Craftastic Weekend

Last weekend was not very exciting. In fact, for the most part, it was downright boring. I had hoped to get out of the house and maybe go to the zoo, but it was wasn’t ideal weather and my older stepson was playing catch up all weekend with his school work. I’m not kidding, he pretty much ate, slept, showered and did homework. It wasn’t fun for any of us

The only good thing about such an uneventful weekend is that, Mama? she gets stuff done. I did the usual weekend cleaning, a little extra organizing and even had time for crafting! Since Haeden is pretty much constantly all up in my grill, I can only craft when he is sleeping. I made the most of that time this weekend and finally finished up my first cross-stitch project. I am in love with these and can’t wait to get to the craft store sometime this week to stock up on more thread so that I can get on with the next project.

I also broke out the felt and tried out a couple of new flower designs. The flatter flower is so darn quick and easy that I made three of them. I had seen a similar design on etsy and figured I could make it myself with my stepson’s trusty circle template. These flowers are pretty much self-explanatory. The second flower I made into a pin and am wearing it today. I’ve already gotten several compliments and I have to confess, I love being able to tell people that I made it myself!

For the second type, I'm including directions (sorry, no photos).

1. Cut out 6 flower shapes approx 3 inches in diameter. You will also need to cut out circular piece for the back and two leaves (optional).

2. Take each flower and place a dot of glue in the middle and fold over. Then place another dot of glue in the middle and fold over once more.

3.Arrange four of these on the felt circle so that the straight edges are touching. Then you will glue the remaining two in the middle so that they are sticking straight up/ one resting on each side of the flower. This makes sense when you are actually in the moment, I promise.

4. If you decide to use a flimsier type of fabric you could push the two top layers down and glue a pretty bead or button to the middle to give it a little extra flair. You can then either glue to a pin back, alligator clip or headband.

And lastly, I finally found the time to create the subway art inspired print all about our little family. It was simple and fun and I promise to post a picture of it later this week! Also, still to come is last week’s Project 365 photos!

Last Minute Gift - DIY Sugar Scrub

I like to think that homemade gifts are always cherished and even add a personal touch to this season of giving. I learned a long time ago that if you have to get a gift for a woman, and you have no idea which direction to go in, you really can't go wrong with some kind of fancy bath gift. Oh, but you can't afford to send them for a day at the spa? Well, how about you bring the spa to them with their very own peppermint sugar scrub! Ehhhh? Ehhhhh?

These are so easy and quick that I spent about an hour last weekend (nothing like the last minute) preparing these for each of my co-workers and Haeden's teachers. They seem to have been a hit so far and while I ran out of ingredients before I got to make one for myself, my hands definitely reaped the benefit during clean up.

Here's what you need:
1 cup sugar ( I used raw, but I read granulated is fine)
1/2 cup almond, sesame or olive oil ( I went with extra virgin olive oil since it was cheaper than the other two and I was making 10 of these bad boys)
1 tsp vitamin E oil (optional, but acts as a preservative to make your scrub last up to 6 months)
1 tsp essential oil of your choice (I used peppermint. Perfect for the season, energizing, clears those sinuses!)
1 tsp coconut oil
7 - 10oz container (Mine is from Dollar Tree!)

Directions:
Mix sugar, olive oil and coconut oil. Then add in vitamin E and peppermint oils. Stir. Pour into jar. Fancy it up with a bow, ribbon, gift tag, or whatever you like and give someone the gift of skin as soft as a baby's bottom!