Throwing a baby shower? Go see my free printable invitations, cupcake toppers and bunting over at Alpha Mom.
Balsa Wood Prints
I had some balsa wood around the house and decided to make prints with the kids. If you’ve never seen this before, it is an inexpensive and soft wood that you can buy at most art supply and craft stores.
Here’s how we did it. I had the wood cut into rectangles already. The kids drew their designs with a pencil, then I went back to make sure that the indentations were clear. We printed with several colors of ink on colored paper (for more details on the printmaking process and materials, read this post). We had mixed results, but overall I like the effect of the woodgrain as it comes through to the paper and there was no carving necessary. I think it would be nice to have your child print several runs of the same design in different colors and frame them together. I even made a print of my own– this is not just a kid’s project!
Glitter Globe
I have a love/hate relationship with glitter. I can’t deny my children of the mess because I can understand its appeal. This glitter globe is a simple recycled project because you can use an empty glass jar and a knickknack picked up from the thrift store. We’ve had this little fairy for a while now intending to make a snow globe. I looked at quite a few tutorials, but ended up following this one from Robert Mahar over at the Junior Society. I used a plastic cap to elevate the little fairy so she wouldn’t be flat to the jar top (or bottom, depending on your perspective). I think I’d like to add some satin ribbon around the base.
So naturally when you leave tiny little glitter (thanks, Martha) on a table within a kid’s reach, this might happen. My six-year-old did some experimenting with “magic potions”.
Then it turned into this. Then it was time for a bath.
Water Bottle Tote
The kids needed water bottle totes for a summer day camp this week, so I came up with this quick and easy pattern. This one has elastic around the top to keep the bottle from falling out and should hold most smaller sizes of plastic and metal bottles (12-18oz). And if you’re interested, you can read this review of BPA-free bottles. This will work for adults too by simply lengthening the strap.
Click here to download the .pdf tutorial.
MATH ALERT: Luckily my husband was around today to help me with this one. If you need to make your tote larger to accommodate a bigger bottle, simply increase the size of your bottom fabric circle. To then determine what the width of your fabric should be, multiply the diameter of your circle by ∏ (3.1415926….).
Quick Crafty Roundup
Here are some projects to keep you busy. These days I look at so many things online that I have trouble tracking where I find links. So these are the sites that I check regularly for tutorial links: Whip Up, Craft, One Pretty Thing and Craft Gossip. My apologies for not giving proper credit. It’s all a blur.
Stenciled Shoe Bag from Jenny Ryan for Craft.
Tree trunk cake stand from Once Wed for Etsy’s How-Tuesday.
Checkerboard from I Heart Linen for Sew News.
Knitted Twine Dining Set from Design Sponge.
Warm Fuzzy Mammal Finger Puppets from Soto Softies.
Simple Summer Pavilion from Maya Made.
Doorstop from Wipster.
Tiny Delicate Tissue Flowers from Zakka Life. (Wouldn’t these be sweet cupcake toppers?)