Tuesday, August 31, 2010

An Idea Using My Glue Gun....

I wanted to share with you a  quick and easy way to make a tiered glass platter that's easy to make and easy to take apart....

A few weeks ago, a good friend was having a get together and I wanted to bring some chocolate covered strawberries.  What woman doesn't like chocolate? Since fruit is involved it's got to be good for you, Right?  I wanted to put the strawberries on a tiered glass platter, but didn't want to glue the dishes permanently together
I had an idea...  Maybe I could use my glue gun to put the plates together.

Here's what I started with....






I placed the glue on the outer edge of the glass cup's base.
Make sure you use a HOT glue gun,
NOT a low temperature glue gun.
As you can see my glue gun has gotten quite a work out over the years!




Work quickly. 
 The glue cools down fast. 
 It must be hot to have the glass pieces stick together.


I continued gluing the middle glass plate on top of the cup, 
Next I used an empty crystal salt shaker (I removed the cap from the shaker. I finished it off with the top platter.  It only took a few minutes  to complete this project and it was 
a perfect way to display my tasty treats. Unfortunately, I forgot to take a picture with the strawberries on the tiered platter.


Don't you just hate when you forgot to take a photo for a blog post?



Now here's the best part.
  Here's a great tip....
Once you are done using the platter no need to store it.  I just put it in the sink and run hot water onto the area where it has been glued.  Carefully pull it apart.  The hot water will begin to melt the hot glue and you can easily take the plates apart.   Just store the plates and next time you need a serving tray to display your desserts, you can glue them together.

If you missed my previous post about permanently gluing the plates together,  you can view it HERE.


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Wednesday, August 25, 2010

Pretty Shower Centerpieces....

This past weekend I was busy filling an order for a bridal shower.  I was contacted to make the centerpieces for the shower.  The client had seen the tiered platters I create and asked me to supply them for her daughter's wedding shower.   I assembled all the platters  on the kitchen's center island.  What was I thinking?
I have two teenage boys and you never know
what can get broken around the house!
Lets take a peek at what I made....



This was my favorite combination of plates.  I found these pretty PINK floral plates at a thrift store.  I paired it up with this devil egg platter that had a gold edge. 
 I thought it was the perfect plate to use.


Take a look at this teacup and saucer.It had a wonderful floral
print inside the cup. This tiered platter makes a great veggie and dip server. The teacup can be used to put a dip in.  These tiered plates where going to be used for the centerpieces for each table at the shower.  They displayed beautiful cupcakes on the plates
which were served for dessert.  


Each teacup had a pretty spoon that
 I embellished with a decorative button.
How do you like my new tags?
  I ordered  a new crown stamp for the tag. 
 I had to add a bit of bling by adding a rhinestone.


Here are the same printed plates that I paired up with a clear glass plate and glass sugar bowl.


I thought these pretty pink floral plates
would be perfect for the shower centerpieces.



I decided to try something new and group three different styles of plates together.  I topped it off with a glass creamer pitcher.  I think the colors were a perfect combination.



I wish I had photos to share with you
of the centerpieces with the cupcakes.

  Don't you just hate it when you forget your camera
to capture that perfect blog picture!

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Tuesday, August 24, 2010

Graduation Gifts....

I've been sharing with you the graduation boards I have been busy making this summer.  Well..  I've also been busy making gifts for the graduation parties.  I love taking an inexpensive photo album and turning it into a one of a kind keepsake. 
 Here's  one of the albums I created...


Think about creating a matching gift bag for your one of a kind gift. 
It makes a great presentation.  I love using silk floweres to embellish my projects, but silk flower embellishements can get very expensive.  Check out my cost savings idea HERE...


Making a girly album is a lot of fun. 
 It gives me the opportunity to use lots of rhinestone... ribbons...
and  pretty buttons.


Oh, did I mention I also get to use some gold paint
to embellish the album!


Here's the inside of the album. 
 I had these paper flowers left over from my niece's wedding invitations.  The flowers are sold with the wedding invitation accessories at Michaels Crafts. 
They come in a large container
 and you can use them for lots of different projects.


Now I needed a gift for a boy....


Isn't this masculine paper? 
 Perfect for a boy. 

Here's a cost saving tip... Go to the local hardware store and ask if they have any  keys that have been a "mistake" when they were cutting them for customers.  They are happy to give them away.  A little black spray paint and some gold paint brushed onto the key, 
 they become the perfect embellishment. 
The best part....the cost is nothing.






Here's the inside. 
Great buttons to hold the ribbon ties onto the album.


Another girly album....


I printed the saying off on vellum paper and ripped the edges.  Just added a little bit of gold paint.  A small safty pin is attached to the ribbon. I just hot glued the metal word "FAITH" onto the pin.


Last album and this time I decided to do Black & White.
 I really liked the color combination.



I added a pretty heart charm that had rhinestones.
The ribbon ties were held on with buttons
which I glued to the albums front cover.





These albums take a little bit of work,
 but they make a wonderful gift for so many different occassions.

I'll be linking this post to the following sites....



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Wednesday, August 11, 2010

More Memories to Display...

In the previous post I shared with you my version of a girly graduation board.  Now as promised here is a graduation board that is perfect for a the male graduate.  This board was for my friend Linda's son.  The school colors are Gold & Black. 
 Here's what I came up with....


I used an 8x10 mat to display his graduation photo. 
 I distressed it with some gold paint.



This photo was placed inside a 5x7 mat. 
 This mom wanted to incorporate some grade school photos.


Along the bottom we also added photos from grade school.
My friend Linda had the board displayed in the middle of a table filled with popcorn balls!


These photos were all his school photos
 from kindergarten through 11th grade.


Once again I used my cricut machine to cut out
 all the decorative pieces.




The saying was printed on vellum. 
 I ripped the edges and added gold paint.


Now for my friend Denise's son, Alex's board.  This has a different take on it.  She already had a frame which displayed all his school photo from kindergarten through 11th grade. Denise wanted to display photos which highlighted events from his senior year.


Adding the gold paint and the school name
really embellished the frame.  I also glued on a black ribbon with white stiching to add some texture.


I hot glued some gold buttons (it went with the black & gold theme) to add some interest.


I had never done this style of board before. 
I really like having just senior photos displayed.  To make the photos pop,  I mounted some of the photos on foam core blocks. 

Here's a tip...never through out scrap foam core.  I cut it up into 2"x2" square pieces and use for my graduation boards and many other crafting projects.


To make some photos POP, so I printed them off in color.  The photos along the bottom of the board were just of Alex.  I thought this would add some interest and draw you attention to the graduate! 

 Don't you think this makes them stand out?


Here is the family at graduation.
  I know how proud Denise was off all her son's accomplishments! 
As she should be.


One more board to share with you today.  This is for a girl. 
 Just needed my fix of a little bling.


Check out the rhinestones and the polka dot ribbon. 
Seems like all the graduation boards I did this year were either black & gold OR blue & silver.


I added some large rhinestones to the cricut design....


Hope this gave you more ideas for graduation boards.  I know whoever you it for will love it.  If you missed my video on how to create this board check it out HERE. I have one last graduation board design to share with you in my next post. I would love for you to visit me.

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Sunday, August 8, 2010

Graduation Memory Boards

Last week I shared with you some graduation cards I made. Now I want to share with you some graduation memory boards I worked on this summer. This is a project that makes a wonderful gift for a graduate. If you have a child graduating this coming year, you can create this for your graduation party. 

 This memory board was a gift for my friend Rose's daughter.

I loved this photo of Carolyn....


I used my Cricut machine to cut out all the decorative pieces.



I usually do these memory boards in black and white. 
 I decided to switch it up a bit and use some colored photos.


I don't get to do a lot of girly boards so I really enjoyed adding some bling. Check out the rhinestones and glittered paper....


I hand stamped the saying..."Putting My Stamp On the World"


Here's a tip...  for the words use your printer.  I selected words and then chose different fonts for each word.  I then printed them out on card stock paper.  I used a Sharpie marker to hand write the words "in the"....


I printed this saying out on vellum paper and then ripped the edges of the paper and mounted it on scrapbook paper.
This is such a sweet saying...


This  memory board could be created for other occasions. How about an engagement party or wedding shower. Just add photos of the couple. Whoever the gift is for, it is sure to be a special treasure. Later this week I'll share with you a few
memory boards I made for boys.

If you want to see how to create this memory board watch my show "Fancy That" and see the episode below....


Fancy That: GRADUATION BOARD from Shelby Tv on Vimeo.

I'll be linking  this post to the following sites...


     
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