How To: Chex Party Mix

So I have to admit that I've been a bit of a scrooge this Christmas when it comes to decorating and baking. I promise to make up for my lack of crafty inspiration in 2010! Chex Party Mix was the closest that I came to baking this year and I got the recipe right off of the Chex box. Martha Stewart would scoff at my Party Mix but I will still share the yumminess with you. It is super easy, takes a little over an hour and healthier than cookies (yes, that is my excuse for not baking and I'm sticking to it...now to find an excuse for not decorating).

Love,
The Grinch

Ingredients:

3 cups Corn Chex® cereal
3 cups Rice Chex® cereal
3 cups Wheat Chex® cereal
1 cup mixed nuts
1 cup bite-size pretzels
1 cup garlic-flavor bite-size bagel chips or regular-size bagel chips, broken into 1-inch pieces
6 tablespoons butter or margarine
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1 1/2 teaspoons seasoned salt
3/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon onion powder

Oven Directions:

Heat oven to 250°F. In large bowl, mix cereals, nuts, pretzels and bagel chips; set aside. In ungreased large roasting pan, melt butter in oven. Stir in seasonings. Gradually stir in cereal mixture until evenly coated. Bake 1 hour, stirring every 15 minutes. Spread on paper towels to cool, about 15 minutes. Store in airtight container.

Upcycled Gift Wrapping

Happy Holidays my crafty friends! Check out my latest tutorial that I wrote for Craftzine: Upcycled Gift Wrapping. Happy upcycled wrapping!



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How To: Fabric Leaf Place Cards

This mini tutorial is my poor attempt at an apology to Thanksgiving for snubbing it and going into full Christmas mode without showing the turkey the proper respect it deserves . I blame the 24/7 Christmas music on the radio and the shiny new Christmas craft supplies they put out before Halloween is even over. I'll try to hold off listening to any more Christmas songs until November 27th (today doesn't count)...

Materials

Cardstock
Fabric Leaves
Buttons
Hemp String or Yarn/Ribbon
Paper Cutter
Hole Puncher

Directions

Step 1: Determine how large you want your card tent and use your paper cutter (or scissors) to cut your card stock down to size. Fold your cardstock in half to make a card tent. If you don't feel like cutting or folding, you can always buy ready made tent cards at your local craft store.


Step 2: Punch a hole through your card tent and fabric flowers (these can be found ready made at a craft store or make your own using a leaf cookie cutter as your stencil). I have a nifty hole puncher that punches 2 long skinny squarish holes but if you don't have this type of puncher, no worries, you can punch 2 side by side holes or hand-cut 2 slits.


Step 3: Place hemp string through your holes, connecting your leaves to your card tent, and finish off with an up-cycled button.


Step 4: Enjoy your festive place card! Instead of names, I will be writing meaningful quotes on these cards and setting them around the table.


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How To: Shark Infested Jello

Just when you thought it was safe to serve your guests a Halloween treat...

This shark infested jello is super simple to make and will be the hit of your Halloween party. When I say shark, I mean more of a fishy looking shark (a fishark) - partly because I couldn't find shark gummies but mainly because Swedish fish taste better (in my opinion) and look cuter. Yes, Halloween can still be cute!

The Equipment:
Mixing Bowl
Mixing Spoon
Clear Serving Bowls

The Ingredients:
Blue Jello
Swedish Fish


Step 1: Prepare the Jello as directed on the box.


Step 2: After mixing the ingredients together you can chill your jello for an hour, add your fishark, and refrigerate for another 4 hours before serving. I wasn't a fan of how the fishark tasted or looked after being soaked in jello so I just added my fishark to the top of the Jello.

Step 3: Serve and enjoy!


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How To: Tutu Cute Halloween Wreath

I was searching my favorite blogs for Halloween inspiration when I came across this adorable Tutu Cute Halloween Wreath Tutorial by Baby Rabies. Be warned, baby fever is extremely contagious at this blog. For my version of the Tutu Cute Halloween Wreath I added a "spooky" sign in the middle and being the big chicken that I am, this is about as spooky as I get! Because my door is freakishly big (seriously they built the doorways in this home to the specifications of an NBA player), I decided to go with the XL straw wreath and used about 3 1/2 rolls of tulle to make it extra fluffy.




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How-To: The Picture Perfect Pumpkin

Happy Monday my crafty friends! Check out my latest tutorial that I wrote for Craftzine: The Picture Perfect Pumpkin. Happy decoupaging!



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How-To: Upcycled Yarn Vase

I suffer from major craft ADHD. I jump from project to project and I can't seem to complete anything because a new idea pops into my head that I just have to start. I guess this is better than crafters block (you know, like writers block) but it is turning my craft studio into a disaster zone and my supplies are starting to trickle into the rest of my home...soon they will take over the entire house! I need help before Mr. Designs by Vanessa gets buried in glitter and yarn. Hmm glitter and yarn...that would make for a great new project. See what I mean? I need a craft intervention!

As much as I would like to see Mr. Designs by Vanessa covered in glitter and yarn, I have decided to start and actually finish a project today. I have yet another fabulous tutorial for my fabulous readers on this fabulous day (I just wanted to see how many times I could use the word fabulous in a sentence). Read on my crafty friends...

You will need yarn (1 color, 2 colors, 10 colors...this is completely up to you), a bottle of some sort (think upcycling), glue (I used craft tacky glue) and scissors.


Start by squeezing a thin line of glue along the bottom of your bottle. This is an old perrier bottle but you can use old soda bottles, wine bottles, etc. You can even use old jars or containers for a different look, the possibilities are endless.


Simply place the yarn on your glue and press down to secure in place. Continue squeezing small thin lines of glue followed by placing your yarn, wrapping up and around your bottle. Make sure your yarn is wrapped closely together to prevent gaps or holes.


Keep going, don't succumb to the craft ADHD (this is mainly a pep talk to myself). You can switch yarn colors at anytime (that sorta feels like a new project), just glue the start of the new strand of yarn as close as you can get to the end of the old strand and continue gluing and wrapping.


That is it, super easy and super cute! Add a flower or find a nice shelf to plop it on for a decorative look. Woohoo, I actually completed a project today! Now if I can only bring myself to organize my craft studio...


Don't forget to add your upcycled yarn vase photos to the Designs by Vanessa Tutorial Flickr Group so we can all see your finished product!

How-To: Fabric Wall Art

Mr. Designs by Vanessa and I have lived in this home for almost a year and while it no longer echoes (due to the bare walls and lack of furniture), there are still a few rooms in need of Nate Berkus' help. Because I don't have Oprah's personal cell number I had to channel my inner interior designer and this is what I came up with: fabric wall art! I found the perfect fabric (birdie themed of course) by studio e and developed a new founded love for the staple gun.

Go pick out some material, gather your materials (screwdriver, staple gun, wooden frame) and I'll talk you through this surprisingly easy project. I purchased my fabric from Fabric Supplies.


I found my wooden frame at IKEA, it came in four pieces and I had to screw the pieces together to make a frame. I started out with a regular old screw driver and quickly plugged in my electric screw driver (sooo much easier). Local art supply stores also carry these frames.



Next, cut your fabric larger than your frame leaving room to wrap the fabric around the back of the frame. I left about 3-4 inches on each side but this will vary depending on how thick your frame is.



Still hanging in there with me? I promise the fun part is coming up soon. Make sure your fabric is nice and ironed before we move on (no, this is not the fun part I promised).


Get out your staple gun and go to business (this is the fun part, trust me)! You can use tiny nails and hammer your fabric to your frame but staple guns are much more cathartic. I placed a staple every inch or so. Pull your material tight as you go but there is no need to stretch it tight.



Fold your corners just as you would wrap a present and add about 3 staples to secure the corners. This doesn't have to be perfect, just make sure it looks good from the front.




Now you have this fabulous one of a kind piece of art. I hope you had fun, I'm off to go staple gun something...



Don't forget to add your fabric wall art photos to the Designs by Vanessa Tutorial Flickr Group so we can all see your finished product!

How-To: Shirt Full of Posies

After taking some inspiration from Pretty in Pink (the parts where Andie, aka Molly Ringwald, refurbishes old/ordinary clothes into something new and fabulous), I decided to make my own ruffle/corsage shirt. So without further adieu, I give you my very first (but not my last) tutorial!

You'll need to get 2 shirts- same style/color. Buy the 1st shirt in your size and the 2nd shirt in the largest size available. You'll be cutting up the 2nd shirt and the larger the size, the more fabric you will have. I bought these 2 shirts at target on sale for $4 each, a grand total of $8 for this project!


For your posies, you will need 3 different sizes of circles. I used what I could find for my stencils- a spool of ribbon, a spool of jewelry wire and a container top. Just use whatever you can find or just eyeball it, the sizes are completely up to you.


I used a fabric pencil to trace my "stencils" onto my 2nd shirt. If you don't have a fabric pencil handy, you can always trace your circles onto paper, pin the paper to fabric and cut away.


Now start cutting out your circles. I found it easiest to layer my fabric and cut out 3 circles at a time.



Keep cutting until you have your desired amount of posies. 1 Small, 1 medium, 1 large circle makes up 1 flower. It is completely up to you how many you want to make and how "full" you want your shirt to look. I wanted a really full and ruffly look so I made around 18 posies. Don't worry about your circles being perfect.



Next, sew your posies to your shirt. You can either machine stitch (3 stitches front and 3 stitched back) or hand sew them on. Pinch the flower before sewing to get the bunchy look. I started out on my sewing machine but I quickly moved to hand sewing because I found that it was much easier to bunch and pinch the layers. This doesn't need to be perfect- the messier the bunching, the better.


Bunch the posies close together. I staggered mine a little, still bunched in tight, in a zigzag pattern. You can see that my circles are already looking like posies after only 3 have been sewn on. I could have stopped here for a different look.


Keep sewing until you have a shirt full of posies- super cute and very affordable!



If you try this tutorial, please add your photos to the Designs by Vanessa Tutorial Flickr Group so we can all see your shirt! Don't be afraid to try this, it was actually very simple to accomplish.