We've Moved!

We're movin' on up!

We outgrew our old blog, so we've moved! Just go to www.RunningWithSisters.com to check out our new look. It's awesome! We brought everything with us and added new content to boot.
Come see us, and be sure to change your bookmark, too.

And when you get there, click on the social media buttons to keep in touch!


Cheers,
Jennifer & Kitty

Relaxing Herbal Tub Tea

These little tub tea bags are so cute!

For this craft we wanted to make a spa gift that wasn't in a bottle or a jar. Turns out, nine pretty tub teas fit perfectly in a cigar box! 

YOU'LL NEED

Materials & Embellishments

Pretty cigar box, 6"x7"x3"
9 gold organza favor bags, 3" wide
Florentine paper, 5"x6"
Ivory paper, 31/2"x41/2"
Red organdy ribbon, 28" long, 1" wide
Dried lavender flowers, 11/4 cup
Dried chamomile flowers, 11/4 cup
Chamomile Roman essential oil, 30 drops
Ylang Ylang essential oil, 10 drops

Tools & Supplies

Glue stick
Ultra fine black Sharpie
Bowl
Measuring cup
Tablespoon
Spoon

WHAT TO DO

1. To create the relaxing herbal tub tea, combine the lavender flowers and chamomile flowers in a bowl. Add 30 drops of chamomile roman essential oil and 10 drops of ylang ylang essential oil to the mixture and stir with a spoon.

2. Make 9 tea bags by filling each organza favor bag with 3 tablespoons of the lavender and chamomile tub tea. Arrange the tea bags 3 across by 3 deep in the cigar box.

3. To make the instruction card, print the instructions for using the tub tea on the center of the ivory paper. Glue the ivory instructions page to the center of the Florentine paper with the rubber cement. Lay the instruction sheet on top of the tea bags.

4. Close the lid and tie the red organdy ribbon around the cigar box.

Relaxing Herbal Tub Tea Instructions: Drop a tea bag into your bath. Ease yourself into the warm water and relax. For a more intense aroma, use three tea bags.

Crafty Shopping Tip: You can buy empty cigar boxes for a dollar or two at cigar shops like Tinder Box.

Grateful Gobbler

This turkey book is a great craft for kids on Thanksgiving Day!

Make this fun, fanned turkey book to show friends and family what you’re grateful for!

Materials

1 sheet red, orange, yellow, and brown paper, 8½" x 11"

1 brad

2 googly eyes, ½"

adhesive foam tape

Tools

tacky glue

hole punch

pencil

scissors
marker

1. Print and cut out the feather, head, body, beak, and waddle templates. Trace the feather template three times on the red, yellow, and orange papers. Cut out the feathers. Trace the head and body shapes onto the brown paper and cut them out. Trace and cut the beak from the yellow paper. Trace and cut the waddle from the red paper. 

2. Glue the googly eyes onto the turkey’s head. Fold the beak in half and glue the bottom half to the turkey’s face. Glue the waddle to the back of the head so it hangs down from the turkey’s neck.

3. Use a hole punch to punch a hole in the bottom of each feather. Punch a hole in the top of the turkey body. Slide the brad through the body and all the feathers, then bend the ends of the brad back. Use a piece of adhesive foam tape to attach the head to the top of the brad.

4. Use the marker to write what you are thankful for on each feather of the turkey!

Vanilla Cupcake Lip Balm

 

This sweet treat makes a great gift for teachers.
Kids can make it with Mom, with just a little supervision!

We’re really getting into making spa crafts for Christmas gifts this year. We love cooking up the recipes, then packaging our creations into pretty little gifties! We tried out this recipe for lip balm over the weekend, and it was just too easy not to share. We’re going to make them as stocking stuffers for all of our friends. Sweet!

 

Vanilla Cupcake Lip Balm

This delightful cupcake lip balm is a sweet treat and a cinch to make!

Lip Balm Ingredients

1 tablespoon beeswax pellets

2 tablespoons vitamin E oil

Vanilla essential oil

Red lipstick 

Materials & Embellishments

½ ounce to 1 ounce clear plastic container

1 flatback Swarovski rhinestone, Light Siam, 4mm

Beacon Adhesives Gem-Tac

1 sheet glossy cardstock 

Tools

Pyrex cup

Chopstick

Potato peeler

Microwave oven

Scissors

Double-stick tape

Toothpick 

1. In the Pyrex cup, melt the beeswax pellets into the vitamin E oil by microwaving for about 1 minute on high. Stir with the chopstick. Continue to heat, 10 seconds at a time, until all pellets are melted into the vitamin E oil. 

2. Add 4 to 6 drops of vanilla essential oil and stir. 

3. Use the potato peeler to shave the lipstick, about 3 shavings, into the mixture. Stir with the chopstick until thoroughly melted and blended.

4. Dispense into the plastic container. Let cool.

 

5. Print the label on glossy cardstock and cut it out. Attach the label to the top of the lid with double-stick tape. Glue the Light Siam rhinestone to the cherry on the label using the toothpick to apply the Gem-Tac.

Big Easy: Make a big batch of this lip balm by multiplying the recipe. You can make dozens of party favors or stocking stuffers at once!



Right-click to save label to your computer.

At 300dpi, this label will print 1.3" x 1.3".



Tea Tree Salt Scrub

Rub a palmful of salt scrub over dry skin in the shower to exfoliate and moisturize!

More spa fun! We have been trying out all kinds of recipes for homemade spa goodies to give as gifts this Christmas. We've already figured out our favorite body butter (Rich Cocoa Body Butter!). And now we have a wonderful salt scrub. We love how the brisk scent of tea tree makes this salt scrub refreshing and invigorating.

Salt Scrub Ingredients

1½ cups table salt
10 tablespoons vitamin E oil
Tea tree essential oil

Materials & Embellishments

15-ounce lidded, wide-mouthed jar
2 flatback Swarovski rhinestones, Crystal, 5mm
12 flatback Swarovski rhinestones, Crystal, 3mm
Beacon Adhesives Gem-Tac
1 sheet glossy cardstock

Tools

Mixing bowl
Chopstick
Scissors
Double-stick tape
Toothpick

1. Mix salt and vitamin E oil together in a bowl and stir with a chopstick.

2. Stir in 32 drops of tea tree essential oil and stir until blended.

3. Dispense the salt scrub into the jar, pressing the mixture down with a chopstick.

 
4. Print the label on glossy cardstock and cut it out. Embellish the label with the rhinestones using a toothpick to apply the Gem-Tac. Use double-stick tape to attach the label to the front of the jar.



Click on the image above to view the label actual size.

Then right-click to save the label to your computer.

It will print 2.25" x 5" at 300dpi.





Bead Show Inspiration

Just some of the beads we bought at BABE! The icy blue beads are for a necklace called
Ice Is Nice (free how-to) featured at Bead Inspirations.

 

We love a good bead show! And the Bay Area Bead Extravaganza is one of our favorites. Picture a huge hotel conference room loaded from wall to wall with tables of beads. The sellers have everything bead related: handmade lampwork beads, strands of gemstones, hanks of pearls, bails, clasps, brass stampings, all kinds of findings, and loose beads galore. And best of all, almost every table has necklaces, bracelets, and earrings made by artists just to inspire you to buy more beads. And boy were we inspired!!

 

One of our favorite stops was at the Craft Fantastic booth. The gal there sells everything you need to make gorgous pictures pendants and bracelets, including the pictures! We bought silver bezels (she calls them trays), sheets of vintage bird and butterfly imagery, and glass squares to place on top. We just clicked around on her website and she has a free Tray Pendant tutorial for putting it all together. How nice!

Rich Cocoa Body Butter

Real cocoa infuses this creamy body butter with the fragrance of rich chocolate.

This creamy body butter makes a lovely gift.

Body Butter Ingredients
3 ounces cocoa butter
1 ounce vitamin E oil
1 tablespoon cocoa powder, unsweetened
Vanilla essential oil

Materials & Embellishments

3.5-ounce short, wide-mouthed jar
Brown satin ribbon, 5/8" wide
Brown satin ribbon, 1/8" wide
Gold shank button, 7/16"
Krylon Gold Foil Metallic spray paint, 18 KT
Beacon Adhesives Quick Grip
1 sheet glossy cardstock

Tools

Pyrex cup
Chopstick
Microwave oven
Scissors
Double-stick tape

Steps

1. Scoop 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons cocoa butter (3 ounces) into the Pyrex cup and melt in the microwave. Add 2 tablespoons of vitamin E oil (1 ounce) and 1 tablespoon cocoa powder and stir with a chopstick.

2. Add 15 drops of vanilla essential oil and stir the mixture until blended.

3. Dispense the body butter into the jar and let cool.

4. To decorate the jar, spray paint the lid with the Gold Foil Metallic spray paint. Tie the wide brown ribbon into a double-bow with tails. Tie it onto the neck of the jar with the thin brown ribbon. Glue the shank button over the knot.

5. Print the label on the glossy cardstock, cut it out, and attach it to the lid using the double-stick tape.



Right-click to save label to your computer.
At 300 dpi, this label will print 1.6" x 1.6".

 

Happy Vintage Halloween!

Rare vintage paper Halloween decorations. They didn't always make it through the season!

We see vintage Halloween decorations like these German papier-mache Jack-O-Lanterns quite a bit. But this black cat was new to us! We think it is a luminary from the 1940s with transparent paper in the eyes, nose, and mouth to give off a creepy glow. We just looked on eBay and saw one with a "Buy It Now" price of $150. Now that's scary!

Meet The Mummies!

Great trick-or-treaters with a kooky undead family that glows in the dark!

Make a mini mummy family for Halloween!

Materials

2 plastic bottles, 1-liter size

1 plastic bottle, short and fat, 16 oz. (like a powdered coffee creamer)

1 plastic food storage container, 14 oz. (like a Ziploc Smart Seal small bowl)

2 Styrofoam balls, 5" diameter

2 Styrofoam balls, 4" diameter

1 old white sheet or 2 yards of muslin

3 rolls gauze, 4" wide or 2 yards cheesecloth

1 scrap of cardboard, 6" x 6"

Martha Stewart Crafts Acrylic Craft Paint, Glow-In-Dark

1 craft foam sheet, purple

1 craft foam sheet, black

sand, beans, or pebbles (for weight)

Tools

2 large paper cups

5 paper plates

craft stick

foam paintbrush

white craft glue

scissors

Steps For Each Mummy

1. Remove the bottle cap. Add some sand, beans, or pebbles to the bottom of the bottle for weight. Poke the neck of the bottle into the Styrofoam ball. (Use the 5" Styrofoam balls for the large bottles and the 4" ball for the short bottle.) You may need to scrape out some Styrofoam with scissors to make neck of the bottle fit.

2. Tear the sheet into long strips about 1" to 2" wide. Make a watered-down glue mixture in the cup that is half glue and half water. Dip a strip in the glue-water, squeeze off excess, and wrap it onto the bottle and ball. Continue wrapping until the mummy is covered.

3. Cut the gauze into 2"-wide strips. Wrap the mummy completely in gauze.

4. Dilute the Glow-In-Dark paint with water in a cup, mixing half paint and half water. Dab the paint-water onto the mummy with a foam paintbrush. Stand the mummy on a paper plate to dry (as it will drip quite a bit).

5. Cut two 1" circles out of purple craft foam. Cut four straight strips about 1 1/2" long our of black craft foam. Crisscross two strips over each purple circle and glue in place. Glue onto the mummy's face about halfway down the head. Cut a semi-circle smile out of black craft foam and glue below the eyes.

Steps For Cat Mummy

1. Add some sand, beans, or pebbles to the plastic bowl for weight. Turn the bowl (lid on) upside down. Make a slit in the top edge of the bowl with scissors. Poke one end of a craft stick into the 4" ball. Poke the other end of the craft stick into the bowl.

2. Cut two triangle ears out of cardboard. Poke each ear into the top of the Styrofoam ball. Cut a tail shape out of cardboard. Cut a slit in the side of the bowl and slide the tail in.

3. Dip strips of sheet in glue-water, squeeze off the excess, and wrap onto the bowl, head, ears, and tail. Continue wrapping until the cat mummy is covered.

4. Cut gauze into 1" to 2"-wide strips. Wrap the cat mummy completely in gauze.

5. Dab the Glow-In-Dark paint-water onto the cat mummy with a foam paintbrush. Stand the cat mummy on a paper plate to dry.

6. Cut two 1" circles out of purple craft foam. Cut four straight strips about 1 1/2" long. Crisscross two strips over each purple circle and glue in place. Glue on the cat mummy's face about halfway down the head. Cut a small circle nose out of black craft foam and glue under the eyes.

Vintage Victorian Halloween Cloche

Love this Victorian inspired skeleton!

We love holiday vignettes under glass, but mostly think of them as Christmas decorations. We even made our own Winter Wonderland with a tiny deer in a snowy scene under a gardening cloche.  So we were thrilled to see this spooky spin on dome decorations at A Room With A Past. We especially love the crown and gilded wings on the skeleton and the silver and orange tinsel. They really give it that Victorian touch!

Aromatherapy Foot Soak With Beautiful Beaded Scoop

Give the gift of happy feet with an aromatic foot soak in exhilarating eucalyptus and rosemary.

This soothing footsoak is a thoughtful gift for Mom!

YOU'LL NEED

Materials & Embellishments

Wide-mouth glass jar with lid, 16-ounce size

Aluminum flashing tape, 2" wide

Stainless coffee scoop (2or  Tbsp spoon)

Copper wire, 20 gauge, 48" long

Glass beads, assorted

Garnet satin ribbon, 1" wide, 24" long

Foot Soak Ingredients

Epsom salts, 1 cup

Coarse sea salt, 3/4 cup

Baking soda, 1/4 cup

Dried rosemary, 2 tablespoons

Eucalyptus essential oil

Rosemary essential oil

Glycerin, 1 tablespoon

Tools & Supplies

Bowl

Spoon
Chopstick

Needle-nose pliers

Wire snips

Ruler

WHAT TO DO

1. To create the foot soak, pour the Epsom salts, sea salt, baking soda, and dried rosemary into a mixing bowl and stir. Add 20 drops of eucalyptus essential oil and 20 drops of rosemary essential oil, then drizzle in the glycerin and stir. Spoon the foot soak into the jar.

2. To label the foot soak, cut a 3" piece of the aluminum flashing tape (do not remove the backing yet!). Using the chopstick, handwrite "Rosemary Foot Soak" on the tape, pressing firmly to emboss the letters into the metal tape. Carefully peel the backing off without bending the aluminum tape and place the label onto the jar.

3. To bead the salt-scoop, wrap the wire around the handle adding a bead every other time around. Finish off the ends of the wire with a swirl.

4. Tie your beaded salt-scoop to the jar by wrapping a piece of garnet ribbon around the neck of the jar and tying a knot around the scoop. Now that foot soak is good for the sole!

CRAFTY SHOPPING TIP

Epsom salts have been used in bath soaks since the mid 1600s, when a farmer in Epsom, England discovered that the salt seemed to heal scratches. Chemically, it is Magnesium Sulfate, but you can find it in cartons at the drugstore simply labeled "Epsom Salts." 

You’ve Come A Long Way Baby!

After spending Saturday shopping the antique stores in San Jose, we decided we were due for a bargain and hit the flea market Sunday looking for real deals.

 

Glad we don't have to wash our clothes with washboards!

We had seen a washboard craft where they hung it on a wall and added a shelf and hooks across the bottom. The hunt was on. We stopped at a booth that had an early washing machine with a green enamel washtub complete with agitator inside and clothes wringer on top. The dealer said it was supposed to have an electric motor, which sounded downright scary to us. Yours for only $750! The washboards leaning up against it suddenly looked like a better way to get your clothes clean! We each bought one for $14, $20 less than the antique store price. Jennifer also sprung for a $20 galvanized steel tub for beach towels by her back door. (In a pinch, she could use them both to do laundry!)


Kinda wish our own sewing machines had this beautiful look.

 

 Kitty found a box of wooden sock darners next to an array of treadle sewing machines. “My grandmother was always repairing socks. I just buy a new pair,” another shopper chimed in. We laughed at how easy we’ve got it. The sewing machines were beautiful, though—ornately decorated and more shapely than modern Singers. Kitty asked about a 1900s model in its original cabinet. Only $125? Something to think about. We shopped on and found another relic of the bad old days—a cast-iron iron. Jennifer grimaced at how heavy it was, at least 10 pounds. Kitty thought it would make a cheeky doorstop for her laundry room and bought it plus a bag of thimbles for $15.

 

Old fashioned irons weigh a ton!

 

If You Can’t Stand The Heat 

We’ve always been drawn to kitchenalia. We love how so many vintage kitchen tools can still do the job. In a stall overflowing with cooking utensils, Jennifer played with an $18 food mill with a green handle, saying she just saw one for $50 at Williams Sonoma. The vendor picked up a pair of giant ice tongs to show us. Can you imagine carrying around a block of ice for your icebox? That’s a tool we’re glad we’ve never needed! Jennifer went with an old school “Slap-Chop” for only $12, and Kitty scored a yellow Bakelite eggbeater for $9. Nothing better for fluffy scrambled eggs!

 

These old food mills still come in handy in the kitchen!

 

Rusty old ice tongs would look great hung on a wall in a kitchen.

Clean Sweep

We were stumped when we spotted a wall of large flat whisks with swirly designs that were way too big for mixing bowls. The seller told us they were rug beaters used until the advent of the sweeper and push vacuum in the mid-20th Century. He had two fancy rattan ones he found in an attic in Germany. Kitty remarked at how artsy they all look together. Time to start a new collection! Which one did she pick? A primitive beater with a wooden handle and a scrolling wire pattern for only $25. Beat that!

 

Antique rug beaters are like primitive works of art.



What a fun collection of vintage soap bars!

Dreamy Kimono Eye Pillow

Say sayonara to sleepless nights with this pretty eye pillow made from Kimono fabric and tied with a simple obi sash. The tranquil scent of lavender makes this the eye pillow of your dreams.



To soothe an achy head, place your eye pillow in the freezer
for 15 minutes before use. Then place over your eyes and chill out.

YOU’LL NEED

Materials & Embellishments
Kimono fabric, 8” x 8” square
Periwinkle satin, 4” x 10”
Peach satin ribbon, ¼” wide, 18” long
All-purpose light blue thread

Scented Herbs & Essences

Dried lavender flowers, ¾ cup
Whole flax seeds, ¾ cup
Lavender essential oil

Tools & Supplies

Straight pins
Sewing needle
Scissors
Bowl
Spoon
Kitchen funnel
Iron

WHAT TO DO

1. To make the pillow, lay the kimono fabric face-up and fold in half, with the wrong side out. Pin all three open edges together with the straight pins.

2. Hand stitch the pinned sides together with a backstitch. On the last side, leave a 2” gap to pour in the filling. Remove the pins and turn the pillow right side out.

3. To make the filling, blend the lavender flowers, flax seeds, and 30 drops of lavender essential oil in a bowl. Let air dry for one hour.

4. Use the funnel to pour the filling into the 2” opening in the pillow. The pillow should be floppy, not plump.

5. Stitch the opening closed with a slipstitch hidden inside the seam by folding the fabric edges in and tacking them together. Stitch inside each fold in a back-and-forth pattern.

6. To get the look of an obi sash, lay the periwinkle satin face down. Fold a 1” hem on the two long sides and iron. Then fold a 1” hem on one of the short sides and iron.

7. Lay the pillow crossways across the periwinkle fabric. Fold the periwinkle satin around the pillow, overlapping the hemmed end on top of the unironed end. Pin together.

8. Stitch the top end of the periwinkle satin to the bottom end of the satin with a slipstitch.

9. Wrap the peach ribbon around the periwinkle sash and finish with a petite bow. Naptime!

A Chic Little Halloween Decorating Idea

We saw this little pumpkin sittin' on a little chair at an antiques fair. What an easy Halloween decorating idea! We think it would be fun to paint a little chair like this black and spritz the pumpkin with Orange Burst Glitter Blast. (This antique chair is tagged $35, but we see little chairs like this at thrift stores all the time for about a buck.) Glitter + Pumpkin = Halloween Chic!

Steampunk Birdhouses!

For our Labor Day BBQ craft this year, we decided to do flea style birdhouses! We started with wooden bird houses from the craft store and provided craft paint, glue, and steampunky gears and things. They turned out great! Want to make your own? Here's a how-to we wrote for this craft for Diablo Magazine to help you get started.

Fancy Floral Frame

Check out our dollar store frame makeover in this week's Woman's World. All you need are some metallic paints, silk peonies, and glitzy rhinestone buttons. Dollar Store Chic!

Folky Flag for the Fourth of July

Make a folky flag out of paint stirrers! (It was just featured in Woman's World Magaine!)

What You'll Need:
9 wooden paint stirrers
Plaid Folk Art paint in Cardinal Red, Wicker White, and True Blue
masking tape
sandpaper
wood glue
hand saw
Plaid Outdoor Sealer
assorted buttons 3/8" to 7/8"
(we used 57 red, 47 white, and 20 blue)
Beacon Glass, Metal & More glue
2 thumbtacks
16" copper wire

What To Do:

Step 1. Paint 2 paint stirrers Cardinal Red and 1 Wicker white and set aside. Mask off the indented end of 4 stirrers and paint True Blue. Let dry. Mask off the blue end, and the paint other end of 2 stirrers Wicker White and 2 Cardinal Red. Sand the edges and surfaces of the stirrers to get a distressed look.

Step 2. Cut the 2 remaining stirrers down to 7" with a hand saw and sand the sawed ends smooth. Arrange the painted stirrers into the flag then turn the flag over. Glue the 2 short stirrers vertically to the back of the flag 1" in from each side using the wood glue. Let dry several hours.

Step 3. Turn the flag over and glue buttons to the front using glue.

Step 4. To make the hanger, push a thumbtack into the top of each short stick on the back of the flag. Twist each end of the wire around a thumbtack and trim the ends.

A Pillow With A Past

We just got back from A Room With A Past, a flea style home decor and furniture collective. Once a month the "Roomies" load up a warehouse space near us in Walnut Creek with cottage-style flea market finds. We always find great ideas for decorating (they do fabulous displays) and crafts, too.

We love this patchwork pillow covered in antique lace, buttons, and brooches. Why keep your collections tucked away when you can put them on display?!

Monogrammed Pendant for Mom!

Create a personalized pendant for Mother's Day featuring Victorian vintage roses and gold leaf accents!

Materials
1 Darice Rectangle Frame Charm, 20x25mm

1 Darice Clear Charm Cover

1/2" Letter sticker on clear background
Scrap of printed text from book
Vintage Victorian Rose clip art

Krylon Gold Leafing Pen

30" Ribbon

Tools & Supplies
Darice Scrapbooking Micro-Scissors
Beacon’s Premium Tacky Glue
Toothpick

Steps
1. Cut a square background image from the printed paperback text. Glue into the Frame Charm with a toothpick and Tacky Glue.

2. Trim the Victorian Rose clip art to fit in the bottom third of the Frame Charm. Glue in place.

3. Use the Krylon Gold Leafing Pen to add gold accents to the clip art.

4. Peel off letter sticker and place over background.

5. Peel the back off the Clear Charm Cover and adhere it to the front of the rectangle charm covering the collage inside.

6. Thread the ribbon through the loop at the top of the rectangle charm.