Can Caddy

I am still sewing/crafting. That and reading are the only things that stop the insane wasp nest of anxiety inside my brian. 

But in no way can I take credit for this project. The idea is a shameless rip off from Sandi Henderson, Robert did most of the work and a friend even provided the freshly washed cans. 

We had everything but the knob feet which set us back a whopping two dollars at the local home improvement store. The only thing I did was decoupage the old maps onto the cans. I will say I did a right nice job of picking local maps. 

Decoupaging is relaxing and therapeutic. I need to do more of that. Glue stuff onto other stuff. 

I love this caddy. Its perfect to store all the markers and pens that Lenora loves to color with and easy to carry around. So get on out there and get yourself a handy husband, some cans and have at it. 

Centerpiece

Last night I was looking for the pictures of the strawberry jam I swore I took to share with you. I made the jam but apparently forgot to take the pictures. 

So tonight I am going to share these centerpieces instead. We made them for a good friends surprise 30th birthday and they turned out great. 

We bought the bandannas at a local chain craft store. They are cotton and come plain or with a traditional bandanna print. To tie dye I use Jacquard Procion MX Dye. If you have never used it before you will not be dissapointed. It puts Rit dye to shame. Im just saying. 

I will warn you, wear gloves or your hands will be multicolored for days. And don't forget to protect whatever you are working on. My laundry room floor is also rainbow colored from the dye.  

There are tons of colors to choose from and they all turn out so vibrant and saturated. 

A few flowers in a mason jar and a tie dyed bandanna and you have a beautiful centerpiece. Plus the bandanna and the flowers make a great take home gift for your guests. Or you could just hoard them all for yourself and use them for funky table napkins. 

Birdseed Ornaments

I love handmade Christmas gifts. I found this little project in Country Living magazine and thought I would test it out to see if it could become one of my handmade gifts this year. Link is here if you want to try it yourself.

I found that the recipe made more ornaments than it stated. I filled 3 cookie cutters when it only called for one. I also added a lot more birdseed than called for. It just seemed too runny so I kept adding. I think I could have added even more. I also had to wait a LONG time for the mixture to thicken up to pour into the cutters. If you don't wait long enough it will spill out the sides and you will have a huge mess.

In the end I love the thought behind them, but I don't think I will be giving these out. This is definitely a cold weather craft. I set them on the kitchen table when I was done and they started to melt. You have to hang them outside immediately in the cold air for them to stay hard. Just having the heat on in the house and the little but of sun from the window softened them right up, which would make them hard to wrap and give away. You would end up with a soggy mess of coconut oil and seeds.

This would make a good winter craft to do with children. I envisioned a beautiful evergreen tree in the front yard filled with these, and tiny little birds munching to their hearts content. I guess that is where I went off track. I dont have an evergreen tree and I think my dog sitting in the window is scaring off the birds from eating the one I have hanging from my planter hook. It remains untouched. I want something to eat it so bad I almost would not mind the squirrels taking a bite. I have two more in the freezer if you have an evergreen tree and don't mind riding home with no heat. They are all yours.