Super Mommy Secret~Camping Crafts!

My sister-in-Law Jen always remembers to bring fun crafts when we go camping!  This is the idea she brought this year.  Pet Rocks!  She just brought tacky glue and Sharpies and the kids got to decorate their very own pet rock.

Unfinished Projects~Cut off Jeans Shorts (and what to do with the leftover Legs!)

Cut Off Jean Shorts and a Fun Way to Use Up the leftover Legs!

My friend, Celeste, and I got together to make our little girlies some cute summer cut-offs with the hole-y jeans. We just made them the way I did the denim aprons, with a cute piece of ruffled fabric folded over and then sewn to the hemmed edge.

Here is a little tip though...use clear thread so you dont have to switch it out for each pair!

I think they turned out oh-so cute! And I am so happy to check the first unfinished project off my list! But before I cleaned up the jeans scraps the throw away, I noticed how cute the legs under the holes were and I thought I would attemp to make a little skirt with those, instead of throwing them away.

These shorts have a black and white polka dot ribbon wrapped in a strip of tulle and then sewn onto inside of the hem.  I always tuck little folds in as I sew instead of gathering it in a gathering stitch.

These shorts just have ribbon folded over and sewn to the bottoms.  I happened to have some ribbon that matched the flowers that were already on them!

These shorts are my favorite!  Celeste and I both made some like this for our girls.

 

The Jean Leg Skirt!

 This is the Jean Leg Skirt!  I cut the legs of the jeans off below the holes and then I cut the seams of the jeans about 1/2 inch outside of the topstitched side.  That way the cute topstitching on the jeans still showed on the skirt after it was sewn together.  I also tried to alternate the washes light and dark.  The pink knit ribbing was purchased by the inch at Jo-Ann fabric.  This skirt is perfect for her to pull on with a swimsuit and wear to the pool!

Celebrating~My Little Ballerina

My Little Ballerina had her recital on Saturday and these are the flowers we gave her at the end. 

I wanted to find a Special way to display them for her so she could remember her performance all week!

A comment from Yanet, over at 3 Sunkissed Boys, about her teacher appreciation, gift could not have come at a better time!  Check out her Teacher vase jars that inspired me to make this Ballerina vase jar.

Here is how I did it:

I hot glued a bobby pin onto the outside of a quart sized canning jar, just like Yanet.  I also bent it a little to make it curve with the jar, as she suggested.

Then, I cut a 12x24 inch piece of tulle. 

(I couldnt get it to show up so I took a picture of it in front of my screen.) 

                                                   

Then I scrunched it together in the middle. 

And then slid in into the bobby pin, all the way to the curve.

Then I wrapped a 2-3 inch piece of pink ribbon around it and hot glued it in the back

Then I dotted some glue onto the seam in back and pressed it onto the jar so it would stay down.

Then I trimmed the bottoms of the tulle to make it even.

Once the tutu was done,  I slid in this little card that

I made with a photo of her holding her flowers right after the recital.

And it is a perfect way for us to Celebrate that she is our little Ballerina as long as her flowers last.

Thanks for sharing your post, Yanet!!  I love this little jar.

Earth Day Craft~Bottle Cap Necklaces

Here is a cute Craft that my Sister-in-law, Jodi made with her daughter.  I asked her to post about since it is Recycle-ish and she was kind enough to share her project with us.  Thanks Jodi!

Bottle Cap Necklaces (or just magnets)

Here is a fun little craft to make for any jewelry loving little girls in your life! They are really easy and it is fun to make a bunch at once. My daughter wanted to make them for all her friends. Make a bunch and give them as a gift!

 Here are the supplies you need:

Bottle caps (you can buy these in bulk for pretty cheap, look online)
Small washers
SUPER strong magnets
Craft Glue
Something to put the washer on for your necklace (I found this big bag of nylon loops at hobby lobby for a couple of bucks)
Diamond Glaze
Whatever picture or design you choose to put in the bottle cap

I used a photo program to create whatever I wanted to put in the bottle caps.

Once you have them cut out and fit to size use craft glue to adhere the paper to the bottle cap.

Then comes the diamond glaze. This stuff is pretty cool. It just makes a glass like layer on whatever you put it on. Make sure you DON'T shake the bottle, you don't want bubbles in there-they are really hard to get off of your image once you pour it.

It doesn't take much to cover the paper. It comes out cloudy and dries clear. If you do get a bubble in there...good luck getting it out! One thing that occasionally worked for me was to use a straight pin to try and pop it or use it to scoot the bubble to the side and slide it out of the bottle cap.

 Once you have your image covered you can add a little bling if you like. These small acrylic jewels are perfect. Now let your bottle caps sit and dry where no little fingers can poke at them.

Okay, here is where your SUPER strong magnets come in. You have to make sure they are really strong or they will get bumped off the necklace. Use your favorite type of super glue to attach the magnent to the back of the bottle cap.

Hook your washer onto your necklace.

The magnent should have a good strong hold to the washer and now it is ready to wear and be changed over and over!

Once you have a nice little collection you can make a cute magnent frame to hold all your bottle caps til they are ready to be worn.

I love it Jodi, thanks again for sharing!

Earth Day Recycled Banner

Decorate for Earth Day with this Easy Recycled Banner!

If you know me, you knew I would be making one!

I love hanging a banner for every Celebration around here, Earth Day is no exception. 

Here is how we made this Recycled one:

You will need:

paper bags

your recycle bin (full)

white school glue

jute rope (or any yarn)

stapler

scissors

Lay out your paper bags (with the part that open at the top) and write your message on them with regular white school glue.   My kiddos picked "Love (heart) Earth".  Then let the kids rip, cut, smash, or crumple, and then stick various items from your recycling bin onto the glue. 

Fold the top over. 

Then staple onto the jute rope.

 

For added color, cut triangles from colorful cardboard and staple between the letters. 

Here are some of our letters

Love Earth Super Mommies!

Earth Day Herb Garden

Herb Garden in Tin Cans

Its a perfect time to teach kids about Reusing and Recycling. Coincidentally, it is also very frugal to Re-Use! Thats always an added bonus for us moms. (And my little girl is always up for "Crafting.") This little Herb Garden is going to be nice to cook with all summer.

What you need:

empty tin cans

herb plants or seeds

potting soil

paper (trimmed to the size of your cans)

popsicle sticks

mod podge and a brush

scissors

tape

Start by cleaning out the cans and taking their outer paper off.  Paint mod-podge onto the cans and cover them with decorative paper. 

Once the decorative paper is on, cover the outside of the it with mod podge as well.  This will protect the paper if it gets wet while watering the herbs.

Print out the names of your herbs, cut, and mount onto chipboard (and cute paper, if you want to!).   Paint them with mod podge to protect them from water.   Use tape or glue to adhere them to popsicle sticks.

Turn the cans upside down and poke holes with a nail and hammer so the water can drain.

Cover the bottom of the cans with small rocks (We went across the street and gathered some from an empty lot.), then fill the cans partially with potting soil.  

Plant your herbs and then fill the cans almost to the top with more soil.  If you use seeds, follow the instructions on the packet.

This is such an easy project to do with the kids.  It is useful and cute too!

I cant wait to cook with them! 

Happy Earth Day Super Mommies!

Four Fun Ways to Reuse Old Jeans!

Here are a few more fun ideas to

Re-Use Old Jeans!

Super Mommies, Teacher Appreciation and Mothers Day are just around the corner!  These are perfect projects to make as gifts while teaching the kiddos to be Earth Friendly this Earth Day~ReUse!

Don't forget to check out the Instant Button Giveaway  for those jeans that dont fit
quite right but you still love much you dont want to turn them into something new [yet]!

Here are Jen's Ideas [my super mommy sister-in-law who contributes but doesn't blog yet!]: 

The Pocket~ Jen just cut a back pocket off of the jeans (leave the back of the pants on when you cut so you have a full pocket to hold the treats).  Then hand sew the ribbon knots onto the pocket.  Hot glue on some embellishments...like flowers and jewels.  Stuff it with some goodies and a note that says "A Pocket Full of Wishes from [child's name] to You!" and you are done!  Isnt it cute and easy to do?

The Purse~  This one was a birthday gift to Jen from our friend Heather.  Isnt this purse adorable?  She even lined it with corduroy, sewed real beads on, and stitched Jen's initials onto the front.  You can make it as simple or as detailed as you want.  See her fabulous tutorial on her blog here or her inspiration here.

Here are my Ideas:

Gram's Purse~ Grams made this for my neice at Christmas when she made the Denim Aprons.  It is another version of a Denim purse.  You can make it from the leg of jeans or the arm of a jean jacket.  Use the side with the hem for the opening and sew the bottom closed with a little zig-zag.  Then fringe the edge and tie on a leather cord for the strap! 

 

I Spy Bag~ When I went to make this about 5 years ago, I didnt want to go to the store for fabric so I cut up some of my old jeans.  They are sturdy enough that the toys inside wont poke holes or wear through.  I used some cute ribbon that my friend, Missy, had to bind it.  You could just sew the bag up and use pinking shears on the edges.  Plain bean bags would be cute made with jeans as well.

If you still want more ideas for old jeans check out Ginger at SuperStinkyBoys, she has a bunch more!