If You've Ever Wondered What Glue to Use..Here is your Resource!

I can't tell you how excited I was as a craft enthusiast to find this GlueGuide at the Elmer's website.  I feel like I'm always on the fence about what glue to use for many of the projects I imagine in my head.  Sometimes I may not even do a project I've been thinking about because I don't know what type of glue to use.  

Now I won't have that obstacle thanks to this great online GlueGuide from Elmer's!  There is even an iphone app for the GlueGuide with information at this link as well.  (Elmer's is pretty much my new crafting hero.)

Happy Crafting!

Gingerbread and Pumpkin Trifle: Featuring Crafts & Sutch

When I saw this today I couldn't resist sharing it with you immediately!  Erin at Crafts & Sutch tells you how she made a Paula Deen recipe with a Sandra Lee-like mind set.  I love it! 

I'm still going through posts from this week...so many great ideas.  Thanks for joining the party and if you haven't yet, be sure to stop by!

LLT October 26

 Hello!  I'm definitely having a repeat of last week because now I have the other child home from school sick.  These are the days I am so thankful I stay home because when I worked outside the home this would have been a huge issue (my old job wasn't the type you could just get up and leave. )  My husband can't really do that either (unless it's for golf..lol).   Last week was a fun week to look through posts and I indulged a lot of time seeing all of your eye candy.  I loved these felt flowers from Lolly Jane.   

There are so many ways to use these...especially for the upcoming holiday season!

Please link your creative posts here.  We just ask it be a link to a specific post, not your main page.  We also like it to be something you personally created, cooked, baked, painted, fixed up, revamped, or rescued from the trash and made into something useful.  Have a great week! 

Lucky Linky October 19

 Welcome to Lucky Linky!  Today I've got a 6 year old with a cold sitting on my lap  (he wants to play Nick Jr. on the computer).   We're excited to see all of the things you've been creating.  Please link a post from your blog and then visit some links and enjoy!   

Mason Jar Chandelier: A Knockoff

Okay, this picture is pretty bad.  I admit it - but no one else was awake in my house to hold onto this so I had to wrap the wiring around a doorknob so it would drape like it will when it's installed.  I was inspired by Pottery Barn's Exeter 5-Jar Pendant.  It's on sale right now for $103.00.  (Let's just say so far my version has cost less than $35 and I have 8 jars left for my stock of canning jars ;-)  Also, my version is only 4 jars.  I was worried about the weight of 5...

This "chandelier" is for my Dad's house.  His current dining room chandelier has been on life support for at least a year and it's a horrible Tiffaney-esque builder grade chandelier.  It's ugly and it's broken at one of the leaded pieces.  His house is kind of lodge-y so this will fit right in.  I still haven't figured out exactly what will cover the wires at the installation site.  I have a cover I got at Home Depot, but since it's going to hold all 4 wires, I'll have to drill out the center hole.  I've made lamps before, so I just used my experience to make this.  I'm a bit too scared to put out a tutorial for how to do this, especially since I'm not an electrician, but luckily I found one for you ;)  If you need step by step instructions that ANYONE can follow, check them out here at Kara Paslay Designs.  She explains everything well and has great pictures.  Her version has different size jars and is a really fun version, but heavy!  I might use her version of a cap to cover the fixture wiring etc. at the top, if the one I have won't work.  Also, I might go back and drill a hole in the lids to let heat escape.  No one likes an exploding chandelier. 




So, this has been a fun project.  I have a few battle wounds (those jar lids are SHARP!) but I think it's turning out quite nicely and I can't wait to see it installed. 

PS-Thank you to my father-in-law for drilling perfect holes in the lids for me.  Want to help me drill the opening for the outlet cover?  :)  Also, I'd love drill press lessons for Christmas ;)

PPS-If my name shows up under these, it's only because Blogger thinks it should be that way.  Ugh!

I linked this to Get Your Craft On at Today's Creative Blog. 

Decorating for Halloween in Black and White

Happy Halloween, everyone!  I finally have all of my spooky stuff out.  I have to admit I sometimes dread decorating for holidays.  The main reason is getting the stuff out of my storage space.  It is really packed and is a tiny hallway connecting to the area under our basement stairs. (spooky and spidery in there!)

I changed most of the photos here to black and white even though everything I've used is mostly black or white.  I like how black and white photos emphasize the contrasting textures in the items.

These are some sticky fake eyeballs from Target.

The skull and crow are also from Target.

I bought this vintage owl on Etsy.  It used to be painted to look realistic but I sprayed it with black spray paint.  I also used a lot of my vintage hobnail white depression glass on the mantel display. 

The black velvet garland is a smooth contrast to the hobnail.  I love hobnail pattern in black and white photos!

This is my every season rag wreath.  I added a black rose garland to it that I tied to the wreath with twine.  It's kind of a different and funky look.  I also bought this garland at Target.

It's hard to see but I have black vinyl bat clings on the windows.   They're from Martha Stewart Crafts and I purchased them at JoAnn's.    

Here is  a "faux" white pumpkin on my bench.  I want to find real white pumpkins to carve with my kids this year.

This is how it looks in color photos.  

Happy Halloween!  I hope you enjoyed visiting my house.

Erin

The Beauty of Fall

 Fall is a so beautiful here in Michigan.  Here are some spectators at the MSU Homecoming parade from Friday night.

 These are my favorite fall plants.  These are in my mom's garden.

 This pumpkin is a cool shape and color.

 Go State!

 My mom made this pumpkin display. 

I hope you had a great weekend enjoying fall, too.

Erin

Ribbon Organization and a Treasure Hunt of Sorts

My grandma has a cool basement.  It's not cool because it's finished and has a big screen TV or an in-home gym.  It's cool because it's full of interesting and vintage things.  My grandma fully believed the "She who dies with the most fabric WINS!" ideal and was really in the running for first!  Since she hasn't been sewing for a while, we've stolen most of her stash (she calls it our inheritance and is happy to see us use it while she's still here).  A few years ago I got her ribbon stash and the button box that was my great grandma's.  In tackling my basement studio and trying to bring some order to it, I started sorting and organizing the ribbon stash.  I found some cool stuff. 

The top two here are vintage velvet ribbons.  The bottom one is a deep purple color.  I love them both.  I can't wait to ask my grandma if she had these for a special project.

My mom and I couldn't remember if we got this for my Cleopatra Halloween costume (in middle school) or hers (probably around the same time).  Either way, it brought back good, but a little bit traumatic memories of my first costume Halloween party where my blue underwear showed through my white toga.  Darn!  Oh well.  I probably remember that more than anyone else - hopefully! ;)

This was a cool purple , red and olive paisley ribbon.  I imagine it was bought around the late 60's/early 70's, but it's in great shape and it's so pretty in person.  I was thinking it'd make a fun trim for a little girl's pillowcase dress. 

This is from my stash.  We bought my wedding dress the day before I got married (It wasn't a shotgun wedding, but it's a long story!) and it needed a tie to "cinch" it up.  We got this ribbon to do the job.  Apparently, we bought a lot extra as I gave the dress to Goodwill a long time ago.  Maybe if I ever have a little girl, I can use this ribbon for her baptismal gown, or something else that I'll she'll want to keep for a long time. 

I didn't take a picture of the before, but it was basically all thrown together in two plastic bins.  I'm happy to have the ribbons on display and the plastic bins available for other storage.  Also, I think the ribbons are happy to live with my great grandma's buttons. 

PS - I modified the clothespin idea found at Lu Bird Baby and used large popsicle sticks when I ran out of clothespins.  I used glue dots on the ends instead of pins.  Easy, but time consuming. 

PPS - I have more sewing/crafting space organization coming...I'm just still in the middle of it ;)

PPPS - Sorry for the bad pictures...that place has NO good lighting!! :(

Lucky Linky October 12

Welcome to the second week of October Lucky Linky.  I loved looking through last week's posts.  My favorite was a recipe from Jaime at The Baeza Blog. 

 She shows us how to make Halloween cookie bark.  It looks delicious and so festive.   I'm going to make it today if I get all of my work finished...my kids and husband will love it.   

Please link your creative posts below.  If you can visit 2-3 of the other links and leave comments, I'm sure it would really make their day! 

Boo Sign

 This is a post I did last year and I thought of it when I was pulling out my Halloween decor for this year.  I had to completely change the post because I was just learning to blog and everything was backwards! Here it is:
 This is the "Boo" award clipped to a pumpkin. I thought it would make a cute prize for a pumpkin carving/decorating contest. It also looks cute just attached to a plain pumpkin as a greeting.
 I also hung the ribbon to a plain square orange berry wreath and hung on a door.

These are the supplies needed: circle stencil, pencil, scissors, glitter paper, about 14 inches of 1 1/2 inch black grosgrain ribbon, 3 yards 1/2 inch ribbon of your choice, rub on letters, clothespin, glue gun, cardboard.

First, cut out 3 circles from glitter scrapbook paper. (I traced them using a circle stencil about 3" in diameter and then cut out..you could also use a punch or circle cutter...or a Cricut machine if you are lucky enough to own one!) I bought this one sheet of glitter paper at JoAnn's and it already has adhesive on the back. Use Rub On letters to spell "BOO" on the glitter paper circles.

I cut out 3 slightly larger circles from cardboard. This picture shows the size of the cardboard is a little bigger than the glitter paper circle.

Here I am hot gluing the 1/2 inch ribbon to the cardboard circle. In order to ruffle it, you have to first glue about a 3/4 inch spot flat to the cardboard, then fold about 3/4 inch and hot glue inside the fold. (then repeat the process until it covers the edge of the entire circle. ) If you have fraying ribbon ends, use a little hot glue on the edge or run a lighter over the edge to heat seal it. When I was done with all three circles, I attached the "Boo" glitter circles to the center. (if your paper doesn't have adhesive, use hot glue or better yet white craft glue like tacky glue) The last step is to hot glue the three finished ruffled circles to a length of 1 1/2 wide grosgrain ribbon equally spaced. I glued a small black bow to a black painted clothespin to use as a clip.

Have a great weekend!  Go Spartans! 

(MSU vs. U of M is Saturday)

Lucky Linky Tuesday Oct. 5

 

Hi there, crafty people!  This is the first week of October and I am guessing there are a lot of Halloween and pumpkin related projects out there.  I love holidays and Halloween is one of my favorites.  Last year my costume was the drummer from Kiss.  I haven't decided on a  costume yet for this year...any ideas?? 



normal picture of Mike and Erin



Mike and Erin in Kiss makeup..haha my husband is wearing makeup!

Please share your creative posts with us!  We ask that you link a post, not your main page.  Also if you could grab our button and link back to our page, that would be great.:)

Backpack Tags

Stay tuned for a backpack tag tutorial next week with options if you don't have access to an embroidery machine.