Purple Table

Not too long ago my sweet husband may have mentioned that I have an apparent hoarding problem.  I probably inherited it from my Mama. You should see the amazing house I grew up in. I'll save that for a future blog. 

Back to my hoarding tendencies.... I made a deal with my husband that I would only craft with things I already have. This will help me get rid of some things as well as save money since I won't be buying new materials.  (Note: this project is from a few months ago. I have since continued to buy crafting supplies.  Some habits are hard to break)

I decided to reinvent this little side table. It was fairly easy. I simply sanded it a bit, removed the hardware,  then spray painted it a funky color. I'm pretty impressed with the results. Purple with lime green hardware.  Now I have a cute table next to my sewing machine.  

I was thinking of doing my whole craft room in purple and green, but my hubby said it reminded him of The Joker. Since I'm not going for a Superhero theme, I'll use different colors for the walls.

"If music be the food of love, play on...."

Shakespeare said it well. Although I am rendering the actual music aspect of the album useless. But my husband and I have all these vinyl albums that we can't sell on ebay, so my crazy brain started to think of things I could do with them.

If only Shakespeare had had Pinterest. I found this easy idea. Make musical bowls!  Perfect for any music loving friends in your life.

The process is easy.
"Words are easy like the wind; Faithful friends are hard to find."
And if you find faithful friends, you should make them this awesome vinyl bowl.

What you need:
Vinyl album
Oven-safe bowl
Baking sheet
Bowl for molding your album

What to do:
Preheat your oven to 200 degrees.

Place the bowl upside down on baking sheet. Place album on top.

Bake for 3 minutes.  Or until edges of album start to droop. Be careful not to bake too long or it will get smelly, release toxic fumes and ruin your baking sheet. Not to mention your day as your house will smell awful!

You must work fast. Place album in a second bowl and press down. Use your fingers to mold the sides into the shape you want. It's not too hot to touch. Let cool. Presto! You have one rockin bowl (that you must not actually eat out of, unless your friends are fickle, but I don't codone poisoning anyone... in this blog).

Makes a great gift! If you don't have any vinyl,  hit a few yard sales. If you don't have any friends,  keep it for yourself.  Spoiler alert! This is probably what everyone will be getting for Christmas.

"The man that hath no music in himself. ... Let no such man be trusted."
That being said, you should totally trust your friends.  This blog was not written to make you all paranoid.  Now if you'll excuse me, I have some toxic fumes to release.

Sugar Cubed Fortunes!

A great marriage is not when the 'perfect couple' comes together. It is when an imperfect couple learns to enjoy their differences. -Dave Meurer
One of my favorite wedding gifts was this....

They are individually wrapped sugar cubes with sweet little sayings on the inside. The gift came from my dear friend Sandrine Tolzzi (one of my bridesmaids). Sandy is from France and we first met many years ago when she came to live with my family as an exchange student in High School. This handmade gift has meant a lot to me (and my husband).

Each morning when we have our coffee or tea we would open up one or two of these sweet little things! The notes were hand written by Sandy and were mostly quotes. I loved the gift so much that when my nephew (Austin Cody) sent us an invitation to his wedding, I knew this was exactly what I wanted to create for him and his bride (Margaret).

I put a twist on it and not only used many quotes from the cubes Sandy gave us (I've saved them all), but also put words of wisdom (I am an expert now as I've been married almost 2 years... okay, almost an expert). I even got my husband, step-son, and brother-in-law to add a few funny comments! We had so much fun working on these little sugar cubes. They certainly added a little je ne sais quoi to our wedding gift.

What you need:
Sugar cubes
Tin
Scrapbook papers
Tape
Pretty ink pen or marker
Lots of time (you can do the cutting and wrapping while watching your favorite tv show)

They are very easy to make, but a little time consuming. I opted for sugar in the raw cubes. I used wedding themed scrapbook paper and cut them into little 2x2 inch squares. I bought the tin at The Container Store. They have all different sizes, so depending on how much time you want to invest you can go as big or a small as you want.

After I cut out all the squares, I started writing my quotes. Like I said, I copied several from Sandy. But I added a few more. I really like http://www.quotationspage.com/ After you write your quotes grab some clear tape and wrap each cube (or you can put 2 cubes in one) like a tiny package. Also, even though I don't have a final product photo. I photocopied their engagement photo and shrank it to fit in the window of the tin. It really gave it a nice touch.

With a gift like this, your friends will think of you every time they share a cup of coffee or tea in the morning. Plus the little words of wisdom will inspire them to have a great day!

Marriage is a great institution, but I'm not ready for an institution yet. -Mae West

A marriage is always made up of two people who are prepared to swear that only the other one snores -Terry Prachett

A good marriage is one which allows for change and growth in the individuals and in the way they express their love. -Pearl S. Buck

Ombre Scarves

So finally a blog about an actual craft! I found these cute Infinity Scarves at the GAP. With the help of a coworker and fellow crafter, Melissa Medrano, we decided we could make these ourselves. So here is how we did it:

First, you need to make some tea. I needed a wake-up call and opted for Earl Grey with honey. Yum!

Next, get your gear!
Rit Dye- I bought Navy Rit Dye as they were out of purple. But as you'll see, the scarves turned out a nice purple anyway! Lucky me!
Rubber Gloves- (unless you want to have purple hands... which is very in fashion this summer).
Salt- cheap table salt is perfect
Bucket- 3 gallon size
T-shirts- I used XL, but next time I will definitely use XXL or even XXXL if I can find them cheap enough.
Magic wand optional

Bubble, bubble, toil and trouble!
Put on your gloves to start the magic. In your large witches pot (or bucket) pour in 1/2 cup of rit dye, 1 cup salt and 4 cups boiling water. Stir well, preferably while singing and dancing with all your witchy woman powers. But be careful as all that spontaneous movement may cause dye to splatter about and it is very permanent! Add 1-2 gallons hot tap water. Now you are ready to get your hands in it!

Wet the t-shirt under the tap and squeeze out all the water you can. The put just a portion (1/4) of the t-shirt in the dye and set the timer for 10 minutes. Next, dip in the next portion (1/2 way) and set timer for 4 minutes. Go ahead and dip the next portion (3/4) in for 2 minutes. Finally, submerge the entire thing for just a bit to get it all soaked through. Rinse thoroughly under cool water being sure to hold the lighter color up so the dye rinses down through the darker parts. This part takes several minutes, so make sure you have some good music playing or perhaps a riveting episode of your favorite show (Little House on the Prairie).

Add some color to your yard by hanging the t-shirts outside to dry in the sun. Yes, your neighbors may comment, but this will give them a real reason to think you are weird. After they dry, wash them (alone as the colors do bleed) on cold with 1/2 a cup of salt to help the colors set.

And voila! You have a beautiful Ombre Infinity Scarf!

Up next... a crafty wedding gift!

Foley High Class of '95 Most Crafty Senior

Yes, it's true. I was voted the Most Crafty Senior girl of 1995. I know, hard to believe I graduated high school that long ago! But I did. I wasn't even crafty back then. My classmates just wanted to make sure I got into the Who's Who of Foley High. Turns out they must have known something I didn't at the time. Because now I'm a crafting fool! ;)

Brainstorming with one of my crafty co-workers one day, we had a great idea. Lots of people are in Book Clubs, why don't we start a Craft Club? A group of friends getting together trying out fun crafts and sharing ideas. Thus, Craft-Tea Time began. 

This blog is a way for us to keep friends up to date on our projects and maybe make some new friends in the process. Without further ado... let the crafting commence!