Make it: Home Spa Day: Lip Balm, Soap and Bosdy Scrubs

Pucker up! With personalized flavors and labels, homemade lip balm will give you plenty of reason to smile. From the Emmy Nominated episode of Creative Juice - "Take a Break Basket"

Materials:
2 tsp. beeswax
2 Tbsp. plus 1 tsp. oil (grape seed, olive, avocado or hemp)
1 tsp. honey
vitamin E capsule
essential oil or cake flavorings
lip balm containers
disposable plastic pipettes
packing tape
optional: old lipstick & lip balm filling tray

1. Use a double boiler on low heat (or a medium size glass bowl placed in a saucepan partially-filled with boiling water) to melt the beeswax. When melted, add the oil. Use caution, wax is a highly flammable substance.

2. Remove mixture from heat and whisk in honey and vitamin E oil (pierce capsule with a pin or scissor tip), whisking until there are no clumps. Optional: add a shaving or two of lipstick to create a sheer lip color.

3. Let mixture cool, but not harden, before adding approximately five drops of either an essential oil or cake flavor of choice. When using oils, use only essential oils -- lip balms are in constant contact with your mouth and fragrance oils do not taste good and should not be consumed.

4. Pipe into containers (available on-line from thesage.com ) and refrain from moving until hardened.

5. Make paper labels and apply to the tubes with packing tape (packing tape is the same width as lip balm tubes).

Break the mold with countless combinations of scents, colors and additives that give handmade glycerin soaps a unique personal style. From the Emmy Nominated episode of Creative Juice - "Take a Break Basket"

Materials:
1 lb. melt-and-pour glycerin soap base
essential oil
bar mold
spray bottle with rubbing alcohol
plastic cling wrap
microwave
medium glass bowl
optional: additives such as lavender, peppermint, etc. & glycerin soap colorant

1. Cut a 1 lb. brick of glycerin soap base into 2" cubes. Place cubes in a glass bowl and cover with plastic cling wrap to keep excess moisture from evaporating. Melt on high for one minute and stir until melted.

2. If desired, add a few drops of colorant and/or additives to the soap and blend thoroughly. Add several drops of essential oil to the mixture and blend.

3. Pour the soap into molds. Spray the soap surface with rubbing alcohol to remove excess bubbles. Allow the soap to harden/set for several hours before popping it out of the molds.

4. Package the soap in a paper sleeve trimmed with decorative scissors, place it in a cellophane bag or wrap it in tissue paper. Embellish paper labels with ribbons, stickers and rubber stamps and attach to the packaging.

When things get rough, fight back with granular body scrubs! Let them do the dirty work for you! From the Emmy Nominated episode of Creative Juice - "Take a Break Basket"

Sugar Scrub Ingredients:
2 c. turbinado (raw) sugar
1/2 c. avocado oil
1/4 c. apricot kernel oil
essential or fragrance oil (we used ginger and vanilla)
honey
plastic screw-top jar for storage
shrink bands sized to fit jars
embossing or heat gun

1. Mix together sugar, oils and honey with fragrance or essential oils.

2. Spoon the mixture into containers, seal and label with a sticker or pre-made label printed on sticky paper.

3. Insert the jar through the shrink band sleeve. Apply heat with an embossing or heat gun. The band will shrink and wrap around the jar, sealing it closed.

This recipe makes approximately four 4-oz. containers.

Salt Scrub Ingredients:
2 c. coarse sea salt
1/2 c. avocado oil
1/4 c. apricot kernel oil
essential or fragrance oils (we used cucumber and green tea fragrance oils)
honey
plastic screw-top jar for storage
shrink bands sized to fit jars
embossing or heat gun

1. Mix together coarse sea salt, oils and honey with fragrance or essential oils.

2. Spoon the mixture into containers, seal and label with a sticker or pre-made label printed on sticky paper.

3. Insert the jar through the shrink band sleeve. Apply heat with an embossing or heat gun. The band will shrink and wrap around the jar, sealing it closed.

This recipe makes approximately four 4-oz. containers.

RIP: Magazines

www.apartmenttherapy.com is reporting that Domino Magazine is closing the print magazine and shutting down the online content. This stinks! From Mediaweek.

County Home Magazine will be closing their doors as of this spring! BOO HOO!


This is really sad - the inspiring Home Companion magazine just had their last issue this past Dec.

CHA - Winter Show Day 1

Goofing off on set up day at the Plaid Booth: Michael Jolly, Candie Cooper and Steve


This will be the only moment we have for a pic! Candi is making really cool Jewelry with Plaid beads and baubles.....if I could only steal a moment to make a piece!


Ohh La La: we have a new book in the house...Fabulous Fabric Beads by Kristal Wick!


Early Morning Day 2....lots o' makeup & a big breakfast - yum.


My sister came by for a little crafty sister support! Thanks Erin!!!


Altered Tiaras are the first project of the day....look for step-by steps soon.


Party Hat Madness! with the new Extreme Glitter and Mod Podge by Plaid.


Queen of the day! This is the purple glitter - flake free.


Crafty Blogger (aka the swell designer) popped by to make a tiara and say hello.


Steve is holding court as we begin the afternoon candle making! Step by steps coming soon....


So many awesome crafters stopped by for afternoon Mod Podge projects.


Ladies and gents...the lovely and talented Jenny Ryan - Look for new classes at reform school in Silver Lake. Wow.....so cool and fun. Visit soon.


Me, Drew Emborsky and Vickie Howell at the Lark Cocktail Reception. Yummy appetizers, bubbly drinks and the best craft books around! Who could ask for anything more?


The Lark Books party - so happy to be with lark! My new book 100 Onesies releases Spring 2010! (100 techniques for altering a baby onesie - over 150 projects in total + baby shower ideas complete with invites, cake recipes and mocktails) I just wish Deborah was here....:(

How cute!

We Are Off To CHA

Come see why we are stuck on Mod Podge!
Plaid Booth # 3717

Make it Take Schedule:

Sunday, January 25
9:00 – 11:30 a.m. - Queen Bee Party Hats and Tiaras
1:00 – 5:30 p.m. - Altered Party Candles

Monday, January 26
9:00 – 11:30 a.m. - Mini Art Collage
1:00 – 5:30 p.m. - Scrabble Tile Rings

Tuesday, January 27
9:00 – 11:30 a.m. - Altered Poker Chip Pins
1:00 – 5:30 p.m. - Collaged Heart Magnets

And Don't Forget.....

Eat Cheap!

Lots of restaurants are offering a discount to CHA attendees. Click here to view the list of all the Anaheim restaurants that have good deals for crafters.

Crafty Links

About Family Crafts
Why not give your Valentine a special, home-made card this year. You can get spectacular results using these easy techniques.

Aileen's Musings
Aileen's posted the winners of her blog giveaway! Come stop by and see if your a winner!

Cathie Filian
Cathie Filian is sewing and re-crafting and old T-shirt and skirt into a new fashion with a few simple steps.

Craftside-A behind-the-scenes peek at a crafty world
This week at Craftside there is Fabulous Funky Fill-In Lettering with Lisa Engelbrecht, Floral Clump Mini Mirror and Bird's Nest out of polymer clay and mixed media with Christi Friesen, needle felted flowers from recycled wool sweaters with Stefanie Girard and an Ultra-mini pocket booklet from Lisa Sonora Beam.

Cross Stitch at About.com
Stitch a chart fit for Royalty - Or at least a Pharaoh. Connie shares her new Egyptian Cat Welcome pattern this week.

Layers Upon Layers
Every day, new information on classes and educational opportunities are being added to Layers Upon Layers!

Stefanie Girard's Sweater Surgery
See some wacky photos of fabulously fun knit hats with ears, horns and alien eyes from PolarKnit with links to the free downloadable patterns!

The Impatient Crafter
Copycats got you down? Read Miss Madge's recent post on Internet Etiquette.

Loteria Card Crafts on ETSY

Chelybeans on Etsy has this cute Mod Podged bracelet for sale. I met Chelybeans at CHA last year. I love the loteria cards. Cheleybeans is selling this for only $6.

MissButler on etsy has some really cute little stuffed ornaments.

Scarletteddove has a really cool belt buckle on etsy.

inspired

sew cute, inspired, happy & ready

Press: JuBella Interview

Check out the interview I did with Ju Bella!

click here

CHA: Show Your Badge Get a Discount!

Eat Cheap!

Lots of restaurants are offering a discount to CHA attendees. Click here to view the list of all the Anaheim restaurants that have good deals for crafters.

make it: appliqued t-shirt skirt

make it: reverse appliquéd t-shirt skirt

Recycled an old t-shirt and skirt into a new fashion!

Cut out a design.

Pin in your desired position on the inside of the skirt.

Sew around the edge.

On the inside, cut around the sewn area.

On the outside, cut around the sewn area, removing the skirt fabric.

Add a few more cutouts from the t-shirt
by sewing them directly to the skirt.

Bake it: Marinated Kalamata Olives

Look for un-marinated olives in bulk at your local grocery store. The pic above is from Goldern Farms market near my house. I buy tons of produce from them. Most stores will stock olives in cans or jars. This is a great way to add a little flavor and zest to them.


Pour boiling water over the olives. Scoop out the olives and transfer to a storage container. Discard the water. This cleans the olives and removes any waxy or oil buildup.


Chop 3 cloves of garlic and slice 1 clove.


Add a the garlic, a few peppercorns and a few red pepper flakes to the olives.


Add a generous amount of olive oil to the olives. Toss to coat.


Refrigerate overnight. Toss a few times to keep moist. Serve at room tempature, scoop out the olives from the oil with a slotted spoon. Delicious on their own or with hummus and pita.

Etsy: New Items & Photography

Etsy Buy Handmade cathiefilian

Make it: Barrette Holder

Make it: Owl Barrette Holder

Now you can keep rack of all your little ones barrettes and bows in one easy spot. Look for fun new wood shapes including, guitars, hearts and animals at Michaels. This project we designed for Plaid using Mod Podge.

	227 - FolkArt ® Acrylic Colors - Bright Green, 2 oz.
	CS11301 - Mod Podge ® Matte, 8 oz.

	Wood owl shape (or other shape of your choosing)
	Scrapbooking paper (3 sheets of coordinating designs)
	Ribbon (2 coordinating colors - 1.5 feet of 1 color and 3 feet of the other)
	Adhesive letters (to spell the name of your choice)
	Craft knife and cutting mat
	Hot glue gun

1. Using one of the sponge brushes, basecoat the wood owl shape with Bright Green. Allow to dry and apply a second coat. Allow to dry for 24 hours.

2. Use the craft knife and cutting mat to cut shapes of scrapbooking paper to cover areas of the owl.

3. Apply scrapbooking papers to the owl using a new sponge brush and the Mod Podge gloss. Apply Mod Podge directly to the bottom of the papers and adhere to the owl. Allow to dry for two hours and then coat the entire surface of the owl.

4. Affix the adhesive stickers to the owl with the name of your choice.

5. Cut the 3” of ribbon into two 1.5” strips. Hot glue the three strips of ribbon to the back of the owl. Allow project to dry completely before using.

Come Say Hi at CHA!

Come see why we are stuck on Mod Podge!

Make it Take Schedule:

Sunday, January 25
9:00 – 11:30 a.m. - Queen Bee Party Hats and Tiaras
1:00 – 5:30 p.m. - Altered Party Candles

Monday, January 26
9:00 – 11:30 a.m. - Mini Art Collage
1:00 – 5:30 p.m. - Scrabble Tile Rings

Tuesday, January 27
9:00 – 11:30 a.m. - Altered Poker Chip Pins
1:00 – 5:30 p.m. - Collaged Heart Magnets

Crafty Links

The Impatient Crafter
If you're attending the Tucson Gem Show or CHA, Madge would love to meet you! Check out her schedule and come take a class or get a signed copy of one of her new books!

The Crochet Dude
Drew kicks off the New Year with a free pattern. Check out his "Cafe Couture"!

Stefanie Girard's Sweater Surgery
Check out super cute pair of camo baby booties I knit from a pattern in the book Faith, Hope, Love, Knitting.

Layers Upon Layers
Fabulous artwork by a very motivated distance learner :-)

Cross Stitch at About.com
Be the first to stitch and submit a photo of Connie's free BGB Gizmo Pattern and have your photo featured as the stitched model. Get your 15 minutes of Cross Stitch fame!

Crafty Princess Diaries
The Crafty Princess asks: Are you a tweaker or a tried and true crafty type?

Craftside- A behind-the-scenes peek at a crafty world
Kicking off the new year Craftside will theme each week with a letter from the alphabet and give away a book a week to a lucky commentor. This week there is ATC art, a free antler graphic from Design Parts Sourcebook: Romantic, photos from an appearance by Patti Medaris Culea with doll and altered book pocket design, and a sneak peek at some of the cool pages from Essential Fashion Illustration-Men.

Aileen's Musings
Download some freebie Cabinet Cards from Aileen's Musings this week, and check out her gouache paint and altered cabinet card tutorial.

About Family Crafts
Over the years I have learned some trick when it some to storing craft supplies and staying organized, and I am happy to share these with you.

Make it: Pom Pom Scarf

Make it: Pom Pom Scarf
from the Citrus in the City episode of Creative Juice

Materials:
pompon maker
yarn in various textures and colors
scissors
plastic canvas needle or yarn needle

1. Following loom instructions, unhinge one of the arms and begin wrapping with yarn. Wrap evenly until the entire arm is covered with yarn. Next, snap the arm into the center of the loom and cut the end of the yarn.

2. Repeat the wrapping process for the second arm, fold arm in and snap in place.

3. With small scissors, insert one scissor blade into the groove of the loom, between the loops of yarn, and carefully snip along the tops of the loops.

4. Wrap a small piece of yarn around the groove on the loom and tie in a single knot.

5. Remove the pompon from the loom and pull the tied string tight. Tie a double knot.

6. If desired, use scissors to trim the pompon, giving it a more uniform appearance, or leave it as is with a "wilder" look.

7. To string the scarf, thread a yarn needle with a long length of yarn (at least a foot longer than the finished scarf). Thread the first pompon by pushing the needle through the center area where the pompon is tied off. Tie off the strand of yarn being used to thread the scarf.

8. Continue threading pompons, tying a knot after each pompon is added until scarf is the desired length. Tie off the end of the yarn and snip the end.

Clean Sweep Magazines

Mod Podge Magazine Holder

It is time to get organized and clean out your magazines. Store the the ones you can't part with in this Mod Podge Magazine holder we designed for Plaid. Visit this link for step by step instructions.

Where Women Create - Click to Enlarge

Make tear sheets of projects, recipes, color palettes, design ideas or anything inspiring and place the sheets in a file folders or 3-ring binders. Organize the your tear sheets by subject so you can easily track down ideas. Visit my blog post to see the whole Where Women Create story and see my organized office.

Ready to ship!

Make re-cycled packing materials with what you want to discard from the magazine by shredding them in a paper shredder. The perfect cushion for shipping etsy and ebay items. Visit my blog post on this here.

Make it: Recycled Denim Cuff

Make it: Recycled Denim Cuff
Perfect for him or her

From the Rockabilly episode of Creative Juice

Materials:
Bubble Jet Set
8"x 10" piece of fabric - light color
Image to print
scissors
sewing machine
topstitching thread
two heavy-duty snaps
snap setter
old jeans

Steps:

1. Soak the fabric in the Bubble Jet Set solution for 5 minutes (funnel the excess back into the bottle). Allow the fabric to dry (you can use a hairdryer to speed up the drying process).

2. Iron the treated fabric to the shiny side of the freezer paper.

3. Once this is completed, feed the fabric through your printer exactly like a sheet of paper and print a image. Allow the fabric to cure for an hour.

4. Peel the fabric off the freezer paper.

5. Rinse the fabric with Bubble Jet Rinse. Add 4 capfuls (2 oz.) Bubble Jet Rinse to 1 gal. water and hand-wash the fabric. Allow it to air dry, or use a hairdryer to speed up the process.

6. Cutout the image leaving a small border.

7. Measure the circumference of your wrist and add 1" for the snaps. This is the length of the denim strip. Cut a strip 3" wide and the calculated length.

8. Place the strips together with the backs together; topstitch around the outer edge.

9. Determine the placement of the snaps by folding the two ends back over themselves and marking with a piece of chalk.

10. Attach three heavy-duty snaps using the snap setter and following the instructions on the package.

11. Attach the Bubble Jet patch in the center of the cuff with topstitching.

Shopping: Rain Boots

AP photo from Des Moines, Iowa.

I grew up in the Midwest with tons of snow and ice. Sometimes the snow would drift so high that we would have to exit the house from the back door. I walked to school (it was literally a mile - cue the dramatic music) all bundled in layers of jackets, gloves, hats, scarves and of course snow boots.


When I miss the snow - Eddie and I, head to Big Bear or Mammoth Mountain for a little skiing and spiked hot coco. You can see a youtube of us skiing and see how pretty Mammoth is. I have tons of ski pants, jackets (Patagonia and REI is my middle name when it comes to cold weather gear). I can outfit a small army for day of fun in the mountains.

Back down the mountain (in Los Angeles), when we have a breaking news weather alert...you can bet that is going to be rain. Sometimes it flash floods here, but mostly it just sprinkles enough to clean everything off and then the sun pops out to say hello. So winter gear consists of warn and fuzzy boots (like uggs), a dress coat, a light weight warm coat, rain coat and rain boots.


I have an awesome Patagoina down jacket that I wear around LA - it keeps me warm and not too hot. I buy mine from the kids department. I am just at 5 feet 1 inch so they fit me really well and are priced a bit cheaper than the adult version. I am still sporting the same rain coat I have had for 10 years and it is still the best ever. Avocado green from kids gap with a hoodie. I have a pair of uggs - I adore them, even though my sissy makes fun of them. I swear I don't wear them with mini skirts or short shorts. I swear I don't wear short shorts!

I have a clear box (or two...) of scarves and hats and I just picked up a few new handmade ones at this years Felt Club. I am planning on bring one on my trip to NYC in February. I am almost outfitted for the winter except one thing...I am missing rain boots! I have an old pair and they are really past their due date so I think it is time for new boots. I was so happily surprised at how many adorable designs are being made. Now I just need to decide...

Target has some artsy boots with bird paintings.

I love the pink tweed ones from Urban Outfitters.


I grew up wearing Tretorns - The fuzzy lining looks so nice and warm!

It is a sad day in the craft world........

75% all items at lazar studioWERX

My Mom sent me this email and I thought I would pass it along to all of you.

From:
Christina Lazar-Schuler
Lazar StudioWERX

After a year of ups and downs with both personal, medical and financial issues, I have come to the difficult decision of closing our virtual doors - for good.

It is with heavy heart that I make this announcement, but it is one that at this point in my life, I have to make.

For many years I have worked too hard, too long and have ignored that which is most important to me, my friends and family. So... at a time of annual renewal, a time of change and growth, I am bidding farewell to my business and welcoming back my sanity, my personal life and my health.

Starting today, all Lazar StudioWERX rubberstamps and paperWERX products are all selling at 75% off the listed retail price in our online store. Warehouse lots of paperWERX paper will be listed after a final inventory evaluation and bulk lots of paper in packages of 25 will be available early next week.

Claudine Hellmuth's Poppet stamps and papers will no longer be sold through our site and will be available through Claudine Hellmuth exclusively. An update on the transition between Claudine and our site will be issued in the coming week and Claudine will announce availability of the remaining inventory soon.

I have appreciated your support throughout the years and deeply appreciate that you have stood by our little company all these years. I am sad to see this chapter of my life close, but I am greatly looking forward to a chance at a new and exciting future.

Thank you.
Christina Lazar-Schuler
Lazar StudioWERX

Crafty Links - check them out

About Family Crafts
If you are looking for a reason to celebrate, find out what holidays and birthdays are celebrated in the month of January 2009 using this special days calendar.

Aileen's Musings
Aileen has a great blog giveaway going on. Stop by and answer a question and maybe you'll be a lucky winner of an issue of an Altered Arts Magazine!

Craftside- A behind-the-scenes peek at a crafty world
The last week of 2008 at Craftside brings you a mixed media polymer clay design, a sneak peek into the upcoming book Paper Puppet Palooza with a fun egg and bird moving card and a melting Tyvek technique. Happy New Year Crafting!

Crafty Princess Diaries
It's time to get organized for 2009! The Crafty Princess talks about her own battle with the clutter bug.

Cross Stitch at About.com
Make some stitching resolutions for the coming year using these ideas from Connie G. Barwick to get you started.

Layers Upon Layers
Come and drool over the multi-layered collages of Melinda Asztalos.

Stefanie Girard's Sweater Surgery
Jackalopes are real and they love being the motif du jour on a needle felted pillow made from recycled wool felted sweaters.

The Impatient Crafter
Need some solid advice about how to do what you love and make money? Madge shares some old advice for a new year.

Handmade Wedding Favor Boxes

Paper Wrapped Box Favors

Handmade wedding or shower favors are a thoughtful way to show how much you appreciate your attendees. You don’t need to be “super” crafty in order to make this simple and fun design. All you need is a little time, imagination and a few helpful friends or family members.

This favor design, begins with a plain clear box. Clear boxes are available from many online retailers or at craft and container stores. The box can be filled with anything from hard candies, chocolates, mints, tea bags, mulling spices or even hot coco. For this design, I filled the box with 3 bags of herbal tea.

The outer paper and ribbon can be color coordinated to your event and the monogram seal can easily be printed from a sheet of cardstock on an inkjet printer.

Look for bulk ribbon on larger spools in the bridal section of any craft or fabric store. Decorative paper can be purchased in large sheets from art, stationary or paper stores. You can also use scrapbook paper or heavy wrapping paper. The paper in this design was purchased from Paper Source.

When trying to determine the exact amount of supplies needed to make multiple favors, I like to make a sample design and then calculate the materials need based on the sample.

Materials:
Clear plastic box
Decorative paper
Goodies: 3 tea bags
Glue stick
Ribbon
Hot glue
Printed cardstock sheet of monograms
Circle punch

Steps:

Begin by measuring and trimming your paper to fit around the clear box. Leave a little extra space at the top and bottom for your goodies to peek through. Add an extra half-inch to the width for gluing.

Fill the box with the goodies and seal with the lid.

Center the box on the cut paper, wrap the paper around the box, crease the edges against the box, use a glue stick to seal at the back.




To add a monogram, wrap a ribbon around the box, add a drop of hot glue to the back of the ribbon to secure it to the back of the box. Wrap the sides of the ribbon to the front of the box, overlap them and secure with a drop of hot glue, trim the ends on an angle.



Print a sheet of monograms from an inkjet printer that are small enough to fit in your circle punch.


Line up your punch over the monogram and punch.

Secure the monogram over the ribbon with a drop of hot glue.

And repeat! haha