Homemade Crazy Crayons - A Homemade Stocking Stuffer

I have made these homemade crayons a few times for gifts. They are such a wonderful gift, all colorful and shaped like hearts. I made some for my niece for her birthday a few years ago and also made a batch for a college care package that I sent to my sister (check out this notebook doodle treasure bag I made to put the crayons in!) And this year J is getting some in his stocking!

Anyone with kids has a ton of broken crayons in a box somewhere. Homemade crayons are the perfect solution! Take the broken and sad crayons and turn them into beautiful new crayons, perfect for little toddler hands (and big kid imaginations!)

before...

after!!!

These crayons are really easy to put together. The hardest part is peeling the crayons. I found that if you are having trouble getting the paper off of your crayons, just soak them in some cold water for a few minutes. That should make it easier. If that doesn't work use an Xacto knife or a vegetable peeler and very carefully peel off the paper.

Homemade Crazy Crayons

What you will need:

• a bunch of old crayons
• a cutting board
• a large kitchen knife
• a mini muffin tin or silicone candy mold (oven safe)

Preheat the oven to 170F. If using a flexible silicone mold, place it on a cookie sheet for stability.

Peel all of the paper off of the crayons. Soak crayons in cold water if the paper is being stubborn.

Cut the crayons into pea sized bits. 

Arrange the crayons in your mold, you can do any combination of colors you like! (J loved helping me fill the cups with chopped crayon bits!) Fill the cups as full as possible, the crayons will melt together and will not overflow.

Bake at 170F for 15-20 minutes, just until the crayons have melted.

Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely before removing from the mold. If you are using a metal mold and you are having trouble getting them to pop out, just stick the mold in the freezer for a few minutes and then they should pop out very easily. 

Mermaid Dolly

Has anyone else noticed that there are only 20 days until Christmas?!?!

Last year I was super good about making as many gifts as I could. I also blogged a Christmas post every day leading up to Christmas. It was great! I posted most of the tutorials for the gifts that I made last year before Christmas day. This meant that the pictures of the gifts I was giving were on the blog before they were unwrapped by the people they were made for. I kind of figured that most of my family wouldn't read my blog and they would still be surprised. Turns out they do read it, and I ruined Christmas. Okay, maybe not ruined, but I learned my lesson. I won't be doing the same thing this year. I will, however, be posting some great Christmas tips so make sure you are following (Bloglovin', Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest, and by email!) so you don't miss anything!

I am really behind on my gift making this year. Really, really behind! I have made one gift. Out of 26. Yup. 26. I will have to average more than one gift a day to get these done on time for the big 25th. SCREAM!!! 

Oh well, it is what it is. My family is wonderful and they will all understand. Right, family? You won't be mad? Please don't disown me for not having your gifts finished in time to put them under the tree.

Because I don't want to spoil any surprises, today I am going to share a little dolly that I made for the Hubby's cousin's daughter. We saw them for Thanksgiving and that's when we gave it to her so she has seen it and I am not ruining Christmas by posting this. She is about 18 months old so I knew a little dolly would be just perfect! 

I've been so into mermaids recently. Who isn't into mermaids?

This is the cutest little mermaid dolly (thank you Wee Wonderfuls by Hillary Lang!) I made this little treasure in about an hour and a half. Love it! 

I love making my own patterns, but I also love to find great patterns and tutorials that someone else has already figured out. I saw this little mermaid on someone else's blog and fell in love with its sweet style and petite size. Its perfect for little hands to love. It also makes a great stocking stuffer, in fact I am planning on making one to put in A's stocking (that is if I have time.) 

I would totally recommend this book. Wee Wonderfuls by Hillary Lang (check out her blog, too!) is full of great patterns for really sweet little toys. I am so glad I got the book. Her patterns are really easy to follow and the dolls are so cute! I'm thinking about working through the book and making every doll, a la Julie and Julia. But not until after the holidays!

What are you working on this holiday season? Are you like me, and have bitten of a little more than you can chew? Are you going to finish in time to open on Christmas morning? 

Good luck!

XOXO,

Coco

Toddler Infinity Scarf

I just wanted to post a little brag. Just a little one.

The other night I was messing around with some yarn scraps and ended up making a scarf for my little J. It only took a movie or two of crocheting, and it turned out so well!

I wish I could share the tutorial with you, but I don't know how to write a crochet tutorial. I can tell you I made a circle with a chain stitch that I thought would be a good size and then kept going around and around with a double crochet stitch until I got the width I wanted.

It has a really great infinity twist to it. I honestly have no idea how I did that little twist, but its great!  The colors are really nice and unisex so my kiddos can share if J ever gives it up. He loves it and I am so glad! He goes around  proudly declaring "Mommy make starf for J!" It warms my heart every time he asks to wear it.

Happy Friday!

Xoxo,
Coco

6 Chic DIY Halloween Wreaths

If I had my way I would have a wreath for every season and every holiday. I would change it out regularly and my door would always be festive and beautiful. 

Halloween presents a really awesome opportunity to decorate any door with pizzazz! Here are some of my favorite DIY Halloween wreath ideas from Pinterest.

Some of these links go to tutorials, other just to pictures, others to places where you can buy the wreaths. I think most of them are pretty DIY-able. If you can't figure out how to make one of these just leave a comment and I will try to make a tutorial. 

Candy Corn Wreath
From rwposies.blogspot.com

Chevron and Bats Wreath
From tatertotsandjello.com

Day of the Dead Wreath
From fabricateatlanta.com

Glow-in-the-Dark Eyeballs Wreath
From homeandgarden.craftgossip.com

Harvest Moon Wreath
From flickr.com

Maleficent Wreath
(I mean come on! This is  freakin' awesome!)
From etsy.com

Snake Wreath
(honestly, I debated putting this up here. I hate snakes. I have a major phobia. just this picture gives me the heebee jeebees. but its a pretty cool halloween wreath. just don't expect me to come over if this is hanging on your door.)
No source

Spooky Grapevine Wreath
From www.hometalk.com

Vintage Scull Wreath
From etsy.com

For more great Halloween wreaths and decorating ideas follow me on Pinterest. Check out my Festive!  and Festive! Halloween! boards for fun holiday inspiration!

Happy Haunting!

XOXO,

Coco

Little Boys Bow Tie - Tutorial Review

I'm kind of obsessed with bow ties, especially on baby boys and toddlers. I made one for my son to wear to a family wedding last summer. I also made a few for a show I designed and I made one for a friend. 

This tutorial makes a bow tie that will be the right size for pretty much any age (I've made one for a 6 month old and one for a 16 year old) and if you want a hair bow, just skip making the neckband and add a barrette.

I have used this tutorial from A Lemon Squeezy Home every time I have made a bow tie  (also modified it to make an over-sized hair bow). The tutorial is really well done. Its really easy to follow and there are pictures for almost every step. 

The only thing I did differently, was use snaps instead of Velcro on the neckband. I made the neckband a little longer than my son's neck measurement so that I could add some extra snaps and make the strap adjustable. I have also made this bow tie with and without the batting/felt, I don't think it makes a huge difference if you don't have it for the added fluffy-ness. Although, the batting inside makes for a great drool catcher, no need for a bib!

Its always hard to find cute projects to make for little boys, but this one is perfect! It goes together pretty quickly (if you don't have a little person distracting you), and has turned out perfectly every time I have made one. I absolutely recommend  using this tutorial to anyone looking to sew up something for a sweet little boy. 

Tribal Vest - Super Easy DIY

A few months ago I did the costume designs for a new version of The Jungle Book at Synetic Theater. I had a really great time working on this show and imagining what the characters should be wearing. We wanted to go with something pretty edgy and not too animalistic. In other words, we needed to find a way to portray the animal characters in a new, modern, and essentially human way.

A lot of this came from the costumes, I used animal prints and tribal influences. I was really inspired by all the awesome tribal art out there and especially how it is influencing fashion. Tribal fabric is so beautiful and unique. I'm sure the patterns and colors have some deep meaning in the cultures that they come from, but for me and, I would guess, most American's they are just beautiful expressions of a cultures art.

Tribal Vest

One of the costumes I was most excited about was a simple denim vest I designed and painted for one of the wolf pack characters. I loved it so much that I had to make another one that I knew wouldn't just sit in costume storage collecting dust until the next performance. The only problem was that I can't wear motorcycle vests, they just don't do my figure any favors. So, I made one for my sister!

Tribal Vest in Fashion Action!

Here is the thing with this project, its SUPER EASY! Seriously, this is one of those projects that you can do in an afternoon with a good cup of coffee and some reruns of The Office. There are no rules when it comes to tribal patterns, graphic is good, and monochromatic makes the pattern really stand out, but there is nothing saying that you have to make your vest look anything like mine.

Tribal Vest - front

Tribal Vest - back

I purchased the vest from Forever 21, and used a black fabric marker for the first vest I made (the costume). The only problem with using a fabric marker is that I got a little lightheaded working on the vest. I used fabric paint on the vest I made for my sister, and that worked just as well. It just depends on what you are more comfortable using.

Tribal Vest - Super Easy DIY
Materials:

• Denim vest (you could use pretty much any light-wash vest. Check out a thrift store! I got mine from Forever 21.)
• Black fabric marker or fabric paint and brush (I used black, but feel free to try out other color combos!)

Process:

Find some inspiration for tribal patterns, decide what you want your vest to look like. I painted only a few sections, the front panels and the bottom band.  I thought about painting a tribal elephant on the back, but that didn't end up happening. 

Plain old vest - needs something awesome!

Tribal Vest - painting 

After you have decided what you are doing, just get to it! Paint or draw on your pattern. If you are painting, make sure you put down newspaper or something to protect your surface. Don't be hindered, just go for it! Like I said, there really isn't a way to mess this up. If you have an area that you don't like, just fill it in. 

Tribal Vest - painting progress

See? Super EASY!

Here is the pattern that I used (I don't have any rights to this photo, check out http://www.fubiz.net/galleries/set/kate-moross/photo/5445704182/ for the original source):

Kate Moross - Multicolour Tribal

Here are a few other tribal inspirational ideas (again, I don't have the rights to these photos):

Pattern by Sandra Dieckmann

Tribal Crayon by Vasare Nar

Tribal Henna Elephant

Tribal Elephant Sweatshirt

Indian Woman by AnastasiaMarie

Tribal Feather