pop tabs, wire, and hand cramps!

(I will get pictures up as soon as my laptop stops being LAME!)

As you can tell by the title I am creating something with pop tabs. It has been a long process and I have collected pop tabs for oh I don't know maybe 10 months to a year. I haven't been the only one drinking all the sodas around here thankfully! Kyle's family is big so every time we go over to his Grandparents house we raid the recycle  plus his brother saves them up so when we see him he has a whole pile. Then we just add them to the jar that we have going on.

About a month ago I looked at the jar and finally decided that I had enough to start this daunting project.

I decided to use jewelery wire that came from Joann's in their jewelry making section. I grabbed a 20 gauge wire at 8 yards. I ended up buying 3 because they didn't have a bigger role in the gauge I wanted.

When I got home I grabbed a pair of needle nose pliers and cut a bunch of 1-2 inch size wire stripes and started putting them together.

I'd grab one tab and lay the other one on top of it and wrap the wire around it 3 times in the center and then twist off the ends. I repeated that 9 times. I made 14 of these and then I attached them together in three spots, once on top, in the middle, and near the bottom. This made one side of the purse.

To make the other side I did the same pattern but instead of all silver I made a 'N' (for his Aunt Natalka) with the green tabs I had collected. And hooked all those together using the same method as before.

Can I just say my hand and wrist have never hurt so bad in my life. I literally had to put it on ice because it was hurting and swollen. It is such a repetitive process that I would recommend having a bottle of ibuprofen and a tube of icy hot next to you and to do a little at a time. It has taken me about 3 weeks to get these two sides done with just needing to take breaks and having to go back and forth to the store to buy more wire.

When I finished these two sides the wires were all poky and I didn't want them to snag the purse. In order to remedy that I tried flattening them with the pliers and it wasn't working the way I wanted it to. So out comes the hot glue gun to save the day! I put a little blob on each end and let them dry. Next  cleaned all the little lines that you always get with hot glue and it worked perfectly! It did exactly what I wanted it to do without ruining my design. The best part you can't see it from the front of the purse!

Now to make the sides. I ended up buying a little clutch/hand held purse thing at the thrift store for $3. I bought some tiny split rings to connect the fronts to the sides that way there is some flexibility and if she ever needs to clean the bag she can just slide it out. The plan is to just slide the bag inside the pop tabs and then attach a chain to the pop tabs so she can throw it over her shoulder if she wants. If she wants to carry it like a clutch all she has to do is unhook the chain..

I finally finished! It took me a while to finish this thing because my hand and wrists were hurting so bad that I just kept procrastinating. And next thing you know I was in CO for over a month working. I was dreading coming back to WA cuz I knew I'd only have 10 days to finish it before we hit the road. Thankfully the hard part was done, I just needed to put the split rings on to connect all the sides. The last step is just to find a chain that I like and cut it to length to make the handle and then it will be 100% completed. However since I no longer have to twist and cut I am considering it done.

This will be the last time you hear from me for the year so Merry Christmas, Happy New Year, and Happy crafting Goonies!!

Anchors Away!

Hello all!

I can't believe that it is August already! How time flies when you are back and forth between states and constantly on planes. I flew out to Colorado twice and was only home in Washington for 3 weeks in between trips. Holy moly it was an insane beginning to the summer. But thankfully I made it home in time for the 4th of July and was able to spend it camping and hanging out with my honey on the beach.

Now that I am back home and enjoying the calm I decided I would finally do something with the canvas that I bought on sale last summer! The Craft Warehouse was having this huge sale and I went down there and found that they had the canvas on sale for like a ridiculous price and ended up getting three 18x20 for the price of one! I should have picked up more but seeing as how its a year later and I have only used one I think I made the right choice.

Today we are making a. anchor picture with stripes, it's something that I see all over the Internet and at stores and I love the look and needed something to put on my wall. Here's what ya need:

• Canvas 
• pencil
• paint and brushes
• scissors
• paper 
• wax paper
• painters tape
• something to measure stripes

Alrighty then! Let's start. First I drew out the anchor the size I wanted. I then put a sheet of wax paper over it and stenciled the shape on there and cut it out. I did the stencil out of the wax paper bc I liked that it isn't quite as stiff as the paper and I was also using the paper as my test sheet as far as what color to use and size of the stripes.

Next I traced around the stencil onto the canvas with a pencil.

I know it is hard to see but it's there.

haha yes I used a thin mint box. I liked the size of the box, it was the perfect width for my stripes so I used it. 

here it is all drawn out.

Next, once you've picked out the color that you want, I traced around the anchor and let it dry. When it is dried, take your painters tape and put it on the lines of the ones you are going to paint that way you have clean lines. Start painting.

 Let the paint dry in between coats. I did a couple bc you could see marks. When it is dry pull the tape off and voila! You have your own anchor picture!

I made a couple boo boos but a little white paint fixed em. I really like how it turned out and the color I chose is pretty cool seeing as how it looks like completely different colors throughout the day! 

Feel free to add whatever you want to it, I had though about putting a quote somewhere on it but I changed my mind. Now it hangs on my wall with a starfish shaped knick knack that I found for free from a thrift store that was closing. 

Have fun creating! Hopefully I'll find some other cool nautical themed items to go around it. 

Cowboy/Western Cake!

Boy have I been busy, I am between trips to CO right now and it feels like I am playing catch up, with crafts and family. Meaning finishing gifts and not getting pictures taken! But what do you do?

Let's see which new craft do I want to post today.....hmmm I guess we'll do Riley's birthday cake since that one was done way back in March.

For Riley's first birthday, Kyle and I wanted to do something special for him since he'll get toys and books from everyone else in our giant family so we decided we would make him a cake that he and everyone else could enjoy, plus it makes it one less thing that his grandma had to pay for and not worry about.

His theme was western so I went all out and wanted to make it like a cowboy/Woody from Toy Story. With the yellow/red plaid shirt and a bandana. I asked if they had a preference on flavor and they said fruity so I looked up a recipe for Orange dreamsicle cake/frosting as well as a raspberry cake.

The recipes are as follows:

Raspberry cake-

• 1 white cake mixed following box
• 1pkg of raspberry jello(4oz)
• 1 cup boiling water
• 1/2 cup cold water

Make the cake following the directions on the box and bake.. Let it cool. I waited to pout the jello on top until I had stacked it into place.Poke holes all over. Mix the jello with the BOILING water and stir until dissolved. Add cold water then pour all over the cake and refrigerate for 2 hours. made 1 13x9 cake

 

Orange Dreamsicle Cake with glaze-

• 1 box lemon cake mix
• 1 box orange jello- 4oz 
• 1/3 cup oil
• 3 eggs
• 1/2 cup OJ ( i used fresh)
• 3/4 cup water
• 1 orange zest

glaze-

• 3 tablespoons powdered sugar
• 1/2 cup OJ (fresh)

heat oven to 350 degrees. I grease my pans then lay was paper on the bottom and then spray with more grease to help my cakes come out SUPER easy and it helps them cook flat! 

In a large add dry cake mix, jello powder, oil eggs, OJ, water, and zest until smooth.

Pour in pan and bake for 25 mins cool completely and take out of pan.

Poke holes all over and pour the glaze over. Refrigerate a few hours. I made 2 batches of this to do 1- 13x9 and 2- 7"square.

 In between both tiers I used a creamsicle frosting which oh my god it tasted just like a creamsicle! I wanted to just eat the frosting by the spoonfuls! 

Creamsicle Frosting Recipe:

• 8 oz sour cream
• 8 oz cool whip
• 1/2 cup OJ (i used fresh)
• 1 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon orange extract

mix OJ and sugar until completely dissolved

add extract

mix in sour cream until well blended

then fold in cool whip and layer between the cakes.

 After I stack the cakes I cover them and let them sit in the fridge for a few hours to really set and then I can wipe off any filling that has spooged out....yes i said spooged lol I am not even sure how to spell it but i love using the word! 

I used a cream cheese frosting to frost the outside cakes, I made two batches one dyed yellow and one dyed bright red! 

Cream cheese frosting Recipe:

• 8 oz cream cheese room temp
• 1 stick unsalt butter softened
• 1 lb powdered sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

bet cream cheese and butter until smooth

add powdered sugar bit by bit until smooth

add vanilla and salt

(before I add the coloring I take my cakes out of the fridge and do a crumb coat and then out em back in the fridge while I do the other one so it can set and get hard/crusty!)

Mix in food gel colors and frost away. 

I didn't keep track of how much coloring I used I just went until I liked the color.

To get the true red color that I wanted I had to mix RED and CHRISTMAS RED(not pictured!) and I just used bright yellow. I frosted the 13x9 yellow and the 7x7 red

Now put back in the fridge let em set and harden up and set and then take em out to decorate.

I used black, white, and red Wilton icing with a #3 tip I believe and did my lines. the yellow layer got red lines to look like a plaid shirt and the red layer got white and black to look like a bandana, then I stacked the tiers.

use a tooth to make a channel for you frosting. it helped me keep straight.

 

my sketch of how I wanted it to look

I wanted to hide the tier so I went to my trusty Winco and found some marshmallow ropes and used some brown food color stuff and painted it on to make it look like a real rope.I knew no one would eat them so I hot glued it to the plastic tier. I also got some sheriff stars from the dollar store and put those around the corners and I was done.

this as a test one the real ones  I used were 36" so it was one wrapped all the way around.

It was a hit and everyone loved it, it was soooo super moist and it tasted like my childhood eating dreamsicles while laying out on the hot driveways in the Colorado sun after playing in the sprinkler. I was in heaven! 

Rug Time!

Today's adventure is making a rug. I know sounds super fancy but this is just a light one that will go over the transition between the tile in my kitchen and the carpet. We all know that living in an apartment the carpet is not the highest quality and when they don't put in a transition piece you are bound to feel the tack strip when you step every now and again. Plus the carpet is starting to pull out.

With all that said in my head I thought it would be easy to find a rug. I wasn't even planning on making one but alas it was the hardest thing EVER! I went to every store to see if they had cheap ones, which of course they do not, and if they are in my price range they are not attractive or the correct size that I want. Feeling frustrated I go to my ever trusty sidekick Pinterest and find many D.I.Y rugs and start to feel hopeful again. I find one that uses just plain woven rugs with some acrylic paint in any design and I love it. I again go looking at all the big box stores, even Ikea when we make a trip to Portland, and yet again come back home feeling disappointed....

So I start thinking what if I use just duck canvas like what slip covers are made of....and then I realize hey the hardware stores sell canvas drop cloths.....DING DING DING DING DING WE HAVE A WINNER!!! My wheels start turning. Why not take the canvas drop cloth and the paint idea and make my own darn rug! It was brilliant. Which is what brings us to the tutorial of making our very own canvas rug!

Supplies that you need:

• canvas drop cloth 
• paint
• stencil/cardboard
• brushes/rollers
• shelf liner

With the drop cloth I got a 4' by 5' one from Lowe's for $5.98. That was the size I was looking for so I did not need to modify it. They do come in different sizes so grab the one the best suits your needs. If you want a circle one or a smaller size than what they offer just cut it up and restitch the sides.

The next thing I did was prewash my drop cloth just to make sure all the lose strings were off and that it was a nice clean surface to work with.

The paint that I used was Glidden sampler interior eggshell. The shade Mermaid Treasure. I went with that because it was the perfect amount of paint for the size rug I was going to paint. It came from Home depot for 2.64 I believe. You can use any paint I just figured the latex paint would last longer than acrylic/craft paints.

I made a chevron stencil with a piece of cardboard box and traced around it onto my drop cloth with a pencil. I know you can't really see it in the picture but in person you can see the lines. I went all the way down the rug and figured out which ones I wanted to be blue and which to be the color of the canvas.

Next put down a drop cloth under your drop cloth. Silly sounding I know but it will seep through esp if you use a roller or a sponge. I used the edge trim kit from the dollar store to help make my lines perfectly straight. It worked amazingly!!

NOW PAINT AWAY GOONIES!! 

I didn't do a great cover because I wanted it to look worn and not perfectly coated. You choose how you want it to look.

After it dried I flipped it over tacked on some shelf liner from the dollar store to the back. I used my hot glue gun to tack the ends of the shelf liner down. So far it hasn't slipped when we walk over it, so I at least know it is doing its job.

I figure after we have worn it down some more with waking over it I may put a clear coat over it to protect it from stains, or if anything spills on it I can just wipe it off.

HERE IS THE FINISHED PRODUCT!!! Ignore the little creepy statue under my desk that was Kyle's surprise welcome home gift and uhhhh it scares me! lol

Hope you enjoy your rug. And remember your possibilities are endless with this. If there is a pattern on a rug you really like but can't afford it but need a spot covered up or just want to add a little something to a room this is a fast affordable way to do it! I did this project in an afternoon, most the time was waiting for the paint to dry.

The total cost of this project

• canvas drop cloth $5.98
• paint sampler $2.64
• shelf liner $1.00
• edge paint brushes $1.00

So there you have it! until next time goonies