Crafting Hodge Podge

Crafts:
Jess worked on an embroidery kit (used mostly satin stitches).
Stacy worked on diabetic-friendly Valentine's Day deserts (white frosting) as well as regular ones (pink frosting).
Gbob worked in clay on a Hedwig owl figurine (she used this Hedwig tutorial).
Sarah worked on a motorcycle-style jacket.
The boys worked on taping a Retro Nick podcast.

Menu:
Shepard's Pie by Sarah (see the Shepherd's Pie recipe on her blog!)
Bread by Stacy
Veggies by Jess
Guinness Brownies by Gbob

Mac-y, Craft-y Night

Menu: Host Gbob prepared Sloppy Janes, which are like Sloppy Joes but healthier (recipe from Gourmified website). Sarah prepared a delicious mac n' cheese (her recipe appears on her blog, Speak Boylese). Stacy fixed a healthy salad. Jess made a coffee cake for desert.

Crafts: Gbob put the finishing touches on her Jack Skeleton ornament. Jess worked on origami elements for a homemade Valentine's Day card for her hubby. Sarah worked on a cowl scarf. Stacy worked on a very special crochet wedding blanket (similar to this one).

Jewelry Crafting

General supplies: Choose your beads plus wire cutters, jewelry pliers and crimp beads.

General directions: Follow this tutorial.

Our necklaces:

• GBob's Necklace (top left) - Use jewelry wire and make 3 or 4 strands of equal length, interspersing slightly larger beads for variety. Thread pendant onto necklace. Attach all strands to a multi-strand clasp.
• Jess' Necklace (top right) - Thread all beads onto jewelry wire and close with a lobster claw clasp. Symmetry is important.
• Stacy's Shell Necklace (above) - Follow directions for Jess' necklace.
• Stacy's Crochet Marker Bracelet (above) - Use six large lobster claw clasps to make crochet markers and attach them to jewelry chain. 
• Stacy's Yarn Spinner Necklace (right) - Attach yarn spinner and beads to a long crocheted strand.

Stepping Stones w/ Pawprints

You could do this project with pawprints, handprints, or any other kind of print.

Procedure: First, mix cement with water in a large bucket. We got a 60-pound bag of cement from Home Depot. We used a long thick-diameter wooden dowel and a trowel to mix the cement with the water. Then we coated our molds with cooking spray to prevent sticking and poured the cement into them. You can use pie dishes or any disposable plastic or aluminum container. The mixture should be difficult to smooth, but not so grainy that you can’t smooth it all together and get rid of air pockets. Excess water rises to the top, so place a paper towel on top of the freshly laid and smoothed concrete and blot it. Then we firmly pressed each toe of the animal’s paw into the wet concrete. After making a print, we thoroughly washed the animal’s paw. We added glass marbles to our design which are best to add when the concrete is rather wet, so that the stones can be properly nestled into the concrete. We also added letters to our stepping stones using stamps.

Tip: The letters were best to add when the concrete was a little drier in order to avoid water pooling in the cavities of the freshly stamped letters.

Clocks

We bought clockwork kits from the craft store and wood (for the base) from the hardware store. We drilled a central hole through the base before decorating.

To decorate the base, cut strips of tissue or scrapbook paper and use mod podge to secure them.

Use clear acrylic spray to seal clock and add shine.

Paint edge of clock with acrylic paint. Glue coins or buttons for numbers. Use letter stickers as desired.

*Note: This was a two-night project.