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Mousetrap Memo Pad

Mousetrap-MemoTrapFinal

I’ve been dying to show you this project, but didn’t want to give away any secrets. You see, I made them for a few bloggers out there in the home décor blogland. And as luck would have it, most of these special women are here at Blissdom! As a tiny token of my appreciation for their inspirational blogs, I put together a little gift bag. Inside (among other things) was this one-of-a-kind memo pad.

With a note attached.
“My mouse is hooked on your blog!”
Get it? The notepad holder is a mousetrap and I was playing on the word, mouse (the one for your computer). Corny, I know.
So, you want one for yourself? I’m happy to share with you the tutorial.
The memo pad started life as a mousetrap (4 for $1) and a mini picture frame also $1 at the Dollar Store!

Materials:

Wooden mousetrap
Small picture frame
Cabinet Toe kick boards or other thin scrap wood (1 – 4.5″ x 4.5″, 1 – 4.5″ x 10″)
Wire
Ribbon
Notepad
Corrugated cardboard
Small 2″ x 3″ picture
E-6000 glue (optional)
Gorilla glue
Primer
Paint
Sandpaper
Needle-nosed pliers
Saw (hand saw is fine)
Drill and bit (for hole)

Start by removing the hook and trap hold parts with pliers. Then remove the bait hook.
All that will remain is the spring and snapping bar.
Cut the excess wood from your mousetrap with a handsaw.
(I used mine in a miter box for a straight cut.)
Sand down the rough edges.
You will need to cut down your scrap wood to the dimensions below.
The 4.5″ square piece is the same thickness as the mousetrap.
This insures an even surface for the memo pad to rest on.
Following the directions for the Gorilla Glue,
I wet each piece of wood and then added the glue.
Glue the 4.5″ square piece to the bottom of the larger piece of wood. Then glue the mouse trap right above the square piece. Make sure your snapping bar is facing down, as shown below.
Set a weight on top of the wood to “clamp” it while the glue dries. (About an hour or so.)
 
Anyone know what these hand weights are good for?
Beats me, I only use them to weigh down projects.
After the trap is dry, spray your boards with 1 or 2 coats of primer.
Then follow up with your favorite color paint.
At this point, you will want to drill a hole through the top of your board.
Take apart your picture frame and discard the backing.
Replace it with a piece of corrugated cardboard cut to size. Slide in your picture.
Carefully add a small line of E-6000 glue* to the back of the frame and glue it just above the mouse trap. If you use too much glue, it will glue the cardboard to the frame and you won’t be able to switch out your picture from time to time.
*You could use Gorilla glue for this step, but the glue expands and might glue your frame shut so you can’t change the pictures.
Create a bow with the ribbon and slide a piece of wire through the bow knot.
Secure the bow by threading both ends of the wire through the hole at the top of your mouse trap memo holder. Twist the wires together to make a loop for hanging.
Add your memo pad and you have a unique little note center.
So do you think those wonderful bloggy ladies will like it?
It isn’t too cheesy is it? (Pun definitely intended!)
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Wool Roses on a Stem

Hello my sweets! I’m definitely getting down with the sugar lingo just in time for Valentine’s Day. And in honor of that day devoted to love, don’t you think these felted wool roses would make a nice gift for that someone special in your life?

If you haven’t already, learn how to make the rose heads, in the tutorial HERE.

Materials:
Hot Glue
Tacky Glue (or E-6000 but that is overkill)
Cardstock Scrapbook paper
Scissors
Sticks

Turn your roses over and snip off the middle flap.

Squeeze a fair amount of hot glue into the back center of the rose.

Then insert one stick into it.

Next fold your scrapbook paper in half.

Cut out a leaf shape with the stem landing on the fold.

Bend the stem down slightly.

Next make a crease along the length of your leaf.

Put a small dollop (I just love that word) in the middle of the two leaves to secure them together.

Next glue the stem of your leaf to the stick. I used hot glue, but half my leaves fell off. Therefore, I recommend using a tacky glue instead.

Who would you give these everlasting roses to?

Next up on Pretty Handy Girl: The same roses used to embellish a Goodwill sweater HERE.
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Felted Wool Roses Tutorial

Y’all are so sweet to welcome Buddy onto my blog. I appreciate your kind comments and encouragement to include some of my personal life. There was not a single comment asking me to “stick to business.”

But, getting back to business, I have the felted wool roses tutorial for you today.

Last week when I saw THIS ADORABLE WREATH that Stephenie made. I knew that I wanted to make my own roses.

You need to start with a 100% wool sweater (or other wool fabric). Run it through your washing machine using hot water and then dry it on a medium or high heat setting. When you open the dryer you will find a shrinky dink version of the sweater (raise your hands if you remember Shrinky Dinks! Click HERE to learn how to make your own.)

 

Grab a pair of sharp scissors and a round object. I used a can of chicken and a cereal bowl for slightly larger ones.

Trace a circle around your round object. As you can tell, I like to use those slivers of leftover soap.

Cut out the circle.

Start from the edge of your circle and cut a spiral towards the center of your circle. Try to keep the rows consistent, but it is okay if they aren’t. You can give your rose a “haircut” in the end if needed.

At the center, leave a small circle.

Grab the outside starting point of your spiral and begin to roll the wool. Keep rolling until you reach the end.

 
 
 
 

To secure the rose, use some needle and thread to sew several passes back and forth through the center of the rose.

(I’ve used contrasting thread so you can see the stitches, but you should use coordinating thread for a cleaner look.)

Here is a video tracing the stitching pattern I used. Pretend that you don’t notice the radioactive shape I’m about to draw. I guess it could be worse (like a devil symbol?)

If you want to learn how to turn these into roses on a stem, click HERE.

If you will be securing your roses to a flat surface, continue reading:

Lay down the flap and stitch around the edges to secure it.

And you are done! Here is the size of the finished rose in comparison to the can I used as my circle template. About half the size, wouldn’t you say?

Now posted: a tutorial for felted rose stems and embellishing a Goodwill sweater with roses. I can’t wait to show you them!

In the meantime, what could you do with these adorable roses?

Felted Wool Rose Wreath
Felted Rose Adorned Knit Hat
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Aged Painted Pail Tutorial

Faux Chippy Painted Metal Pail with Liner

I was strolling through our local Goodwill last week looking for goodies donated by people trying to claim a last-minute tax write-off. I came across a bucket with a $1 price on it and knew I could transform it into a beautiful aged painted pail.

DIY Aged Painted Metal Pail Tutorial

Aged Painted Pail Tutorial

Recently I found myself browsing our local thrift shop looking for a last-minute gift idea for a friend. I spotted a dated pail for only $1 and quickly grabbed it and ran to the register.

little red buffalo check painted pail

The pail had the original $9 price tag still on it, so I prayed the cashier wouldn’t scrutinize the major markdown to one dollar!

$1 markdown on pail with $9 original sticker

I knew exactly what I wanted to do with it. Miss Mustard Seed’s aged painted pails have been stored in my memory banks since I first saw them in August. (And that is saying a lot, considering I can’t remember what I ate for lunch today!) Marion used crackle medium, but I remember seeing a tutorial for crackle medium using regular Elmer’s glue mixed with a little water instead. Me being the frugal DIYer I am, I decided to give it a go. Are you curious to see if it worked? Me too.

How to Create a Faux Aged Paint Technique on Metal:

hand painted "A" monogrammed pail

Let’s gather a few supplies and get to work creating a beautiful bin for storage or a gift basket.

Materials:

(I’ve included affiliate links for your convenience. I earn a small percentage from a purchase using these links. There is no additional cost to you. You can read more about affiliate links here.)

Instructions:

adding elmer's glue to empty jar

I only used enough H20 to water down the glue so it would be easier to paint on.

mixing glue with water

I brushed it all over the outside of the pail (bottom too!) And let it dry.

painting watered down glue onto pail

Next I pulled out leftover flat white paint that we use on our ceilings and painted one coat on the pail. I had to work quick, because the paint got gooey quick and you don’t want to keep brushing over the paint when it starts to dry (trust me on this one.)

closer up painted chipping pail

After the white paint dried, I took out some acrylic paints and painted some stripes, flowers, and a monogram.

hand painted "A" monogrammed pail

To protect the paint from chipping off, I added a coating of matte mod podge. I have to admit, I’m still amazed a little Elmer’s glue and water worked to create a chippy crackle finish!

Isn’t it cute? Much better than the original.

Faux Chippy Painted Metal Pail with Liner
Purple print pants hanging on a hanger.
Can you believe it? That cute liner used to be a pair of second-hand pants.
pants leng hanging out of painted pail
The liner was super easy to make, tutorial HERE.
Spa-themed gift bucket on hand-painted chippy pail
This Aged Painted Pail can be filled with anything, but I chose a spa-theme for this gift basket. What would you put in this vintage painted pail?
Want more ideas for gift baskets? Here are 31 Last Minute Gift Basket Ideas!
31 last minute gift basket ideas social media images
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Creating Silhouetted Gifts

Now that the Christmas hype has died down and my cold has lost its grip on my sinuses, I’m back with a quick little tutorial on creating a special silhouetted gift for your child.

Thank you to my dear Pretty Handsome Guy for his guest post. I’m glad you all enjoyed a good laugh at his expense.

Christmas morning my boys were greeted by magical North Pole snow footprints (baking soda) leading up to the tree.

In an effort to keep the Santa myth alive, the two presents from Santa were constructed in a different style from the other presents under the tree.

My six year old exclaimed Christmas morning, “MOM! Santa knows what we look like!” So, I think I fooled them again this year.

Materials:
Scissors
X-acto knife (optional) and cutting surface
Profile picture of your child
Spraymount
White sheet of letter size paper
White cardstock paper
Black cardstock paper or construction paper
Chalk, Bistro marker, or White paint pen
Pencil
Glitter spray
Glitter glue

Start by creating your child’s silhouette. (My silhouettes took many steps in Adobe Photoshop, but I’ll give you instructions for the easy way.) Simply take a photo of your child turned sidewards (preferably in front of a blank wall.) Then enlarge the photo on a copier to the size you want to use. Lay the paper on top of the black cardstock and cut them both at the same time. I prefer to use an X-acto knife for the cutting, but you can use scissors if you like.

Unless you have a graphic program or a template to draw perfect ovals, you will need to draw one freehand. Wait, wait, don’t freak out. You can do this!

First, fold a letter sized paper into fourths.

Draw a curve on the paper with the fold sides inside the curve.

Cut along the line.

Open up your paper to reveal your oval. If you don’t like it, try it again.

Once you are happy with your oval, trace the folded oval onto white cardstock paper and cut it out.

Wrap your present (be sure to use wrapping paper that your child has never seen in your home!)

Spray the back of your cardstock oval with spray mount and adhere it to the present.

I added some glitter spray to the wrapped package to give it a little extra sparkle! (I know, it doesn’t really show up in the photo.)

So, here is a close up of the glittery goodness:

Spray the back of your silhouette head with the spray mount and lay it inside the oval.

Next, add a bead of glitter glue around the edge of the oval. Note of caution: Allow the glue to dry before setting your package upright or it WILL run. Of course I learned the hard way and had to unglue my package from the shelf it was sitting on. Drat!
Here are the presents before I added the “To & From” on them.
You can write your child’s name on the silhouette using chalk, bistro marker or white paint pen. Or leave it blank if you wish, your choice.
That’s it, not too hard, but the results are stunning. You could use this gift wrapping technique for any special present.
I have to share with you a little something that warmed my heart Christmas morning. My oldest carefully cut off the fronts of all the presents that I gave him to preserve the creative gift wrap designs.
He saved them all including his silhouette from Santa.
In stark contrast, my youngest tore into the packages as any other eager four year old boy would.
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