Personalized Clay Rock Magnets

This project came about for a couple of reasons.  1) I love magnets.  2) My kids love rocks.  Put them together, and they turn out pretty cute!
I also had some darling inspiration: This nest with "eggs" inside by Two Shades of Pink - where each egg is stamped with their family's names.  And also, these little balls of love from the crafty CPA. 

So, I took 2 light, natural colors of sculpy/fimo clay (the kind you bake), and squished them together to make a mottled, marbled looking "rock". 
To make the rock shape I used a little piece of foil for the middle, to save on the amount of clay I used, and to make the rocks lighter in weight. 
As you can see below a little piece of clay can just be wrapped around a ball of foil and pinched together and shaped with fingers until it looks like a rock. 

Since the clay is warm and pliable from squishing it and holding it in your hands, you can use small alphabet stamps to impress words into the clay.
I found this little set for $1 at the craft store, and it worked great!:

I tried to line them up, and space the letters evenly, but imperfection adds to the charm:)  I pressed as far as I could, without impressing the straight lines or corners of the edges of the stamps. 

Below is a picture of the indentations from the letter stamps, before it has been baked or painted.

Bake them according to the clay package instructions.  Here are a few that my daughter, mom and I made. 

Once they are baked and cool fill in the indentations with paint in order to make them stand out. 
I used acrylic paint - and applied it with a little stylist (a very pointy metal utensil, often used for embossing, etc.) 
You could instead try to water down paint, brush it over the letters, and wipe away the excess, but it is difficult.  We tried it and it was hard to wipe away all the excess and still leave enough in the indentation. 
If you don't have a stylist you could try using the tip of a sharp pencil, or mechanical pencil, and dip that into your paint to trace inside the indentation. 
Below is an in progress picture:

I super glued super strong magnets onto the back - and now I can use them on my fridge or these magnetic burner covers I have hanging on the wall near my craft table....

They are super easy, and so fun to personalize!  My mom made some with the words "peace", "joy" and "love"...you could make a whole rock set for yourself or friends!  Because who doesn't love a personalized (easy-to-make) gift?!

Check out these parties I often link up to!

Painted Garden Markers

We planted a our little garden last weekend, and it is always fun to see things grow.  I am sure it costs more to maintain than it actually pays back in produce - but it is also great for the kids to help take care of the plants. 
I made these painted wooden garden markers with my daughter, which is a variation of a set that I made for my friend last year. 
We used paint stir sticks this time - which are great because they are free from the hardware store!

This time we painted them "faux wood" color (all acrylic paint) - but I am torn as to whether I like this look.  The other set I made was very colorful, which I might like better...(take a look at the pics at the bottom of the post)...but these are still fun :)

I penciled in cursive the name of a plant on each marker (which you may or may not be able to see in the picture above).

I painted a bubble of lighter color around the penciled words...nothing to precise:

And then stenciled in the darker letters over the lighter color...

Also painted a little picture of the plant, and drilled a hole in the top to attach the dragonflies!

The dragonflies are my favorite part. 
They are made from 20 gauge copper wire and the cheapest little assortment of colored beads I could find.

To make them, cut a length of cord about 2 feet long:

Make two loops near the middle of the length, each about 1.5" long - making sure they cross each other.

Make two smaller loops crossing and overlapping the larger loops.  These are the dragonfly's wings.

Thread a bead onto one of the long tails, and loop it over the top/middle of the wings - situating the bead on top.  You can wrap the long tail around the middle once or twice if you want. 

String 4-6 beads onto both of the tails hanging down, pushing them all the way up to meet the wings. 

Loop one of the lengths of wire through the last bead, to secure them all tightly to the top - as shown below:

Secure the dragonfly to the garden marker through the hole you drilled, twisting the remaining cord around the body of the dragonfly to hold it upright. 
I also sprayed mine with a few clear coats of polyurethane, to help protect them from the elements. 

They end up being charming additions to the garden, and the dragonflies add extra color and whimsy that I really like. 

Below are pictures of the first set we made - which are a bit more colorful - and also very fun...

I hope you all get a chance to enjoy growing plants and gardens this spring and summer! 
For us, there is nothing like eating fresh food from the garden :)

Check out these parties I often link up to!

Egg Shell Mosaic Fruit Bowl

I have needed a fruit bowl for a while - but I was reluctant to buy plain a metal basket.  I wanted something more colorful, to complement the colors in the kitchen. 

I found this white ceramic bowl very inexpensively at the China Fair store, anticipating that I would decorate it myself somehow.

 

When I saw this idea at Crafts by Amanda - I was so excited to try it on my fruit bowl!

I saved some of the eggs shells from Easter, and dyed some other eggs that I had blown out and saved previously, making sure that I had different shades of a variety of colors.

I used mod podge to place my egg shells, and covered them in a thick coat to seal them to the bowl. 

I also finished with a clear finish spray.  I don't plan on washing this bowl, just wiping it down as needed - so I hope it holds up well. 

I did a sun scene on one side, and a moon scene on the other, so that I could use a wide array of colors.  I love it!  It adds just the dash of color I was hoping for!

Check out these parties I often link up to!

Slipcovers for Toddler Chairs - with tutorial

I am in love!!!  This project turned out just as I had envisioned it - and I made up the pattern entirely on my own!  I just love it when that happens...I feel so proud:)

So, I will tell you what prompted the making of these slipcovers. 
We have a very tiny kitchen, with no space for a traditional table.  I like to cook though, and it is important to me to be able to have my kids in the kitchen with me.  So, IKEA saved us with this wall mounted dropdown table.  It is WONDERFUL to have!  And it is the perfect height for these perfectly functional child sized chairs that I picked up at a yard sale....

However, no matter how much I scrub them, they always look a little grungy, and let's face it, the bright red and blue are just not my favorite color combination. 
So, I have had it in my head for quite a while that I would like to make little slipcovers for them - and cover that red and blue brightness right up.

When I had a few days off work during spring break last week, I decided that this would be my project for the days off.  I was prepared to spend days figuring this out, and sewing, etc. - but I am happy to say that I came up with a pattern and sewed it all together in just a couple of hours!
These are really not that difficult to make!

Here are the 4 pieces needed to make the cover (pic below).  This tutorial can be used to make a cover for any sized dining chair - as long as it doesn't have arms. 
I made a pattern out of muslin.

To make Piece #1: I laid my chair back onto the fabric and traced around it.
Be sure to account for the depth of the chair back (mine was 2 inchs thick) and account for seam allowance.  Ultimately, I added about 2.5 inches around the entire outside of the chair.
Mark where the height of the seat is (see picture below).
This pattern piece should be symmetrical from left to right.  If it is not, you can fold it in half (long ways) and even things up.  Just don't cut off too much and loose your seam allowance!

Piece #4: Is simply the top part of Piece #1, down to the lines that mark where the seat is. 
So, after cutting out Piece #1, I lined up the seat marks with an edge of the fabric, and cut around the top half to make a match. 

To make Piece #2: Measure around the front 3 sides of the seat and write down the measurement. 
Measure around the bottom of the legs on the same 3 sides and write down the measurement. 
The picture below shows the 2 places you will measure, and how pattern piece #2 fits.
Also, measure the height of the seat from the ground. 

Mark a line in the center of your fabric (see picture below).  Make that line the same length as the height of your seat. 
Take the measurement from around your seat (blue line from pic above), and divide it in half.  For example, if it was 34" around the 3 sides of your seat, half of that is 17".  From the top of the center line, measure 17" to the right, and 17" to the left.  Make sure that the marks are the same height as the center line.  Connect the marks with a line. 

Take the measurement from around the legs (orange line from pic above), and divide it in half.  Measure out from the bottom of the center line half to the right, and half to the left. 

The reason for measuring this way, is so that your top and bottom lines are centered.  That way, when you connect the top line to the bottom line on the left and right side, the angle is the same on both edges. 

The picture below should make this clear:

You can see that you made a trapezoid based on the measurement around the seat, and the measurement around the legs.  If those 2 measurements were the same - this would be a perfect rectangle. 

To make Piece #3: The seat piece has a flat edge along the back side.  This flat edge should be the same length as the flat bottom edge of piece #4.  So, trace around your seat, with overhang for seat width and seam allowance, and make sure the back edge is the same width as the bottom of piece #4.

To begin sewing: take piece #2 (trapezoid leg covering) and piece #3 (seat) and pin them, right sides together.  The shorter top side of the trapezoid #2 piece will line up with 3 sides of the seat piece #3.  The back flat edge of piece #3 will not be pinned.  Again, view the picture below for better explanation. 
You have to be careful pinning, because you are creating a curve.  My advice: use a lot of pins!

Sew these pieces together using 1/2" seam allowance.  When flipped right side out, it will look like the picture below!

Next, sew piece #3 to piece #4.  With right sides together, pin the final side of the seat piece #3 (the flat back part) to the flat bottom part of piece #4.  Sew together using 1/2" seam allowance.  When flipped right side out, it will look like the picture below:

The last piece is the back piece #1.  With right sides together, pin this piece all the way around what you have just sewn.
As we discussed, when you made piece #4, it was an exact tracing of part of piece #1.  These parts will match up, right sides together, and be pinned.  Then, the rest of piece #1 will match up with the edges of the trapezoid piece #2.

Sew around all these pinned sides with 1/2" seam allowance.  (The only edges that will not be sewn when you are all done are the bottom flat part of piece #1, and the long bottom edge of trapezoid piece #2.)
When flipped right side out, it will look like the picture below:

All that is left is the hemming!
With the slip cover on your chair, fold under the raw edges as far as you like, and pin. 

Iron the folded edge flat (you could double fold if you want to completely remove the raw edges underneath the slip cover) - and top stitch 1/2" from the edge. 

I tied strips of sheer fabric around the seatback for a decorative element.
I love how they look!  I used offwhite fabric for most of the seat, and colored fabric for the back of the chair, but obviously, you can make these completely colored, or completely white, or any combination.
I have been thinking that it would be fun to applique a design onto the seatback part of the chair - especially for these little kid ones.  Or it would be fun to make some specifically for holidays or birthdays!

This is a picture of the whole setup - with my handpainted signs on the wall above.  It is nice to make small spaces happy and decorative. 
Be sure to ask questions if this tutorial is confusing.  But be assured - that it is not as difficult as it may appear!  You can easily make your own too :)

Check out these parties I often link up to!