A place for every bangle and every bangle in it's place!

When it is "Manic Monday" and you are "In Your Room" trying to decide what to accessories go perfect with your leggins and slouch socks, have no fear!  Even if you like to "Walk Like an Egyptian" you will be able to find the perfect bracelet that will "Be With You' like an "Eternal Flame" all day. Ok enough of that....Here is an awesome bracelet holder so you don't have to go searching again. Plus it is super cute and super easy!

Supplies:
1 Wooden Clock Face (about 11" with hole pre-drilled in center)
4 -  12" dowels  to fit inside the hole (I think mine were 3/8")
7 Dowel Caps
Wood Glue...ooo and hot glue!
Acrylic Paint
Brad Nails
Ribbon- 1/2 -3/4 inch





Directions:

1. Sand base if necessary. Glue one dowel into hole with wood glue.
2. Evenly space the remaining three dowels along the upright dowel and nail in. You may want to add a drop of wood glue for extra support.

3. Add dowel caps to the end of each dowel and the top. Also use a drop of wood glue.
4. Paint as desired. Add a coat of Polyurethane for a nice shiny finish.
5. Wrap joints for extra stability and decoration. I used 3/4 inch ribbon and attached with hot glue.

Viola! This probably took me 2 hours, with paint drying time. And cost me about $15. Could be done a little cheaper if you cut your own dowels and drill your own holes. I gave this one to my mom for her birthday. She  easily fits 25 bracelets on it.

Some active indoor fun with HOPSCOTCH!

Want an easy way to keep the kids entertained and active inside during those cold days? We were spending  one of those cold days in the kids section at the local library and they had an indoor hopscotch set up. It was those foam tiles that you could put together and jump right on. I thought (as I often do, it is a curse really, I can make that!) So after some brainstorming and Googling (Kinda Crafty helped me out with this), I decided to make one out of yoga mat for my nieces for Christmas. This was a SUPER easy project! I think I am going to have to put one together for the boys too. 

Materials:
Yoga mat (Got one at Five Below for $5)
Sharpie Markers
Masking tape
Scrap fabric
Rice or beans
Ribbon
Snap or button (optional)

Mat:

Step 1: Lay out design on yoga mat with masking tape. There is already a grid in the mat from how it is made so it is super easy to keep it straight. I found that 8 inch squares worked great. I hate to measure so I cut out 10 squares with my paper cutter and laid them out on the mat. I added the masking tape around the edge for a 3/4 inch border.

Step 2: Remove paper and trace around all the masking tape with a fine tip sharpie.  add large numbers with sharpie too. Color in. Husbands work great for this! I laid out the design and my husband spent two nights watching hockey and coloring it in!  Roll it up and you are done.

Heels/Pucks:

I used some scrap fabric I had on hand and made a few 3 inch beanbags to use with it. I remember playing hopscotch as a kid and throwing rocks onto the board to see if you could skip that space. I just used 2 squares of fabric, placed right sides together, and sewed around the outside, leaving about a 1 inch space open.  Use the opening to turn the bag inside out and fill with beans or rice and sew closed. I made 3.

Storage:  

As with any functional kids toy, you need an easy way to store it. I used the same piece of scrap fabric and made a little tube bag to hold the mat. I also added a little pocket with a snap on the outside to hold the pucks. Add a ribbon through the top to tie it up. 

New year, new blog!

New Year, New things! I am determined to try my hand at this blogging thing and succeed. As an elementary school art teacher expect some artsy and craftsy stuff. As the mom of two little boys expect some toddler foods, crafts, and general chaos. As a woman expect some rave review and general complaints about anything that may be happening in my life....I hope you enjoy! 

Some previews of what is to come...

And much, much, more!