Bella Dia

Button Clips

 
This probably says something about how my gift making is
going but here is another last minute gift that is quick and
easy to make. Buttons and paperclips glued together with hot
glue make button clips! They can still be used as paperclips
but the large ones make cute bookmarks as well. 

The view from the back. You can use a shank button or a
button with holes. Lay the paperclip over the middle of the back
of the button and add some hot glue. These look really cute with
the novelty type buttons and it's a great craft for kids too!

Glittery Newspaper Tree

I saw this tree on the Martha Stewart site and almost
immediately set to making it.  I'm planning on doing a whole 
landscape of recycled trees this year for a holiday display so
this fit the bill perfectly. I have a few tips for you if you decide
to make one as well. 

* I made the polymer clay base exactly as the instructions and
it came out perfectly only I used a bamboo skewer instead of
a knitting needle for the support.

* I have a large paper cutter and I am *so* glad I did! 

* Cut out all the newspaper ahead of time so you use the
same amount of each size. 

* We used a small newspaper cone for the top instead of a
star since ours is just a regular tree in the woods
and not a Christmas tree.

* I used Elmer's spray adhesive for the glitter. The glitter is
actually small opalescent flakes - a brand new bag
that I got while thrifting, woot!

* It is surprisingly sturdy and I plan to keep if for next
year so we'll see if it stores well.

* My kids were very much involved and could easily do it
on their own but it does take awhile so you may want to
have them switch out if they get bored.

Funny Food Contest!

The Crafty Crow is approaching it's three month anniversary and to celebrate I am holding my first contest ever!  It's a Funny Food contest for children and their adult helpers.  There are five categories - all fruit, all veggies, breakfast, lunch/dinner, sweets - and five winners!  Each winner will receive a tote bag stuffed full of craft supplies!  If you and your kids are interested in participating go over to The Crafty Crow and read all the details.  The deadline is June 22nd so I'll be able to announce the winner during my anniversary week.  I hope you'll help me spread the word and then get cracking on your entries! 

I've seen this meme around and thought I would do it since I so rarely do these things - not because I don't like them but I am so indecisive when it comes to thinking up answers that it takes me forever and a day to do it!  (click the image to see it larger)

The Questions:
1. What is your first name?  Cassi
2. What is your favorite food?  sushi
3. What high school did you go to? 
Corona del Mar
4. What is your favorite color? turquoise
5. Who is your celebrity crush? 
George Clooney
6. Favorite drink?  mojito
7. Dream vacation?  see the Northern lights
8. Favorite dessert? pie
9. What you want to be when you grow up? young at heart
10. What do you love most in life?
my children
11. One Word to describe you: trying
12. Your Flickr name:  Bella Dia

Click here for photo credits.

If you'd like to do it too here's what you do:

Open three windows.  One with the list of questions, another open to Flickr and ready to do an image search, and a third to Big Huge Labs' Mosaic Maker (create a mosaic with 4 columns and 3 rows).  Answer the first question, put your answer in the search field on Flickr and choose one of the images from the first page to represent your answer.  Click on the photo then copy and paste the url into the #1 spot on the Mosaic Maker.  Do that for all 12 questions, then click create and post the results to your blog!  Your kids will have fun with it too!

I saw this other cool thing on Vintage Delights -
it's a signature creator!

Enjoy!

Thrifting: The Wood Aisle

One of my favorite aisles in the thrift store is the wood
aisle. These are some of the things I found on one of my
last forays - I was especially excited about the little
hutch and the wooden shoes. 

These are after pictures of the hutch and the chair, aren't
they cute?! I have visions of making the little hutch into
a miniature craft cabinet with folded bolts of cloth and
jars of buttons and stuff. For the little green chair I
want to make a cushion and imagine relaxing in it
with a mojito at my side.

I don't have a before picture of this bench but it was
plain wood when I bought it. I used acrylic paint and
finished it with a coat of varnish. 

These are fun for the kids to do too. You might
need to use some sandpaper on items that have been
previously painted or varnished but take a look next
time you're thrifting and see what you come up with!

My Big News: The Crafty Crow!

I am really excited to be sharing this with you!  I have a new blog called The Crafty Crow!  I have seen so many great kids crafts in blogland that I wanted a blog to keep them all in one place with a bit of organization thrown in.  I would love it if you would check it out and tell me what you think.  I've got lots more posts queued up so I hope you'll stop by frequently :)  My daughter has made a button that you can find in the sidebar (and below) if you would like to add that to your blog too. 

Thanks so much for letting me share this with you!

Advent Day 24: The Night Before Christmas

Book: The Night Before Christmas by Clement C. Moore
and illustrated by Gyo Fujikawa

There are many beautifully illustrated versions of this poem, and we
have several, but my favorite this year is the one illustrated by Gyo
Fujikawa. Look at this Google image search here and I'm sure you'll
recognize her work. I thought it was interesting that she designed the the
little Eskimo child for the Eskimo Pie company and she also
designed six U.S.P.S. stamps. Read her obituary in the New York Times
if you'd like to know a little more about her. You can read the The
Night Before Christmas in full here and find your favorite parody of the
poem here. I'm sorry I don't have a craft for you today. I am running
around like a crazy person trying to get everything done and the craft I
had intended would take too long. Thank you all so much for your kind
comments regarding my book and activity advent! I really appreciated
the encouragement and I found it so rewarding that you were using
some of these projects as gifts for your special people.
Happy Happy Holidays to all!

*This post includes affiliate links for your reference. If you make a 
purchase through the links I will receive a small commission without it 
costing you any more. Win win! I only recommend products that I like 
and think that you will like too. Thank you for your support!

Advent Day 23: Buying Mittens and felted wool mitten ornaments

Book: Buying Mittens by Nankichi Niimi (scroll down)
and illustrated by Ken Kuroi
Activity: Felted Wool Mitten Ornaments

Buying Mittens is such a precious story with gorgeous detailed
illustrations by Ken Kuroi that you will fall in love with it as soon as you
open it up. A mother fox sends her child into a town to buy mittens but
warns him to be aware of the humans. The author, Nankichi Niimi, is
considered the Hans Christian Andersen of Japan and has many stories
to his name; it's a tragedy that he died at only 29 years old.



Felted Wool Mitten Ornaments DIY

Supplies:
• felted wool sweaters: 3 coordinating prints
• cardstock if you want to print a pattern to trace, otherwise
print on regular copy paper
• pattern
• embroidery floss to accent the felt
• embroidery needle
• scissors
• air soluble marker if you want to trace the cardstock pattern
• button that coordinates with felted wools



Step 1: Print the pattern. Print on cardstock if you want to trace the
pattern onto the felted wool or print on copy paper if you want
to pin the pattern onto the wool. 

Step 2: Using your pattern, cut out 2 mitten pieces from your
main felt and 2 circle pieces - one from each coordinating wool.



Step 3: Stack the circle pieces on top of each other and put the button
in the center; stitch to the wrist area of one of the mitten pieces. 

Step 4: Using a running, whip, or blanket stitch, stitch the
pair of mittens together. 

Step 5: Make a loop with your embroidery floss in one of the upper
corners of the mitten to use as a hanging loop.



Simple, cute, and fun! these make great package decorations too!

*This post includes affiliate links for your reference. If you make a 
purchase through the links I will receive a small commission without it 
costing you any more. Win win! I only recommend products that I like 
and think that you will like too. Thank you for your support!