I have two vision boards in my apartment, one focusing on happiness and the other on creativity. You can make yours about anything you’d like! I collect quotes, pictures, clippings and even little knickknacks to pin onto my boards. It’s a place to display your vision and becomes a reminder to help turn your dreams into reality!

MATERIALS: Canvas with a wooden frame (mine are 24” by 36”), acrylic paint (two colors), brushes, Sobe glue and yarn or string, thumb tacks, acrylic sealer

First think of a word that represents your vision board. Then start by painting your canvas a solid color. You might need two coats for a more solid look. Let it dry. Take out your second color and paint the sides of the canvas frame and then paint your word. You can write it vertically or horizontally, either way works. Once the paint is all dry, spray with a thin coat of  acrylic sealer. Take out your yarn and Sobe glue. Outline each letter with the glue and follow with the yarn. I also glued a line of yarn around the entire side of the canvas frame. Hang on your wall and start pinning on your visions!

One of my closest friends just got married. And on top of her present, I wanted to make her something special. I took some every day kitchen items and gave them cute embellishments.

MATERIALS: Solid potholders and kitchen towels, patterned fabric, embroidery thread, sobe glue, Scissors, needle, ribbon (this is optional- you may want to incorporate this into your pattern. I decided not to)

Step 1: Gather materials.

Step 2: For the potholders I choose to do a monogram set with my friend and her husband’s first name initial.  Choose a font you liked on the computer and print it out in a size that fits nicely on the potholder. Pin the letters to fabric. You could also do a hand drawn letter.

Step 3: Cut out your letters. The better you pin the easier it will be to cut.

Step 4: Glue your pieces down with Sobe Glue and let it dry.

Step 5: Now you will do an overcast stitch all around the letter.  An overcast stitch is a series of equally spaced diagonal stitches that loop around the edge of the fabric. This is both decorative and helps keep the edge of the fabric from unraveling. Since you need a lot of embroidery thread I found it was easier to do half of the letter and then rethread. Repeat steps on other potholder with your second letter.

Step 6: To do the dishtowels you are going to do essentially the same thing. Cut out your patterns ( I choose to do varying heart patterns).  Glue down your shapes with Sobe Glue. Let dry. Vary using the overcast stitch and a running stitch.  This project is all about creating something unique so let your imagination run wild!

What does every man like?  A cold one and control of the remote. Here’s a project to put a smile on his face for father’s day! Have a great weekend with your dad!

MATERIALS: Cork sheet, glue gun, box cutter or exacto knife, measuring tape, pen, binder clips, leather or faux leather tape, cutting board and ruler

Step 1: Gather materials.

Step 2: Cut a rectangle from the cork sheet that measures 8.5” wide by 5” high.

Step 3: Wrap the rectangle you just cut into a cylinder and clip the two ends together with 2 binder clips – one on the top and one on the bottom. Make sure that you get the two ends as close to each other as possible. Take out your glue gun and glue the seam together. I had to hold it closed for about 3 minutes till it set.

Step 4: Cut your two pieces of leather tape about 8” and glue one over the seam on the cork cylinder, while wrapping the ends into the inside of the cylinder. Glue the other leather piece on the opposite side of your cylinder.

Step 5: Measure the diameter of the bottom of your cork cylinder, mine was just over 3” and cut a circle that size out of another piece of cork which will become the bottom of the coozy.

Step 6: Glue on the bottom of the coozy and cut off the excess cork if necessary. Grab a drink, put it in your new coozy and enjoy!