Peppermint Candy Garland...

Easy peasy peppermint candy garland...

Tool Time Tuesday...Personalized Cool Whip Container Upcycle

Another Tuesday for Tool Time is here and I can't help but think of something for Christmas. I have saved a Cool Whip container for a long time, knowing there was the perfect craft some where in there. It's the cover that intrigued me!

Here's what I came up with. The perfect little container you can "whip" together to send cookies or holiday treats to that special someone.

A Cool Whip container has the design printed on the container part and a paper insert in the lid with recipes on the back.

To cover up the print, just paint it with craft paint.

The lid has that lip that keeps the paper label in place.

Just pop out the label and save it for tracing.

You can personalize your container in 2 ways...

1. print your own label on the computer and then just trace the original label over it, then cut it out or...
2. use Microsoft Word to make your own circle to print in

Here's the finished label done either way.

To do it with Microsoft Word...first measure your label across the middle

Open up Word...

Click "INSERT" then click "SHAPES"...

You will Click on the picture of an oval...I know we want circle, but oval is the beginning shape for Word.

Now move your cursor and drag to begin the shape...

Once you click on the shape, blue dots will appear around it. In the upper right corner, there will be a size selection chart.

this picture shows that I selected 5.2 inches x 5.2 inches, but that was a little small. My final circle was 5.4" x 5.4".

In the same screen, to the far left is a little box with the letter A in it. Click on that for putting text in the circle.

Go back to the "HOME" button to choose fonts and font size.

Type in the center or...

Scroll down and leave a space at the top for when you add a bow...

Print out and cut along the line of the circle.

Pop it into the lid and the lip will hold it in place!!

For something a little different..."INSERT" another circle inside the first circle. Mine is a 3.2" x 3.2" inside the 5.4" circle.

I cut a piece of scrap book paper to fit my printer.

and I printed the circle on the plain back side of the decorative paper.

Cut out the circles to make a donut.

pick a fun picture to place inside. (my girls are not going to be happy with this photo selection, but I think it's cute. They were fooling around posing because I was pestering them for another picture)

trim to fit and secure with tape on the back.

Fill with treats and it's a double gift with the picture included.

Maybe you still have some Cool Whip containers around from Thanksgiving. I love real cream on my pies, but Cool Whip is so good mixed with pudding!

Have a great day,
~Karen~

Sew Darn Crafty Party...Week 42

Hello Everyone!! I have definitely been blogless since Tuesday. Here in the states, Thursday was Thanksgiving. The girls were home from college, friends and family visiting from out of state and we had Thanksgiving here at our home. Wonderful week, but crazy busy.

I'm sure you've been busy too, but hopefully you had time for some fun projects, crafts or recipes. So let's start off this week with another wonderful Sew Darn Crafty Party. Can't wait to see what you've been up to.

Starting in December the linking parties will have Christmas / Holiday Themes. See the list below or on the upper right side bar.

Here are the weeks and the theme for the weeks to come...so start putting all your great posts together!

December 4th...Christmas/Holiday Decor
December 11th...Cookie Recipes
December 18th...Last Minute gift ideas

If you want to add the button to your blog...Click HERE for a tutorial for adding a button


If you're NEW to Sew Darn Crafty, then grab a cup of something tasty, sit back and join in on the fun (starts Sunday and lasts all week long at Sew Many Ways).

WHAT IS SEW DARN CRAFTY...

• "Sew" for anything to do with sewing,
• "Darn" for anything to do with knitting. I always think of darning to do with knitting, but in my case "darn" usually is similar to the word I say when I mess up crafting!!
• Let's not forget the word "crafty"...that can mean just about anything we do to create.

WHAT IS A LINKING PARTY...

So now we all know what Sew Darn Crafty means, let's explain a linking party again. I subscribe to a linking service, which provides the ability to link thumbnail pictures on my blog. The picture is a link that other bloggers provide to share their projects.

Two things can happen at a linking party...looking and/or linking

• you can be greatly inspired by wonderful projects, ideas or vacation pictures (looking) and/or
• you can share what you've been up to (linking)

If you want to be inspired by all the great ideas...just click on a picture and it will take you to that post from a wonderful blogger willing to share her thoughts and ideas.


HOW AND WHAT TO LINK TO THE PARTY...

Sew Darn Crafty is all about YOU!! Show off your projects, share a tutorial, show us your vacation pictures, share a family favorite recipe...share anything. Not only does linking inspire us all, it also brings lots of new people to your blog for a visit. Click here for past parties and lots of inspiration

Easy steps to join in on the fun...

• link up to the specific project post, not your whole blog. Makes it easier to link right to that post and not  search through all your entire blog. To find the http address to a specific post, just click on the Title of your post.
• link as many projects as you'd like...old or new
• anything goes...cooking, sewing, knitting, crafts, organizing, remodeling projects, vacations, parties etc...
• visit other links to share some blogging love! You know we all love comments!
• grab a Sew Darn Crafty button for your blog (on my right side bar) or just link to the party in your post.
• the more we share, the more people will join and then there's more inspiration to look at!
• linking is open til Saturday night, so plenty of time to join in
• just click the "click here to enter" button and follow the easy steps

Have fun linking up! Don't forget to come back and take a look at all the great projects during the week,

~Karen~

Tool Time Tuesday...Toilet Paper Roll Gift Box or Advent Calendar

I know...long title, but I wanted to get it all in!!

This is a great recycling project to use up all the cardboard tubes from rolls of toilet paper, paper towels or the tubes from gift wrap paper!! Those are long, so you can cut a lot out of one tube...so start saving!

Address or Gift Label Tutorial...

You all know I love labeling everything....everything!! If you stand around too long at my house, you might leave with a label on your tuckus.

Avery labels are my favorite and now they come in the best shapes ever. They have the brown paper look in round, oval and square...great for your craft business. Check your local office supply or the Avery website. I have no affiliation with Avery...I just love them. They make business cards too.

These are a few of the ones I use. They're great for...

• address labels...especially for all those Christmas cards coming up!
• return address labels
• gift tags
• organizing labels

Here's a quick tutorial on how to use Microsoft Word to make labels. Mine is 2007 on my computer, so things may be a little different on yours. The process is the same...just the buttons might be in a different place.

When you open up Word, a new page will appear like this. Click on the word MAILINGS...circled in red

Then click the LABELS button.

A window will pop up. Click the word OPTIONS.

Another window will pop up and you will scroll for the corresponding number that matches the number on the label that you have purchased. My address labels are #5160.

When you're done, click the OK button.

Now click the NEW DOCUMENT button.

and the template that matches your labels will appear.

If you want to have your print center in the label, click the LAYOUT button and then click the CENTER button. It doesn't say center...it just has lines centered in the middle for the top and sides. It's circled in this picture on the right.

Now you can go back to the HOME button and play around with fonts and letter size.

just left click and drag to high light when changing a font or font size.

Not sure about your printer, but mine has to have the labels go in upside down in the paper tray. Practice with plain paper before you waste the sheet of labels.

Hope this helps during the upcoming holiday season. You can use these for so many things this time of year.

If you make out your Christmas card list, you can type in all the address labels and save it on your computer and then just print it out each year.

Have a great day,
~Karen~

Sew Darn Crafty Party...Week 41

Another week of Sew Darn Crafty is here. I just love seeing all your projects, crafts, recipes and ideas. Whether it's your first time linking up or your 41st time, I want to say a great big thank you for each visit.

This week and next week are anything goes, but in December you can also link posts during Christmas/ Holiday theme weeks. See below for specific weeks and themes.

Here are the weeks and the theme for the weeks to come...so start putting all your great posts together!

December 4th...Christmas/Holiday Decor
December 11th...Cookie Recipes
December 18th...Last Minute gift ideas

If you want to add the button to your blog...Click HERE for a tutorial for adding a button


If you're NEW to Sew Darn Crafty, then grab a cup of something tasty, sit back and join in on the fun (starts Sunday and lasts all week long at Sew Many Ways).

WHAT IS SEW DARN CRAFTY...

• "Sew" for anything to do with sewing,
• "Darn" for anything to do with knitting. I always think of darning to do with knitting, but in my case "darn" usually is similar to the word I say when I mess up crafting!!
• Let's not forget the word "crafty"...that can mean just about anything we do to create.

WHAT IS A LINKING PARTY...

So now we all know what Sew Darn Crafty means, let's explain a linking party again. I subscribe to a linking service, which provides the ability to link thumbnail pictures on my blog. The picture is a link that other bloggers provide to share their projects.

Two things can happen at a linking party...looking and/or linking

• you can be greatly inspired by wonderful projects, ideas or vacation pictures (looking) and/or
• you can share what you've been up to (linking)

If you want to be inspired by all the great ideas...just click on a picture and it will take you to that post from a wonderful blogger willing to share her thoughts and ideas.


HOW AND WHAT TO LINK TO THE PARTY...

Sew Darn Crafty is all about YOU!! Show off your projects, share a tutorial, show us your vacation pictures, share a family favorite recipe...share anything. Not only does linking inspire us all, it also brings lots of new people to your blog for a visit. Click here for past parties and lots of inspiration

Easy steps to join in on the fun...

• link up to the specific project post, not your whole blog. Makes it easier to link right to that post and not  search through all your entire blog. To find the http address to a specific post, just click on the Title of your post.
• link as many projects as you'd like...old or new
• anything goes...cooking, sewing, knitting, crafts, organizing, remodeling projects, vacations, parties etc...
• visit other links to share some blogging love! You know we all love comments!
• grab a Sew Darn Crafty button for your blog (on my right side bar) or just link to the party in your post.
• the more we share, the more people will join and then there's more inspiration to look at!
• linking is open til Saturday night, so plenty of time to join in
• just click the "click here to enter" button and follow the easy steps

Have fun linking up! Don't forget to come back and take a look at all the great projects during the week,

~Karen~

Thoughts on Thursday...

"I've learned that people will forget what you said,

people will forget what you did,

but people will never forget how you made them feel."

                                                       ~Maya Angelou~

Have a thoughtful Thursday,

~Karen~

Tool Time Tuesday...Light Plate Cover

Happy Tuesday everyone...today's project is a quick fix for an old problem that we've had, but I would rather not hire someone to come in and fix.

See this picture below...this is the "after".

This is the before...

We moved into this house 18 years ago. Nothing was our style, including lights, colors, kitchen, flooring etc. Well, little by little we changed things. We put these sconces in to replace very big and very ugly wall lights. The previous owner had them off center, because she had corner cabinets in this room. Off center doesn't work for me, but there were more important things to do over the years.

Well, I can't take off center any more. I didn't want to remove the electrical box all together just in case we want to do something later when we can afford it. So covering it up is the thing to do.

I did take pictures of the steps to remove this fixture, but decided against showing it. You should hire someone qualified to remove it or if you know someone with experience. It is easy, but I don't want to be responsible!!

The most important thing is TURN OFF THE CIRCUIT BREAKER TO THE LIGHT...not just the light switch!!!

Here's what you may have when it's off...1 or 2 mounts.

Measure these holes or the holes that are on the diagonal bracket in the back. I used the larger holes in the back.

Here's my saving grace...a $2.00 cover plate.

Super thin, so it's flat against the wall.

Metal on one side and white on the other.

I painted it the wall color.

and the screws too!

Screw it in and it's invisible...well, almost. Good enough for me!!

I circled here...

The wall sconce was off to the left on this wall and off to the right on the opposite wall. Couldn't do anything with lamps with that crazy thing stuck up there!

Here's the after again.

Here is the plate circled. I might add a little wall plaster in the groves of the screws to really fill it in.

Here's a quick tip for a bow. I used chair webbing or strapping.

and place your jar candle on a candle stick and wire some berries around it. Better than worrying about a regular candle on there.

Here's a peek at another dresser redo...stay tuned. Nothing earth shattering, but not bad. No before pictures, because this is a hand me down 4 times over!!

Have a great Tuesday,

~Karen~