Great Q Cards

So, you probably already know about SugarDoodle. But, if you don't.....you should check it out! It's true that alot of the content is geared towards LDS, but there are alot of ideas that aren't or that you can use in other ways. I especially LOVE the craft ideas (go figure).

Anyway.....I found this idea there for our Activity Days girls, and they loved it! We were in desparate need of some help with memorizing our A of F and this is the perfect way. Each number represents an A of F and the letters on each one are the first letters of each word in the article. Such as: W(e) B(elieve)....

This idea can also be used for anything kids have to memorize for school. All you have to do is print the pages out here and we had the girls color and cut them out their own for one of our activities. Then we laminated them and cut them out again. Give each girl a keyring to put them on (I also tied ribbon on mine to dress it up for pics) and voila! and perfect way to aid in memorizing! Have fun!

Eploding Boxes.....No Hardhat Required!

If you haven't heard about exploding boxes, you're probably not alone :) Although, I have seen an explosion (hee, hee get it?) of postings about them on the web. I gathered alot of instructions and then made the measurements fit the way I liked it. I would say that I got the most help from the tute here, she has cute pics too!
Now....On with the tute!

You will need:

1. 4 sheets of coordinating double-sided patterned headstock (the thicker, the better. I used paper from DCWV's Spring glitter stack).

2. adhesive, regular and super tacky stuff (I like Terrifically Tacky Tape).

3. 2 sheets of coordinating solid cardstock

4. Paper cutter & paper scorer

Step 1

Pick which piece of patterned paper will be lid and set aside. Then pick which piece will be the bottom (the one that will be the outside as well). This piece will remain 12” x 12”. Cut other two pieces to 11 1/4” x 11 1/4” and 10 1/2” x 10 1/2”

Step 2

Take the 12” x 12” paper and score it in 4” on all sides, then take the 11 1/4” x 11 1/4” and score it in 3 3/4” on all sides, and last take the 10 1/2” x 10 1/2” and score it in 3 1/2” on all sides

Step 3

After scoring, cut the corners out (as illustrated in step 2) of all 3 papers so you will be left with + (plus) shapes.

Black lines are where you need to score the lid after cutting.

Step 4

Take the paper you set aside for the lid and cut it to: 7 7/8” x 7 7/8”. Then score in all sides 1 7/8”. Score a diagonal line across all 4 corners as illustrated. Fold at score lines and then fold corners in at score line and glue down. Dry adhesive works best for this step. I like “Terrifically tacky Tape”

The lid, after it's finished!

Step 5

Take solid cardstock sheets and cut 4 of each size square: 3”x3”, 3 1/4”x 3 1/4”, & 3 1/2”x 3 1/2” You can also use the leftovers from all the corners you cut out of the 3 main sheets.

Step 6

Now ink all the edges of the papers, lid (after it’s finished), & solid matting squares. You can sand the edges of the solid cardstock if you prefer. Also, now is the time to round the corners if you want.

Step 7

Adhere the solid matting squares onto the patterned paper pieces with the regular adhesive.

Step 8

Put adhesive on the back middle square of the 2 smaller patterned papers. Then, adhere them, in turn, to the paper next larger. Stacking smaller-larger.

Step 9
Now, just add desired embellishments and your cute photos and…..Voila! Your very own exploding box! No protective gear needed :)

I just added rub-on sayings to the photos and the lid. Then, for the lid, I popped it up with pop-dots.

I'll post more pics later of other ones I've done....it's very addicting once you get the hang of it! Have fun!

My Very First Blog Award!!!

So, I was browsing through my (few) comments (hint, hint)......and I RECEIVED MY VERY FIRST BLOG AWARD!!!! After I jumped for joy and gave myself a few high fives I sat down to write up my speech.....Yes, a speech because I've never gotten to give one and I'm always taking notes when awards show seasons come around. Here goes:

I would like to thank, from the bottom of my heart, Lacie over at Creative Attempts for giving me this award. You are so sweet! I would also like to pass this award along to just a few of my favorite blogs:

1. UCreate - Great for tips!

2. Pretty Partridge - Very cute ideas (Ikea & modpodge, anyone?)

3. Thrifty Decor Chick - Would LURVE (her word, not mine) to have her over for a decor party at my house (I have BIG walls and not enough ideas).

4. Little Birdie Secrets - These women are FANTASTIC! (do I use caps too much?)

5. Whimsy Love - Need I say more

6. Crap I've made - Just love her title!

7. The Idea Room - She takes such great photos....you really WANT to make things

Have fun swinging by these great blogs AND the others that I have on my side bar (they are great too!) If I gave you an award....please pass on the love. Have fun!

Paper Sillouettes, Dresser, and Poofs....Oh MY!!

So, I'm re-healy backed up in taking pics of crafts to post here.....so, I am finding a slew of a-dorable others for you to feast your eyes on in the meantime.

I stumbled upon this "must try" craft (the sillouettes) here at Crafty Nest and it now goes on my (long) list of crafts to try. Bbbbuuuutttt, since I probably won't get to it for awhile, I really wanted to link it so you all can try it now (hopefully you all have a shorter "to do" list than I do).

She posts the how-to for all these projects her friend did for her daughter's room.Her friend did a GREAT job and it all coordinates wonderfully. Hopefully she gets to leave it all up for awhile and her daughter doen't decide she wants a new theme next year.

It's only been a year since I did my girl's cute room (pics coming later....like everything else:) and Madison (my 4 year-old) is already talking about a princess room (never gonna happen). Have fun!

I Can't Help Myself....

......I LOVE taking pics of my girls and I LOVE dressing them in matching outfits (see attached pics....I refrained from adding ALL 3,000+ photos I took in the interest of keeping my readers :). But, what is up with that CHEESY smile my 3-year-old is sporting in the 2nd picture? Our 4-year-old never (not never, but rarely and not really on purpose) developed a cheesy smile....but for some reason Aislyn always does that during photo sessions. Anyone else have that problem? I thought that was a boy thing (which may be our situation soon :)

Photo Ribbon Boards

These ribbon boards are a craft I taught almost 2 years ago and they were a big hit! I just had everyone bring their own fabric and ribbon and it was cool to see all of the cute results! This is the first one I made, and here's how to make 'em! Sorry there's no step-by-step pics.....but feel free to ask me if you get stuck :0)

Materials:

1. 1/4 - 1/2 inch plywood or MDF (I used MDF beacause it was thicker and I was worried about the staples being too long, but if you have shorter staples, I would go with plywood since it's wwwwaaayyyy lighter and easier to staple & hammer). Cut it to 18"x12", or what ever you prefer. Also, if you notice, I had the corners cut off too so it wouldn't poke through the ribbon I wrapped around them.

2. Fabric of your choice, get it an inch or two longer on each side.

3. Batting. I got some bed size batting and just cut it down and layered it till I liked the thickness....about 3 layers of the medium thickness.

4. you need 3 yards of ribbon per board, maybe a little extra just in case.

5. Decorative upholstery nails to match. I got some at Home Depot and some at Joanns. You will need 7 for each board.

6. Rubber mallet

7. Staple gun

Step 1

Cut your fabric and batting down to size. Make sure you have an inch or two on each side of your fabric to wrap around (even with batting underneath). The batting needs to be the exact same size as the board, you don't want any to wrap around...it will look weird :)

Step 2

Stack the batting on and then the fabric. I found that stapling the top then bottom 1st works best. Then the sides. Make sure to pull the fabric taught, but not too much. Spacing the staples about an inch apart worked well.

Here's what the back looks like. You can make yours a little neater...but who care's, it will be up against the wall anyway! If you really want to go crazy, once you are finished (but before you put the aligator hook on), you can staple on a piece of finished fabric to hide all the ugliness.

Step 3

If you made your board the 18"x 12" size.....cut your ribbon into 6 18" ribbons. Then start stapling them onto your board like I did. Again, make sure the ribbon is taught, but not too much :)

Step 4

Using a rubber mallet, hammer in the upholstery nails every place the ribbons cross. Hammer them in all the way, you don't want those puppies to come flying out at someone.

For this step you will be glad you used plywood....because MDF is ssooooooo hard to hammer into!

Step 5

Add the alligator hanger in the back and Voila! Add your pics to your nice new ribbon board.

This is one I made to match my youngest's room (before the girls started sharing a room)

This is the one that is in their current room since it matches. This fabric was cute because the white parts are sparkly!

Again....the original one I made that still hangs in our kitchen/living room! Feel free to ask me if you have questions or if you need help. Have fun!

This One's For You Mom!!

Well, since it's Mother's Day and I can't bake any yummy treats for my mom (we don't live near each other), I thought I would post some links to blogs I've found that have some yummy looking gluten-free recipes (my mom is on a gluten-free diet). This one's for you MOMMY!

This recipe for Black bottom cupcakes comes from Gluten-Free Mommy's website. She has tons of great looking recipes including some great ones I will have to try next time my mom comes.

Martha Stewart featured this recipe for Chocolate Chip Sandwich Cookies (as well as it's creator, Erin McKenna, owner of Babycakes bakery) on a recent show .....and wished I lived in NYC just so I could visit Erin's bakery and try these!

This blog looks fairly new, but already has some great looking recipes....like these homemade oreos. YUM!

Even though I myself don't have to eat a gluten-free diet.....these recipes look good enough to try anyway! Have fun!

Wet Bag Tutorial

So, I came across this A-DORABLE tutorial from Little Birdie Secrets and I'm thinking "What a genius this woman is!" Not only is the fabric she uses super-cute (I believe she said it is from Amy Butler's "Belle" collection)....but this is a great idea and I NEED one of these for all the wet swim suits and towels I will be dealing with this summer. In fact, I may need more than just one... :) Have fun!

Great Mother's Day Gift

Here is a great idea for Mother's Day or to send to grandparents as gifts. I made the 1st 2 to hang in my daughters' room and I liked them so much that I decided to make 2 more to give to all their grandparents. I only needed to make 1 set and then I copied them onto photo paper....and they looked great! You could hardly tell they were copies.

These are so easy to make and so cheap!

Step 1

Using a foam brush, paint your child's hand with acrylic craft paint (make sure it nice and thick and get it on all the fingers)

Step 2

Gently press your child's hand onto thick white card stock (don't use regular paper, it will wrinkle). It helps if you clip the paper onto a clipboard and bring the paper up to the hand.

Step 3

After letting the paint dry, embellish as desired with scraps of paper and your die cut machine (I used my Cricut)

To give more dimention, I chalked the paper shapes and used brads. It may take a few tries to get the perfect hand print...but hang in there!

Here are close-ups of the hand print....so you can get a better idea of how to do it. To do the fish stripe, I just tore the paper into a strip and cut it down to size. For the bubbles....I just used vellum and chalked the edges. For the spots on the peacock, I just used paint. Have fun!