Paper flower

I was fumbling around on Pinterest today, and I looked through my "crafty" board. I thought, "Hm, I bet these paper flowers are easy to make!" So, I followed the links to the how-tos at Seven Thirty Three and Ellinee. They are beautiful! But, they require things like brads and grommets, special punches, bamboo skewers, and patience. Right now, I have none of those things. So, I made the cheap, quick and easy version. Here's what I ended up with:

I think it's beautiful! Here's how I did it:

1. You may remember from previous posts that I have a lot of magazine subscriptions (They were all free!) I had these images of me going through and reading all these articles and becoming a pop culture trivia knowledge database. Yeah, right. But, I do love to look at the pretty pictures! Some of the pages are so beautiful and colorful! So, I selected three pages that were really pretty. I tried to pick pages that were pretty on both sides because both sides will show a little. The great thing is that they don't have to be perfect. (Nothing in this project does!)
I chose this one and a pink-ish one and a blue-ish one.

2. Next, cut the paper into manageable squares. I cut the whole stack of papers at the same time, and I cut the stack into fourths, so I would up with twelve small rectangles of paper. Like this:

3. Next you cut out the flower-ish shape. I did not use a pattern, a stencil, or a special punch. I did not really even follow a circle shape. It's more of a blob. But, it's a beautiful blob. I picked up four pieces of paper and cut a blob, then another four sheeted-blob, and the last four-sheeted blob. Obviously, each of the three blobs were not shaped the same. In fact, while I was cutting, some of the papers shifted, so each of the four pages did come out in the same blob shape. The main thing to remember when cutting the blobs is to aim for a round-ish overall shape, with scalloped-ish edges.

4. Stack all the blobs on top of each other. You'll have a handful of pretty colorful blobs! At this point (this is something I didn't do but I highly recommend) you should probably twist the papers a little bit so that the blobs are not perfectly stacked on top of one another, but they are a little bit whompy-jawed.

5. Turn the blobs over and staple them in the middle-ish. The flat end of the staple will be on the bottom/back of the flower, and the prongs will eventually be hidden on the inside of the flower.

6. Fold the staple in half. When you do that, the flower will also kind of fold up. That's a good thing. As you can see, I used a pink staple! (Not that it matters, but I like it anyway!)

7. Then, just squish! Starting with the top paper, squish up one page at a time until you end up with a little rose bud kind of thing.

8. After the squishing, you go back through and do a little bit of flattening. You're not going to iron out the pages or anything, but you want to be able to see the layers.

TADA! Now, you have a super fast, super easy, super beautiful flower! You can make millions of them and put them in your yard, then you wouldn't have to water your flowers. Or, you can sit your kids in the middle of a stack of magazines and tell them they have to turn all the magazines into flowers before they can leave. Or, it could just be a fun quick project.
Next, I think I will try it with cloth and modpodge. I think that might work...

Jewelry continued

I've been making and repairing more jewelry!

I made all these-

Purple butterfly earrings

Purple rose with clear/silver-lined diamond shaped earrings

Green/gold-lined diamond shaped earrings

Wooden bead earrings and necklace

Ring made of chain (front side)

Ring made of chain (back side)

This necklace matches the bracelet I posted last time

These are things I found and repaired-

Green ombre bracelet

Purple metal butterfly earrings

Making Jewelry

This weekend, one of my best friends ever came to visit! We went to the Zoo, made crafts, and had lots of fun! (Zoo pictures and more craft pictures will come later this week!)

Today, I got a package from Fire Mountain Gems and Beads! Wooo!!! I made a pair of earrings and a bracelet. The bracelet was simple--I just used jump rings to connect some gem connectors and added a clasp. Here's a picture of it:

Here's how I made the earrings:

1. Gather materials:
-pliers-just a simple pair from the toolbox to help open the jump rings
-jewelry wire-pliable enough to bend to the shape you want it, but strong enough to hold
-leaf and flower dangly beads-The brand is "Cool Chaser." These look fancy, but they're actually kids' plastic beads. You can't really tell the difference from fancy beads, and they're lightweight and cheap!
-ear wires-I like the shorter ones because the longer ones make the area behind my ear on my head itchy.

2. Lay out beads in sequence to see how the earrings will go together.

3. Cut about 4 or 5 inches of jewelry wire--enough to double up, hold all the beads, and put twisty space between each bead (Keep reading. This will become more clear!)

4. Put the bead that will be on the bottom of the earring in the center of the wire and twist the wire around twice. This creates a little home for the bottom bead. I left a little wiggle room so it can sort of sway around, but it's still secure, and it is a little bit separated from the next bead.

5. Pull the wires a little bit apart from each other, string one bead on the left, twist the wires twice, then string one bead on the right and twist the wires twice. Repeat for the remaining beads.

6. Add the ear wire. I just slipped it down one of the wires, twisted the wires together, then folded the twisted part back down and retwisted it around itself, leaving no pokey wires anywhere!

7. Finally, you can admire your finished product!!

The earrings only took about ten minutes to make, and I would estimate my cost to make them was about $1 for the pair. Plus, it was super fun!

Yard Sale Saturday

On Friday night, I pulled up some yard sales on Craig's List, I made a route map, and I got some cash from the ATM. On Saturday morning, I got Ashley up, and we went to some yard sales. There's good news and bad news here:
The good news is that I found a great yard sale with tons of funky, weird, unique, vintage, and cool jewelry. The bad news is that we found only ONE yard sale. The other seven or so were non-existent. This made me very angry. Oh, well. At least I found these cool necklaces:

This one is fishy! It's vintage-y, with green enamel accents on gold

Here's a detail of the main fish

This one is kind of 80s but also kind of 50s, and I think it's totally awesome!

This one's a short freshwater pearl strand cluster that will be pretty with sweaters or a simple black shirt

Here's a detail of the pearls

This one, unfortunately broke the first time I wore it because I got it caught under my desk, but I am crafty, so I fixed it! Go me!

These are the elements I liked the best about the previous piece

I love that this one has so much going on. Lots of dangly things!

Look at those tiny Queen Elizabeth II coins! I love the detail!

This one is a Hawaiian woven necklace with shells and seeds. I probably won't wear it, but it looks cook hanging on my door handle right now.

Here, you can see the seeds and shells close up.

I hope you enjoyed looking at these! I'd love to see any you've found!

Glitterizing

Hoo boy, I am becoming absolutely obsessed with glitter. I mean, I've always loved its sparkling, mesmerizing powers. But today, I combined it with Mod Podge, and I have become one dangerous person. I was just going to try one hair bow, but I made a little too much glittery mix, so I made a second hair bow, then I glittered the front of my weekly planner and a binder clip. Now, I kind of want to paint it into my hair. But, I have stopped myself (mostly because I ran out of glitter mix). So, here are some pictures of what I did and some notes about how I did it:

1. Gather supplies. These include:
-mod podge (I only had the kind for paper, but it seems to have worked just fine!)
-paint brush (I hope this wasn't one of Ashley's good ones)
-empty butter tub (I keep a couple of these around because they come in handy for little projects like this!)
-package of hair bows from dollar store (Three for a dollar!)
-used ziplock baggie (This is a nice recycled surface for drying the glitterized items.)
-reused paper towel (I washed my hands earlier and dried them on this paper towel, but it wasn't really dirty, so I just reused it for a paintbrush bed.)
-plastic fork (left over from Chinese takeout)
-glitter! (I got this on sale at Michael's for $1! You can also find glitter at the dollar store all the time.)

2. Glitter mix time! I just dumped some glitter in the butter tub--probably about a teaspoon worth.

Then, I added some Mod Podge--about two forkfuls.

Since the fork doesn't really scoop, this probably equalled about a quarter of a teaspoon full. Then, I mixed it up with the fork! The glitter mix has about the consistency of wet sand.

3. Glitterize! I scooped a couple of forkfuls of glitter mix onto the bow, then I used the paintbrush to spread it around. I had originally planned to just do one layer of glitter then let that dry then do more layers later.

But when I started glooping the glitter onto the bow, it made more sense to just kind of pat it out with the paint brush. I also made sure I patted it out around the edges. I went for a textured look, not worrying about making it flat and smooth, and I think it turned out quite nice.

4. This was the worst part. I had to wait for everything to dry.

Ugh! Waiting! Thank goodness I have a cute kitty to keep me entertained!

Total money spent: $2
Total time spent: approximately half of a commercial-free episode of Dog the Bounty Hunter (not including the waiting time)
Total happiness level: SUPER DUPER!!!

Special thank yous to Charlie, my entertaining cat and Ashley, my beautiful hair model!

The housewife with no house...

I've decided to be more domestic this new year. I started a day early. Today, I cleaned the kitchen, soaked the little bowly things that go under the burners on the stove to get all the crud off, and I did two loads of dishes! I also cut some recipes out of Martha Stewart magazine and bought some little baskets that I used to organize the pantry. But, the best thing I did was cook dinner! I did a take on this recipe from all recipes. I made an italian butter but melting about four tablespoons of butter in the microwave and mixing in some italian seasoning. I brushed the mushrooms with it before cooking them. Then, after I put the blue cheese on, I made some more of the italian butter and poured on top of that. I don't like mushrooms, but Ash said they were incredible, so I'm happy about that!

I also successfully made burgers. I used ground chicken, and I put some italian seasoning on that, too. One helpful tip I found for burgers: put plastic wrap over the plate and pat out the burgers on top of the plastic wrap. Then, as you get the burgers cooked, peel back the plastic wrap and put the burgers on the plate! It worked great!

Fast Food Smarts

So, life has been rough lately, and you haven't heard from me in a while. Anyway, along with the rough life, I've been relying on fast food, and I've decided to compile a list of tips I have, um, compiled in my brain.

1. Do not buy the "value meal." It's not a value. And it's more food than you need. Included in this list are some substitutions.

2. Look at the dollar menu or the value menu. This usually has great options. For example, last time I went to Jack-in-the-box, I thought about getting the cheeseburger meal for around $6. Instead, I looked to the value menu, where I got a Jr. Cheeseburger for $1, a side salad (instead of fries) for $1, and a large tea for $1. With the meal, I would have gotten a cheeseburger, small fries, and a small drink for twice the price.

3. Check for specials, but beware! Whataburger has a survey you can complete on their receipts. AFter completing it, you get a code to use for a free burger on your next visit. However, when you go to use it, you have to buy a large drink and large fries to use the coupon. Also, cheese is $0.50 extra. So, you wind up paying about $6 or $7 anyway. Instead, go for the dollar menu--small fries, jr. whataburger with cheese, and a small drink for $3! On the other hand, some places have pretty good deals. McDonald's often has coupons in fliers for a buy one get one sandwich. This is a good deal! Especially for breakfast! Ashley and I can both eat breakfast for under $5 with these coupons.

4. Watch the drink. Almost all the fast food places now have special drink deals. McDonald's has any drink for $1. Some other place has any size drink for $1. Also, if you're just picking up food to take home, consider stopping by the gas station for a drink. Places like 7-11, Sheetz, and QT have cups you can refill for less than $1. QT also has a huge selection of drinks!

5. Drink refills. If you're eating in the restaurant, check the refill policy. If it's free refills, get a small drink, and refill it as much as you'd like! If you think you'd like to have some drink for later, empty the ice out of your cup, and get your last refill to go, with no ice. That way, you can put it in the fridge when you get home, and it won't get all watered down. A couple of precautions if you do this, though: a)be careful of the papery cups. They tend to leak after a while. b)Don't leave your drink in the car. Strange things happen. c)The drink doesn't last more than a few days. After the carbonation fizzles all out, you're left with a cup of thick syrup that does not taste too good.

6. Healthier options. As I mentioned earlier, salads are an easy choice. Watch the salad dressing, though. A McDonald's side salad with the whole packet of ranch dressing has more fat and more calories than a hamburger. Most places now have apple slices that you can substitute for fries. You can also sometimes get yogurt (if you like that kind of thing.)

7. Best buys. Here are some examples of the best savings I've had:
-McDonalds-I could have gotten a two cheeseburger meal that includes two cheeseburgers, small fries, and a small drink for about $5. Instead, I got two double cheeseburgers, small fries, and a large drink for $4. Since I ate in the store, I refilled the drink once while I was there, then I emptied the ice and filled up the cup for a drink later in the day. I also saved one of the cheeseburgers and had that for dinner. That way, I actually got two meals out of the deal instead of just one!
-Arby's-Today, I went by Arby's. Instead of the regular roast beef sandwich "value meal" for $6, I got two Jr. Roast beef sandwiches, small fries, and a small drink for $4. That way, I had a sandwich for lunch and a sandwich for later.
-Subway-This could have been my best one. I got four meals for $7. I had a coupon for a "buy one footlong, get one free." So, I got two $5 footlongs for $5. To add chips and a drink, it cost $2 extra. For that meal, I ate half of one footlong, the chips, and the drink. I refilled the drink and put everything in the fridge for later. Then, I had three more meals of six inch subs!
-Papa John's-If you order online, you get Papa points. Sometimes, they have double point times. Once you get 25 points, you can use this for a free pizza! You can use deals and coupons and still earn Papa points. They also had a "million pizza giveaway" where they awarded 25 papa points to a million users. I had banked 25 points, and I won 25 points, so I got two large two topping pizzas for freeeeee!