How to make a cake plate cheap

So, a few months back I wanted to give my sister in law a little shower. This was going to be her 2 daughter, with 2 boys in between the girls. It had been 8 years since she had a baby girl and girl things have just gotten way more cute since then. So, a shower was a must! 

My sister in law didn't know about the shower and I usually use her cake stand and cupcakes stands if I ever need them. I didn't want to pay a bunch of money for a shabby chic looking cake stand and cupcake holder.

So I channeled my inner "thrifty person" and I made THREE stands for $5!!!

Get three plates that are flat or almost flat on the bottom. 

Get three crystal candlesticks and use E6000 to glue the top of the candlestick to the bottom of the plates and VIOLA... you have cake stands/ cupcakes stands for almost nothing!

Quilting Projects for Christmas

Ok, so I made a few quilting projects as gifts for Christmas. These were totally done just by me winging it. I didn't have a per say "pattern" to follow. I just mapped out on a piece of paper what I wanted and done my measurements. 

Never the less, most of the inspiring quilts I find on the internet don't even have a pattern. They are just quilts people have done and posted. So, I thought I would share mine too. 

I made 4 quilted gifts but I only have pictures of 2. Sorry, I forgot to take a picture of the other two.

This is the quilt I made for my kiddos' sweet Sunday school teacher. Her girls were sweet enough to get me all their hand prints so I could do it for her!

 

This is one I made for my little sister.  I tried to do a whimsical theme for her. The 2 biggest hearts are for our daddy who passed away 2 years ago of cancer and our grandpa who passed away.

Glow Jars

I Love these Glow Jars aka Firefly Jars! Their are two ways to make these, one lasting a lot longer. Now you can use glow sticks (these Glow much brighter but don't last but about one day) OR you can use Glow in the dark paint (This lasts much longer b.c it charges in the light but doesn't glow as bright). It's all up to you.

You will Need:
* Jars with Lids
* Glow Sticks OR Glow in the dark paint
* Paintbrush if using glow in the dark paint

If you are using Glow Sticks:

Make sure your jars are clean and dry.

Break your glow stick so it will glow.

Cut the end off and shake the contents in the glow stick all around in your jar.

You need to be extra careful with the Glow Sticks as they do have glass in them.

That's it if your doing the glow sticks.


If you are using Glow In The Dark Paint

Make sure your jars are clean and dry.

Take the end of your brush and dot the paint onto the inside of the jars. The more you dot, the more they will glow.

I personally think these jars are awesome. I've made both and like both. I think these would also be really cute for an evening wedding reception for centerpieces or on the deck. What a conversation starter!

How to make an ironing board cover

I decided I needed to make myself a new ironing board cover. Mine was so gross! It had all sorts of things on it from my projects. So, a new one was definitely in order!

You will need:
* 2 yards of fabric
* 1/4 inch elastic
* Water soluble pen
* ruler

Preshrink your fabric by washing and drying and then give it a good iron so it will be nice and crisp.

Lay your fabric wrong side up on a table or the floor and place your ironing board on it.

Take your ruler and measure out a 3 inch mark with the water soluble pen every so far all the way around the ironing board. This will give you your guide to cut out your pattern.

Iron the edges down 1/2 inch

Iron the edges down another 1/2 inch and sew. Leave about a 3 inch opening for the elastic.

Now to get the amount of elastic I needed, I just done a little over half way around the board, going around the top. Like in the picture below.

Once you cut your elastic to the amount needed. Time to thread it through the casting. I pin one end to my project so it doesn't get lost and do another safety pin on the other end the thread it through.

Once your elastic is pulled through to the other side, sew the two ends together and pull all the elastic in the casting. Sew your opening up.

Wala! Now you've got yourself a fast and cute new ironing board cover! Exciting isn't it?

Initial Plate

I had an old wooden plate from an old project that didn't turn out the way I wanted, so I decided to vamp it up and use it as a center plate for my table.

You will need:
* Wooden Plate
* Wooden OR cardboard letter
* Paint
* Fabric of choice
* Sponge Brush
* Mod Podge (Of course!)

Paint your wooden plate front and back with your color of choice.

Go ahead and paint your letter with your color of choice and let it be drying.

After your paint dries on your plate.

Take a piece of fabric, iron it out. Take your ironed piece, lay it right side down and one the back side of your fabric draw your circle or pattern with a washable pen. Cut out your circle or other shape.

Mod Podge where your fabric will be and lay your fabric on top of the mod podge. Rub out any bubbles or creases.

Take your sponge brush and do a coat of mod podge on the top of the entire plate.

After it dries. Modge Podge the portion where your letter will be going and stick your letter on it. Let that dry.

Now do a few thin coats of Mod Podge over the entire project. Let it dry between each coat.

Wala! All done! Now just put it out on your table or wherever to display your neat handy work!

Key Hanger

Who loves Mod Podge!? I do! I do!

The possibilities are endless with this stuff! I absolutely love it! I very well may be an addict! hahaha

This was a project that I done for our Preacher and his wife. They are Bama fans just like us (can't ya tell!). I had a few ideas for them but I let my hubby pick which one he wanted me to do and he picked the Key Holder.

You will Need:
* Piece of wood OR plaque
* scrapbook paper
* Sponge Brush
* Wooden or cardboard letters
* Your choice of paint color
* Ribbon
* Sharp box cutter or scrapbook cutter
* Cup Hooks for hanging the keys - I got a pk. of six that were 1"
* Mod Podge ***OF COURSE*** Yay!

Okie Dokie... Lets start our fun little project! Shall we?

First, paint the edges of your plaque. Let it dry.

Apply your Mod Podge on top of your plaque and place your scrapbook paper on top of it. Smooth out any bubbles that pop up.
Don't worry if you can't get them all. They will go away once it dries completely.

Cut around your scrapbook paper, leaving only the glue section. (I forgot to take a picture of this step, Whoopsie!

Paint the letters. After they have dried, using your Mod Podge, glue them in place on your plaque. Mod Podge over your entire plaque. I have found that a few thin coats does a lot better than one thick coat. Be sure to let it dry between coats.

Once the front has dried, cut your ribbon to your preferred size, heat seal the ends and hot glue one end of each to the back.

Measuring the bottom of your plaque, evenly measure and mark where your hooks should go and screw them in.

Hang and Enjoy!

That's it! Really easy huh?

Chic Mason Jar

So, this idea came to me out of the blue. We have a bunch of mason jars of all sizes. We never do anything with them, yet we have kept them just in case. (You never know... right?)

The other day I was putting yet another mason jar in the "stash" and I thought that I just have to come up with something for them. I went to the store looking for ideas and I saw the glass "peebles" that people put inside flower vases. I thought that would be cute and that's how it came about.

You will Need:
* Mason Jar
* Glass Glue
* Glass Paint
* Sponge Brush
* Glass Pebbles and/or any other decorative things you want to use

First, place your jar upside down on a piece of paper and paint it using your sponge brush. The coats depend on how you want your paint to look. Let the paint dry for one hour after each coat. To cure the glass paint, you will bake your mason jar. Follow the directions on the paint for baking time. When you bake it, make sure you sit the jar upright so no heat will get trapped inside.

After your jar has cooled, use your glass glue to glue your glass pebbles on.

Once you have your jar all done, the glass glue will need to set up. Make sure no beads or decorations have slipped. Fix them if they have. Now tightly (but without messing up your work) roll your jar up with some fabric and let it sit for a few hours.

That's it! I even put a little rope on mine to dress it up after I was done and I'm using it to hold the flower pens my girls made me!