Easter Eggs

I think most people think of dying eggs when they think of Easter but there are many other ways you decorate your Easter eggs.  

I recently saw a post on HenryHappened.com about dying Easter eggs with nail polish!  Most girls have more nail polish than they will ever use or even some colors that just don't look good on them.  Well you can take those colors & marble dye your eggs with them!

They used the same process that you use when marbling your nails.  Get a cup of room temperature water & drip drop of your chosen nail colors into it.  The colors will pool on the surface of the water is a bullseye pattern.  To make it look more marbled, drag a toothpick through the water to swirl it.  Then, holding just the ends of egg (so you cover the most surface), dunk your egg in the water.  When you pull it out, it will have the marbled design on it! Keep doing this process till your egg is covered & then marble them all!

Have you ever thought of tattooing your eggs?  You can use temporary tattoos to decorate your them! 

Brit + Co has instructions on how to get that tattooed look on your Easter eggs.  It is just like applying temporary tattoos to your own skin.   And you could use all kinds of designs!

Kawaii Vinyl has these cute temporary tattoo designs:

Another idea is making your own egg decals!  JessicaJones.com has a tutorial on how to make your own temporary tattoo/decals like the ones below:

A fun, creative option is to use Washi Tape to decorate your eggs.  Washi Tape is versatile & comes in many colors and designs.  

LovelyIndeed.com has a few design ideas that illustrate how changing the way you cut the tape & its placement will change the look of your egg designs.

So have fun with your egg decorating and get creative! 

Perler Bowl Giveaway!

Cute Squared is giving away a set of 2 nesting Perler bead bowls!

There are two ways to enter (Instagram or Facebook) & I will be drawing one winner from each.  The winners will be announced Monday, April 7th at 8pm PST.

Click on the following pictures or links to see details!

Good Luck!

Facebook

Instagram

I "Felt" It!

You can make all kinds of things with a piece of felt.  

Here are a few of my recent creations:

Cat Shaped Kindle Fire Cover

Xbox Controller

And my new project will probably be these owls (I love owls!)

If you have an idea, chances are you can create it with felt.  Some projects can be made with glue while other require some simple sewing.  Felt comes in various sizes, thicknesses & colors.

You can free cut the felt shapes you need for your project or trace a pattern onto it & cut it out.  For my Cat Kindle Cover I drew the idea on a napkin, then used my printer to make a magnified copy to the size I wanted & used that as my pattern.  With a felt button and some zigzag I was able to make the nose & stripes on the cat. I also took some fabric that matched the color of the cat's nose to line the inside of the cover.

There are also lots of ideas on Pinterest and other craft sites with instructions on how to make some of these fun craft projects.  I found a few that interest me and thought I would share.   :)

(From mypoppet.com.au)

Felt Peeps

(From dandelionsandlace.blogspot.com)

Felt Bunny Plush

What fun felt projects do you like to create? 

  

Perler Beads

While checking out crafting posts on Instagram this week, I stumbled upon a few interesting creations with Perler Beads.  And, of course, I was immediately intrigued!  

I began looking into what Perler Beads were & how you use them to create items.  They are simply small colored plastic beads that you lay out in a design on a pegboard, then heat them till they fuse together.  

I found a lot of helpful information and ideas at the Perler website.  They also provide the how-to instructions below:

It just takes 4 easy steps!

Perler projects are easy to do!

• Create your design. 
• Cover with ironing paper (you can also use parchment paper). 
• Iron both sides to fuse the beads and, boom, you’re done!

Here are examples of a few fun designs I found online:

(from: http://www.fiverr.com/jj135ify/make-any-perler-beads-creation)

(from: http://www.cuteasafox.com/2013/06/patriotic-perler-beads.html)

(from: http://camillestyles.com/valentines-day/diy-perler-bead-valentines/)

I have even seen a few bowls made from them.  For a great tutorial, click on the link.

http://www.meaningfulmama.com/2012/07/day-202-plastic-perler-bead-bowls.html

These beads are a fun & creative art medium - great for ages young & old.  I have enjoyed making these designs (see my pics below) and I look forward to making more in the weeks to come!  

Family Scrap Cookbook

Family Scrap Cookbook

 A scrap cookbook is a good way to keep your collection of family recipes organized and will make you smile when see the pictures of your loved ones throughout the book.  

I made one a few years ago as a gift for my family at Christmas.  And they loved them!

My Grandmother had 5 large photo albums full of old family photos but no one else in the family had copies of them.  So she let me borrow the books to digitize each of the pictures.  Then I asked every family member for their favorite recipes - ones that they loved and ones that they were know for (like the aunt who always brought that really good dessert, or the uncle who had his own special rub for his steaks).  
I had the family email them to me so I could format them all into the same template.  

There are many different ways to go about assembling your book.  I used an online resource to print & assemble most of my book (check out Heritage Cookbook).  I submitted my recipes and formatted the pages & I received my cookbooks a short time later.  I created our cookbook a few years ago so it was quite pricey to include pictures on the printed pages so I printed one set per cookbook & scrapbooked them to the pages myself.  

It came out beautifully and I have to say that my scrap cookbook is the most used cookbook I own!  My Grandmother has since passed away but I always remember her baking in her kitchen, making me buttermilk pancakes on Fridays, and now I can make them using my family cookbook.  

Here is another idea on how others have done it as well - Cookbook Scrapbook

Just an Idea!

I'm just getting started!

Welcome to my blog!!!!  

I have been a crafter for as long as I can remember, mostly creating things for my family, friends and myself.  Last year, my friends convinced me to start an Etsy Shop with my creations - and Cute Squared was born!!!  My shop offers various crafty accessories that come in coordinating pairs.



I make just about anything that inspires me and because I get bored doing the same thing over & over again, I am often in the middle of 3 or 4 different projects at once!!  I will document my craft journey through this blog, highlighting my creations and sharing inspiration & creativity with others.


I'm currently also working on designing my website myself, which I'm hoping to have up & running in the next two weeks or so!!

As always, BE GOOD to yourself & others, and APPRECIATE the CUTE in life!

G.