Checking In!

Hello all!  I am not posting a project today.  I have been way too busy with my other life (gasp! you have another life?) and getting ready to go to Disneyland on Monday the 24th. I am holding off of new projects but be assured that I am always crafting.  With Halloween around the corner, I have been working on my own projects for my home.  I have a weird thing that says, in my mind, that I cannot put out anything until October 1.  Having said that, we get home from Disneyland on the 29th and then my husband heads off for a conference on the 30th and I lose my schlepper (sic).  He needs to get the buckets out of the shed for me.  He loves to decorate the front yard and I do the inside.  We have precious little time to make anything else and wait until you see what he made for the front yard!!!! I promise to share.... until then, have a great week and look for something new in October!

Disney Inspired Teachers Gifts

Bonus Post!

Even if you are NOT a crafter, this is a super easy, fast and will wow your giftee!


Here is what you need:

4X6 Self Standing Acrylic Frame
1 Pad 3X 3 Post it
Fun Paper and Stickers (I love the packets that come with paper, stickers, tags, etc.)
2 sided tape
Glue dots
Cutter

Cut paper to fit in the frame.  Slide in.  Put 2 sided tape on the back of the post it pad and stick to the frame.  Add Embellisments.  Done!

Other Options!

These are being given to my teachers...

Mickey Mouse Halloween Wreath

Hope the dawning of September finds everyone well.  We are headed into our areas busiest time.  Balloon Races, Air Races, Motorcycle Festivals, Candy Dance, Camel Races...All this month. 

This is my first offering with a Disney theme.  Just a few pictures and some easy instructions.

One of the first things that you need to keep in mind:  if you are making anything with the classic Mickey icon,  there is a formula.  The face is the largest circle.  The ears must be 2/3 the size of the face.  My sample will look a little large but I did it to show more detail.  Have fun and I CANNOT wait for Halloween to get here...

Halloween Wreath
You will need:
3 foam circles- 1 larger than the other 2
Wire
Fabric of your choice
Netting
Tulle
Ribbon 
Straight Pins
Embellishments (berries, twigs, ribbon)

Start by wrapping the circles with the fabric of your choice.  I use pinking shears to cut it so that I don't worry too much about unravelling.  Secure with pins.   To attach the ears to the face, wrap some wire to hold them together then wrap more fabric between the 2, covering the wire and pin.  Repeat with the other ear.

Next, cut strips of netting and tulle in whatever color you would like.  I don't have a measurement for this because it depends on how fluffy and full you want your wreath.  I cut strips that were about 6"X 1".  Mostly I just cut an edge that had been folded at the fabric store.  To make sure that the edges were not showing, I folded them in to the center and twisted to make a small bow.  I attached them to the circle with the pins- I also only put them on the large circle but you could certainly do the whole thing!

Making a hanger out of the ribbon (any type you like- it helps if it is green to look like a stem) and adding a bow that I attached with the pins,  the only thing left was to glue the embellishments on.  I just added tiny berries.  Hello Mickey!

Heading to Disneyland and the end of the month for a quick anniversary trip!  Maybe some new ideas will come out of it!!!!

Have a great Labor Day Weekend 2012!

Just a note...I will be laboring on Labor Day this year.  I am working on lots of fun new things to add to the blog.  As I have said before (I think) I reorganized my craft room and now (with a few exceptions- funeral of a dear friend's father and a sick dog) I have spend every night in here for the past 3 weeks.    My mantra this month???? Halloween is coming, Halloween is coming, Halloween is coming, Hall...oh look!  Glitter...oween is coming....

More Disneyish Hoodies

Daisy  

Tinkerbell 

The Original Inspiration...Minnie!

Halloween Altered Books

As promised, here is my versions of altered books!

You will need the following ingredients:
An old book- Any size will do but I kept mine on the small to medium size
Matte finish decoupage medium
Green paper napkins
Cover embellishments (for the Poisonous Plants I used leaves)
Heavy Cardboard
Printed Label for Title
Punch
Paints
Hot Glue Gun
Brushes, low tack tape

Brush the front page with decoupage medium and glue to the cover.  Do the same for the back page.  Close the book and cover the pages with decoupage medium (you can add a bit of colored paint or ink to add some aging to the pages).  Tape the book down with low tack tape and wait until it is dried completely.  (On the second book, I put pieces of silk leaves between the pages before I sealed it.)

 

While the book is drying, cut out a bookplate out of heavy cardboard for the title.  Use a ticket punch to cut out the corners. Add accents with hot glue (like nails or a border).  Paint the book plate.   At this time, print out your title.  You can use a side title and a front, or just a front. Most cardstocks will go through your printer but check first.  I used a natural colored paper but you could also "tea stain" your paper with a wet tea bag brushed on white card stock and left to dry.  Insert in your printer and print your title.

Add your embellishments with the hot glue gun.  I added lines on the spine on the first book but the second left    them off.  Hot glue the book plate on.

Next comes the messy part.  Tear up the napkin (or tissue paper) into medium pieces and decoupage all over the book, covering everything except the bookplate.  Use a small paintbrush to get into the little crevices and pay attention to the edges.  Don't spare the decoupage medium.  Allow to dry.  Attach title.  As an added element, you can "antique" the book by mixing a few drops of dark brown paint with water, brushing it over the book and wiping most of it off.  The paint will go into the crevices and accent the wrinkles.

Here are the examples I have done so far.  I am working on a Disney themed one but haven't quite figured it out.  Of course, this will be the first place that gets notified when I do!

There are so many different designs that you can do!  Have fun...

Coming Soon! Altered Books for Halloween

There is a great website for those of you who love Halloween.  It is called HalloweenForum.com.  There are so many great ideas for people like me who love to go over the top for this fun holiday.  On that note, I am working on the pictures for Altered Books.  I got this idea from many different sources on HalloweenForum.com and these will be my own renditions.  So, if you are interested, why don't you go out and buy yourself some old books from a thrift store, grab some decoupage medium (matte), black or green paper napkins and some architectural elements...And when I get the pictures and tutorial up, we can do this together!  Probably later tonight or tomorrow...

My first real posting

Here goes....

In a later post, I will share the original inspiration for this creation but until then, this will have to do. 

I am a Youth Minister and I was taking a group of girls to a leadership trip to Disneyland.  They have  a wonderful program called YES (Youth Education Series).  We wanted to wear matching clothes and knew that a sweatshirt would cost us up to $70 for something we could all agree on.  Each girl needed to give a gift to the others as part of a goodie bag (more of my offerings to follow) and my niece decided to make these super cute Minnie Mouse inspired hoodies (for about $15 each).  Well, my husband wasn't going due to work and the fact that I was taking only girls.  He complained and asked, "Where is mine?".  It took me a while to figure out what I would do.  MH loves Grumpy.  There are great shirts out there but nothing that he likes in the way of sweatshirts.  And of course, just to make it difficult, he doesn't like pull overs- only zippered.  So that is where I started...

Medium Difficulty and takes about 1 hour.

You will need:
1 Black Zippered Hoodie- Prewashed to get the sizing out-no fabric softener)
1/4 yd of white Tshirt knit fabric
1/8 yd of Deep Red or Burgundy Tshirt knit
1/8 yd of Lt. Blue Tshirt knit
Double sided fusible webbing (for Applique)
a large needle and some linen thread (for patches)
Iron and Ironing Board
Die Cutting machine or some other way to make good letters (I used a Cricut Expression with the Mickey Font cartridge).

 I started with the beard.  I found a graphic image that I could download, print, scan and then enlarge to get the size that I wanted.  I couldn't find a full-on picture so I chose a clear one, cut it out, and folded it in 1/2.

 Next, I applied the webbing to all of my fabric pieces.  I traced the beard and cut it out.  I needed to add a bit of a tail to the bottom so I made that adjustment before I cut it out.  I cut the beard in 1/2.  I also cut out the patches in my chosen size.  Using my die cutting machine, I chose 2" letters and a 4" Mickey Hat and cut those from the light blue fabric (you have to do this when the fabric is on the webbing or it won't cut.  I even had to do a bit of hand cutting to get the letters out).

Tracing out the pattern

Ironing on (with a pressing cloth-everything has to be Disney)- Make sure you follow the directions for the webbing.  Some need steam, others don't.

I added the patches and then put some "stitching" on to make them look more grumpy-like.  Finally, I always like to add some Mickey Ears to ensure that everyone knows what the inspiration is.  Since MH didn't want them too visible, I put them on the back of the hood.

 

MH is very happy with this creation and it is personalized the way he likes it.
BTW, Disney copyrights all of their material and I am not selling these or making any money on them.

Whew!  First post down...

Behind the Curve

Hi!  I have to admit it:  I am way behind the curve.  I should have been doing this long ago.  I was told to do it.  But, stubborn and a bit scared, I waited.  Until...I couldn't find what I was looking for.  What exactly was I looking for?  This time, I was looking for Disney inspired crafts that were made for adults.  Everything I found was for children.  I wanted fun things that could be given to crazy Disneyphiles like my husband and I.  So here goes.  Maybe no one will see this.  Maybe they will.  Either way, I will now have a place to share my more inspired creations.