{Craft Addict}

I'm baaaaccckkkk {is anyone still out there?}....

2009-07-28T14:18:00.012-05:00

Well, it's only been 5 months since I updated...LOL Anyone still stop by? If you do, please leave a comment and say hello. :)

Life has been a little crazy this year and I just lacked the time to keep up with the blog. We've made the decision to homeschool this upcoming school year (for a number of reasons) and I'm really excited and nervous about it all at the same time. Summer is almost over and I think I'm about 95% certain on the curriculum we're going to use.

The kids are growing like weeds and I thought I'd just share a few quick and easy boredom buster ideas that we've been doing recently...

I saw this idea in Family Fun a few weeks ago and decided to give it a try. You take a plastic bottle, rinse it out, cut the bottom of it off and secure a small piece of a terry towel or washcloth over the cut end with a rubber band. Then you just get the towel damp and dip the end in a shallow bowl full of dish washing soap...and blow and blow and blow.

It's super easy, fast, free with items you already have and great entertainment. It kept my kids busy for about 45 minutes! See how many bubbles it's producing? (Oh, and my blogging bud Beckie said they did this in the bathtub recently..certainly going to try that soon!)

Here is another quick idea: {Chalk paints} Skip to my Lou did a post about this recently and we decided it would be a great activity for today. Head on over here for the directions on mixing up your own. After lunch, the kids helped me measure the corn starch and added the water and food coloring. It was also a great lesson in mixing colors and kept them occupied until the paints ran out. The kids used an assortment of paint brushes but really seemed to prefer the cheap sponge brushes since they'll soak up so much of the paint. We also brought out the chalk and the kids drew pictures and then painted those. It's going to rain again soon so we'll have a blank canvas again for tomorrow. :)

Fun with no sew appliques

2009-02-25T00:39:00.005-06:00

I've been in a crafting slump the last few weeks. I thought I'd have time to escape to my craft room some this past weekend...but it didn't happen. I did upload some pictures from my camera and realized I hadn't done a post about the no sew appliques yet. So, here we go...

See, I even took a goofy pic of myself in the mirror (which needs to be cleaned by the way) so yall could see my appliqued t-shirt being modeled! :)

I taught the ladies in my MOPS group how to make no sew appliques last month but forgot to take my camera to the meeting (I know, I know...won't let it happen again!) Because of sick kiddos, I've missed both meetings this month and haven't had a chance to snap pics of any of the awesome appliques they made. I did happen to snap a few pics of some items I appliqued at home though. Will yall forgive me?

This is a blurry close up of the applique I'm wearing in the above shot. Recognize the material? It's a scrap left over from this. I used e6000 and applied three rhinestones to the fleur de lis after I'd ironed on the applique. You can see them better in the first shot.

Here is my silly boy modeling his rockin' guitar applique tee. I found the clip art online and resized the image in my word processing software. He loves this shirt! The material is an orange, yellow, red, black and white flame print. My son said it was "so cool!"

You can find directions for making appliques all over the web. Here are two links to get you started here and here. It's really late (or early, depending on how you look at it) and I'm not thinking clearly so I'm more than happy to answer questions in the comments area if needed.

In our MOPS meeting, we created really cute tote bags. I purchased black canvas bags from an ebay seller in bulk and then the ladies made some adorable appliques. Most of the ladies made adorable monograms or layered cute crosses cut from zebra print fabric or other cute coordinating patterns. I promise I'll post some pics of them once I snap some.

If you don't sew down your applique (by hand or by machine) some fraying will occur. I happen to like that look. :) I've also realized you can touch up the appliques with a hot iron if sections seem to lift up. This is great to know if your sewing skills are lacking like mine! I can sew straight lines...but curves are not so pretty! I did make a fleur de lis for a tote bag and practiced sewing on it. It looks terrible! Why did I choose to practice on an applique with so many curves? Is there some secret to sewing small curves? Please tell me there is some super cool secret that I'm not aware of! Otherwise, I guess I'll have to find some time to spend at my machine and figure it out.

{My first feature!}

2009-02-20T10:49:00.004-06:00

Wow, I've neglected this poor blog for a few weeks now. Anyone else find February to be a rough month? I don't know about you, but my kids seem to have been fighting back to back illnesses for weeks now! It's beginning to get a little exhausting. Thankfully, we've not had any major illnesses, just lots of little ones back to back to back...which creates monumental loads of laundry, sleepless nights, lots of trips to the doctors office, and LOTS of disinfecting...and little time for crafting!

But, I was just pleasantly surprised when I took a quick break from disinfecting the house and folding the hundredth load of laundry to come check on a few of my favorite blogs to see what I've been missing...and low and behold...I found the desk transformation I did last month featured on Ucreate! What a fun surprise! I had to do a double take to make sure I'd not refreshed my own page. Thanks for featuring my desk Kari! Now, go check out the post and her blog because Kari's got TONS of fun links to tutorials and projects that should keep you busy for hours.

Have a great weekend and hopefully I'll be back in full swing next week. I'm hoping to get some time in for crafts this weekend because I need a craft fix...I'm starting to go through withdrawals!

Cuuuute sewing projects for your little girls...

2009-02-06T08:12:00.016-06:00

Before I start, I have to give a big THANK YOU to Kristin over at Grace Violet. Do you remember how I recently mentioned that I NEVER win any of the blog giveaways? Well, that has since changed! :) I bet some of you entered to win the adorable zipper bag she was giving away, but didn't win because I won it! Well over 200 people entered and my number was selected...YEAH! It's adorable and I'm fighting my toddler for the bag (she is already obsessed with shoes and bags) but this one is for me! See, isn't it cute? Thanks again Kristin, I ♥ it!

{photo from Grace Violet}

Okay, so speaking of Kristin at Grace Violet, did you see these adorable summer dresses she made? (Her girls are adorable, too!)

{photo from Grace Violet}

She made them out of the smocked material that Hobby Lobby has right now AND she gives you directions on how to do it. It looks really easy, too! I just need to see if I can get my hands on some of the material before it's all gone. They're adorable! Go on over to her site and check them out!

Also, Julie at Joy's Hope posted a tutorial for these precious tutu t-shirts.

{photo from Joy's Hope}

They are so cuuute and I can't wait to try this out! I'm thinking of folding the tulle in half and filling the top or bottom layer with some fun pompoms, flowers or even confetti.

We have several tutus in this house because my daughter LOVES them. It cracks me up that she likes them so much at such a young age. She'll tell me "pwincess mommy, pwincess" and put on a tutu or two. There has even been many trips to Hobby Lobby with Breanna wearing a tutu...but I don't mind. :)

So, I've got some projects to keep me busy for a few days. What are you working on right now?

Quick Kids Costumes

2009-02-02T09:29:00.000-06:00

I know it's not Halloween but I'm doing a post on kids costumes today. My son LOVES to play dress up and I bet a lot of your kids do, too. We also seem to have a few events at school that require them to dress up as their favorite story book character or what they want to be when they grow up.

Last week, the first graders at our school had a Fairy Tale Ball. Connor decided he wanted to be Robin Hood and this is what we came he came up with. {Note: the school sent home a note telling the kids to not dress up in their Halloween costume but to please come up with something creative at home...love that!} Despite the quirky, stiff lipped smile, he was REALLY excited about this costume. Any of your kids smile like this? I know my little brother always did and it drove my mother nuts!

For this costume we used the following:

green t-shirt ($2.00 at Hobby Lobby)
an old belt
1 large sheet of green craft foam for the hat
pipe cleaners for the arrows
feathers for the hat and tips of the arrows
paper towel tube for the arrow holder (don't know what it's called)
sheet of tan felt with pennies inside, twisted shut with a pipe cleaner and looped through the belt to stay in place
yarn we already had in the craft closet

I found this fun site that teaches how to make several types of kids hats here (and it's step by step videos...no trying to decipher wierd directions and fold lines!) This is where we found the directions for the Robin Hood hat and used the large craft foam sheet instead of construction paper. Any of the hats on her site would be really cute for a birthday party!

Connor was so proud of his costume, especially since he helped make it. Here is his robot costume from Halloween. Some card board boxes sprayed silver, dryer duct, old shoes sprayed silver and various "things" Connor helped find and make to create his robot costume. The colorful stuff on the front and sides are those glow in the dark bracelets. We hot glued them on just before he walked out the door. It looked really neat once it got dark!

I'm sure we'll be making many more costumes in the future. Thankfully, my son likes being creative as well and we really enjoy making the costumes together. Do you have any favorite costumes you've made with or for your kids? Any great sites where you get ideas from?

{Craft it Forward}

2009-01-29T08:05:00.000-06:00

I promised something fun today, and here it is...It's my first giveaway! {Craft it Forward} isn't your typical giveaway though. Keep reading to figure out how you can win and/or participate.

Here's the rules if you want to win a handmade ♥GIFT♥ from me. Be one of the first 3 bloggers to leave a comment on this post, which entitles you to a handmade item from me. Winners must post this giveaway on your blog, meaning that you will {Craft it Forward} too, creating a handmade gift for the first three bloggers who leave a comment on YOUR post about this giveaway! The gift that you send can be any price range and you have 30 days to make and ship your item(s).

Remember, it’s the spirit and the thought that count! When you receive your gift, please blog about it, sharing appropriate Linky Love! If you are not one of the Top Three to comment on this post, you can still play along. Please start your own {Craft it Forward} chain, and encourage your blogging friends to do the same. Amy Jo at The Little Moments, is participating in this pay it forward endeavor. We just met in the blogosphere this last week so I was too late to take part in her giveaway and thought I'd start my own (and change the time frame...I'm too impatient to wait a year!)

~If you're one of the first 3 commenters, please shoot me an email with your mailing address so I know where to send your goodies! Watch out though, you might find some new stalkers waiting to see when you do your own {Craft it Forward} post so they can be one of the first three lucky commenters on your blog.

And the academy goes to....

2009-01-28T23:50:00.000-06:00

Mandi over at Mandi Shandi's presented me with my first ever blog award this past week! ♥ She was one of my first bloggy friends and I love reading her blog. Please go visit her and tell her hello! I'm sure you'll love her creativity and family...both are awesome! Mandi presented me with this Lemonade Award:

What this award is about...Bloggers who show great attitude and gratitude. (Wow! Thanks again Mandi)

What you have to do...Upon receiving The Lemonade Award, you also pass it on to other bloggers who you think show great attitude and gratitude.

Here are the rules:

1. Put the logo on your blog or post.

2. Nominate at least 10 blogs which show great Attitude and/or Gratitude!

3. Link to your nominees within your post.

4. Let them know that they have received this award by commenting on their blog.

5. Share the love and link to this post and to the person from whom you received your award.

In no particular order, my nominees for the Lemonade Award are:

1. Beckie @ Infarrantly Creative

2. Julie @ Joys Hope

3. Missy @ Simply Red

4. Kristin @ Grace Violet

5. Sarah @ Thrifty Decor Chick

6. Stephanie @ Confessions of a Compulsive Crafter

7. Carrie @ Buzzings of a Queen Bee

8. Kari @ U Create

9. Mique @ 30 days

10. Amy Jo @ the little moments...

I love reading all of the blogs by these women. Even though I've only been blogging a few short months, I've been following several of these women for much longer. Several of these bloggers inspired me to start my own blog and I'm glad I did. I love all their creativity and honesty! Now go visit these women and check out their blogs if you haven't already!

Check back tomorrow...

2009-01-28T09:52:00.003-06:00

Nothing fun to share today. We're currently on day number 6 of the stomach bug in our house. Crafts aren't getting done and I'm considering myself lucky just to be keeping up with the laundry this week.

With that said, be sure to check back in tomorrow for something fun! I found a really neat idea on a new blog (well, it was new to me) and I'm taking the idea and have changed it up a little. I think you'll enjoy it! I'll give you all the details tomorrow. *Hint, check early...there is a little reward for the first few commenters on that post.*

Now, I'm off to tend to my son who has the stomach virus and double ear infections. Poor guy. :(

Fabric covered {Memo/Message/Idea Board}

2009-01-24T12:04:00.005-06:00

I was missing one final piece in my little crafty corner...a memo/message/idea board. I had planned on making it Friday, but the stomach bug struck our house and my plans were delayed.

These memo boards are super fast to make and can be made to match any room and decor. There are many different ways to make these...but here is what I did.

I started with a stretched canvas, some fabric, ribbon, decorative brads, staple gun and an exacto knife. I am terrible and rarely measure anything, so I just guess at how much stuff I'll need...sometimes it works out, sometimes it doesn't and I have to make a second (or third) trip to the craft store. The amount of fabric and ribbon you'll need will depend on the size of your canvas.
There are tons of tutorials online about how to make these so I'll spare you all the steps, but I bet you can figure it out yourself. Besides, the back doesn't have to look nice, no one will see it! I simply stretched the fabric over the front, stapled in the back (folding and trimming bulk at the corners). Then, I laid out the ribbon in a diamond pattern and stapled each ribbon in place on the back also. I used my exacto knife to cut a small slit through the ribbon, fabric and canvas so that I could poke a rhinestone brad through all the layers and hold the ribbon tight to the board. Then I hung it in place and tacked up a few of my ideas and notes for projects I want to make.

Now, I think this little crafty corner is complete! {and my last picture of this space...I promise!}See some of my bead stuff laying on the desk? I was actually in my crafty space making some jewelry last night (but didn't get it all put away because my daughter woke up sick...again). My HUGE goal for 2009 is to FINALLY get serious about turning my hobby into a little extra $$$. I'm considering opening an etsy store but also looking for some craft shows in the DFW area. Anyone know about any spring craft shows in the DFW area?

More Craft Room Organization Ideas...

2009-01-21T13:56:00.005-06:00

This week has been super busy but I wanted to stop and share a few more organizational ideas you can maybe use in your crafty space. These ideas have worked for me...maybe they'll work for you too! This is my little eye candy box. {I know, I have a problem right? This is exciting to me...maybe there is a 12 step program or something for people like me. But come on, if you're reading this blog, you probably have a similar problem too} Anyways, back to my eye candy. I detest all those little packages that the eyelets, brads, rhinestones, etc come in. They're never all alike and they don't stack or store well, so I had to change that. I purchased one of the bead organizers and dumped all my flimsy, unstackable packages for this. :)Now, I can see all my embellishments at once and they fit in my desk drawer. This particular organizer has 24 seperate containers within. I love it (but not as much as I love the new peg board)
Here is another shot of the craft room. I already shared pics of the new peg board and desk {Have I mention yet that I love them? Didn't think so...I love them!} I reorganized some things in the closet to make better use of the space and added a second clear shoe rack to the other closet door. If you don't already use these in your home, I HIGHLY encourage you to get some! I use them on just about every closet or pantry door in our house. I use them for medicine and first aid stuff in the master bathroom. In the front entry way, they sort shoes, gloves, scarves, mittens, bug sprays, leashes, etc. In the kids rooms, they sort small toys and shoes. In my craft room, they sort all my stuff that I use frequently: glues, scissors, punches, markers, colored pencils, etc. I could go on and on about how awesome the cheap clear plastic shoe organizer is!

Well, little miss priss is up from her nap now. We had a busy morning at MOPS and we did a really fun craft today. I can't believe that I forgot my camera! Hopefully, I'll have some really nice friends that will let me take pictures of what they created. I taught our group how to make no-sew fabric appliques today and it seemed to go over really well. I'll post pictures and directions as soon as I can get some pics taken.

{Craft Room Organization Week}

2009-01-19T15:40:00.007-06:00

Ready for some updates on all the organization I've been doing in my craft room this last week? Great! That's what I'm going to be sharing this week...lots and lots and lots of pictures of how far that sad little room has transformed over a week. If you need a reminder of how pitiful it was before, just scroll down and look at my last post...you can't miss the wreck/dumping grounds. {Okay, for those of you that are too lazy to scroll down, here is what it looked like "before".} Here is the "AFTER"Better? I certainly think so! This lovely transformation cost less than $50. I moved the table that was covered in a cloth in the previous photo into the kids playroom for crafts and puzzles. Then, I began the search for a desk and chair that would fit into the corner. I found both at a local thrift store for $30.00. Solid desk, but it was in need of some TLC and of course, black spray paint. The chair was the same color as the desk and had an awful green cushion tied on. Two coats of black satin spray paint, mod podge, zebra tissue paper and some new hardware:

Now I LOVE this little desk! {and I'm loving that there is a clean floor to walk on now too!}

Okay, so a few more pics of the peg board now. My wonderful hubby called last week to ask if I wanted a big old frame that his company was getting rid of. YES! I had to spray it black also...but practically free since the Walmart brand of spray paint is less than a dollar a can. :) I took the inside measurements and had the guys at Home Depot cut me a piece of peg board to fit the frame and then my hubby hung it for me. It will be so nice to have most of my tools right in front of me while I'm working!!! Can you tell that I'm excited over this?

It feels so good to get this room organized! I've still got a few more things to do and then I want to paint and redo the bedding in this room...but it will have to wait for right now. I'll be posting lots of other craft room organizing ideas this week so make sure you check back soon!

Making progess {and hair clippies}

2009-01-14T09:49:00.008-06:00

Just wanted to give yall proof that I am getting the guest bedroom/craft studio cleaned up and organized. Here is an old spice rack I picked up for a dollar a few months ago. I just cleaned it up, gave it a nice coat of black spray paint and then lightly sanded it along the edges to make it look a little worn. Here are the before and after pics.

Before: Ugly, worn spice rack

After: repurposed and repainted acrylic paint holder

I've also redone a desk for my craft studio but still need to buy some hardware for it. Hopefully I'll get that done this afternoon and post those pics soon.

As I've been cleaning and reorganizing, I stop and make a few fun projects (hmmm...maybe that's why it's taking me a while to get this finished!) Here is what I made for my daughter last night after she went to bed...lots of hair clippies!

I made this bow board about a year ago for her. I took off most of the bows so you could see it. Just a frame that I inserted a piece of card stock (coated with Mod Podge to protect against the humidity in the bathroom) and hot glued ribbon scraps to the backer board before reassembling the frame and hanging. Super quick and would be adorable with fabric instead of the card stock. Like most projects, I just wanted to do it and was too impatient to wait and find the right fabric...besides, there are usually so many bows on the board that you don't really see the card stock or ribbon (so keep that in mind if you make one).

And here she is modeling one of her new bows. Okay, really, I just wanted to show you how cute she was (because you don't really notice the bow unless you're looking for it). Little Miss B was sitting in the front window singing with her snow globe. Yes, I do know it's mid-January but I can't put this away yet. The kids LOVE this silly, cheap, plastic snow globe from CVS. My hubby didn't want to buy it but has since admitted it was probably the kids favorite purchase from Christmas. It's all plastic so the kids can handle it and I don't freak out if they drop it. It's got a little fan inside that blows the fake snow and it sings several different songs that the kids adore. Seriously though...this picture just made my morning. :)

Needing some instant gratification...

2009-01-09T11:28:00.009-06:00

So, I've not been blogging much lately because I've been busy cleaning this mess. (Note to self: next time, don't dump everything from half a dozen craft projects on the bed, floor and table and then close the door...it's only going to get worse!)

I made a few New Year's Resolutions and one of them certainly can't happen until this room is organized again and in a functioning manner. More on that to come soon! I purchased a small desk at a thrift store before Thanksgiving but haven't had the time to paint it. I'll post the "before" and "after" once I get it done. I think I'm going to paint it black. I'd like to paint the bed black also and redo the bedding. The bedding is from Pottery Barn (can you even see it under the sea of kids clothes to go in storage, remnants of craft projects and what ever else is on there?) about 6 years ago and while I liked it then, it just doesn't work with what I want to do in this room. This room is the smallest of the bedrooms and serves as a guest room/craft room. I really want this room to be a fun and inspirational place to be. We have done nothing to this room since moving in a year ago and it shows. Since we only have guests a few times a year, this room will really be my craft room with a bed in there. So, what would you do with this room? I've got lots of organizational ideas...just not sure exactly where to go from there. I really like the black and white theme with a few bursts of colored accents. Zebra, Toile, Damask? Which to do? And what accent color? I want this room to be fun and inspire me to get in there are create. Help me out, please, I beg you!!! I want to get this room done! Any ideas or pictures from the web or a blog you care to share?

Now to the instant gratification part... So, while I made a TON of progress in sorting through all that I had dumped in this room over the last month, I decided I needed to make a few quick projects for some instant gratification last night. I promise the room already looks a million times better this morning...still lacking inspiration...but cleaner. In about 15 minutes, I had both of these made and completed. See, instant gratification! The "C" is covered in mod podge and leopard tissue paper. I attached a ribbon to the top and called it done. The little notebook is one of the small composition books. I used spray adhesive to attach the zebra scrapbook paper and then punched a hole on the front and back covers. I used a rhinestone brad for the front cover and attached an eyelet with some black elastic to the back cover...and done! Oh yeah, I applied a coat or two of mod podge to that as well (before the rhinestone and eyelet were added). The zebra notebook is already in my bag with a list of items I need to keep an eye out for and I need to find a place to hang the leopard C. I also came across all kinds of goodies in my craft room but I MUST get it organized first or I don't see this room looking any different a month down the road. Hope someone has some fun inspiration for me!!!

One of my favorite Christmas gifts to give this year...

2009-01-06T13:16:00.004-06:00

One of my favorite Christmas gifts to give this Christmas was a tin tea set with homemade felt cookies for my daughter. I saw some adorable sets on etsy, but decided to make some cookies myself and went on a hunt for a cute tin tea set. Here is what she received this year. Isn't it cute?

I found the tin tea set at a local kids toy store and then began the simple process of making felt cookies. I made sugar cookies and chocolate chip cookies. They were so fun to make and I made quite a few extra that we'll use for gifts at upcoming birthday parties this year. I just used the cheap felt that you can buy at any craft store (comes in tons of colors) and traced a lid to a jar for my cookies. I didn't take pictures of the process but I'm sure you can imagine how easy this was and I bet a google search will turn up lots of results if you need help. I didn't use a pattern for my icing layer...just cut until it looked good...and then stitched sprinkles on it. I made a few with beads first and then decided to go with the embroidery floss for the sprinkles until my daughter is a little older and won't try pulling them off. Then I just stitched the icing layer to the top circle and then stitched the two circles together and added a little batting to them before I stitched them closed. If you do a search on etsy or google for felt food, you'll find a ton of ideas. My sisters in law made these sweet cookies for Breanna. There are sugar cookies, an adorable Oreo with cream filling (I should have taken a better picture of it so you could see the filling!) and the cute fortune cookies! I love them and what's even better is that my daughter will be playing with these for years to come. I love that they're hand made and the possibilities are endless.

Have you made any felt food? I think they're all adorable and can't wait to make some more pieces for my kids play kitchen.

I'm still here...and Happy New Year!

2009-01-05T12:44:00.002-06:00

Just thought I'd post real quick to let yall know I'm still here! We had a wonderful Christmas and had a great time with friends and family. I hope you all did also! My husband went back to work this morning after a nice long vacation and my son just started back to school today so I'm slowly getting back into our normal routines. I have spent the last 2 days purging our house of clutter and stuff that we don't need anymore and it's such a nice feeling. I've still got to tackle the Christmas tree...love putting it up...hate taking it down!

I have several crafts that I've been working on and can't wait to share with yall. I had some help from my mother-in-law and sister-in-law over Christmas with my first sewing pattern. I got a sewing machine for Christmas last year but have been too scared to really use it. I bought a pattern for a really cute apron and took it with me on our visit to see them and they both helped me tackle it. I LOVE my new apron and I am excited to tackle some new sewing projects now. Before Christmas, I had been working on some window treatments, tassels, jewelry, bookmarks, some really cute wine glass bracelets (wine glass markers that had clasps and a photo charm) amongst many other things...

I'll be back soon with pictures and to catch up on my favorite blogs...but first, I must tackle that Christmas tree!

Happy New Year!

Merry Christmas!

2008-12-25T22:38:00.003-06:00

Wishing you and yours a very Merry Christmas! Things have been crazy the last week or so as we finished up all our Christmas shopping, baking, visits with friends and family, crafts, shopping, wrapping, etc. I have been working away but something had to give (blogging) or I was going to turn into one mean momma and that's NOT what I wanted my kids to remember about Christmas! I have barely been at the computer the last week and have so many blogs to catch up on! Oh well, they'll all still be there after the first of the year, right? We're heading out of town to visit the in-laws in the morning so I'll be back in full force after the first of the year. Merry Christmas & a Happy New Year!

Another awesome giveaway....

2008-12-17T13:20:00.005-06:00

Okay, so I meant to join in on all the Christmas open houses, tour of homes, etc. that have been going on this week....but I still haven't taken pics yet. The kids got an unexpected snow day yesterday (really, it was an "ice day") so that really set me back! Anyways, at the rate I'm going, maybe I'll join in by the weekend.

So, I found another really fun blog today and they're doing some cool giveaways right now. Go check out petit elefant and see what all is being given away in the 12 days of Christmas Giveaway Extravaganza! I would love to win this giveaway because the site You Can Make This is seriously addicting! I've ordered e-books through them before and I've never been disappointed. There are LOTS of cool projects and there is even a "FREE" section. Who doesn't like FREE?

petit elefant has a ton of fun goodies (microwave, Smartshopper, Land's End giveaway, kids personalized books and tons more) in the giveaway. Go check them out now!

Chocolate Covered Marshmallow Snowmen {Super Yummy!}

2008-12-13T23:08:00.013-06:00

It's been a busy weekend so far! I've made tons of stuff that I can't wait to share with yall {but again, some will have to wait until after Christmas} I've made a few tassels, some adorable wine glass markers that have photo charms on them, felt cookies for my daughter and much more...

Here are some fun treats that the kids and I made together this weekend. I saw the large marshmallow snowmen in a little boutique while I was out doing some Christmas shopping and thought it would be fun for Connor to make and give to his buddies.

These are the miniature snowmen {my personal favorite}...three mini marshmallows dipped in white chocolate and then decorated with assorted sprinkles. I was lazy and didn't feel like melting milk chocolate also, but it would be cute to use that to draw arms, the face, buttons, etc. on the snowmen too. The kids and I had a lot of fun making these together. I let Connor do most of the decorating and he liked the BIG snowmen best {3 large marshmallows on a sucker stick}. Here are a few pics of my kids making the white chocolate snowmen.

My daughter {20 months old} is already hamming it up for the camera while Connor admires his first snowman. A closer look at his first masterpiece. :)

Here she is with a completely fake smile...but proud of the fact that she was able to steal a bottle of sprinkles away from her brother! As you can see, she was also able to sneak a few pieces of candy and sprinkles and relished every bite. Finally, she decided to pitch in and help decorate a few of the snowmen instead of just eating them. Can you tell which ones she helped with? Connor wasn't entirely happy with her "help". The snowmen were really fun to make and I'm sure we'll make them again. I know Connor's friends are really going to enjoy eating these, too. I think they'd also be really cute to use as a stirrer in a cup of hot cocoa. It would add a little white chocolate and tons of marshmallow to the cup...great for someone with a sweet tooth {like me!}

Okay, last pic of the night, I promise! These were my final creation of the evening. I started dipping the mini marshmallows in the white chocolate and then tossing them in a bowl of coconut shavings...YUMMY! They look like little snowballs and taste DE-LISH! Give them a try and you won't be sorry {that is, unless you are one of those people that don't like coconut} :)

Too many crafts...not enough time!

2008-12-11T07:51:00.008-06:00

I made a promise {same one I seem to make every year} to myself that I was going to make a bunch of the gifts I give this year. I always seem to wait too long to begin {guess 364 days isn't enough time for me to prepare for Christmas} However, I am proud to say that I'm actually making good on my promise this year! I'm making LOTS of handmade goodies and unfortunately, will have to wait to show you most of them for a few weeks. However, here are a few things I was working on last night.

Button Snowman Onesie

This was just a basic red turtleneck onesie that I embellished. I know I've seen a post or two with these along with some pictures on flickr...just can't remember where I found them to give the original person credit. Anyways, I have a bunch of vintage buttons that my great grandmother used to collect, so I used a few for this. {Forgive the terrible pictures...my hubby just got a digital SLR yesterday but we still need some lenses and need to learn how to use it. I hope my images will improve in quality in the near future.} In the mean time, you get to look at a yellow snowman. The buttons are actually a beautiful ivory color with a pearly sheen to them. I think one of them is a mother of pearl button. I'm not thrilled with how the little faux scarf turned out so I'll probably fix it later but for now, this is what she'll wear. I think this would also be really cute on some tea towels.

Elastic Bookmarks

As I was getting ready to go to bed last night, I noticed Nikki had updated her blog. I love her blog, Whimsy love! She had posted some adorable elastic bookmarks. You can see the tutorial here {and while you're there, check out some of her other tutorials, lots of cute stuff} I realized I had everything I needed to make them and couldn't go to sleep until I'd made some myself. :) So, I spent 15 minutes hunting down my various elastics before I remembered I'd gotten it all out to add some closures to my pocket calendars {go check the post back out, I updated it a week or so ago and I like them even more now} Once I found everything, I had 5 bookmarks made in just a matter of a few minutes. I would have made 50, but I need to get some more elastic. If you can use a ruler, a pair of scissors and know how to tie a knot, then you can make this project! Here's what I made {and again, forgive the poor pics}

I think these bookmarks would be adorable wrapped around a small gift instead of using a bow. Because they're elastic, they stay in place...no more losing your spot in your book because your 20 month old pulled out your bookmark again!

Okay, I'm heading to Hobby Lobby for the third time this week! I need some more trim to make tassels. I'll show yall those soon.

Awesome Crafty Giveaway spotted...

2008-12-08T13:03:00.002-06:00

Would you love to win all of this? I know I would!!!

Confessions of a Craft Addict is hosting this awesome giveaway! This is taken directly from her blog: "There’s a little bit of everything here: fabric, beads, Scrabble tiles, scrapbooking elements, ribbon, tulle, yarn, snaps, buttons, embroidery kits, patterns and books. Everything you need to be a craft addict or feed your existing crafty addiction. A couple of things are from my stash or pre-loved, while some things were purchased new just for you. I think it’s a pretty cool prize and I hope you will, too."

Head on over to her blog and check it out. One of the rules for entry is that you must leave her a comment about your favorite charity. Tell her the name of it, why you support it, what it does, whatever — give them a plug! All the rules are on her site.

I think I should win since my blog is titled {Craft Addict}...it's only fair, right? :)

Since we're at it, I'll tell yall about my favorite non-profit. Prestonwood Pregnancy To give you a little background, my oldest son was a crisis pregnancy for me (in the sense that I was a junior in college, not married and hadn't planned on starting my family under these circumstances...nor with the man whose child I was carrying) I was scared to death and found SO much support, love and reassurance from a crisis pregnancy center in my college town. I am forever grateful for the prayers, time and outpouring of support from them. So, when I moved to Dallas after my son was born (to finish school and be closer to family for the support that I needed) I began volunteering at a crisis pregnancy center here. After a year or two, I joined the staff full time and was blessed beyond measure during my time there. The awesome part of this is that God can take our mistakes and make them our message. I truly feel blessed to have been able to look young women in the eyes and tell them I could understand, I had been there...and it will be okay if you let HIM take control. What's really awesome is that most crisis pregnancy centers are not just focused on the life of the unborn child but also the eternal life of the mother and father involved in that pregnancy. The gospel message is almost always shared and you would be amazed at how many men and women come to know the Lord through their time as a client! I am no longer volunteering or working there b/c God has blessed me with an incredible husband (who adopted my son, our son) and we have since welcomed another child into our lives. I have been given the awesome responsibility and blessing of being a stay at home mother...something I NEVER thought possible, nor dreamed of 7 years ago when I found out I was going to be a mother. We still are in close contact with Prestonwood Pregnancy and love to help support them financially when we can. I know when the kids are both back in school, I'll be back up there volunteering again!

A few of my favorite things & a thrifty white elephant gift

2008-12-05T08:08:00.005-06:00

Head on over here if you want to join the party or see other lists of favorite things.

Topping my list of favorites right now are the following:

1. Hazelnut Hot Cocoa - Archer Farms (Target brand) has a great mix if you are like me and don't want to fork out tons of $$$ to Starbucks. There are tons of other flavors, but I'm addicted to the hazelnut...topped with a little whipped cream and I'm good to go.

2. Bob's Peppermint Pie - We grew up devouring Bob's Soft Peppermint sticks. My brother and I would always twist and turn them in our mouths as we sucked on them to bring them to a fine point so we could poke each other with them :) Anyways, my mother and I were both watching Paula Deen on the Food Network the morning she aired this recipe. We have both made this multiple times now and it's so yummy...unexpected...but really good. {Come on, it's from Paula Deen, that woman makes awesome stuff!} If you have trouble finding the peppermint sticks, Walmart usually has giant tubs of the soft peppermint "pillow" looking candies. They're individually wrapped, but well worth the effort for this recipe. My other tip is to crush the candies before you put them on the stove top to start melting. Trust me on this, it takes FOREVER if you don't!

3. We have my husband's office party tonight {this is the small departmental party with all the people we know. The big company party is next weekend}. You'll know why I threw that preface in there when you take a look at the picture. I made these for the white elephant gift exchange, per my husbands request. Yup, he asked me to make these... {love him!}

Hehehe...slippers made from maxi pads. I beautified {like that word?} them with some left over fake flowers from my stash and a rhinestone accent. Someone tonight will get to take them home. I just hope they don't need to use them for their original purpose b/c I hot glued them together in case the sticky strips didn't hold up. The funny thing about this gift is that I did make slippers out of maxi pads...when I was 4 and at my dad's new boss' house for dinner. It's one of the family stories that will never die -well, not if my family can help it at least.

4. My list could go on and on and on but I won't bore you to tears... oh wait, maybe I will!

5. My kids! I LOVE watching them take in all the magic of Christmas. Right now, my daughter is sitting in her high chair eating "yo yo's" {cheerios} and playing with a $9.99 plastic snow globe from CVS that plays 11 different music selections. She's captivated by that silly thing and I love watching her face light up each time she pushes that button. My son's prayers reflect that he's really coming to an understanding of Christ and the true meaning of Christmas-as opposed to just repeating things we've said or he's been taught-this is priceless to me!

What are your favorite things right now?

My only Christmas decor right now...

2008-12-04T07:56:00.006-06:00

Well, my youngest has been sick since Saturday night and sleep has been a little sparse in this house since. I'm behind on my Christmas decorating (and house cleaning, laundry, grocery shopping, Christmas shopping, and the list goes on...) as a result. I finally finished pulling the lights off of 10 branches on our pre-lit tree last night {a serious pain in the rear}. We spent too much money on that tree and I didn't see the point in trashing a pretty tree with half the lights working...so I pulled, yanked and cut those things off and restrung the tree at 11:00 last night. Hopefully, I'll be able to get it decorated today! I've got the stockings hung, a wreath on the front door and boxes littered across my living room and entry hall...can't wait to get those taken care of and everything put up...hopefully in time for Christmas! :)

Here is one little project I managed to get accomplished this week and I really like the way it turned out! I promise that is looks a lot prettier in person! {geez, you think I could at least take the picture so it was centered on the wall and not so weird looking with my iron piece there on the wall behind it..but this is what you get when I take a pic hanging from a ladder in my kitchen} I just wrapped an extra piece of garland around the chain on my light fixture and shaped it like a tree and then decorated with a little garland, ribbon and some gold glittery birds and assorted gold balls. Once I get all my Christmas ornaments out to decorate the tree, I plan on setting a few aside and hanging them from the metal scrolls on this fixture.

Well, I am going to go start decorating the tree since my baby girl is sleeping {YEAH!} and my son just left for school. I'll post pictures once I get everything up and decorated so I can participate in Thrify Decor Chick's Favorite Things party.

Awesome Giveaway spotted...

2008-11-30T12:26:00.005-06:00

I found a great giveaway over here! But really, don't go looking at it...I want to win! {It's a giveaway for a Wii & a Wii Fit!} I've never been a huge video game player, but a Wii Fit would be so cool! It would be great to have either system because I could see myself playing video games with Jason and the kids if we had one of these awesome systems...and Free would make it even better!

Conversation Pebbles

2008-11-29T22:50:00.008-06:00

I saw this cute idea while watching HGTV over the weekend. {I think it was on a Decorating Cents holiday special, but don't hold me to that} Anyways, on one of the tables they were setting for the holidays, they placed the cheap little glass gems {vase fillers} around the centerpiece and also had some of the large ones mixed in with them. The host picked them up and revealed cute little conversation pebbles. I realized I had everything at home to make them and wouldn't have to get out on Black Friday to go get supplies!

They aren't the cutest things, but they really do help spark conversations at the table. I'm sure you could make them cute by using fun papers but I didn't want to limit them to one table scape and figured in this case, simple was better. I plan on bringing them out when we have company and just sprinkling them on the table. Since I still have a little one who likes to put things in her mouth, I won't use the small gems to decorate with. Anyways, I checked at Hobby Lobby while I was out on Saturday and you can get a 2 lb. bag of these large gems for $2.77 so this is a very inexpensive craft. By the way, the ones I used have that iridescent stuff on them but they looked and worked just fine. You can find "perfect large round gems" on ebay and etsy...but they're a lot more expensive and I think these irregular, iridescent ones work just fine for this.

All I did was type up a list of conversation starters that were appropriate for my kiddos and family. You can see in a few examples that I used questions like:

"My favorite thing to do with dad is...", " What do you think Heaven is like?", "What would you do if you were invisible for a day?", "What is your least favorite chore? Why?", "What has been the best day of your life so far?", etc.

I printed them out in size 8 & 9 fonts and made sure that my questions would fit under my pebbles without being cut off. Then, I just traced, cut {a large circle punch would have been great for this...adding that to my Christmas list now} and mod podged the circles to the back side of the stones. I pushed down to get rid of any air bubbles and then topped the back side off with two coats of mod podge to seal them.

My son picked these up at lunch today {because I was lazy and had left at least half a dozen projects I was working on on the kitchen table} and wanted to use them. My husband and I enjoyed listening to our son list 3 things he loved about his sister, explain to us what he thinks dad does at work, tell us his favorite joke and we got in on the fun too. It made for a very pleasant lunch and I think I'll make some more of these conversation pebbles and bring them out for no reason at all instead of waiting for a special occasion. :)

So these little guys were hard to photograph given the overhead light and their iridescent sheen, but you get the point, right?

Trash to Treasure {Jewelry Organizer}

2008-11-24T10:41:00.011-06:00

See this BEAUTIFUL picture I picked up last week at the thrift store? I have just the place for it.

Well, maybe I don't have a place for the picture, but the frame will work for this project. I took off the backing and set the picture and glass aside. See, doesn't it look better already? This is one of my little helpers. Isn't she a cutie? :)

I took the frame outside and spray painted it a matte black. I didn't bother painting the back. Next, I measured and marked on the frame where I wanted to predrill my holes for the hooks for my necklaces and bracelets to hang from. I drilled the holes and screwed in my hooks. Then I simply stapled a piece of metal window screen to the back. I did use quite a few staples because I don't want the screen to move as I'm putting earrings on and taking them off. After I took this picture, I cut off the excess screen and rolled the rough edges close to the frame so that it wouldn't scrape up my walls or be visible from the front side.

Then, I repositioned the saw tooth hanger so that my frame would hang horizontal instead of it's original vertical position. Here is what it looks like now:

I haven't loaded all my jewelry on yet {but I couldn't wait to share it with you gals} because I realized I need to put another saw tooth hanger on it. With one hanger, the piece tends to move on the wall if the weight isn't even on both sides. It would probably be fine if I was only going to hang earrings on this...but I'll take it down and put a saw tooth hanger on the top right and left sides of the frame. Maybe I'll go do that right now since the baby is sleeping! Then I can finally get my jewelry out of all the little dishes on my dresser and vanity so I can see it all again! I've also got plans of making a smaller version of this jewelry holder to sit on my vanity for my earrings with a post and back. The one I just hung will really only work well with ear wires. How do you organize your jewelry?

From "Blah" to "Oooo, Ahhh"

2008-11-19T13:51:00.011-06:00

I am proof that you don't have to be a scrapbooker (is that even a word?) to love and use scrapbook papers. In our MOPS {Mothers of Preschoolers} meeting today, we transformed some boring pine 4x6 frames from Ikea and took them from "Blah" to "Ahhh!"

Here is just a small sampling of what everyone created:

I received a lot of good feedback from the ladies today and it appeared that everyone was genuinely having a good time. That makes me happy! :) This is my first year as the creative activities coordinator and I've spent a lot of time trying to come up with projects that fit into our budget, our short time frame to complete the project and have them be practical or fun projects (ie: not something they're going to trash on their way out the door). It's been fun teaching some of the ladies new techniques and seeing that sense of accomplishment. I'm hoping to make some craft addicts out of this group!

This project can be done in so many ways! For the sake of the above mentioned reasons {time & budget b/c this craft was done for ~75 people} we kept it pretty simple and had the ladies paint the frames with sponge brushes and acrylic paint of their choice. Then, we cut out our scrapbook paper and adhered it to the front. {If I was doing this at home, I'd be covering it with Mod Podge too} Then the ladies got to have fun and embellish to their liking. It was fun seeing how creative some of the ladies got and I'll totally be copying some of their awesome ideas! :) We had a table set up in the back that had an assortment of stamps, scraps of papers, ribbons, rhinestones, stickers, paper punches, paint, fake flowers etc. {If you decide to do something like this with a group of friends or with your MOPS group, see if any of the ladies are willing to share their stamps, paper punches and scraps for the day. That will really help save you some money!}

See the creativity around the ribbons, stamps and rhinestones? :) They all made some great stuff!

I think creative activities are such an important part of a MOPS group! It allows everyone time to get up and move around the room & meet new people, have discussions with other adults AND not be interrupted by your kiddos while doing so, it offers women the opportunity to learn new crafts, and you're able to start and finish a project that you may otherwise not have the time to do at home. I am really enjoying this opportunity as creative activities coordinator and it's forcing me to make time for creativity in my life. I realized a few months ago how little I was doing and how much I missed and needed that for myself. Besides, all the crafty blogs give me SOOO much inspiration and I hope to be able to do MANY of the fun projects I've found with our MOPS group.

Here are two frames that I made. The first one is for my daughters room and that picture was taken the week of her first birthday. I LOVE it! The second one is for my son's room. I couldn't find any 4x6 pics of him last night when I was finishing up my prep work at midnight so I found this old one and used it. I look sooo young...that little booger is now 6 1/2 years old! :) I roughed up the edges of both frames with a little sand paper and I really like the way they turned out.

I found a great tutorial at SplitCoastStampers for this craft. While you're there, check out some of their other free tutorials-lots of cool projects!

Custom {Organized} Binder Clips

2008-11-16T19:05:00.012-06:00

My husband thinks I've lost it. He came in last night and saw me applying Mod Podge to binder clips, shook his head and walked out. Haha! I for one, LOVE them and have already put them to use organizing my stacks of papers!

So, here is a QUICK and easy project that will help you stay organized and would make a great addition to a teacher gift, too.

You'll need :

*Binder Clips {I had an assortment of cute colored ones from Staples-that's what is in the plastic tub, but plain black ones will be fine also.}

*Mod Podge

*sponge brush {or your finger if you really want to get messy}

*Your sayings printed out

*scissors

The binder clips come in varying sizes but the ones I used here have clips that measure 3/4" long and 1/2" high. I used a text font size 11 so that my text would fit on my clips once cut out. Adjust your font size to fit your clips.

So, determine what sayings you want. I chose to do "today", "soon", "later", my name, my kids and husband's name all for sorting the papers, bills, field trip slips, etc. that seem to find their way to my kitchen counters. I also did a few sets with things like "2 be graded", "graded", "2 be copied", "handouts", and teachers names for teacher gifts. Type them up in a word program and print out. I then cut each word out and applied a thin layer of Mod Podge to one side of each clip. Next, I positioned each word in the middle of the clip while the Mod Podge was still wet. I let that coat dry and brushed another coat on top to seal and I was done.

Super quick, easy and cute...not to mention, practical. What other sayings or words would you put on yours?

Creating a {Cute} purse size calendar...

2008-11-13T17:13:00.019-06:00

{Edited 12/1/08 to add more pictures and another embellishment to the calendar!}

Chris, over at Just a Girl, was hosting an I Can Make That party on her blog this past Monday. I thought I'd make a submission and be fashionably late. Hey, I'm new to craft blogging...that's my excuse and I'm sticking to it. Check out her site for TONS of cute ideas and gifts that you can make also!

{First, a disclaimer: several of my friends will probably be receiving these as gifts this year, so please act surprised when you get one and pretend that you never saw this post!}

Two girlfriends from my MOPS group came over this morning for a few hours to help get our next craft prepped and make some examples for our next meeting. We spent the morning making cute picture frames {I'll post that craft next week after our meeting} and I decided after they left that I'd take advantage of having half my supplies sprawled out all over the kitchen and make some more stuff instead of cleaning. :)

Here is my submission to the I Can Make That {seriously, anyone can do this...cheap, quick and something everyone really uses. This would be great as a gift for a neighbor, stocking stuffer, mail man, friend, etc... Scroll all the way down to see just how ~~cheap~~ thrifty this project is}

So, up first was a quick transformation of a purse size calendar. I started with all of this:

{Small calendar in clear sleeve, piece of scrapbook paper, scissors, glue stick, paper punch and not pictured: ribbon, glue, stamp pad and stamps}

1. Remove the calendar from it's plastic sleeve and trace it on the backside of the scrapbook paper.

2. Apply glue stick to the backside of the paper and adhere to the cover of the calendar.

Your calendar will now look something like this.

(I used a bone folder...that white thing next to the green mechanical pencil...to smooth out any air bubbles and make sure the paper is adhered. You can also use your finger or save those fake credit cards that come in your junk mail and use them to smooth your paper)

Next, I just embellished it a little. I didn't want to do too much with this wild pattern so I just stamped my name on a piece of paper, framed it with a scrap and glued down some ribbon. I put it back in the plastic sleeve and I was done! {If yours doesn't have a plastic sleeve, you may want to apply a coat or two of Mod Podge to keep it from getting torn up and ruined in your purse.}

Click on the picture for a larger view and you'll see that it's in the plastic sleeve.

What do you think? I certainly think it's much cuter now than it was when I originally purchased it. Oh, and did I mention that the total cost for this project was $1.00? I found the calendar at DollarTree and everything else was stuff I already had and you probably do too. If you make one, please comment and let me know. :)

{I've made several more of these since I first posted this but I won't show you pics yet because they're going to be gifts. Anyways, I have gone back and added a cute rhinestone brad to the front cover (punched a whole through the plastic cover, ribbon, paper and all) and added a piece of elastic that is held in place with an eyelet on the back) I found the idea for this over here. Now I like my calendar even more!}

Sprucing up the fireplace with wood appliques

2008-11-11T16:07:00.019-06:00

We had some friends over Saturday night for dinner and to play cards and somewhere during the conversation I mentioned how I would LOVE to change our fireplace. Our home came with a WHITE cast stone fireplace and mantle. It's nice and all...it's just that it's the only thing that is white in the whole room and it's HUGE and pretty much the focal point. I would love to stain it or something to make it a little more warm {and less white} but my husband insists that it can't be done and would ruin it. {sigh} So, my friend Angela came up with a brilliant idea {at least, I think it's brilliant} of adding a medallion or applique to the fireplace to tie it all together. So, what do you think? (It's the small fleur de lis in the middle of the fireplace that I'm talking about)I was at Joann's buying some more fabric for a window mistreatment (from Nesting Place). I'll show you what I did with before and after pics soon. Anyways, while I was there, I decided to take a look at their wood appliques and I found both of these for $1.99 (and a 40% coupon).

I already had black and gold paints and a plethora of sponge brushes at home. So, in a matter of minutes, I had them looking like this:

All I did was paint them black {graphite if we're being technical here} with a sponge brush and then used my blow dryer to speed up the drying time because I'm that impatient. :) Then I applied gold metallic paint with my finger so that the raised surfaces would become gold and the recessed areas would remain black. It took about 3 minutes to paint and dry these gals. Then, I applied them to the fireplace with scotch tape to see what they looked like and which one I wanted in the center. Now, I may go back and buy one more of the serrated squares {the one on the right in the picture above} and apply both of those to the fireplace also...hmmm....too many choices to make. Three might be getting too busy!?! Oh well, I'll still buy another one to see how I like it and then I can always use those appliques to spruce up something else.

So what do you think? No appliques, just one {the fleur de lis or the square in the center} or the fleur de lis flanked by two square medallions (which I need to go buy another but you get the idea)? Leave a comment and let me know what you think! Oh, and ignore all the clutter on the built in bookcase...need to clear that out and reorganize it all!

Tip Junkie Shop-a-thon and 12 days of Junkie Giveaways

2008-11-10T12:54:00.005-06:00

Tip Junkie is one of my favorite blogs. Laurie is hosting a Mom-preneur shop-a-thon and a 12 days of Junkie GIVEAWAY that starts tomorrow (Tuesday). Go on over to her site Tip Junkie and check it out! I find SO many cute ideas from her blog! I can't wait to see what she gives away this time. {Hoping I'll win something this time!}

Embellished Notebooks

2008-11-07T08:15:00.005-06:00

I really need to figure out my camera settings and learn how to take better pictures! Thankfully our next speaker at MOPS (Mothers of Preschoolers) will be covering this topic. Yeah! Hopefully you can get a general idea despite my terrible picture. I was going to take more pics but then my camera battery died. I'll add that to my growing list of things to do today. Here is the first craft we did in our MOPS group this year. It's a bit of a challenge trying to come up with inexpensive crafts that you can do in a short amount of time with 50 or so women. :)

Anyways, you could use this idea to alter any spiral notebook but I really like the steno books with the spiral at the top. (Think of all the not-so-cute notebooks you can find for less than a dollar...oh, the possibilities!) You simply cover the notebook with scrapbook papers- including the spiral. I just made small cuts in the paper next to each spiral in order to completely cover the front and pressed the paper down between each spiral and glued. Because we're limited on time at our meetings, we just used a glue stick but when I make these at home, I use Mod Podge to adhere the paper to the notebooks and to seal it. Then you embellish with stamps, rhinestones, buttons, brads, stickers, etc. and then cut assorted ribbons that match your papers and knot onto each spiral. It's a quick and easy project and it seemed to go over well with the ladies in my MOPS group.

I had taken this picture before I decided to start a craft blog. In the future, I'll take more pics so you can see the progress and steps to completion. :) Now I'm off to see the dentist and get a new camera battery. Have a great weekend!

My new craft blog

2008-11-05T22:16:00.000-06:00

Well, I've decided to delete our family blog and create a blog dedicated to my addiction instead: crafts! :) I didn't want to make our family blog private and I didn't want identifying info out on the web about my kids (why did I put our last name in the url...rookie mistake?) I haven't updated it since this summer and decided to just delete it all together. So, now you can check here and see what we're up to. I'm sure I'll post pics of the kids when we're doing crafts together but I'll probably refer to them by their first initial or something instead of their full names. If you'd like to see more pics of the kids, email me and I'll hook you up. (I'm adding pics pretty regularly on my facebook page now, too).

I've got a growing list of handmade gifts I want to make this year. I intend to post links to tutorials but probably won't post my pics of finished products until after Christmas (that is, if I get around to actually making all the gifts). I hope that since I'm thinking about it now, I'll actually get a few gifts made instead of waiting until the week before Christmas to get started. :)

I'll post some links soon but now I'm off to spruce up this blog with a cool background and a list of all my favorite blogs I ~~stalk~~ follow.

2008-10-31T11:47:00.001-05:00

testing...new blog to soon follow (that I will actually update) :)