Living Craftily Ever After

Teacher Valentine Gifts

2012-02-09T10:21:00.000-08:00

Remember last year when I made some faux gumball machines out of terra cotta pots for my little ones Pink Princess Party?

Well I decided to make some again, but this time for her Teacher Valentine Gifts!

I love how easy these are to whip up, and they really aren't too pricey to make. Which is a good thing because my little one has three teachers!

Didn't they turn out SO cute?!

I love them!

I just painted the pots red and then my little one suggested adding polka dots! She has an eye for crafts I think because those polka dots just make these the cutest gift ever!

ETA: I saw on Pinterest a couple people commenting about the supply list to make these so I thought I would edit this post to include them.

I found all the supplies at Michaels

The bottom is a Terra cotta pot turned upside down.
The bowl is just a regular glass bowl
The top is the bottom plate for the pot turned upside down
The wood ball on top I found in the aisle by the wood dowels and stuff

I painted everything fist and then I put a thin coat of Mod Podge over it to act as a sealer (I didn't have any spray sealer on hand).

I glued the bowl to the upside down pot with E6000 glue and then glued the wood ball to the lid with E6000 glue as well.

And that's it! Wait for it to all dry and then fill with candy and put the lid on top!

I hope this clears up some of the confusion on how to make these! If anyone ever has questions on how I make anything on this blog, you can always email me at livingcraftilyeverafter@yahoo.com!

After I painted them I did add a thin coat of Mod Podge to seal them. I usually would use a spray sealer, but I didn't have any on hand so Mod Podge it was. It worked perfectly though! And I use E6000 glue to glue everything together. Then I added a cute festive ribbon and called it a day!

I love how simple, easy and CUTE they are!

And my little one is so excited to give these to her teachers next week!

Now, time to tackle her classmate valentines!

55 Years of Memories

2012-01-16T09:41:00.000-08:00

My mom's birthday was last Friday and it was a big one- 55!! I knew I wanted to do something special. One day I was browsing Pinterest and saw this idea I knew I needed to do it. Collecting memories from all her family and friends and creating "55 Years of Memories" for her. I called my sisters right away and told them we HAD to do this.

This was not going to be easy, especially since we just decided to do this about a month before, but I was determined! My sister gave me my moms email password and I went in and copied her contact list. We also sent it out to friends of hers on Facebook as well as our friends.

{Here is the email I sent: *I used the email from the link where I originally saw this idea and just changed it to fit my needs*

Hi Everyone!

If you're receiving this email, you probably know that our mom, Phyllis, is turning 55 next month (much as she would hate us to be reminding everyone, I'm sure.) To celebrate her birthday, we'd like to put together a little surprise to let her know that her nearest and dearest are thinking of her. We're going to try and create "55 Years of Memories" by filling 55 envelopes with a memory her friends and family have of her.

And this is where you come in!

If you have a spare moment in the next few days, we would be so grateful if you'd jot down a favorite memory you have of our mom and put it in the mail or email it to us. It doesn't have to be anything fancy -- you can just write it down on a piece of paper and sign your name. You can mention anything you like -- although the more nostalgic the better! Please absolutely feel free to send more than one memory (in fact, we welcome it -- we've got 55 envelopes to fill!), but make sure you write them on different pieces of paper (and sign your name to each) so we can split them up.

Thank you so, so, so much for participating -- we know everyone is busy with their own lives, especially this time of year, and we do appreciate you taking a few minutes to do this; it will be so worth it when she reads all the memories people have of her! (Please don't forget to keep it a surprise until then, though!)

We only have a month to get this all together, so if you could please send something out as soon as possible we would really really appreciate it! We know how much this would mean to our mom and really hope we can get 55 memories from her friends and family!

Also, if you know someone else who might have a memory to share, we encourage you to pass them on to them! We only had them email addresses from her contact list, so we may be missing people with special memories! So please pass this on to anyone who might have a great memory of our mom! The more memories the better!!

Thank you so much again!!

Melissa, Kelly and Stacey

*I also included our contact info at the bottom of the email}

I was a little nervous since we sent this in the middle of December and that is usually the busiest time of the year for most people, but not long after I hit send the memories came pouring in!

I think I enjoyed this as much as my mom. I loved reading all the wonderful things people had to say about my mom! {And I also learned some of her friends have very dirty minds... just sayin!}

In the end we got 55 memories as well as pictures. My uncle sent us a ton of pictures of my mom as a little girl! So fun looking through them all!

Here are the envelopes- all numbered 1-55. I cut the numbers on my Cricut and just glued them on.

My sister typed up all the memories that were emailed to us and I did a decorative punch on all the corners. We also got some hand written memories that we just put right into an envelope! This is my 3 year olds memory :)

I found this suitcase {at Michaels} and thought it was perfect. We were 'travelling' through the years with these memories, so I thought it was the perfect thing to hold them all!

Once we stuffed all the envelopes with each memory, I tied them up with a little twine

And all the pictures were added to a photo album {That picture on the top right is my mom taking her first steps! Pretty cool huh?!}

We put both the memories and the pictures in the suitcase and it was a perfect fit!

I made this 'luggage' tag with a quote my sister found I cut the tag on my Cricut and then used stickers to decorate it.

And here it is all ready to be given to the birthday girl!

And here are some pictures of her opening it. There were a lot of tears as well as a lot of laughter! I think she was totally surprised we put this together and I really think she will cherish this gift for years to come! {that is my mom and dad and my two cuties!}

If you have the chance to put this gift together for someone, I say go for it! It took a little bit of effort and bugging people to get the memories back, but in the end it was all worth it. I know my mom is going to cherish this gift forever!!!

Sprinkles the Elf- The Final Days!

2011-12-24T09:47:00.000-08:00

Well the time has come. Today is Sprinkles' last day here at our house! She flys back with Santa tonight! We have had SO much fun with Sprinkles the Elf this year! I love creating fun and memorable traditions with the girls, and I think this one will be a hit year after year!!!!

Day Twenty Four:

Sprinkles added a little something to Sam's school picture!

Day Twenty Five:

'S' is for Sprinkles! She was reading a book to her friends!

Day Twenty Six:

Sprinkles left some sprinkles and other goodies so we could make cookies for Santa!

Day Twenty Seven:

This is a sad day for us! It is Sprinkles' last day here! To make sure we don't forget her over the next year, she went all out and Toilet Papered our family room and Christmas tree!!! She wanted to go out with a bang :)

So tonight Sprinkles will be leaving us to head home with Santa! We will miss her! She is going to have a year to think up new shenanigans for next Christmas season!!! :)

I hope everyone has a wonderful Christmas!!!

Sprinkles the Elf- Week 3

2011-12-21T13:33:00.001-08:00

I am a little behind in posting these, sorry! But I am sure you all understand the last minute craziness that comes the week before Christmas! Add to the normal busy times, I decided to hand make a few last minute gifts and I have 2 sick kids! Fun times around this house! :)

But Sprinkles has still been up to no good each night!

Day Fifteen:

Sprinkles caught a cold and was laid up in a bed of tissues with a cotton ball pillow!

Day Sixteen:

Sprinkles and her BFF Barbie went for a midnight cruise around town!

Day Seventeen:

Sprinkles heard we were heading to Disneyland for the day, so she dressed up for the occasion with her own princess hat and mouse ears!

Day Eighteen:

Sprinkles left a gingerbread house kit for Sam to make and decorate!

Day Nineteen:

Look out below! Sprinkles is coming in on a zipline!

Day Twenty:

Sprinkles was playing hide and seek again! She blended right in with all these ornaments!

Day Twenty One:

Sprinkles was playing peek a boo!

Day Twenty Two:

Sprinkles went for a flying ride on one of Santa's Reindeer!

Day Twenty Three:

Sprinkles was a little sore from all that flying around the day before! She rested up in a nice hot bubble bath!

Only a few more days before Santa comes! I can't wait to see what Sprinkles has up her sleeve for the last couple nights!!!

Sprinkles The Elf- Week Two

2011-12-11T13:46:00.000-08:00

As you all know now, our elf is named Sprinkles and she is quite mischievous! :) Last week I shared with you her first week of antics, and here is her second week!

Day Eight:

Sprinkles brought a new coloring book and crayons back from the North Pole! She even started to color the elf picture :)

Day Nine:

Sprinkles brought some snow back with her and made a snow angel on the kitchen counter!

Day Ten:

Sprinkles wanted to play a game of hide and seek. Can you spot her?

THERE she is!

Day Eleven:

We found Sprinkles perched on top of the fridge with a little note!

She turned the milk red and green!!

Day Twelve:

Sprinkles got the munchies and decided to roast some marshmallows on the stove!

Day Thirteen:

Today Sprinkles was on top of our hutch with some scissors and another note! What is she up to now?

She helped decorate for our holiday party! (pics from that coming soon!)

Day Fourteen:

Sprinkles decided to decorate our tree with Sam's undies :) Silly elf!!!

That concludes week 2 of Sprinkles the Elf! I LOVE that the first thing out of Sam's mouth every morning is "Where is Sprinkles today?!?!" This is such a fun tradition and it is really helping to bring some magic to our house this year!!!!

**SIDE NOTE- does my tree look funny? Like maybe it is PINK? That's because it IS!!! Yes, Sam really wanted a pink tree, so we went on a tree hunting mission to find a place that did pink flocking. My husband thinks it is the most hideous tree ever- but Sam's excitement over it makes it all worth it to me! The years are going by too fast, I want her to enjoy her childhood, make fun memories and glitter and sparkle all she wants :)

Here she is once we got the lights on the tree. Pure happiness :)

More 2x4 Christmas Crafts

2011-12-07T13:27:00.000-08:00

A couple weeks ago I shared with you THESE 2x4 Christmas Crafts I had been working on.

I have been busy busy making more and wanted to share some of them with you!

I sold out of these at the Charity Holiday Boutique I participated in and had several people place orders for some! So needless to say I have been a block making maniac lately!

I am also hosting a Christmas party at my house this weekend so my stress level is HIGH right now! I love all the orders I am getting but AHHHHH how do I find the time to finish them all?? :) I guess that is a good problem to have, huh?

Hope you all are having a great holiday season so far!

Sprinkles The Elf- Week One

2011-12-04T20:18:00.000-08:00

Last week we re-introduced Sprinkles the Elf into our house. We got our Elf last year and Sam named her Sprinkles. We welcomed her back with a delicious North Pole Breakfast!

All week long Sprinkles has been running amok every night and Sam wakes up every morning to find her in a new spot!

Instead of doing a post everyday with Sprinkles' new spot, I thought I would do a weekly post instead. So here is week 1 with Sprinkles!

Day One: Sprinkles got into a snow ball fight with some North Pole friends!

Sprinkles won!

Day Two: Sprinkles went fishing in our fish tank! Sam thought this was hilarious!

Day Three: Sprinkles came in on a parachute!

Watch out below!

Day Four: Sprinkles was caught building a snowman!

Day Five: Sprinkles got into the candy dish!

And she also left some special treats for the girls!

Day Six: Sprinkles went for a hot air balloon ride!!

Weee!

Day Seven: Sam had been under the weather all week with the flu, so Sprinkles brought a very special message from Santa himself because Sprinkles and Santa were so happy she was feeling better!

Getting ready to see her message!

Santa!

Watching intently

If you guys have not heard of the Portable North Pole you really need to check it out! It is SO cool! You can input specific details about your child and what they want for Christmas! You also can upload pictures from the year and Santa talks about them! It was so cool!

Click HERE to see Sam's message from Santa! And I highly suggest making one for your little one as well! The look on Sam's face while she watched this was priceless!!!!

We love watching the excitement in Sam's face each morning when she comes out to look for Sprinkles! And I happen to know that Sprinkles has a lot more up her sleeve before Christmas morning! :)

North Pole Breakfast

2011-11-27T09:20:00.000-08:00

Last year we bought the girls The Elf on the Shelf book and elf. It was so fun finding new hiding spots for her and watching Sam try to find her each morning!

This year I saw an idea on Pinterest for a North Pole Breakfast the morning your elf arrives! As soon as I saw it I knew I HAD to do it for my girls! Our elf comes the Sunday after Thanksgiving so I got it all set up the night before so the girls would see it as soon as they woke up!

It was very inexpensive to put together and it is such a fun new tradition we started!

Unfortunately both of my girls have been battling the stomach flu this weekend, so I don't think they enjoyed it quite as much as they would have if they were feeling 100%, but they still loved it!

Here is our North Pole Breakfast!

We had snow donuts, hot coco and marshmallows

Sprinkles left a note for the girls

SPRINKLES!

Sprinkles set up and decorated Sam's Christmas tree

Checking it all out

THERE'S Sprinkles!

Sneaking a donut :)

Snow donuts were a hit!

loading up her hot coco!

Now the fun begins! Finding new hiding spots and little tricks for Sprinkles to do each night! :)

Does anyone else do The Elf On The Shelf? Any fun ideas you want to share? I am so excited for this tradition and I am already looking forward to next year when both my girls will enjoy it! Sadie is still too young to understand this year!

2x4 Christmas Crafts

2011-11-16T09:20:00.000-08:00

Its that time of year again when everything is...........

CRAZY BUSY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

And on top of all the normal holiday craziness I have going on this year, I also signed on to be a vendor at a Holiday Boutique with proceeds benefiting Relay For Life!

So I have been a busy little bee making things for the boutique!

I thought I would share some of the 2x4 crafts I have made so far!

All of these are made with 2x4s, scrapbook paper, Mod Podge and then embellishments such as buttons, stickers, ribbon....

I have a bunch more waiting to be finished as well!!!

So this is where all my free time is going lately! :)

I've also made some tutu bow holders as well as Doodles and Drawings signs!

Hopefully after the Boutique I will have more time to blog!

In the mean time, I hope you like these 2x4 christmas blocks!!!!

Winner- A Little Knitty Giveaway

2011-11-08T07:36:00.000-08:00

Thank you to everyone who entered the A Little Knitty Giveaway!

The lucky winner of an ADORABLE double pom pom hand knitted hat is......

DRUM ROLL PLEASE....................

True Random Number GeneratorMin:Max:Result:16

"liked" A little Knitty on facebook!

anewbern88@yahoo.com
Ashley Newbern Credle

CONGRATS ASHLEY!!!!

Please contact me at livingcraftilyeverafter@yahoo.com to find out how to collect your prize!!!

Once again thank you to all who entered!!!

Oreo Truffles

2011-11-02T06:00:00.000-07:00

I know cake pops are all the rage out here in Blogland, but today I am going to show you how to make another yummy bite size treat-

Oreo Truffles!

These are the most amazing treat EVER!!!

And they could not be any easier to make!

TWO ingredients- that's it!!!

1 pack of Oreos

1 block of cream cheese

I use a food processor but you can do this without one. You just want to crush up the Oreos as fine as possible.

After you have crushed up all your oreos (I do half the packet at a time) you will transfer the Oreo crumbs to your mixer.

Then you add in your packet of cream cheese

And start mixing! You want them to combine and form almost a paste like consistency.

At this point I stick the mixer bowl in the freezer for about 30 minutes. This helps when you go to make your Oreo balls. (I do the same thing when making cake balls)

Once you freeze them to harden it up a little, it is much easier to roll. Then you just roll them in to bite size balls! (I usually put them on wax paper but mine seemed to have disappeared)

Once I have all the balls made, I stick them back in the freezer for at least an hour. This will make it so they don't fall apart when you dip them in the chocolate coating!

Next take some chocolate chips (or candy melts, whatever you prefer!) and melt them! **TIP** I add a little Crisco in when I melt mine. This helps thin out the chocolate a little, thus making it easier to coat the oreo truffle (or cake ball) with!

Then use a fork and dip the frozen truffle into the melted chocolate. Tap your fork on the side of the bowl to shake off the excess chocolate.

Once I have them all coated, I like to dip the fork in the chocolate and shake off the excess over the coated truffles. Just adds a little decorative touch to them! You could use white chocolate for this part too and that would look really pretty!

I then put them back in the fridge until they have harden! I made these for a Halloween party we went to over the weekend, so before we left I put them on a decorative tray and headed to the party!

These are VERY rich, but everyone LOVES them! Seriously, people will love you for making these, that are that good!!!

The reason I made these was because the hostess requested them since I made them last year! LOL!

ENJOY!

A Little Knitty- Giveaway

2011-10-31T12:00:00.000-07:00

Hope everyone is having a great Halloween so far!

I have a special TREAT for you to celebrate!

Since the winter months are coming up (and in some states already here!) how about a wonderful HAND knitted hat for you!

This giveaway is for one Ivory chunky knit with ivory pompoms hat!

{And yes I know that hat is pink, she will be custom making it in IVORY for the winner!}

So you get to chose what size you want!

{0-6 months, 12 months-2T} This hat is very stretchy and will fit even an itty bitty little one :)

This hat is seriously adorable on!

Here it is on Jen's {creator of A Little Knitty} daughter. How stinking cute is that? {the hat and the little angel wearing it!}

HOW TO ENTER:

You have THREE ways to enter this giveaway!

**Leave a separate comment for each entry!!**

1- MANDATORY- you MUST be a follower of this blog

2- MANDATORY- you must LIKE A Little Knitty on Facebook

3- EXTRA- blog, tweet, facebook about this giveaway and leave me the link!

That's it! This giveaway will be open for one week ending Monday November 7 at midnight and the winner will be drawn Tuesday November 8 via Random.org

GOOD LUCK!

And make sure you check out the other adorable items for sale over at A Little Knitty!

All her items are hand knitted by her and they would make GREAT Christmas gifts!! So make sure you look around when you are there!!!

***GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED***

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!

2011-10-31T09:00:00.000-07:00

Happy Halloween everyone!!!

Hope everyone has a great day today!

I will be taking the little ones trick or treating tonight and can't wait!

And because they are too cute not to brag about, here are my little one's all decked out in their costumes!

And surprisingly she kept the gnome outfit on ALL night! YAY Sadie!!!!

And here is a family shot. Yes, my husband and I went as pageant parents and my older daughter was a pageant queen :)

And since it is a day for tricks and treats- I have a TREAT for you coming up later! So make sure you come back for that!!!!!

Scentsy!

2011-10-28T17:49:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone!!!

I am hosting an online Scentsy party right now {Have you guys heard of this stuff??! I have the Pumpkin Roll scent going right now and it is AH-mazing!!}

If you want to get some Christmas shopping done, go HERE and shop away!

Look at some of this amazing product!

And those are just a few of the choices! They have some for the holidays, as well as any style or color you might want!

And the scents?! OMG you guys! They are soo yummy and SO many to chose from!!!!

This is the first time I have ever even seen this product and I am in love! Seriously! I will be getting a ton of people knocked off my Christmas list with Scentsy product!

I have a feeling you guys will love this stuff as well so feel free to check it out and shop around!!!!

Go HERE and shop shop shop!!!!!

And I hope you all have a wonderful weekend!! We have a costume party to go to so that should be fun!

Garden Gnome Shoes

2011-10-26T14:25:00.000-07:00

OK, so this should be my last post about garden gnome stuff!

But I finished the final touch to my little one's costume and had to share them!

THE SHOES!!!!

Are those not the cutest things EVER?!?!

I *sort of* used this tutorial here, but not completely.

I used the same red wool felt I used for her hat and I just made them one layer thick.

I also cut slits along the top so I could thread ribbon through. This way I can tie them on her feet and they won't fall off!

And just like the hat, she hates them! LOL!

I didn't take a picture, but I also added puffy paint to the bottoms of them to create some traction so she doesn't slip when walking!

And here is the whole costume together!

I absolutely LOVE how it all came out, I wish my little one felt the same! haha! Hopefully I can get her to keep it on long enough for a couple cute pictures!

I can't wait for Halloween to get here now!!!!

Garden Gnome Hat Re-Do

2011-10-25T10:59:00.000-07:00

Thanks to my reader Melissa's adorable addition of flowers to her daughter's Gnome Hat, I decided to add flowers to mine as well!

{HERE is the tutorial on how to make this hat!}

I decided to use the three fabrics I had used for the skirt and make fabric flowers to add on to it.

{HERE is a tutorial I shared a few months ago on how to make these flowers.}

I LOVE LOVE LOVE how it looks now with the addition of the flowers!!!

I went to JoAnns and picked up some red buttons and just hot glued them to the center.

So now that I have this super cute hat, I need to convince my little one to wear it! She is NOT a fan {and that is putting it nicely!} I did manage to get a picture of her in it though. Of course it is a horrible picture since she was running away from me, but you get the idea! ;)

And this one. Yes, the toys are all over the floor and she has a paci hanging out of her mouth, but hey, this is real life people. LOL. My house looks like this in the middle of the day.

I also made some gnome shoes to go with her costume and will be sharing those later this week!

Why didn't I Think of That?

2011-10-20T16:01:00.000-07:00

So remember where I showed you guys the Garden Gnome Hat I made for my little one's Halloween costume?

Well one of my super crafty and adorable readers Melissa is also making her little girl a garden gnome for Halloween and she used that tutorial for her hat!

And then she blogged about it and OMG I LOVE the addition of the flowers she added to hers!

I mean seriously, is that not the cutest thing EVER?!?!

So now, I need to add flowers to my hat!

You guys need to head on over to La La Bliss to check out her post on her hat HERE and make sure to check out all the other super adorable projects she has on her blog!

She has a super cute Halloween wreath over there made all from items from the dollar store! And it is CUTE!!! Not to mention the tutorial on the most adorable little witch hat headband ever! Go check out her blog!!!

Make sure you say hi and let her know you were sent from me and Living Craftily Ever After!

Canvas Art- Tutorial

2011-10-14T05:00:00.000-07:00

The past month has been chaos in my house!

We remodeled our master bath and since that was going to be all new, I decided to paint our bedroom and get all new bedding!

We moved in to this house about 2 years ago and I have decorated every room but the master. I just didn't know what I wanted. I only had one wedding picture on the wall and that's it.

Now that is is painted I decided it was time to get something, anything, up on the walls!

I went to Michaels and came home with these

Some 16 x 20 blank canvas

sticker foam letters

white spray paint

Since this was going in the master bedroom, I wanted something 'romantic'. I decided to use a quote from our wedding song "Bless The Broken Road" by Rascall Flatts.

I just peeled and stuck the letters to the canvas ( I only used the white letters from the pack). **If I were to do this again, I would probably put Mod Podge down first to help them stick. The foam sticky stuff isn't very sticky.

After I had all the letters on I took it outside and sprayed it with the white spray paint. This step could probably be skipped, but I was thinking it would make everything the same color white.

After I had the quote on there, I also decided to add the year we got married to the bottom corner.

I LOVE how this turned out!

I am planning on doing something with the extra canvases to hang on each side of this. So look for that in a future post!

But for now, I am enjoying this one! I just need to go hang it on my wall now!!

Garden Gnome Skirt

2011-10-11T05:00:00.000-07:00

So awhile ago I posted this picture

source

And asked for help on tutorials on how to make it!

I ended up using the Simple Skirt Tutorial from MADE.

It was VERY simple to make!

Here is mine!

After the skirt was done, I took strips of the polka dot fabric, sewed right sides together and then turned. Added a button hole and wa-la! Suspenders!

For the flowers, I cut the shape on paper with my Cricut to help me decide on size, and then cut them out of fabric, backed them with Heat N Bond and ironed them on! A button is the finishing touch!

I wish I had a picture of her in it, but lets just say she is really showing her age these days- 13 month olds do NOT sit still for pictures! LOL!

But I think with this skirt and THIS hat, she is going to be the cutest garden gnome to ever trick-or-treat this Halloween!!!!

Just My Luck...

2011-10-10T08:40:00.001-07:00

I FINALLY have a craft to share with you and I can't get my pictures to upload to Photobucket!

Grrr!

Anyone else use Photobucket? Are you having the same problems?

If you don't use Photobucket, what site do you use?

Anyways- I will have something to share as soon as I can get my pictures uploaded!

Remember Me?

2011-10-02T13:50:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone!

I feel like it has been FOREVER since I had a craft related post!

I have been super busy the last week since we are re-modeling our bathroom. And since the bathroom was going to be all new stuff, I decided the bedroom needed an update too! So I have been shopping and painting like a mad woman!

AND- this weekend I ran my first ever 5K Mud Run! Let me tell you, it was SO FUN!!! I cannot wait to do another one!

Here I am after I finished!

Me and the Hubster

And our friends who ran it with us

We seriously had a great time and are already looking for another one to sign up for!

And I am sure you noticed I am the least muddy of the group.... I am not a really big fan of dirt and mud, so this was WAY out of my comfort zone! LOL.

Anyways, I have a bunch of crafts in the works, so I hope to post them soon!

It wont be tomorrow though because we are taking the kids to DISNEYLAND!!!!!!!

Hopefully the crafts I have waiting to post will make up for my absence lately!

Still love me? :)

Tutorial- Garden Gnome Hat

2011-09-26T05:00:00.000-07:00

Remember this post where I asked for help with a Garden Gnome Costume for my littlest girl?

Well my awesome reader Vanina left a comment with a link to a pattern for the gnome hat!

THANKS VANINA!!!

I followed her link and it brought me to the blog called Acorn Pies.

I didn't want to use the same materials she had used in her tutorial, so I just used her tutorial for the pattern measurements.

I wanted my hat to be on red wool felt. So I laid my pattern on it and cut it out. The fabric is folded with the fold on the left side and will end up being the TOP of the hat.

After you cut it out it will look like this when you open it

Fold it back in half right sides together (is the a right side to the wool felt? I thought they both looked the same, lol) and sew along the diagonal cut (where I have the pins) ONLY. Do not sew anywhere else!

Turn it right side out and this is what it will looks like (I turned it so you can see how it is the hat- the folded part is the top and the part we just sewed is the underside.)

I added ribbon to trim mine and make the ties. I cut my ribbon at 23 inches- no reason for this length, just picked a length that looked good and I could tie a bow with! lol. You will need 2 of the tie ribbons. You will attach them to the shorter side which is the neck opening. I sewed mine on, but I am sure you could use Heat N Bond or something like that. I also cut my tips at an angle so they didn't overlap at the center back.

And then just sew all around the edges of the ribbon to secure it to the felt.

Next I added the ribbon along the face part of the hat. I attached it the same way as the ties.

And that's it! Now you have a cute Garden Gnome hat!!

I was hoping to have some super cute pics of my little wearing it... but she is 13 months. That means: 1- she does not sit still

2- she does not like hats!

Hopefully I can keep trying it on her so she gets used to it by Halloween!

But for now, this is all I got out of her!

Let me know if any part of this did not make sense!

Happy Wednesday!

2011-09-21T00:00:00.000-07:00

Hey guys!

No crafty post from me today- I am off with the hubby for a day date out at Catalina Island!

We will be spending the day snorkeling and soaking up the sun!

Hope everyone has a great day!

According to the website- I will be looking at this all day :)

2x4 Pumpkins

2011-09-19T06:00:00.000-07:00

My fall decorations are...pretty much non-existent.

So I desperately need to add to them!

I made my Fall Wreath last week and it really helped get me in the mood for more fall crafts.

I've had a couple scrap 2x4s laying around the garage for a few months now, so I thought I should finally do something with them!

So I made some 2x4 Pumpkins!!

I had everything to make these on hand already, so this project was FREE! Even better!

I painted each one a different shade of orange and used distress ink around the edges.

For the stem, I used a left over berry branch from my fall wreath. I just took it apart and separated the branches for each pumpkin. I wrapped the pipe cleaners around a pencil and then twisted 2 of them together to make the 'leaves' by the stem.

I had the jute/twine so I just cut 3 strands and tied them in a bow!

I used hot glue to attach everything.

From the same berry strand I used for the stems, I also took some leaves from it and added them to the bottom of each pumpkin.

I think they turned out pretty cute for only using stuff I could find in the house!

I am never happy for summer to end, but at least I have decorations now to embrace the new season!

Fall Wreath

2011-09-14T06:00:00.000-07:00

I'm not going to lie, the balloon wreath from my daughters first birthday party is still hanging in my house.

I realized it is time to take it down and move on.

My baby is one, the party is over, boo hoo.

I was torn on whether to make a fall wreath or a Halloween wreath. I feel like it is a little early for either one, but decided to go with a fall wreath.

I took the girls to Joann's this morning and came home with these goodies

The leaves and berry things were all 50% off so they were only 99 cents each! Score!

I just used hot glue to attach the leaves to my straw wreath. I attached them randomly, just trying to make sure all the holes were covered.

Once I had all the leaves attached I stuck in the berry twigs and added a giant red raffia bow.

I ended up only using 2 of the leaf packets and 4 of the berry twigs ( I bought 6) so this wreath only cost me $10 to make!!!!

I have to say, for 10 bucks I really LOVE how it turned out!

Help Me Out Crafty Friends!

2011-09-12T06:00:00.000-07:00

OK, so I have a dilemma and I am hoping you might be able to help me out!

I was browsing Pinterest and I came across this picture

Source

Now, those are the cutest little garden gnomes I have ever seen.

SO cute that I HAVE to make this for my little one for Halloween.

My problem.... I need a pattern!

Anyone have a tutorial for a similar skirt I could use to make this?

What about the hat? Any ideas?

My little girl is one, but she is a peanut. I need something size 6 months or so. She is wearing size 3-6 months, but can fit into some 6-9 month stuff.

I am not necessarily looking for this exact skirt, but just something similar!

Any help you could give me I would be so grateful!!!

Nap Mat

2011-09-09T06:00:00.000-07:00

My daughter started pre-school (WAHHHH!!!! HOW is she old enough?!?) on Tuesday and we were told that we need to bring them a pillow and blanket for quiet time.

Well, I couldn't just bring any old pillow and blankie, I needed to make something special for her!

I searched the Internet and found this great tutorial.

I knew it would be perfect. I LOVED how the blanket and pillow are all attached so there is no chance of losing one of them!

We headed to Joanns and I let Sam pick some fabric she liked.

She is getting pretty good at picking fabric! She went right to this owl print and I couldn't have been happier! I love it :)

I love how the blanket is extra wide so she can snuggle up with it

The pillow is the perfect size too!

And it rolls up into a perfect little carrying bag!

And here is my little pre-schooler showing us how it works :) (notice the baby snuck in the picture? lol. They were fighting over this thing all night. I am thinking this would be a perfect Christmas present for the little one....)

Isn't it perfect?! And let me tell you, when we brought that sucker to class today, everyone wanted one! So cute!!!

Crochet Baby Boots Pattern- WINNERS

2011-09-06T09:53:00.000-07:00

Sorry for getting this up late- my daughter started school today so I just got home from dropping her off. Lets just say there were A LOT of tears. Mostly hers but some of mine too.

But enough of that- you guys want to get to the good stuff!

THE WINNERS!

All three winners were chosen via Random.org!

FIRST WINNER IS.............

True Random Number GeneratorMin:Max: Result:2

Ashley said... 2

I like the lovely crow on facebook

SECOND WINNER IS..............

True Random Number GeneratorMin:Max: Result:37

Amy said... 37

I posted about the giveaway on Facebook. http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1398423949

AND THE THIRD LUCKY WINNER IS..................

True Random Number GeneratorMin:Max: Result:69

Angela L. said... 69

I'm already a fan of The Lovely Crow on facebook!

CONGRATS LADIES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Please email me at livingcraftilyeverafter@yahoo.com to claim your prizes!!!

And a BIG HUGE THANK YOU to all who entered!!!!!!

First Day of School Dress

2011-09-01T06:00:00.000-07:00

When I was in the midst of getting everything ready for my little ones first birthday bash my older daughter asked if I could make her a dress for her first day of school.

I told her of course I would!

First I searched Etsy for a dress pattern we both liked.

I found the store Tie Dye Diva and fell in love with the Big Bow Dress.

After assuring Sam we could make the dress in pink {because if its not pink, she doesn't like it!} she was sold on it too!

So we headed off to JoAnns together and picked out some fabric. {mom having the final say of course. Three year olds pick out some interesting patterns. lol}

I had one question on the pattern and emailed my question to Jen, the owner of Tie Dye Diva, and she got back to me very quickly! It was a newbie question, and she didn't make me feel silly for asking it and she was more than helpful!

And the final product is awesome! Sam and I both LOVE the way it turned out! She wants to wear it every day and I have to keep reminding her we have to wait for the first day of school!

Sam picked the pink polka dot fabric :) I think it looks great!

the back

The great thing about this pattern is the bow can be worn in the front or the back. It was too distracting to Sam to have it in the front, so we are keeping it in the back

And here it is on my little big girl! She will be starting pre-school next week!

Usually she is not in the mood to model things for me, but she was totally into it tonight! How cute is she?!

A couple more, just because she is so stinking cute

So now Sam is all set and ready to go for her first day of school next week! I hope she likes school as much as she likes her new dress :)

Crochet Pattern Baby Boots- Giveaway

2011-08-29T06:00:00.000-07:00

Hi friends!

I thought I would start this week off with a GIVEAWAY!

Woot! Something to make Monday a little better. {I know, I know. You love me. I get that a lot! *giggle*}

The Lovely Crow is an amazing etsy shop for crochet patterns.

I have purchased quite a few from the shop and I have loved every one of them. Remember these cute booties I made for my BFF's baby shower?

Adorable, right?!

And since I have first purchased that pattern, Elizabeth- the owner and creator of all the patterns in The Lovely Crow shop- has added quite a few more boot patterns!

And get this....

She is offering THREE readers ALL THREE BABY BOOT PATTERNS!!!

Woot Woot! How is that for a giveaway!

This is what you are entering to win:

Baby Crochet Pattern Baby for Baby Goshalosh Boots - 4 sizes - Newborn to 12 months.

Booties Crochet Pattern for Baby Garden Boots - 4 sizes - Newborn to 12 months.

Baby Crochet Pattern Baby for Sugar and Spice Boots - 4 sizes - Newborn to 12 months.

I mean, seriously cute stuff guys. You really want to win this!!!

AND I am giving you FOUR chances to enter!

1- Mandatory- you MUST be a follower of this blog- 1 entry

2- Mandatory- "like" The Lovely Crow on Facebook here- 1 entry

3- Optional- Heart The Lovely Crow's Etsy Store- 1 entry

4- Optional- Blog, Tweet, or Facebook about this giveaway and come back and comment with the link- 1 entry

This giveaway will be open for one week closing next Monday September 5 at midnight. I will announce the winner chosen via Random.org on Tuesday!

GOOD LUCK!!!!!

**giveaway is now closed**

Let Her Eat Cake

2011-08-26T09:00:00.000-07:00

It's Friday!

So I am sure you have noticed that I have not done Five Fabulous Finds in a few weeks. I am just trying to adjust to being at home and find the time to do everything! I hope to be able to get back on stride soon and get the FFF posts back up and running.

But today, I thought I would share a little something that might make you smile!

I showed you Sadie's party the other day, so today I thought I would share her cake eating pictures!

If you know me, you know I don't like messes. At. All. So this was very hard for me LOL

Safe to say- she enjoyed it :)

Hope everyone has a good weekend and if you are on the East Coast- STAY SAFE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Tutorial- EASY Paci Holder

2011-08-24T06:00:00.000-07:00

I always swore I would never have a baby who was addicted to the paci {this was before I learned the number one rule of parenting is to NEVER say your child will NEVER do something.. lol}.

My first HAD to have the paci until about 3 months, then she spit it out and never wanted it again! YAY!

Well, my second is addicted. I mean A-ddicted to the thing. If you don't have the paci.... you are going to hear about it. And she screams LOUD!

So to make sure we never forget the paci, I have to have a paci leash. Only problem is she will only take those Soothie pacis and it is hard to find holders for those.

So I made these quick and easy holders for her. They are so cheap to make, you probably have everything you need on hand already. And since they are so cheap, I can toss them whenever they get dirty. Nothing more disgusting than a dirty paci holder!

What you need:

Ribbon

Scissors

Rubber Band

Suspender clip {the one thing you might not have on hand. I bought mine off Etsy}

Ruler

Lighter {to heat seal the ends of your ribbon so it doesn't fray}

I like the paci leash to be short. I hate when they drag on the ground when she is crawling. So I cut mine at 6 inches.

Heat seal the ends with your lighter. Then you take one end and wrap it around the suspender clip

And sew

{you can totally sew these by hand, I used to before I got my sewing machine}

Wrap the other end around the rubber band and sew

Then you have this

With the Soothie paci you will stick the rubber band through one of the little holes

Then stick the ribbon through it

And pull! Wa-La! A paci holder!

These seriously take 5 minutes to make. You can make one to match every outfit :) And although I made mine specifically for the Soothie paci, it really will work with any type!

So quick and easy! I tend to make a new one every week since hers get dirty so fast. I just cut the ribbon to get the suspender clip out and attach it to a new piece of ribbon!

First Birthday- Owl Theme

2011-08-22T11:51:00.000-07:00

Phew! The party is OVER!

Little Miss Sadie Mae celebrated her first birthday in style this weekend!

You already know it was owl theme since I have been posting some of the projects I did for this party, but today I am going to share them ALL! And there are a TON of pictures! Hope you are ready for it!!

First up, the birthday banner!

Each circle is connected with three different colors of ribbon

Her one year picture- this was the best one. LOL. She was in NO mood to smile that day. For the poem, I found two different ones online and just combined them to fit my need! I had a canvas and paint pens already, so I just used those!

Worms for the owl... I think only one person at the party "got" this. lol

The cake table.

The absolutely AMAZING smash cake my sister made! SO AWESOME! It was *almost* too cute to let Sadie smash!

Cupcakes for everyone else

Ruffle streamers- I found the tutorial for these here

I just blew up the balloons (actually, my hubby blew them all up with his compressor for me!) and then tied them on some fishing line!

The thank you gifts for all the kids

I made tote bags for all the older kiddos

And taggie blankets for all the babies!

Food table

Owl Smore's idea from here

The balloon wreath

I thought it would be a cute idea for a "one" year of Sadie. Framed is her baby shower invitation, her birth announcement, her first birthday invitation and then her first birthday picture!

*giggle*

The drink table with more ruffled streamers {I will never understand why my husband thought leaving the BBQ right behind the table was a good idea. Ugh}

I surprisingly had a hard time finding owl crafts for the kids to do. So I just cut giant owls with my Cricut and let them color their own owl. It worked perfect!

I made some bunting to go across the front and top of her chair that she sat in to eat her cake

And this bad boy I was very proud of! The idea popped into my head one day to have her monthly pictures go up a tree with an owl at the top and her 12 month picture. I was so happy I figured out a way to make it work! This thing was 8 FEET tall!!

And of course, mommy and the birthday girl! I made her whole outfit, shoes and hat included! I think she looked owl-fully cute! :) {sorry, had to!}

I am still in a bit of shock that she is ONE already, but I think we celebrated in style! She really seemed to enjoy herself and that is all that matters!

Now, I have no idea what I am going to do with my free time during naps... I have another 6 months before I need to throw another party!

Happy Birthday To My Baby!!!

2011-08-18T08:15:00.000-07:00

My baby girl turns ONE today!

We are taking her for pictures and then to lunch!

Sorry, but I am strolling down memory lane with some pictures, I seriously cannot believe she is ONE already! Time goes too fast!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY SADIE MAE!!!!!

One year ago...

Big sis Sam meeting Sadie for the first time

And now here she is one year later!

Time goes by too fast! But I love watching her personality emerge and can't wait to see who she becomes!

Travel Shoe Bags

2011-08-17T06:00:00.000-07:00

My little sister is going to Europe next week (LUCKY!) and she had asked if I could make her some travel shoe bags.

Being the super awesome sister that I am- I said yes. I asked her how many she wanted, she replied, "Six".

Uh- What?!?! SIX?! Did she forget that I am in the midst of party planning right now and that the party is THIS weekend?

But, seeing as I am so nice, I got them all made for her!

I found this tutorial here and used it for the general idea of how to make one.

The main thing I did differently was the top. Instead of having it open on only one side of the bag, I had mine open on both ends.

Then I just threaded some ribbon through!

I tied a bow on one side and double knotted it so that side will stay like that. The other side is the side she can un-tie and then cinch back up to put the shoes in.

So now she is all set to tour Europe for 2 weeks! I am so jealous!!!

Pinafore- FAIL

2011-08-15T06:00:00.000-07:00

Well, I had my first major sewing FAIL this weekend!

I saw this tutorial on how to make your own pattern for a pinafore top. Looked easy enough.

I got a dress from my little ones closet, made the pattern, put it all together and bam! A super duper cute pinafore top!

The reverse side

SO cute right?

I was so excited for Sadie to get up from her nap so I could try it on her. As soon as she got up, I went to put it on her and.... NOTHING! I couldn't get it over her head! LOL!!!

So I re-drew the pattern and made it a little bigger, and finally got one that fit her!

I gave the too-small one to my BFF who has a new baby girl, so hopefully it wasn't a total waste of time and she will be able to wear it!

And it was pretty easy to make, if you get your pattern right. lol

Winner- Sew Sweet Patterns Giveaway

2011-08-14T09:41:00.000-07:00

Sorry I am a day late is posting this! Oops!

The winner of the Sew Sweet Patters 3 pack giveaway is.......

True Random Number GeneratorMin:Max:Result:18 Powered by RANDOM.ORG

Nancy's Couture said... 18

Happy to be a follower via GFC!

August 5, 2011 11:06 PM

Congrats Nancy! Please email me to find out how to claim your prize!!!

Lollipop Tree

2011-08-12T06:00:00.000-07:00

I was browsing Pinterest {which I spend WAY too much time doing} the other day and I saw a picture of a lollipop tree. It was so cute! I honestly didn't click the picture because it is pretty self explanatory. Take a Styrofoam ball, stick a ton of lollipops in it and wa-la!

Isn't it adorable?! It is going to make the perfect decoration at my little one's birthday party!

It was so easy to make too!

SO bright and cheery {Is that a word?!}

And I actually ran out of lollipops, so the bottom wasn't fully covered. But I just tilted the ball a little in the pot and put the exposed Styrofoam at the back! Shhh!!!

I am thinking about making another one just because it was so easy, but not sure yet! One might be enough....

Winners~ The Speckled Frog Giveaway

2011-08-11T09:10:00.000-07:00

The FOUR lucky ducks who get a free pattern of their choice from The Speckled Frog Crochet are:

True Random Number GeneratorMin:Max:Result:38 Powered by RANDOM.ORG

SVG87 said... 38

I am a follower of this blog! and I love the slouchy pompom hat!!

August 5, 2011 7:14 AM

True Random Number GeneratorMin:Max:Result:52 Powered by RANDOM.ORG

Ashley said... 52

I like the beginner monkey hat with flower

August 5, 2011 2:58 PM

True Random Number GeneratorMin:Max:Result:1 Powered by RANDOM.ORG

Tiffany said... 1

I'm a follower of this blog!

August 3, 2011 3:18 PM

True Random Number GeneratorMin:Max:Result:47 Powered by RANDOM.ORG

Linda R. said... 47

I like the Duck Cap pattern

lyromeroo77 at yahoo dot com

CONGRATS to each of you!!! Please email me at livingcraftilyeverafter@yahoo.com to find out how to claim your prize!!!

Thanks to all who entered!

Don't forget you still have time to enter the giveaway for THREE free sewing patterns of your choice from Sew Sweet Patterns! Go HERE to enter!!

The Bapron

2011-08-10T06:00:00.000-07:00

I saw this tutorial for a Baron {baby apron} on Craftiness Is Not Optional and thought it would make the PERFECT cake eating bib for Sadie's first birthday!!!

I already had the owl fabric on hand {since I have been hoarding Owl stuff ever since I decided on that theme} and then I just used an old receiving blanket for the back!

I didn't make my bias tape like she does in the tutorial, I just used store bought. I'm ~~lazy~~ cool like that. {or... I really am new to sewing and didn't want to try and figure out how to make it myself! LOL}

And here is her cake eating outfit! The Ruffle Butt Onsie and her Bapron! She is going to look awfully cute as she smears cake everywhere :)

Winner of Little Birdie Prints Giveaway!

2011-08-09T08:38:00.000-07:00

Congrats Julie N!!!

True Random Number GeneratorMin:Max:

Result:5 Powered by RANDOM.ORG

Julie N said... 5

I am a follower via GFC. : ) The Little Birdie Prints Etsy shop is so cute!! The Autumn Hooty Owl is perfect for my little girl who will be turning one in early November! Thanks so much!!

August 4, 2011 11:28 AM

Please email me to claim your prize!!!

Thanks to all who entered!!

DON'T FORGET YOU STILL HAVE TIME TO ENTER THE OTHER TWO GIVEAWAYS I HAVE RIGHT NOW!

Go HERE to enter to win a crochet pattern of your choice

Go HERE to enter to win THREE free sewing patterns!

Felt Party Hat

2011-08-08T06:00:00.000-07:00

For my little one's birthday party I knew I wanted to make her a felt party hat.

I wasn't sure HOW to make one, but knew I wanted one.

I have a ton of wool felt on hand so I just got to work!

I wish I had taken pictures of the process, but in all honesty I wasn't sure how it would turn out, so I didn't bother taking pictures!

Basically all I did was go to the Dollar Store and buy some paper party hats. Then I traced it onto the felt and cut that out. I ended up just using hot glue to close it and it worked perfect! I used two layers of felt to make it more sturdy and then added embellishments! I added all the embellishments before I glued it in the hat form, it made it a little easier.

I have to say, I LOVE LOVE LOVE how it turned out!!!!

This is a little blurry, but its the only one I have. I just cut the one out and then hand stitched it onto the hat

The flowers

The back

The swirly things are actually stickers and I just used some hot glue to attach them

After I had the hat complete, I attached it to some white Fold Over Elastic I had on hand to make it into a head band for her.

And here it is on my adorable birthday-girl-to-be

The hubster said she looks like she could be a Vegas show girl, but I think he is nuts! She looks so cute!!!

It did take me awhile to figure out how to piece it all together, and I almost scratched the whole thing and bought one off Etsy, but I am SO glad I stuck with it and figured it out! Hopefully she will keep it on during her party!

Giveaway Correction

2011-08-07T16:59:00.000-07:00

I made a BIG OOPS on one of the giveaways!

Sew Sweet Patterns is actually offering one lucky reader a THREE PACK of child patterns of their choice! Not just one!!

So GO HERE and enter to win a THREE PACK of patterns from this amazing shop!!!!!

I am SO SORRY for this mistake! But at least the giveaway just got better, right? :)

Thanks Again and Giveaways

2011-08-05T14:42:00.000-07:00

Hey all!

I just wanted to say thanks again for following along with me!

Hope you have all entered the giveaways I have open!

Go HERE to win a free party printable of your choice from Little Birdie Prints

Go HERE to win a free crochet pattern of your choice from Speckled Frog Crochet

Go HERE to win a free sewing pattern of your choice from Sew Sweet Patterns

And.... I am giving you one more chance to win for each of them!

Here's how-

"Heart" Little Birdie Prints on Etsy and leave a comment on that giveaway that you did

"Like" Speckled Frog Crochet on Facebook and comment on that giveaway that you did

"Follow" Sew Sweet Patterns Blog and leave a comment on that giveaway that you did

GOOD LUCK!!!!!

Sew Sweet Patterns- Gievaway

2011-08-05T08:00:00.000-07:00

I have another amazing giveaway for you today!!!

Sew Sweet Patterns is offering one lucky ready a pattern of their choice!!!!
ETA: They are actually giving away a THREE pack of child patterns of your choice!!!

This shop has some of the cutest sewing patterns ever! I seriously want them all!

Don't want to leave the boys out, look at these!!

AND they even have patterns for your little one's doll!! Hoe excited would your little girl be to wear a matching dress with her doll?! I know mine would think it was the coolest thing ever!

HOW TO ENTER:

FIRST: MANDATORY- must be a follower of this blog via GFC

SECOND: MANDATORY- head on over to Sew Sweet Patterns and come back with a comment on which pattern you would like

THIRD- Optional- blog, tweet, Facebook about this giveaway and come back here with a link to it

This giveaway will be open for one week, ending Friday August 12 at midnight. I will announce the winner Saturday!

Thank you again to all my wonderful followers! I am so excited to have made it to the 500 follower milestone!!

Giveaway~ Speckled Frog Crochet

2011-08-03T14:00:00.000-07:00

Another giveaway to celebrate 500 followers!

Today's giveaway is from my awesome sponsor Speckled Frog Crochet.

This Etsy shop has some of the cutest crochet patterns out there!

Those are just a couple of the amazing patterns she has available!

I know I have mentioned it before, but I have purchased quite a few patterns from Speckled Frog Crochet and I have loved every single one of them!

They are all written very clearly and are so easy to follow!

FOUR- that's right, I said FOUR- lucky followers of this blog will get a FREE crochet pattern of their choice from Speckled Frog Crochet!

You have 3 ways to win!

FIRST- Mandatory- must be a follower of this blog, leave a comment that you are

SECOND- Mandatory- visit Speckled Frog Crochet on Etsy and come back with a comment on which pattern you would like

THIRD- optional- blog, tweet of Facebook about this and come back and comment with the link

GOOD LUCK!

Giveaway will remain open for one week, closing next Wednesday Aug 10 at midnight. Winner will be announced on Thursday. Good luck and thank you again to all my amazing followers!!

GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED!

And don't forget you can enter to win free invitation or announcement printables HERE

The Circle Skirt

2011-08-03T07:22:00.000-07:00

I had a Circle Skirt I saw on Sugar Bee Crafts and the tutorial on Made on my sewing 'to-do' list for awhile now. Mainly because the tutorial said it was an easy project. Since I am brand new to the sewing world, easy is what I need!

And it really was easy!!!

My stitches are not that straight and a little wonky in some places, but overall I am really happy with how it turned out!

Sam loves it too! She had so much fun spinning around in it! :) {please excuse the mess of toys. I took these pics without bothering to clean up.... because lets face it, my house pretty much looks like this if the kids are awake!}

I am having so much fun learning how to sew!! I have a few more projects on my list that I think are easy enough for me to tackle with my limited skills!

Meet Sewkie

2011-08-02T09:24:00.000-07:00

I figured it was high time to name my new BFF since I have been spending so much time with her lately.

Blog friends, meet Sewkie

*giggle* please tell me someone is a True Blood fan! I obviously am :)

Anyways, Sewkie and I are really having fun getting to know each other!

I also decided to make the party favors for Sadie's birthday party... in 3 weeks. I decided to make tote bags in the cutest owl corduroy fabric! {which you can kind of see in the background on the table} Only problem is I need 20 of them! So... that is why Sewkie and I have been spending so much time together- they are taking me a long time! The hubster thinks I am crazy for deciding to make them, but I always seem to take on more than I can chew! Its how I roll! :)

I wish I would have joined the sewing band wagon a long time ago! I am having so much fun!!!

And don't foget to enter the giveaway for free party printables HERE!

Little Birdie Prints- Giveaway

2011-08-01T12:00:00.000-07:00

My little one turns one next month, and when it was time to get serious about the invites, I went to Etsy for some inspiration and ideas.

I came across the store Little Birdie Prints and LOVED all the cute designs she had! At first I was planning on making my own invites, then I saw this in the Little Birdie Prints store and HAD to use it. I mean.... it has my little ones full name spelled the same way in the same theme of her party- Owls! It was a sign- I had to order it!

Kim, the creator of Little Birdie Prints, changed some of the colors in the invitation to match the dress my daughter has on in the picture I sent her for my invite {this is NOT my daughters invite, this is the sample in her shop}. Kim is an absolute pleasure to work with!

She has SO many cute designs in her shop!

She also has GORGEOUS birth announcements

And those are just a few of the many adorable designs in her store!!

Little Birdie Prints is offering one of my amazing followers any invitation in the shop!!!

That's right- you get to pick any invitation you want!!!

How to Enter:

First- you MUST be a follower via GFC of this blog

Second {mandatory}- head on over to Little Birdie Prints and come back here and tell me what invite you would chose if you one

Third {optional}- Blog, Facebook, Tweet about this giveaway and come back here with the link

Giveaway will be open for one week, closing next Monday August 8 at midnight and the winner will be announced on Tuesday!

Good Luck!!!!

GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED

Ruffle Butt Onsie

2011-08-01T06:00:00.000-07:00

I did it!!!

I used my sewing machine!

I took your advice and just jumped right in. My first project is a pretty simple one, I know, but I am still so proud of it!!!!

In fact, I was so proud I couldn't even wait until it was washed and dried before I put it on my model! But doesn't she look so cute with a little ruffle tush?!? LOVE it!

And here it is after I washed and dried it.

After I took these pictures, I decided the front needed something, so I added a ruffle to the front as well. {again, pic is pre- wash and dry}

I know this is a simple project, but I still love how it came out and that *I* did it!!!

And, I might be addicted to sewing now! I have already made a skirt for my older daughter {post on that later this week!}

Thanks for all the advice you guys gave me last week regarding sewing! :)

Five Fabulous Finds #19

2011-07-29T06:00:00.000-07:00

Its FRIDAY! YAY!!!

You know what that means!

Five Fabulous Finds!

LOTS of eye candy out in blogland this week! Here are some of my faves!

I LOVE these soft baby blocks that Ali at Away We Grow made! Aren't they adorable! I love the fabric! So bright and fun!

Chameleon Girls made this awesome Hogwarts cake! Seriously- SO COOL!!!!

Julie at The Farm Girl made this delicious looking grilled pizza! I recently discovered grilled pizza and it is so yummy!

Miranda at Life In The Motherhood shows how to make this awesome night bowling game!

Michelle at Green Acres Hobby Farm shows how to make a failed strawberry picking trip into a fun new adventure! What a great idea!!!

Hope everyone has a great weekend!!!!

500 Followers Giveaways

2011-07-28T14:36:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone!

Did you see that little "followers" section over on the right?!?!!?

This little blog that I started at the end of January has OVER 500 followers now!

WOO HOO!!!!!

I am SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO excited!!

To share my excitement and to say THANK YOU to my awesome followers, I have a few giveaways lined up for next week!

So make sure to stop by next week to enter them!

Birthday Balloon Wreath

2011-07-27T06:00:00.000-07:00

I am in party planning mode now since my little one turns one next month!

I think I have been in denial that she is actually turning ONE and I have been slacking on her party planning!

So this past weekend I finally got my butt in gear and started making things!

The first thing I made was a wreath! I saw this balloon wreath on How Does She and knew I wanted to make one!

I followed their tutorial and made mine the same way. I ended up using way more balloons though- 250! Mine is very full and HEAVY!

I also took some pipe cleaners, wrapped them around a pen to curl them and stuck some of those in there! I love the way they look!

I am so happy with the way it turned out! I think it will be perfect on the front door!

I am planning on getting a wood "1" to hang in the middle as well!

And doing this wreath really got me back into the party planning mode! I am anxious to complete more projects now!!!

Winner Winner Chicken Dinner!

2011-07-26T08:30:00.000-07:00

*giggle* I have always wanted to say that!

We have a winner in the Cotton Candy's Gifts Custom Ruffle Skirt giveaway!!!

And the lucky person is...

{Not sure why it is saying 1-100, I put in 1-71!}

Min:Max:Result:54

Bobbie Mackey said... 54

i am a new follower....this is gorgeous! would be so pretty in purple and green!

CONGRATS!!!!!

Please email me with in 48 hours at livingcraftilyeverafter@yahoo.com to get details on how to claim your prize!!

I want to say THANK YOU to all who entered!

I just reached 500 followers and want to celebrate!! Look for a couple giveaways in the near future! :)

Blog Swap with Tracy from Naptime = Craft Time!

2011-07-25T06:00:00.000-07:00

I saw this post on my friend Tracy's blog Naptime = Craft Time and I begged her to come share it here! I LOVE LOVE LOVE this project and I know you guys will too! And lucky for us Tracy was kind enough to say yes to my begging!

So sit back and enjoy this awesome post!

{I am over at Tracy's Blog Naptime = Craft Time today sharing my tutorial on Fabric Flowers!}

Take it away Tracy!!!!

I want to thank Kelly for allowing me to guest post on her awesome blog! I am so excited to share my latest project with you.. I hope that you enjoy!

I know I am not alone in my Pinterest OBSESSION.... Recently I saw a Pin that was linked to a seller on Etsy for custom Crayon art. It looked to be crayons that were affixed to a canvas and melted down the canvas. I LOVED the look of the drippy, melty, colorful wax.. but my cheap ass didn't love the price tag. The artsy fartsy craftsy part of me just knew I could make this on my own.. for a fraction of the cost. So I did. And, lucky you, I will show and tell you how I figured it out!

Here is the one from Etsy. Awesome, isn't it?! This 16"x20" framed canvas sold for $65 or $75!!

Now, before mommy is allowed to do an art project (when the kids are awake), I have to find something fun for them to do! So... we tried sandpaper art. I *shocker* also saw this idea on Pinterest, but I believe they were making t-shirts. To be honest, I didn't click the link, I just re-pinned it and came up with this. On a clipboard, I put down a piece of sandpaper, covered it with a piece of drawing paper, and gave them some twistable crayons. They had a great time and I got busy on my own crayon project!

Our supplies.

They got busy right away. I love my righty and my lefty- it works well when they are sharing space on the Learning Tower!

But, apparently Benjamin decided he needed a little more elbow room!

You can sort of see the texture here. Not great, but it worked, I suppose.

Next time I'll get a tougher grit sandpaper. They loved it though and that's what matters!

Onto the crayon project! This was SUCH a cheap project!! Right now Kroger has Crayola 24 packs of crayons on sale for .25 each (up to 4)!! Just typing that makes me want to go buy more!! Wal Mart will match it as well, so go get you some Crayola's!!

Supplies:

2 boxes of Crayola 24ct. crayons (2 @ .25/ea = .50)

1 11"x14" canvas (3pk @ 5.14, so 1 = $1.71) (* I had an old 3 pack of canvases from years ago- don't know how much they would be now, but the price tag on them was $5.14!)

hot glue gun & glue

blow dryer

newspaper or other covering to cover your work area a.k.a. "the splatter zone"

Total cost = less than $2.50!!

This is the back of the canvas I used. It's not the kind that is stretched over a frame.

So, of course you can use any color combination you wish, but for an 11"x14" canvas, two packs fit perfectly!! I did the rainbow, then the reverse rainbow. I left out the two white, two browns, and one black. There was space for one crayon at the end so I added a black.

Step 1: Lay out your crayons in the order you want them to be on your canvas.

Step 2: Move them down towards the bottom of your canvas so you can begin gluing at the top. Using your hot glue gun, make two lines of hot glue, approximately 2"-3" long (depending on how quickly you work). Place the crayons individually on the glue, working quickly before it dries. Be sure to line them up straight and use the top of the canvas as a guide. I thought it was important for them all to look cohesive, so I made sure "Crayola" was facing out on all of them. It would also be neat if you did it and showed the other side, with the names of each color showing instead.

My line got wonky and I had to peel a few crayons off. In the process Mr. Green broke his tip. (Aaaaahhhhh!!!). My immediate thought was to glue it back.. yeah, with hot glue. Any guesses how that worked out?....

Well poo poo on you for being a Negative Nancy and thinking it wouldn't work! Thinking that it would just melt and not stick... HA! It did melt and it didn't work...at first, but I overcame and conquered attaching the tip! Did it really need to be put back on? Nope, but the one broken tip just didn't sit well with me!

Step 3: Go outside and take a picture of your beautiful glued down crayons! It looked SO cool!!

This picture shows you the width of the canvas (and my little fella!).

So, I'm in Texas. It's summer. It's friggin HOT. You could cook a steak on your dashboard. Naturally, my first thought was to set it in the sun and let the sun do its work. This says it was 99, but that wasn't current, it was more than 30 minutes before I saved this picture. Yesterday it reached 100 after 5pm, so I'm going with that.

So, I found a sunny spot in the backyard, up against the house.

But, as you can see the sun was close to going behind the trees.

The kids played in the sand table.

I watered our pathetic, it's too hot for us to be alive, hanging baskets.

We had some popsicles..

If you haven't tried the Slow Melt Popsicles, you MUST!!!

Ben dropped his green one, so he took mine...

At 15 minutes you can sort of see that the wax began melting in the wrappers and becoming translucent. But, no drippy-drippy. :(

I finished my popsicle. Here's the joke on my stick.

At 30 minutes: Yep, they are hot, but still NO drippy! I had to move the canvas up to the window sill because the sun had moved and it was beginning to get shady.

See?

Brooke finished her popsicle.

And Ben did too.

Phoebe said hello.

And then we went inside and I hatched Plan B. This is where it gets serious and fun!

Step 4: Get out your hair dryer.

Since it WILL splatter... protect your work area with newspaper or something similar. That is pink crayon. Oops.

Our little art project drop cloth is a plastic table cloth from the Dollar Tree. I had to place things on both sides to hold it up (would have been smarter to just tape it up, but oh well. I also had to put something in front of the canvas so it wouldn't slide down.

Step 5: prop up your canvas at an angle so the wax will drip onto the canvas and not onto the surface below.

Step 6: Use your dryer on the "hot" setting. I started out with high and once the wax started melting I went back down to "low". The high will give more of a splattered look along with the dripping. I wanted the drips for this one, not splatter. I'll probably do this again and play more with the different things you can do with how the wax drips.

Here is a short video of the process. (sorry it is sideways...)

Step 7: Keep going along your canvas and go back and forth as you see fit.

VIOLA!! Done!! That was seriously FUN!

Step 8: Take your finished masterpiece outside to admire it, photograph it, and upload the pics to FB to share with your friends!! SO awesome!

Since I also have a *slight* Instagram obsession... I had to Instagram the pic! :)

Now I just have to figure out how I want to display this. It would be cool to mount it to a painted board, methinks!... This is great for a kid's room or a play room, or an art room, craft room, teacher gift... etc!

Have FUN and please send me pics if you make one (naptimecraftmommy@gmail.com)! I'd love to see what you come up with! If you blog about this, please link back to me @ www.naptimecraftmommy.blogspot.com!

*******************************************************************************

Thank you so much Tracy for sharing this amazing tutorial!!! SO FUN!!

Please be sure to go check out Tracy's blog for more fun ideas and tutorials! She has a ton of great stuff over there!! I could browse her blog for hours!!

Thanks again Tracy!

Five Fabulous Finds #18

2011-07-22T06:00:00.000-07:00

Happy Friday!

I have sewing on the brain this week since I finally got a sewing machine for my birthday!

How cute and creative is this Monster Tooth Pillow over at The Crunchy Mamacita?! LOVE this!

This Brown Maxi Skirt from Show Tell Share looks so comfy! And not too tricky to make... wonder if I could manage? Hmmm

I love how Michelle from Polka Dots and Pizza dressed up these simple onsies! These would make a great baby shower gift!

Michelle at Loving Every Second made these adorable Flag Shirts! I know the 4th has passed, but they would still be cute for Labor Day! And I like how she admits she is not a seamstress...makes me feel like even *I* might be able to do this one! lol

Vixen over at Vixen Made created these adorable capes for her little boys out of dad's old T-shirts! So cute!!!

Hope everyone has a great weekend!!!!

Calling All Sewers...

2011-07-20T12:16:00.000-07:00

Is "sewers" the right term even? Who knows...

ANYWAYS-

My parents bought me a new sewing machine for my birthday- Woo Hoo!!!

BUT- I have NO idea how to sew!

Anyone have any tips?

Or good starter projects?

I am itching to use it, but I have NO clue where to start!

Any help would be greatly appreciated! :)

And since every post deserves a picture- here is a picture of me and all my girlfriends from my Birthday party the other night! (I am on the bottom left!)

I am hoping some of my readers will have some good sewing tips for me!

Review and Giveaway: Cotton Candy Gifts

2011-07-18T06:00:00.000-07:00

I am SOOOOO excited to share this shop with you all!

Cotton Candy's Gifts is an Etsy store featuring gorgeous one of a kind hand made clothing items.

The creator of the store is Candy and she is the mother of 11 {ELEVEN!!}, 8 of them girls! So she has had years and years of experience sewing for her daughters!

Here are 7 of her daughters {the oldest daughter is not in the picture} that she has enjoyed creating for.

Candy makes sure every item is of the highest of quality and does not rush through orders just to get them out the door. She makes sure everything is perfect before she ships anything out.

She sent me a Little Ruffles Skirt and let me tell you, this thing is GORGEOUS! It is so well made I know Sam will enjoy it for as long as it fits, and I have no doubt it will still be in great shape to be passed on to Sadie. It is obvious the first time you hold this skirt how much care and effort was put into making it.

As soon as the skirt got here Sam HAD to put it on and model it for me! She had so much fun running around in it and kept telling me how beautiful she looked in it!

I had a hard time getting her to stand still to get a good picture! LOL! I think she loved the way all the ruffles moved when she ran!

Candy says: "I have soooo much fun putting each one together and creating the colors and fabric patterns to go together."

All I did was tell her Sam's favorite colors and she created this one of a kind skirt for us!

She only uses the highest quality cottons in all her creations so you can be sure you are purchasing a top quality item!

Today is my birthday- but YOU are the lucky ones!!
Candy is offering one of my blog readers a FREE Ruffle Skirt in the colors of their choice!!!!

AMAZING!!!!!

You will be able to tell Candy what colors and size you would like the skirt in, and she will custom make it for you! {The size range from 9-12 months up to 14 girls only} How incredible is that?!?!

I cannot stress enough how gorgeous these skirts are. You really want to win this!!!

You have THREE ways to enter to win your very own CUSTOM Ruffle Skirt:

1-Mandatory- You must be a follower of this blog and leave a comment telling me you are
2- "heart" Cotton Candy's Gifts on Etsy and comment that you did
3- Blog, Tweet or Facebook about this giveaway and post a link to your post in a comment

This giveaway will be open for one week, ending Monday July 25 at midnight and I will draw the winner using random.org Tuesday morning!

AND- if you don't want to wait for the giveaway or one of her other items caught your eye, for one week only you can use the code "BLOG1" and earn 10% off your purchase! This is good on everything in her shop- ready to ship items, made to order items AND special requests!!!

I am 100% satisfied with my skirt from Cotton Candy's Gifts and I know you will be too!

GOOD LUCK!!!!

This giveaway is now CLOSED! Thanks to all who entered!

Five Fabulous Finds #17

2011-07-15T06:00:00.000-07:00

OK, I am back! :)

I just needed some time to figure out a new schedule now that I am home. I am trying to get the girls to take a nap at the same time, but it doesn't always work out! But, we are working things out and getting into a new routine!

I want to say THANK YOU to all who sent me such lovely messages. I really appreciated each and every one of them. They made me smile and that is just what I needed!

OK- enough of the mushy stuff- on to the good stuff!

I personally LOVE to give hand made gifts to friends. For wedding and baby showers I will typically get an item off the registry and then add something hand made. So this Wedding gift that Erin at Creating and Teaching made caught my eye. I LOVE it!

I love this tutorial for an awning that Dacia and Chelsea at Creative Mommas made! So cute and would really add a nice tough to any party table display!

Natalie at Beach House in the City took this garage sale picture frame and turned it into an amazing photo prop! LOVE!!!!

Melanie at Ewehoo made this adorable wine cork art peice. The part I love the most? She had written on certain corks the date and event it was from! Genious!!

I have Owls on my brain since I am in the midst of planning my little ones first birthday party- Owl Theme. So this post by Lindsy at Preschool Alphabet caught my eye! A whole post with owl activies! Hmm... giving me some ideas! :)

Happy Friday everyone!

It is actually my 30th birthday on Monday {Eeek! I am not going to be in my 20's anymore!!!} so we are having a Minute To Win It theme party Saturday night to celebrate! Should be a blast! I will have pictures to share from that next week!

Tutorial- Easy Way To Cut Tulle

2011-07-13T06:00:00.000-07:00

If you have ever made a tutu you know it is *sorta* a pain in the neck to cut all the tulle into strips.

I buy my tulle on the roll, so it is already the right width, I just need to cut the length.

I am going to show you a quick and easy way to cut your whole roll of tulle in equal lengths in under 5 minutes! {more like 3 minutes!}

Materials Needed:

Cookie sheet

Roll of Tulle

Sharp Scissors

What you are going to do is just wrap your tulle around the cookie sheet

Just wrap and wrap and wrap until the whole roll is on your cookie sheet.

Then take your sharp scissors and cut along one side

Take the tulle off and you now have all equal lengths of tulle strips!

SO easy!!

I was cutting mine to make this Tutu Bow Holder

Gorgeous, isn't it? I love it. Love the yellow. Love the flower print. I just love the whole thing!

This one isn't listed in my Etsy Store right now, but it is for sale! Email me if you are interested! I can also make these in custom colors, just contact me and I will work with you to create this gorgeous bow holder in the colors of your choice!

I hope this tip helps save you some time next time you are cutting tulle! And use your imagination! You don't have to just use a cookie sheet. You can use anything! I have used frames before because I didn't need it as long. Even a piece of cardboard would work!

My Apologies...

2011-07-08T06:00:00.000-07:00

I don't have a Five Fabulous Finds post for you today.

Last week I was laid off from my job. The company I worked for moved my position {and 450 others} to a new office in Texas. We knew it was coming, they gave us 60 days notice, but it is still a shock to be unemployed.

My husband and I are trying to make it work so I can stay home with my kiddos for a little while, so it really isn't that bad.

BUT- it may take me a week or so to get back in the swing of things with the blog and being regular with postings again! I am just learning to divide my time between the kiddos and the blog now that I am home full time!

Diaper Cake

2011-07-06T06:00:00.000-07:00

I know, I know. EVERYONE knows what a diaper cake is and how to make one.

That's cool.

I'm just here to show you one I made :)

These were taken Pre-Blog, so they are not the best quality- but I still loved how this cake came out, so I am sharing anyways! {notice my Dollar Store bag in the back. lol. Oops!}

I attached Paci's and rattles and various baby toys to each tier. And all the flowers are roses made from baby socks!

{that is cat food on the floor, not bugs. Just thought I should clarify!}

Sometimes a simple diaper cake is the perfect centerpiece for a shower.

I also like to put a bottle of Champagne in the center and bring one to the new mom at home :)

You can make these elaborate or simple, but I think they are always gorgeous.

If I am not in the mood to make a whole diaper cake, a Diaper Wreath is just as cute {and actually more unique!}

That is all. Nothing show stopping on diaper cakes, just wanted to share one of mine! :)