Glitter Origami Elephant Ornament Tutorial

I hate wasting wrapping paper.  You know when you cut the paper to fit a present and have a little bit left that is too small to wrap another present?  This is the perfect use for it: origami elephant ornaments.

Make these cute origami elephants this holiday.  I made a few to put on my stocking hangers and I also make some for our Christmas tree.  Origami ornaments are the best because they are cheap, they pack up small and they can be cute too.  

To make this ornament I used gold glitter wrapping paper scraps.  See my video tutorial here.

These little elephants are so cute I may keep them up year round.

Old Denim Corner Heart Bookmark

I have a lot of old jeans and scraps from jeans that I've hemmed.  Most of the old jeans go to the salvation army, but the jean scraps stay in a small pile.  I usually use fabric remnants as dusting rags, but denim is too rough for dusting.  Perhaps a denim quilt, or maybe headband, but both items not really within my taste or style.  I love my jeans, but I think they only belong on the lower half of my body.  I never really saw the appeal on the denim on denim look.  Justin Timberlake (image is of Justin's denim suit) is the only one that could pull that one off.

This weekend I thought of a great way to use my jean scraps.  I cut them into heart shapes and made a corner bookmark.  To keep the jeans from fraying at the edges I applied a thin layer of mod podge onto the back of the hearts.

Apply mod podge to the back side of fabric and let dry.  Using a needle and some thread or dmc floss sew bottom half of heart together.

elsa anna disney princess video playdoh

The Cheese Thief's Whereabouts x2 and a Small Tutorial

My dear readers, some of you may be wondering where I have been, others who have been reading this blog since the beginning might have an idea about my sudden disappearance from the blogosphere. The last time I took a hiatus from blogging I was pregnant with my second daughter. So this departure from blogging is no different from the first.  It's just multiplied by two.  While I was away from blogging I was busy "making" twins!

So introducing the two new members of my family Nathan and Owen.

Needless to say I've been busy.  My family of four turned into a family of six before a blink of an eye, and I have not had any time to craft.  I did manage to put together one tutorial today that I would like to share.  I purchased this clay/ play dough eraser making kit a while back and have been wanting to try it.  I couldn't come back into blogging without posting at least one tutorial :)  Enjoy! See video tutorial below or here.

Macaron eraser diy.  So fun!

This kit is the Sculpey eraser clay. The kit I bought is sold out on Amazon, but there are other types on Amazon.  This one looks like the same kit but in a different package.

To make the macaron, roll out one ball and two cylinder "snake" shapes.  The ball size is dependent on what size you want your macron.  I rolled out a .75 inch ball.  The snakes should be long enough to wrap around the circumference of the ball.

Cut the ball in half.  Remold the ball edges into nice half spheres, as cutting the will mush them a bit.

Wrap snakes around sphere.

Add texture to snake shape.  See video tutorial for exactly how I do this

Take alternate color and create flat circle shape for filling.

Bake according to instructions.  Again see video tutorial for exact instructions and tips.

I do hope to start up blogging again, but having four kids takes up the majority of my time.  I truly want to thank all the readers that are reading this post for sticking by my blog even when I haven't. Happy crafting!

How to Package your Presents for Mailing

This post brought to you by Duck Brand provided by ShurTech Brands, LLC. All opinions are 100% mine.
I'm proud to say that I have gotten 90 percent of my Christmas shopping complete for this year. The buying part was easy, the mailing part I have not gotten around to just yet.  I always think that how you wrap a present is just as important as whats inside the box.  I participated in an advent swap this year (more to come on that later), but I had to mail 12 small presents to another person selected for me randomly.  I wrapped all her presents medticusly as seen below:


For the out side of the box I really wanted to package it it with something nicer than regular packaging tape. This is where EZ Start Printed Packaging Tape was so handy.  It added some holiday cheer to the outside of an ordinary brown box.  At first I was going to use wrapping paper on the box, but I read on the delivery sites that it's not recomended because the paper may fall off.  This tape was a great way to keep the package secure yet make it look nice.  The tape is strong packaging tape with pretty designs on it..
EZ Start® Printed Packaging Tape is available in the following designs Peppermint, Ornaments, Daisy and Paisley.

Duck Brand® are the makers of EZ Start® Printed Packaging Tape.  They are on Twitter @TheDuckBrand

Remember to stop by and follow @TheDuckBrand for tons of inspiration when you do your holiday packing.

I'd love to see how you use EZ Start Printed Packaging Tape.  Be sure to pin your ideas using hashtag #EZstart

No One Puts Baby In the Corner (DIY Onesie Tutorial)

Any Dirty Dancing fans out there?  If you've never seen Dirty Dancing then you probably won't understand this onesie.  It's a line that Johnny (Patrick Swayze) says to Baby before he takes her to dance.

I thought it would be funny to put this quote onto a onesie for my daughter.  There are lots of tutorials on the web where you can use freezer paper to iron on a template and then paint over it.  I didn't have any freezer paper so decided to try using contact paper instead.  For those of you who aren't familiar with contact paper, it's like a big vinyl sticker.  I used my Cricut cut to cut the words and stuck the template onto the prewashed onesie.

Another thing I didn't have was fabric paint.  I googled to try to find if I could use acrylic paint instead of fabric paint, but most websites didn't have an answer, so I decided to try it anyways.  So can you use acrylic paint as a substitute for fabric paint?  Yes!  It worked out for my project.  You want acrylic paint that is not too runny or else it will seep underneath your fabric.

Alexis in her new onesie.

Cut out words using cricut or any die cutting machine.

Remove backing from contact paper.  Remember to save off the insides of the "e", "o", "b" etc.

Stick contact paper onto onesie.  Rub the sticker on securely, especially on the edges.

Use fabric or acylic paint to paint on the letters.  Make sure your paint is not too runny.

I actually wanted the first word to be pink and the rest of the words to be brown, but brown was hard to work with so I made everything pink.  Since the onesie is white, using a lighter color was easier because you don't need to get full coverage.  You could miss some spots and no one would notice.

Pulling the contact paper off.  Yay! Clean lines.

Be sure to iron on the paint to set it.  

Kids Art Display Monogram Idea

I just found a really old post from 2011 that I never published.  I really need to organize my blog better! I'm publishing it now, back then I didn't have a Cricut so I hand cut out the monogram with a craft knife.  You could probably do cooler cutouts with a die cut machine.

I'm at the point in parenting where I have to figure out what to do with all the "art" Avery makes for me. I am not usually a sentimental person, but since I became a mom I have become more sentimental. Here is what I came up with on how to display one of her pieces of art.

I created a letter cutout using her art as the backdrop and the frame backing as the letter.

Avery's artwork on the left.  Finished piece on right.

Print out large letter on paper and place on top of artwork.  Tape in place and using an exacto knife, cut out the letter.  If your knife is not sharp you have to apply more pressure because you have to cut through two layers (the template and the art). If you have a fancy cutting machine you could use that too.  

DIY Custom Iphone Case (Cheap and Easy)

I love the custom iphone cases from Shutterfly, but at 35 dollars each they are on the pricey side.  I found a way to replicate this look for only 4 dollars.  I purchased a clear TPU iphone case off ebay but you can also get it off amazon.  The case was only $3.18 and it was delivered within three days.  To customize the case just cut out a image using the case as a template and slip it into the case.  Couldn't be easier.  And the best part?  It's interchangeable, if you get tired of one picture just cut out another.

This would make a great present for grandparents, relatives or friends.  I'm thinking of making one for a friend who recently got married.  If you have photoshop you could create some awesome designs.

Custom Iphone case for less than 4 dollars.

I used printer printed pictures, but you could also develop images or
even use magazine clippings or anything you wanted.

Trace the case template.

Cut out the image and the trace the camera opening.

Use a craft knife and cut out the opening, then slip image into case.

DIY Extra Large Letter Stamps

I made these stamps for Avery, the entire project only cost one dollar.  All you need is foam letters (I purchased these letters at the dollar tree).  Glue the letters (wrong side up) onto pieces of foam or wood, and easy peasy, large letter stamps for your kids.

I have old foam that I saved from packages I received.  You could also use wood or cardboard.

The foam was very messy to cut!  So have a vacuum handy.

Glue the right side and stick the letter onto the foam.

Extra Large Stars Party Favors

Here is a twist on the origami stars, fill them with candy or small toys for party favors. I used wrapping paper that was 4 inches wide by 40 inches long. Avery loved these large stars and it wasn't too long before she shook them and realized there was a surprise inside. Here is my video on how to fold these stars.

Chocolate Dipped Strawberries Recipe

Happy Valentine's Day!

Every Valentine's Day I make chocolate dipped strawberries for my husband.  The first time I made it my husband at the entire plate, and every Valentine's Day after that he would ask me "are you going to make chocolate dipped strawberries this year?"  Making chocolate dipped strawberries is one of those things that is simple I don't know why people would actually go out and buy them.  Strawberries are always on sale around here during Valentine's Day also.  I purchased a pound for 1.50 at Ralphs (Kroger in some parts of the country).  

To melt chocolate follow the instructions here: http://www.thecheesethief.com/2011/09/chocolate-covered-gummy-bears-recipe.html but do not add butter.  The basic instructions are for 1 lb of strawberries melt 6 oz of chocolate in a microwave safe bowl for 40 seconds.  Take out and stir with spatula for 30 seconds, reheat for 15 second intervals if chocolate is not melted enough.  

Two key things you want to do are:

1.  Wash the strawberries and thoroughly dry them.  You do not want any moisture on the strawberries.  Use a kitchen towel and go through each one to make sure they are completely dry.

2.  Let the strawberries sit at room temperature for about an hour or two.  This will help so you do not have to keep reheating your chocolate.

3.  DO NOT burn the chocolate.  Heat only as necessary.

I cannot stress enough how important it is to have dry strawberries.  Moisture is the enemy of chocolate.

Melt chocolate in mug.

Stir until smooth.

Dip strawberry in wiggle back and forth gently a couple of times to get a good coat.

Pull strawberry up and place on parchment paper, foil or silicone baking sheet to cool.

Let cool in fridge for 15 min or on counter top for an hour.