Chalkboard Labels DIY

Hello! I finally did it, my first diy of the year! I've been working on my craft room off and on, it's not done yet, but I needed to do something crafty. So I cleared off my work table and got to work. I bought some glass jars at Hobby Lobby for my dogs' treats and just for fun I wanted to label them. Instead of chalkboard paint (which I love) I went with the vinyl chalkboard surface, also at Hobby Lobby and made the labels myself, so here is the DIY instructions for it!

This is a super easy project and fun and addicting. As you will see I made a ton of labels, just for fun! Also don't forget to read some tips below the diy!

The Supplies you will need is:
     1.) Chalkboard Vinyl Surface - It will stick to almost anything, plus it's removeable and reusable!
     2.) Cricut cartridges- I used Storybook and Songbird
     3.) Jar - Or anything with a smooth surface
     4.) Cricut Machine - This one is the Cricut Create, any cricut will do
     5.) Cricut Mat
     6.) Scissors

Step 1: Cut the chalkboard vinyl to the size of the cricut mat. Smooth out any air bubbles.

Step 2: Pick the shapes you want to cut. I chose from Songbird (the one on the right), the top label. Any shape will work as long as it have enough room to write on.

Step 3: Program your cricut with the shape, size, and any other feature.

Step 4: Press the cut key and the cricut will cut your shapes. Since vinyl is a little thicker than paper, make sure your mat is sticky to where the vinyl will stay on, if not hold it down as it cuts, just be careful not to get too close to the blade. And if the vinyl slips off the mat while cutting, just press the stop button and unload, then realign and start over with cutting.

Step 5: Peel off your shapes. They should peel off easily. If not, like the big one on the left of the mat, lift off what you can then use your scissors and carefully trim off the rest of the vinyl. The blade may have left an imprint so cutting may not be super hard.

Step 6: Peel off the vinyl backing and stick to the jar (or whatever you decide to label).

Step 7: Write on you labels using chalk and have fun!

As you can see I love these chalkboard labels. And yep, I had to put a bird on it (Portlandia reference), which turned out a little small. I like it none the less. So yeah, next up will be my sugar, flour, and etc canisters... and probably more!

I did make a few mistakes on this diy, so here's my tips from what I learned. 

- Before cutting the vinyl, practice on a regular sheet of paper. I didn't quite get the right size at first, as you see in the picture of the cut vinyl. This way you don't waste your vinyl trying to figure out what size labels you want.
- Make sure your cricut mat is really sticky. Mine wasn't, so the vinyl came up from the mat when cutting. If it's sticky, you shouldn't have to hold it down. Plus the shapes should cut out fully.

Cost of project-
  -Jars - $5.00 and under per jar, plus half off (Hobby Lobby)
  -Chalkboard Vinyl Surface- $7.99 orig. $4.79 with 40% coupon (Hobby Lobby)
     So, all together, with my 4 jars and chalkboard vinyl, for my project, it was under $10. Not to bad. That is if you already have the rest of the supplies. The cricut machine cost anywhere from $120 to $300 depending on the size and kind you get. The machines already include the mat, blade, and even a cartridge. Now I think most machines come with a pre loaded cartridge with shapes and fonts. Cricut has evolved since I first got mine. You can check out the Cricut website for more information of that.

As an alternative, if you don't have a cricut machine and don't want to buy one, you can just use a stencil of the shape you want to cut, a pencil to trace, and scissors or an exacto knife to cut it out!

Well, I hope you enjoyed this diy. It's super simple, fun, and addicting. I love it! The dogs, however love what's inside better! :)

And yes, Riley and Lily both love bacon! I do too, I mean real bacon, not bacon dog treats!
Now to go make some labels for more things. Thanks for reading! :)  -Jen

Button Ring DIY

I love making my own jewelry. It's fun to create and wear a one of a kind piece. I've always wanted to make button rings so here's a super easy diy for it!

 All the supplies can be found at most craft stores. I bought everything from Hobby Lobby (except this pair of scissors). And if you can do this diy for super cheap if you watch for sales. I'll explain the cost at the end of this post!

 This super easy diy is done with only 4 simple steps.
 1.) Cut out a circle alittle bigger than the button cap. You can either free hand or draw a circle on the wrong side of the fabric. I cut it free hand.  If your buying fabric, less than 1/8th of a yard will be more than enough. Also make sure when cutting the fabric you cut where the print you want centered on the button to be in the center of your cut. They do have different sizes of this button covers and backings too, so if you have a bigger print you can make a bigger button. I chose the 3/4 in for this one.
2.) Remove the button loop on the backing with pliers. It just takes a few pulls and a little bending of the ends of the loop.
3.) Put the fabric circle the wrong side up into the white mold, then put the button cover in it. Push the excess fabric into the button cover, then put the backing on it. Push it down until it snaps into place. Mine only snapped in on one side, so I took it out of the mold and used pliers to push the other side in. Be careful not to put too much pressure where it may bend the button cap.
4.) Use either hot glue, a metal glue, or a jewelry glue for metals**. I used hot glue, because I couldn't find my metal jewelry glue (which I would use that because it bonds really well, also bonds well to your hands so be careful). The hot glue worked well after the 2nd time. I glued the ring then pushed it into the back of the button. Let it sit for a bit. It stayed together for a while then came off when I put on a sweater. So I re glued it, putting glue on both the button and the ring and adhered. It is staying together better after that. Also hot glue dries quickly. And don't worry about the strings, they pull off easily after it dries.

*This is the Jewelry and Metal Glue. It should bond instantly and be careful not to get it on your hands.
 Source

There you have it! It took about 30 mins to make. And here is the cost break down of the project-
1.) Fabric - depending on the cost per yard. Hobby Lobby always has their Cotton Calicos and Apparel 30% off. It will definitely under $1.

2.) Glue Gun - if not on hand they are alittle under $3.00, use the 40% hobby lobby coupon to save more!

3.) Button Cover and Cap kit- $2.99. But with a 50% sewing notion sale it was only $1.49. And it can make 5 buttons (or button rings)!

4.) Ring - $1.47 ($0.73 with 50% off). Found in the jewelry make department. Look for sales too and they have multi-packs too!
5.) Scissors- if not on hand they are $1.99 ($1.19 with coupon).
So total cost with sales, and not including the scissors and glue gun:

      ~$1.50 (appox.)
That's super cheap for a ring! I can't wait to make more with different fabrics!!! 

Happy Crafting!

-Jen

I love Crafting!

I've had kind of a uncrafty few weeks. I miss crafting. I bought some mini canvas recently and I love them. They are perfect and cute and great for little simple paintings! Right now i'm working on some simple craft theme paintings. The camera one is kinda inspiring me to paint a bigger canvas full of all cameras.

This is a just for fun project, but i'm thinking they would also make cute little gifts!
I love the Christmas season! I totally want to make a lot of handmade things for this holiday, i'm excited!
I think I will look at pinterest for ideas. Have a lovely week!
-Jen

D.I.Y Inspiration

Hello guys!
I love this time of year: back to school!!! I'm not longer in school, but i'm totally addicted to school supplies. And for running a business, this is a great time to get some things for a good deal. So far I got a ruler, notecards, highlighters, and crayons for a penny (!), watercolor paint (just for fun), push pins, and binder clips for $1.00, and erasers for $0.20. I really do love this time of year. Well, tonight I decided to paint with the watercolors, so I looked up inspiration online. And actually found a few more crafts that I just have to share and make!

1.) D.I.Y Ice cream using a baggie!

From 2 Little Hooligans

2.) Hulu Hop Rug D.I.Y

From Family Fun

and 3.) Popsicle Stick Bracelet D.I.Y

From Suzy's Artsy-Craftys Sitcom

There is a lot more fun stuff out there. It's definitely worth checking out new blogs! I actually found all of these fun D.I.Y from The Craft Crow which is mostly kids crafts, but some are good for adults too. It's fun to be a kid sometimes. And these are great to do with kids as well.
There's are tons of ideas on all these blogs, I definitely recommend checking out of them!

Happy Crafting!

-Jen

I Love DIYs!

Good Morning! A DIY post will be coming soon, as soon as I gather stuff and make it. And I can't wait! I was at Menards yesterday getting primer for the one painted wall in the apartment and I came across tiles. Im not sure why I went over there, but I started to look and I love sales. I do want to decorate a bird bath with a mosaic so I guess I was getting ideas.. til I found plain white wall tiles at only 13 cents!!! I bought 4 (so far) and im going to try the coaster thing. I checked out a few diys online and it seems simple I just need some polyurethane and mod podge and some ideas on what to do. I was thinking of hand painting them or using paper or a picture. I think either will be awesome. So look for that within this weekend. Later today I will do a music post and probably tonight i'll do a little more blog designing and maybe another post.
See ya then!
-Jen