DIY: Sparkly Baby Rhinestone Converse

After my post a few weeks ago about the Converse I decorated for my niece, I got a request to make another pair.  Yay!  Here's a little picture tutorial.  You can check out my post from Tuesday, January 28, 2014 "Pink Rhinestone Converse Baby Shoes" for the written step-by-step on how to make these cute little shoes.

 

There were a few differences between these shoes and the last pair I did. 

1. These shoes were a Converse All-Star size 4 and they were soft bottoms. They were only $20.00.  I was told the baby wore a size 10.  So, I ordered an "Infant Size 10" online and got a pair of gigantic shoes.  I could almost fit them. I'm not sure what kind of infants Converse had in mind when they made those shoes. :-|  So, I went to the store and saw that Converse baby shoes run from 0-4.  And, they are soft soles.  Although, the 4's do come in hard bottoms sometimes.   Either way, the rhinestone application was still the same for the hard vs. soft bottoms.  I just want everyone to be aware that, to Converse, an "infant" is the size of a 7 years old. So, keep that in mind when you order. :-)

2. This time around I put the E-6000 glue into a plastic applicator with a tip on it.  This made glue application much easier and a lot less messy.  You can purchase the tubes in bulk from a craft store (approx.. 8 per package) for about $3.00.

3. This time I switched out the laces for pink ribbon.  If you look at the picture of all the items I used to make the shoes, you'll notice two different ribbons than the ribbon in the finished product.  That's because those ribbons, while adorable, were too thick to put through those teeny tiny grommets.   So, my suggestion is you use thin, wireless ribbon for your shoe laces if you plan to trade them out.

4.  This time it only took me about an hour to complete the shoes.  I think it was because the shoes were teeny weeny and because I used that plastic applicator for the glue.

Enjoy!

Party Favors - Birthday Cigars

Cigars are a great party favor when you have men at your party.  Plus, a lot of ladies love them too. 

The Task: Make an alternative party favor for my "Fabulous" birthday party.  The first favor was a fabulous feather boa.  

The Ingredients: good, not-too-expensive cigars, clear zip bags for each cigar (the shop will give you these for free if you just ask), card stock, scissors, computer, printer, some type of computer program that allows you to do graphics (I used Microsoft Word), stapler, glue stick

The Purchase Locations: A Cigar shop in Downtown LA (referred by a friend who frequents the place, so the owner gave me a good deal), an office supply store

The Cost: Approx. $6.00

It only took me: about 20 minutes

How to:
1. Make a template for the cigar wrapper in your graphics program.  Create a 3 x 1/2 inch long rectangle.  Then, place a 1 inch oval in the center of the rectangle.  Add whatever graphics you choose to the center of the oval. (I added a star, my initials and the year).  Copy and paste as many wrappers as you can to each sheet of card stock. 

2. Print out the wrappers, cut each one out, then wrap each one around the center of the cigar.  Add a little bit of glue to the end of the wrapper to seal it around the cigar.

3. Place the wrapped cigar into the zip bag and seal the bag.

4. Make a template for the "Thank You for Coming" tag in your graphics program.  Create a 2x3 inch rectangle. Add whatever graphics you choose to the bottom of the rectangle.  (I added a star graphic and a "Thank You for Coming" phrase).  Copy and paste as many rectangles as you can to each sheet of card stock. 

5. Print out the "Thank You for Coming" tags, cut each one out, then fold each one in half and staple it over the top of the sealed cigar zip bag.

DIY: "Birthday Cake" Cake Pop Stand

I really like Cake Pops.  And, I think they make great party favors.  Also, they are less messy than a cake.  So, for my birthday, instead of a birthday cake - I made this...

 

 
The Task: Make a cake pop stand in the shape of a birthday cake to hold my cake pop party favors at my birthday party.

The Ingredients: 1 pack of plastic gift wrap (3 sheets), ribbon, flat head sewing pins, party hat, toothpicks, 3 floral styrofoam rings of various sizes, hot glue gun 

The Purchase Locations: Michael's Arts & Crafts (for the ribbon...always hit the clearance bin first; the larger foam ring), Dollar Tree (everything else!)

The Cost: Approx. $10.00

It only took me: about 30 minutes

How to:

1.  Cover each foam ring with a piece of plastic gift wrap.  I pinned the wrap to the bottom of each ring with sewing pins. 

2.  Wrap a ribbon around each ring.  I used sewing pins to hold the ribbon in place.

3.  Push 4 toothpicks halfway into the top of the largest foam ring.  Place the toothpicks around the ring a few inches apart for each other.

4. Place the middle sized ring on top of the larger ring and push it down over the tooth picks.  This makes the stand secure. 

5.  Repeat steps 3 and 4 for the smallest foam ring. 

6.  Glue the party hat to the top tier.   

7. Get/Make some cakepops and gently push them into the tiers. 

This was the best picture I got of the final project...'cause the cake pops went FAST! 

This stand can be used over and over again!  Just separate the rings, remove the ribbon, remove the gift wrap and start over with new ribbon and wrap.

Pink Rhinestone Converse Baby Shoes

One night when I couldn't sleep, I made these shoes for my niecy-poo Zylyn.  Probably not the best way to combat insomnia.  But, it was fun. :-)

The Task: Add some pink, sparkly love to the Converse I bought for my niece. 

The Ingredients: shoes, approx. 200 small pink crystal rhinestones (1/4 cm), E6000 glue, a q-tip, Craft Tack, alcohol, a shoe box top

The Purchase Locations: Michael's Arts & Crafts, Downtown LA (for the crystals and shoes), 99 cents only store (for the q-tip and alcohol)

The Cost: Approx. $35.00

It only took me: about two hours

How to:

1.  Where ever you plan to place rhinestones, wipe the area with alcohol.

2. Place a bit of craft tack on the end of a q-tip to create a tool that will allow you to pick up the rhinestones easily.

3. Dump the rhinestones into a shoe box top. I like to lay them out so all the flat sides are down.  This makes them easy to pick up and attach to the shoe.

4. Apply a short, thin line of E6000 glue to the top part of the rubber on the shoe.  Add rhinestones in a line on top of the glue.

5. Repeat step 4 until the entire rubber area (and any other area you want to decorate) is covered in rhinestones.

6. Wipe the rhinestone areas with alcohol after you're done to remove any excess glue from the rhinestones.

OPTION:  You can replace the shoe string with colorful ribbons.

TIPS: Although it is tempting, don't add too much glue at one time.  The glue dries pretty quickly.      

T-Shirt & Wine Glass Party Favors

If you live in LA, you know that pole dance fitness classes and parties have been popular for a while.  This particular party was held at Allure Dance & Fitness Studio (http://www.alluredancestudio.com/). 

When coming up with party favor ideas, I always think of what my dad tells me whenever I want to get him a gift.  He always says,"Don't buy me any junk." Because of this, I am a big fan of giving guests party favors that they can actually use.  So, the favors I came up with for this party were favors that the guests could not only use, but that they could use during the party.

Guests were given their favors as soon as they arrived at the party.

The party consisted of a 30-minute reception period that Allure calls "Mingle Time".  During this time, guests were invited to enjoy wine in their "Keep Calm and Drink Wine" wine glass favor. 

There is also certain attire required for such parties.  So, tank tops were decorated with a "Keep Calm and Dance On" logo.  Guests were encouraged to wear their shirts during the party.

The stencils for the t-shirts and the glasses were made using a friend's Cricut machine (www.cricut.com) that she forgot she had.  This machine is the best for cutting out perfect stencils in seconds.

The image was applied to the t-shirt using my same friend's at-home screen printing machine (they run about $100.00), which she also stumbled upon as she went through her craft closet.    She had so many cool crafting things I didn't want to leave her house.  I was there for two days straight...going craft crazy.  It was great.

The image on the wine glass was applied using glass frosting paint.  This paint was so cool.  I never even knew it existed.  You can get it from just about any craft store.  It makes the glass look frosted by just painting on the glass surface, letting it dry for a few minutes, then rinsing the glass with cold water.  I wanted to frost all the glasses in the house after I discovered this stuff. 

I added my signature touch - a pink rhinestone - on top of all the crowns on the tank tops and the wine glasses.  I used E-6000 glue to make sure the stones wouldn't fall off.      

Finally, I tied each shirt with a pink bow and tucked them into the wine glasses so they could be properly presented to each guest.

NOTE: Applying the stencils to the glass was pretty tough.  I had to apply each word separately (and evenly), and adhere it to the glass with pieces of tape. Then, I had issues with the stencil slipping 'cause the paint was making the glass slick.  So, if you do decide to stencil glass, keep the stencil simple.  Don't try to get fancy and stencil a whole sentence AND an image like I did.  It's no joke.

Tutu from Jurnee's Terrible Tu-Tu's 2nd Birthday Party

I really enjoy making tutus. They're cute and colorful and glittery.  And, what little girl doesn't feel like a princess in a tutu?

This tutu was inspired by my dear grandmother, Gaynelle (aka my Good Ole Gran).  Gran would sew dresses for me when I was a kid.  And, she would always sew a little bell under each of my dresses.  I would run and jump and skip around because I LOVED to hear the little bell jingle.  So, I put a few bells in Jurnee's tutu.  At the party, Jurnee's grandmother kept noticing she was skipping and jumping much more than usual.  We eventually realized that it was the bells.  Every time she moved, she heard the bells and loved them as much as I did when I was her age. :-)

The Task: Create a tutu fit for a princess for little Jurnee's 2nd birthday party.  The theme was Terrible Tu-Tu's .  The colors were pink, green and blue.  [There are a few ways to make tutus.  I like them to be really full, so I chose this method.]

The Ingredients: Three rolls of 6" tulle, plain and glitter (25 yards each), a colorful crochet headband, an 18 inch long strip of cardboard (you can cut this from a box), scissors, two rubber bands, tiny bells, thin ribbon, small rhinestones, E6000 glue and various trinkets to add to the waistband  [Important: The glitter on glitter tulle is not very secure.  So, make sure you cover your work area.]   

The Purchase Locations: Michael's Arts & Crafts (don't forget to print out your discount coupon before you go), the Craft Depot (Downtown LA), Dollar Tree

The Cost: Approx. $20.00 (NOTE: You can make this tutu for about $10.00 if you don't add the trinkets and don't use glitter tulle)

It only took me: about two hours

How to:

1. Remove the plastic rings on the end of each roll of tulle.  Then, take the cardboard roll out of the center of each of the rolls of tulle (be sure to keep the roll intact).  This takes some maneuvering, but it'll make your life a lot easier.  Trust me on this. 

2. Cut each roll of tulle in half (3 inches wide) so you end up with 6 rolls of tulle.

3.  Take one roll at a time and wrap it long ways around the 18 inch long strip of card board. When all of the tulle has been wrapped around the cardboard, place a rubber band around the top of the strip and one around the bottom of the strip.  This holds the tulle in place.  Cut the tulle at the top of the cardboard and cut it at the bottom.  Now you have several strips of 18 inch long pieces of tulle.  Repeat this step for each of the rolls of tulle.

4. Stretch the crochet headband around something solid (a piece of cardboard, a book, your knee, whatever) so you can start weaving the tulle through the headband. 

5. Take two pieces of tulle (one on top of the other) and fold them in half.  Push the looped part of the tulle through the base of the headband, then pull the two ends through the loop to create a knot.  Repeat this step above your first knot, two more times.  You'll end up with a row with three knots. 

6. Move over to the next open space on the base of the headband and repeat step 5 until all the tulle has been used.  You can use any color combination you choose.

7.  Take a few tiny bells and string a thin piece of ribbon through each one.  Tie each one around a loop in the crochet headband. 

8. Cut the stems off of the plastic flowers.  Place a bit of E6000 glue on the back of the flower to hold the flower together. 

9.  Glue trinkets to the center of each flower.  I put a "Happy Birthday" trinket on one flower, a J on the second flower (J for Jurnee), and two candles on the third flower (since she was turning 2 years old).

10.  Glue each flower to the top of the crochet headband. 

11.  Glue a few rhinestones on the tulle to add more sparkle. 

HAPPY 2nd BIRTHDAY, JURNEE!!  Thank you Gran for continuing to inspire me!   And, thank you to Just Add A Bow for their excellent video demonstration on how to make the tutu full and fluffy (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=35kRpNIXupw)

Baby Niko's Hello Kitty Shower

 

Here are some party favors and decorations I did for my friend Tia's baby shower.  Her baby luckily waited until her due date to make her debut.  So, we were able to have a super fun shower. :-)

Tia requested a Hello Kitty baby shower!  So, I went Hello Kitty crazy with the decorations and favors!  There wasn't much in the room that didn't have Hello Kitty on it.

The party was held at Tia's apartment.  There is a huge mirror in her living room.  So, I printed out some letters on transparent removable decal paper (available at any office supply store) to make a welcome sign for baby.

The water beads made their debut again in the centerpieces.  This time, I added some pink jewels to the vase and a waterproof light to make the centerpieces sparkle.  I also added little Hello Kitty trinkets to each centerpiece.

For the favors, I got some sheets of small dot stickers from an office supply store and printed the shower date, baby's name and a Hello Kitty logo on each dot.  I got some Hershey Kisses and placed a sticky dot on the bottom of each Kiss.  I filled little take-out containers with the Kisses and added a 'Thank You' label to the outside of each container.

Overall, it was a sweet shower for a sweet baby girl!