DIY Tutorials - 10/12 - The Idea Room

Water Marble Nail Polish

I just got back from a little vacation with my mom, two sisters and our children and we had a chance to try these water marble nails. Every year (sometimes 2-3 times) we go on a vacation together without our husbands and take the kids to play and hang out with their cousins. It can get a bit crazy, but we always have a great time hanging out, hiking and swimming together. We just got back this past Sunday. So that might explain my lengthy absence around here. While we were there my sister taught us how water marble nails with nail polish using this really fun and unique marbling pattern. My girls and I really enjoyed it and all the girls were able to get it done.

The process is actually pretty amazing and easy, but there are a few steps involved. Since there were already some great video tutorials out there, I won’t bother writing up a tutorial and will show you the video we used to learn how to marble our nails.

We followed the tutorial pretty closely, not only did we put scotch tape at the base of our fingernail and around the finger…we also rubbed some Vaseline around our fingertips and fingernails to make the clean up process a bit easier and faster as it can get pretty messy.

Make sure to have some nail polish remover on hand and to do this in a well ventilated room. The possibilities are endless! Have fun and get creative. Wouldn’t this be fun for a girls birthday, slumber party or Girls Night Out? Have you ever seen this or had this done for yourself?

Video from My Simple Little Pleasures

July 27, 2011 · Filed under: Acessories, DIY Tutorials, Moms, Party Ideas, Summer Tagged with creative nail polish, marbled nail polish, marbling nails with water, nail design, tips for marbling nails, water marble nails

DIY Soda Can Coasters

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Well, Summer is in full swing here now. Kids are home all day and we are enjoying the more relaxed schedules. I am heading out tomorrow to attend the annual MDA Summer Camp I have been involved with for several years. I shared a little bit of my experience with the camp last year here. I have been a volunteer camp counselor (group leader) over a group of kids with Muscular Dystrophy and their volunteer helpers. We basically are there to get them where they need to be and doing what they should be doing while having fun the entire week. I LOVE it! So I am busy getting my family ready for Grandma to come and spend the week with them and watch them while I am at camp! I am hoping to pop in occasionally and share some pictures with you from the camp.

But today I have a new little project for those of you who drink your beverages out of a can or know someone who does. These will also be a great gift idea for Father’s Day…Soda Can Coasters.

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Yes…that is my favorite drink of choice…that I no longer drink…Boo! Getting to old to be drinking my calories! But I can still enjoy looking at it when I place my ice water on my lovely new coasters!

Simply empty out some cans of your choice and rinse them out with water. Then take some tin snips and very carefully cut off the top and bottom of the can. This can be a bit tricky. **But be very careful as these cans are super sharp!!!! I suggest wearing garden gloves while cutting to help give you extra protection. I reenacted these photos because the gloves were not so pretty in the pictures…cause we all know how important that it! Be sure to save as much of the flat part of the side of the can so that you can get a nice size square for your coasters. Then cut down the seam of the can. Most cans will have a definite seam on the side…usually by the ingredient list.

Then I took some Silicone and put a good amount on the back of the square. I then attached them to some simple white tiles that measured 4 by 4 inches. I found them at Home Depot in the tile aisle and I believe they were 16 cents a piece. Flatten and rub the tin square so that it is securely attached. Wipe any excess Silicone off the top of the tile with a damp warm cloth.

Then I set a paper towel on the top of it and laid a pile of books on it and let them dry over night! The next day I took a small paint brush and painted some glossy varnish over the top of it to seal it all off so that the edges would not peel up and to protect the edges from poking or scratching any users of the coasters.

Then simply place some felt pads on the bottom of the coasters to protect your table top from getting scratched!

Aren’t they fun? I think they would be great to have in your TV room or game room.

And did I mention how inexpensive they are to make? Pennies per coaster! Really! And you are recycling with a purpose!

So go ahead and whip some of these bad boys up! One of the perks of this recent project was that I HAD to have one last drink. Really! There were no empty cans to be found! And I enjoyed every last drop. Who knows, I just may HAVE to make a LOT more of these coasters to give to ALL my friends and family!

What do you think? If you were to make some, what aluminum cans would you use?

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June 6, 2011 · Filed under: DIY Tutorials, Father's Day, Food Crafts, Gifts, Home Decor, Teacher Gifts Tagged with

Silhouette Heat Transfer Project—Dream Pillow

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It is time once again for Silhouette’s monthly promotion. This time the you can get a great deal on the Silhouette SD and some heat transfer material.

This promotion is good through May 17 –25).

1 Silhouette SD machine

1 package of white flocked heat transfer material

1 package of teal smooth heat transfer material

1 package of dark pink smooth heat transfer

All for $219!

*Just use the code “IDEAROOM” at check out to receive the discount!

For this month’s promotion I was given some heat transfer material to play with. I have been wanting to prettify my daughter’s pillowcase since it was just plain green. This is the pillow she sleeps with at night and is not usually a pillow that is used on top of her made bed. I just put it there to display it for the picture.

I used this white flocked heat transfer material that has some soft texture to it.

In my Silhouette program I typed up the word “dream” using the Aharoni font. I enlarged the letters so that they measured about 3 inches in height. Then when using the heat transfer material you need to remember to “mirror your image” so that it will iron on correctly and not be backwards. I cut mine with the blue cutting tip on a speed of 3 and the thickness at 33. I placed the heat transfer material into the cutting machine without the mat. Be sure that the plastic coated side is placed down as you feed it into the machine.

Then I peeled away the heat transfer material that I did not need so that all that was left was the letters. Take your iron and lightly iron the front of the material for just one second or two where you want your material to be on your item. This just sets it in place. Then I placed a cloth between the plastic layer and ironed the material onto the pillowcase. Be sure your iron is not too hot. Do not use it on a heat setting hotter than the cotton setting. When it is securely ironed on, gently peel away the plastic layer.

That’s really all there is too it! Pretty simple. This is a quick and easy project that anyone can do! And the possibilities for this material are endless.