Mason Jar Antique "Snow Globish thing"

So this is about as easy as any project can get!

This was actually my boyfriends idea that he saw while looking over my mom's, sister and my shoulder on Pinterest.

So he sent me a mason jar in the mail with a note that said "Put a picture of us in it and then fill it up with olive oil." I definitely thought he was crazy lol.

He wrote on the bottom our initials and the date.  

So I did as I was told and put a picture in and filled it up with olive oil.

All you need is:

Mason jar

picture

olive oil

The big jar took like 2 and a half bottles of olive oil which I dont think he had in mind haha

The one he made for himself turned out much better so I would recommend a smaller mason jar, looks cuter and takes less money, which is the whole point.  

Happy Crafting! 

Always, 

Mel =)

A wreath for your front door

Here is a fairly easy project!

My mom made this one but I helped her a little! ;)

All you need is:

Foam pipe cover

duct tape

Anything you want to wrap your wreath in

Anything you want to decorate it with

Paint (possible) 

Hot glue gun

First you will take your foam pipe cover and make a circle shape and then tape it together with the duct tape.  You might need another set of hands for this, since my mom needed my help.

Then you will start wrapping it in whatever you want, like this...

My mom used a kind of rope since she was going for a more nautical approach.  

When your wrapping it it might have a few dents in the foam but if you wrap it tight enough it should even itself out, like this...

After that you can begin to set things in place to decorate.  

Here is a picture of a "J" we used on it

And here is something we were playing around with...

She didn't end up keeping it this way.

Here is the final product after gluing everything on!

It's not hung on the door yet but here is the idea!

Happy Crafting!

Always,

Mel =)

Spell a word with things from nature picture..

This is a fairly simple project but it does require some creativity on your part.

I've seen these pictures sold online for about $40 and I made this one maybe for about $6 total, including photo prints.

This was a small little gift for my boyfriends new house and I think I might make one for myself.

The Z is made out of leaves

The A is made out of a wrench, screw driver and hammer

The C is made of gravel

and the H is made of large mulch sticks.

If you have more time to make it you can get more creative looking around your town for things that form your letters but I was working on a short schedule since I decided to give it to him for Valentine's Day.

I used more manly things since it was for a guy but you can definitely get way more creative, especially if your using descriptive words like dream, home, friends, family, etc.  

And here is the finished product!

Happy Crafting!

Always,

Mel =)

Mozzarella/Pepperoni Pizza Sticks

Sooooooo easy to make!!

These are seriously the most simple thing you could ever make.  These are baked and not fried like the other pinterest recipes.  

Ingredients:

Mozzarella sticks (the peal and eat kind from when you were little lol)

eggroll wrappers 

olive oil

Pepperoni (if you want to make the pizza sticks)

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees 

Take your eggroll wrapper and roll the cheese into it as shown in the picture below...

(http://www.myfirstbento.com/?paged=5)

After you have them all rolled up, brush on the olive oil to coat the rolls.

After that all you have to do is bake them for about 20 minutes or just eyeball it until they are golden brown or look crunchy to you.

To add the pepperoni all you have to do is put 3 pepperonis in with the cheese and there you go!

Quick and easy and a lot healthier than the fried ones! 

Happy Eating!

Always,

Mel

Spring Tinted Mason Jars

I came across this activity on pinterest and decided to use the jars as a center piece for an event at my sorority house that I am planning.  

They're cheap and not at all hard to make

Things you'll need:

Newspaper, Solo cups (or any kind of bowl if you choose, solo cups are just easier for clean up), Gloss Mod Podge, food coloring, water and Mason Jars. 

First you take the solo cups and put enough food coloring in them to cover the bottom.  Then add about two teaspoons of water to each one.

Then pour about this much Mod Podge into the mason jar...

Add desired amount of food coloring...

Then over an EMPTY solo cup, twist the jar around until it is covered in the mixture...

Once covered, pour the remainder into the cup and place the jar on top of the cup as pictured below...

This allows the excess to be put in the cup and you can use that to cover another jar later on if desired.  

I found this too be less messy also since so much of the mixture came out onto the newspaper.  

Let the jars drain into the cups for about 30 minutes then place them upside down on a cookie sheet that is covered in wax paper...

Bake the jars upside down at 200 degrees like this for 15-20 minutes with big jars (like these) and about 10 minutes at 180 degrees for smaller jars...

After that time is up take the jars out and remove them from the sheet with a pot holder since they are EXTREMELY HOT!  Replace the wax paper with a clean one and then place the jars right side up back into the oven...

You can see on the purple that when it was upside down it had already started to dry clear!  Bake them right side up for 30-50 minutes depending on the size of your jar.  If you have them in that long and they still look painted, just leave them in until you see no streaks and it is clear like these...

Voila! You now have some beautifully colored mason jars that can be used as vases or to put anything in.  Just remember they are no longer safe to drink out of!!

Happy Crafting!

Always,

Mel
**Disclaimer: This is not the permanent way to tint mason jars.  Once water is put in for a long amount of time or if these jars are washed, the color will peal out.  To prevent this use a sponge brush and crystal enamel paint in any color!