Magic Wands

Now seriously, what is better than a magic wand? I'm of the mind that no childhood is really complete without one, especially for those growing up in the age of Harry Potter.

Of course wands of all shapes and sizes are available for purchase but making one yourself is an easy and inexpensive option that leaves room for customizing it to your little wizard's tastes.

 I'll start off with what you need for a basic wand:

A wooden dowel (sold in any hardware or craft store)

  spray paint 

You want your dowel to be 5/16 or larger (any skinnier and it could snap fairly easy), you'll be able to get 3 or more wands per stick. The dowels come in 36 in. lengths, so 3 - 12 inch or 10 inch wands or 4 -  9 inch or 8 inch wands. Ours were 10 inches.

Measure, mark and saw your dowel down to size. The guy at the craft store was nice enough to cut mine for me, so don't be afraid to ask!

Apply some spray paint, let dry overnight and you're ready to start casting some spells!

Expecto Patronum!

If you're looking for something a little fancier you can add glitter, stickers or ribbon to dress the wand up or go a step further and make a topper out of foam like the one below.

To start you want to cut some fun shapes from a foam sheet, we went with stars, hearts and butterflies. I found a super cool trick for cutting shapes out of foam if drawing them freehand isn't your thing, (it's definitely not mine!)

Find some cute cookie cutters and press them into the foam, then just cut around the imprint they make.

You'll want a front and a back piece, so 2 shapes per wand, then using a low temp. hot glue gun, glue the shapes to the top of the wand.

We used jewels, ribbons and glitter to add some sparkle to the finished product and now a wizard's wand has turned into one for a fairy princess!

Again feel free to stop here or go one step further and make my favorite part of this craft, a magic wand holder!!

I saw a variation of this in a craft book where they used a real picture frame. Now that is definitely an option, but since we didn't have an extra 12 x 5 inch frame lying around, I decided to improvise with what we had. 

 Here's what you'll need for this part of the project :

                                                                                            Exact-o Knife

Foam Board

   Foam sheet (any color)

  Plastic Stick-on hooks

 Embellishments

Measure and cut an 11x5 inch piece from your foam board and one of the same size from your foam sheet. Using an Exact-o knife, cut the center out of your foam sheet, leaving about a 1 inch border. Glue the border to the foam board and stick on the hooks about halfway down the back and a few inches in.

  

 -A note on the hooks, make sure the wand size you've chosen fits into them! I purchased the hooks first and took one with me to buy the dowel, 5/16 should fit with just about anything though ;)

Now all there is left is to decorate, stickers, glitter, shapes, sequins, anything you have that will make it AWESOME!! 

To get the glittery look pictured, just paint the entire back with glue and cover with the glitter of your choice.

These are so light you can stick them up with regular old scotch tape or go with removable mounting squares for a little bit stronger hold  like we did (they are boys after all!) I just love the way they look next to their beds, easily accessible for any magical emergency that might come up.

Have Fun!!

Pocket Pouches (or Purses!)

There's nothing I love more in a craft than being able to make it using materials I already have in my home. Now while most people may not have the volume of craft supplies and random odds and ends that reside in our work room (I am a craft supply junkie), almost anyone has the goods on hand at any given time to make something fun.

While thinking of inspiration for what to post I thought of what I made for the boys this past week, a variation (code for : boy version) of something I had made at about 8 years old.

Yes...I still have it!!

What can I say? I am also a bit of a packrat! I love to pull old stuff out and show the boys or spend time sifting through it and remember when...they are like small artifacts from my childhood.

 So the boys had been asking for a pouch of some kind to put coins in, they were playing Robin Hood and Carter (the sheriff) needed somewhere to put the taxes once he'd collected them. The first idea that came to mind was to use a pocket somehow. 

A good example of the kind of supplies I have on hand is my large collection of jean pockets, cut from the back of pants that have split. I have the unfortunate luck of splitting my pants (in the butt, mind you) at least once a year, I believe the tally was 4 for 2012 alone! Anytime this happens, I cut the back pockets out and throw them in a drawer with my other fabric scraps and ribbons. If you don't happen to have any on hand, old jeans are readily available at your local thrift store for cheap (ask them for donations with holes) or just ask friends and family, most likely someone will have something.

Supplies you will need :

A pocket

Glitter glue or Puff Paint

Yarn

Hole Punch 

 Embellishments

Now when it come to this craft pretty much everything mentioned above is optional other than the pocket itself! I would hate for someone to love this and not try it because they didn't have everything listed. The hole punch definitely makes it look much neater, but a pair of scissors would work also. If I recall correctly, as a kid I used a steak knife to punch the holes, whatever works!

Go ahead and make the holes first and lace around the outside with yarn, or just tie at the top to make the strap, this can be as long or as short as you like. I was even thinking that pipe cleaners could be used to make a handle for a super cute little handbag.

Once the strap or handle is on it's time to decorate! Glitter glue, puff paint, buttons, sequins, feathers, anything you can find to use or lay out for the kids to choose from. Anything heavy (buttons, beads, etc.) you'll want to attach with a hot glue gun or strong craft tacky glue. The boys decorated theirs with sticky foam shapes and those actually stuck surprisingly well. 

Depending on the amount of paint or glue used it will need to dry anywhere from 12-24 hours.

Once dry it's time to put on a fashion show, stash a few dollars and head to the store or go collect some taxes!

Just had to try the pipe cleaner idea :D

Have fun!!

Snazzy Cans

      I've been a firm believer in a place for everything and everything in it's place for most of my life. If I'm honest I'd guess that things are only actually in the place I've made for them about half the time, but having a set place for things eliminates a lot of stress. Cleaning up is much simpler and (the best part) you can quickly find just the thing you are looking for without having to hunt through everything 

                   you own.                             

When it comes to pencils, markers, clay tools, paint pens, even silverware, the cheapest quickest storage solution I've found is to use a can.

I have a friend who rinses out say, a can of corn, and puts her pens in it on her desk, corn label and all. While that is certainly an option (and it cracks me up every time I'm over there) I opted to punch it up a bit with some fun colors and patterns.

Tools you'll need for this:

Empty can, washed and dried

Scrapbook paper or card stock 

Mod Podge

Scissors

Pencil

scrap paper (optional)

-If you don't have any Mod Podge on hand, I've seen a lot of recipes floating around on Pinterest lately and I've linked one here. I haven't tried it out, but if you do and have good results, I'd love to know in the comments.

So if you are just planning on making the one can, a template isn't necessary, but if you're planning on more later or making a few, it will save a lot of time.

The one here is for a medium (average) sized can

I make mine by cutting my paper in half, wrapping the can, tracing on the upper and lower edges and trimming to size. 

Making a template out of scratch paper ensures you will have a perfect fit before you cut into the nicer (and more expensive) card stock.

Once you have your paper, it's time for the Mod Podge. Apply a thin layer on the outside of the can, wrap the paper around and dab a bit on the end where it overlaps and press down to hold. Next go over the outside of the can with another layer and set aside to dry. 

Note : If the paper ends keep trying to pop up, I sometimes stick a clothes pin on there to hold them down for a few minutes.

And that's it, you now have a cute, custom container for your space! 

We've literally used these for everything from pens to planters. Just punch a few holes in the bottom with a nail, add some dirt and plant a few seeds, the kids will love customizing their cans and watching their plants grow.

 Have fun!!

Weekly Crafts

   
 So here it is, an old blog started almost a year ago with only one post....poor sad little blog, so lonely for so long. NO MORE! The decision has been made, with some awesome encouragement from some awesome friends, to see if I can challenge myself to writing a weekly blog to share crafting ideas and tips. 

Something about an official challenge really brings out my stubborn streak. Today is day 6 of a 10 Days of Real Food challenge and as much as it's driving me crazy, there was no way I was giving up once I'd accepted the terms and (here's the BIG one) announced my intentions. So this little blurb is me doing that again, announcing my intentions with the hope that making myself accountable to more people will be the extra incentive needed to stick with this. 

In keeping up with the schedule already kept in our house, Tuesdays are craft days and will be the time to look for new posts. Here's to trying new things and doing my best to keep up and offer fun and interesting stuff for you all!

Update : Due to a total re-haul of our homeschooling schedule, Friday is now my new blog day, see you then!!