diy home projects Archives

Washi Tape Crafts Hangout {+ a giveaway}

I’m a Google+ junkie. Yep, it’s true! I use my Jamie Dorobek Google + page the most, but here is C.R.A.F.T.’s Google+ page, and here is Really Awesome Costumes Google + page! (I just realized I haven’t even officially announced my fun new costume site on C.R.A.F.T., I’ll tell ya all about it soon, but it’s called Really Awesome Costumes!) Anyhow, google + has these little things called Hang Outs on Air or HOAs, not to be confused with HOA as in Home Owners Associations, because I don’t really like those, way too many rules. Wow, I’m all over the place today.

Google HOA’s are fun. Basically, it’s a live video. Tonight at 7p CST, me, Amy, Angie, and Carolina will be teaching you how to make 3 super, simple washi tape crafts. You can come back to C.R.A.F.T., watch on my YouTube channel, or watch it on the Washi Tape Crafts Hangout Event page. That’s right, there are 3 viewing options! Oh and if you miss it, no biggie… you can come back here and watch it later!

Here’s the hang out:

And another fun thing, you can win some washi to start crafting up a storm! We are going to have 2 winners!

Grand prize: $50 box of washi tape from Downtowntape.com

1st prize: $25 box of washi tape from Downtowntape.com

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Are you a washi tape junkie? What’s your favorite washi tape craft? I’ve used washi tape lots, but the only washi tape craft I’ve actually blogged about so far is the Greeting card organizer. I use it most often to spruce up greeting cards and enveloped! Feel free to leave me a washi tape craft link in the comments ; )

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Etched glass vase for Mother’s Day

Apr 26 posted by Jamie Dorobek

Note: This post is sponsored by Plaid Crafts and Blue Print Social, but all opinions are my own.

Just a friendly reminder, Mother’s Day is Sunday, May 12th… put a card in the mail pronto (early is always good)! And if your mom lives near by, bring her some flowers with a pretty etched vase on Mother’s Day, she’ll love it! Did you catch that… I etched glass with the help of Martha Stewart Crafts! It’s a first for me, and it was so not hard. I took me 2 attempts to learn how to etch glass, but that is my own fault for not reading the directions well enough. Go figure!

Materials:

glass vase
painters tape
adhesive stencils for the letters
Martha Stewart glass etching cream and brush

Oh and see the pic on the right, that’s to show you that the etching glass has secret hidden instructions under the label. For a good 15 minutes, I was sure I threw away the instructions!

I know glass etching sounds very fancy, but it’s way easier than you think! I started with a tape design, because I figured that would be less tricky. So, first you need to clean your glass with rubbing alcohol. Then, I taped my vase the same way I taped my shot glasses in the how to paint glass post. Then you literally just paint the etching cream onto your vase. Oh yea, and wear gloves… this stuff etches glass after all.

Then wait 15 minutes, and rinse with water. OK, so you can see the thickness level above. That’s bad. It did not look good. The good news: You can re-do it! I was mad at the vase and the cream, and started all over. This time, I decided to tape a lot higher and paint on the etching cream a lot thicker. Your glass should be white. See:

After you paint it on super thick… you just let it wait 15 minutes. Or 30, if you forget, like me. Then, run your glass piece under water. The spray nozzle worked better than the plain ol’ faucet for me.

After I did that, I repeated the steps with the -G-R-O-W- adhesive stencils. My flowers need all the encouragement they can get!

And here is a close up of the etched words:

And one more pretty of the pretty vase:

That’s all folks! Then fill with flowers and give to Mom! If you want to see more fun Plaid Creations, check Plaid Crafts on out on Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterset!

*I wrote this post as part of a sponsored campaign with Plaid and The Blueprint Social. All opinions of Martha Stewart Crafts are my own.

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Filed Under: diy home projects, diy wedding ideas, handmade gift

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How to fix a flat bike tire {bicycle repairs}

Apr 9 posted by Jamie Dorobek

Spring has sprung (at least in Texas)! Pull out the bikes, fix your flats, and get your legs a peddlin’, baby! Bike riding is one of Andy and I’s favorite activities. Our super favorite thing is riding the trails at Walnut Creek, an awesome bike park in Austin. With bike riding comes flat tires, and Andrew is a pro! He can fix a flat in t-minus 25 minutes. And now you can too.

1: Turn bike upside down, oh and make sure you have a new inner tube and a tire lever. TIP: The size of your inner tube is labeled on the side of the tire.

2: Remove the wheel that has the flat tire. This step has varying degrees on difficulty, which will be determined by whether you have “quick release” lugs or an actual nut that secures your lug to the bike frame. Rear wheels are also more difficult than front wheels because you have to navigate the chain and sprocket on the rear wheel. If you have disc breaks, your job is a little easier because you don’t have to release any part of the braking system. This tutorial is assuming you have quick release and disc brakes.

Here’s Andy Vanah White-ing the quick release lug.

3: Take off the cap on your valve stem and release any air that is still left in your inner tube.

4: Stick tire lever in between the rin and the rubber tire to pry the tire over the edge of the rim.

I attempted a little video to better explain this:

5: Once you get the tire off, pull the inner tube out of the tire.
6: Fill the old inner tube with air and stick it in the sink to try and find the leak. If you find the leak and it is a small hole, patching is a cheaper option. Our hole was big, patching wasn’t an option! Moving on…