Read this on my new website! » » Materials: Balloon Leaves (real or fake) Roll of tape or big bowl Glue/Mod Podge » » ...

Read this on my new website!



» » Materials:
Balloon
Leaves (real or fake)
Roll of tape or big bowl
Glue/Mod Podge

» » Instructions:
First you want to rip the leaves off of the plastic vine. Next blow up your balloon until it’s at your deserved bowl size, set that aside and iron your leaves flat.  Set the balloon onto the roll of tape and begin gluing the leaves onto the balloon. Allow it to dry for at least 24 hours.


So this week I made a leaf bowl by decoupaging plastic leaves to a balloon mold.  I was inspired by this PIN and SoCraftastic to make this video.  It really is simple to make and with very few materials.

When I found this pin it had been described as leaves mod podged to a balloon - it's actually carved from maple wood!!!
First you want to rip the leaves off of the plastic vine. Hold it from the base of the vine and rip away from you.  Sometimes the vine will snap like this so you want to peel it from the vanes inward.  You could use real leaves for this but make sure you collect ones that are fresh and aren’t starting to rot.  I got mine from the dollar store for 1.25.  Blow up your balloon until it’s at your deserved bowl size, set that aside. 

Next you want to iron your leaves flat.  Be careful because they get hot really quick.  Also, you might want to use a disposable towel because the colour from the leaves does transfer slightly.  If you’re using real leaves, you’ll have to sandwich them between some heavy books for a couple of days so they lay flat.


Set the balloon onto the roll of tape and begin gluing the leaves onto the balloon.  See how the leaves lie flush onto the balloon?  I was having a lot of trouble when I didn’t iron them first.  I laid the leaves on randomly but faced them upside down when I reached the edge.  This will be the rim of your bowl.  Flip the balloon upside down to see the progress of your bowl.  



As you get closer to being done, make sure there aren’t any large gaps between the leaves.  Set the balloon into a well-ventilated area and allow it to dry for at least 24 hours.

I couldn't wait for the bowl to dry completely; when I removed the balloon, you can see pockets of wet mod podge.  I ended up letting the bowl sit like that til the next day.
The bowl doesn’t dry hard so when you pop the balloon it will curl in on itself.  Remove the balloon and you’ll find that there is excess dried mod podge on the edge.  Just rip it off, it’s actually kind of fun.


TIPS (if you decide to give this a try):

  • Buy plain balloons
  • Mark the balloon where you want the bowl to end

Extra photos:

The sky that day was so beautiful. Blue skies scattered with thick storm clouds with a peep of light.


Happy Crafting!

After reading this article  27 People Confess To The “Fattest Thing” They’ve Ever Done , I want to share my story: I had just came home ...

After reading this article 27 People Confess To The “Fattest Thing” They’ve Ever Done, I want to share my story:
I had just came home from having a late dinner and was awfully tired.  I seen some leftover pizza on the table and was enticed by the greasy box and the smell of cold cheese.  This was the point where I should have gone to bed, but I just had to have it!  So I grabbed a slice and ran to my room.  The events that happened next were a big blur; however, when I awoke the tv was on, there was a half eaten slice of pizza in my hand, and a half chewed piece in my mouth.  Yes, I fell asleep mid chew.  Don’t worry, I still finished whatever was left, even the piece in my mouth…
This is really why I struggled with my weight.  I didn’t use food as it’s meant: to supply your body with the energy needed to carry out your day.  Food to me was something to be conquered whether it be how fast I could eat or how much I could eat.  My family used to say, “Going to the buffet isn’t worth our money unless Kathy comes”.  It was funny then but to think of it now, I did not accomplish anything by gorging myself.  Food had conquered me, taken over my mind, and moved into my body.
I knew I had to change the relationship I had with food.  The most important was recognizing the signs of hunger and fullness.  I never ate until I wasn’t hungry, it was always to the point where I couldn’t even keep the food down.  The next was building my will to say no.  It was easy to say no when someone else would offer me food because I would be too ashamed to eat anymore.  The hardest part was saying no to myself.
Self discipline.  I had none of that when it came to food.  The one thing that helped a lot was keeping myself busy.  When I was doing things I enjoyed, I didn’t have the urge to open the fridge.  Scheduling my day so that I had a list of things to do helped me become more organized and my meals became more regular.  I found an active lifestyle made food taste better oddly, like my body deserved the food.
I write this as a reminder to myself as to why I had to make a change in my life.  Unlike people relationships, I can’t dump food and never see it again.  Healthy relationships lead to happy people.  But, a treat once in awhile keeps life interesting :)
And as a Flashback Friday, I’ll throw it back 5 years with this:

So what's the fattest thing you've ever done?

View this tutorial on my new website! Here it is! Part 2 of my explosion box tutorial shows you how to complete the outer 2 layers ...

View this tutorial on my new website!




Here it is! Part 2 of my explosion box tutorial shows you how to complete the outer 2 layers and the lid.



Among the items I make in the video are the felt cupcake, gradient layer, and large 4x4 inch pocket.

An explosion box is the perfect gift for a loved one, if you do give this a try I would love to hear from you.

Want to make an explosion box? Watch the tutorial playlist here:


 Happy Crafting!

It's tradition now for the pasts couple years that I make thanksgiving dinner for my family (20-30 people).  Last year was quite hectic,...

It's tradition now for the pasts couple years that I make thanksgiving dinner for my family (20-30 people).  Last year was quite hectic, I tried to cram all the cooking into one day and on top of that I was doing it all by myself!  This year though, I'm smarter and am going to plan ahead
plan more, stress less
So to make this more interesting, I'm going to be making thanksgiving dinner all from YouTube recipes!  But so far I've got this for the menu:

Appetizers
Chickpea Avocado Guac
served with tortilla chips

Main

Beef stew/roast
slow cooked overnight
Sides
Stuffing
turkey sausage

Mac and cheese

Corn on the Cob


Gravy 2 ways
from turkey drippings and roast beef

Green salad

creamy garlic

Dessert

There is still a lot to plan especially since I've recently gotten a job as well XD Hopefully I get the day off...

Day after Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving was a blast! The day of was less stressed than years previous.  I had prepared the stuffing, mac and cheese, mashed potatoes, guac, and cupcakes the night before leaving very little for the day of.  In addition to being well prepared, the slow cooking turkey method was so easy to follow, no need to baste; set it and forget it! The biscuits were a hit, and the beef was so succulent.

Everything wasn't perfect though, I bought the wrong potatoes and the mashed end up gluey.  My initial intent of having an all YouTube based thanksgiving was too difficult to follow, but Laura Vitale has so many useful videos.

All in all, my family was fed and I was able to enjoy the evening with them.  Happy Thanksgiving!

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