Polka Dot Paper Bag Mushroom

This is another version of a paper bag mushroom that I originally saw over at Dollar Store Crafts. Here is a link to the first one I made, along with a links. http://craftsandcreationswithkathy.blogspot.com/2009/08/paper-bag-mushroom.html For this version, I colored the top of the bag red with green polka dots with markers and after twisting the bottom, added rubber bands to secure them. Before securing the bottom rubber band, I used a hot glue gun to secure a wooden skewer with hot glue. Prior to putting outside, I sprayed the entire mushroom with clear acrylic spray to protect it from the elements

Two Minute T-Shirt Present Wrap

I needed to wrap a present quickly for my son's birthday and didn't have much wrapping paper that didn't look girly, so I grabbed one of his too small T-shirts and used it to make an eco friendly present wrap. Items used:

• 1 T-shirt
• 1 rectangular box (I used and empty 24 pk box of Diet Coke)
• 1 rubber band
• 2 safety pins

This t-shirt is a medium, but a larger t-shirt would probably work better. Put the box in the shirt and position the logo how you want it to look on the box. Flip the box over and tie the sleeves together. Fold up the bottom like you would a present and secure the folded up edge by putting the rubber band around it.

Fold up the neck the same way you would a present and secure with the two safety pins. This is how the back looks when completed.

This is how the front looked when completed.

Nearly White Chocolate "Throwing Stars" - almost a fail

My son wanted to make a version of the Peanut Butter magic wands I had made, but instead make use regular small pretzels dipped in white chocolate and call them "throwing stars"

http://craftsandcreationswithkathy.blogspot.com/2009/08/peanut-butter-magic-wands.html

Unfortunately, instead of starting with 1 TBSP of mile to dilute the melted chocolate, he added 1 cup of milk and it was a runny mess. We tried fixing it by adding a cup of powered sugar and while it did stiffen up he mixture but made it very sugary and not at all chocolate like. He dipped them and we ate them anyway and they were ok, but if you want to make your own chocolate throwing stars, don't add to much milk to the chocolate!

STOPLIGHT GIFT WRAPPED PACKAGE

Fun packaging to wrap up to give to a car enthusiast!

My son just turned 16 and is car obessed, so for his birthday I decided to decorate one his presents to look like a stop light.

Items used:

• Tissue paper
• White printer paper
• Tape
• Glue stick
• Scissors
• Jar lid or other circular item
• Markers (optional if you use red, green and yellow tissue paper)

Wrap the present in white printer paper if the box has writing on it indicating what it is the package before wrapping it in the tissue paper (I chose to use yellow tissue for the main part of the stoplight) and secure the pieces with tape as you go.

This turned a little tricky when I decided to buy him a lava lamp that he wanted and it was in a tall, cynlindrical package instead of box. To cover the ends in paper, put in the center of a white piece of paper and draw around it, then cut approximately 2-3 inches away from the drawn circle.

Make cut around the circumference of the piece up to the center circle like so then apply the glue stick to the edges,

Line up the center circle with the top of the item to be wrap and press down each of the tabs individually and overlapping them to and you go so it will be flat around the edges (if you have ever made a tom-tom out of an oatmeal box, it is the same concept). Repeat for the other end if desired.

Repeat the above steps with the yellow tissue paper. For the lights on the stoplight, use a lid or other circular object that is proportionate for your gift box, making one red, green and yellow.

I cut out 3 layers of the green light in tissue paper and glued each layer together.

I didn't like how the red looked and as the base was yellow, needed a different shade of yellow for the other lights, so I used printer paper and colored with red and yellow markers.

Use the glue stick to glue the the red, yellow and green "lights" on the package. I then outlined each of the lights with a black marker so they would stand out more.