Hostess Gifts - Inexpensive Gift #9

We are back to glass painting and making wonderful Hostess gifts to give when you are invited to a party or family gathering. I got these glass vases at a garage sale for free. They threw them in with the other stuff I bought. Can’t beat the price. You can always buy these at a discount store for a dollar each.
I’m painting two vases and will show you how to decorate another one without having to be artistic at all. You will need to use acrylic enamel paint for all glass painting projects.



The first vase will be covered with old fashioned Christmas lights. I have made a stencil out of thin cardboard paper. When you use the stencil you’ll need to brush from the outside toward the center. Otherwise the paint will get under the stencil and make a big mess. I will warn you that the light shape will not be perfect and you will have to finish painting the shape by hand. The stencil is to help make sure the lights are approximately the same size. If you don’t think you’ll need that kind of extra help than it will be easier without it.
I’m going to use red, yellow, blue, orange and green for the lights and my black acrylic pen to make the cord and the bottom threaded socket. White paint is to be used for the reflection in the bulbs and the base color for the threaded socket.



The next one will be a representation of birds in a tree. You won’t have to do much artistic work on this one. A couple of red dots for the birds, some brush strokes for the leaves, and another dot of color for the pine cones. I put white paper in the vase so you could see the designs better.



After the design is dry take your black paint pen and outline the birds and give them eyes, beaks and legs. Lastly add some drops of white paint to represent falling snow.
Now it’s time to bake them. If you need the directions on baking glass please go to my blog called “Inexpensive Gift #1” at the following link.
http://www.growitfirst.blogspot.com/2013/08/grow-it-first-with-ck-worley.html



The last vase gift is really two vases in one. You find a smaller vase that will fit into a larger vase leaving enough room all around to fill with the candy of your choice. I wanted to fill this with Christmas M&M’s but they aren’t out yet. You put your water and flowers in the small vase then put it into the larger vase and fill the space in between. It doesn’t have to be candy. It can be marbles or deco beads or shells. Be creative.



God gives us His grace in order to turn us towards Him… God is a total experience. Imagine how your total life would change by getting close to God.
Dr. Vic Pentz

Snowman Yard Ornament - Inexpensive Gift #8

This is a really fun project and you can even make a little snowman family if you’d like. For now we will concentrate on just one.
Go to the hardware store and pick up a fence plank. The one I got was $2.30 and was called a dog ear fence plank. Have the store cut it in half for you. We are going to use the top half with the scalloped edge. You can buy a stake for 41 cents and have that cut in half as well. You’ll have to prime the stake and fence before you begin with Kilz. When they are primed and dry you’ll need some white and black gloss paint. I use the spray cans but it’s less expensive if you use a small can of paint with a brush. Spray cans are about $3.70. You’ll also need some wood screws, a small nail, a black acrylic paint pen and whatever other color you want to use to paint the face. You can also pick up some red ribbon with wire in it at a craft store and a staple gun or a couple of tacks. So - here is the list.
Fence plank cut in half
Wooden stake cut in half
Wood primer
White and Black gloss paint
Wood screws and a small nail
Black acrylic paint pen and other colors
Bottle caps or wooden disks and liquid nails
Red ribbon with wire in it

Get the wood, prime it and paint the top of the fence black and the bottom white. Use a piece of paper to separate the colors as you spray. You don’t have to be spot on for the line between to white and black. It will get covered up later.

Take the bottom flat piece of the stake and paint it black. This will act as the rim of the snowman’s hat. You can paint the bottom pointy part of the stake if you wish. It will end up in the ground. Now use wood screws to attach the rim of the hat and the ground stake into the fence post. Do this from back to front so the screw heads don't show. Don't go all the way through to the front or you'll have the pointy end of the screw showing.
Paint the face on. I sponged the cheek color on but you don't have to do that. You can use all kinds of things for the nose. I have a draw full of wood shapes and pieces. I have wood ornaments that I’ve bought at the craft store, wine corks and even the top of a broom handle. I’m going to use the broom handle piece. None of my brooms have tops on them just because I always find different uses for them!

Once the broom top is painted I’ll use the nail and starting from the back I'll hammer the nail through the front and into the nose. I have some wooden disks that I’ll paint and use as buttons. I’ll use liquid nails on the disks because a nail will break the thin wafers right in half. You can use bottle caps if you want to or just paint them on. If you use bottle caps you can attach them with small nails.
Lastly I’ll take my ribbon with wire in it and tie a scarf around his neck and staple it into place. Then I’ll cut little notches out of the scarf.
There you have it. This looks so awesome when it snows and the rim of the hat and his nose gets covered with snow. Otherwise the scarf looks like it’s blowing in the cold winter wind.
"When God is magnified – made large and powerful in our hearts and minds – there is not much room left over for other fears, especially the trivial ones." Dr. Mark Crumpler

Making a tuffet out of juice cans.

When my son was little, a friend of the family made a little stool for him. It was really cute. Then when my daughter came along I thought I’d make one for her as well. I dismantled my son’s footstool and found out how to make one on my own. Never fear, I put the first one back together. :D

First you’ll need 7 juice cans. They are harder to find now because most juice comes in plastic bottles. I found these at Walmart.



You’ll need to use an old fashioned bottle/can opener. You want to keep the top as “in tact” as you can. This will make a sturdier seat. Rinse them out and make sure they are completely dry.



Next you’ll need some fabric. You can pick some up in the remnant section of a material store or use an old blanket or some of your kids school t-shirts. Be creative. I went out and got a yard and a half of material and trim for $9 in the clearance section of JoAnn’s fabric store. It's a little more than I needed but it's nice to have just in case you make a mistake. Try to get something that isn’t too thin. The material I choose is flannel. If you’re going to use a thinner material like t-shirts you may want to wrap the cans in muslin or other base material first.



Next you’ll need to wrap 6 of the cans in the material. The seam will go on the inside of your stool so it won't show. The 7th one ends up in the center where no one will see it. You’ll want to open the 7th can like a can of beans but on both sides. Why? I think it’s because the center can moves and bends slightly as you bring the other can’s together around it. Other than that, the original was made that way so I’m making the new one that way as well.

Wrap 6 of the cans in the material you choose like you’re wrapping a round gift. It’s important to make sure that the can is wrapped so that there aren’t any wrinkles and if there is pattern that you have them straight. Otherwise the tops and bottoms will not show so you don’t have to worry about making them pretty. You can use school glue if you want for this part.
You’ll need a hot glue gun to glue the wrapped 6 cans to the center 7th can. You'll also need to run some glue along the side where the cans touch each other. This will make a sturdy flower shaped footstool.



I took an old cardboard box for the next step and traced around the flower shape stool twice. One for the bottom and one for the top. Wrap the one on the bottom in material. It’s just to protect the floor from any damage that can be done by scraping the seat along tile or wood. We all know that kids don’t stay still for very long. Now the bottom piece can be glued to the bottom of the cans.




The top one will be combined with a piece of foam and wrapped in material. I got some foam from the material section at Walmart. It’s easy to cut with a knife or scissor and will need to be cut to match that flower shape as well. Glue the foam to the cardboard before you wrap the material around it. I glued the edges of the material to the cardboard but did not put any glue over the top. You need the material nice and smooth and putting glue over the top will not make it smooth.



After the material is firmly in place on the top piece take your glue gun and glue the top to the top of the cans. Almost done. Just add some fringe around the top between the foam pad and the can base.


Now you've got the perfect little seat. The kids loved using theirs and I hope that your family enjoys this pretty little tuffet as well.

One last thing:
Don’t pretend, don’t preform and don’t play it safe. Just ask.
Rev. Bryan Dunagan