Category Archives: crafts

He liked the cutting board!

05 Thursday Jun 2014

Posted by in baking, birthday, crafts, family, food, projects, woodwork

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It was a happy 21st Birthday! Twenty-one is a big birthday and the “toys” will never be the same again.  We got our son 4 items: a big hunk of awesome steak wrapped in meat paper, a loaf of hearty homemade bread wrapped in brown paper and tied with string, a bottle of champagne, and a bread board.

He was amused at the loaf of bread and had not yet opened the steak wrapped in meat paper and cutting board wrapped in cutting board paper.

He was amused at the loaf of bread and had not yet opened the steak wrapped in meat paper and cutting board wrapped in cutting board paper.


The meat and cutting board wrapping paper were great! I got them from a kickstarter project. The wrapping paper is available here from Gift Couture.
I took a discarded but still functional breadboard, sanded down the scruffy top and carved words in the sides. It was comforting using my dad’s old carving tools again.
Bread board 1
Bread board 2Bread board 3Bread board 4Bread board 5
He’s an awesome cook and appreciated the gifts.

Thank you, God, for good bread, for good meat, for good wine.
Life doesn’t have to be complicated.
Enjoy the people you love!
 

Spring in the window

15 Thursday May 2014

Posted by in All Sparkled Up, crafts, Easter, home decor

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Hanging plant egg tree 14 1

The tiny crystal beads on the egg tree catch light in the new window.

I’ve decided to keep the egg tree with little hanging plants in the window a bit longer. This is the first spring with the new window and I enjoy the sunshine streaming through the crystal beads on the tiny plants.

Hanging plant egg tree 14 2

Hanging plant egg tree 14 3

Hanging plant egg tree 14 4

Hanging plant egg tree 14 5

100 Lego Perfume Bottles

27 Thursday Mar 2014

Posted by in All Sparkled Up, crafts, miniature, photography, sparkling

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if Lego made perfume…

Actually, there are over 100.
The Legos were dumped out on the table and the grandkids and I chatted away during many cold winter nights.
While the little ones made houses and trucks and planes, I started making perfume bottles.

Lego Perfume Bottles made of the smallest Lego pieces.

Lego Perfume Bottles made of the smallest Lego pieces.


I made more and more.
2 Lego Perfume Bottles
It became an obsession.
3 Lego Perfume Bottles collection
The rules were simple: No pieces could be forced, all the bottles had to be built like normal Lego building and they all had to stick together properly. There is just one bottle out of all of them that isn’t stuck together and the pieces fall apart if you turn it upside down. Can you guess which one?
4 Lego Perfume Bottles collection
So much color and sparkle from such a tiny source!
5 Lego Perfume Bottles collection
Perfume Nation.
6 Lego Perfume Bottles collection
At one point, we counted 124 different Lego perfume bottles.
Then some got disassembled to make different designs.
7 Lego Perfume Bottles collection
And then we started naming them.
8 Lego Perfume Bottles
So I made a poster of 100 of the Lego perfume bottles to be named.
This is a very large image. Click to access the original size in order to see all the detail.

This is a very large image. Click to access the original size in order to see all the detail.

Some of these Lego perfumes don’t have names. Please leave name suggestions in the comments and I’ll add them to the Lego Perfume Bottles poster.

Feel free to copy, save or print the poster. If you post on your website, please link back to allsparkledup.com. Thank you!

Edited to add: I was asked what lighting I used for the photography. The photos were taken in the late afternoon, west sun through half-curtain window. The top of the arch window had plenty of sun streaming through which bounced off my white kitchen cabinets behind me like a giant white board, exactly as I hoped when we redid the kitchen. Camera- Canon 5D2, Lens Canon EF 24-70, hand-held.

On my worktable – artificial flowers

21 Friday Mar 2014

Posted by in All Sparkled Up, crafts, family, flowers, home, home decor, Inspirational, On my Worktable, Uncategorized

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Today my worktable was full of flowers for the spring arrangements. The bins have been in the living room for over a week but I finally had time today. It’s always a pleasure to arrange the flowers, even though they are the same ones I’ve used for years. At the end of a season, I pull all the flowers out of the vases and sort them by color in bins, then they go to the attic. It’s good to start fresh each year so I mix and match the flowers to suit the season and mood.

The arrangement for the foyer. I'll probably add a little more at the base. It looks a bit too tight but I'm crazy over the color.

The arrangement for the foyer. I’ll probably add a little more at the base. It looks a bit too tight but I’m crazy over the color.


The bare brances were in the corner through winter, strung with lights and crystal snowflakes just to add brightness to the room.

The bare brances were in the corner through winter, strung with lights and crystal snowflakes just to add brightness to the room.


The same bare branches now share the space with artificial dogwood and greens. The lights were taken off the branches and placed in the vase for ambience.

The same bare branches now share the space with artificial dogwood and greens. The lights were taken off the branches and placed in the vase for ambience.


I love the new arrangements! They make me happy. =)

Not in the photos: son’s twin size mattress on the floor in the living room because we have to tear out the downstairs bathroom and completely redo it due to a major leak.
Not in the photos: the flat screen tv right in front of the large dogwood arrangement in the corner.
Not in the photos: tears shed because another one of our children moved out last week and we’re all missing him and wishing him well and cheering for him in his new job in another state.

Two of my sons. Noah on the left moved south last weekend. We miss him! Very glad for the job opportunity though.

Two of my sons. Noah on the left moved south last weekend. We miss him! Very glad for the job opportunity though.


We all have a choice on what to focus on. I choose to focus on what’s good and bright and beautiful and sparkling in life. You can have brightness if you choose. Sometimes it takes a lot of work, like clearing a garden of weeds. You have to yank out bad thoughts and deliberately hack at unwanted vines. But it’s possible and totally worth it.
Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things. Ph 4:8
The arrangement for the living room table. The velvet-petal roses are showing their age but they are still beautiful.

The arrangement for the living room table. The velvet-petal roses are showing their age but they are still beautiful.

My QR code fabric was a success!

25 Tuesday Feb 2014

Posted by in crafts, fabric, On my Worktable, sewing, Uncategorized

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QR Code Fabric

QR Code Fabric. The white QR Tale design was printed on silky faille on the left. The gray QR Tale design on the right was printed on Kona cotton.

Yay! Pardon all the exclamation points but how cool is that! Woot!
My QR Code fabric on Spoonflower printed beautifully.
I’m surprised QR code fabric isn’t available by the bolt yet. I’ve searched all the major fabric companies and haven’t found anything. The options for code in fabric are endless and super duper fun.
I had this fabric printed via Spoonflower. I call it “An Unfinished QR Tale” because each block of text contains just a hint of the story. There are over 30 separate phrases in QR code in this fabric. The code squares printed up beautifully in silky faille and cotton. I thought perhaps the fabric grain would interfere with the QR reader but there was no trouble at all reading the code. I don’t have a smart phone so used a QR code app on my tablet.
QR Fabric 2
QR Fabric 3
QR Fabric 4

QR Fabric 5

with nary a moment to spare

Yay!
I had designed another QR code fabric for a ModCloth contest but didn’t win. Here is my entry for the ModCloth contest, a sweet little design featuring code and wings. This design has different text from QR Tale, mostly light and airy phrases.
v notch dress
As soon as the QR Code on Wings proofs, I’ll be able to offer it on Spoonflower.
The first two QR tale fabrics printed perfectly so they can be purchased on Spoonflower now. I plan on making more.
~ Recipes in QR code for making an apron
~ QR Check design for a picnic table cloth
~ Poetry, perhaps haiku or limericks
Imagine wearing a shirt or dress and hearing “May I please read your dress?” haha
Imagine a restaurant with QR code napkins or placemats… Reading the code would make waiting for the meal much more enjoyable…
Ah yes, so many ideas.

Also, I really want to do color. These designs are all black and white or gray scale. The picnic table cloth will be a lot of fun to create and even more fun for picnic guests to use. :)

Pastillage Tea Set decorated cake

28 Tuesday Jan 2014

Posted by in cake decorating, crafts, food

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Pastillage (pronounced PAH-stee-YAZH) is a special fondant that can be modeled like clay. It dries very quickly so you have to work fast. The advantage of pastillage over fondant is it can be rolled paper thin and the finished pieces look like porcelain. But just like porcelain, they are fragile and will shatter if dropped. I made these pieces a bit thicker so they could be safely wrapped in bubble wrap for transportation.

I made this tea set for a cake for my sister a couple years ago. The teapot, creamer and sugar dish, cups and saucers, napkins, spoons, flowers and cake stand are all made of pastillage. The finished pieces were a cooperative effort; my other sister painted the delicate flowers with food color and my mom added the gilded trim using vodka and 14k gold powder.

2 Pastillage Tea Set 2

I made the tiny sugar cubes by sawing larger sugar cubes into small pieces with a craft saw and then sanding any rough edges. The top of the cake pedestal was made from a clear plastic yogurt lid.

1 Pastillage Tea Set 1

3 Pastillage Tea Set Cake

I was not able to travel to my sister’s party but a friend shared this picture of the finished cake. My mom did a beautiful job covering the cake with a fondant tablecloth.

4 Pastillage Tea Set 3

Snowflake in the window

03 Friday Jan 2014

Posted by in All Sparkled Up, art, crafts, nature, photography, sparkling, sunlight, water

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1 Snowflakes in the window
We’re hoping for real snow. But snowflakes cut from rice paper will do for now.
2 Snowflakes in the window3 Snowflakes in the window
4 Snowflakes in the window
5 Snowflakes in the window
6 Snowflakes in the window
7 Snowflakes in the window
8 Snowflakes in the window

And this is my 200th blog post!

Happy New Year 2014!

31 Tuesday Dec 2013

Posted by in All Sparkled Up, crafts, family, New Years, sparkling

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We got THE coolest package from Japan from our daughter yesterday. She and her husband sent us a whole box of crazy cool treats! We’re going to try them tonight. We’re a fairly adventurous family but I’m going to need some bravery tasting dried squid meat, eggplant hard candy and beef & zucchini chips! My guess? Delicious! I’ll let you know.

The evening will be simple – playing card or board games and listening to neighborhood fireworks at midnight. Food will be homemade baguette toasts with hummus and cheeses and a veggie tray. Also those awesome Japanese treats. And we’re going to make party hats from old rolls of Christmas wrapping paper, with a prize going to first and runner up designs.
25 Awesome Party Hats
Party Hats DIY
Homemade Hats
DIY Party Hats
That ought to be silly fun and I’ll be getting rid of excess old wrapping paper too. Reduce & reuse ftw!

Happy New Year to you all!

A tiered server is piled with treats from Japan. We didn't have confetti so I quickly snipped a handful of used Christmas ribbon to make some.

A tiered server is piled with treats from Japan. We didn’t have confetti so I quickly snipped a handful of used Christmas ribbon to make some.

Repurposed Men’s Tie Wool Interlining Rose Wreath

14 Saturday Dec 2013

Posted by in Christmas, crafts, fabric, home decor, Uncategorized, wreath

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That’s quite the wordy title for it! But that’s exactly what the flowers and hanging ribbons are made of – the rough wool interlinings of men’s ties. The hanging pieces are just as they were when I pulled them out of the re-purposed ties, complete with pointy ends, some crumpled and narrower.

The flowers are made using the wool interlinings of men's ties.

The flowers are made using the wool interlinings of men’s ties.


It needs a couple more roses, “sushi buds” and pearl branches though which I hope to get made next week. I might forget to take another photo of the wreath so that’s why I’m posting this now. The pearl sprays were from Gilded Life monthly Stash Society boxes. If I have time, I’m going to make more of the pearl branches. They really make a big difference in the wreath.

I have officially changed the name of the ruffle buds to Sushi Buds because my guys say they look like sushi. Sweet. I’m hoping to have time to make a tutorial of the sushi buds. They are fun to make but do take some dexterity.

This big wreath is displayed on the living room wall every Christmas but it always had large, red velvet poinsettias. I love the new look of the soft creamy wool. I’ve wanted ivory flowers on this wreath for a long time but never had the budget for new flowers when I pulled it out of the attic each December. How peachy to come up with the perfect color flowers for free!

Well, there was a cost – I ransacked the guys’ stash of ties. Ha! They were very generous to give up so many they were no longer using. One tie makes one rose or two sushi buds. So that’s a lot of ties. These could be made using wool fabric but it’s important to cut a tie shape on diagonal grain. The tapered tie shape allows for larger petals as the rose is formed and the diagonal cut creates the perfect fuzzy fringe edge. So the wool interlinings from men’s ties worked perfect!

Roses, rosettes and sushi buds made from the wool interlinings of men's ties.

Roses, rosettes and sushi buds made from the wool interlinings of men’s ties.

On my worktable – Christmas decorations in progress

12 Thursday Dec 2013

Posted by in crafts, fabric, home decor, On my Worktable, sewing, wreath

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Many tasks, all quite mixed up. On my worktable, the big red bow for the front porch, the garland lights for the back deck and the fabric roses and ruffle buds I’m making for a wreath.

On my worktable - roses, rosettes and ruffle buds made from men's tie wool interlinings.

On my worktable – roses, rosettes and ruffle buds made from men’s tie wool interlinings.


The roses, rosettes and ruffle buds are made from the wool interlinings of men’s ties. I’m saving the silk tie fabric for other projects and kept the interlinings just because I can’t bear to throw out fabric. I’m glad I saved the pieces because they make beautiful roses! I tried unsuccessfully to make a rose bud so had to come up with another design. I really like how the ruffly buds are turning out, with luscious little layered centers. The next time I make icing flowers for a cake, I’m going to try to duplicate the design in icing.

Each full rose is made from the uncut interlining from one tie. The buds are made from a narrow interlining. One of the tie interlinings didn’t need cut to make one bud but the other longer interlinings did need cut to about 24″ in length. I can get two buds from one narrow long interlining cut in half.