First Aid Kit

My boyfriend, Alexander, likes to get hurt a lot

So I thought I would make him a first aid kit for his birthday!

First: I found this awesome hand made box from Chapters that was on sale for only 15$ (Here is the Link)

Next: I painted on a red cross with nail polish (Essie A-list) after carefully measuring and then laying down  tape so I could get a perfect cross

Finally: I filled it with lots of goodies! Since my mom is a doctor, she gave me a list of stuff that would be useful for him to have. Some of the supplies in the box included:

♥ Colourful band-aids

♥  Waterproof band-aids

♥ A pill vial (actually a stack-able bead storage container... Here is a link to get yourself one, but I just found mine at the dollar store) full of decongestants, Tylenol, and Antioxidant pills (you can get these in bulk at Costco) 

♥ Tensor Bandage

♥ Polysporin 

♥ Steri-strips 

♥ Normal Saline

♥ Gause

♥ Chlorhexidine 2% (Awesome anti-bacterial. No idea where my mom got this one)

♥ Et cetera...

Yay! Now he can at least take care of his gross infected cuts and other injuries!

Hopefully you guys are all healthy and happy too :)

♥ Olivia

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Cheap Crafting Material

My latest guilty pleasure has become watching the show Extreme Couponing. So in the spirit of that, I thought I would share a little trick my sister recently showed me. Crafts are always fun; however, the materials can get so expensive. But wait... there are ways to get it way cheaper! If you go to this link, Michaels posts awesome deals every week (like 40% off).

http://weeklyad.michaels.com/

Michaels also has an app for you iPhone or Android phone :)

http://www.michaels.com/Michaels-Mobile/michaels-mobile,default,pg.html 

Also if you make an account with Michaels, you can get even more deals!

Anyways, happy saving!

♥ Olivia

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Lucky Star Origami

Lucky stars have a different meaning depending on how many you give at a time:

1 star: The only one

2 stars: Happy Couple

9 stars: Love for a long time

55 stars: Love you with no regrets

99 stars: May the friendship/love last forever

101 stars: You are the one

365/366 stars: Whole year of blessings

520 stars: I love you

548 stars: Can't stop loving you

999 stars: Endless love

1314 stars: Eternity of love

And a full jar of stars brings lots of good luck to the recipient :)

I made this jar for my boyfriend before he went to Japan for a rugby tournament to bring him and the team some good luck, but I really did it because I had too much fun making them and got carried away

Lucky Stars are super easy once you get the hang of them, but confusing at the start.

So here is a (hopefully) simple explanation of how to make these cute little stars

Your Materials:

♥ Scissors

♥ Pretty Paper*

*If you have pre-cut origami strips, than that is even better! You can get them at most Asian stationary stores, and I've seen them at big craft stores.

First: Cut your strips. You can make them as thick as you want, and that should dictate how long it should be; however, 1cmx14cm, I find, is a good size. You also want to make it longer than it probably needs to be in the beginning, because you could always just cut it down

Second: Fold one end of the paper strip over the other so that the coloured part of the paper is facing out

Third: Gently tie the slip of paper into a knot and then flatten it. Work at it till you get it tight, and in a perfect pentagon shape

This may take a while to get the hang of!

Once you're done that, fold down the piece of paper that is sticking out

Fourth: Start wrapping the strip of paper around your pentagon and then lightly creasing the paper. Just let the paper guide you! And if your pentagon starts looking more like a square than you know you did something wrong

Next: Make sure that you don't wrap around too much paper or else your star will be too stiff for the last step

Once you think you are finished wrapping, tuck in the excess paper into the little pouch you have formed.

This is the part that always confused me :)

Lastly: Use your fingernail to press into one of the sides of your pentagon. Do this gently, and it should puff up nicely. Do this again for every side.

And there you have your lucky star! Now have fun making them all the time, everywhere.

Tips and Other Things:

♥ This takes a while to get a hang of. Try experimenting with different types of paper. I find regular paper too flimsy, and card paper too stiff. Scrap booking paper works best in my opinion

♥ If your pentagon is getting too thick while you are wrapping it, just cut off the excess paper

♥ Don't give up on your first try! It takes practice, and it's easy once you get it

♥ By the way: I got that cute little glass bottle in the first picture from Michaels for 1$, which is crazy cheap for a store like Michaels!

♥ Another cute thing you can do is leave a little note in your lucky stars to make your recipients day! Just write a little note in each one after the knot stage! 

♥ Olivia

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3D Hand Drawing

Want to seem a lot more impressive and artistic to your friends and family...? Well then here is a easy craft for you!

I can't remember where I first saw this, so I thought I would just reproduce it here for you guys, so enjoy!

Your Materials:

♥ Markers, highlighters, or sharpies

♥ Pencil

♥ Eraser

♥ Ruler

♥ Sharpie Fine Point Marker*

*I find the regular Fine Point sharpie works best. The Ultra Thin Tip sharpie takes far too long to use, and the thicker tip markers bleed and I find they make your piece of art look too messy

Okay... let's get started

First: Trace your hand (I know, this craft is pretty advanced)

Next: Draw a straight line using your ruler until you hit the pencil outline of your hand. At this point, draw a curved line to the next pencil outline, and then from that point continue your straight line

Finally: Start filling in the lines in between with your colours. This is where you guys can get creative! I use highlighters because I love bright colours; however, you can pretty much do whatever you want in this step

And there you have your 3D hand print!

Tips and Other Things:

♥ Don't get too worried if your coloured lines are uneven or look strange. This craft is detailed enough that no one will notice- I promise!

♥ The part around the thumb is the hardest. Just be aware and know that you can adjust the height of your lines slightly. No one will notice

♥ Cut off the white part and mount it on some stiff paper and make a sweet card

♥ You can use this technique to make anything look 3D. My friend Rachel even did this with someone's name

Hopefully where ever you are, it's not raining like it is in BC right now!

Enjoy your weekend....

♥ Olivia

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(not so) Spooky Halloween Acorns

Looking for an easy Halloween DIY craft? Well here it is... 

These acorns are festive, easy and adorable! 

Enjoy

Your Materials:

♥ White-out or white acrylic paint

♥ Thin tip sharpie

♥ Acorns

♥ Glue

*Since I made these in my dorm room, my crafting materials were limited, so I just used white out; however, white-out acorns are more prone to cracking, so if you want longer lasting acorns, use white acrylic paint

First: Remove you acorn's beret (I told you this craft was easy)

Next: Colour in your acorn

If you have more patience than I do, and you don't want to get your fingers messy, then paint the base of the acorn first, let it dry, and then paint the top part

Now: this is where your creativity kicks in. Drawing the face on the acorn. If you are lacking in the creative department, you can try looking up pumpkin carvings and copy those... and no one has to know!

There isn't really any specific trick to this, just use your thin tip sharpie, although you may want to draw it in pencil first to avoid making a mistake and ruining your acorn.

Finally: Glue your acorn's hat back on. I used super glue, but literally any glue will work. I've used white glue and a glue stick, and they've all worked fine :)

And there you have your spooky little acorn family!

Have a good weekend guys, and Happy Halloween

♥ Olivia

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