Archive for the ‘make it’ Category

A while back I spotted a wonderful Washi tape magnet project on Craft and I filed it away in my brain for a must make…

When a phonebook was left on my front porch with a magnet stuck to the front, I was seriously psyched.  I already had super cute Washi tape from Martha Stewart that I couldn’t wait to use.

I did a quick internet search and easily found the tutorial, from Christen of Twirling Betty, that I’m pretty sure I had seen on Craft…..

Because most Washi tape is translucent, Christen from Twirling Betty was able to tear away the printed ad from her magnet, leaving a white surface.  Since mine wouldn’t tear away, I painted over the ad with white acrylic paint.  You could also glue white paper onto your magnet… whatever suits your fancy.

Martha, after all these years, you still rock.   I love your tape.  LOVE.

The other thing I did differently from the tutorial was to use my rotary paper cutter to cut the strips.  Slick and easy.

Then I used my small craft scissors to cut the ends so it really does look like torn tape, just as the tutorial suggests.

Super easy.  Super cute on my frig.  As the tutorial suggests, these would make a lovely gift…. teacher appreciation maybe?

Be sure to visit Christen’s blog Twirling Betty for the complete tutorial.

If you like the lovely “Live your Life” printout, it’s a free downloadable PDF from the wonderful and talented Sarah Jane.

I know I am going to be super psyched anytime a magnet ad comes my way from now on.

As Martha would say, “Washi tape magnets… it’s a good thing.”

It seems like it should be December 15th, but two empty spots on our Advent say different.  Ready or not, Christmas is here.

I’m good though…  I’m deliberately choosing NOT to worry about what I didn’t get done.

Instead I’m trying to enjoy these last few days before Christmas is here…. like drinking a cup of Peppermint Hot Chocolate while I’m packaging up homemade marshmallows to give as gifts…

My son and I made the marshmallows together this week.  We used a wonderful and easy recipe from Ina Garten.

I did ruin my first batch which never whipped up to the fluffy consistency I was expecting, but stayed on the sticky, runny side.  I was pretty sure it was because the candy hadn’t been cooked long enough, even though I had used my candy thermometer.

On the second batch I decided to spot check my boiling sugar mixture by using the cold water method.

If you haven’t tried this method before, here’s a brief explanation.  I checked my sugar mixture when it reached 240 degrees Fahrenheit on my thermometer, by spooning a little candy into a clear glass of cold water.  When my candy dropped to the bottom of my cup like a pile of thread, and didn’t form a ball, I knew my thermometer was reading wrong.  I cooked for a minute more and checked again in the cold water… YEAH!  a soft ball this time.  Meaning the ball formed can be flattened out easily.

Using the combination of my inaccurate thermometer and the cold water test, my next two batches went off with out a hitch.  My son loved watching the process of making the candy on the stove, but thanks to the high heat and danger on burns, I took care of the stove work, while he took care of all the measuring, mixing and preparing the pans.

When the marshmallows were ready to be cut, (which takes a minimum of 4 hours, but preferably overnight) I cut up the marshmallows into cubes using kitchen scissors while my son pressed the newly cut sides into powdered sugar to keep them from being super sticky.  Just for fun I tried using my knife to cut and went right back to the scissors which were awesome for the job.

The only main change we made to Ina’s recipe was cutting down the 1 tablespoon of vanilla a bit.  My son felt like the first batch had too strong a vanilla flavor.

The other project I’m working on is a few little felt Christmas trees.  This is another trial and error project.  See how the felt is twisting a bit?  It’s because I was using my hot glue gun.  After seeing how well the hot glue worked… NOT.. I decided pinning worked much better.  I think the project should be easy to finish now that I’ve put the gun away.  Plus my girls wanted to help and with the pins they can.

The last project that I really hope to finish is my kids cozies (pajama pants) we give on Christmas Eve.  I already picked up the fabric and matching tees… but if I don’t get them done, I’ll survive.  If I’m feeling spunky tonight after the kids are in bed, I may just get them done.  They really don’t take too long.