Two Girls Being Crafty

Some non-crafty thoughts

2012-02-13T08:01:00.001-05:00

Okay, okay--so you may or may not have noticed that pathetically it has been two months since the last post (I know some of you have noticed and I may not have responded to your emails but I got 'em--I'm just a bad blogger!)--thought I'd catch you up on a few things going on 'round here if you're interested. I'm too lazy at this moment to add photos, so if you're only here for my fantastic photography (you know that's a joke, right??) then you might need to go check out a non-lame blog. If you're interested in hearing the craft-free thoughtsicles developing in my mindgrapes (sorry if you don't watch 30 Rock and you miss my Tracy Jordan references) then feel free to read on!

First of all, due to many requests, I have added the ability to "subscribe by email" and to subscribe via feed of your choice over on the right side of the page. Check it out, all of you folks who are interested!

Just for fun...

Trends I am currently not understanding:

-Men wearing skinny jeans (they do look awful cute on my kid though)
-Red velvet cake--why so popular all of a sudden?
-Instagram -neat, I guess, but why the rage?
-E-Trade Commercials
-Politics. 'Nuff said. I'll refrain from my soapbox.
-The Little Mermaid - She's 16 and after saving a prince from drowning, she's certain that she wants to be with him forever. AND her dad makes it happen! Umm, am I the only one who finds this to be CUH-razay thinking and even crazier parenting? Obviously I've been watching this with my kiddo...

Things I am currently loving:

-Vera Bradley
-This potato casserole (LOTS of good recipes on this blog)
-Picking out clothes for my kiddo
-Succulents
-A bracelet made just for me by my daughter. Purple pipe cleaner, 5 beads--does it get better than that?
-Hot wings
-My Neti Pot

In more recent news, I guess I should tell you that I am expecting kiddo # 2! We're 19 weeks along and will find out the gender soon. My husband is really wanting a boy as we have decided not to be outnumbered by our children and will stop with two bundles of joy. Please send some nice "boy" energy our way...

Are you interested in knowing names? Sure you are. We have decided that if this baby is a boy he will be named Simon. If it happens to be a girl, she'll be named Bennett. Yep. So, that, we have worked out. If you live outside of a 50 mile radius of Melbourne, FL, then you're free to use those names if you like. Within the radius? Please, refrain. (I obviously think I have chosen awesome trend-setting names and am now afraid that my daughter will be sitting next to another Bennett in her second grade class and will be forced to go by "Bennett W". Perhaps I think too highly of my choices.)

The practical side of me would love to have another gal since we'd be 100% prepared (except for diapers and sanity) but the other part of me wants to give my husband a boy and have a new experience. We shall see what God has in store for us! (I have a few baby boy nursery ideas--if you want to check 'em out, you can visit this Pin board).

What I am really thankful for is that we are sure that we're having just ONE baby, and not twins. There was a twin scare for a few seconds--and it was just about more than I could handle. Not that babies aren't great... well, let's face it, babies are kind of terrible until they're old enough to communicate their needs without screaming. Or maybe that was just Elliott, I'm not sure. Daang, she was (and is) a tough cookie! Her pregnancy was a breeze, whereas this pregnancy has been... not a breeze.

On a blogging note, I can't tell you just yet where I stand on the future of Two Girls Being Crafty. You've probably noticed that Sharon is M.I.A. (just to clarify, this is not the M.I.A. who made a bad gesture at the SuperBowl). Sharon is happily enjoying Pharmacy school at the University of Florida's Orlando campus. I miss her terribly--she's an awesome student and very dedicated (something I have never been) so our hanging out and crocheting until 3 in the morning while our husbands play video games (yes, this has happened before) is no longer something we get to do. We actually got to hang out this weekend at a Bunco party and it was great fun. So, if you think YOU miss her and her awesome crafty self, you can only imagine how I feel!

Part of me is ready to quit blogging because it's not as much fun without my blogmate Sharon. The other part is ready to quit because it seems like there is nothing new to do. Everything has been done and truthfully it's a lot of effort to write and photograph each blog post, and it's ever-so demotivating when I read the blogs of others who do things in a bigger and better way than I do--I mean, why try, right? Ahh, I sound like such a defeatist. Nothing like the tenacious gal I once was. Perhaps it's the parasite in my uterus talking... The other part of me (how many parts are there?!) wants to continue on at my current pace, which I would define as "sloth-paced". We'll see what happens, I suppose. If I get twenty "you changed my life with your DIY Art for Non-Artists and freezer paper stenciling" emails following this post, then I may just need to keep things up. Or maybe not. Oprah had a 25-year run making a life-enriching show and she quit for other pursuits, so perhaps I'll stop the blog and start my own TV network. We shall see.

My latest and greatest DIY project has been potty-training Elliott. She's 2 and a half, and boy am I glad I waited to get through the tantrum phase before I started this phase. I thought potty-training would be terrible (I was SO afraid) but it has been amazingly easy and intuitive for both of us. I actually found a few products to be extremely helpful, and I do plan on sharing some of that info soon because I think others in this stage may find it life-changing, too. I am glad to report that potty-training has been far from painful. My dog was WAY harder and it took him WAY longer.

Have you heard that No Doubt is releasing an album this year? That's exciting news to me.

That's it for now.

-Tristin

Day 9: Bottle and Branch decor with Michael of Blue Velvet Chair

2011-12-09T21:24:00.000-05:00

Hey pals! Due to an email glitch, I have day 9 of the 12 days of Christmas series for you a few days out of order. So, we have Michael from Blue Velvet Chair sharing a beautiful point of attraction with us--beautiful bottles and branches.

Hello to everyone here at Two Girls Being Crafty. My name is Michael and I'm the host of Blue Velvet Chair, a blog dedicated to showcasing recycled and repurposed design, arts and crafts. I've looked forward to sharing a bit of holiday cheer with you since the day I 'got the call' to join this fabulous line-up of creatives for the 12 Days of Christmas.

When I'm decorating for the holidays I have two things in mind...how can I do it on the cheap and how can I reuse what I already have. Today I'd like to share my table 'centerpiece' that is a bit thrift, a bit recycle, and a bit creating something new.

Back in May, I picked up some antique turquoise bottles from the early 1900s during a thrift store run. They became the perfectly understated centerpiece for our Thanksgiving dinner with friends when I added some simple red-colored twigs that a neighbor had trimmed from their shrub. So now we have the thrift bit.

The recycle begins when I decide to use these same bottles and twigs for my Christmas table decor. But what could I do to add some holiday cheer? Create a little something new to add to the bottles.

Now I'd like to share how to DIY your own little poinsettias to add 'instant holiday cheer' to something you already have that can be recycled as Christmas decor. I used an old roll of red velvet ribbon (this stuff seems to last forever!), some gold braided ribbon, and scissors. Simple.

Cut three strips from the red velvet ribbon. Mine were about 3.5 - 4 inches long (about 10 cm).

Cut the tips of the ribbon as shown below.

Here's where I wish I could show you via video (maybe I can make one quick and post later at Blue Velvet Chair). Press in the center of the ribbon with your thumb,while you use your pointer fingers to fold down the outside edges. I hope the photo below shows this well for you. So the center and the two outer edges are all folded downwards.

Because you want to put three of these together, you'll have to hold the first two between your thumb and pointer finger on one hand while you use the other hand just beside to create the next folds.

There. All three folded and held in a pinch. This process (folding the three pieces of ribbon) literally takes a total of 1 minute max.

Take a (pre) cut piece of the braided gold ribbon - or use whatever you have around - and tie around all three 'petals'.

It will look like this once you get it tied and knotted.

And now time to create the poinsettia! Simply take your pointer finger and push from the bottom near the knot in order to 'spread' each petal. This will create the roundness of the flower due to the stiffness of the red velvet ribbon.

Ta dah! Your own little DIY poinsettia flower. I promise these little pops of holiday cheer can be added to almost anything and you'll get some fun results.

I just love the contrast of them against my old turquoise thrift bottles. This color combo works so well because they are contrasting colors on the color wheel.

Happy holiday cheer.

Happy happy.

Happy holidays to you all.

There you have it. Mere minutes to create your own little recycled-thrifted-creating something new holiday cheer. My dream project is to create a big beautiful wreath full of these little beauties. My sister made one back in the 90s, and I've been wanting to create one ever since. 15 years should be enough time for the idea to simmer...don't you think?

If you'd like to see some more of my hybrid style holiday decor, you are welcome to visit Blue Velvet Chair. We'd love to see you there!

Happy Holidays everyone!

Michael

Day 11: Crocheted Snow-Covered Ornaments with Winkieflash of A Creative Being

2011-12-05T08:09:00.000-05:00

Hello crafty pals and welcome to day 11 of the 12 Days of Christmas Series. Today, we have some awesome crocheted ornaments from Wink of A Creative Being. Without further ado...

This is the pattern I use to make Christmas ornaments with. It's fun, easy and fast. Let's get started! :)

What you'll need:

Regular, colored yarn, and white yarn. You can use whatever yarn you want, as long as the colored yarn and the white yarn are the same weight. (or close enough)
Sparkly yarn! For this pattern I used silver yarn (Lumina by DMC)
Stuffing. I use polyester filling, but you can use whatever you want, for instance yarn scraps!
Hooks. Use the appropriate hook for your yarn, and then go down 1 size. Because we will be stuffing the ornaments, you need a tight fit.
Stitch markers. You're going to be working in the round, so you'll need a marker to keep track of where you are.
A pair of scissors.
A darning needle, to weave in the ends.
The Christmas album of She & Him. Trust me, it's so relaxing to crochet by, and a must to get you in the right mood! :)

The terms I use are all US terms. This pattern consists solely of single crochet stitches, which are double crochet stitches for you UK people.

Alright, got everything? Here we go!

For this pattern, I'm going to use an existing crochet sphere pattern. It's written by Emily Premise-Conclusion, and I got it from her Ravelry page here. If you have a different sphere/ball pattern you'd like to use, go for it! :)

For this pattern and the yarn I'm using, which is Stylecraft Special DK, I'm using a sphere pattern that consists of 22 rows. The ornament will measure about 3 inches.

When it says 'inc' in the pattern, increase; make 2 single crochet stitches in 1 stitch. Where it says 'dec', decrease; single crochet 2 stitches together (sc2tog). I always use an invisible decrease. If you don't know how to do this, check this out.

With the colored yarn, we're now making the bottom halves of the sphere. If you're using a different pattern from mine, just follow it until you get to one row before the middle row.

Start with the colored yarn. Crochet 6sc in a magic circle, or ch2, 6sc in 2nd chain from hook. (6)
inc in each stitch around. (12)
*1, inc* around. (18)
1, inc, 2, inc, 3, inc, 2, inc, 3, inc, 2 (23)
inc, 4, inc, 3, inc, 4, inc, 3, inc, 4 (28)
3, inc, 6, inc, 6, inc, 6, inc, 3 (32)
1, inc, 7, inc, 7, inc, 7, inc, 6 (36)
6, inc, 11, inc, 11, inc, 5 (39)
8, inc, 12, inc, 12, inc, 4 (42)
15, inc, 26 (43)
inc, 42 (44)

Cut the yarn but leave a little tail. Don't fasten off. Okay, that's it! You now have a colored bottom half of a sphere. I made a couple of bottom halves in different colors.

Now onto the really cool part! With white yarn and the sparkly yarn, we're now going to make the snow layer of the ornament.

So, with white and sparkly yarn attached, go as follows:

Crochet around (44), using a spike stitch. If you don't know how to do this, check this out. Basically you're just making sc's, but you're inserting your hook into a different row, below the one you're in. I've done cascading spikes all around the bottom half. So I started 1 row below, then 2, then 3, then 4, then 5, and then back up again in row 4, row 3, row 2, row 1 and finally in the actual row.
See how this creates the illusion of snow falling? You can vary your own spike stitch by making it more random, or leaving it out completely at some places. You're in charge! :)
That was basically it. Now all you have to do, is complete the sphere. If you're still on this pattern, go as follows:
42, dec (43)
26, dec, 15 (42)
4, dec, 12, dec, 12, dec, 8 (39)
5, dec, 11, dec, 11, dec, 6 (36)
6, dec, 7, dec, 7, dec, 7, dec, 1 (32)
3, dec, 6, dec, 6, dec, 6, dec, 3 (28)
4, dec, 3, dec, 4, dec, 3, dec, 4, dec (23)
2, dec, 3, dec, 2, dec, 3, dec, 2, dec, 1 (18)
You can start stuffing now.
*dec, 1* around (12)
*dec* around (6). Fasten off, leaving a tail. With the tail, weave through each stitch in the opening. Pull tight to close.

And that's it! You've created your first snow-covered Christmas ornament :)

Wait, what is that you say? It doesn't look very Christmassy? Well, you're right. It needs something else! :)

Now we're going to make that little thingie on top with the loop in it, so you can actually hang this in your tree.

With the sparkly yarn, crochet 6sc in a magic circle, or ch2, 6sc in 2nd chain from hook. (6)
inc in each stitch around. (12)
Sc around two times, so you end with 4 rows.

Finish off and leave a tail. Now pull the first tail through the center to create a loop, and tie the end to the other tail. Like this:

Now using the tail we left at the end, sew the loop thingie to the top of the ornament (the white part). And that's it! A completed ornament :)

Now you can easily adapt this pattern to make all kinds of ornaments. A couple of examples?

For instance, you could use self-striping yarn to create a stripy ornament:

Or use gold sparkly yarn and colored yarn to crochet a sphere:

Use rich, velvet yarn (which was impossible to photograph well!):

And if you crochet in the backloops only, you'll get a ridged ornament!

The possibilities are endless; let your mind go wild this holiday season! :)

xo,
wink

Day 10: Lemon Hand Scrub with Mel the Crafty Scientist

2011-12-02T10:23:00.001-05:00

Hi guys! I'm Mel the Crafty Scientist (my blog is actually The Crafty Scientist) and I'm so excited that Tristin asked me to be a part of the 12 Days of Christmas here because I LOVE Two Girls Being Crafty and I am thrilled to be included in the lineup of insanely talented ladies!

I love to make projects using stuff I already have and that don't usually take too long and this Lemon Hand Scrub is a perfect example of that. I actually found the recipe for this lemon hand scrub here at Under the Table and Dreaming last year and made some of it to give as gifts to friends and family members who loved it! It was awesome for everyone, including the super-masculine guys who work with cars and get lots of oil and gunk on their hands because it actually helps get that off. And I think gifts are always more fun in pretty packaging so I'm going to show you how to make the scrub, a pretty label for the jar, and a Martha-worthy ribbon to decorate your present!

For the Scrub

2.5 cups sugar
1 cup extra virgin olive oil
4 tablespoons of lemon juice

For the Container & Packaging

Free Lemon Printables you can find here (printed out on sticker paper or cardstock)
Mod Podge + brush
Mason Jars (the scrub recipe is for a 12 oz. jar, but you can obviously recalculate to fit into whatever size jars you want!)
Ribbon
Scissors
Glue gun and hot glue

First, you want to gather up all your scrub ingredients. Then, you want to simply mix them together - the sugar, the extra virgin olive oil, and the lemon juice.

You get a sort of egg and sand looking mixture that looks a bit like this...

As you stir, it gets a little bit more like a mixture and less like a sand castle with moat...

You stir it up and put it into a jar (the amounts here will yield 12 oz. or so of the scrub) and seal it. It will separate over time, but if you just shake the jar up or use your fingers or a popsicle stick or something to stir it up, it'll mix up just fine!

Then, you want to download your free printable labels, found here. These actually came from the amazing, super-cute Wendy at Wendolonia (she made orange and lime versions too, originally for marmalade labels)! Wendy gave me permission to share the versions that I made, complete with sugar scrub label, with you all here! You can download the .png or .jpg versions from Box.net here and then simply print them out. There are 12 on a sheet and you can print them on some sticker paper or some nice white cardstock.

Then, you just want to grab your 2" circle paper punch and punch them out. You can cut them out by hand if you don't have a paper punch, but I'm not so good at cutting smooth curves so I needed the assistance...

Then I just used some Mod Podge to attach it to the lid of the jar and put some Mod Podge on top of the label so that it's protected from wet hands that might try to open it! (It's held up pretty well over time, but after about a year, this one does look a little dirty, unfortunately, but I promise, yours will look better... at least at first!)

After you put the labeled lid together, you might want to put a pretty ribbon and bow on it. Basically, you want to cut enough ribbon to wrap around the fattest part of the jar and just use a dot of hot glue to secure it. I'm showing you how I made this bow with wire-edged ribbon from the Dollar Tree...

Then, cut two pieces of the same length to make the loops for your bow. Put little dots of glue to keep the loops set.

Then, you want to glue one loop over the top of the other loop.

To make the bow look even more like a real bow, I sort of folded the bottom of the ribbon up a little.

Then, cut another small piece of ribbon and wrap around the middle of your two loops and glue in place.

Then you want to cut two small pieces of ribbon and cut "V" shapes into the ends and glue to the back of your bow.

A bow worthy of Martha!

Just glue to the ribbon you had around the jar and it's a gorgeous little present that you made with stuff you probably already have on hand (and even if you didn't, it costs almost nothing)! (You can see how fast it settles too - I literally stirred it up, made the ribbon and took pictures of that and went to take pictures of the finished product and it had already settled quite a bit, but it mixes up again just fine.)

Pretty, right?

Last year this was a big hit with the friends and family... and I might have even kept a jar for myself too because I loved it so much!

A big thanks to the crafty girls for letting me guest post here today. I'd love it if you came to visit me (and shared your experience if you make any scrub!) at The Crafty Scientist! Feel free to check out some of my other tutorials that might make awesome gifts...

The Yellow Chevron Frame + Printable Quote, Interchangeable Ribbon + Briolette Necklace, Argyle Yarn Wreath, and Paint Chip Art are all easy little projects I've shared step-by-step tutorials for creating and would love for you to check out at The Crafty Scientist! Thanks again for having me, ladies!

Day 8: Woven Star Tree Toppers with Heidi of Mom's Crafty Space

2011-11-30T08:00:00.003-05:00

Hi everyone! I'm Heidi from Mom's Crafty Space, and I'm super excited to be here today to share this tutorial for an inexpensive Christmas decoration that packs a lot of style! Woven stars made from straw or paper have been a holiday tradition for hundreds of years, and I'm going to show you how we can use modern materials to supersize our woven star into a shimmering tree topper.

All you'll need to make this gorgeous star is a sheet of 12" x 12" glittered cardstock, scissors and glue (hot glue works best). If you have single sided glitter paper you will need to glue two sheets back-to-back to create a double sided sheet.

First, take your paper and cut it into (20) 1/2" wide strips.

Fold two strips in half and crease to mark the center. Line up the center marks and glue the two strips to form 90 degree angles.

Add four more vertical strips (two on either side of your original + shape), weaving the horizontal piece through the vertical strips. Glue at all places where the paper intersects.

Continue weaving until you have a grid of 5x5 woven strips (the tails should be around 4" long).

This step is the trickiest to explain, so hopefully the photos will help! In each corner, take the two inner corner strips and join the tips, making a twist in each strip before gluing them together. Do this with the next interior set of corner strips as well, so that you end up with two twisted points on each corner.

When all your corners are twisted and joined, it should look like this.

Now make another!

Turn one of your pieces upside down and rotate it so that the tips form an 8-pointed star when placed on top of the first piece.

Weave the remaining tails into the points, glue down and trim the ends.

Voila, an easy peasy and super cheap way to add a lot of sparkle and shine to your holiday season! These also look incredible when hung in small groups from the ceiling - use white or silver paper to create a flurry of shimmery snowflakes that's sure to impress!

Now go find a tree (preferably one where all the lights will light up for you!) and add your shiny new topper! Happy Holidays!

Be sure to stop by Mom's Crafty Space for our other fun tutorials, recipes and holiday ideas!

Day 7: NOEL Art with Hannah of Young and Crafty

2011-11-29T08:00:00.019-05:00

I’m so excited to be guest posting over at Two Girls Being Crafty! My name is Hannah and I blog over at Young and Crafty and would love if you would stop by and visit.

I’ve got a SUPER easy Christmas craft for you today.

Really, this is probably so easy a 4 year old could do it!

I took a 12x12 piece of scrap wood.

I painted it green and then used my Cricut to cut out letters for a stencil.

Of course, no project is complete without lots of mess ups! Just go back and paint over the white with green paint.

Done and Done!

Easiest.project.ever.

The simplicity is what I like about it the most.

This is my all time favorite project, my pallet art (Tristin here: Hannah's pallet art happens to have been inspired by our very own DIY Art for Non-Artists! Don't you love it on the pallet?):

If you are looking for a fun link party, I host one every Friday night called Free for All. I would love for you to link up and share your crafts and projects!

Day 6: Glitter Topiaries with Meg of A Little Knick Knack

2011-11-28T08:00:00.000-05:00

Hello everyone! I'm so excited to be here at Two Girls Being Crafty for 12 Days of Christmas. I just love the holidays! I'd like to introduce myself. My name is Meg and I live over at A Little Knick Knack. I'm a midwest stay at home mom to three young children, and discovered that crafting helps me keep my sanity! I love to host fun giveaways and also a fun link party, Everything but the Kitchen Sink, on Fridays! Come check out A Little Knick Knack to join the fun.

Today I'd like to share my Christmas tree topiary with you!

First, gather your supplies. Some glitter (I used Martha Stewart Silver and Aqua. I found a 40% off coupon in Better Homes and Garden! Score!), wooden dowels (Walmart), Mod Podge, foam brush and your foam tree forms (also bought with a lovely coupon from Michaels). Also, some fun little ornaments for embellishment.

Use your bread knife (heh) to cut the top off the tallest of your tree form. I cut about 4 inches from the top.

Next (and I didn't do this, but I highly recommend it), cover your table with paper to catch all the wayward glitter. I also suggest shaking your glitter on your foam over a paper plate, so you can easily transfer the leftover glitter back into your glitter jar.

Apply a generous amount of Mod Podge onto your tree form. Shake your glitter over the glue, turn and start the process again until you have the amount of glitter you like on your form. Try a fun pattern! The possibilities are endless.

Once the glue is dry, take your dowel rod and push it through the middle of the tree form. Add the top of the tree to create a layered look.

I added a ribbon and some twine around the bottom to cover the raw edges of the foam.

Cute! I would like to make some more and use my extra dowel rods to put them in my planter on my porch. So many fun possibilities! Have a very Merry Christmas everyone!

Day 5: Merry Christmahanakwanza cards with Sunni!

2011-11-25T08:00:00.005-05:00

Happy Black Friday to you all! I hope that if you are one of those crazies who goes shopping that you stay safe--or better yet, that you WIN the fist fight, should you find yourself having to throw down. Yeah, I love to keep things gangsta. Today, I'm happy to have Sunni from Love Affair with my Brother visiting with a fun holiday card. You're sure to like this one! -Tristin

Merry Christmahanakwanza to you!

I'm Sunni from Love Affair with my Brother. Yes! You read that right. I love my Brother sewing machine, and I'm not ashamed to admit it! (Let's just pretend that's what you thought when you read the title!)

I love to blog about quilting, sewing clothes for my daughters and quick and easy crafts. I'm hosting a giveaway of some beautiful Free Spirit solids from The Intrepid Thread and I'd love it if you came by and entered!

I started with a completely different idea, but ended up with these sewn cards!

Have you ever pitched an idea for a guest post or sponsor that put you in over your head? I found this to be that pitch!

I had visions of free pdf printables. A friend said "Oh, you know how to do those?" Ummm... no.

Then I wanted to do a carved stamp. Show you how to make your own custom name stamp or phrase stamp ("Merry Christmahanakwanza" for me). "Do you know how to do that?" Ummm..... no again.

These are my solution to my too lofty ideas. Sewn Christmas cards.

And even if you don't have a lot of time, I promise these are fast. I made all 4 of these in the span of about 15 minutes. If I stuck to one design, it would be even quicker!

You will need:

blank cards and envelopes

Sew line glue pen

Christmas fabric scraps

buttons

markers

fabric glue (optional and not pictured)

Use a Sew Line pen to tack down your fabric shapes before you sew.

Did you know you can sew through paper? I have a special needle, marked with a piece of tape, that I use for paper projects. The paper dulls your needle. You can use a standard foot like I did or a darning foot and free motion quilt to attach it.

When you are finished, you can tie the threads in the back, affix them with a little dab of fabric glue or just cut them. It's just a card and not likely to get the stitches pulled out!

Here's my little Christmas tree. I love the simplicity and folksy nature of these cards.

For this one I used my Sizzix Big Shot and iron on fusible. Just turn your iron down a bit from cotton setting and you are good!

This was the fastest one! Die cut, peel and iron. DONE!

A few years ago, when I lived in downtown Chicago, I had an incredible array of friends from all over the world. I have never believed that "Merry Christmas" is offensive or that we should only wish people a "Happy Holidays" to stay politically correct. But, I mashed all my friends holidays into one phrase and came up with "Merry Christmahanakwanza"! It was silly and good hearted and now I do it every year!

This one is my favorite! I used a Sharpie pen to add the details.

So take some time out from making gifts for friends and family, and creatively play. These cards are fast and simple and afford you ample opportunity to put your own inventive spin on it!

Day 4: Felt Garland with Homemade Ginger

2011-11-24T07:49:00.000-05:00

Happy Thanksgiving pals! I hope your day is fun-filled, food-filled, and family-filled! Today, we have Homemade Ginger making a lovely and simple craft--one you'll probably still have the energy to make even after standing and cooking for the masses all day. I hope you'll have a few moments to reflect and count your blessings amongst all of the holiday hulabaloo. And why not sneak in a peek at the Macy's Day Parade? Wishing you the best, however you may celebrate this day of thanks. -Tristin

Hello everyone! I'm so excited and honored to be posting today as part of the 12 Days of Christmas Series. I blog over at Homemade Ginger and love doing easy and frugal projects like the one I'm going to talk about today! Right now on my blog, I'm in the midst of a 30 Day project where I'm posting a different repurposing project every single day this month. Come by and say hi!

Now, for today's project. This a simple garland that I whipped up using some supplies I already hand on hand.

I decided to use up some of my felt scraps and create an easy and adorable Christmas tree garland this year. I've seen some similar around and knew it would be super easy to make!

The most tedious part was cutting out all the circles. I made them all about the size of a quarter, but you could do various sizes if you wanted.

Then, I simply sewed them together, stitching down the middle of each circle and leaving a space in between each one. I used gray thread to blend with all the colors.

I love how it adds color to our tree! I made 2 fairly long garlands with my scraps.

These felt garlands are also super cute hanging on your mantle!

You could mix things up with different shapes of felt, hang them from a wreath, make a monochromatic garland...the possibilities are endless!

Happy crafting!!

Day 3: Sarahndipities shares a gift for a teacher

2011-11-23T07:25:00.001-05:00

Hi! I'm Sarah from Sarahndipities! I'm so excited to be sharing this quick little project with you today!

My husband is a teacher. He teaches the 5th grade. Over the years he's brought home a lot of interesting gifts from students during the holidays: body wash...candy...coffee mugs...hair gel...cocoa...and even a stuffed animal or two!

But guess what? The best gifts he's ever received are the ones he can actually use in his classroom.

I asked him once what the best thing to give a teacher was and he said, "A raise."

But after that he said, "Hand sanitizer...and tissues."

He knows all about germs. He's surrounded by them all day long...especially at school.

So when I was trying to think of a teacher gift for kids to give their teachers this year that's what I immediately thought of.

But how to make it cute...and something that the kids could actually help with?

Well, here's what I came up with! It's soooo simple, and the kids can help with most of it (unless you don't want them to come anywhere near a permanent marker...which I completely understand, believe me.)

Here's what you'll need:

- A Smallish container of some kind...I used an empty French's Onions can, because it was already white and had a lid...plus I have three of them left over from Thanksgiving meal preparations!
- a couple packages of pocket sized tissues
- a couple of sample size hand sanitizers
- a bit of Christmas-y ribbon
- a sharpie marker

First, remove the label from the container, and wash it thoroughly...you don't want it to smell like french fried onions, after all.

Next, use your sharpie marker to draw eyes and a smile on one side of the container...

...and to color the lid black (like a hat).

Next, tie a piece of ribbon around the base of the container. You might want to secure it with a dab of hot glue or a couple of glue dots if you feel so inclined.

Lastly put the hand sanitizer and tissues into the container, and snap the lid back on!

I included a note on the back of this little guy that reads: "We TISSUE a Merry Christmas, and a HANDY New Year!"

There are so many cute ways to dress up a simple gift like this, but my kids loved that this was an upcycled project that they could REALLY help with!

Handmade gifts are always appreciated...so if you are looking for some great handmade items, hop on over to my Handmade Holidays Shop Guide to check out some wonderful gifts ideas!

Thanks again to Tristin for inviting me to be a part of the fun! Happy Holidays!! :)

Day 2: Whole-Lotta-Nothing with Tristin

2011-11-22T20:51:00.000-05:00

Hey pals! Welcome to day two of the 12 Days of Christmas series. Today, I'm supposed to be posting some wonderful something. Truth is, I have a few somethings I could write about. But there's uploading the photos and editing them, then writing the post and then rewriting it 16 times. And I'm just not up for that today, folks. Sorry.

And that brings me to what I want to say about the holidays. Sometimes, it's better to save your energy for what's really important--family.

Maybe you'll make some homemade gifts this year--maybe you won't. But if making everything "just right" comes at the price of missing time with family or even worse--becoming Grinchy toward your loved ones, then it's time to throw in the towel. I'm totally preaching to myself here. I wish I could say I'm just a pleasure to be around all of the time, but that's not the truth. Especially today.

Anywhoo, I'm taking this time to sit back, sip a cup of apple cider and reflect. During this festive season, I think rather than overbooking ourselves and wearing ourselves thin (though I usually wear myself more thick than thin during the holidays, dang you delicious food) we ought to sit back and enjoy more. Love more, stress less. Hug more, shop less. ~~Exercise more, eat less.~~

And that's all I have to say about that.

Oh, and tune in tomorrow for some real awesomeness from Sarah of Sarahndipities.

Much love,

Tristin

Day 1: Wintry Glamour Mini-Wreath with Maybe Matilda

2011-11-21T08:37:00.001-05:00

Hey crafty pals! Today, I'm excited to kick off the 12 Days of Christmas Series with one of my personal faves, Rachel of Maybe Matilda. Let's get on with the show!

Hi! I'm Rachel from the blog and etsy shop Maybe Matilda! I was so excited to come up with a Christmas project for this series--I've been waiting for an excuse to break out the Christmas music and decor since Halloween, and this was the perfect opportunity to start thinking holly-jolly. I actually don't own much holiday decor (only two decorations are coming to mind) . . . as much as I love seeing homes decorated for the holidays, I just haven't done much myself yet, so this seemed as good a time as any to make my house a little more cheery.

My favorite Christmas decorations are less red-and-green-Christmas, more silvery-icy-winter. I love light and bright color schemes in Christmas decor, so I decided to try my hand at a piece of wintry glamour--a white, silver, and gold jingly mini-wreath:

This frame has been hanging on my front door for months now--you can see my previous door decor here--so I just swapped out the innards to give it a neat new winter look (even though you might notice in the door's reflection that we're very much still enjoying autumn around here!)

Here's how I made my wintry glamour mini-wreath:

- painted frame (mine was already done)

- small embroidery hoop to fit inside your frame (mine was 6")

- 6 foot feather boa

- jingle bells (I got mine at the dollar store! They're actually a jingle bell garland, which I didn't realize until I opened it up, so I just cut off the three I wanted to use on the wreath itself)

- silver ribbon

- hot glue

I started by wrapping the boa around the embroidery hoop, tacking it down with a spot of hot glue every few inches. I thought for sure that I'd have plenty of leftover boa and started brainstorming other ways to use it--after all, it was a 6 foot boa being wrapped through a 6 inch hoop . . . but I used the entire length of boa on my mini-wreath.

I didn't want to squash the feathers flat by wrapping a ribbon around the wreath for hanging, so I cut a long piece of ribbon, folded it in half, and glued the folded end to the back side of the wreath. The ribbon can be tied around the hanging tab on the back of your frame, then hung from the door.

I hot glued a few jingle bells to the boa wreath to add a little extra sparkle:

Ta-da! This was actually how I'd envisioned this door decor looking, but after a few trips in and out of the house, I thought that it needed a little more.

So I hot glued two lengths of the jingle bell garland to the back of the frame, and I think it looks sufficiently festive now. And my 15-month old seems to find it very entertaining--he lunges to grab the bells every time I carry him through the door. He hasn't torn the wreath down yet, but I'm sure it's a matter of time.

I can't wait to see more Christmas fun during this series! Thanks for reading, and I hope you'll come visit me!

Announcing the 12 Days of Christmas Guest Series!!

2011-11-19T09:05:00.001-05:00

Hey Crafty Pals! So sorry for the lapse in posting but I have been majorly uninspired lately. Do you ever experience that? Anyhow, I think I have the perfect remedy--a fun blog series with lots of talented ladies!

Here's the schedule:

Mon 11/21 Rachel of Maybe Matilda

Tue 11/22 Tristin of Two Girls Being Crafty

Wed 11/23 Sarah of Sarahndipities

Thur 11/24 Megan of Homemade Ginger

Fri 11/25 Sunni of Love Affair with my Brother

Mon 11/28 Megan of A Little Knick Knack

Tue 11/29 Hannah of Young and Crafty

Wed 11/30 Heidi of Mom's Crafty Space

Thur 12/1 Michael of Blue Velvet Chair
Fri 12/2 Mel the Crafty Scientist

Mon 12/5 ~~TBA~~ Wink of A Creative Being

Tue 12/6 Tristin of Two Girls Being Crafty

The series will include lots of inspiration for handmade holidays--Christmas decor, ornaments, stocking stuffers, and small homemade gifts for teachers and neighbors.

You may notice that Monday, 12/5 is up for grabs. If you're interested in being a guest for this series, please contact me via email at tristinthespartan(at)gmail(dot)com. There's only one spot, so express your interest soon! The spot has been filled, but thanks to all of you who showed interest! We'll be doing more series in the future, I'm sure!

I'm so excited for this series--please stop in on Monday to see the awesome kick off with Maybe Matilda.

Happy Weekend,

Tristin

Amigurumi Tea Set (and an awesome party!)

2011-11-08T08:13:00.000-05:00

Junebug and I recently went to her first "real" birthday party. Let me qualify what I mean by "real"--it wasn't a family member's birthday party and it wasn't a one-year old "I-have-no-idea-what-the-heck-is-going-on-here" type birthday party. It was a party that Junebug was invited to by one of her library time friends and this time, Elliott knew what a birthday party is (translation: there will be cake!) and was super-excited about it (again: there will be cake!).

For the birthday girl, I opted to make a gift since I had time and an itch to try my hand at an amigurumi tea set.

It came out great despite the fact that I was less than thrilled with the pattern I bought on Etsy. I've never had a bad Etsy experience before, so I was shocked to know that it was possible. For this reason, I won't be sharing which pattern I bought--but in the end, with some tweaking and note-taking, it worked. Not only was the pattern poorly written, it took the seller over 3 days to email the pdf when the shop stated that I'd have it within 24 hours. I was more than slightly annoyed. I much prefer instant gratification. Who doesn't?

The tea cups were my favorite part. They're double-walled and surprisingly sturdy. Perfect for teddy bear tea parties. I'm planning on making a set for Junebug for Christmas but in a multi-colored way like this Anthropologie set that I pinned.

The birthday party itself was a blast! The theme was Alice in Wonderland in the most awesome way possible. The birthday girl, Kylie (you may remember her from her Medusa costume) was the perfect Alice and her momma did a great job making a special and memorable party for her. Kylie's mom is also an amazing photographer--I ran across this collage she made and couldn't resist sharing (especially since Junebug is sitting with the birthday gal on the main picture).

Since it's most of our un-birthdays, I wish a very merry un-birthday to you!

Tristin

Little Hoot Costume

2011-11-03T07:00:00.000-04:00

Ions ago, I shared a small brooch I made for a friend who lovingly called her baby "little hoot" while he lived in her uterus. (What?! That's where he used to live!) Now that he's born, "little hoot" is named Jasper and we looove baby Jasper. Especially Junebug. She talks about him non-stop.

Anyhow, Jasper's momma shared with me that she wasn't going to have time to make a costume for her little man like she'd wanted to. Some lame excuse about having a newborn and lack of sleep and yadda yadda yadda... I say let the baby scream and craft away, but I guess that's just me. (Umm, before you turn me in to the authorities, let me just say I'm kidding and I do not advocate neglecting your children so that you can craft. Neglect your laundry and housework, yes, but never your children.)

I took advantage of having my in-laws visiting and entertaining Junebug and here's the owl costume I made for "little hoot":

The hat was made using the Owl Hat pattern from Maybe Matilda's Etsy shop. Be sure to check out her shop because she has some cute patterns you can whip up in time for Christmas gifts!

The body of the owl was made by cutting scallops into one side of strips of felt and sewing them onto a plain onesie. Why not let your little one be super-comfy in a onesie rather than itchy in some polyester costume?

Little Jasper made the perfect owl. Happy first Halloween, little man!

I am SO Liz Lemon.

2011-11-01T14:12:00.001-04:00

I had every intention of being Mary Poppins while trick-or-treating with my little shark. But being Mary Poppins requires rosy cheeks, a cheery disposition and wearing stockings and heels. I just wasn't up for it.

So I did what any ~~crazy~~ awesome momma would do. I threw on a plaid shirt, my glasses, and a name tag that said "Liz Lemon". Boo yah. There's my costume. AND I got to wear jeans.

Liz Lemon and I are kindred spirits. We love to eat, we're rule followers, we're socially awkward and we both constantly call people nerds.

For your reading pleasure, here's one of my favorite Liz Lemon quotes:

(Video advice for Jack's unborn baby)

"Good afternoon, let’s jump right in. Every human has hair on his or her face, some of us just have more. I think it’s nice to occasionally splurge on a straight-razor shave. If you’re running low on laundry a bathing suit makes perfectly acceptable underwear. Bandanas are a fun, sexy fashion accessory."

Tina Fey, you are brilliant and I love you. Want to be BFFs?

DIY Costumes I spotted at our Mall-O-Ween...

2011-10-29T09:48:00.000-04:00

Junebug and I visited a local "Mall-o-Ween" this week and I couldn't help myself from taking pictures of some of the more creative/homemade costumes. I am a crafter, after all...

Wanna see 'em? Well, of course I'll share!

This little cupcake was amazing! Her mom made the costume with a lampshade turned upside down at the bottom and used buffalo snow on top for the frosting. The sprinkles looked like colorful foam sticky sheets cut into small pieces and stuck on. I forgot to ask about that, though--I just assumed.

The little gal was adorable and at one point fell over and couldn't get up by herself. She wasn't hurt so it was pretty hilarious.

It's always nice to have Ghostbusters out and about on Halloween where ghosts are so prevalent. This little guy's momma made his ghost-busting accessories out of upcycled items and duct tape--so cool! She also made his trick-or-treat bag out of duct tape. The momma said she loves to create with duct tape--it made me want to go get some!

I'm not sure if this little owl's momma used a pattern or not, but it's a pretty impressive costume either way. By looking at it, you can figure out the basic method. Aren't the colors precious together? So girly and sweet. I actually created an owl costume for an infant a few weeks ago--just haven't gotten around to sharing it yet--but keep your peepers out for that if you give a hoot. Ahh, owl humor.

At the mall, we ran into Junebug's friend Kylie who was dressed up as Medusa. Y'all, she has had her heart set on being Medusa since Halloween of last year--how cool is that?? Kylie's momma found a cool headpiece online, but my favorite part was Kylie's make-up. Her mom put a fishnet stocking over her head and dabbed on green eye shadow to create cool-looking scales.

Lemme just say that if you're looking to win costume contests, dress your little gal up as Medusa. The adults were crazy about this costume and kept commenting on it. It was seriously awesome. And yeah, this cute little Medusa (has that phrase ever been said before?) won the costume contest!

Here's my little shark protecting her personal space while taking a picture with her friend. She's so much like her mother. Good grief.

Halloween luminaries for (practically) free

2011-10-27T14:00:00.001-04:00

All over Pinterest I have seen numerous versions of cute little Halloween luminaries made from jars. In a stroke of complete non-genius and unoriginality, I made some, too.

They're upcycled jars of various shapes and sizes, painted a solid color on the inside with details painted onto the outside. Easy peasy, right? And you most likely don't have to buy anything to make some of these. In fact, your kiddos could do it.

I used a fine point sharpie for the finer details.

My favorite happens to be this young Frankenstein. He's kinda cute.

Why not polish off that jar of green olives and make some cute luminaries, too? Mmmm. Or perhaps some delicious bread and butter pickles.

I'm feeling more luminaries coming on before the big day!

The Blue Shark!

2011-10-26T23:17:00.001-04:00

If you read my often long-winded stories, then you'll probably remember the conversation I had with Junebug about her Halloween costume selection.

If you didn't read it, the conclusion was that my wee two year old had her heart set on being a blue shark for Halloween. Why? I'm still not really sure. Kids sure are ~~crazy~~ amazing. Seriously though, a blue shark?!

So, here's what I came up with. I know it looks like a total goofy shark, but playful and silly is what I was going for. I mean, it is a blue shark after all. When's the last time you saw a scary blue shark during Shark Week? Any shark attacks from blue sharks? I think not. Goofy was clearly the way to go.

I had no pattern--just a few ideas stored in my mind grapes (ahh, 30 Rock, please come back soon!). Surprisingly, the costume came out just as I had envisioned it. That almost never happens!

So, what did the shark's momma decide to dress up as? Here's a small hint...

And another hint...

The only word to describe my costume is "Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious".

simple spooky spiderwebs

2011-10-19T07:14:00.000-04:00

Sometimes the best crafts are the simplest. Sometimes the simplest crafts are the best. I love crafts that anyone can do--limited budget, limited time, limited craft supplies... if you fit into any of those categories, this one's for you.

All you need to make some simple spooky spiderwebs is black cardstock or any thick black paper, a white crayon and an exacto knife.

I'll let the pictures do the explaining...

Sure does beat buying those fake cobwebs to hang up in your house, right? (Ok, ok, so I bought some of those, too.) I feel satisfied when I can add holiday flair to my home and a.) spend little to no money and b.) not have to store stuff 11 months out of the year. Seriously, I'll just toss these and make a few more next year. If you're one of those super-organized types that I envy, I'll bet you have a file folder you can tuck these away in for safe keeping until next year. Good for you.

These webs required no effort other than to stick them in the thin space between the frames and glass of various pictures I have around the house. No tape required, which is great since I can never seem to find my tape.

A penny for your thoughts?

2011-10-18T09:08:00.000-04:00

My gal pal Suzanne is expecting and I'm excited to be planning a baby shower for her. Due to the large number of guests and the size and layout of my home, we're opting for a "come-and-go" shower.

I realize that some people view "come-and-go" showers as tacky and unrefined (hmm... seems like I've heard that phrase before), but that's not the question I'm asking today.

My question is:

Does this invite get the point across that it's a come-and-go shower? If you read it without the preface I gave, would you "get it"? (The black bars cover personal info; those will NOT be on the actual invite.)

The shower theme is clouds and raindrops (if you follow me on Pinterest then you've probably seen quite a bit of my inspiration).

Also, you may be thinking, daaaang, Tristin is way on top of things because it's October and she's planning a January shower. Well, folks, I am SO not on top of things. It's merely out of self-preservation that I'm already working on this shower. You see, right after Christmas I'm helping with a New Year's wedding in Tampa, and then hosting this shower the following weekend. It's all stuff I love, so I'm super-happy to do it, but because of the busy-ness of the season, I know I have to be ready early so I don't have a mental breakdown later.

So, does the invitation get the point across?

And do you like the theme and style of the invitation?

And just for grins, what are your thoughts on come-and-go showers (if you hate 'em, you're welcome to say it but please do so nicely!)?

P.S. I designed this invitation using the free features offered by Picnik.

The Raven Wreath

2011-10-13T08:05:00.001-04:00

Let's start with a quick excerpt from Edgar Allan Poe's well-known poem, The Raven:

"Take thy beak from out my heart, and take thy form from off my door!'
Quoth the raven, `Nevermore.'"

In direct opposition to Poe's request to take the raven off of the door, I'm going to share with you the Raven-inspired wreath I made this year (which is proudly displayed on my front door--sorry Edgar!)

I used plain black cardstock for this wreath, but also threw in a sheet of starry scrapbook paper just for fun. My goal was to create the look of feathers or scales (depending on your imagination). I snagged this raven at my favorite thrift shop for a buck--but they're available at most craft stores for about the same price.

To make the scales/feathers, I used a heart-shaped punch and then cut each heart in half. Obviously you don't have to use a punch--you can use scissors and this would be the perfect time to do free-hand cuts. No need for perfection on what is meant to be a creepy wreath!

Hot glue is the perfect medium for affixing the paper to the wreath, and if you stagger the paper just right you'll cover the wreath without showing the ragged straw form below.

I left the hot glue strands because they kind of look like spider webs. It had nothing to do with laziness and the fact that didn't want to spend an extra 5 minutes picking them off. Yeah, right.

Stick your bird on the wreath, and there you have it!

P.S. A few days after I completed this wreath, Dana from made pinned this wreath on Pinterest.

Very similar, huh? Made with felt cut into oval shapes. I almost decided not to share the project I had created after seeing this similar wreath, but then I got over it! With so many blogs out there, it's tough to be original even when you think you're being original. In the end, great minds think alike.

Real candy corn is terrible. Crocheted candy corn is awesome!

2011-10-11T13:00:00.002-04:00

My love of amigurumi is in opposition to my very nature. I don't like stuffed animals, I'm somewhat morally opposed to even the cutest of tchotchke and I really don't like tedious crafts. But I LOVE amigurumi. Ahh. Amigurumi.

For no particular good reason, I made some amigurumi candy corn. I really don't like candy corn, but it just seemed like the right thing to do. (How many more things can I list in this post that I don't like? Mayonnaise, Starbucks, bullies, seams in socks, artificial sweeteners, science fiction... yeah, I could keep going.)

But as much as amigurumi defies my nature and as much as I dislike candy corn--aren't these little guys so cute?

They were made using this free pattern from Lion Brand Yarn.

Junebug has been stuffing them into her pockets and you should hear how cute it sounds when she says "candy corn".

I'm thinking that we're going to pass these little candies out to the babies at church. Junebug is going through the "mine!" phase of toddlerhood and so in the spirit of breaking that disgusting "MINE!" habit (yeah, it seriously makes me crazy) I think it will be quite nice to have her assist in giving a few small toys to others. Maybe it'll go well, maybe it won't. We'll see. Either way, we're going to give a few things to others and see what we accomplish.

P.S. If you can crochet but have never tried amigurumi, this candy corn pattern is a great one to start with.

P.P.S. THANKS for voting for my cowl @ the Maybe Matilda crochet along. I came in third place and won some fabulous crochet patterns! (Read about the winners here.)

I need your help!

2011-10-07T12:49:00.002-04:00

Hello pals--here goes some shameless self-promotion...

As I mentioned before, I joined in on the Crochet Along over at Maybe Matilda--and now it's time to VOTE! There are tons of participants and lots of awesome-looking cowls.

Check out the participants and if you'd like to vote you can do so by clicking below ONE of the cowls! (They allow only one vote.)

I'm entry #2 if you want to vote for me which I would LOVE! But if you like another, well, so be it. ; ) Nevermind. Just vote for mine.

If you must know, I voted for #5. ; )

Also, if you must know, I currently have NO votes. Here's to hoping you make my day (but not in the Clint Eastwood way).

Last year's costume

2011-10-04T14:16:00.002-04:00

Recently I asked what your kiddos are being for Halloween this year. Well, today I am going to share a conversation I had with my two year old that reveals her Halloween costume this year.

Me: "Elliott, would you like to be Mary Poppins for Halloween this year?"
Please, please, please child, just be agreeable for once in your life.

Junebug: "No, Mom. Shark."
At this point, I'm not totally surprised about the "no" but where did shark come from??

Me: "Shark??"
Seriously kid, shark?!

Junebug: "Yes, mom. Blue shark."
Man, I love her confidence.

Me: "Umm, ok."
Seriously?? Nuts. That's gonna be a lot harder than Mary Poppins.

I totally thought she'd forget about this whole "blue shark" thing, but any time she's asked what she'll be for Halloween, Junebug answers "blue shark".

So, I bought some blue felt. We'll see what we can come up with.

Last year, Junebug was a Ladybug for Halloween. Kind of. Read on if you want to see how I went about making last year's costume.

Please excuse the worse than usual photos and the poor formatting. It's from last year... I guess that's my excuse.

Click below to read on...

For all of us who aren't skilled seamstresses, the thought of a homemade Halloween costume can seem pretty daunting--but it certainly doesn't have to be. With a few items I already had on hand and a few others I picked up at the dollar store, I was able to create a unique and adorable costume for my little Junebug.

Here's what you'll need to make this adorable costume:

Supplies:

1. Red onesie or t-shirt (I had one already)

2. Black leggings (Purchased for $3.50 at WAL-Mart)

3. Black fabric paint

4. Antennae (purchased at the Dollar Tree for $1--I just clipped off the center decoration to turn these into quick and easy ladybug antennae!)

5. Red tights for recovering fairy wings

6. Fairy wings (Old, new, borrowed, blue--whatever you have or can get--we're just going to recover them anyhow! I had these already but you can purchase new ones at the Dollar Tree for $1.)

Supplies needed but not shown:

-Sticker Shipping Labels (optional)

-Rotary circle cutter (optional)

-Hot glue gun

-Sponge paint brush (one you're willing to throw away after use--they're like $ .25 at most craft stores)

-1 sheet each of red and black felt (if you'd like to make the Ladybug embellishment for the wings)

-Printable Felt Ladybug Pattern (again, this is if you'd like to make the Ladybug embellishment for the wings)

First, let's start with making the ladybug "abdomen" (or shirt--whatever you'd like to call it!).

I used a circle cutter to cut 1" circles onto sticky shipping labels and stuck the circle templates in a random pattern onto the front of the red onesie. Remember to place a piece of cardboard or cardstock behind the shirt's front so the paint does not seep through to the back.

Once you're happy with the placement of your circles, use your sponge brush to carefully sponge paint over the circle cutouts. If you do not have a circle-cutter or are not concerned with perfect circles, then just paint them on by hand--there are no rules!

It'll look funky for a minute...

But look what you have after you carefully remove the circle templates:

Perfect! Now you can set it aside to let it dry. Now let's move onto the wings!

First of all, you'll want to remove the covering of your fairy wings until you have a naked skeleton like this:

Then, cut the red stockings right where the legs begin.

Bunch the stockings up and slip them over the wing frame. Use one leg of the stockings for each wing and gather all the excess nylon in the center and tie it as tightly as you can, being careful not to cause a run in the nylon.

Using the same method as painting the shirt, prepare some circle templates and adhere them to the wings in the desired places. This time I used 2.5" and 2" circles in addition to some 1" circles. Make sure they are placed in a symmetrical pattern.

Cover your work surface with newspaper because things can get messy now! Carefully paint over the templates, being sure not to move the wings. (You see, the paint will go through the nylon stockings and color the opposite side as well, so if you move the wings on your work surface, you run the risk of smudging your paint--and at that point you'll have to start over from scratch since you can't really remove fabric paint from the delicate nylon.)

Now, remove the circle templates and proudly hang your ladybug wings on your chandelier or any other convenient place to dry. Pat yourself on the back--you're almost done!

(You may want to paint the reverse of the dots once your first set has dried. It's a personal preference, but I did and it made the black dots a lot stronger.)

I created a ladybug embellishment for the wings--using only some felt scraps, hot glue and fabric paint.

The printable pattern is available here. I didn't do step-by-step instructions for assembling the ladybug because once you cut the pieces, it becomes fairly obvious as to how the assembly works--especially if you take a peek at the end result pictured below.

Simply affix the embellishment to the wings with hot glue and you've got yourself a sew-free costume!

Now try it on your little one to see how it looks...

And smile, as you realize that your sweet little one strongly dislikes the costume you made her... At least we have some time between now and Halloween to acclimate her to wearing her wings. (And yes, this is the BEST picture I could get of her!)

In total, I spent exactly $5 plus tax on the items needed for this costume. Makes my thrifty heart melt!

Jack-o-Lantern Puppets

2011-09-30T14:39:00.007-04:00

On one hand I can't believe it's almost Halloween because it feels like Christmas just passed.

On the other hand, I can't get Tracy Jordan's Werewolf Bar Mitzvah out of my thoughtsicles, so I know it's definitely time for the spooky, scary holiday. (Does anyone love 30 Rock like I do? I secretly hope that Tina Fey, while on maternity leave, is sitting at home checking out crafting blogs when she stumbles upon mine and we become lifelong friends.)

Moving forward... My mom is a veteran preschool teacher who now provides ideas and cirriculum to a few local preschools. She recently stumbled upon these car mitts at our local Dollar Tree and instantly knew they'd be a great prop for her October planning.

Somehow my big mouth got me the task of turning these mitts into jack-o-lanterns, so I took them home and got right to work. Well, I took them home and left them on my dresser for a few days, and then I got to work. My first thought was to applique felt pieces on to the faces but reason got the better of me when I thought about the fact that the mitt is already sewn together and the hand space is narrow. What a pain that would have been.

Then I thought I'd do some freezer paper stenciling to get the jack-o-lantern faces just right, but as I was reaching for my exacto knife, I stumbled upon an acrylic paint pen. Aha! Perfect. An acrylic paint pen!

All I did was free hand the faces directly onto the mitts. Not only was this a cheap craft ($1 each), it's also SO quick. I made four in under 10 minutes. Boo yah! I think this particular mitt would also make great lion and scarecrow puppets.

To make this puppet a fun prop for your little one, you can sing a fun jack-o-lantern song with it. I found the following song on EverythingPreschool.com.

Did you ever see a pumpkin?

(Sung to: Did You Ever See A Lassie)

Did you ever see a pumpkin, a pumpkin, a pumpkin?
Did you ever see pumpkin, with no face at all?
With no eyes, no nose, no mouth, and no teeth?
Did you ever see a pumpkin, with no face at all?

So I made a Jack O-Lantern, Jack O-Lantern, Jack O-Lantern.
So I made a Jack-O-Lantern with a big funny face!
With big eyes, a big nose, a big mouth, and big teeth.
So I made a Jack-O-Lantern with a big funny face.

The longest part of this craft was editing my sub par photos. Does anyone else love Picnik like I love Picnik? I need to take some photography classes so I don't rely on photo editing so heavily, but Picnik is an awesome free tool in the meantime.

Happy Werewolf Bar Mitzvah!

Time Out Cowl (and Giveaway Winners)

2011-09-27T14:16:00.001-04:00

I meant to share this a while ago, but one of my favorite bloggers, Rachel from Maybe Matilda is hosting a crochet along. For all of you who have yet to know the joys of crochet, please, wait no longer! The tutorials and advice she has offered along the way would be invaluable to a newbie--she's a great instructor.

For this particular Crochet Along, readers voted to make the Time Out Cowl which is a free (and simple!) pattern offered by Lion Brand Yarn.

I am in love with my cowl. I wore it to bed last night (no joke). Too bad I live in Florida where most days are in the mid nineties. Ughh. Can we please have a crisp Fall day soon??

The pattern took no time to whip up, and while the original pattern says to make the cowl 54" long, I opted for 32" because it suits my small upper frame better. My "lower frame" is FAR from small. You may laugh, but it's true. Very true.

You may be interested to know that I was able to use only one skein of Lion Brand Jiffy yarn (with a size K hook) to achieve my cowl. Yay for a one skein project--only $2.79! Be still my thrifty heart!

Do you like the length? Here is the picture they share with the pattern. Do you prefer the long length or the short? In the end, it's a matter of personal preference. (P.S. How does one photo shop bags out from under one's eyes? Anyone? Anyone? Eh, worse things have happened.)

If you want to check out all the posts created by Rachel, click on the icon below. You'll really enjoy it!

Also for those who are wondering, the Heidi and Finn pattern giveaway winners (selected by Random.org) are comments number 24 and 28.

# 24 Anonymous said...

I love that shop! I also need a coat for my daughter! Hope I win!
ashleigh(dot) kinsey(at) gmail.com

# 28 Rachel said...

Oh, this shop is too cute! Your jacket came out beautifully! I love the Urban Hoodie pattern--I'd love to make it for my little boy!

Ok, and in the interest of full disclosure, the Rachel who won is Rachel from Maybe Matilda. I already had this post drafted and then went to Random.org to choose the numbers of the winners--I totally should have taken a screen shot to prove that this was purely coincidental! Yeah, you may be thinking it sounds pretty sketchy, but scout's honor, it was random (and possibly just good karma). Anyhow, congrats Ashleigh and Rachel!

Simple Skirt

2011-09-23T14:34:00.000-04:00

Is it terribly obvious that I'm having a great time sewing with my new machine? It sews like a dream and I love that during one naptime I can whip out a project like this little skirt.

It was made using the Simple Skirt tutorial offered by Dana of made. On her blog, Dana offers lots of free tutorials showing how to make simple and precious clothing for little ones. If you're new to sewing (or even if you're experienced, for that matter) you should check it out for lots of inspiration. Plus, her photography is striking and clean and gorgeous. It's one of my favorite blogs.

With quite a bit of typical resistance, I was able to get a few good shots of Junebug modeling her new skirt outside of our local farmer's market. Well, she calls it a "skirk". She also calls shirts "shirks", which we encourage because it's pretty much the cutest thing ever. I'm not overly critical of her emerging language--I realize that pretty soon she'll be speaking fluently and I'll miss the days of cute toddler words like "shirk" and listening to her sing "a spoon full of sugar helps the lettuce-in go down".

My sweet little gal. Sheesh, she's grown up so fast.

An on a completely unrelated note--what are your kiddos going to be for Halloween? Junebug and I have differing opinions (go figure) on what she'll be for Halloween. Of course she'll win, but more on that later.

Junebug's Jacket and a Heidi & Finn Pattern Giveaway!

2011-09-21T13:30:00.005-04:00

Heidi and Finn has graciously offered to share a FREE pattern with two lucky readers--more info below!

First of all, thanks to all of you who weighed in on the choosing of fabric for Junebug's jacket. The general consensus was to use the mustard fabric as the lining fabric--which I was totally on board with! (Have no fear, the other fabric will be used for an upcoming skirt.) Once the jacket was constructed, I decided to use a hook and eye closure instead of the orange buttons. I still love the orange buttons for this jacket, but the closure just needed to be slightly more dramatic than plain ol' buttons. I am SO happy with the end result!

I shared before that the pattern was from the Etsy shop Heidi and Finn and boy, was it a good pattern. The instructions were clear and concise and there were fabulous pictures that really made everything "click" for a new seamstress like me. Heidi and Finn has graciously offered to share a FREE pattern with two lucky readers--read on for more info.

First, let me share Junebug's Jacket. Oh, I am SOO excited!

The closure is supposed to be a big fabric bow, but Junebug is not the biggest fan of big bulky pieces on her clothing so I adapted to suit her pickiness. (I personally loved the bow featured on the pattern.)

Love it, right?

You probably want to make one too, huh? Well, folks, today's your lucky day! Two lucky readers will win a pattern--all you have to do is:

1. Visit Heidi and Finn's Etsy Shop

2. Leave a comment on this post!

The giveaway will be open from now until Saturday, September 24th at midnight E.S.T. One entry per reader, please!

And I wouldn't hate feedback on Junebug's jacket. In fact, I'd love it.

Take a peek at a few of the other patterns you'll see in Heidi & Finn's Etsy shop:

Yay for giveaways! So, what are you going to make?!

P.S. Please be sure that you leave an email address if your email address is not associated with your Blogger profile. Also, this giveaway is open internationally because it's a PDF that will be sent to your email address.

The Long-Awaited Dining Room Revamp

2011-09-20T20:07:00.001-04:00

It was nearly a year ago that my husband and I bought an unfinished dining room table and bench that we vowed to make our own. My husband, like always, held up his end of the bargain and had the table and bench stained and finished within a few days. My job was to repaint chairs that we already had--and while I had good intentions (like I always do) it took me 10 months to complete my portion of the project.

Thank goodness I have a good friend like Sharon--I asked her to help me get this project officially OFF of my list and she made it happen. And it was fun, to boot! We spray painted the chairs and I officially marked this project off my looong to-do list. (Thanks, Sharon!) Spray painting the chairs took about two hours (a.k.a. one toddler nap time) with Sharon's help. Well, two hours and 10 months altogether, but who's counting?

Since a picture is worth a thousand words, I'll shut up in a sec and just share the pictures of my dining room as it is today. There are several angles so you can see it in terms of how it fits with the attached sitting room (that includes my cozy nook). You'll also notice the DIY Art for Non-Artists is currently residing in the dining room. Things move around a LOT in our home. Except for the furniture... 'cause it's heavy. The fork and spoon were a thrift shop purchase, as were the plates that adorn the wall. The EAT letters were courtesy of a Pottery Barn clearance a few years ago.

Anyhow, without further adieu, here's my funky little dining room.

This dining room is totally not what I had in mind when I was thinking of my "dream home" years ago, but it totally suits our family right now. I really love how it looks and it feels so COZY. Isn't it funny how our perspective on beauty and style changes when we have kids?

What would you do?

2011-09-17T10:45:00.000-04:00

So, I may be slightly obsessed with sewing at the moment. I've been working on some things and today I'm seeking your advice with a fabric choice.

I found this precious coat pattern on Etsy and I'm making it for Junebug. I've chosen the main fabric--a gorgeous green corduroy. Green is Junebug's color. It has always looked good on her so that was a simple choice. But the lining fabric is another story.

Which do you prefer?

Choice 1 - Mustard yellow with cotton blooms

Choice 2 - Multi-colored fabric in a fun pattern:

If it helps at all in making a decision, Junebug picked out some buttons for the jacket. They're orange and I thought they'd look great with the green. (She already has great taste!) The jacket is supposed to have a big bow on the front for closing, but if I know Junebug, she'll fight that tooth and nail (possibly literally) so we're opting for a button front (more like a pea coat).

Here's another view of the coat:

So, which lining fabric would you choose? Your feedback is greatly appreciated!

Simple Sewing

2011-09-09T13:55:00.001-04:00

As promised, I'm sharing what I've made with my new sewing machine thus far. I look forward to many years of fun projects, and if you want to see some of my future projects, check out my DIY Stuff to Wear board on Pinterest along with my Sew What category. Who knows when I'll get to all those fab projects, but inspiration is the first step, right?

Sew far (please forgive the sewing pun, I couldn't resist!) I've made some long overdue pillows and a cafe curtain.

When we bought our couch a few years ago, I had the idea to recover the existing pillows that came with the couch. The pillows were very bland; in fact, they were the same exact fabric as the couch. I say when life hands you plain pillows, make awesome pillows--or lemonade or something like that.

Here's the couch, being graced by the presence of awesome new pillows:

Now, let's talk fabric.

The pillow in the background is made with Waverly's Groovy Grille in Harvest. It's available at JoAnn fabric and lemme tell ya, no less than 4 perfect strangers complimented this fabric before I even left the store. I was feeling pretty confident in my choice after that.

The pillow in the foreground is made with Arcadia by Sanae for Moda. While one of the local shops here in Melbourne is still carrying this line, I have had trouble finding it online. Isn't it awesome fabric??? Sharon and I both bought some of this fabric because we love it so. Because it's quilting cotton, I added piping around the pillow to give better structure and a more polished appearance. I'm glad I did--it was worth the little bit of extra effort. Fo' sho.

So, I know you're tired of seeing this flower embellished pillow and my crocheted rose pillow, but you'll notice a new guy in the back. The fabric is from the Outside Oslo line from Jessica Jones. Specifically it's the Tulip print in Dawn. LOVE! You can purchase this fabric and all of Jessica's amazing fabrics through the Needle Shop on Etsy. (They're a great seller--quick service and good prices!) I love how well the fabric complements my curtains. Ahh, bliss.

Last but not least, I made a cafe curtain for my kitchen. A few years ago, James made me a shelf on which I store my Kitchen Aid mixer, food processor, blender, etc. because I'm morally opposed to keeping them on my counter. (Clutter attracts clutter, folks, especially in my case.) I made a cute little curtain to hide away all of those appliances. The fabric is Richloom Cornwall Garden. I found it as a remnant at Old Time Pottery for $5/yard, which is a steal! Fabric.com sells it for just under $20/yard, which is still reasonable when you consider the quality. Pier 1 has a lot of outdoor furniture featuring this fabric right now.

After nearly 5 years of living in our home, I'm just now getting to where I really know my style. It took years to develop it--and I have to get over my fear of color. Once I got brave and secure in my love of funky stuff and bright colors, my house started to take shape. It's a work in progress for sure, but I'm sure my new machine will be very helpful along the way. It already has been.

Welcoming a new member of the family...

2011-09-08T14:31:00.001-04:00

Here she is:

Betcha didn't know I was expecting, huh? Hehe. I definitely wasn't expecting this lovely piece of machinery--but the very same day that I was out buying furniture without my husband's consent, he was doing the same for me.

Sharon and I both celebrated our birthdays a few weeks ago (our birthdays are one day and a few years apart) and this was my gift from James. And I am in LOVE.

James researched sewing machines to death (he researches everything for days/weeks/months and sometimes years before purchasing, I kid you not) and after being disappointed in the selection of "new" machines in his price range, he started to dig a little deeper. Then he learned about the Singer 401A. If you are looking for a great machine, consider the research DONE and start perusing Craigslist for a Singer 401A.

I could go on and on about the machine, but I'll just show her to you instead. Oh, and we had one of our best ever Craigslist experiences with this purchase. It was memorable and it makes the machine even more special to both of us.

My husband thinks of everything. He found a machine with a cabinet so it would be convenient to use in my mini-office space in my bedroom. (We have an office but I make it too messy, so I've been banished to a small corner of my bedroom. I kid, I kid... Sort of.) The sewing machine cabinet fits perfectly into my little office corner where James mounted a monitor to the wall so I don't have to continually lift it on and off everytime I want to sew.

The table that folds out hovers right above our nightstand so we don't have to move any furniture. It's practically perfect in every way! I just fold out the table and pop the machine out, and Voila! There's my crafting space!

See how easy the transition is?

I may not be one of those lucky ladies with a room devoted to crafting, but I am pretty excited about my new crafty space!

Check back tomorrow to see what I've been making!

2 Dollars + 2 Minutes = 2 Scarves

2011-09-02T14:45:00.003-04:00

I can't remember the last time Sharon or I posted a full-on tutorial for a craft. Have you been missing them, too?

Today at Hobby Lobby, inspiration struck me when I found a 3/4 yard remnant of grey jersey fabric for $2.69. Immediately, I thought "scarves!" because I have admittedly been a bit scarf-obsessed lately which is crazy considering it's still very much summer here in Florida.

3/4 of a yard of jersey knit turned out to be the perfect amount of fabric for two scarves. The supply list for this project is ridiculously short--jersey knit and scissors. You can handle that, right?

Just lay your fabric out and cut it in half lengthwise. (I realize my fabric is folded incorrectly for this statement, but I folded it and then cut up the middle so I had less to cut. Yes, I'm that lazy!)

Stretch your fabric pieces lengthwise and voila, you have scarves! Knit fabrics are awesome because you can leave raw edges and they don't fray--tugging lengthwise on the fabric creates a nice "finished" look on your unfinished knit.

And because I like to explain things to death:

The fabric on the left is the cut but not-yet-stretched jersey. The scarf in the center is complete--just the cut piece of jersey knit all stretched lengthwise. The scarf on the right was just for a point of reference.

Don't forget to take an unflattering picture of your neck. Then you're officially done.

I have seen SO many jersey scarves out and about lately and I've been tempted to buy them, but I can never bring myself to spend $10-$15 on a piece of long, skinny fabric. Sometimes it pays to be cheap. And as a bonus, when people compliment your scarf you can proudly say "I made it". Throw in a "boo-yah" if you feel like it. I definitely would.

P.S. I completed this craft while my toddler was awake. So, yeah, it's really that easy.

I am going to be in trouble...

2011-08-25T14:08:00.002-04:00

...when my husband comes home tonight.

I bought a piece of furniture without consulting him. It wasn't expensive--but it was a furniture purchase nonetheless. We typically consult one another before such purchases--regardless of the price. It's only fair since we live in the same space.

But, I needed it. You see, yesterday Sharon and our friend Laura and I were shopping in lovely Historic Downtown Melbourne. I saw a lovely sofa table at a thrift shop, but I wasn't ready to commit. But after a day of not being able to get said table out of my head, I went back and picked it up for $25.

Isn't she a beauty? I like the feel of it and I also like the small scale--it's hard to find a good sofa table that's made on a small scale. You can't blame me, right?

I got the table home in my somewhat trusty Volvo wagon and got busy making it "work" in the space. I have two other places that the table would fit, but I'm going to try it in my cozy nook for a while and see how it goes. If you don't recall my recent Cozy Nook Transformation, you may want to take a peek. Here's a shot of the transformation as of a few weeks ago...

I think the new sofa table made a HUGE difference in making the cozy nook even better!

Here's to hoping my husband doesn't shake his head in disapproval (yet again). He's usually a pretty good sport when I nest--as long as I don't leave a path of destruction--which I have been known to do.

And on that note, I'm off to clean up my path of destruction.

Tumble-Proofing a Stool

2011-08-25T08:00:00.004-04:00

Remember the stool I made for Junebug? It's cute, but I noticed that if she shifts her weight to the front or back it can tip over very easily. What's a crafty mama to do?

Rug grip to the rescue! Just cut it out to fit the feet of the stool and hot glue it on. Easy peasy!

I mean, obviously Junebug is not concerned about falling--look what she used to get closer to Elmo--a Wheely Bug rider. Umm, anything on wheels does not make a good stool, grasshopper. I have some teaching to do...

We have some chairs on our porch that have cushions that slide off--highly annoying. So, a few months ago a lightbulb went off and I put some rug grip stuff under the cushions. They haven't slid off since!

In your face, slippery cushions and tippy stool!

Fancy-Schmancy Heart-Shaped Stool

2011-08-23T13:25:00.000-04:00

I know that some of you will read the title and think I'm talking about a heart-shaped bowel movement. I'm not. I'm definitely not. That's not crafty. That's gross.

Anyhow, I recently noticed a need for a stool in Junebug's bathroom. She's washing her own hands now but I have to assist with helping her up and down to the sink. Being a terribly independent little gal, she's not always so keen on having mommy help. So, I thought a stool would make my ~~little~~ big girl happy.

I found this beauty at my favorite local thrift shop. It's just one of those generic bare wood pieces that you can find at most craft shops--I noticed from the tag on the bottom that it originally retailed for $9, but my thrift shop listed it for $3. SOLD!

I spray painted the stool bright yellow (left over from my mirror) and once it dried, I mod podged a lovely piece of scrapbook paper over the top. (Since Mod Podge is both a sealer and an adhesive I coated the top of the stool with a thin coat before and after the paper was applied.)

You won't see the strokes once the Mod Podge dries.

Once the Mod Podge is dry, spray with a clear sealer since feet and who knows what else will be stepping on the stool.

Badda bing, badda boom. A darling one-of-a-kind stool.

Here's where it gets really real.

I thought I'd take a pic of the stool in action. You know, I thought you'd like to see it.

Terrible idea.

You see, Junebug, just like her momma, is short. Like majorly short.

I told her she could use the stool to wash her hands but... it still doesn't get her to the faucet. Which is terribly frustrating if you're two years old. Apparently lots of things are frustrating when you're two.

See? I keep it real. Really real. I'll share with you my ugly 1985 builder-grade grey bathroom with blue tile (seriously, who picks blue tile?!) AND my fit-throwing toddler--all in the same post! You're welcome.

I think I may need to get one of these awesome inventions to complete the bathroom:

Found via Pinterest.

And here's the stool again, in all its finished glory--sans screaming toddler:

Cute, huh?

D.I.Y. Play-Doh

2011-08-19T14:00:00.002-04:00

When I got married seven years ago, one of the most precious gifts I received was a collection of recipes from both sides of our families. In the back of this treasured recipe collection my mom wrote out her trusty recipe for Play-Doh (and you know it's the real deal because she's a preschool teacher!). She left this note along with the recipe...

"I'm sorry but I have to think of the grandkids" - Mom

Well, Ma, thanks for the recipe. Today I'm sharing it with the world.

DIY Play-Doh

1 cup flour
1/2 cup salt
2 t cream of tartar
2 packages of Kool Aid (don't use purple, it turns grey)
1 T oil
1 cup water

Cook all ingredients over medium heat until it forms a ball (5-10 minutes). That's it!

You can enhance the colors by using food coloring if you like. My mom does (I always seem to forget) and her Play-Doh is fantastically bright. I love that the Kool-Aid makes the Play-Doh smell amazing!

Junebug and I have had hours of fun over the past few weeks playing with Play-Doh. I think of it as stress relief for the two of us. Afternoons tend to be the time where Junebug and I butt heads the most--but if we sit down with some Play-Doh, the tension eases. My gal pal Suzanne dropped by after work a few weeks ago and ended up sitting down with a handful of Play-Doh--so it's totally stress relief for big people, too!

We like to press shells into the dough and make "fossils" and cookie cutters are an excellent way to learn shapes. I bought the cuh-yoot alligator rolling pin at Target for $3.99. They don't have it online (unfortunately) but it is still available in the baking supply section of the stores.

I think a pretty jar of homemade Play-Doh and a lovely tot-sized rolling pin would be an excellent gift idea for a little one. Agree?

If you want more fun ideas for kiddos, check out my "Fun For the Kiddo" Pinboard.

Art cluster from my cozy nook

2011-08-15T08:57:00.000-04:00

"What is art? Are we art? Is art art?"

The above quote always comes to mind when I think about art. I know who said it, but can anyone else tell me? I'll think you're awesome if you know!!

Seriously... you'll make my day if you know where that quote came from.

Moving on...

Here's a breakdown of the art that's a part of my cozy nook transformation.

1. Egg and Feather prints from Blue Egg Watercolors. (I have several other of these prints that reside in one of our bathrooms.)

2. "Scrapple Art" by me.

3. Blue-footed Booby watercolor by Etsy seller Contours (who no longer has a shop, unfortunately.)

4. Bream fish pressing - made by a friend of my grandmother. I inherited it.

5. "Bless This Hizzy Fo Shizzle" cross-stitch, stitched by yours truly. I cannot claim the genius behind it though--I copied it from something I pinned on Pinterest (which is why I have not blogged about it). Check out "Steotch" for the original idea and more subversive stitching.

6. Oranges still life acrylic painting - $2.50 at a local thrift shop!

7. Westie beach print from Etsy seller K9 Art Gallery. (I am a proud Westie momma because Westies are the besties!)

Here it is in its setting...

Also, the mirror was inherited from my grandmother. It was in her living room for who know how long. The end table was a $3 thrift store find (SCORE!) and the basket beneath it was also a thrift store find ($7, and Sharon and our friend Laura helped me carry it all around downtown Melbourne like the good pals they are). The lamp was a $10 clearance item from Lowe's and I made the lampshade. The pillow came from JoAnn fabric (Sharon and I both have this pillow so I'm sure you've seen it numerous times on our site.) The chair is from Hudson's furniture--and I know it's not a trendy or a "cool" chair but I LOVE it.

So, that's that. In case you were wondering. Happy Monday!

A winner and some various bloggy updates

2011-08-14T22:29:00.002-04:00

Thanks so much to all of you who participated in the 1,000 follower giveaway!

The winner was entry #52, who said:

"Congrats Ladies on surpassing your 200 mark. Keep up the good work."

Well, my friend, we will be keeping up the good work! And please check your email as we've sent you info on getting your super-fabulous Patterned Paper Wreath Kit!

In other news, Sharon helped me finish my dining room chair project last week so be on the lookout for the big reveal sometime soon! Oh, I'm so excited to share it with you! (So excited that I'm totally overusing exclamation points tonight!!)

I also have some other little piddly crafts I've been working on. If they're good, I'll share them. If not... well... I'll dramatically throw them into my garbage can.

What with so many of you liking us and following us, we're getting pretty popular--and with that comes perks. We have some in store for you, so come back soon.

Did you know we have a Facebook page? Check it!

I also think it's cool that Sharon's Scrapbook paper tree is now the "Most Favorited Craft of All Time" on Craftgawker. I'm so proud!

We've had some emails from you fellow crafty pals who want to follow us on Pinterest. Well, we'd love for you to! As you know, Sharon and I are both devoted "pinners" and we're addicted (for lack of a better term). Click here to follow Sharon, and click here to follow me (Tristin).

Wish Sharon luck--she's officially back to school next week starting her first semester of Pharmacy School at the University of Florida! (Definitely worthy of exclamation points!)

And wish me luck, too... Potty training is around the corner for Elliott and I--and I need all the help I can get. I've potty trained a dog, but never a human so advice is also welcomed! (I'm pretty sure crate training is not effective for toddlers...HA!)

A big ol' THANK YOU and our first GIVEAWAY!

2011-08-07T08:00:00.003-04:00

When Sharon and I hatched the idea for Two Girls Being Crafty at my dining room table last November, we had a few plans and a lot of enthusiasm.

In January of this year, two months into blogging together, we set the goal of gaining 200 followers for the year--and we thought we were aiming high.

But, you, loyal readers, have helped us surpass our goal and have sprung us into four digits... We now have over 1,000 crafty followers! I was SO happy I took a screen shot!

We are SO stoked to know that there are people out there reading our babble about crocheting this and spray painting that, mod podge here and fabric there. And commenting, too. We LOVE comments (like all bloggers do)!

To officially say "thank you" we're having a small giveaway... We'll send one lucky reader the supplies to make a patterned paper wreath of their own: A wreath form, glue sticks, lovely paper and an embellishment.

Here's what you have to do to win:

1. Leave a comment on this post.
2. That's it.
3. Seriously, that's it. Say anything!

If you're not a follower already, we'd love to have you join in the fun, though it's not a requirement. We're not daily bloggers, but we strive to make sure our content is of the highest quality and that it inspires you!

P.S. PLEASE make sure we have a way to contact you. If your blogger profile doesn't contain your email address, please leave your address in the comment form so we can contact you if you're the winner!

Check out the Patterned Paper Wreath Tutorial if you haven't before. It's the project that started this whole blog!

This is the Patterned Paper Wreath Remix. Same materials, same method, different results. Whatever floats your boat or finds your lost remote (if you can tell me what song that comes from without googling it I will be majorly impressed!)

This giveaway closes midnight E.S.T. on Friday, August 12th. Winner will be chosen by Random.org. Due to shipping costs, this giveaway is open to U.S. residents only--sorry!

Cozy Nook Transformation (And the Introduction of my Funktastic Modern Eclectic Cottage Style)

2011-08-02T14:45:00.001-04:00

I have some good news and some bad news. The good? I've finally created a term to classify my home decor style. The bad? It's a mouthful. Are you ready?

Here goes: Funktastic Modern Eclectic Cottage.

Aaah. It feels so good to get it out there! And to show you what I'm talking about, I'm going to share a recent transformation from my home. It's my favorite cozy little nook.

As you can see, there's nothing hideous about the nook but it lacks funk. And funk is a necessity for a Funktastic Modern Eclectic Cottage. Ya feel me?

It's just a bit one-dimensional. I thought I'd fix the problem by updating the mirror to a bright yellow.

The yellow mirror certainly brought some funk into the nook, but it was still lacking. (P.S. The ribbon above the mirror is there for the sole purpose of hiding a hook that the previous homeowners placed in the wall. Pathetic, I know, when you consider the fact that we've owned the home for over 5 years.)

See what I mean?

So, I shopped through my home and found some fun artwork to cluster together. I played with the pieces I chose on my dining room table until I found an arrangement that I liked.

Then I moved the arrangement to the wall. A laser leveler and painter's tape helped me accomplish the nice square-ish cluster that I desired. I wanted there to be at least some structure to the placement of the pictures on the wall so my husband (who is my opposite when it comes to decor) wouldn't hate it and deem me an unfit homemaker.

This cluster makes me SO happy. You have no idea. In a future post, I'll be sharing a bit more information about where the art pieces came from so if you have any questions, please ask away!! I'll include an answer on my next post.

So, here's my Funktastic Modern Eclectic Cottage cozy nook, completed. Love! I think a nice round area rug would do some good, but I'm not worried about that right now. I'm just happy that this transformation was FREE other than the half-can of yellow spray paint that I used on the mirror. Score!

Here it is again, in all its glory. Thoughts? Suggestions? I'm all ears!

Cure the Summertime Blues with Sweet and Spicy Pork Lettuce Wraps

2011-07-25T07:00:00.000-04:00

Hey crafty pals! Today I'm taking a break from crafting on Two Girls Being Crafty so that I can get my grub on over at Sew Homegrown. I hate the word "grub" when related to food, so I'm not quite sure why I used it on this teaser. Ughh. As if I can't just delete it and come up with something else. Anyhow, I'm honored to a part of Sew Homegrown's Cure the Summertime Blues series.

Did you know that I love food and cooking even more than crafting? Yep. It's actually my #1 hobby. I know how you love useless factoids about bloggers.

Anyhow, here's a picture to get your mouth watering...

Now head on over to Sew Homegrown for the full post!

Market Bag (Lion Brand Free Pattern)

2011-07-19T13:00:00.016-04:00

Oh crafty pals, how I have missed you! I miss posting regularly (more info on why we're not as frequent here). But it's all about balance, right? I find it extremely hard to balance and compartmentalize my life. Anyone out there feel me?

Anyhow, my husband and I recently went on a 5-day cruise without the little one (gasp)! We had a great time and while we were away, I crocheted. Yep. I may have looked like a grandma in my skirted bathing suit, big floppy straw hat and crochet in hand. Or maybe not. Or definitely. Whatever. It's all a matter of perspective.

Make fun of me if you must, but I know you won't make fun of my end product--this bad boy:

I made this bag using the Market Bag (FREE!) Pattern from the Lion Brand Yarn website. You do have to create an account to get the free patterns, but it's well-worth the two minutes of your time. Pinky promise.

Here's the bottom of the bag, where the pattern starts:

Lessons learned? It's a great pattern. Even for beginners. But I would highly recommend following the instructions as they're written. The pattern is perfect--don't deviate. I didn't turn the work after each round (as you're instructed to in the directions) and it turns out there's good reason to do so. Also, the bag looked a bit small so I added a few extra rounds at the top and now it's a few rows too long--especially for a shorty like me. I didn't account for the fact that a bag like this stretches with use so I now regret those extra rounds. Ughh.

And for your viewing pleasure, I wanted to share my "modeling" pics with you. I know my husband sure did have a good laugh while photographing me. I'm SO awkward around the camera... but I'm a crafter, not a model. I was just glad my dress had pockets so I had somewhere to hide my hands.

I reminded myself of that 30 Rock episode where Liz Lemon models for her Deal Breakers show. LOL!

Source

For more crochet inspiration, check out the Lion Brand Site for LOTS of free patterns. Or check out my Crochet board on Pinterest. Whatever you do, have fun crafting this summer!

P.S. Next week I'll be guest posting over at Sew Homegrown for the Cure the Summertime Blues series. Follow the progress thus far by clicking on the icon below!

New Beginnings

2011-07-13T22:11:00.001-04:00

Our dear readers, we apologize immensely for being away on hiatus without offering you an explanation. We have some unfortunate news. Tristin and I will be able to continue with the blog, but not at the consistency and volume that we had previously been working at. We are both entering very new and exciting phases of our lives. And unfortunately, those phases will take up much more time than we had anticipated.

As many of you know from reading the blog, Tristin has a beautiful and adorable little girl who has recently turned two years old! Those of you who are moms all know what this means - she is entering the wonderful world of toddler-hood. This is an exciting time of learning and discovering new ideas and abilities.We don't want to detract from their time together and from what is most important in our homes - our family. I certainly don't mean to say that if you're a mother, you should not have a blog! Tristin and I both agree that motherhood is a great time for blogging. But Tristin and Elliott are starting a new phase together, and this may detract from daily blog and craft time in the near future.

No, I don't have children yet, but I am also entering a new phase in my life. I'm starting pharmacy school in August. This is a very exciting undertaking that I've been working toward for years now. I am so ready to extend my knowledge and understanding of all of the intricate interworkings of our delicate bodies. I want to use the knowledge that I have gained as well as the compassion I have for others to help people and possibly change lives. But first comes studying. Lots and lots of studying.

So what does this mean? It means that we will not be able to keep up with the 4-5 posts per week that we have previously determined for ourselves. Instead, we will post on Two Girls Being Crafty whenever we complete a project. The posts may be more sporadic than they used to be, but we hope to keep coming up with new and exciting ideas for you all. We hope you will keep checking back for new inspiration.

It has been such a pleasure creating things and sharing them with you. We are so grateful for each and every one of our readers - we couldn't have done it without you! Thank you for all of your support and comments. We hope to have inspired you in some way. Keep reading TGBC and as always - keep crafting!

Sugar and Spice and Everything Nice

2011-06-30T07:00:00.008-04:00

It seems as though every baby gift I have bought or made since Junebug was born has been for a little boy. I mean, boys are great and all but it sure is nice to craft and shop for little girls! Just when I was growing tired of little boys, my Uncle and his wife welcomed a sweet baby girl (named Sharon--how 'bout that Sharon?!) into the family.

For the latest bundle of joy I made a cute little hat and later picked an outfit to match it (thanks Target!).

P.S. Please forgive the poor photographs. I tried to spruce them up in Picnik but even Picnik couldn't help my poor photography skills this time around. I'm a crafter, not a photographer. Obviously.

The hat pattern I used is the trusty Girl in Air's Happy Halloween Hat. Works like a charm every time!

Of course, I couldn't resist the opportunity to practice my amigurumi skills so I made a cute little duck, too. (I like to keep my hands busy while I watch Seinfeld reruns late at night. Then I don't feel guilty and unproductive.)

Perfect for a little girl!

Nice Day for a White Wedding

2011-06-27T07:00:00.003-04:00

Recently our church had the privilege of welcoming a new family. They're new Christians, newlyweds, and new to our area. What better way to welcome someone (officially) than by throwing a fun party in their honor?

This party was the doing of my mother primarily, though myself and several others from our congregation worked to contribute pieces of awesomeness that resulted in an elegant evening for all to enjoy.

I thought you'd enjoy a peek!

Junebug's Summer Birthday Party

2011-06-22T07:00:00.001-04:00

As of yesterday, it's officially summer--though here in Florida we've been feeling summer for a few months. And the air conditioning in my beautiful yet aged Volvo just went out. Sheesh. But that's not what I'm here to tell you about today.

I want to share Junebug's second birthday bash with you!

You probably remember from my last post that the theme was simply "Summer". I left lots of room for interpretation and mind-changing ('cause I can be a bit fickle when it comes to choosing "themes"). And if you follow me on Pinterest then you probably have a good idea of what we did for the birthday party based on my pinboard. So without further adieu, here's how we celebrated!

The Decor:

The Food:

Looong story short (really, it's a long story) these cupcakes had to have the liners removed before serving because some of our weirdo freaky-deaky Florida ants showed up unexpectedly in my laundry room (where these lovely cupcakes were waiting) and started munching on the WRAPPERS, but not the cupcakes. Seriously, how weird is that? Once hubs figured out what was going on he removed all of the cupcake liners and saved the day!

The Birthday Gal:

I can't believe she's TWO! Time flies.

She's Second to None.

2011-06-07T14:00:00.001-04:00

My little one is about to turn two. Two. I still can't believe how quickly time flies when you have a child. Two is only 1/9th of the way to 18, when she'll leave me for greener pastures. Ok, I'm not ready to talk about that--so let's talk party!

We'll be celebrating Junebug's birthday this weekend with a small family gathering. I opted out of paper invites this year because ~~I'm cheap~~ I thought an Evite would be a "greener" option. Yeah, because I wanted to be "green".

Here's a little peek at what our guests received in their email:

Writing things in sand is a great way to take beach pictures. Plus, I'll always remember how old she was in that photo. Brilliant, I am.

My mom and I spent a bit of time yesterday making tissue paper pompoms for the party--they're already fluffed and are waiting in the laundry room for the big event. It's quite comical, really--check it out:

I want the decor to be a surprise to Junebug on the day of her party--so I have to keep her out of the laundry room (which is tougher than it sounds).

I'm also so excited about my other party finds. The "theme" of the party is simply "Summer". Bright colors, sunshine, funky patterns, you know what I mean, right?

I'm so excited. I'm using some of the same things I used for Junebug's first birthday party last year. Last year's theme was "Watermelon" and what a fun theme it was!

The pièce de résistance last year (that people are still talking about) was Junebug's "Watermelon Cake". I wanted to forego the messy smashcake tradition and enjoy a slice of refreshing watermelon. Having to immediately bathe my daughter after her first cake experience while having 20+ guests at my home didn't seem appealing. So sue me.

Here's a pic of Junebug's party last year:

The "Watermelon Cake" was a little trickier than I had initially anticipated and there were definitely a few lessons learned, but all in all it was well worth the effort. I couldn't find any sort of instructions or tutorial for such a thing so I winged it and I'm glad I did!

If you're interested, you can check out the inspiration for Junebug's second birthday party on my Pinterest page.

P.S. Once I recover from the event, I'll be sharing some photos--so check back next week!

How Very P(interesting): Part II

2011-06-04T13:36:00.001-04:00

Hey friends! Like Tristin, I am going to ignore the gap in posting. I promise we're going to update you soon!

I just want to reiterate what Tristin has already said - Pinterest is amazing! And extremely addictive. I started my account last night, and since then I've been pinning everything in sight. Seriously, if you haven't already done so, you must try this! I have to admit, I was a little skeptical when I was invited to it, and I was even a little bit overwhelmed when I started my account. But just like Tristin pinky promised - I soon feel head over heels in love with it!

It's extremely user-friendly and great for people who like to be ~~compulsively~~ organized. You can add as many categories or "boards" as you want, and then just pin away! It's a great source of inspiration, and who doesn't like looking at pretty pictures of pretty things?? Give your bookmark folders a rest and come join us on the best website ever! I look forward to checking out your boards!

If you want to check mine out, here's the link:

http://pinterest.com/sharon_ramsey/

Until we meet again,
xoxo,

How Very (P)Interesting.

2011-05-30T08:33:00.000-04:00

Hey crafty pals--long time, no see! At this time, I'm going to ignore the gap in posting (sorry, sorry, sorry, but we'll explain later) and talk about my new ~~obsession~~ favorite website....

Drumroll, please...

It's Pinterest.

Are you surprised? Probably not. I think every blogger in blogland is talking about Pinterest these days because it is quite possibly the most amazing thing ever.

Pinterest is a site in which you can catalog all of your wonderful inspiration. It's easy to use, free, and you will fall totally head-over-heels in love with it, pinky promise.

You do have to have an invitation to join--you can request one on the Pinterest site or get one from a member. Because it's a federal holiday and I'm feeling particularly nice today, if you leave your email address in the comment field I'll try to get you an invite ASAP!

If you want to check out my boards, here's my Pinterest address:

http://pinterest.com/tristinw/

Happy Memorial Day, pals.

Linky Love: Colorful Dining Room Chairs Edition

2011-05-07T08:00:00.001-04:00

Those of you who know me personally know that my dining room has been under "construction" since early November. Yeah. Like six months. I just cannot seem to finish this project (though truthfully my husband has done the majority of the work)! In order to inspire me for the big reveal (don't hold your breath) I have been gathering inspiration from other {COMPLETED} colorful dining room sets.

(It just so happens that Sharon shared her awesome table and chair makeover this week. Purely coincidental, folks. It is crazy how we stay on the same wavelength without even trying.)

I'll first start with the dining room that inspired my transformation. Apartment Therapy always provides thought-provoking ideas and this dining room is no exception.

Brooke of All Things Thrifty has two beautiful and colorful dining sets displayed on her site.

This one is her dining area.

This one is a fixer-upper that Brook and her husband reluctantly sold.

I love this Quaint Vintage Kitchen by All You Magazine. When you choose a "vintage" theme, you really open yourself up to a lot of thrifty possibilities. The blues and yellows in this room are SO cheerful!

And just for fun how about these funky colorful chairs at a wedding? I love the spunk they have while remaining uniform.

So, I'm off to go finish my dining room project! (And by "finish my dining room project" I really mean "procrastinate".)

Happy Saturday,

Table And Chairs Revamped!

2011-05-05T11:03:00.000-04:00

Refurbishing furniture is one of those hobbies that I wish I did more often. I have only tried it a couple of times, but I just love how a worthless piece of furniture can suddenly be transformed into a beautiful masterpiece that demands your full attention when you walk into the room. I also like to think that I am giving life back into a piece that is precariously toying with death. Furniture death, that is. This post is quickly getting morbid.

Here is a piece that I did a while back. It's a dining room set - table and chairs. I purchased the whole package for $20 on Craigslist. (Craigslist is just like thrift stores and garage sales - you have to sift through a whole lot of junk before you stumble upon real treasure.) This table is a real beauty. I am a sucker for antique-style furniture. And when I saw the curves and the detailing on the legs, I knew I had to have it. Not to mention the adorable tiny drawer! It has so much character! Even though we already had a perfectly good dining room set, I knew I had to get this table and fix it up.

$20 is pretty amazing for all of that, but boy was it in rough shape. The pictures don't do it justice. It was depressing. Crayon scribbles everywhere. Large, deep gashes randomly throughout the surface. Even chunks missing here and there. It had definitely been through battle and nearing the end of its life. And that's when I enter. Stage right. Sander in hand.

Warning: Please check for lead paint before you attempt to do this step. Inhaling dusty paint chips is bad enough without adding poisonous lead. Also, wear a face mask and goggles. Place a drop cloth under your piece before continuing.

This is after I sanded the first layer off. I just tried to sand it down so that the chipped layer of paint was fairly even and smooth. This definitely took some time because I was dumb and too lazy to buy an electric sander, so I did the entire thing by hand. What a poor decision.

This is the surface up close after the initial sanding. You can see one of the major gashes really well here. There were very deep cuts and chunks missing throughout the surface. So I had to sand the whole table top down pretty deep in order to have a smooth, even surface. This is exactly where the electric sander would have come in handy.

After it was sanded down, I took a damp cloth and wiped all of the paint dust off of the surfaces. You can also use a tack cloth to clean. You want to make sure the surface is clean so that the paint adheres well. You also want to wait for the furniture to be completely dry before applying paint.

Then start painting! I applied 4 or 5 coats, letting it completely dry in between each application. This may take a few days to complete. I also painted the chairs black, applying 4 to 5 coats. (I love the contemporary look of dining chairs not matching the dining table exactly.) Make sure you don't become overzealous and glop on too much paint at one time. You will have major drip-age and the end result will look messy. Apply multiple thin coats.

Finally, apply a couple coats of polyurethane or any other protective sealant. Please be warned that if you are painting your furniture white you need specific types of polyurethane or another sealant made for white paint. I made the mistake of putting regular polyurethane on the table, and within a day the whole thing was tinted yellow! It was so frustrating. I had to sand the whole thing down again (and those detailed, spiral legs are NOT easy to sand) and repaint. If you are using white paint, please learn from my mistake!

Again, the end result. The original plan was to reupholster the chairs with a chic, modern fabric that ties in the white and black. But we'll see if that actually happens any time soon. I am very happy with my $20 dining room set. It has character and charm. And I can say that I gave it new life. Now it has a happy home and many more years of use.

What do you think?

Have you ever given new life to an old piece of furniture?

French Press gets Cozy

2011-05-03T08:00:00.001-04:00

Once you go French you never go back... French press, that is. I am so in love with my French press. Many of my overnight guests fall in love with my French Press, too. Why wouldn't they?

One person I know in particular needs a French press. It's my sister-in-law, Angie. Since she makes a single cup of coffee everyday, she opts for the convenience of instant coffee rather than making a whole pot. Poor thing. Don't you think she's deserving of good coffee? Well, I do. So she's getting a French press. With it's own accessory. Naturally every inanimate object needs accessories.

All I did to create this awesome cozy was make a chain equal to about 3/4 of the press' circumference. Then I single crocheted into it to create a rectangle in the height I desired. For the thin end, I single crocheted into the vertical side and decreased until I was happy with the "fastening strap" and added a button hole by adding a few extra chains to the end. Then I sewed on a button. Easy peasy, right? I realize that these are not detailed instructions, but if you can crochet, you can figure it out. If I can, you can. There's no right or wrong.

I thought that a nice handmade cozy added just the right homemade touch. Not every gift can be fully handmade, but I do have a reputation to uphold as a crafty girl, right?

There's nothing like a great cup of coffee... or a great faithful friend who loves being with you, regardless of what weird task you're doing. Man I love my little doggie!

Think Thrifty

2011-05-02T09:02:00.002-04:00

Do you ever see something in the store and just fall in love with it? I mean the must-have-right-this-second kind of love? And then you get a glimpse of the price tag and suddenly you don't really need it. This happens to me all the time. Call me cheap or fickle, but I think I'm just being thrifty.

Most recent example... I saw these beautiful garden urn vases at Jo-Ann. I wanted them. I needed them. Until I peeked at the price. $39.99? Uh.. maybe they're not that beautiful. Needless to say, they did not make it home with me.

I'm so glad I didn't buy them. When I got home I remembered a thrift store piece that I had purchased months ago, and it was just sitting on our bookshelf being used as a book end. It looked just like the garden urn vases from Jo-Ann. Duh, because it was a garden urn vase. I think it even has more character than the other ones I saw. And I bought it for $3.99. That's right, $3.99.

Add a couple of faux ferns from Hobby Lobby, and I think we have a winner! I love it! As a side note, I have been looking for a classy and elegant way to bring greenery into our living room, and I think I just found it. It doesn't have a permanent home yet. We are holding out on getting a gorgeous buffet style TV stand and a flat screen TV until after we move in a couple of months, but I think the urn vase will go beautifully on the stand next to the TV.

I found thrifty inspiration by looking at higher priced items and thinking of ways to mimic the look without having to spend those dollars. Luckily, I had the answer sitting on my bookshelf the whole time.
I hope you find your own thrifty inspiration!

Linky Love: Shutters

2011-04-30T08:00:00.002-04:00

I secretly have an obsession for shutters. I have never owned any, but I admire them in pictures when they are creatively used in the home. They have such a vintage, rustic warmness to them. (So many good words in one sentence.) And even though they are just worn, overlooked, old shutters; in a beautifully decorated space they create a sense of whimsical wonderment.

Let's take a look at all the innovative ways to use old shutters as decor and also some creative DIY projects...

Old world, rustic charm. Sigh. It's the perfect backdrop to both of these garden vignettes.

Bringing the exterior into the interior. Gorgeous.

Make a headboard out of old shutters! I love the beach cottage feel.

Shutters make everything more homey, don't you think?

The Nester from Nesting Place has beautiful robins egg blue shutters decorating her mantel above their cozy fireplace. It's a beautiful pop of color, and you don't need a single other thing up there.

Now for some DIY shutter projects:

The girls over at The Tortoise And The Hare created this useful and eye-catching

Window Shutter Wall Display.They used glaze and some sanding to give it that antique look that I'm so in love with. Go check out their full tutorial here.

Gail from My (Re)purposed Life came up with the idea for this charming garden shutter bench. It's perfect!

This beach cottage peg board was the genius idea of Chania over at Razmataz.

Find out how she transformed this old window shutter into something amazing.

Maybe you're brave enough to tackle a whole wall.

Check out this incredible shutter wall made by Olive and Love. It's dynamite.

One of these days I will find the perfect old shutters and fix them up and find the perfect home for them.

Until then, I'll just keep admiring pictures of them. :)

Do you have shutters in your home? If not, how would you choose to use them?

xoxo,

Amigurumi Turtle

2011-04-28T08:00:00.003-04:00

Amigurumi is my new obsession. In a few short hours you can create a precious, soft, and simple toy. Crochet is the bestest craft ever! (And amigurumi is so much easier than it looks!)

I found the pattern for this turtle on the Lion Brand Yarn website. It's FREE and it recommends Lion Brand Vanna's Choice yarn, which is my favorite!

He's going to be a gift for some friends who are having a baby boy, but in the meantime Junebug and I stare at him adoringly.

Owl Pin Cushion

2011-04-27T09:46:00.000-04:00

I know it has been a super long time since I've posted anything. Things have been really hectic over here. Luckily, there are two of us. And Tristin has done a terrific job of updating the blog all by herself! (She's like a crafting wonder woman... sometimes I wonder how she accomplishes so many crafts and with a kid!)

Anyways, here's a little something that I have done recently. It's an owl pin cushion. I found the wonderful tutorial on My Owl Barn and just copied it exactly. The DIY Dish even did a video tutorial of Kim and Kris making one. With the free printable PDF pattern and clear directions, who wouldn't want to try to make one of these cuties??

Some modifications I made:

I sewed a straight line across the middle of the legs to create the "knees" instead of knotting it. This is purely preference, but I liked the look a little better.
I forgot to do this, but I think it would be a good idea to add a little bit of litter to the bottom of the legs (in the feet) to add weight to them so they would hang easier.
And lastly, I used clay litter instead of walnut litter simply because I couldn't find it and clay litter was only $3 for a huge bag. It's slightly larger than walnut litter, but I think it works great for this project.

He's by no means perfect, but I think all his little imperfections give him character. :) If you have no need for a pin cushion, you can also try blowing up the pattern to make a kids pillow.

Easter Recap

2011-04-25T08:00:00.004-04:00

I can't believe Easter is already over. I feel like it's practically Christmas. Does anyone feel me??

Anyhow, we had a wonderful Easter. Holidays like this are so enjoyable with kiddos.

As for the things I made for Easter...

Junebug's dress was made using the Charlotte Dress "method" over on Craftiness is not Optional. Umm, brilliant tutorial! I overcame my fears and sewed an invisible zipper into the back of the dress-and you know what?? It was pretty easy!

I made this amigurumi Easter basket using a free pattern offered by Lion Brand Yarn. Their website offers tons of great (and free) patterns. My favorite part is the pompom tail. SO cute!

This hairbow was created using a tutorial from Midwestern Moms. Fast and fab!

Isn't she precious? Junebug loved hunting Easter eggs. And I loved watching her.

Linky Love: Last Minute Hairbow Edition

2011-04-23T08:00:00.002-04:00

Easter's only a day away--are you ready? I'm almost ready.

Almost.

One of the things that I just checked off my last-minute list was making a hairbow to match the Easter dress that I made for Junebug. I'll share it soon. If you're down to the wire and looking for inspiration, here ya go!

Miswestern Moms has an easy tutorial for a boutique-style hairbow. This is the tutorial I used for Junebug's hairbow and I am ecstatic about the results.

Craft Snob created a cuh-yoot chick clip for her daughter. What a great way to use some of the felt scraps that you may have lying about.

Jessica of Sew Homegrown guest posts on Prudent Baby with a fabulous tutorial of how to make Anthropologie-inspired fabric hairbows.

The Purl Bee offers a printable template to make a sweet Rose Barrette out of felt. I have made a bazillion of these (and by bazillion I mean a dozen) and am satisfied every time!

So, if your little one is lacking a bow to match her fancy-schmancy Easter dress, you'd better get craftin'!

DIY Photo Glass Magnets

2011-04-20T08:00:00.007-04:00

This magnet is pretty similar to yesterday's DIY Glass Magnets but WAY cooler because it's personalized with a photo. Same directions, same concept, but by using a photo instead of scrapbook paper your results are a super-personalized and lover-ly treasure.

I used my favorite photo of Junebug for this magnet. She was four months old when this photo was taken and she's without a doubt the most beautiful baby I've ever seen. I may be slightly biased, of course. You can use a photo of the most beautiful baby you've ever seen.

It's currently holding a Papa John's coupon. What, you never order pizza? Yeah. That's what I thought. I know you do it, too.

My mother-in-law visited this weekend and commented on what a great gift this magnet would be for a Mom or a Grandma. Hmm. Do you think that may have been a hint?? She's right though; Mother's Day is right around the corner and nothing says "I'm a Mom" like a magnet with your kid on it.

P.S. There are still more magnets to come. ; )

DIY Glass Magnets (The alternative to gift cards!)

2011-04-19T15:00:00.004-04:00

Nothing says "I have absolutely no idea what to get you" like the gift of magnets. You know? But if they're homemade it's somehow legit. I love to use the word legit. I'm just too legit to quit. I crack myself up.

This whole craft came about when I found some lovely large-ish sized flat-bottomed glass gems at the Dollar Tree. They're meant to be used as a vase filler, but there's so rules so let's make some magnets! I thought I was brilliant as my mind raced with the possibilities of a new craft--only to come home see a similar project while perusing How About Orange. It burst my crafty bubble, y'all. Whatevs. Great minds think alike.

On with the show...

To do this lovely craft, you'll need:
Flat-bottomed glass gems (the kind for filling vases with; I found mine at the Dollar Tree)
Scrapbook paper you love
Mod Podge
Paintbrush
Magnets (strong ones since the glass gems are heavy)
Gorilla Glue
Clamps

First of all, you'll want to roll a gem over your scrapbook paper in order to find a design that's suitable for a magnet. Patterns are fun, but I have been holding on to this paper for months in hopes of the perfect project 'cause I love the cute kitchen objects. This is the perfect use of this paper. (I purchased it at Jo-Ann Fabric and it's still available there if you want it, too!)

Then cut out your design to fit the bottom of the glass gem. Trace if you need to. (I needed to.)

Apply a thin layer of Mod Podge to the flat side of the glass gem and affix your paper. Let it dry. (Duh.)

Apply Gorilla Glue to back of gem and add your magnet. Then clamp it per Gorilla Glue instructions. (Initially I tried to do this part with hot glue. Fail! The hot glue is not strong enough and it will just detach from the magnet at the first sign of stress.)

If you don't have clamps, you can use a clothespin, though I'll admit, it takes a lot more finesse. Plus it feels better to use manly tools like clamps when crafting. Don't you agree?

So, keep some of these simple little magnet sets on hand for those "I have no idea what to give you!" occasions that are sure to pop up.

Isn't the theme of these magnets perfect for a kitchen??

A friend from church shared a yummy recipe with me that I can't wait to try. It's on the fridge with one of my new magnets.

Keep your eyes peeled this week for a few more magnet crafts. I'm kind of on a kick.

Linky Love: Sweet, Simple Surprises

2011-04-16T08:00:00.002-04:00

Sometimes the smallest and simplest ideas astound me.

Projects don't have to be difficult to make a statement.

Fashionable DIY Leather bow cuff bracelet by Clemence from Oh the lovely things.

Inexpensive and festive Paint chip egg garland from The SoHo.

Elegant Tea Cup Candle by Domestiquette.

Precious DIY Button Clock by Jess from Epheriell Designs.

Useful and adorable reversible coffee cup sleeve by Crafty Staci.

Break out your crafting supplies and jump right into a short and sweet weekend DIY project.

And remember, keep it simple. :)

Frogs and Snails and Puppy Dog Tails... again!

2011-04-14T08:00:00.001-04:00

A family member is about to have a baby boy so naturally I take it as an opportunity to craft. I mean, a gift is a legitimate reason to make something, whereas the rest is just "hobby", right? (Though I still justify my crafting by reminding myself that it's cheaper than therapy...)

In addition to a few store-bought necessities (like the indespensable sleep-saving swaddle blanket) I made a few small gifts for baby Myles. Isn't Myles a great name?

This is the first hat I have not used a specific "pattern" for. I did however look over my fav kid's hat tutorial over at Girl in Air to make sure I was starting it right. I like the lime green and navy blue together.

These burp cloths are made using Homemade by Jill's burp cloth template. Rather than fraying the edges like Jill does, I sew the pieces right-sides together with quilt batting (leaving an opening) and turn it inside out, iron and topstitch. I just prefer them that way!

This "Rocker" onesie was made using freezer paper stenciling. I did a google image search for the rocker hand sign and when I found one to my liking I formatted it and went to town making a stencil with my Exacto knife. Rock on!

This tuxedo onesie also uses a freezer paper stencil. I used How About Orange's tuxedo printable but since I did not have fabric transfer paper, I went through the tedious process of making a stencil. I'm (overall) happy with how it turned out! Little Myles will really keep it classy with this onesie.

What are your go-to baby gifts (both crafty and non-crafty)? For all of you veteran mommas, what were your favorite baby gifts to receive?

My first Amigurumi - Koko the Koala!

2011-04-13T08:00:00.000-04:00

So maybe I can't say the word "amigurumi" without stumbling over it, but I learned that I am actually capable of crocheting one of these little cuties. Amigurumi is something I've wanted to try for quite some time so yesterday I picked up a hook and yarn and got down to business.

Isn't he precious? I named him Koko because my hubby's Uncle and Aunt have a dog named Cocoa and it's SO cute when Junebug says it out loud--I wouldn't mind hearing her say Koko all day long (it's better than her usual word, "NO"!). I found him on Craft Passion, though the actual pattern comes from Woman's Day. Craft Passion offers may great tips for making the little guy successfully.

If you're a crocheter and have been scared of amigurumi (like I admittedly have been) then it's high time you try it. If I can figure it out, you can too.

I inadvertently shifted to the "head" directions while making the "body", so Koko's body is a bit misshapen. No biggie. To me it wasn't worth re-doing because it didn't look terrible (again, I'm a Type "B" crafter).

I gave the koala to Junebug first thing this morning. She's obviously very appreciative.

P.S. I found a blog that posts daily with free Amigurumi patterns--it's a great place to browse if you're interested in exploring the craft. The site is aptly named Free Amigurumi Crochet Patterns.

Nesting. Two Ways.

2011-04-11T08:00:00.000-04:00

Do you have a "Type A" or "Type B" personality? I find it hard to categorize myself, but when it comes to crafting, I lean more toward "Type B". Go with the flow, you know? Every now and then, though, the perfection bug bites me and I have a fit and throw my crafts across the room. What, you've never done that before?

Recently I picked up a ball of hemp at my favorite thrift shop for 30 cents--an AMAZING bargain. Normally a ball of hemp of the size I purchased costs like $10. You better believe I snatched that hemp right up! Because it's spring time, it seems appropriate to celebrate my awesome hemp find by making a gorgeous and simple nest. Want to make one, too?

Whether you're "Type A" or "Type B", you'll appreciate this craft because you can have it your way, just like at Burger King. A Burger King ad slogan on a crafty blog? I'm lovin' it. (Did you catch that?)

Regardless of the type of nest you choose to make, you'll need the same supplies.

Mod Podge and a brush

Hemp (or jute, twine, raffia... feel free to use whatever you have on hand)

A bowl that will provide a good nest shape

Plastic wrap (to cover said bowl)

Clear spray-on sealer (optional)

For the "Type B" nest, I used the inside of the bowl because it provided better support for the nest shape.

Paint a thin layer of mod podge on the inside of your plastic-lined bowl. Then coil your hemp/jute/twine/raffia starting in the center and work your way up the bowl slightly. I dabbed mod podge over the top of the coils as I went to keep the hemp from uncoiling. Then, just start circling the bowl with the hemp in a random circular motion. Dab mod podge on as needed to help it keep the shape. Let dry and remove it from the bowl and spray with sealer if desired. There you have it!

Voila!

For the "Type A" nest, I inverted the bowl and covered it with plastic wrap. I use Glad Press'n Seal plastic wrap because it sticks to objects. It's a very handy thing to keep on hand for craft projects. And leftovers, of course.

Paint a thin layer of mod podge on the outside of your plastic-lined bowl. Then coil your hemp/jute/twine/raffia starting in the center and work your down the bowl until your nest is the desired size. Dab mod podge on as needed to help it keep the shape. Let dry and remove it from the bowl and spray with sealer if you want to. There you have it!

And there you have it, DIY nests, two ways.

All of you "Type A" people are probably bothered that I have the A & B out of alphabetical order in the picture. I did it just to mess with you.

Are you a "Type A" or a "Type B" crafter? Which nest do you prefer?

If you're feeling extra crafty, keep that Mod Podge out and make some Decoupage Eggs like Sharon did last week. They'll look great in your nest!