Upcycling a Bowling Ball, Day 1

Recently I found my Grandfather's old bowling ball in my basement. I love, love, love going bowling and was somewhat excited at the idea of having my own bowling ball, until I tried to lift it...it's a 13 pounder, a little bit too heavy for my scrawny arms. I didn't want to give it away since it was my Grandpa's but yet I knew I couldn't really use it, so I came up with the idea of making into a yard ornament! Think very heavy gazing ball covered in small tiles and grout. Plus with the weight of the thing there's no way it's going to blow away! Here are a few pictures to wet your appetite for the full tutorial coming soon.

At the End of the Rainbow, and Vegan Corned Beef

Tomorrow is, as you probably know, St. Patrick's Day! But it's not too late to whip up some last minute St. Paddy's Day treats!
This little treasure at the end of the rainbow is from Make and Takes, and the complete tutorial on their site for this little pot'o'gold is simple to follow. It's so simple and so fast you could still do a couple of these tonight for your little leprechaun's, or your co-workers...or your leprechaun co-workers.

Corned Beef and Cabbage

Vegan Corned Beef and Cabbage!Thinking about having some Corned Beef and Cabbage tomorrow but don't have a good recipe ? Check out this recipe from All Recipes.com. It's tradition in my family to have Corned Beef and Cabbage on St. Patrick's day. We also have some Vegetarian's in our family though. I tend not to eat red meat so much either since my family has eaten mostly Vegetarian meals for years now. So for all you Vegan's, Vegetarian's, and those who just want to try something new, here is a recipe for Vegan Corned Beef and Cabbage! Doesn't it look yummy? I think so!

It's Your Lucky Day, If You Can Crochet!

A cute pattern for a four leaf clover buddy that you can crochet! I found this pattern at Cut Out + Keep, by Alicia K.

A Fanciful Shamrock

It is shamrock season once again! Of course you know I speak of March, and Saint Patrick's Day. I can't help but love St. Paddy's Day, being half Irish and all. Although I'm not too keen on the whole getting drunk and passing out parts of St. Paddy's, I'm more for the traditional parts. Such as the wearing of the Green--( did you know that BLUE used to be the designated St. Paddy's color! It was! Google it!!)--the corn beef and cabbage, the Irish music, and of course the shamrocks. Not four leaf clovers people, Shamrocks!

So it bein' in good Irish tradition and all I'd like to share a few shamrocks with you that you can make to wear on March the 17th. So for the next week and a half be checkin' back my friends for I'll be posting new shamrocks. Hopefully one of them will catch your eye! Here's the first-


The full how-to and PDF download for this lovely, sparkly, shamrock is at A Fanciful Twist. A magical, whimsical, blog with beautiful photography. I plan on making a couple of these, they're so pretty and easy to make. I hope you check this one out, her tutorial is easy to follow and the pictures are great!

You'll Need-

• white cardstock
• a printer
• scissors
• glue
• a safety pin
• a small paintbrush
• fine glitter in several colors
• Optional: a jewel or other embellishments
  

My Craft Loving Cats!

Atticus

Being the proud owner(mother) of two 10 year old kitties, I feel I must introduce them to you, since they are such a big part of my crafting life. They love to knock over glue, glitter and pretty much anything else that might spill. They sit on my lap while I blog, sometimes they step on the keyboard, trying to put their two cents worth into the post I suppose. They chew on my pencils and pens, and occasionally they will even lay down on top of a project I am working on. Maybe they were crafters or artists in a previous life. Their names are Isabelle (Izzy for short) and Atticus, sister and brother. They were both adopted from a wonderful local no-kill cat shelter called the Cat House. Unfortunately, Isabelle had to have one of her back legs amputated last May due to cancer. Thankfully she hasn't had any signs of cancer since then, and is getting around just fine! If any of you have your own crafty cats, dogs, or any kind of pet, feel free to share. I'd love to hear your stories!

Izzy

My Favorite Things for the Last Week of February

Jar photo frames. Most creative way I've seen in a while to display your photos. From Photojojo.

Giant stuffed Microbe, Mono. I had Mono in high school it was definitely not this cute.

Panda Poo Journal from Uncommon Goods. Both unique and eco friendly! Yay!

A pencil holder that brings the outdoors in...

If you are like me you can barely wait for Spring, maybe that's why I came up with this outdoors themed pencil/stuff holder, this is a great kids craft! Thanks to my Mom for help on this one, she's such a creative lady!

You'll need-

• -One tin can (washed, and with the label and any sharp edges removed)
• -A package of plain wooden Popsicle sticks
• -Acrylic paint in your choice of color, I chose purple.
• -Paint brush
• - Foil glue and green foil sheets (found at most craft stores, or online.)
• -Craft glue
• -Bugs and Butterflies of your choice. Pictured below are feather butterfly found at Micheal's craft store, and vintage tin bug pins from SilverCrow Creations.com )

I took an ordinary sized soup can, removed the label, washed it out thoroughly and made sure there were no sharp edges left. Then using a good slathering of craft glue on the can I began placing the unpainted Popsicle sticks on the can, as close as I could get them to each other. I then let it dry overnight. I chose to paint my sticks with Acrylic paint in a light shade of purple, you of course can chose to paint yours whatever color tickles your fancy. After painting I let it dry overnight again. I thought about just using green paint and painting some grass on the bottom but my Mom came up with the idea of using green foil sheets and foil glue, I was curious how it would turn out so I gave it a shot. You can't really tell in these pictures, because my camera is not the best, but the grass is very iridescent.
Next, using a special glue just for foiling, I put the glue over the Popsicle sticks in very organic lines, to resemble grass. Then after letting the glue dry for a little while I followed the directions on the package of green foil sheets. I placed a sheet over the glue, and using a Popsicle stick I began pressing the foil onto the glue to adhere it. It's pretty simple, all the directions are on the package. I loved the results!

Last but certainly not least, I glued a few lovely tin bug pins onto the Popsicle sticks with some craft glue, I had to hold them on for a little while until the glue was tacky enough to hold them by itself. These tin bugs are little pins, but you can easily cut the pin backing off if you find them easier to work with that way. I also considered gluing a feather butterfly on as well, it seemed more girly, but I'm a girl who likes her bugs! Next time I do one I'll do a butterfly. If you make this project with your kids, I hope you enjoy making it as much as I did!