9.25.2013

Painted Labels


Ever since my epic craft fail with the ceramic pen (read about that HERE), I've been looking for another way to write on glass and ceramic.  


I'm pleased to say that I think I've finally found it!


Sharpie Paint Pens (buy your own HERE) seem to be the ticket!


For this project I used these adorable jars from IKEA.  I guess technically they're bud vases but they reminded me of little glass milk bottles.

No, you're not seeing things; the word "Sip" is indeed wonky.  Oh well...

So I made a couple of templates by cutting some adhesive-backed vinyl with my Silhouette (learn more about the Silhouette HERE).

Then I applied the template to the jar, colored it in with the paint pen, and removed the template when the paint was dry.

It was super-simple!

(Admittedly, I used a very "forgiving" font--one that's meant to be imperfect--but I still think it turned out nicely.)


Now if only I weren't lactose intolerant...



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9.22.2013

Celebrate Fall Giveaway!



Happy first day of fall, ya'll!

Fall means pumpkins and football and cozy sweaters and...

A giveaway!

To celebrate this most beautiful of seasons I'm teaming up with 19 other bloggers to bring you a $300 gift card giveaway.  (To your choice of Target, Amazon or Visa.)

All you need to do is follow the steps below.  The more actions you take (liking the various blogs on Facebook, following us on Pinterest, etc.) the more chances you get to win. 

Good luck!



a Rafflecopter giveaway
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9.20.2013

Pickle Jar Fish Bowl

Every so often, in the name of the blog, I bring home something that makes my family members scratch their heads.  

The most recent example was this one gallon jar of pickles.  I mean, there are only four of us.  How many pickles can we eat?

But I had a really good reason for buying all those pickles.  Earlier that week, at my favorite thrift,  I found a glorious-looking (empty) one-gallon glass jar. 

And my brain swam with the possibilities.


Then I looked at the price.  $6.00?!  The way I saw it, I could get my own jar at the grocery store for less than that AND it would be full of food!

Turns out I was right.  One trip to Smart & Final later and I had myself a gallon jar of pickles.  


Thankfully my kids (and their friends) love pickles.

In no time at all I had an empty jar....

...and a dream!


After removing the label (you can find instructions on that HERE), and soaking the jar in boiling water to clean it...

I did this:


That's right!  It's a Pickle Jar Fish Bowl!


I whipped up some "Here Fishie, Fishie, Fishie" stickers on my Silhouette and stuck them on.


Then it was just a matter of adding some rocks, some decorative plants...


...and a FISH!


Allow me to introduce you to the newest resident of `a casarella: Pickles the fish!


Isn't he pretty??


My girls were over the moon when they came home and found him.


I'll keep you posted on his progress as time goes on!



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9.17.2013

Small Space Makeover: From Reading Nook to Desk Space

Recently (while I was busy looking the other way) my younger daughter (my baby)  turned into a big girl.  

Suddenly she's in the third grade.

And learning things like multiplication.

And cursive.

And the commutative property.

(I swear I didn't learn that one until I was in middle school.)

And with all the learnin' going on, she decided it was high time she had her own desk.

That's the desk in the picture below.


But just two days ago, this space looked quite different.  

We called it the "reading corner."  

Tucked behind her bunk bed, the reading corner housed a bookcase, a cozy chair...

...and about 150 stuffed animals.

(Who made reading, or even standing, in the reading corner a little difficult.)

And I wish I had taken a picture of what the reading corner looked like back then but I didn't. (Picture a fraternity party, but all the guests are purple and furry.)

You see, when she said she'd pare down the animal collection in order to make room for a desk, I didn't even stop to get my camera.  

Oh no!  That would have given  her time to rethink the decision.  (And this is not my first rodeo!)

Therefore, what you see below is the pared-down version of the reading corner, which still wasn't quite the big-girl work-space she was hoping for.  


So this past Monday while she was at school,

(learning her multiplication and cursive, etc.)

I was at IKEA, doing a little math of my own.

(Like how do you fit a desk into a 48" wide space?)


(The answer, if you're wondering, is to buy a 47.25" wide desk and pray that you measured correctly.)


Then (after the all the math and the praying) I went home and assembled the desk.

And the clear chair (clear, so it wouldn't make the 48" space look even smaller).


And put together the cool lamp (which was kind of like a geometry problem, now that I think about it).

And hung the buckets for pencils and markers.

And rehung the bookcase to accommodate the desk.


And assembled the cool cart for her craft supplies.


Then, just for good measure, I took a little time to decorate:


I find that an empty frame hung on the wall makes a perfect display.  Just switch out pictures or certificates of achievement as they come rolling in.

(And I fully expect them to come rolling in now that she has a desk at which she can study.)


(The lanterns and pom-poms are just eye candy.)

Learn how to make the light pink flower petal lantern HERE.

Needless to say, this little project left me exhausted (both mentally and physically).

But the note you see below made the exhaustion disappear.

(She wrote it at her very own desk, I'll have you know!)


Now the only thing left to do in her room is paint.

(As you might imagine my big girl is kind of over the soft pink color that so thrilled her when she was three--back in the glory days of the reading corner.)

Of course in order to paint, I need to figure out how to move this:


And that's a problem I am just not equipped to solve for the time being.

(Maybe she can figure it out at her new desk!)


l
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9.08.2013

Mason Jar Bank



Just a quick post this morning...

A little "project" that took me all of five minutes to finish.

(Does it count as a project if it only took five minutes?)

Here's the tutorial... are you ready?


  1. Take a mason jar.
  2. Switch out the regular lid for one with a coin slot.  (Buy that HERE.)
  3. Use your Silhouette to make a label.  (You know I love labels.)
  4. Place in laundry room to collect loose change.



And I know I promised not to mention it again (like two posts ago) but if you were a person who, say, didn't have a mason jar or a Silhouette or a coin lid, would you be interested in buying something like this in my etsy shop?  (Just curious...)

You can check out other (more extensive) mason jar projects HERE and HERE.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Great News!  I am now selling the lids for these jars in my etsy shop.  You can buy them HERE.




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9.06.2013

Rainbow Loom Organization


Chances are pretty good that if you have a pre-teen, you're familiar with Rainbow Loom.   

However, if you are among the uninitiated (as I was earlier this summer), take a moment to check it out HERE.  It's kind of a fun new twist (pun intended) on the friendship bracelet.  Except instead of tying knots in string, you use this loom:

Apparently someone is making a necklace.

And these colorful rubber bands:


To create fun jewelry:

My daughter would like you to know that this is merely a fraction of what she's made.
She tends to give her bracelets away as fast as she makes them.  

The problem is that all of those rubber bands don't come in neat, plastic jars.  Oh no.  They come in plastic bags.  And I would show you a picture of the plastic bags except that enthusiastic loomers tend to rip them open in excitement, scattering their contents everywhere.  

(Can you tell that happened here in this very house?  And can you also tell that it made me a wee bit grumpy?  Bonus points for you, my astute friend.)  

The good news is that all of that is behind us now that I've organized the bands into these neat, labeled containers.  


I used some clean plastic jars left over from another project and labeled the tops with my Silhouette.  Any jar will do, though, as will any type of label.  My daughter loves her new, more organized crafting supplies (just like mom's!) and I am thrilled to have tamed the Rainbow Band beast!


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9.04.2013

Where Bloggers Blog

Welcome to those of you stopping by from "Where Bloggers Blog."  If you're interested in knowing more about where I blog, click HERE.

(And thanks for visiting `a casarella!)


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9.03.2013

Mini Mason Jar Twine Dispensers

So I need to ask you all a big favor.


I need to ask you to humor me for a moment.


Because I know you're probably getting sick of me telling you about my etsy shop.


And I get it.  (I really do.)



I mean, all of this shameless self-promotion?  It's just so... well... shameless...


And I promise I'm going to stop.

No really, I am!

I promise to stop just as soon as I've told you about my latest item.


(And I think you might be interested.)


Because, you see, my most recent offering is based on one of my most popular blog posts ever!


That's right, I am now selling Mason Jar Twine Holders in `a casarella's etsy shop!


They're a bit smaller than the originals (and they only hold one color at a time).

But they're still totally adorable.  (In addition to being wonderfully functional!)


So check them out for me, won't you?

(And as long as I'm being all self-promotion-y, maybe you can even give them a little etsy-heart-thingy?  I promise not to mention them again if you do...  ;)


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