Glass Bead Magnets + Organza Bag = cute & cheap gift!

I made a bunch of sets of glass bead magnets for my kids' teachers for Christmas this year and put three in a little organza bag, cut out a cute holiday design on card stock for the tag, and voila!  Super cute and super cheap holiday gift and all the teachers loved them!

Here's my original post on the magnets. Though, after making many of these, I highly recommend the stronger magnets.  As my further "scientific" testing has proven that they definitely work better to hold themselves and other items to the fridge.

You can Google holiday clip art to find a shape to print out on card stock for the tag if you're not one for drawing one yourself.

Also, I bought 100 organza bags for cheap on Amazon, like $8 or so.

Chalk Board Message Magnets

I thought up this idea by combining several crafts I saw on Pinterest, and after several trial and error attempts, I came up with a design that I was pretty proud of.  My fabulous and super-supportive cousin-in-law even ordered 30 of them from me for her work's holiday party.  She used them for place markers at the luncheon and wrote everyone's name on them.

For one message magnet, you need the following:

- Piece of chalk
- Clothes pin
- Magnet for back of clothes pin
- Gorilla glue or super glue to adhere magnet to clothes pin
- Small piece of scrapbook paper to decorate the clothes pin
- Mod Podge to adhere paper to clothes pin
- Canning lid - I use the larger size
- Magnet for back of canning lid
- Chalkboard contact paper cut in a circle for front of canning lid
- Piece of ribbon tied in a bow to decorate lid
- Hot glue to adhere ribbon to lid
- Decorated Bottle cap - you can do this in a variety of ways - see my post on bottle caps.
- Magnet for back of bottle cap

Step 1: Clothes pin

Take a clothes pin and cut a piece of scrapbook paper the size of the clothes pin.  Use Mod Podge to adhere paper to clothes pin and then also put a layer on top of paper to seal it in.  Let dry. Gorilla glue or super glue magnet to back of clothes pin.  Once it's all dry, clip your chalk in the clothes pin.

Step 2: Canning lid

Cut out a circular size of chalkboard contact paper and adhere to middle of canning lid.  Adhere magnet to back of lid using gorilla glue. Let dry overnight. Use a drop of hot glue to place ribbon on the top front of lid.

Step 3: Bottle Cap Magnet

You can make this in a variety of ways.  Use Mod Podge to glue a piece of scrapbook paper in the center and let dry. Then, top with a resin dot or with Mod Podge Dimensional Magic (my new favorite crafting supply). Once that's dry, use gorilla glue to adhere magnet to back.  Even if you buy the self stick magnets, you will still want to glue it on.  They don't always hold for very long.  Let the glue dry overnight.

Step 4: Put it all together!

Here's what 30 of them look like (these are the ones for my cousin-in-law's co-workers - they're teachers, hence the apple theme):

  

DIY Bean Bag Toss (Cornhole) Game - using a Diaper Box

I took on my first sewing project the other week and made some little 4" bean bags (DIY Mini Bean Bags) for the kids to play with, then my husband said we needed a bean bag toss game to go with it.  So, I grabbed a baby diaper box and decided to make my own.  It only requires a box, scissors or box cutter, and a measuring tape or ruler.

First, I turned the box right side up and cut off the four flaps.

Then, I turned it upside down and cut the holes where I wanted.  I used an exacto knife and a circle cutter to make my circle, but you could easily trace something like a round lid, to get a round shape.  

Next, I measured down the back side of the box (the side closest to the holes that I cut)

 and made marks on each edge 8" down and down the front side of the box I made marks on each edge at 4" down, then connected the dots and cut off that part of the box to get an angled shape.  

Voila!  A bean bag toss game! 

In case you were wondering, the rules I saw on bagtoss.com said that the slit hole is worth 5 points, the round hole is worth 3 points and landing on the surface is worth 1 point.

DIY Counting Bean Bags

DIY Counting Bean Bags

After I made the DIY Mini Bean Bags, I decided I'd try out the Counting Bean Bags tutorial. If you didn't read the Mini Bean Bags blog, I used these two websites to teach myself to sew: How to Sew and Blanket Stitch Tutorial Video since these were my first go-rounds with sewing.

Materials needed:

- squares of fabric - two per bean bag (use the 4 1/2" square template in the Counting Bean Bags tutorial for ease)

- fabric to cut out numbers from

- iron-on adhesive to apply numbers to bean bag (she uses cotton muslin & adhesive backed light fusible web instead, but I did it the easy way)
- needle and thread
- scissors
- beans (I used pinto beans because they were the cheapest medium sized beans I could find)

Instructions:

1. Prepare your numbers to be ironed on by printing the stencils on card stock and tracing them backwards on the iron-on adhesive.  Then, follow the iron-on adhesive instructions to adhere the number to the back side of the fabric and cut out the number.  You can now place the number on your square of fabric and iron it in place.  Do this for each of your counting bean bags, then follow the rest of the instructions which are the same as the Mini Bean Bag instructions.

*I actually used my Mother-in-law's sewing machine for the counting bean bags (and got one of my first sewing machine lessons in the process), but if you don't have access to one, then follow these steps, as I did for my first set of bean bags.

2. Take two squares of fabric and place them with the front sides touching and the back sides facing out.  Pin the pieces together around the perimeter.

This shows a complete bean bag and one that is pinned.

3. Thread your needle (use "How to Sew" link to see different choices - I like double thread) - and secure one end with a knot.

4. Sew around 3 1/2 sides with a back stitch (on "How to Sew" link) leaving a hole to fill with beans.  If you want your bean bags uniform, make sure to leave the hole in the same place on each bean bag.  I left a hole in the bottom center of mine under the numbers.

Front side of "back stitch"

  

Back side of "back stitch"

5. Turn material right side out and fill with beans.

6. Sew around entire bean bag again with a whip stitch or a blanket stitch (watch Blanket Stitch Tutorial Video).

7. You now have a set of counting bean bags!

DIY Mini Bean Bags

I decided to teach myself to hand sew on Friday (my first time ever to sew) and the first project I wanted to make was a set of mini bean bags for the kids to play with.  I got the bean bag idea from this website (it was Gift #21): 100 Days of Homemade Christmas Gifts .  Here's the direct link: Making Bean Bags .  I also used this bean bag tutorial because she had templates to trace and cut out the fabric with: Counting Bean Bags . I used these two websites to teach myself to sew How to Sew and Blanket Stitch Tutorial Video because, this being my first attempt at it, I obviously don't own a sewing machine.


Materials needed:

- squares of fabric - two per bean bag (use the 4 1/2" square template in the Counting Bean Bags tutorial for ease)
- needle and thread
- scissors
- beans (I used pinto beans because they were the cheapest medium sized beans I could find)

Instructions:

1. Take two squares of fabric and place them with the front sides touching and the back sides facing out.  Pin the pieces together around the perimeter.

This shows a complete bean bag and one that is pinned.

2. Thread your needle (use "How to Sew" link to see different choices - I like double thread) - and secure one end with a knot.

3. Sew around 3 1/2 sides with a back stitch (on "How to Sew" link) leaving a hole to fill with beans.

Front side of "back stitch"

  

Back side of "back stitch"

4. Turn material inside out and fill with beans.

5. Sew around entire bean bag again with a whip stitch or a blanket stitch (watch Blanket Stitch Tutorial Video).

6. You now have a cute mini bean bag!  Yeah!

DIY Bottle Cap Necklace

I wanted to make some cute necklaces with my bottle caps - I have been making plenty of magnets as of late.  So, I flipped them over so the color of the cap would show and adhered scrapbook paper to that side with the resin dot on top. Then I punched a hole in the top, and now I just need a necklace - on my crafting wish-list! 

Here's my list of supplies:

Bottle Cap

Aleene's Turbo Tacky Glue (You could use some Aleene's Clear Gel Tacky glue to seal in the edges of the paper to the bottle cap, which I tried on 2 of these, but I don't know that it's necessary.)

Scrapbook Paper cut with 1" hole punch

Glitter Glue (For a little extra bling bling)

Resin dot

Euro Metal Hole Punch Pliers 1.8mm (to punch hole in bottle cap)

(I don't have the jump rings or necklaces yet, but plan on getting 8mm jump rings and organza ribbon necklaces)

Rock N Roll Lamp

This is a lamp that I bought at Target.  It was just a plain white lamp and I decorated it with Rock N Roll stickers for my son's room, which is a Rock N Roll theme.  Then I painted a bunch of layers of Mod Podge over it so the stickers would stay on.  

DIY Bottlecap Magnets

I also have been making some bottle cap magnets.  I tell my husband if I can't find enough people to give magnets to, or to sell them to, we are going to need a bigger refrigerator!  I am addicted to making magnets!

Here are the supplies I used:
Resin dots
Scrapbook paper/stickers
Glitter Glue
Mod Podge
Bottle Cap
Gorilla Glue/Neodymium Rare Earth Magnet OR Aleene's Magnetic Tacky Dot


I attached the scrapbook paper/stickers to the bottle cap using a bit of mod podge.  Then I placed the resin dot on top and added the magnet to the back.  I spruced up the TCU set with a ring of glitter glue.  Here's a picture of my "collegiate" bottle caps - TCU is my alma mater and my two youngest sisters attend Texas Tech.  Now I need a University of Houston and a University of Florida set for my other two sisters!

Here's some more bottle caps I made - I didn't add magnets yet because I'm thinking of turning some of them in to necklaces, but I haven't gotten supplies for that yet.  It's on my never-ending crafting to-do list.  Also, I bought some Aleene's Tacky Glue that was on sale at Michael's and that is what I used this time to adhere the paper to the bottle cap.  Seems to be working just fine.  :-)

DIY Glass Magnets

When I got bit by the crafting bug a couple weeks back, this was actually the first project that I did.  I have been making them ever since.  I'm addicted to these!  Here's the link to the tutorial. 

http://twogirlsbeingcrafty.blogspot.com/2011/04/diy-glass-magnets-alternative-to-gift.html

In addition, I covered the back side of the paper and in the crack between the paper and glass bead with more Mod Podge just to seal it all in before I stuck the magnet on.   

Oh and as far as magnets go, I tested both Neodymium Rare Earth (adhered with Gorilla Glue) and Magnetic Tacky Dots (the kind you just peel and stick - shown in picture below) and they both hold the magnet to the refrigerator.  However, the Neodymium Rare Earth Magnet will hold up to 6 sheets of paper, and the Tacky Dot will hold up to 2 sheets of paper while sticking to the fridge.

Fabric covered boxes

I have decided this week that my favorite mediums are Mod Podge and fabric.  So, I took two cardboard boxes from my Amazon.com shipment that just came in (full of crafting supplies, of course) and a Blue Diamond Almonds can and lathered them up with some Mod Podge and stuck on the fabric that I had pre-cut to fit.  I got the idea from this link/tutorial that I found on Pinterest:

 http://mallorypaige.com/fabric-covered-boxes/

These are my first attempts, but now when I look at any empty container, I think, hmm, what could I use that for if I covered it in fabric?  I have already cut some 64oz juice bottles in half and I'm gonna cover the bottom half in fabric to make some nice sized containers.

Crazy Moms' Crafternoons Round One

I just got home from my first "Crazy Moms' Crafternoons" session with my cousin-in-law, Lisanne.  We decided to make a weekly craft, so we'll see if we can keep it up next week!  haha

 I made this on 8X8 scrapbook paper with my 2 year old and 11 month old's hands that I traced on another piece of scrapbook paper.  Then, I just glued it all together.  It still needs a frame - seeing as I have been living at Michael's lately, I'll pick one up the next time I'm there. ;-)