Ashley Hackshaw, Author at Ashley Hackshaw / Lil Blue Boo

Photo of the Day: 9 Lives

March 9, 2012 by Ashley Hackshaw

I can’t believe I have my phone right now. If you could see where I lost it you’d be surprised too. Earlier this evening, I picked Boo up from school and we drove home…….and I accidentally left my phone on the top of the car. As we pulled onto the highway I heard “thud….thud” and realized my phone had just dropped off onto of the busiest streets in the desert. Ugh. I just envisioned the cars behind me crushing my phone into a gazillion pieces. Boo and I pulled the car onto frontage road and walked up and down at a distance to see if we could see it on the road but never could find it. It got dark quickly.

We went home and I was pretty upset that I’d probably have to buy another phone. Mr. LBB said he’d take the bike over to the highway and call the phone to see if maybe it fell into one of the oleander trees that line the road. Boo and I said a prayer that he wouldn’t get hit by a car. A few minutes after he left, our home phone rang and it was MY phone calling.

Me: Hello?! Did you find my phone? (I figured it was Mr. LBB)
Man: Hi there. Just wanted you to know your phone is safe.
Me: Oh my gosh!!! Where did you find it?!
Man: Right off highway 74….a car almost ran over it and I stopped to pick it up. Sorry it took me so long to call you…..your phone was dead and I had to charge it up first.

My phone had bounced off my car…..onto the highway……. and landed about 20 or 30 feet onto a side road. Crazy. The nice man, Mr. M, gave us his address and Mr. LBB went and picked it up. We tried to give him a reward but he wouldn’t take it. I have his address so I’m sending him a surprise in the mail anyways. My phone just has a little bit of road rash but otherwise it’s fine. I have it in the indestructible Otterbox…..it just came away with a few scratches. I still can’t believe it didn’t get crushed under all that traffic.

I read a statistic this afternoon that 50% of people won’t return a lost phone if they find it! So glad Mr. M fell into that 50% that does.

Cast Resin Paperweights & Coasters (A Tutorial)

March 9, 2012 by Ashley Hackshaw

I made these cute little paperweights and coasters using clear resin. In the desert, we actually NEED paperweights….the weather is beautiful so we keep the windows and doors open….and it gets windy! You can cast anything in resin really…..it’s a great way to capture some mementos and trinkets from a trip. Carefully drill a hole through one and hang it from a window!

The paperweights I made using a box of colored pencils.

I asked my brother-in-law Jason to cut them all up into 1/2″ pieces using his table saw. Poor guy….they were like bullets flying around!

To make the resin you need clear casting resin and the catalyst which makes it harden….available at most craft stores:

You’ll need a mold too…..soap molds work or smooth tupperware. This was some toy packaging I had kept after Boo’s birthday (Melissa and Doug Doughnuts):

I filled the bottom of the molds with a layer of cut pencils:

First I mixed my resin….basically it’s the resin and a few drops of catalyst (follow the directions) and MIX OUTSIDE or in a garage! The fumes are too strong to mix it indoors…..you need some good ventilation.

Pour the resin in a small stream to reduce air bubbles to cover all the items:

Note: wood floats…so you will want to pour in small layers:

Add more pieces to the mold:

And add another layer of resin……not enough to completely cover the pieces though if you are using wood. You’ll have to pour another layer after this one has time to set (about 30 minutes):

Add the final small layer so the pieces are covered completely:

You can make a thinner version as a beverage coaster…..here’s one I did using buttons:

Let the resin set completely. It should only take a few hours. Once the resin is set it should pop out of the mold very easily!

Just think of all the combinations and trinkets you can make!

Project Playroom: Vinyl Lettering

March 9, 2012 by Ashley Hackshaw

Still working on small projects in the playroom! I wanted to distinguish Boo’s kitchen section from the market section in her playroom so I got out my Silhouette machine and created the lettering “Sienna’s Cafe” over it. I ordered a roll of purple vinyl and the new extra long cutting mat:

Using the Silhouette software, I wrote out the letters Sienna’s Cafe and I drew a circle with the circle tool.

The great thing about the software is that you click the little circle/cross image next to the box and drag the words to the circle and it creates curved lettering:

I changed the font and increased the circle to be as large as I wanted the lettering to be on the wall. I ended up overlapping the words to save on vinyl: