Glass Etchings

I was trying to figure out something fun Garrett and I could do/make for a wedding gift for our friends. I found the idea to etch on glass cookware. So Garrett and I went searching for the perfect pan, contact paper, and armour etch. After searching we found the contact paper and armour etch at Michaels.

The supplies you will need for the etching includes:

1. Armor Etch (Michaels); I bought mine with a 50% off coupon.
2. Contact Paper (Laminating sheets, found at Michaels with a 40% coupon)
3. Exacto knife (razor blade)
4. tape
5. Template (We printed off the writing from Word)
6. foam/ paint brush

Garrett and I weren't too confident that the etching would turn out or look good so we first etched on glasses that we got at the dollar store. Next, we etched a bread pan for us with our last name on it. Then we etched a pan for a wedding gift.

Here are the steps to etching a glass surface:

1. Wash and clean your glass surface.
2. Cut out a peice of contact paper that is bigger than your stencil. You will want the contact paper to cover quite a bit of your glass surface to protect the glass from coming in contact with the cream where you don't want it. Carefully peel the backing off of the contact paper and stick it onto the glass. Be careful that there aren't bubbles or creases in the contact paper. You may need to rub some of the smaller bubbles out with your fingers.
3. Put your stencil where you want it (on top of the contact paper).

4. Tape down your stencil to keep it in place.

5. Take your Exacto knife and carefully cut out your stencil. You will have to push harder to make sure it cuts through the paper layer and the contact paper.

6.Remove the contact paper where you want your glass to be etched.


7. Paint the etch cream over the glass you would like etched. We left the cream on for about 10-15 minutes. You can also reuse the etching cream. So when the time is up scrape it back into the bottle.

8. Then leaving the contact paper on your vase, rinse off the cream with water. Be careful where you rinse your cream off. The package cautions you from using porcelain sinks since the cream may damage the surface.

9. When the glass is clean peel off the contact paper.
*** When etching a pan you need to etch the bottom of the pan, this means that you will have to etch the name backwards so that when you look at it from the top you can read the name correctly.

Here is our finished bread pan:

Homemade Crayons

I have been trying to think of something I can give my students for Christmas and for Valentine's day. I was searching around the blogging world and found a great idea and the best part about it was that I had all the supplies and didn't have to spend a cent.

In my class I have a bucket of old crayons. I always find crayons laying around my classroom so I throw them in the bucket or students put their old crayons in the bucket that they don't want anymore. Most of the crayons are broken and very dull. Thus, creating a difficult time coloring with the crayons. I thought it would be fun to "recycle" the crayons and make something useful again. I found this idea over at Making Memories... One fun thing after another.

Here are the instructions to making cute homemade crayons. They are so easy, fun, and exciting!

* Make sure all the paper is removed (Garrett discovered that removing the paper is easiest by slicing the paper with an x-acto knife).

* You can use any kind of baking pan. I used a silicone one that has six heart shapes in them. (Thanks to my mother-in-law)

* Add like colors. I think it looks neat when you mix the same colors but one color is a darker shade. It makes for a cool effect!

* Bake in a 200 degree oven for about 30 minutes. The bigger the pieces the longer the cooking time.

* Remove from the oven and let them cool completely!

* Once cool, pop them out of the pans.

I put two in a sandwich bag and tied a ribbon around them to give to my students. Hopefully they will appreciate them. I sure had fun making them.

Cookies on a Stick

I had a bunch of friends over for a girls night over the summer. We made a ton of "cookies on a stick" to give to others. We had a great time baking and hanging out. I have some awesome friends!

In August Garrett and I left Utah to go to Oregon and Canada for three weeks. We were going to miss 3 Sundays with our Sunbeam class (3 year olds) so the day after my friends and I made cookies I went to each child's house and delivered cookies to them. The cookie recipe is sooooo delicious.

I found the recipe at allrecipes.com, here. It makes 72 cookies.

Ingredients

• 2 cups butter, softened
• 3 cups white sugar
• 4 eggs
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 1 tablespoon butter flavored extract
• 7 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt

Directions

1. Cream margarine and sugar. Add eggs and flavorings and mix well. Stir flour, baking powder and salt together. Add to batter and mix well.
2. CHILL 3-4 hours or overnight before using.
3. Roll cookies out approximately 1/4 inch thick and insert cookie sticks at least 1/3 to 1/2 way into cookie.
4. Bake cookies at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 8-10 minutes. This dough keeps well in a covered container in the refrigerator for a couple of weeks.
5. Decorate as desired. Display 3-7 cookies in a 6 inch clay pot (depending on size of cookie). Weigh pot down with dried beans and cut a circle of Styrofoam to fit snugly into top. Add ribbons and enjoy

Canada: A trip to remember

This summer my family went on a trip to Canada. We canoed the islands of Barkley Sound. We had an amazing time. One evening Devin, my dad, Garrett, and I canoed to a smaller island that most people don't stay at or go to. It was an unbelievable sight. It was so gorgeous and the sand was so neat. The sand had a bunch of miniature shells in it and dried up small crabs. The sand was not your typical thin sand. There were chunks of shells. I collected a bunch of the sand. The next day we went back to the island and we found starfish. In memory of our amazing trip this summer, I made a shadow box. I bought the shadow box and painted the back blue. I then hot glued the starfish to the back of the frame. The hardest part was getting the sand into the shadow box without it getting everywhere. I am pleased with how it turned out.

Visiting Teaching Message

The visiting teaching message for October is on Temples. I put together a little treat for the sisters I visit teach. I bought DOTS from Target. They are ghost DOTS. They are a cool green color. They taste the same as the regular dots.