PHOTO IN A JAR KEEPSAKE KEYCHAIN

PHOTO IN A JAR KEEPSAKE KEYCHAIN

I've seen the adorable photos in a jar posts on Pinterest and I just had to give it a try.

The only thing different I did was make it into a cute keychain.

I know it's glass and all, but these jars are pretty thick and could take a bit of handling in my opinion.

Another alternative would be to make it hang from a necklace. 

But for the person, my Aunt, I have in mind for this gift, she doesn't wear necklaces but does carry her door keys with her when she leaves.  

And the photo in the jar is of her late son lost tragically in a car accident. 

So I am pretty sure she will enjoy it whether she wants to use it or put it up as a memento.

This would also make a great, one of a kind Valentines Day gift!

Here's what you will need:

Well this, plus the Keychain key ring that I left out of photo.

-Glass jar with cork top 

(found at craft stores like Michaels, Hobby Lobby)

-Yard or String of some sort

(I use twine)

-1 Eyescrew

-A safety pin 

(for pushing out the hole in the cork)

-E6000 glue

(for dabbing the twine at tip of eyescrew so it dont unravel

-Printout of a tiny photo

(must be small enough to fit down inside the jar you choose)

Okay, so very easy craft here that has a great meaning.

First off, I took off the cork and inserted the safety pen through it carefully.

It slides in pretty easy but then you just have to woller (move) it back and forth to make the

hole bigger.

Then it was time to use the safety pin to push the twine through.

It was easy as soon as I realized I needed to make a knot in the twine for something to push!

Then hold onto the bottom of twine and pull the safety pin back out.

Bam! There's your string in cork, ready to go!

Just tie a knot in the top, outter side so it don't slip through.

I also put a dab of E6000 glue on both sides by the hole and twine.

Just to reinforce it.  E6000 is strong, I love it. It's found at Walmart, btw.

Next, trim up your string to size needed to hang about halfway down in your jar.

The bottom will be covered at the bottom by the photo later.

And now time to cut your tiny photo.

I cut it to look like a vintage Polaroid picture.

You will also need a second piece of plain paper that will act as the back of the photo, the

same size.

I stuck them together, with a tiny piece of packaging tape INSIDE both photos and a tiny 

dab of E6000 glue in the twine.  You can't see it in the pic, I am talking about inside the two pieces of paper. The front and back. This is how it sticks to the hanging twine.

Then I took some clear packaging tape, stuck it to the top and folded it around to the back.

Covering both the front and back with one piece. 

Made the tape touch at all edges and then just cut around the photo, leaving a bit of tape to hold all intact. 

It makes for a glossy photo finish kinda like the old Polaroid photos were back in the day.

Screw in your eye screw while the glue it wet, so it will get a strong hold.

Back of photo with tape trimmed.

Then just bend your Polaroid looking photo slightly enough to slide it down in the jar.

And stick back in your cork.

Next just slide on your key ring and you are finished!

And that's it.

Seems way more complicated than it really is.

Just gather all the stuff you need to begin and it goes pretty fast.

Don't forget to print your photo very tiny!

 Happy Crafting, see ya'll next time, ~Lisa

EASY Christmas Tree Display

EASY CHRISTMAS TREE DISPLAY

This is a very simple design, so don't worry. Even though it looks complicated, you'll see it's definitely not.

I started out with some plain pieces of pine boards from our local home goods department store, Lowes. Here's what they looked like. I grabbed a few in different sizes.

They come in various widths and lengths.

Then I just free handed, in pencil, some tree edges right on the board where I'd cut them out with a jigsaw.

 This is the shape of the edges you want to create.

Painted it a forest green all over and then dry rubbed on some black streaks for contrast.

The box I had found was perfect for a base. So I sit the base inside the box and screwed on the flat piece of lumber to the bottom. Just to make sure it had enough weight to hold it down in place while standing.

It was just an old rough piece I had on hand. It worked great. I didn't mind the previous existing nail holes to the right.

And to make a hanging spot for hooked items,

I just tapped in some small steeples, or some call them large staples.

They are just U shaped and strong enough to hammer in with ease.

Leave them sticking out far enough so you can hang items though!

And that was it!


Don't let the thought of it being complicated keep you from trying it.
It was really a simple cut out.  The hardest part was finding a box for the bottom and then screwing on an extra flat piece of wood for the base to stand strong.

See ya'll next time,
~Lisa

SNOWMAN LIDS

Hey ya'll,

Here's a super easy snowman lid I made last year and think I forgot to share. I had been seeing these pop up all over Pinterest and I really wanted to try a few on my own. I just looked at them and tried to keep the same basic features. 

This is a great way to use up any bent, dented or extra cooking lids you may have sitting around.
Mine comes from boxes of them I buy at auctions.

I got all these plus the coffee pot and pan for only $8.00 one night!!!

The one I painted here, before, it was just a regular, aluminum style cooking lid in silver.

The first thing I did was to clean it good, let it dry then spray paint it in an Almond base color. I used the Rustoleum brand.

Just ignore my clothespins, I still have to paint tons of them!

Then after it dried for a few hours, I started with the basic face using a permanent marker.

Here are the eyes.

A mouth and a few more features.

Then I came back in with paint and did the nose in Cinnamon orange and the eyes in a baby blue.

I also sponged on some "snow" to the nose after the orange dried. 

 And don't forget to add some rosey cheeks. I used the dry brush technique and just kept adding more till it looked like enough for me.

And to finish it all off, it's hard to see, but I used a can of white spray paint and sprinkled white dots all over everything to give him a snowy look.

 Then to finish him off, I took some pieces of fabric and a jingle bell and hot glued them to the side.

On the back I used some E-6000 glue and a sawtooth hanger in case someone wants to hang him up.

I priced him for $5.99 in my craft booth. 

And here's another one I've been working on.

Here's one way I display some regular lids from time to time that I have for sell.

Happy Crafting ya'll,

~Lisa

Primitive SNOWMAN Ornaments

Hey ya'll! 

Here's a post about how to turn just about any plain hanging ornaments into some cute, wintery, snowman ornaments.

I had ordered a ton of these wooden, hanging hearts at an after Valentine's Sale online. And I got them super cheap. I mean like under a dollar a dozen.  They were burgundy with various sayings and already had the wire hanger too! So I couldn't go wrong.

BEFORE PHOTO

First off, I spray painted them a random color I had on hand.  It was a sage'ish green in the Rust-oleum brand in a satin finish.

  I so wish I had the Almond color on hand, but I didn't.  So I just went with it.

Next, after those drying, I took some cheap white and cheap black and did the speckle effect. 

Just barely hold down the spray button and let it fling out on them.

I had so many, I had to lay them all over the place to dry.

Finally after drying for a few hours, they were ready to begin painting!

Most of them I painted in the Snowman themes and wrote various sayings like "Frosty" and such on them.

And some said "Burr," 

"Winter Wishes," 

and "Best Flakes."

Then I decided to make a few Candy Cane ones.

And added some wording of "Home Sweet Home."

There's a ton of these not in the photos, but I finally got tired of the winter theme and started doing some primitive designs.

This one below I mixed it up and glued a bit of pinstripe fabric on it, and then glued a rusty star on the center. Then just worded on "Love."

The "Faith is Believing in God" is one of my favorite sayings.

Then I used a small checkerboard stencil and stenciled on a background for the one below.

And I put on the saying, "Old Crow Co."

Oh, and as you see, I went through my fabric stash and grabbed bits and pieces of various colors and tied them onto the wire hanger.


I made so many of these and I did save a box of them to do in a different base color. Almond I'm hoping soon!  But for now, I just used colors I had on hand so that I didn't have to put more money into making money.

I'm going to price these for $3.19 each and considering I paid just under a $1.00 / dozen (about 7 cents each,) that will be a good profit.

And these type of cheap, hand painted ornaments tend to fly off the display trees during Christmas time.  They are a great, unique gift that not everyone will have one of!

Hope this gave ya'll an idea to paint up some holiday hanging ornaments.You can do these on just about any flat, hanging ornaments you may have already or can find at the Dollar Marts.

See ya'll next time,
~Lisa