Fish Extender Part 2

So, a few posts ago (okay 2) I showed the step by step process of turning those little tote bags I found at the Dollar tree in to a $4 Fish Extender for my future cruise on the Disney Wonder. Today, I got my awesome new silhouette cameo and I couldn't wait to MAKE something.

I dove right in, without reading directions or watching the instructional DVD that came with it. Because, that is how I roll.  I read the directions when all else fails. Failure is when you break something or get completely stuck.

So, I destroyed the first cutting mat. Good thing I ordered two!


 Long story short, I used images on found on-line and the silhouette software to cut out images for the FE. I also downloaded a free font to use on our names. Here is what I ended up with:

Minnie Mouse Jewelry

I am still obsessed  focused on making fe gifts for the cruise.  I am actually bouncing between several practice projects but I actually have a finished (okay... almost finished) project today.  

I decided to try to make Minnie Mouse hair clips out of polymer clay. They actually proved to be super simple and not as time consuming as some of the other projects. I love working with clay. It is a forgiving medium and I find it very calming.  I also found a necklace chain, ring base, and broken earrings in my craft closet and was inspired to up-cycle them.  Here are the photos.
 ( Excuse the poor  photo quality . I still don't have a camera and these were taken with my Kodak Play camcorder.)

The hair clips are on the top, earrings are in the middle, and of course the necklace is on the left.   The still need a coat of gloss and a sprinkle of iridescent micro glitter, but other than that they are finished.  


I also made this Minnie ring. The ring is a stretch ring that had lost it's stone. I simply glued the baked clay to the ring.  I love to up-cycle broken jewellery. I always have a ton of broken jewellery.  No one can break it like me. :)

Lego Ninjago Birthday Bash

My 7 year old wanted a ninjago party! His birthday is right after Christmas, so doing his party on a budget is always a must. This party proved to be very simple and budget friendly.

First up:  Black, yellow, red, aqua blue, and green streamers. I used strips of duck tape to do sections of streams. Much faster and easier to put up than doing it a single streamer at a time.  I used simple green balloon. Originally  I was going to decorate each one with a Ninjago face, but the printer decided not to work so I scrapped that. Actually, the non working printer caused me to scrap a lot of my ideas for this party. Oh, well!

Next, lets look at the cake and the table  decorations.

at

And the birthday boy! 

Here is the scoop on the cake:

1. I used a round spring  form cake pan to bake it. I did this because I couldn't find my other round cake pan. Let me tell you, I loved the spring form. It was so easy to remove the cake without any... well accidents. It was easier to frost.

2. I used canned frosting and tinted it green. I was going to use fondant but I got lazy. Imagine that.

3. I cut a template for the mask and placed  it on the middle of the cake. I did a great job getting it right in the middle didn't I? Oh well, it is just a cake! Then I spread the frosting over the template and cake.  Then I pulled up the frosted template and tossed it. ( I may have licked it.)

4. I used yellow tinted icing to do the mask, outlined it with black frosting from a tube. Then I freehanded the eyes. I did practice drawing them a lot before I did this.

5. I decided to press sprinkles around the sides of the cake. I have see this online. It looked easy. It was not and it was messy.

Disney Wonder Cruise.... Fish Extender Part #1

We are going on a Disney Cruise! Okay, it is not until next January 2014, but it is never to early to get started on preparing. Not when you are me, anyway. So, this is a post about the Fish Extender or FE that I am making. 

What in the world is a Fish Extender and why on earth would I want to make one? Yes, I asked myself that as well, but a quick consult with my friends Google & Pinterest gave me everything I needed to know and inspiration to get started. 


See the photo below? That is a photo of the fish beside the door of the cabin on each room on the ship. It is used as a message hook of sorts.  A fish extender is simply a hanging pocket, bag, or organizer that can be placed over the hook.  

Why would you want to do this? So you can exchange little gifts with other cruisers! It is easy to find other people who will be sailing on your cruise by CLICKING HERE .  The photo above would be a FE at it's most basic and if you are not crafty you can order one from etsy or ebay.  Check out these from etsy by gradysmommy.  I have not ordered from her but she comes highly recommended by other cruisers. 

1. Cute right? Just Click Here to check out more at her shop.

So now you know about that Fish stuff, lets get on with mine.  First of all, I want to make mine. Second, I am cheap.  Third, I can sew but I try not to.   I am going to show you my unembellished and unfinished FE in this post. I plan to finish it when my Silhouette Cameo arrives.   So here is what I found to make it with! 

Cute little tote bags from the Dollar Tree! $1 each.

First Step: Cutting them up. I cut the straps off all but one. I left enough of the strap to glue under on the front to avoid fraying. I used the straps on the back to HOT GLUE (because it is awesome!) the back of the bags together... like this....

Had to pull the first one apart and re do it because the bags were not even on the front. 

Here is how is what I have so far....

Not bad! I did end up cutting some cardboard to fit into the bottom of the bags to make it a little more sturdy.  I do plan to add some sort of topper that will have our family name on it and some cure personalized images and our names. Just waiting on my silhouette cameo to arrive.

Oh, yeah. I have not actually ordered it yet, but I will. Soon.

Check back for the finished product! Oh, and let me just mention that so far this has cost me $4. 

(I did mention I can be cheap, right?)

Thanksgiving Pie Post

I have Thanksgiving on my brain. This is a good thing because it is getting close to preparation time. I am not having a huge menu this year, but I am going to making almost everything from scratch instead of mixes and frozen pies. That is the plan. Doesn't mean it will happen, but for now, that is the plan. 

Today's mission was to find a great pie crust recipe. I have made great pie crusts, terrible ones, and many burnt ones. Last year, the pie crust ended up in the trash and I made a last minute run to the store for pre made crusts. I don't want a repeat of that this year, so I have been doing my pie crust homework. This means I headed to my favourite cooking blog Smitten Kitchen to see what pie making recipes and tips I could glean. 

The most important thing I learned from smitten kitchen and the other resources I researched was to keep the dough cold. I think this was my downfall last year. 

Butter or Shortening? That is the question.  What tastes better and what creates a flakier crust? It seems that the debate is a toss up. Some people swear by shortening and others do the same with butter. 

 or   

I think I used margarine last year. Gasp. This year, I thing I will use both and see which one comes out the winner. I doubt I will remember which one is better. I vote for the one I don't burn up in the oven.

A Yummy & Thankful November

I am loving this delightful fall weather and doing my best to slow down and enjoy November instead of jumping right into December planning. I must confess I have already grown tired of my Fall decor, so I though I would take time to post a few new ideas I have gathered for Thanksgiving decor and food. First stop.. food and fun for the kids.

Yes, that is right, cupcake tee-pees!  Click Here to find out how to make these cute cupcakes.

I actually made these little pilgrim hat's one year.  Super simple, just a cookie on bottom and then use icing to glue on a Reese's and  decorate. 

It would not be Thanksgiving with out a turkey and stuffing! Every year, I make an apple sausage stuffing. I don't have a real recipe any more, I just make it from memory. I did find this recipe which is close to what I do, except that I use mild breakfast sausage and corn bread from scratch.



I want to make a pumpkin cheese cake pecan pie of some kind. I have hunted down several versions and so far this one makes my mouth water the most!

 

Moving on to setting a lovely table, I must say I love this simple idea of using leaves to make place cards. I found this thankful idea Here.

This is a simple classy table scape I spotted on HGTV. As lovely as it is, I do tend to go with the vibrant autumn colours for my  table each year.

Christmas Crafting Steals! Frugal Teacher Gift!

Today's Christmas Gift craft is stolen from a little pumpkin grace blog. Head over to that fun blog to see lots of other great craft ideas!

This could be a cute and VERY FRUGAL gift for your children's teachers this year. For example SHARPIE's are on sale at Walgreen's  for .29 cents this week! I have some cute little canning jars that I will use, but you could easily turn this into a recycling project by re-using jars from your pantry. You can use scrapbook paper, colored shred and ribbon that you have on hand. 

CRAFT ON!