Hoppy Easter!

Happy Easter readers! Like Christmas and Halloween, Easter is one of my favorite holidays for crafting and baking. So far this year I have showcased a few of the Easter crafts I have made to decorate my home and in today's blog we're going to take a look at a frugal woman's attempt at gifts kids will hopefully love and enjoy. In light of the current economic climate, and rising gas prices, I found myself still wanting to do something for the kids in my boyfriend's family, but I was lacking the funds to do as I did last year when I put together gift bags for each child. Simple solution? Paper mache baskets! I had the newspaper on hand and made the paper mache paste using ingredients I already had in the kitchen. (See previous blog post for the paper mache recipe I used.)

My first attempts fell kinda flat, but as I rummaged through my craft closet I found lots of pretty ribbon and lace with which to fancy up the simple homemade baskets. I printed vintage images from the internet and used crafting foam as a sort of frame for each vintage image. I painted the baskets in varying pastel colors, attached the foam framed images, and topped each basket with ribbon and/or lace. I used simple floral wire for the handles. Take a look at the finished baskets. (*Note: I can't take credit for the little boxes beside each basket. Those are from Martha Stewart and anyone can get the templates here http://www.marthastewart.com/article/vintage-postcard-treat-box -- I did find that the slide box was a little big for the sleeve. You will want to experiment with one before taping, or gluing, all the pieces together. I made the later mistake so my boxes are little lopsided. I found the calculations slightly off, but they are still cute.)

Addie and Hannah's baskets.

Colston and Brooklynn's baskets.

Brooklynn and Luke's baskets.

Top view with name tags made on the Cricut.

In each basket I'm putting a Funfetti cupcake and sugar cookies with a chocolate candy coating. In the small boxes I put Easter grass and a few jelly beans. I hadn't originally intended to make the boxes, but they were so cute I couldn't resist. I also didn't anticipate them not fitting in the paper mache baskets. lol So the boxes will be handed out separately. I was also going to include mini-cupcakes in the basket, but as you can see they are quite small. My ambition was bigger than the actual baskets. :) If the kids want baby cupcakes they can, of course, enjoy them separately as well.

I actually spent the better part of the Easter Eve evening baking. Following is a sample of the baked goods I made in the span of four hours.

Big Spring Funfetti cupcakes topped with Spring Funfetti frosting and sprinkles baked in paper cups and with picks from The Dollar Tree.

Small Spring Funfetti cupcakes with vanilla frosting, confetti sprinkles, and baked in small Easter baking cups from The Dollar Tree.

 

                                        

 Toll House stamped sugar cookies with white chocolate (colored with food coloring) candy coating back.

Strawberry Poke-It Cake. Easy and delicious. Bake any white cake as directed. Poke with holes using the handle of any spoon. Mix Strawberry Jell-O according to the package. While cake is still warm pour Jell-O mixture over cake. Cover with small Cool Whip and refrigerate. Yum-O.

Another picture of the boxes made from the Martha Stewart template and filled with Easter grass and jelly beans.

So this is how one frugal woman prepared for the Easter holiday. I hope the kids enjoy their baskets and I hope the adults enjoy some of the treats I baked. I realize I've baked enough to feed a small army and I remember vividly how I used to roll my eyes at my mother when she did the same so many years ago. Now that I'm older I find enjoyment in doing for others, especially the kiddos, so I hope everyone enjoys my contribution. I admit that I actually enjoy slowly morphing into my mother. Never in a million years would I have thought I'd be doing as my mom always did when it comes to holiday preparation. I guess it's suffice to say she can now laugh at me and say, "I told you so." Because she did. She always said someday I would enjoy doing for others. So it is true... your mother is always right. Now this little bunny has to hop on to bed to enjoy the festivities later today. *hop hop hop* Enjoy your Blessed Easter Sunday!

Easy Peesy.

This is quite possibly the easiest craft I've ever made and it's all because of the greatest little crafting tool ever created... the Cricut! Anyone that likes crafting and/or scrapbooking needs a Cricut. Those little machines are monsters and if you're willing to invest in the different cartridges then I promise you will not be disappointed. Think of all the money you already spend on backgrounds, borders, and stickers... well the Cricut makes all of that and more, but this isn't an ad for the Cricut. This is a craft blog so let's get on to the craft.

I had purchased a small Easter tree at the Dollar Tree about a month ago. I wanted to get them before they sold out, and lo and behold, the last time I was in the Dollar Tree they only had a handful left and they looked pretty bad so I was happy with my impulse Easter purchase well before Valentine's Day. The Dollar Tree provided glitter foam egg ornaments, that are very cute in their own right, but I wanted something a little different for my tree. I already decorate a larger feather tree with egg ornaments for Easter and keeping with my love of all things Victorian I went to the Cricut with an idea in mind. Luckily we had a cartridge with a tag design I rather liked and thought would fit well with the Victorian theme. I cut all the layers on the Cricut. White background, pink middle, and the white scrolling frame. Next I simply printed the Victorian images on plain printer paper and used an oval template to cut to the appropriate size. Here's the finished product....

They are very small and dainty, only 1 1/4 inch big, so I strung regular pink sewing thread through the top to make the hanger. The following picture shows the ornaments on the tree I purchased. I still may add a few foam egg ornaments, or some ribbon on the base, but I think for one dollar and a few odd cents it looks pretty good.

After egg and ribbon embellishments.

Before egg and ribbon embellishments.

Supplies Used:

1 small Easter tree from The Dollar Tree

1 package of foam glitter eggs from The Dollar Tree

Textured paper for ornament templates

Victorian images gathered from the internet

Ribbon removed from 1.00 candy package from Wal-Mart (Yes I bought the candy in question. LOL)

Cricut (Used to cut ornament layers)

X-Acto knife (Used to cut Victorian images for ornaments)

Glue stick (Used to assemble ornaments)

Pink sewing thread

Top o' the morning to ye!

I have decided, after much careful consideration, that I will not be posting progression photographs with all my craft projects unless I happen to obtain followers that are looking for step by step instructions on how to create some of the things I make. I know my blog is in its infancy, and I shouldn't expect to have a ton of followers since my blog is centered around Victorian crafts and antiques, but perhaps as time goes on I might gain a small following and someone may ask for instructions for the crafts I create. At that time I will happily start with the progression photos again, but until that time I find it easier to sit down and complete a craft project, start to finish, without having to stop after every step to take a photo. And in all honesty the crafts I create are so simple that I can easily explain the steps when showing the finished project.

First I want to share an update to an earlier craft I made, my Easter tussie mussie. The more I looked at the pictures, the more I noticed that something seemed "off." It was almost as if the tussie mussie was lopsided. In person it wasn't as noticeable, but in pictures the off center rose at the bottom didn't seem to complete the look in a balanced way so I simply added two leaves. Just those two leaves made all the difference and gave the tussie mussie a more balanced look.

As a fan of holiday decorating it never occurred to me to create something for St. Patrick's Day. Sure, it's a fun holiday that involves pinching and green beer, but when it comes to decorating ol' St. Patrick doesn't get many options. Some people decorate for St. Patty's Day parties, and it's always a fun day at the office, but at home it's really a forgotten holiday so I decided to create something special just for St. Patrick's Day. No tussie mussie this time. St. Patrick's Day was getting its own personal, one of a kind, craft. Presenting the 'Pot O' Gold' trinket box.

I started with a plain white crafting box that can be purchased at any crafting store. Mine was similar to the one shown, but slightly smaller.

To start I covered the bottom edges with fine crafting glitter. I began with a light base coat in light green and went back to add contrasting stripes in a pretty Kelly green and vibrant gold.

For the bottom I simply cut a piece of green crafting foam using decorative scrapbooking scissors. The foam was peel and stick so all I had to do was remove the backing, stick it to the bottom of the box and contrast the edge with fine white glitter. Some of the gold and green fell onto the edge, but it adds overall depth and character. I'm not afraid of a little boo-boo here and there in crafting.

On the lid of the box I cut a piece of green foam and adhered it to the top. I also covered the top in the fine white glitter to create a contrasting decorative base for my decorations. (FYI: I'm not really a fan of undecorated foam in crafting. It comes in handy to add dimension, but it can also look cheap so I always embellish crafting foam for a more finished look.) I lined the top edge of the box with small green tinsel that was left over from Christmas, hot glued two bells, one gold and one green, to the center of the lid for easy opening. To add further contrast I glued two bells to each front corner of the box as well which you can kind of see here. Sorry it's sort of blurry.

 

For the lid I first cut two contrasting shamrocks from two colors of green foam to add a three dimensional look. On the top shamrock I added a Victorian image I found online that I printed on the textured paper I've mentioned in past blogs. Because the textured paper is matte in appearance I simply painted a thin layer of Mod Podge on the image to create a shiny appearance. I lined the image on the shamrock with green tinsel. The bottom St. Patrick's Day banner was also found online, printed on the same textured paper, given one layer of Mod Podge, and cut out using my handy X-Acto knife. I used adhesive mounting squares I found at the Dollar Tree to lift the image from behind to create a 3D appearance. I did the same on the top back of the large shamrock and that last step concludes the making of the St. Patrick's Day 'Pot O' Gold' trinket box.

With Love's Greeting

Tomorrow is Valentine's Day and while it's not my favorite holiday I have had fun creating vintage Valentine crafts and baking Valentine treats. I began my fun-filled Valentine weekend Friday night. I baked sweetheart cupcakes for my sweetheart while watching "A Charlie Brown Valentine."  I got the super cute cupcake wraps and picks at The Dollar Tree.

His and hers cupcakes. The background image on "A Charlie Brown Valentine" is perfect, and totally unplanned, I promise it was a complete accident. Isn't it handy having a television in the kitchen? Love it.

Anyone that loves to bake, especially cupcakes, needs one of these Wilton cupcake pans with a lid. My boyfriend's mom and dad got it for me for Christmas. I adore it.

On Saturday my boyfriend and I traveled to a really great Flea Market in London, Kentucky where I got the family dog, Annie, some really cute homemade doggie treats. Don't worry, everything is made with dog friendly carob. She loves to lick the carob icing off the treats. She's spoiled rotten. :)

 

After we left the flea market we went to a local Vendor's Mall where I saw tons of great antiques, but opted out of buying myself anything because I was shopping for others for Valentine's Day. I noticed at walmart you could buy really cute Valentine's Day bags for 4 or 5 dollars and those really cute bags weren't in my budget. The Dollar Tree was already wiped out of Valentine themed bags so I simply purchased two plain bags on the cheap and decided I would oomph them up at home. 

For my mamaw's gift bag I got a simple pink bag with white handles. These cost one or two dollars depending on the size. The heart tissue paper I picked up for a dollar was really cute, but not enough embellishment for me. This project gave me the perfect opportunity to play with mom's Christmas gift, a Cricut. I bought her a holiday themed cartridge for Christmas. From that cartridge called "Celebrate With Flourish" I cut the layered "Happy Valentine's Day" message in pastel textured paper. My mamaw loves kittens so I cut a kitten with a heart in its mouth from the cartridge called "Four Legged Friends" from the same textured paper. Here's the end result.

 

Don't tell, but this is mamaw's Valentine gift. It's the softest little puppy imaginable. I hope she likes it. I think she will. :)

 Poor Todd... he won't get his Valentine's Day gift until we receive our tax return, but I think he will be okay waiting considering there will be some pretty cool technology involved. Although I didn't have much money to spend this year I still wanted to buy my parents a little something. The gifts inside the bag will remain a secret since mom reads my blog and while it isn't much it's the thought that counts and they deserve something since they help me so much. I got a larger bag to hold both gifts and it was another cheap bag with stripes. Pretty, but also pretty plain. I was finished with the Cricut for the day so I pulled out some heart doilies I had on hand and used the same cupid image I put on my 3D image box earlier this year. Again I printed the cupid on textured paper and cut him out with an X-Acto knife. I put a hint of glitter on his wings and glued him to the layered heart doilies. I simply glued the entire image to the front of the striped bag. Here's the end result.

 

Happy Valentine's Day! My gifts are all packed up and ready to go. For those of you wondering why I have Sarah Jessica Parker hanging on my wall... it's an autographed photo a friend got for me a few years back. My friend works in the movie industry and I'm a huge "Sex and the City" fan so he hooked me up. It's even personalized to me. :)

Last, but not least, I spent part of today baking a Valentine treat for my parents. I made cupcakes for my sweetie, but for my parents I opted for a cake. Both were simple Valentine Funfetti cakes (Yay, Pillsbury for your themed Funfetti cakes!) but both were personalized in different ways. What screams Valentine's day more than hearts? Mom had a heart cake pan in her array of cooking and baking devices so I braved my first ever layer cake. I simply love to bake, not much on cooking, but I love to bake so even I found it surprising that I had never made a layer cake before. I had some trouble with one of the layers sticking inside the pan. I guess I got in a hurry and didn't properly grease the pan, but I had a strict agenda that I needed to get all Valentine projects finished well before the start of the Grammy's. I am an absolute dork over award shows. I love them. The Academy Awards are my favorite, followed by the Golden Globes, then the Emmy's...etc. The Grammy's, while not my favorite, are a lot of fun. I watch nearly every award show that is broadcast, even the Tony's. There's something old-fashioned about award shows that I love... anyway... I've gone off on an award show tangent that has nothing to do with Valentine's Day so let's get back to the cake. After the small sticking cake mishap I was able to get the cake layered and crudely decorated, but I'm sure it will taste divine!

 

Unfortunately I had mishap number two. The cake plate lid doesn't fit around the cake which is extremely frustrating because I measured, but every time I tried to put the lid on, it scraped the edges. Oh well. That's why they make toothpicks and plastic wrap, but hopefully after we eat a few pieces after dinner the lid will fit. :)

It's not quite Valentine's Day yet, but I wanted to complete everything today so I wouldn't have to do so much on the actual holiday. I hope everyone has a wonderful Valentine's Day whether or not you have a sweetheart to share it with. I've always thought there was too much emphasis on couples during Valentine's Day, but I always make a point to recognize family and friends as well. Don't be depressed if you're single, embrace that single-dom and have fun! Spend VDay with your family, friends, or sweet little furbabies. It doesn't have to be a couple's holiday anymore. Just get out there and make it your own!

A Joyful Easter

Seeing as the horse drawn sleigh I had requested earlier never arrived I thought I would take advantage of this wonderful snow day and create something crafty for Easter. Sure Easter isn't until April this year, but with the exception of St. Patrick's Day, Easter is the next upcoming holiday. It never occurred to me to make something for St. Patty's Day... hmm... perhaps it's time to reconsider. I did try my best to take progression photos, but did catch myself getting caught up in the crafting moment so a step or two will have to be solely described. They are very simple steps though. I promise.

To start out I went online and found some favorite Victorian Easter images. These are some of the ones I chose.

From the first image I cut the silhouette of the bunny. The second image I used as the shadowbox background. The last three images I used as accent pieces. It's important when you want to create silhouettes to use a heavy card stock paper. I personally prefer a textured paper. This is the kind I use. You can purchase it at walmart.

After you print the images you need to cut out the images using an X-Acto knife. A cutting board is necessary so you don't ruin your tabletop. The blue mat I use is specifically for crafting, but you could use any kind of cutting board. I always tape my image to the board before cutting to cut down on mistakes.

Always keep your printed scrap paper. There's a good change those flowers will come in handy on a future craft project.

Here you will see my bunny completely cut away from the previous image. The reason for the finger file is to clean up any rough edges on the bunny. Just lightly scrape the sides with the file to smooth any pointy edges.

After I cut my images I found an old jewelry box that I could use to create my shadowbox scene inside of. It was sturdy, and deep enough to create a scene, but the box itself was green. So I slapped a couple coats of white paint on the box and set it aside to dry.

See the green color in the lower left hand corner? Yeah... that color really didn't fit in with my Easter color scheme.



Here's where I forget to take a couple pictures. Using the same textured paper as before, but in purple, I cut some decorative edge pieces using scrap booking shears. I fit the edges to the inside of the box so I could glue the pieces inside and fold the decorative edge forward to create a frame. I did take a picture of the folding process. Anyone that enjoys paper crafting needs the Martha Stewart bone folder pictured. It's a good thing.

 

Next I took Aleene's Tacky Glue and covered the entire back side of the jewelry box to attach the background I had already cut to size.

Next I prepared my bunny to glue inside the box. I wanted a 3D effect so I took several foam flowers, which can be purchased at the Dollar Tree, and using the already sticky backs adhered the flowers to one another and glued the final stack onto the back of the bunny.

Next I attached the decorative edge pieces to the inside edges of the box with a hot glue gun.

On the bottom edge piece I attached faux blades of grass, small silk flowers, and other ornamental floral pieces to mimic an outdoor Easter yard. It was tedious work, but well worth it for the end result.

I took the adorned piece and adhered it to the bottom edge of the box with a hot glue gun, tucking the piece behind the longer pieces I had already attached to the sides. I then attached the top decorative edge to the top of the box to complete the frame. Next I took iridescent tinsel I had gotten at Christmas and covered the bare, glue line edges.

Once the frame was complete I attached the 3D bunny to the inside of the shadowbox with a dab of hot glue. I used the other paper adornments I had cut from the textured paper to further decorate the box and cleverly cover any rough edges. I made a small bow out of thin, wired scrap booking ribbon to top the paper banner in the corner.

Next I took a loop of ribbon and tied a simple bow in the top to attach to the back of the box.

And finally the finished product. A vintage Easter shadowbox.

Will you be my Valentine?

My desire to craft began with Valentine's Day 2010. I have always enjoyed decorating for Christmas and had tons of Christmas decorations, but come February I realized I had none for Valentine's Day. I scoured the local shops, mostly walmart and various dollar stores, but they really didn't have much of a variety when it came to Valentine decorations. I  don't live in an area that has many specialty shops so I realized my shopping had run it's course and there would be no Valentine decorations for my apartment. Sadness.

That's when I got inspired. My mom has always had a crafty spirit and often saves things she thinks could be used in crafting projects. It just so happened she had saved a couple chocolate heart boxes from a previous Valentine's Day. I grabbed them and sent her after crafting supplies while I brainstormed. She came home with two bags full of shiny hearts, pretty ribbon, and various paper items. I grabbed the glue gun, some scissors, and printed some Victorian images from the internet. I pondered, and snipped paper, and crumpled ribbon, and eventually I walked away from my first crafting project with two valentine wall hangings and a vintage valentine bucket that I put a small electric candle inside.

Front View

 

Back View (Notice the vintage valentine's in the pockets.)

 

Hanging View. (The garland around the door was another Dollar Tree find.)

And thus began my new found love of crafting. I've found another easy way to decorate your home for various holidays, which I absolutely adore to do, is by simply printing a holiday themed image from the internet and placing that image inside a frame. I personally prefer Victorian images, but you could use any that were themed for the current holiday. 

 

I purchased the frame at the Dollar Tree, but it only came in black or brown. I enjoyed the vintage design of the frame itself, but not the color. I thought it was nothing a little paint couldn't fix and for one dollar you can't really go wrong. So once home I found a picture I liked, printed it off, and chose a complimenting color for the frame. I painted the frame with a dry brush to create a slightly antiqued, shabby chic look so that just a smidgen of the prior black coloring shown through. I added a hand crocheted doily, my vintage crafted bucket, and a small heart candle to complete the look.

 

This frame was given to me from a friend. It has the old, antique look I love, and I change the pictures inside depending on the current holiday. This is the valentine version. I promise the frame itself isn't crooked, but I can't say the same for the photographer. :) Again, this is an easy and inexpensive way to decorate your home for any holiday and the best part is that the entire project was free! Victorian images are easily accessible on the internet and because the Victorians loved postcards and paper ephemera there are hundreds of images to choose from. Simply choose your favorites and get to framing.

Fast forward to Valentine's Day 2011. Within the past year I have created a handful of designs for various holidays, but today I'm sticking to the Valentine designs. Never fear... I will likely share my prior projects at a later date, but for now I'll focus on one holiday at a time.

In keeping with the Victorian theme I love I printed several different block images of the valentine variety for a simple and easy block project. I purchased three small styrofoam blocks from the Dollar Tree and covered them in tissue paper for a smoother finish. You could use any color tissue paper because the block will be completely covered, but I used red. I cut the block images to size and used Mod Podge to adhere the images to the different sides of the tissue covered blocks. After the blocks dried I took a paint brush and painted thin strips of tacky glue to the edges and covered them in chunky red glitter. (For future projects I promise to keep a conscious effort to take progression photos.) This is the end result.

 

After finishing the blocks I moved on to one of my favorite Victorian themed crafts to make... paper tussie mussie cones. They are simple crafts to make and can be filled with small treasures, trinkets, candies, or the intended flowers. I have used them in gifting baskets before, but mostly I make them to use as decoration. You can find various size tussie mussie templates online by using your favorite search engine. I tend to make smaller tussie mussies to conserve paper. Of the size I tend to make I can get 4 tussie mussies from one standard size piece of scrapbooking paper. Just follow the steps for creating the cone shape and grab whatever you'd like for decorating. For my Valentine tussie mussie I used my mom's Cricut to create the Happy Valentine's Day wording and tag on which I glued the Victorian image I printed from the internet. To embellish I used white feathers, two types of Valentine themed ribbon, and a small metal tag on which I glued a vintage floral image to hang from the bottom. Presenting my tussie mussie....

I cannot, and would not, try to take credit for the following craft. Most crafts can be interpreted from images or things we have previously seen, but putting your personal touch on them makes them somewhat original. I can't personally say I thought of the tussie mussie idea, but I can say the above is an original of my own creating. The following craft is not an original of mine. I got the idea from a vintage crafting site and printed off the images and templates they provided. I used two images of my own, but the others were provided to me on the crafting site. My variation uses red tinsel, not plain cord as the site suggested, and golden vintage buttons, not plain beads as suggested. They called the hearts, Kissing Dangles. I made them to hang in a very small window in my apartment. I covered the hearts in Mod Podge to create a sturdier finish. Overall I think they turned out well. (Ignore the dirty window. lol I was so excited to take a picture I forgot to clean the window first.)

Last but not least I created a 3D cupid valentine box. I took a a heart shaped box I had purchased at the Dollar Tree and covered the bottom portion with a piece of iridescent valentine ribbon because I didn't like the original foil look of the box. The top portion I covered in simple white tissue paper. I cut one long pieceof tissue paper to attach to the side edge and cut a frayed design with scissors. To compliment the top line of the fray I added a piece of silver tinsel. To finish the top edge I used a piece of simple red ribbon. For the 3D design I printed the cupid on textured scrapbooking paper for a vintage feel. I used an X-acto knife to carefully cut the outline of the cupid from a full postcard design. Under the paper heart doily I added a piece of pink paper for contrast. I glued the cupid to a fanned piece of valentine tissue paper, again for further contrast. Once I had the major portion of the centerpiece completed I had to stand the image. I used heart picks, with long bamboo handles, purchased at the Dollar Tree to support the image from behind. To cover the support I simply fanned pieces of tissue paper and covered the columns. It isn't nearly as pretty from the back, but at least it has a more finished look. (I will try to add a picture of the back later.)  To complete the desired look I embellished the top with small paper roses (printed on the same textured paper as the cupid and cut out with the X-acto knife) added a scrapbooking tag with the word "love" and secured to the bottom of the cupid image with ribbon. An outline of fine grain silver glitter covers the top edge of the box and a Happy Valentine's Day banner printed on the textured paper completes the top view look of the box. Here are a front and top view.

 

Front View.

Top View.

So how does it all come together to create one cohesive look?

I purchased this shelf at a local hometown festival in the fall. It has the shabby chic/antique look that I am constantly looking for and it compliments my crafts nicely. The "Home Tweet Home" hanging is one of the few mass produced Valentine decorations I have found that I liked. I purchased it in 2010 at K-Mart. The small Valentine frame, with a picture of my sweet cats, was another Dollar Tree find from 2010. I'd also like to recommend the Lemon Icebox Cookies candle shown here from the Swan Creek Candle line. They can be found at various retailers or online. It smells delish. :)

This is the small window I mentioned earlier. You can see one of my first Valentine hearts hanging in the top left hand corner and of course the Kissing Dangles in the window. On the sill I have some simple blocks, a small Valentine basket I'd gotten years earlier from a co-worker, and a candle. On the outside you can see my small Dollar Tree bird feeder. I think it's important to help feed the outdoor critters in the winter. :)

Because I hadn't intended to create a crafting blog until recently it never occurred to me to take progression photos. However, now that I intend to continue with this blog I do hope to remember to take progression photos to help anyone that may like to try their hand at any of the crafts I make. Remember that I am an amateur crafter and I am certain that anyone could easily make any of the crafts I present on this blog. Most of them will use simple supplies, like paper, and a lot of the supplies will be purchased on the cheap at places like the Dollar Tree. If you'd like any further instructions on something I have made here please don't hesitate to ask. Happy crafting folks.