Bottle Cap Photo Magnets

I know it has been a while...a LOOOOOONG while, actually...

But...here is a little crafty goodness from me to you!

This was actually a request craft from two Bluebird Momma's...KQ and SL. Sorry that it took me so long to share ladies...but here is one of the crafts that you requested. Enjoy and let me know how it goes.

Supplies:

1. Photo/Picture of your choice

2. 1 inch round hole punch (can be purchased at ANY craft store and Walmart)

3. Bottle Caps (these are REALLY "in" right now, so you can probably get them at any craft store or Walmart. If not, search for a home brewing company in your area. They will have them for sure!!)

4. Magnets (can be purchased at ANY craft store and Walmart. Take one of your bottle caps with you so that you can make sure that the magnet is not too big.)

5. Liquid resin of your choice. Here is a picture of the one that I used, which I purchased at Michael's. In this picture you can also see examples of 3 magnets that I made.

Directions:

This is, by far, one of the simplest crafts that I have ever made! I am sure that you will find it equally as EASY and will be able to whip out 50 of these bad boys (chicos) and girls (chicas) (no discrimination here) in less that 30 minutes.

1. Select the photo/picture that you want to use.

2. Place the photo/picture in the hole punch FACE DOWN!!

3. Flip the hole punch over and you will now be able to see EXACTLY what you are about to cut. Move the picture around until you get it right where you want it. Now punch the picture. It may look a little big, but it will fit perfectly. If you are making several magnets, cut all of your pictures out at once and have them ready to go.

4. After you have ALL of your pictures cut and ready, mix the resin. This resin is a 2 part resin. You will need to mix and stir 2 equal parts of this resin to make it work. MAKE SURE THAT THE PARTS ARE EQUAL!! If you mix more of one than the other...it will not cure properly. This resin will need to be used immediately after it is mixed.

5. Place all of the caps on a flat tray or cookie sheet. Fill ALL of your bottle caps up half way with resin. Immediately place your picture on top and push it down so that it has good contact with the liquid resin.

6. After you have placed all of your pictures, go back and pour enough resin into each bottle cap so that the picture is COMPLETELY covered with liquid resin. Once they are all poured, you will see a million tiny bubbles in each cap. To get the bubbles out, you need to exhale (not blow) on the caps. You will see the bubbles immediately begin to disappear. Continue exhaling on them until all of the bubbles are gone.

7. Move the tray to a place that where they can dry undisturbed for 24 hours.

8. Once they are completely dry, mix up a small batch or resin (1 teaspoon to 1 teaspoon). Turn the bottle caps over, picture side down and apply a small drop of resin on it. Put the magnet on top and push it down to make a good contact. Let them dry for 24 hours and you are done!!

(see number 7 below before starting this step)

Sorry that I did not have more pictures...feel free to send me a comment/question if you need additional help.

Tips and Useful information:

1. Michael's, Hobby Lobby and JoAnn's all price match and honor each others coupons. So, even though I have not seen the resin in JoAnn's, I took a JoAnn's 50% off coupon to Michael's and got the resin for half off. I also took a Michael's "50% off on all hole punches" flyer to Hobby lobby and got the hole punch for half off. This little tidbit will come in useful for when you are purchasing your supplies.

2. I have found it better to use actual pictures printed on actual photo paper as opposed to printing out pictures on copy paper from my printer. The thicker photo paper keeps the resin from bleeding through and washing out the color on the photos.

3. A little of this resin goes a long way! So since this may be your first and last time working with it, buy the smaller kit. You can get 100's of magnets out of the small kit if you are using it just for this project.

4. To make it shine...sprinkle some fairy dust (ultra fine glitter) in the resin before you pour it. Just a little goes a long way and you will be able to see the glitter when you hold the magnet up to the light.

5. I got 100 bottle caps for $6.00 at Indy Wine Art. Mine are all gold. If you can get silver or gold ones REALLY cheap, buy them!! You could always paint them the color that you want. I would recommend a spray paint made specifically for metal.

6. Whatever you use to mix/stir your resin with/in should not be used to eat in/with again. I use popsicle sticks or plastic spoon handles to stir and I use disposable medicine cups to measure and mix. When I am finished, I toss the spoon and I wash the medicine cups out with rubbing alcohol. These cups will now be used for resin only!! As long as the resin is still wet, it can be cleaned up with rubbing alcohol and paper towels.

7. Before you glue your magnets to your bottle caps, make sure that the magnets are facing the correct direction! Magnets have 2 sides. One that will adhere well to metal and one that will (sometimes) repel metal or not adhere as well. Stick your magnets on a flat metal tray. Put a drop of resin on the side facing up and then apply you bottle cap. This will gurantee that your magnets will stick.

8. This resin STINKS!! Do this project in a well ventilated area.

If you have any questions...shoot me a COMMENT and I will post a reply!!

~Quita

A Super CHEAP, Quick, CHEAP and EASY Valentines Day Gift

With Valentines Day right around the corner, I decided to post a super CHEAP, quick and EASY Valentines Day gift suitable for friends, teachers and/or co-workers.

We are going to make mini Valentines Day Buckets. For this project you are going to need the following items:

1. Small cheap(a word near and dear to my heart) bottles of lotion, hand soap, shower gel, shampoo and/or conditioner. It really doesn't matter what products you use...in this instance ONLY...size matters! These items need to be small, sample and/or purse size. Below is a sampling of the MANY small items that I purchased from Bath & Body Works recently. Being true to who I am...I recently purchased 30 bottles (they were $1 each and I had a coupon for $10 off a $30 purchase) and with tax the total was $21.40 which means the price per bottle was $.73.

2. You will need some paper shreds (I had these from a previous project but you can get a bag from the $1 store) preferably in Valentine colors or an iridescent shred would work, small cheap little buckets that I got from Deals (there were 4 in a pack for $1 which equals $.25 each), suckers (these heart shaped ones were 6 for $1 which is $.17 each) and some other small candy (preferably chocolate) these also came from Deals and there were 15 in a bag for $1($.07 each).
3. Although there is no picture, I also purchased a bag of Valentine themed treat/goody bags from Deals. There are 20 bags in a pack for $1($.05 each). The treat bags come with metallic twist ties but I like to use curling ribbon.

The assembly of these buckets is SUPER simple and EASY.

1. Place both of the lotion/soap bottles in the bucket first.

2. Add enough of the shreds to fill the bucket.

3. Insert the sucker where ever you like.

4. Place a candy heart where ever you like.

5. Sit the bucket inside the treat/goody bag, cinch the top and tie it off with the curling ribbon.

6. Trim the top of the bag and curl the ribbon.

The finish un-bagged product looks like this...

The finished bagged product looks like this...

Cost Analysis:

So far, not counting all of the stuff that I already had, I have spent a whopping $2.00 per gift!! Not bad...if I do say so myself!!

Although $2.00 is not a bad price...the Cheap in me (henceforth named Che-Quita)thinks that this same concept can be carried out cheaper (I am nothing, if not frugal).

Hints/Tips/Suggestions:

1. If you know someone who sells Mary Kay or Avon or ANYTHING that gives/offers FREE samples, you can always fill your bucket up with that instead of buying samples.

2. Do you have left over Halloween candy?? Most candy can out last a nuclear war, so as long as it is not decorated with Halloween stuff, you can keep it and use it in your bucket.

3. Leftover Christmas candy?? As long as it does not look to Christmas-y...it is probably already wrapped in red or silver and you can use it too.

4. Sometimes you can get free samples of "good stuff" from bridal shows and other free community events. Do a themed bucket...free samples from a bridal show paired with plastic champagne flutes (Dollar Store) would make WONDERFUL gifts to bridesmaids from the bride or nice goodies for a bridesmaid luncheon. Use a permanent marker, put their names on the cups and then they become place cards for a bridal brunch.

5. Taylor this project to ANY event/holiday by using seasonal components. The Dollar Store ALWAYS has a large selection of seasonal stuff that is ALWAYS CHEAP!!

6. Instead of using paper shreds...after Easter, you can often get pink and purple Easter basket grass for $.25 per bag from the Dollar Store.

7. The mark of a dedicated crafter is buying ANYTHING that is on sale, rather you were looking for it or you need it. A dedicated crafter will buy things today for crafting in the future! So, while you are out and about shopping...ALWAYS check the sales section of the store that you are in, good things come from odd places at odd times. A good example of this would be: I was in Walmart and found sample packets of Watkins paprika, oregano and dry mustard. These packets normally cost $.59 each, they were on clearance for $.25 each, so I purchased SEVERAL of them. Did I need them??? NO!!! Will I use them YES!!! So always be on the lookout and ready to buy!! I have a few friends who like to cook...so I am going to make a special Spice Valentines Day bucket for them. A bucket full of spices would also be a GREAT hostess gift.

8. Thinking about doing this for a group of kids??? Go SUPER cheap by buying a sleeve of Valentine Day 8oz disposable cups instead of buckets, fill them with shreds/grass, add candy and/or a small toy, put it in a treat bag and ...BAM...gift extraordinaire.

9. If you know someone who is a coupon FANATIC...clip some of their FAVORITE coupons and put them in the cup/bucket instead of samples.

This is a very FLEXIBLE craft that can be personalized and "Che-Quita-ed" to meet your needs/goal/purpose!

Enjoy...

~Che-Quita

Drum Roll Please...

I started this post on Jan 17. I just found all of the pictures and am posting it on Jan 26.

Tadddahhhh!!!

Here it is...my first craft post!! I am trying to ease my way into this so this is a REALLY, REALLY, REALLY simple and fun project that you can do with a child, or in my case three children (quick prayer: Lord, you know that I am entering into this endeavor with the best intentions, please Lord give me the patience to endure whatever may happen during this process. Lord give me the wisdom that I may need to remove fabric glue from hair, hands faces and furniture. Please Lord don't let anyone glue their hats to the heads, hands or any other place that would cause pain when the hat has to be removed. Lord yesterday was a snow day and my nerves are fragile! This has now become a four day weekend and I only have 20 minutes worth of patience left. HELP...Me...PLEASE?? ~amen).

I don't know what the weather is like where you are...but it is COLD here in Indy. I mean REALLY cold! So what better way to spend the day than inside crafting with the small people

in your life? (Stop laughing and asking yourself "Is she crazy? I can think of 12 better ways to spend a cold day than crafting with the kids.")

Today we are going to make super warm fleece hats using very few supplies. Now as much

as I would LOVE to take credit for this idea...I can't. This idea was inspired by something

that I saw while watching Nick Jr. with Naomi (my five year old). These hats are cute...but yours will be cute times 1,458.

Have fun and ENJOY!! PLEASE send comments, questions and pictures...

1. The supplies

You will need basic items: scissors, fleece, measuring tape and fabric glue. Optional items are: fabric paint, acrylic rhinestones, iron on patches, flower petals and bells.

The most important item needed is the glue. I HIGHLY RECOMMEND Fabri-Tac. I have been using it for years and have NEVER been disappointed. Fabri-Tac is not cheap. I got this bottle at Michael's for $6.99 but...a little does go a looong way.

2. Measure around the kiddo's noggin

Use your tape measure and measure around the child's head. Whatever number you get, add 1 inch to it. For example, if you get 22 inches add one inch and cut 23 inches. This extra inch if for the seam allowance when we glue the hat closed.

3. Time to cut

For this hat (pic. on left). I came up with a measurement of 22 inches. I added 1 inch for the seam allowance and now I need to cut a piece of fabric that is 23 inches wide. To do this, I am cutting on the fold. So I took 23 and divided it by 2 and came up with 11.5. So I measured from the fold 11.5 inches and then I cut. For the length (pic. on right), I used 19 inches, which turned out to be WAY long so you may want to use 15 inches instead. We put a small cuff on our hats and I still had to cut about 2 inches off the top. PLEASE do not stress out about cutting straight lines...this is a VERY forgiving craft...reasonably straight will be just fine!!

4. Gluing

I used a piece of paper under the fabric (left) where I was applying glue. Apply a large thread of glue down the majority of the fabric. Leave about 5 inches from the top without glue (I will explain why later). When applying glue, DO NOT put the glue on the edge of the fabric. Go over about 1/8th of an inch and apply glue (this allows room for the glue to spread out when you overlap the fabric and apply pressure (center). For the cuff (right), I simply folded the fabric up twice and applied glue to the final fold. Again, DO NOT apply glue to the edge, leave room for it to expand when you press it down.

5. Drying and Decorating

Keep a piece of paper or cardboard inside the hats and allow them to dry for about an hour. After an hour, they are ready to decorate. On the left is a picture of Naomi using fabric glue to decorate her hat. On the right, Nichole is showing you what her finished product looks like. Let the fabric paint dry overnight, to be safe. After it has dried, you are ready to close the top of your hat. I used some scrap pieces of fleece. Each of these pieces (see below) allowed me to finish 2 hats. So I was able to finish all 4 hats with these two scraps.

Although I have no pictures...the tying off part is simple. Cinch the hat at the top and then use a 6-8 inch piece of scrap fleece to tie a TIGHT knot around the top of the hat. Once the knot has been tied, you are ready to begin cutting the top fabric to make the pom-pom. Cut the fabric above the knot into 1/4 to 1/2 inch strips all the way down to the knot. Continue cutting until the top of the hat looks like a pom-pom. The reason that you did not glue the hat completely closed in step 4 is because it is VERY difficult to cut the glued seam into strips. If you left 5 inched open at the top and still encounter the glued seam when you cut the top, simply cut on both sides of the seam and then go down to the knot and cut that stiff flap off. If this does not make sense...email me and I will explain again.

6. The finished products...

I further embelished Naomi's (right) hat by adding bells to some of the flaps and she added acrylic rhinestones. Alexander's hat is plain and ANTM's (Americas Next Top Model) hat has acrylic rhinestones too.

Not done yet...Now, for those of you who know me...you know I ain't (yes I said "ain't") 'bout to let something this cute go on and not be a part of it...So I made myself a hat too...and, OF COURSE, mine had to be the CUTEST....

My Hat...

You like?? I decided to let America's Next Top Model, Nicole, model my hat...

We had a TON of this camo fleece leftover and I decided to make myself a hat too...but it had to be "girled up" a bit, so I added the flower. You can't see it here, but there is a crystal in the center of the flower and a leaf on each side.

I will not bore you with the details on how I added the flower...unless you want me to. If you do, I can email it or post a blog about it...Let me know...

I hope that you have enjoyed my first "Crafting with Quita" project...There will be more to follow...



~Marquita

PS. I am not sure how many of you are familiar with blogging...but...I am new to this and have had/am having MANY problems with formatting this (pictures will shift, text color/size will change). What I see and like, is not always what winds up being posted in the blogosphere. So I apologize in advance for how this might look once it gets to you. 'Cause right now it looks PERFECT, but who knows what will happen once I hit "send..." (quick prayer: Dear Lord...It took me longer to format this than it did to make the hats...Why Lord, WHY...PLEASE let all of my HARD work not be lost once I hit send...PLEASE...~amen)