Cookie Monster and Elmo Hats

I have been meaning to make these for weeks. One of my boys had asked for a Cookie Monster hat for his birthday back at the beginning of June. I wasn't able to get him one, but swore I would make one, eventually. When picking up the blue hat at the craft store, they had them on sale, 50% off. Originally they were $1.99, which is a steal in its own right, but with the discount now only $1.00, so I grabbed a red one too :) Oh and incidentally, Lids sells these Sesame Street hats for $25 ($12.99 at Amazon, go figure!), mine cost $1.00 each plus my time.

Oh, and in case you are wondering why you are seeing the back of my two boys instead of the front... the older one is now 13. See, his friends razzed him when they googled his name. Since I've been on the internet for such a long time, and because I've been making crafts equally as long and used to publish them on FamilyCorner.com (my old website) they found a picture... of him... and his brother... in a bubble bath.

LOL

They were LITTLE! Jeez, only 2 and 3 years old at the time, the craft was a bubble frame (sure! go look, it's cute! I'll wait...). Ha ha! Took me forever to convince him to let me get a picture of him wearing the hat, and then he would only agree to the back. LMAO!

So back to the hats. :) I basically just found some images on google of Cookie Monster hats and Elmo hats (there are other Sesame Street characters too) and drew the pattern using the picture as a guide.

I did make my Cookie Monster mouth look a little different than the image. It would be fun to tell you I did that on purpose, but I didn't. I just hosed it up. But it looks ok anyway. :)

See the picture I used showed the hat at angle, stupid, I know, instead of an overhead shot. So needless to say, it didn't come out perfect, but I'm happy with them, and so are the boys.

Currently, both hats are in my daughter's room. She stole them when the boys were at football practice.


Oh and one last note here, if you don't have fabric paint, get yourself some textile medium. You mix it with your acrylic paints and you have instant fabric paint. :)

First I cut the mouth pattern out and placed it over the bill of the hat. I used a pen and traced around the pattern lightly.

Then I used a liner brush with black paint to outline the mouth, then filled it all in with a thicker paintbrush.

Next I used a round sponge applicator to add the eyes. I twirled and swirled and pressed the paint on, turning and swirling to make the circle larger. You have to let the white dry all the way before moving on.

I used the round applicator to add Elmo's nose, a small round sponge applicator for the blacks of the eyes, and a liner brush to outline the eyes and nose. That was the hardest part. But you can touch up the mistakes with more paint. I did. :)

That's it! Then just let them dry before you wear them!

More from me you might like:
Frog Baseball Hat
Ladybug Baseball Hat
Homework Before Play Sign

More cool stuff from the interwebs:
Crocheted Sesame Street Hats - from Girl in Air
Cookie Monster Hat - from Parking at Home
Elmo Hat pattern - from Because Mommy Said So

Safety Pin Bracelet

My daughter came to me one day and said she saw these really cool bracelets made from safety pins and beads. As luck would have it, I had just seen one as well so I promised to make her one. She wanted one made with smaller pins than the one she had seen, so I bought 3/4" safety pins for mine.

Notes: Make sure you do the glue step, don't skip it. I was walking through WalMart and felt something poking me. I discovered that two pins on my bracelet had come open, all the beads had fallen off, and then were stabbing me as I walked. Also, made sure you get cord that will fit properly through the safety pin head and bottom. I used elastic beading cord.

Hint: When working with small pins and beads like these, be patient. Dipping the ends of the pins in glue would be rather difficult while holding the beads on, so use a toothpick to add a dot instead.

Safety Pin Bracelet
printable version

3/4" safety pins
Elastic beading cord
Seed beads
White craft glue
Toothpick

Put some glue on a paper plate, about the size of a quarter.

Open a safety pin and thread as many seed beads on as you can, leaving enough room to close the pin. Dip toothpick into the glue and use it to add a dot of glue to the end of the pin, then fasten. Continue this process until you have enough pins for your bracelet.

Cut two pieces of elastic beading cord, about 12" long each. Line them up evenly and loosely tie together at the end. This is just temporary so that your pins don't fall off the other end as you thread them on.

Thread one of the cords through the head of a pin, then the other cord through the bottom of the pin. To ad the second pin, reverse it, so that your pins alternate, top, bottom, top, bottom. Be sure that the beads are all on the same side as you work or you'll end up taking a bunch of pins off and starting over (trust me on this ha ha!).

When you have enough pins to create your bracelet, remove the knot from the tied end. Bring the bracelet together to create a circle.

Tie the top cords together and the bottom cords together. Trim all but about two inches off the cords. Tuck remaining cord into the underside of the pins and add a little bit of glue. Let dry.

More you might like from me:
Make Tie Dye Wall Letters
Ladybug Baseball Hat
Decoupage Light Bulb Birds

More cool stuff from the interwebs:
Pony Bead Safety Pin Bracelet - from Making Friends
Making Beaded Safety Pins - from Family Crafts at About.com
Safety Pin Belt - from ...love Maegan

Back to School: Homework Before Play Sign

I know, back to school! It's not even the end of July, but I've already started buying school supplies so that the financial hardship that it brings isn't so "all at once". I'm not really ready to start making back to school crafts, but I thought I would share this fun sign I made a few years ago. The idea is to hang this on the front door. When the sign says "doing homework" friends will know to come back later.

You see I actually had a deep need for this sign a while back. My kids' friends would come and knock on the door looking for my boys. The most common answers I gave were "they are doing homework" or "they are outside playing". This sign was a big help in answering that question for me!

Sorry I don't have any step by step photos, but if you have any questions, please don't hesitate to ask :)


Homework Before Play Sign
printable version

What you need

shirt shaped paper mache sign*
Liquitex Basics Gesso
black craft pen
medium flat brush
large scruffy paint brush
acrylic sealer spray, matte

acrylic paint:
red
yellow
white

What you do

Paint the entire sign with one coat of Gesso. If you don't have Gesso, you can find it in the art department of any craft supply or hobby store. Alternatively, you can use a coat of white acrylic paint. Allow to dry completely.

Paint entire sign with yellow acrylic paint. Let dry and repeat with a second coat.

The stripes do not require a pattern, uneven lines add to the character of this project. After yellow paint has dried, use a medium flat brush to paint on wide red stripes, starting at the bottom of the shirt and working your way upward. Paint a red collar band and sleeve bands on as well. Repeat on the other side. Let dry completely.

Before this step, be certain that the red paint is completely dry or the white will turn pink. Use a large scruffy brush to dab on a white oval in the center of the shirt. Let dry and repeat. Let second coat dry completely.

Use a black craft pen to write "outside playing" on one side and "doing homework" on the other side. Spray both side with acrylic sealer spray and let dry overnight. Hang!

To use: Simply hang on your child's door, or on your front door. Have your child flip the sign to the approriate side when needed.

* I purchased my shirt sign at Michael's Craft Store.

More from me you might like:
Paper Bag Scarecrow
Tin Can Frankenstein
Football Crafts

More from the interwebs:
Locker Magnets from MakingFriends.com
Pom Pom Flowered Desk Caddy - from FreeKidsCrafts.com
Desktop Supply Box (by me) on Kaboose

Water Bottle Octopus (or Squid)

Aww, isn't she cute? Your kids can make this fun octopus (or squid, whatever you want to call her) from an empty plastic water bottle! Little ones will probably need help with the scissors, but older kids should be able to make this sea creature all by themselves. Not only is this a fun rainy day project, it's green too! So recycle those water bottles into fun ocean animals.

Water Bottle Octopus
printable version

You will need

1 empty water bottle
scissors
pink paint
1/2 sheet pink felt
instant grab glue
2 large wiggle eyes
Markers (pink and maroon or red)

What you do

Cut off the bottom of the water bottle.

Don't throw it in the garbage. You can either recycle it or save it to use in another craft project.

Paint the water bottle pink and let it dry.

When the paint has dried, use scissors to cut strips in the bottle. Start at the bottom and go up to about 3 inches from the top, just leave enough room for the head.

Cut a strip of pink felt to cover the top of the bottle and glue it in place. By the way, you should have saved the lid too, for another project. ;) Always save your lids, they are great in a pinch and don't take up much space!

Cut a long strip, about an inch in width, from the remaining pink felt. Tie that strip into a bow. Trim the ends and glue that to the front of the pink strip around the mouth of the bottle.

Now just glue on some eyes and use markers to draw on some lips and cheeks! Done!

Oh, you can hang her by adding some yarn to the top of the bottle. :)

Here's more from me you might like:

Paper Plate Owl
Frog Baseball Hat
Cardboard Tube Giraffe
Recycled Ladybug Jar

Here's some fun stuff from the interwebs:

Handprint Octopus - from FreeKidsCrafts.com
Fish and Sea Creature Craft Projects - from Family Crafts at About.com
Yarn Octopus - from Kaboose (oh hey, look, I made that!)  ;)
Egg Carton Octopus - from Family Crafts at About.com

Gone Swimming Beach Plaque

This was something I made a few years ago after a trip to the beach. Many people decorate their bathrooms in a nautical or beach theme, so this is a great addition to that decor. If you don't have any shells you've collected, you can buy them at the craft store. I hung mine on the wall and it looked lovely.

Unfortunately, it didn't survive my last move, so I guess I'll need to make another one. What a shame, it would have gone great in my current bathroom! :( Also, because I did make this several years ago, I'm afraid I don't have step by step photos, but the instructions should be clear enough. :)

Gone Swimming Beach Plaque
printable version

What You Need

oval paper mache hanging plaque
acrylic paint, antique white
acrylic paint, tan
black craft pen or Sharpie pen
assorted sea shells and starfish
sand
1 large starfish
scruffy paintbrush
flat paintbrush
hot glue gun
white craft glue
water
acrylic sealer spray, matte


What you do

Using the flat brush, paint plaque with antique white. Repeat with a second coat and let dry.

Hot glue the large starfish to the left side of the plaque, and glue the seashells and remaining starfish around the right side and bottom of the plaque. Refer to photo for placement. Pull excess strings off left over from hot glue.

In the center of the plaque, use black craft pen to write "gone swimming".

Mix together a nickel size amount of white craft glue and a little water, just enough to thin the glue out and make it "paintable". Using the flat brush, paint on the glue mixture wherever you would like the sand to stick. This must be done in about 3-4 sections so that the glue doesn't dry before you add the sand. Start at the top of the plaque and work your way to the left, painting the glue mixture around the large starfish. Pour sand over the glue, let sit for a moment, then tap off the excess. Repeat this process around the shells and other starfish, wiping off any glue that may get on the tops of the starfish or shells (before adding the sand).

Dip scruffy brush into tan paint and dab off all excess onto a paper towel. Paint brush should be almost dry. Add tan touches around the words and along the edges of the sand.

Spray entire surface with acrylic sealer and allow to dry completely. Hang!

Note: Live creatures should never be removed from their natural habitat. Only collect shells that are empty and starfish that have expired. You can also purchase everything you need for this craft (including decorative sand) from your local craft supply store.

Stumbles, shares, tweets and faves are always appreciated! :)

Milk Glass Cake Plate (a DIY project)

I think milk glass is one of the prettiest things on the planet. I don't entertain much, so I don't need lovely items to show off my food to guests too often, but because of my food blog, Amanda's Cookin', I need these type of lovelies for food props!

I've wanted a milk glass cake plate for a long time. I've been scouring thrift stores and antique shops, looking for just the right one. I've found a few in my travels, but they really weren't what I was looking for, and I wasn't willing to pay between $75 and $100 to get what I wanted.

I'm sure you've seen the posts around the internet, people making cupcake stands and candle pedestals out of plates and candlestick holders. Well I did something similar. I came across a milk glass plate in one of my favorite thrifty antique stores that was perfect for a cake. It measured 10" across, not counting the decorative border, and the best part was that the plate itself was flat. There was no dip in the center like you find on a typical dinner plate.

Now all I needed was a stand. There were plenty of milk glass candlesticks in several heights and sizes, but none that seemed wide enough to hold the plate, especially with a cake on top. So I kept looking around, and then I found it. A pretty little milk glass candy dish.

I removed the lid from the dish, turned the dish upside down, and placed the cake on top. Perfect!

The woman who runs the store was overly impressed by my ingenuity, and complimented me several times on being able to see a cake plate from these two items. He he. If she only knew what my mind sees from anything my kids want to throw in the garbage!

All I did was turn the plate over, find the center and make a mark. Then, with a little help from Gorilla Glue and a stack of cookbooks to create the bond the glue needs, I was able to create my beloved milk glass cake plate.

If you haven't used Gorilla Glue before and are not sure what I meant above, here's the deal. Gorilla Glue requires a bond because as the glue begins to work, it expands. If there were no bond, the glue would expand, pushing the two surfaces apart. A bond, whether it be that the two surfaces being glued together are clamped into a vice, or they are held together by the weight of several awesome cookbooks, must be in place for this to work. See the white foamy looking stuff? That's the expanded glue.

The cost?

$15 -- the plate
$6 -- the candy dish

$21.00 - I can live with that :)

Here's the first cake I displayed on my plate - Chocolate Sauerkraut Cake (I know, right?!) and then I made my own concoction from some mulberries I picked from my own tree, and that I call Vanilla Bean Mulberry Cake. :)



Stumbles, shares and faves are always appreciated! :)

4th of July Luminaries

I made these luminaries today to celebrate the 4th of July. These would work great for Memorial Day and Patriot's Day as well, or just any time you want to show your patriotic spirit. I'll be displaying them on my Independence Day table and will light them up as we sit around the campfire. They will make a great addition to your patio or deck!

You could use any type of glass jar that you want. I used these 4 canning jars I had left over from making homemade cherry pie filling. Mmm! I'm a little late on the holiday band wagon, but I fit them in when I can! Hope everyone has a wonderful 4th!

My notes: I got "lucky" enough to get a batch of crappy red paint. How I managed to pick that bottle out of all the bottles on the shelf I will never know. However, since I did grab a bottle of bad paint, that caused the paint to peel up with the Contact paper (didn't happen with the other colors, and I've had trouble with this paint on other projects too, booooo hiss!), and so that's where the idea came from to use the glitter glue. It was a cover up job! ;)

4th of July Luminaries
printable version

What you need

Glass jars
Red, white and blue acrylic paint
White piece of paper
Black Sharpie
Contact paper
Paintbrush
Clear gloss sealer spray
Twine

What you do

Draw a star on a piece of paper. Place the drawing underneath a piece of Contact paper. Trace the star onto the Contact paper, one for each jar.

Cut the star out and peel off the backing. Place the star onto the jar and press to make sure that there are no air bubbles and that all corners are pressed down.

Paint jar with one coat of acrylic paint and let dry completely.

Make sure the paint is dry before peeling the contact paper off. Pipe glitter glue around the star and let dry several hours. Spray with gloss sealer and let dry. Give the jar two more coats of sealer spray, allowing it to dry for 20 minutes between coats. Tie twine around the rim of each jar.

Variations: Use thin strips of Contact paper to create stripes, or small squares on your jar. Another option is to coat your jar with white glitter glue before spraying with sealer. I did 4 stars on one jar, stripes on another, and little squares on another.

More from me you might like:
Fireworks Coffee Filter Flowers
Americana Painted Jars
Halloween Painted Jar Luminaries
Ghost Luminaries for Halloween

Some ideas I like from the interwebs:
Patriotic Water Bracelets - from FamilyCorner.com
Fourth of July Finger Puppets - from Craft Jr.
Patriotic Summer Fan - from Making Friends
Independence Day Crafts on About.com