Football Helmet Plastic Canvas Napkin Ring Pattern

Make these plastic canvas napkin rings for your football party. It's so easy to customize them to be able to root on your favorite team this football season.

Chocolate Covered Strawberry Rose Candy Bouquet

Give someone you love a special treat with these chocolate covered strawberries in a rose candy bouquet.  They will be sure to love the yummy roses this Valentine's day.

Sock Hop Jukebox Candy Bouquet Tutorial

Make a fun Sock Hop candy bouquet using this simple tutorial.  With step by step directions, you can make any type of bouquet for birthdays, holidays, or any gift occasion.

Plastic Canvas Easter Egg Napkin Rings

Create some fun and easy plastic canvas Easter egg napkin rings for your Easter table this year.  They are so simple and unique that you'll want to make a set for everyone's Easter basket!

Denver Bronco Logo Decorative Plate DIY

Make your own NFL Denver Bronco Logo plates with a few minutes of time and some Sharpie paint pens.  You'll be the MVP of your football party.  This quick and easy plate DIY is fun and unique and gives you a Bronco logo to be proud of.

It's been a while since I made any new decorative plates for a party, but when I started working on our Bronco football party, I knew I needed to add some to the dessert table to add some sweet flair.

But since I have absolutely NO artistic ability at all, I was worried how to make the bronco logo look realistic and cool.  If you have a silhouette or cutting machine, this would be super easy, but since I am one of the few crafters left that doesn't have one, this is an old fashioned way to make the Bronco logo decorative plate.

I started by finding the Broncos logo on the web.  I had to measure my plate to see how big to make the logo.  I printed out the bronco head to be about 6 inches by 3 1/2 inches.  Then I cut it out to use as a template.

I used the bronco logo as a template to trace around in the center of my plate using Sharpie Paint Markers.

After I had the base done, I went back and cut up my logo into pieces with the center lines and the horse's mane so I could trace them.  I did freestyle the eyes, ear, and nose since they weren't too difficult.

I finished by coloring in the orange and going back around the outline to make it thicker.  Then, I baked the plate at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

Now I have a pretty cool and unique serving plate for my Denver Bronco tailgate party!

If you were going to make one, what team would you try?

Moms Emergency Box when on the Go

Make a quick and easy emergency first aid kit for your purse when you are on the go.  Filled with the most important medicines you and your family will need, it's easy to turn a pill box into Moms Emergency Box.

DIY Colorfy Adult Coloring Page Note Cards

Turn your child's artwork into a beautiful note card they will love to send to Grandma.  This DIY shows you how to make unique note cards using the Colorfy App, your computer, and home printer...Super Easy, and Super Fun!

Easily Make your Own Superman Nail Art

Easily and quickly make your own Superman nail art look perfect for every day or birthday celebrations. It's so easy even a novice like me can do it!

How to Make your own Tile Magnets in 10 minutes or Less

How to make easy and quick Tile magnets out of your favorite Instagram pictures or quotes.  With just a few items and a short amount of time, you'll have unique Christmas gifts that everyone will love.

I love to collect quotes.

There are so many good ones out there that can lift, inspire, and help on a rotten day.  There are so many that can make me laugh outright when I need a smile.  There are so many that are profound and make me think about things other than my own problems.

I've been collecting them for years and decided to make a few into lunchbox and backpack notes for my husband and kids as they went back to school.  Do you remember that free printable I shared?

I decided to turn them into Tile Magnets to lift me up when I'm feeling down.  They are pretty easy in case you want to use them with the Free encouragement quote printable I shared, or you can use them with your favorite quotes from your Quote pinterest board, or even with your Instagram pictures. I can't wait to give those a try!

To make these, you'll need your printable with the quotes or pictures each being 2 inches square.  You'll also need countertop tiles in 2 inch size (I found mine at the local Restore but you can get them at Home Depot or Lowes in the flooring department.)  You'll also need scissors and button magnets (not shown.)

The tiles come in sheets of 2 inch squares with little "rubber" type connectors spacing them out.

You will want to bend the squares and cut along the edge of the tile with your scissors to cut the connectors off the tiles.

Next, you'll need to cut out the individual pictures for your tiles. I recommend a Fiskars Paper Trimmerbecause it makes for easy, clean cuts.  (This is one of my favorite tools of all time!)

Once your pictures are cut out, I'm going to give you the instructions on doing these tiles two different ways, depending upon the tools you have on hand.

I HIGHLY recommend getting a Xyron Sticker Maker. I use mine for so many projects and I have one in several sizes because they are another one of my favorite crafting tools.

If you have a sticker maker, you can simple run your picture squares through the tool using the Xyron Laminate/Permanent Adhesive Cartridge.  Then cut out the stickers using your scissors and place on the front of the tiles.

If you don't have a sticker maker machine (sad face), you'll need some Modge Podge.  I admit, I make my own version, since it's so easy and so very much cheaper.

To make your own version of modge podge, pour a bottom of white school glue into a small mason jar.  Refill the glue bottle with an equal amount of water.  Pour into the jar.  Add the lid securely to the mason jar and give a really good shake until the glue and water are mixed.  There!  You're done!

Now paint the front of your tile using your glue.  Just give it a light covering, you don't need it too wet.

Place your picture on the top of the tile.  Seal it with another layer of your glue on top.  The edges may curl a little, that's okay.  Just use your finger to run along the edges to secure them down.  Now let the glue dry securely.

Once you have your sticker on or your glue is dry, add your magnetic button to the center of the back of the tile.  I usually use these magnets, but when I went to Walmart, they had these adhesive magnetic buttons and I thought I'd give them a try.  They worked really good and I didn't need to use my E6000 glue, which is always nice.

 Now you're done and can use your magnets to brighten your day while they are holding up the huge list of things you need to do today.

I just LOVE how these turned out, and I know I'm going to make some with pictures from my Instagram account.  What about you?  What kind of pictures would you put on these easy DIY Tile magnets?

Plastic Canvas Gingerbread House Toaster Cover

It's A Hard Candy Christmas Candy Treats DIY

DIY to make your own Hard Candy Christmas Candy Treats.  A great addition to your Christmas candy tradition.

Some of my fondest memories of holidays are the smells and sweets that came from my childhood kitchen. My mom started making candies not long after I was born to help raise money to build a new chapel for our church.  For the next twenty years of my life, she continued to make suckers to raise money, to support our family, and finally to start her own candy store.  I think these little sweets were the start of a lifetime of candy for my family.



Yet, I admit, until now, I've never tried making hard candy treats on my own.  My own kids had no idea what I was even attempting and I felt so sad that something that had been a staple of my life, was so foreign to them.  But after trying them, we all decided they were definitely a wonderful addition to our Christmas candy treat plates for all our friends, neighbors, and family.

To make these treats you need:

2 cups Sugar
3/4 cup Water
2/3 cup Corn Syrup
1 teaspoon Candy Flavoring
food coloring

You will also need Hard Candy Sucker Mold, a Candy Thermometer, Lollipop Sucker Sticks(depending upon your candy mold), and Pam or other cooking spray.

Start by spraying your candy mold cavities with your cooking spray and placing your sucker sticks in the cavities.  Once you start working with the candy, you will need to move fast, so having this all done ahead of time will definitely save your candy.

If you want to get creative, you can use other types of molds too.  I used a Christmas Holiday Jolly Jigglers Jell-O Jiggler Mold and only filled the cavities a little full.  I also used a silicone mold of hearts and that worked great too.  Just be sure your mold is good for high temperatures.  You don't want to use a chocolate mold or something that will melt when you pour the candy into it.

Mix the sugar, water, and corn syrup in a sauce pan.  Heat on high heat until boiling.

Let the sugar mixture boil until your candy treats reach "Hard Crack Stage" which is 310 degrees.  While boiling, be sure your candy thermometer doesn't touch the bottom of your sauce pan or it'll mess up your readings.

Once your hard candy reaches 310 degrees, remove it from the heat and add your flavoring and your color.  The amount of color will depend upon how rich of a color you want for your candy treats.

Work quickly so your candy treats don't harden in the pan and pour the candy into the sucker molds.

Let the hard candy set up for a half hour or so.  When set, remove from the molds and enjoy your hard candy Christmas candy treats and a new tradition.

Puffy Paint Window Cling DIY

A fun and easy DIYactivity for children of all ages.  Make puffy paint window clings for your holiday windows using common ingredients found in your craft closet.

As my children get older, I have found that I want to give them less "things" at Christmas and more "experiences."  They have enough toys and junk around the house, but I worry with all our busy lives that they need more memories to look back on and enjoy.  It doesn't even have to be the big memories like trips to Six Flags or family vacations that they need, but memories of eggnog while watching the Thanksgiving parade, picnics during family night at the park, or sitting around the Dinning room table playing cards or creating Christmas crafts.

Aren't these the gifts of Christmas?  Or at least what they should be?  I feel like we get so busy in our lives that we forget to spend time together.  As Drama Queen nears graduation and moving out into the world, I feel panic setting in.  Are they going to look back on their childhood and remember that their family loves them?  Are they going to remember the little moments that we played and lauged together?

I hope so.  We added one more moment this week when we made our own window clings for our holiday windows.

I found this 12 pack of puffy paint at Walmart, but you can find Amazon's puffy paint here.  I liked having the variety so the kids could make anything their imaginations created.  I also grabbed a few sheets of xx paper from the kitchen cabinet and called the family together.

We sat down and started drawing with the paint onto the paper.  Mini Me had a little trouble keeping the paint an even line without pushing too hard or too soft on the paint tube.  You might need to watch your little ones with the paint if you try.

Drama Queen made an entire nativity set with her designs.  To make these successful, you need to make sure the lines all touch or the graphics are colored completely in.  Her angel's halo will be a separate piece to the set.  So keep that in mind as you're drawing.

We talked and drew for about an hour or so before being done with our designs.  We had everything from a mustache to a spider web to a Christmas ornament to the words Merry Christmas before we were done.  Then the paint needs to sit for about 24 hours to completely dry.  Once dry, you can peel them off the wax paper and use your hand to warm them so they will stick to your window.

We had a great time talking and laughing and drawing.  We will definitely do this again for other holidays and activities.  Hopefully the memories will last as long in their minds as they do in mine.  

What do you like to do with your family?