick Embossing Enamel. When the last layer had cooled completely, I gave the piece a gentle crack. I rubbed a bit of Ranger Distress ink in Broken China over the image and wiped it off with a tissue to give the cracks a bit of depth.

Everything is layered up on a piece of Sahara Sand cardstock stamping in Going Grey with the Floral backgrounder (all items are from Stampin' UP!).