Cozy Wall Art: Tractor Silhouette Wall Decal

*Review Sample Provided

My son's almost three years old and somehow, we never got around to adding any wall art in his bedroom.  Now that he's developing a real personality and preferences it seemed like the perfect time add a wall decal to his room.  This is such a fun, easy, and inexpensive way to incorporate your child's interests into their own personal space.  Cozy Wall Art has so many designs that there's something for everyone!  My little guy is obsessed with all things tractor, so as soon as I saw the Tractor Silhouette Wall Decal I knew it was perfect for him!

We received a dark green Tractor Silhouette Wall Decal ($25) in the size large (22" X 34.5") for this review.  It came rolled up and packaged very nicely in a triangular shaped box.

Along with the decal, we also got step by step directions and a credit card shaped squeegee.  A small bonus decal and some sweet treats were also included.

{BEFORE}

Here is a view of his wall before we put up the wall decal.  I thought this was a good space because it's awfully bare looking up there above his changing table.  I'd be too afraid to put a shelf or even anything framed up there because he's so active.  I know he's end up grabbing at it or pulling something down on himself while up on his changing pad.

{AFTER}

See what a difference the Tractor Silhouette wall decal makes?  I love it & it makes such an impact without spending hours to do!

A wall decal is really perfect because we can fill a large space on the wall, at an affordable price, without adding any bulk that might fall down and hurt our little guy.

We followed the directions Cozy Wall Art sent and began by cleaning the wall and taping the tractor silhouette into place.  Then we used the squeegee to apply the decal to the wall.  This was a fairly large shape with lots of detail so my husband had to take his time with this step.

The part of the backing that overlapped seemed to have a little harder time sticking so we took off the top layer and kept rubbing with the squeegee and then did the same with the bottom portion.

My son was absolutely thrilled by how it turned out.  He points to it all the time and says, "My tractor, my tractor!"  He has a speech delay so that he's excited enough to spontaneously talk about it all the time, gives me little tingles of happiness to see how much he loves it.

Cozy Wall Art is a great resource for kid's and nursery wall decor, but also has a wide range of designs from  custom name decals to quotes, modern or whimsical styles, and even classroom appropriate looks. I think this Scattered Blossoms Triptych Wall Decal is especially stunning.  Readers, have you ever tried using a wall sticker to decorate your home?

Freebie: Chid's Art Poster Print Template

On Monday I reviewed an HP® Officejet 7500A Wide Format e-All-in-One Printer from Staples and in that post I shared a Child's Art Work Poster Print I created using a template I made in Photoshop Elements.  I'd like to share the template with you, click here to download the file at Dropbox.

This is the first time I've tried sharing a PSD file and using Dropbox so let me know if there are any problems or issues and leave your feedback as to whether or not you like this method.  I am currently using the free version but I might upgrade if this freebie is well received and there is an interest in more.

When you open template in Photoshop Elements it should look something like this.  Each photo space has been labeled and is in it's own layer.  The text has been added for placement and you can easily switch it to whatever you'd like.  A font substitution may occur if you do not have Nadine 2 loaded on your computer.  If you'd like the exact same one I used, you can download it for free at the Font Palace.

My template has been sized to fit in a NYTTJA frame from Ikea that are only $3.99, doesn't get much more affordable than that!  Since it's an odd size at 11.75"X15.75" you can resize the template to fit your frame.  To do this, I suggest choosing all of the layers, except for Layer 1.  The simply drag all of them at once onto a new blank file that has been sized for the frame you'd like to use.  While all the layers are still chosen, drag the corner to resize for your new blank file.

If you have not used clipping mask before, here is a tutorial I like, but a quick online search will yield many options for you to check out.  You may be able to use this template with other programs that use layers but I only have experience with Photoshop Elements so I am not sure.  But since the template if free to download, it's worth a try!  If you do try using it on another program please let me know the results.

In no time at all you will have your own version of this cool poster print.  Click image above for a better preview.  I printed my poster print with the HP® Officejet 7500A Wide Format e-All-in-One Printer from Staples I reviewed and onto HP Advanced Photo Paper, 13" x 19", Glossy.

If you do not have a wide format printer, you can have it done commercially, I suggest the Costco Photo Center for well priced enlargements.  The 12"X18" prints are $2.99 at my location, which will fit the template as it's originally sized.

After finishing adding your images to the template, flatten the layers and then drag onto a new blank 12'X18" file, flatten again and save as a JPEG file.  Send off to print.  You will just need to trim it down to fit the frame.  To make it easier, I laid the plastic insert over my print, traced, and cut.

This might all sound confusing but it really is easy with a little practice!  

Product Review: Staples HP Officejet 7500A Wide Format e-All-in-One Printer & Print at Home Projects

This is a product review post on behalf of Staples and their line of HP Printers.

I have dreamed of having a wide format printer for years, so when Staples asked me to review to their line of HP Printers I couldn't wait to get my hands on the HP® Officejet 7500A Wide Format e-All-in-One Printer, Item: 894564 Model: C9309A#B1H.  This printer does a lot; and has all the bells and whistles I could ever want.  I used to have a scanner but it broke, so I was excited to have that ability again, but it also makes copies, and prints from 3"X5" to 13"X19"!

I can't believe I now have all that functionality in one machine.  It also can fax, not that I ever do, but in the rare case I need to I won't have to run to an office store any more.  Handy!  As if that wasn't cool enough, it also has wireless capabilities and has been hooked up to our wireless network at home, which means I can send documents to print right from my smartphone or our netbook which is downstairs from where the HP Officejet 7500A is currently located.  

Before I show you some of the projects I used the HP Officejet 7500A to make, let's take a closer look at the printer.  Here is the scanning bed, where you can also make copies, if you don't want to feed your papers through the top.  This tray is on the other side of the cover lifted up above, and can been seen in the top photo.  It fits up to legal sized documents and there are handy marks to help you position your paper properly.  It all works like the copiers/scanners you've probably come across at work or libraries so there's no learning curve to figure out how to use it.  I was most impressed by how quickly it copies/scans a document.

The 2.36" touchscreen on the front is used to access, store, and print your information.  With just a couple of presses you move through screens and are on your way in no time.  I am not much of a techie, I know that sounds strange since I'm a blogger, but I was worried it might be a little too complicated.  I was really happy with how intuitive it was to use and how quickly I could get the HP Officejet 7500A to print, copy, and scan.

It is a great All-in-One to have in your home office for the light user but it also is great for work at home or small businesses.  It has a monthly duty cycle of 7000 pages, prints black and white documents at a rate of 10 per minute and color documents at 7 per minute with high capacity cartridges.  While I don't do quite that much printing, it gives me piece of mind that this will be a high performing home printer for a long time.

At the bottom of the HP Officejet 7500A is the paper tray, which I really like because our old printer had the paper exposed while waiting to be printed on.  This looks a lot tidier to me, less visual clutter in the office, and it keeps the paper from getting all bent and crinkled.  Handy marking help direct users as to how to insert the different paper sizes.  It also pulls out to accommodate larger sheets of paper.  I don't like guess work and with so many more options for paper size than I ever had before, these are much appreciated.

Now that we've looked at the HP Officejet 7500A, let see what it can do!

First task was to test it's basic printing capabilities, because if a fancy printer can't actually print quality documents, what's the point?  Since you are reading my blog, chances are you read other blogs and many talented creative types share lots of free printables.  You've seen one for every season, holiday, etc.  I love downloading these, as my hard drive can attest to, but the results from my old printer weren't frame worthy.  I was getting these really annoying lines through the color no matter which settings I used.

This gorgeous free printable is from Jones Design Company, and besides this freebie Emily also has a monthly printable club you can purchase subscriptions to.  I've long wanted to try it out, but without a good printer I knew I wouldn't be able to really use all the cuteness she offers.  I was so ecstatic over how beautifully this art print turned out!  Colors were spot on and no yucky lines on the plain white cardstock I used.

Printing right from my smartphone has actually been the function I've used the HP Officejet 7500A for the most so far.  It is a huge time saver to be able to print out things like store coupons or emails without having to turn on my computer.  To really test it, I printed out one of my blog posts sent to RSS feed subscribers.  The color and quality on regular computer printer paper was great and again, quick!  Now when I'm off for errands and remember the coupon a store emailed me, I can send it to print while getting the kids ready and it's waiting for me when I run upstairs before dashing out the door.

The second most handy use has been making copies.  My daughter had a Kids in the Kitchen Summer Camp this past week.  She made some yummy snacks and my mom was interested in trying some.  In the past, I would've had to retype the handouts my daughter brought home.  Now it was a cinch to run off a copy.  The touchscreens lets you pick between black & white or color before it prints.

Here is a side by side comparison, the original at the top and the copy on the bottom.  It might be hard to tell in my photo but in my opinion the copy actually looks better than the original.  The colors are a little brighter and the type a little bolder.  I'm very happy with the copies the HP Officejet 7500A makes.

I used to teach kindergarten and was a resource teacher for a year, with many teaching resources that have been boxed up in our basement because it was too much work to copy my blacklines for my daughter to use for practice.  Now all those great books are back in use, as we brush up on skills this summer.

The main reason I had been wanting an All-in-One printer was because I missed being able to scan things.  Since we had both a printer and a scanner previously, I wanted to save room and combine the two.  It's really convenient to use the HP Officejet 7500A and so much easier than my older scanner was.

The touchscreen makes scanning so streamlined, no separate software to use for the scanner like before.  See the photo above for the following steps to scanning.  After choosing "Scan", you pick how you want to save your file, then where to save to.  Then almost like magic, for the non-techies like me, the image file appears on my computer without me having to do anything else.  I highlighted in red where the files I've been scanning have shown up in My Documents.

Here is one of my daughter's pieces of artwork from First Grade after it's been scanned.  At the end of the year I got a big file of work from the past year.  It's quite a collection, bulky and over-sized.  We also got a big pile after kindergarten and both years of preschool.  We have a lot and trying to find room to store it all can be a challenge.  Many will be saved for her to enjoy later but we also want to enjoy her pictures now and protect them in case the originals are damaged. 

I was inspired by this pin on Pinterest to use twelve to create a collage poster and scanning was a great way to make copies that are easy to manipulate in my photo editing program.   This one has been sized to fit a frame I had with a 11.75"X15.75" photo space with a wide border.  Click on the picture above to see better, as the white border of my poster's image blends in with the white of my post column.

After creating the image file using a layered template I created, I printed it out on HP Advanced Photo Paper, 13"X19", Glossy and popped it into a frame.  It's ready to hang and I made it all at home, so satisfying!  It showcases some of our favorite from the past year and now we can enjoy several of pieces of artwork in a fraction of the space it would take to hang them all up.  It's easy to update it each year with new favorites.

On Wednesday I will be sharing the template I used to create this Child's Art Poster Print, so you can make this project yourself!  Come back for links to the free template download!

I have one more project that I made with the HP Officejet 7500A from Staples, an easy to make Iron On Fabric Wrapped Canvas.  This fun little piece of personalized home decor was created with an iron transfer sheet printed out in the HP Officejet 7500A, white fabric, and a pre-made 5"X7" wrapped canvas from an art supply store.  I'll have the tutorial up for this project on Friday.  It's a neat way to incorporate your favorite photos into your home and another way this versatile printer can be used.

The HP® Officejet 7500A Wide Format e-All-in-One Printer, Item: 894564 Model: C9309A#B1H is available at Staples and retails for $249.99.  It's an excellent value for this multi-tasking piece of office equipment.  It saves room, increases efficiency, and saves money with the lowest cost per page in its class.  This printer gives me so many options makes it so convenient to be productive, share, and create documents, photos, and projects at home.  It's so handy and has already become an essential part of our office.        



Disclosure: This is a review post written on behalf of Staples and their line of HP printers. A complimentary review product was provided in order to test its abilities and give my own personal opinions on it. The opinions I have given are mine and may differ from others but were not influenced by the company or the free product provided.  

Simple Glitter Frame

I used some supplies to make a really cute glitter frame last weekend.  I was so easy to do, and is something you can whip up last minute, as long as you have a few hours for the glitter/glue mixture to dry.

I went stash shopping for this project and pulled out an unfinished wooden frame, mod podge, and some of my favorite Martha Stewart Crafts glitter together. 

Then I got busy mixing together the mod podge and glitter.  You want it to be a nearly 1:1 ratio so you get a really nice thick layer of glitter on your frame.  Mix everything together really well, you don't want any pockets of glitter left in the mixture before you start applying.  Then simply "paint" your unfinished frame with the mixture and let try.  My frame has two coats of the mixture on it.

What I really like about this technique is that because the glitter is mixed with mod podge, you don't end up with little bits of glitter flaking off.  And since you used Mod Podge, there's no need to do a final coat to seal, that's already done.  Once everything dries, that glitter isn't going anywhere, ever! 

I might add a bit of ribbon or some embellishment on the left side but for now I'm just letting the glittery finish shine.  My daughter really thinks it's very pretty; the perfect holiday decoration that can come out in December and last through Valentine's.  This little beauty might even make another appearance around July!

Martha Stewart Crafts Circle Edge Punch Starter Kit Review, with Coupon Code

Like any avid paper crafter would, I jumped at the chance to review the new Circle Edge Punch Starter Kit from Martha Stewart Crafts, which is currently only available on HSN.  I was really excited by the prospect of being able to make elaborately punched shapes but a little skeptical that it would be an easy thing to do. 

I thought lining things up just right to make a complete circle could potentially be time consuming, a crafty nightmare. I also doubted the magnets built into the circle edge punch base would really work.  I decided to document my very first time using this paper crafting tool to see if it's really something easy to use, because let's face it.  If it's not easy to use, it won't be!  I was amazed by how perfectly the Circle Edge Punch worked from the very start. 

Included in the Starter Kit is an Eyelet Doily Punch Cartridge with Metal Plate, it also comes with a plastic cover to protect the Punch Cartridge when not in use.  Note the four magnets in each of the four cornters of the Punch Cartridge, those will be important later.  This cartridge's design is very versatile, one I can imagine using for many purposes from scrapbook pages, cards, home decor, and more.

To use the Circle Edge Punch Base, you need to first load the Metal Base.  Pull the release tab back, as shown in middle picture above, place the metal base into the slot.  Make sure the smooth side of the metal base is face up.  Did you notice the four magnets around the corners of the the Metal Base?  That's where the Punch Cartridge will eventually be placed.  As I mentioned before, it also has magnets on it and both sets will work together to hold the paepr in place while you punch.

On the other side of the Circle Edge Punch Base is the rotating knob, this is what helps you make a perfect circle, but for now you need to twist and lift it off the base.

Place a piece of paper over the base, centering it over where the Rotating Knob is as best you can.  Replace the Rotating Knob, hover it over the paper very close to where you think the magnets on the base are and the sets of magnets will snap together.  Also place the Eyelet Doily Punch Cartridge over where the Metal Plate is, the two sets of magnets on the Cartridge and Sliding Tray will also be attracted to each other and snap together. 

This part is what really surprised me.  It was really, really easy to get the pieces into place.  Those sure are very strong magnets.  You don't really have to work to get them to lined up; the bond is quite strong.  You definitely know when they two sets have connected. 

To give you an idea of how things connect, here is how things should look if everything is snapped into place correctly, without the paper in place.  The circle I will be punching is 11 inches.  I've set the measurment switch along the curved front of the base to ten and the Sliding Tray is has also been positioned so that it lines up with the 11 mark along the top and bottom sides of the Base.  It's important for these to marked at the same measurement.

Now that we've got everything in place, it's time for the fun part.  Let's punch!  Depress the Doily Punch Cartridge down, making your first punch.  I found it easiest to do this while standing.  Then remove the Punch Cartridge and turn the Rotating Knob.  It will click into place.  Replace the Punch Cartridge and punch again.  Repeat punching and turning the knob until you've completed a circle. 

Did you notice that once you've finished punching you don't have to cut the circle out?  Nice time saver, having no little bits of connecting pieces you have to cut before your design is ready.   It really is easy to create a continuous, die-cut border in 7 different sizes, up to 12 inches in size.  Pretty cool! 

Doesn't it look fantastic?  I have to admit I was more than a bit surprised by how well the Martha Stewart Circle Edge Punch Starter Kit worked.  There was no need to line up holes in the punched design to continue punching.  It was much easier and faster than I anticipated.  By the time I'd done two or three punches, I'd gotten into a groove on how work the set.

It's nice to be able to use it right out of the box, without needing to practice with it a lot first, to add special touches to many different projects.  Here is one of the first projects I incorporated it into.  This card was simple to put together with pieces of an older Martha Stewart Crafts paper pad called School Days. 

Then I thought using the Circle Edge Punch would a nice way to add an elegant touch to your holiday table.  Here's a menu wrap I made for Thanksgiving, although it would be easy to adapt this concept for any time of the year.  I used paper that's also from the School Days pad to make them.

Just punch, fold, and tie a ribbon for this easy look that elevates your meal into something special.  No one has to know how easy was to do it!

Coupon Code:

Martha Stewart Crafts also makes many other well designed tools, supplies, and other craft products.  I'm excited to share with you a coupon code so you can try them out and save.  You won't be disappointed, I have several Martha Stewart Crafts products and would recommend them all.  Check them all out at  www.marthastewartcrafts.com.  Save 20% on your purchase with the code BLOG20.  There's lots of crafty goodness there, that I know the creative person in your life would love to find wrapped up underneath the tree this year. 

And don't forget about your chance to win a $100 MarthaStewartCrafts.com shopping spree, enter the “Crafty Mondays” Sweepstakes each day through 12/31/12. For sweepstakes details and to enter, visit http://on.fb.me/TETex3 (http://bit.ly/TsM4HM on mobile devices).



Disclosure: I received a complimentary Starter Kit for review.  The experiences and opinions related within are both personal and unbiased.