Blog - Gluesticks Blog

Teacher Appreciation Memo Cubes

April 28, 2011 By Brandy 7 Comments

Last year for "Teacher's Appreciation Week", we made chocolate covered strawberries. We'll probably still do strawberries for the teachers this year, but also made these little custom memo cubes. I saw the idea here and ran with it! I went to Office Max with a pack of 500 sheets of copy paper and they made 6 memo pads for me with the sides glued (1 side on each).

Here are the ones that Aaron made for his preschool teacher. Everything looks cuter when a preschooler does it. We sure love our teachers and have been blessed with absolutely wonderful ones this year!

two decorated memo cubes for teacher gift

Minion Cupcakes Made With Twinkies!

April 27, 2011 By Brandy 55 Comments

Does it get any more hilarious than this? These minion cupcakes are made out of Twinkies. They are such a fun treat to make with kids and are easy to customize! Use Smarties candies and frosting to add eyes, a mouth, and glasses!

Aren't these little minion cupcakes great?!?! We had no occasion to make them for, but who needs an occasion for cupcakes? We found them online and knew we had to make a batch for the family (link to inspiration below).

Minion Cupcakes Made With Twinkies!

FYI: Finding white smarties takes A LOT of little packages of smarties. Most of them are pink and purple, but that was even better for the kids because they liked snacking on the extras.

child frosting cupcake with blue frosting

Â Frosting the cupcakes in blue to match the minion's over-alls.

Each minion is made from a half of a twinkie, two smarties, and colored icing for the eyes and glasses. Aaron couldn't wait to finish frosting the cupcakes so that he could lick the knife. You can see the evidence on his face 🙂

child putting half of a Twinkie onto cupcake

After adding the smartiesÂ he decided that he was done with frosting and putting the minions together.Â So I took over with the eye details.

child adding Smarties candies to cupcake for eyes

And here they are! Be sure to check out the link for more Despicable Me party ideas! She did a fantastic job!

Pinewood Derby Days!

March 30, 2011 By Brandy 16 Comments

junior mints boxes decorated like derby cars

Our oldest isn't old enough for Cub Scouts, but Derrick is the Cub Master, so we still hear all about scouts and sometimes help participate in it.

Derrick and I came up with these fun candy "trophies" to give to each scout during the Pinewood Derby. They each received one along with a certificate. They were so simple to make and would be great for birthday parties as well!

candy car made from junior mints and chocolate bars

I think the photos are pretty self explanatory, just a bit of hot glue and the candy was easily attached.

Toddler Purse Tutorial Just Like Mommy's

March 25, 2011 By Brandy 18 Comments

Does your little gal like rummaging around in your purse? Make her one of her own! This quick and easy toddler purse tutorial will walk you step by step through the process. A great project for beginners.

little girl holding homemade floral purse

Kaylee is my little shadow. I just love this little lady to bits and pieces! She enjoys rummaging around in my purse and carrying it over her shoulder. It was time for her to have her own. One that is just her size! It turned out so cute that I made a couple more toddler purses to give as gifts and snapped a few pictures to create a tutorial for you!

Toddler Purse Tutorial

For this project you will need:

fabric (scraps are perfect for this)
fusible interfacing
Velcro or snaps
thread
scissors
pins
sewing machine
paper/pen to make a pattern

purse pattern piece and fabric pieces cut out

Step 1: Make a pattern.

Fold a piece of 8 ½ x11" copy paper in half.
For the top part measure out 3". Mark it with a pen. Then go down 4" and measure (from the fold) a 3 ½" width and mark that. Then, starting at your top mark, fill in the distance between the dots by rounding it off like the pattern above. Also round off from the bottom mark to the fold at the bottom of the pattern.

Note:

You can make it bigger or smaller. But if you are following mine for a tiny purse, follow my measurements. I forgot to snap a photo of the two marks before I rounded them off, but hopefully you get the idea.

Step 2:Â Open pattern.

If it looks like an appropriate shape, sort through your fabrics and pick 2. One for the outer, and one for the lining. You'll also need some fusible interfacing in the same size.

Step 3: Cut fabric and interfacing.

Cut two pieces from each fabric and another two pieces from the interfacing, for a total of 6.

Step 4:Â Cut strap pieces.

For the strap, cut a piece of fabric that is 2 ½" x 20" and a section of interfacing the same size.

Step 5: Optional monogram.

I added a little monogram to my purse. This is of course, optional, but such an easy embellishment to do. I used some "wonder under" (iron on adhesive) to the back of my fabric, cut out the B and ironed it onto a piece of the outer fabric.

Step 6: Velcro

Â Cut 1 ½" of Velcro and sew it to the right sides of the lining fabric 1" from the top and centered in width.

Step 7:Â Make the strap.

For the strap: Iron on the interfacing to the wrong side of the fabric. Press the length sides ¼" on each side (top and bottom as well). Then fold the strap in half ad press. This will make it look neat and tidy and you will not have to turn it right side out after sewing.

Step 8: Â Iron the interfacing to the wrong sides of the outer fabric.

purse outer pieces and lining stitched and velcro added

Step 9:Â Using a ⅜" seam, sew the outer and lining sections on the sides and bottom, leaving the top open. Trim seams and clip curves. Using a ¼" seam, sew the strap side section.

Step 10:Â The outer fabric should be inside out. The lining fabric should be right side out. Place the lining section inside the outer section. You should only see the wrong sides of the fabric. The right sides will be touching inside. Pin around the top and stitch around, leaving a 3" gap to turn the purse right side out.

Step 11:Â Turn right side out. It will look like this.

Step 12:Â Gently push the lining down into the purse and tuck the opening down just a bit. Press and pin. Then top stitch around the top of the purse, catching the opening in the seam. This will close off the opening and finish up the bottom section of the purse!

Â Step 13: Position one side of the strap INSIDE the purse 1" from the top and centered with the side seam. Attach to the purse by sewing in a box shape. Do this to the other side as well.

If you liked this toddler purse tutorial you might also like simple sewing projects...

stuffed animal sleeping bag with teddy bear inside

10 Minute Sleeping Bag for Teddy

DIY Pocket Fan

Cub Scout Blue & Gold Banquet Cake!

February 25, 2011 By Brandy 30 Comments

Derrick is the Cub Master at our church and asked me to make a cake for the Blue & Gold Banquet.

Cub Scout themed cake on silver baking sheet

I used this photo as my guide and pretty much copied it. It was a great resource. Everything is edible except for the blue and white cub scout badge.

It most definitely isn't perfect (the fondant and I had a little battle...it won), but I love how it turned out in the end, and think the boys will like it tomorrow night too!

The "Get Your Brag On" Link Party is open until Saturday night, so join in!!

A Girl's Survival Kit

February 7, 2011 By Brandy 17 Comments

The ladies at church were putting a gift basket together for a friend who has been going through a rough time. I decided to make a "Girl's Survival Kit" too add and filled it with all of her favorite things!

I bought this box at the hardware store and filled it up. I know she likes Take 5s, so I put some of those in there, along with more candy, gum, lip gloss, a notebook, nail polish, and some homemade earrings.

plastic organizer container filled with candy

I think it turned out cute!

Simple Valentine's Day Topiary

January 21, 2011 By Brandy 51 Comments

I had a lot of fun putting this topiary together. I first saw the cupcake liner idea on here, and decided to make a topiary instead of a wreath. I found these cute liners at IKEA last year and forgot about them...until today!

I know that everyone uses styrofoam balls, but I didn't have any. So I balled up some newspaper and secured it with packing tape. Perfect...and free!

Then I began hot gluing the liners to the newspaper ball. Simple as that. The other ball will be used in another project that I will share another day.

I had some flower pots in the shed, so I grabbed one and painted it black, then sprayed it with a clear coat and added black beans to hold the dowel in place.

black pot with black beans and topiary on dowel

Added a ribbon and some contact paper trim to the pot (cut with my cricut), and I was done!

Thanks for looking!

Matching Handbag and Wallet Tutorials

January 19, 2011 By Brandy 57 Comments

Can't find the perfect handbag or wallet? Make your own! An easy to follow handbag tutorial with plenty of room to hold everything you might need AND a wallet tutorial too! Make both in coordinating fabrics for a matching set.

I did not come up with these amazing tutorials, but did link to the creators below. I am grateful for talented ladies like these who take the time to create easy to follow sewing tutorials!

Handbag tutorial and wallet tutorial are listed at the bottom of the post.

I have always been in denial as to how large of a bag/purse that I really need. I always go smaller and end up stuffing things in to make them fit...and then I can't find anything! Even after adjusting the pattern for my last purse to make it larger, I still had that issue. So I've come to terms with being a mother of 3, one still in diapers, and made myself a bag to fit. Smaller than my diaper bag, but large enough to fit everything and some extra space. Perfect.

Â I purchase a yard of Amy Butler's morning glory fabric on etsy. A quick trivia fact...Amy Butler

lives in the nextÂ town over from me. HerÂ studio is 15 minutes away from me, yet she remains closed to the public.Â WasÂ it too much to hope for an Amy ButlerÂ fabric outlet to be connected to her studio for locals like myself? Maybe...until she comes around, I'll order online.

I had a heck of a time finding a fabric to coordinate with this one at any shops in town. Then I decided to go through my closet. Sure enough...a pair of greenish/greyish/brownish (I have no idea what color it is) cords that I got at a thrift store for $3, matched PERFECTLY. And I never wore them anymore.

A polka dot print for the lining, and magnetic closures to secure it shut. I will never use any other fastener again. EVER. I had no idea how simple these were to add to a bag or wallet. And inexpensive.

After I finished my bag, I went on to working on a matching wallet.

A pocket for receipts...

Â 6 card slots, another pocket for bills, and...

a large zipper section for coins, etc.

WASP BAG TUTRIALÂ from Machen/ Machen

**Update 11/17/2011**
The Wallet Tutorial that I used is no longer available online. It looks as though her blog went private. Here is the link in case it comes back open to the public again.

Here is another one that I have made and the tutorial is fantastic. Wallet Pattern

Easy Snowman Ornament: Quick and Easy Preschool Craft

December 24, 2010 By Brandy 2 Comments

A quick and easy holiday craft for kids! This shredded paper snowman ornament comes together in under 5 minutes.

I found a pack of clear ornaments that I bought a few years ago in one of our Christmas boxes. I bought them to make snowman ornaments with the kids and then forgot...until this year! We made these cute ornaments to hang on the tree then used them to decorate the house in January. I love the faces that the kids drew on all by themselves. Those little carrot noses, though! We have a "no ornament left behind" policy in our home and string EVERY ornament onto the tree EVERY year. With several kiddos, this means that we have a lot of glittery, hand drawn, pasta dyed ornaments on the tree and I wouldn't have it any other way. Each represents a moment in time, a year, and a memory.

I debated whether or not I should post a tutorial for these little ornaments because they are pretty self-explanatory, but I figured, why not? Someone might find this useful! If not, just scroll down to the bottom of the post where I share some other wintry/Christmas related crafts for kids that require a bit more instruction.