InspireMe Crafts

Gotta Make It: Terra Cotta Pot Easter Bunny

"If it weren't for the last minute, I wouldn't get anything done"

I must admit...I'm very proud of this project.  This was one of those accidental projects that was just meant to be. At the Dollar Tree I got 4 Terra Cotta Pots for $1.   I used one in my Easter Topiary project so I was trying to figure out how to use the other three.  Well..here it is!  The cutest Terra Cotta Pot Bunny ever. This Easter craft would be great to do with kids of all ages....my almost 2 year old son did the painting.  I just added a little 'touch-ups' when he was done. :)  I promise that its really easy, even if my "how-to" looks a little long. 

MATERIALS:

3 Terra Cotta Pots (I chose 2.5 inch one)
White (or off white) craft paint
Paper
Ribbon
Wiggly Eyes
Pink Pom-Poms
Cotton Balls
Glue, scissors, black felt pen, paintbrush

HOW-TO:

1. Start by putting glue around the large rim of one terra cotta pot.  Take the 2nd pot and immediately attach the large rim to the previous one (the second pot is basically upside down on top of the first). This creates the bottom portion of the bunny.  Then take the 3rd pot and apply glue to the small bottom portion.  Place on top of the 2 attached terra cotta pots.  Let dry.  Look at the picture if there is any confusion.  NOTE:  I chose to use the glue gun because I didn't have any other glue that was strong enough. It worked great if you are careful when you apply it.

2.  Paint the three pots.  Also paint the top inside portion of the top terra cotta pot.  Let dry (this doesn't take long).  NOTE:  I chose a slightly off-white color instead of a bright white and I really like how it turned out.

3. While the paint is drying start to cut out the body parts for the bunny.  You'll need two ears, two arms, and two feet.  Be creative with the paper you choose.  I chose an off-white paper and the pink and white polka dots.  I inked the edges of the paper with a pink inkpad (the kind you use with rubber stamps) to give it a softer look.  Draw in any fingernails or 'toenails' on the bunny.

4.  When the paint is dry, attach the bunny ears to the inside of the top terra cotta pot.

5.  Attach the top of the arms (shoulders) to the side of the bunny (leave the 'hands' unglued at this time).

6.  Attach the feet of the bunny underneath the bottom terra cotta pot. 

7. (OPTIONAL) I added a ribbon bow-tie to my bunny.  I first attached the ribbon around the 'neck' of the bunny (where the two pots meet).  I then created my bow-tie, by cutting the ribbon on diagonals and gluing them together.  Then I attached the bow-tie on top of the ribbon. 

8.  Cut out an Easter egg.  I glued the bunny hands to my paper egg and the top part of the egg to the terra cotta pot. 

9.  Add wiggly eyes underneath the rim of the terra cotta pot.

10.  Add a small pink pom-pom as the nose.  Draw in the mouth with a black felt pen.

11.  Don't forget to add the bunny tail with a larger pink pom pom on the back. :)

12.  Put cotton balls in the top of the terra cotta pot. 

12.  And finally....enjoy! 

I hope my directions made sense.  I'm trying to improve my 'how-to' directions, but who knew it was so time consuming!  I like the creating part..not explaining how :).  Hopefully if there is any confusion the picture can clear it up.  I really hope you enjoy this one.  Please, please, please, send me some pictures if you decide to do it. I would love to see the creativity of everyone and possibly even share them with everyone! My email is inspiremecrafts@yahoo.com.

Take care and until my next last minute project comes to me...

Be inspired, get creative, and have fun!

Gotta Make It…with the Kids: Fabric Heart Valentines

"A friend is someone who knows all about you, and loves you just the same."

You might be wondering why I'm posting a Valentine's craft idea today, February 15^th. Right now your thoughts are trailing off to something like this… "Who is this woman? Duh! Valentine's was yesterday. She is a total mess, at least I know when Valentine's Day is." Well…yes, it is not uncommon for me to be a total mess with my thoughts and projects scattered everywhere, but for once I did have my day's correct. I was just a little behind and figured it is better late than never, right?!

For Lil Man's preschool class we made these fabric heart Valentine's. I'm definitely a novice sewer so no "real" sewing skills needed. A bonus right there! In fact my 3 year old did help with a lot of this. It was not a project that mom just put together and sent to school with her son. However, after about the 5^th one he was losing interest and mom did pick up some slack.

 

 

I started by cutting out a template from a piece of cardboard. Then I traced the template with a marker onto the fabric. I used two different fabrics…one for the front and one for the back. This is where your Lil One can start helping! Let them pick out the fabric. We found the heart fabric together and then we actually had a blue design for the back until Lil Man discovered a new fabric while wondering around in the fabric store singing some crazy song and putting on a show for the shoppers. He came across the red polka dot and said, "Mom! Mom! How about this one?" The best part is this lil kid is a bargain shopper! It was half the price of the original one we had picked out. He's a keeper J.

Once the hearts were cut out from the templates, we took one heart from each design and placed them together with the design sides facing each other and the backs facing out. I used the sewing machine to sew around the heart and leaving an opening at the bottom.

I turned the hearts the right side out through the opening and then lil man started stuffing the hearts like crazy. Prepare for a mess if your lil one is helping J.

Then we cut out some small rectangles from an off-white fabric. Lil Man used some small single letter stamps to stamp "Friend" on some and then his classmate's names on others. This was perfect because he was able to refer to the class list from his teacher to stamp the name. He can write his own name (at least we, his parents, can decipher it), but we are not at the whole alphabet yet. Stamping was a perfect solution to have him really included. We tucked the "Friends" pieces of fabric into the opening and then using a needle and thread we sewed the heart shut and the "Friends" tag on. This was lil man's intro to sewing. With Mom's help, of course, he helped sew a couple of the hearts shut.

Next we cut ribbon and placed the ribbon with the child's name under a button. Sew the button on with the name and ribbon under it and you are set to go! Oh, and then have your child write his/her name on the back or stamp it! Hand out to everyone and enjoy. Of course this could be done any time of year, but Valentine's was perfect. I was surprised at how much Lil Man really likes it. He hung it up right away and is very proud.

Just don't wait until the last minute to do it like me J. Have fun!

Be inspired, get creative, and have fun!

Gotta Make It…with the Kids: Valentine’s “I treasure you” Treasure Box

I know I've been MIA lately, but I've been on a mission. It is time to de-clutter and organize our household before baby #2 arrives and it has been a top priority. In the meantime, the house remains a mess as I decide what gets tossed and what gets labeled and a new home. The thought of another mess from a project was just too daunting the last couple of weeks, but I did find some time to work on a Valentine's craft project with Lil Man the other day. The best part is that I went through my craft closet (a.k.a crap closet, as my husband calls it) and pulled everything out from there for the project...so in essence I was staying on track by getting rid of some "crap". J

I had leftover treasure boxes from when Lil Man needed some creative poopy training , so we started with that as our gift box to decorate. Then we found some Valentine's paper and he cut them into small pieces, applied with Mod Podge and then sealed with more Mod Podge and a little glitter mixed in. Add some XOXO's on the front and you are set to go. I thought we were done with the treasure chest when that cheesy light bulb in my head went off. I had to add "I treasure you" on the inside to make it complete. See….I told you it was cheesy! Add some chocolate and of course this gift from your child will be a hit!

Be inspired, get creative, and have fun!

Gotta Make It: Wooden Heart Love Notes

"We need the power of love, not the love of power"

 

My hubby and I try to focus on the little things to show our love for one another and to catch the spirit of just how much we love each other.  It might be because we can't afford the $10,000 diamond ring, the new car, the fancy surprise vacation (although all those sound fabulous), but I think its for the better.  I know you think I'm crazy right now, but hear me out.  Its easy to pull out your debit/credit card and book a vacation, but its not necessarily easy trying to figure out a new, creative, and did I mention inexpensive way to show your love for your partner.  I'm sure someday we can surprise each other with fancy vacations in some tropical weather ( which I could really use 80 degree weather right now), but for now I am going to surprise my hubby with some fancy love notes. 

The inspiration for this Valentine surprise (that is actually great to do all year long) is from the infamous Necco Sweethearts.  Its that time of year where you see those sweet candy treats EVERYWHERE!  So I made some of my own using some wooden hearts that will save our teeth from some un-needed sugar.  The idea is that on Valentine's Day I am going to hide these surprise love notes in different places that he will discover through out the day such as his toiletry bag, car, work, near his coffee cup, etc. 

I used Mod Podge to put some pretty paper on one side of the hearts and then some letter stamps to write messages on the other side.  You may notice "SHMILY" on one of the hearts and some of you may know what this is and others may not.  I didn't know until my hubby told me and we've adopted it ever since.  It means "See How Much I Love You".  We heard a story of a couple who would leave little notes and surprises with "SHMILY" on it.  Something as simple as leaving it on the mirror when it is steamy for your loved one to see later.  Or a sticky note somewhere they may not be expecting goes a long way. 

You can be as G-Rated or R-Rated as you want with the notes, in fact you could even use these to put special notes to your kids in their lunch boxes.  Everyone loves a surprise...even the little ones!

Be inspired, get creative, and have fun!

Gotta Make It…With the Kids: Homemade Snow Ice Cream

"Sunshine is delicious, rain is refreshing, wind braces us up, snow is exhilarating; there is really no such thing as bad weather, only different kinds of good weather."  ~John Ruskin

Snow is exhilarating (even when you have 2 feet of it trapping you in your house for a few days). You're never too old for a good ole fashioned snow fight, snow angel, and snow man. But nothing can cure a little cabin fever like a 3 year old - or do they make it worse? Hmmm…

With all that fresh snow, one childhood memory instantly comes to mind – some delicious homemade snow ice cream. I thought this was a staple in every person's memory from snow-filled days, but apparently it was not according to my hubby. With a quick Google search I found a recipe that looked similar to the one I remember from when I was still living at home (I'm sure I still made it in my teens J).

INGREDIENTS:

1 gallon fresh snow
1 cup white sugar
1 tbsp vanilla
2 cups Milk

Mix it all together and enjoy. The best part is that snow ice cream has 132 calories and 1.2 g of fat. You can't get much better than that J.

Ours didn't quite turn out completely right, but as you can see it didn't stop Lil Man from digging in. I think we got a little excited and grabbed too much snow (I'm horrible at estimating) and then my independent Lil Man insisted on doing it all on his own so we were a little delayed in the mixing. No matter what, it was fun and pretty yummy.

Enjoy!

Be inspired, get creative, and have fun!

Gotta Bake It: Sugar & Spice Candied Nuts

We received these from a friend as a Christmas gift and from personally experiencing the deliciousness of these sugar and spice candied nuts, I can guarantee that you cannot go wrong with this recipe. Going with yesterday's theme of waiting until the last minute this is intended for those 'last minute Christmas divas' looking for a hostess gift, appetizer, or Christmas gift for tonight's party!

INGREDIENTS:

1/3 cup dark brown sugar
2/3 cup sugar
1 ½ tsp salt
pinch of cayenne pepper
1 tsp cinnamon
1 lb walnuts, pecans, and/or almonds
1 egg white, room temperature
1 tbsp water

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Mix sugars, salt, cayenne, and cinnamon so that there are no lumps. In a large bowl, beat egg white and water until frothy but not stiff. Add nuts and stir to coat. Sprinkle nuts with sugar mixture and toss until evenly coated. Spread sugared nuts in a single layer on a baking sheet fitted with parchment paper. Bake for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from oven, and separate nuts as they cool. Enjoy.

 

For quick and beautiful gift packing you can find these cute star containers at the DollarTree and add some clear wrap with ribbon and you have an instant gift. Enjoy!

Be inspired, get creative, and have fun!

Gotta Make It: Christmas Crayons from Chocolate Molds

 

My mind has been full of ideas for the past couple of months with ideas for Christmas teacher gifts, pre-school classmate gifts, etc but the ideas never had time to materialize until the last minute (and I mean 'morning of' type of last minute). Between getting out my wall letter orders, getting presents together to ship before the Post Office becomes a nightmare, and chasing around a 3 year old… the craft ideas kept getting pushed to another day. And then another; and another. You get the idea. So my theme for the next few days is that all the projects are fast and realistic for us last minute Christmas divas. My first "last minute Christmas diva" project, Christmas Crayons from Chocolate Molds and broken crayons, is a perfect gift for your child's classmates or stocking stuffers for your children.

MATERIALS:

Crayons (great use for old, broken crayons)
Chocolate Molds
Tin cans (old soup cans, coffee cans, etc work great)
Boiling Pot

HOW-TO:

1. Remove wrappers from crayons. I used all green shades in one batch, then all pink/red shades in the next, and all the blue shades in the last batch
2. Using the double broiler method, melt crayons in the tin can. You can look up the double broiler method, but you basically bring water to boil in a large pot. Place the tin can in the boiling water (not touching bottom of pan) and place the crayons in the tin can. Stir until crayons become melted wax.
3. Pour melted wax into chocolate molds. Don't worry about spillage over…it can be easily fixed later. Let the wax set. Then put in freezer for 15 minutes.
4. Remove from freezer. Crayons should just pop out with a little tap. You can easily break off any excess wax with your fingers.
5. Package in your favorite way!

This is really a great project for broken crayons, but I didn't have enough broken ones so I splurged for $2 box of crayons to go with the few broken ones. I've had these Christmas chocolate molds for awhile, but I think this idea is a little friendlier to my waistlineJ.

The Christmas themed crayons…hopefully no one mistakes them for chocolate.

CAUTION: When in a hurry being a 'last minute Christmas diva' be sure not to go too fast or you will pour hot crayon wax all over your kitchen counter. The good thing is that it does clean up just fine with a little time and patience.

My husband took Lil Man to pre-school to give me a little extra time to finish these gifts before his class finished. Since I spilled half my crayon wax onto the counter I didn't have as many crayons as I was hoping so I needed something else to package it with. I had a pad of paper so I ripped off about 10 sheets each, punched a hole in the corner, tied a ribbon, and tossed it into a clear bag with the crayons. Oh yeah, I added a "Merry Christmas" note on the front of the paper using the crayons.

Enjoy your "last minute Christmas diva" project. I LOVED how these turned out, and as soon as the holidays are done I'm going to purchase some of my favorite chocolate molds and make a whole bunch of these that I can use for party favors, last minute kid gifts, etc. Happy Holidays!

Be inspired, get creative, and have fun!

Gotta Make It: Paper Christmas Wreath

I'm re-posting this because I just pulled it out of the Christmas tub to hang up last week and I still love it as much as when I made it.  It put that smile on my face so I thought I'd share.  I hope you are enjoying the fun and stress of the holidays as much as I am :) ! 

"Joy to the World"

Accidents happen...sometimes good and sometimes bad.  Luckily, this accident was good.  I was playing with some paper trying to come up with less labor-intensive paper tree ideas and ended up with a paper wreath!  I added some special photos and it is adding just the right amount of unique Christmas decorations to our house!  I used the same scrapbook paper that I used for my Christmas Paper Tree . I purchased the scrapbook paper at Target in a pack.  It included all 5 coordinating designs and plenty of it!

MATERIALS:

8x8 paper (10 pieces)
scissors
glue
stapler
Scotch Tape
ribbon
embellishments
photos

THE STEPS:

I tried the best I could to explain it...I'm still working on describing my steps as clearly and detailed as I can.  Please let me know if you have any questions or comments about it!  I love to get comments on the post or you can email me at inspiremecrafts@yahoo.com.

The Holidays are here and Christmas is only 9 days away!  Its hard to believe, but that's what I saw on a sign today!  Take care....

Be inspired, get creative, and have fun!!

New Wall Letter Design: Pink Birds to match Pottery Barn Penelope Nursery Bedding

Take a look at one of my new wall letter designs…

The pink bird with sage green accents was made to match Pottery Barn's Penelope Nursery Bedding (seen below). However, any girl who loves birds, pink, and green will love her personalized name sign.

To purchase a personalized wall letter ($22) you can go to:

1) My Etsy Shop:  Checkout with PayPal credit/debit.

2)  Custom Order Form:  Fill out form and I'll email you an invoice to pay with debit/credit through PayPal.

And of course, I love custom designs! Send me a picture of a room or the bedding used, and I'll see what designs I have available to match. I can be contacted at inspiremecrafts@yahoo.com .

The order deadline for guaranteed Christmas delivery is Sunday, December 6^th. After that date, I'll let you know on a case-by-case basis whether I can get it done by Christmas.

And, as always, thank you so much for stopping by!

Be inspired, get creative, and have fun!

Gotta Make It: Button Christmas Tree Tote

"The best of all gifts around any Christmas tree:  the presence of a happy family all wrapped up in each other".  ~Burton Hillis

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving and had plenty of yummy food and time with family and friends! Now that my lazy turkey days are coming to an end, it is time for me to break out the Christmas decorations and let the holiday season truly begin. My first Christmas craft project this season is fun, inexpensive, and festive...you can't ask for much more than that! Use this Button Christmas Tree Tote as a gift bag or bring it with you to do all your holiday shopping… or even give it to a child to use as a school bag in December. Head to the store and pick up the following for the project…

MATERIALS:

tote bag
buttons ( I used 9 small, 12 large, 1 star – silver and gold)
thread
ribbon

HOW-TO:

1. Lay out buttons to resemble Christmas tree shape next to tote bag. I used small and large as well as gold and silver buttons.
2. One by one start to sew each button on to the tote in the shape that you laid out next to the tote.
3. Continue until you are done J.
4. Tie a ribbon in a bow and sew to where the handle attaches to the tote.
5. Use your bag as a gift bag or tote it around town.

I'd love to see your finished button tote bags and variations that you come up with! Just email to inspiremecrafts@yahoo.com and we'll share your creativity.

Be inspired, get creative, and have fun!