Craft: Tea Tin Pails

To recycle or keep for a craft, that is the question. Actually, THAT'S always the question for me. This time it was a tea tin. I thought to myself, "you have lots of tea tins, you haven't done much with them, do you really need this? Do you need this?!!!". And at that moment the idea of a tea tin pail popped into my head. Craft idea to the rescue! Tea tin saved.

Supplies:
Tea tin - easy to find at thrift stores
Strip of leather - I used an old belt
2 Brads
Small Hole punch
Hammer and one nail

Here's the tea tin I started with. It doesn't matter what shape or size it is.

Punch a hole large enough for a brad to fit through it on both top sides of the tin.

To make a hole in the leather, hammer a nail into the leather and then remove nail. Repeat on opposite site. Attach leather handle with brads.

Here's what the brad will look like from the inside.

Done!

Mother's Day Card Roundup

Looking for a last minute card to give mom for Mother's Day? Here's a few cute cards you can download for free.

Flower Print by Mufn Inc
Martryoshka Card by Creative Mamma
Movie Night Card by Martha Stewart
Poster Card by Proffittable Life
Silhouette Card by Babalisme
Teacup card by Zakka Life

Craft: Decorative Wax Paper for Packaging

One of my favorite crafts as a child was sandwiching leaves between wax paper to hang on the windows. It's one of those crafts that has been around forever and for good reason. It's easy, fun to make and only requires a few supplies. Well, this wax packaging paper "how-to" is made the same way. Simple directions below.

Supplies:
Paper - any color
Small hole punch - any shape
Wax paper

Punch out some shapes.

Place a tea towel down over ironing board. Place shapes between two pieces of wax paper. Don't place them too close or the wax paper will not seal well. Place another tea towel on top.

Iron on medium to high heat until wax paper seals together. This is what it will look like once it's done. Sometimes it comes out a little bumpy, that's okay.

Wrap up your gift. Done. The wax paper wrinkles up quick so do your best to wrap the item in one try.

We gave this little package of cookies along with this card to the kids' teachers for Teacher Appreciation Day.

I told my son about the card which reads "thanks a latte" with a coffee gift card included. Here's the conversation that followed:

Evan: Why is there a joke on the card?

Me: Because there's a coffee gift card with it. Get it?

Evan: Oh, I get it. How much is the gift card for?

Me: $5

Evan: Why so cheap?

You know, sometimes I appreciate the honesty that comes from my children. This time, not so much. And I should add, there were some homemade cookies that came with the gift card, sheesh! Please tell me it's the thought that counts. But, it did get me thinking about what other people give for Teacher Appreciation day. Do you give your teachers something? If so, what? Would love to hear your ideas and thoughts.

Washi Tape Gallery

Screen shot from mt Gallery

Anytime I post about Japanese masking tape (washi tape), one of the big questions I get is, "What can I make with it?". There are a lot of washi tape tutorials online but today I thought I would share about the mt Gallery . The mt Gallery can be found on the mt masking tape site. The mt gallery consists of masking tape projects submitted from fans. I've found the gallery to be a great source for inspiration and project ideas. If you've got a couple minutes to spare, check it out and tell me what you think.

Kid Craft: Mother's Day Pendants

Move over macaroni necklace, there's a new piece of jewelry to make for Mother's Day. Not that I have anything against the macaroni necklace, I've made a few in my day. But if you're looking for a more updated mother's day kid craft, this is it. Much like the macaroni necklace, this pendant is also made out of humble supplies. The metal base is actually the end of a crescent roll container!

I recommend this craft for children 5 and up. It definitely requires adult supervision and depending on the age, you may need to do some of the steps. That said, try to make it the child's project as much as possible. Let them pick out the images and accents for the pendant. Don't forget to have fun!

Supplies:
Aleene's Paper Glaze - you could also use Diamond Glaze or Mod Podge Dimensional Magic
Metal lids from crescent roll containers - pictured above
Jewelry Bails - easy to find at the craft store
Decorative paper - scrapbook paper, magazine clippings, clip art
Embellishments - rhinestones, beads, buttons, etc. . .
Cardboard - from a cereal box or other packaging
E6000 Glue
Decoupage glue
Paint brush
Scissors
Place metal lid on cardboard. Trace onto cardboard. Cut out. Glue inside metal lid.

Create and glue a mini collage on top of cardboard. Cover with a light coat of decoupage. Let dry.

Once dry, add a light coat of paper glaze on top. Spread out with tip of container or a paint brush. Remove any bubbles by poking them with a pin. Let dry overnight.

If you add too much paper glaze it will dry cloudy and not clear (pictured above). This was one of my prototypes for this project.

Glue jewelry bail on back of pendant with E6000 glue. Let dry overnight. This step should be done by an adult.

Eiffel Tower image from The Graphics Fairy

There are a lot of possibilities with these pendants. Make magnets, pins, cards and whatever else you can think of with them. They're not just for Mother's Day.