Homemade Glitter Name Crayons

So it's all go on the Christmas present production front here. Next up - homemade glitter name crayons! :) I first saw and pinned this idea almost a year ago - re-use old crayons to make cute little heart shaped crayons! I'll probably still do this for my class for Valentine's Day but hearts aren't very Christmas-y and it's been too long since I last melted something so decided to make these cute glitter name crayons instead!

They're so easy to make, especially if you can rope in some little helpers to peel the paper off the crayons! Here's how you do it:

First peel the paper off your crayons, break them into little pieces and sort them by into colour groups. It's up to you how many different colours you want in each crayon but be careful not to let them mix together too much when they're melted unless you want a whole bunch of brown crayons! 

A craft knife will make the annoying job of peeling so much easier! :) Failing that, pop them in a  basin of warm water for 10 minutes.

Next grab some alphabet ice cube trays. I searched for weeks for these but ended up buying them on amazon. These are the ones I bought. They're freezer and oven safe so perfect for this!

Pour a little glitter into the bottom of the ice cube tray and roll your little crayon bits in more glitter. Then slot them into the letter spaces. 

Put them on a tray and pop them into the oven. It's a good idea to cover your tray in tinfoil in case you get any spillages, I can't imagine cleaning crayon out of the oven is much fun! 

I had them in on a low heat (about 140° C) for about 5 - 10 minutes. But just keep an eye on them and keep checking them. Make sure they're fully melted and then take them out of the oven to cool. Be careful moving the tray, the more you shake them the more the colours will mix.

While I was waiting for them to cool I sewed some little bags to keep the crayons in. :)

Then pop them out of their trays and into their little bags! 

They actually come out quite easily, I didn't have one broken crayon. Although I suppose if they do break you know exactly how to fix that! :)

The letters can of course also be used to make lots of other words and are great for some tactile letter exploration. Next I'm going to make a full alphabet set for school. If I can bring myself to peel more crayons that is... :)

Things I've Learnt:
- As ever when crayons are concerned it's worth paying the little extra for good quality ones! At a push I'd mix in a few old cheap ones with the Crayola ones.
- Peeling the paper off is definitely the most time consuming part of making these. So either soak them in warm water first or use a craft knife to slice the paper wrapper open.
- I wish I'd added a bit more glitter but I only had glitter in a bag and it was so messy!! Next time I'll get a little tube and sprinkle some more in. Cos really you can never have too much glitter in life. :)
- Use a toothpick to swirl the melted crayons if you want the colours to marble a little or mix completely. I didn't touch most of mine (bar the light blue one) as I wanted the colours to stay a little distinct.

                                                                  

Linked up to: Hey Mommy, Chocolate Milk, Michelle's Tasty Creations, Reading Confetti, Fireflies and Jellybeans, The Crafty Blog Stalker, ABC and 123, Sun Scholars, One Artsy Mama, Thirty Handmade Days, Its a HodgePodge Life, Petals to Picots, Crafty Moms Share, Cheerios and Lattes, The Gingerbread Blog, No Time for Flashcards, Sugar Bee Crafts, Earning my Cape, Someday Crafts, Sugar and Dots, Semi Homemade Mom

Nativity Hand Puppets

Thought I'd share these little felt nativity hand puppets that I made for Christmas last year. This was in my pre-sewing machine days so I just hand sewed the puppet and used craft glue to attach the fabric. I wish I'd sewn the pieces on now as it would look much nicer but they're holding up pretty well!

Here's Mary and Joseph and baby Jesus. All the puppets have a little velcro spot on them so they can give and receive gifts. Sheep from the shepherds and gold, frankincense and myrrh from the wise men. :)

The angel and the shepherds and their sheep. The sheep were the most fun to make!  

And finally, the three wise men. The one in the middle is my favourite, mainly because of the awesome fabric my cousin gave me for his clothes. And the guy on the right is supposed to be carrying a little chest, not a handbag... :)

*Update - I've had a few requests for patterns for these puppets. Unfortunately I don't have them anymore as I made these last year (a.k.a. pre- blog!) and threw them away. But I based them on ones I found over at TipJunkie and I just found some cute ones over at This and That for more inspiration too. You just need a hand puppet base that's big enough for your/your kids' hands and then you can use the same template for the faces and clothes and just change the fabric. I just made my pattern pieces on scraps of paper.

**Another Update - Although the puppets are not for sale I have made them into images and created a nativity word wall and flashcard set from them which is available here in my TPT store.

Things I've Learnt:

- Ha ha well since this time last year? Sewing machine's aren't so scary after all.

Linked up to: Today's Creative, The Creative Itch, Be Colorful, Creating my Way to Success, The Chicken Chick, Sewing Barefoot, Making the World Cuter, Sew Can Do, Sugar Bee Crafts, Funky Polka Dot Giraffe, Hope Studios, Homework, Ladybug Blessings, New Nostalgia, DIY Dreamer, Hey Mommy, Chocolate Milk, Earning my Cape, Someday Crafts, Sugar and Dots, The Trendy Treehouse, Handy Man, Crafty Woman, Semi Homemade Mom, Seven Thirty Three, DIY Crafty Projects, Michelle's Tasty Creations, Reading Confetti, Fireflies and Jellybeans, The Crafty Blog Stalker, ABC and 123, Sun Scholars, One Artsy Mama, Thirty Handmade Days, Its a HodgePodge Life, Romantic Home, Petals to Picots, Diana Rambles, Craftionary, Crafty Moms Share, Cheerios and Lattes, WTFab, Six Sisters' Stuff, Sew-licious Home Decor, The Gingerbread Blog, Its So Very Cheri, Navy Wifey Peters, No Time for Flashcards, Creating my Way to Success, The Gunny Sack, Claiming our Space

Friday Freebie #1

My blog struggles a little with its identity. Is it a crafting blog? A place for sharing recipes? An education blog? Well, it kinda tries to be all three. But I'm conscious of not letting any one of those things take over from the others. Although poor little recipes haven't had a look in in a while!

Anyway, to keep things balanced and organised I've decided to add a little education feature post to my blog - the Friday Freebie! Every Friday I'll give you a little update on the things I've added to my Teachers Pay Teachers store and give you a little freebie for you to use in your classroom or at home too. Publicity for me, free stuff for you. Sound good? :)

I'm still figuring out this whole TPT thing, it's hard to know how much to charge for things that you spend all day making. If anyone has some tips then please let me know! And if lots of people buy stuff then I'll keep it super cheap I promise, teachers already spend too much of their own money on teaching resources!

So what have I added this week? Click on the image to download or find out more.

This is my favourite. I literally spent all day working on it yesterday but I love it! It's a set of lower case letters on jigsaw puzzle pieces. The consonants are on red pieces and the vowels are on blue to make it easier to differentiate them. Then they can be pressed together to create CVC (3 letter consonant-vowel-consonant) words. And I've made a few worksheets for the kids to practice on. 

These are the first thing I've ever sold from my store! I made a grand total of 45c. :) But we've got to start somewhere right? 

They are cute little stop sign cards that you hand out to children when they start misbehaving. This encourages them to identify the inappropriate behaviour themselves and make better choices. And it saves your voice from having to remind them ever two seconds!  

I'm pretty much in love with these little cards too. I love classroom management techniques that allow the kids to take a bit more responsibility for their actions and then give them some positive reinforcement. These little cards can be left on any desks that are being kept tidy and neat. They have a little poem on them and come with a poster to display to remind the class what the "desk fairy" likes to see!

And finally your freebie of the week! A cute little poster to remind those chatterboxes in your class or home that you need to be quiet to be able to listen! :) "Listen has the same letters as Silent". 

Want more freebies? Click on my "free downloads" label and see what else I have for you! :)

Want to open your own TPT store? Click here and give it a try!

Things I've Learnt:

- Hmmm... I've learnt a lot about copyrights and photoshop mainly! :)

Linked up to: Teaching Blog Addict, Sun Scholars, Reading Confetti

,Classroom Freebies

Etch-a-Sketch iPad Cover

I had a lot of fun making my first iPad cover so I decided to make another one! :) As much as I love my iPad I think I probably got more enjoyment from toys I had as a kid, like my Etch-a-Sketch. So why not combine the two! I did a little searching and found this great iPad cover at Smashed Peas and Carrots and decided to have a go myself. She has a super tutorial so if this doesn't make sense then check it out! I think hers is for an original iPad though, this was made for my new iPad. I was a little generous with the dimensions cos I wanted it to fit in with a thin rubber cover on it too so just test yours as you go!

                              It's a lot of fun to make! Want to make one? Well keep reading!

Here's what you'll need: 

- 2 pieces red felt for the inside @ 10" x 12"

- 2 pieces red felt for the outisde @ 10.5" x 12"

- 1 piece grey felt approx 8" x 10"

- 2 pieces wadding @ 10.5" x 12"

- red and grey thread, white embroidery thread

- velcro (preferably red)

- 2 large white buttons

Once you've cut out all your pieces, pin the velcro to the top of two pieces of red felt. 

Sew them in place, making sure they will line up properly. Use at least two or three rows of stitches to keep it nice and secure. We don't want your little iPad falling out! :)

Once that's done, pin the two pieces of felt rights sides together. You velcro should be closed and hidden, like the picture. Sew down the sides and across the bottom but leave a gap of about 3 or 4 inches at the bottom for turning later. Make sure you don't sew across the top!

This will be the inside of your cover so if you're not sure how much seam allowance to leave, test to see if your iPad fits in snugly!

Now we can get to work on the outside of your cover. First you need to cut a rectangle out of one piece of red felt. You'll be putting the grey felt behind it as your Etch-a-Sketch screen. I wish I'd made my "screen" a little smaller but I'll give you the dimensions I used and let you make up your own minds! It's 6" x 8¾".

This is the really fun part! You could do any design you liked on this. I went for simple, figured sewing it with my sewing machine might be almost as tricky as drawing it on an Etch-a-Sketch! First I drew my design on the felt using a vanishing ink fabric pen and my trusty ruler. Then I sewed over the lines with grey thread, easy. :)

Next you place the grey felt behind the red frame and pin it in place. Sew around the edge to secure it in place.

Sew your two large white buttons in place. Now you have the knobs for your Etch-a-Sketch. 

Use your embroidery thread to add some text at the top. Make sure to leave enough space at the top to allow for your seam when you sew it all together! (This is why I wish I'd made my "screen" a bit smaller).

Sew your wadding onto each piece of red felt. This will keep it in place for the next step. Make sure you sew it to the wrong side of your front piece!

Pin your two pieces of felt/wadding together, right sides facing. Sew around the two sides and the bottom. Leave the top open.

Clip the corners, trim the excess and press your seams. Then turn your cover the right way out.

Now take the inside piece that you made earlier. Place the cover inside it so it looks like the picture above. 

Pin the pieces together and sew carefully along the top. 

Using the gap at the bottom of your inside piece turn your cover the right way out. The two pieces should be joined as they are in the picture. Sew across the bottom of the inside piece to close the gap and push it inside the cover.

Test drive it with your iPad! :)

Things I've Learnt:
- Leave a little extra felt on the top/open end as when you sew it up at the end you'll lose a little space.
- Press the seams, I'm lazy so I didn't and regret it. :(
- Sew the buttons on after you sew in the grey felt, much easier than trying to navigate around buttons with your sewing machine!
- If you don't have a vanishing ink fabric marker then print or draw your design and pin the paper to your felt. I did it this way when I made my felt marbles maze and it worked out great!
- I'm thinking this would make a cute phone or kindle cover too.
- You could always buy a hard cover one if you're not a sewer. :)

                                                                   

Linked up to: Creative Itch, Threading my Way, Earning my Cape, Someday Crafts, Sugar and Dots, The Trendy Treehouse, Handy Man, Crafty Woman, Semi Homemade Mom, DIY Crafty Projects, Hey Mommy, Chocolate Milk, Michelle's Tasty Creations, Fireflies and Jellybeans, The Crafty Blog Stalker, One Artsy Mama, Thirty Handmade Days, Ladybird Ln, Its a HodgePodge Life, Romantic Home, Petals to Picots, 504 Main, Craftionary, The Gingerbread Blog, Cheerios and Lattes, A Night Owl Blog, Six Sisters' Stuff, Polka Dot Pretties, Or So She Says, Sew Can Do

Chalkboard Wine Glasses

I have some of those cute little wine glass tags that party guests hook onto their glass to remember it's theirs. They're reindeer and they are adorable! But people often forget which reindeer is theirs! And reindeer should really only be used at Christmas time. So I decided to search for an alternative. Turns out many many people had already solved my problem! Paint the glass with chalkboard paint and let guests write their names on them! Too cute!

I've had this pinned for ages but only just got around to buying some cheap wine glasses to give it a try this weekend. I was originally thinking they'd be cute to use at Christmas (watch out reindeer!) but it turns out my red chalkboard paint is actually pink! Ah well, I love them anyway!

Pretty happy with the results. And they were really easy to make! My inspiration came from Just Short of Crazy . She had the bright idea to dip the entire bottom of the glass into the paint. But my paint pot was pretty small and I figured I end up wasting a lot of paint if I transferred it to a bigger container. So I just painted them with paintbrushes. I was afraid they would end up with brush stokes on them but they dried perfectly! :)

I did a bit of research for this one and the main problem people seemed to have was with the paint dripping as it dried. So I wrapped the glass in paper towels and secured them with some masking tape. It was pretty much all for nothing though - no drippage! Maybe it was my blackboard paint but a little bit of masking tape would have done the trick. Better safe than sorry though, right?

Oh and if you don't have any blackboard paint there's a great tutorial over at Salt Tree to make your own! I haven't tried it yet but it looks great. I might try making some green and red paint so I can make my Christmas glasses after all.

Or I could just write some Christmassy messages on these ones... :)

I also painted an old picture frame with the paint too. All that's missing is a photograph... and some wine!

Things I've learnt:
- Don't use cheap pound shop paintbrushes or you'll end up with lose brush hairs ruining your pretty glasses!
- Make these a few days in advance of when you need them. I had to do two coats and it takes a long time to dry fully. But the actual process is very quick!
- They're probably not dishwasher safe but you can hand wash them no problem. Just don't try to wipe them clean with a damp tissue. Unless you like little bits of white tissue all over your pretty glass! Oops.

                                                                   

Linked up to - Thirty Handmade Days, Ladybird Ln, It's a Hodgepodge Life, My Romantic Home, Petals to Picots, Blissful and Domestic, Craftionary, One Artsy Mama, Practically Functional, WTFab, It's So Very Cheri, Sewlicious Decor, A Night Owl Blog, Six Sisters' Stuff, Creating my Way to Success, Be Colorful, Making the World Cuter, The Chicken Chick, Project Inspire, Sew Can Do, Sewing Barefoot, Today's Creative, Sugar Bee Crafts, Funky Polka Dot Giraffe, Hope Studios, New Nostalgia, Homework, Ladybug Blessings, So I Married a Craft Blogger, The DIY Dreamer, Seven Thirty Three, Fireflies and Jellybeans