Have you ever had an idea, then bumbled your way through figuring it out, spent way more than you anticipated and yelled at your kids because it was all for them?
That would about sum up the holiday gifts we (I) made (are making) for my daughters' friends and teachers.
Idea!! Magnets are cool but who wants them for just the refrigerator. I want to make a necklace with magnets that kids can swap (cause I am so over silly bandz).
Research: I see it on etsy, looks doable. A lot of folks use bottle caps, those make me nervous they have sharp edges and you fill them with epoxy, yuck! I see that they now have an epoxy style sticker, still sharp edges. My best bud has a 1 inch button maker I can borrow. DONE! Let's order the magnet button supplies (100 is the minimum, we don't have that many friends, we will give multiples) and something that we can make into a pendant.
Reality: I am cheap, I don't want to order bezel pendants, so what else would work? Dog tags out of stainless steel, much less than pendants.
WHAT! A magnet will not attach to stainless steel. URGHHHH!
More research: THIS IS NOT A NEW IDEA, once I did more research I discovered that a tween is making big bucks with bottle caps, she uses a nylon stretch thing, that looks a lot like the loops I used to make THOSE potholders with and a washer. A WASHER, really?
Off to Home Depot, with my useless dog tags, I will glue a washer to them! So there! DON't buy Gorilla Glue! That is what the helpful lady at HD recommended, it expands and stays brown. Back to HD, why not a craft store for the the amazing E600, I don't like the way it smells, so what do I end up with? gel super glue, cause that smells so sweet. My deadline is approaching and I am panicked. We have nothing made, we are lame!
Glued washers work, the whole contraption is super thick and if the child gives too much of a full body spin the magnet might fly off and hit someone in the EYE. This works, it does not look good.
Oh, I have yet to make a single button to go with these inspired necklaces. Off to the thrift store in search of Disney books to chop. Good haul there, I spent 20 bucks.
Okay right now we are at: $20 Books, $35 magnet parts, $15 dog tags and ball chains, $10 glue and washers. I am not going to add this up cause I don't want to know what this fun gift idea has cost me. I STILL DON'T LOVE IT!
Also I ordered some of those nylon things and washers off ebay which have not come and will not work with the magnets that are on the back of my buttons cause they won't sit flat, I think ($11.00). Grump, Grump.
Gotta pick up the button machine, which my friend needs to grab from her other friend, who is using it. She calls, we are going to meet, I forget the Sneaters (other story) and have to run back, so I am late. The place we are meeting is too overwhelming. We are going to meet at a Starbucks, the traffic is so heavy that that she can't make the turn. My GPS is yelling at me and I FORGOT (really I did not read the email saying I was snack maven for OM) that I am supposed to bring snack to a meeting of seven 9 year olds in 10 minutes. BREATH.
We end up meeting in the snow (barely snow, I live in the South) in a parking lot, she does a quick demo and I dash. My amazing co leader handles snack ( I owe her!) and I arrive a bit late to our meeting, the kids have already broken a plastic bowl.
I bring in the button maker and I start to cut down books, which distracts the kids from their task at hand, I promise if they get on task they can all make a button.
I forgot to mention that before the whole late and crazy afternoon I went to Hobby Lobby, cause my button buddy said I should look there for a bezel pendant that the magnet will fit into. I am dubious cause when I looked on ebay all of the pendants I saw where made out of nickel and called "Tibetan silver" which will not hold a magnet. So I bring one magnet into HL and you know what? their pendants work! and they are half price this week! Joyful NOISE!
I have made myself crazy making these and if I was not cheap and started at HL this gift would be done. HL only had seven bezel pendants and I just spent $30.00, cause you know what else I got, some E600 and two square bezel bracelets (cause legos fit into those PERFECT) and some bails to glue to Scrabble tiles I pick up at a garage sale.
Breath.
We are now making buttons and these gifts will go out to school tomorrow. I should have slapped some googley eyes on some candy canes and left it at that.
They look good right? Do you have a craft fiasco to share. I would LOVE to hear it!
10 comments:
Oh my god this post feels like MY LIFE. Every day starts with Oooh! I have an idea! And I will do this the cheap DIY way and it will be so coooool!
*ten minutes later my kids are starving and there is a small fire in the trashcan and live chickens and barefooted merchants leading goats through my home in the background. There's broken glass all over the dining room table, and I can't get the glue to open and OH MY GOD WHERE ARE MY SCISSORS??
All that said, new idea or no, you will be a millionare when you market these pendants to retail stores. They turned out amazing!
As always, you seem to crank out the most insanely awesome stuff from your crazy ideas and the process in which it takes to get to that point.
Thanks for the entertaining story :)
Thanks T, Just as an up date I was at two other Hobby Lobby locations today and NEITHER had the pendant. I think some divine power allowed me to find it yesterday. At the last HL up on Holcomb, the employee had new stock in boxes and refused to open them to look. I went to ask the manager for help and the employee came up an huffed at me, then she cursed (maybe not at me) cause she cut herself digging through the under stock box. Not quite a chorus of angels singing. Luckily, I have a rain check for the one on Barrett and the pendants will arrive next week.
thanks Des I am always good for a laugh. You should have seen the girls fighting to make the magnets. I had to order more supplies, not that we need them. It is SUPER FUN to make buttons, so neat and clean and no smelly chemicals!
Colleen-what a wild crazy project story! I can see you pulling your hair out and your eyes bugging out! Thanks for sharing your story and being able to laugh at yourself. Aren't you glad this was not a project you were teaching in high school! I have been thinking of you and have not gotten myself together to call.
Linda
Linda, I have half of your holiday gifts sitting in the living room, I too have been preoccupied since the show. There are a few more days next week, maybe we can get together.
As for laughing at myself, it is the only option. As I watched this project unfold I could see crazy mom come out to play. I must do something cool and unique. I must. cause children's school gifts are now my life.
I see now that I got the condensed version of all this!!! So let me guess, each pendant (which are adorable by the way) costs, if you include an hourly rate for you and gas costs, hmmm 34.95? At least, it must feel that way to you! you are hilarious ... and a little crazy, but that's not news to you :)
Too funny. I love how they came out, though!
You should write up the final how to (with just what worked!) for me to post on Dabbled. :)
Hope you guys are having a great holiday - we should get together soon!
Dot, I will write it up for you. It is a pretty simple tut. As soon as my custom Lego come in I will be tuting that one up too. We will get together next year when the kids are back in school and I am not trying to make 1500 ornaments.
Kate, Your daughter politely declined one yesterday, she said " I don't wear necklaces." WE will still wrap one up for her next week and try again. A magnet will be something small A can mail to Scotland next year to keep in touch with J.
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