0 What are little boys made of? #66

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Party 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 3) Don't forget, these should be BOY RELATED (Big Boy projects are accepted too)! AND PLEASE grab my button!

3 Sugar and Spice #65

I just HAVE to ask this (since I'm on vacation and will be enjoying a s'more or two): Have you seen the new stacker Marshmallows?!? THESE ones?  Seriously?  I don't really have words for these... maybe WHY?  First we get SQUARE graham crackers and now square graham crackers?  I think my mind has been blown.  Have you used these freak-of-nature marshmallows?  Do they really make s'mores better?  I'm DYING to know!

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The party guidelines are: 1) please link to your blog post (not your blog main page) so people can go directly to your project 2) Don't forget, these should be GIRL RELATED (can be for us grown up girls too)! 3) AND PLEASE grab my button and add it to your post so that other crafty ladies can come join the fun.

5 Meet Shabby Apple {A Review}

You may remember a few months ago I hosted an awesome Shabby Apple giveaway.  Well this time Shabby Apple sent ME a dress to try out!  In case you are new to the blogosphere and have not heard of Shabby Apple, they offer beautiful women's dresses that are vintage-inspired.  Shabby Apple also has little girl's dresses and maternity dresses.  

 {I'm a big dork, I know - but at least I'm fun, right?!?  Look at that jumping face!  We took like 8 shots and I had the same face in each! HA! And I would like to thank Zumba for those calf muscles!}

I was super excited to look through the options Shabby Apple gave me.  I am a super picky person when it comes to dresses.  I am smaller on top, but I have wide shoulders and I'm hippy, so dresses and me have a love-hate relationship.  I hmmm'd and haaaa'd and ended up deciding on the Marseilles.

{And look! It was featured in O Magazine!  Isn't the collar to die for?}

What do I like most about my Shabby Apple dress?  The coverage!  I don't have to wear a cami, the length is perfect and I love the arms - perfect length and not too tight.  The Marseilles is light-weight, a perfect summer dress.  The only little imperfection I noticed on the dress is where it wraps across, the fold doesn't sit properly, there is a little pucker.  I thought maybe it was just the dress on my body, but you can see it on the dress form on the Shabby Apple website.  However, I think if you were to tie the bow on the side (instead of the back like I did) it would totally hide the issue.  And really, it isn't too noticeable and when I adjust the top it virtually disappears.  I can live with that and I really don't have any complaints with this dress!

I love the Fit Guide that Shabby Apple offers.  Right within the description of the dress it will tell you if it is True-to-Size or Fits Generously.  When you click on their Fit Guide it will help you pick your dress size based on those categories!  I was a bit nervous ordering the dress because as I mentioned I have a hard time finding dresses to fit my shape.  But I looked at the guide and determined it fit generously so decided on a Small which is a 6-8 under that category.  I am typically an 8 (and am 5'7") and this dress fit me to a T!  

The colors are vibrant and I love that the collar can be flipped up for a fun vintage vibe!  And the dress couldn't have arrived at a better time!  I will be wearing it to a friends Wedding this weekend.

To stay up-to-date with Shabby Apple news and promos like them on Facebook!

And to celebrate me finding the perfect dress, Shabby Apple is offering my readers 10% off your next order!  Just use promo code "seventhirtythree10off" when checking out! 

I recommend the L'Artiste!  I LOVE that dress!

 
(Disclaimer: I received a free dress from Shabby Apple in order to write this review.  The opinions in this post are mine, and mine alone.)

3 Ready for a Monstrous Good Time?

Today I am going to share with you the favor bags I made for my son's Monster Bash birthday party.  These were super simple... if you follow seven thirty three you may think they look familiar.  That is because I just revised my Valentine Bag Toppers!  And of course I am sharing with all of you!  To download your Monster Bag toppers click HERE!I also worked on the birthday banner this weekend, but somehow I misplaced the "H", "A", and "P" so was unable to finish.  Once I reprint and get it put together, I'll share the completed banner!  You can print the components HERE, cut them out and put them together for your own Monster Birthday Banner!  And if you click HERE you'll find even more Monster Bash related fun!

We also worked on our pass-through from the kitchen to the living room.  Unfortunately the way we had it planned wouldn't work due to studs this and headers that and of course that darn floating-in-the-middle-of-the-wall-fridge, so we ended up going with two narrow ones on either side of the fridge (see more about our decision and our kitchen changes HERE).  Even though it isn't exactly what I wanted it is still so much better than none at all.  The kids have had a blast saying "hi" through the windows!  We are finishing up the trim and hopefully we will finish it up when we get back from vacation later this week!

12 How-To: Add a Custom Favicon to your Blog

Would you like your own custom Favicon (Favorite Icon)?  If  you are a Blogger user, most likely you have that blazing orange B showing up in your Browser tab.  Blogger has implemented the ability to host Favicon .ico files so it is easier than ever to add your own favicon.  First you will need to create your Favicon images (use Microsoft Paint, Picnik, or just any jpg file that you own).  Ideally you would create it 16 px X 16 px, but if you are not able to, that is OK because the converter we are going to use can do that for you.  

Save your favicon image as a jpeg, png or gif file to your desktop.  Go to http://www.iconj.com/favicon_hosting.php and click Browse, find your desktop and select your Favicon file.  Click Open.  Click Upload It!

 

Click on 1. Click here to download your Favicon.ico File.  Save it to your desktop.

The above image shows the Favicon jpg image (Favicon_Be...) and how it looks FOLLOWING the conversion.
Go to http://draft.blogger.com/home and login.  

Click on DESIGN.

 Click on Edit next to Favicon.

In the Pop-Up window click Browse and select your Favicon.ico file from your desktop.  Click SAVE.
That's it.  You're done!  No having to mess with the html code of your site!Blogger has plans to support jpg, png, gif and other file-formats in the future, so hopefully that happens quickly because then we can skip the whole conversion process all together!
UPDATE: I've heard from several readers who weren't seeing their favicon's at first, but after a day or so they did show up.  So if you see it in your design page but not on your actual blog, give it a day!  Thanks to everyone who kept me updated with their progress!  I'm loving all the great Favicons!
I would love to see the Favicon's you come up with!  And if you want help creating a Favicon, shoot me an email.  I charge $10 for the creation and installation!

11 Meet Mo {Watch out, he bites!}

I am so excited to share this project with you today!My son and I have been working on decorations and favors for his fourth birthday party.  We decided that we wanted to have some sort of photo booth type thing.  As we were brainstorming I told him I thought we could make a cool monster that him and his friends could stand with for pictures.  But I didn't stop there, I decided to up the anti and made it so not only could they stand NEXT to the monster, but they could also look like they were being EATEN by the monster!

Without further ado, meet Mo (short for Monster, in case you were wondering)!

He is a purple polka-dotted, human eating fiend!  If you bring him chocolate cake he will be your friend and let you give him a hug, but beware!  If he deems you unfit he won't hesitate to gobble you up.

Now I know your little one will want there very own Mo, so let's get right into a tutorial, shall we?
Here is what you need:

Spray Adhesive2 yards of fabric (or more depending on the size of your monster)Sheets of foam for eyes and spotsTHICK Cardboard (or a sheet of wood would work as well)ScissorsKnife or razorbladeDuct tape or Hot glue (optional)

Draw out the outline of your monster on your cardboard.  I used a piece of cardboard that came in the bottom of a chair box, so it was double-thickness and super sturdy.  If you are only creating a stand-up Mo, not a hungry Mo, regular cardboard would be fine.  For a hungry Mo you want something sturdy that will hold up to little hands pushing and pulling.

I used my carving knife (brand new out of the box... I got it for my wedding... 8 years ago. SHHHHhhh!) to cut out Mo's shape and mouth.

Spray your adhesive all over the front of your cardboard and let sit for a short period (follow your the instructions on your spray adhesive).

Lay the fabric across the cardboard and stretch across and smooth it onto the cardboard.  The great thing about the spray adhesive is you can pull up the fabric and reposition as necessary.

Flip the cardboard over and spray the back edge and sides.  Stretch your fabric around the edges and stick to the back. 

Cut off access fabric.

Flip back over and put a slit about an inch or two from the top of the mouth.  Spray the inside and back edges of the mouth and fold it up and stick to the back.  Next cut out the middle of the mouth, leaving about 2 inches along the rest of the mouth.  You will need to make some notches so that you can smooth the mouth out and stick to the back of the mouth.  If you make a mistake you can always use some of your fabric scraps to cover any exposed cardboard.

Next add a black piece of fabric draping down the back so that you can't see through the Monsters mouth.  I didn't have a big enough piece so I stuck two pieces together using duct tape and then taped that to the back, about 5 inches above the mouth.
Lastly, cut out your eyes and dots and use the spray adhesive to stick them to the front of Mo.

That's it!  Now you have your very own monster friend!
Can't wait to get this set-up for pictures during the birthday party.  I think he'll be a hit!
I haven't figured out how I am going to make him stand up yet.  Probably just create some sort of supports, but I'm not worried.  Once I decide what I'm going to do I will let you know!  UPDATE: We cut two pieces of wood at an angle, and nailed into them from the front of Mo (on either side) and covered the nails with spots.  The bottoms were placed snug into the ground.   To see pictures of Mo in action at the party click here!

0 FFF: How to Ink Stain Paper

Have you ever wanted to know how to stain paper to give it a vintage feel?  Would you like to know the correct technique?  Then stop by Hollybobb's How to Ink Stain Paper Tutorial!

4 What are little boys made of? #65

Grab the button!

<center><a href="http://733blog.blogspot.com/"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_yA_6K7ea4aE/S2MN8810hYI/AAAAAAAABXo/fW6dM7Ksyos/s320/WALBMO.jpg" /></a></center>

Party 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 3) Don't forget, these should be BOY RELATED (Big Boy projects are accepted too)! AND PLEASE grab my button!

8 Sugar and Spice #64

Grab the button!

Copy and paste into your blog.

<center><a href="http://733blog.blogspot.com/"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_yA_6K7ea4aE/S6130M3H_II/AAAAAAAABuI/Sl7dtOkX0C4/s320/SugarSpice.png" /></a></center>

The party guidelines are: 1) please link to your blog post (not your blog main page) so people can go directly to your project 2) Don't forget, these should be GIRL RELATED (can be for us grown up girls too)! 3) AND PLEASE grab my button and add it to your post so that other crafty ladies can come join the fun.

2 Absence makes the heart grow fonder...

I know, I know.  I went two WHOLE days without blogging.  Did you miss me?  Well guess what?  I'm back today, but I have nothing to show you.  It isn't that I wasn't busy crafting this weekend.  It's just that part of the project I will be sharing via a guest post over at Sew Dang Cute Crafts and the rest just isn't ready for its big reveal.

I wish you the best in your crafty endeavors and would love for you to share with me what you are working on!  Feel free to follow me on Facebook {and please don't be afraid to start up a discussion over there!  I like being able to chat with you guys}.  

Oh - and I've been thinking.  As a child/teenager I was an avid writer.  Poetry, short-stories, journaling.  I loved it.  As I aged and moved out of my parents house and in with my new husband the urge started to disappear.  It was a slow transition and one I really didn't even notice for a few years, which is sort of funny because writing was a huge outlet for me emotionally.  Recently I've been getting the urge again, but I'm a bit nervous.  When I was younger I had so much fuel for the fire, I could vomit anything on a page {now that's quite the visual... but without being conceited, I think I was pretty decent and won several awards for my short stories and poetry}!  I attribute it to raging hormones or some nonsense, but what do I know?  I digress... yes, I'm a bit nervous and I'm not sure why.  I think it is because I'm in a different stage of life.  I don't have unrequited love or teenage-angst to draw on.  I'm happy and comfortable and I'm not sure how I will translate that into the types of stories I tend to write, but I think it will be good for me, so I'm going to give it a go and just see where it takes me.  As I write this I'm actually sort of getting excited to explore the many avenues of my inner consciousness!  

Wishing you a wonderfully creative Tuesday!

0 Winner and a Super Hero Package!

The winner of the Domestic Anarchy apron is:

 

Congrats Daintry!  Check your email. 

If you follow me on Facebook you know I planned on making a Superhero Supply Box as seen on Alphamom by Jordan Ferney of Oh Happy Day.

I made it for my dad and I love it!

The Hero Juice is missing from this picture, but everything else can be seen.  I picked up some clear cellophane party bags at Michaels, printed out the free printables provided on Alphamom and got to package all the treats.
Included in the package: M&M X-Ray Drops, Chocolate Covered Raisin Vitamin Pellets, Peppermint Breath Mints, Hershey Chocolate Secret Identity Bar, Trail Mix Hero Nosh, Labatt Blue Hero Juice.  I created an additional label for a Trivial Pursuit game that read: BRAINPOWER - Keep your brain at peak performance so that you can stay one step ahead of all evil-doers!  On the very bottom of the package was a polo golf shirt I picked up at Kohls, because even Superhero's need a nice, comfy shirt!
We gave my dad the package today and it was a hit and everyone got a laugh at all the fun labels!
Happy Father's Day to all the fabulous dads out there!