1 HOW TO: Add a Custom Error Message

Have you ever come across this message when clicking through a blog:Sorry, the page you were looking for in this blog does not exist. That is the standard Blogger error message.  Go ahead, give it a go.  Click on one of your post titles and then remove a portion out of the address and try to go there.  Error message, right?  

4 More Sewing Creations

I'm on a skirt making spree!  My two girls are too far apart in age to be able to buy them matching outfits at the store for Holidays, even though I think it is super cute.  I said "to heck with that!  I can sew!" grabbed my machine and whipped up two skirts for my girls to wear.  I have already purchased their Easter outfits, but I figured these could be worn for one of the family dinners.  The flower on my oldest daughters skirt looks a little like it is floating nowhere in these pictures, but really it is off to the side and looks sweet when she isn't posing with her leg!

1 What are little boys made of? #105

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!

5 Sugar & Spice #104

 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.

0 Baby Doll Carrier Tutorial - Come find me at The Ribbon Retreat Blog!

I'm over at The Ribbon Retreat Blog today sharing my much anticipated Baby Carrier Tutorial! 

Head on over to learn how you can make one for your little "Mommy"!

3 Mirror Mirror - Snow White Mirror Party Favor

I was a huge Princess fan as a child.  I still love all the stories and I love to see "live-action" adaptations of them!  When the creators of the new movie Mirror Mirror, starring Julia Roberts, contacted me to create a craft inspired by the movie, I didn't hesitate to say yes.  Especially since this is a Snow White tale and that is my youngest daughters favorite princess!  Mirror Mirror will be in theaters March 30, so make a date with the girls (big or small) and head out to see it!   The film is rated PG.

4 HOW TO: Remove Post Footer from your Homepage

Do you currently truncate your posts on your homepage like I do?I've previously shared how to do so in blogger, as well as what the benefits for doing so are, HERE. But does having your post footer show below the "READ MORE" text or image make it feel like things are too cluttered?  I felt like it was and wanted it removed from my homepage.  Doing so gives it more of a WordPress style feel.  Less clutter = easier readability for the user!  With that in mind I also removed the inlinkz widget from my homepage so that too only shows at the bottom of an actual post page. Find out how I did that HERE. 

2 How To: Split Header Section into Two Parts

Would you like to be able to put your search field in your header section?  Or maybe your social icons as I've done for Nap Time Crafters, or your ad banner like AGAAGG requested?

There is suppose to be an add below the menu bar, but of course it wouldn't show up when I screen capped.

The easiest way to do so is to split your header into two columns.  I was going to write up a tutorial, but I came across one that is really easy to follow, so will link to that instead!

0 Another MADE Skirt

The day I made my daughters "Little Einsteins" June Outfit was a very productive day, because after I realized how easy the Circle Skirt was, I decided I wanted to try Dana from Made's SIMPLE SKIRT!  I mean, if the Circle Skirt was easy the Simple Skirt must be, well, downright simple.  And it was!  It was actually so easy I didn't even mind when my daughter decided she was going to help me... she pulled up a stool, sat next to me and then put her hand on mine and "helped" me sew everything. Have I mentioned how much I love this kid?

My daughter is a skinny, long little thing... I guess I should expect it, her father is 6'4" and thin!  The waist is a little big, and I had a feeling it would be when I cut the elastic, but it isn't horrible and will ensure she wears it the entire summer.

5 What are little boys made of? #104

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!

7 Sugar & Spice #103

 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.

7 Snow White Purse Tutorial

Today I am going to share with you how I made my daughter a Snow White purse.  She recently discovered Snow White when we went to Disney On Ice in January and instantly fell in love with her!  Olivia is a little purse hound and she loves to get all dolled up so this was a must-have for her!

0 GroopDealz: Awesome Baker's Twine Deal

In case you aren't a fan on Facebook, here is a deal I shared last night:

 Groopdealz is having an amazing deal starting at midnight MST! The Twinery is going to be offering some of their hottest colors in bakers twine, at a great discount. And it's made right here in the USA. It will end when all colors are SOLD OUT and I hear it went FAST the last time they did this deal. Don't miss it! Go get your Bakers Twine Here!

23 Caillou - I'm Just a Boy Who's Four!

My daughter is a Caillou fan.  I know some people really can't stand the bald little guy, but she loves him and the show really does have some good plots and lessons taught.   I'm a planner.  I'm pretty sure you all know that by now.  I enjoy it.  I thrive in it! So in January when Olivia told me she wanted a Caillou party, I took the bull by the horns.  I designed an invitation (two in fact!), cupcake toppers, water bottle labels, and a nice birthday poster.  Luckily I stopped there because last month my daughter said "Mama, I can't wait for my Rocket party!"  Rocket meaning Little Einsteins.  She's been slowly moving away from Caillou and gravitating towards Little Einsteins, which makes her the third of my children to love that show.  The music, the dancing, the clapping!  It just draws them in.   Rather than waste the party items that I made, I'm going to offer them to you guys, free of course, as printables. Hopefully there's a mom or two out there who will find these useful!

Update: I've made these available as downloads via Google Docs:

Cupcake Toppers

Water Bottle Labels

Invites

6 Handmade Twill Tape Labels & A June Dress

I know I've seen lots of people make their own clothing labels using iron on transfer paper, but I don't have an inkjet printer (I have a way cooler expensive Xerox machine) so I can't run iron on transfer paper through it. I brainstormed a little and thought, "I use freezer paper stencils for everything else, why not a label?"  I made my daughters birthday outfit (Birthday is in 2 months!) and wanted to put a little stamp of "hey, I did that!" on it, so I needed a label, and the ones I had printed up were loop labels and wouldn't look right on the skirt.  I grabbed some gray twill tape, my Cricut, the "logo" I designed, freezer paper and paint and made this:

Cute right?  Although I wish I hadn't included the {Heart} KC.  I think LIVIE LOU (My daughters nickname) would have been enough.  See it on the outfit:

7 Link Parties - My Opinion

 {more advice then how-to, but you know...}
Do you host weekly link parties?  We all like a good link party - a place to link up our projects for exposure, and of course a place to find creativity - fun projects, ideas for our own homes, etc.
But how can you do that if the thumbnails are so tiny that you can't even see them?  I made sure that when I made the switch to a thumbnail link party (remember just text link parties, CRAZY!), that I made the thumbnails nice and large.  Mine are 120x120 and fit 4 across my post space.  And do you know how many THANK-YOU's I get from my readers?  I'm telling you, they truly appreciate being able to SEE what is linked up!  People take the time to say thank you for the large thumbnails and that too many linky owners set their thumbnails to such a small size that they don't even hang out after linking up!
You are taking the time and paying out the money to have a linky party, so why not make it the best, user-friendly party available?

0 Pick Your Plum Giveaway Winner

I am excited to announce that Lynette (Necklace Bliss) won the Pick Your Plum Plum Box Giveaway!  Make sure to check your email Linda! I think the Rafflecopter entry system worked out perfectly as well - it even picks the winner with one click and will send them an email as well!  So I will be continuing to use that in the future. 

9 HOW TO: Have Linkwithin Gadget show only on Post Page

Today I'm going to show you how to have the Linkwithin Gadget only appear on a post page, not under every post on your main page.  It still allows you promote your older posts, but is less obtrusive and doesn't clutter up your main page.  Please note: If you have a custom template this may not work. The first step is to go to LinkWithin and type in the information into the form as follows: Your EmailYour Blog Link Home Page (ie, www.733blog.com)Platform: CHOOSE OTHERWidth - 3, 4, or 5 thumbnails (totally up to you).
Click GET WIDGET.

1 What are little boys made of? #103

Don't forget to enter the Pick Your Plum $50 Plum Box Giveaway!
And one last shameless plug - Today is the last day that you can vote for seven thirty three to be a Top 25 Creative Mom at Circle of Moms.  It would mean a ton to me if you would hope on over there and click the thumbs up button beside seven thirty three!

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 If only I could bribe you...

 I assume bribing you would get me kicked out of the contest, do I won't do it, but I will ask very nicely: Would you pretty please, with a cherry COOKIE on top, head over to Circle of Moms and vote for seven thirty three in their Top 25 Creative Moms?  I was informed this week that my blog was nominated and as I type this I am in 97th place?  It would be pretty awesome if I could get 75 of you to pop on over and hit the little thumbs-up button!  Voting ends in TWO days!
And if you were a Sociology major you will understand that you MUST click over and not assume others are going to do it... no Bystander Effect here people! 

6 Sugar & Spice #102

 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.

6 A few layout changes and a HOW-TO

If you visit the blog on a regular basis you may have noticed a few layout changes earlier today. 

24 Scribble Challenge - Craft Stick Bracelet with Custom Gift Box

Alright my creative peeps!  Today I am sharing a project that I created using supplies from ScribbleShop.com as part of their Scribble Challenge.  I was sent a box of supplies and had to create a project using as many of them as possible, and I am excited to say that I used every.single.item!  And in case you haven't heard,

Scribble Shop is an online craft store that carries over 75,000 crafty items!  How great is it to just sit at your computer and order supplies?  Am I the only one who gets excited about that?  I mean, this shop has everything a crafty person needs!  Plus, because I am participating in the Scribble Challenge, the Scribble Shop is offering my readers 15% off their entire order, now through April 30th using promo code 733BLOG!

Back to the challenge!  These are the items that I found in my box:

5 $50 in Crafty Swag from Pick Your Plum - Giveaway!

You've all heard of Pick Your Plum, right?  You may have noticed their little button in my sidebar over there.  Basically, it is a deal a day site,  but targeted to us crafters and handmade lovers!  I love getting my Pick Your Plum daily emails so I can drool over the crafty deal!  I couldn't resist the Washi Tape deal they had a few weeks ago and purchased 6 rolls of colorful tape for a total of $16, including shipping and handling!  Now that is a deal!  But remember, these products go quick and there is a limited quantity available, so if you want in on the specials, go over to Pick Your Plum and sign up for their newsletter so that you are always in the know... and get it before your neighbor does!  (And don't delay for reals people!  I put off buying the cake shooters a few weeks ago because I didn't have my card on me and I was, uh, being, um, lazy, and yea, I missed out because by the time I finally grabbed my card they were SOLD OUT.  Wahhhhhh!  Yea, I'm still crying about it now!).
 And it is so fun because you never know what you're going to find in that email! Maybe it will be some bakers twine:

1 St. Patrick's Day Hair Bows

I made a couple of St. Patrick's Day Bows for some of the girls in my lives... don't need any pinches now do we?

 

5 My Craft Table is Doing Double-Duty

Want to know what else I use my craft table for? This:

 {load 6 of 6, UGH}
The chore from hell.  Yes, I said it.  I HATE laundry.  Especially when you have 5 people, 3 of whom are kids!  It is never ending!  Since my craft table is right outside my laundry room, I just drag it from the dryer to the table and get folding.  Perfect height! What is your least favorite chore?

1 Winners of the Vibrant Designs Giveaway are...

First up, the winner of the great Heidi bag by Vibrant Designs is:

 Commenter #15 - Lynn!
And the winner of the pattern so they can make me, errr, uh, I mean themselves one...

#36 - Natural Nesters!

Congrats ladies and check your email!
Sad you didn't win?  It's OK, because the bag will be on sale THIS Monday through GigisPetals - only $22!

0 HOW TO: Using Google Docs to Create Forms for Use on Your Blog

 Did you know that Google Docs has a Forms option where you can create a form and embed it in your website to use to collect information? It is super easy to set up, and with the help of JS Blog Stop I was able to have the submitted forms sent directly to my email!

You can see an example of one of my DESIGN ORDER FORMS here. And one of my Facebook fans, My Favorite Finds, shared that she uses it as a way for people to enter her giveaways!  Great idea!

And one last reminder that today is the last day to enter the Vibrant Designs giveaway!  And you really should enter because this bag is the cutest around!  I really wish I could enter because I'm in love with it!

3 What are little boys made of? #102

You DON'T want to miss this weeks gorgeous giveaway from Vibrant Designs!

Two winners ups your chances of winning!

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!