New Things

Wow! Has it really been that long since there has been a new post on here?!? Seriously need to do some changes about that.

I first wanted to invite you all to come take a look at my personal blog to check out my adventures in Bullet Journaling! 2017 isn't really that well documented. I posted the pictures but writing about so many pictures afterwards was difficult. However, I'm finally caught up on my BuJo for 2018 on the blog. I'm going to try to find a good time during the week to write a blog post. I LOVE inspiring people into the BuJo world. It really has done a lot for me in my life. I truly believe that our Heavenly Father inspired me to dive into it. It has opened doors to me that I knew I needed to open and new ones I never knew were there.

I also have some exciting news! I'm planning on finally getting my Etsy shop up and going around April 9th! It's been years since I've put anything on there. But I've been getting some good feedback on my Instagram about some of the things I'm making. I've been making stuff like crazy for the Market on this coming Saturday and I figured why not try putting some stuff on Etsy again. I even have business cards for it now! So crazy.

Here's a sneak peek of things I've been working on for it!

Yep! The last one will be customizable Fish Extenders for Disney Cruises! I'm excited to get this going. Here's hoping that Etsy sticks for me this time around.

--Mule

Hi There!

Long time no see fellow, Crafters and Craft Enthusiasts! This is Mule here. Sorry that I haven't been able to post anything on this blog lately. I've finally got my hands on a new computer. My last one was ridiculous. I had to fan it to keep it on for more than 10 minutes. It was a ridiculous sight to see. This one is substantially better.

I'm going to do my best to be posting more on here and my personal blog. I've still been creating and getting myself into more crafty things. The biggest one is Bullet Journaling. It's helped me a lot and I'm hoping it'll help some of you, too. I'm going to try and make a goal to post at least once a week.

Here's to trying!

2015 Primary Theme Posters: FREEBIE

I know--- a long time, no blogging. I needed to focus on the other aspects of my life (including my most recent pregnancy) before I could come back. This pregnancy happened to be the most difficult and to finish it off, I had the baby five weeks early.

I don't know how much I'll be able to keep up, but it is a desire to do so.  I haven't stopped making things, just stopped writing about it. Hopefully, I'll be able to finally share my Gospel Quiet Book templates with y'all, as well.

Plus, my sister and partner-in-crafting, Megan (the Mule of our Mule 'n Nag) is now serving a mission for our {Church} in Hong Kong. So, she's not posting for another year, or so.

Anyway--- I come back with a freebie!

The children's program in the church, the {Primary}, has a church-wide theme which changes each year; each month also has a different theme under the general yearly theme.  I made posters to go with each of the monthly themes and I wanted to share them with y'all.

A couple years ago, I discovered this amazing woman, Heather, and her blog {Simply Fresh Designs}. She's made these posters for the last few years, but hasn't had the chance to make ones for this year yet--- so I thought I'd make some inspired by her.

My family prints off the poster as the small size and we display it on our pantry door for the month.  It helps our kids practice monthly theme or scripture, if they have it, and sometimes we use it to focus our {Family Home Evenings} to be the same as what they talk about in Primary.

If you download, I just ask that you {LIKE} us on Facebook and continue coming back when I'm able to have a few minutes to share something new.

Download the posters {HERE}.

All Things Pretty Necklace Review

NOTE:  A lot has gone on in our break.  The biggest one to affect this blog is the Mule of  MnN Crafts just recently left to serve an 18 month mission for the {Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints} in Taipei, Taiwan.

Our whole family is really excited & her desire to serve has re-inspired me to start blogging about my crafting endeavors again.  One of the reasons I got into this was the digital ability to share ideas with others who are looking.  So, long story short--- I'm back!

I figure the best way to come back is to write a review for my fabulous new necklace from {All Things Pretty}.

 Danesa, over at ATP  contacted me about a month ago to see if I'd do this review & what kind of jewelry I like.  I gave her an over-complicated task of finding something that I loved.  And she did it.

This is the {Suzanne} Necklace.  It's seriously adorable. (Don't mind my pose & wierdo nature).

I think my favorite part about his necklace is that I can wear it two ways.

I love versatility in jewelry.  And All Thing Pretty is definitely versatile; I know it sounds SUPER corny, but there really is something for everyone.  This is perfect place to find a Mother's Day gift (hint, hint).

Check them out on {Pinterest}, {Facebook}, or on their {website}.  You won't be disappointed; as you can clearly tell my pensive 'yay for my new necklace' pose. 

DISCLAIMER:  I was given this necklace for free to write a review.  These are all my own opinions, yada, yada, yada.  :)

Danesa also has a great blog called {The Pink Senorita}.  You should check that out, as well.

Purple Felt Dragon

I made this little guy a while ago. It was an interesting adventure. My last full on felt plushie was Frank and he had considerably fewer pieces. Like Frank, this plush was made by a pattern that I created while making him. I was a little frustrated by how the head looked at first but I like it now. It gives him that squishy, plush feeling. He is also all hand sewn, no machine here. Some of the pieces that I had to make would have been a struggle with a machine. I also like how his wings turned out and the fact that they need nothing to stay up like they are. Oh, you can kind of tell that the black felt is sparkly but it really is. It's a fun felt.

He's around 6" tall, 5" wide. Made of felt, polyfil, thread, and safety eyes.

Crafted by Mule (Megan).

Two Bone-tastic Plushes

Those who know me know that I like creepy cute. I like the juxtaposition of the two ideas that seem like they shouldn't work together. I liked the idea to bring it to Halloween in decorations, once again. The last time I made a creepy, cute Halloween plush was Frank. I still love the little guy. But this time I decided to go with a bone theme.

I drew a couple of different designs for a skeleton  before deciding on this one. I thought that this short design with a large head helped keep the cute along with the creepy. The heart was a last decision when I was cutting out the felt pieces. I felt like it needed some color since the front and back were only black and white. (The back is a black and white dotted fabric.) While watching General Conference I hand-sewed on the bones and heart. Then I used a sewing machine for the rest.

I also decided to make a sugar skull. These are little confections that are seen during Dia de los Muertos. I have always liked their aesthetic. The vibrant colors with dark lines was a cool contrast to me. When I first drew this out I thought I was going to embroider a black line for the teeth. But after rummaging through my embroidery thread I saw that I didn't have enough black for that. So I decided to cut out a whole for the teeth and then use that scrap to make the teeth. Something strange went on when I put them on. There wasn't supposed to be a big gap between the rows of teeth, but somehow it happened. I still like the overall look of the skull, though.

Close-up shot of some of the details.

Crafted by Mule (Megan).

"Kingdom Key" Keyblade

As some may know, I have an awesome hobby. Cosplay. I'm such a geek; it makes me happy. I would have loved to make a new cosplay this year but with the move and all the craziness that wasn't going to happen. And not to mention, that money has gone short. So I decided to make something for my last cosplay: a keyblade.

Originally I wanted to make the "Decisive Pumpkin" Keyblade since that's the one that goes best with the cosplay. However, I couldn't because I didn't have the money to go get insulation foam and coat that with resin. I decided to make the "Kingdom Key" because it's classic and I could make it out of materials already in the house. That's right. No money was spent making this since all of the materials were here.

At this stage I had used some cardboard (the kind of the back of sketchbooks) to make the 3D shapes. It's pretty study because I braced the insides with the same cardboard and hot glue. Then I covered everything in craft foam using hot glue. A little messy finish but, again, no money to get Worbla or Wonderflex. Before moving onto the painting stage I used Modge Podge to seal it and then gesso. After that was just to apply the multiple coats of acrylic paint. Seriously, it's a ton of paint. There's at least three coats to each color.

While I was waiting for layers of paint to dry, I made the chain and Mickey charm out of polymer clay. I was praying that this would work. I had to cut three of the links in half before baking and then super glue them around the other links to make the chain. Thankfully the glue I chose is WAY strong and works very well for that and attaching it to the Keyblade.

I can't tell you how excited I am that my Halloween Town Sora cosplay is going to have a Keyblade to go with it. It'll be fun to wear it for Halloween and hopefully a convention some time in the future. And maybe I'll get the chance to make another kind of Keyblade to do the double Keyblade look. ;)

Crafted by Mule (Megan).