madcity girl

Now that Christmas has passed, I’ve finally found the time to work on all of the projects I had hoped to accomplish before the holidays (e.g., cookies, crafts, etc.). My first priority was to get started on the wine cork wreath I’d been envisioning since seeing one in a boutique storefront just before the holidays.

I’ve been collecting wine corks for a few years and had enlisted my parents to do the same. I’ve amassed bagfuls. I always figured I’d eventually find the perfect project in which to deploy my collection. When I saw a beautiful wreath last month intricately designed with wine corks and a big red bow, I knew I had finally found my match.

My first step was to find a styrofoam wreath ring from the craft store. I then spray painted the white ring with almond-colored paint, so that any holes in my work would blend better with the corks and be less jarring than stark white. After the paint had dried, I began gluing the wine corks directly onto the wreath ring with a glue gun. I tried to use similarly sized corks and only natural corks (instead of plastic corks, which easily made up about a third of my collection). I used a horizontal pattern on the front of the wreath, and a vertical pattern on the sides.

I still need a few more corks to finish the project (drink up, kids), but I’d say it’s safe to assume my wreath will be ready to hang for Christmas 2010. And now on to those cookies…

For the first time in a long while, I seriously considered sending out an evite as a party invitation. My friend Karen and I recently decided on a date in mid-November for our 3rd annual Chili Cookoff (for co-workers). The event planner in me knew our invites needed to go out ASAP. And having just gotten back from a two-week vacation, and feeling generally behind in life, I didn’t think I’d have the time to design and assemble 20+ handmade invites. And thus, I was so close to giving into evite and all of its generic-ness (please excuse my invitation snobbery). Really…I don’t judge.

But in the final moment of truth, I couldn’t do it. I needed something that allowed me to imbue more fun, creativity, and personalization. I did an internet search in hopes of generating new ideas, and immediately found an awesome chili party invitation template on a Web site called “Chica and Jo.” The invites feature a crockpot of chili. And much like a children’s pop-up book, the lid of the pot pulls up to reveal the party details. Genius!

This past weekend, I worked diligently on the invites. Per the instructions, I printed the templates, cut out the pieces, created the invite text, used a craft knife to cut a slit in the top of each crockpot, taped the crockpots onto a card with double-sided tape, and designed the pull-out piece. It was a lot of work—more than I had anticipated when I decided to make invites. But much in the way I find cooking to be cathartic, so, to me, are projects like these. Last night, I put Al Green’s Greatest Hits on my turntable as I finished up the final invites. I sang along…’cause youuuu make me feel, so brand newwwww…as I cut, glued, pressed, and sealed. Crockpot or crackpot?

I must say that I’m proud of the invites. They might be the best yet, at least in terms of chili party invites. And they were also very affordable, since most of the materials are part of the template. And now it’s time to focus on perfecting this year’s chili entry.

I’ve always loved making crafts. My mom got me hooked at a very young age and now I’m one with a glue gun and a frequent shopper at Michael’s. I love attempting to bring life back  to random found objects and other “junk.” Crafts are also a great way to relax, unleash your creative spirit and youth, and they make for perfectly thoughtful, personalized gifts.

Late last summer, wanting a more permanent craft area where I could also properly spread out, I created a “craft studio” with two 6′ tables in my basement. It’s been a work in progress, but I think it’s finally coming together nicely. My parents bought me a great florescent light to hang above my tables, and my roommate helped me get everything set up. I covered both tables with sheets of brown paper and have attempted to organize my projects in small receptacles and boxes. Granted it’s still a typical dungeon-y basement, but it serves me well.

So now that I have the space, I’m hoping I’ll finally be able to dive into some of the projects I’ve been putting off. Lately, I’ve been working on a lot of bottle cap magnets, and am trying some new projects with tiles, pictures, and varnish (perhaps coasters or wall hangings?). I’m also hoping to finally assemble some of the tiered dessert trays I’ve been putting off for months, and maybe some of the DIY projects at Design *Sponge. Here are some additional pictures from my “studio.”

In addition the homemade granola I featured in a recent post, I also made little bottle cap magnets for several friends for the holidays. I’ve seen similar magnets at craft fairs over the past two years, and finally decided to tackle the project myself this fall. Above is a picture of me presenting Karen’s nieces with my homemade treasures. I personalized sets of three magnets for each one of them with Dora the Explorer, teddy bears, animal prints, etc. I think they loved them more than anyone! And I promised I would soon teach them how to make the magnets themselves. In case you’re curious, I’ll give you a quick run down of the process.

So you can obviously cut your own circles, but there’s these awesome punches on the market that cut the exact size of paper to fit in a bottle cap. My favorite brand of punchers is Fiskar’s, because they’re based out of Madison and have a fabulous selection of products.

I pretty much punch anything and everything I can get my hands on —scrapbook pages, magazines, cards, etc. Heavier paper with a bit of wax coating works best. I’ve heard playing cards are ideal. Since I typically work with lighter paper, I actually coat my cut-out circles with packing tape. This creates a protective layer and shields the paper from the resin. Otherwise, the resin sometimes seeps into the paper and creates unattractive spots.

Next, I collect lots of bottlecaps. Since I’m not a huge drinker, I’ve rallied my friends and family to collect bottle caps for me. I have a few friends who give me handfuls of bottlecaps everytime I see them! For that, I’m eternally grateful. Twist-off  caps definitely work best, but other bottle caps can work too if you’re careful using a bottle opener.

When I’m ready to get started, I position the cut-outs in the center of each bottle cap. Sometimes I’ll use a drop of glue to keep them in place. Next I mix the resin and catalyst, following the directions precisely. After a good stir, I use a plastic spoon to pour small amounts of the mixture into each bottle cap. Drying times vary, but the resin is usually pretty solid by the following day, but I like to give them a few days to strengthen even more.

Once the resin is hard, I use a glue gun to stick little magnets to the back of each bottle cap. Afterwards, I affix three bottle cap magnets to a card with glue dots for bonus presentation points. And then you’ve got yourself a great, homemade gift for a special friend!