Plates and More Plates

Today was another get-together with my daughters and my sister.  We started out very organized, thinking that we had everything we needed for our projects and then realized that we needed a thing or two...so we loaded the baby into the car and took off for Walmart.  Of course when you get three creative women in a store it takes way longer than it should because we have to compare and share ideas before anything is bought!  We finally made our big purchases and were on our way!
We made stacked plate serving trays.  We found some cute melamine plates and dishes at Target, Walmart and Hobby Lobby.  The plates were about $2 apiece.  The hardest element to find were the candlesticks (only to be found at Hobby Lobby--cost $3).  At first we were looking for the wood ones that were unfinished, but had a hard time finding enough of them.  The other problem with them was that they were a little too tall so we had to saw them off.  If we would have had a Dremel tool it would have been a breeze to cut them, but instead we used a hack saw...a little rough around the edges, but we made it work. Then the knobs for the top were a little pricey, especially for what was supposed to be a relatively cheap project, but luckily Target was clearancing (not sure that is a word) them for really cheap so we caught a break. Carolyn found some glass candlesticks at the Dollar Tree near her and bought them to glue to the plates instead of drilling holes.  Which by the way we ended up doing with the wood ones too because it was soooo easy.  We used glue made for glass which dries clear and it seemed to work fine.  We sanded and painted the wooden candlesticks and sprayed them with a clear acrylic finish.  I think they all turned out pretty cute!  Now the big problem is to find a place to store them!   We are thinking maybe we will give them as gifts loaded with goodies...then we won't have to store them...just make some more!  Since we can't unscrew them because we glued them...they no longer come apart! The one in the center of the table was a triple stack! Here they are!

The following three are probably my favorite ones that we made today because each of them are unique!

It is officially Arizona HOT now!

Yep!  We had to turn on the AC today.  We held off as long as we could, but the indoor thermostat read 90 degrees so we figured it was time.  Can I tell you how much I love the person who invented air conditioning!  I honestly don't know how the pioneers survived the heat here before AC.  All I know is I wouldn't be living here in the Phoenix area if we didn't have it!

I was watching a video tutorial by Northridge Publishing on You Tube and they showed how to make flowers out of circles of paper...it looked easy and fun so I tried it on the cards I made today.  They are not perfect, but I think they turned out pretty cute!

I finally got my craft room all set up and organized.  When I have a few minutes I will post some pictures.  My husband calls it my cave, because I come in here and disappear into my own little creative world.  It has been so nice to have a space where I can get everything out and leave it if I want instead of having to put it away all of the time.  Although since I am an organization freak, the messes usually don't last all that long.  I think sometimes the planning and organizing, for me, is just as fun as doing the actual projects.

I also saw a serving tray on a website and decided to try and make my own.  There are such possibilities, that my sister and daughters are going to get together next weekend and make some more.

Now we just need to make some cute candies or cupcakes to put on it!  Can't wait to see how they all turn out!