This past month I've been busy crafting and learning new things. There's been a lot of experimentation with craft materials and new products. This is going to be kind of a different blog post than usual, because I'm going to be sharing a few things I made and a few things I bought. It's a little like one of those monthly favorites blog posts or videos some people make. Just random fun stuff I made and bought during March.
I finally got around to decorating the little foam skulls I bought during my My After Halloween Target and Michaels Haul in 2012! These two foam skulls were from Michaels. Looking back at that blog post, it would appear these cost 20 or 30 cents.
The little skulls can hang from the ribbon at the top of them. Here's one demonstrating this on a doorknob:
I decided to make them into sugar skulls for Day of the Dead. I painted them, bejeweled them, and then "sugared" them with some heavyweight glitter.
I'm really happy with how these two turned out! They're like little girly sister skulls. I like decorations that look related but not identical.
It will be nice to have some little sugar skulls sitting around. I'll probably keep them out year-round. They're about the size of an actual sugar skull and they won't attract ants, unlike the real deal. Grossly enough, I know of what I speak with that!
I also learned of a cool use for old CDs. I happened to have a few with some documents on them that I didn't feel safe throwing out. Yet I didn't need more old CDs sitting around. So I saw online that if you bust up old CDs with a hammer you end up with some beautiful shards. Some people use scissors too, but that didn't work for me. I don't know what kind of scissors these people have, but mine weren't going to cut a CD! That only worked for trimming the tiniest of edges.
So after having some fun whacking CDs with a hammer, I needed to find something cool to glue them to. As it happened, I ran into a candle holder at Dollar Tree that was just what I wanted. It had a religious quote on the back but if you turn it around you have a nice black surface to work with. So I glued my shards to that with some regular Elmer's glue and let it dry an hour or two. Then I put a candle in it and enjoyed watching the colors move around in the dark.
I was so happy with my results that I'm looking for more things to glue CD shards to! Just a few words of caution if you want to try this.
1. Wear some protective eye wear. The shards like to fly while you're hammering them. One got me in the face, but luckily I wasn't cut.
2. Wrap some paper towel around your CD before hammering. You don't want random little sharp things laying around uncollected. Some people use a kitchen towel, but paper towel worked fine for me.
3. Pick where you want to glue these wisely because they like to slide around. Just put some glue on the back of your shard, place it down, and call it good.
Other than these two crafts, I wanted to share two more random things with you guys. Not that either of these are related to anything. It's just that I wanted to pass along some good finds. They're pretty inexpensive too.
Sticking with the Dollar Tree theme, I'd heard some reviews of this Dermasil lotion on YouTube. I have bored moments where I watch videos of people talking about their Dollar Tree hauls on YouTube. This is where I heard people raving about how great this lotion is, and they're right!
I was looking for a nearly scentless lotion because I wanted to mellow out some way too fragranced lotion I already had. So I picked some of this up. 10 oz for $1.00! I mixed it in with the too strong stuff and it worked to make it tolerable. Turns out I love this stuff on its own too. So I went back and bought more of it. It has a very light rosewater scent, if you're familiar with that. It has a nice consistency too; this lotion is not at all watery. I like this much more than a lot of higher priced lotions. And what isn't higher priced?
My other fun find is this "Sambal Oelek" pepper sauce. Look for the rooster label. It's a simple recipe of fiery red chilis, vinegar, and salt. It's hot and soooo good. You will want to put this on everything. This cost $1.99 at Woodman's.
Let me know if you guys try any of these craft projects or products!
The little skulls can hang from the ribbon at the top of them. Here's one demonstrating this on a doorknob:
I decided to make them into sugar skulls for Day of the Dead. I painted them, bejeweled them, and then "sugared" them with some heavyweight glitter.
It will be nice to have some little sugar skulls sitting around. I'll probably keep them out year-round. They're about the size of an actual sugar skull and they won't attract ants, unlike the real deal. Grossly enough, I know of what I speak with that!
I also learned of a cool use for old CDs. I happened to have a few with some documents on them that I didn't feel safe throwing out. Yet I didn't need more old CDs sitting around. So I saw online that if you bust up old CDs with a hammer you end up with some beautiful shards. Some people use scissors too, but that didn't work for me. I don't know what kind of scissors these people have, but mine weren't going to cut a CD! That only worked for trimming the tiniest of edges.
So after having some fun whacking CDs with a hammer, I needed to find something cool to glue them to. As it happened, I ran into a candle holder at Dollar Tree that was just what I wanted. It had a religious quote on the back but if you turn it around you have a nice black surface to work with. So I glued my shards to that with some regular Elmer's glue and let it dry an hour or two. Then I put a candle in it and enjoyed watching the colors move around in the dark.
1. Wear some protective eye wear. The shards like to fly while you're hammering them. One got me in the face, but luckily I wasn't cut.
2. Wrap some paper towel around your CD before hammering. You don't want random little sharp things laying around uncollected. Some people use a kitchen towel, but paper towel worked fine for me.
3. Pick where you want to glue these wisely because they like to slide around. Just put some glue on the back of your shard, place it down, and call it good.
Other than these two crafts, I wanted to share two more random things with you guys. Not that either of these are related to anything. It's just that I wanted to pass along some good finds. They're pretty inexpensive too.
Sticking with the Dollar Tree theme, I'd heard some reviews of this Dermasil lotion on YouTube. I have bored moments where I watch videos of people talking about their Dollar Tree hauls on YouTube. This is where I heard people raving about how great this lotion is, and they're right!
I was looking for a nearly scentless lotion because I wanted to mellow out some way too fragranced lotion I already had. So I picked some of this up. 10 oz for $1.00! I mixed it in with the too strong stuff and it worked to make it tolerable. Turns out I love this stuff on its own too. So I went back and bought more of it. It has a very light rosewater scent, if you're familiar with that. It has a nice consistency too; this lotion is not at all watery. I like this much more than a lot of higher priced lotions. And what isn't higher priced?
My other fun find is this "Sambal Oelek" pepper sauce. Look for the rooster label. It's a simple recipe of fiery red chilis, vinegar, and salt. It's hot and soooo good. You will want to put this on everything. This cost $1.99 at Woodman's.
Love your sugar skulls...and when you said they don't attract ants and you know what you speaketh - I made a gingerbread garland at Christmas time one year. BIG MISTAKE! Your cd shard project came out great.
ReplyDeleteMidnyte Reader ~ Thank you! :) Haha! It's awful isn't it? Seeing something nice you made covered in ants. I'd made a sugar skull at a Cinco de Mayo event of all things. Whoever organized that must not have known it from Day of the Dead. Anyway, I ended up with this cute little decorated sugar skull. I had it sitting by my bookcase for a few weeks until one day I looked over and saw movement all over it. Where on earth did all those ants come from!? That was quickly disposed of!
DeleteThanks! Smashing those CDs and then using them to decorate was a lot of fun. It's great to find a way to recycle things when you're not sure what to do with them.
The skulls came out great! The glitter really makes them look sugary.
ReplyDeleteGreat idea with the old cds, never would have guessed that's what it was on there.
Dex ~ Thank you! :) I'm really happy with the skulls too. That thick glitter turns a light pink to green to purple as you turn it. It's really cool stuff. I got the glitter at Jo-Ann's for a Christmas project and I can see it's going to have a few more uses!
DeleteI'm always thrilled if I can make something I was planning to throw away into something I actually like and want to keep! Those CDs were sitting around for a while as I tried to decide what to do with them. Even if you don't want to get crafty, it's nice to know that CDs with personal information on them can be broken with a hammer. Now I'm trying to think of other craft projects I can use the shards on because I have more of them. I saw a neat round mirror online that someone had glued CD shards around as a border. That looked really cool!
Believe it or not, a lot of IT places have CD shredders to dispose of old CDs with confidential information!
DeleteDex ~ No way! That's great. What a good, safe invention for businesses to have around. I know some shredders can take credit cards, so I guess it stands to reason that some could take CDs. CDs are pretty thin, but surprisingly tough. As I found out! It takes several good whacks with a hammer to get them into those pieces.
Deleteusually im not much of a sugarskull fan but i think yours look that pretty they are better than they were before! good job! and for the cd shards i did a halloween present for one of my friends with shards like that on black velvet in a photoframe - just incase you have some left, it was even more fun working together with other fabrics! :-)
ReplyDeleteJust Keep Brains ~ Nice name. :) Thank you! I'm happy with my skulls. They needed a little bling. The skulls had more of that dirty old skull in a crypt look before. That works for some themes, but I'd much rather look at a pink and purple glittery skull!
DeleteThanks for the CD shard tip! I do have some left. So did you find some black velvet already in a frame or did you stretch the fabric in there yourself? I'm guessing you made a shape out of the shards? They could look cool just glued all over too. I saw while gluing the pieces on this candle holder that they start to create shapes on their own. And the different colors that show up with light add a lot of interest too. Thanks for your comment!
Yum love that chili paste - you got some good buys!
ReplyDeleteLady M ~ Thanks! Isn't that stuff great? I've been eating it on everything I can think of. It's really good on potatoes! I saw it for more than double the price at Pick 'n Save tonight, so Woodman's is the way to go. Interestingly, the makers of this sauce have a more popular formula that's more liquidy and in a squeeze tube. I'll probably stick with this, though.
DeleteCreepy and tasty
ReplyDeleteGatekeeper ~ Thanks! Have you tried that hot pepper sauce?
DeleteFun crafts. I am always looking for new and interesting things to do.
ReplyDeleteJulie ~ Thanks! Do you think you might try either of these crafts?
DeleteWow Very crafty!Are you ready for another DJ Trish CD mix?
ReplyDeleteDJ Trish ~ Thank you! Sure! I think I may have gotten lost in the shuffle with the group CD exchange. So you and I will be trading next?
Delete