Disney's Maleficent Inspired Box

I recently fell in love with Disney's "Maleficent", a re-telling of "Sleeping Beauty" with much more focus on the "evil queen". The film is beautiful, as is the story, and when I was looking to transform a little hinged box that I'd been saving for years, I decided to go with a Maleficent theme.

SUPPLIES:
box
acrylic paint
polymer clay
paper and pencil
feathers
crystal/stone
charms
glue

1. Look at images from the film on the internet or watch the movie to get a feel for the magical scenery and creatures. The colors also inspired me. For the front and back of the box, I traced silhouettes of Maleficent so they would line up towards the "spine" of the box. On the front I went with her wing-less dark queen silhouette from when she curses Aurora and on the back I did her happy, winged, long-hair silhouette from after she saves Aurora. Inside I did one side as a night time scene from the moors and the other side a woodsy daytime scene.

2. Add accents like polymer clay, charms, stones, crystals, and feathers. I made black polymer clay thorns and a raven for the front of the box and brown/green tree branches for the back. (After I took photos) I super glued a white quartz stone inside and plan to add some brown and black feathers also. Other charms and stones might come later as I collect "magical" things.

3. DONE.

DIY Cardboard Fireplace

This Christmas season I decided to build a fireplace out of cardboard boxes so we could hang our stockings properly.

Materials
- 5 cardboard boxes the same size
- several large pieces of cardboard
- small pieces of cardboard
- masking tape
- white glue
- paint (black, brown/red, white)
- cardboard tubes
- photo or printout of flames/fire

1. Stand up three of the boxes on end side by side, with the bottom of the end ones facing forward and the bottom of the middle one facing backwards. Glue and tape them together. Let the glue dry.

2. Lay the remaining two cardboard boxes on top of the three, with the bottoms facing forward, and glue in place. Let the glue dry.

3. I turned this part around and reinforced inside all the boxes to increase the strength, but if you won't have anyone trying to climb on it, you could skip this.

4. Glue a sheet of cardboard to the back to cover it. You can skip this step but it helps with stability.

5. Glue long pieces of cardboard to the top and bottom to make a mantle and base. I had saved some 1-inch-thick "boards" of cardboard that were perfect for this. You can layer sheets of cardboard to make a thick slab. Feel free to paint them.

6. Paint the inside of the center box (that is backwards to the other four) black. Once dry, glue your flames to the back (optional).

7. My boxes were white, so I just painted the "bricks" over top in brown. You could leave your boxes brown and just paint the white "grout" or paint them white, mark off your grout lines, and then paint brown or red over top for bricks. You can paint any pattern or colors you prefer - match your decor or recreate a beloved fireplace from your childhood.

8. Glue cardboard tubes of different lengths inside your black center box. I used half tubes in the bottom first, then stacked full tubes randomly on top. I rolled up strips of cardboard and glued them in the ends of the tubes to fill them, but that's optional.

9. DONE!

DIY Disney CARS Piston Cup

In preparation for my son's Disney CARS themed birthday party, I built a Piston Cup for a centerpiece. 

Here's how:

MATERIALS
- plastic containers (I used one margarine and one sour cream container, plus their lids)
- foam core board (optional)
- cardboard
- paint (gold, black)
- scissors, glue, pencil, other basic supplies

1. I started with a photo of the Piston Cup and enlarged it so the size matched my plastic containers. I created templates for the side "wings" and the stem of the trophy. I cut six of each piece from foam core board (cardboard would work also). Glue all six layers of the stem together. Glue two sets of three layers of wings together to create the two wings.

2. I made the base of the trophy by stuffing the margarine container full of balled up newspaper (to make it less squishy) and gluing the lid on it, then gluing the lid of the sour cream container onto the bottom. Flip the entire thing over and paint it completely black.

3. For the "cup" of the trophy, I made a cylinder of cardboard and glued it around the sour cream container. For the bottom of the cup, I cut an oval of cardboard and curved it to fit.

4. Glue the wings to the sides of the cup and the stem to the base of the cup. Paint the entire assembled trophy gold. Add the accents, stripes, and words.

5. Glue the trophy onto the base. DONE.

Dragon Bottle

While walking last summer I found an interesting green liquor bottle. It was too pretty to take to the recycling depot so I kept it for a craft project. Here is what some polymer clay, floral wire, charms, and acrylic paint turned it into:

I started with a blended cane of polymer clay and cut it into equal sections, removing every second one and keeping both piles in order, so I could do both sides of the bottle the same.

I started at the bottom of one side, pressing the little cylinders I had cut into teardrop (dragon scale) shapes and beginning to layer/stagger them.

Next I made the "label" for the front of the bottle, mixing a couple colors of clay and rolling it smooth, then distressing it. I used rubber stamps to do the letters and added the embellishments by pressing them right into the soft clay. After baking the bottle to harden the clay, I rubbed some brown acrylic paint over the label and allowed it to pool in the indented areas while wiping it away from the smooth parts.

For the bottle cap, I covered the entire cap with a thin layer of clay, making sure that it covered all the metal but not letting it extend too far below the cap, so the bottle can still open. I pressed a plastic gem into the center of the top, then added the four "claws" to hold it in place. Thanks to the fact that polymer clay is baked at such a low level, the plastic gem was not damaged by the heat from the oven.

After baking, I used two colors of floral wire to decorate around the bottle neck.

I also added a little dragonfly brad to one side before baking the clay.

Cardboard Disney's "Cars" Tow Mater

What did you do this weekend? I built a model of Tow Mater from Disney's "Cars", that's big enough for my kid to sit in, entirely out of garbage. It was a lot of work and I may add a few more details, but here are some photos to inspire you to try it yourself. (Also, this actually took me several evenings as well as part of the weekend, so don't place unrealistic expectations on yourself to do it in a certain amount of time. Glue and paint have to dry.)

Some tips:
Use white glue AND masking tape wherever possible. You can also use the tape to temporarily hold pieces while the glue is drying.
Reinforce everywhere that kids might climb on, step on, sit on, or bend.
Build from the center out.
Perfection is NOT the goal - Mater is rusty, falling apart, and dented. Use banged up boxes, leave raw edges, be messy with the paint, improvise...
Use your imagination, and scissors and an exacto knife.

DIY Shelf From Broken Hockey Sticks

MATERIALS
- 2 L-shaped shelf brackets
- screws
- tools
- strong glue
- pieces of hockey sticks (tape removed, washed, etc.)

1. Decide on the size of shelf, based on the size of the brackets, and determine how many pieces of stick are required and how long to cut them. Cut the sticks to length.

2. Lay the sticks out face down and side by side. Place the brackets on top. Screw the brackets to the 2 sticks that the holes line up on. Lift up the brackets and apply glue to the top, then place them back on the rest of the sticks. Put something heavy on the brackets until the glue is dry.

3. Once the glue is dry, screw the brackets to the wall. Use a level and use drywall plugs if you can't find studs. Glue on one last stick to fill in the gap at the back - mine had to be up on edge to fit. Use a piece of tape to hold it while the glue dries. DONE!

DIY Custom Keyboard - NHL Team Logos

Using my favorite magazine, The Hockey News, and some packing tape, I customized my keyboard with NHL team logos. You can do it with any magazine or laser-printed pictures you like. It's easy and durable but shouldn't damage your keys if you ever want to remove it. It would be fun to do with a large picture that's cut into key-sized pieces, especially on a white keyboard. You could also do large letters if you have trouble reading your keys.

MATERIALS:
- magazine
- packing tape
- scissors
- dish of warm water
- keyboard

1. Cut out the pictures slightly smaller than the keys.

2. Stick packing tape to the fronts and rub it down so it's stuck really well.

3. Soak the tape in warm water and gently rub the paper off the back, leaving just the ink on the tape. Let dry.

4. Trim around the pictures, leaving a thin edge of tape. Stick onto your keys. DONE!

DIY Zamboni (Papercraft)

I designed this to use as party favor boxes with the intention of having kids color and asssemble them. I printed them on different colored cardstock.

DIY Mini Stanley Cup Replica

'Tis the season... for fan-made Stanley Cups to make their appearances at parties, parades, and arenas. Here's how I made mine, which is about half the size of the real cup and MUCH lighter.

MATERIALS:
- plastic containers
- small bowl
- center piece from a roll of tape
- aluminum foil
- aluminum foil tape
- hot glue gun and glue sticks
- ruler
- marker
- cardboard scraps
- newspaper

1. I printed off a simple picture of the Stanley Cup for reference, then stacked up two plastic containers (with lids on), a center piece from a roll of tape, and a little bowl.

2. Once I was happy with the configuration, I drew 4 evenly spaced lines around each of the plastic containers and put a line of hot glue on these lines to create ridges. I also did a line of hot glue around the bottom edge of both containers.

3. After stuffing the containers with balled up newspaper and chunks of cardboard to make them solid, I used more hot glue to seal the lid on and fill in the gap between the container and lid.

4. I covered the individual parts with aluminum foil and foil tape, doing my best to keep it smooth on the two plastic containers but letting it be rough on the bowl to mimic the embossing on the real Cup. The last step was to use hot glue to stick the parts together. I used two circles of cardboard covered in aluminum foil - one between the tape roll and the purple container and another on the very bottom. DONE!

The top of the cup can be used as a bowl for serving silver-wrapped candies at a party or holding a beloved souvenir from your favorite team as a good luck charm for the playoffs. What other uses can you think of? I'd love to hear your ideas and see photos of your creations.

DIY Hockey Puck Baby Toy

I've seen these shaped as cubes and balls, but the basic idea is a soft toy with tags sticking out for babies to chew on, and since I love hockey, I decided to make one shaped like a hockey puck for my son.

MATERIALS:
- black fabric
- thread, sewing machine, notions
- ribbon, tags, patches, etc.
- stuffing
- crinkly plastic (optional)
- rattle (optional) *I used 2 buttons inside a tiny plastic container that I glued shut and sewed into its own fabric pouch.

1. If you are making a rattle to go inside the puck, start by making that. I used a scrap of fabric that I sewed on three sides before inserting the rattle and hand sewing closed.

2. Cut out two circles of black fabric. Measure around them and cut a strip that length plus seam-allowance and sew it end-to-end.

3. If you want to sew a patch on, do it now. Lay one circle on your work surface right side up. Place several ribbons/tags on top of the circle with the ends that you want sticking out aimed into the center. Carefully place the strip of black face down on top of the tags and pin in place. Sew around the circle, backstitching at least once every time you cross a tag/ribbon.

4. Add another layer of tags/ribbons to the strip and top this with the other circle. Pin together and sew almost all the way around, leaving a space for turning.

5. Turn the puck right side out and stuff it with crinkly plastic, stuffing, rattle, more stuffing, and more plastic.

6. Sew up the opening. DONE!

I have NO idea why EVERY picture came up sideways. I've been trying to post this for a week now and I'm finally just posting it with the pictures sideways because I can't get them to work properly.

DIY Dog Tie Out

We're lucky enough to have a fully fenced back yard for our dog to run in, but sometimes we need the gate open or don't want the dog into something, so I designed a tie out system to keep her out of trouble.

MATERIALS:
- two fence posts that are securely in the ground
- a length of strong aircraft cable that will reach between the posts
- 2 eye hooks
- 2 cable clamps
- 2 cable tighteners
- 2 quick links or carrabiners
- 1 short length of chain or cable, or a chain dog leash
- tools

1. Screw the eye hooks into the fence posts, facing each other. Make sure they are at a height that will allow the dog to lay down comfortably, but high enough that you don't have to dig it out of the snowbank or mow around it or whatever.

2. Attach the tighteners to the eye hooks.

3. Attach the cable to the tighteners. Tighten it as much as you can.

4. Secure the short chain to the cable with one of the links/carrabiners. Put the other link on the other end of the chain (use this to attach it to the dog's collar). DONE!

The dog can be clipped to the cable quickly and can have the full length of the yard to move, without the risk of getting wrapped around something. In my yard the dog can get from the sun to the shade.

Stanley Cup Party

Even though my team didn't make the playoffs this year, there's always next year. Until then, I can still dream about the Stanley Cup party I'll throw, and I'll share my ideas with you in case your team is still in the running (or you'd like to dream about next season too).

Serving bowls: silver like the Cup
Platters/trays: glass to look like ice
Coasters: pucks or circles of black felt/foam

For decorations, use temporary hooks, like 3M Command hooks, and coat hangers to display jerseys, banners, and flags on your walls. Add your team's logo to things with stickers or print it out and glue or tape it on. Ribbon can also be tied around things to add color.

You can label cups or wine glasses with player names/numbers so that guests can tell them apart. You can also cover or replace the labels on bottles to look like jerseys.

For activities and games, I recommend keeping actual hockey or street hockey OUTSIDE to avoid damaging things in your house. Air/table hockey would be appropriate, and there are lots of hockey trivia games and NHL themed board games like Monopoly.

Many things are available in your team colors: table cloths, napkins, plates, cups, streamers, drinks, Jello, icing for cookies/cupcakes, candies... For other snacks/flavors, I've been thinking by color:

Red
- strawberries
- raspberries
- red licorice
- salsa
- watermelon
- tomatoes
- red delicious apples
- garlic sausage, pepperoni sticks
- cherries
- cranberry
- ketchup chips

Orange
- cheddar cheese
- cheesies
- cheese nachos
- carrot sticks
- cantaloupe
- crackers
- chips
- orange slices
- peach

Yellow
- chips
- golden delicious apples
- yellow pears
- crackers
- bananas
- lemon
- nachos
- buttered popcorn

Green
- pickles
- melon
- broccoli
- celery
- green apples
- green grapes
- lime
- kiwi
- guacamole/avocado
- mint

Blue
- blueberries
- blue raspberry
- bubblegum
- blue cheese

Purple/Maroon
- saskatoons
- red/purple grapes
- black cherry

Black/Brown
- black licorice
- dark and milk chocolate
- chocolate pudding
- chocolate cake
- chocolate ice cream
- Oreos
- pretzels

White
- vanilla ice cream
- whipped cream
- mozza cheese
- white chocolate
- popcorn
- crackers
- chips
- white cake
- cheesecake
- nachos

Don't forget to decorate your garbage can with the opposing team's colors and logo. ;-)

DIY Chocolate Kiss and Cookie Acorns

There are a tonne of "recipes" for these on the internet, so I'm not going to go into great detail on these cute little treats, but I had fun making them and wanted to share them. Basically you melt some chocolate (in a double boiler or in the microwave) and use it to stick an unwrapped chocolate "kiss" onto a small cookie, then to stick a chocolate chip on the other side of the cookie, and voila - tasty little acorns!

Modifying Solar Lights

I was given two little dragonfly solar lights a couple years ago and I love them to pieces (I love dragonflies), but they are on stakes that are meant to go into the ground, which doesn't work when you have a dog that insists on chewing everything she can reach. I had used twist-ties to secure them up in my tree, but the wind blows them crooked all the time and the twist-ties break. This evening I used my drill and drilled a hole into one of the dead branches on the tree and stuck the stake into the hole - voila! The light is still high enough that I don't think the dog will bother it (although I did put a piece of wire fence around it just in case), the ugly stump now serves a purpose, and the light will be easier to see and get more charging sunlight once the leaves are on the tree than it did before. Now I just have to decide whether I'll risk doing the same thing with my second light in my tree in the front yard - I'm a bit worried that someone might walk away with my light if I do...


I've previously modified other solar lights to get them up off the ground. They are little lanterns that were meant to hang from hooks that were poked in the ground, but instead I hung them from "quick-links" (used for joining chains) and eye-hooks that I screwed horizontally into the top ends of my fence posts. They work great for lighting up the path still, but we don't have to mow around them or worry about the dog eating them. And they won't blow off in the wind because of the eye-hooks and "quick-links" rather than just hooks.

DIY Packing Tape Transfers/Stickers

My mom reminded me about this technique on the weekend. I had seen this fun project on How About Orange and had been meaning to try it, so Mom and I did some experimenting...

MATERIALS:
- pictures from magazines or printed with a laser printer (photographs and inkjet images don't work)
- clear packing tape (clear mactac also works, but not quite as well)
- a dish of warm water
- stuff to stick your images on (vases, candle holders, greeting cards, picture frames, basically anything)

1. Cut out the image (or tear around it for a different effect). Keep in mind that anything that is white will become clear.

2. Cover the image with packing tape. If it is bigger than a single piece of tape, overlap the tape a bit. Rub the tape down firmly (use your fingernail).

3. Soak the entire thing in water for a few minutes. Carefully rub the back side, rubbing away the paper. The ink will stay on the tape.

4. The tape will still be a bit sticky, but you can use mod podge or a similar glue to help it stick. DONE!

This is really fun and the possibilities are endless. I did a bunch of NHL team logos to decorate my son's hockey stick headboard. I'm going to try writing on paper with markers and see if that works too - I'll keep you posted.

More "Hidden" Floor Vent Covers

I used sunflower yellow spray paint and wood-grain mactac to cover more of my floor vent covers, transforming them from this...

...to this.

DIY Turn a Broken Hockey Stick into a Keepsake

I got this idea last summer when I was at an autograph session and saw a guy with a completely white hockey stick with a small Oilers logo on the blade. In my collection of broken hockey sticks I had several that were complete sticks with broken blades, so I decided to "repair" them.

MATERIALS:
- hockey stick (tape/stickers removed, washed)
- strong glue
- spray paint
- hockey tape
- stickers/decals
- acrylic craft paint

1. Use glue and tape to put your broken stick back together.

2. Spray paint the entire stick the color of your choice.

3. Wrap hockey tape around your repaired areas to hide them. You can use tape with a design on it or paint the tape with acrylic craft paint (stick the tape on a plastic container and paint it before you wrap it on the stick). Add decals if desired.

a. On the white stick, I used tape with Oilers logos on it - 5 strips, one for each Stanley Cup.

b. On the blue stick, I painted the tape to match the CBJ third jersey's stripes and added a decal on the blade.

c. On the red stick, I stuck with just plain tape, again mimicking the jersey stripes, and will add a Team Canada decal on the tape on the blade.

*If you plan to get autographs on the stick, test your marker on a spot where you will be adding tape or a decal. You want the marker to show up well, write easily, and dry quickly. I recommend Sharpies.

DIY Referee Bib

My cousin is a hockey referee so I thought it would be fun to make bibs for his kids that look like referee uniforms.

MATERIALS:
- white fabric (I used a t-shirt)
- black fabric (I used denim)
- thread, sewing machine, notions, etc.
- acrylic craft paint (black, orange), brush
- masking tape
- bias tape, ribbon, or cord

1. Cut out a bib shape from both the white and black fabric. I traced around another bib.

2. Apply strips of tape to the areas of the bib that you want to stay white, including the areas that will be orange. Make sure that the tape is stuck down well from edge to edge.

3. Paint the exposed areas black and let the paint dry. Remove the tape.

4. Outline the area that will be orange with black paint. Let it dry.

5. Paint the orange area. Let it dry.

6. Lay the painted/white piece on top of the black piece, wrong sides together, and tuck 2 pieces of bias tape/ribbon/cord in between the layers on either side of the neck opening.

7. Sew all the way around the edges of the bib. Clip the edge fabric approximately every inch to create a "rag-time" look. DONE!

DIY Toy Car Play Mat

I was inspired by this wonderful toy car play mat over at Punkin Patterns to create one of my own.

MATERIALS:
- sewing machine, notions, etc.
- a button
- a hair elastic
- 6 toy cars
- a piece of thin quilt batting 18.5" x 30.5"
- fabric:

• 1 of back side 18.5" x 30.5" - this is what will show when the mat is rolled up
• 1 of garage 18.5" x 10" - can be anything; mine is bricks
• 1 of black 18.5" x 6.5"
• 4 of black 18.5" x 2.5"
• 12 of black 4.5" x 2.5"
• 12 of feature 4.5" x 4.5" (square) - fabrics featuring things to drive on or around (buildings, rocks, grass, etc.)

- thread:

• bobbins matching back side fabric
• top thread matching garage fabric
• yellow top thread

1. Pre-wash, iron, and cut the fabric. Lay out the feature blocks 3 wide and 4 high. Interspace 3 of the short black strips into each row, alternating which end of the row you put the black strip on:

B-F-B-F-B-F   F-B-F-B-F-B   B-F-B-F-B-F   F-B-F-B-F-B

2. Sew 1 short black strip to the side of each feature square (6 on the left, 6 on the right). Iron.

3. Sew the rows together. Iron. Sew one long black strip to the top of each row. Iron. Sew these new rows together. Sew the wide black piece to the bottom of your rows. Iron.

Fold your garage piece in half (right side out) so that it is now 18.5" x 5" and iron the fold. Line the open side up with the bottom edge and baste it on top of the wide black piece. The top is now complete.

4. Layer the batting, the piece for the back side (right side up), and the top (right side down). Place the elastic between the top and back on one side approximately 3.5" down from the top edge, with the majority of it inside and just enough sticking out to catch in the seam. Pin all the way around. Sew around the edge, leaving an opening for turning.

5. Trim the tips off the corners. Turn the mat right side out. Sew the opening shut.

6. Mark the center of the garage piece. Mark 2.75" and 5.5" from the center mark on both sides. Using top thread that matches the garage fabric and bobbin thread that matches the back side, sew lines up the garage at these 5 marks (from the bottom outside edge up to the black), turning 1 big pocket into 6 car-sized pockets. Backstitch at the ends.

7. Using yellow top thread and bobbin thread that matches the back side, sew down the center of all of the black strips. Backstitch at the ends. I sewed 1 big long line zigzagging across the mat on the long strips and down the short strips on the ends of the rows, then did the short strips in the center of the mat.

8. Put the toy cars in the garage pockets. Fold the mat in half top to bottom, then in half again the same way. Roll up the mat from the end opposite where your elastic is. Mark where you need to sew on the button so the elastic will loop around it and hold the mat closed. Sew the button on - be careful not to sew all the way through to the front side. DONE!