I hope you all had fun and enjoyed the extra day off. We had a nice, quiet night. I ended up putting the kids to bed by 10pm. It's just better that way ;).
2012 has already had some new beginnings for my family. Aubrey, my youngest, just started Preschool today!!! She was so excited ...
..... can you tell???? And when I picked her up today she was still excited about going back again on Thursday!
Two thumbs up for Preschool!
I'm giving preschool two thumbs up, too, because it was so nice to do my shopping and laundry without having to drag her around with me. She is a great helper, especially with the laundry, but it's nice to know she is doing something so much better. She gets to have fun, learn, grow, and make new friends. Two of the siblings of kids from my son's Kindergarden class are in her class. She would volunteer with me in his class last year, plus we went to lots of birthday parties, and play dates where she got meet these kids. I don't know if she remembers who they are, but she knows their older brothers and I know their Mom's, so it's just nice. Makes me feel really at ease and happy letting my baby go off and begin her little life all her own.
Tomorrow is another big day for Aubrey and I. We go in for her 6 month cardiology visit to have her heart checked. These visits always make me very anxious, as we are getting closer to starting the process toward her next surgery. Please say a prayer for her and think positive thoughts that her heart is functioning perfectly and we get a double thumbs up from our dear, Dr. Casarez.
I had to share my proud Mommy moment, but I am actually posting today to share another craft and offer a tutorial on how you can do this with your kids, too. We did these for Christmas gifts for all the neighbors this year and family, too. We've done these a few times, actually, because the kids love to do it and I love the end result. I call them Sticky Stones. They are clear glass stones that have been painted and turned into magnets. Here are some of the many Sticky Stones we made as gifts this year.
Aren't they fun!?!? They really brighten up the fridge. They are so easy to do, too.
All you need:
- clear glass stones with a flat bottom
-acrylic paint - we found some with glitter in it!
-paint brushes
-super glue (recommended over hot glue because it is light weight and will hold)
-strong magnets!!! Mine are .5" flexible magnets that are round. I bought them at Michaels. The first time I made these I used magnet tape and it did not work. Be sure to use a strong, fat, round, heavy duty magnet. With the magnet tape, every once and a while I hear a stone fall off the magnet and the fridge on to the floor.
Instructions
Get your work station all nice and covered. Acrylic paint will stain everything. Make sure to lay your stones round side down so that you are painting on the flat back side. (When finished you will be looking through the round side to see the paint on the back.) The kids add all their color at once. I like to paint images on some of my stones, so I will paint my design, then let it dry, and then add another color, let it dry, etc. Once the kids stones have dried I like to go over the top of their painting with a plain solid (not opaque / glittery) color, just so you don't see through the stone or the magnet on the back. Glue the magnets on with super glue. I found the best way to do this is to lay a piece of wax paper on top of a metal baking dish. Lay all the magnets down with enough space between them. Put a small dab of super glue onto the magnet and then gently lay the flat part of the stone onto the magnet. You should be gluing the side that is painted to the magnet. Let them dry. Then there you have it! Beautiful new pieces of art work to hold up your beautiful pieces of artwork on the fridge.
You can also make these with magazine clippings. We found some fun little Pokemon characters and animals that we wanted to turn into magnets. For my neighbors, who are distributors for Long Board Brewing Company, we made them magnets using a label I ripped from their beer bottle and cut it up to make little magnets with the images from the logo. You can see those pictured above on the far left of the second magnet picture.
To make magnets using images from magazines, etc, you need:
- clear glass stones with a flat bottom
-magazines, small images
-pen
-scissors
-modge podge
-paint brush
-super glue (recommended over hot glue because it is light weight and will hold)
-strong magnets!!!
Instructions
Find small images that are the size of or smaller than the stone. Take the stone you want to use and cover the image with it, laying the flat side down. You will be able to see the image through the stone, so you will know just how it will look. Trace around the stone with a pen. I recommend using the same stone as you trace the image with to glue the image, too, because they are all different shapes and sizes. Cut it out slightly smaller than the stone size / traced line. Use a paint brush to paint the modge podge onto the flat back of the stone. Place the magazine clipping on to it, then paint another coat of modge podge onto the back of the clipping. Place rounded side down on wax paper to dry. Then glue the magnets onto the backs the same way as described above.
With both designs, I usually have to clean up the front side of the stone a bit after they are dry. Just scrape off any paint or glue that finds its way to the front, rounded side of the stone. You can use a slightly damp paper towel, but be sure to keep the paint side from getting wet.
I had to mail a few of my magnets and I wanted to make sure they didn't stick to one another during shipping. I needed something metal to stick them to for sending, so I decided to use one of my altoid containers. I think I may have mentioned my new addiction to Pinterest?? Well, I'm addicted! And I remember seeing a cute craft for a fabric covered altoid tin. It was perfect, because after all, it was part of a Christmas gift and it has to look cute on arrival. Here is how mine came out ...
There is a link to the tutorial here. The only things I think I did different were to paint the outside of the tin first, so you can't see the label through the fabric. I also added several coats of modge podge on top of the fabric. I had trouble with the modge podge seeping through the fabric, so I figured I may as well just coat the whole thing.
This tin was for someone special. For my neighbors, I delivered our magnets hanging from recycled tin cans that I turned into lanterns! I will share that project - another Pinterest find- another day!
Hope you all have a great week! Happy Crafting!
It came out great indeed!
ReplyDeleteProud owner of Sticky Genius Sticky Stones