Customized Music Clock Face - less than successful

My clock stopped working which was absolutely great because then I could take it apart without ruining it! After seeing how it was assembled I decided to buy another cheap (Walmart generic $4) clock and customize it.

First take apart the clock. This one has screws.

The hands pop off, but these are the problem children. A better constructed clock would be great (like the one that died - now the hand construction is flimsier making this project less than successful).

I made my clock face using one from the silhouette store (just so I wouldn't have to do the circle with 60 divisions on it). I decided to go with a musical theme: a quarter note at one o'clock, a half note (two beats) at two o'clock, etc. With the print and cut feature on the silhouette you can even use the silhouette to cut the hole in the center of the clock face.

Musical Clock

The final product looks great and worked great until..... the clock hands needed to cross paths. Then the hands got stuck because they weren't perfectly aligned. The hands were put together with rivet like construction. With a different clock you wouldn't have this problem. But after a few days of using this clock in my kitchen I decided I didn't like the musical face because my kids (some of whom are just learning to tell time on an analog clock) couldn't tell what the hours were. So in the end I just bought another $4 clock and put it on the wall without modification.

But if you could solve the supply issue (find a decent clock) the options for customizing are endless (scrapbook paper background anyone?). I just wasn't willing to spend more money on a clock.

Just for Fun - Toilet Paper Mummy

Do you ever have an idea you just want to try but it sounds really silly? Well, for the longest time I've wondered how well toilet paper would work to make a mummy. Fortunately for me, my kids are sillier than I am and are willing guinea pigs.

Here is my best effort at making a toilet paper mummy. You can't wrap it too tight or the TP breaks.

Mr. Zeeboy thought this was absolutely great. He got to use his muscles and see how fast he could un-mummify himself.

Five minutes max to undo all my hard, hard work! ;) Not recommended for a Halloween costume, but silly fun totally worth the price of one roll of TP!

Bike Leg Bands / Straps - DIY

I like to bike. I like to bike with my friend Mike. (Oops, I guess I've been reading too much Dr. Seuss.)

Actually it's more like this: I like to bike. I like to bike with my daughter BellBell. Except she doesn't push me up the hills. She sits in her comfy trailer and adds resistance to my work outs.

So one random day for no reason other than I could (true story) I decided to make bike leg bands for my biking gang. What, you didn't know I joined a gang? Well, I did. And now you're wondering what leg straps are for? It's so your pants don't get caught in your bike chain and put holes in your pants. I speak from experience unfortunately.

I already had a pair that belong to my husband (who generously lets me use his bike and his leg straps since I don't have my own). I used it as an example. It's the one with a reflective stripe on it. I didn't happen to have any reflective stripe stuff in my craft supplies (who does?) so I did without. I did happen to have lots of unused webbing. Some was nylon and some was something else, but it was all 1" wide. I bought it to make handles for tote bags, but never got around to that project.

Here's what you need to make your own bike leg straps:
  29" of 1" wide webbing (color of your choice)
  11" of 3/4" wide sew on velcro (none of that sticky backed stuff)

Steps:

1. Cut two pieces of webbing 14.5" long (I didn't pick a random number that's how long the "professional" straps are).
2. Using a red hot stove burner (or a match), slightly melt the ends of the webbing so it won't unravel.
3. Cut two pieces of loopy velcro 5" long.
4. Sew loopy velcro onto outside of leg band.
5. Cut two pieces of hook (the rough stuff) velcro 3" long.
6. Sew the hook velcro on to the inside of the leg band.
7. Done!!! I made 6 sets in part of one morning. A really quick and satisfying project.

My other tip for pants safe biking would be to replace your bike seat before the suddenly exposed staple snags your pants and puts a hole in your seat. Yep, experience is a hard teacher sometimes.

Duct/Duck Tape Craft - Rose Pens - Kid Craft Critique

For Christmas, my 11 year old daughter got some craft supplies - Duck Tape (duct tape - whatever). Using the instructions on Ducktivities she and her 10 year old sister made these pens.

Here's the 11 year old Kid Craft Critique:

Clarity of instructions: 4 out of 5 (a little more instruction on petal placement would have been nice)
Fun factor: 3 out of 5 (dissatisfied with her pen)

And the 10 year old Kid Craft Critique:

Clarity of instructions: 4 out of 5
Fun factor: 5 out of 5 (she likes her pen - it's the one on the right in the picture)

I'm liking the Kid Craft Critic's assistance. They are excellent proof readers and capitalization experts too!

Be You Tiful - Beautiful - T shirts FREE Silhouette file

FREE Silhouette Studio file (created by me) to make this great t shirt design! It's my birthday this week and I just wanted to share.

I love making meaningful items. I've seen multiple variations on the "be you tiful" phrase and I've made several of my own. These clearance t shirts were just begging for me to make them into beautiful inspirational tees for my girls. So I did of course.

white and silver heat transfer vinyl on beautiful blue shirt

purple and royal blue heat transfer vinyl on heather gray shirt

If you would like to make your own shirt using the same design you can download the silhouette studio file from this link (google docs) Be You Tiful dot studio file  Please respect my creations and only use this file for personal use. And this file only works with the silhouette craft cutters.

Because of my etsy store I have a heat press which is the best way to apply heat transfer vinyl. But if you are using a home iron here are some tips for the best results.

Race Medal Holders

A friend asked me to make one of these as a surprise gift for her husband who loves to run. She choose the quote "Always earned. Never given."

I used boards I already had cut and only had to buy the pegs and the hangers for the back.

Gift for a teen who loves to run and choose not to run a big name marathon on Sunday even though his training partners did. Go Chandler!

My eval: 

• loved that I was able to make this for someone else. Their family has helped my family in many ways.
• and it gave me an excuse to do something for Chandler to tell him I really admire his courage in making the right choice
• it's nice to be able to use all my crafty "stuff" in meaningful ways
• happy I was able to find a runner and make a few modifications (remove the frame using point editing)

Improvements for next time (the perfectionist in me hasn't died yet): 

• pick a dark background color and use light lettering
• could still be changed if the new owners want to paint over the vinyl and then remove the vinyl (reverse stenciling)
• install 2 hangers on the back so it will hang even when medals (weights) are added
• I think I'll retrieve the one I didn't do that on and fix it
• put the hangers on before gluing the pegs in
• add felt pads to the bottom corners so it hangs more evenly on the wall
• or finally learn how to use the key hole router bit I own

Trivia (or not):

"run medal holder" (note to self)

used silhouette studio image "sports badge set" design #30246 

Arm Wrestler font

Paper Clip Elastic Band Bracelets - No Loom Required

Last year I posted my own version of how to make a paper clip angel. My fascination with paper clips continues. Let's make paper clip elastic band bracelets!!

Supplies: elastic bands and crazy paper clips. I found elastic bands at JoAnns and Michaels. Hobby Lobby had a few also. The paper clips were at Walmart. If you can't find those specific paper clips you might be able to find other shapes in the office supplies.

And that's it. My 5 year old (with a long attention span and great fine motor skills) was able to make his own!