Halloween and Dia de los Muertos Lollipops

These are pretty large.  4" x 4" around.

 I've been busy making Halloween and Dia de los Muertos gifts for friends and family these past few days.  I bought some individually wrapped large 4" x 4" lollipops and made some cute labels on my pc, using some adorable graphics from the web, then printed them and cut them out.  I added adhesive on the back side of each label with my handy dandy Xyron Creative Station sticker maker and placed the labels on the front side of the wrapped lollipops.  Then I slide each one into a clear plastic sleeve, pinched it closed and tied on some really cool Halloween ribbon bows. I also bought smaller individually wrapped  2 1/2" x 2 1/2" lollipops that I just added some puffy vinyl Halloween stickers to and did the same with the clear plastic sleeve and ribbon bows.  The cool thing is that the labels can be created for any occasion and/or personalized!  I had made some baby themed ones for one of my niece's baby shower not too long ago, so fun!!!

I know my friends and family will just love them!!!

These are smaller, 2 1/2" x 2 1/2" around.

YAY, HAIR BOWS!

Hi guys!!  I'm excited about some hair bows I've been creating!!  Everyday bows and lots of Halloween ones too!! Hopefully they will sell at a craft sale I'll be at next month!!   I have been learning from some awesome tutorials on Youtube. If you'd like to learn how or to brush up on your bow making skills, just go to Youtube and click in "how to make a hair bow" and hundreds of tutorials come up!!  Love Youtube!!
Here are some of my bows......

Colorful

Sweet

Spooky!

More spooky!

These are pin back buttons, I did the graphics on my computer then made
the pins and added ribbon bows and trinkets.

Even more spooky!

Football Spirit and others

Cute and spooky!

WORTH REPEATING.....4TH OF JULY DOOR WREATH.

Here's a really nice festive wreath you can make for the 4th of July!
It's a straw wreath that's covered in red, white and blue bows, just make a bunch of florist bows, using water proof ribbons, which are available at floral supply places, attach them to the wreath with wire or floral picks, position the colored bows to resemble the American flag.  You can add a small flag, glittered stars and sprigs of metallic embellishments.  It's very easy to make and it looks great on the front door!

Hope you all have a very happy 4th of July!!!  Stay safe!!

My Book...Sarah and the Little Spider Prince

Sarah and the Little Spider Prince

Hi guys!!!  Around March of last year (2014), I submitted a manuscript, a short children's story, to a publishing company.  It was accepted.  I am so very excited to say that it was just released a few days ago!!!!!  It is on  Amazon.com  right now!!!  I had my first book signing at a book fair the very next day!!! It was so much fun!!! There were other authors there with their books too. It was so, so very amazing to sign my name on my books that were purchased!!!
It was like a dream!!!  Thanks to God, it is actually a dream come true!!!
It's called "Sarah and the Little Spider Prince"  The illustrator who did the art is so, so very talented and did an absolutely, wonderful outstanding job!!!  Go see it at Amazon.com!!!

Recycle Your Old Blue Jeans

I created this one by using a recycled blue jean mini skirt.

This one is Teal ribbon and ruffle with white stars.  I think I'm going to add some sparkle to it.

Hi again!!  I have been busy with all kinds of stuff but I am taking a little time to show you all what I have made recently....Blue Jean aprons!!!  I saw a video online about making these aprons with old bluejeans and I tried my hand at it.  It was so fun!!  Here are photo's of the the two I made, I'm working on a few more.  I will be having a class at the local Hobby Lobby at the end of the month on how to make them. They are absolutely NO SEW!!!  I use a regular hot glue gun with glue sticks that are formulated for use on fabric!  You can find these glue sticks at Hobby Lobby, they are very reasonably priced.  I will be instructing a different artsy crafty class at the local Hobby Lobby on the 4th Tuesday of every month!  Love it!!

St. Patrick's Day Charming Necklace

I decided to create a (green) necklace to wear on St. Patrick's Day to keep from getting pinched.  So I hunted through my collection of vintage jewelry and found this pendant that was missing the jewel.  It's two inches tall by one and a half inches wide.  Perfect.  I used Glossy Accents to adhere fine green glitter along the inside edge of the pendant, then fine white glitter in the center.  Meanwhile that dried, I made a very tiny label on my PC and used clear tape to attach it to a very tiny glass vial.  Which I then filled with fine green glitter (Lucky Dust) and sealed with a cork.  Then I applied a couple of drops of gel superglue onto the back of the vial and set it onto the center of the pendant.  I love using the gel (as opposed to liquid) superglue because it doesn't run and it sets instantly.  After that was all done, I went back into the vintage jewelry, pulled out a couple of  green beaded necklaces, took them apart and created one that matches perfectly!   So, there it is.  A very charming necklace, perfect to wear on St. Patrick's Day!! 
After St. Patrick's Day, I think I will remove that label and replace it with one for Halloween, one that will say something like....."Eye of Newt Powder" or "Magic Spell dust" or something a little more spooky!  
Yay!  I love it!!!

CROCHETED FLOWER HEADBANDS

I decided to make some cute crocheted headbands with a crocheted flower on it because my little niece has been asking me to make one for her.  I did not have a pattern but I crocheted a regular headband and went online for a flower pattern, there are sooo many tutorials about that on youtube and so I took the basics and added my own idea to complete it.  I am happy with the final results.  I'll be making more of these in different colors for my niece and maybe add some sparkling rhinestones or other embellishments to the flowers. 
If you would like some instructions on crocheting these, search for them on youtube and watch the tutorials.  They are super informative!!

NAUTICAL PARTY DECORATIONS

Tabletop centerpieces.  These were a work in progress when this picture was taken.

The photo prop.  The sand filled buckets were topped with seashells later.

My niece asked me to help her decorate for her son's first birthday party, she chose a really cool Nautical theme.  She had decided on how she wanted the table centerpieces and bought pre-made Styrofoam cutouts of anchors, sailboats, lifesavers, lighthouses, letters for the wording, and one large #1 and smaller #1's at a nearby floral supply place.  We glued a strip of sailboat printed ribbon around the top rim of the buckets then painted and glittered the #1's and hot glued them onto the fronts of the buckets.  Red #1's on the blue buckets and blue #1's on the red buckets, then we filled up the buckets with sand and painted wooden skewers yellow, skewered them into the Styrofoam cutouts and inserted them into the sand.  I made the little "Happy Birthday" signs on my computer, printed them, cut them out and glued them on a skewer and inserted that into the sand too.  We scattered some purchased seashells on the sand to and attached one helium filled balloon to each bucket.   So cool!!
The photo prop was a little harder to create.  A ready made Styrofoam blank frame at a floral supply place was expensive, so we opted to purchase an 8ft x 4ft Styrofoam Panel at Home Depot for $13.00.  My sweet hubby cut it down to 4 feet wide and 3 feet high then cut out a square opening in the center leaving an 8 inch border all around.  We glittered the frame and attached all the cutouts, we had previously glittered the letters for the wording.  I used LOW temp hot glue because the hot temp hot glue will melt the Styrofoam.
The party was awesome and lots of guests took pictures of themselves in the photo frame!