Miniature Ginger Bread Houses

I have been completely inspired by the challenge our church has laid out, which is, to find ways to spend time as a family doing things
instead of spending so much money
this Holiday Season.

One of the projects we decided to take on was making homemade Ginger Bread Houses, and it seemed perfect to do them miniature size, when we found out Gracie and Cymon were coming over.

I have to say they turned out absolutely FABULOUS!!

The kids had such a great time putting these together, and because of the short cuts we figured out, it was a very simple craft!!

So, here's what we did. We used the template below, but we cut the measurements in half, and truly I must admit I was a bit afraid they might be too small. They were fine! One of the shortcuts we learned was, you can actually roll out your ginger bread dough onto a "well floured" baking pan (I used my Pampered Chef Stoneware Baking Pan), and bake it as one large rectangular cookie. This allows you to cut out the 2 hours of refrigerator time that most ginger bread house recipes call for. Then you can cut the shapes right out of that, which gives you more uniform sizes. Simply lay your template on top of the cookie sheet, after it has cooled, and cut, while it is still in the pan!

Also, we used the Easy Frost, which has become my new best friend for fun and simple decorating of cakes, cupcakes, etc. This really allows the kids to be able to decorate and have a blast. One thing we did learn however, make sure you let the constructional frosting sit for about ten minutes. For example, when you put the bottom pieces of the house together, let the frosting sit before you put on the roof. Then when you put the roof on, YOU MUST LET THE FROSTING SIT!!! We did it too soon, because the kids were so excited to decorate. Sure enough, soon after we took these pictures, the roofs fell off. Luckily, the kids didn't care, since they were more concerned with the fact that they were going to get to eat these at some point!

Here's the link we used for the recipe:

http://simplyrecipes.com/recipes/how_to_make_a_gingerbread_house/

Clearly, I haven't posted on here for a while, and I have done a multitude of crafts, which I was posting on Facebook instead of on my blog, including our Halloween Costumes. I'm definitely planning on doing a better job at posting on my blog from here on out. I'm really excited about a couple of projects I've got going on right now. A few teacher's gifts, so I won't show those until they're given. A few home made gifts for my neqhew's and nieces (some that were adopted into our family). I'm going to be working on a few Holiday decorating projects and a lighting craft that I am super excited about. I'm also trying to incorporate my children into my crafting more, which was completely inspired by Michele Klundt, who not only is amazing at planning wonderful activities for her children, but she also helped me in updating my blog as well.

Anyways, crafting with my kids has been the best! I'm truly loving this! My kiddos have been cooking with me, sewing, painting, needle working, etc. It really has been great! They're learning how to make very useful and fun things!

Byanca's Jewelry Holder

Today, Byanca and I made these two great jewelry holders for her. We got the frames at Goodwill, painted them orange, then added these cool paper backgrounds. We then attached the wire mesh, and screwed in the hooks. Lastly, we added some bling, and Voila! We were done! They Look Fantastic!

Recycled Brass and Glass Lamp

I was inspired recently to make these bird accessories. I was looking for bowls, vases, etc. at garage sales, and our buddy Jacob saw an amazing crystal and brass lamp, and thought I should take it apart and use it for them. Turns out it was a great idea, and in the process, I learned a ton about lamps as well. I will have to use this knowledge on future craft ideas.

Anyways, here is my birdbath...

and, here is the bird feeder. I think they turned out pretty awesome!

To Paint or Not To Paint? That is my Question!

I recently (ok, 3 months ago) purchased this great "Credenza"(said in my most flamboyant speaking) at the Re-Store. I really like it as it is, however I also think I'd love it in a very bold color!

I tend to do a lot of black furniture, so I probably wouldn't do that. I was thinking "VaVa Voom Red" would be fabulous!! Anyways, I was hoping for some second opinions, and would appreciate any input I receive. Thanks in advance.

P.S. I know the pictures aren't that great, but its what I've got...

Random Doodle

Shabby Chic Candle Pedestal

This is a cute little candle pedestal I made when I was making Elaine's cake pedestals for her birthday, which I forgot to take pictures of. It currently resides on my credenza in the kitchen. Anyways, see if you can guess what I glued together to make these. Probably too easy, but oh well. Perhaps I'll even make a pedestal for the first person who guesses correctly in the comment section (provided you're a local) :)!

I think it turned out really pretty, and it couldn't have been easier to make. Just take a couple pretty _________'s, and some E6000, and glue them together. Voila, you have a gorgeous pedestal! I'm seeing stuff like this all over the internet, and the options are endless. Enjoy!

Another purse!

Admittedly, this purse is pretty much like the other one, except the color is different, and because I knew what I was doing it took me a lot less time to make. I figured I'd show it anyways.

Unusual Knitting Bag!!

Upcycling is awesome! I saw the idea of upcycling old magazines to make a really pretty purse on someone's blog not that long ago, and unfortunately I can't remember where I saw it. Anyways, I really wanted to give it a try. Tomorrow, is one of my friend's birthday, and her daughter mentioned that all her knitting stuff ended up spilling out at the beach over spring break and getting all wet. That is when the light turned on. I could make her a knitting purse.

Amazingly, I designed the pattern from a paper grocery bag. I had a couple of game board boxes sitting around because we reorganized our board games, getting rid of all the boxes. I demolished one and duct taped it together to make it fit in the bottom giving it a really strong bottom. More upcycling for ya!

My kids slaved for me to cut out these little squares from brochures of things to do around Oregon and Washington. Yet again, more upcycling! I covered that with vinyl. The seams are covered by purple duct tape. The handles are simply thin rope that I twisted different colored duct tape around, and I braided them together. I glue gunned those on, and covered those seams with purple duct tape hearts, which is fitting since this purse was made with love.

The features of this purse are a couple of pockets, a place for long knitting needles, grommets in the front of the purse to run your thread through, and really cute details. I love it! It's definitely not perfect, but I learned a lot from it, and I'm excited to possibly do some more, and I'll be able to fix those things next time.