It's New Year's Eve! How many of you are celebrating with kids tonight? Here's a quick an easy craft you can make to ring in the new year with style, Paper Cup Party Hats!
Two kids taking Karate* for two years means a pretty hefty stack of broken boards and you know there's no way I can just throw them out. So while I waited for creative inspiration to strike the pile grew and grew.
The best ideas are born out of necessity. We have no foyer, coat stand, or hall closet; so when people visit, or you know...it's coat season, jackets, bags, and coats get thrown over the back of chairs until our living room looks like Grandma's bed at Christmas!
We'd just painted our hallway so all the pictures and mirrors had been taken down. Looking at it's stark whiteness inspiration finally hit! Obviously we needed coat racks, and since we had a hodge podge of hooks why not combine it with a hodge podge of wooded boards?
Here's how we put it all together!
I'm so excited to be taking part in this year's Home for Christmas Blog Hop being hosted by Hometalk.com and Countryliving.com! Bloggers from around the world will be sharing home tours and holiday projects you'll want to pin and share so be sure to scroll through this entire post until you get to the linky party! Now, let's do a little crafting. I'm turning a dollar store plate charger into an awesome Christmas card display (shown above), here's how you can too!
Sometimes it's more about the wrapping than the actual gift, am I right? Sure bows and ribbons are nice but there's something about tissue paper that makes a gift extra special to me.
This craft is SO simple! You can customize the size and color of the pom poms you use, making them perfect gifts for cheerleaders, scouts, or any other group.
Here's a photo how-to, quick directions, and supply list.
Disclosure: This project includes products I received as part of a separate sponsored post. As always the opinions expressed are my own.
I received product in exchange for this post, the opinions expressed are my own.
Everyone knows one of the best ways to extend the spirit of the holidays is to create an advent. This year instead of giving tokens or sweets (in the past we've even gifted books) we're going to save a few bucks and create some memories! With PSA Essentials Stamps and this handy list of activities we created a Holiday Advent Activities Mobile.
To make a mobile of your own you'll need:
Christmas
Crafting
DIY
Fall
Holidays
Home Decor
Round-Up
Winter
Thanksgiving Table Decor Ideas and a CONTEST
I received product in exchange for this announcement. All opinions expressed are my own.
Most Thanksgivings we visit family, but I still appreciate a festive fall tablescape, especially those that feature handmade projects. I am a crafty blogger after all. To get in the spirit I've pulled together eleven creations to make and inspire. So, when you're busy stuffing birds and mashing potatoes you'll know the table is set.
As a bonus, I'm sharing how your DIY creations could help you win a new
Christmas tree from the Christmas Tree Market!
The who, what, where, when of making this craft is below the video-friendly reminder - if you open the viewer on YouTube you can give it a thumbs up! What I want to talk about first is why this is an awesome DIY/Crafty gift idea. In fact, I've put together three reasons and they are:
Christmas
Christmas Ornaments
Craft Lightning
Crafting
Holidays
NO Ugly Ornament 2015
Paper craft
Recycling Craft
Stamping Projects
Craft Lightning: Fringed Juice Lid Ornaments
Every time I say Craft Lightning, "Grease Lightning" starts playing in my head.
So, guess what time it is, "Go Craft Lightning, Go Craft Lightning!"
I told myself I wasn't going to make a single ornament this year, who was I kidding? I'm not sure if this one will fit into the Instagram Photo-A-Day Challenge we're doing this month, but it might. (Be sure to check it out and follow along at #NUOrnaments15!)
Back to today's project and yes, it's an ornament. In keeping with the craft lightning requirements it takes less than 15 minutes to complete.
To make your own Fringed Juice Lid Ornaments you'll need:
This year marks the 5th annual Handmade Holiday Blog Hop and I'm so excited to be one of its contributors! I'm really excited about the gift I made but before I jump right into the how-to I want to make sure you know there are links, and a giveaway, for you to check out at the bottom of the post.
One of my daughter's favorite things to do is draw and frankly, she's pretty good at it. At least I think so and it's hard to argue the merit of a child's artwork with a parent.
You know who else fauns over your little one's handy work? Grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, and even family friends. Thankfully, it's really easy to turn all their creations into creative, one-of-a-kind gifts!
We actually used three different techniques but they all had the same premise and that is to spotlight my budding artist's work. First we created a floral watercolor piece; secondly, we painted on an iron-on image transfer; and thirdly, we combined the water color with the image transfer. All you need to recreate any of these projects is:
Way back in the day, the 1980s to be exact, we used dried foods in our crafting projects a lot. Let's just say I was feeling nostalgic for that gold, spray-painted, macaroni glued to cardboard picture frame I made in elementary school. So, I decided to pull out some dried beans and get crafty. Don't worry there will be noodle crafting as well; just waiting for the kids to help me with that one.
Fall is a time of harvest so why not celebrate it with a project and a lovely printable autumnal quote.
Christmas
Christmas Ornaments
Crafting
Crafting With Kids
Holidays
NO Ugly Ornament 2015
Winter
No Ugly Ornament 2015 Announcement
As some of you may know, for the past four years I've been hosting the No Ugly Ornament Challenge and/or Series. Scroll down and you'll see links to each on the right hand sidebar; for more about how the whole thing got started you can follow this link for the History of the No Ugly Ornament Challenge.
Each year I've tried to change it up either hosting other bloggers, making videos, or going it alone. This year I'm switching it up again and moving it over to Instagram!
What does that mean? It means YOU can follow along with the challenge and share you're own creations, family favorites, or even new ornaments you spy while out holiday shopping!
Just use the hashtag #NUOrnaments to follow along or join in!
If you're not already following me on Instagram now is the time!
I received this product for review, the opinions expressed are my own.
Show of hands, who's finished their Holiday shopping for the year? Yeah, me neither.
I don’t normally share toy reviews but when the opportunity to try out Pinblocks presented itself I jumped on it. My kids love building blocks and Pinblocks feature a new twist (literally) on creating that I hadn’t yet seen. Watch our video review to learn a little more.
Your eyes do not deceive you, this post DOES look strikingly like the last. See, I figured if we're making Stamped Place Cards we might as well make Napkin Rings too. Right?
This post is sponsored by PSA Essentials, the words below are my own.
First off, let me share something about my home. I don't use paper towels or napkins. Instead, we use cloth. That's not to say I don't keep a roll in the house; sometimes the animals have accidents or get sick and there is NO way I'm washing that out of anything.
Still, over the last few years we've adjusted to using cloth for our day to day needs. For example, when I make the kids sandwiches, I serve them on cloth napkins, if they grab a pickle they wrap it with a cloth napkin, and when we have spaghetti everyone takes a cloth napkin before they sit down.
This post was sponsored by Adhesive Technologies
the opinions expressed are my own.
It's time to get out your glue guns for some good ole candy crafting!
I can remember back in the day when my mom would take her industrial strength glue gun and create little candy airplanes we'd sell at craft shows. Those days you had to worry about permanently burning off your fingerprints with hot glue. Thankfully things have changed! Adhesive Technologies has an amazing line of glues and guns for nearly any craft project you could imagine.
Watch the video for more information!
Crafting
Crafting With Kids
Fall
Giveaways and Swaps
Halloween
Holidays
Paper craft
Halloween Popcorn Box Blog Party 2015: Candy Corn Owl
For the past couple of years Laura, of Laura Kelly Designs and Me and My Inklings, has hosted a Halloween Popcorn Box Blog Hop and this year, I'm happy to announce, I was asked to participate! The gist of the hop is that up to 50 bloggers are given a popcorn box and asked to create something...anything, as long as it uses the box. Now, on to the crafting!
Art
Crafting
Crafting With Kids
Fall
Halloween
Nature Craft
Round-Up
10 No-Carve Pumpkin Decorating Projects
Here are nine quick and easy pumpkin decorating projects the entire family can help create with!
ROUND-UP RULE: Please don't pin individual projects from this page.
Visit the original artist and pin from their page.
Oh my, what a week I've had.
I'm not the kind of person who deals well with drama or those who create it. After many attempts to see the brighter side I finally succumbed and had to cut some ties. It was not a pleasant experience but I feel much freer now and it all goes back to that Maya Angelou saying, "When someone shows you who they are, believe them." Indeed.
You know my favorite way to forget about troubles? Yeah, I craft. I've been on a stamping binge and because it's been a while since my last clay project I thought it was time to mix these two mediums together again. These easy to make Halloween candle holders are simply spooktacular. Even my 17 year old son picked one up and said, incredulously I should add, "You made this?"
Yep, they're that cool. Here's a breakdown of what you need to make your own Halloween Candle Holders!
Craft Lightning
Crafting
Crafting With Kids
Halloween
Holidays
Craft Lightning: Halloween Edition - Poseable Mummies
Over the years I have loved being a part of Angie and Caroline's Craft Lightning Series and challenging myself to create a cool craft that can come together within 15 minutes. Last year I was on a major tin can kick when Craft Lightning time rolled around, the year before that I was painting tree branches, 2015 it's all about the Mummy!
As you can see in the picture above, Poseable Mummies aren't just easy crafting they're also perfect for a little Halloween fun. The kids and I had a blast posing Osiris (yes, our mummy has a name) around the house. I've already made a couple friends for him, Tut and Cleo.
Here's the rundown on how to make your own family of mummies to pose throughout your house this Halloween.
As you can see in the picture above, Poseable Mummies aren't just easy crafting they're also perfect for a little Halloween fun. The kids and I had a blast posing Osiris (yes, our mummy has a name) around the house. I've already made a couple friends for him, Tut and Cleo.
Here's the rundown on how to make your own family of mummies to pose throughout your house this Halloween.
Pipe cleaners aren't just for kids crafts!
Use them to create fun fall projects like pumpkin patches or apple branches that can be
incorporated into just about any decorative piece.
Paired with a great apple scented candle wouldn't that make a great teacher's gift?
Watch the video to see how I shaped everything and put it all together.
Don't forget to stop by Darice Crafts for more great crafting ideas!
*I received free products for this post and as always the views and opinions expressed are my own.
Flipping furniture is a hobby my husband and I both enjoy and it's something we can usually do together and, surprisingly enough, NOT want to rip each other's hair out! Somewhere in the last couple years though, our projects moved to my husband's 'shop' so what happens is, I tell him what I want and he does it. Yeah, I'm lucky that way, unless, um, I really like painting, prying things apart, glueing them back together, and changing out hardware.
SPEAKING OF HARDWARE...and before I go off on an entirely different topic.
A little over a month ago I found out about a new contest called The Fab Furniture Flippin' Contest. Can you guess what it's all about? Yep, flippin' furniture. I'm hoping you can see where I'm going with all this; I missed working with furniture and then along comes this contest inviting me back into the fold, urging me to get my hands dirty... so yeah, I signed up!
This is where the hardware comes in, this month's contest is being sponsored by D. Lawless Hardware and the theme is Icing on the Cake. Go check out their site, it's easy to see how the theme and sponsor fit together. They have tons of amazing hardware to look through and just when you think you've seen it all you'll click over to the matching set and a whole new world will open up!
Now, as much as I love color and bold designs, I'm a bit of a minimalist too. So I'm loving the geometric look that's making the rounds right now and I had it in mind when I upgraded this little three drawer dresser.
I gave the base, and a couple drawers, a coat of black satin paint. The third drawer was painted white,just to be different. I knew I wanted to mix up design techniques so while I left one drawer black I taped up the other (yes it's electrical tape-I couldn't find the painter's) in a geometric pattern.
From there a picked three colors and got busy painting. There was no rythme or reason to which segments of the taped drawer I filled, I went with what looked right.
Go figure, the blue paint I'd picked was an old outdoor acrylic and it ATE OFF the original black paint! I'm considering it a happy accident though because I love the way the original finish looks mixed with the colored shapes.
Now for the icing on the cake, the hardware! We were given the opportunity to choose pieces from D. Lawless Hardware and I was completely overwhelmed. In the end I went with what, I'd like to believe, every DIY kinda gal would, the DIY knobs and pulls!
I have so many old buttons from my Grandmother and my thrifting adventures. I used E6000 to glue two black and two orange ones to the knob bases. As for the pulls, I left them naked. What can I say I liked them that way! I'm thinking about painting a design on them, or maybe adding a few Scrabble tiles but I'm not ready to commit to either idea just yet.
This month's contest co-hosts are Michelle at Dandelion Patina and Evey at Evey's Creations. Be sure to hop over to their sites and check out their projects and if you are interested in participating in future contests contact Stacy (info@anastasiavintage.com) or Evey at (info@eveyscreations.com).
Things have been crazy around our house this last week and it's been so long since I posted a recipe I thought I'd take a quick moment to share one my family has been gobbling up!
The past eight weeks I've been taking part in the April Kennedy Mind, Body, Spirit Challenge. I completely admit to slip ups now and then but exploring healthy food options, and dragging my family along with me, has been enlightening. Who knew we'd all hate whole wheat bagels as much as we did? Just kidding, not kidding. Those truly horrible bagels aside, we have embraced a number of new foods including some of the ingredients that went into making this granola.
If you're taking the challenge I'll warn you know it is only a neutral food but it does such a good job of satisfying your sweet tooth you'll be grateful to add it to your recipe repertoire.
Ingredients
- 3 Tbsp of butter
- 3 Tbsp coconut oil
- 1/4 c honey OR molasses
- 1/4 c brown sugar
- 2 tsp vanilla paste OR liquid vanilla
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 2 c old fashioned oats
- 1 c puffed wheat cereal
- 2 Tbsp flax seeds
- 2 tsp chia seeds
- 1/2 c pepitos OR a chopped nut of your choice
- 1/2 c dried cranberries OR raisins
Instructions
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
Spray a shallow cookie sheet or baking dish with non-stick spray.
Mix salt, soda, oats, cereal, and seeds in a large bowl.
Melt butter, oil, vanilla, honey, and brown sugar. Once it is all completely melted add to dry ingredients making sure everything is coated well. Finally, add the cranberries and transfer all to the baking sheet. I flatten it all out until it is no more than 1/2" deep. Bake for 30 minutes.
When the granola comes out of the oven it will still be soft and gooey. Let it cool for at least 5-10 minutes before breaking it up into pieces.
TIP: I've been breaking it into spatula sized pieces and flipping them over on the baking sheet while they cool. You could use a cooling rack but you'll have a lot falling through the cracks.
Once it is cool to the touch, dig in! Be sure to store the granola in an air-tight container.
Keep the hair out of your face and off your neck this summer with these easy to make
Beaded T-shirt Headbands.
This post originally appeared on Create. Craft. Love. on July 8, 2015.
Sometimes I simply cut off about two inches of sleeve, give it a tug, and that's it, instant headband. This time I decided instead of keeping the loop of the sleeve I'd cut them into strips of varying widths, slide on a handful of pony beads, and tie it off. It's another quick headband but with a little something extra.
The photo collage below pretty much says it all but I've also shared a quick step by step guide.
Step 1: Gather your old t-shirts and cut off the sleeves.
Step 2: Trim the sleeves into strips anywhere from half an inch to two inches wide. Be sure to snip the loop of the sleeve so that it is one long strip.
Step 3: String on pony beads, Obviously it will be harder to string them on the wider strips of t-shirt but the effect in the end is well worth the trouble.
Step 4: Center your beads-tie them in place if you need to, size your headband to fit, and there you have it!
Looking for more t-shirt headband ideas? Here's a knotted one we made a couple years ago and if you make lots of headbands you're going to need a holder.
I can not even begin to tell you how excited I am to be a part of Rae Gun Ramblings Harry Potter Series. Every couple months the kids go on a Harry Potter spree and thankfully it is the one movie franchise I look forward to watching over and over again! I must shamefully admit that I haven't read the books but after doing a bit of research for this craft they are now on my Christmas wish list.
Luna Lovegood is possibly my favorite HP character and anytime I think of Harry Potter I can hear her say, "It keeps away the nargles." Because that little bit is always stuck in my head I figured I'd make something to keep away the nargles, butterbeer cork necklaces. (I'll save the dirigible fruit earrings for another time.)
I made two different necklaces; for the first you'll need: the following, a wine cork, a beaded necklace (I used one with a clasp already on it), eye pins, crimp tubes, and a B stamp. I'm using one from the PSA Essentials Romance Peel&Stick letter set.
The instructions for putting it together are on the images below.
It's plain to see the second necklace is much simpler. All you need is a cork, eye screw, B stamp, and a bit of string or ribbon. Screw the eye screw into the top of your cork, stamp it up with a B, and finally string the ribbon through the eye screw. Easy peasy.
I'm not sure Luna would actually were something so low key, I'm sure she'd want more corks dangling from the chain and probably a bell, but I know I will!
Don't go yet...there's more!!
There's also a GIVEAWAY!
Rae Gun Ramblings has managed to put together a Harry Potter fan's dream giveaway, just check out the photo above, and there's still time to get entered to win!
Enter via the Rafflecopter widget below.
This post is sponsored by I Love to Create. The opinions and views expressed are my own.
I'm always eager to try crafting techniques that are outside the box so for this tie-dye project I took a chance with a bubble blower. Yes, a bubble blower. I'd read about other bubble tie-dye techniques using straws but they seemed overly complicated and messy. Instead I wanted to keep it simple and thankfully the bubble blower wasn't just easy to use, we didn't make a mess!
To create your own Bubble Blower Tie-Dye Projects you'll need the following supplies:
- A bubble blower
- Tulip One Step Tie-Dye Kit (Mine had five colors and refill packets!)
- extra containers of bubble solution
- small dishes (optional, depending on the style of your bubble blower)
- plastic wrap (for the dying process)
- clothing item you'll be tie-dying - I'll be working with a set of white curtains
First things first - this is an outdoor project!
To start off you'll need to mix the dye into your bubble mixture. Since my tie-dye kit had refill packets I simply added them into the bubble mixture containers. I added no extra water and GENTLY shook the container to dissolve the dye.
Once we had all our colors mixed we poured them into to small containers for loading up the bubble blower.
Once we got the hang of the bubble blower, that's when the real fun began. Vin and Es took turns using it to color the curtains. We weren't really sure what kind of pattern we'd get but once the bubbles started popping on the fabric it was easy to see it was going to create a splatter paint effect.
We're a Pollock kind of family and to be able to create this abstract look without getting dye everywhere, staining our hands, and/or dealing with messy spills took me by surprise. We've done splatter painting before...the proof was all over our little court for months! This time around I only had to rinse out the recyclables and throw the rest in the trash.
Even Vin, who apparently took off his gloves when I wasn't looking (too busy taking the pictures) had clean hands when we were done!
From here I followed the instructions provided in the tie-dye kit.
This is where I wish I had mad photography skills so I could show you how awesome these curtains look when the sunlight hits them and they take on a day-glo quality. Okay, I did take a couple pictures but I'm warning you the lighting is horrible, forgive me.
My bad photography aside this was such a fun, easy, and mess-free project. I can't wait to do it again, but next time, we're doing t-shirts!
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