DIY Craft : Snow Globes

I have a little glass jar collecting problem. Sometimes I buy things at the grocery store just because I like the jars. Shhh..that's our little secret.

One way to put the jars to use is to make snow globes! A great little craft for this time of year.

You'll need:

• Glass jar with lid (preferably one without texture)
• Bottle cap or Crystal Light tub (optional)
• Glitter (white, silver...your choice!)
• Little figurines to put in your snow globe (not wood, paper or metal)
• 8-12" inches of thin ribbon
  
• Square of cotton fabric (approx. 6"x6")
• Waterproof, quick-drying glue/epoxy (preferably one that dries clear
• Glycerin
  
• Distilled water (enough to fill your jar)
• Rubbing alcohol or vinegar
  

1. First thing is to prepare your jar. You want to make sure you completely remove the label & glue. Goo Gone is good for this as is soaking it in hot, soapy water.Then you want to clean the inside of the jar and inside of the lid with rubbing alcohol. I didn't have rubbing alcohol so I used vinegar. It's nature's disinfectant.

2. Place your lid on a scrap of fabric and trace a circle that is about 1/2" wider than the lid. Cut this circle out with pinking shears (if you have them) because that will prevent fraying. If you don't have them then just use fabric that won't fray easily.

3. Now find yourself a bottle cap that will fit inside the lid and still allow you to screw the lid on the jar. This part is optional, but the bottle cap will lift up your figurines a little bit and make sure you don't glue things too far to the edge of the lid.

4. Take your epoxy and glue the bottle cap stage to the inside of the jar lid. The epoxy I used cost $3 and worked great - the only problem was that it dried brown so I had to be extra careful. This epoxy called for lining the bottle cap and the circle on the lid where I was gluing the bottle cap with epoxy and letting it dry for 5 minutes. Then I put the two pieces together - epoxy to epoxy - and let it dry for 5 more minutes.

5. This is the best part - now you get to set your scene! I have a big container of trinkets that I buy from dollar stores and from gumball machines. For this snow globe I chose a baked polymer clay mushroom that I made and a little squirrel.



6. Arrange the trinkets on your bottle cap stage and put the jar over the items to make sure it fits and can screw into the lid. You want to make sure before you glue everything down or you might have some sad faces after all this work.

7. If the jar will fit over the trinkets you are ready to glue. Again, follow the epoxy directions and then glue down your figurines.

8. Since my epoxy dried brown I wanted to cover that poo color. I added more epoxy and covered it in white glitter so it looks like the ground is snowy. You could also do this with green glitter to make grass or blue glitter to make water.

9. If you do Step 8 you will want to now take a Q-tip and sweep out all the extra glitter so it doesn't get in the way of the lid/jar seal.

10. Now it's time to mix your snowy sky. Pour distilled water almost to the top of the jar. Now add glycerin a teaspoon at a time. The glycerin adds weight to the water so that the glitter will float and swirl and sink. I like to add a lot, but it's best that you add a little at a time until you get your desired swirl. If you are adding heavy objects (sequins, small trinkets, beads) you will need more glycerin.



11. You can always add more glycerin. Let's add in some glitter and see how it swirls. Remember - little at a time and you can always add more.

12. Once you think you got it you can screw the lid onto the jar (but first check that the epoxy on the trinkets is totally dry!). Now stand over the sink and do a test shake and see if you like the way the glitter swirls. It's okay if it drips - if you lose a lot of water you might have to refill.

13. If your swirl is desirable you are ready to seal up this puppy. With the lid on the jar & and the figurines upside-down take your epoxy and seal the space between the lid and jar. I let it dry once and then did a second seal of epoxy.

14. While the epoxy is drying you can work on the lid wrapping. Check to make sure the fabric circle is sized correctly - you want it to cover the lid, but not hide any of the globe. If the size it right you are ready to glue it down. Gluing isn't necessary, but makes the job easier. I gave the fabric a couple spritzes of this spray adhesive:

15. Just lay the circle on the lid and push the edges down. Take your length of ribbon and tie it around the lid. I sprayed one spot on the ribbon with as well just to help it hold better.

16. If you are positive the epoxy seal is dry you are ready to flip your globe and give it a shake! Now go be a stoner and put on some records while you lay on the carpet and play with your new toy.

Super Easy Drawer Organizer : Paper Boxes

Tonight I was putting away laundry, which takes about an hour if you have 2 giant blue Ikea bags full of clothes.


Where's Pawsldo?

Since the cooler weather started up I have been plowing through my collection of tights. The inside of my drawer is just a big ol' mess of tight legs and bra straps and random things that fall off my dresser and into my unmentionables.

So I found these super, duper easy instructions to make a paper box origami-style. Seriously, it took me 2 minutes AND I got to use up some paper that I was sick of looking at. Anyone can do this - all you need is a sheet of paper.



Voila! My tights are in their own little cubby and the three types of lingerie will never touch ever again...unless, of course, the rumors are true and when I turn out the lights they all get together and go hang out at a piano bar in Midtown. Bonus points for also getting a chance to find my navy blue tights and toss out a pair of satin panties circa 1997.

FYI - if you're feeling fancy you can check out this tutorial from KWernerDesignBlog on making paper gift boxes.

Polyvore = Loving the Internet More & More Everyday

I just discovered the website Polyvore.com. I love it because I always cut our pictures in magazine and collage them in a binder for ideas, but once they get glued down I can't really reuse the images.

Polyvore is a free web-based resource that let's you take images from around the World Wide Web and make a digital collage. I wish this was around when I was a child because this is basically all I wanted to do all day long. It's like of like the challenges on Stylista.

It's fun for decorating your dream house (a la M.A.S.H.), or choosing decor items for your real house before you make any purchases. Or, you could go the fashion route and put together outfits just like Cher did in Clueless.

Polyvore keeps a record of where each product came from so you can track it down later. You can also share your image with others or embed it on your blog.

I have to plan my booth for the Bust Holiday Craftacular and Polyvore is going to come in very handy.

Bust Craftacular by wickedmint

Obviously I have a lot of work to do. In the meantime, check out these sweet collages and go to Polyvore to create an account!


mushroom by deyana13inaz


Paris Purple........... by BrandedWitch

Kawaii Food Stuffie Swap

I took a little break from swaps, but I'm getting back into the swing of things. My new rule is to make sure I really want to do make the craft and not just think it sounds fun. I recently joined the swap Kawaii Food With Faces Stuffie. What is that you ask? Well basically, we had to make a stuffed creature that looked like a piece of food in the style of Japanese Super-cute (I made up that term).

The craft started out kind of a pain in the neck, but once I got into it I found it kind of fun. My partner wanted a strawberry, which I was thankful for because it was easier to tackle than a cupcake.

The berry is made from felt and I painted on black seeds. I used thread to make the smile, many pieces of felt to make the leaves, and a bit of elastic rope was used for the stem.

Responsible Weird Al Fan

Today I was all responsible and stuff and went to see a financial planner. I'm an investor now! Afterwards I had to immediately work on a project and couldn't waste time going into the office. By the time I was done it was too late to go into work so I decided to cut my losses (or more like wins) and go meet Colleen at Dalaga. We did a little shopping, went over Kenny's to drop off some soup for his sore throat, and on my way out I grabbed his copy of the Weird Al Show.


I was once a huge fan of Weird Al. He was my #1 musical artist and actor. I even saw him in concert...when I was like 21.

Colleen and I went over to Habitat for Happy Hour and downed some beers, mac & cheese, and a Mediterranean plate. The bar owner popped the Weird Al Show into the DVD player and the bar (all 5 of us) watched 2 episodes. This is perhaps the worst show ever created...seriously, Colleen and I decided we would enjoy watched Reba compared to watching this show. The only good part was that we got to see Bare Naked Ladies perform...I can't get over how this bunch of nerds got famous. Good for them!

Behind the Scenes at Wicked Mint

Senior staff writer Mr. Paws hard at work.


"Get out of here I'm on deadline!"

Swap: Old into New Swap! Reduce, Reuse, Recycle.

I created a new swap born from my need to purge my "savings". My Junk Savings that is.

So all you out there that haven't jumped on the swapping train yet - now is the time! Yes we can. (Oh man, I didn't just say that, did I?)

Old into New Swap! Reduce, Reuse, Recycle.

In this swap you will create a functional craft (something that can be used - not artwork) using recycled materials.

This means you will take fabric scraps, paper scraps, used mailing tubes, used boxes, string - whatever you want - and create a new, up-cycled craft for your partner. Just make sure the pieces you use are clean.

At least 75% of your craft should be made from reused materials, but of course you can use new glue, paint,stamps, stickers etc... and other new pieces if necessary.

Read your partner's profile for inspiration (maybe they like to cook and you can create a recipe box), but really this craft is coming from you, using your old materials, so you have the final say in what you create.

When you send your craft please include a note listing where the items used originally came from.

Because this is an involved swap I'm being strict on the requirements:

• INTERNATIONAL SWAP
  
• 4.8 or higher rating
• Zero "no sends"
• If you have a rating/no-send problem and want to join contact me and I will make a decision based on the circumstances.
• Newbies with no swaps under their belt are allowed to join only with a completed profile and must live in the United States.

Sign Up!

If you would like to sign up for my email list, and consequently be enrolled in my giveaways (see below post), you can sign up right here!

Enter your email address below to sign up for the mailing list.

Of course, I would love it if you still went to my website, but I understand you have a lot going on and might not get around to it immediately. No, it's fine, I just spent a lot of time updating it and wanted to share that's all. It's not like the world is going to end because you don't look at my website. I mean, if you had a website that you just updated I would probably go click around the second you told me it was up there, but that's just me. I'm just that type of person.

New Website = Giveaway Contests! Yay!

I finally completed my RyanGreenDesigns.com update (well, almost) and part of the new site is a monthly contest in which I'll give away the featured item to people on my mailing list. If you are already on my mailing list you're already eligible!



Check out my new site and if you see any bugs feel free to let me know - I've been staring at this thing for way too long and I'm sure I'm missing some glaring mistakes.

See here for the complete rules.

Drive-by Same Name

I bought this poster from the 826 Valencia shop. 826 National is a family of seven nonprofit organizations dedicated to helping students, ages 6-18, with expository and creative writing at seven locations across the country. Find out more here: 826national.org



This is the packing slip that came with my poster. I love when other people named Ryan Green contact me...especially when it is in such a random way.

President-Elect Obama

That has a pretty sweet ring to it, huh? I can't wait to see what kind of puppy they get.

After work yesterday I went to my polling location on Williamsburg's Southside. I haven't lived there since 2005, but I keep forgetting to update my address. It's kind of a fun place to vote because it's all loud and people are always excited.



After I voted I headed over to Margot's house. Margot had an amzing spread of cheeses, olives, crackers and I made guacamole and immediately started to eat and drink out of anxiety. As more people arrived we had more food to stuff in our faces as we sweating through the news stations trying to mess with our heads.

But let's forget about Obama for a minute and talk about holograms! Apparently CNN has rediscovered Star Wars technology. This really jazzed up Election Night for all of us watching at home. Wolf Blitzer's mind was blown.



We couldn't believe it when Obama was declared the winner of Ohio so quickly. Then it was almost immediately declared that he will be our next President! Holy crap! There was silence as we read it on the screen and then everyone just started screaming. Outside in the streets and from the windows of other apartments we could just hear people shouting and honking and cheering. It was insane. I will never forget it.




After listening to Obama's speech, we hit the streets. Bedford Avenue was CRAZY. The roads were blocked with people - even the bus had to turn off its route to get by - and everyone was screaming and yelling and dancing. It was incredible.



After the results came in Abe and I got a text message from our friend in Sweden who said:

"Hey guys! Wow. America and the World greets a new time and a new President! Will be exciting to see him put together his office in the days to come. Party hard!"

Election Day!

I was up at 6:30am this morning - an hour early for me, but I was just a bundle of nerves and so excited for ELECTION DAY! You know what makes Election Day even more fun? Alternate side parking is suspended for the day so I didn't have to move my car AND Champion Coffee has $1 medium Americanos all day long!

I have a long list of crafts to complete, but tonight I'm going over Margot's house to watch the election results roll in and eat lasagna. I haven't voted yet, but I'm going to leave work a little early because I have a feeling the lines at my polling location are going to loooong.

Vote for whoever you think is best, but today I'm not holding back my vote.

NYC Marathon 2008

Nothing wipes me out more than a day of watching other people run. Today was the New York City Marathon. Woo! Love it. I left the house and walked down Manhattan Ave as the handicap racers zoomed by in their wheelchairs. I instantly started to sob. The Marathon is an amazing event.



I met Meredith, Margot and Colleen in front on Fabiane's on Bedford Ave and we spent the next 2 hours yelling "Go so-and-so!" to people that ran by and had their names on their shirts. If someone was from Italy Meredith would yell "Yeah Italia!" and if they were from France she would yell "Viva la France!" Meredith received a lot of blown kisses today.



This girl's got the right idea - there's nothing like eating a box of Entenmann's donuts while watching people exercise.



When you are in the Hasidic section of Williamsburg you feel like you're in a different country...especially when you see signs like this. Did the Parks Dept. commission these to be made in Belgium or something? I am so confused by this illustration style. It's un-American.



One of the only bad things about the Marathon is all the waste.

Halloweekend 2008

What would people do on Facebook if Halloween didn't exist? Man, it just gives the ol' social networking site a giant kick in the pants as we head into the holiday season.

I was on the fence about doing Halloween this year, but once I heard there was a party a block from my house I was sold and couldn't wait for the night to start. We started out at Habitat and then headed over to the weird "mansion" party later in the night. It was a seriously fun, silly, hilarious night. I think the photos speak for themselves.


Halloweekend at Bernie's II




Undercover Housewife


Everyone wanted to pose with Bern.

And then on Saturday I went over Preeya and Dave's house for Halloween Part II. I decided to get artsy and use the sepia function on my camera.


Junior came as "4 Piece Chicken McNuggets". Real original, Junior. Reallll original.


The best part about hanging out with a bunch of musicians? Singing oldies with Freddie Mercury!


I went as Dave's college friend, Ivan Phisher. This wig/beard combo is getting a lot of action.


What Halloween party is complete without pigs in a blanket?!


Shrink-wrapped brains


Preeya and Dave have a little mouse problem, but Joe doesn't mind sharing.


Awww yeahhhh.