The Day 10 Months in the Making
This year for Mother’s Day I am quite proud of myself. I spent an hour at the Post Office, but I actually got Mother’s Day gifts into the mail for our moms and grandmoms. And they just might get there by Saturday! So proud. 
Aren’t they just so cute wrapped up? Wanna see what’s inside?
(Disclaimer: If you think you might be the recipient of one of these gifts, you might want to close this window.)
VOILA!
It’s a cute paperweight. Yeah, yeah, kinda a cliche.
Don’t you want to know how I made it, so you can make one for yourself
1. Have the stars align. Seriously. Something wonderful must have happened to make this project possible. I found very patriotic paperweights last summer after the Fourth of July. Don’t call me unAmerican, but I ripped the picture of the bald eagle on a stars and stripes background out and had a blank slate. (Did I mention the paperweights were 90% off? I got as many as my little arms could carry.) If you don’t chance upon a paperweight sale, you can buy your own that’s ready to decorate.
2. Choose the right picture. The one I chose is a wallet of my kids at the beach.
3. Make a cardstock circle that will fit inside the lip of the paperweight.
4. Line up your photo to make the most of the space inside the paperweight. And attach it to the cardstock. My photo was not ideal. I wished their little heads would have been closer together. But Necessity is the mother of Invention. So I had to invent a way to make the paperweight look decent. I opted to put the photo on the cardstock circle so their heads would be furthest from the edge. I then cut around the photo to make it a circle.
5. Begin wrapping your sisal around the inside of the photo. Use small amounts of hot glue to adhere it. The sisal will cover up the area that is not a photo. In my case, it also adds a beachy feel to the pic and has the benefit of giving it some depth.
6. If you want to add a heart, get a small piece of wire and pinch it
7. Make a small loop and use pliers to squeeze the loop. Carefully bend the ends toward each other to make a heart.
8. Use hot glue to attach it to the photo.
9. Continue wrapping the sisal around the photo. Think to yourself, “How could I make a set of coasters using this same technique?” Gently clear away hot glue cobwebs. Give your sisal a haircut. Admire your handiwork and make sure it fits inside the paperweight.
11. Use your glue gun to tack down the picture so it will stay put.
12. Trace the paperweight on a piece of stick on felt. And apply the felt.
14. Wrap it up, grab your address book, and sprint to the P.O.
There must be a million other ways to decorate a paperweight. What would you do with a pound of domed glass?
Your children are beautiful!!! With such a talented Mom!!!!
Love you guys, Sara
Sara Hunter
May 4, 2011