Signed Book Giveaway

Our Aunt is celebrating her {blogoversary} by giving away a SIGNED copy of {Uncommon Criminals} by {Ally Carter}. It's the second book in Carter's {Heist Society} series. In the time that I don't craft, I read (who really wants to clean their house anyway?) and Heist Society is a fun, fast read. I highly recommend it.

If you want to enter the giveaway, go {HERE}.

Also, stay tuned here because I've got a WHOLE bunch of crafts from the past few months to show y'all!

We LOVE Frames

Looking for a fast Father's Day gift? Or just a unique way to tell Grandma or Grandpa that the kiddos are thinking about them? Check out these:


The We LOVE frames. We (I say we because my kiddos did the painting behind the cardstock) made one for Daddy and the two grandpas for tomorrow, however the possibilities are ENDLESS. I can't remember if I've seen this around or not, but I LOVE the possibilities (I think I already said that...)

Gather It:

• Regular weight paper
• Paint
• Frame
• Cardstock
• Exacto Knife, Cricut or Silhouette

Create It:

1. Let the artists have some "paint time." Personally, I just let the kiddos paint whatever they want.
2. While the masterpieces dry, create the cardstock mat. I used my Silhouette to type and cut out the right size. However, if you don't have a cutter, type it up in Word (or a similar program), print out on the cardstock, and cut out what you printed with the Exacto knife.
3. Once the kiddo art is dry, cut it out to fit the frame. Since I have two kids, we bought double-frames: one frame is art from Knight and the other from Princess. :)
4. Now, here comes the hardest step, put the cardstock and art in the frame and enjoy everyone's 'hard' work. ;)

Mother's Day? = Everyday and a FREEBIE

Getting back into the blogging habit may take some time, but I'll figure it out. I'll just blame the whole directing a HUGE production thing for getting me out of the habit. Luckily, I started creating things again and, with luck, I'll be able to show y'all what I've been up to.

Onto to Mother's Day... I know it's a month late and Father's Day is a couple days away, however, I may argue (being a Mom myself) that you don't need a holiday to give Mom's a gift. Here's a list of what I made for Mother's Day:

Let's start off with a FREEBIE I made, I found this poem somewhere on the blogosphere. Since it was anonymous, I copied it to use as a Mom's gift for friends. If you ever have a friend who has a bad day, this would be perfect to share.
We made Handprint Flower Magnets for all the grandmothers (greats included). Found it {HERE}. Really simple all you need is: fingerpaint, laminating materials, E6000, glue gun, clothespins and the tongue depressor/popsicle stick. Make the prints, let them dry, laminate, glue stem and flower together. Then, glue in this order: stick, clothespin, magnet. IMPORTANT: let the glue dry between each step. I loved these so much, we made a set for me for Mother's Day! ;)

My MIL is really into gardening so we made her {THESE} plant markers.

(The picture is from the website I completely forgot to take a picture of the ones I made). Really simple, we even made her a strawberry marker since she LOVES to grow strawberries (she is Californian after all).

My other MIL (yes, I have TWO) enjoys her coffee so she got three new {coffee cozies}.
Really simple and really personal. Just click on the link to get a picture (because I forgot... again).

We went to Disneyworld with my parents shortly after Mother's Day(it.was.awesome.), so I made my Mom a tote to take with her. I basically cut out fabric Mickey ears, sewed them on and the {freezer papered} the writing onto the bag.
A few of them got this tile...
Oh boy, do I love my {silhouette}. It's just a 5x5 tile with vinyl adhered to the front. If you have a silhouette, I'd be more than happy to email you the document.

And I may have gone a little crazy making a bunch of {these} bracelets.

Some for me, my daughter, friends, and my mom; because everyone deserves new bracelets now and then. {HERE} is a video tutorial for you visual learners. ;)

Now, I know Mother's Day just passed, but I think any of these presents will excite 365 days of the year.

Poison... Poison Ivy

This is a gift I made for my cousin. She's totally into Batman, especially the girls. Her favorite is Poison Ivy. I'm pretty happy with how she turned out. This was my first venture is yarn hair for amigurumi. Now I know how much time and yarn it takes to do. I realize it's pretty thick but I figure Poison Ivy likes lush plants so why can't her hair be? I may use this body patter to do other people in the future, definitely girls with long hair. You can't really tell but there's 30+ leaves individually sewn onto her. That's how I did the bodice.

And on a side note, this is the 50th amigurumi I've put on dA! Who knew?

(LOL! Emotes transfer over from deviantART!)

Crocheted Bags

I actually finished this bag before I finished the Mickey Mouse Amigurumi. I had originally planned to type out the pattern but I don't think that's going to happen now. There's lots to do at the end of the semester including packing, studying, and taking the finals. Anyway, this bag is mostly made out of puff stitches and single crochet stitches. When I finished the crocheting part 3 days after starting (I got really fast suddenly. O.o), I knew that it would need a lining. It was made to keep things in the bag and to prevent it from stretching too much. I found a purple fabric for the out lining and used the left over black and white that I used in a kanzashi and dress. I really like how it turned out.

I finished this one this past Monday. I signed up for the Ward Talent Show to display some art and wanted to show this with all of that. Originally, I had planned on adding Mickey's face to the bag but I decided that it was more iconic this way. I also did braided yarn for the strap so it wouldn't stretch too much. The bag closes like the bag above but with two smaller buttons. I like how it turned out and I know it'll be fun to wear around Disney World this summer. =D

Mickey Mouse Amigurumi

In honor of going to Disney World this summer for an internship, I made Mickey Mouse! I love this amigurumi. You want to know my favorite part of him? The gloves. I finally figured a way to make hands that were convincing that I could crochet and no stitching together. There are some felt details on the bottom of the feet to represent soles for the shoes, but you can't see them very well in this shot. I like him a lot. He may become my little pal when I'm out at Disney World. He'll probably show up in some pictures that I take there. I haven't quite decided. ;)

FREEBIE: Easter Subway Art

With Easter coming up, I've been thinking a lot about {Jesus Christ} and His Resurrection. I also happen to be directing a play with the same subject matter (2 weeks to go)--- that might be the bigger reason why I'm constantly thinking about Him.

In our house, we have very few Easter decorations because we don't want to put more emphasis on candy, eggs and baskets, then on the Savior of the World. Don't get me wrong, we still celebrate Easter, but the biggest thing we celebrate is that Jesus Christ LIVES!

So--- this morning, I dove into a popular decor medium right now, Subway Art, and created subway art to focus on the Savior.*Made to fit 5x7 and 8x10* I printed mine off at Costco and it looks great!

I just might print off wallet-sizes as a gift for my cast and crew. For all their hard work.

The scripture in yellow is {John 20: 29}

And--- because I wanted to continue to share--- I share with you, our small reading base, in hopes that we all remember who made Easter truly great! ;)