Craft Monkey

{Sleep Talking}

2013-05-16T21:00:00.001-05:00

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of ZzzQuil for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.

Most of my adult life I have had horrible problems sleeping. I can be EXHAUSTED, not able to keep my eyes open, but once I get into bed, BOOM WIDE AWAKE! Or, my most recent sleep problem, I fall into a deep, deep sleep for about an hour or two and then wake up (around midnight) WIDE AWAKE and unable to go back to sleep. I don't know why, and I've tried everything from over the counter sleep aids to prescription medications that had me sleep shopping...yes, I would shop from my phone in the middle of the night and have no recollection of it until a package arrived at my door. CA-RAZY! (THAT was an expensive prescription! HA).

So you can imagine my eagerness when I was offered the opportunity to try the new ZzzQuil from the makers of Vicks Nyquil! It looks and taste similar to Nyquil, but doesn't have all of the cold ingredients, it's only for helping you sleep! The first night I tried ZzzQuil I waited until the weekend, because I sometimes have a hard time waking up the next day after taking a sleep aid and I hate that groggy "hung over" feeling you can sometimes get. But, that didn't happen with the ZzzQuil! I woke up feeling well rested and not groggy at all! I LOVE that!

I have since used ZzzQuil several times when I want to get a really good night's rest and I just love it! I will definately be buying more! I tried the liquid version, but I think I'd like to try the pill version, I'm not a big fan of the taste of the liquid, tastes too much like cold medicine for me.

Want to learn more about ZzzQuil? Like them on Facebook, check them out on Twitter and visit their website ZzzQuil. Make sure to include #ZzzQuilNight to be included in the conversation!

{Pin It to Win It}

2013-03-18T07:57:00.000-05:00

Hey Y'all! I have something fun and exciting to share with you. You know how Pinterest is where all of our beautiful dream houses, amazing crafts, delicious recipes, super fun kid ideas, and other fun ideas live (kind of like our own little dream world)? Well what if I told you that you could have the chance to make one your Pinterest board become reality? Consumer Crafts is hosting a Pin It to Win It contest, and the winner will win their dream craft tools from their pinterest board, up to a $500 value!

How do you enter? It's so simple, just 4 easy steps!

1. Follow Consumer Crafts on Pinterest

2. Create a Pinterest Board called "Craft Wish List"

3. Go to ConsumerCrafts.com and pin 10 craft supplies you'd love to win

4. Then enter to win HERE.

I know, right? I created my {Craft Wish List} board, check it out if you want to see what I dream about. But hurry, the contest ends March 31st!

Like Consumer Crafts on Facebook

Happy Pinning and Good luck!!

Follow me via Pinterest, Facebook & Twitter!

NOTE: this contest is being run by Consumer Crafts and I am merely sharing the details so you can join in the fun.

Disclosure: I’m required to disclose a relationship between my site and Blueprint Social. ConsumerCrafts.com and the Blueprint Social are providing me with content and product in exchange for creating this post. All opinions are always my own.

{Painting the Dining Room Table}

2013-02-25T20:56:00.000-06:00

Hi Friends!

I'm not quite sure what got in to me this weekend, but I decided to tackle the beast...or at least poke it with a stick...

Here's the "beast" before, 1 VERY large table, which contains 2 inserts (you can tell that my grandmother only used those at the holidays by the discoloring). And then there are the 8 chairs, 6 without arms and 2 with arms, and lots and lots of spindly legs and backs....what was I thinking? Oh Geez!

So I grabbed a dining room chair and got to painting.

And then I took a quick instagram break to share this photo.

I'm using Annie Sloan chalk paint in Paris Grey. It sort of looks like the color of primer, but once you sand it and put a nice clear coat of Annie Sloan wax it looks AmaZing!

Well, it will look amazing, eventually, once I'm finished. Except that I've only finished painting 2 chairs and that does NOT include the sanding and waxing part. It's likely that I'll be finished with this project sometime in 2015. What was I thinking!

Follow me via Pinterest, Facebook & Twitter!

{Painted Table}

2013-02-17T12:47:00.002-06:00

I have a HUGE dinning room table that I inherited from my Grandmother. It's a table that my Grandmother had in her dining room for as long as I can remember. There are lots of great family memories that were made at that table.

But it's BROWN (wood)...like seriously brown. And it's HUGE so it's A LOT of brown. I've really been itching to paint it and give it a face lift. But it's going to be a massive undertaking, so to amp myself up I've been reminiscing about some smaller table make-overs I've done.

How about a little blast from the past table make-over!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hey Y'all! Last summer, I bought 2 tables at yard sales with the intention of painting them and...never actually got around to it! That is, until NOW! Yep, in the last month I've refinished 3 tables! WOOT!

Here's the first one for you. Oh and by the way, I'm an AWESOME blogger and didn't take a "before" picture for you.

But use your imagination, this one was a hideous lacquer 70's 2 layer ~~beast~~ beauty. I paid a whooping $2 for it. It was in pretty good shape, that lacquer is apparently some durable stuff! But it was ugly!

Using my Annie Sloan Chalk Paint in Old White I painted the table. It covered that lacquer like a champ!

Then I decided it needed to be a little more fun, so I drew on a harlequin pattern, and taped it off using my Scotch Blue Painters Tape! And painted it with Annie Sloan in Provence.

I sanded the pattern a little bit to give it a tiny bit of distressed look, but I didn't sand the legs or any other areas. So, what do you think?

Follow me via Pinterest, Facebook & Twitter!

Why the David Tutera DIY Bridal Collection?

2013-02-13T21:53:00.004-06:00

The David Tutera bridal collection includes: Affordable fashion accessories, unique décor elements, floral accents and other embellishments, all designed to help you tell your own special love story.

Adding your own unique touch is a lot easier than you think! It’s all about turning ordinary wedding elements into something special.

Many of the products, like Bling on a Roll and self-stick rhinestones, are very versatile. (For example, you can use either of the above to add sparkle to any wedding decoration or accessory!)

This is a sponsored post between my site and Blueprint Social. All opinions are my own.

Follow me via Pinterest, Facebook & Twitter!

{Get back to basics with great deals on craft supplies}

2013-01-31T04:00:00.000-06:00

Great Craft Supplies at even greater prices!

I recently had the opportunity to purchase some items from consumercrafts.com! You know the only thing I love better than shopping, is shopping for craft supplies! And now through February 4th consumercrafts.com is having a HUGE Back to Basics sale.

Now's your chance to get back to basics with great deals on craft supplies from @Consumer_Crafts #craftbasics. What does that mean? It's means between now and February 4th you can stock up on craft supplies at great prices! And, shopping consumercrafts.com couldn't be easier! Here's a sneak peek at a few of the great items I saved on during my last little virtual shopping trip.

I purchased burlap banners! A set of 3 banners is only $1.97! I bought a few sets of the banners, I'm not sure how many I'll need to make it across my mantel, but I thought having a few extra wouldn't hurt!

I also purchased some white 4 inch doilies. I have a "spring" vision for these doilies and those burlap banners.

I threw in some fabric glue, because, well, it was only $1.67 and let's face it, you've seen my sewing skills...

I also picked up a few different colored bandanas. I have a fun summer project planned for those.

Can't wait to show you more when it arrives and I get busy creating something!

Follow me via Pinterest, Facebook & Twitter!

I wrote this post as part of a campaign with Darice and Blueprint Social. The opinions in this post are my own.

{Ninjago Birthday Party}

2013-01-17T19:00:00.002-06:00

The boy turned FIVE this month...FIVE! What the heck! How did that happen?? The morning of his birthday, the boy woke up to find he'd been streamer bombed!

Then he was surprised with a birthday breakfast! Junk cereal that he had been asking to try and a cupcake, along with a few Ninjago treats.

My sweet boy with his breakfast cupcake

On top of all of THAT fun, we also had a Ninjago Birthday Party!

If you don't have a young boy, you have probably never heard of Ninjago, consider yourself lucky! :) Here's how our Ninjago 5th Birthday celebration turned out.

To keep the kids entertain we created a "Ninja Training Obstacle Course". We went to home depot and bought pvc pipe and foam to create this super easy course. The kids went through it a few times, then destroyed it and used the foam and pvc as weapons...

We also made some sushi, the kids each got to make a sushi roll and they LOVED it! We used rice crispie treats, gummy worms and sour straws. I added some taffy to make wasabi & ginger.

Here's one of the food tables, I didn't take pictures of the other table, but we served miso soup, sushi and Chinese food (at our Japanese party....)

The cupcake table. The banner and cupcake toppers are from Etsy, and then I borrowed the boy's Lloyd alarm clock for an accent piece. This table also has the candy sushi and chinese boxes with fortune cookies. The ninjago faces on top are coffee containers that I spray painted. I made the "angry eyes" out of yellow duct tape and a black sharpie.

Here's a close up view for you.

The gift table with my "japanese" prints. It's not really Japanese, it's a font I found on dafont.com. The prints translate to "Noah" and "Five". I just printed them on legal paper and taped them onto bamboo placemats from the dollar store.

For party favors I bought the Lego mini characters and attached a fun little ninjago tag.

The birthday boy LOVED his Ninjago party and the kids all had a blast, and their parents told me most of them took really good naps that afternoon from all the running around on the obstacle course!

Follow me via Pinterest, Facebook & Twitter!

{Wilderness Tree!}

2012-11-30T00:48:00.000-06:00

It's my most favorite time of the year, Christmas time! I've been getting the house ready and the tree trimmed to celebrate to holidays with my boys. Last year, after Christmas, my huzby said, "next year you should do a hunting themed tree."

Game On! After those little words were uttered I was on woman on a mission. I collected ornaments at the after Christmas sales, and picked up items here and there through the year that I thought would look good on a hunting themed tree. Well, my tree is more "wilderness" than hunting. But, it's manly enough, and the huzby approves.

I made my own stockings this year! Used the sewing machine and everything! And a friend came to my rescue with that awesome deer head for over my mantel to complete the look!

I know "technically" the deer is a boy, but I've decided he's really a she, and her name is Deerdra, and I love her. Here's a few more close ups of the tree. LOVE.

Follow me via Pinterest, Facebook & Twitter!

{Oh Christmas Tree!}

2012-11-27T02:00:00.000-06:00

How about a very vintage Christmas Tree Post! I'm working on a post to show you this year's tree, but I've hit some kind of storage block with blogger. Bah Humbug Blogger! Anyhoo, I've been going through old post trying to free up space and came across this one. Enjoy. :)

Well, we've got our "malfunction" mostly fixed. There is still a strand of lights NOT working, but, after about 4 hours of fussing with it, cussing at each other and Manny re-wiring a plug, I decided I could live with 3 branches not being lit. (sigh...I gave in). Mostly, I was just ready to decorate the darn tree and get those 8 storage bins of Christmas stuff back up in the attic. So, here is our "beautiful" tree (beauty is subjective, I accept that).

I LOVE LOVE LOVE a theme tree. I have 3 "trees", every year I get to choose what kind of mood I'm in and put up "that" tree. I have a red & silver "traditional" tree, complete with shiny silver bows, I have a "fabulous" hot pink, lime green and aqua tree for when I'm feeling funky, and I have "The" white tree, the one that makes my heart go pitter pat. The one that I think is SO gorgeous I've put it up 2 years in a row. The one that looks like it's covered in snow and wild owls are nesting in it. (no really, there are owls nesting in it).

Ok, so after taking these photos, I realized, our tree does NOT photograph well. I'm telling you, in person this tree looks like this "aaaaaaaaaaaaaaah" (the voice of angels singing, seriously) but in the photo is looks like "ah", so sad, so disappointing. Oh well, I get to enjoy my angel singing tree in person.

So, our tree is all white and has owls (4 of them), Manny says they are creepy, I LOVE LOVE LOVE them. (Although I will admit, I DO hate birds, there is something about these creepy little owls that I ADORE!)

And our tree topper is a white fairy. She IS creepy. But (sigh) I LOVE her. Even with her ratted hair and wrinkled dress. Our tree also has feather thingies with mirrors on them. I'm telling you, in person, this tree just shines, there is so much reflection from the mirrors and the all white. My Christmas tree makes my heart smile.

So, how do you decorate your tree? Do you have a theme? Have you put yours up yet? I can't wait to hear about your tree!

{Wood Cut Outs - MONSTER}

2012-10-04T20:03:00.000-05:00

Hey Ya'll! Here's a fun project I recently shared over at Mom it Forward. I was given the opportunity to choose a project and I decided to work on a fun Halloween project. I can't believe it's already Halloween time! I won't tell you how many shopping days you have left before Christmas, I don't want to stress you out. Ha!

The nice folks over at Crafty Wood Cutouts sent me a

box of goodies to create a fun piece for Halloween.

On their site you can choose from a variety of wood cut outs to craft with! The hard part is done, all you have to do is get creative and decorate! I chose the "Monster" cutouts. I was excited when my box of goodies arrived!

The boy and I got to work painting the letters.

We might have made a small mess...

Then I covered them with some fun halloween paper and plopped them on the mantel.

The great thing about these letters, they are really thick! And the bottoms are cut so that they are actually made to sit up on their own. I love that! No more falling over letters or having to prop them up on something to make them stay.

Follow me via Pinterest, Facebook & Twitter!

I was not compensated for this post, however I was sent the materials to create this project.

{Fall Smells like Vanilla! & A Giveaway}

2012-09-25T11:50:00.003-05:00

I wish you could smell this! Mmmmmm nothing says fall for me like the smell of warm vanilla.

I was recently contacted by Goose Creek Candle Company to review one of their great candles. They have a lot of choices of scent to choose from, but when it comes to candles, I'm a pretty boring vanilla kinda girl. But I went a little wild and ordered Vanilla Cashmere, instead of just plain vanilla. I know, I'm such a rebel!

I received my candle the other day and have been burning it every evening since it came in the mail. I LOVE it!

This candle seems to be pretty long lasting, like I said, I've been burning it every night for a few hours and it's barely even burned down! And the smell! Oh man, this candle smells delicious!!!

Are you jealous of my delicious candely goodness? Well guess what? The awesome folks at Goose Creek Candle Company want to give YOU a candle too!! One of you lucky Craft Monkeys is going to win your very own Goose Creek Candle! LUCKY!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Don't want to wait to see if you won? Use coupon code 1050 to save 25% off your entire purchase (expires September 30th, 2012)

Follow me via Pinterest, Facebook & Twitter!

{Monster Wreath}

2012-09-23T19:32:00.000-05:00

Hi Friends! You'll never believe it, but I ACTUALLY have a project to share today! I know, right! I told you earlier, I've got the crafting bug again, of course it took me awhile to actually find the time to craft, but I did, and I'm super excited to share!

(I found this wreath on pinterest, but the link was bad, so I don't know who to give credit to.)

This wreath is SOOOO easy and only cost around $10. Can't beat cheap AND easy! I bought all of my supplies at The Dollar Tree.

All you need are a few feather boas (I used about 8), a large wreath form, some eye balls and a glue gun. Smoosh it all together and

BOOM

A super fun (and 4 year old approved) Monster Wreath!

Follow me via Pinterest, Facebook & Twitter!

{Sugar Free Caramel Apples}

2012-08-27T23:46:00.003-05:00

Is it fall yet? I'm SOOO tired of this crazy summer heat! I'm ready for FALL! For football, cozy sweaters, warm socks, scarves, pumpkins and all the comforts of fall!

Today I'm sharing a special sugar free treat I make for the huzby.

I have the perfect sugar free fall treat for you today, CARAMEL APPLES! Yep, it's true, you CAN make sugar free caramel apples.

Here's what you'll need:

Sugar Free Caramel squares (I used nips - it took aprox. 1 bag per apple!)

Sugar Free Chocolate

Sliced Almonds

Granny Smith Apples

1 TBS Milk

Fake Bugs to creep out your family! : )

Melt caramel on low-medium heat, once it starts melting, add milk, stirring well.

Once the caramel is melted take it off the heat, let it cool for about 30 - 45 secs then dip your apple. Once you've dipped your apple wait about another minute then roll in chocolate & nuts.

Put on parchment paper & let cool.

THEN ENJOY!

Isn't that apple so cute all dressed up as a gift! They are also really fun on a serving plate with fake bugs "crawling" all over them! bahahahahaha!

On another note, I've been feeling the crafty itch lately. I'm not making any promises, but you just might see a new project or two in the near future. I miss you guys!!

Follow me via Pinterest, Facebook & Twitter!

{Driftwood Sailboats....a Craft Monkey Rerun}

2012-07-10T19:17:00.000-05:00

I actually first shared these here at the Craft Monkey last summer, but it's summer time again and I was feeling the driftwood love. So I thought I'd share again for any of you who might have missed this last time.

This is by far one of my most favorite Craft Monkey projects!

I matched up pieces of wood, one piece for the bottom "boat" part and another piece for the "pole" part.

Then I drilled a small hole {about the size of the "pole" piece so it would fit together easier.

I used Gorilla Glue to hold the two pieces together.

I didn't take pictures of the next step, but I basically cute pieces of drop cloth and hot glued them to the "pole". Easy peasy and super fabulous! AND, this was a thrifty project too! Wood = free, Drop Cloth, already on hand = free!

Doesn't it look gorgeous on my mantel with my starfish flag?

So what do you think? Are you going to run to the beach to pick up some driftwood so you can make your own sail boats?

Follow me via Pinterest, Facebook & Twitter!

{A Vacation}

2012-05-28T21:04:00.003-05:00

Hi Friends! How ya been? It's been a long, long, time. I kept thinking this would get easier over time, but it hasn't. So I guess it's time to just "officially" let you know that The Craft Monkey Blog is going on a indefinite "vacation."

After going back to work full time there just isn't much "blog" time left for me. Before, as a stay at home mom to one little one, my days were filled with extra time and boredom, out of which grew and flourished my love for crafting, photography and blogging. Now I have full days of work and spare time is spent with my boys!

I still have a few loose ends to tie up, like a few product reviews & giveaways, so I won't be too quiet. But for the most part, it's likely to be a while before I have any big fun projects to share with you, my peeps.

I cherish the opportunities, friendships and knowledge I've gained along my little journey. And, I'm not going away forever, and you'll certainly still find me chatting it up on facebook, twitter & sharing my joys on instagram. But until the time presents itself for more time to dedicate to blogging, this is a temporary farewell. Thank you to each and every one of you who over the last four years has visited, read, followed and commented on this little ole "hobby" of mine! I appreciate you more than you'll ever know. Keep in touch friends!

Follow me via Pinterest, Facebook & Twitter!

{Oh Baby!}

2012-05-14T02:01:00.000-05:00

Hi Crafty Friends! Today I have the beautiful and talented Niki, from Niki Homemadeville participating in the Craft Monkey Destash Bash! Woop! Woop! So let's see what she created with my junk, shall we!

Ready, Set, Go!!! We've all seen those reality TV challenges where the contestants are handed random items which they are supposed to use to create something amazing. I've always wondered how I'd do if faced with such a scenario. Thanks to Heidi, I got my chance.

When I opened my Craft Monkey box of goodies I was super excited because many of the pieces worked right in to the color scheme of a baby shower I've been planning. So I set off to create a banner with the baby's name.

I gathered scrapbook paper, stencils, various cutters, my hot glue gun and a cupcake embellishment to add to the white paint, jewel embellishments, glitter, hole punch and ultimately the blue and white string that Heidi sent me. To see a full tutorial, head on over to my blog, Homemadeville. Also, keep a watch for the full cupcake shower decorations to be posted in a couple of weeks.

Thanks, Heidi for letting me live out my supply box challenge dreams. I was the contestant, now you all can be the judge.

Niki

HomeMadeville

Follow me via Pinterest, Facebook & Twitter!

{Stamps, Ink & Cards, Oh MY!}

2012-05-10T02:01:00.000-05:00

Hey Guys! I've got another fun Craft Monkey Destash Bash project for you from Stacey who blogs over at Our Daily Walk! Are you ready for this amazingness!

Hi! I'm Stacey from Our Daily Walk and I'm so excited to be posting on Craft Monkey today! When I saw Heidi was asking if anyone wanted some free craft supplies I had to think about it for awhile.....Just kidding! I was so excited and said I'd love to be apart of the Craft Monkey DeStash Bash! I'm so glad I did, because I've been having a great time with the things she sent.

I know other bloggers have already explained the DeStash Bash, but just incase you weren't paying attention, Heidi wanted to simplify and get rid of some of her craft supplies, so instead of just taking them to Goodwill, she asked her followers on Facebook if anyone wanted them! (It pays to follow your favorite blogs on Facebook!) There was only one stipulation...Make something with the supplies you receive and do a little guest post!

Here's what I received...

Stamps and stamp supplies!

I was so excited. One of my New Year's Resolutions this year was to send birthday cards to every single person in my family. Yes, every.single.person. Which obviously also includes the hubb's family, too. We're talking grandparents, parents, siblings, brothers and sisters-in-law, nieces, nephews, and on and on.

That's a lot of cards!

When I got these I honestly thought Heidi had read my mind and knew of my card dilemma! Instead of having to buy tons of cards for my family, I could just make super cute ones myself!

Here's a few I've made so far...

I have never played with stamps more than just the regular stamp it in the colored ink and you're done. With the VersaMark and the Pearl Ex pigment powder, you can stamp it and pick the color you want! It leaves the prettiest shine and is so subtle and pretty. The silver ink was also so beautiful on the cards. I love playing with it, and so did my girls!

I have two girls, ages 2 and 3, and they absolutely love doing crafts. And with Mother's Day coming up, I thought I'd let them make some cards for their Grandma! My oldest daughter was so excited and had so much fun, she hasn't let go of her card since. But, my youngest daughter let me take a picture of her creation!

Yes, it's wrinkled, but I think her Grandma will love it anyway!

Thanks Heidi for all the fun new toys!! I think we will be entertained with all of this for a long, long time! You can check out my blog, Our Daily Walk , to see more of my family's fun adventures together!

See You Soon,

Stacey

Thanks Stacey! I'm glad your daughter was able to get in on the crafting fun too! Thanks so much for playing along and sharing your card making skills with us!

Follow me via Pinterest, Facebook & Twitter!

{Ruffle Ribbon Pin}

2012-05-08T02:01:00.000-05:00

What! What! I'm baaaaack, again! HOLLA! Can you tell how excited I am to be back at the old blog? Even though I'm not "technically" blogging, I sort of am! HA! Today's Craft Monkey Destash Bash guest is Alicia from the Teal Magnolia. Alicia is going to get you all ready for the upcoming patriotic holidays! So, what are you waiting for, let's get our red, white & blue on!

Hi everyone! I’m Alicia from The Teal Magnolia, a blog and handmade shop – my little slice of the web. I live in North Carolina with my college sweetheart hubby and our two-year-old son (and another baby on the way! Yay!). I am so excited to be part of Heidi’s Destash Bash! This is such a cool idea. I just loved getting a box of goodies that I don’t normally work with and seeing what came out.

I have to admit, when I first opened the box, I drew a blank and had a little moment of panic. What if I couldn’t make anything for Heidi?! But I knew to let things simmer, and something would come to mind. I left the box on my kitchen table and played with the stuff for a couple of days and then inspiration hit.

Inspiration surprisingly led me in a patriotic path, and why not? We have all the fun patriotic holidays coming up (Memorial Day, 4th of July), it’s an election year this year, and we also have the Olympics this summer. Plus, my brother is in the military, as are a lot of my friends from high school (can you believe I was in JROTC? They told me I could plan the military ball if I joined, so I did. And so began my love for event planning.), so when I saw the pretty blue ribbon with silver trim and the shiny red ribbon, I just thought “USA! USA!” And this is what I came up with: a ruffle ribbon pin with interchangeable glass centers:

It was pretty easy to do. Some of the steps seem difficult, but it’s really not. It only took me a couple of hours. First, I took my aggression out by flattening out a bottle cap and then hot glued it to some blue felt.

Then I ruffled the blue and red ribbon that I got from Heidi. The blue one was wired so I just pulled one of the wires until it ruffled. Then I hot glued it onto the bottle cap on the side that wasn’t covered with felt) just around the edge. I ruffled the red non-wired ribbon by running it through my sewing machine on the longest stitch and pulling the bottom thread. I glued that ribbon just inside the edge of the blue ribbon, on the metal. I then glued a magnet in the middle of the whole thing. Once that was all dry, I glued a pin to the felt side and then glued a square of felt over the pin to make it a little neater.

Now, it’s time to get to work on the glass beads! I should probably stop here and fess up. Originally, I had planned to make a pom pom out of some white yarn from Heidi’s stash, but I guess I don’t remember my Girl Scout crafts as well as I thought I did, and ended up with something that looked more like a Barbie-sized mop than a pom.

So, plan B: Glass beads! I used beads from the floral department at the dollar store. They are about 1.24 inches round-ish. I looked online and got some free clip art and printed it out. Then I painted a layer of modge podge on the flat side of the bead and put them over the images. Make sure you test fit the beads over the images before modge podging. You want to make sure you printed the images the right size (I had to make them smaller and reprint), and you want to make sure the bead works with it. All the beads are a little different, so you might want to play around to see what fits better. Once the modge podge dried, I tore away the paper and trimmed it down right to the edge of the glass.

Now, here’s where I got stuck (again). For some reason, the whole time I was working on this my brain was under the impression that pennies were magnetic (I’m blaming pregnancy brain on this one) and had planned on gluing pennies to the back to make them stick to the magnet on the pin. So I had to scramble and find an alternative plan.

Flattening and cutting more bottle caps would work, but I couldn’t find my hubby’s stash, and then he has some that he’s keeping from certain breweries and I didn’t want to mess with the ‘collection’, so I scrambled some more and found some adjustable ring bases in my craft stash. I flattened them out and cut the excess off with some tin snips. I then used E-6000 to glue those to the backs of the glass beads so that the flat part (where you would glue the pretty part of the ring) is what makes contact with the magnet.

I love the “I Voted” version…those tiny stickers always get stuck in my hair, so it’ll be kind a cool to have my own pin. I think it would be cool to just have a big rhinestone for some bling, or a pretty pearl/pave button or something. That’s the cool thing about this…you can make different centers to fit your mood.

Come on over and see what else I’m up to at my blog, www.thetealmagnolia.com, on facebook http://twitter.com/#!/aliciamariel

Thanks so much Alicia! I LOVE it! How fun to have something other than a cheesy Old Navy flag tshirt {my usual 4th of July outfit of choice} to show your American pride!

Follow me via Pinterest, Facebook & Twitter!

{Monogrammed Refreshment Bucket}

2012-04-30T02:01:00.000-05:00

Hi again! Are you in shock to be hearing from me so often again? I know, I'm in shock too! Today I'm sharing another Craft Monkey Destash Bash guest post from Pamela from PB&J Stories. You are seriously NOT going to believe what she created with my old junk!

Hi! I’m Pamela from PB&Jstories and I’m so excited to reveal what I ended up making from the Craft Monkey DeStash Bash!!! When Heidi from Craft Monkey did a shout out on Facebook if anyone would be interested in doing a DeStash Bash, I jumped on board as I’ve never done one before!

What is it you ask? Essentially while she is decluttering and cleaning out her crafts supply stash, she sends it off to other bloggers and they know get a challenge of creating something using the materials they receive.

Well, here’s what I received:

And here’s what I made:

I struggled for a quite a while what to make with all the goodies in it. I really wish I had a little sweet girl that I could have created some cute barrettes using the ribbon and clips {hard to see in the picture} and brads. But, I didn’t. And the first thing that jumped out at me were those washers! I knew I wanted to create something fun with those, and with summer approaching I decided to make something useful too.

The final products I used were:
Bag full of washers
Orange paint
Pink sparkle paint
Craft bond glue spots {realized I forgot to include this in the haul picture}

What else I used:
Galvanized Bucket
Zinsser Spray Paint Primer
White Gloss Spray Paint

My Steps:

Using my Zinsser primer {my all time favorite primer for any non-standard base, it works perfectly!} I did two layers on the galvanized bucket allowing lots of drying time in between each layer. I also did a light sanding in between coats to ensure a smooth surface. Once it was primed, I then spray painted it with just a White Gloss Spray Paint and did two coats and let completely dry.

While I had my primer out, I did a layer on all the top side of the washers since they’re metal too and I was going to be painting them, just to be sure the paint adhered well.

Then when all that paint was drying, I came inside and mixed the two paints I received together. The pink sparkly paint {on the right} wasn’t too thick so I knew it wasn’t going to coat well, that’s why I just mixed it with the orange paint so I’d be able to see the sparkles along with the fun bright orange color.

Once they were dry I used the Craft Bond Glue Spots I received and stuck two to three spots on the backside of each washer.

It was the first time I used these little guys, they were pretty remarkable! They had a strong solid hold and have maintained their strength since I did the project.

Then I just stuck each washer to the side of the bucket in the shape of a “S” so it’d be a monogrammed bucket just for our household!

Once they were completely stuck on I let the glue adhere between the washers and the bucket, and then the next day filled with ice and some drinks and had ourselves a brand new fun monogrammed ice bucket!

Thanks Heidi for the goodies! I can’t wait to see what else I can use the rest of the materials for, and thanks for letting me show off my project Thanks for reading and I would love it if you’d follow my blog PBJstories.com!

Right? Is your chin on the floor too? I would have never imagined such a useful and creative project with the stuff I sent her! The creativity is just ridiculous! Pamela can you make a bucket for me next?

Follow me via Pinterest, Facebook & Twitter!

{Easy Art}

2012-04-27T00:01:00.000-05:00

Hi Friends! I recently shared this project over at Mom it Forward, but wanted to share here too in case you missed it.
I'm sharing a fun Royal Design Studios Stencil project. Royal Design Studios was kind enough to send me a beautiful all over stencil and a stencil brush so I could create something fun.

Our master bedroom is pretty much the last room in the house to be decorated. It's really sad looking right now. I'm in the "process" of redesigning it and decorating, so there is a hodge podge of unmatched, half painted furniture. But the REALLY sad part of the room is our bed. We have no headboard, so even my pretty bedding just looks sad and lonely without a headboard. We eventually plan to buy a new bed, but in the mean time, the room was CRYING out for help.

I really wanted to create my own headboard, but life has been super duper crazy busy. So I had had to scale down and settle for a substantial piece of "art" instead. I used an inexpensive piece of plywood, the Endless Circles Lattice Moroccan Royal Design Studio Stencil and some paint to create my masterpiece.

I started by painting by sheet of plywood in a pretty lavender color. Once it was dry it was time to get started with the stenciling.

I chose a soft metallic silvery color to use for the stencil. This is the first time I had ever stenciled something on this large of a scale. I was a bit nervous. But the grids on the stencil make it SUPER easy to line up and position it to get a perfectly stenciled project.

When I lifted my stencil, I had some imperfections, but those are mostly because I'm impatient and don't like to wait for paint to dry.

They were easily touched up! If you take your time and do it properly, you likely won't require any touch up. But you know me, fast and furious! HAHA!

Once it was all dry I hung it over my LARGE empty wall. Don't you just LOVE the impact it makes in the room.

I'm pretty happy with the way it turned out. I still need to frame it out and who knows, maybe one day I'll even continue with my plan to make it a headboard!

Follow me via Pinterest, Facebook & Twitter!

{Crafty Easter Basket}

2012-04-25T02:01:00.000-05:00

Hi Friends! Today, please welcome our very first guest to the Craft Monkey Destash Bash, Carolina from Always expect Moore! I think y'all are going to get a pretty good giggle out of her use of some of the supplies from the package I sent her. And, let me apologize in advance for being a slacker and giving you this great Easter basket project AFTER Easter. But, I know how y'all like to plan ahead, so go on and pin this one for next year!

Hi! I'm Carolina from Always Expect Moore. I was super excited when Heidi from The Craft Monkey put out a call for bloggers interested in participating in her Great DeStash Bash! I love a good challenge, and this sounded like a great one!

Before having a packet sent out to me, I should have told Heidi "I love serious challenges. So, to make this as difficult as possible, please send me as much pink as you can, and half a dozen different kinds of glitter." Because pink is my least favorite color. And I hate glitter. And pink + glitter = a serious challenge for this girl.

Well, I didn't send Heidi that note, but even so she knew how to throw down the gauntlet, and here is what she sent me:

(1) Baker's twine on popsicle sticks. (2) Brads. (3) Pink paint. (4) Gold Glitter paint. (5) Glue Stick. (6) Pink Sparkly Glitter. (7) Decorative Scissors. (8) Flip-Flop Ribbon. (9) Pink Adhesive Ribbon. (10) Pink Martha Stewart Glitter-like stuff. (11) Clear Glitter-like stuff. (12) Several Patches.

With Easter coming up, I decided the best way to incorporate this hod-podge was by decorating eggs and an Easter basket.

The (12) patches really had me stumped, until I decided to (3) paint the heart pink.

And put some of the (11) clear "non glitter" on it.

I got a felt basket in the dollar section of Target, and glammed up the edges with the (4) glitter paint. You can see a pink egg in the background that also got a little sparkle.

I used the painted, non-glittered patch, the (8) flip-flop ribbon, and a painted (12) football patch (with the (6) sparkly pink glitter, and a (2) brad in the center) to embellish the basket.

Just hot-glued them all on there, with the (9) adhesive ribbon wrapped around the basket.

To use the (7) scissors, I cut up some crepe paper as my "Easter Grass."

And, of course the eggs! The yellow egg got dots with the (12) pink Martha Stewart Glitter. The blue got stripes with the (11) clear non-glitter, and the green and orange both were wrapped up in (1) green or orange baker's twine.

If you've been following closely, you'll think I didn't use the (5) glue stick. But I did! It was used to prop up the basket for the final photo shoot!

If you want to see more of my crafty ramblings, how I take on challenges, or just see some fun tutorials, check me out at Always Expect Moore. I also blog about crafts that can be done in 30 minutes or less at Moore Craft Time.

Carolina, that is GREAT! I can't believe you used EVERYTHING in the package! {Loving the clever use of the glue stick - never underestimate the determination of a craft blogger!}

I love Carolina's take on a destashed Easter basket! And Carolina, you took on that pink + glitter "challenge" like a champ!

Follow me via Pinterest, Facebook & Twitter!

{Craft Monkey Destash Bash}

2012-04-23T18:25:00.000-05:00

Hi Friends!

Betcha were beginning to think you'd never hear from me again, huh? Or perhaps, you've already just completely forgotten about me. Well, in either case, I'm Baaaaaaaaaaaaaaack!

Several months ago {like a long, LONG time ago} I cleaned out my craft ~~hoard~~ stash. I had SO much stuff that I decided to see if any of my readers and fellow bloggers wanted any of my craptastic leftovers.

And thus began the Craft Monkey Destash Bash. Ladies from around the country received fun little surprise packages filled with odds and ends. They were asked to create something using as many or as little of those items as they wanted. The rules were pretty simple, just be inspired and create something.

Over the next few weeks you will get to see what those ladies created! Are you excited? I am!

Follow me via Pinterest, Facebook & Twitter!

2012-04-18T09:00:00.000-05:00

Check out Mom it Forward today! I'm sharing a fun new project!

Follow me via Pinterest, Facebook & Twitter!

{Hello? ECHO, Echo, echo...}

2012-03-26T22:09:00.003-05:00

Can ya hear the crickets? Is anybody there? Ya feel like I abandoned you? Sorry, life is crazy, working full time is kinda sorta kicking my bootay. I'm trying to make it back, I promise. Don't give up on me!

Follow me via Pinterest, Facebook & Twitter!

{Personalized Onesies}

2012-03-07T00:01:00.000-06:00

The other day I shared a baby gift I recently gave. Well one of the other items in that basket was a personalized onesie! Using the Plaid Simply Screen Kit I made this cute personalized Owl Onesie.

It's super easy and fun! You just follow the instructions in the kit and within an hour you can have a fun personalized onesie {or bag, shirt, apron, towel, etc.}

I find it easier to get smooth result if I tape down whatever I'm printing on. I use painters tape so it's easy to remove and doesn't leave any residue on the garment.

You can personalize whatever your little heart desires. And since YOU create the stencil your possibilities are literally endless. Here's some previous examples I made using the kit.

Follow me via Pinterest, Facebook & Twitter!

I have not been compensated by Plaid to mention their product in this post, I just really enjoy using it.