Super Easy Party Favor

I've had a Superman silicone mold for a while and have wanted to use it but never knew what to use it for. When I was planning Kara's party I knew I wanted to make Supergirl candy for favors! I bought some pink candy melts and started searching for a tutorial. I couldn't imagine that melting chocolate could be hard, but I wasn't sure about using the mold and what I had to do. Turns out it's SUPER easy. I never did find a tutorial, but my sister in law, Kelli, gave me some easy instructions.

There are so many awesome silicone molds out there that the possibilities seem endless. And seeing as how easy this was, I think I might have candy melt favors for every party I throw!

Gather your candy melts and silicone mold. 

Microwave the melts according to the package directions and fill the mold. I used about 2/3 of the package for one tray of candies. I think the candies would have been better if they weren't filled to the top. It was a lot even for me! But back to how I did it. I filled each space halfway with candy. Then I tapped the mold on the counter to get the air bubbles out. Then I filled the molds the rest of the way and tapped the tray again.

**There was one place on my mold (bottom curve of the S) where the candy didn't seem to get inside. After I filled the mold halfway, I would squeeze each candy to make that space bigger so that candy would fill it. It seemed to work okay.

If you have left over candy in your bowl and are going to do more candies, you can just let the melted candy harden again. When you go to make your next batch it softens right up and is good as new! Or you could just eat it straight from the bowl. You know...if you're anything like me.

Place the mold in the freezer for an hour or two. Remove the candy from the mold and you're done!

Seriously...that's all there is to it. 

The Fox Says, "Nice Tie!"

Kent loves the fox! And he loves his new fox tie too! I wanted to make him a fun tie for moving up to Sunbeams at church. I made Clark a snake tie, but I wanted something different for Kent. The fox tie was born!

Would you like to make a fox tie of your own?

I started with this tie pattern at The Purl Bee. I made the tie according to the pattern all the way up to the SEW TIE section at the end. Then I added my embellishments. I kind of had to play with the lining a little to make sure I didn't sew it down, but it wasn't that difficult. I felt I had a better idea of the finished tie with the lining already sewn in. You could add your embellishments at the beginning if you wanted.

1. Start by adding two buttons for eyes.

2. Create your ears by making triangles. I used the main fabric for one side and a minky for the fur inside the ear. Clip the corner and trim the edges as shown below. **Check for the direction of your fur when you cut your triangle. Also, it may be easier to use the shape in step 3 to create your ears. Live and learn!!

3. I found this shape made more sense for how I was going to attach the ears. I didn't want to recut the ears, so I just tucked in the corners of the triangles and topstitched along the bottom so they wouldn't pop out...very technical. You probably wouldn't  need to sew the bottom together if you made this shape from the beginning.

4. To give the ears a little shape, I made a fold in the center and tacked it down. This made the ears curve a little bit.

5. Place the ears on the tie. Read through step 6 so you can get a better idea of how it will look when finished. Stitch the ears fur side down. Try to keep your stitches on the ear and not over the edges. Don't you love the beauty of handmade where one ear is larger than the other!!

6. Flip the ears up and topstitch again above where the raw edges end on your ear. This will hide the raw edges for a nice finished look. Keep your stitches on the ear and not over the edges.

7. Your ears should look like this. I roughed up the fur along the topstitching so that it was less noticeable.

8. Using some embroidery floss or Pearl cotton thread, add a nose. I used a satin stitch for the nose.

9. With the same thread, add some whiskers. I used only 2 pieces of thread on each side. You can kind of pull the whiskers through. I wanted to reduce bulk with knots and things on the inside of the tie.

10. Finish up the tie according to the original tutorial!!

He loved his tie! He walked around showing everyone his fox. I just can't get enough! Such a cute Sunbeam!

Paint Stick Snowmen

I originally thought this was way too early to be making a snowman craft, but since we've already had our first snowfall I say bring it let it snow, let it snow, let it snow! This was a super easy craft that didn't take that much time and was pretty easy for the kids with a little bit of help from the grown ups. We actually did these for our Super Saturday at church and my mom had some sticks left over so the kids got to make some.

Supplies:

Paint sticks

White paint

buttons

black foam (free hand cut to a hat shape)

brown pipe cleaners (make snowman arms)

googly eyes

scrap piece of fabric

foam brush

hot glue and gun

Step 1: Paint the paint stick white and allow to dry (check out the concentration on these two!)

Step 2: The picture clearly shows me using tacky glue which did work, but I think hot glue would have been quicker and it works better for the pipe cleaners on the back. So...

Attach the hat, eyes and buttons to the front of the snowman.

Step 3: Attach the pipe cleaner arms to the back using hot glue. The tacky glue didn't work at all! The best part about crafting with boys is that you just never know what you're going to get. Kind of like that box of chocolates...! I would never have made a 4 eyed snowman like Clark or put the snowman's hat on upside down like Kent did. It's always fun to see how they interpret things!

They both loved their snowmen so much! We added a pipe cleaner hanger to the back and they are proudly on display in their bedroom. I can't help but smile when I see them!

A Creeper-y Quilt

Hsssssss.....boom!

It's a Minecraft Creeper Quilt! Clark is really diggin' Minecraft lately (pun intended), so I made him a Creeper quilt for his birthday. More details here. He loves his creeper!

I decided on a black and white crosshatch for the backing. Love it!

Want to make your own?

Fabric:
1 1/3 yards each of four different shades of green
1 1/3 yards of black (blocks and binding)
4 1/2 yards of backing fabric
Twin Size Batting

Block size: 6 1/2"
Finished Quilt Size: 72" x 84"

Cutting:
Cut 26 blocks from the black fabric
Cut 37 blocks of each of the green fabrics
Cut 8 strips of black fabric for binding (2.5" wide)

Piecing:
I created a diagram on graph paper so that no two greens would be right next to each other. When sewing, I keep the diagram on my left and the stack of squares on my right and just keep sewing, just keep sewing... (a la Dory from Finding Nemo).

Quilting:
I really liked how straight line quilting worked on this one. I quilted 1/4" on either side of the seams. I used a variegated green thread on the green parts and then black on the black. I didn't want the green to interrupt the black of the face.

Next project...a redstone pillow perhaps?!

Family Glass Block

I'm helping out with our ward's Super Saturday again this year. But this time I'm only doing one project. This might be the one...

I saw this project just after we had decided on last year's Super Sat. projects and knew that it would be a great one for this year.

So here's my version with instructions on how to make your own.

Gather your supplies:
-glass block
-glass etching cream
-rocks
-2x3 picture frame
-ribbon
-button
-vinyl stencil
-(not pictured) family picture, paper towels, glass cleaner, needle, thread

1. Clean your glass block and apply the stencil. I made this stencil on my Silhouette using the Great Vibes font. Then I did an Internet search for the swirl. I can't remember the site where I found this one. Use masking tape if you are worried that the glass etching cream will spill out over your stencil.

2. Liberally apply glass etching cream over the entire stencil. Make sure to brush up and down and back and forth for the best coverage. Let sit for 10 minutes.

3. Wipe off the glass etching cream and return it to the jar. You can reuse this stuff! Then rinse off the block with water. Remove the stencil and then clean the glass with glass cleaner.

4. Fill the block with some rocks or sand or shells or beads or anything really!

5. Place the picture frame on the rocks and ensure that it is straight.

6. Tie a ribbon around the block and sew a button onto the middle of the bow.

Ta da!

Beaded Christmas Tree Tutorial

I've had quite a few people ask for a tutorial for the safety pin Christmas tree ornaments. So...here it is!

Materials:

13 safety pins (I used ~1" safety pins)

green seed beads (size 6/0)

multi-color seed beads (size 6/0)

1 star bead

ribbon 12" or so

wire 26 gauge

needle nose pliers

wire cutters

1. Fill each of your safety pins with beads.

2. Use the ribbon to connect 5 safety pins for the top row of the tree

3. Thread the star bead through both ends of the ribbon. Tie a knot at the top.

4. Wrap a wire around the safety pin on the left of the top row.

5. Use the wire to string a bottom row safety pin, a green bead, a bottom row safety pin and then a top row safety pin. Continue in this pattern until the end of the row.

6. Wrap the wire around the safety pin on the right just as you did to the first safety pin. (The picture is from the bottom row, but the step is the same.) Snip the extra wire.

7. On the bottom row, wrap the wire around the safety pin on the left. (same as in step 4)

8. Use the wire to string two green beads and then a safety pin. Continue in this pattern until the end.

9. Wrap the wire around the safety pin on the right just as you did to the first safety pin. (See picture for step 6) Snip the extra wire.

10. Enjoy your completed Beaded Christmas Tree Ornament!

Etched Glass Picture Frames

I saw this idea on The Tidy Nest a while back and knew it would make a great Super Saturday project. It's inexpensive and can be personalized!! We are having everyone bring their own frames, so we are only charging $2.00 for the stencil and etching materials. Sweet deal!

Time: 20-25 minutes

See?

Supplies:
Picture Frame
Vinyl Stencil
Tweezers
Masking Tape
Etching Cream
Brush
Paper Towels
Ruler
Pen or Pencil
Glass Cleaner

1. Cut (or buy) a stencil. I cut mine using my Silhouette. I love that thing. I only wish that the paper would stay on the vinyl instead of coming off onto my mat...sigh.

2. Peel out the letters of the vinyl stencil using tweezers. Be sure to leave the counter (defined as: The partially or fully enclosed space within a character) in your stencil.

3. Draw guidelines on your stencil and your frame so that your etching is straight. Trim your stencil if needed.

4. Remove the paper from the back of the stencil. Adhere the stencil to the frame using a vinyl rubbing tool or a credit card or....

5. Remove the transfer tape from the stencil and protect the other glass on the frame with masking tape.

6. Apply etching cream to the glass and let sit for 10 minutes.

7. Remove excess etching cream and put it back into the bottle...it's reusable!! Clean the glass with glass cleaner and reassemble frame.

All done! Some day we'll get a family photo and I'll put a photo of all of us...until then, we just have the Wilde boys.