Thursday, December 29, 2011

A Crafty Soiree #70

Hello Everyone!  I hope you've all been enjoying this holiday season.  I've been indulging in a bit of a Christmas break from blogging and loving all the time spent with my family.  Thank you for taking time to drop by and join us!  I have been continuously amazed by all the talent shared each week and am looking forward to more inspiration in 2012!  Let's get started with our last Crafty Soiree of 2011, with our weekly features. 
Christmas Spool Garland from Artsy VaVa, the beads remind me of cranberries - that won't ever spoil so you can use it year after year!
Scrap Wood Christmas Tree from Signs by Andrea, love the winter white!
Strawberry Pom Poms from MeiJo's Joy, which are darling as an embellishment for your kid's clothing.

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For being our features this week, here is a lovely Crafty Soiree ribbon, yours to proudly display!
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Let's Party!
  • Link up to four of your creative projects (No Etsy stores or other linky parties pretty please).
  • Add your link to the specific posts not the main URL
  • Add a "Crafty Soiree" button to your blog or posts.
  • Please comment on the post linked up in front of you. All party goers love meeting new friends... don't just stop there...if you see something that catches your fancy-- stop by and say hi!
  • Your hostesses would love it if you'd follow us. You can find Malia here.
Don't forget, A Crafty Soiree is hosted on two blogs, so when you link up on one your link will automatically show up on the other one too! Please note, by linking up to A Crafty Soiree, you're giving permission to feature your project and photos in the future, with proper credit of course☺
Have a Happy New Year and I'll see you all in 2012! Signature

Saturday, December 24, 2011

May All Your Days Be Merry & Bright

Happy Holidays & See You in the New Year!

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Friday, December 23, 2011

Kushyfoot Flats to Go Review

It's that time of year again, holiday party season, a fun but often exhausting time. With so many events to go to all in a row, after the first few my feet are sore from being squeezed into dress shoes. What often happens, is I spend most of the time in just my socks. Resulting in photos like the one on the left below. Do you like that? Smiles on Thanksgiving and otherwise a nice photo but hardly something I'd frame due to the socks! The one on the right taken with my Flats to Go is so much better!

With my new pair of Kushyfoot Flats to Go, I can look stylish and be comfortable! They feel like wearing slippers but their trendy design gives me the look of cute leather ballet flats.  Making me look a lot more polished! I like how they fit, although next time I'd get a smaller size, as their fit is generous. The best part is that they fold up and barely take up any room in my already stuffed diaper bag.
They fit nicely in even my smallest purses too. This is great for anytime you are visiting during the snowy winter, here in Michigan. There are so many times I wear my boots out and about and it's just too much of a hassle to bring a spare pair of shoes for me. They just add more weight to all the kid stuff I tote around. That won't be a problem any more because Flats to Go are very light and easy to bring along in their own little carrier.  I really find them quite handy and stylish.
Product Description: Soft, flexible faux leather Flats-to-go® are an instant and elegant solution to a perennial need for the relief of sore heels, blisters and scrunched up toes. Featuring an elastic back for a better fit, and a unique, 3-dimensional wavy sole that cushions and massages the foot as the wearer walks-perfect for indoor and smooth outdoor surfaces. They slip neatly and easily into their owner's purse, folded into a cute clear plastic carrier with its own little handles. 1 pack per order.

Flats to Go come in a variety of sizes and colors.  The full line from Kushyfoot are available online and at these retailers.

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Disclosure: A complimentary review pair were provided. The experiences and opinions related within are personal and unbiased. No other compensation was received.

Thursday, December 22, 2011

A Crafty Soiree # 69

Happy Holidays to all my crafty friends!  I so happy that in the mist of the seasonal craziness you've taken the time to come by and say hi and link up.  I can't believe this weekend is Christmas, it feels like the month has flown by...so many projects I want to do and so little time!  Oh well, there's always next year and here are three projects I've put on my "to do" list.
I've been reading Megan's blog Fowl Single File, ever since I began browsing her archives for my other blog ABC & 123: A Learning Cooperative.  She's got fabulous ideas and one my favorites was her Christmas Hoop-La from last year...in fact it was a previous Crafty Soiree feature.  I just couldn't resist featuring the newest one she's done!  Click over to see the one featuring a favorite Christmas carol.
I made some mini book ornaments this year but next year I am so going to make these from Helping Little Hands.  They feature cover art from beloved children's books and her daughter even helped sew them.  A teacher or librarian would go crazy over them!
Isn't this Peppermint Initial from The Turquoise Piano a fun idea?  She's got the perfect picture to pair with it!  I think this would be a fun thing to do for my little guy's room next year, perhaps minus the tulle for him.

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For being our features this week, here is a lovely Crafty Soiree ribbon, yours to proudly display!
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Let's Party!
  • Link up to four of your creative projects (No Etsy stores or other linky parties pretty please).
  • Add your link to the specific posts not the main URL
  • Add a "Crafty Soiree" button to your blog or posts.
  • Please comment on the post linked up in front of you. All party goers love meeting new friends... don't just stop there...if you see something that catches your fancy-- stop by and say hi!
  • Your hostesses would love it if you'd follow us. You can find Malia here.
Don't forget, A Crafty Soiree is hosted on two blogs, so when you link up on one your link will automatically show up on the other one too! Please note, by linking up to A Crafty Soiree, you're giving permission to feature your project and photos in the future, with proper credit of course☺
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Wednesday, December 21, 2011

Sending a Snowman

Every year we give our Grandparents a photo calendar.  Here's how we wrapped them this time, aren't they cute?  While ours are on the outside of a white envelope, it would also be a fun snow themed art project for any snowy day.  We made some minor changes from the original, using ribbon for the scarf and the end of two different sized brushes to make our mouth and nose. click here for the directions for Push the Envelope.
PS: The photo tag in the top photo is one of the freebies I provided for this kit release.

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Linked Up At: my own weekly linky: A Crafty Soiree, The 36th Avenue, and Tickled Pink at 504 Main

Tuesday, December 20, 2011

Make it Personal with Vinyl & Coupon Code from Oh My Crafts

Yesterday I showed you seasonal projects I made with vinyl from OhMyCrafts.com.  Today I'm having fun making labels with it.  The first one I am super excited about!  Look at the makeover I gave my NookColor holder!  I've been wanting to jazz it up but wasn't too sure about painting or using permanent ink to stamp or even gluing on letters die cut out of paper.  That all seemed rather permanent, and what if I made a mistake while applying the paint or ink and then hated how it turned out?  I'd be stuck with it!  Paper die cuts may become dirty or get wet over time so those weren't a good option.
Now every time I look at it, I think "Fabulous!"  Using my Cricut, I just cut out a tag from Lavender Vinyl, using the Once Upon a Princess Cartridge.  Then my name from Hot Pink Vinyl with Alphalicious.  It was so easy to layer them and while I'm not planning on removing them any time soon, it's nice to know the vinyl is repositionable.  If I want to change the look I can just peel off and start again.  Plus I think it's rather stylish too.  I got a lot of comments about it when I took it out at ER's dance class yesterday.  Lots of moms wanting to know how I got that cool look!  And of course, I also pointed out how easy it would be to do the samething to an iphone!
The other thing I did may not be a ground breaking idea but it's one of the ones I'm most excited about.  I used the chalkboard vinyl to make labels for the glass containers in our bathroom.  These handblown canisters have made a couple of moves with us and are some of my favorite pieces.  I wanted something special for these!  Brad thinks it's really neat that the vinyl is chalkboard and that we can change what it says and also peel it off and move it somewhere else too.
Here's a better view of the monogram I also cut from the Chalkboard Vinyl, the P is for our last name.  I have been meaning to use my glass etching cream to add a monogram.  I'm so glad I procrastinated waited to do that because this is much easier to see, than the frosted look glass etching gives, especially in a low light room like our master bath.  Now I can't wait to label EVERYTHING!

I realized after the fact, that I didn't really "review" the vinyl from Oh My Crafts in yesterday's post.  I was way to excited to share the cool things I did with it, which in a way is the best review for a crafting material anyway!  But I would like to say that the vinyl was very easy to use with my Cricut.  It came with some pointers which really helped, like to use the #2 setting for pressure and to practice on paper first.  You really can be creating with the vinyl within a few minutes of getting it on your door step. 

One of the reason's it's taken me so long to start using vinyl is because at the stores by my house it's pretty expensive and there's a very limited color choice.  I thought the vinyl prices at Oh My Crafts are great, BIG savings!  I am sure that vinyl projects will be featured on my blog a lot in 2011!
The Vinyl Used in These Projects was Provided by OhMyCrafts.com

Don't forget the Coupon Code: Enter OMCBLOG10
Save 10% off you entire order!
Plus to really save, get free shipping on orders over $75!

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Disclosure: The vinyl used in the projects was provided Oh My Crafts, for review purposes without charge.  No other compensation was received and the opinions and experiences related within are personal and unbiased.

Linked Up At: my own weekly linky: A Crafty Soiree, The 36th Avenue, and Tickled Pink at 504 Main

Monday, December 19, 2011

Celebrate Christmas with Vinyl & Coupon Code

I have been wanting to try out cutting vinyl for a LONG time and when I got a fabulous offer from OhMyCrafts.com I knew it was time to dust off the Cricut and get cutting!  Now that I've seen how awesome it, I have a feeling vinyl will be showing up on EVERYTHING!

Oh My Crafts send me a wonderful variety of vinyl to experiment with.  When I got my package, with its rainbow of colors, was like Christmas had arrived early!  Oh the possibilities that ran through my head...it was hard for me to focus and decide what to do with it.  Since it's the holiday season, I just seemed natural to start with three projects to decorate our home.
You all know how much I LOVE monograms and personalizing things.  To ease myself into using vinyl I made two cute ornaments, one for each of my children.  Even though she's no longer an only child, ER will definitely always be our little princess.   I used my Once Upon a Princess cartridge with a sheet of Grape Vinyl to cut out the crown with her first initial inside and then simply stuck it onto a glass ornament.  It blended in seamlessly and almost looked painted on.  The purple and green color combo matches our great room.  It took me less than five minutes to do and most of that time was spent looking up which buttons to press on my machine!
It's LB's first Christmas so I made his ornament a little bit more elaborate and did a full monogram on one side and the year 2011 on the other, both cut with the Calligraphy Collection cartridge from a scrap of Chalkboard Vinyl I had leftover from a project I'll share tomorrow.  I thought the black would look more masculine than purple and like how turned out.  However, next time I would use Ebony Vinyl, because the chalkboard vinyl is thicker than the other colors, so the edges didn't "disappear" into the surface of the ornament like the Grape Vinyl.  You can clearly see the edges of the chalkboard vinyl on the ornament when you look closely.   However the chalkboard vinyl is awesome, and one of my favorites and while not perfect for this application it's great for many others.
Besides personalizing everything, one of my other great loves is hand print projects. This is probably because there aren't too many things more personal than your hand print!  I have made hand print calendars - that's actually my most popular post, Valentine's, canvases, hand stitched ornaments, displays, done them for literature enrichment projects, and made even a hanging bat for Halloween.  So I think I HAD to do something in vinyl with them!

It actually solved a problem I was having anyway, because LB is only four months old and pretty squirmy.  It's been too hard to paint that little hand and get a good clear print.  I just needed a close approximation to his hand's outline so, using a nontoxic ink pad I managed to get a quickie, albeit slightly blurry print.  I used it to make a pattern that I traced, along with ER's hand, on Emerald Green Flake Vinyl to make a hand print keepsake plate.  The sentiment is cut with my Alphalicious cartridge out of Ruby Glitter Vinyl .  I actually got a little teary eyed when I finished it, I love it so much.  The melamine plate was only $1.99 but's now priceless to me.
The last thing I have to share today is this shadow box for a picture of the first time my little guy experienced snow.  I loved using the vinyl on glass; I think it's ideally suited for a shadow box with all the layers.  I really adds to the depth of the project.  The snowflakes are cut with my Doodlecharms cartridge out of Lucky Green Vinyl, Bubblegum Vinyl, and Pacific Blue Vinyl, which was also used for the sentiment. 
As you can see I've had a ton of fun playing around with the vinyl from OhMyCrafts.com. If you haven't tried using vinyl, I suggest you get started right away! My pick for beginners is the Christmas Bundle with 10 Preselected Colors + 1 Free Transfer Tape. It's just $15.50, which is unbelievable, you can't even get two rolls of vinyl from the craft retailer by my home!  You will find that and many more amazing deals on OhMyCrafts, who are known for their amazing prices on the hottest crafting supplies!
The Vinyl Used In Featured Projects Was Provided by OhMyCrafts.com:
Pacific Blue Vinyl

Special Coupon Code: Enter OMCBLOG10
Save 10% off you entire order!

I'll be back tomorrow with two more "bonus" projects featuring vinyl from OhMyCrafts.com!

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These projects have been linked up to: my own weekly linky: A Crafty Soiree and...The 36th Avenue, Made by You Monday at Skip to My Lou, Craftastic Monday at Sew Can Do, Making the World Cuter, Just Something I Whipped Up at The Girl Creative,  Motivate Me Monday at Keeping It Simple, Market Yourself Monday at Sumo's Sweet Stuff, Craft-O-Maniac, Live Made Lovely, and Tickled Pink at 504 Main

Disclaimer: The projects in this post were all created with complimentary vinyl, provided by OhMyCrafts.com.  The experiences and opinions related within are personal and unbiased.

Sunday, December 18, 2011

Children's Book Review: Cooper and Me and the Winter Adventure

Cooper and Me is a delightful series featuring Cooper, a fun loving Labrador and his canine friends.  It's the brainchild of a mother daughter duo, Monique and Alexa Peters, who work together to write and illustrate the tales.  Each one helps kids learn how to cope with a challenge that a young child may encounter and is resolved with a solution that leads to a "happy ending".  I love the pictures that are based on Alexa's original drawings, they retain a kid drawn look that my five year old found very appealing.  The rhyming text is fun to read.

In Cooper and Me and the Winter Adventure!, the title character and his friend Bella the Morkie.  The pair go out to enjoy a day of playing in the snow and sledding down the town's biggest hill.  When they get to the bottom, they find themselves in an unfamiliar place.  They aren't sure what to do, should they sit and wait?  As it grows dark they realize they need to get home and begin to howl as loud as they could, and hear a bark back.  It's Trooper, the German Shepard, who helps them get home.

My daughter enjoyed the story, she really liked that it was about dogs. At the end of the story there is a space to add important information, that everyone should know if they get lost.  It's helpful to add your own there and practice it each time you read the book.  There's additional enrichment, like questions about the story and parents can go online and download  the Cooper and Me Theme song as well. 

Cooper and Me and the Winter Adventure! provides a nice, safe, way to introduce conversations about safety and what to do if you are lost.  It gave my daughter something to think about, without scaring her too much and worrying about getting lost.  She can see that things turned out okay and didn't get overly anxious, as she sometimes can when we talk about "scary" situations. 
She loved the idea that a little girl followed her dream and helped write a real book.  She loves to draw herself, and thought it was really neat that Alexa drew the pictures.  (I didn't go into detail about how the illustrations are based on drawings and just let her know Alexa helped.)  ER now wants to write books with me, so it's encouraged her interests in literature, always a good thing in my book!

Find out more about Cooper and Me on their website and blog.  Connect with Cooper and Me on Twitter and Facebook.  You can find about Cooper and Me's philanthropic causes on their about page.  I think it's wonderful how they are helping kids through their books and with their proceeds. 

Continuing Alexa and Monique's passion for giving back,$1 of every Winter Adventure book sold through February 2012 will be donated to the Lustgarten Foundation, which is America's largest private foundation dedicated solely to funding pancreatic cancer research.

You can help them help kids too!  Purchase one of the Cooper and Me titles on their website and through December 21st, for every book purchased they will donate one book to the Today Show Toy Drive

Use the code BUY 1 GIVE 1 at checkout!

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Disclaimer: A complimentary copy of the book was provided.  However the experiences and opinions expressed within are personal and unbiased.  No other compensation was received.

Friday, December 16, 2011

Clipboards Part 2

When I made ER's clipboard, I also made two more for my friend Margaret's girls, we saw them last weekend for our holiday get together.  They were a big hit with both girls writing and drawing on them right away.  Margaret said they'll be perfect to help keep them occupied on their upcoming flight.  I thought they turned out pretty cute.  Just ignore the weird reflection on them, from the light bouncing off the metal clip.
Here's the back of one, so it'll be super cute anyway you look at it :)   I don't know how many more handmade gifts I'll be doing this year.  Sad that it's less than usual but I've decided to give myself a break and enjoy LB's first Christmas and not stress out too much about it.  It's been kinda freeing!  
I'm pretty sure the paper is from K&Co, the yellow paper frills are from Doodlebug Design Inc., but the flowered paper on the back..I'm not sure other than I know it was in a stack.

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Shared at Tickled Pink at 504 Main

Thursday, December 15, 2011

A Crafty Soiree #68

Right around now is when I think, gosh if only I could sew more than a slight wonky straight stitch I could totally whip up a few more handmade gifts.  Here are three crafters who have done just that!
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For being our features this week, here is a lovely Crafty Soiree ribbon, yours to proudly display!
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Let's Party!
  • Link up to four of your creative projects (No Etsy stores or other linky parties pretty please).
  • Add your link to the specific posts not the main URL
  • Add a "Crafty Soiree" button to your blog or posts.
  • Please comment on the post linked up in front of you. All party goers love meeting new friends... don't just stop there...if you see something that catches your fancy-- stop by and say hi!
  • Your hostesses would love it if you'd follow us. You can find Malia here.
Don't forget, A Crafty Soiree is hosted on two blogs, so when you link up on one your link will automatically show up on the other one too! Please note, by linking up to A Crafty Soiree, you're giving permission to feature your project and photos in the future, with proper credit of course☺
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