Best of 2011

With the year coming to an end, I thought I'd wrap it up by sharing some of my most popular posts and since it's 2011, I'll share eleven. So, for any new readers, here are some projects you might have missed.

1. (Cereal Box) Lighthouse Candle Holder

2. Easy Art Center

3. Burlap Ghost Lights (PB Knock-off)

 

4. Measuring Cups/Spoons Organizer

5. Christmas Charger

6. Snowman Soup Gift Idea

7. Burlap Spider Web Garland

8. Oversized Dry Erase Magnetic Calendar

9. Turkey Favor Tins

10. Homework Helper

 

11. Job Charts

 Hope you have a fabulous New Year! See you in 2012.

Be sure to check out these great linky parties:

Monday Amaze Me Mon, Craftastic Mon, Craft-O-Manic Mon, Homemaker Mon, Inspire Me Mon, Link Party Mon, Mad Skills, Mad Skills Mon, Made By You Mon, Made With Love Mon, Make Something Mon, Making Mon Marvelous, Making the World Cuter, Market Yourself Mon, Marvelous Mess Mon, Masterpiece Mon, Metamorphosis Mon, Motivate Me Mon, Blog Party, Project Parade, Share Mon, Thrifty Décor Chick, Unwasted Homemaking, Craft Catwalk, Craftaholics Anonyomous Tuesday All Thingz Related, Anti Procrastination Tues, Get Your Craft On, Handmade Tues, Home Stories A to Z, It's Sew Fun, maze Me August, Nifty Thrifty Tues, Power Of Paint, Show Me What You Got, Sizzle into Summer, Take A Look Tues, Teriffic Under Ten Tues, Time To Shine, Wednesday Anything Goes, DIY Under $5, Hoo's Got Talent?, Idea Sharing Wed, Linkin' with Luna, Look What I Made, Penny Pinching Party, Primp Your Stuff Wed, Show And Share, Show And Tell, We Did It Wed, What I Made Wed, What I Whipped Up Wedn, What’s Up Wed, Whatever Goes Wed, Wicked Awesome Wed, Wow Me Wed, Wow Me Wed, Thursday A Crafty Soiree, Almost Fri Flaunts, Catch A Glimpse Thur, Commercial Break Thursday, Get Your Brag On, Hookin' Up, Share Awesomness Thur, Show Off Your Stuff, Strut Your Stuff Thur, Catch as Catch Can, Transformation Thur, Under $100 Linky Party, Friday Bacon Time, Delicate Construction, Fabulous Fri, Fantabulous Fri, Feature Your Sassy Sites, Feature Yourself  Fri, Flaunt It Fri, Free For All Fri, Fri Favorites, Fri Link Party, Frugal Fri, Frugalicious Fri, Hodgepodge Fri, I'm Lovin' It Fri, Inspiration Fri, Lovely Crafty Weekend, Remodelaholic Fri, Show and Share Day, Scissors & Spatulas, Weekend Wander, Weekend Wrap-Up, Whatcha Got Weekend, Saturday Check Me Out Sat, Sat is Crafty Day, Sat Nite Special, Sat Spotlight, Show & Tell Sat, Summer Lovin' Sat Soiree, Sunday Just Something I Whipped Up, Nifty Thrifty Sun, Sister Sister Sun, Sun Showcase, Sun Scoop, Think Pink Sun, You're So Creative

New Years Plate and Printable

There were a few people on my holiday giving list that were away for Christmas (and a few that I just didn't get to). Since Christmas is over, I thought it would be cute to put together a New Years themed gift.

I cut vinyl numbers in different fonts and sizes and applied them to a white plate. I added some cookies, wrapped it up and attached some fun new years items.

 Here is the printable. To print, first click to enlarge, then right click to save to your computer. 

Be sure to check out these great linky parties:

Monday Amaze Me Mon, Craftastic Mon, Craft-O-Manic Mon, Homemaker Mon, Inspire Me Mon, Link Party Mon, Mad Skills, Mad Skills Mon, Made By You Mon, Made With Love Mon, Make Something Mon, Making Mon Marvelous, Making the World Cuter, Market Yourself Mon, Marvelous Mess Mon, Masterpiece Mon, Metamorphosis Mon, Motivate Me Mon, Blog Party, Project Parade, Share Mon, Thrifty Décor Chick, Unwasted Homemaking, Craft Catwalk, Craftaholics Anonyomous Tuesday All Thingz Related, Anti Procrastination Tues, Get Your Craft On, Handmade Tues, Home Stories A to Z, It's Sew Fun, maze Me August, Nifty Thrifty Tues, Power Of Paint, Show Me What You Got, Sizzle into Summer, Take A Look Tues, Teriffic Under Ten Tues, Time To Shine, Wednesday Anything Goes, DIY Under $5, Hoo's Got Talent?, Idea Sharing Wed, Linkin' with Luna, Look What I Made, Penny Pinching Party, Primp Your Stuff Wed, Show And Share, Show And Tell, We Did It Wed, What I Made Wed, What I Whipped Up Wedn, What’s Up Wed, Whatever Goes Wed, Wicked Awesome Wed, Wow Me Wed, Wow Me Wed, Thursday A Crafty Soiree, Almost Fri Flaunts, Catch A Glimpse Thur, Commercial Break Thursday, Get Your Brag On, Hookin' Up, Share Awesomness Thur, Show Off Your Stuff, Strut Your Stuff Thur, Catch as Catch Can, Transformation Thur, Under $100 Linky Party, Friday Bacon Time, Delicate Construction, Fabulous Fri, Fantabulous Fri, Feature Your Sassy Sites, Feature Yourself  Fri, Flaunt It Fri, Free For All Fri, Fri Favorites, Fri Link Party, Frugal Fri, Frugalicious Fri, Hodgepodge Fri, I'm Lovin' It Fri, Inspiration Fri, Lovely Crafty Weekend, Remodelaholic Fri, Show and Share Day, Scissors & Spatulas, Weekend Wander, Weekend Wrap-Up, Whatcha Got Weekend, Saturday Check Me Out Sat, Sat is Crafty Day, Sat Nite Special, Sat Spotlight, Show & Tell Sat, Summer Lovin' Sat Soiree, Sunday Just Something I Whipped Up, Nifty Thrifty Sun, Sister Sister Sun, Sun Showcase, Sun Scoop, Think Pink Sun, You're So Creative

Guest Posting at A Little Tipsy

I'm guest posting over at A Little Tipsy. I hope you'll stop over and check out my tutorial to make this fun balloon topiary.

Christmas Candy Subway Art (vinyl)

I got this plain platter for a buck and thought it would be fun to dress up. I'll probably be putting some type of Christmas candy on it, so I came up with this Christmas candy subway art.

I'd love to make some of my digital cutter files available to download, but I'm still trying to figure out what types of files different cutters use. If you own a cutter and would like this (or possibly future layouts), let me know what type of file your cutter can import, and I will try to make it available to download.

Be sure to check out these great linky parties:

Monday Amaze Me Mon, Craftastic Mon, Craft-O-Manic Mon, Homemaker Mon, Inspire Me Mon, Link Party Mon, Mad Skills, Mad Skills Mon, Made By You Mon, Made With Love Mon, Make Something Mon, Making Mon Marvelous, Making the World Cuter, Market Yourself Mon, Marvelous Mess Mon, Masterpiece Mon, Metamorphosis Mon, Motivate Me Mon, Blog Party, Project Parade, Share Mon, Thrifty Décor Chick, Unwasted Homemaking, Craft Catwalk, Craftaholics Anonyomous Tuesday All Thingz Related, Anti Procrastination Tues, Get Your Craft On, Handmade Tues, Home Stories A to Z, It's Sew Fun, maze Me August, Nifty Thrifty Tues, Power Of Paint, Show Me What You Got, Sizzle into Summer, Take A Look Tues, Teriffic Under Ten Tues, Time To Shine, Wednesday Anything Goes, DIY Under $5, Hoo's Got Talent?, Idea Sharing Wed, Linkin' with Luna, Look What I Made, Penny Pinching Party, Primp Your Stuff Wed, Show And Share, Show And Tell, We Did It Wed, What I Made Wed, What I Whipped Up Wedn, What’s Up Wed, Whatever Goes Wed, Wicked Awesome Wed, Wow Me Wed, Wow Me Wed, Thursday A Crafty Soiree, Almost Fri Flaunts, Catch A Glimpse Thur, Commercial Break Thursday, Get Your Brag On, Hookin' Up, Share Awesomness Thur, Show Off Your Stuff, Strut Your Stuff Thur, Catch as Catch Can, Transformation Thur, Under $100 Linky Party, Friday Bacon Time, Delicate Construction, Fabulous Fri, Fantabulous Fri, Feature Your Sassy Sites, Feature Yourself  Fri, Flaunt It Fri, Free For All Fri, Fri Favorites, Fri Link Party, Frugal Fri, Frugalicious Fri, Hodgepodge Fri, I'm Lovin' It Fri, Inspiration Fri, Lovely Crafty Weekend, Remodelaholic Fri, Show and Share Day, Scissors & Spatulas, Weekend Wander, Weekend Wrap-Up, Whatcha Got Weekend, Saturday Check Me Out Sat, Sat is Crafty Day, Sat Nite Special, Sat Spotlight, Show & Tell Sat, Summer Lovin' Sat Soiree, Sunday Just Something I Whipped Up, Nifty Thrifty Sun, Sister Sister Sun, Sun Showcase, Sun Scoop, Think Pink Sun, You're So Creative

Snowman Soup Gift Idea (with Printable)

I've seen this snowman soup idea all over and thought it would be a great neighbor gift this year. There are already so many different variations, but I had these mugs left over from another project and figured I could turn them into cute snowmen mugs.

I cut out the eyes, nose, and mouth in vinyl and applied them to the mug.

I thought this snowman would look extra cute with a hat. So, I cut a doughnut shape and rectangle out of craft foam. The diameter of the circle should be about 2" larger than the top of the mug and the center should be about 1" smaller. The rectangle is about 2" tall and long enough to go around the inside of the circle, plus an inch. Then, I just glued the two ends of the rectangle together and glued that on top of the doughnut.

I wrapped some small marshmallows, a couple packages of hot chocolate, and some peppermint kisses in a cello bag. I tied it with some white ribbon and tied on the candy canes and Snowman Soup poem.

There is no top on the hat, so the bag can poke out.

Isn't he cute?

That's one down, only 17 to go!

 Here is the printable. To print, first click to enlarge, then right click to save to your computer.

Be sure to check out these great linky parties:

Monday Amaze Me Mon, Craftastic Mon, Craft-O-Manic Mon, Homemaker Mon, Inspire Me Mon, Link Party Mon, Mad Skills, Mad Skills Mon, Made By You Mon, Made With Love Mon, Make Something Mon, Making Mon Marvelous, Making the World Cuter, Market Yourself Mon, Marvelous Mess Mon, Masterpiece Mon, Metamorphosis Mon, Motivate Me Mon, Blog Party, Project Parade, Share Mon, Thrifty Décor Chick, Unwasted Homemaking, Craft Catwalk, Craftaholics Anonyomous Tuesday All Thingz Related, Anti Procrastination Tues, Get Your Craft On, Handmade Tues, Home Stories A to Z, It's Sew Fun, maze Me August, Nifty Thrifty Tues, Power Of Paint, Show Me What You Got, Sizzle into Summer, Take A Look Tues, Teriffic Under Ten Tues, Time To Shine, Wednesday Anything Goes, DIY Under $5, Hoo's Got Talent?, Idea Sharing Wed, Linkin' with Luna, Look What I Made, Penny Pinching Party, Primp Your Stuff Wed, Show And Share, Show And Tell, We Did It Wed, What I Made Wed, What I Whipped Up Wedn, What’s Up Wed, Whatever Goes Wed, Wicked Awesome Wed, Wow Me Wed, Wow Me Wed, Thursday A Crafty Soiree, Almost Fri Flaunts, Catch A Glimpse Thur, Commercial Break Thursday, Get Your Brag On, Hookin' Up, Share Awesomness Thur, Show Off Your Stuff, Strut Your Stuff Thur, Catch as Catch Can, Transformation Thur, Under $100 Linky Party, Friday Bacon Time, Delicate Construction, Fabulous Fri, Fantabulous Fri, Feature Your Sassy Sites, Feature Yourself  Fri, Flaunt It Fri, Free For All Fri, Fri Favorites, Fri Link Party, Frugal Fri, Frugalicious Fri, Hodgepodge Fri, I'm Lovin' It Fri, Inspiration Fri, Lovely Crafty Weekend, Remodelaholic Fri, Show and Share Day, Scissors & Spatulas, Weekend Wander, Weekend Wrap-Up, Whatcha Got Weekend, Saturday Check Me Out Sat, Sat is Crafty Day, Sat Nite Special, Sat Spotlight, Show & Tell Sat, Summer Lovin' Sat Soiree, Sunday Just Something I Whipped Up, Nifty Thrifty Sun, Sister Sister Sun, Sun Showcase, Sun Scoop, Think Pink Sun, You're So Creative

Stenciled Fabric Magnet Board

I was so excited to be asked to do a review on a stencil from Cutting Edge Stencils! Before they contacted me, I already had a project that I was going to stencil, but I was going to try doing it with vinyl. Once I started, I quickly realized how much easier it was to use their stencil over vinyl. Here is my project. It's a magnet board that I covered with stenciled fabric.

After searching their website, I found this stencil and knew it would be perfect. Their shipping was fast! I was amazed at how quickly I received my order. I started by spraying the back of the stencil with adhesive, then I placed it on top of my fabric. I used a stencil brush and dabbed on white paint until I had covered the entire stencil.

 I thought it would be fun to add a little color, so (after the white had dried) I dabbed some blue and green over some of the smaller seeds of the stencil.

Then, I carefully pulled the stencil off the fabric. Isn't it a little scary to lift off a stencil? I've had plenty of stenciled projects where the paint has bled, so I was pleasantly surprised with how good this looked and how easy it was.

Then, I glued the fabric to my metal board and added a frame. I thought it would look cute with some seeds blowing off, so I found a few little ones from the stencil and added them to the top corner.

Using this stencil made this project fast and simple. I'm already thinking of other places I could dress-up with a stencil!

Cutting Edge Stencils has great information and videos on their website, too.

You can also find more videos on their You Tube channel.

The winner is. . . .

JEN! 

Jen said... Um, this is fabulous! What a great idea!
~Jen

December 18, 2011 5:59 AM 

Jen! Check your email!

Thanks to everyone who entered!

Guest Posting at Craft Gossip

Today, I'm guest posting over at Craft Gossip! I'm sharing my tutorial to make these over-sized pillar candles from cardboard tubes. I hope you'll stop over and take a look.

Peppermint Candy Plate (with vinyl)

Turn a plain white plate into a cute peppermint candy plate, great for treats and gift giving. I used a plain white plate from the dollar store and cut out the design in red vinyl. I marked the center and applied the vinyl. Since the plate is curved, it took a little extra work to get the stripes to lay flat. I wrapped the stripes around the edge of the plate and then trimmed them with a sharp craft knife.

 Add some yummy peppermint candy, wrap with cellophane, and tie on both sides to create a cute candy gift plate.

Here is the template I used. Click to enlarge, then right click to save to your computer. Make the size about 1.5 inches larger than your plate.

Peppermint Bark

Back in junior high and high school, I had a friend who would always make this yummy peppermint candy for Christmas. I looked forward to it every holiday season. A few years back, I emailed her for the recipe, but never got around to making it. This year, I had a project that would be great with peppermint candy, so I decided to make it. Little did I know, it's pretty much the recipe floating all around blog world.But, I'll share it anyway.

1 lb. Vanilla Candy Melts or Vanilla Almond Bark

1 tsp. Peppermint Extract

3-4 Candy Canes

Red Food Coloring (optional)

1/2 cup Chocolate Chips

Crush the candy canes (you can also used wrapped mints) in a blender. Follow the package directions to melt the vanilla candy. Stir in the extract. You can make it weaker or stronger depending on your preference (I love mint flavored candy, so I added an extra 1/2 tsp). You can also add a few drop of red food coloring (I did not). Stir in the crushed candy canes and spread out on wax paper. Melt the chocolate chips so they are nice and runny. Drizzle over the candy and wait for it to harden (I put it in the freezer). Break into pieces and enjoy.

Be sure to check out these great linky parties:

Monday Amaze Me Mon, Craftastic Mon, Craft-O-Manic Mon, Homemaker Mon, Inspire Me Mon, Link Party Mon, Mad Skills, Mad Skills Mon, Made By You Mon, Made With Love Mon, Make Something Mon, Making Mon Marvelous, Making the World Cuter, Market Yourself Mon, Marvelous Mess Mon, Masterpiece Mon, Metamorphosis Mon, Motivate Me Mon, Blog Party, Project Parade, Share Mon, Thrifty Décor Chick, Unwasted Homemaking, Craft Catwalk, Craftaholics Anonyomous Tuesday All Thingz Related, Anti Procrastination Tues, Get Your Craft On, Handmade Tues, Home Stories A to Z, It's Sew Fun, maze Me August, Nifty Thrifty Tues, Power Of Paint, Show Me What You Got, Sizzle into Summer, Take A Look Tues, Teriffic Under Ten Tues, Time To Shine, Wednesday Anything Goes, DIY Under $5, Hoo's Got Talent?, Idea Sharing Wed, Linkin' with Luna, Look What I Made, Penny Pinching Party, Primp Your Stuff Wed, Show And Share, Show And Tell, We Did It Wed, What I Made Wed, What I Whipped Up Wedn, What’s Up Wed, Whatever Goes Wed, Wicked Awesome Wed, Wow Me Wed, Wow Me Wed, Thursday A Crafty Soiree, Almost Fri Flaunts, Catch A Glimpse Thur, Commercial Break Thursday, Get Your Brag On, Hookin' Up, Share Awesomness Thur, Show Off Your Stuff, Strut Your Stuff Thur, Catch as Catch Can, Transformation Thur, Under $100 Linky Party, Friday Bacon Time, Delicate Construction, Fabulous Fri, Fantabulous Fri, Feature Your Sassy Sites, Feature Yourself  Fri, Flaunt It Fri, Free For All Fri, Fri Favorites, Fri Link Party, Frugal Fri, Frugalicious Fri, Hodgepodge Fri, I'm Lovin' It Fri, Inspiration Fri, Lovely Crafty Weekend, Remodelaholic Fri, Show and Share Day, Scissors & Spatulas, Weekend Wander, Weekend Wrap-Up, Whatcha Got Weekend, Saturday Check Me Out Sat, Sat is Crafty Day, Sat Nite Special, Sat Spotlight, Show & Tell Sat, Summer Lovin' Sat Soiree, Sunday Just Something I Whipped Up, Nifty Thrifty Sun, Sister Sister Sun, Sun Showcase, Sun Scoop, Think Pink Sun, You're So Creative