Freedom!

How to paint your graduation mortar board (cap). Step 1: Print your design, color back with white chalk all over. Place pattern on cap and trace over with pencil pressing down to transfer your design. Lift up your pattern and the chalk pattern appears.

Step 2: Paint-I tried regular acrylic, but puff paint works the best. Do not use the puff paint bottle, hard to control the outcome. Instead, squirt some onto a plate and use a paint brush!

Step3: Bedazzle! I used Martha Stewarts Irridescent 12 Pack glitter and store bought rinestones. Use Jewel It glue and tweezers to place rinestones.

Step 4: Admire and wear your awesome and unique graduation cap. Don't forget to take a lot of pictures!

It's Almost Time!

I have 3 days left of externship and 5 pages of a final until I am officially done with my MA degree! I am already finding more time for crafting. I started a new felt project, bought new supplies, and will be decorating my graduation cap! For now I will leave you with these beauties-coffee filter paper roses painted in water color. My mother learned how to make them! Thanks to Martha Stewart and Mommymakesroses.com

They seriously look real. My mom made another bunch for my supervisor and I will post pictures by Wednesday! So come back soon!!

Learn something new everyday

Alright time to get nerdy! Did you know that crafting reduces anxiety?

• "Patients with mood disorders often 'live inside their heads'. Participating in a craft can help patients 'move' forward."

Often people who are in hospitals, recovering or in therapy benefit from craft "therapy". I, myself have anxiety from time to time (which is normal for most people!). When I craft on a consistent basis and have an outlet for "my brain"; I seem to be more relaxed. My brain is "moving forward" because you are spending time making something, either just for you, someone you care about, or just for fun and it takes your mind off your worries.

• "Robert Reiner, Ph.D., a New York University psychologist and the study’s author, the findings prove what crafters already know: Crafts de-stress. “The act of performing a craft is incompatible with worry, anger, obsession, and anxiety,” he says. “Crafts make you concentrate and focus on the here and now and distract you from everyday pressures and problems. They’re stress-busters in the same way that meditation, deep breathing, visual imagery, and watching fish are.”

I guess I already knew this, but to know scientifically that my crafting is a form of therapy and it actually works is awesome! However, like I have said before with graduate school coming to a close in about 4 weeks (classes anyways) I have ZERO time for crafts.

The last straw, hurdle, jump whatever you want to call it= super stressed/anxious, overwhelmed, overworked, studying like crazy, with little time to eat, sleep or finish my work..... let alone craft.

Counting the days_____39______ until I can offically call "time" my own again!!!

After May 29th watch out world, Snail Bait will be back in action and I may even start a new blog about my career in SLP---which is sure to involve a lot of creativity! :)

Easter Goodies

My mom and I made 94 cake balls today for Easer. Click here to learn: How To Make Cake Balls We used a recipe that was similar, we used chocolate to coat and added decorations! Suprisingly easy to make, the coating part was a bit tricky but decorating was fun! We saw some very creative cake balls while searching the internet! Some made into lolli-cake balls for weddings and showers. Some made into animals with fondant. Fun to get creative!

Not exactly Peter Cottontail! Looks like a box of chocolates!

Chocolate Cake Balls-regular chocolate (white drizzle) and peanut butter chocolate (sprinkles)

White Chocolate Cake Balls-Funfetti Cake with Sprinkles! They taste just as good as they look!

This is Bowie to Bowie, do you hear me out there man?

My sister is a big Bowie fan! She asked me to make her a Bowie inspired cross-stitch. I made the pattern myself based on Bowie's famous lightning bolt and hair! I put on some vintage Dawson's Creek and began stitching! I finished it in one evening. Hooray! 

The bait has killed me...

I will not have time for crafting for a while. Last semester of graduate school, extern 30+ hrs a week, and two major tests (licensing and grad exam) to study for.

I have done some crafting and baking just to keep myself sane. If I get a free minute I will come back and post. So keep checking! I may be back.

In other news I was introduced to Google Reader. I love it! Now that I have an iTouch I can keep up with my blogs all day long! Hooray. If you don't know what google reader is yet, check it out!!!! It's a blog readers dream!

Hearts and lots of them!

It is not very often that I get to make crafts for men, so it's a bit of a challenge when I get a request. I had stitched Zachary a quote he used all the time. His friend Mike loved it and requested something as well. I thought about zombies, southpark etc. However, I settled upon Bubble Bobble the Nintendo game. Mike introduced the game to me and the three of us spend hours playing it together. It doesn't hurt that the characters are cute little dragons! Both patterns curtosy of spritestitch.com.

After making the big one, I just had to make the cute smaller one for a Valetine's card. The editing (pink heart part) was done on picnik.com. Today they had a celebration for 1 billion uploaded pictures so I took advantage of premium editing!

Recent snow on the mountains, this is the view from my bedroom window, zoomed in as far as possible!

 

I truly enjoy decorating my room, last month it was snowflakes and this month.....

(again edited a lot using picnik.com)

Paperheart garlands are easy to make if you have a die cut machine. I used scrap book paper and construction paper. I hung them from my curtain rod using a paperclip and some thread. Of course it helps to have sparkly white lights to accent them too.