{cb}h

Here's a little ditty from {cb}h (that's created by this time).

It was a Monday night. I was in the middle of another working evening. My brain needed a break.

I'd been wanting to test out some craft ideas for our (almost) homemade Christmas event (I'm SOOOO excited about it, y'all!). And we are going to be in need of some wall art in the near future. (That's the only current hint you get about that project.)

So I grabbed an old sweater. One I love. One that has memories attached. One that's just a little too snug for me these days.

I scuffed up one of those frames from another project idea (they've been laying around since we got engaged waiting to be used for a last name project..... I figured that wasn't happening anytime soon and I could steal from that project's pile...).

I stuck a little ditty on the little (as in too little) sweater and stuck it in the frame.

Materials needed:

A sweater that doesn't fit you anymore (or does. I'm not picky)

A frame

A little ditty of sorts

Glue gun

Sewing shears (I kid. I couldn't find mine and used my pampered chef shears instead.... don't tell on me.)

10 minutes.

Yup... that's all. 10 minutes. Or less if your glue gun heats up faster than mine. Or more if you choose to be careful and make sure your sweater isn't in the frame backwards. Whatever.

So go forth. Make some little ditties. (Oh- and this isn't making the (almost) homemade Christmas cut so you'll have to do it on your own if you want one!)

(Almost) Homemade Christmas

A friend asked me about crafty Christmas gifts. It made me realize she is way more on the ball than me!!!! With less than 50 days till Christmas, the countdown is on for a handmade (or at least, thoughtful) Christmas.

I searched my blog for ideas first.

Know any little ones?

These little hats are always easy, cute, and customizable. And who doesn't love em right now?

Cute onesies or little shirts require very little stitching (the shirts could even be done without stitching) and are super customizable.

My niece and nephew both love the super hero cape.

The Ugly Dolls are always cute!

Need something for a friend (or family member) of the taller variety?

Easy (and cheap) to make cake (or cookie) stands filled with homemade treats of course. Last time I was at Goodwill I wanted to stock up on the plethora of candlesticks they had that would be perfect for this project.

These ornaments are always fun to get little ones to make (as a top secret project, of course) then to give to their mommas, grandmas, etc.

Take an old window and turn it into something new. My favorite is the magnetic photo/card holder. And I get so many compliments on it when people come in the front door. It's cheap ($7.99) and people think it costs a lot more. You could make customizable magnets to go with it! (I still have a few windows from my sister's house if anyone needs one.) The smaller version of the magnet board can be made with a picture frame.

The necklace/jewelry holder is an easy craft. Every time I'm at my sister's I wish I would've made one for myself.

Do you sew? This scarf (no knitting required) got a lot of use last year. (I have a new idea for one this year but so far have been afraid to cut my fabric...)

A lot of people are getting DSLR cameras. Why not give them some bling for their camera strap?

No camera? How bout some bling for their neck? (You can borrow my stamping kit!)

A few years ago (we were either building our house or saving for a wedding- I just remember we were POOR), I took wine bottles, filled them with white Christmas lights, painted them with snowmen (and other winter scenes) and gave the decorated wine bottle to most of our family. Christmas decorations are nice because it's not something a lot of people care to spend a lot of money on and they are only out for a short time so they don't get too bored with it (and they don't feel guilty putting away your gift at the end of the season).

For my secret santa at work, I usually stitch together a corn pillow. Similar to the Wuv It- you can heat it and use it for aches and pains. I have a couple of the heat packs and love them!

Homemade goodies never get turned away. Put them on a cute serving tray or bowl and earn extra points. Last year I jarred up some homemade cocoa mix, attached the recipe and some Pampered Chef bamboo spoons (that I had 'earned' from a party) and my secret Santa was set.

Coupons are cheesy, but still thoughtful and super helpful. My cousin gave my uncle a meal a month one year. I was jealous. Maybe you aren't crafty but you can cook? Maybe you can't cook but love to clean? Maybe you don't like anything domestic but you can at least keep someone's kids alive while they go on a date night? Meal, house cleaning, and babysitting coupons aren't a bad idea.

Last year my mom got me a $5 subscription to Midwest Living. I don't get any other magazines so I really appreciate getting this in the mail (plus who doesn't love getting something other than a bill in the mail every once in awhile) and every time it comes I think of mom.

And of course I have to say that photos are always a good gift. The canvases are my most favorite right now (though not cheap or handmade) but there are less expensive routes to coming up with photo gifts. And when Shutterfly is giving away free photo books- that's a great time to get a photo book for someone.

Hopefully I'll have some new crafts after this year's Christmas.

Good luck with your handmade Christmas (or your shopping)!! Less than 50 days to go.....

This post has me wanting to host a homemade Christmas craft day! Who's in!?? :)

Stamped Metal Necklaces

Stamped Metal Necklaces (the one that I almost caved in and bought before my inner cheapness talked some sense into me!)

I'm posting this project because I had a hard time finding any information about it online. (Mostly because I didn't know what to search for.... now I know I needed a metal stamping kit and tutorial. ha)

Supplies:
spoon (the cheaper/thinner the better)
chain
hammer
drill
metal stamping kit ($18 at Michaels if you use your 40% off coupon- teachers have a 40% coupon they can use good until October 1st- or you can borrow mine!)
(optional) any pearls or jump rings you want to add
sharpie pen
jewelry cloth (or I found a wet paper towel works in a pinch)


-Lay your spoon face down on a mat (I did this in the garage... the concrete surface under the mat worked well). Use the hammer to flatten out the spoon.

-Bend the spoon where the handle meets the head until it breaks. (Using tin snips to give you a head start works great. I also used some fancy machine at my father-in-law's house that was really nifty for this step.... not sure what it's called...)

-Drill a hole at one end of your metal disc.

-Sand the rough edges (I was able to use a metal grinder but they do have metals sanders you can use).

-Use your metal stamping kit to stamp your letters. I used the tutorial video on beaducation.com to get some tips. The biggest problem I had was that I had to turn the disc over and flatten it again after each letter. I didn't do this the first time and found that the letters would show really well on one side but you couldn't see the whole letter.

Jen's "one whack" method works the best but it's difficult to do with the heavier weight metal.

And even if the letters don't look perfect.... it's very therapeutic after a Monday work day. (Rusty even asked if I skipped work today because I didn't have any good stories for him.....)

-Fill in the letters with your Sharpie pen and wipe off the extra. The jewelry cloth works great for this but for my first one I was in the garage and just used a rag. It worked okay too.... just required more rubbing.

-Put your pieces together on your chain (I'm still on the hunt for inexpensive chains)!

That's it. Not nearly as hard as I was expecting them to be. I would practice letters first. And am probably going to pick up some cheap thinner metal discs so the letters are easier to make. But overall, a decent project that is cheaper to do than buying a necklace. (And you know how I'm a fan of the squint method!) : )

productive saturday

R was super motivated today. After he had completed a huge list of [boring] chores [ie. mowing, cleaning the garage, etc], he grabbed a paint brush and started painting. He never paints. He hates painting. He hates the word painting. So I was super impressed [and surprised] to see his final product (the back door and steps). Since he was on a painting kick, I grabbed a quart of paint and schemed him into helping me paint our fireplace. It's definitely different.... :) I'll have to get some pictures taken of it soon.... after Jen gets up here! R also helped me with my craft project today. He fixed the holes and shaped my metal for me. I'm thinking he's building up to ask for something big... but for now, I'll take it! :)

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Updated: R would like for me to point out that he didn't help with "craft" projects. He did "manly things" like cut metal and drill holes. :)

More Hickstionary

I used to have all these pretty little tabs across the top of my blog about past topics.... then I realized that was way too much work and TAGS are much easier. So here's some past topics from the Hickstionary. You can search through tabs and use that handy little search box up top to find more! :)

FAITH

FAMILY

FOOD

FIRESIDE

FUN

FOREVER

ODDS/ENDS