Mom's Crafty Space

New Spin on Marble Painting

2012-03-12T04:00:00.000-07:00

My boys like marble painting. A lot. Usually we marble paint using the same method we used to make our marbled Easter Eggs, but the other day we decided to create a less messy type of marble painting since the crazy toddler was trying to get right in the middle of arts and crafts time.

Sutton came up with the idea of using something with a lid that we could close up, and I immediately knew that an old formula can would be perfect for the job. We rolled our sheet of paper (an 8.5"x14" fit best) into the can, squirted in a bit of paint, added our marbles, put on the lid and started shaking. It doesn't take long for the marbles inside to get into a spinning rhythm to create some incredible marbling.

The clean up was a total breeze since most of the paint remained on the paper. We saved our cans for another time and gave the lids and marbles a quick rinse in the sink - easy peasy!

DIY Mercury Glass {Tutorial}

2012-03-11T14:56:00.002-07:00

Lately I've been daydreaming about the mercury glass accessories that seem to be all the rage these days. I've fallen in love with a few pieces, but I just can't justify spending any money on breakable objects with a crazy toddler on the loose around here. Aren't these lovely, though?

(both photos above from West Elm)

I'm pretty sure that I actually NEED this lamp.

But like I said, I'm not about to purchase breakables, so I set out to try to recreate the look myself. I have to preface this tutorial by saying that I used a shiny silver metallic paint that I had on-hand for my faux mercury glass, and I really like the look of the more brushed finish; however, if you want a super shiny mirrored finish you can use Krylon Looking Glass Mirror-Like Spray Paint to achieve that look using these same steps.

I used items that I already had hiding out in my cupboards - a couple of assorted clear glass votive holders and a square glass vase that was leftover from my sister's wedding (thanks, Kari!).

Start with these basic supplies: your glassware, metallic spray paint and a spray bottle that will spray in a fine mist.

Mist the inside of your glass with water, and spray it with the silver paint while the water is still wet.

I found that I really liked the way it looked when I sprayed water, then silver paint, and then a bit of water again. Continue to add layers of water and silver paint until you get the desired look. If you want your "mercury glass" to look shiny, you can stop at this point (like I did for my votive holders) or proceed to the next step for more of an aged finish...

Dark mercury glass has a bit of a gold-black finish, so I mixed a drop or two of black paint to a few tablespoons of metallic gold paint and lightly dabbed the mixture inside of my vase to fill in the blank spaces.

These pictures make it look a lot blacker that it really is, but for some reason the camera just isn't capturing the gold very well (perhaps because my camera is thisclose to death, and half of these photos were actually taken with my phone!).

You can see the difference between the aged look on the vase and the shinier look of the votive holders. I'm still not sure which one I like best, but I like the variety when they're all together.

Quick and easy way to add a little shine to your mantle...if you're like me, you probably already have the supplies just laying around. So what are you waiting for!?

This is what it looks like with the flash on, but really I just wanted to show off my cute new sign that I made last night too ;)

Homemade Microwave Puffy Paint

2012-02-29T11:52:00.002-08:00

DIY paint that puffs up in the microwave? Sounds like a surefire hit to me! I saw this idea on Mommy Labs awhile ago and filed away for a rainy day. Today just happened to be the perfect combination of rain and bored kiddos, so I whipped up a batch - quick, easy, and SUPER fun!

We started with one cup of flour and mixed in 3 teaspoons of baking powder, 1 teaspoon of salt and enough water to make it the consistency of pancake batter. We divided our mix into four parts and put them into snack size Ziploc baggies along with some food coloring. Part of the fun was squishing it all around to mix up the colors!

Rubber band the baggies like you would if you were icing a cake and snip off the teeniest little bit of the tip.

Paint away! When you're finished, pop the painting into the microwave for 30-45 seconds and watch the paint puff up and grow - such fun! I loved that it was completely dry out of the microwave so we didn't have to worry about any extra messes or accidents as our pile of paintings grew.

We made about ten paintings this morning, and we still have plenty of paint leftover so that Sawyer can have a chance to try it when he gets home from school too. Nothing beats cheap entertainment, especially with some fine motor skills practice and a built-in kitchen science lesson!

Up, Up & Away!

2012-02-27T14:29:00.000-08:00

Okay, I know I promised that I was going to make you wait until March for this project reveal, but hey, it's close enough, right? I {LOVE} this colorful mobile SO much that I just couldn't wait to show it off! Get the scoop on how to make your own at Sacramento Parent Magazine. The article is online today, and local folks can pick up their copy of the magazine on newsstands in a few days.

...and just in case my written directions are clear as mud, here's a quick visual on how to assemble your balloons into 3-dimensional shapes!

Thanks again to Sacramento Parent Magazine for allowing me the opportunity to show off some of my creative fun! It's always such a pleasure working with them! If you have some time, take a few minutes to browse the other articles on their site as well; there's some really great stuff there! ♥

Templates can be found HERE & HERE

2012-02-22T13:09:00.001-08:00

Hi everyone! I just wanted to pop in and quickly let you all know that I am SO sorry that I haven't been able to respond to all your emails and inquiries lately. I have been battling the worst flu that I have ever had, and today is the first day in almost a week that I've even been able to get out of bed (although I was only able to get out of bed for a couple of hours). I hope *fingers crossed* that I will be on the mend and able to get back to everyone after the weekend. I just wanted to let you know that I'm not ignoring all of your messages, and I'll try to get back to everyone as soon as possible! Thanks for your patience :)

Sawyer's Secret Valentine

2012-02-10T11:22:00.000-08:00

This year Sawyer's kindergarten class is doing a "Secret Valentine" exchange where each child makes a special Valentine for one of their classmates instead of exchanging cards with the whole class (they drew names out of a hat). He was a little bummed because he really wanted to share his Crazy Owl Valentines with everyone, but once I told him we could make a HUGE card filled with all sorts of goodies he was excited again and got right to work.

He worked so hard on this that I just had to share it and show it off. It's an entire sheet of neon pink posterboard covered in stickers, rhinestones, rings, bracelets, pencils, sequins, and even glittery star sunglasses! The inside is filled with shiny gold hearts that he stamped using a tp roll. He is SO excited for Tuesday, and I hope that Katelyn loves her Valentine as much as he loved creating it!

Conversation Heart Art

2012-02-08T10:24:00.000-08:00

This one is pretty self explanatory, eh?

The short phrases make for great reading practice too. Expect lots of giggles as they decipher such silly messages as "U Go Girl" and "Got Love?"

I gave Sutton complete control of the glue bottle, but in hindsight it might be better to let an adult handle the glue on this project. There was a bit of sugary melted candy and color bleeding where the hearts sat in a puddle of glue waiting to dry. Just be sure to use a thin line of glue, and everything should be perfect!

Welcome, Mindy Mae's Market!

2012-02-05T18:06:00.000-08:00

With all the fantastic craft inspiration on Pinterest these days, it's no wonder that more and more people are feeling crafty! If you're anything like me, I bet you've been struck by a flash of inspiration and immediately run out to the nearest craft or hardware store to buy your supplies only to realize that the item you need comes in a way bigger quantity than you need.

Take my outdoor chalkboards for example. Remember when I told you how to make your own DIY chalkboard paint using a few tablespoons of non-sanded grout? Well, that grout generally comes in a 10 pound box that costs around $12. For that price I could have just bought some regular chalkboard paint and saved myself the trouble, right (I did get to make a custom color though!)? So, now I have enough grout to make chalkboard paint for the rest of my life. Wouldn't it be fantastic if there was some place that sold only the necessary amount of these hot craft items so that it wouldn't break the bank (and you wouldn't have to worry about where in the world you're going to store 9.95 pounds of non-sanded grout for the next 50 years!)?

Well, you don't have to look any further!

Ladies and gentlemen, I am so excited to introduce you all to my newest sponsor, Mindy Mae's Market! This is the place to be to score fantastic deals on all sorts of great crafting supplies, jewelry and home accessories. Mindy Mae's Market offers a deal-a-day, but if the deal doesn't sell out on its initial day you can usually find it listed in their Past Deals section, which is always chock full of fun stuff!

Mindy Mae's Market is run by two totally adorable ladies, Nikki and Courtney, who love to interact and get to know their customers. Here's the insider scoop: their Facebook Page is definitely something you'll want to check out. These ladies are more than generous with their customers, and you can often find them playing games such as "I'll Take It!" and "What Picture is This?" (where they offer items for super low prices to the first person who says, "I'll take it!" or correctly guesses the item, respectively). My most favorite game is definitely "Make Me an Offer" (just ask my Paypal account haha!). Customers are allowed to build their own bundle of items and offer a price that they'd like to pay - Mindy Mae's Market can then accept, reject or counter the offer until you reach an acceptable price. What a fantastic and fun way to save even more on great quality craft, jewelry and decor items!

Want to see some of the fun stuff that Mindy Mae's Market has offered lately?

These adorable frames were only $8 each or 3/$20! Sadly, they're sold out now, but I hear there are more to come soon!

These lovely earrings are up on an "I'll Take It!" game on Facebook right now...I'm trying to avoid temptation, but I think they're calling my name!

So do yourself a favor and go "like" Mindy Mae's Market on Facebook to get in on the fun, and stop by their shop each Monday - Friday morning at 9 am MST to check out their awesome deals of the day! Oh, and if you're still searching for more inspiration, check out the Mindy Mae's Market blog for all sorts of wonderful ideas using the materials they have for sale - LOVE it!

First Fingerpainting

2012-02-04T11:28:00.000-08:00

Yesterday Simon (16 months) created his very first fingerpainted artwork! I'm calling this one "Sunset Over the Grassy Hills."

He was so excited to get to work! He's been sick, so please ignore his messy snotty face.

Pure painting bliss! It was love at first squish, for sure.

Sawyer joined in the fun to "teach Simon how to do it."

Look at that little tongue stuck out there - such concentration!

Simon loved the experience, so I'm sure we'll be doing this again soon. Maybe next time we'll attempt it at the outdoor easel since the weather has been so nice and warm.

I wish I had gotten a final photo of his messy hands (and face because he tried to lick it off his hands - thank goodness for non-toxic art supplies!), but Sawyer managed to squirt a huge amount of blue paint on to his pants, so I was too busy trying to clean up his mess at that point. For the record, we will never again do a painting project while he's still wearing his school uniform!

Sneak Peek

2012-01-28T17:14:00.000-08:00

I've been working on something this past week that is just too adorable not to share! I won't actually be revealing the entire project until March 1st (to coincide with its magazine release!), but in the meantime here's a little sneak peek at what I've been calling my "cutest. project. ever."

Tips & Tricks: Green Onions

2012-01-27T12:05:00.000-08:00

Here's a handy tip that I learned a few months ago (I want to say that I read it in Natural Home & Garden magazine, but I honestly can't remember where I first saw it). Did you know that you can extend the life of store bought green onions so that one single bunch will last for months?

These green onions that I purchased back in November are still bright, green and tasty! All you have to do is place the bulb end into a container of fresh water and keep it somewhere sunny. You can keep snipping off the tops and they will continue to grow back over and over again. I change the water in my mason jar about once a week, and they're still going strong after all these weeks. I have no idea how long they are actually supposed to last, but these don't seem like they're going to stop growing any time soon - super cheap and easy peasy!

Kids Art: Watercolor Winter Trees

2012-01-21T00:03:00.000-08:00

Sutton and I discovered a fantastic blog the other day, Art Projects for Kids, and he was especially intrigued by their winter birch trees paintings. We decided to try it out for ourselves this morning, and though our results aren't quite as pretty as the inspiration they were still really fun to make. Sutton was especially keen on getting to use salt in a painting project since we've never really done that before.

First, tape down your paper around the edges. Use torn strips of tape to create the silhouettes of tree trunks and branches. Our trees were a little less birch-like and a little more free form. We used blue painters tape and watercolor paper as suggested, but I found that the tape really stuck to the paper, so that might not actually be the best combination.

Use dark blue watercolor to paint over the entire sheet of paper.

While the paint is still wet, shake on some big pieces of kosher salt. We also used a few shakes of regular table salt because someone was having way too much fun with all that salt shaking. I'm not sure what happened, but instead of turning white and absorbing the watercolor, the salted spots on our painting turned bright pink...which was also cool, but not exactly what we were originally going for.

Peel off the tape and shake off all the salt. Go back with your watercolor paint and add some lines to your trees for detail and definition. You can also shade and shadow your trees, but since our tape let a lot of paint leak underneath we didn't really need to. You can also add white details to the snow/stars (aka the salty spots).

I'd like to try this again using contact paper instead of blue tape. I think it might also be nicer with watered down tempera paint and bristol instead of the watercolor paper. We had much more success using those materials when we created "S" initial artwork last year. Still lots of fun, however, and the kids always love the "big reveal" when you finally pull off the masking and unveil their masterpiece!

Art Armoire: A Craigslist Makeover

2012-01-20T00:05:00.000-08:00

I'm in the middle of transforming my office back into a craft room/office and reorganizing all of my supplies, but in order to make some more room for MY craft stuff I needed to clear out some of the boys' art supplies from my office closet. I knew that I wanted to put them somewhere close at-hand so that we can whip up projects at a moment's notice, but I couldn't figure out exactly where that magical place was supposed to exist in my already jam packed cupboards and closets. Luckily I've had my eye on Craigslist for awhile, and when I spotted this fantastic wood armoire for a steal of a deal, I snatched it up with big dreams of blissfully separated supplies.

This is what it looked like before the transformation. It was set up to house a television, so the back was open and it was lacking shelf space. Luckily for me, my hubby is a handy guy ;)

He started out by adding a new solid backing and a couple of custom sized shelves. I made sure that I left ample room for all of our paints up on the top shelf since I don't really want the kids taking those kinds of messes out on their own.

Then he faced the shelves with some matching cherry trim and added a center piece for both support and aesthetics. (Make sure you compliment your handy guy and tell him how amazing he looks wielding that nail gun!). As you can see, I was anxious to start stocking the armoire, so I started by putting some of our puzzles and homeschool "jobs" on the bottom shelves.

Now stock this bad boy with everything you've got! Okay, honestly, it didn't fit ALL of my kids' supplies, but it did fit all of the most frequently used goodies. What can I say? We have a lot of art stuff.

It's kind of hard to see, but this baby has some deeeep shelving. I was able to stock a few items (like the liquid watercolors in the yellow buckets) two or three deep to conserve even more space. If you want to be totally ~~OCD~~ awesome like me, pick up a Label Maker
and start labelling everything!

One of the best tips I have for organizing kids' supplies is to use a silverware caddy or divided basket to keep all of the basics in one place. We use a metal silverware tub that I picked up on clearance after Halloween - my boys think the skull motif is super cool - and it helps keep their markers, pencils, scissors, and glue all quickly accessible.

I used the bottom shelves for games and homeschool work that will be able to be changed out and rotated on a regular basis. It's amazing how much more appealing these things are to the kids when they're easy to see and get to!

All closed up and put away out of sight! Now I can focus on reclaiming my own art closet space...more to come!

Review: Champion Me Books

2012-01-19T00:03:00.000-08:00

This year for Hanukkah, my boys received these AWESOME personalized books from Champion Me Books. We've had personalized books made before, but they usually feel like all of the personalized info was plugged into a fill-in-the-blank form, and the stories have been pretty lackluster. With Champion Me Books, not only do you get to add personalized information, but you actually get to personalize the way the character looks, right down to their clothing!

These books are incredible and SO entertaining! Sawyer got "Sawyer vs. the Scribble Monster," and it has quickly become one of our favorite stories to read. It is packed full of creativity, adventure and hilarious antics that are totally 100% Sawyer.

Of course, his most favorite page is the one where he's zipping away from the scribble monster on his skateboard!

"Sutton in Gadgetland" is also a new favorite of ours. It follows Doc Sutton as he fixes up all sorts of gadgets and machines, and turns into quite the adventure when he discovers a shape shifting Gizmo with a sneezing problem!

Honestly, I cannot recommend Champion Me Books enough! Their quality is excellent with clear graphics and text, and the paper is heavy weight and glossy. My boys love starring in their very own book, and I was thrilled to discover that the books were both funny, engaging and interesting. With personalized book choices that are appropriate for girls and boys of all ages, there is sure to be something that your child will fall in love with!

Disclaimer: I was provided with one Champion Me book to review; however, I purchased the other book on my own, and all opinions expressed are 100% mine!

Crazy Owl Valentines

2012-01-18T15:57:00.000-08:00

I love this idea for a cute and easy sugar-free Valentine's treat! I picked up some crazy straws from the dollar store and created these sweet little cards with some of my favorite Print Candee papers and graphics. Check out my post over on their blog for the list of what I used!

Simple Fabric Organization

2012-01-18T11:19:00.000-08:00

There's nothing I like better than a pretty rainbow of color, especially when that rainbow is part of a bigger organization plan. I found this idea on Pinterest (naturally!), and I knew it was something I needed to do immediately to tackle my overwhelming and haphazard pile of fabric that was overtaking my craft area. I created mini bolts of fabric by wrapping the fabric around these Comic Book Boards - they fit near perfectly if you fold the fabric in half from selvage to selvege and then in half again. Then just roll the length of fabric around the board - easy peasy and uniformly organized for easy rainbow storage!

Isn't that pretty? Granted, it's only a percentage of my fabric, so the entire rainbow won't end up fitting in a single drawer or shelf, but I just had to take a picture of how lovely it looked at the halfway point!

Happy organizing!

Miss Me?

2012-01-16T15:26:00.000-08:00

Hi everyone! I've been busy attacking my usual New Year's resolution of getting better organized, so there has been a whole lot of rearranging going on around here. I've got a ton of stuff to share with y'all, but first I've got to get a couple more things (or piles of things!) reorganized and put away! I'll be back in a few days with a couple of fast and easy organizing tips as well as some cute Valentine's ideas. Stay tuned!

2012 Blog Facelift

2012-01-04T09:22:00.000-08:00

It's that time of year again - time for resolutions, renewed inspiration, and motivation. Time to start anew with a fresh clean slate. Time for change...specifically, a makeover, blog style.

I loved my blog design last year, but as it got more cluttered with sponsors and featured badges I switched back to a 2-column format and moved a lot of the buttons to their very own page. It made things a lot easier to read, but suddenly my blog looked pretty drab with all those colors missing. So, for 2012 I decided to add a little bit of color (and by "little bit" I clearly mean "a ginormous amount").

I purchased a pre-made banner and button from Sara Rubendall, and I LOVE it! Sara's designs are super cute and way more budget friendly than getting another custom makeover, though the pre-made format ensures that I'm not the only blog out there in Blogland that has this same header layout. I'm not worried. Then I googled a few tutorials on how to finish my blog makeover by myself, and I added the new yellow background made from Print Candee digital paper, some new fonts and new colors and played around for awhile. I still have a few minor changes to make, but I'm pretty happy with it...and who wouldn't be happy with all that colorful cheer around!

What do you think? Do you like it? Hope you're having a fantastic start to 2012!

Sacramento Parent Magazine: Family Memory Match Game

2012-01-03T03:10:00.000-08:00

My latest Sacramento Parent magazine article is arriving on news stands as I type this, and it's just as exciting for me the second time around! If you're not local or you just can't wait to pick up your printed copy, head on over to Sacramento Parent's website and check out the online version right now. As always, it was a pleasure to work with their wonderful staff, and I am honored to have been a part of the January issue!

Cultural Exchange Package: South Carolina

2012-01-02T02:18:00.000-08:00

A few months ago we signed up for Little Red Farm's cultural exchange. We mailed packages of goodies and information representing California/USA to people from England, France, Nigeria, Australia and USA (East Coast), and in return we will receive a package from each of them.

In between all the holiday madness and sickness (Simon is slowly trying to recover from the stomach flu and an ear infection), I completely forgot to take pictures of the packages that we sent - oops! They included a USA map jigsaw puzzle, postcards from northern California, California state information and coloring pages, eagle and flag stickers and die cut shapes, crazy straws (just because my boys can't get enough of them!), lip balm in patriotic packaging, pencils and a few sweets. Each box was slightly varied to suit the number of children in the family. We can't wait for the recipients to get their packages!

The first package that we received was from a sweet family in South Carolina who shared some of their local customs and traditions with us.

The package was wrapped in the South Carolina state flag (made from a plastic tablecloth and white paper). How cute is that!?

It contained: a postcard, South Carolina state shaped cookie cutter, SC pencils, SC roadmap, SC popscicle stick puzzle, Confederate money, peanuts, cotton, a sand dollar, a plastic palmetto bug and a state flag dough ornament (that went straight up on the boys' Christmas tree!). There was also a nice letter from the family and some papers describing the items and their history.

Sawyer was totally excited about the map, and he spent a really long time trying to read all the different city names.

Sutton immediately dove into the bag of peanuts - they didn't last long!

They both took turns trying to put the puzzle together. It took them awhile, but they finally got it when they worked as a team!

Thank you so much for our package! We loved receiving such fun mail, and it was great to learn a bit about an area of the US that is so historically different than ours. If you're interested in participating in the next cultural exchange, Little Red Farm already has a link to sign up for the 2012 exchange.

Glittery Snow Playdough

2012-01-01T17:05:00.000-08:00

We never get snow where we live...okay, maybe not NEVER, but I think it's happened about 3 times in the past 15 years. Since Sawyer is still on Winter Break from school he came up with the idea of making some Wintery white playdough to make "snowmen" with. I suggested adding some irridescent glitter (which was nearly impossible to photograph, even in sunlight), and we had a sure fire hit!

You can't really see it very well in the other pictures, but I swear there was a ton of shimmery glitter in the dough!

The recipe makes enough dough for my two big boys to share, but you might want to double it if you have a larger group of children.

* 1 cup flour

* 1/2 cup salt

* 1 cup water

* 1 tsp. oil

* 1 tsp. cream of tartar

* 2-3 tbsp. of ultra fine glitter

In a large saucepan, mix together the flour, salt and cream of tartar. Add the water and oil and stir until mixed well. Place on stove over medium heat, stirring constantly. After a few minutes it will cook down to playdough consistency. Allow to cool (cover with a damp cloth while cooling to avoid drying out), and then knead in the glitter one tablespoon at a time.

We've had a lot of playdough and pajamas during this winter break!

We've also had a lot of knitting going on! We discovered the Clover Wonder Knitter, and the boys are hooked on how easy it is to quickly crank out long chains of knitting. Sawyer and I have each made a skinny scarf that loops around your neck four times to create the illusion of a larger cowl, and Sutton wants to try to make some finger puppets next!

Hope you all had a wonderful holiday season and a happy new year!

Top 11 of 2011

2011-12-31T22:13:00.000-08:00

Because all the cool kids are doing it...here are my Top 11 posts from 2011!

#11: Streamer Rainbows

#10: Baby Ribbon Tag Blanket Tutorial

#9: PVC Sunburst Mirror

#8: Homemade Sidewalk Chalk Paint

#7: Mosaic Flowerpot Birdbath

#6: Dodecahedron Star Lantern Tutorial

#5: Coffee Filter Flowers Tutorial

#4: Sharpie Tie Dye

#3: Melted Crayon Artwork

#2: Marshmallow Shooters

#1: DIY Rock Candy Tutorial

Honorable mentions go to: Montessori Style Crayon Holder, I-Spy Bags, and Bubble Painting, all of which were posts from 2010 that actually broke into the true top 11 of 2011!

Happy New Year!

Winter Solstice Lanterns: Stars & Sunsets

2011-12-20T22:38:00.000-08:00

This year my boys chose to create our Winter Solstice lanterns in colors reminiscent of the sunset. You can find the directions for the cylinder lantern and the dodecahedron star lantern here at MCS, and I used this video to figure out the technique needed to fold the 8-pointed star lantern.

I adore the colors that the boys used in their paintings, and these lanterns look lovely whether they're lit up or not. As always, use caution when mixing candles with paper lanterns. I highly recommend using battery-operated tealights in the smaller lanterns.

(I need to pick up some more. That's why my 8-pointed star isn't lit here!).

There's just something magical about candlelight that seems to chase away the dreariness from these short, dark days. I hope that you and your family are having a wonderful and peaceful holiday season!

Scalloped Paper Ball Ornament {Tutorial}

2011-12-19T23:05:00.000-08:00

Come on over to Print Candee today and check out the quick and easy tutorial I'm sharing for these sweet scalloped paper ball ornaments!

Woven Paper Tree Topper

2011-12-18T00:16:00.000-08:00

Just in case you missed my 12 Days of Christmas tutorial at Two Girls Being Crafty, here's the lowdown on how to make a super cool tree topper out of nothing but paper and glue!

All you'll need to make this gorgeous star is a sheet of 12" x 12" glittered cardstock, scissors and glue (hot glue works best). If you have single sided glitter paper you will need to glue two sheets back-to-back to create a double sided sheet.

First, take your paper and cut it into (20) 1/2" wide strips.

Fold two strips in half and crease to mark the center. Line up the center marks and glue the two strips to form 90 degree angles.

Add four more vertical strips (two on either side of your original + shape), weaving the horizontal piece through the vertical strips. Glue at all places where the paper intersects.

Continue weaving until you have a grid of 5x5 woven strips (the tails should be around 4" long).

This step is the trickiest to explain, so hopefully the photos will help! In each corner, take the two inner corner strips and join the tips, making a twist in each strip before gluing them together. Do this with the next interior set of corner strips as well, so that you end up with two twisted points on each corner.

When all your corners are twisted and joined, it should look like this.

Now make another!

Turn one of your pieces upside down and rotate it so that the tips form an 8-pointed star when placed on top of the first piece.

Weave the remaining tails into the points, glue down and trim the ends.

Voila, an easy peasy and super cheap way to add a lot of sparkle and shine to your holiday season! These also look incredible when hung in small groups from the ceiling - use white or silver paper to create a flurry of shimmery snowflakes that's sure to impress!

Now go find a tree (preferably one where all the lights will light up for you!) and add your shiny new topper! Happy Holidays!

Stringing Popcorn

2011-12-15T12:41:00.000-08:00

Today Sawyer's class is having a "Jammie Day" and reading/watching The Polar Express at school, so Sutton requested that we do the same thing at home (of course!). We popped a bunch of popcorn and started to watch the movie, but he was soon distracted by his own creative ideas, and he was insistant that we take some of the popcorn and string it up for our outdoor feathered friends. I love it when my boys come up with these ideas all on their own!

We threaded a needle and he got straight to work - excellent fine motor skills practice!

Ready and waiting for some hungry birds! He's already working on another one, and I have a feeling that this tree is going to be full of popcorn before the day is through! :)

Graham Cracker Gingerbread Houses {Tutorial}

2011-12-14T12:50:00.000-08:00

Do you remember when I made a gazillion of these little guys for my boys' school last year? Well, I've received a ton of emails asking me about the construction of them and how I cut the graham crackers, so I decided to do a tutorial for y'all this year (which might also help me out next December since it took me a few tries to get it right again this year!). You'll need five graham crackers for each house. Honey Maid graham crackers are great - nice, flat, and straight - but if you cheap out and buy the generic kind like I did, you might need to be a bit fiddly to get the edges to line up as nicely.

Take two of your crackers and trim off a little less than 1/4 from one of the short edges. Use a serrated knife and light pressure. You might break a few while you're getting used to the feeling of cutting, but it's par for the course. After you trim the ends, cut your angles - use the center of the cracker (both horizontally and vertically) as your guidelines. At this point you can also trim about 3/4" off of the two large crackers that you are going to use for your roof (as show in the first photo), but I skipped it this time and didn't feel like it made too much of an aesthetic difference.

Now, you'll want to whip up a batch of royal icing: You'll need 3 cups of powdered sugar, 2 eggs whites and 1/4 tsp of Cream of Tartar. Whip the egg whites until frothy, then add the other ingredients and whip for about 7-9 minutes until the volume has increased and it holds stiff peaks. Put your icing into a piping bag.

I start by adhering one of the side pieces (a 1/2 sheet of graham cracker) directly onto the plate with royal icing. Next I attach the end piece, the other side piece, and then the remaining end piece. You'll want to work fast as the royal icing sets up very quickly.

I make sure that each piece is securely "glued" on to the plate, because I find that it makes it a lot easier for the kids to decorate their houses when they can lift up their plates and tip it around without worrying that it will fall apart or knock over.

Add a line of icing all around - your roof pieces probably won't touch all of these places, but it looks nicer when it's all finished :)

Add your two angled roof pieces - remember when I said that cheap graham crackers don't look as nice?! My boys wanted cinnamon crackers for the roof, and man, they were extra bowed and curved!

Oh well, nothing a little more icing can't fix! We'll just call it snow, eh?

Set out all the candy for decorating. Last year we used healthier options like pretzels, raisins, and yogurt bits, but this year we went all out with the junk food!

Get to work! Since the icing sets up so quickly I like to pipe a few lines on one side of the house and let my boys decorate one area at a time so that we can ensure that the candy all stays glued down well.

Don't forget to sneak a few pics of the kiddos as they use the candy as funny photo props - these peppermint sticks totally made great reindeer antlers ;)

Ready for display...or, to eat. Sawyer was pretty impressed with his decision to use the leftover graham cracker bits on the side of his house. Personally, I'm lovin' his heart doorknob.

Easy DIY Stamps

2011-12-07T10:54:00.000-08:00

These DIY stamps are fast, simple, and perfect for adding a little personalized touch to homemade gift wrap. All it takes is some craft foam, a ballpoint pen, and something to serve as your handle (we used some corks from my cork collection).

First, draw your image on to the craft foam and then trace over it a few times with the ballpoint pen, making sure to push down hard enough to permanently indent the foam. Remember that the image will be reversed when you stamp it - especially important if you want to include wording on your stamps. Trim your foam, glue it on to your handle, and stamp away! Easy peasy!

My favorite is Sutton's collection of hearts and "Mom" which, of course, means "I love you, Mom!" I love the idea of preserving their cute little drawings and handwriting!

Blog Slacking & A Flashback

2011-12-05T15:19:00.000-08:00

Things have been a little slow here lately at MCS, well, because things at home are NOT slow these days! The baby and I have been fighting a funky cold that came hand-in-hand with an unfathomable amount of snot and scratchy throats. I'm pretty sure that I've drank a gallon of hot tea in just the last 24 hours alone, and it's not showing any sign of letting up anytime soon.

My oldest switched schools last week to a charter school that we had been on the waiting list for since he was 3, and we're totally loving it (except for the part where I drive him 24 miles each day instead of the 5 I was driving before!). The fact that he's in school for 2 hours longer each day gives me a much better routine and flow to our day - Simon can now nap when he wants to vs when I need him to, and Sutton and I have more time to focus on our homeschool activities.

We've been busy crafting up all sorts of holiday goodies that aren't quite ready to be debuted yet for fear that the gift recipients will have the surprise ruined. We've been opening books from our book basket every evening, and just trying to slow down and enjoy the holiday season because it always seems to be over before I know it.

So, I'll leave you with this oldie-but-goodie flashback from last year:

The tag reads:

These aren't just five snowmen,

As anyone can see.

I made them with my hand,

Which is a part of me.

Now each year when you trim the tree

You can look back and recall

Christmas of 2010

When my hand was just this small!

Love, Sutton

Hope you're having a happy holiday season!

Tea Bag Buddy

2011-12-02T20:01:00.001-08:00

This post brought to you by Epoca International. All opinions are 100% mine.

Have you heard about the Tea Bag Buddy yet? I just discovered it last week, and it's already claimed the top spot on my holiday wish list!

I drink a lot of tea, so I'm definitely familiar with some of the little frustrations that come with brewing a perfect cup of tea. I often lose the string inside my cup or my tea will get cold while I'm waiting for it to steep. The worst annoyance is when I make a huge mess trying to squeeze the water out of my tea bag. I don't know what proper protocol is, but I usually place my tea bag on a spoon and wrap its string tightly around it to squeeze out the excess water. Not the easiest maneuver, and it almost always makes a gigantic mess.

When I saw this, I knew that the Tea Bag Buddy was destined to become a new friend of mine.

How awesome is that? It will hold my string for me, trap the steam in to keep my cup of tea at the perfect temperature for brewing, AND provide me with a cool and clean way to get the excess water out of my tea bag? Wow! I'm sold! It also works just as well if you want to use it with a teapot instead of a mug or cup, and the 100$ silicone insures that you won't burn your fingers while disposing of your used tea bag.

The only problem I'm going to have with the Tea Bag Buddy is deciding which color to choose!

{Tutorial} Woven Paper Star Tree Topper

2011-11-30T10:29:00.000-08:00

Hi everyone! I'm over at Two Girls Being Crafty today as part of their 12 Days of Christmas celebration, and I'm sharing a tutorial on how to create your own woven paper star tree topper (which also make some awesome snowflakes when you use white paper!). Come by and check it out!

Advent Activities

2011-11-29T09:47:00.000-08:00

I can't believe it's already Christmas time! Time seems to be flying by these days, so I wanted to make sure that my family is able to relax and enjoy the little things that make the holiday season so special.

Over the weekend we went and picked out our perfect tree. We ditched our fake tree this year and decided to see if Mitch and Sutton's allergies will be able to handle a real tree again. So far, so good! We spent most of the weekend taking our time and enjoying the slow pace of putting up all the ornaments and decorations.

I wrapped all of our holiday books into 24 packages, and we will let the boys take turns choosing and opening a package each night before bedtime. I've been collecting holiday books since Sawyer was a baby, and usually I introduce a new book each day, but this is the first year I've actually wrapped them - the boys are SO excited to open them already!

It didn't occur to me to take any pictures of the process until I was wrapping the very last book, which just happens to be my favorite! A vintage T'was the Night Before Christmas circa 1965. I just adore these classic illustrations - I definitely have a weakness for vintage children's books!

I haven't finished assembling our advent calendar yet, but I thought I'd post the list of activities in case anyone was looking for some inspiration. There are more than 24 activities, but some can be combined (popping popcorn and staying up late, for example). Also, we celebrate both Christmas and Hanukkah in our home, so you'll see some activities for both holidays. Likewise, I tend to keep our activities less religious and more family-oriented to promote sharing, good will and togetherness :)

Bake a cookie cake (for Daddy's birthday)
Write letters to Santa
Porcelain dough ornaments
Have a hot chocolate party
Choose toys to donate
Watch How the Grinch Stole Christmas
Tissue paper wreaths
Eat dinner by candlelight
Stay up an hour late
Wrap presents
Bake cookies for friends and neighbors
Decorate gingerbread houses (cheat with graham crackers!)
Play holiday Yahtzee
Make pinecone birdfeeders
Do something nice for someone
Play Go Fish
Make solstice lanterns
Go on a holiday light drive
Christmas tree pizza for dinner
Play the dreidel game
Family movie night
Homemade games night
Bake treats for Santa
Family art: fingerprint drawings
Decorate paper gingerbread men
Cut paper snowflakes
Have a popcorn party
Make holiday colored window stars
Sing Christmas carols
Play with Insta-Snow
Make coffee filter flowers & deliver them to a nursing home
Make s'mores
Go ice skating
Turn on holiday music and have a dance-off

Nativity Blocks

2011-11-26T18:07:00.000-08:00

Now that my boys are old enough to better understand the origin of Christmas, I figured it was time to introduce them to a nativity set that they could play with this holiday season. I made this one with some scrap wood and the Nativity Clipart set from Print Candee. Stop by the Print Candee blog for more photos and instructions to create your own!

Pumpkin Pie Playdough

2011-11-21T13:23:00.000-08:00

Nothing says Thanksgiving like pumpkin pie, so in honor of the holiday break the boys and I decided to whip up some pumpkin pie scented playdough. It smells amazing! Seriously, you're going to have to stop yourself from wanting to give it a little taste test, but trust my 4-year-old, it tastes terrible!

Recipe:

1 cup flour
1/2 cup salt
1 cup water
2 tbsp. oil
2 tbsp. cream of tartar
2 tbsp. pumpkin pie spice
1 tsp. vanilla extract
red & yellow food coloring

Mix together the flour, salt, cream of tartar and pumpkin pie spice in a saucepan. Slowly stir in the oil, water and vanilla extract. Add a few drops of food coloring to make the mixture orange. Heat on the stovetop over medium heat, stirring constantly, until dough becomes a stiff playdough consistency. Allow 15-20 minutes to cool before playing as the dough will be very hot!

Don't say I didn't warn you though...they may spend all their time smelling it instead of playing with it LOL! :)

Preserving Fall Leaves

2011-11-17T10:33:00.000-08:00

Yesterday the boys and I collected a bunch of pretty leaves from the neighborhood, and then came home and preserved them so we could enjoy their gorgeous fall colors for a little longer.

Years ago my sister bought me a Revlon Paraffin Bath for my birthday, and though I totally love how soft it made my hands feel, I've never been a fan of the "spa scented" paraffin wax it came with. Since the thing came with 4 pounds of wax, let's just say that over the years I've barely made a dent in the amount of wax that currently resides inside the unused paraffin bath.

So, as I was looking for a large basin to melt some beeswax it occurred to me that I should whip out the old paraffin bath and use up some of the fragranced wax for this project. I'm sure my sister will be thrilled that I've been dipping leaves in my hand spa ;)

All we did was dip the leaves twice in the wax to give it a nice shiny coat. It was super quick and easy, but of course, use caution when working with children and melted wax. This is the first time we've ever tried to preserve leaves with wax, but according to Martha Stewart the leaves will last indefinitely (though I've also read that the colors will fade after awhile).

They're so pretty! Sutton says that they look and feel like fake leaves, but "the realest fake leaves ever." Today the boys are going to string them on to some embroidery thread to create a garland to hang above the nature table. I'm glad we had a chance to do something new and fun for fall since we'll be breaking out the winter holiday decorations next week!

Meet the Hide-and-Seek Ninja

2011-11-12T11:21:00.000-08:00

My boys LOVE to play hide-and-go-seek, but they've pretty much exhausted all of the kid-sized hiding places inside our home. There's only so many times you can find your brother hiding in the dining room curtains, you know? They had been playing hide-the-stuffed-animal at my mom's house, so I decided to take it a step further and create something fun and small that could be easily hidden over and over again for them to seek out. Enter Ninjy, the hide-and-seek ninja. He's the perfect solution to our lack of hiding places; in fact, some of the hardest places to spot him have been in plain sight!

Hiding out among the pumpkins

Visiting his cousin, the fall gnome on the nature table.

Lurking behind the lotus flower.

Naturally, his stealthy ninja skills allow him to remain hidden in many dark and shadowy corners. Blending in seems to be his most masterful skill! We have spent lots of time looking for him when he was hiding right next to another black object!

He even stops by to hang out with Batman on occasion. They're old pals from college ;)

Ninjy is quite the academic student as well. He wanted to learn more about our cultural exchange pals in France and the UK (we also have pals in Nigeria, Australia and the US East coast), so he hopped on the globe to have a closer look.

He's even been known to moonlight as an ambulance driver when they're short staffed.

I honestly had no idea how many hours of entertainment we were going to get from a cheap pack of unfinished wood peg people! Sawyer is now asking for an entire set of rainbow ninjas, perfect for hiding in, around, under and on all sorts of multicolored hiding places. Sounds like a fantastic hand made holiday gift if you ask me! :)

Favorite Arts & Craft Supplies for Kids

2011-11-07T09:21:00.000-08:00

Source

I've gotten a few emails lately asking for recommendations for arts and craft supplies for children - the holidays are coming up after all, and kids love to receive the gift of creativity! I thought I'd share a few of the items that we use all the time:

My boys have always prefered colored pencils over crayons, and Prismacolor Colored Pencilsare the best, producing smooth even colors in a wide variety of shades. The Prismacolor scholar line can frequently be picked up for around $10 and they work very well for children.
For nature journaling we like to use Academie Wirebound Sketch Diary with SpiralGuard, but any wire bound notebook that lays flat when open will work. The 6"x9" size is perfect for little hands!
We always have a bin full of collage materials available at all times (and it gets used a lot!). Ours is filled with kids scissors, Elmer's Extra Strength glue sticks (and regular Elmer's school glue too), pom poms, feathers, beads, googly eyes, sequins, rhinestones, bits of leftover colored paper and yarn. I store all of it in a clear storage tub with the different items organized into ziploc bags...hardly a day goes by where we aren't experimenting with all the things we can create from this bin full of fun!
Recycling materials are awesome! Dedicate a small bin or container for recycled household items that the kids might like to use in crafting. We save tp/paper towel rolls, plastic containers and lids, frozen juice lids, glass jars, #6 plastic takeout containers (for shrinky dinks) and anything that is a fun or unique shape. You might be surprised at how long you can keep the kiddos occupied with creating robots and superheroes from the recycling bin!
Paint is the #1 art supply that we use, and Crayola Artista Washable Tempera Paints are our favorite. The colors are smooth and saturated, and they don't dry out too quickly while the kids are working on their masterpieces. We also love Colorations Liquid Watercolor Paints and the Make it Glitter and Make it Shimmer additions (we haven't tried the Make it Puffy yet, but that looks like fun too!). The cost may seem a little steep for either set of paints, but trust me...they last a long time, even with frequent use!
For younger kids, you can't go wrong with the classic Crayola Washable Markers. If your kids are older and you are less worried about the product's washability, we love BIC Mark-It Color Collection Permanent Markers and Mr. Sketch Scented Markers (we have the fine and broad tipped sets of each). Some day when my boys are much older I might have to share my set of Prismacolor Double Ended Art Markers that I have stashed away, left over from my design school days!

Of course, there are many more products that we love to use, but these are the ones that get used most frequently! Hopefully that helped to answer some of your questions and get you prepped for holiday gift giving! :)

{Print Candee} Thankful Tree

2011-11-06T21:39:00.000-08:00

Stop by the Print Candee blog today to check out this year's version of our Thankful Tree! I absolutely {love} the way it came out!

Thanksgiving Napkin Rings

2011-11-02T10:44:00.000-07:00

I'm so excited! My Thanksgiving kids craft article came out in the new Sacramento Parent Magazine November issue yesterday (though the store near me still didn't have them on the newsstand when I checked yesterday, but it should be there today!). It's so fun to be able to say that I've officially been published! It was such a great experience working with them, and I really hope that I'll have the opportunity to do some more writing for them in the future. Stop by the Sacramento Parent website to check out the full article or pick up your copy of the magazine today!

Puppies vs. Babies!

2011-11-02T01:02:00.001-07:00

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Puppies vs. Babies. All opinions are 100% mine.

Have you seen this yet? My boys are obsessed with Animal Planet's Puppies vs. Babies - in fact, after we watched two episodes on television yesterday, they spent another half an hour online re-watching the clips and voting for their favorites in the Puppies vs. Babies online contest. Trust me, when Mom is stuck on the couch with the flu, you'll be begging for some wholesome entertainment to keep the kiddos occupied, and Puppies vs. Babies totally delivers the goods! We're hooked!

So, what's our answer to the burning question of Puppies vs. Babies? Don't get me wrong, we love puppies around here, but since we happen to have a baby in the house my boys are ALL about the babies! There is one particular video of a baby who can't stop hysterically laughing every time his dad rips paper in front of him, and I think we have watched it at least fifty times now. Puppies are cute and all, but nothing beats those uncontrollable baby giggles!

I can't think of a better showdown than two of the world's cutest and most adorable beings, and Puppies vs. Babies is a family-friendly competition sure to be a huge hit with kids of all ages. Head on over to Animal Planet and place your vote in the the Puppies vs. Babies online contest today! Leave me a comment and let me know which one you're voting for - puppies or babies! :)

First Sewing Projects: Felt Gnomes

2011-11-01T20:28:00.000-07:00

Sutton and I were browsing some of our favorite blogs this morning, and we ran across a post over at Paint Cut Paste that showed off a fun first sewing project - Waldorf style felt gnomes. He immediately wanted to start sewing, so we took advantage of the fact that Simon was still sleeping at 8:00 AM (all that Halloween fun totally wore him out!) to have our first hand sewing lesson.

I cut a very teeny bit of the tip off of an embroidery needle so that it wouldn't be so pokey, cut the pattern from Sutton's requested colors of felt and helped him thread his needle. He picked up on the sewing technique pretty quickly, and he sewed the entire hat and body with minimal assistance. Yay!

After the body was sewn, Sutton stuffed his gnome with wool roving
(the head is a knot tied in the wool), and I sewed the bottom on for him since his "hands [were] tired from all that sewing and stuffing." We put the finished gnome on the nature table next to a needle felted apple that I made awhile ago.

Sawyer came home from school and wanted to make a gnome of his own (naturally!). He was really meticulous and focused, and I was totally impressed at his concentration and patience. Aside from my help with threading the needle and tying the knots he sewed every stich all by himself!

I helped with the bottom again since Sawyer liked the look of the blanket stitch that I had used on Sutton's gnome. I really love the color choices he made on this one (the bottom is purple even though you can't see it!).

Two sweet little gnomes hanging out on the nature table with other felt goodies, pumpkins and a basket full of indian corn, feathers and acorns.

Our fall nature table also shows off my Microcrafted
card, our fall leaf lantern, and some fun leaf shaped glittery candles that the kids love.

Everything fragile or choking-hazard-ish is pushed way back and out of Simon's reach since he's teething again and loves to chew on everything right now (not to mention what would happen if I tried to put a table runner or playsilk landscape underneath everything!). I love that the older boys are able to play with everything on the table though, and they spend a lot of time arranging and rearranging everything. Last but not least, I really love how everything is topped of by a colorful felt leaf garland that was sent to us by the lovely Nikki at WhiMSy Love (thanks, Nikki! ♥).

Halloween might be over, but since the weather is just finally starting to cool down here it's really starting to feel like fall...and so far it has been worth the wait! I foresee lots more chilly morning cups of tea
and crockpot cooking in the near future!

CLOSED {Giveaway} My Memories Suite Digital Scrapbooking Software

2011-10-27T22:43:00.000-07:00

Congratulations to Robin! Check your email! :)

Wow, I have an amazing new giveaway for my awesome readers! Seriously, you guys are going to {love} this!

My Memories is the #1 rated digital scrapbooking software available on the market today, and trust me, their stellar reputation is well deserved. It's afordable, fun, packed FULL of design options, and best of all it's incredibly easy to use! Whether you're a seasoned design pro or a newbie who is just beginning to think about getting started with digital design, this software is sure to satisfy everyone with its user-friendly interface and loads of creative options and inspiration. There are even options to add audio and video to your layouts - perfect for sharing your memories online with family and friends!

My Memories includes thousands of pre-loaded templates, background papers and embellishments (including my favorite - pre-designed "quick pages!"), and if you're still craving more they also offer close to 2,000 more kits on their website! My Memories even offers photo book printing so you can take care of everything in one convenient location! Impressed yet? I hope so! My Memories truly is an all-in-one digital scrapbooking suite to meet all of your needs.

Not interested in digital scrapbooking? There is SO much more that My Memories can do for you - your only limit is your imagination! I whipped up this cute little Mom's Crafty Space layout in under five minutes. I'm going to print them on to 4" squares to hand out as oversized business cards. LOVE it!

My Memories is also fantastic for creating quick and easy photo collages - perfect for blogging, school projects, photo cards, business presentations and more! I chose to create all of my layouts in a square format, but you can just as easily choose portrait or landscape oriented rectangles as well. If all of those options sound overwhelming, no need to worry! My Memories offers online software tutorials to walk you step-by-step through the process.

Of course, where the software truly shines is in its ability to create incredible digital scrapbooking layouts in minutes. Honestly, minutes. I used to spend hours creating traditional paper scrapbook layouts, but My Memories allows me to create dozens of layouts in the same time frame. I'm incredibly indecisive, so I LOVE that I can change my papers, embellishments and photo layouts over and over again with just a few quick clicks until I'm satisfied! I threw together this pumpkin patch layout in three minutes, no joke.

When it's this easy, there's no reason why you can't have tons of albums full of beautifully organized family memories! You don't have to take my word for it though...just check out the product information page to read about all the fantastic features, and stop by the My Memories Facebook page to see some of the awesome layouts created by other adoring My Memories fans. You won't be disappointed!

My Memories is offering one lucky reader a FULL version of My Memories Suite v 2.0 software! To enter you must be a follower of Mom's Crafty Space. Please visit the My Memories store and leave a comment on this post telling me which scrapbook kit is your favorite. For additional entries (please leave a seperate comment for each) like Mom's Crafty Space on Facebook and like My Memories on Facebook. Giveaway will end on Monday, November 14th at 8:00 PM PST.

Can't wait? Want an even better deal? My Memories has graciously agreed to offer a special code just for Mom's Crafty Space readers! Enter code STMMMS56151 at checkout to receive My Memories Suite v 2.0 for only $29.97 ($10 off regular price!) PLUS they'll include a $10 coupon to spend on additional scrapbooking goodies in their store. That's a $20 savings! Don't wait any longer to start preserving those treasured memories!

Lego Minifig Display

2011-10-26T12:44:00.000-07:00

My five-year-old is a Legoaholic, so naturally we have loads and loads of minifig guys all over the house - sometimes with the most interesting body part combinations and configurations. I ran across these divided wood shadow boxes at the Dollar Tree awhile back, and I knew that it would be a perfect way for my boys to show off some of their most favorite Lego guys. They gave it a coat of varigated blue-purple paint, hung it up on the playroom wall, and now we have an endlessly rotating display of Lego creativity...not to mention that there are less body parts on the floor just begging to be stepped on!

Gotta love that Baywatch-style Lego babe ;)

Dreamcatchers

2011-10-24T03:00:00.000-07:00

A couple of months ago my boys started having some bad dreams (usually about spiders or rattlesnakes), so we whipped up these little dreamcatchers with some yarn, feathers and craft sticks. They worked like a charm until last week when Sutton started having nightmares about big black widow spiders again. He told me that his dreamcatcher must be so full of his old bad dreams that it couldn't hold any more. We took his dreamcatcher over to the garbage can and shook out all the bad dreams to empty it, but since he was still a little hesitant to go to sleep we decided to make one more big dreamcatcher to go in the middle of both boys' beds. This time we meant serious business.

I used the center ring from a 4" embroidery hoop and embroidery floss to create the web. The boys requested a rainbow dreamcatcher, so I made sure that each color was represented in some small way. It's hard to see the green, but it is used to tie the feathers to the dreamcatcher. So far this new dreamcatcher is working its magic very well! Sutton seems to think that his old dreamcatcher works by catching bad dreams and letting only the good dreams come through, but that this new one has magical powers that allow it to catch bad dreams and then actually turn the bad dreams into good dreams. That way it won't get filled up and stop working like the old one did. He has even come up with his own little routine of talking to his new dreamcatcher at bedtime and reminding it to catch all of his bad dreams and turn them into beautiful ones. ♥

For a great tutorial on how to easily create your own dreamcatcher, check out this post over at Natural Kids.

{Giveaway} Shutterfly Holiday Cards!

2011-10-23T10:39:00.000-07:00

Giveaway is now closed! Congratulations to Lynsey, Jessica & Lucas. I'll be emailing you shortly! :)

I am so excited to have been invited to participate in Shutterfly's holiday card giveaway again this year! Shutterfly has the best quality cards, hands down, and I really know what I'm talking about since I spent most of 2008 jumping around from vendor to vendor testing out products and comparing quality and styles. Shutterfly blew the competition away, and they have become my go-to company for cards, calendars, photo gifts and, of course, photo prints and enlargements.

This year Shutterfly's selection of holiday cards is bigger and better than ever! I love that they have such a wide variety to choose from, especially because we send both Christmas and Hanukkah cards to different sides of our family. Shutterfly always comes through with something perfect for us! The only problem I have is choosing which cards to use...last year I ended up picking five since I couldn't decide!

This year I think I'm going to try to narrow down my options to one card that will work for both holidays, and so far my favorites are:

Don't you just adore the vintage look of this one?!?

Now for the fun part! Shutterfly is offering 25 free holiday cards to THREE lucky readers!

To Enter: First, you must be a follower of Mom's Crafty Space to enter. Leave me a comment here telling me which Shutterfly holiday card is your favorite. For additional entries (please leave a seperate comment for each additional entry), like Mom's Crafty Space on Facebook, like Shutterfly on Facebook, and share this giveaway via Facebook, Twitter or your blog (please leave a link).

Giveaway will end on Tuesday, November 1st at 8:00 PM PST. Winners will be announced the following day. Good luck!

Note: I received free holiday cards from Shutterfly for this promotion; however, all opinions expressed are 100% mine! Are you a blogger? Want a chance at 25 free cards this holiday season? Register HERE.

{Print Candee} Paper Photo Frame Tutorial

2011-10-20T16:48:00.000-07:00

I'm over at Print Candee today showing you the step-by-step tutorial for creating these super cute (and incredibly easy!) paper photo frames. Stop on by and check it out! :)

Apple Printed Placemats

2011-10-18T09:20:00.000-07:00

My boys love apple stamping, and this year we decided to create something useful by printing on fabric instead of paper. We used pieces of painter's dropcloth to make these festive fall placemats for our table. We hemmed the edges quickly with iron-on Heavy Duty Stitch Witchery, and I really like the extra weight and crispness it gave them. The boys love the way their apple stamped placemats came out, and it makes me smile to see their artwork every time I look over at our table ♥

Halloween Crayons

2011-10-15T06:00:00.000-07:00

Resourceful Moms know that the best thing to do with leftover stubby bits of broken crayon is to melt them down and make new ones, but have you ever thought about making your new crayons in fun seasonal shapes? We used two silicone ice cube trays that we picked up at the dollar store to create these nifty rainbow pumpkin and skull crayons (okay, so the pumpkins look like ribbed circles, but those teeny little stems were the first part that my kids wanted to color with until they disappeared!). We just chopped up our peeled crayon stubs into small chunks, tossed them into the molds and put them in the oven at 175 for about 20 minutes.

My boys were really inspired to draw more than usual since the crayons produced color-changing lines, but you can always sort out your colors (a great fine motor building activity for the little guys!) ahead of time if you want to make solid color crayons. Have fun and feel great about recycling and keeping more stuff out of the trash!

Halloween Banner

2011-10-14T05:00:00.000-07:00

How cute is this fabric Halloween banner?!? I admit it, I'm a hardcore banner-aholic. I can't think of anything else more festive to put me in the mood for a holiday or a party...or a holiday party.

My mantle and dining room already have their own Halloween banners, so I wasn't even sure where I was going to hang this one up, but when I saw it over at Craftaholics Anonymous I knew that I had to have it! Perfectly adorable fabrics already chosen and cut for my crafting pleasure? Yes, please!

{LOVE} how it turned out, and it only took about an hour to put it all together. I had never made a fabric scrap banner before, but I have a feeling that this might be my next new holiday decorating obsession! Well, you know, if Craftaholics Anonymous wants to keep picking out and cutting all the fabric for me ;)

{Print Candee} Paper Mache Letters

2011-10-13T09:35:00.000-07:00

As I was finishing up my fifth load of laundry yesterday, I decided that my laundry room was in dire need of a makeover. With three boys and a husband who works in construction I spend a lot of time hanging out in the laundry room, and the dingy off-white walls and lack of color were starting to get to me. I knew that Print Candee would come to my rescue and save me from my boring and uninspiring space! As soon as I saw the Alice Paper Pack my brain started spinning in a bunch of different directions, filled with fun ideas, and I was off and running on a new project to liven up my room.

Stop by my post over at the Print Candee Blog today to see a few more pictures and get step-by-step directions about how to create your own paper mache letters to brighten up your space!

Kids Cook! Everything-But-the-Kitchen-Sink Minestrone Soup {Recipe}

2011-10-12T08:00:00.000-07:00

Sutton has been requesting "Kids Cook!" dinners practically every night these past couple of weeks - perhaps I have a budding Emeril on my hands? - so we've been making a lot of quick and easy to put together meals that the kids can prepare with minimal assistance from Mom. The most recent was minestrone soup and homemade french bread, perfect for using up all the leftover vegetables in your refrigerator and freezer!

RECIPE:

(Note: ALL amounts can be modified to suit your taste and what you have on hand!)

* 1/2 onion

* 3 stalks celery

* 2 carrots

* 1 cup diced green beans

* 2 1/2 cloves of garlic (minced)

* 1 zucchini

* 1 can kidney beans (black beans and cannellini beans are great too!)

* 1 can of diced tomatoes

* ANY leftover vegetables in your fridge, freezer or pantry! We used a can of Veg-All and frozen corn.

* Large container of chicken broth

* 1 tbsp. of Italian seasoning

* 1 tbsp. of tomato paste

* 2 tbsp. olive oil

* 1 cup of uncooked pasta

DIRECTIONS:

* In a large skillet, saute the onions, garlic, celery, carrots and green beans in the olive oil until the onions are translucent.

* Add your sauteed vegetables to a large stockpot and add the remaining vegetables, seasonings and chicken broth. Stir well and simmer on the stove for 2-3 hours on low heat.

* In a separate pot, cook the pasta until it is about halfway done, and then add to the soup. Continue to simmer until pasta is cooked.

Enjoy with a loaf of homemade french bread - YUMMY!

Love Letterpress? You'll Adore Hello!Lucky!

2011-10-11T16:00:00.001-07:00

It's that time of year again, and families are snapping zillions of photographs in the hopes of capturing that one perfect shot that will grace their holiday cards. Once you've gotten your favorite family photos together, head over to Hello!Lucky and check out their adorable selection of letterpress and digitally printed holiday photo cards. I've fallen in love with the look of letterpress lately, and Hello!Lucky offers lots of unique styles to choose from.

This San Francisco card makes me wish we lived closer to the city!

Not in San Francisco either? They also have Chicago, New York, Boston, Los Angeles and London!

Hello!Lucky also has some super fun variations on the annual Christmas newsletter tradition:

Vint age Holiday Newsletter

Top Ten Holiday Newsletter

I think my favorite is the Woodblock Ornaments photo card...

...but just in case we never score that perfect photo, Hello!Lucky has got me covered with loads of non-photo holiday cards as well.

Peaceable Kingdom

Christmastime Boxed Set

One of my most favorite things about Hello!Lucky is their commitment to being as green as possible. Their greeting cards are printed on 100% recycled paper produced from a paper mill powered by green energy, and their thank you cards are printed on 100% cotton paper that is tree-free and includes remnants from the textile industry. They also use biodegradable packaging on all of their cards - super cool!

Head on over to Hello!Lucky and check out all of their holiday cards as well as their full line of wedding invitations, birth announcements & and more!
This post brought to you by Hello!Lucky. All opinions are 100% mine.

Girl Scouts Only, Please!

2011-10-11T08:00:00.000-07:00

Now all I need is some Liquid Nails to hang this baby up!

We had a door-to-door vacuum salesman hit us up last week, and I was totally shocked! I mean really, who buys vacuums from traveling salesmen anymore? I'd say the biggest annoyance in my neighborhood is pest control sales. We had five visits in only two weeks over the summer! I know that most salespeople are trained to ignore no soliciting signs, but at least I can say that they've been warned! Maybe I should just stop opening the door ;)

Sunflower Seeds

2011-10-10T04:00:00.000-07:00

We grew a bunch of sunflowers this year, so it was only natural that we turned some of our flowers into salty snacks. Most of our flowers bloomed right around the time that I was preoccupied with Simon's birthday party planning, so at first I decided to skip it...but then a second round of flowers brought the biggest one ever, so I had to give it a go! Since this was my first attempt I decided to use only the largest sunflower head and just make a single batch of seeds. I wish I had saved all of the sunflowers now, because this snack is SO tasty!

We cut the head off and allowed it to dry for two days, and then we gently brushed off the top layer of remaining yellow bits. The seeds are actually really easy to remove. You can brush a soft cloth across the top and allow the seeds to fall, or you can pick them out like I did (to avoid the choking hazard to my assistant 1-year-old) by removing one row and then using the side of your hand to push the rest of the seeds out row by row.

Soak the seeds in salted water (about 1/4-1/2 cup of salt) overnight. Spread in a single layer on to a parchment lined baking sheet and roast at 300 degrees for 30-40 minutes or until the seeds start to turn golden and split. One large sunflower made two half pint jars of roasted sunflower seeds - one for us and one for my seed addicted brother-in-law! Enjoy!

Microcrafts {Book Review}

2011-10-08T12:36:00.000-07:00

It was a happy mail day at my house when Microcrafts arrived earlier this week! Just released this week from Quirk Books and compiled by Margaret McGuire, Alicia Kachmar and Katie Hatz, Microcrafts is an adorable collection of twenty-five teeny tiny (and totally cute!) crafts to create. The projects are all suitable for beginners, come together quickly, and require very little materials - the perfect way to use up even the tiniest scraps of paper, fabric and clay.

Sawyer loved going through the book with me (in fact, he stole it away and took it to bed with him one night!), and he has already claimed that this sweet puppy will be my next project.

If I have MY way, this project will be next on my list. This lovely pendant would be perfect for my ever-growing collection of felt scraps, and it even has a tiny pocket in the back to hold a photo!

I can't get over the amazing creativity behind their incredible miniature taxidermy projects - so unique and fun!

Teensy weensy kitties make the most miniscule scraps come alive!

I whipped up this cute little version of the Tom Thumb card for our fall nature table. It is a mere 1.5" x 1.75" tall - his little head is a circle from a standard hole punch! I am sure that we will make the Red Riding Hood and Hansel & Gretel cards too since they were so easy to make and they look totally adorable :)

I can't wait to try out some more of these projects! I honestly have never been more excited by a craft book because this is the first time I have wanted to make EVERYTHING in it! The fact that numerous designers contributed to the book add to its appeal and variety, and there are even instructions for how to turn your minature creations into magnets and jewelry (perfect for holiday gift giving!). Pick up your own copy of Microcrafts today, and I promise you won't be disappointed!

* Note: I was provided with a free copy of this book from Quirk Books; however, all opinions expressed are 100% my own!

Homeschooling

2011-10-07T08:00:00.000-07:00

We survived our first week of homeschool (which is also the reason why I've been a little scarce these past couple of weeks)! Technically I'm only homeschooling Sutton (our 4-year-old), but we've scheduled our activities so that we complete three of our six workbox drawers in the afternoon with both Sawyer (our public schooled kindergartener) and Sutton. I always make sure that the first drawer they complete together is Sawyer's kindergarten homework for the day, and it's been working out really well so far. Honestly, it's been so much easier getting him to do his homework now. A couple of weeks ago it was like pulling teeth, but now they both get really excited when it's "homeschool homework" time!

I'm trying to keep a balance of Montessori inspired activities along with the public school worksheets since that's what Sutton is used to. We've starting off using unit studies to correspond to the season, and this week we did an apple unit. Here's a quick sample of what we did (I will go back and add links to the printables we used when I have a few extra minutes this weekend) along with about a zillion things that I didn't photograph.

We made homemade applesauce...but we definitely should not have added the small amount of sugar that the recipe called for. It was yummy, but it was way too sweet. I called it dessert applesauce LOL!

Name writing and letter practice galore via Sawyer's school homework.

Making a paper chain to countdown to our pumpkin patch trip.

Using clothespins to select the correct number of apples in the basket.

This is our version of an activity from Sutton's previous school. He rolled the dice and then stamped that number of apples into his grid. When he was finished filling all of the boxes he used letter stamps to stamp his name on the top of the paper.

We completed a 550 piece jigsaw puzzle (with a lot of help from Daddy!).

Learning the parts of an apple and labeling a diagram.

They worked together to complete the continents hemisphere map that Sutton brought home on his last day of preschool. They were so focused on this task, and it was nice to see them work so well together.

All finished! Now we are able to sing the continents song and point to the map each morning!

Ending sound recognition and more letter writing.

We got to spend a lot of time outside enjoying the last bits of sunshine before we got hit by a bunch of rain. I love that we have more flexibility in our schedule now to take advantage of those opportunities!

More apple parts - this time he cut out the words and glued them on to the appropriate place.

We ended the week with some apple stamping for a project that we'll finish up this weekend.

Simon loves having Sutton home to play with him, and he's much happier that I don't have to keep interrupting his naps twice a day to go pick up his brothers from school!

It's only been a week, and I'm sure we'll face lots of challeges ahead, but it's been a fantastic experience so far. Sutton is getting some more one-on-one time that he was really craving, and we're all a little more relaxed now that he's happy and not crying about school anymore. It's definitely going to be a crazy year, but I'm excited to see where this adventure will take us!

What's on the Refrigerator?

2011-10-05T04:00:00.000-07:00

The most recent quote that graced our refrigerator chalkboard was:

I liked it so much that it stayed up there for a couple of weeks reminding us that we are all happier when we manage to keep ourselves calmed and mellow. When I finally erased it a couple of days ago I wasn't sure yet what I wanted to replace it with, so it stayed blank while Sawyer constantly lamented the fact that it was empty. Today he decided that if I wasn't going to choose an inspirational quote for the board, he was going to dictate one to me. Sooo, without further ado...

"I love my family when they're kind to each other and they love their Mommy. And I like penguins."

Couldn't have said it better myself.

I ♥ Diet Coke

2011-10-03T10:03:00.000-07:00

I knew that my Diet Coke obsession would pay off some day! I've been saving my Coke Rewards points for over four years now, but apparently I'm as tight fisted with my rewards points as I am with dollars because I have been holding on tightly to thousands of points for quite awhile now (only spending a few hundred here and there on magazine subscriptions for my family).

Mitch (aka Handy Hubby) entered a few codes for me last week, and he noticed the staggering amount of points that I had accumulated (more than the maximum prize reward even required!) and convinced me to finally place an order for these stoneware mixing bowls that I've had on my wishlist for about two years now. They arrived on Saturday, and I couldn't be happier that I took the plunge and ordered them! I've been using Pyrex glass mixing bowls that I purchased when I moved away from home years and years ago, so it's nice to upgrade to something bright and fun that I LIKE for a change!

See, all that Diet Coke translated into FREE pretty rainbow cheer to brighten our days! Gotta love that! :)

Oh, and for the record, the points breakdown shows that between Mitch and I we consume about a 12-pack of Coke per week. This is NOT a paid post, but really, if they wanted to pay me, I wouldn't object ;)

Simply Clicking This Link Will Result in a Vote for MCS, Thank You!

Desk Makeover

2011-09-29T10:56:00.000-07:00

I picked up this desk off of Craigslist last month for $40 in the hopes of replacing my wobbly folding table sewing area (the one that was supposed to be temporary, but has been set up for over a year now!). I loved the lines and the hardware, but there were some water damaged and warped areas on the top so I immediately knew that I wanted to paint it a bright color to give it some new life.

The first step was to recruit my handy hubby for some serious sanding and smoothing. I started to do the task myself, but it was SO loud even inside the house that it freaked out the baby, and I switched over to distract-the-baby-upstairs-mode and left the tools to the guys instead.

Step two: recruit some pajama clad helpers to assist with the priming. It was a good thing that he only "helped" with the back side of the desk because he didn't pay very much attention to the instructions about keeping your brush strokes going in one direction! :)

I ended up giving it two coats of primer to make sure that every little nook and cranny was smooth and ready for paint.

I wanted the desk to be a light shade of aqua, so I mixed some of the remaining teal paint that we used on the big boys' bedroom walls with some light blue that we had leftover from Sawyer's baby nursery to create the perfect shade. I gave it two coats and topped it with a coat of poly to seal it since I knew that its future life as a craft table will require it to be washed and wiped off frequently.

In its new home all ready for crafting! The color is more true-to-life in the previous picture since the windows above the desk let in SO much light that it washed it out. I'll try to get another picture of it when everything is all set up and ready for sewing (and once I finish the bottoms of the legs too...didn't think that part would slip by y'all unnoticed!)!

Kids Cook! Pumpkin Bread {Recipe}

2011-09-27T14:22:00.000-07:00

Nothing says "Welcome, fall!" like baking a big batch of pumpkin bread. This year the big boys decided to bake it all by themselves, and they did a fantastic job! It looks like all those years of helping out in the kitchen (and doing Kids Cook! nights) has really paid off!

If you have two kids, I highly recommend giving them each a bowl for wet/dry ingredients and letting them be in charge of measuring all of the ingredients for their own bowl. Eggs, of course, are the exception since everyone loves to crack eggs!

Combine the bowls, and make sure to switch off so that everyone gets a turn mixing it all up. Pumpkin bread has a tendency to end up with tiny lumps of unincorporated flour mixture in it, so let them have at it and stir away until you're sure it's adequately combined.

Pouring the batter into the pan and putting it in/out of the oven are still "Mom jobs" in our house, so I didn't get any pictures of the rest of the process. After about an hour we had hot pumpkin loaves, and our house smelled fantastic! We welcomed fall with our fresh baked goods, mugs of tea, and a dollop of cream cheese frosting. Yum!

RECIPE (adapted from NoBiggie):

* 3 Cups Sugar
* 1/2 Cup Vegetable Oil

* 1/2 Cup Applesauce
* 4 Eggs
* 1 15oz. Can of Pumpkin Puree
* 2/3 Cup Water

* 3 1/2 Cups Flour
* 2 tsp. Baking Soda
* 2 tsp. Salt
* 1 tsp. Baking Powder
* 1/2 tsp. Nutmeg
* 1 tsp. Pumpkin Pie Spice
* 1 tsp. Cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In bowl #1 combine oil, applesauce, eggs, pumpkin puree and water. In bowl #2 combine flour, baking soda, salt, baking powder, and spices. Combine both bowls and mix well. Prepare two loaf pans by lightly spraying with cooking spray. Pour batter into loaf pans and bake for approximately an hour.

{Print Candee} Paper Jewelry Tutorial

2011-09-26T12:14:00.000-07:00

I posted a quick and easy tutorial over at Print Candee today for how to make fun jewelry using your favorite scrapbook papers! Stop by and say hi (and while you're there, check out their huge selection of digital scrapbook papers that you can print from your home printer!).

Embrace the Camera {2: Friday Morning}

2011-09-23T08:42:00.000-07:00

Sutton reminded me this morning that I need to take more pictures of myself "for the computer," and he was happy to pick up the camera to assist. He told me that he wants to be a "picture taker" when he grows up because he's "way better than everyone at it, and people will give me lots of money." Good plan. Nevermind the fact that it's 8 am, and I haven't had my caffeine yet. Gotta take advantage of those photo ops when you have the chance!

Playing Pat-a-Cake with Simon, even though it looks like I'm trying to do something incredibly weird to his arms LOL.

Happy first day of fall! We're celebrating by baking pumpkin bread and cinnamon applesauce. The house is going to smell sooo yummy this afernoon! Hope you're doing something fun to celebrate too!

Bird Nest Necklace

2011-09-20T00:30:00.000-07:00

I whipped up this bird nest necklace at my last Girls Day Out, and it's one of my new favorite pieces of everyday jewelry. It only took a few minutes, but it always catches people's eye. I've gotten so many compliments on it! I just sort of made it up as I went along, but there's a fantastic tutorial at Sarah Ortega Photography (via Tip Junkie) that shows you step-by-step how you can create one of your own.

Three sweet little blue eggs for this Mama ♥

Bandana Necklace {Tutorial}

2011-09-19T00:30:00.000-07:00

Once a month I get together with a group of lovely and inspiring women, sometimes for brunch, sometimes to craft, but always to gossip and enjoy some "grown-up time" for awhile. This month we decided that we all wanted to create our own jewelry, and it was so much fun! We made unique jewelry with everything from basic clasps and beads to recycled buttons and even paint chips! I'll be showing off a few of my creations on the blog this week, and I'm going to see if I can snatch some pictures from the other girls to show off their creations too.

The first thing I wanted to make was a piece of jewelry that I could wear to Simon's Little Cowboy Birthday Party. I love the look of red paisley, but I knew I didn't want to wear an entire bandana at the party so I came up with this fun, fast and simple solution!

I laid out my bandana and cut a 3" wide strip running diagonally from the furthest two corners. I rounded up nine of my boys' marbles and laid them in the center of the bandana strip (upcycling beads from an old necklace would work great too!). Working from the center out, carefully wrap the marble up until it in completely enclosed in the fabric and tightly tie the ends off with a piece of matching embroidery floss. Continue until all the marbles have been twisted and tied. I left the raw edges on mine because I thought that it added to the rustic charm.

It's that easy peasy! The whole project took less than five minutes, and I had the perfect cowgirl accessory for my party!

{Print Candee} Little Cowboy 1st Birthday Party!

2011-09-17T11:55:00.000-07:00

Come stop by the Print Candee blog today to see more of Simon's adorable Little Cowboy 1st Birthday Party! We had such a fantastic time, and everyone remarked at how amazing it all looked!

Stuffed Zucchini {Recipe}

2011-09-10T04:00:00.000-07:00

Is anyone else still swimming in an abundance of summer squash? Around here we've had just about as much zucchini as we can handle, but I couldn't resist creating one more straight-from-the-garden Summer recipe before I start shredding and freezing the rest of our garden's bounty.

This dinner is incredibly simple, but it looks and tastes like something extra special. It's a great basic recipe that can be tweaked to add your favorite flavors or to add whatever is overflowing in your garden - in our case, tomatoes!

Ingredients:

* Zucchini or yellow squash, cut into chunks at least 2" across and 2" tall

* 1 lb. ground turkey

* 3 roma tomatoes, finely chopped

* 1 1/2 cups shredded mozarella cheese (divided into 1 cup and 1/2 cup portions)

* 2 tbs minced garlic

* 2 cups pasta sauce

* 1/2 yellow onion, finely chopped

* 1 tsp. Italian seasoning

* 2 tsp. olive oil

Directions:

* Begin by using a melon baller (or similar tool) to hollow out your zucchini cups. Be sure to leave a 1/4" thick bottom on the zucchini so that your filling won't fall out! Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and place the zucchini cups on to a foil lined baking sheet (lightly greased with cooking spray).

* Sautee the onions and garlic in the olive oil. Add the turkey and chopped tomatoes and cook until almost done. You can also add in some of the zucchini that you removed from your shells, if desired.

* Remove from heat and stir in pasta sauce and 1 cup of mozarella cheese.

* Stuff your meat mixture into your zucchini cups making sure to press the mixture down with a spoon so that your cups are as packed full as can be! Bake for 20 minutes.

* Remove from the oven, top with remaining cheese, and bake for an additional 10-15 minutes until cheese is lightly browned and zucchini is tender.

Easy peasy! Bon appetite!

Glue Batik, Again {Tutorial}

2011-09-09T04:00:00.001-07:00

The boys and I were looking back at some of our past tutorials, and they were anxious to revisit the glue batik craft that we created last Summer. This time around we decided to use plain fabric squares instead of t-shirts because they wanted to turn their creations into pillows. We repurposed an old bed sheet and cut it into 14" squares.

First, choose a design that you like and draw it on your fabric using Elmer's Gel Glue. It must be the blue gel glue as regular glue will not work! Sawyer wanted his pillow to depict our trampoline and shooting stars...sort of a long story, but essentially it reminds him that he's not scared of the dark anymore. Once you finish drawing your design, allow it to dry completely (overnight works well).

Sutton chose a Mario toadstool, naturally!

Cover your work surface and your clothing, and paint your fabric with slightly watered down acrylic paint. If you choose to use contrasting colors you'll want to allow it to dry (at least slightly) between colors to avoid a muddied look.

Hang up the fabric and allow it to dry completely.

Now the magic really happens! Submerge the fabric in warm water for about 10 minutes, and then scrub off the gel glue. An old toothbrush really comes in handy for this step. It takes a little elbow grease!

Time for the big reveal!

Hang it one more time to dry and then do what you wish with it! We chose to make pillows this time because the boys wanted some practice on the sewing machine, but we've also made t-shirts with this technique, and we're hoping to make a set of prayer flags for the garden too.

All stitched up and ready for bedtime!

Wheat Mantle Display

2011-09-08T10:09:00.000-07:00

A few days ago I harvested our wheat and made this cute and simple little mantle decoration that I think will go nicely with the cowboy theme of Simon's 1st birthday party coming up this weekend. Yeah, that's right, I harvested our wheat.

In April the boys and I attempted to grow wheatgrass in cookie cutters to spell out their names, but a strong wind tossed all of our efforts aside and in to the nearby garden bed. At the time I didn't think much of it, and when the wheatgrass started to sprout under the tiny zucchini seedlings I lazily assumed that it would probably die out as the zucchini grew and overshadowed it. I was wrong, and the result was that we accidentally grew a tiny crop of wheat. There is actually still a good bit of it left among our zucchini, but I didn't want to dig around the prickly leaves to get it all out since I already had enough to make my mantle decoration. So, if you like what you see for Fall, remember to toss some wheat berries in the dirt in Spring! I love how our happy accident turned out!

Spice Rack Bookshelves

2011-09-03T04:00:00.000-07:00

I finally remembered to take a few quick pictures of the Ikea spice rack bookshelves that we installed in the big boys' room a few weeks ago! After initially debating rain gutter bookshelves vs. fabric book racks to no avail, I decided to research other options.

I was SO excited to discover that there was a pre-made option that was only going to set me back $3.99 each! The racks come in bare wood so you can paint, stain or decoupage your heart out. My boys have their own brightly colored artwork hanging over their beds, so I decided just to give our shelves a quick coat of warm honey varnish to match their beds (but I do still have another set to play with for Simon's room!).

I can't even tell you how much these inexpensive little shelves have revolutionized our nightly "can we read a book in bed?" routine! The floor stays exponentially cleaner, but the best part is that we never waste another 15 minutes waiting for the boys to choose a book or two from their large bookshelf. I just swap out the titles every few days, and everything moves like clockwork. Easy peasy!

Embrace the Camera {1: Friday Afternoon}

2011-09-02T13:34:00.000-07:00

Okay, I'm doing it! I realize that one day my kids are going to look back on old photos and there will be very few pictures of their mom (usually because I'm the one behind the camera!). Emily over at The Anderson Crew hosts a weekly Embrace the Camera link up, because (as she puts it):

have you ever embraced the camera? if you haven't, why not?

it's important for your kids/family members/etc. to have memories of YOU. one day, you won't be around, and all they will have are those 2 pictures you let someone take of you at christmas time.

stop messing around and make some memories...and capture those memories...with YOU IN THEM.

it's that important.

So, I decided it's about time to stop shying away from the lens and pass it off to someone else for a change. I handed the camera to Sutton and told him to start snapping away.

Sawyer was annoyed that I wanted to post this one since he was in the middle of chewing his snack (on the couch, of course), but it was the only one of Sutton's shots that wasn't extra blurry. He got over it once we passed the camera over to him.

Me & Sutton

I LOVE this one because it's totally genuine...the camera is right in our faces because his hands are on both of our bellies tickling us like crazy! He was shouting "show me those smiles!" the whole time. Hysterical. We'll definitely be doing this more often!

So there you have it...me! Just in case you were wondering what I look like :P

PVC Sunburst Mirror {Tutorial}

2011-08-30T10:54:00.000-07:00

I have to admit it...this project was completely created by my Handy Hubby! I showed him my original inspiration back in April, and it only took four months to finally cross it off of our neverending to-do list!

He started by cutting two 8-foot lengths of PVC pipe into 1" thick slices. You could probably do this by hand with PVC snippers or a hand saw, but since we wanted the edges to be as smooth as possible he used his chop saw (which also ensured that the pieces were an even thickness). Trust me when I say that you're going to want to do this part outside...it looked like a gigantic pile of static-charged snow outside of our garage when he was finished! The pipe and saw also get hot during the process, so you'll need to take several short breaks to let the equipment cool off.

Now for the fun part - arranging and choosing your layout! This is the part that made our project take way longer than necessary. Like months longer. We are the most indecisive people ever, remember? Apparently we're awesome at making projects take weeks longer than necessary!

We must have gone through about a dozen different layouts before I finally said, "Glue the thing together already! Just do what the inspiration looked like!" Only it wasn't that simple, because our mirror was much larger than the inspiration, and we wanted our finished piece to be large enough to make a statement over our mantle. So, I threw my hands up and turned the project completely over to my husband, and this is what he came up with! It may look a little skewed because I was trying to take photos of it without the ceiling fan or HVAC registers showing up in the reflection, but it's perfectly laid out in real life.

He glued all of the pieces together with PVC glue (he also created a hidden inner ring to give more support to the mirror), and I gave the entire piece a couple of light coats of white spray paint to even it out and cover the text and markings on the pipe. To finish it off he used Amazing Goop adhesive to attach a 12" beveled mirror that we picked up at the craft store.

I {LOVE} it! Our finished piece is about 30" wide, and it was super easy to create. Seriously, you could get this done start-to-finish in about a day...as long as you don't have a problem making up your mind! There really are SO many different layout and color options that make this such a fun and customizable piece of artwork!

Welcome Vistaprint!

2011-08-29T10:59:00.000-07:00

Hope y'all had a fantastic weekend! I just dropped my oldest son off at his first day of kindergarten (he did great!) and dropped my middle son off at preschool (he really didn't want to go back without his big brother!), so now it's time to address my HUGE backlog of blogging business while I have a few rare minutes of quiet time. I have so many fun ideas that I can't wait to share with you all!

First, I'd like to wish a big welcome to our newest sponsor, Vistaprint! If you've ever ordered business cards before then you're probably already familiar with Vistaprint. They have a gigantic selction of designs and frequently offer specials and deals (including free business cards!). Right now Vistaprint is running a special for $1.99 photo mugs, which sounds like a holiday-gift-in-the-making to me! Go check it out!

Secondly, as you can clearly see, I've finally decided to open the blog to sponsors! If you're interested in sponsoring Mom's Crafty Space, please send me an email at momscraftyspace@yahoo.com for rates and information. Sponsors will have the option of sidebar buttons or sponsoring individual posts, so drop me a note! :)

{Print Candee} Forest Friends Candle Covers

2011-08-28T14:19:00.000-07:00

Check out my Autumn forest inspired mantle decor over at Print Candee today!

Quickie: T-Shirt Refashion

2011-08-27T04:00:00.000-07:00

How do you turn a $2 craft store t-shirt into your little one's most prized possession? Just grab some of Daddy's old shirts and a pair of scissors and you're halfway there!

We cut the graphics panels out of some of Handy Hubby's old beat-up work shirts, pinned them in place on the boys' shirts and ran a quick zig-zag stitch around the edges. Easy peasy!

Showing off his new missing tooth - that's FOUR now!

The boys {LOVE} their new shirts - the little guy refused to take his off and wore it for nearly two days straight until I had to wrestle it off of him to get him in the bathtub! I love that we repurposed some of the torn shirts that were headed for the trash bin, and I even made a little something for myself with the remaining scraps of the shirts (headbands that I hope to post soon!).

Melted Crayon Art {Tutorial}

2011-08-26T14:15:00.000-07:00

Sawyer and I have been seeing a ton of cool melted crayon art on Pinterest lately, and we knew that we were going to have to try to recreate it ourselves. With crayons costing around 20 cents a box at the back-to-school sales, now is the perfect time to make some new creative artwork!

We found an old canvas in the art closet and hot glued on our crayons down in rainbow order. Sawyer originally wanted to use only blues, green and yellow, but finally decided on the entire rainbow since we were going to be hanging it up against his teal bedroom wall (and like most of the Pinterest inspirations). We used a 12"x18" canvas and two 24-count boxes of crayons (with one extra green and yellow thrown in from our old crayons to fill the gaps).

Hand your blowdryer to your helper and let them have fun melting the crayons. You need to keep the air blowing straight directly on to the crayons or pointing downward - any sideways shift of the hot air will cause the wax to splatter sideways halfway across the canvas instead of dripping straight down. We used the hottest setting, and it still took awhile to get the dripping process started. You can also melt your crayons quickly with a heat gun, but since heat guns can get upwards of 1200 degrees you probably don't want to hand that over to your five-year-old ;)

We chose to let our drips cool a little bit and to work in layers to build up some texture.

After about 3 different layers of melted crayon.

Sawyer called it good at this point, telling me that we couldn't do any more because "it's just perfect right now!"

The texture is super cool!

Go choose a spot to hang up your gorgeous (and totally quick and easy to create!) materpiece!

{Print Candee} Tile Photo Coaster Tutorial

2011-08-23T20:48:00.000-07:00

I'm over at Print Candee again today giving you the scoop on how you can make these SUPER easy peasy photo coasters. They take only minutes and cost only pennies to make - my kind of project!

{Print Candee} Cowboy Puzzle Blocks

2011-08-13T10:48:00.000-07:00

Check out my guest post over at Print Candee today! You'll find out how you can create some fun puzzle blocks of your own (using the super cute clip art from Print Candee, of course!).

Chevron Canvas & Printable {Tutorial}

2011-08-09T12:34:00.000-07:00

A couple of weeks ago one of my Bloggy BFF's, Mel @ The Crafty Scientist, posted a super cute {free} printable. She put hers inside of a frame that she painted with a yellow and white chevron pattern, and I absolutely loved it so much that I decided to recreate it...on a slightly larger scale ;)

(P.S. Like our new wall color? This wall is the darker accent wall to make the fireplace and crown moulding really POP!)

I had an 18"x24" canvas that my boys had painted a few summers ago, long neglected and sitting around in my closet waiting to be repurposed (trust me, it was not one of their finer pieces of work lol), and I figured it would be perfect for recreating Mel's look.

The first thing I did was give it a coat of primer to cover the old artwork, and then I painted the base a soft white. There are some great chevron pattern templates available here, but since I'm a perfectionist and uber picky I took the time to layout my design in Adobe Illustrator first because I wanted to know exactly what size to make my chevrons so that it would fill my canvas perfectly. Once I had my canvas designed, I printed out a section to serve as a template and used the template as a guide to tape off my pattern.

See, a perfect fit!

Paint your accent color (mine was yellow too, naturally, since it's my favorite color!) and after letting the paint set for a few minutes (but before it's completely dry), peel off the tape. You might need to touch up the edges a bit, but the painters tape is pretty good about making straight lines.

I printed the quote, inked the edges a bit to make them stand out, and then Mod Podged it on to the canvas. Then this project got incredibly difficult for me...because I'm sooooo indecisive! I played around with a zillion different combinations of fabric, ribbon, paper and ric rac to make the banner. I started with fabric because I wanted it to have a 3-D aspect to it, but in the end I just didn't love any of the fabric combos, and I was afraid I'd end up with dozens of tiny triangles from every single fabric I own. So I walked away for a few days and decided to try again with scrapbook paper in a more specific Summery/sherbert color palette.

With lots of opinions and input from the hubby, we finally decided on the colors and patterns. He liked the idea of using five flags instead of four so that we could add an extra color, but in the end I wish we had only used four since they're a bit too elongated for my liking. Oh well! I guess that when you stare at something for too long and have too many options you're probably never going to be completely satisfied with the end result! I Mod Podged the papers on, and then gave the entire canvas a coat of glossy Mod Podge to seal it. A piece of ric rac trim hot glued to the canvas completes the banner.

It's hard to see, but the paper flags and the quote both have some iridescent glitter and rhinestone bling to give it some sparkle! Now we just need to finish painting our living room so that it can get hung up in it's proper place (all that stuff on the mantle is just stuff I threw up there to keep away from little hands lol). Thanks so much for the creative inspiration Mel! ♥

If you don't want to spend a lot of time planning out, taping off and painting your canvas by hand, you can use your favorite design program and digital scrapbook papers to quickly create this layout and have it printed on canvas at Online Poster Printing. They offer great quality and affordable canvas prints that are sure to brighten up your home decor - go check them out!