Mother's Day Gift Idea: Peppermint Bath Salts

Whether you want to make this for somebody else or for yourself, an excuse to take a bath is a good thing to have around!!  Happy Mother's Day.

Peppermint bath salts*** Here's what you need:
1cup of Epsom salt
1 cup of sea salt or rock salt
6 T. Almond or jojoba oil
20 drops of peppermint essential oil 
(I actually used peppermint extract)
Red or pink food coloring.
The bottle is from the Dollar Tree and so are the chalkboard stickers.
Mix well in a large bowl and then transfer to a bottle or jar.

String Art!

This was such a fun craft we did at my Mom's group this week.....wanted to share!

Super simple but so fun to just get out a hammer and pound away! And then using whatever string or yarn you have on hand to finish up this project is a really quick process! This would be a really great project for kids too....fun with String!!
You need:  A small piece of ply wood, a printout pattern of a letter or shape, string, hammer and nails.

1. Print out an outlined letter or a shape: such as a heart or cross. The more space in the middle, the more area for string.
2. On a small piece of ply wood, hammer small nails along the edges of the shape in various spots. More nails mean it is easier to string back and forth and cover all the spaces.
3. Tear out the PAPER!  I forgot to do this step and it was really difficult to get out from underneath the letter.
4. Tie a knot around one nail and just start wrapping the string around nails, up and down, back and forth and all around until the string in the middle is as thick as you want it. 
5. Tie off the string around another nail.

I used a variegated string, because I didn't want to have to change colors, but you could switch colors and keep tying off the previous one.

Here is the letter before I got the paper out from underneath.  Ugg, tweezers and little tiny pieces of paper were involved!  But, yay, now I love it!

Christmas Centerpiece

Merry Christmas from Traffic Stopping Threads! Easy Christmas Centerpiece idea: Use cuttings from your Christmas tree (preferably you cut these before you decorate the tree, but there are always a few branches that are too long, right?). Use a basket that you have around or get one at a thrift store and paint the end of some pine cones white. All other items here like the red berries are from the dollar store, so this is relatively cheap and so pretty...and smells good too! If you want it to last longer also get some floral foam from the Dollar Tree and put the branches into the foam (which you soak with water).

Drying Gourds!

It was super fun to harvest all these fun gourds last fall.  I just bought a random assortment of gourd seeds and planted them and didn't really know what would come up.  These little guys were my favorite!  We got some bigger gourds too, but these little ones were so cute.

We picked so many of them.  The kids were amazed when they kept finding more and more as they picked them.  

We gave cute little baskets full of them to neighbors, teachers and friends.  After some had sat on our own Thanksgiving table, we decided to dry out the ones we had left. Then it took an entire year to dry them!  I put them in the basement on some newspaper (so they wouldn't get the carpet yucky if they did get soft and squishy) and then every month or so, I would wipe them off with a rag dipped in a solution of water (a few cups) and bleach (a teaspoon)...not because I knew how to do this, but this is what google told me might work.  This would remove some of the dark spots or any mold that was forming.  Some of them got soft regardless and I had never done this before so I probably wasn't doing something right.  I just threw those ones out.  But others stayed hard on the outside and just dried out. Maybe it had to do with some of them not being as ready to be picked when we harvested them all at the same time.  Anyhow, a full year later, this is how they looked:

And I couldn't wait to spray paint them so this is what they look like now!  Why is spray paint so darn fun?  I think that if you dry these out completely and cover them with varnish or spray paint, they will last for a long, long time....next year these same ones may even be a new color! 

Free Crochet Wool Headband Pattern

Do you crochet?  I've been busy making these cozy headbands out of wool yarn for an upcoming craft fair.  I love them, because they are so warm when made from wool!  The pattern is so quick and easy that I wanted to share it with you! I've adjusted the original to make it my own. Heads can be all different sizes!! So headbands can be hard to judge!  I decided to sew buttons on the bottom layer so that they could be adjusted for different sized heads and that seems to work well.  You can use acrylic yarn too...it is also warm...just not as warm as wool.  BUT the advantage is you can throw it in the washer and dryer with everything else.  If you make these from wool yarn, hand wash in cold and lay it out to dry. 


Hook:  H/8 or I/9
Yarn:  Medium weight....16-20 stitches to 4 inches
Materials:  Buttons, needle and thread
(I used something called "Lamb's Pride-bulky, which is only 3 stitches per inch, but I don't always tend to follow rules on crochet patterns for stitches, hooks etc.!) 

Directions:

Ch 75
Round 1: sc in next ch from hook, sc in each ch across.  3 sc in last ch.
Work along bottom of chs, and sc in each ch across.  3 sc in last ch, sl st to first sc.  Ch 3 (154 sc)
Round 2:  repeat round 1 using dc in each sc st, with 3 double crochets in each of the end stitches.
Round 3:  Repeat round 1 using hdc in each dc st.  This time do 4 hdc in each end stitch.  Continue working rounds until desired thickness is reached.  
Note:  each round will gain stitches.  
When you are done, sew two buttons on the inside layer with the needle and thread and button them through the top layer of headband according to the size desired.

Such a great gift!  Have fun!

Denim art designs!

Equals this:

I took this idea from an old issue of SewNews Magazine (January 2005).  I found the magazine in the recycled magazine pile at the library and then I had it filed away for several years after that wanting to try this project, so yay!....reason to celebrate that I finally tried it!  I think it turned out really good so I will rip the article out and file it again!

If you have a denim jacket that needs some new life or that you've had for awhile, this is a fun way to get a "new" version of your old jacket.  This would also be a fun project to do with a daughter or friend.  It doesn't have to be a jacket either....jean pockets, or the border on jean hems would be fun too.

I didn't have a denim jacket to begin with, which is one reason it took me so long to get this project going!  I didn't want to buy a new one because I wasn't sure if I would like the effect.  So I kept looking at the Goodwill and never seemed to be able to find one.  Then, one day I went and found 3 at once!  Ya just never know.

What you'll need:

Denim (Jacket, jeans, or something else?)
Clorox bleach pen (found in the laundry/cleaning isle of the grocery store)
Water or air soluble pen (optional)

• Protect the work surface just in case the bleach goes through the fabric so that it doesn't get on your table or floor.  Denim is pretty thick so most likely this won't be too much of an issue.  
• Spread out your article of clothing and draw designs with the fine tip end of the bleach pen.  The water soluble pen could be used to draw your designs first and then trace over.  You may have to go over the lines several times with the bleach pen.  Wait for each section to dry rather than doing everything all at once so that you don't bump or smear wet areas.  You will be able to tell where you may need a bit more bleach after it has dried.  
• Lines from the pen are about 1/4" thick so don't attempt to do anything to small or intricate.  You can also use a stencil if you are more comfortable.  I used a stencil just for the butterfly part of my jacket.
• It doesn't have to be perfect or uniform to look good using this technique, which makes this project really fun.
• Wash and dry the garment to remove the bleach.

If anyone tries this, I definitely want to see pictures!!

Making Homemade Play dough

Today is a grey and rainy day and I love it!  The grass is getting super green and for some odd reason, when it is rainy outside I don't feel so much like I have to accomplish as much inside.  No idea what the connection is there, but I am able to give myself more permission to relax.

Little hands of my munchkins need something to do though!!  Or else....for some other odd reasons, little feet have a tendency to want to jump on my couches when it's raining!  So, here is my tried and true play dough recipe given to me by my mother-in-law, who used it with kindergartners when she used to be a kindergarten aid.  My 3 year old and 8 year old have fun playing together with play dough for hours (especially if it's new and smells good).

Here's pretty much all you need: (and I normally just use vegetable oil, but all I had today was the grape seed oil)

And if you want you can add smells or colors:

Play dough 

2 C. Flour
1 C. Salt
4 t. cream of tartar
2 T. oil
2 C. Water
(optional):  Food coloring and flavored extracts
Put all ingredients in a medium saucepan.  Cook on medium, stirring until it is like scrambled eggs. Cool, knead and be sure it is cool before storing in a covered container. Can be played with as soon as it is cool!
Pictures in order of progression, with the help of my littlest buddy....

 Here comes the fun...even if not the sun!

Egg-stra Easter Joy!

A long time ago, when my family was coloring eggs, I got out a magazine we had and tried copying the designs I saw on some eggshells. I think I started on the fish one that night and then I realized how fun it was for me.  I still have these few eggs I made.  
Sorry, I know it's super cheesy but I have to make an egg-ception and use the egg-stra humor today.  In honor of my dad (who always used this humor around Easter time or when eating eggs).  It drove me crazy, but still in your heart, as a kid you like it...even though it is silly and corny.  Now he is gone and I will have to use it on my kids here and there and I know they like that too!!

I painted these during high school and college.  I used to blow them out and then keep it in my room and just paint them for like 5 minutes at a time and then come back to them later until they were finished.  I guess I could still do that now, since it only takes 5 minute batches of time, but I haven't done one since I did this one for Matt for Christmas before we were married!

This one (above) was just for fun, but the top ones were done imitating the style of Ukrainian egg pictures that I had found in some magazines.  Authentic Ukrainian eggs are decorated in a different way...with dyes and wax and I just used a brush and acrylic paint, but it was fun to mimic the style.  These two are my favorite (below)...they're probably about 20 years old now!  There were some other ones that have been broken by little hands over the years, but these ones have survived....I wonder how long eggshell lasts before it disintegrates?

I think while my family is coloring eggs this year, I am going to try do start another one of these.  Who knows, maybe it will revive some of my creativity flow from my younger brain of years past.  Try it with me if you enjoy painting! It's easier than it looks because the Ukrainian designs are so geometrical and if you sketch it with a pencil first and have a really thin brush (key item) it can be really fun.  I'm sure a myriad of design examples would come up on google.

Here are a few other egg-cellent Easter things my daughter and I have been up to.  
Not too many supplies required egg-cept plastic eggs, egg cartons, googly eyes and paper for the beaks.  I like this one because this is a great craft for kids to do on their own:

(Below)Pom Poms, beads for eyes and felt or paper for the beaks.  We just got a few sticks for the bottom of the nest and then dipped some yarn in starch (no egg-xact science...just the straight starch) and let it dry around a bowl before gluing it all together:

Hope your family is egg-cited for Easter!


But He was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed.  Isaiah 53:5

Booster Seat made out of things you have at home!

My 3 year old hasn't used a high chair for a long time and his booster seat with the tray wasn't working anymore because he really didn't need the tiny tray for his food or to be strapped in. So, for awhile I removed the tray and just scooted him up to the table.  Then the straps became a problem because he would strap himself in and then not be able to get out!  You know how it goes!  

I had a little restaurant style booster but I didn't like how it slipped around on the seat:

I came up with this idea based on the ol' phone book booster that I remember having to sometimes use as a kid.

What you will need:

-1 to 3 phone books (depending on how thick/tall you want it to be) approximately the same dimensions.

-a layer of packing material or bubble wrap and packing tape

-decorative duct tape

Put the packing material or bubble wrap on the top to make it softer to sit on:

Wrap the packing tape around to hold it all together:

Then just evenly cover it with the duct tape.  I used a gummy bear pattern: 

The duct tape has sort of a non-slip surface, so it stays on the chair well.

 And he likes it too! Now to give away all the old boosters!  yay

Plastic easter egg wreath

...and because He Lives, I can face tomorrow!!

This year when I got out my easter stuff, I had three grocery store bags full of plastic easter eggs.  I had to do something con la extra!!

Soo...if you have some extras too, here's one use for them.  The stick style wreaths are only $7.99 at Hobby Lobby (40% off w/coupon).  Then just spray paint your eggs:

Attach colorful ribbons in whatever way suits your fancy and hot glue them on.  I used some poster board for the message in the back, covered it with clear contact paper and then hot glued it to the sides in the back.  Happy Easter!!  Here is a pic of my daffodils this morning!!  Can you tell I don't live in CA anymore?....you don't take spring for granted....that's the good thing!