Homemade gel clings

You know that money pit at Target... the dollar spot? Yeah. I hate that spot.

It sucks you in because "It's only a dollar!!" and before you know it, you're leaving Target $50 poorer.

Well, it's a love/hate relationship, because I do find really great stuff there. Last week I got a bunch of huge fabric bins for the shelves in our closets (New Year's resolution #4) for $2.50 each! I've also started buying all of the Family Fun cookbooks and holiday books that they've been stocking lately. I actually get a subscription to Family Fun and they also have everything on their website, but it's nice to have everything organized by season and holiday and put together. And I love how my girls can look through the book and every single craft and recipe is age-appropriate, easy, and cheap!

I was really excited when I saw the homemade gel clings in our winter book. We made snowflakes this time, but you can customize them for any holiday or season! I'm looking forward to some hearts and lips for Valentine's Day in a few weeks.

1) Draw a template on wax paper. Small, compact designs work best.

2) Use dimensional fabric paint to trace over the template and let dry completely (3-4 hours, but overnight is best).

3) Carefully peel the design from the wax paper and stick it to glass. They're repositionable, too!

My kids aren't old enough to trace the template yet, but they liked arranging them on the glass :)

Halloween countdown!

I can't believe that tomorrow is Halloween!! I made this fun magnetic Halloween countdown a few years ago and every October it's so fun to watch it fill up with magnets. Tempe and Helena have especially loved it this year! Every day as we put a new magnet on, they would count the remaining spaces to see how many more days until Halloween. The black cat 31 is permanently glued on, so when we put the monster eye 30 on today, our calendar was complete!

I have the calendar hanging in our blackboard frame right inside our front door, with some spooky spiderwebs and a chalk "Boo!"

This was such a fun calendar to make. I used an old cookie sheet (make sure it's magnetic!) and painted it metallic purple. Then I decoupaged fun Halloween scrapbook paper over the paint and used a sharpie to draw a grid. The magnets are all things from my junk drawer/crafting stash--clothespin, clear marbles, leaves, funny chipboard shapes, etc. Most of the numbers are sparkly green stickers but some are written on in sharpie. I have a Christmas calendar, too, but the Halloween one is definitely more fun!

{paper flower topiary tutorial}

One of the decorations I made for Brooke's bridal shower was a paper flower topiary. I saw one on display at Robert's and bought all the supplies on a whim, thinking it would be a good craft to make while watching "Modern Family".

Well, I did make it while watching "Modern Family". And "Law and Order". And the entire Thursday night comedy block on NBC. It was much more time-consuming than I thought it would be, but simple to make!

To make your own, you will need a styrofoam ball, a glue gun with a million gluesticks, about 8 pieces of patterned cardstock (or solid, if you prefer), a dowel, a pot, and floral foam to put in the pot.

Each flower is made out of a circle cut into a spiral. I cut my 12 x 12 paper into 4 long strips and then cut each strip into 4 squares--so they were roughly 3 x3 squares. You don't have to be exact. Then I cut each square into a circle and the circle into a spiral, like this:

Starting from the outside, roll the spiral up as tight as you can, keeping the inside edge even. When you get to the middle, give the flower a little squeeze and then let go. It pops open into a perfect little rosette. I didn't use any kind of pattern or plan when I started gluing--I just went for it. As you fill up the ball, you'll need some smaller flowers to fill in gaps. Just roll them tighter and don't release them before you glue them down. Your fingers will feel like all of the skin has been rubbed off, but keep going, because you're almost done! Covering the ball took me a long time. Don't forget to leave a small open area for your dowel! When your ball is covered, insert the dowel into the opening on the bottom of the ball, then insert the other end into your floral-foam-filled pot. Now that it's finally finished, sit back and admire it. Then make your husband clean up all the tiny scraps of cardstock and strings of hot glue.