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AITKWK: Episode 2- Cement & Toddlers & Poor Choices
Crafty!ParenthoodVideos

AITKWK: Episode 2- Cement & Toddlers & Poor Choices

by Jill
written by Jill

Our first episode of Adventures In The Kitchen With Kids went so well and was so fun for the kids, that I promised we’d do another. And because I can never keep things under control, I decided to try and make cement eggs with all 3 kids, including the 2.5 year old.

Screen Shot 2016-03-24 at 3.46.48 PM

I pinned this a while back and thought it looked like a pretty easy thing to pull off, yielding results that the kids could have fun with, and some extras that I could decorate with.


Cement + kids- what could possibly go wrong? Actually, the kids were mostly fine, all things considered. As you watch this, keep in mind that Scott’s behind the camera and it’s like he’s a nature photographer. He can only observe and not interfere… not even when wet cement falls on the floor.

The biggest issue was that the eggshells were impossible to chip off and we wound up having to soak them in vinegar for 4 days. It was a long road to a very little and disappointing house.

But the video? Pretty funny. Keep your eye on Lowell. He has a lot of feels in this.

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Turn Ceramic Tiles Into Ornaments. In July. I know. I’m sorry.
Crafty!

Turn Ceramic Tiles Into Ornaments. In July. I know. I’m sorry.

by Jill
written by Jill

FaLaLaLaLa! I’m a lunatic!

It’s okay to hate me for posting about CHRISTMAS right now, but hear me out. Every. Single. December. I’m like, “Wow, I’d really like to make x,y, and z (including desperately needed new ornaments), but LIKE THAT IS HAPPENING NOW. Pshaw.” And then I run out for more wrapping paper.

So I saw some craft groups I’m part of on Facebook starting to share these awesome tile to ornament transformations a few weeks ago, and I immediately saw them as a win-win to my 100+ degree woes right now. They are super fun crafts to do with the kids, relatively cheap, and come December, I’ll be like, “Wow, Jill. You were SO on top of things!”

Many of these craft groups are doing fancy designs with their vinyl cutters for these (I recently got a Silhouette Cameo), and they are amazing, but also not something people can do if they don’t have one of these costly machines.

So I made it my mission to come up with a couple cute ideas that ANYONE can do.

Transform inexpensive ceramic tiles into ornaments! Super easy! | BabyRabies.com

Supplies:
Sharpies
Spray paint (I used gold and Krylon’s Glitter Blast in red – obsessed with that stuff!)
Removable vinyl letters (look in the canvas and art supply section at the craft store)
Masking tape or vinyl (I used vinyl scraps, you can buy a roll at the craft store for about $8)
Felt, hot glue, and ribbon to finish off the back
Ceramic tiles

Transform inexpensive ceramic tiles into ornaments! Super easy! | BabyRabies.com

This sheet was about $7 at Lowes.

Transform inexpensive ceramic tiles into ornaments! Super easy! | BabyRabies.com

This box of 5 large tiles was $15 at Lowes.

Transform inexpensive ceramic tiles into ornaments! Super easy! | BabyRabies.com

For our first project, we used the removable vinyl letters to spell words out on the big ones, and add initials to the little ones.

Transform inexpensive ceramic tiles into ornaments! Super easy! | BabyRabies.com

The kids did the dot-dot-dot Sharpie thing around their initials…

Transform inexpensive ceramic tiles into ornaments! Super easy! | BabyRabies.com

They look like this once we peeled away the stickers (and hot glued some felt and a ribbon to the back)…

Transform inexpensive ceramic tiles into ornaments! Super easy! | BabyRabies.com

I hit the big ornaments with a couple coats of Krylon Glitter Blast and got this look when we removed the letters…

Transform inexpensive ceramic tiles into ornaments! Super easy! | BabyRabies.com

Here’s a better look at the felt and ribbon on the back:

Transform inexpensive ceramic tiles into ornaments! Super easy! | BabyRabies.com

My personal favorites are the ones I’m going to use to decorate MY tree. I got an all white tree last year that goes in our front room.

Transform inexpensive ceramic tiles into ornaments! Super easy! | BabyRabies.com

I simply cut shapes and strips of vinyl, adhered it to the ornaments, then hit it with a few rounds of gold spray paint. Love!

Transform inexpensive ceramic tiles into ornaments! Super easy! | BabyRabies.com

There are so many other fun applications for these! We did a few decoupage with scrapbook paper I let the kids pick out, and even some printed pictures. We also tried this Sharpie water color look, but it didn’t work too well for us. I think we’ll just spray paint over them.

Transform inexpensive ceramic tiles into ornaments! Super easy! | BabyRabies.com

This has really inspired me to do more Christmas crafts… for now. I will have to put them all away in September so I can properly respect the pumpkin and the turkey.

 

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Photography

Benchmarks

by Jill
written by Jill

Sometimes I shudder when I recall how completely paralyzed I was by anxiety.

How it ruled the way I mothered… how it threatened to rule the way I loved.

And then, days like today, I smile to think how much I’ve kicked it in the ass since last fall.

Because the me last fall would NEVER take her kid to the craft store, let him pick out 3 full bottles of non-washable paint, and then come home and actually let him use it.

Boy, the me last fall was really missing out.

This kid can paint a seriously beautiful wooden box.

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Crafty!

Pins Of The Week- Halloween Style

by Jill
written by Jill

I haven’t done a Pin Of The Week post in a while, so I figured I’d throw a few great pins in this one. These are all Halloween inspired (since I’m still trying to forget it’s so damn hot here and dreaming of fall).

We might have to make up some of these (originally from The Idea Room) for Kendall’s class this year… or, you know,  just for me.

I want to hang a wreath above the fireplace this year, and I can’t decide if I’ll put the TuTu wreath there, or something like this. I don’t know if it will creep me out too much to have in the house… or if it would be better suited for the front door. Originally from Martha Stewart.

We may try something like this this … perhaps on shirts again. Originally from Miner Moments.

 

Do you have a Halloween board on Pinterest? I need to add to mine. If you’re not on Pinterest and would like an invite, leave your email in the comments below and I’ll try to get one to you as soon as I can.

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Crafty!

DIY Inexpensive and Easy Cupcake Stand

by Jill
written by Jill

As promised, and of course, late- directions on how to whip up a super simple and inexpensive cupcake stand for any occaision. Let me just apologize in advance for not going all out and remaking one from start to finish. I just don’t have it in me right now. It is, however, super simple to make, so I fudged a bit and faked it out for the pictures, but I’m confident you’ll get the idea.

Materials:

Cardboard cake circles in varying sizes (I only used 2 sizes, but 3 sizes would be great, too). These come in 14″ down to 8″ at Hobby Lobby and cost anywhere from $2-$5/pack. You can make 2 levels out of each pack (with 6 circles to a pack and 3 circles to a level).

1 yard fabric

2-3 yards 1/2 inch grosgrain ribbon to coordinate

Tacky/craft glue and hot glue gun (the cheap one works fine)

2-3 sheets of 12×12 coordinating scrapbook paper

Clear tape or even double sided tape

A few cans from your pantry (you might want a couple of these to be extra wide for extra support)

First, stack and glue three cardboard circles on top of each other with a thin bead of hot glue swirled evenly across each circle. Do this for as many levels as you plan on having (I can’t say I’d recommend more than 4).

Next, swirl a thin bead of tacky glue from the inside all the way to the very outer edges of the top of the glued level and place it on top of your (pre pressed and wrinkle free) fabric. Let dry for a few minutes then cut around the edges. I like to do a rough cut a little larger than the circle and then do a more precise cut with less fabric to mess with.

Now line the edges of the cardboard with your grosgrain ribbon, slowly working around and adhering it with hot glue.

Let’s work on the cans. Grab your scrapbook paper and cut strips a little less than 4.5 inches wide, just a smidge (for standard height cans). You will need more than one piece for the extra wide cans, but the height will be the same. Wrap the paper around the can and secure with tape.

Put a finished level fabric side down, grab a can (the size you want responsible for holding up that level), find the middle of the circle and trace around the can. (Note- for mine, one of the levels did not have a can underneath it and rested directly on the table.)

Remove the can and apply a generous amount of hot glue to the outline. Also, run some hot glue around the top of the can (where it will meet the cardboard). Press the can onto the cardboard and let sit until it’s completely dry. The key is to have glue both inside and outside the lip of the can. And keep in mind that you’ll want to line up the back seams of your cans with the seams of your ribbon so that can be the “back” of the stand.

After you’ve done this for all the layers that will be elevated, you should end up with something like this.

Keep it like this until you get to where you can set it up. Then just stack it up and place your cupcakes on it.

When you’re finished, you can remove the cans pretty easily and the hot glue should peel off (it will tear some of the cardboard, but I wouldn’t stress about it), or you can just glue over it next time. Remove the paper from the cans and put them back in your pantry and save the layers for the next time you need it. It’s super simple to reassemble. (We used this one at Kendall’s 1st birthday last year and again at his 2nd birthday. I see a lot of life in it’s future.)

Hope that inspires you all! I think you can really take this concept and run with it, making lots of creative and cheap stands. Please share pictures if you do! And let me know if you have any questions in the comment section. Thanks!

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Tutu cute Halloween wreath
Crafty!

Tutu cute Halloween wreath

by Jill
written by Jill

Today I was in the mood to craft. It’s a mood that strikes a couple times a month, usually when my house is at it’s messiest and I have about a million other things I should be doing besides going to the fabric and craft store, but I just have to run with it when it comes along.  I love the look of wreaths on a front door, always make the house seem so inviting, but I loathe the country style of so many of them and the exorbitant cost of many more. I really wanted a fun, funky wreath for Halloween and immediately bookmarked this tutorial when I ran across it. (From thelongthread.com) It’s for a simple ribbon wreath. I figured I could make it with some brown or burnt orange ribbon and call it a fall wreath instead of just a Halloween one.

However, after waiting too long to order the ribbon in bulk online (was thinking of getting it from JKMRibbon.com) and discovering that purchasing that amount of ribbon from Hobby Lobby or Hancock Fabrics would set me back close to $40, I decided to rethink my crafty plan of attack. My creative muse perked up as I walked past a display of spools of black tulle. I’ve made many a tutu for various little girls in our lives with spools of pink and purple tulle and they are SO easy. I figured I’d just apply the same concept to the wreath.  I love the way it turned out and figured I’d type up a quick tutorial for it. It’s really not much different than the concept for the ribbon wreath, but it ends up looking a little more fanciful to me.  I think it would be really fun to do the same thing in bright colors for a birthday party, and will store that away in my crafty mental box for next year.

Supplies:

1 14 inch straw wreath ($4 reg price, got it for $2 on sale at Hobby Lobby)
3 15 yard spools of black tulle ($4 reg price, got for $2.50 each at Hancock Fabrics)
1 10 yard roll of 2 inch black floral ribbon ($10 reg. price, got for $5 on sale at Hobby Lobby)
1-2 yards of orange floral ribbon (purchased a 10 yard spool on sale for $3 at Hobby Lobby, reg. price $6)
a couple pins to hold ribbon in place
small black scrap ribbon to make a loop at the back of the wreath for hanging

  

I kept the plastic wrapper on the straw wreath because I didn’t want to deal with all those bits and pieces of straw flying everywhere. Then I just wrapped the black ribbon around it tightly, securing it at the end with a straight pin.

Then cut the tulle into 18 inch long strips. I used all three spools to make it really fluffy.

Tie the tulle around the wreath and knot it with a square knot (right over left, left over right)

Continue to tie the strips all the way around until you have it as full as you want it. Make sure you keep all the knots lined up (I kept mine to the center left when looking down at the wreath). Don’t worry if it looks lopsided to you. You can always give it a haircut when you’re finished.

When you’re done, and it’s nice and fluffy and even, tie a simple orange bow to the bottom and a small loop of black ribbon at the top and hang. I have mine on a white Command adhesive hook.

Happy Crafting! (And yes, Sallie, I still owe you a pillowcase dress tutorial! It’s just a wee bit more complicated than this one, but I will get it done soon!)

Oh, and Kendall says hi!

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