Craft Lightning Valentine's Edition

One of my favorite things to be a part of is the Craft Lightning Challenges.

Today I am tickled to be a part of the Valentine Edition.

I made these sweet love rocks.

Let's gather some supplies.

It is bitter cold here so some of my photos had to be done inside where the lighting is not as good...

You will need:

rocks

paint brushes

paints

paint markers

paper plate

You can gather rocks from outside or buy a bag from the craft store or the hardware store.

I have some rocks from the craft store and some from the yard.

Wash them and allow them to dry thoroughly.

Paint your designs right on the rocks.

I like to do the larger parts of my designs with paint and then the details with paint markers.

You can personalize them.

I made this sweet little collection in about a half hour.

I plan to do a few sweet art abandonments with these...

Have you heard of art abandonment?

Artists all over the world are making beautiful things and leaving them places for others to find and enjoy.

You can leave them in a public place like a restaurant, hotel, park, shopping center, etc.

There are groups you can join.

I belong to this one on facebook.

You can print tags found on the page and add them to your abandoned piece.  

That way, the person that finds the art can comment on it.

I have some plans for these...

The local radiation center.

Parking lots.

On the ground outside a variety of stores.

Because everyone can use a little extra love....

Thanks for stopping by...

Craft Lightning! A 15 Minute Teacher Appreciation Gift...

I am pleased to participate in the newest round of Craft Lightning....  

15 Minute Teacher Appreciation Gifts...

Teachers hold a very special place in my heart.

I hope they do in yours too.

They work hard every day (even in the summer when they are off).

They really care about your children or grand children.

So let's show them a little bit of appreciation.

Here is a sweet and quick gift jar you can fill with anything.

Start with a mason jar with a lid.

Give the lid a few coats of Chalky Finish paint in Carbon from DecoArt.

Let it dry thoroughly between coats.

Give a fake apple a couple coats of Chalky Finish Paint from DecoArt in Carbon.

Let it dry between coats.

Using a Chalk marker, write your message or teachers name.

Use your best printing!

Hot glue the apple to the lid.

Tie some red baker's twine around the lid.

Fill it with anything your teacher loves.

Chocolate.

Markers or highlighters.

Tea bags.

Or a gift card to her favorite store.

Your teacher will appreciate anything you put inside.

To make it extra special, write her a note of thanks and have your child do it too.

Cite a specific time she made your child feel special.

She will save the note  forever.

Be sure to swing by our three hosts to find all the other great 15 Minute Teacher Appreciation Gifts.

The Country Chic Cottage

30 Minute Crafts

Mad in Crafts

Thanks for stopping by....

Linking up with these great blogs this week.

Craft Lightning Recycled Edition

I am delighted today to be participating in another great round of Craft Lightning.

This time it is Recycled Crafts in 15 Minutes or less.

Today I am going to show you how to use dryer sheets and a few simple supplies to create this sweet angel.

You will need

dryer sheets

scissors

a scrap of yarn or twine

a piece of lace ribbon

a wooden doll head

glue (I used hot glue and a glue gun)

Optional :

DecoArt Chalky Finish Paint

vintage sheet music

Decoupage from DecoArt

wooden wing shape

paintbrushes

sandpaper

Flatten and stack 3 (or more if you desire) dryer sheets.

Cut them in half so you have the longest pieces possible.

Cut the dryer sheets into thirds to create strips.

Neatly gather all  the strips into one pile.

 Use one of the strips and tie it around the middle of all the strips.

Fold your yarn scrap in half and tuck the ends into the hole at the bottom of the wooden head bead.

Add glue.

Use the tip of the scissors to push the center of the dryer sheet strips into the hole as well.

Allow it to dry.

Smooth out and stack 3 more dryer sheets.

This time cut them in strips the short way across the dryer  sheets.

Again use a strip to tie them together in the middle.

Glue these wings to the back of the angels head.

You may also want to glue the yarn up the back of the angel's head a bit to keep it from tipping forward when it hangs.

Optional:

You can add wooden wings in addition to or instead of the dryer sheet wings.

Paint the wooden wings with DecoArt Chalky Finish paints.

Once dry, trace the wings on a page of vintage sheet music.

Cut it out and use DecouPage to attach it to one side of the angel wings.

When they are dry, use a piece of sandpaper to remove any paper that extends over the edge of the wood.

Glue the wings to the back of the angel.

If you don't want to hang the angel, substitute a skewer for the piece of yarn.

Just use the skewer to poke the dryer sheet body into the head.

Leave it there to dry.

Now you can stick it in a plant.

That would be perfect for Mother's Day...

Or you could add it to the garden for a touch of recycled whimsy.

For another variation, you could dye the dryer sheets.

Our gracious hosts for Craft Lightning this time are:

Country Chic Cottage

30 Minute Crafts

and Creative Green Living.

You can pop over to any of their blogs for a complete list of participants and projects this week.

Thanks for stopping by...

Linking up with these great blogs this week.

Grinch Face Mug

Time for Craft Lightning again.

This time around is Seuss Crafts in 15 minutes or less.

That is right up my alley.

I love Dr. Seuss.

I went with a Grinch mug.

I got this green mug at the thrift store.

It is perfect for this project.

I used Sharpie markers.

I got my basic drawing instructions here with this video.

Let me show you step-by-step how to draw the Grinch face.

Then I colored my pupils gold for a more evil look.

You can leave them black, uncolored or red.

Ready to go...

Once it is done you can bake it to try to make it more permanent.

  I did not bake this one. 

 I will just hand wash it.

Thanks for stopping by...

Linking up with these great blogs...