This gift was made by my mom, and it is a replica of a game that was uncovered by archeologists in mesopotamia. It is about 3,000 years old. She used a wood burner and she inlayed stones for the design on each square. 


Here is what the real version looks like:
This is made completely of stone. So cool!!!!! 
 
This is a gift that I made for Aleena, my sister-in-law. It is called an mbira, or karimba, or thumb piano. You pluck the metal things and it sounds like bells. I discovered this instrument in Africa and they made theirs with old umbrella stays. So I decided to make one myself.
First I made a small box with wood and cut a hole in the center for a more vibrant sound. For the metal pieces I cut up an old lawn rake, then I screwed a metal bar across all of them. Then, I made the artwork around the hole with a wood burner. 

I really like how it turned out and I am thinking about making more in the future.
 
Every year my family goes to my grandmas around christmas and we make gingerbread houses. Usually we go in with good intentions of a beautiful house but towards the end we give up on making it look nice. So while my sister was putting a rocket ship and American flag on her roof, I was actually trying hard to make a decent gingerbread house. And when I was finished I realized that hers was way better than mine.

My house:

Ally's house:


 
Here are some lovely leaf silhouettes. These are really easy to make, and I have a tutorial for those of you who are feeling festive...

1. Find some nice leaves laying around. Try to get a good variety with all shapes and sizes. Sticks and berries look cool too.

2. Flatten the leaves in a heavy book for a couple of hours. 

3. Cut some rectangles out of cardboard, wood, or thick paper. 

4. Paint each shape different colors. 

5. Place the leaves on the dried canvases and spray white spray paint over the leaves.
And that's all it takes to make a nifty wall decoration for the fall season! You could even get creative and outline a stapler, or a fork, or your favorite pencil!
 
Here are some goggles that I made to protect your eyes while playing quidditch, fighting Voldemort, and cutting onions. And all the materials were basically free!
Here's where I got everything:
-The leather on the front came from a baseball. (I found no use for it since I never play baseball)
-I used some gatorade lids for the eyepieces
-And black rubber around the eyepiece is from a bicycle inner tube
-The white leather was a scrap that I found in the bottom of my fabric drawer. 

-And I found most of the other things in a junk yard
Voldemort will no longer defeat us with a sharp stick in the eye!!
 
The question of the day is: What in the heck do you do with gourds!? 
So for those of you who planted gourds this year here is what you do:
-Pick all of the good looking gourds, avoid the bruised and the frost bitten...
-Place the gourds in a dry place, and preferably on a rack
-Let them sit for six months!
-Follow my blog and I will post a bunch of gourd crafts!

Anyone who didn't plant gourds this year is welcome to join me in my quest. I have dozens of these beauties in my garage right now that are up for grabs

So I will be breaking out the gourd crafts in six months time!


 
 
Here are some earrings...
These were really easy to make. It was easier than going to a store and buying some. I just found some old buttons and glued earring backs on them.