Monsters for my little monster....

Years ago I made those cute little no sew, fleece blankets for Erik and Cameron. They love their blankets and they use them all the time. Austin was asking me the other day where his blanket was.....well, I guess that I never got around to making him one. So off I went to Joann's to pick out some fleece. I found the cutest monster/alien fleece there and that was it. Seriously, is that not the cutest fabric for boys?! (I am pretty sure that I broke a record for the fastest time in and out of Joanns that day) Later that afternoon, I sat down to tie his blanket. I was thrilled when Erik and Cameron wanted to help me (You know it makes my heart happy to see my boys crafting).


Thia morning as I was driving home with Austin and Ethan after dropping the boys off at school, Austin says from the back seat,

"Thanks for making me my new blanket Mom."

And then later I found him lounging on the couch watching cartoons all snuggled up in his blanket.

LOVE it!!!

If you want to make one for your little cutie too, just buy 1 1/2 yards of patterned fleece and 1 1/2 yards of a coordinating solid fleece. Layer the two pieces of fleece together and Cut a 5" X 5" square out of each corner and then cut ties that are about 1" wide by 5" long all around the blanket. Now just tie away! It is the easiest blanket you'll ever make and it will make your kids feel so loved...so quick get to Joann's before they run out of that monster fleece :)

What's for dinner?

Finding time to craft these days has proven to be difficult. I find myself coming up with lots of ideas for things to create, but no time to complete them. Well, I am happy to say that I managed to finish a project that I have been needing for sometime now. Here it is:





It is my new write on/ wipe off weekly menu. Every day at our house I answer the question "what's for dinner" multiple times (usually to moans and groans when I give my response). So in order to divert the question, give my kids a chance for dinner input and also to keep myself more organized, I created my weekly menu board.

First:
I created the little baking embellishments for my menu. I used to do a lot of paper piecing several years ago, and I forgot how fun that was! I also created and printed out the weekly schedule.

Second:
I found some fun scrapbook paper in my stash that matched my kitchen and pulled it all together.

Third: I found this cute "leather" frame at a discount grocery store near my home and I "jazzed" it up a bit. I hot glued scrabble tiles (that I found at a garage sale) to spell out DINNER and I am happy to announce that I only burned myself 3 times while trying to get them all lined up neatly. :) Next I decorated a clothespin with scrapbook paper and a ribbon and attached that to the frame as well. I will explain the purpose of the clothespin in just a minute. Last, I wanted my dry erase marker to remain with the frame so that I wouldn't have to hunt it down everytime I needed it, so I took a small piece of elastic from my sewing stash and stapled it to the frame. Then I took some more ribbon and tied it around the elastic to make it look cute! *hint* Be sure to place the marker in the elastic before tying on your ribbon to make sure that you don't tie it too tight.

Once the frame was completed, I put it all together. Now I can just write out a weekly dinner plan on the glass of the frame and just like that it wipes off when we're done so I can start over the next week.

The clothespin is a handy little contraption, because its job is to hold my cute grocery lists that I created to match. Now as I am planning dinners, I can just jot done on my list what I need at the store each week to prepare the planned meals. So simple, convenient and organized. The clothespin is also handy at holding on to your recipes that you are using that week.

One more tip. On the back of the frame I adhered an envelope and in the envelope is a card with a list of some of our favorite dinners to help me plan for the week. I often find that I can't remember what my family likes to eat, so now I have a quick little reference guide to help me plan. *see 30 meals here*

That's it! Now go make one for yourself and one for a friend. Makes a great Christmas gift! And my gift to you...
my grocery list and menu plan
FREE for you to print and use!

Enjoy!

Crafting bliss...

Friday was a good day! The boys came home from school and went upstairs to play. It was quiet (an unusual phenomenon at our house), the house was clean and I was ready to work on a little project. So I turned on Pandora(*If you haven't checked this out, you should...I love it!) I set my station to play some Jim Brickman and I got busy. First I cut my wood from some scrap board we had in the garage. (Yep, that's right I cut my own wood with the jigsaw that Brett bought me 10+ years ago and this was the first time I've used it. Don't tell him I cut my own wood though or he may not be so willing to help me out next time). Next I sanded, painted and distressed each block...looking cute already, but there was more. I dug out my chipboard letters from my scrapbooking stash and some cute, spring paper. I traced and cut each letter from the paper, then I mod podged a chipboard letter onto each block, applied another coat of mod podge and adhered the paper, when that dried I applied one more coat to make sure that it was really adhered...looking much cuter. Finally (and the funnest part of all) I was ready to decorate them. I found some cute ribbon, my craft wire, a large daisy and a wooden flower pot and birdhouse (which I painted) and this is how it looks all put together.





Happy Spring!

On a side note, Brett came home and saw me in all my glory sitting at the table with my music on crafting away while the boys were off playing rather peacefully together and he said "Wow! You are in the zone...all you need now is a bubble bath and candles and you'd be set!" "Don't forget the chocolate I added" Aaaah, it was a great day!

A little weekend craft...

Monday was Presidents day, so that meant that Brett and the boys were home for a 3 day weekend, which meant that I got a 3 day weekend as well. We started Monday by going out to breakfast, and then we spent the rest of the day hanging out at home. I decided to take advantage of my day off to finish up a few crafts that I had been wanting to get to.

So, I really felt like we needed to display the family proclamation somewhere were we could see it daily in our home, but I didn't just want to frame it. So, I came up with an idea to jazz it up a bit. So here is a mini tutorial to show you what I did. (Sorry about the lack of pictures, but it is easy and I don't think that you will need them.)

First: You need a copy of the proclamation. I re-formatted the proclamation on my computer using different fonts to make it look a little prettier. (If you would like me to send you a copy of my re-formatted proclamation, let me know.)

Second: Find some cute paper to print it out on. I found some scrapbook paper in my stash that had the "look" that I was trying to achieve. (Which for me was an aged look)

Third: Beg or bribe your husband to get him to cut you a piece of wood to your desired size. (If that doesn't work or seems like too much effort, just head to your local craft store and pick up a wooden plaque). My sweet husband cut my plaque for me (thank you Brett) from some scrap wood we had lying around.
My plaque measures 9" x 12"

Fourth: Drill 2 holes near the top of the plaque to run your ribbon through.

Fifth: Paint your wood and distress if you so desire.

Sixth: Get out your Mod Podge and adhere your proclamation to the plaque. (helpful hint: once you lay your proclamation on the plaque, use a rolling pin to smooth it out to make sure that there are no bubbles under your paper) Once your proclamation is adhered, let it dry and then begin applying coats of Mod Podge over your paper to give it a nice finish and ensure that it is properly adhered. (I applied 3 coats)

Seventh: Run your ribbon through the holes and tie it into a bow to finish of the plaque.

Here is the finished product:




And here it is displayed on my little table:




That's it! Now hang it on the wall or place it on an easel and enjoy. Easy!!!! Now on to the next project!

*UPDATE* Wow! I had no idea that there was this much response to this little project. I have uploaded the file here for you to use! Enjoy!

Last minute Valentines gift?

Here's an idea for a quick, easy and inexpensive Valentines gift.

Gather your supplies. You will need a candle (in a jar), rub-on letters, stickers, and ribbon. I bought my candles at Wal-mart for $1.00/ea.



Remove the label from the candle and apply the rub-on letters and stickers.

Tie a cute ribbon around the neck of the jar. You could also tie a cute tag on with the ribbon if you wanted to.



That's it! Now you have a cute little gift to give to a teacher, a friend or even the ladies that you visit teach!

Let's get CRAFTY...

I found these little frames at Target in their dollar spot (however this 3 pack was $2.50) and I had a fun idea for some crafty home decor.
Edited to add: The openings of these frames are 4" x 4"

Step 1: Remove the ribbon that came with the frames and drill holes into each frame. (I drilled the holes 1 1/2 inches from the top and bottom and 1/2 from the sides.)



Step 2: Paint and distress the frames.



Step 3: Wire each frame together. (You could also use ribbon or twine to tie the frames together)



Step 4: Dive into your scrapbook stash and whip up some cute pictures to complete your frames. My plan is to change out the pictures for each holiday or season.

Step 5: Fill your frames with cuteness and proudly display in a prominent place in your home!



This whole project cost me under $5! Can't beat that! Now go make one of your own. If you do, I would love to see what you come up with.

*If you can't find the frames at Target, check out the dollar store. Happy Crafting!

Quick, Inexpensive and Easy Christmas Gift

Bookmark Tutorial
(I hope this makes sense. Please feel free to comment with any questions that you might have)

Step 1: gather supplies



Step 2: Cut the elastic to 22"

Step 3: Using a small piece of wire bend to make a threader, side it through the bead and pull the elastic through the bead. Repeat on the other side. You should now have 2 beads on each end of your elastic.





Step 4: Now pull opposite ends of elastic back through the beads forming a loop. knot the ends and you're finished.





Step 5: Cut a piece of wire about 6" and loop over the finished bookmark

Step 6: Attach a crimp bead to secure. Begin stringing beads in desired pattern. Be sure to tuck the stray end into the beads to hide.





Step 7: After attaching end bead, string a crimp bead and one final bead, bend wire around and thread the end back through the crimp bead and adjacent beads to hide the end (you may need to trim the wire down at this point). Holding the beads tightly together smash the crimp bead to secure.





That's it! The perfect homemade gift for all the people on your list who love to read.

Another quick pumpkin craft

I love all the wheat arrangements that I have seen this fall, so of course I thought "hey, I can make one of those and I think I'll try to do it with a pumpkin." So here is what I came up with.




Here's how you can make one for yourself:

Get yourself a fake, carvable pumpkin and some pretty fall ribbon from the craft store and while your there, don't forget to grab a stem of wheat and grass before you head home.
Now, get ready to craft.

1. Using a screwdriver, poke holes evenly around the stem of the pumpkin.
2. Place a small bundle of wheat and grass into each hole.
3. Wrap your pretty ribbon around the base of all the wheat to about half way up the stalk and tie it into a pretty bow.
4. That's it! Now you have a cute pumpkin, wheat arrangement to decorate your home for fall. Enjoy!



*Look for wheat and grass that are individually wrapped together, Mine came together as individually wrapped bundles that where then bundled together into one big bunch.
*Sorry for the lack of pictures with this tutorial, it seemed too easy for a step by step.

30 minute fall craft

I've seen these pumpkin candle holders on the internet and I thought that I could make my own. So I went to Joanns and bought some styrofoam pumpkins in the floral section along with some fall flowers and berries. Then I picked up some candles at the dollar store and grabbed some ribbon that I had on hand. Then I went to work.

Step 1: Gather your supplies and a hot glue gun.


Step 2: Trace your candle on the pumpkin where you want it to sit.


Step 3: Carve out a little hole for your candle and set the candle into the pumpkin.



Step 4: Decorate with leaves, flowers, berries, ribbon etc.


Step 5: Set it on a candle holder on your mantle, table shelf or anywhere you like. Enjoy!



Got an extra 15 minutes? Take this craft one step farther by applying some oak gel stain to the pumpkin to tone down the orange and give it a more rustic look. Then instead of the leaves, use a fall berry sprig and voila, you've got a whole new look!






A quick, easy, inexpensive, super cute fall craft. It doesn't get any better than that! Make a bunch and show me what you do with your pumpkin candles.