Sunday, February 26, 2012

scrabble coasters - a tutorial

The idea behind these coasters came from Etsy (so if you want to buy some head on over there...or shoot me a email and we can talk). I made my husband a set of beer themed coasters (I only had enough scrabble tiles for 3, not 4) for Christmas and loved how they came out. I recently made a set to give a friend that recently got married.


Here is a tutorial if you want to make your own.

Supplies (for 4 coasters)
64 Scrabble tiles (you can get these on Etsy, but I got a much better price from a seller on eCrater)
Super strong glue, I use E-6000
Cork sheet (get a sheet of this at any craft store for about $2)
Exacto knife (and something to cut on)
Mod Podge and paint brush


First - play around with your scrabble tiles to get all of the words you want lined up. Flip tiles over if you want to use two or three letter words.

Second - cut four approx 3.5x4-inch pieces of cork.

Third - place a row of glue on the cork where your first row of tiles will go, place your tiles. Repeat for all rows. Once you have all four rows in place you might have to adjust the tiles a smidge so they all line up. Some tiles are sligtly bigger or smaller but not enough to make a difference.


Fourth - go do something while all of the coasters dry.

Fifth - take an Exacto knife and trim the extra cork as close as you can to the tiles. I use a magazine to cut on  then recycle it when I'm done.


Sixth - Paint 2 layers of Mod Podge on the top and sides of the coasters. Painting the sides will stop any bits of cork from coming off. (FYI - once I have enough Mod Podge on the surface I smooth it out pretty...this photo is a horrible example for Mod Podge technique...).


Let them dry for several hours and you are done!


Enjoy! These coasters make great gifts because they are so personal!

xoxo

great use for crappy socks!

I bought some super cute socks at Walgreen's one night when I just needed something to cover up my ankle brace (that I also bought at Walgreen's because I couldn't stand sitting out of my sand volleyball game even when my ankle was still swollen...). The socks were cheap, completely sucked, but were adorable.

Welp, this my friends, is the perfect opportunity to turn some cute (crappy) socks in a precious little sock monkey! I found a tutorial online [there are a gazillion sock monkey tutorials so no need to write another...] and went to town!


Her legs are too long and ears are weird, but I still think she turned out cute. My hubby asked if he could keep her so now she watches him play on the computer...


I embroidered an M on her butt with a heart (not sure if you could tell what that was...)


Next time you have a crappy pair of funky socks, you know what to do!
xoxo

Friday, February 24, 2012

bedroom shade fix!

The house behind us has a seriously bright light that is kept on ALL NIGHT LONG! Drives us insane and prevents my other half from sleeping half the time. After many-a-nights of complaining, I finally fixed the shade. The first photo shows what the shades look like during the day. These things don't block out all that much light. In this pic, you can completely see our other neighbors house.  


I bought some black out fabric for about $6/yard and hot glued the fabric along the top of the back of the shade. Worked perfectly and the room is now pitch black at night. This pic was taken at the same time as the first one and you can't see out at all. Hubby loves it and I love that he quit complaining about it...problem solved (see I'm an engineer at home too....). 


Here's to long restful (and peaceful...and DARK) nights!
xoxo

monkeeee!

My coworkers and I are making a quilt for another coworker expecting her first baby (yay!). We did an animal theme because the gender of the baby is unknown and we thought it would be easy to come up with ideas. Here is my cute little monkey square to contribute to the project. We were supposed to add our initials to the square so she could pick out who did which squares.


I'm sure I will post lots of pics once the little blankey is all finished.

Cute monkeeee!

Wow, really is it already the end of February...Time. Flies. By.

xoxo