Try these cookie sheet calendars.

I've got a great Christmas idea/gift idea alert - cookie sheet calendars. I've only just discovered them recently, and am happy to bring you two versions from two very talented crafters.

The first is an advent version done by Jen at Tatertots and Jello. I'm so thrilled by all of the little Christmas goodies and shapes, I'm kind of like a kitten with a ball of yarn. Visit here for the tutorial that she was kind enough to post.

Second is a great gift idea from Erika at Oops I Craft My Pants! Erika made hers to last year round, and Mod Podged some fun little holiday and birthday markers. Visit here to see additional pictures - love how she numbered some days and spelled out others. How delightful!

Project of the Week #69 - Odds n' ends rack.

I'm not sure that anyone in the world has more odds n' ends than I do, at least it's hard to imagine. It's often hard for me to find things I need, especially craft supplies. This is why I love projects like the cabinet above from Sarah at Create Studio. Uncluttering projects are a crazy crafter's (um, me) dream. Sarah refurbished an old bathroom cabinet into this wall storage, complete with fabric Mod Podged to the inside. Visit her blog here to see the before, and then poke around to see more of her amazing projects - including these Mod Podged shoes.

A polka-stripey tray and a giveaway.

Hallo! Introducing two of my favorite things, in one small Christmas tray - stripes and polka dots. If you met me, you would find somewhere on my person one of these two patterns. What's better than stripes or polka dots you ask? Both of them together. The reason that I made this tray actually stems from receiving this decorative image transfer kit from the wonderful people at Tilano:

My first project with this kit? The tray you see above. I transferred an image of polka dots. You too can have a chance to transfer images! Why? Tilano is giving a kit to a Mod Podge Rocks reader. Aren't they nice? This is GRRReat time of year for something like this - personalized gifts are big. Big I say! Each kit comes with enough goods to make several projects. Projects like ornaments, coasters, magnets. . . any little gifties your heart desires. I tested the kit with this tray and it works wonderfully, which means that I am now ready to mass produce magnets with my pugs' faces on them. Anyway, here are the giveaway rules:

1. Comment on THIS blog entry this week. Mention what you'll do with this kit.

2. Do it sometime before December 5th at midnight.

That's it! Now here's the dealy on the Christmas tray, which now sits on my coffee table with little Christmas yummy candies in it.

Supplies & Tools:

FolkArt® Acrylic Paint
Calico Red
Grass Green
Titanium White
Mod Podge® - Glitter Silver
Tilano Decorative Image Transfer Kit
Wood tray, no larger than 8.5" x 11"
An image to transfer - I based mine on the Martha Stewart Moneybags template
Small square of green felt
2 red buttons
Stencil tape - 1/4"
Flat Paint Brush
Beacon Fabri-Tac
Scissors
Pencil or pen

Paint your tray. That includes the bottom - no arguments. White on wood takes a few more coats.

These instructions are in your kit, but I'll give you the short and sweet version. Print the image you would like to transfer onto the computer paper provided. Prepare the tray and the image for transfer by coating with a thin layer of the included medium. Allow to dry (time specified in the kit) and cut out image.

Tip: if there are words on the image, print BACKWARDS. The image flips when placed down on a surface.

Coat the tray with transfer medium. Make sure you cover throughly. There's a sponge brush included in the kit but I couldn't find it for this part. Whoops.

Place the image face down. Spread thoroughly (spreader included). Wipe the spreader off after each swipe - you don't want to get medium on the back of the image. Let dry for time specified (I believe it's 3 hours).

Once the image is dry, wet the back with cool water. You'll see the color start to come through. Cover the entire image and then peel the paper away. Image transferred! Pretty cool and easy, huh?

Now time to dress up your tray! Notice I hit Starbucks before beginning this part. Needed energy.

Use the stencil tape to section off the stripe pattern. Secure down and paint your stripes. I did the top green stripe first, allowed to dry and then did the bottom red stripe. Peel the paint away and touch up if you need to. I'm going to give you my biggest stripe secret - I ALWAYS have to do some touching up. So don't feel bad if you have to.

Allow the stripes to dry and then coat the entire tray with Mod Podge. The silver glitter shows up nicely on the white. Allow to dry and give a second coat.

Trace four holly leaves with your pen or pencil and cut out. I just freehanded them.

Use your Beacon Fabri-Tac glue to adhere the felt pieces.

Add the button in the center and press down. Do the same thing on the other side and allow to dry for a few hours before using.

Thanks for reading, and thanks to Tilano for the giveaway.

Boring plastic mini storage drawers turned cool.

My bloggy friend Abbie lives in New York, so you know what that means. Small space. Possibly small enough to Mod Podge everything with one 8 oz. jar and still have some left over. Abbie has been so kind enough to share pictures of her fantastic apartment decorating with us. I bring you a plastic storage bin from her master suite, and she Mod Podged paper into the drawers to dress it up a bit. Boring turns non-boring! Go here for more pictures of the master suite and to see Abbie's amazing view. If you never saw Abbie's children's room, it's worth a visit - I featured her before.

Fabric ornaments with your little ones.

I know that right now many of you have little ones at home - they are out of school, it's cold outside and they are bored. Good news - Mod Podge is here to help. Since many of you are also setting up trees this weekend, you can set your kids at a table with these fabric scrap ornaments and let them go to town. Once you are done, slap them on the tree (okay, not so much slapping as placing). They are so easy and inexpensive, you probably have everything you need already, and your kids are going to have a great time.

Supplies & Tools:

Mod Podge® - your choice of flavors. I used Glitter Gold, Glitter Silver and Gloss

Paper mache ornaments - as many as you want to make
Fabric scraps - I didn't have any holiday ones specially so I bought 1/8 yard pieces from JoAnn. They were only around $.30 a piece with the sales right now
Embellishments - whatever you have laying around; I used ribbon and buttons
Flat Paint Brush - one for everyone!
Beacon 3-in-1 Advanced Craft Glue
Scissors

Here are the goods. A couple of paper balls and some fabric. Oh, styrofoam works too, but I liked these because the hanger was attached. I have little patience when it comes to hanger-ing.

Cut your fabric into manageable bits - circles, sqaures, octahedrons - whatever! Parents, you obviously might want to do this part depending on the child's age.

Kids love to get messy, and so do I! Work one or two shapes at a time, putting Mod Podge down on the ball and then placing the fabric squares. Tell the kids not to do too big of an area at once - we don't want crying when the Mod Podge dries and nothing sticks!

Kids should keep coating and adding fabric. I had a great time! Cover the entire ball.

Use your Glitter Podges to coat the outsides. It's so fun and it really sparkles. Add as many coats as you like!

Set the ornaments asie to dry for 15 - 20 minutes. Use your Beacon craft glue to add embellishments. I added buttons, ribbon, etc - whatever floats your boat! Again, make sure your glue is child safe if the little ones are going to be attaching embellishments. Set to dry for at least a few hours before hanging on the tree.

Your kids had a great time, didn't they? This might be good for them to make as gifts for family members. You can even have them Mod Podge pictures of themselves or names on top. And as I said, you can use Christmas fabrics, but it would also be fun to use any fabrics and embellishments you have lying around.

A chest of drawers with a special surprise.

Kristi from Addicted 2 Decorating is becoming quite an accomplished Podger - remember the patchwork table she did? She recently used Mod Podge to problem solve, and I'm so proud. You see, her husband is a network administrator, and has computer stuff everywhere. They also have a network server at home. And what are you supposed to do with a big box of wires? I mean, how do you hide that eyesore? Kristi did it, using the dresser you see above. Visit her here for the details, and to see a picture of the dresser before the makeover. Prepare to be impressed.

One last thing - Happy Thanksgiving. In addition to all of the other wonderful things in my life, I'm so thankful for you, my readers - you make all this Mod Podging worthwhile. XO.

Birdie knobs make me want to tap dance.

The funny thing is, I took tap dancing lessons when I was 22. I wasn't that good, even though my heart was in it. This is why I have a Mod Podge blog rather than a tap dancing one.

I LOVE The Graphics Fairy. If you haven't been, go now. Karen, who runs the site, offers new vintage images every day. Let me tell you folks, great clip art is not easy to find, especially not in one place. Not only does Karen offer fancy schmancy images, but she makes cool things, like these birdie knobs above. Visit here for the tutorial as well as a free PDF sheet of the images. Then start poking around. One caveat though - you are going to be there for hours. When your family files a missing persons report because you are lost in the computer, don't say I didn't warn you.