handmade snowglobes

I have been seeing these adorable globes all over for months now, so I had to make my own! :)

Aren't they just darling? I think so! My mom loves them and they literally took about 5 minutes each to make. Here are a couple different tutorials you can follow - but don't feel like you have to! They're so easy it's hard to mess it up!

Martha Stewart Rendition

Julie Ann's Rendition

Ashley's Rendition

Enjoy - these are so fun to make!

I did indeed make my own mouse pad...

and it was the freakin most simple thing I've ever done. really. you must make one.

what you need

• thermal bond paper - or any other brand of fusing paper.
• a fabric mouse pad - new or used, but nothing else can be on it. like no rubber stamping or anything..
• an iron
• enough fabric to cover your mouse pad
• scissors 
• exacto knife & cutting board (optional) 

 note: I do indeed have concrete floors. they're magical, and are heated all winter, but in the summer, we open all the windows and they suck in the cool air like a t-rex and a squirrel, then the floor is cool all day. it's stupendous. and yes, that yellow is really painted all over in my house. it's glorious, as well. but another blog post...

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instructions:

Cut out a square of fabric the size of your mouse pad, don't round the corners yet. just cut a general square, leaving about 1/2 extra on each edge. (note: if your fabric is wrinkled, by all means, please iron it first *wink*)

place your fabric on top of your fusing paper, and cut it out to be the same size

follow the instructions that came with the fusing paper and fuse the fabric to the proper side of the thermal bond. peel the paper off of the back of the fabric..... 

and place fabric on top of mouse pad. follow the instructions, again, for your specific bonding-stuff (I can't remember the correct term right now and it's easier just to say "bonding-stuff" than figure go look for the right term...)

 fuse the fabric to the mouse pad using an iron. my thermal bond said to use a damp rag when fusing - I didn't, since my iron has a steam setting that pretty much does the job the rag was supposed to do.

now check all your edges, make sure it's all securely fused....

now trim the edges! I used an exacto knife to do this, it was so easy, but scissors work fine too.

and ta da! cutest mouse pads ever. I made one more, but didn't get it in the picture...so cute. the one I just showed you how to make is my mom's, and the cute little girls are mine...ah. the beauty of crafting.

Okay. So, a few notes on this project. Make sure not to get the thermal bonding stuff on your iron. it's a pain to get off and messes everything up. Really. Also, if you're concerned about your mouse pad being too dirty, just take a damp cloth to it and spot clean it. it's okay if it's damp - the ironing will get rid of that problem.

also. ignore my terrible nails. they're horrid, I know. I'm going to fix them now...

glass beach necklace.

I made the coolest necklace last week. Like. Legit. You know how I posted about glass beach? Well. For years I've been collecting pieces of glass from there. It's kinda a thing people do. It's like a treasure hunt. The majority of it is little pebbles and green, brown, and clear glass. There is some blue glass in there, but if you look really carefully, you'll find pieces of ceramic and china. And those are the bestest ever :) I took some of my favorite, but not too loved pieces, and created a necklace out of them. Here's some pics :)

 The blue of this is so pretty.

 Bam. One of my favorite pieces ever. It's green and gorgeous.

 awkward picture. But whatever. The necklace is pretty, isn't it?

It was so simple to make. I used wire, a clasp, glass, and...oh, that's IT! super fun. If you're ever in Fort Bragg, Ca, go to glass beach at all costs. Seriously.