Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle costumes

I've really been neglecting this blog lately because I've been so busy with my new adventure (which I will blog about as soon as I get it together). Meanwhile, I thought I'd go back in time to 2002 Halloween where my kids picked the costume: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.  

The thing that made the costumes complete were the turtle shells that were made from metal turkey pans from the dollar store, spray painted green. I put a slit in the pan at the top and bottom and tied through green elastic so that we could wear the pans like backpacks.

The weapons and masks I bought online from the Halloween super-store, except for the nunchuks, which are real, from my daughter's karate class. I also bought the adult t-shirts online but had to make the kid's t-shirts because I couldn't find anything for kids t-shirts. I bought green t-shirts and created the belly of the mutant turtle with yellow and black slick paint. The scraps of fabric around our elbows and belts were made from fabric at Joann Fabric.

Grade: B
Skill Level: Minimal
Difficulty Level: Low to Moderate 
Frustration Level: Low
Cost: $-$$

Simple Crochet Coaster and Placemat Set

I recently started to take up an interest in crocheting again after being taught the basic stitches (chain, single crochet, double crochet -U.S. terms) when I was a kid.  Using the wonderful teacher Ms. Youtube, I was able to really advance my knowledge and skill!  I saw this great placemat that I wanted to try to give as a gift for a housewarming party (Crochet Spring Placemat).  It's adorable and I love it!  However the instructions are not quite written for a beginner (there are some missing steps you have to guess at!) and there are details missing like yarn type and hook size!  When I attempted the placemat using the directions, with my worsted weight cotton yarn and my H sized hook, I was getting something the size of my table and the holes were way too big! There were also no matching coasters. So, I am writing my own pattern using this as inspiration!

You will need:
Worsted weight yarn (4 ply) (for coaster and placemat)
Light weight yarn (3 ply) (for embellishment)
Size H-8/5.00 mm hook (for coaster and placemat)
Size F-5/3.75 mm hook (for embellishment)
Tapestry Needle for finishing off
Needle and thread for attaching embellishment

Terms:
Chain
Slip Stitch-SS
Single Crochet-SC
Half Double Crochet-HDC ( loop on hook, yarn over, go through chain, pull up loop, pull yarn through all three loops on hook)
Magic Loop
Treble (or triple) Crochet-TR (loop on hook, yarn over twice, go through chain, pull up loop, pull yarn through two, pull yarn through two again)



Coaster:  Approximately 5x5 inches or 13x13 cm
Row 1:  Loosely Chain 15. (this allows your piece to remain flat)
Row 2:  HDC in 2nd loop of chain from hook. (14 HDC stitches total)
Rows 3-10: Turn work.  Chain 1. HDC in same stitch and continue in each stitch in row.
Finishing main piece: crochet a single crochet all the way around with 3 single crochet stitches in each corner. Slip stitch to join end. Cut and finish off. Weave in ends.


Placemat: Approximately 12x17 inches or 31x45 cm
Row 1: Loosely chain 55.
Row 2 HDC in  2nd loop of chain from hook. (54 HDC stitches total)
Rows 3-30: Turn work.  Chain 1. HDC in same stitch and continue in each stitch in row.
Finishing main piece: crochet a single crochet all the way around with 3 single crochet stitches in each corner. Slip stitch to join end. Cut and finish off. Weave in ends.

Edging:
This is a modified shell stitch edging.
Slip stitch your color into the third single crochet stitch from the corner.
*Skip SC.
HDC 5 times same stitch. (6 HDC for corners)
Slip stitch in second SC.
*Repeat from * and slip stitch to close.
Cut and weave in ends.

When looking at the embellishment for the coaster and placemat, I didn't want to do the  original design but I did like the idea of something in the lower corner to make it pop.  I immediately thought a butterfly would be perfect because the wings would complement the edging.  After searching for and trying several different butterflies that ended up too big for my project (why don't people tell you the size it will be in the pattern!?!) I found my self looking at the flowers too.  After all, a simple butterfly is basically a flower minus one petal!  I found that they weren't quite right either.  So I got inspiration from the following two free patterns :
Flowergirl Cottage Flower Pattern and Sweet Butterfly Pattern.  That when modified together made the cutest little butterflies perfect for my coasters and placemats (approximate size of butterfly is 1.5x1.5 inches or 3.5x3.5 centimeters)!

Butterfly Embellishment:

Create magic loop.
Pull up one loop.
8 SC around loop
Pull end thread to tighten center ( I leave a little loose and pull completely at end of project.)Slip stitch in beginning chain. Chain one.
HDC 5 times in same stitch. Chain 1. Slip stitch in same stitch.
Skip SC. Slip stitch in next SC.  Chain 2. TR in same stitch 5 times. Chain 2. Slip stitch in same stitch.
Skip next SC. Slip Stitch in next SC. Chain 2. 5 TR in same stitch. Chain 2. Slip stitch in same stitch.
Skip SC. Slip Stitch in next SC. Chain 1. 5 HDC in same stitch. Chain 1. Slip stitch in same stitch.
Slip stitch in starting stitch. Finish off and pull starting loop tight. Weave in ends.

Beach Dreaming Mixed Media Art

About this time of year I think about how much I miss summer already. To push away the September blues, I decided to do a series of three beach themed mixed media art canvas pictures. Its great when you have a storage box filled with all these supplies from other mixed media / paper craft projects because you don't have to go to the store and spend more money. At least this is how I justify it to my husband.

One thing for sure that I keep in my craft box is spray ink. Mixing blue firecracker and pearls mist provides a dreamy sky look. After it dries I stamp it up by painting acrylic paint on my stamps.

I use tan acrylic paint and actual sand to create the beach. I looked a little strange dumping my canvas in the sand at the beach, but not any stranger than the 80 year old man in the tight red Speedo, smoking a pipe while staring at me.  

Curly Stencil

The water is painted with acrylic paint and the idea of waves are created by using a curly stencil with white and blue acrylic paint.

Scrap Book Paper

It was so easy to cut out houses and sailboats since they are simply triangles and rectangles. The umbrella was a little bit trickier, but whats great about using paper is that you can easily toss your mistakes.

Oil Pastel and Paper

To add a little more texture to the houses, I went around the edges of my squares with a darker color oil pastel and blended it in.

I always glue together my paper creations together, outline with sharpie, then Modge Podge them before I glue them to the canvas, with the exception of the really tiny pieces that are too difficult to work with.

   Make sure the final product is sprayed with clear coat to keep the sand from falling off.

Grade: A  
Skill Level: Minimal
Difficulty Level: Low to Moderate 
Frustration Level: Low
Cost: $$

Letter Art Photography

I found a frame at home goods with 5 slots for 4x6 pictures and decided to use my own B+W photos. The kids and I searched around for things around the beach that looked like letters. My kids were very creative, and were very helpful; my son saw the umbrella as a 'T' and my daughter cold see the lamp post looked like an 'r'.


It is easy to change color photos to black and white because it is an option on the photo site after you upload them. We used CVS photo and the pictures cost around 2 dollars.

Grade: A  
Skill Level: Low
Difficulty Level: Low
Frustration Level: Low
Price: $-$$ 

Lucy the Elephant Art

I have teacher friend who finally saved up enough money to retire to a beach house in Margate NJ. To ensure that I could visit her frequently, I made her a house warming gift for her kitchen.  She told me that she wanted something with a beach/wine/elephant theme with the colors yellow, blue and silver. 

The canvas is basically watercolors, acrylics, stamps and sand. Yes sand. I painted the bottom with tan acrylic paint and then dipped it in the sandbox.

Below are the directions to the Wine bottle and glass.

Materials:

     Sculpy Clay

     Stamps

     Sliver Acrylic Paint

     Black Acrylic Paint

     Paper 

     Rhinestones

    

1) I cut out shapes for a wine bottle and a cup as a template. Basically I folded it in half and cut the paper so that it was exactly the same on both sides.

2) Its important to soften up Sculpy (Polymer) clay before you bake it. You can use your hands but its a lot of work, I prefer the clay machine, you roll the clay through there a few times and it becomes soft. Also, it makes a nice, even flat clay piece much more easily than you could do with a rolling pin. My wine bottle was really large so I had to to it in two pieces and blend it together.

3) The clay is bumpy, so to take away from that uneven look, I used some stamps and some embellishments to add interest and make the imperfections less noticeable. Oddly enough, I had some rhinestones that fell off my old bling flip-flops that I re-used for this craft. I save everything shiny, I never know when I can glue it to something.   

5)Before painting, bake the clay in the oven as per the directions.

6)To add an antiqued look, I pained on black acrylic paint and wiped it off with a paper towel.

7) I added a Lucy The Elephant label by taking a picture of Lucy and editing it in word shop then printing it out on yellow paper.I used the Gelatos to add some flair to the label. The Lucy printable is included below. 

Grade: A  
Skill Level: Advanced (working with clay takes a little bit of experience)
Difficulty Level: Moderate 
Frustration Level: Low
Cost: $$

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Sun Catchers for Dad Part II

Last year for fathers day, my kids made Superhero sun catchers. They turned out to be a hit, this year we decided to go with Plaid Gallery Glass,a more expensive way to make a sun catcher/ window cling.


Gallery glass is a product that I used years ago before I had children. I used it to add privacy to my bathroom windows so that I didn't have to add blinds or curtains. Plaid makes all kinds of patterns for you to chose from.  

This time, I decided to make my own. The kids and I made 2 window clings for daddy and o-pop (my dad)! You can buy Plaid Gallery Glass at any craft store, they come in kits and you can purchase separately. 

1) Print out the image you want to use.

2)  Place a Plaid plastic blank OVER your printout before you start

3) Squeeze out the black liquid leading to outline the image (I did this part myself, I assumed that the kids did not have the strength or the precision to do the outline)

4) Let it dry overnight before putting in the color

5) Let the kids squeeze different Gallery Glass colors in-between the leading. If you want to get fancy, you can add two colors in one spot and swirl them around with a toothpick, giving a interesting look to your fake glass

6) Try to pop as many bubbles as you can with a toothpick or bamboo skewer

7) Let it dry for 2 days, just to be safe

8) Peel it off an stick on a window

Instead of doing a window cling, you can also create your art directly on plastic. Plaid sells flat plastic sheets or you can go through your trash can or recycle bin and get the plastic out yourself. Just make sure that your trash is thoroughly clean and dry before you try to decorate it.

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Grade: A  
Skill Level: Low
Difficulty Level: Moderate (needs parental assistance)
Frustration Level: Moderate (kids always make a mess)
Cost: $$

Creeper Cupcakes

 My son is absolutely in love with the Mindcraft Creeper, so it was no surprise that he wanted creeper cupcakes for his birthday party at Pre-K. 

1) I made square cupcakes, from a box mix, with an individual brownie pan that I found in the local grocery store. The pans run around 9 dollars. You can also just use a regular square pan and cut the cake into squares.

2) Its important to cut the top of the cupcake off to make the cupcake flat because the creeper does not have a round head. This gives you an opportunity to eat all the discarded pieces and pretend that you are still on your diet.

3) You can color store bought icing with jello mix to give it the green color. I used just enough jello to make the icing green.  Ice the cupcakes and add green sprinkles. The sprinkles give it a pixelated look, at least that is how my daughter convinced me to add the sprinkles. Before you move onto the next step, you have to wait about an hour for the icing to harden.

4) Print out the creeper printable below and place wax paper over it. You can use a razor blade to cut out the eyes and mouth. Make a few of these as they do get soggy and unusable after about 4 cupcakes.

5) Place the wax paper over the cupcake and smear chocolate icing on top of your wax paper stencil (use an unused, washed, small craft paint brush or finger), then instantly take it off and it will reveal your creeper face.   



See printable below.


Grade: B  
Skill Level: Low
Difficulty Level: Easy
Frustration Level: Easy





Note: Lime and chocolate are not a great paring in flavor, but the kids ate them anyway. You could use food  coloring instead if lime cupcake icing grosses you out. On second thought, you should still use the lime icing if you don't like it, you just ate all those cupcake discards so you've really had enough cupcakes until next birthday.

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