Pot o' Gold Cupcakes

Here's a simple idea for St. Patrick's Day.

What you'll need:
Airheads Xtremes (for the rainbow)
Baby Marshmallows (for the clouds)
Frosting
Cupcake mix
Gold cupcake wrappers (as the pot of gold)

The easiest candles you will ever make

Materials:

-Candle wax (Walmart sells GREAT Better Homes brand scented wax cubes, and they're like $0.80)

-Candle wicks

-Glass Jar (I recycled pesto sauce jars)

-Double Boiler (or a makeshift one)

1.  Melt Wax

To melt your wax, first cut the cubes into smaller pieces, this will make the melting process go more quickly.  

Make sure the water in the bottom pot is boiling then turn it to medium heat.  Put the wax in the top pot and wait until it is completely melted.

2.  Place Wick

Make sure the candle wick is where you want it before you pour in the wax.  There are many ways of doing this.  Personally, I like to just eyeball it and hope for the best (I use a spoon to keep it from falling over).  However, you can use non-flammable glue like hot glue to secure the base of the wick to assure it will be centered.

3.  Pour

Pour hot wax into the jar.  Be careful not to move the jar too much before the wax has solidified.  

4.  Wait

If you're making a multi-layered candle, it is important to wait for the wax to solidify before pouring in the next layer.  To speed up the process, you can place the jar in ice cold water (make sure water doesn't spill into the candle) or place the jar in the fridge or freezer.

5.  Layer

Continue pouring layers until you're satisfied. Be sure to keep about half of your final wax layer for the next step.

6.  Fill
After about 12 hours, you will see your candle develop a hole in the middle.  This is worse in higher elevations, I found.  To fix that hole, simply pour in more wax.  Be sure to wait until the hole has fully developed (about 12 hours) or you will just have to refill it again.

7.  Done!

Here are the scents I used:

For the Yellow/Orange/Pink candle

-Hawaiian Pineapple Cilantro 

-Pomegranate Passion Fruit

-Wild Island Fruit

For the Gray/Purple/Pink candle

-Homemade Blueberry Muffins

-Wild Berry Tart

-Vanilla Cinnamon Sugar

For the beer-looking candle

-Orange Buttercream Cupcake

-Butterscotch Maple Cream

-Vanilla Caramel Spice

Hand and Body Scrubs

Lemon Hand/Body Scrub
Ingredients:
2 tbsp lemon zest
2 tbsp lemon juice
1/2 cup safflower oil
1 1/2 cup granulated sugar

Vanilla Hand/Body Scrub
Ingredients:
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tbsp finely chopped vanilla bean
1/2 cup safflower oil
2/3 cup brown sugar
2/3 cup granulated sugar

*The type of oil doesn't REALLY matter, but I like safflower oil because it's not smelly (like olive oil), it's colorless, and it's a great moisturizer.  Sunflower oil is a slightly cheaper alternative, however.*

Make sure you store your scrubs in an airtight container, like a mason jar...
The oil will separate a little, so take caution when opening your jars.

Enjoy your super soft hands :)

Valentine's Cards

Cards with Blow Pop faces...

Butterfly:

"You make my heart flutter!"

Octopus:

"I can't wait to wrap my arms around you!"

Elephant: 

"You're unforgettable!" 

Bumble Bee:

"Will you bee my valentine?" 

Turtle:

"Shell you be my valentine?"

Snail:

"Time stands still when I'm with you!"

+   +   +   +   +

 Cards with AirHeads tongues...

Alligator: 

"I'd snap at the chance to be your valentine!"

Hippopotamus:

"You mean a ton to me!"

Porcupine: 

"You make my heart-rate spike!"

Whale:

"You're a whale of a catch!"

Kitty Cat:

"You're a kitten's meow!"

Wolf:

"You mean the moon to me!"

Panda:

"You're unBEARably cute!"

Giraffe

"You put my head in the clouds."

Jaguar

"You're purrfect!"

My puppy Lola... 

the Airhead was eaten before I could take a picture.

Enjoy :)

Homemade Buttons

Yay buttons!!!

Materials:

Polymer clay

Ziploc Bag

Straw

Cookie Sheet

Clay Glaze

Paintbrush

1) Conditioning your clay

Polymer clay needs to be conditioned before use.  First, you have to warm up the clay.  I like to do this by putting the clay I'm going to use in a ziploc bag and then sticking that ziploc bag in my pocket for about five minutes.  Next, I squish it with my fingers until it feels like playdough.  If the clay seems to hard, you can use clay softener.

2) Roll your clay

Roll your clay into a ball. Remember: the bigger the ball, the bigger the button.

3) Squish!

Place your ball of clay on a ziploc bag and fold the bag over so both the top and bottom of the ball are covered.  Use a butter knife, or anything with a flat surface, to squash your ball into a button-ie form.  

4) Making Holes

Use a straw/coffee stir to cut button holes.

5) Bake!!!

Follow the instructions on your clay packages.  Generally it's 30 minutes at 275 °.  Because buttons are thin, 20 minutes should do.

 

6) Making them shiny

Apply the glaze to the buttons.  Paint one side at a time. 

 

7) Done!

Now go make a button bracelet...  

Crayon Art

So I decided to try one of these crayon art things, and I was surprised at how easy this project is. 

Materials:
Canvas
Crayons
Hot Glue Gun
Blow Dryer

Steps:
1.  Hot glue crayons to canvas.
2.  Blow dry crayons.
3.  Let dry.
4.  Done.


Simple right?  There are a few things I discovered while doing this project:
1.  Hold the canvas angled back so the crayons can run better.
2.  The blow dryer has to be on hot but on the low setting.
3.  Hold the blow dryer as close to the paper part of the crayons as possible to avoid splattering.

Halloween Cards

Here are some examples of Halloween cards I've made.  I primarily use card-stock paper and permanent double-sided tape.  I avoid glue because it warps the paper.  Enjoy!

Button Bracelet

This project is super fun, super cute, super quick, and super easy.  What more could you ask for?

Materials :

buttons (I usually use around 20-30 buttons depending on size)

1mm elastic string

extra large crimp bead (or a knot if you would rather)

clear drying, waterproof craft glue (I like to use a fabric glue called liquid stitch)

You might also need pliers

1) Pick your buttons!

Don't be afraid to use buttons of different shapes, sizes, or colors!

I love buying assorted bags of buttons because not only are they cheaper than buying individual buttons, but you never know what you're going to find.

 For a 7-8" bracelet, plan on using approximately 20-30 buttons total.  The number of buttons will depend on the size of the buttons you choose.
Once you've picked your buttons, be aware that there will be two sides to your bracelet.  I like to line my buttons up into separate lines representing the bracelet's "front" and "back" sides (approximately 10-15 buttons per line). Make sure each line has an equal amount of buttons. Generally, I purposefully choose the better looking buttons for the "front" side.

2) Cut your elastic string!

For the average 7-8" bracelet, you want to use approximately 16" of string.  As you will learn in step 3, there are two ways to thread your buttons.  If you plan on using the "X" method, add another 5" to your string length.

3) Threading the buttons!

There are two ways to "thread" your buttons. 
I like to call the first way the "dash" method. This method is simply sticking the string through the back side of one hole and then sticking it through the front side of the other hole.  If the button you are using has four holes instead of two, I would recommend using two holes diagonal from one another. 
The second method is the "X" method.  You start off doing exactly what you would do if you were doing a  "dash".  Then, you do another "dash" using the two remaining holes. 


4)  Adding more buttons!

When you add your buttons, you will alternate between "front" and "back" buttons.  So you will first add a button from your "front" line followed by a button from your "back" line.  And you simply continue in this manner until you've used up all of your buttons. If you start with a "front button, you should end with a "back" button.

Also, when stringing on buttons, be sure to pull the buttons tight together.  You will know if you're not pulling them tight enough if there are odd gaps between buttons (this problem could also be a result from buttons being too different in size, in which case you should consider rearranging the order of your buttons).  On the other hand, if you are pulling them too tight together the buttons will severely bunch up. It's okay if they bunch up a little though.

 I put pictures to your left depicting what your bracelet should look like at this point.  Notice, however, I am pulling the sides of the string to make the bracelet look straight.  It won't be perfectly straight like that at first.

5) Closing it off

You could use a knot, but a crimp bead is more secure, and I would definitely recommend it if you want your bracelet to last. If you use a knot (double-knot please), make sure it's as tight as you can get it and then glue the knot.  I would recommend cutting the excess string after the glue is on and dried just in case the knot decides to come loose.

If you decide to use a crimp bead, start off by inserting the two sides of the string into opposite sides of the crimp bead.  This might be a little difficult the first time you try it.  I suggest getting one side of the string in first then pulling it tight (so there's more room inside the bead for the second side) and then slipping the other side of the string in.  It might take you a couple tries, don't get discouraged.  Pull tight, then take your pliers and crimp the crimp bead -- simple, right?  

After that, you may cut the excess string and then add the glue.  

let it dry...

                                                                                                   then you're DONE!