Jelly Beans -n- Crafty Things: A little bit of craftiness

This week has been a crazy one for sure! My little one is trying to cut 4 teeth at once. The one eye tooth finally pushed through but the other 3 are still hanging out. Can't wait to have my happy little girl back! These have for sure taken a toll on her!

Amidst all of the fussy teething, I have gotten very little crafting accomplished, but I thought I would share with you the little bit I have managed to complete. (Please excuse the not-so-good photos. All I had access to at the time was my cell phone!)

1. Shorts for the baby - more on these later. I'm still working on more pairs and didn't get a great picture when she wore the first pair. Its been pretty hot here lately and she really doesn't have many pairs of shorts. I can't wait to show you the ones I'm working on! Expect a post on these later on!

2. New decoration filler for one of my bowls -

These are just yarn dipped in glue and put over a balloon, then popped after they are dry.

I also need some other decorations for the top of my piano where this bowl sits.

3. Etching on glass mugs for Father's Day -

We give a gift to each of the Father's at church on Father's Day (We have a small church currently). My dad had me test out a mug to see if he liked it for the gifts. Hard to see the words, but he loves it! The other ones won't have as many words on them. This one has words that are special to him like Dad, Daddy, Daddio, Papa, Papi, etc.

4. Testing art projects with my mom (a 3rd grade teacher) for next year -

My mom is teaching art for the 3rd - 6th grades next year at the school my sister attends. She is testing out her projects before hand to make sure they are kid ready and kid safe and if any adjustments need to be made. I often get to help be a guinea pig for these projects...And I don't mind one bit!!

First we tried beaded pens:

I used 2 colors of beads and made my pen striped. We decided this was a good project for teens, but not younger. My 11 year old sister got very frustrated. We also found out that bigger beads do not stick.

To make these, put Elmer's glue decently thick on the pen, sprinkle your beads over the top and gently press into the glue. Allow to dry completely, then layer a mixture of glue and water over the top of the beads to seal them in. We placed them on aluminum foil to dry.

Next we tried pop bottle spinners. These were a success and pretty neat!

First we took electrical tape (it said colored, but we only had black) and wrapped it around the already cleaned and delabeled (is that a word??) 2 liter bottle from where it gets flat to about 2 inches from the bottom.

Then, we measured and marked 3/4" around the top of the bottle.

Then, using an exacto knife, cut from the mark all the way to the bottom. If you leave a little tape uncut, the bottle won't rip further. It was difficult on this part to get the lines straight, but it doesn't really matter too much. You can make a small slit with the knife and cut the rest with scissors.

Then push the top of the bottle down and pinch in the middle to crease.

Here's where it might get a little confusing. The top and bottom of each strip need to be folded at a 45 degree angle in the opposite direction so the wind can catch the edges. The easiest way to explain this is to take the left edge of the strip at the top and fold to meet the top of the tape. Repeat with each top edge. Then, take the right side of the bottom of the strip, and fold to meet the bottom tape edge. I hope that makes sense! Click on the picture to enlarge for a better look.