A Crafty Week!

Having our family be sick this last week left me with a lot of time on my hands; so I decided to pull out some crafts and work on them. Here's what I was able to accomplish:

CTR Towel

My niece got baptized last Saturday so I made this cute CTR (stands for Choose The Right) towel for her. I got the idea from this awesome website called Made With Love and Glue. It is way simpler than I thought it would be. The only problem was that my sewing machine is broken so I had to stitch it by hand. More time consuming but very well worth it. I now have to make one for my son who is getting baptized in November. Go here to get the directions on how to make it.

Jack-o-Lantern Luminary

Materials needed:
can - you can use any size you want, I chose a really large can I had from using my food storage.
awl or nail (I used a nail)
hammer
towel
marker
spray paint
wire or metal coat hanger for handle

Steps to make it:

1-Draw design of what you want on can.

2-Fill can with water and freeze overnight.

3-Use a nail or awl and a hammer to punch holes in the can following the design you drew.
(I wrapped the can in a towel to get a better grip on it.) Also put holes in the sides for the handle.
I forgot to do this on my first one before the ice melted. So no handle on that one.

4-Let water in can thaw (I just ran hot water on it til the ice melted) and dry well.

5-Spray paint can and let dry.

6-Put wire through holes in the sides to form handle.

7- Stick a candle inside, light it and presto a festive luminary!


I plan on making one for each of the holidays. Hearts for Valentines, Leaves for Thanksgiving, Tree for Christmas ect. (you get the idea). They are so cheap (only cost $2.97 for the spray paint which covered 3 large cans), easy and way cute!

Dragon Themed Birthday Invitations

My son is turning 8 this week and he is having a party on Friday with his friends. I am so cheap when it comes to parties that I try to make everything myself. Well this year my son wanted a dragon themed party (we are watching "How to Train Your Dragon" at the party). I decided to even make the invites myself.

I used cardstock and printed on it this cute saying (plus the party info.):

“I’ll tell you a tale of a boy who could fly,
It wasn’t by plane, and it wasn’t a lie.
It wasn’t by train, and it wasn’t by wagon,
The boy flew around on the back of a dragon!”

Then I cut out the invites and painted them to look like medeival parchment paper. (I used washable paint with a lot of water and let them dry overnight)

Then the fun part came. I stood over the sink and burned the edges of the paper with a candle to make it look like a dragon had gotten a hold of it. My whole house still smells like a bonfire.

Here's how they turned out:





My son was so trilled, he said this is going to be the best birthday ever. Now I am going to attempt to make a dragon cake; most daring cake yet. I will post how the party went next week. Keep your fingers crossed for me.