Sweet way to deliver sweet treats!

I 'pinned' this last fall, and meant to do this with some Christmas paper for goody plate gifts-clearly I never got around to it until, well now, Valentine's Day.  But what a great holiday for cute plates with tasty treats as a gift for say, a teacher, school bus driver, co-workers, etc!  These were pretty quick and easy-I don't think the treats I'm planning to make to go on them will be quite the same! 

I bought some glass desert size plates from the Dollar Store for, yep, you guessed it, $1 each! I threw them in the dishwasher, and once clean, wiped the bottom of each plate off with some glass cleaner and dried them completely.

I had a pack of Valentine's paper from K & Company I had been given by a friend, so I picked out the patterns I liked best.  Turn the plate over and trace it onto the back side of the paper.

Now you have a circle that is the size of the top of the plate.











Now gently bend the circle in half and cut a slit through both sides of the circle-but don't go all the way to the center.  Bend the circle in half the other way and do the same.  You should have 4 slits. Now cut a slit halfway between each of those slits.  You will end up with 8 cuts on the circle of paper.  Remember-don't go all the way to the center!

 Now turn your plate upside down and apply a liberal amount of Modge Podge to it.

 Center your paper circle with the pattern you want to see through the plate onto the Modge Podged plate.  Now use your fingers to gently, but firmly, smooth the paper down on the plate.  The slits you cut will allow the paper to lay flush on the plate with a slight overlap.  Some Modge Podge will leak thru the slits, just rub it back into the paper to seal all the edges.   I forgot to take a picture of the next step, but now apply a very liberal amount of Modge Podge to the top of the paper, and get messy with your fingers and rub it all in, sealing all the edges around the plate and the slits. 

Use a damp paper towel to wipe off the excess Modge Podge on the plate's edge, and turn then set on a jar or can to dry!    Viola!  A few hours later I turned them over to look at them and noticed some excess Modge Podge I could see between the paper and the plate, and I just used my fingers to smooth it all out flat.  I let these dry on my kitchen table overnight!

Cupcake pattern!  This one's for you Michelle L!

   

 This is my favorite pattern.  The picture doesn't do it justice, it has some shiny foil in the print!

Another favorite-I really like the bright pink of this one!

Not my favorite, it's kind of light for me, but it still turned out cute nonetheless!

These plates are safe for food on the top, but do not wash or immerse in water.  The paper on the bottom is not sealed.  To clean, just wipe off.  To store, make sure you put a piece of wax paper between it and another plate so as not to damage the paper. 

I actually think I may hang these on a plate hanger on my wall, then make some for all seasons and trade them out!

Rosy Picture Frame tutorial next:

and I think I found my long lost love....chalkboard paint.  I used it for a cute Valentine's project too-will share that next week!

Welcome Friends!

My first creation, a Christmas gift for a friend. 
I'm really digging all the crafts I see made out of 'repurposed' or 'upcycled' items. Which is partly the  reason for my blog title-I tend to be a bit of a hoarder of stuff I just know I will use later.  Hence-repurposing or upcycling!

I apologize that when I started making this, I didn't even really know what it was going to be-so I don't have any picture tutorials, but I promise that I will in the future.  This one is pretty easy though, so I don't think you will need them!

The board at the top is a repurposed drawer front from our old house.  I sanded it down, by hand, just to rough it up a little and get the finish off of it so my white spray paint would adhere to it better.
Then I got crazy with the white spray paint in the garage. 

 *hint: open garage doors a crack to prevent headache and paint high.

I cut the words "Welcome Friends" out on black vinyl with my Cricut and stuck on the front of the board before it was completely dry

The wreath is really an all green wreath I bought at Michael's on sale for $2.49
I wanted it to look snowy, so I trekked out to the garage again and spray painted the edges white.

The green ornaments and silver ball picks were picked up at the Dollar Spot at Target.  I bought as many as the ornament packs I could find, as there are a dozen of the mini bulbs in each tube for only $1!!  The picks were a buck each and I used 5.  There are also some chipboard irridiscent snowflakes, which I found at Wal-Mart for $1 a pack-I barely used any from the pack.
I put the picks in first, with a dab of hot glue on the end.
Then I put a dab of hot glue on the bulbs and stuck them on.
Another dab of hot glue on the snowflakes and viola!

But it lacked something.

So, I sprayed my favorite spray adhesive around the edges of the board, and then sprinkled it with a mixture of epsom salt and glitter.  Ok, actually I completely covered it in my new 'fake' snow (thanks Pinterest!)  and let it all dry.  Once dry I shook all the excess off, put two little screws in the back of the drawer where the pulls would have been screwed in.  I attached a piece of floral wire from each screw to the metal ring inside the wreath so it would hang evenly from the sign, and one piece across the back of the board between the screws for which to hang it with! 

Now I was pleased.  I think my friend was too.

and in my *spare* time....

I've been feeling a little crafty lately, and with my new found addiction to Pinterest, I've been a spray-painting, sewing, glittering, hot gluing, t-shirt cutting, wreath making fool.  And since I am a mother of three, work full-time, married to a policeman who works as crazy a schedule as I, and volunteer as often as I can, I clearly have plenty of time to be making more of the fabulous projects I am seeing on Pinterest everyday???  Hence....new blog.  I will post my latest creations and projects on here.  Let me know what you think!!!