How to Host a Craft Night

Earlier this fall my husband and I joined a new life class (modern speak for Sunday school class).  Even though we had been members of our church for 20+ years, we suddenly became the new people.  It was a little strange to find us introducing ourselves and trying to find our niche; but we found a wonderful group to do life with.  After just three short months, we had wiggled our way in enough for the class leader to ask me to host a craft night.  I eagerly said yes, after all, it was a great way to really connect with the other ladies in the class ... and well, CRAFT!  

Obviously there was a great desire for crafting because 25 ladies signed up!  It was a huge success so I decided to share my thoughts with you.  

 1. Plan ahead.  I'm not a big planner, so this was the hard part for me.  Make a list of all the supplies you will need.  Prepare yourself that you might have to visit more than one craft supply store.  Before I realized the crowd would be so large, I decided on three crafts.  In retrospect, we could have just done two, but it worked out fine.
2. Know your budget and stick with it.  I originally told the ladies it would be "around $10."  Our actual cost ended up being $11.75 each.  With that many women, the extra $1.75 adds up quick, so I couldn't just cover the extra cost.  Thankfully, the crafters were gracious about the expense.

 3. Provide written directions.  This will help with the chaos of everyone asking a million questions at the same time.  It won't eliminate questions, but there will be fewer.  It also helps the visual learners.

 3. Create designated spaces for each craft.  While we were preparing the house for the night, one of my kids said, "you're putting people in the laundry room?!"  With such a large crowd, we filled the whole downstairs!  By keeping the personalized coaster craft in one room, it helped contain the mess supplies.

4. Ask for help.   I only provided coffee and water... and crafts.  I asked each crafter to bring an appetizer or dessert and a glue gun. I even designated the coffee creamer.  Some brought homemade food, some brought store-bought.  One even brought some fun sparkling waters.  It all works out!

 5. Plan on mess, questions, and lots of laughter.  Crafting is messy.  Once you get over it, you will enjoy it so much better.  Sometimes even the most experienced crafters will have "silly" questions.  There is really no such thing as a silly question.  Let them know it's okay to ask for help.  You want them to go home with a craft they are proud of, not something that is disappointing because they weren't brave enough to ask a question.

When women have fun, we get loud.  Prepare your family (if they are hiding out upstairs like mine were) that it will be loud.  My husbands said he could tell we were having a lot of fun because we sounded like cackling hens.

6. Keep the fellowship flowing.  Choose crafts that aren't so labor-intensive that it suppresses conversations.  Our main craft (most time consuming) was the coffee filter wreath.  Once everyone got going, it was the perfect craft to chat through.  One of the ladies said, "I like that this is a mindless craft so that we can talk to each other."

7. Encourage creativity.  Some women will want to follow your example to the T.  Others will venture down their own little creative path.  I loved making the personalized coasters because each crafter got to choose their own paper pattern and monogram color.  There were so many beautiful, unique finished products.  Each one truly fit the owner's style.

8. Realize that each person crafts at their own pace.  The coaster craft made me realize this truth.  What I expected to be a ten minute craft ended up taking some of the women 30+ minutes to accomplish.  That is okay.  The important thing is that they accomplished it!  If you see someone lagging behind, just encourage her or help her make a decision.  Sometimes we just need someone to say, "Hey those two colors look great together!"

9. Start the evening organized and then let the chaos ensue.  Before we began the crafts, I gave directions to everyone, altogether.  This prevented me from having to explain the same craft 16 bajillion times.  I also made sure everyone knew where the bathroom was located and that the coffee was decaf, very important details. 

The craft station tables were labeled with a number. Before we began, each person drew a number (1-5) and then went to that table respectively. This helped with the whole "mingling" thing.  With 25 women, I had 5 craft stations (3 of which were the same craft) with 5 women at each station.  It mostly worked out that way.  Because of space, one station had four at a time with another holding 6 at a time. Once they finished their first station, I let them choose where they went next.  That way they could connect and chat with new friends.  Flexibility will be your best friend.  

10. Relax and enjoy.  If the hostess is stressed out, no one is going to have fun.  Use these simple steps to help you enjoy the gift of friendship.  Craft on!!!

I'm linking up with The Dedicated House, A Stroll Thru Life, Chicken Chick, Cozy Little House, Imparting Grace

The Church Pew Revival

On New Years Day, whilst still in a vertigo fog, we had brunch with some dear friends.  Though much of the conversations were a blur, I do remember my friend Suzanne saying, "Gretchen, I don't want you to feel like you have to take it, but I have an old pew..."

In which she was interrupted with my over-eager YES!  I'll take it!!!

She described it as "chippy" and in need of some TLC.  

I like chippy.  And old.

 But the chips were falling off like snowflakes.  Chips that were probably fully leaded.  So I decided to give it a good spa treatment... of sanding.  Well, actually, my sweet farmer did the sanding for me.

Yes, I'm wearing "mom jeans" because the barn was freezing cold and I had 25 layers underneath. 

We buffed and cleaned and brought back her original beauty from the ashes of a 1976 mustard colored bad decision.

My original plan was to give it a glaze treatment but when I saw the price of glaze, I decided to try white washing it.
Because I wanted the grain of the wood to show through I combined
1 part paint/2 parts water
Using some leftover white paint we already had, this became a FREE project.  Woop woop!
 It turns out to be the best place to display my great-grandmother's quilt, too.

 It fits perfectly between the windows, separating our dining area from the living room.  Being over 7' long, I was sure hoping it would fit!

I'm so thankful my sweet friend couldn't find a spot in her home for this beauty.  I'll think of her every time I walk by.

I'm linking up with Coastal Charm, A Stroll Thru Life, Uncommon Slice of Suburbia, Cozy Little House, Imparting Grace

DIY Scripture Pumpkin

This is a super easy craft that is perfect for the month of November

 Cast of characters: ModPodge, faux pumpkin, Dollar Store Bible,

I used an exacto knife to cut the pages out of the bible.  Then my daughter cut random pieces from the pages.

Working in sections, we painted the pumpkin with ModPodge using a foam brush.  Then we threw all caution to the wind and used our fingers to smooth the paper down.

The last step is to cover all of the paper pieces with a coat of ModPodge.

 I love how the scripture references show up so clearly.

Easy $4 Craft with a Punch

Remember my "Happy Wall"?  You can learn how to make your own geometric circle art here.  Toady I'm going to show you how I made the two photos at the top of the wall.
Super easy.  Super cheap.  Super fun!

1. Order/print 5x7 black and white photos of your choice, onto regular photo paper.

2. Choose a wooden plaque or board.  I found these wooden plaques at Hobby Lobby for $2.99 each.

 3. Be sure to place a tack under the corners so that you can paint the edges without the wood sticking to your surface.

 4. Choose your favorite color and paint with the grain of the wood.

 5. Center the photo on the wood.  Apply a coat of ModPodge under the photo and over the photo.  It will look murky when you apply it and you might, hypothetically, think "I've ruined it."    Not to worry, it will dry nicely:

Left plaque: wet ModPodge   Right: dry(ish) ModPodge

The color and shape options are limitless.  I am thinking about making a set of these to go in the bonus room.  Guess I'll have to make another trip to Hobby Lobby! ;)

*I am not an affiliate of ModPodge (which I pronounce MODGE PODGE every single time!) or Hobby Lobby, just a fan.

I am linking up with The Dedicated House and Craft-o-Maniac and Coastal Charm and Girl Creative and Imparting Grace

DIY Canvas Geometric Art

I have searched high and low for bright, happy art.  It is hard to come by, especially on a budget.  I've seen a couple of geometric patterns online but I wasn't crazy about the dark colors.  I decided to try my hand at it.

This project takes a little time, but it is worth it in the end.  The hardest part, for me, was the math.  Lucky for you, I've already figured it out and you can just use my measurements. :)
 I started with an 18x24 canvas.  AC Moore had a sale right after Christmas and this size was 3/$10.  Score!

Place a thumbtack underneath each corner.  This will help you keep your paint from sticking the canvas to your workspace. 

Using acrylic paints, liberally cover the canvas with your base color (white). 

Use a ruler and a level to find the center of the canvas.  Draw the lines with a pencil.

 Now measure and mark every 2" from the center lines.  Your canvas will then look like giant graph paper.

 Using a compass, draw 2" circles with the center point being the cross section of the squares of the "graph."  Overlap the circles as shown below.

  When you finish, it will look like this:

I decided that the predominant colors would be blues and greens, with warm colors mixed in.  Therefore, I started with the green, randomly painting different "leaves."

 I didn't pre-plan the color pattern.  It really is just RaNdoM.  The only rule I followed was that no two leaves of the same color could touch each other.  I used 3 shades of green and 5 shades of blues, adding a poppy red, tangerine orange, butter yellow, and a pink.

Once I finished with the colors (two coats each) I erased my "graph lines" and painted the centers with white to smooth it all out.  I also used white to clean up the edges of the canvas.  As you can see, it's not perfect, but hey, it's art!

This is my HAPPY WALL

Linking up with:
Craft-OManiac, Keeping It Simple, Sumo's Sweet Stuff, Homemade On a Dime, Under the Table Dreaming, Skip to My Lou, Flamingo Toes, 504 Main, DIY Home Sweet Home, Girl Creative, Today's Creative Blog, Home Stories A to Z, The Dedicated House, Coastal Charm, A Bowl Full of Lemons

DIY Wooden Sign

Yesterday I shared our first Christmas-at-the-farm mantle.  Today, I'm going to show you how to make your own!

1. We used leftover scrap wood from our keeping room ceiling.  My husband nailed them together with 2" furring strips along the back.  He is very handy with the nail gun and saw, so it came out perfect; however, if you are working with some scrap wood, I think the rough look would be just as fun.  Our sign is 30"x40" because we needed something really tall for our 15' ceiling height.  Again, adjust it to whatever works for your room.

2. Since our walls are light grey, I wanted to use a dark background.  I think it helps the white letters stand out, too.  I chose tinted weather proofing wood stain.  Why weather proofing? Because it is cheaper!  ;)  The benefit is I can use it OUTSIDE too!  The tint I chose is called "SLATE."  It took 2 coats to get it dark enough.  You could paint the wood, really, it's whatever makes you smile.

3. I rough sketched the design on the computer; scrolling through several font choices before landing on these:  Fancy Pens and Mona Lisa Solid ITC.  I then made a small mock up of the look I wanted to make sure I liked the fonts/layout.

4. I printed out each word at 180-288pt font size, depending on the words.  Some words took up 2-3 sheets of paper to print out.  I then cut, laid out, and taped the words to the exact spot on the wood I planned for them to be.

5. With a ball point pen, I traced each letter, pressing down firmly.

See how nicely it indents into the wood?  That was my pattern for painting the letters.  See? No artistic ability needed!  Yipee!!!

6. I planned on painting the letters with glossy acrylic paint, but this giant oil based paint pen caught my eye.  It was about $6, but with a 40% off coupon, totally worth it!  I just filled in the indention, giving each letter 2 coats of paint (with drying time in between).  Super easy.  Paint pens are the way to go!

7. Enjoy your new sign!

As I mentioned yesterday, I was planning on doing a Christmas verse or "Joy to the World."  But we already have a Christmas sign I made a few years ago.  I liked the idea of having a sign we could use year around.  The beauty of this kind of project is it could say anything! Make it your own!
Merry Christmas!!!

I'm linking up with:
Coastal Charm's Nifty Thrifty Tuesday
My Uncommon Suburbia Life
Elizabeth and Company
Primp
The Ironstone Nest
DIY By Design
The Rustic Pig
Today's Creative Blog
The Winthrop Chronicles
Gingersnap Crafts' Wow Me Wednesday
Savvy Southern Style
Creative Cain Cabin
Cornerstone Confessions
Imparting Grace's Grace at Home
Nester's Christmas Home Tour

Laundry: Loads of Fun

Have you seen the make-your-own-laundry detergent on the internets lately?  I thought I'd give it a try.  It's super easy and actually a fun activity to get the kids to do.

 Here's what you need:
4 lb box Super Washing Soda
4 lb 12oz box 20 Mule Team Borax
3 lb tub of OxiClean (I used the Sun brand which is much cheaper)*
4 lb box Baking Soda
3 bars of Fels-Naptha (found in the soap aisle and the detergent aisle at Walmart)**

This makes a LOT, so use a big pot to mix.
Grate the soap into the mix.  My kids wondered why I was grating cheese in the bonus room. ;)  Then they wanted to join the fun!

 That's it!  See, I told you it was easy!  :)
I stored mine in a 12.7qt box (found at Walmart) and it was the perfect size!

 It only takes 1-2Tbs. per load, depending on load size.  I just use the scoop that came in the OxiClean.

My husband didn't know that I had made it and the other day he said, "I love that new detergent!"

This is what I like about it:
~ Cost effective.  It was about $20 to make, and according to several other Pinteresters that have tried it, it lasts about 9 months!
~ Smells FRESH!
~ No fillers.  Judging from the variety of sizes/loads the name brand bottles boast, there doesn't seem to be consistency on what I was getting for the price.
~ It works!  Now that we are spending lots of {muddy} time at the farm, I put my detergent power to the test.  No stains!  Yay!

Don't be alarmed when you don't see suds.  In fact, you can use this in a HE front load machine because there are no/low suds.  No more buying that "special" expensive HE detergent.    Just be sure to check your owner's manual, as some front load machines have a little liquid detergent drawer than will need to be removed.  For more FAQ's, check out this great website.

*The OxiClean is optional.  I couldn't find a 3lb tub, so I just bought the 6lb tub and used half of it.

**In place of the Fels Naptha (yellow), you can also use Ivory bar soap(white), or Zote (pink).  I have heard that Home Depot carries the Zote.  It's really just a preference of smell/color.