She's crafty!

Not much to share on the home decor front this weekend but I was very busy doing all sorts of crafts.

The first is something every blogger has seen a thousand times already - marble magnets. I know, not very original. I saw these a while back at the fabulous blog for crafters of all sorts, Not Martha.

I thought these would make fun party favors and since I seem to be helping with at least one big celebration a year these days, I kept in my tickler file. But in honor of my new magnetic chalkboard, I had to try my hand at them and make my own set.

I won't bother with the play by play as Not Martha has done a fabulous job of that already.

The only thing I will add is that since I wanted to make my marbles with my own photos rather than magazine cut outs, it didn't go quite as planned. I printed a bunch of tiny photos from flickr and cut them out. All went smoothly until I put the drop of silicone glue to affix the marble to the photo. It wasn't until I had done about half that I realized the glue was smearing the ink, making the photos unrecognizable. Fun for abstract art I suppose but not what I was going for.

A moment of silence for my failed doohickies.

So out came the Mod Podge. I painted on a bit to the photo before adding the silicone glue - that seemed to do the trick and only took a few seconds. Lesson learned.

The ones in the tin are the survivors. I did a set with various Brooklyn monuments in color but most of those got ruined. And then I did a set of black and whites from some of our trips. Those seemed to do well and the graphic quality of the black and white worked better with the small scale than the color. Click the photo above if you want to see a description of each photo.

I think I will be making a lot more of these for a future project but we'll see how well these hold up. (no pun intended)

The other set of projects I did this weekend was related to a party I'm helping a friend throw in honor of her son's Christening. The party is next week but its supplies have taken over my dining room for now. Namely, the photo centerpieces

Another outright idea theft from Martha Stewart - I guess unoriginality is becoming my trademark :) So simple but beautiful, I think this makes for a lovely centerpiece when funds are limited.

Isn't the guest of honor a cutie?

In case you are curious, here is how they are made:
- Purchase unfinished frames at Ikea (3 pack for $2)
- Remove plexiglass and backing & spraypaint frame
- Print photos on vellum, cut to slightly larger than the frame opening
- Stapled vellum to frames using electric staple gun (you could also use glue or tape)
- Lay out three frames next to each other and attach the joints with black duct tape. No need to tape the third join as they can be laid flat for storage or transport this way.
- When ready to display, set up in a triangle shape and place a lit votive candle in the center so the photos glow.

I love this idea and these are such a simple way of adding something personal but still beautiful to even a small dinner party.

And lastly the favors for the same party.

Little tin inspirational signs that were glittered using the colors for the party and then packaged using poly bags and scrapbook papers in the same shades. In each bag is a card that reads "A baby is like the beginning of all things - wonder, hope a dream of possibilities. - Eda LeShan" Just a little something for guests to take home to remember the day. I think I will hang mine in my office.