Musical Stars and Stripes

It is Memorial Day today, and I would like to give my thanks to all of the men and women who have served, or are currently serving for my freedoms!  I can not even think of what life might be like if not for their bravery and service!  My Grandpa served in the Navy on the USS Nevada during WWII and was serving during the attack on Pearl Harbor.  Such selfless dedication to our country!  I am so proud to be an American!  I hope you all have safe and fun Memorial Day!

Now, onto a project that I did with my girls!

The original idea is from the Family Fun Website.  For complete instructions, check out the link.

I knew it would be something pretty easy that my 8-yr old could handle, for the most part, on her own.

I picked up supplies at JoAnn's and we got to work!

Materials

Regular and decorative scissors

Ruler

Red, white, and blue craft foam

Small hole punch

White paint

Small paintbrush or star stamp
30 small paper clips (ours were red, white, and blue)

12-inch wooden skewer with the sharp tips cut off

Ribbon or wire

13 bells (ours were 3/4 inch in size)

 

We made a few changes to the list:

Sticky Backed Jewels to use for the 'stars'

Metallic pipe cleaners instead of paper clips

 

First, we cut out a 4 x 4 1/2 square of blue craft foam.  My daughter went to town with the jewels making her design up as she went!

I measured and marked with pencil our white and red stripes and K used the decorative scissors to cut them out.

When we had all of the strips cut out, I used the hole punch to make a hole at the top and bottom of each strip, and along the top and bottom of the blue square. 

Next, K cut the pipecleaner into about 2 in strips.  We then used silver and bronze to attach the bells and the strips to the blue piece.  We used gold pipe cleaner to attach it all to our dowel.  We also used pipe cleaner to make the hanger for the flag.

Here is K showing off her work!

We hung it on our sliding glass door on our patio.  We now have a fabulous wind chime! 

This is my little one, who wanted in on the fun!

I used scraps to cut out the pieces of the flag and let her glue them all together.  Then, she used stickers and markers to accessorize!

We had fun making flags to hang around our house!  It is always fun to do crafts with my girls!

Happy Memorial Day!

It's Give-a-way Time!

It's time for Give-A-Way #2! 

Here's the low down on my blog - a - roony:

Month #2 has gone by and I have had a ton of hits and gained 7 more 'friends'!

I have linked up with a bunch of 'link parties'!

I was a feature project on two link parties!

(Yay!)

I have done a bunch of projects and have soooo many in my brain waiting to come to life!

So many thanks to everyone who checks in on my blog!

Thanks for making it seem like this is worth it! 

I love being inspired by all of the other blogs out there and feeling the love from other bloggers!

So, here's what I am giving away for month #2:

5 Patriotic Marble Magnets

&

5 Patriotic Marble Push pins

I had so much fun making these (maybe too much fun?!?!) and made extra to give away!

Here's how to enter the give-a-way:

1 entry - be a 'follower' of No Apologies - it's really ok to be a follower, really!

1 entry - Leave a comment on this post so I know you actually want the magnets and push pins!

1 entry - Leave a comment on any of my previous posts and give me some love (I am needy for lovin', ok!)

I will count any comments posted today thru Monday

Give-A-Way will end on Monday, May 31 at midnight.  Winner will be announced Tuesday at noon.

Good Luck and thanks for your support!

Super Easy Marble Magnets!

I have seen these magnets all over the place for a while now.  I kept thinking -

"I could soooo do that!"

Now I can say that I have!

They were remarkably easy!  I whipped these babies all up before the winner of "Dancing with the Stars" was announced!  (I watch most of my shows DVR'd because I work nights!  I did these last night, Wed., and the winner was actually announced Tues.!  Just thought I'd let ya know!)

Your supply list should include the following:

*Flat Clear marbles

 (you can find all sorts of sizes at the dollar store or craft stores.  I got my larger ones at Michael's)

*Mod Podge & paint brush

*Scrapbook Paper

*Scissors

*Magnets (Not pictured)

*Pencil

*Hot Glue Gun

*Jelly Bellys - what?!!?  Isn't that a standard supply for most Crafters?!?!

First, take a marble and your paper.  Place the marble on the paper where you want it to show through.  This Americana paper had these nice little circles on it that worked out perfectly for me!  Trace around the marble and then cut out your circle.  You will probably have to trim a little off.  I found that if I cut out the circle on the inside of where I had traced, then held it up to the marble to see how it fit worked the best.  Remember that these marbles are not perfectly round, and no two are exactly the same! 

When you have your paper cut to size, slather it with Mod Podge with a paint brush.

Then, place the marble on top of the glue.  Pick it up off of the paper (so it doesn't end up glued to the paper!) Tada!  So cute!

I also applied a layer of Mod Podge to the back side of the paper, then laid it paper side up to dry.

Pic isn't the best, but up close and a shiny object do not go well together! :)

You are now ready to glue on your magnets!

I got my round magnets at the dollar store.  You can also find them for pretty cheap at Walmart. 

Get out your hot glue gun and glue the magnets onto the marbles.

Sorry, no pic of this step because I didn't take any!! :)

There you have it!  Homemade magnets!

I am using push pins instead of magnets for the smaller of the marbles.  That way I have coordinating push pins and magnets for my office space!

Wonderful!!!

These are so easy to make and who doesn't use magnets?  They would be great for gifts or thank-yous!

I linked this idea up on:

 

Dress to Shirt Refashion

I tried my hand at a 'refashion' which seems to be all the rage right now.  My daughter gets  lot of hand-me-downs from her aunt who is only a few years older than she is.

We got a few of these maxi dresses, and decided to make at least one into a top (and maybe a skirt, but we haven't got that far yet!)

This dress needed the straps reattached and there were a few holes in the seems along the bottom, so it was perfect for a refashion. 

First, I cut out the lining on the inside of the dress.  Then, I cut along one of the ruffles that hit about hip length. 

Next, I fixed the straps, making them a perfect fit for my K.  (Before they were a little loose and would slip off her shoulders.)

Then, I did an easy roll hem along the bottom of the shirt.  I didn't even measure or anything!  (Lazy?  Easy?  You decide!)  I just folded the hem up and sewed!  

It wasn't too bad for my first attempt!  I have a few other ideas in mind, so we'll see what happens! 

She loves it (even if I make her wear a little cardigan with it to school!) and loved posing for me! :)

Patriotic

It is almost the time of year to pull out your stars and stripes and to celebrate what it means to be American.  Memorial Day is the perfect time to start celebrating!  (Not that you shouldn't be proud all year round!!!)

I have been looking for some projects that show off our family's pride, support, and love for not only our country, but also for our troops and those who serve and protect. 

I love the summer months!  Swimming, BBQ's, playing at the park.  So many opportunities to have fun and be with others!  I love spending time with friends and family! 

So, here are some ideas to help you get thinking of what you can do to spice up your home!

Who does crafty better than Martha Stewart? 

This Patriotic Door Mat would be pretty easy to make!  This is definitely on my 'to do' list!

What an awesome table decor!  This would be so great for an outdoor BBQ!  Festive and FUN!

These cans are super cute, easy and could be used for SOOOO many things!

This 'super easy' 4th of July wreath would look great on anyone's front door!

You could make these as pins, buttons, magnets....so many ways!  Let kids decorate, or let your inner kid play!

So, that's a start!  There is also a list at the bottom of the page, under the posts, with some ideas for kids crafts.  Check it out! 

What do you have in store for Memorial Day?

Have a cute idea to share? 

Let us know!

Alphabet Wall Art

This was my inspiration.  It is from the Better Homes and Gardens website, as I mentioned earlier.  With my little E's 4th birthday coming up, I knew it would be a great item for her room.  I took my own spin on this, using pink and orange toned papers and using a spash of blues and greens to give it a little punch!

You know what the best part is?  The whole project cost me less than $2!!!  The foam board is the only thing I had to buy.  That was only because I broke the frame I was going to use in the process!

Wanna know how I did it?

Here's how:

CUT LOTS of SQUARES of PAPER

First, you get to cut lots and lots of squares of paper!

If you have a paper trimmer, it makes this a lot easier!

I cut 2inx2in squares as well as 2.2inx2.2in squares to layer for more color.

I used 4 or 5 different colors for each layer.  I didn't really have a rhyme or reason for which color went where.  All of the papers had pink and orange and matched (more or less!)

Have fun and don't worry if everything is 'matchy matchy'! 

MAKE LETTER & PICTURE CARDS

I used my Cricut to cut out the letters and pictures that the corresponding letter went with.  You could also print pics off of the computer, or even draw them!  So many possibilities!

ASSEMBLE CARDS

Glue letters and pictures onto the squares that have been assembled.

This step was probably the most tedious and time consuming!  I tried to not use the same color too much, and to vary cards from animals to clothing to people.  It definitely took a bit of time.

Accessorize the Letters

Add a little something extra to each of the letters. 

I used glitter, markers & jewels.  Be creative!

My Sharpies are my BFF on projects like this!  I have all sorts of colors and tip sizes!  So fun!

MOD PODGE the LETTERS

I used the "Mod Podge - Satin" because that's what I had in my closet!  You could choose whatever finish you prefer!

Apply a thin coat to the letter card and the picture card - front side only.  Apply to all cards.  Let Dry for a few hours!

I just wanted to seal the cards up individually before applying them to the board.  Also, in case any of the paper or markers on the cards smeared, I could fix it without worrying about the rest!

COVER FOAM BOARD with SCRAPS

I used a piece of  Elmer's Foam Board that was from the school supply section at Wal-mart.  This was the only item I purchased for this whole project.  It cost $2ish and I cut it in half!  I liked that is light weight, but durable.  You could use a canvas, wood, or cardboard and frame it.  Lots of ways to just use what you have on hand!

I didn't want the board to be black, so I used the left over scraps from the cards to cover the board!  I used Mod Podge to glue it down.

Leave about a half inch of paper hanging over the edges to fold over.

No rhyme or reason to the pattern.  Figured most of it wouldn't be seen any way!

Fold the paper over, and fold the corners in and glue them up.

I applied a coat of Mod Podge over the entire board and Ta-da!  A covered foam board!

Now I could lay out how I wanted the pattern of letters to be.

MOD PODGE the LETTERS ONTO the BOARD

Apparently I didn't take pics of this step, but it is pretty much the same as mentioned above for other steps of Mod Podging!

After gluing all pieces in place, I put one final coat of Mod Podge over the whole thing to seal it all together!

I finished it Saturday night, just in time for it to dry over night and give to my birthday girl on Sunday!

She loves it!!!

I love the way it turned out and can't wait to hang it in her bedroom!