Thrifty Thursday - The Eyes Have It

These shoes cost $1600. Eye kid you not.

The Fireman and I have a deal - I won't buy any shoes that cost more than a house payment. $1600 is about four times our house payment, so this pair is something I won't be purchasing unless we hit the lotto. In the meantime, I can make my own!

Just take your favorite pair of black pumps, some randomly sized googly eyes, and some E-6000 glue. (That stuff is fairly awesome in the strength category.) then go to town, gluing the eyes to the shoe.

Be creative! And why limit yourself to shoes? Hair clips, bangles, eye glasses - they call can be improved with a few googly eyes.

Your ensemble isn't complete if your nails aren't accessorized accordingly.

Can you imagine this on a black pleather motorcycle jacket? Neat!

Everyone will be eye-ing your new look. Can you think of other fun items? Have you had any success with adding googly eyes to your unique fashions? I'd love to hear about in the comments section below.

Stay thrifty!
Becky

Thrifty Thursday - Scrabble Family Portrait

These are really popular on Pinterest, and since I saw the first one I'd been wanting to make one to reflect my own family's uniqueness, especially since decluttering the china cabinet unearthed a velvet bag filled with Scrabble tiles. And they were on my list of things to look for at the Salvation Army...incredible!

In case you've not seen them, here are a few samples:

 

  

Cute, aren't they? I was especially interested in that one over on the right, with the family members' names set up like a crossword board. However, I didn't just want to add our names. I had an idea for adding more to the display and couldn't wait to get started.

The game board background didn't really interest me. Initially I wanted a map of Germany since both my husband's and my families hail from there, but the printer is low on color ink and it came out a lovely shade of fuchsia. Ha! While Peabody would have loved it, the boys? Not so much.

As this craft progressed I took plenty of pictures, so bear with me as I go through the steps. I promise the end is totally adorable and worth it.

• STEP 1 - Sort out the letters. See if they look better horizontal or vertical. I already knew how I wanted mine, and it was just by luck that it worked out.

• STEP 2 - Next I found some pictures online that represented our family. Fire department, trains, guitars, video games, a chef's hat, planes, and of course a flamingo for me. I arranged for 2 of each one, and knew I wouldn't use them all. However, in a craft like this, I'd rather print extras and not need them than vice versa.

  

• STEP 3 - Print out your pictures.

•  STEP 4 - I used a piece of black sketch paper and covered the back of the frame. The marred area on the bottom is where a piece of tape was stuck to the surface. A little soap and elbow grease will take care of that later.

• STEP 5 - Arrange the letters on the frame to make sure they'll fit. Even if you've already done this step on the paper itself, do it again. Remember that in crafts the rule of thumb is -- measure twice, and glue once!

• STEP 6 - Glue your letters in place. Any kind of craft/tacky glue will work. I used Elmers' brand. See how easy that was? (But take it from me, don't stand them up before the glue is at least tacky or they'll start sliding all over the place.)

•  STEP 7 - Now it's time to cut the images to the size of your tiles. I played it by ear. You could turn the picture upside down and lightly trace around the tile with a pencil.

•  STEP 8 - Because you measured twice, you can now glue the picture to the tile, like this....

• STEP 9 - Now it's time to glue the tile onto the board.

• STEP 10 - Go ahead and glue the rest of the picture tiles in place.

Here's a slightly closer view of the tiles.

All in all it took under an hour. Both my sons gave more input than a shrug and "looks nice" which is how they usually respond to my craft projects. The fireman is already in bed, so I can't wait until he sees it tomorrow. Although this would make a great Father's Day gift, we already have something else in mind for him.

Have you made one of these before? Do you have a suggestion for how to use the rest of the Scrabble tiles in my bag? I'd love to hear all your thoughts. Thanks for checking in, and have a Thrifty Thursday!

Thrifty Thursday - Father's Day Photo Keyring

I know, I know. I was going to do the project about my Chutes and Ladders jewelry box but father's day is coming up and my husband didn't really want a jewelry box. I know, right? The nerve.... Instead the boys and I are making him a a keychain made from an oversized washer, a picture that we print off the computer, and a little Diamond Glaze. (But really, most dimensional glazes will work.)

Back before Mother's Day a good friend pointed me to this site via Pinterest. It's a necklace tutorial and I knew I wanted to do this for my mother-in-law for Mother's Day. I went to my local home improvement warehouse and bought washers that are about 2" wide with a much smaller hole. Then I bought plain metal key rings because my mother-in-law really isn't a necklace kind of person.

I followed all the same procedures in the instructions on that website, except that I attached a key ring instead of the hemp cord. Some tips:

• Put the washer on the metal ring before you glaze it, and use something (chopstick, cheap plastic paintbrush, etc.) to hold the ring open to avoid scratching the picture. If you're doing a collage instead of a solid picture, then definitely attach the picture first.
• Wear vinyl gloves unless you want glaze to cake up beneath your fingernails.
• Prepare to use more patience than you've used on most other crafts you've ever attempted in your entire life but I promise it will be so totally worth it.

This is the necklace we made for me at Mother's Day. It's by far one of my most important pieces of jewelry. In fact, I'm wearing it right now! My husband isn't a necklace guy but I know he'll appreciate the keyring. What are you doing for Father's Day? I'd love to hear all your ideas and plans!