InspireMe Crafts

DIY Decoupage Valentine’s Day Plates

We made our own plates this year for Valentine's Day and I can't wait to use them tomorrow! All you need is some clear glass plates (purchased mine for a $1 at DollarTree), tissue paper, sponge brush, and Mod Podge. If you have young kiddos, be prepared for another mess! Little man went to town with the Mod Podge and it reminded me just how much fun a 20 month old can have with a sponge brush.

I started by using a dry erase marker on the top of the plate to create our design.

Flip over your plate and apply some Mod Podge. BE SURE TO APPLY THE MOD PODGE ON THE BACK/UNDERSIDE OF THE PLATE.

Start putting tissue paper on the Mod Podge.

Apply another coat of Mod Podge on top of the tissue paper. Make it thick. Let it dry and add another!

Let it dry overnight and then flip over (wipe off your dry erase marker design) and then bon appétit! It is probably not dishwasher safe, but the top can still be washed with soap and water. Plus for a $6 project (for 4), if I only use it once I am okay with that J.

The boys' finished plates……

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Valentine’s Day Gift: Ribbon Patchwork Art

"A hundred hearts would be too few to carry all my love for you"

I have that infamous "crap" closet and today some of my "crap" came in handy for a handmade Valentine's gift. Ever since I started making my wall letters, I started collecting the ribbon scraps in leftover spaghetti jars knowing that one day I would know what to do with 5 jars full of beautiful 1 inch pieces of ribbon. Ha! I started that about 3 years ago and this is my first project with the ribbon scraps. This ribbon patchwork heart clearly didn't even put a dent in my 5 jars worth, but at least it is a start! My 20 month old and 5 year old were both able to do this project so it makes the perfect gift for the Grandparents.

Above is just a sampling of the ribbon collection ;). At Michaels, I found these pre-cut heart stickers. I originally bought them for another project, but I never got around to it. Lucky for the grandparents! The great thing about these hearts, is that you peel off the one side and it is sticky, which makes it super easy (and a lot less messier) for my 20 month old to cover the heart in ribbon.

I let them go crazy and decorate the hearts with the ribbon. Then when it was covered, I turned the heart over and trimmed any ribbon that was hanging over the edges, so we had a nice neat heart. The sticky part is convenient, but it really wasn't that strong. After the kiddos went to bed, I piled a layer of Mod Podge over it and let it dry over night. The next morning it was ready to be put in the mail.

I am thinking about making a larger version of this to display around our house around Valentine's Day. Maybe I can get it done before I pack up all the Valentine's stuff to make room for St. Patty's Day and Easter! Hey- maybe if I make it large enough I can even use up a majority of those 5 jars worth of ribbon scraps. Wish me luck J.

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Overwhelming Gratitude

Life and business has been crazy lately. The workload has been overwhelming, but I am also overwhelmingly grateful. My letter orders were out of control during the last two weeks so I put my shop on hold while I completed orders. It was a blessing, but clearly I wasn't ready for that influx in orders…I'm guessing from Pinterest. Let me explain some more….

Overwhelming: the number of orders to complete in a timely manner

Gratitude: So thankful that my wall letters are liked and the extra money in the account.

Overwhelming: the influx of orders came when my parents were visiting for 10 days

Gratitude: thankful the influx of orders happened while my parents were here so they could help with the kids while I made wall letters

Overwhelming: letters to complete when I was also trying to devote more time to the blog and projects

Gratitude: thankful I made the promise to myself to go with the flow with my blog…..so I'll post when I can while completing orders

Overwhelming: the mess in my house from making letters at the dining room table and not having time to clean anything

Gratitude: a family that doesn't care if the house is clean, as long as their mommy plays with them

Overwhelming: Not having a dinner table to eat at since it is covered in "in-progress" wall letters

Gratitude: Now having some extra cash from the letters to buy a work desk for my letters

That's just a taste of all the overwhelmingly grateful thoughts going through my mind. The good news is that I am caught up on those orders and should be opening the shop to accept orders soon! Thanks for everyone's support.

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Featured on TLC Parentables

Hey peeps! I was excited to see that my little blog was getting some love on TLC's Parentables…

The Mason Jar Drinks I created for 4^th of July were featured in an article about different uses for the classic mason jar. Go check it out here!

Thanks for stopping by!

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