Christmas Bulb Headbands or THE GREATEST THING EVER

My mother is a third grade teacher, I think I need to say that to better explain why we are always doing arts and crafts projects. Or at least, it gives us an excuse. So when one of her fellow teachers received a Christmas bulb headband, my mother knew she had to have one too. I should also point out, I got my love of all things sparkly and glittery from her. This project was right up our alley over Thanksgiving. It was so much fun to make and the more ostentatious they look, the better. We went crazy with making them, and since showing her other teacher friends, we’ve got orders to make a few more! We have now expanded to make them for all holidays so come check us out on Etsy

Check out our etsy shop! http://www.etsy.com/shop/CrowninGlories

What do you think?

Martha Stewart Sunday: Lip Balms

       God bless mothers of twins, two kids the same age are a handful. EVERYTHING has to be equal and as my mother keeps saying "What is fair is what is best for each child". So trying to keep one kid busy while the other one has over a friend has been quite the feat at my house. Enter lip balms. And Martha Stewart, of course. What little girl doesn't love lip balms? Perfect for that too young for make-up but still want to put some on stage. I remember making my own, way back when. Martha Stewart even had this cute kit, my mother ordered me for chirstmas. Yes, my love of Martha has been since almost birth, don't make fun, instead appreciate that I am steadfast. I liked her even when she got sent to prison; she used to be a stock broker, if you didn't know. Fancy. Anyways enough idol worship, here is a simple way to keep ages 10 and up (even those past 60) entertained for a bit (okay, like 20 minutes, but still)

Materials:

-beeswax (unbleached) (3 tsp.)

-Sunflower oil (5 tsp.)

-Essential oils of your choice (vanilla and peppermint are always good fail safes!)

-Pipette

-Mason jars

-Lip balm containers (either recycle or find some at a craft store)

-lipstick shavings if you want to color the balm



Directions:

1. Fill a shallow pan with about one inch of water. Bring to a boil. Pour beeswax and sunflower oil into mason jar.
   
2. Place the mason jar in the boiling water, use a pipette to stir until melted.
   
3. Carefully remove from heat and add essential oils to mason jar. For best results (i.e. not overpowering) add up to 10 drops of essential oils. (stir in lipstick shavings now too, if desired)
   
4. Pour into containers and let set for twenty minutes before moving.
   

 
Minty Vanilla (i.e. the safe choice)

8 drops vanilla

2 drops mint

 
What's your favorite craft to entertain kiddoes?

Martha Stewart Sunday: Birthday Banner

Ignore the ugly 3, silly apartment management!

     It was Charlotte's birthday last week, and I wanted some way to decorate her door for the occasion. Cue Martha Stewart Clip Art. Seriously, she has the coolest clip art, and for every occasion to jam lids to garlands. Here is a link to her best clip arts. http://www.marthastewart.com/photogallery/clip-art-and-templates?lpgStart=1&currentslide=40&currentChapter=1 (The garland is the first one!) It makes me want to make sugared citrus peels just to put the pretty labels on it. Anyways, back to her birthday, I found the birthday garland and new it would work. I used cardstock paper in two different colors. 


Tips:

*If you are doing two colors (and I highly suggest that you do), you will have to print two copies of the first color, but just the first page to get two H's.

*They are smaller than they appear, so you might have to enlarge them if you want a big garland.

*Cutting them can be a bit tricky it you aren't the best at cutting. You want to leave the black circle showing.


 

Pretty Pretty Recipes Cards

     
      So for next installment of the pretty pretty series, I have a cheap and easy way to add some decoration to your kitchen. One of my best friends for my 21^st birthday made me a cute gift basket with Nuvo (one of my favorite drinks) and these adorable recipe cards to make drinks. They were too cute to keep hidden so I used some pretty ribbon to hang them up. They add a bit of sparkle to my kitchen and take up minimal space.

Materials:

Ribbon

Balsa wood

Markers

Glitter

Small Jewels

Hot Glue

For more in the pretty pretty series, check out these organizers, these boards and these notebooks (plus these)!

Pretty Pretty Boards

   
  I am always saving little mementos from trips be it ticket stubs to museum guides, but I never know what to do with them. Often they just get filed away in labeled shoe boxes at the back of my closet for what occasion, I don't know. My friend, Lily (of the cranberry compote and brie bites fame) has some great ideas of how to show off your little mementos or other important things. These cute boards look great when lined up or alone on a wall, and since they are made from foam board, you can use 3M wall adhesive so you don't have to use nails (a big help for those who are renting a place). With all the different themed papers out there, you can find something to match just about anything!

I just cut the boards in the center, they were the perfect small size!

Materials:

Modpodge

Foam brush

Scrapbook or other decorative paper

Foam Board

Scissors/ knife

Directions:

1. Cut the board and paper to desired sizes, the paper can be left a bit bigger to cover the sides of the board.
   
2. Modpodge the board with a light coat, then press down paper. Go slowly, and use pressure of fingers or ruler (be careful) to work out any bubbles. Lightly modpodge the paper as well once smooth.
   
3. Let dry, then coat the paper with a second and if needed, a third coat of modpodge.
   
4. Enjoy! Use push pins or ribbon to help decorate your board!

This one is for my roommate, Charlotte, who loves old keys. See you can match any theme!

Martha Stewart Sundays: Valentine’s Crafternoon

      Every Sunday, I shall attempt to do something like Martha does, from baking to cleaning to (God help me) glittering pictures of your dog.

       For my first installment of Martha Stewart Sunday, I took her idea in the February 2011 Living magazine of a Valentine's Crafternoon. I invited a few girlfriends over for snacks and crafts. It was a blast, we sat around for a few hours in the afternoon happily cutting and glittering to our hearts' content. It was a lovely way to spend the afternoon away from all the super bowl fanfare and instead create cards for our loved ones. Later this week, I will be breaking down everything I did for the party as far as food but here is a quick overview of the Crafternoon.

      I bought stickers, cardstock, tissue paper, scissors, glitter and glue plus more. I also asked the girls to bring over some crafting things; if they had anything to contribute (glitter hearts are not cheap). For food, I had the pie, candies, apple dips, brie bites and raspberry ginger ale with frozen cranberries.
Here's what the work table looked like:

 

 

Pretty Pretty Notebooks: Part Deux

    So I realized in previous post, I forgot to include a few photos of the finished product. So here it is and a few other notebooks I've covered lately.

Pretty Pretty Notebooks

 

     I love having pretty notebooks for class or just to jot down notes or recipes. Yet whenever I look for any in stores, they either can't be found or are way too expensive for me to afford. So I have taken to making my own pretty notebooks. It doesn't take a lot of money, time or effort and they are pretty enough to give as gifts or keep for yourself.

Here's all you need:

Modpodge ('m obsessed with the gloss version)

Foam Brush

Scrap book paper, tissue paper, etc. (You could use newspaper, magazines, even plain printer paper works)

Scissors (to trim paper)

Notebook (I like the 99 cent composition notebooks)

Directions-

1. Lay out paper over the notebook to position. Feel free to get creative and even layer papers!
   
2. Once you know where you are going to place everything, carefully remove it and use the brush to put down a layer of modpodge on the notebook. Press paper(s) on to the notebook, be careful to smooth out any bubbles or lumps. Take your time with this part.
   
3. Either cut or fold excess paper over the edges, tucking them in to glue down later. 
4. Apply with the foam brush 1 to up to 3 layers of modpodge on top of the paper to seal it in and give it time to dry between applying each layer. It should look glossy when finished.
   
5. Enjoy your creation and write pretty things!
   

How do you keep your notebooks from looking too dull?

Soup Fairy

So this holiday weekend sadly, two of my good friends were sick, leaving me with plenty of free time to make them a get well soup. Of course, I could not just make the two of them soup nor just bring soup over for all four roommates, I had to go all out and give them a treat. … Enter the Soup Fairy Bags…

You might be wonder what is in each bag…

They got one name decorated bag, a biscuit, a green tea with mango (which they all loved!), a carrot cake muffin and my famous butternut squash soup.

Butternut Squash Soup Recipe:

1 box V8 Butternut Squash Soup

1 diced ham steak

1 can of Butter Beans

Directions:

Place the drained can of Butter Beans and diced ham in a pot over medium heat, stirring occasionally until they are heated through. (about 3 minutes)

Add box of soup and simmer till soup warms as well. Stir and serve!

This soup is super easy to make and everyone loves it, the addition of the ham and beans makes it look like it took a lot more effort than it did. It's perfectly filling on a cold day and has two full servings of vegetables, what's not to love!