Thrify Project- Necklace Stand

I don't have a necklace stand. I've wanted one for a while. I found this strange thing at a thrift store for 1$ and knew I could do something with it.

It was some kind of aluminum painted to look like silver (it was chipping off in some places), and made to look like a scale. The middle arrow has a screw that can loosen, but it's really and effective scale.  So I added a bit of this:

 Almond color spray paint.

And here is my result:

 A brand new unique necklace stand.

Simple Gift

 For a quick and simple gift, I made personalized cards. The person I was giving them too likes things simple, but has a great love for nature.

For this card, it took me about 10 minutes to make sixteen cards. I used a grass stamp (SU's Inspired by Nature), and two colors of green (Kiwi Kiss and Old Olive). Then a small letters to make them personal. In this case I used her initials.  It's a great gift that can be used for multiple purposes, as a thank you card, a note to someone or any kind of card that she's really need.

Birthday Cakes

My son had a birthday last week and the party finally ended. He had a party with one side of the family, and then the other. It's been fun, but busy, I decided to make cakes for both parties! So here they are!


 For the combined birthday party, It was Toy Story themed. The birthday boy and girl are 4 and love it! I found these adorable cupcakes on a Disney website1 They were pretty simple to make and great for a big group. The link and instructions are here. I used a few different supplies. I used green airheads for the ears and antenna, and I used mini marshmallows that I smashed. I thought that to be much better than a mint, especially b/c my kids don't like mints, but they're also much cheaper! I used a basic butter cream frosting for these.

 The excited birthday kids!

 For the next one I used good old fashioned frosting and tips. I have never used fondant and don't know how. But I prefer the look of frosting. For those that know tips, I really don't know which #'s I used. But I used a grass tip, a very large leaf tip, a small star tip, and a small circle tip. I used Decorator Frosting* for this one.

The thrilled birthday boy!

*Decorating Frosting Recipe
1 lb powered sugar
1 tsp salt
5 tsp cornstarch
1 c. shortening
2 tsp clear vanilla
1/4 c. milk
mix well!

My mom taught me frosting is very forgiving! It's easy and fun to work with!

Christmas Craft - 10 under 10$

I finally got around to finishing a Christmas craft. It only took about 10 minutes once I sat down and did it! I saw something similar at Gardner Village, it was 7.95, and I thought, hum, I can do that!

Supplies needed:
Berries, Bells, Branches/Sprigs, Wire Cutters, Ribbon, Hot Glue, Large Snowflake

 I originally found a larger pine snowflake at Joann's for 1$. I bought three. One didn't make it home whole, the other my son painted, and the other my daughter stepped on. They were too fragile. I glued one back together, but I will use it for something else. Instead, I found these thick felt snowflakes at Joanns, that were in a two pack, also one dollar.

 I had the berries left over from years ago making wreaths, and I always have ribbon on hand. I wanted to use twine for a more rustic feel, but tore the whole house apart only to figure it was in storage however I couldn't find it and didn't want to buy more when I have stockpiles of ribbon.

The branch was part of one larger one that was 50% off at Michaels so it was 2$


I made a large loop through the snowflake. Then I tied the the berries and branch together, then tied to the longer ribbon. Then Tied the bell to cover the knots. I used just a dab of hot glue to hold together the ties and just a little more secure for the branches.  And that was it!

Very simple, under 10 minutes and under 10 Dollars!

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!

Krumkake Tradition

Every year my mom makes Krumkake.  I love to help. I don't have my own Krumkake iron yet, but that's okay because I'm still live close, so I can make them with my mother!

Krumkake is is a Norwegian waffle cookie made of flour, butter, eggs, sugar, and cream. Krumkake are traditionally made during the Christmas season. A special decorative two-sided iron griddle, similar to a waffle iron, is used to bake the thin round cakes. While hot, krumkake are rolled into small cones around a wooden or plastic cone form. Krumkake can be eaten plain or filled with whipped cream  or other fillings. *

You have to eat Krumkake with two hands as it is delicate and crumbles, but it is delicious!

Merry Christmas!




*Description copied from Wikipedia

Favorite Christmas Movies

Do you have a favorite Christmas movie? Is there one you can watch every day for a month and not tire of it? What are they?

On top of the usual, It's a Wonderful Life, because that's everyone favorite, we LOVE Elf.  My 4 year old loves it, thinks it's so funny.  My husband and I grew up watching Muppet Christmas Carol, and the kids love it. That is one that we watch as often as we can! We love to watch The Family Man at Christmastime. It's the reverse of It's a Wonderful Life.  Mr Krueger's Christmas is older, it has parts that we still giggle and make a little fun of, but it's the best! It has Jimmy Stewart as Mr. Krueger. It's a must see with a wonderful message. Our kids other favorites include Veggie Tales -The Toy that Saved Christmas, Mickey's Christmas Carol, Alvin and the Chipmunks Christmas, and of course the Dora and Sesame Street Christmas shows too.


Hope you are having a fabulous Christmas season, and I hope to share soon some of my crafting! I've started several projects, but simply haven't had time to finish and share them! I'm running out of time too!


Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!!

LIKE Chic Lady on Facebook

It is time for a HUGE Giveaway! I'm giving away not one, but TWO necklaces! 

 Tell your friends to "Like" Chic Lady on Facebook! I will pick a winner from the new likes, and whoever has the most referrals. So tell you friends to Like Chic Lady, then to write on my wall that you referred them! Ends December 31st! 

So tell your friends! Check out the Facebook buttons on the right side column for status updates and other info!

What's on Your Tree?

I've been so busy working and doing other things, I haven't had time to work on my Christmas craft projects (I have three that are in the brewing stages, so I'll post those soon).

So I'm linking up to Thrifty Decor Chick's Christmas Tree Party! What's on your Christmas tree?

 We have a few Disneyland ornaments because we went to Disneyland on our honeymoon.  The week before Christmas.

 Our wedding was December 19th, one week before Christmas! My mom found this cute ornament for us 8 years ago!

 We have vintage items too. My mother in law made this when my hub was 1.

 My husband has always liked turtles. So we decorated my son's room with turtles, he was a turtle for his first Halloween. So we have a turtle bell.

Our simple tree. It's short but works well in our small home. We also have pears because there is a significance to them from when the hub and I were dating.  And of course we have the babies' first Christmas ornaments.  I love how we'll continue to collect little treasures every year.

Etsy Promotion

I'm doing another promotion on my ETSY site! Go check it out and tell your friends! Enter code Christmas2010 at checkout for 20% of your order!

CYBER MONDAY

Today only, on my ETSY shop, enter coupon code: Cyber for 25% off!!! Go Check it out!

Beaded Book Marks

 For a Thanksgiving day activity, we made beaded bookmarks.  I made four, they are quite simple, but I just love them! So fun, easy and I wish I had made these sooner!

We used velvet cord (we also got a regular cord, but those became difficult to thread, and they tended to be thicker).  We just had a small variety of beads to choose from, but as you can see, I found some fun color combos. I've seen some with charms as well, I'll have to get those for the next time! I made two different sizes, one for the smaller book, and one larger to fit more standard sizes, but also thick books. I just measured some books to get the right measurement. A great activity for kids too!

Simply tie your first knot, thread your first set in your pattern, and tie your next knot.
Then without tying another knot thread your remaining beads in the opposite pattern.
Tie your end knot, then your middle knot.

Facebook Sale

Check out the Chic Lady page on Facebook! Right now until December 1st is the Buy one Get one Half off SALE! Check it out and see my new necklaces and flowers!

Best Things in Life are Free

Or really cheap! I'm so excited I had to tell everyone about my super find today! I made a quick trip to Wal Mart this morning for a couple things, and found that since last night, they clearance priced their BH&G items even lower!!! Small gourds and pumpkins, 25 cents!!!! Garlands and swags 1.50,  craft pumpkins 1.50, and mixes (the one I chose had an assortment of leaves, pine cones, berry picks, and 5 faux dried fruit) 1.50!!!! I was sooooo excited! So I got them, and threw them in my decorative bowl (free hand-me-down from my mom). So the lovely arrangement above, cost 2.50! I love it when things are cheap! I would have gotten more, except my hubby didn't return my debit card to me (and I was getting a few things already) and only had a few dollars in cash on me! But Hey a super great deal! It made my day! (hence the many exclamation points!!!!!!) Happy Saturday!

Autumn Leaf Table Runner

 This is a very simple project I did a few years ago, then made one for my mom. The place where I originally got the idea from, did an entire tablecloth! This is a fairly time consuming project (about a whole evening, 2-3 hours).  So I went for a table runner. 

Supplies needed:

• glue gun 
• glue sticks
• fabric (preferably with a finished edge so you don't worry about fraying over time
• leaves (i used a few bags that had 100 in each, so 200-300 leaves depending on the desired size of the runner)

 You start on the outside edges. Try to make the leaves look freshly fallen, and spread the color leaves evenly. Work your way around the whole shape of the table runner's edges, then start the next line working your way in. Place them very closely(even on top of the others), you don't want any fabric showing underneath. Continue to work you way in until complete. Go back and add a few as needed if there are any gaps. It's a fun project is sure to get noticed!  (NOTE, once complete do not place hot things on the surface, you don't want them to melt the glue, or if you used plastic leaves to melt them either!)

Summer Clearance

I have a few items on sale for Summer Clearance! I'm making lots of new styles, so time to clear out the Summer season necklaces!

Check out Chic Lady on Facebook for pictures and details! Necklaces are just 5$

Fall Boutique!

(This is in Sandy)

And...

The 

HIVE

Black Friday

Extravaganza!

Friday, November 26th

10am-10pm

Trunk Show

Hand Crafted gifts and Fine Art

At the Hive Gallery in Trolley Square Mall, Salt Lake City, UT

(More info on Facebook here)

Halloween Decor #5

 Cheese cloth ghosts! I had never done them before, but it was fun, and didn't take too long.  You need liquid starch, a bowl, cheesecloth, wire hangers, scissors, duct tape, milk jugs or soda 2 liters (empty, but good to have sand or water at the bottom to prevent tipping), and plastic wrap.

I placed a towel on my table to soak up any excess starch. Bend your wire hangers to create arms, and the head support with the hook. I wrapped plastic wrap into a big ball for the head, and attached to the hook of the hanger. Then I 'mounted' it to my milk jug and 2 liter with duct tape. Then to make the ghost, start with a small cut into your cheesecloth, then tear the rest of it. Place pieces over the ghost shape, long enough so it goes in front of the ghost, so without the jugs, it can support itself. Feel free to keep ripping pieces to give it and eerie and aged look. Let dry over night. If you want some to hang from banisters, trees, etc. place your ghost on something tall, like an oatmeal can so the bottom of the ghost drapes.

Baby Shower

Tonight I went to a baby shower for my sister in law.  (it was hosted by her cousins, the Bush's, who ALWAYS do the cutest things!)

In addition to a traditional advice/congrats baby book (we decorate and write advice on 8x8 pages for a little album), we made applique onesies. They found fabric where we could cut out the designs, such as the dog above, and all in the same color scheme.  Then we ironed them on, then embroidered on the edges so they'll last. The selected things like the dogs, b/c she and her husband have two cute little dachshunds. They had die cut several shapes in some of the patterns using their Cricut, and then had some for us to play around with. The above picture is what I made. It was so fun to do, and to see all the other cute things everyone came up with.  I can't wait for my sil to have a baby, so I can throw her a shower and do this!!!!

Halloween Decor #4

 Here are elements together, with the new addition of the book.

To make the book, I bought the paper mache book at Jo~Ann's. They had my favorite, b/c they were bigger, and had the detail on the side. I painted it all black, and the 'pages' a linen color. After drying I pasted the patterned paper to the to book, then the label. I then painted the side bars. I mixed in gray w/ my linen color to more closely match the color on the patterned paper. The label is from the same sight I originally posted when I made the apothecary bottles. I also used a technique on the label to distress it. Using distressing ink in a 'old paper.'

If you want to get really creative with the side of the book that mimics the pages of the book, paint one layer of your desired color, then get kite string and place on the sides the length of the sides, then paint a couple of heavy layers over it. Then as it starts to dry, but not completely, pull the strings off, and you get bumped lines that looks like old pages.

More Halloween templates

There are some really cool labels here for more fun creepy apothecary bottles.

Halloween Decor #3

 I Love to embroider. I've made a few Halloween pillows, but I've given the others away. This one I kept, but I need to re-stuff.  I go online to free font websites, such as 1001fonts.com. There are many fun halloween fonts, another favorite of mine is the letters all made from bones. I download the font and print out my words, then trace it onto my white muslin. I added the spiders by just winging it. Turned out pretty fun. Even my 3 year old (that is recently afraid of spiders) likes it!

Up close detail for you.

Happy Haunting!