Halloween in the store

It's fall time - so that means Halloween ! These are a few of the new things in the shop for this time of the year. All of these are pins - some made out of felt, others made from woodcuts. 

If you want any check out the store - 

TO THE STORE !

Carnival Wheel love

So since my husband and I have bought our home, I've been looking for some really fun ways to doll it up. Through all of this, I have found that I have a very collected/ Bohemian sense of style  I also love jewel tones and black and white. Through my search for things to jazz up my wall I've come to love these carnival wheels I see for sale. However I can't afford the price tag ( normally around $1000 ) so I am in the starting stages of making my own. In this I've research the " look" of these things. Here is a collection of my favorites. 

 

A lot of these have the same feel to them. Each as something I love about them. Weather the font, simpleness, they crazy cuttings, or the color. This will be a challenge to take on but I have a pretty good idea on how to go about it. I plan on sharing all my steps on here with you. Stay tuned.

Need something to pick your ear out

Well get yourself the cotton swab Pisellino then ! Again another great product from MadeInDesign.com. I saw these guys and I think they are just the cutest thing !

Funny and playful, this mysterious object is not other that a harbors cotton stems! Closed and put in the bathroom, one does not understand his function… Nevertheless, it suffices to raise the small joyous face of Pisellino, to discover an abundant reserve of cottons stems. Exist in blue, green and orange

they are only 15 pounds each which comes to about 30USD.

Making Slime

So I think this was one of the easiest things I did this summer with the kids I looked after. We tried many different project, some failed, some were long, and somewhere just plain odd. This one however was short, easy, and they loved it. We made slime ! Want to make some slime as well ? 

All you need is two things 

Glue and liquid starch. 

The best way to make it is using a large bowl. The recipe I used worked perfectly - all you have to do is use equal parts of each. Once you have that in your bowl just use your hands to mix it. Then divide them into baggies and put some food coloring in. Because we used white glue we were able to then mix the colors - I created that color wheel above. You can also use clear glue which will give you a slime look - while using white glue gave more of the gak look. Once your done - put them in a baggie or a tub for use later. Honestly, we couldn't make enough of this stuff. 

They loved playing with it and they were mixing and learning about color theory ! 

Summertime fairs

Summer time fairs are a staple around where I live. Each week a new community will put on their own type of fair. Sometimes they have more rides, sometimes games or food. Each are different in their own ways. I love everything about them. The over priced food, winning fish and the somewhat scary rides. There is just something in the air those summer nights. The lighting is just right, the hum of people moving from one thing to the next, and always some sort of music playing. It wouldn't be summer without something of this sort. 

Summer Suncatchers

In need of a fun and easy summer project ? Well This might be the best one yet !
By doing a little web surfing I found out that you can transform plastic beads into bowls, sun catchers, night lights, jewelry and cool Christmas ornaments!

For our first melted bead projects we made a few sun catchers.

Here is what I did.

1. First, decide on a shape you want your sun catcher to be. I used some cheap bowls and such from goodwill. You can use metal - but beware it will melt faster in your oven. You can also be very creative and use different shaped things.

2. Place the beads in a single layer on the bottom of the form. Try to fill the entire area the best you can to avoid holes. If your using something like a bowl - beware that you won't get a clean edge due to the curve. We found that using flat type bowls worked best.

3. I melt my beads at 425 for approximately 15-20 minutes. The time needed to melt the beads will depend on a few factors, size of your beads, your oven, and the type of vessel used. Less melting times = the beads holding more of their original shape. More melting time = more blending. We found that some of the bowls that dipped in the middle created a tie dying affect which was cool.

You'll an toaster over and a few heat pads. You will want to work outside for this project due to the fumes.

After you take them out, let them cool for a while before trying to get them out.

 They two kids I'm watching loved this project. She was always deep in thought for what colors to choose.It was a great project for both.

Our final product turned out great. I then just drill a few holes into them and strung them with ribbon. I love the endless possibly with this project. They would make great gift for kids to give and they would make great ornaments. Also remember about choosing your colors. School colors, sport team colors and holiday colors are all great ideas to keep this going. I bought the beads at our local craft store for $4 and it gave me about 2 hours worth of fun. The kids are hoping to make these again. Happy melting ! 

Book Loot

I recently went to a small used book shop in Doylestown PA. I was really surprised as to how much I walked out with. Normally I can only find a book or two at most in these types of stores but I walked out with 9 books ! I wanted to share with you some of my best. 

This book is the Field and Forest Handy Book written for the boy scouts. I love all the drawing and projects in this thing ! Its packed with a bunch of info on things to do outside - and even some great farming tips. Below is an image of inside. 

 I'm loving all the dick and jane books right now. I'm tearing into them and frameing them in vintage frames to sell. Seems that there are many others who enjoy some of the pages of dick and jane as well. 

A cute little pooh book :) 

 This gardening with peter rabbit was a surprising find ! I've been collecting a lot of the older peter rabbit books to tear apart and frame. This one has some great info and projects in it as well. It follows all four seasons with things to do out in the garden. Its a very clever book.