3 New Button!

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Check out the new What are little boys made of?  Weekly Round Up button I made today!  Feel free to place into your sidebar. Let's get people over here to share their great boy ideas with us!  Won't all our little men appreciate it?

Happy crafting!

1 What are little boys made of? Weekly Round-Up MckLinky Style

Grab the button!

Copy and paste into your blog.

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I can't wait to see all of the great boy projects you have come up with these last few weeks!  Please include my button in your blog post so others can come join in the fun!


There are just a few guidelines: 1) please link to your blog post (not your blog main page) so people can go directly to your project and 2) Enter your blog name and in paranthesis add the name of your project so we can clearly see what it is.  That's it!  Now let the fun begin:



I also wanted to let you guys know about made by rae's "Celebrate the Boy" month.  All during February Rae and Dana of Made have a line-up of guest bloggers that will be posting crafts for boys!

1 My Hubby is the BEST!

I know, I know this is my second post of the day, but I just HAVE to share what my hubby did. 

 

I received a call at lunchtime from Jake (the Hubs) telling me he thinks he accidentally sent an email to my work email and could I please delete it because it was confidential.  We hung up and I checked my email and sure enough, there was one, but it was from our home email.  It was an order from Amazon. ???  Of course I was confused until I saw this:

 

 

My hubby and I, we are admittedly tech geeks.  We have a huge flatscreen LCD TV with surround sound, Blu-Ray player, Xbox, my Garmin Lula (GPS - I call her Lula), a laptop, a netbook, a 60GB internal drive camcorder, a digital camera and of course cell phones.  We love all the latest gadgets!  And now, now I'm getting a KINDLE! Yes, one of these gorgeous, sleek little babies:

All I did was email the Hubs saying that I would love a Kindle, because I was sick of reading my books on the laptop, and hmmm - maybe I would steal his new Netbook and use that because it was lighter and easier to cuddle with.  (I know, I know - I LOVE to hold a good book in my hand.  I love the smell, the flipping of the pages... but a new age is upon us and I have already jumped on it by reading electronically via my laptop, but a Kindle closer resembles holding a book, and you can curl up in a chair and read it the same way, so YAY to Kindle and YAY to helping the environment!).  Anyway, not two hours later, I had this wonderful email in my inbox and I just had to share.

Thank you so much my darling husband!  I cannot WAIT for it to arrive.

Happy Reading ladies!

 

PS ~ For any of you eagle eyes out there, I was so excited I even posted this outside of my normal 7:33 timeslot.  Yes, yes I am a little OCD like that!

1 adorable "communication center" board

I found this really creative communication center at a local craft stores website and thought I would share with you guys.  I already have a system in place, but if I ever redo it, this is what I am doing! I love, love, love the "K" with the little hooks for the keys!

 Find out how!  Happy Crafting!

8 It's all in a name~

I was finally able to get around to making one of these personalized name pillows from youcanmakethis.com for our reading corner in the playroom.  I started with my sons because he has the least amount of letters in his name! I used two pairs of his old pants (size 12 months) for the letters and the border on the front.  The white is actually the middle of one of the receiving blankets we took him home from the hospital in!  I thought it would be a nice way to keep these items that eventually would have been given away or tossed.  The only thing I would change would be to lose some of the white - I think I have 3" above and below the "M", but I think 2" would have been plenty.

I am looking through my daughters' clothes now to see what I can use for their pillows.  This was really easy to do and he really loved it! 

Happy sewing!

0 reallyCRAFTYstudio - New to Shop

The recipe book I told you about earlier this week is available in my shop now!  Visit reallycraftystudio.etsy.com! Happy shopping.

0 What are little boys made of? Weekly Round-Up MckLinky Style

Quick Note: if you stopped by yesterday looking for my heart wreath tutorial and found that it wasn't in the post, I do apologize!  I'm not sure what happened. It was there when I posted it, but when I got on last night at about 8pm it was Gone with a capital G!  Eek!  So I rewrote it and got it posted back up by 8:45.  Please do take a peek.

Grab the button!

Copy and paste into your blog.

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I can't wait to see all of the great boy projects you have come up with these last few weeks!  Please include my button in your blog post so others can come join in the fun!

There are just a few guidelines: 1) please link to your blog post (not your blog main page) so people can go directly to your project and 2) Enter your blog name and in paranthesis add the name of your project so we can clearly see what it is.  That's it!  Now let the fun begin:

7 Fabric wrapped heart wreath tutorial

Remember that wreath from yesterdays post?  While I hope you liked it because today I have a tutorial so you can make your own!  {enter applause}.

MATERIALS NEEDED:

Christmas wreath or any other heart shaped item

Quilt batting

Fabric (I had 2 yards of cotton fabric sitting around so that is what I used)

Ribbon

Buttons

Needle and Thread

NOTE: I made this wreath while watching 24 (GO JACK!).  I had my sewing kit, fabric, ribbon and buttons in front of me.  I was not about to run to the craft room to grab my glue (even though we have DVR and I could have paused it, but that is besides the point!).  So I sewed things when I think most of it (minus the flowers) would be easier with glue!  And for you burlap lovers - this would look gorgeous as a burlap wreath!

I shaped a plain old round Christmas wreath into a heart (sorry, no before picture).

Cut strips of batting and wrapped it around the wreath.  This helps you with your shape and also contains the pine needles!

Next cut your strips of fabric.  I had 2 yards of fabric that I cut into 2" wide strips (so my strip dimensions were 2" wide by 2 yards long - I cut 7 strips, but only used 6).  Too make it easier, I folded the fabric several times and then cut the strips.

Start at the bottom of the heart. Wrap your strip around and around slowly moving up the wreath, overlapping the last layer as you go.  (As mentioned above, I did not use glue in this process, but if you feel you need to, go ahead!).

I wrapped the entire wreath and then continued up until I reached the top. I took one strip of fabric and knotted it around the end of the last strip (so that I didn't need to glue it down) and then tied another knot making a loop and a bow for hanging.

Next I sewed one end of my ribbon to the back side of the wreath and then wrapped it around the wreath, sewing the end down when I completed the whole heart.  (Sorry no pic).

I then created my ribbon flowers (Little Birdies secrets has a good tutorial on how to do this).  I sewed these on (remember the glue - it would be MUCH easier than sewing these on!).

And that's it!  I used materials I had around the house so I got a really adorable Valentine wreath for $0.

What do you have around your house that you can repurpose?

Happy creating!

Part of:

 

8 All you need is love

 Take a look at my mantle decked out for Valentine's Day!  I just grabbed my different glasses - wine, martini and sundae - and filled them with different candies that come in reds/pinks!  I made the heart garland with my handy dandy Cricut and sewed it together with clear thread.  Still need a little something, but I like it so far!  (I have a Cricut Personal Cutter and LOVE it!  Cricut people, if you are reading this, I would LOVE to review the Expressions machine - hook a girl up!! I know, I'm shameless when it comes to the Cricut!).  The plates I reused from this project.

And below is my Valantine garland that I made for my front door.  Check out the wreath I made!And yes, I know my front door is an awful rose color.  I wanted to paint it black but my hubby told me no since I decided I wanted to do so when the temperature was in the single digits.  His other reason: we are replacing it this spring with a brand new pretty door, so why bother?  I say heck, let's do it.  He stood his ground, so you get to see the beautiful color the previous owners put on it... it makes me shutter to think my shutters once matched.  Whew - sorry about that little tangent - back to the decor!

Wreath tutorial to come tomorrow!

I stitched these together using clear thread so that they hang on the door.

According to Analytics, I have a lot of traffic looking for the hershey kiss rose tutorial.  If you are looking for a great Valentine's project - check this out!

Happy Crafting!

Part of:

5 Arch Window - SOLUTION

Last week I participated in Craftaholic Anonymous' Stumped Party. I submitted my daughters arch window that desparately needed some sort of shade to block out the sun (but of course I was not willing to spend tons of money on a custom shade). I had some great ideas sent my way.

One stuck out to me because it was a) EASY, b) inexpensive, c) fit our needs. So thank you, Alida from imakestuff4fun! I took your idea of using cardboard, batting and fabric and ended up with this: (click on image to enlarge)

I used a lighter fabric (a sheet we already owned) so that it kept the room bright and cheery without feeling closed off. I'm still thinking of adding ribbons crisscrossed so that I can add pictures or artwork, but haven't decided on that yet.

UPDATE: Yes, I used fabric on the back on this, so it basically looks like a shade from the outside (I'll get pictures up soon).  And there was no sewing involved, just a little spray adhesive and hot glue!

And as you can see, I joined in on the block craze and made up some Olivia blocks. My son helped me and had a blast! He loved using the cricut so much he requested that we make a "choo-choo".

Doesn't he look so proud? He made me tape it on his closet door. Love when the kids get involved in crafting. He was also quite involved in helping me make the arch window shade! Such my little helper.

So - what do you think? I'm happy with it!

Happy Problem Solving!

1 a little love

Yes, it is a little early to have a Valentine banner up, but you know what?  This is my blog and I wanted to put it up so that I can enjoy the prettiness for a full month!  Plus, I'm participating in Domestic Dork's Valentine's Day Blog Exchange, so this gets me in the right mood! Happy Love Day! Again, just a reminder to stop by the Craft Hope Etsy shop!  I donated 3 of my Owl weekly meal planners to the cause.  100% of proceeds benefits Doctors without Borders. UPDATE: My meal planners sold out almost within minutes.  But the personalized cupcake print is still available.  Please help out a good cause!

7 I want to quiz you... 'cuz I can!

My husband and I have this quirk... we name our animals after movie characters. Alright.  ALRIGHT.  It's more my quirk and dear old hubby follows me.  Because I'm sharing this odd fact about me, I thought I would see who of you know where the names come from.

 It started with our cat, Sir Didymus, Diddy or Dids for short.  The name came from... ohhh - wait.  You tell me!  This movie is old school... think muppets.

My daughter then received a gold fish.  She named it Nemo after an orange and white fish... hmmm - well I guess I just gave that one away!

And this one is perfect for all you moms out there:  Our pooch has the moniker Mushu (but I call him Mush-ku or Mush (sounds like moosh) or Mushu Ty) - and no, not as in Mooshoo Pork... I already told you - the names are from MOVIES. 

Alright peeps - let me have it.  What are some fun pet names you have come up with?  Do you pick them out of thin air or is there a rhyme and reason to your madness?

Hope I was able to bring a smile to your face this fine Saturday!

Happy guessing!

OH - and don't forget to visit Craft Hope's Etsy Shop where 100% of the proceeds go to Doctors without Borders to aid them in their struggle to provide medical care to all of those suffering in Haiti.  I donated this to the cause.

 

5 MMmmmMMMmmmm - Frosty Cupcake

Here is the newest print I designed for my daughters room:

It is a 5x7 print that I plan on framing.  This would be perfect on cavas though!  Hmmm - maybe I'll go looking for an affordable place to print on canvas.

I submitted six (6) Frosty Cupcake (with free personalization) digital files to the Craft Hope Etsy shop.  All of the proceeds benefit the survivors in Haiti.  Make a difference as you shop!  Click here to visit the Craft Hope Etsy Shop!

6 What are little boys made of? Weekly Round-Up MckLinky Style!

Grab the button!

Copy and paste into your blog.

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Before we get to the adorable boy projects, just a quick note:

For all of you menu planners: I added a really fun weekly menu planner (digital file) to my Etsy Shop.  Great for gift giving because they come in pdf format and can be printed as many times as you want. 

OK - so NOW - I can't wait to see all of the great boy projects you have come up with!  And don't forget: Please include my button in your blog post so others can come join in the fun!

There are just a few guidelines: 1) please link to your blog post (not your blog main page) so people can go directly to your project and 2) Enter your blog name and in paranthesis add the name of your project so we can clearly see what it is.  That's it!  Now let the fun begin:

0 Another Birthday... and a Freebie!

My little brother turns 12 today.  Each year for his birthday I give him a card with something he is into that has been altered to include his face.  Last year I put his face on Tom Brady's body (he is a big Patriots fan) and he ended up framing it and bring it to school to show all his friends.

This year, I put his face onto the cover of a video game that he and my hubby (yes, my DH plays video games and technically they place COD6, but yea, like I knew that without looking!) play together.

This is the result:

Can't wait to see his response to this one!  Happy Birthday Ty!

And now the freebie (PERSONAL USE ONLY) - You can download this image here and insert your own photo (can be down right in Word) for your own birthday "guy".  You can easily darken your photo without Photoshop - open it in Windows Photo Gallery or Microsoft Office Picture Manager (or other photo software) and play with the following settings: Adust your color settings - Color Temperature should go towards warm and the tint should go towards green.  Saturation should go towards making a black and white image.  You will also want to adjust your exposure: Brightness should be turned down and contrast should be turned up.  Play with it till you get a darker photo that matches the image.  Once you are happy with your image, insert this picture into Word or Publisher (or any software where you can layer objects).  Insert your picture and send it to the back and then move it/resize it/crop it to fit behind the open space where the face is.  NOTE: The actual card I gave my brother had his face a bit darker - I lightened it for this post so you could see his face a bit more.

Happy Card Making.