4th of July Cupcake Topper Printables~

After putting these together, my daughter said," looking at these is telling me that I'm hungry".

 To make the flowers, cut out the rectangle designs and fold them like a fan. Staple the center of the fold.

 Pull the edges of the folds back and tape them together.

Stick them on toothpicks and voila, cut little cupcake toppers!

4th of July Centerpieces~ Candle wrapping printables.

Company coming over for a 4th of July BBQ?

Need to throw together an easy centerpiece?

Snag the printables and wrap up your candles! 

{{Tape them to the candle as well as themselves so they don't slip}} 

Find the pdf  HERE

Find the pdf HERE

DIY Three Pendant Necklace~

The fun thing about this project is that you can do it with a large group of people and end up with very different looking necklaces depending on the the paper used and the combination of wooden shapes.

You can buy packages of square or circle wooden discs at Hobby Lobby. I believe a package of the square were 3 bucks for 22 pieces to give you an idea of cost.

Next you will drill holes in them. Use a SMALL drill bit. The first one I tried was too big and broke the pieces of wood.  For the square pieces you can either drill them in the corners for a diamond shape or on the flat side for the square. You will only drill one hole on the piece you will be using as your bottom pendant.

I preferred drilling the holes BEFORE I put paper on the front of them. I tried it both ways and there seemed to be more paper tearing when I drilled the whole afterwards. 

Find a cute paper and use Mod Podge to stick it to the front.  I like to cut a square just larger than the piece of wood, glue it on, and once it's dry, use sandpaper on the edges for a really clean transition. I would also suggest putting another coat of Mod Podge on the top of the paper after it's dry to seal it. 

Press the paper with your finger around where you have drilled the hole and you will be able to see a little indention.  Use a pin to break through the paper and rub it against the inside of the hole.

Connect your pieces with large jump rings. Needle nosed pliers come in really handy!

I tried to make the 2nd and 3rd pieces coordinate by putting the little green birds feet on the 3rd pendant.

 I put it on a chain that I already had, but you can also use ribbon or twine or something if you want to avoid the cost of a chain.

**Side note, if I made this again, I would have painted the other side of the wood. The necklace lays pretty straight because of the weight, but if it were to flip around it would be nice to have a painted surface on the other side.

Things I am grateful for today~

LIFE: I saw the most amazing sunset yesterday. Pink and white filled the entire sky. I am grateful to be able to live in this world. Who knows how long each of us will have this opportunity. I'm so grateful for my life.

LIBERTY: I don't even like being on a diet because it means I'm telling myself that I "HAVE TO" do something. I can't imagine living without the freedom to choose.  What an amazing gift.  My heart goes out to everyone who has ever paid the price for my liberty.

THE PURSUIT OF HAPPINESS: I am always grateful for happiness and I'm trying to be grateful for the pursuit as well. I know that my level of happiness depends greatly upon my attitude, desires and efforts to be positive no matter what life throws my way.  Every day is a brand new opportunity for us to make the changes in our lives that will allow us to be truly happy.

DAD: I was reminded yesterday of how beautiful my life has been because I have a loving father.  He is a wonderful example to me because continually serves the Lord and loves to serve his family. He enjoys life and makes me laugh. I know he would do anything and everything for me and it's such a comforting feeling. I want to be like him when I grow up.

GARAGE SALES: This seems very trivial compared to the rest of the list, but I am grateful for them! I've been able to decorate my home in a way that I love using second hand items! I found this brown window on Saturday and I love having it in my home!

CEILING FANS: I bought The Joe ceiling fans for Father's Day and he was so cute about it! He had to do all of the work putting them in and I was a little worried that he would think that was a bummer of a gift. He climbed down from the ladder and said, "THIS IS THE BEST FATHER'S DAY EVER!!!". What a guy. He is everything to me..... and the ceiling fans are pretty awesome too.

SAMPLES AT COSTCO: Taking 5 kids to the store by myself can be somewhat of a natural disaster. I am grateful for little free treats to keep my children excited and entertained. Today they even had dark chocolate covered pomegranates. Such a heavenly thing.

I could go on, but I will spare you the extreme rambling session that is trying to make it's out of my head.   By the way, thank you to those of you who gave me feedback on my banner design and ideas. I removed the post because I will be changing things up. The plans are getting more involved and will take a while to work out, but I'll keep you updated! Thank you for being so sweet and generous with your compliments. Love you all!

~Andy

Chalkboard jewelry~

We're throwing together a craft night for our young women tomorrow night and we needed something  inexpensive.  Little chalkboard necklaces came to mind. They are easy to make, and it's a fun way to let the girls express themselves!

You can either cut little boards yourself, or buy pre-cut wood pieces at Hobby Lobby or other craft stores.

It doesn't take much chalkboard paint to cover a huge number of necklaces!

To hang them, you can either drill holes in the top of the board, or you can buy these tiny hinge clips at Hobby Lobby. Wait until they are 40 or 50% off and they aren't very expensive.   I paid $1.50 for 15 clips. They're really cute and make the necklaces look like mini clipboards.

 I bounced around the aisle trying to figure out what kind of rope to buy. I REALLY like what I ended up grabbing. It's elastic so you can make the necklaces short, but still get them over your head.

 I cut out some vinyl as an option for the girls.

I think we'll do earrings as well. I bought a bag of circle rings and earring hooks and just drilled holes in the wooden circles.

I think it would also be fun gluing them onto ring forms! I should have grabbed some while I was at the store! I'm hoping the girls will have fun with them!

Thin 4th of July flag crate~

I really like the look of old crates, but sometimes I have a hard time decorating them. I'd like to fit them on my shelves where I keep seasonal decor, but they are just too big.  Well, this morning I figured that I could probably just make a thin crate for the look and if I wanted it to be functional, I could use it for magazines.  

This is a pretty easy project. It's made from 2X4 scraps and 1/4'' slats of mdf.

I cut a 16 1/2'' piece of the 2X4 and two 12'' pieces.

Screwed the shorter boards onto the longer piece,

And nailed three 1/4'' mdf slats that measured 4''X16 1/2'' on the front and 3 on the back{bead board slats would work just as well and would probably be pretty darn cute}.

Simple little 2X4 crate box!

I painted and distressed the front of the box. I left the back white so I can flip it after the holidays.

I drilled a hole in the top left corner

and used a band saw to cut out a star to attach to the front.

I've had a couple of random knobs from Hobby Lobby for awhile and was able to actually use one today. Lol

And that's it! The project took about 1/2 hour from start to finish. I did have my 1/4'' slats already cut out, it would take a bit longer if I had to cut them down to size.

Have a wonderful Flag Day tomorrow!

Father's Day Gift Idea~

Ties are pretty common Father's Day gifts, so why not add a tie holder into the mix?

As you know, I have an unhealthy obsession with shaker pegs and buy them in bulk.

If you are not quite so obsessed, I would suggest buying little hooks. It'd probably be cheaper.

{{and easier to put in if you don't happen to have access to a drill press}}

If you like the look of Shaker pegs, you can find them at most hardware stores and I've seen them at Hobby Lobby. Hobby Lobby seemed to have the best prices.  

The board I used an mdf board that was 26''X6'' and 3/4'' thick. You can buy 6'' boards at Home Depot and they will even cut them down to the right size for if you'd like.  

I measured the center of the board to find where to place my first hole and then worked my way out.

I used 13 pegs. It really doesn't matter how many you stick on there,

 but odd numbers are easier to center.

I put the pegs 2'' apart. Much closer than I would for a coat rack. I want to be able to stuff it full of ties.
Stick a little bit of wood glue on the back of the pegs before tapping them into place with a hammer or mallet. This will keep the pegs from slipping out over time. It's probably not as necessary with a tie rack since ties aren't heavy, so if you don't have wood glue, don't stress about it.

I find that folding my vinyl helps me to get it centered on the board.
The vinyl itself is 3.5'' X 21''.  

Happy early Father's Day Joe! 

{{Blogging really is a surprise spoiler isn't it?}}

The vinyl for this project it is $6.
If it's purchased separately, the shipping is $.50 because it can be folded and fit into an envelope.
Shoot me an email if you are interested and I'll send you a paypal invoice.
poppyginger@gmail.com

Feature, feature...read all about it:)

I apologize I've been blog negligent as of late...I was excited for a lazy summer, but it's been a little crazy town! Aren't things suppose to slow down?? You'd think they would, especially with my hubby off for the summer months!

Anyway, I had to take a moment and thank Cupcake Mag for interviewing me and featuring my little blog! I'm very flattered and humbled that anyone would take the time to post about me and my site!

Take a look-see! 

{Click on the image to see the interview} 

Thank you so much Casi!! {Editor of Cupcake Mag}

Have a wonderful evening everyone!! 

Andy