Best, Easiest Dessert Ever

Who loves dessert? I do! I'll show you how to make the easiest and tastiest dessert ever! And it doesn't even require any baking or hard work.

Make your own little owl

So, Christmas is coming up, and so is my sister's birthday. She loves owls, and I've already purchased a few owl-related items, but I wanted to make something for her, and this is what I came up with. c:

All you need is some Sculpey (or other brand of clay, it doesn't matter), a small rolling pin, and a heart-shaped cutter. If you don't have a cutter, you could just use a knife.

Easily form a lace design in clay

Check out this tutorial to see an extremely easy way to put a lace imprint on crafting clay, such as Sculpey.  I used this technique to make a ring.

Easy Pumpkin Shirt

Just in time for Halloween, I decided to craft a quick and easy shirt inspired by the festive expression of a jack-o-lantern.

Kady, however, doesn't seem to to be too enthusiastic about the shirt...

Check out this tutorial so you can make one, too! It's super easy, I promise. c:

Make a picture harsh black and white

In my Walking Dead pendant tutorial, I said that I would show how I edited my picture to be harsh black and white, so that is what I am going to do now.

In Photoshop (I use CS2), open your image.

Then, select Image-Adjustments-Channel Mixer.  When the pop-up box opens, check the Monochrome box; this will change the picture into black and white.  Another way to do that is to select Image-Adjustments-Desaturate.

Then, select Image-Adjustments-Brightness/Contrast, and play around with it to get a good image.

I used:
Brightness: +27
Contrast: +56

And there you have it.

Here's another example, just to prove that each picture will look different, and each picture requires different settings in the Brightness/Contrast area.

Romans 15:17 "Therefore I glory in Christ Jesus in my service to God."

Walking Dead Pendant

I love The Walking Dead, especially Daryl Dixon (portrayed by Norman Reedus).  Therefore, I decided to make a necklace pendant inspired by him.  Want to make your own awesome necklace?  If so, I'll show you how in this tutorial.

Super Simple Cat Toy

I was thinking of toys that I could make not only for the shelter cats, but for my cats at home. I wanted it to be simple so I could make quite a few of the same thing. Then, this suddenly came to my mind!

It is simply a chopstick with yarn tied securely around one end. I have an abundance of chopsticks from Asian restaurants and yarn from my mom's old storage, so I can make many of these for virtually free. Plus, I can use different colors, or try adding feathers or other cat-friendly items later. It was very simple, and yet my cats at home went crazy for it, which was a huge bonus since Oddball is typically scared of all toys, especially new ones.

I just used simple knots to tie each piece of yarn around the chopsticks a few times over. The more knots, the stronger the yarn will hold up during play time. I only had one piece of yarn come undone, but it had only been tied with one knot. It was no problem at all to retie the yarn while adding a few extra knots. Since then, I haven't had any complications. Plus, using different textures of yarn was a huge benefit. Oddball prefers the softer craft yarn, while Kady prefers the rough Christmas yarn.

I'm going to make several of these for the shelter kitties. They are sure to love them! Speaking of the shelter, I got to help a lady take home two beautiful cats today, London (a Tortie) and Stevie (a Tabby). It was such a perfect ending to an overall awesome day.

P.S.: check out Crafting for a Cause to find out more about making toys for the animal shelter, as well as this post to find out more about the shelter with which I am involved. <3

[One of my favorite verses.] Psalm 106:1 "Praise the Lord. Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever."

Crafting for a Cause

Volunteering at the shelter has really opened my eyes to how spoiled my pets at home are.
Don't get me wrong, shelter life isn't so bad. Good food, a nice, warm place to stay, and lots of love and toys are always provided for the animals.
But there is always room for improvement! And the shelter's wishlist makes it especially easy for me to figure out what kinds of things they could use.
Being only 17 and without a job, I cannot afford to buy toys or other supplies for the shelter animals.
So I have decided to make pet supplies to donate to the shelter.
Check back for updates and posts related to Crafting for a Cause.

After all, I wouldn't have this cutie if it weren't for the SCAC.

 I wouldn't have this bundle of fur either if it weren't for pet shelters in general. (she came from a different shelter).

Painted Mason Jars

This tutorial is as easy as pie.

Step one, choose some mason jars and some spray paint.

Make your own Stickers

DIY Transformers Canvases

So my little cousin's 5th birthday is coming up soon, and I know that he loves Transformers.  Considering I love art, I decided to paint some canvases for him.  They aren't perfect, but I think that the little mistakes add character and a touch of handmade love.

I began with two small canvases (which I purchased from Wal Mart).  Then, I painted one navy blue, and the other grass green.  From the internet, I printed the black and white logos for the Decepticons and Autobots.  (One logo per page).  Using my X-Acto Knife, I carefully cut out the logos.  I then used the white paper as stencils, painted the Decepticon logo orange on top of the green canvas, and the Autobot logo light blue on top of the blue canvas.  By the way, I used painters tape to keep my stencil in place while I painted.  Plus, after everything had dried, I went back and repainted over a few small details to tidy up the edges and such.  I think he'll like them- at least, I hope so.  :P

Update: my little cousin loved the canvases! :)

John 3:27 "To this John replied, 'A man can receive only what is given him from heaven.'"

A Gift for my Chemistry Teacher

   I am a huge fan of all things DIY, so I decided to create some end-of-the-year gifts for my teachers.  First up is my chemistry teacher.  She influenced my future in many ways, so I wanted to make something unique for her.  I also wanted the gift to be completely chemistry-based.

   So I came up with this.