Here in the Waiting Place

Tuesday, January 1, 2013

New Year's FUN! :)

Well, a little extra time spent on New Year's fun was WELL worth it. I was going to be happy even if it was just Paul and me--hey, fun New Year's date!--but we opened our home up in case anyone was without plans. And who should show up but my BFF Lindsey?! :) I think I've got a new tradition or two tucked away for the years ahead...

...like setting up a "photobooth"-like place where even iPhone cameras can take awesome pics with a little editing.

...like eating small round foods (it's a Filipino thing, apparently--that and wearing polka dots, all of which symbolize money/wealth for the new year).

Yup, meatballs, grapes, bread with flavored butters, and Oreos...not too fancy, but delicious all the same!

...like popping confetti-filled balloons at midnight...and having fun with them after.

We had balloons to pop at each hour, as well, which (if we had bothered to actually DO most of the activities, but what are games compared to good conversation? :) got us thinking about the past year, looking forward to the next, and chaging the pace of the party. Some of the activities that we may or may not have gotten around to included playing a get-to-know-you-better game, making 2013 jars (wherein we put happy memories throughout the year to look back on NEXT New Year's Eve), dance party on the kinect, a New Year's Resolution game (everyone puts in a resolution and you try to decide whose it is...more fun for big groups :), and so on. This may or may not stick for next year, but it was a fun idea all the same. It was MORE fun to just catch up with Linds, make our 2013 jars extra special (don't have a pic of her awesome purple plaid!), nibble at the food and take LOTS of awesome pictures! :)

There's a superstition that how you spend your New Year's Day is symbolic/indicative of how you'll spend your whole year. So I hope you are all healthy, relaxed, well-off, and well-fed today being around those you love! Happy New Year!

Project 366--December 10-31!

It's a little bittersweet, posting the last of my Project 366 pages. It's been a fun experiment that I may revisit some year in the future, but for now, honestly, it's a little relieving not taking endless pictures of my dogs on days that are boring. :) I DO feel like I've only scratched the surface of what this project could be. Maybe if I get a better camera someday it could be more about the photography. Or maybe if I follow one of those "photo a day" prompts I could have more insight and variety into my life. Maybe if I developed the quickpages as I went along it could be about developing my skills as a digiscrapper. But I'm glad I did it nonetheless--I know that when I look back at this year, I'm going to see a lot of crafts, recipes, puppies, and some of my favorite things, and sprinkled in the middle of it all will be some of the fun things we did this year. That's pretty true to life. :) And I WILL keep digiscrapping, so be looking forward to quickpages, printables, hybrid projects, and more...just not as frequently as EVERY DAY. :)

Here they are, the last of the Project 366 quickpages!

December 10-16, DOWNLOAD HERE.

December 17-23, DOWNLOAD HERE

December 24-30, DOWNLOAD HERE

New Year's Eve page, DOWNLOAD HERE!

And, in case you forgot to download a cover for your album, here is a blank cover for you, with one photo to define each month. (Don't worry, THE DOWNLOAD doesn't have our family name on it. :)

HAPPY SCRAPPING, AND HAPPY NEW YEAR! :)

Monday, December 31, 2012

Book Page Bracelets!

Are you ready for possibly the EASIEST jewelry-making tutorial in the WORLD? :) Perfect for any lover of reading, writing, or words, CHEAP as all-get-out, FAST to make (I make 3 of them in an hour), and adorable to boot?

Book Page Bracelets!

Here's HOW:

1. Go to your local craft store, in the jewelry section, and find something that looks like this:

Something about a bracelet made of bezels, in any color and shape you want--at our local Hobby Lobby they were between $3 and $5/bracelet depending on the color/material/shape/size.

2. Grab pages from an thrift store book (Paul had bought one he didn't like so he gave it to me for crafting--score!) and tear out a few. Find fun words on the pages and trace the bezel shape around them, allowing for a 2-millimeter "frame" since the tracing will be larger than the cut.

3. Cut out the words (cut INSIDE your line a little so it'll fit) and glue one into each bezel--I liked the round ones instead of the square because my thumbnail fit perfectly inside it, giving me a great way to smooth out the edges. I just used plain ol' tacky glue for this part.

4. Paint over each bezel with Mod Podge, thin but well-covered. This will seal/protect the book pages from water, etc.

Wear it with pride!

You can even take the bezels apart and use them as beads for earrings, necklaces, etc...if you so desire. :)

See? I told you that was easy. In fact, it's SO easy and cheap and fun that I make several at a time and keep them handy to give away for those last-minute or I-forgot-all-about-you gifts. :) AND, I will be giving one away in my New Year's Day Giveaway, so be looking for that soon! :)

Saturday, December 29, 2012

Bleach Pen Shirts

I've seen a lot of bleach pen T-Shirts on blogs/Pinterest/by crafty friends, and I really wanted to make Paul a Star Trek shirt for Christmas...so I went with it. Since there are a lot of tutorials out there, and since it's really just a matter of drawing designs on cheap shirts with a bleach pen, I don't have much to say about it. Other than, DO IT! Get a dollar store T shirt and experiment. I want to make like a dozen more for different family members...maybe eventually. :) Just remember to keep the image fairly simple--nothing with very intricate, small details! The gel bleach pen WILL smudge a little and you don't want anything too messy.

Three things I WILL say about it:

1. Get a GEL bleach pen. It won't run as much. Also, DO draw your design in chalk first. Not only will you have a chance to change it, but it helps keep the bleach pen from running so much.
2. Don't forget the wax paper in between so the bleach doesn't run onto the bottom!
3. You DO need to wash and dry the shirt as soon as the image is set enough for your tastes, so be prepared that this isn't something you do and then come back to--about 45 minutes at the most for drawing/drying/bleaching, and then just put it in a cold washing machine. (I tried to rinse out the bleach first but the gel pen dried so well it didn't really do much, just throw it in the machine.)

Super fun, and I can't wait to try out some other designs/writing/etc. in the near future! These would be great for family tee shirts, Christmas PJ tops, fancying up a machine-washable scarf...and you can do several projects with a single bleach pen, so it's pretty budget-friendly, too! Enjoy!

Clothespin Wreath

This was another fun Pinterest find--special thanks to Craftiness is Not Optional for the inspiration! You really should check out their tutorial HERE. Since I made a few modifications to the "how," I'll add a basic step-by-step...but really do take a look at theirs, too, and decide for yourself how you want to go about it!

1. Buy your materials--clothespins (I used 40), an embroidery hoop, hot glue gun and glue, and green paint. Red ribbon optional.

2. Paint your clothespins green (see the link above for great painting tips!)

3. This is where I diverged a little from the tute above. I didn't feel like shaping a hanger or threading clothespins and beads, so I just bought an embroidery hoop for a couple of bucks (a small one, maybe 8 inches?) and hot glued the clothespins right onto it after painting it green, too. I lined up everything by gluing the metal claspy part of the clothespin onto the hoop. I also did 8 sets of five, so I tried to line them up across from each other and halfway around the hoop (in halves, then fourths, then eighths, then halfway through that and two on either side) to make sure they were more evenly spaced. It worked out pretty nicely.

4. Add a pretty bow and you're done! The nice thing about embroidery hoops is that they have a sort of built-in hole, which I used as the top and it made hanging SO EASY. I recommend it!

Looks great all by itself, but it looks even better filled with all your Christmas cards from friends and family!

Clothespins: $0.99 for 40.
Embroidery Hoop: $3.59
Paint: $0.47
Hot glue and ribbon: from stash.
TOTAL COST: $5.05

Can't beat that! It would be even cheaper if you were recycling/repurposing these materials from around the house or other projects! I love that I now have a fun way to display all those holiday cards every year...and it motivates me to actually send some out in the snail mail, too!

4-sided (4-season) decor!

I finally got around to making my 4-season stackables! I loved this idea from the moment I saw it because (a) I like cute, handmade things, and (b) I live in an apartment so I don't have the space to store a lot of cute things. :) I haven't put any vinyl lettering (I'm gonna go with white eventually) on them yet, because I'm indecisive about fonts and words and such right now, but they look pretty awesome as-is. So maybe they won't get any vinyl at ALL 'til next year? :)

Anywho, I found a few variations of this idea via Pinterest (check out HERE, HERE, HERE, and HERE)...because some of those links give tutorials or even an option to buy for various holidays, I won't go into TOO much detail here. But there is a general idea/to-do list below the pictures if you're interested in the short version. :)

Basically I bought some wood--I went with 4x4s from Home Depot (get the cheap wood, it's not for building--I got an 8 foot length cut down for about $9 total! I loved that they would cut them for me, although I know most people get much thinner wood...also, I liked that I could make them HUGE and the 12x12 paper I bought would cover 3 sets...great for Christmas presents! Cut your wood (whatever sizes you want, I used 6", 8", and 10" blocks) and sand all edges down as smoothly as you like.

Paint or stain the blocks in the color of your choosing.

Purchase and cut to size 3 scrapbook papers (I really recommend 12"x12", you can always use the leftover scraps for future art/decor that matches) for EACH holiday you pick. I liked the white trim around the blocks to make it more uniform so I cut the paper 1/2" shorter than the length of each wood piece. I chose Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Valentine's Day papers, although if you want to do other holidays--St. Pat's, Easter, 4th of July, back-to-school time even--go for it! :)

Mod Podge your papers on, under AND over the paper, one side at a time with at least 2 hours of drying time between each side. TIP: Unless you're going to also seal it with some sort of sealer, I HIGHLY recommend storing/stacking these with a thin sheet of wax paper between each block. At least for the first year of use. Mod Podge can be temperamental, especially if you store it in a box in the garage/shed with weather changes, and you don't want to have to pry them apart and possibly tear your paper!

Finally, if you so desire, add vinyl lettering to each side. Enjoy!

Wednesday, December 26, 2012

2012 Crafts...an overview. :)

In the spirit of reflection and resolutions, here are some of my favorite crafts/projects from the year (with links below where applicable). I can only hope to improve in 2013!