Third Tute-in Tuesday

 

I honestly can't believe it's Tuesday again. Seriously? This past weeks flew by.

Anyway, now it's time for the third ever "Tute"in Tuesday. So, come on y'all. Link up to your tutorials for a chance to be featured. Maybe I will even choose YOUR project to try out myself on Friday? Who knows!

A few things to remember:
-Support other crafters. Go on, check out their blogs and projects. Now is a GREAT time to meet some new blog friends.
-You don't have to use my party button on your blog or post, but it would be greatly appreciated. It helps to draw in new participants, which is wonderful because then YOU get more exposure and so do the other crafters who link up.

<a href=http://oopsicraftmypants.blogspot.com/><img src=" http://i651.photobucket.com/albums/uu231/erikans/button-1.jpg" /></a>

Let's get linking!

case inserts

The other day, my free iPhone 4 case came in the mail. I was so excited. I had purposely ordered the clear cover so that I could craft it. Pathetic? Probably.

My original thought was to Mod Podge the heck out of the cover, but, once I held the beaut in my hands, I knew that there were other plans for this guy.

I immediately ran to my craft room and grabbed a bunch of scrapbooking paper. After that, I just traced the insert that came with my cover over and over again. When I was finished cutting them all out, I used an exacto knife to cut a little hole for the camera.

This was seriously one of the easiest projects I have ever made. I am so happy with the outcome, too. I love that I can switch out the paper whenever I feel like it. Now, my phone can look cute, without me having to spend $30 every time I feel like a change.

The best part is that this project can be easily made for any type of phone where a clear case is available.

Thanks for reading!

idea theft

Yep, it's that time again. The time where I steal one of the tutorials from the party, and try to recreate it for myself. The key word here is definitely try. So far, my version has ended up way worse than the original. But, hey! I'm trying here.

Today's idea came from Chicy Creations. She made these super cute "bloom" vases out of glass bottles, spray paint, and vinyl lettering.

Aren't they darling? Plus, they were really easy to make (and cheap!), so I jumped all over the opportunity to make some of my own. Since I didn't have any vinyl, and was unable to find any as quick as I needed it, I decided to go with a textured bottle (IBC Cream Soda).

For some reason, my orange spray paint wouldn't stick to the lettering on the bottle very well. At first, it drove me nuts. But, as it dried, I realized it gave the bottle a bit more depth and a more "antiquey" feel.

Here's my finished product. Flowers and all. I picked the sunflowers on the side of the road. I am in love with those.

And, the dark version of the picture, just for kicks:

Those flowers make my heart sing.

Thanks for the great tutorial, Chicy Creations! It was such a fun (and easy!) project!
Be sure to go check out her site, you guys. You'll find a lot of great inspiration, and I'm sure you'll come away with at least one idea for a project. Make sure you take a look at her 3D flower art. I was so jealous when I saw it. Why didn't I think of that?

Look!

Sorry it's a little late in the day for my spotlight post. I've been gone all day. School started yesterday, so now my time is occupied with homework, rather than blogging. It really sucks. I don't recommend it. What I DO recommend, though, is to marry a really awesome guy who will randomly buy you a new laptop to push you to blog a little more. Whew, did I get lucky when picking a mate.

Anyway, on to the spotlight. There were so many great tutorials linked up to this weeks "tute"-in Tuesday. I've thoroughly enjoyed looking through all of the submissions, and have found a great blog in the process. Be sure to check these guys out, because they are all equally talented ladies.

First, did you see this mail carrier at Kara's Korner? My mouth literally dropped when I laid my eyes on the beauty. It is perfect in ever single way. From the color all the way down to the function. I NEED one of these. It would do a wonderful job of organizing all the crap that accumulates next to my front door.

Now, feast your eyes on this beautiful partition made from old shutters. Everyday Expressions sure knocked it out of the ball park with this one. My mouth is watering just thinking about one of those standing in all it's glory right behind my couch. It would look so rockin'.

And last, but most definitely not least... Have you seen this super cute way to spruce up your weight watcher's booklet, made by Sew Chatty? (What's that? You're naturally skinny? Get off my blog, please...Just kidding.) It is lovely, to say the least. I never would have thought to cover my weight watchers books. What a clever gal, right? I can pretty much guarantee my mama will whip one of these bad boys up the second she sees this.

Aren't these tutorials great? I am seriously so pleased with the outcome of this week's party. Let's keep up the awesomeness next week, shall we?

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Psst! Have you ever been featured on Oops! I Craft My Pants? Want a button? Email me and you'll find one in your inbox within the day.

daily dose

The tutorials you guys are linking up to are awesome. I can't wait to feature a few tomorrow! In the meantime, I've whipped up a little craft to hold you over.

Yesterday, my husband and I went to Good Earth to look for some essential oils to try our hand and making something rockin'. While we were there, I came across some empty pill capsules. Immediately, I knew what I could make with them. So, I snatched them right up and headed home (we paid, don't worry).

I wanted to make jars filled with quotes...Ya know, like a daily dose of hope. So, the first thing I did was jump onto my computer and Google a bunch of quotes. I came across a bunch of super cheesy ones, so I tried to skip over those. My favorite quote was definitely "be the person your dog thinks you are"...Man, I like that one. My dogs think I am pretty darn nice/funny/interesting/every other great thing in the world. If only that were true. I'll try harder.

Anyway, while immersing myself in great quotes, I had the idea to make TWO jars. One for quotes, and one for writing prompts. I've been trying to do a better job at writing in my journal, but sometimes I can't think of anything to write about...So, this seemed like a great fix for that.

Once I had all my quotes and prompts gathered and typed out how I wanted them, I made labels for my jars and printed everything off. Finally, I was able to get to craftin'.

Not many supplies were needed, which was wonderful. All I needed were my print offs, two jars, pill capsules, and some Mod Podge (of course).

First, I painted some Mod Podge onto my jar and stuck on the label. I decided not to do a layer of Mod Podge on top of the label, in fear of the ink bleeding all over.

Then, I started rolling up all of my quotes and writing prompts and stuck them into their pill capsules. For the record, that writing prompt doesn't say "write abut your favorite child"...PLEASE don't do that, that would be awful! It says "write about your favorite childhood memory", okay?

After that, I just filled my jars with the pills and called it good. See?

ahhh, I love 'em.

And, look. This is my favorite part.

So colorful and cheery!

I was thinking it would be really fun to give these as a wedding gift with marriage quotes and advice inside. This project could be customized for so many different people. They'd even be awesome in an old prescription bottle! The possibilities are endless.

K, I have to go read Mocking Jay now...  Thanks for subscribing!

the second ever "tute"-in Tuesday

Welcome to the second ever "tute"-in Tuesday. The fun linkin' party where you link to your tutorials, and I (maybe) feature you. On Friday, I will pick one of my favorites and TRY to recreate it here on my blog.

Here are the rules:
1. Please give the DIRECT link to your post, not a general link to your blog.
2. Please please please go and visit others who are in the party. In order to keep the craft blogger love flowing, we can't forget this step!
3. You don't have to do this, but I would really appreciate it if you'd add my button to your blog so that others can join in on the fun.

<a href=http://oopsicraftmypants.blogspot.com/><img src=" http://i651.photobucket.com/albums/uu231/erikans/button-1.jpg" /></a>

Sounds easy enough, right?
Let's get started! Be sure to spread the news of this linky to all your friends and readers, so we can party like there's no tomorrow.



Thanks for subscribing!

winner, winner, chicken dinner

(I wish... Because, I am starving right now.)
(That actually IS a hint, husband of mine)

We have a winner! Number 206, in fact.

Thankfully, I added a numbering feature to my comments, so I didn't have to count by myself. That would have really put a downer on my day! I always feel like I'm counting wrong and end up double or triple counting. It's awful.

Anywho, number 206 actually has a name. Her name is "Apron Queen"...Awesome, right? I'm pretty sure that's not her given name, but, it's awesome nonetheless.

AQ (can I call you that, Apron Queen?) said:

(Don't be fooled...That 6 in the corner means 206. The numbering starts over at 200)

Awww. Shucks.
AQ, feel free to email me your mailing address and I'll pass it on to the awesome people from Plaid.

Speaking of Plaid, I think we should all give them a huge round of applause for hosting this, whaddya say?
You, rock, Plaid... Actually, Mod Podge Rocks. (hardy har har).

And all you who entered this giveaway? Thank you for making it such a huge success! Now, go out and buy the Fabric Mod Podge, will ya? It'll change your life.

Be sure to come back tomorrow to link up to "Tute"in Tuesday. Who knows, maybe I'll feature you?

gum frame

There comes a point in every crafter's life where they realize that they have taken it too far. For example, my mom took it too far when she thought it would be a good idea to Mod Podge her car's dashboard. Thankfully, she didn't follow through with those urges.

Today, I glued gum to a frame. Yes, you read that right. I glued GUM to a FRAME.
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I've always been an avid gum chewer. In fact, you can usually find at least two packs of gum in my purse at any given time. To be quite honest, there's a pack of gum in my guest bathroom. I don't remember why, but there is...And boy, is it good.

So, imagine my glee when I found a huge bag of gum at the dollar store. We're talking gigantic here, people. I opened it right up the second I got into the car. I was sorely disappointed. It tasted like toothpaste. Awful toothpaste at that. Thankfully, the flavor only lasted .02 seconds before it just tasted like nothing at all. You get what you pay for, I suppose. The big bag o' gum has been sitting in my pantry ever since.

To make a long story a little longer, today I had this huge urge to craft something. Anything. Originally, I was going to make a bunch of magazine flowers and glue them to a frame, but that took too long.So, I needed a plan B. I raided every closet in the house, trying to find something to glue to that darn frame. Finally, it hit me. GUM. I needed to glue gum to my frame. "Trust me on this one", I told my husband.

To prove how serious I was, I even took pictures to make a tutorial. 'Cause I KNOW you're dying to prettify your own frame with some gorgeous gum.

You'll need some gum (unchewed, please), hot glue, a frame, and a pair of scissors (not pictured, forgive me).

Step one: Start hot gluing gum onto the frame.
Step two: keep gluing gum onto the frame. Realize you are out of white gum, and move onto green gum (or, you could just buy all of the same color in the first place, ya know)

This is the point I realized how far I had actually taken this project. In my head I was all "did I really just cut a piece of gum in half? I mean...Really?" then, "Did I really just glue that gum that I cut in half onto a frame? What am I doing with my life?"

It looked like this.:

Awful, right? Thankfully, some guy (maybe it was a girl, who am I to say?) invented spray paint, and all was right in the world again.

I don't know about you, but I like the end result. So...Let this be a lesson to you, my fellow crafters. Nothing is too weird to craft... Except maybe your car's dashboard.

blog layout help? anyone?

So, I tried to make my own blog layout. It worked, for the most part...Until my mom told me she couldn't see the whole layout. In fact, she had to scroll to see the whole thing. Um, talk about annoying.
That's not going to fly around here, huh?

So...I have a few questions for y'all. Can you see my entire layout? Do you have to scroll at all? Any tips on how to make my layout a size that EVERYONE can see, but still allow me to post larger pictures in the posts, and have a two columned sidebar layout? Or, am I just trying to have my cake and eat it too?

Bahhh.

This is how I see my blog.

And this is how a few others see it.

Which way does it look for you?

Thanks for helping out an awful blogger.

I'm a hijacker

It's true. Every Friday, I am going to be "stealing" an idea that someone else gave me from my linky party (it's breand new, you know).

This week, I've decided to steal Vanessa, from Silly Eagle Books' craft on how to make Blueberry paint. I've been looking for ideas to do with my after-school art class, and this is seriously perfect!

All you need are some blueberries and some paper. I'm not quite as high tech as Vanessa, so i just used frozen blueberries. I know, I know, I'm lazy.

I just stuck 'em in the ol' microwave for one minute and they were good as new. Then, I smashed them all up with a fork (there may or may not have been a few blackberries in there...shh).

After that, I got to painting. It was a lot of fun. I even got a little creative and broke out a paper cup to make some circles. I know, too much talent right there. Are you blown away?

Be sure to head on over to Vanessa's blog and look at her lovely work. She's a lot more talented when it comes to blueberry painting. I fell in love with not only her blueberry post, but that fact that she mentioned an awesome book to read along with it. You'll want to make sure to have a lot of time when you click over, because her blog is one of those that you can't stop reading. No matter how hard you try.

Be sure to link up to my next party, which will be on Tuesday. Who knows? Maybe I'll be attempting YOUR project next!

Mod Podge Giveaway!

So, remember my post about how I tried out Mod Podge Satin and Fabric Mod Podge? You know, the one I posted about two minutes ago? Wellllllll....

Plaid has been kind enough to offer one of my readers Some Mod Podge Satin and some Mod Podge Fabric. Eeee! You definitely need to enter to win, because this stuff is rockin'.

So, how do you enter, you're wondering? Just leave a comment. Simple as that.
U.S. residents only, please...Due to some shipping mumbo jumbo.

Good luck!
Giveaway closes on Monday, August 23 at noon.
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Bored? Check out Plaid's newest blog Paint Me Plaid. It's full of wonderful eye candy.


Thanks for subscribing and spreading the word for this awesome giveaway!

Mod Podge Heaven

If you've been reading my blog for a while, you know that I love Mod Podge. Heck, even if you've been reading for a few minutes, you probably know how deep my love for the stuff runs. I love everything about it. The ease of it, the way it finished a project, and even the smell. Mmm. The smell. It reminds me of something. I just can't remember what. Something good, though.

Anyway, a few months ago, I was asked by Plaid  if I would like to do a review on my favorite thing in the world. You guessed it, Mod Podge. OF COURSE I said yes (who wouldn't?).
So, I picked two to try out. Fabric Mod Podge and Satin Mod Podge. I wanted to try something different, because I seem to stick with plain ol' Matte (and, I hate gloss, remember?)  When it came in the mail, I was in Heaven. Look at the beauties.

Ever since I got those cute little bottles in the mail, I've been brainstorming about what I wanted to make with them. It was hard for me to wrap my mind around a project that would use the Satin Mod Podge AND the Fabric Mod Podge. Then, I finally came up with an idea.

Mmhm. Wood Plug Earrings. And ya know what? They're E-A-S-Y. The best kind of project, right?

All you need is a few supplies. You'll need Mod Podge (I'll be showing you how to make ones with Satin Mod Podge AND with Fabric Mod Podge. Hurry and go buy some! I'll wait right here. Oh, you're back? Okay), wood plugs (I found mine at ReStore for 50 cents!), earrings you don't like anymore (in my case, Mickey Mouse ones from Disneyland), and some hot glue (pretend that super glue isn't in the picture).

First, I'll show you how to make wood plug earrings using the Satin Mod Podge.

Step one: coat one side of your wood plug with a thin layer of Satin Mod Podge.
Step two: stick the wood plug (Mod Podge side down) onto your paper (my paper is a yellow design, but the back of it is blue. Sorry for any confusion)
Step three: paint the remaining area that shows on the wood plug a color that goes with your paper.
Step four: (wait for paint to dry) and cut around the wood plug.

Step five: Use a sponge brush to paint over the entire wood plug (paper and paint), wait for it to dry, and glue on your earring with hot glue.
Ta-Da! You're finished!

Now, onto the wood plug earrings using Fabric Mod Podge. Look how thick it is!

Anyway, on to the tutorial.

Step uno: coat the wood plug with a layer of Mod Podge Fabric.
Step dos: place the wood plug (Mod Podge side down) onto the wrong side of the fabric.
Step tres: coat the sides of the wood plug with Mod Podge Fabric.
Step cuatro: cut little tabs into your fabric, to help it lay flat around the wood plug. Begin to fold the flaps in.

Step cinco: continue to fold flaps of fabric inward, onto the wood plug, being careful to keep the bumps away.
Step seis: give the whole wood plug (fabric and all) a nice coat of Fabric Mod Podge. Wait for Mod Podge to dry and hot glue your earring to the back.
Step siete: be absolutely blown away by the fact that I can count to seven in Spanish.

Easy, right? Here are the finished products.

Mmm. I love it.

A few thoughts:
-Use thinner wood plugs than I did...Definitely!
-Mod Podge Satin rocks. It holds really well and it isn't too shiny. In fact, I'll probably be using the Satin finish on most of my projects from here on out (sorry, M.P.Matte!). I love the hint of shine, without my project screaming "LOOK AT MEEEEEEEEEE" like I sometimes feel that Shiny does. I swear, you need to buy this.
-Mod Podge Fabric is amazing. I was pretty sceptical when I first saw it in stores. I didn't understand why I couldn't just use regular Mod Podge. I mean, that's how I made my Mod Podged shoes and they turned out fine! But, now it all makes sense. Fabric Mod Podge dries so much softer than regular Mod Podge does, and it barely looks like I used Mod Podge on it at all. It just looks like regular ol' fabric. I like that.
-I wish that I had something awful to say about at least ONE of these products. But, I really can't think of a single thing. Lame, right?
-Oh, and here's a huge tip. Never ever EVER let your dogs craft with you. They WILL ruin everything. I wonder if I could Mod Podge their mouths shut next time...hmmmmmm, should I use Mod Podge Fabric or Satin for that...Amy?

Just kidding, of course.

**Check out THIS POST for a giveaway of Mod Podge Satin AND Mod Podge Fabric!**