Yarn Wrapped Bangle Bracelet Upcycled from a Mac & Cheese Box!

This one was really fun. I recently saw some bangle bracelets that appeared to be wrapped. They were cute, but I didn't want to pay for them! I thought to myself, "I can make that!" And, I did!

This is what you will need:
Any cardboard box
Scissors
Glue (I love Weldbond)
Yarn, embroidery thread, etc.
I bought my yarn at Big Lots for $1!

1. Cut strips of the cardboard as wide as you would like your bracelet. Wrap it around your wrist to get the right size. Make sure that you make it big enough to slip the bracelet on and off after it's finished. I had to glue 2 pieces together to get the strip long enough.

2. Glue the end of the yarn to strip. Start wrapping the strip with the yarn. You will need to keep pushing the yarn tightly against the previous wraps. This will help make sure that you will not be able to see the cardboard through the yarn.

3. When you get almost to the end, you will need to glue the 2 ends together. This is when you will cut the yarn (make sure that you cut it long enough to finish wrapping the bracelet).

4. Glue the ends of the yarn to the inside of the bracelet so that it will not unravel.

That's it! Wear your pretty bracelet and see how many times you hear, "You made that?"

Easy Crockpot Chicken

This is a great way to make a whole chicken if you are a lazy cooker like me!

You will need:
1 whole chicken
salt & pepper
Other seasonings (optional) i.e. paprika, seasoned salt, etc.
foil

Ball up 3 pieces of foil and put on the bottom of the Crockpot. Wash and prepare chicken as usual. Add seasoning and put chicken on top of the foil balls. Depending on the size of the chicken, it should take 4-6 hrs on low. The chicken will fall off the bone and stays moist. That's it, a super easy way to cook a chicken!

My buddy Rusty Chrome's Chickens...Aren't they cute?

You Made That?

I absolutely love it when someone asks me, "You made that?"

I love the feeling that I get when I create something unique from something that I bought at a Thrift Store for $1.00!

I get a smile on my face when I give a handmade gift to someone and they truly love it.

Don't you?

I have been a stay at home mom for 7 years now. I really am appreciative that I have been able to stay with my kids for this long. Now that my youngest will be starting Kindergarten in the Fall, I find myself asking myself what I want to be when I grow up. I know, I know...I have been a grown up for a long time now! One of my biggest fears is that I will have to get an awful full time job and get paid peanuts for wages. I can't let that happen to me! When would I get to make things???

My most recent endeavor is "upcycling" Capri Suns into handbags, wallets, aprons, etc. I have been collecting them at my son's school and selling the creations as a fundraiser. Check them out at: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Made-by-Mel-Upcycle-the-Sun/170968899589222

My goal is to create a useful and fun blog that will help other moms (and anyone else) create things. I have started compiling a bunch of really great and very simple dinner recipes as well.

To be continued...