National Fishing Week

As we celebrate National Fishing this week I would like to share one of my latest fishing trips with you. You will find this story featured on my other blog site KiKi Love Creations. I would like to share one of my favorite photos from the trip and if you are interested in seeing more and reading about our family fishing trip then click on the photo below.

Happy Fishing

Bead Bling!

Hi everyone! I wanted to share this craft with you. I did it a while ago and made a set for myself as well as each of my children's grandparents for their frig and everyone loved them!!
This is a quick fun craft that is great for a gift. Pictures can be used but also paper, designs, drawings.... there are so many possibilities!!

Items you need

What you need...

• 1 1/4 inch flat clear circular beads (I bought mine from Hobby Lobby in the wedding section.)
• any clear all purpose glue (Crystal Effects from Stampin' Up works great. The glue will make the picture more visible when it actually adheres to the gem.)
• 1 1/4 inch circular punch
• magnets (I used magnet 6 strength~ it was strong enough to hold paper on the a frig but is on the thicker side. You can also use cut sheets of magnetic paper but it won't be able to hold anything.)
• Pictures/paper/design or anything you want to show threw the bead

First, use your circular punch to punch out the image you want to add to the bead. (A great tip I learned in stamping class is to always punch backwards so you can see your image as you punch it! It sure helps people like me that can't keep things straight!)
Second, put a SMALL amount of Crystal Effects on FRONT of picture (or any other clear glue that you may find to work.)
Third, firmly press image on back side of clear bead and hold for several seconds. It's best to let it dry completely before next step.
Fourth, put a small amount of Crystal Effect on BACK side of picture.
Next, press magnet where you just placed glue and hold firmly for several second. Let dry overnight. (Keep checking bead as they may start to slip before glue is dry completely, you may have to recenter.)

The picture below is what I made for myself and the kids' grandparents...

The picture below is what I made in a stamping class the first time ever doing this craft and it was actually just a small part of bigger project... maybe one day I'll post the entire thing! The background is just paper punched out!

 Hope you enjoyed this!

Until next craft...

Delighted!

 
Hi everyone! I am completely delighted to have this opportunity to reach out to so many people and share crafts, as well as working with Stephanie in brainstorming and giving you great projects ideas! Because I am so delighted to be here, I thought it would be fitting to give you one of my favorite delights...
Oreo Torte Delight

1 pkg Oreos crushed (save 1 cup for topping)
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, melted
8 oz cream cheese
1 cup powder sugar
16 oz cool whip
5.9 oz box instant chocolate pudding
Make crust by mixing all but one cup crushed Oreos and 1 stick of melted butter and pressing into a 9x13 pan. Combine softened cream cheese, 8 oz cool whip, powder sugar and blend well. Smooth over crust. Make instant chocolate pudding according to directions on package. Smooth over cream cheese mixture. Take remaining 8 oz cool whip and spread over top of pudding. Garnish with crushed Oreos. Refrigerate several hours or overnight before serving.
YUMMY!! A bit messy and very sinful, next time I'll have a healthier recipe!

By the way, February is 'Bake for Family Fun Month'  and even though this recipe isn't baked, I hope you enjoy this as much as I do!!

Until next craft…

Valentines Day Charms

Week 1 of the 5 Weeks of Love Challenge

I have recently started working with beads again. It really started by me going through all my stuff after christmas this year and organizing it. I came across this huge bag of glass beads that I have collected over the years. I sat down and organized them by color and realized that I had some really cool looking beads. So as the ideas started rushing into my head the next thing I knew I had 5 Charms/Keychains done. After finishing them I sat back and realized they would make great gift topper or just a great side gift if you are giving a a lot of small items for valentine’s day. These would also make great valentine’s for your kids to give to their friends as they make great charms for backpacks and other accessories.
Small little trinkets like these are things that your loved ones can carry around all the time, to remind them that you were thinking about them and that you loved them. These are quick to make and they don’t cost a lot to make either. These are great projects for you and your children to work on together. There are plenty of pretty plastic beads for the younger children to be able to string together and wear.
The only supplies I used were a handful of glass and Tibetan silver beads, embroidery floss, clear bead string, and a plastic circle of some kind. I use the plastic reminder pieces for knitting/crocheting. I look forward to making some more of these in the future. I would like to make one for myself using Swarovski Crystal Elements. I think that would really sparkle.
Beading can be a very expensive hobby so its best to look on Craigslist, Garage sales, or even your auction sites like Ebay and Listia can have some great deals on bead lots. You don’t need a lot of beads to make something small and beautiful like this. Just enough to give it some color and class.
Valentine’s day doesn’t just have to be about the celebration of love between a couple. This can be a holiday about celebrating the love of everyone around you. Here are some other great charms or key chain ideas that you can make for your loved ones that celebrate the love of a life. As much as we know that Valentine’s Day is just one of those made up Hallmark type of Holidays why not take the time to tell all the people who you care about that you love and appreciate them. It never hurts to take the time to show someone you care or that you were thinking about them.

I hope you enjoy these as much as I enjoyed making them. I look forward to another great week. I am still looking into finding a blog for our Featured Friday spot. I do have a couple of blogs in mind I am just not sure on how to contact them to ask them permission to feature them on this site. Untill next time…..
Happy Crafting!

This was the bead project I worked on with my little guy and an idea for the younger kids to give as gifts or to make for themselves.