🐸My Etsy Sh🌎p🐸

Tuesday, July 12, 2011

Fairy Houses

My dear friend Cari sent me a link to Clary Gardens in Coshocton to make fairy houses. We didn't know what to expect and discovered that it was amazing.First, we were allowed to make wreaths for our heads and fairy wands.
Fairy Guides instructed us on how to make our fairy attire.
Look how beautiful the grounds are here.
Tons of people showed up to make fairy houses. Boxes of supplies - bark, twigs, shells, twine, acorns, gourds, etc.
To make your fairy house, you gathered the supplies that you wanted then headed through the woodland wonderland. You could make your house wherever you wanted. It was the perfect setting for this event.
Here are some of the houses.



The Fairy Queen was not there when this picture was taken but she would lead you in a fairy dance if you wanted here in this magical spot.


A lot of the fairies brought their own wings :)
Yes, I am in my 30s, but I still had a lot of fun - I will always be a preschool teacher at heart. Thank you to Clary Gardens and all the wonderful volunteers for putting this program together.

Sunday, July 10, 2011

Recycled Rings

Do you know what these are (below)? Yes, they are the things from an orange juice carton! I have tons of them, I mean, tons! See, I don't drink milk, but I drink a lot of orange juice. I go through a carton and a half a week. And I pull off these little rings and chuck them in a basket. I have been saving for a while and needed to come up with an idea for an art class that I am teaching this fall at the community center.
First, I gathered up some supplies - odds&ends, gumball machine toys, iwako erasers, sequins, paper punches, fish tank stones, etc. I punched out some green and blue circles out of cardstock.
First, I glued the cardstock to the "ring" to give it a base.
Then, I added my "gems". This is a giraffe iwako eraser. You can find them all over the place.
This is a bunny that came in a generic Easter game that I found at Kroger on clearance after Easter. I think there were 24 bunnies in the game for a buck or something. I added a pom pom ball for added flare. Bunny's got a big ol' tail!

The dolphin is a Squinkie - they are cheap and the perfect size for this project, The hot pink bear was in a gumball machine. The orange dude is a Bonz, I think that's what they are called. You can get them at Target in a 3 pack by the baseball cards for $1.99.
This astronaut was in a dinky little set. I painted the plastic bubble thing that the Squinkies come in silver and ta-dah! He walks on the moon.
This is my favorite. I took some faux moss and 2 deer paper punches to create this on. The deer paper punch I found at Michael's in the Girl Scout Scrapbook section.
I used this scalloped paper punch to make the base of the the astronaut and frog's lily pad. I got this punch (have you guessed that I spend a lot of time in the scrapbook section of my local craft stores?) at Michael's too but have seen it at JoAnn's and Hobby Lobby.
I punched out 6 scalloped circles and ruffled them to make him look like he's sitting on the lily pad flower. He looked kinda boring just sitting there alone.
This is a fun one! This is a hamster sticker that I found at Target recently. The little hamster actually jiggles around in there when you move it. Funny, huh?
Here are my three favorite. I think kids - even older kids - would love this project. I know a certain 4 year old that will just melt when she sees them. But I was even thinking that this would be a fun girls-night-out project or a teen project.
Here they are - all my fancy jewelry hee hee Look at this bling. I think the preschoolers in my fall class are just going to have a ball with this project!
Happy crafting!
Mel

Sunday, September 19, 2010

Animal Photo Blocks

I was recently given the task to come up with some activities for infants and toddlers with the theme of animals.
I found these photo cubes at Target in the Dollar Spot.
I googled images of animals, cut pics to size, and assembled them.
When infants or toddlers play with these, they can name the animals and make the animal sounds to go along with that animal.

Thanks, Target!

Saturday, August 28, 2010

Tutus and Butterfly Wings

My dear friend's daughter wants to have a tea party for her birthday. I said, "I will make the tutus and butterfly wings!"
It's really easy (and inexpensive).
You will need:
black felt by the yard for the wings
various colors of felt squares for the wing design
ribbon
3/4" elastic for waist band
sewing machine or hot glue gun
thread
scissors
Measure the waist of your little fairy and cut the elastic to that exact length then sewing to make a circle or band.
Cut the tulle/netting in strips of 2 inches or so. You can vary it.
Simply tie the strands of tulle/netting around the elastic band. I put it over my knee to make it easier to tie. I added a ribbon in every 4 or 5 strands of tulle/netting. Add tulle/netting until you get the fullness that you want.
Here are the wings laid out. I double layered the black felt for sturdiness. I just used simple shapes to make the butterfly wings and stitched them on. You could hot gun them if you are sewing challenged.
Here is the finished project. Isn't she cute. She did not want to take it off! Oh, it's going to be an adorable fairy tea party.

Sunday, June 13, 2010

Nest Corsage

So we are planning a baby shower with a nest/bird/woodsy kind of theme. I wanted to make special corsages for the mommy-to-be and the grandmas. I have been deliberating for weeks. Then POW! it hit me. Nest corsages! Of course.
I used:
*brown felt
*green felt
*plastic eggs
*scissors
*a pen
*a cd for tracing
*glue gun
*pin backs (Package of 10 - $1.29 at JoAnns)
1. I traced the cd onto the brown felt.

2. I roughly cut out the circle to make it look more natural.
3. I cut the circle in a spiral.
4. I used a paper punch and brown cardstock to make the back look more neat.
5. I took the spiral and formed it into a 3d nest-looking shape.
6. I cut out 2 leaves but folding the felt in half and cutting out a leaf shape.
7. I turned the nest upside-down and hot glued the edges.
8. I glued the leaves onto the edges.
9. I glued the cardstock circle onto the back.
10. Next, I glued the pin back on.
TA-DAH!