Shrinky Dink Fun

My wedding ring doesn't fit anymore... not since I was pregnant with Talmage.  We plan to get it sized up half a size, but in the meantime I've been wearing a fake ring that looks similar... and turns my finger green!  I'm tired of feeling like I'm morphing into a leprechaun, so I decided to make myself a different ring.

I had so much fun making some rings.  I feel like such a little kid whenever I work with Shrinky Dinks!  Yep, that's right.....Shrinky Dinks!

Here's a picture of some the pieces I have made with Shrinky Dinks.

Here are some close ups of each piece...

cute scallop details on this ring (just cut before shrinking)

mustard chevron with "I need Thee every hour" detail

lovin some leopard

 

more chevron

 This notebook has a love note on it saying "I love you"  I'm sentimental so the 4 hearts represent our family of 4 and the 7 metal beads represent the 7 years my husband and I will be married this year.  The back page is blank and represents what our future holds.  Cheesy?... yes.... :)

a ring I made for my daughter

I added glitter to this one.  When it was done shrinky and laying flat still, I pulled it out and sprinkled glitter on it.  I put it back in and let it heat through, then I pulled it out and made the mold.  Most of the glitter stuck to the ring, but I ended up putting clear nail polish on and it is perfect.  Plus that coat of nail polish made it smooth again.

 Haha!  These two are silly to me... They don't really look like diamonds, just a design more or less.  It was fun to mess around and see what they'd look like though

 Here's another mushy sentimental necklace... perfect for Valentine's Day coming up

I love the banner look and especially in black and white

I actually wear this one in place of my wedding ring now.  Ha!

 a blue ikat design with red dot in the middle of the diamonds

 This is a bracelet for my daughter... can you tell??

I added that leopard circle to a broken necklace!

These were a LOT of fun to make.  I love all the vintage details. 
I got this last bracelet idea from this site:
http://www.countryliving.com/crafts/projects/how-to-make-a-shriky-dink-bracelet
They supply all these vintage pictures for you (along with more)

Hope you enjoyed!  Please take pictures of any jewelry you make... I'd love to see!!

First Sale

So remember when I mentioned I started a little side business and then didn't do much with it? 
That's ok. I figured you didn't. 

But, that is what I did (well to say I didn't do much with it isn't entirely true. I probably announced the boutique too early because I then spent a long amount of time doing a bunch of organizing... trying to figure out exactly what I wanted to make, what materials go into making each item, then what exactly it would cost to make each item, and finally putting all that info into a big white binder....after that I slacked off).

Anywho... I was contacted and made our very first sale!
I posted about it HERE

All our Halloween fun

This year was all about celebrating things for the first time!

We went to Cornbelly's this year for the first time and happened to meet up with my sister Anna there.  It was actually pretty fun and we'll have to go again when Dani's a little older and the weather is still a little warmer.  It was FREEZING by the time we left.

 I forgot to bring my camera, but luckily my sister used her phone to snap some pics.

They had some tire swings shaped like different animals and things and a tractor ride.

We celebrated Halloween on Saturday, the 29, and Monday the 31st.

Saturday we went to our ward's trunk or treat.  It was the first one we've been to and we were pretty excited.  We decorated our car with things we had already in our house.  It was fun to have my sister and her family join us as well.

 

 we added dry ice to the cauldron on the right 

                              

                                      my sister's kids

Tinkerbell and a bum

I dressed up as Juno.

Saturday evening we went to our friends, the Gilberts, for a Halloween party! 
It was a lot of fun, there was yummy food and Tyler won the Best Costume award!

On Halloween, we went to Tyler's work were they have an annual Halloween trick-or-treating for the employees' children.  Danica loved it!.  Dani and I dressed up like Tinkerbell and Juno again.
 

Tyler works in the Tax Department with all women
so he and his co workers dressed up as a polygamist family.

On Monday we passed out candy for the first time ever.  Dani actually went out trick-or-treating and we had lots of trick-or-treaters!

Tyler passing out the candy

Here were some of the things we had going on around our house leading up to Halloween

I didn't take a picture of it, but I traced Dani's hands and feet

and made spiders and ghosts like this and hung them on the wall and ceiling.

image

We also made some mummy English muffin pizzas

We made some new decorations this year.  When I say we, I mean Tyler. 

I got the idea, but Tyler definitely executed and made it great!

When buying these birdhouses, I wasn't sure how the idea would turn out or if I could convince Tyler they might look cool, but we both really ended up liking them.

Our snake wreath

Repurposed heels

I was looking through pictures and I had forgotten I had made these shoes....
well, repurposed, that is, with mod podge and fabric.

I decided I wanted to do it again because it was fun and simple (and CHEAP... these shoes cost me $1.50 at Goodwill), so I thought, why not share the idea with other people cause they might want to do it themselves too.

Comment on Crocheting

I was writing a response to my last post in the comment section... but it turned into a really long comment, so I just decided to make a little post instead.  Here's my reply to the comments so far on the post below:

I learned how to crochet from a roommate like 6 years ago.  She had me take it one little step at a time... making a REALLY long chain, pulling it apart, and doing it again and again until I got the hang of it.  Then she taught me the actual stitch and how to continue stitching lines.
I didn't really start to crochet again until like last year and, though I thought I had forgotten how to do it, it all came back to me.  Like riding a bike.  So, you might be surprised what you remember, if you've learned once before.
The more "advanced" stitching techniques I learned online.  I was looking at tutorials online and had no idea what they were talking about.  I didn't understand all the lingo so I googled them.  But I found the most helpful instructions on youtube!  I could actually see all the steps they were doing, pause or rewind it, and watch it all again.  So awesome.
I also got a book from my mother-in-law that tells me all my need-to-knows about crocheting.

For those nearby, I would love to show you what I know about crocheting.  I can't guarantee I'm the best teacher... and hopefully I'm not doing anything wrong!  But if you're interested in getting together sometime let me know.  I can organize a time to teach a little class thing.

Crocheting bug

I've caught a crocheting bug! 
It's just what I've been wanting to do in my free time.  Lately all I've made are flowers and I'm having so much fun!  (I have a how-to book entirely on crocheting flowers... so I'll be busy for a while)
I made this headband for Danica today and I had to share because I thought she looked so cute and so much older in it (sniff sniff).  She would NOT hold still long enough for a picture and she only let me take a picture of her when she was lying on the floor... haha!  (...so not the best pictures). 

 

 

(the flower at the top of her head is a little bit bigger than the side flower)

Anybody else like to crochet?

Off to see the Wizard

Before I get to my main reason for posting, I just wanted to remind you that I am planning a get together where I'll be teaching you how to make The 20 Minute Skirt (see post below for more details).  If you're interested in coming to that you'll want to bring the following supplies:
*1 yard of fabric
*enough elastic to fit around your waist once
*sewing machine - if you have one

I recently helped plan an activity for my ward Relief Society. It was Wizard of Oz themed.
(A summary of the activity is below the pictures)

I thought it was a fun activity and everyone worked so hard to pull it all together.
Here are some pictures of the activity to give you an idea of what it looked like.

Kansas

Part of the Yellow Brick Road

The Rainbow

Lollipops for the Lollipop Guild

 Following the Yellow Brick Road

The Emerald City (the Wizard was behind that curtain)

Cake pops - from the Wizard

Some of the people who helped plan the activity

To briefly summarize the activity - The Wizard invited the girls to spend a day in Oz, but when they arrived they found they were in Kansas instead.  Glinda told us that although we did well with our Visiting Teaching the previous month, the Wizard wants us to learn some things before we can visit him in Oz.  So we all stayed in Kansas and ate pulled pork sandwiches, salad, and corn.
When dinner was over, Glinda started telling us what we could do to get to the Emerald City, but before she could finish explaining, a tornado hit and the girls followed Glinda out of Kansas.  We walked over a rainbow and followed the yellow brick, where we were welcomed by the lollipop guild.  We were then taught how we could be better Visiting Teachers by using our minds, hearts, and having courage.  We continued following the yellow brick road into the Emerald City.  To end, the Wizard, behind the curtain, bore his testimony of Visiting Teaching.