Ribbon and Brad Flowers

I was inspired at my card class last Thursday night to make a few new pieces.  We made a card using these fancy ribbon flowers you'll see below--Some of us thought they would make gorgeous hair accessories.  I created a couple of headbands and one bracelet.  Let me know if you'd like to see a tutorial--They take less than 5 minutes to make, so I definitely plan to make more!

Butterfly Flutter

I finally got my butterfly punch from Stampin' Up.  Wahoo!  Aren't you excited to see what I made?  I got the inspiration here, but changed it up a little bit.  I put my butterflies into a shadow box, as it seemed a little bit more like the real butterfly display cases I've seen.  I also liked the depth of the box, as well as the glass cover.  Let's be honest--If I had left those butterflies out, we all know what my dear, darling, always well-intentioned children would have done with them!  My daughter fell in love with this, after waking up to find it hanging next to her bed.  I'm pretty happy with it too.

All of the paper came from Stampin' Up's Tea Party paper pack.  I love how well all of the patterns go together--There's a perfect blend of dark and soft colors.  Just right for butterflies!  I used a glue gun to glue their bodies to the paper, giving a 3-D look to the wings.  I also used the glue gun to glue the purple paper directly to the back of the frame.  Easy and beautiful.  What more could I ask for?

I'm linking up to:

Cupcake Clock

I continue to have a major infatuation with cupcakes.  Not only can they taste amazing, they can look adorable just about anywhere.  Remember this mirror?  I casually glanced towards my fabric this afternoon, only to find the leftover cupcake scraps calling my name.  Loudly.  Lucky for me, I found a clock in our basement that the glass front had fallen off of, which had also called my name earlier in the day.  And so, after some very simple crafting, I now have a fantastic cupcake clock to hang in my kitchen, perfectly matched to my sweet cupcake mirror.  It's the simple pleasures in life, people.  It really is.

I'm linking up to:

Summer Door Decor

As June arrived, I realized that my Happy Spring front door decor wasn't all that appropriate anymore.  Let me show you what I came up with!

Supplies:
Watering Can
Red Spray Paint
Patriotic Window Cling
Flowers (Fake or Real)
Glossy Mod Podge
Paintbrush

This is how my watering can started out.  (I got it at JoAnn's for $5, in case you want one too!)

I began by spray painting the entire watering can red.  I used a fairly light coat, as the base was reddish to begin with.  I did spray the inside, but only the top section that's easily visible.

Go grab your window clings!

(I'm using the house.)

Hang the watering can on the door to determine the best location for the window cling.  Hold it in place after you remove the watering can from the door (so you know where to put the Mod Podge).

Paint a thin layer of Mod Podge directly onto the watering can, trying to match the shape of the cling as best you can.

Carefully lay the window cling over the Mod Podge.  Now the cling is going to be slippery!  To remove the air bubbles, hold the window cling in place with one hand, while you press out the bubbles with the other hand.  You really want to get rid of those bubbles, as they will be visible under the cling if you don't.  (You can see a lot of air bubbles in the photo below, but I promise I got them all out!)

LET THE MOD PODGE COMPLETELY DRY.  The cling will slide around if you move onto the next step before the Mod Podge is dry.  (Don't ask me how I know that...)

Once the Mod Podge is totally dry, paint another layer of Mod Podge over the top of the window cling.

Let that Mod Podge dry completely as well.

Fill the watering can with flowers and hang it on your door!  Now you've got a lovely summer door decoration--Easy as pie, right?

HAPPY SUMMER!

I'm linking up to:

My First Guest Blogger: Amy from Mod Podge Rocks!

I'm so happy to be blog swapping with Amy today!  Amy is the Mod Podge Queen--She hosts lots of Mod Podge giveaways, features some crazy stuff, and can do just about anything with Mod Podge.  Please stop by Mod Podge Rocks to see all of Amy's amazing work, and to check out my Father's Day Coaster Tutorial.

Well hallo! It's Amy from Mod Podge Rocks. Emily has so kindly invited me to do a Mod Podge project for you, so I'm here to show you the latest. I'm always Mod Podging something, but hardly ever on glass - I wanted to show you that Mod Podging on glass works well too! If you know me already, the the polka dots and color blue won't surprise you.
Not a bit.
These are decoupaged glass containers, recycled and given a new life. They can now hold anything really, but I like them sitting in the window. I took a pic for you outside so you can see how pretty they are when the light shines through the tissue paper. Aw yeah!
So how did I make them? I started with the glass jars above, which I got from a friend who wasn't using them. I washed them to make sure the oils were off of the surface. I also grabbed:
-tissue paper
-die cutter (or some other way to make circles/shapes)
-Mod Podge Gloss
-flat paintbrush
That's all you need!
First grab your tissue paper. I had an assortment of colors, and you can buy tissue in colored packs at craft stores. After that, you are going to want to make your shapes. I do have a Sizzix Big Shot, but I was crafting at a different location - so I pulled out this antique Sizzix machine and grabbed one of my circle dies. You don't have to cut circles, and you don't even need a Big Shot! You can cut random shapes freeform, use templates to trace and cut particular shapes or you can even tear the tissue. It's up to you.
See my circles? I love die cutters. I couldn't cut a circle correctly if my life depended on it. Cut enough shapes in enough colors and varying sizes that you have a lot to choose from. Set them to the side.
You are welcome to be organized about the entire process, but dear readers, you know me way better than that by now. I simply picked tissue paper circles in random shapes and sizes and stuck them on wherever. You don't need a ton of Mod Podge because the paper is so thin. My technique was to paint Mod Podge directly on the glass, place a circle down and then go over it lightly with Mod Podge.
Here's the blue one. Coat gently - you don't want to tear the tissue. Keep layering all the way around until you have covered the entire jar. Allow to dry for about 20 minutes.
Oh, the lids are up to you. On the blue one I left it plain, and on the purple one I put one circle in the middle.
After the first round is dry, give the outside a medium coat of Mod Podge all the way around. You can see that I had some little wrinkles in my tissue paper - don't worry at all! They are hardly visible when the project is dry, and it adds to the character. I've NEVER Mod Podge tissue without a few wrinkles.
Here's the finished product in the sun! Look at the pretty blue.
The purple is so awesome.
Thank you so much to Emily and to MS readers for having me. If you are a beginning Podger or just need some inspiration, head my way to Mod Podge Rocks. There are more projects than you can shake a stick at. We'd love to see you!

Thank you so much, Amy!

Come See Me @Tatertots and Jello!

Good morning!  Come visit me at Tatertots and Jello if you want to learn how to make this:

See you there!