Happy Father’s Day, John!
OPI pink of hearts 2012: I think in pink & you glitter be good to me
cut glass
here’s a couple of glasses that i cut down and are now holding some of my craft supplies like washi tape and twine and little scissors. these are cut lambic bottles - which i have found to be the most successful bottles to cut. other bottles have been too thin or too thick making it iffy to cut. if they’re too thin or too thick they often crack off from the score line and are then trash. i’ve tried with champagne bottles, which would make a really nice thick little dish, but have yet to succeed at cutting one of those. so the method i use to cut bottles is with my ephrems bottle cutter. the ephrems cutter is set up so you can lay your bottle on it’s side on some roller things. you can adjust the length/height to where you want to score your bottle. you apply a little pressure while rotating your bottle and a little blade scores a line - don’t go around more than once it does not help that score line at all, it actually hurts it. you will notice when you’ve come around full circle because you’ll hear a tiny little crunch and you will feel a difference as well. now i’ve tried the candle method and butane torch method, but what has been most successful for me is the hot water technique. For this process, you boil some water or get it really hot and alternate pouring the hot water along your score line with cold water from your faucet. be patient and take your time. the thickness of your bottle will dictate how many times you have to alternate back and forth with the hot and cold water. and when it cracks along that score line you will hear it. if it’s a clean crack you will be able to just simply separate the two parts of your bottle. and to finish off the edges and smooth them down; i use grit with a little water added on top of a piece of old glass. put your glass upside down and rotate around in small little circles on your grit slurry mix until smooth. then take some fine grain wet sand paper to the edges of that cut to bevel just slightly. and you’re done. with these glasses i also etched designs on them with armour etch cream. i create a negative with sticker vinyl, stick that to the glass, apply the cream, wait and rinse. oh, and the best way to get all the gum residue from the label off the bottle in the first place is with goo gone :)
elastic hair ties
these elastic hair ties have been everywhere, and unless you make them yourself people are grossly overcharging for them. so i went the diy route and made a load of them as well as making headbands. i bought some fold over elastic online by the yard. i can’t for the life of me remember where exactly i ordered from, but i got some fun neon and houndstooth and glitter and alex’s favorite, glitter rainbow. i used some to make headbands with big flowers on them - alex has been wearing her rainblow glitter headband daily. and i made at least a dozen hair ties and still have elastic left over. the hair ties are beyond easy to make. i cut strips measured to 9.5 inches. then fold in half and tie a knot. and just seal your edges: you can use fray check if you’d like, but i just take a lighter and melt the ends a little. you don’t need to actually touch the elastic with the flame just get close and you’ll see it melt and you’re good to go.
boy’s 1st birthday present
my nephew just turned one! and of course i wanted to make his first birthday present. i went with a trucks theme for the collection of gifts. and alex helped out making her part of the gift, too. i decided to make something out of felt - it’s so soothing for me to hand stitch plush things. i came across a cute set of patterns on etsy to make these three trucks: a cement mixer, roller, and dump truck (which lifts.) my friend suggested making traffic cones to go with the set, which i think was a fantastic idea and they turned out super cute. there were a lot of pieces and parts to the trucks, but once they were cut out (which is my least favorite part of any sewing project i do) it was easy to watch t.v. in the evening and sew. i made the patterns for the cones, which are just a simple cone shape attached to a square. i did use thin cardboard in some of the pieces to stiffen them, like the dump truck flap and cone bases. and for alex’s part, i got more of those plain wood peg people and let her paint the truck drivers. they’re super cute, she even made one of them balding, haha (that’s all her idea - silly 6 year old.) the peg people are the perfect size for these trucks. then to round out the gift, i got some washi tape that are decorated to be roads and railroad tracks; a cloth ground map - grass and tree tops; and some truck pajamas short set. my nephew is a little young still for parts of this gift, but he seemed to enjoy chewing on the traffic cones right away :)
OPI did it on ‘em
pillow mattress
i had plans to sew from scratch this cool mattress that accordian folded up so it could be a chair too. well, i decided i did not have time for that, and remembered seeing the pillow mattress idea on pinterest. first, i looked thru all our linens actually thinking that i might have enough old pillow cases and pillows to make this for free. but alas, i could not find any two pillow cases that were the same size and no extra pillows. so i found the cheapest pillow cases i could on amazon - plus i love how these ones zipper, keeping more dirt out and the cheapest pillows i could find. i used 4 pillow cases and pillows to make this mattress and it’s more than enough for our tall girl. i prewashed the pillow cases and simply sewed the sides together - being careful to have all the zippers on the same side of the mattress and in the same direction (not that it matters for functioning, but still, why not.) and that’s it, it’s done. and it’s great being able to fold up two of the pillows making it into a pseudo lounge chair as well. and it can get dirty and easily thrown into the washing machine.
Opi my boyfriend scales walls
Essie turquoise & Caicos
father’s day screenprints
here are the shirts i made last year for father’s day gifts. i designed them in photoshop and used my yudu to create the screen and print them. i have to give credit for the idea to my sister-in-law: she didn’t come up with the saying, but the idea to put them on shirts for gifts. the saying…well, my husband started that one. i’m not sure when it started exactly, but when tooting his own horn he liked to joke and say “busy being right.” he thinks he’s hilarious, and of course his brother thought it was great too. somehow it started turning into a thing. then, one day on vacation, my husband did something really nice (not sure if he caught a fish or fixed the causeway or what exactly) and my daughter responded by saying “daddy is busy being best.” haha, so cute, but of course that sealed the deal on that phrase. so then my sister-in-law thought it would be a fun idea to give our husbands shirts that say “busy being right.” and give the kids shirts that say “my daddy is busy being best.” it was a great idea and really sweet for the kids’ shirts. now, i should think of a good one for the women :)
Opi can’t find my czechbook
Opi Berlin there done that