Trash to Treasure results!....framed pear tutorial

It's Challenge #3 reveal day in our Crafty Summer Series - Trash to Treasure!

Share how you have repurposed something, saw a diamond in the rough at a yard and sale scored it for cheap too! Spill and share how you transformed it to fit your need, personal style, etc. Pop your STATIC link into Mister Linky below and then be sure to leave a comment!

Ready for the next challenge? Part 2 of Trash to Treasure is.....well round 2. If you were inspired by what you saw someone else post or now have the "bug" to re-create something, hit the second hand stores and yard sales this weekend! Round 2 of Trash to Treasure REVEAL day will be next Friday to see how YOU got your craft on during the week!


Here's my Trash to Treasure project:
FRAMED PEAR tutorial

Supplies:

Frame

paper

printer/or stamp and ink

paint

glue

plastic pear

scissors

sandpaper

knife

STEP 1: Take and frame and paint it your color of choice. I rummaged my frame out of my Moms donation box. It was missing the cardboard backing but that's OK! Once the paint it dry I sanded a few of the edges with sandpaper to achieve that "worn/aged" look I love so much!

STEP 2: Create, stamp, print or photocopy what you would like in the background. Vintage sheet music, fancy writing, favorite design, use scrapbook paper or stamps, etc to get the design you would like! Then trace around the glass piece from the frame to get the correct size. Cut.

STEP 3: Layer your paper then glass and cardboard backing piece and place in the frame. I was missing the card piece in the back so I simply cut one from a box I had laying around.

STEP 4: Cut your artificial pear in half lengthwise with a knife. *A word of caution. I figured the pear would be full of styrofoam but mine had a small concrete weight in the center of it. I had to cut around that and peel the pear open.* Pick the side you like best and set aside. I kept the one with the stem on it.

STEP 5: Apply glue to the back of your pear and place in the center of your frame. I tried HOT glue and it melted the styrofoam so I used a regular clear glue and waited for it to dry.

Place your new decor in the perfect little spot and enjoy! Now aren't you so crafty!?!

No need to reinvent the wheel right? I saw this GREAT project on The Happy Homebody Blog. Thank you for sharing!!! Also check out what Thrifty Decor Chick did with a pear too! 2 great easy project for pennies!!

Summertime....

*sigh*....After a wonderful weekend away to the Oregon Coast and catching up with family I officially feel that Summer is fleeting by and will be ending ever too quickly!

Thank you for sharing your favorite kid activites for my upcoming speaking assignment. If you have a favorite to share please do! I will share my complete compiled list after it has been presented to the class at the end of this month.

Did you hit any great yard sales over the Holiday weekend? Find any treasures? Are you joining in our Crafty Summer Series challenge #3 - Trash to Treasure? You should be! Be sure to swing by here Friday and through the weekend to find lots of fun projects - posted by all of YOU!! Of course I will have a few transformations to share as well!...... until then........Meg

Favorite activities......

Calling all my Mommy blog readers! I was recently asked to speak/teach a class at an upcoming women's meeting. My subject? Activities to do with your kids. I certainly have a few ideas on my running list already but I LOVE and SOOOO appreciate to hear from YOU!

What's your favorite activity/craft/recipe to do with your kids? Have you blogged about it or read it on a blog somewhere? Post the link! :) I need activities for all ages so don't by shy! and they don't need to be just for summer - think all year round, rainy days, weekends, long afternoons, etc.....

AND of course I would be happy to share my completed list with all of you after I teach the class! Sound fair? You scratch my back and I scratch yours? tee hee hee......

Crafty Summer Series - Challenge #3 Trash to Treasure

Hello hello crafty peeps! The Summer is flying by here, how is yours? Hopefully you have enjoyed these fun "challenges" and if you haven't jumped on the crafting bandwagon to share your own.......I hope you have gotten some great ideas along the way! Let's keep it rollin'.....

Challenge #3 - TRASH to Treasure! (part 1)

Keeping with these harder economic times and being earth friendly by reusing/repurposing I want to see how you can "transform" something second hand, a hand me down, a great yard sale find, etc. ANYTHING from clothing to furniture, accessories to home decor! It's all fair game! It's peek yard sale season and who doesn't love something free or a great bargain!?! It may not always be "exactly" what you were looking for, those that can see the "diamond in the rough" or are handy with a can of spray paint (tee hee hee) usually score a great TREASURE!

So show off your newest TREASURE!!!! It can be as simple as sharing before and after pictures of a new paint color or go all out with a full on tutorial with your transformation BUT don't forget the PICTURES!!

Deadline to show off: Friday July 10th, 2009

(This round will be part 1. Part 2 will be announced later!.......)

Crafty Summer Series - I SPY book! creativity for the car...

Hello hello! It's challenge #2 REVEAL day! Two weeks ago I challenged all of you to craft up something for the car. Whether you are on the go, road trippin' it, have a kids to entertain or simply running errands around town.

What could you create to make it easier, better, more organized, comfortable, etc.

My head was swimming with ideas but I only need to share one so HOPEFULLY everyone else got up and moving and will share some great inspiration with you too!

Add your link to the Mr. Linky box belowm, then please leave a comment and have fun blog hopping!

I SPY book tutorial.......(great for car trips, trips around town, waiting at the dr. office, etc)

1. Take photos of "piles" or groups of items. Ideas include childrens toys, junk drawer, pantry, bathroom drawer, what's in their back pack, books, toy box, closet, etc....The possibilities are endless!

2. Print them out or send them to the 1 hour photo.

3. Buy an inexpensive little photo album/flip book.

4. Type up some "I SPY" riddles or counting challenges, etc. Think of the different ways they phrase the rhymes and wording of those "I SPY" books. Use counting, colors, objects, finding words, and on and on. Choose the skill level that is best for your kids.

5. Slide the photos and coordinating "riddles" into the book and VIOLA! you have your own personalized "I SPY" book!

The great thing about these are the pictures or "riddle" cards can be changed out at any time! They are also small enough to easily slide into your purse, their back pack or even better? make them their own t-shirt pack!

I have 12 different photos in my I SPY book. Here are some of our I SPY pages and some of the "riddles" I typed up to go along with them. Enjoy!

I spy a Cow, an Owl and a Snowflake

Can you find 4 pencils & 4 pairs of scissors?

I spy an apple, a fish & 5 containers of glue

“FABRICSHACK”, “MARKS” and a pen that’s gray/blue

I spy a pirate, “FUR REAL” and a Rose

A red Ranger, a crown, & a little brown nose

How many balls do you see?

Can you Spy 4 tools?

I spy spaghetti, an elf ear & 3 hooves

It's almost Wednesday.....

Tomorrow is the big reveal day to see what you have been up to the last 2 weeks!! What did you craft up in our #2 Challenge - Creativity for the car!??!!!

There are SOOOOO many possibilities! don't limit yourself, be afraid, or think your idea isn't good enough! It is! and we want to see it!

Come back tomorrow for my idea/tutorial and post your link too!!

see you then.......

Sharing our Father's Day......

Sharing this idea is the first fun part, but then seeing how everyone else's turned out is the second fun part! thanks for all the emails, blog comments and links you have sent! It has been fun blog hopping around! This is our 4th year sharing this idea and each year they just get better and better. Here is how ours turned out!

And here's a few of the others that I know of that have shared with me as well! It was a crazy weekend, so if I missed adding your's to the list - shoot me an email or leave a comment and link here and I will get you added! :)

Tracie

Christie

Mary

Sweeter than Cupcakes

Anna

Sorensen Family

Brooke

Kimberly

Cori

MichelleJohnnie

Crafty Thursday w/ kids....Cooking ART!

So our flexible Summer "schedule" is working out great! They know what is expected of them, what they can look forward too, and I have yet to hear the words, "I'm bored!" yippee!

I have seen this next idea posted on a few different blogs and knew this would be a great SURPRISE for me kids. We were going to be cooking up pancakes - they love to help measure, stir, set the table, etc. But this time I surprised them with a little twist.

I poured about a cup (maybe a bit more) into a mustard "squirt" bottle I snatched up at the $1 dollar store. Squeezed in some food coloring, gave it a good shake and ART pancakes here we COME!!

1. Stir up your pancake mix.

2. Pour a small-ish amount into a "condiment" bottle. I actually cut the nozzle down so more would flow out.

3. Add some food coloring and shake it up.

(here is where the fun starts)

4. Now "draw" any fun shape - keep in mind you have to turn this baby over. Just draw an "outline" and then let that cook for a few seconds.

5. Fill in the rest of the pancake with your regular batter and cook as usual.

6. When you turn your pancake over you will be able to see your design!!!

We had alot of fun eating our pancakes and the kids can't wait to do this again!
(did you notice their handmade placemats under their plates in the photos?) Oh and if you do letters, be sure to draw them backwards because if you don't, when you flip it...... it will be! (hence the "S" above) LOL............enjoy!

Some SisBoom shoutout!

It's no secret that I think the world of Miss Jennifer Paganelli! and I was lucky enough recently to get to "know" the oh so talented Miss Carla too!

I'm not sure how it all came to be, but the fabric gods must have been smiling down on me that day! *snicker* I was approached by these two wonderful ladies to take some photos of their newest collaboration - the Adult sized SisBoom Patricia Tunic ePattern!!!

Of course I said YES! Who wouldn't jump at the opportunity?!? The ePattern is now available and you can check out all the fun example pictures HERE and HERE! Tell Miss Jennifer and Miss Carla I sent you over if you stop by!

(here's a few more that I sent them.....)

Crafty Thursday w/kids.....Placemats

So part of our summer fun around here is having a "schedule" and list of ideas of things we want to do/go/read, etc....It helps keeps us on track and from ever saying the dreaded words, "I'm BORED!!!" Plus they have something to look forward too as well. Good times for all. :)



Thursdays we are scheduled for a Craft or some type of cooking project. We'll today the kids got to do both! They frosted graham crackers with vanilla frosting and made a mound of cookies to munch on through the week. They enjoyed licking their fingers, breaking the crackers and having free reign in the project. It's nice when the cooking project doesn't required so much measuring, mixing, cooking, etc that the kids need alot of supervision with. They relished in the freedom!

Then it was craft time later on. I saw this link on Twitter for kids placemats and thought, "why not!" We used 2 pieces on construction paper for the base. Then they cut, glued, colored and drew all over them. My daughter even covered both sides. Instead of going to the store to have them laminated I just pulled out some contact paper and quickly finished them up!

They are so proud of them and enjoy peeking around the edges of their plates to see the pictures and it certainly sparks some interesting and funny conversations too! Have a great week-end!

Crafty Summer Series - challenge #2 Car Trippin.....

Ready to take on the next challenge? I am ready to dish it out! :)

Challenge #2 - CREATIVITY for the CAR

Whether you are road trippin' it this summer or simply running around town. Whether you have kids or it's just you! I want to see what you have crafted up to stay organized, stay entertained, be comfortable, stylish, etc all for riding around in the car!

Is your head buzzing with ideas? Get started!!! Are you drawing a blank? LOL ...that's OK to! Ideas can be simple or complex, quick to create or take a bit more time.

There are no limits! so GET YOUR CRAFT ON ......You have until June 24th - WED - to come back here and post your results!

snag a button and spread the word!

<a href="http://brassyapple.blogspot.com/"><img src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v714/mycreations/Crafty%20Summer%20Series09/CSS09logoTINY.jpg" /></a>

Crafty T-shirt roundup!

A HUGE thank you to all those who "got their craft on" this past week and shared their creative ideas using T-shirts! I have a couple more ideas that I didn't post so maybe over the next couple of months I will share those sometime.....If I forget, give me alittle nudge of a reminder will you? :) 

Thanks to these crafty bloggers for sharing their ideas:

3 repurposed tshirts - Salinda

Tshirt Pillow - Inspire me Crafts

Tshirt monster - Handmade 3D

Refashioned Adult Tee - Christy

Double Tee - 30 days

Childs Tshirt Dress - Boasting in my Weakness

Slippers - Jus Shar Designs

Childs Art into custom Tee- Pigtails and PJ's

Adding Applique and Ruffles - Kindershop Online

No Sew Cape - the Adams Family

Sling shoulder bag - Brassy Apple

If you didn't get yours posted in time, that's OK! Please still share it on your blog and come back here and post the link in the comments section! 

SO I took all the comments left on the results/giveaway post and randomly chose a winner using the random number generator and..............................CONGRATS to ELLEN AULT! You have won a camera strap slipcover from *Shey*[B]. 

Ready for the next challenge? are you up for it!? are you game?.........................coming later on today...........