2015 Spring and Summer Crafts Blog Hop

Welcome to the last installment of the four-part spring craft blog hop challenge for 2015! This hop will run from May 26th - June 20th. We're challenging each of you to create a craft project that reflects a general spring or summer theme, Father's Day, or Fourth of July. Please join us in this challenge and link-up your crafty creation at the bottom of this post and have it shared on 12 blogs!

---

To kick off the spectacular Spring & Summer Craft Blog Hop, I'm sharing a "how to" tutorial for Learn How to Hand Paint Wine Glasses!

How to Paint on Glass

---

Meet all 12 Wonderful Hosts of the Spring & Summer Craft Blog Hop 4!

Each host will be sharing their own special craft to kick off the Spring & Summer Craft Blog Hop challenge, so make sure you visit each host to see their fabulous creations!

*Please follow your hosts on at least one or more social media platforms of your choice. Let us know you're following from #SCBH2015*

• Erlene @My Pinterventures Pinterest/Twitter/Instagram/FB/G+
• Ashleigh @Simply Wright Pinterest/Bloglovin/Instagram/FB/G+
• Stephanie @Casa Watkins Pinterest/Twitter/Instagram/FB/G+
• Misty @The Lady Prefers 2 Save Pinterest/Twitter/Instagram/FB/G+

• Amanda @The Kolb Corner Pinterest/Twitter/Instagram/FB/G+
• Crystal @Penny Loves Projects Pinterest/Twitter/Instagram/Bloglovin/G+
• Debi @Surroundings by Debi Pinterest/Twitter/Instagram/FB/G+
• Melissa @Not Your Ordinary Psychic Mom Pinterest/Twitter/Instagram/G+

• Beverly & Gloria @Across the Boulevard Pinterest/Twitter/FB/G+/G+
• Kristen @The Road to Domestication Pinterest/Twitter/Instagram/FB/YouTube
• Kate @Creative House Pinterest/Twitter/Instagram/FB/G+
• Christine @Where The Smiles Have Been Pinterest/Twitter/Instagram/FB/G+

---

 

Grab a button and help us spread the word!

<div align="center"><br /><a href="http://mypinterventures.com" title="My Pinterventures"><img src="http://i845.photobucket.com/albums/ab20/ErleneA/2270e124-0dcd-486c-8237-896558ef0822_zps1q1y1yju.png" alt="My Pinterventures" style="border:none;" /></a></div><br />

---

Spring & Summer Craft Blog Hop 4 - General Spring & Summer crafts, Father's Day, and July 4th crafts

LINK-UP RULES

1. Link-up your craft or DIY tutorial that fit the themes of the Spring & Summer Craft Blog Hop. Links that do not fit the themes will be deleted.
2. DO NOT link-up food or recipes.
3. DO NOT link-up round-ups unless all the craft posts are yours.
4. DO NOT link-up Etsy items or things for sale
5. DO NOT link-up posts you've shared on past Spring Craft Blog Hops for 2015.
6. Link directly to your post and not your blog.

Show us what you've created and be seen on 12 blogs!

[Tweet "Join the Spring Craft Blog Hop! Share your craft on 12 blogs! @pinterventures #SCBH2015"]

An InLinkz Link-up

DIY: Make Your Own Reptile and Amphibian Tank and Carrier

My 11 year old son loves the outdoors! With his love comes studying every little and many gross creatures. Last week he brought home a wild snake. After a call to Petsmart and sending them pictures, we determined the snake was non-venomous. This was what sparked me to make some changes and set rules for making sure his explorations were safe as he learned.

Exploring nature is such a wonderful thing for a child! And I love that my son wants to spend his time learning about all the little creatures that exist there. But over the past couple of years, I've found his hobby is starting to become a little costly. I've also found that my time is becoming less and less because I'm always helping him take care of his little creatures.

So two weeks ago I came up with a solution!

The following is what my 11 year old son agreed to:

• No living reptile, amphibian, insect etc that he brings home will become a pet
• He is only allowed one reptile, amphibian, insect to study at a time
• He has to wear rubber gloves before he touches any creature.
• He is not allowed to physically touch a creature until we have determined it is not dangerous or venomous. We live in Copperhead snake territory and also spiders that are venomous. 
• And lastly, we start using the resources within our house to do everything he needs to do, saving money

First thing we did was build a carrier (part-time study tank) for the reptiles, frogs, etc that he finds. The following is how to build your own tank for your child.

What You Will Need for Your DIY Reptile and Amphibian Tank and Carrier:

1. Medium sized plastic container with a lid. If you don't have one, you can purchase one at the Dollar Store or even Target very inexpensively.
   
2. Mesh. We have mesh from redoing our window screens. You can get mesh at Home Depot and Lowes.
   
3. Duct Tape. We used our daughters duct tape that she uses for arts and crafts. 
   

How to Build Your DIY Reptile and Amphibian Tank and Carrier:

1. Cut the inner part of the top of the container out.  
2. Measure the mesh where it not only covers the inner hole you cut out, but also overlaps the edge about 3 / 4 of an inch.
3. Using the duct tape, rip off strips of it and adhere the edge of the mesh to the outer area of the container's top. 

Now your child has a carrier and home for tiny little creatures they want to study at home. It's light and easy for your child to tote around outside as they explore nature.

Enter to Win A Craftsy Cake Decorating Class

Enter to win a Craftsy cake decorating class!

Take your cake décor to new heights alongside world-class cake artists. Create custom cakes by winning this online cake decorating class from Craftsy. This giveaway ends April 15th!

In addition to this giveaway, there are also other free Cratsy classes for you to try such as photography, knife skills and quilting.

*links above are affiliate links

 

How to Paint Wine Glasses - What You Need to Begin! (Part One)

Ever wonder how those wine glasses with all the fun sayings and creative designs are created? Well, if you like to paint, why not create your own?

Over the next few blog posts, I'll be teaching you how to create your own masterpieces on any glass piece you chose. You can paint fun designs on glass cookie jars, glass bowls, and even Martini glasses. But painting is just one step in the process. The finishing touches - a little glitter and a few gems- are what gives the glass piece it's true beauty.


First, what you will need to purchase (supplies) and where.

• Enamel Acrylic Paint. When purchasing your paints make sure they are enamels. Also, make sure you read the label. I ended up purchasing Martha Stewarts translucent glass paint once, so I tried it out. It wasn't my favorite look for a wine glass. I also wasn't a big fan of her red glitter paint. There just wasn't enough glitter in it, so I resorted back to putting the glitter on using Clear Gloss Glaze. Any of the below brands work great!
• FolkArt Enamel Acrylic Paint available at Michaels.
• FolkArt Multi-Surface available at Michaels.
• Americana Enamels available at Michaels.
• Paint brushes.
• Plaid One Stroke paint brushes. These are my favorite. I've tried Martha Stewarts paint brushes and a few other brands. The Plaid One Stroke is still my favorite! I these at Michaels Arts and Crafts. But I have found them online at Amazon and Blicks.
• Line paint brush is a must. I use this to write words on the glass.
• Glass paint markers: These make writing on glass easier. Sharpie Oil-Based Paint Markers and Pebeo Vitrea 160 Glass Markers work great. There are other glass paint markers on the market that I haven't tried yet like DecoArt. So far I've been pretty happy with the Sharpie Oil-Based Paint Markers which come in lots of different colors. Heads up though...they are much more vibrant than glass paint and typically will not match enamel paint color, so test and plan before you begin creating your masterpiece. Also, sometimes the paint comes out of the Sharpie pen too fast, making the paint run down your glass. And it can come out too thick. I've also had to put the clear glaze over it, so it doesn't wash off. If you use these, take your time and practice.
• Glass & Bead platinum bond. This is a clear adhesive glue that comes in a tube. I use this to adhere the gems to the glass. It smells awful, so good ventilation is important.
• Clear Gloss Glaze - Air-Dry PermEnamel. This is a must! It seals the bottom of the glass, making sure the paint doesn't chip or get scratched up. I also use it to adhere glitter to the glass.
• Mod Podge: Another alternative to adhering glitter to glass and sealing the bottom. Both Clear Glass Glaze and Mod Podge work wonderful. You have to put one coat on glass, first. Then sprinkle the glitter. And then, when the first coat is cry, I highly recommend putting one more coat on to keep glitter from coming off.
• Glitter. You can purchase any glitter, but the finer the better. My preferred glitter is the Creatology brand. The glitter is more fine.
• Wine glasses. Most of my wine glasses were purchased at Bed Bath and Beyond using a 20% off coupon. I use the Libbey brand which comes in a box of 12 pcs. I've purchased some from Pier One's clearance section in the past, but found it was too hard to get them all to be the same size. Walmart also has a lot of different glass pieces available.
• Rubbing Alcohol. I use this to remove mistakes and clean the glass.
• Paper towels.

Other supplies:

• Stencils. Martha Stewart now has stencils available that stick on and peal off. I tried them and they just didn't work for me. Paint leaked through and some pealed off when I took the stencil off the glass.
• Gems. I purchase them when they are on sale at Michaels. Usually they are in the scrapbook section or on display in the middle of the aisles. Every holiday certain gem colors go on sale.
• Old clothes to wear. Enamels do not wash off clothes. It's important to wear old clothes that you don't mind ruining.

How to Paint Wine Glasses: Beginning painting and painting techniques (Part Two)

How to Paint Wine Glasses - Adding Glitter and Gems (Part Three)

Hope you'll also check out my ten published children's books!

Amazon  |  Barnes and Noble  |  iTunes