What's up, Chuck?

Lately Chuck and I have been going outside to feed the birds and blow bubbles.  

These are some of my favorite moments of the day.

"Hello" stamped pants

Since I've been making tons and tons of stamps, I thought I'd take a short break from card stamping and decorate a pair of pants for Chuck.

They were really easy to make, but I'm just going to include the tutorial down below in case anyone feels the urge to stamp "hello" on a bunch of clothing.

Materials:
- pants
- fabric paint
- pencil
- paper
- scissors
- craft knife
- glue
- cardboard
- paint brush
- craft foam

Directions:

1.  Create your stamp.  I just wrote out the word "hello" on a piece of paper in a font that I liked.  Then, I cut out my word, traced it onto a piece of foam, and used my craft knife to cut it out  Then, I glued the word backwards (mirror-image!) onto a piece of cardboard.  Then, I just trimmed my cardboard. After letting the glue dry overnight, I had a lovely "hello" stamp.

2. I followed directions on the fabric paint bottle to properly prepare my pants for painting.  (Ooh!  Alliteration.)

3.  I slipped in a piece of cardboard into my pants leg to make sure that my fabric paint didn't go through to the other side.  Then, I painted fabric paint onto my stamp, and pressed down onto my pants.

4.  Hmm. The initial results weren't quite as bright and vibrant as I had hoped.  So, I took out my paintbrush and carefully painted over my word.

5.  Then, I just followed the directions on the bottle and laid the pants flat to dry.

We've already worn the pants once and put them through the wash.  The paint stayed put  and still looks good.  Phew!  Now Chuck has some happy and friendly pants to wear around town.  Easie-peasie.   I'd like to decorate some other clothes.... once I emerge from my card-making dungeon.  (Ack! Is anyone even going to buy my cards?  Freak out time!)

Bleach Pen Decorated Scarf

Hi everyone!

Happy Monday.

I'm semi-stressed about the upcoming craft show (ahhh! It's this Saturday!), so I won't be able to post lots of crafts this week.  However, I'll try my best to upload something every day ... (even if it's just a photo of the stamps that I'm working on) so that you'll get a glimpse into my harried card-making world.

Anyway, here's a fun craft that I made last week.  I finally took the plunge and tried my hand at using bleach to decorate a recycled t-shirt scarf.

Ooh.  Looks nice, right?  (And btw- can you see that pimple?  Well, it ain't the only one.  Curses, acne!)

Materials:
- Scissors (I used fabric shears)
- Old t-shirt (<--crap!)
- Cereal box (<--crap!)
- Bleach Pen
- Rubber gloves
- Pen

Directions:

Step 1:  Cut an old t-shirt horizontally under the armpits.  (This medium black shirt shrunk in the wash, so it was perfect.)  Now you should have a fabric loop.  Stretch your loop so that it's longer.  Save your unused material.

Step 2:  Doodle some possible designs.  (I debated between two designs, but ultimately chose to doodle flowers because it seemed easier and more fun to draw.)

Step 3:  Place a piece of cardboard between the top and bottom layers of your fabric loop.

Step 4:  Shake your bleach pen very well.  Then, draw on the topside of your t-shirt loop.

Note:
- You must shake the bleach pen.  Otherwise blobs of oozy bleach water will leak out of the pen.
- Even after shaking, I still found the bleach "ink" to be pretty runny.  It had the consistency of watery Elmer's glue.
- Bleach fumes are strong.  Don't work in a tiny, stuffy room.
- Be careful and don't touch the bleach.  (Yeah- I learned that one the hard way.)



Step 5:  Once you've completed one side, let your bleached fabric sit there for as long as you want.  When you get the fading that you like, put on your rubber gloves and rinse the bleach out.

Note:
- I was impatient.  Once I noticed the bleach changing the black cloth, I ran to the sink to rinse it out.  So, my flowers probably don't look as vibrant as they could.
- Rinse your cloth well.  If you don't, the scarf will slightly burn your neck when you wear it.  (Again, another lesson that I learned the hard way.)

Step 6:  Let your cloth dry.  Then, repeat Steps 3-5 with the non-decorated side.

Step 7:  Once both sides of your fabric loop have been decorated, rinsed out, and dried, cut your loop into two thinner loops.*

Step 8:  Now you're going to attach the two loops together to create the illusion of a very long infinity scarf wrapped around your neck.  (Sorry I don't have a photo of this process.)  First, you'll have to make one loop shorter than the other.  To do this, I cut apart one of my loops (making it a long strand.)  Then, I placed this strand on top of the other fabric loop, curving it to make it a shorter loop.  (Does this even make sense?  Is anyone still reading at this point?)  I tied a long thin strip of t-shirt material (taken from the discarded scraps) around the strand and the loop to attach them together.  Finally, I trimmed off any excess fabric bits so that I had a nice clean knot.

And that's how I made this scarf.

(*Psst- Want a thicker, fuller-looking scarf than mine?  Hubby and I think this scarf would have been cuter if I used two shirts.  Then I could have decorated two very thick loops and tied them together.  That was initially my plan, but my bleach pen died after drawing one loop.  So if you want to try that out, you'll need 2 bleach pens.)

Let me know if you try this craft out!   I'd love to see your results.

What's up, Chuck?

Guess who struggled with a cold, teething, and a tummy bug? 

  As you can guess, Chuck and I stayed indoors for most of the week.

Here are some photos (and a video- ooh!) of the little guy playing at home.

  

P2261691.AVI from Pink Stripey Socks on Vimeo.

Bridal Shower

I can't believe I've known these girls since college

.

Life is certainly one crazy, wonderful, beautiful, and scary adventure.  

Thank goodness we're not making the journey alone.

Make a Sharpie decorated plate

I never know what to get people as gifts.  Maybe you're like me?  I walk through the entire store several times.  Each time around, I find different treasures and then mentally debate the pros and cons of the item for several minutes.  Then, I inevitably change my mind and movie onto the next item. Then, after about 2 hours of mumbling to myself like a crazy lady, I finally leave empty handed, with only a grouchy hubby and fussy baby to show for my effort.

So when I was invited to a friend's bridal shower, I knew I was in trouble.  If buying gifts for the building's superintendent already caused me grief, buying a gift for a longtime friend should have sent me into cardiac arrest.

Unfortunately (or perhaps fortunately?), Chuck's been having a rotten time with teething, so this time around I just took the easy way out:  gift card.  Packaged money.  And honey, who doesn't want money?

As I walked towards the cash register that nagging voice started whispering in my ear, "Leslie.  Is this really the best gift?  You've known her for how long?  Isn't this a bit impersonal?"  I tried responding back, "Shush. Chuck's actually behaving nicely.  If we leave now I can get good parking.  And I don't need to buy wrapping paper."

But the nagging voice continued, and I finally succumbed.  But this time a crafty idea also came to me and I took a quick trip to the kitchen section and grabbed a plate.

Because after seeing the gorgeous DIY Anthropologie knock-off mug from Home Heart Craft, I had to get into the Sharpie plate decorating market.

And after a couple of hours, I came up with this lovely plate:

I really like how it turned out.  It's beautiful, personal, quirky, useful, and *fingers crossed* long-lasting.  (I didn't try washing it... so I'm hoping the marker holds.)

Want to use Sharpie markers to unleash your creativity on some unsuspecting pieces of china?  Read on!

Materials:
- Oven
- Plate (I got mine at Target)
- Sharpie markers
- Paper
- Pencil
- Scissors
- Tape
- Q-Tip

Directions:
1.  Trace your plate onto a piece of paper and cut out the resulting shape.  Now you know how big to make your design..

2.  Come up with your design.  (This was super hard.  I knew I wanted to practice my handwriting skills and include something romantic and slightly naughty.)

3.  Turn your paper over.  On the back, rub your pencil over the back of your design.  (Guess what?  You've essentially made your own carbon paper!)

4.  Tape your design to your plate.  Trace over your design with your pencil.  Lift up your paper and you'll find a faint imprint of the design underneath.  (Magical!)

5.  Use Sharpie to trace over your design.  I have shaky hands, so I did this very slowly and carefully.  Some parts of the lettering came out a big uneven, so I retraced over parts to make sure that everything looked uniformly black.  Once my Sharpie dried, I brushed off any visible pencil residue with a Q-tip.  Feeling inspired, I also free handed a design on the back.

6.  Pop your work of art into the oven and bake at 400 degrees for 45 minutes.  Then, admire your handiwork and wrap it up.

(Have you ever tried to draw on plates or mugs with Sharpies?  Did the Sharpie marker stay on even after you washed the item?  I'm hoping my design stays on.  Hubby received this lovely mug decorated with Sharpie from his students last year.... and the message they wrote washed away after several rinses.  Luckily we took a photo of the mug before everything disappeared... but it was still pretty disappointing.  *Crosses fingers*)

Make Eggshell Mosaic Pots

Can you feel spring in the air?  

In honor of the warmer weather and my love for mosaics, today's post is all about decorating tiny pots with eggshell mosaics.

Mosaic Eggshell Pots

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Make a Mosaic Bean Pendant

Hi everyone!

How was your weekend?   We had a pretty quiet Sunday, but our Saturday was full of fun activity.  I attended a bridal shower while hubby and Toddler Chuck visited family.  (I'll post up photos from the bridal shower later on this week.) I thought I'd start off the week with this crapty (and slightly crappy?) pendant that I made.

I think mosaics are lovely.  There's something quite special (and dare I say, possibly mathematical?) about laying pieces of varying shapes and/or colors together so that they fit a space and create a desired image or pattern.

Wanting to make a wearable mosaic of my own, I used some household materials to create this mosaic bean pendant:


Yeah.  I know what you're thinking.  Girl, that's a lot of look.  And my reply? Girl, I know.  But really, what does one wear with beans anyway?

Erm.... I'm not sure if I like the result, but I did have fun making it.  And who knows?  If you ever find yourself trapped at home with a couple of bored children, then perhaps you could whip these up for fun.

Materials:
- dried beans
- cereal box cardboard <--crap!
- craft paint
- paint brushes
- Tacky glue (I used Aleene's)
- String
- Felt
- Scissors

It's Friday!

Hope you have a wonderful weekend.

Making Styrofoam stamps

Hello there!

I'm on a crapting roll, so I figured I'd upload two posts today.

As you can see, I'm still working on my greeting card designs for the upcoming craft show.  Here's my newest attempt at crapting stamps:

These are the materials that I used:
- Scissors
- Craft knife
- Pencil
- Tacky glue
- Cardboard
- Styrofoam (I used one that originally held ground beef-- I know... gross when you think about it, but I promise I washed it really well)

To make these crapty beauties, I used a pencil to sketch out my designs onto the Styrofoam.  Then, I used my scissors and craft knife to cut out the different pieces.  Then, I used tacky glue to attach them to pieces of cardboard.  Once the Styrofoam was stuck on tight, I trimmed the cardboard so that it was slightly bigger than my stamp.

Instead of making a sponge ink pad, this time I used a paintbrush and painted a thin layer of craft paint onto each stamp before each use.   Here are my results:

Look!  My lettering came out the right way.  Hooray!

These stamps were fun to crapt... and I feel like I'm moving in the right direction... but I definitely have a ways to go if I want to make cards that are good enough to sell.

So currently I'm going back to the drawing board and channeling the mantra of Chuck's favorite book character:  "I think I can, I think I can, I think I can..."

Making potato stamps

Remember when I shared with you that my one word for this year was going to be  "try"?  Do you remember me saying that I would push myself to try new things... even when they seemed a bit frightening?

Well, guess what? *Gulp*  I've definitely been trying some new things out. .. and this post describes one of those things.

(You're probably wondering, "What?  Making potato stamps frightens you?  Girl, you gotta get out more...")

Oh no, no, no.  Let me back up.  A couple of months ago my aunt and I signed up to sell crafts at a craft fair.  *Gulp*  To any seasoned crafter, this would be no big deal.  You craft a bunch of stuff and then you sell it.  No biggie, right?

Ha!  It's a biggie because first you have to make a whole bunch of inventory...and second you gotta make sure your inventory is good enough to sell.

I signed up to sell greeting cards.  After reading Elisabeth Harden's kid's book on printing, I think I'm going to try stamping original designs onto my cards.  So I've been playing around with printing.   Here's my first attempt at making stamps out of potatoes:

I took a medium sized potato, cut it in half, and then carved out the design for two stamps.    My potato was super wet when I carved it, so I placed the potatoes (cut side down) on a piece of paper towel to dry them out before using them..  I made a makeshift ink pad by pouring a bit of craft paint onto a flat sponge and rubbing my finger over the sponge to help the paint soak in.  Then, I protected our dining room table by covering it with an old towel (since I didn't have any newspaper.)

All this took place while Baby Chuck napped.  When he awoke, he had a new  activity to try out.

The potatoes worked out as kid stamps... but I don't think they are good enough to decorate my cards.

Oh yeah, here are three big things I learned in the process:  (1)  Unless you're Leonardo DaVinci, you should write your word stamps backwards. No one wants to read mirror image writing.  (2)  Always put a smock on Chuck.  (Craft paint comes out in the wash, right?) (3)  I need to ditch the sponge ink pad and possibly get a craft roller... hmm...

Oh well.  That's what happens when you try new things.  Now... onto our next printing adventure!  (Hopefully I'll figure out something before the big craft show... eekers!)

Make a bubble snake

We don't drink much soda so when hubby finally brought a Pepsi home I snatched up his empty bottle quicker than a hungry child grabbing at freshly baked Christmas cookies.

Why?  Well, I had been dying to make a bubble snake blower. And honestly, could you blame me?  Look at the long foamy chain of bubbles I was able to blow.

Wowzers.  This photo makes my inner child squeal with delight

To blow awesome foamy snake-like bubble chains, I just needed a couple of materials:

Materials:
- empty plastic bottle
- wash cloth
- scissors
- rubber band
- dish detergent
- water
- plastic container

Directions:
1.  Cut off the bottom of the bottle.
2.  Cut a circle out of the wash cloth that's about 1-2 inches larger than the bottom of the bottle.
3.  Use a rubber band to attach your washcloth circle to the bottle.  That's it!
4.  Dip the bottle (wash cloth bottom) into dish detergent that's been mixed with a bit of water.
5.  Blow.  A foamy bubble snake will appear before your eyes.

(Warning:  Do not inhale, only exhale. Otherwise you'll end up drinking dish detergent like I did. Yuck.)

Here are some photos of Baby Chuck and I playing with our bubble snake blower.  (You may be wondering why we're in the bath tub.  Or why my bathtub is so dirty.... Hmm..  Well, we fully intended to blow bubbles outside, but it was just too cold.  The bath tub served as a nice place to try the activity out, since the bubbles created quite a sticky mess on the ground.  As for why my bathtub  is so dirty... I've neglected to clean it.... eek.)

Let me know if you try this out with your kids.  I can't wait till the weather gets warmer.  We'll definitely try blowing more bubble snakes outside.

Make you own toast stampers (Three ways to write on toast)

One of my favorite things to eat is toast.  I love feeling its rough texture on the roof of my mouth.   I love the satisfying crunch that comes with each bite.  And I love pairing it with sweet jam and melted butter.

Yum. Yum. Yum.

I'd eat toast every day if I could, but since Baby Chuck is allergic to wheat, I haven't eaten real bread in a long time.  Last weekend I had a strong hankering for toast, so while Baby Chuck slept I sneakily made some for myself and hubby.

It was delicious!

But of course, I couldn't just leave it at that.  I had another "I wonder if... " moment.  This time I wondered if I could write messages or draw images on my toast.  Here are three methods that I came up with:

(Note:  I realize that cookie cutters would have worked too.... but I don't own any.... so necessity bred invention)

Method 1:  Use a chopstick

I simply took a chopstick and drew on my toast.  I made sure to press down hard enough to get a clear indentation in the bread, without ripping through it. Then, I placed the bread under the broiler. (We don't own a toaster... but I think using a toaster should work too).  Once my bread browned enough, I quickly pulled the toast out.  Voila!  Most of the bread turned darker brown while my indented image remained white.  Easie-peasie.

Method 2:  Make an aluminum foil shape

I rolled a piece of aluminum foil into a snake-like shape.  Then, I bent the foil into my desired shape (heart).  I pressed my heart down into the bread.  This time, instead of removing the heart shape and broiling the bread, I left the foil on the bread as I placed it under the broiler.  Once my bread toasted, I pulled it out of the oven and removed my foil shape.  Voila!  A much cleaner heart image emerged. The aluminum foil protected that portion of the bread from getting toasted.  (Note:  I don't recommend leaving the aluminum foil shape on your bread if you use a toaster.)

Method 3:  Crapt a cardboard toast stamper

Step 1:  Trace the shape of your bread and your desired stamp shape onto a piece of cardboard. (If the thought of your bread touching recycled cardboard grosses you out, you could always trace your bread onto a piece of paper towel first, cut that bread shape out, and then tracing that shape onto a piece of cardboard.)

Step 2:  Trace and cut out three more cardboard copies of your desired shape.  (So all in all I cut out 4 identical hearts out of cardboard.  My bread was pretty thick, so I needed my stamp to be pretty thick too.)

Step 3:  Cover one side of your bread shape with aluminum foil.   Tape together your four identical shapes and then cover them with aluminum foil too.  (If you don't mind having cardboard touch your food, you could always skip this step.)

Step 4:  Tape your stamp shape onto your bread shape.  Give yourself a pat on the back because you made a toast stamper.

To use the  stamper, match it up to your slice of bread and push down.  Make sure your shape is deeply imprinted on the bread.  Place your bread under the broiler (or in toaster) and toast away!

Let me know if you try making these toast stampers.  I'd love to see what your toast looks like.

Make glow in the dark paint (using glow sticks)

Have you ever had one of those "I wonder if..." moments?  A couple of nights ago hubby and I opened a canister of glow sticks to play around with them and take photos.

In the midst of playing, I found myself wondering if I could use their lovely glowing innards to make glow in the dark paint.  Now, the label on the glow stick canister clearly said that we shouldn't "puncture" the tubes... but it also said that the glow sticks were nontoxic.  So... I figured that as long as we didn't let the paint touch our skin, eyes, or clothes we should be ok.   Here's what my glow in the dark painting looked like:

Update 5/29/13-  Several concerned readers brought up valuable points regarding possibly dangerous chemicals and glass inside the tubes.  Be sure to read the comments below and think twice before attempting this activity...

Materials:
- Scissors
- Disposable container (to hold paint)
- Paint brush
- Paper towel
- Newspaper
- Gloves
- Corn starch

Directions:
1.  Cover your area with newspaper and wear gloves  (I didn't do this... but looking back I think it would be a good idea since you are working with chemicals.)

2.  Crack your glow stick so that the entire stick glows

3.  Open up your glow stick.  To do this, I held the glow stick vertically over my disposable container.  I cut the top bottom end of the glow stick.  The liquid inside didn't flow out very quickly.  So, I turned the glow stick upside down (so that the cut end was now on top and the uncut end was on the bottom).  Then, I cut the bottom uncut end.  (We cut it this way so that the tip wouldn't go flying in the air.  Plus, the liquid flowed much quicker if both ends were cut.)

3.  I added a bit of corn starch to the glowing liquid to thicken up the paint.

4. Use your paint to paint pieces of paper towel placed over newspapers.

Now, I'm sure you already could guess this... but sadly the images don't glow forever.  So enjoy their beauty while they last.

Oh yeah- here are some other photos of our glow stick play: