Crafty Steals

We've moved!

noreply@blogger.com (Andreana) — Sun, 24 Jul 2011 19:26:00 +0000

Just in case you haven't heard yet, the new CraftySteals.com website also has a great new blog!

All *new* posts are being posted at our new home at

blog.craftysteals.com. (We are currently working to move our archives over to the new site).

See you all over there!

Feature You Friday - Shades of Blue Blog

noreply@blogger.com (Andreana) — Fri, 08 Jul 2011 14:30:00 +0000

Good morning CraftyStealers!

I hope you all had a fantastic holiday weekend, and got the chance to do a little bit of creating. Today's feature is a blog by your fellow CraftyStealer, Serene, called Shades of Blue. Serene is quite the mini-album maker, and if you like minis, you will get to see some gorgous ones if you visit her blog.

A little about Serene...

I’m Serene Blascovich, a full-time working mom and wife from NY. I’ve always been a creative person but until I discovered scrapbooking, I never really found my niche. After being introduced to scrapbooking by my aunt about 4 years ago, I slowly ventured into this wonderful world. Once I’d made my first layout, I was hooked. I love learning new techniques and finding ways to incorporate them into my projects. While I immensely enjoy making layouts, I especially like making mini albums. Upon completion of a mini album, I get such a feeling of accomplishment.

This fulfilling hobby has become my passion which allows me a creative outlet, a way to relieve stress, and at the same time I am creating a legacy for my family. Scrapbooking has also allowed me to meet amazing and talented people who fill my life with joy and inspiration.

Here are a few of Serene's creations.

A baseball mini for her son...

A very cool expandable mini...

And her latest mini...

So colorful and fun! Be sure to go say hi to Serene and check out her Shades of Blue blog.

Have a great weekend!

Would you like to be featured on a future “Feature You Friday”? It’s a great way to show off your skills, share your talents, or promote a business, blog or cause that’s dear to you. All you need to do is send us a photo (or photos) of a project (layout, card, altered item, your imagination is the limit!) to the CraftySteals blog at blog@craftysteals.com. If you are chosen, your work (and links) will be seen by all of our CraftySteals Blog readers and Facebook fans. Submit your photos today – we can’t wait to see what you have come up with!

Sunday School - Mission: Organization (The Paper Problem)

noreply@blogger.com (Andreana) — Sun, 03 Jul 2011 14:30:00 +0000

Okay CraftyStealers, it’s time for another round of Mission: Organization! We’ve already organized our punches , our scraps, and our clear stamps. Today, I’m tackling the big dog. That's right folks, I'm taming the patterned paper. As some of you may remember, when I first introduced myself at the beginning of the year, I admitted that I am a hoarder of patterned paper. Try as I may, I just can’t resist a pretty piece - and working at CraftySteals hasn’t helped matters much. :)

Now, we all know that organizing paper is very personal. What system works for one may not work for another. We all work in different ways, right? What kind of scrapper you are determines the best way to organize your paper stash. What kind of scrapper am I? Well, I tend to be a person that buys paper I love even if I have no project in mind for it. Down the road, I might take a picture and think “Oh, that Bella paper would be perfect for these pictures.” But chances of me figuring out exactly WHERE that paper is, didn’t used to be so good. In fact, many times I have lost my mojo because it took me so darn long to find the right paper (or I spent the whole 30 minutes of spare time I had and have zero left to get any actual craft work done!). I wasn't getting any real paper crafting done and something needed to change. Since I knew I wasn't going to be able to control the patterned paper hoarding beast inside, I could at least figure out how to control how the paper is stored.

Before I embarked on this paper project, I had paper stashed all over my craft room. In drawers, under my desk and even crammed in clear plastic storage boxes in random rooms in my house. See?

The papers were not in a convenient place or stored in a way that made me WANT to look through them. (Not that it ever stopped me from acquiring more!). Since I am trying to make an effort to use up my stash, I knew I needed to make it more accessible. I think I did a pretty darn good job at making paper easy to find while making sure my craft room looks good too. So here’s what my tips are for you:

Purge.

Go through your stash and take out any papers that don’t appeal to you. Now I’m not saying throw them away, but if you really don’t think they go with your style, there’s no point in letting them take up valuable crafty real estate! If you have enough you could try to sell them (Ebay or Craiglist could work), give them to a friend, your children, or see if a local church, school, nursing home or hospital might like them. If all else fails, you could try Freecycle. This freed up a LOT of space for me. I've been collecting paper for about 12 years and as much as I hate waste, I knew I would never use this some of these papers (like this one, that I think is still pretty, but doesn't go with my style anymore)

Sort.

Here’s where it gets personal. You can sort by color, by theme, or by manufacturer (I’m sure there are other ways too, but these are the ones I thought of). I did a little bit of everything. If I had a lot of papers from a specific line, I sorted by line and manufacturer. I sorted some of my papers into themes: Holidays, School, Sports, Travel, Characters (Thomas the Train, Disney). Then whatever was left over was sorted by color (I sorted patterns by choosing the dominant color in the pattern). My cardstock was all sorted by color. Stacks were left in stacks to be dealt with as a group.

Choose your containers carefully AFTER you see what you need and how you will use it! (in other words, don't just buy pretty boxes because they are on sale!)

As you can see in my photos, my storage was mainly horizontal storage. I didn’t like that at all. I find it soooo much easier to thumb through paper that is stored vertically. Making the decision to store all my paper vertically made it easy to get rid of some organizers I already had (that weren't doing their job). I sold my wire paper organizing rack that was under my desk (It was doubly hard to look through paper when I had to crouch under my desk!) and emptied my drawers.

Instead, I invested in some clear Cropper Hopper Paper Storage bins to store on the top of the shelves in my craft room. I labeled each Cropper Hopper (using my trusty label-maker) with the names of each manufacturer and line. Many paper kits came in their own plastic sleeves, so I used those to store the individual lines. I also purchased some black and white envelopes (I just lucked out that I found some on clearance and they match my craft room) to hold more paper lines by manufacturer. Another cheap idea is to buy massive Ziplocs. Again, I labeled each envelope with my label-maker (love that thing!) The Cropper Hopper that stores the themed paper has dividers (each divider is labeled with the contents). I tend to buy cardstock for backgrounds – mostly white, cream and kraft. Other colors, I usually buy piece by piece on a project basis, and now ALL of my cardstock is now stored by color in one Cropper Hopper.

As for my 6X6 pads (I’m beginning to acquire these as I LOVE the versatility of them), they are now stored in a DVD storage box (Thanks IKEA!)

Last thing I had to deal with was paper stacks. Before I started getting sucked into the world of individual papers, I bought a couple of stacks. I do like to use these for cards and mini albums (since there are so many coordinating papers). Luckily, I have a storage shelf built into my desk that is perfect for storing stacks. I labeled the spines so that I can easily find the one I need (and don’t forget to use it since it won’t be hidden in a drawer anymore!

It has made a world of difference even in the short week I’ve had it finished. When I got some pictures developed I was actually able to FIND the papers I had "matched" them to in my head. Miraculous! (Well, miraculous that I finally buckled down and got everything organized).

Hope my tips helped you a bit. Tell us, how do YOU store your papers? Any fun and creative ways you’ve come up with to make shopping your stash any easier?

Happy Crafting!

Feature You Friday - Bling-ing Tees

noreply@blogger.com (Andreana) — Fri, 01 Jul 2011 14:30:00 +0000

Good morning CraftyStealers!

We always love to see CraftySteals in action - especially showing up in the creations of a stay-at-home mom run business! Bling-ing-tees. Shannon makes custom shirts, onesies, diaper cloths, burp cloths and more for anyone who needs a little bling in their lives. (Don't we all?) She got started with some rhinestones from a steal and now can't stop blinging things...

"As a mom of boys I never get to sparkle my kids out; however I do love some bling for myself. I have started making custom designed shirts for girls, mommies, and yes even the boys (minus the bling, of course!). Birthday shirts, holiday shirts, Soccer Mom, Cheer Mom, the possibilities are endless. I can design something for you or you can pick something I have already created."

Here are a few of Shannon's creations:

There are many more fun items to see on her Facebook Page, Bling-ing-tees (and you can also ask Shannon any questions or request a custom item through her page). Go check it out and you just might have to "like" her bling!
Have a great Friday everyone.

Would you like to be featured on a future “Feature You Friday”? It’s a great way to show off your skills, share your talents, or promote a business, blog or cause that’s dear to you. All you need to do is send us a photo (or photos) of a project (layout, card, altered item, your imagination is the limit!) to Andreana at blog@craftysteals.com. If you are chosen, your work (and links) will be seen by all of our CraftySteals Blog readers and Facebook fans. Submit your photos today – we can’t wait to see what you have come up with!

Are you our Birthday Sketch Challenge Winner?

noreply@blogger.com (Andreana) — Tue, 28 Jun 2011 01:28:00 +0000

Good morning CraftyStealers!

I hope you all had a fabulous weekend filled with time for crafting and creating. I was able to squeeze in some time for a little organizing (which I'll tell you more about on Sunday), but sadly didn't get too much time to play. I *did* however, get a chance to check in on your entries for our Birthday Sketch Challenge. You ladies never disappoint! I loved seeing the variety and creativity each of you brought to the sketch.

Our winner, picked by random.org, is.... Annette G

Congratulations! Please send an email to service@craftysteals with your mailing address and we'll send out your goodies.

We had such a blast with this challenge that we are thinking of doing them more often. What do you think? Would you like to see more sketch challenges? Let us know what you think.

A big thanks to all of you crafty ladies who participated in our first ever sketch challenge!

Have a great night!

Would you like to be featured on “Feature You Friday”? It’s a great way to show off your skills, share your talents, or promote a business, blog or cause that’s dear to you. All you need to do is send us a photo (or photos) of a project (layout, card, altered item, your imagination is the limit!) or a link to your blog, Etsy store or Facebook page to me (Andreana) at blog@craftysteals.com.

If you are chosen, your work (and links) will be seen by all of our CraftySteals Blog readers and Facebook fans. Submit your photos today – we can’t wait to see what you have come up with!

Sunday School Tutorial: 3-Ring Binder Mini Album

noreply@blogger.com (Andreana) — Sun, 26 Jun 2011 14:30:00 +0000

Good morning CraftyStealers!

I gave you all a sneak peek of my American Crafts Confetti Birthday mini on Thursday, and as promised, I will show you how I did it. I chose this design because I need a mini-album that I don't think my kids will rip apart. Having two small children, I've always been a little bit wary of putting time and effort into an album that may or may not stand up to little fingers. Then, I came across this tutorial on YouTube, from FollowThePaperTrail, and thought it was the BEST idea! (By the way, she is a mini-album genius, and has many more tutorials and patterns). It's basically a do-it-yourself 3-ring binder. It was SO easy, and I'm crossing my fingers that it will be able to endure my kids thrashing it for years to come.

Here's what you will need:

Plain chipboard cut into three pieces: 2 pieces that are 4.5"x5", 1 piece cut to 4.5"x1.75" (I used a sheet of plain 12"x12" chipboard)
1 - 6"x12"piece of patterned paper
1 - 10.5"x4.75" piece of coordinating patterned paper (you can just use a piece of double sided patterned paper to make both)
3 - 1" binder rings
Heavy duty hole punch with a long reach (I used a WRMK Crop-A-Dile Big Bite)
REALLY good adhesive
4"x4" pieces of double-sided patterned paper (for album pages, so as many as you'd like)

Apply adhesive to one side of each of the 3 pieces of chipboard. Place them adhesive side down onto your 6"x12" piece of patterned paper as shown below, making sure to put the side of your patterned paper with what you would like to be your cover pattern, facing down.

Snip off the corners of excess paper at a diagonal - but don't cut too close to the corner of chipboard.

Now put adhesive along the edges of paper and chipboard. Fold the short edges of the paper onto the chipboard to "wrap" the chipboard. Do the same with the longer edges. Make sure the paper is firmly adhered to the chipboard.

Now you take your coordinating 4.75"x10.5" paper and put adhesive along the outer edges of the "wrong" side. This will be the inside of the cover. Centering this piece, place it on top to cover the remaining naked chipboard.

Now bend the cover at the seams.

Time for the ring part of this three ring binder. The vertical placement of your rings is up to you. I spaced my evenly along the spine. So I put dots at 1", 2.5" and 4" along the lenth of my 5" spine. Then I made another identical set of dots 1" to the right.

Punch out the holes, making sure the hole will be big enough to accomodate the width of your ring.

Wiggle the rings into the holes so that the clasps are on the inside and the joint is along the outside of the spine.

Outside cover is finished! All that is left is to fill it up with pages. I made my pages fairly simple - all but one are 4"x4" sqaures. The last page is 4"x7" and folds out. I did this because I made these minis to showcase pictures I took each month of my child's first year - and wanted to make the 1st birthday page a little bit more special. I added journaling to each month's page, citing a few special things (walking, words, favorites) at that point in their new little life. Here is the finished product!

And of course since it would be unfair to make one for my son and not for my daughter, here is the girlie version. I let my kids pick out the cupcake stickers for the covers. The strips at the top are patterned bar code strips - such a great idea from American Crafts so that nothing goes to waste!

If you missed this AC Confetti Birthday steal, there are a few left and Stephanie has added them to our Past Steals page! I hope you get to steal some time and have fun playing with your papers today. Don't forget to take a few minutes to create something awesome to enter in our Birthday Sketch Challenge. It closes tomorrow evening and our winner will get some fun CraftySteals goodies...

Have a great Sunday!

Happy Birthday to CraftySteals! (We've got party favors and games for you!)

noreply@blogger.com (Andreana) — Thu, 23 Jun 2011 14:30:00 +0000

Good morning CraftyStealers!

I know it's early in the morning, but go get yourself a piece of cake (or ice cream if you've got it!). Today starts our celebration of a wonderful two years of steals here at CraftySteals.com! We have a few special things in store for you, our awesome customers, to thank you for coming back over and over again and for sharing us with all of your friends and fellow crafters.

First of all, Stephanie has put together a FABULOUS American Crafts kit for today's steal - it is filled with colorful double-sided papers and tons of embellishments from this year's Confetti line. Get one for yourself, and you will definitely be inspired by this great collection. PLUS, if you buy today's steal, you'll also get a free gift from CraftySteals while supplies last! (Just a note: I've been playing with this steal for just a few days and have already knocked out four cards and two mini-albums - you will not believe how much is in this deal! )

Today we are also having our first ever CraftySteals.com sketch challenge! All you have to do is loosely base your card or layout on this sketch. Then upload a photo of your challenge entry using the LinkyTools list at the bottom of this post. We'll randomly pick one of the entries to win a suprise package of CraftySteals goodness. Are you up for the challenge? If so, you have from now until Monday at 5:00 p.m. CST to create your own version of this simple sketch (flip it if you need to and make it your own, just keep the general idea!):

Here's a couple of cards I made using the AC Confetti steal:

So to recap what's going on at the CraftySteals 2nd birthday fiesta:

1. Grab your American Crafts Confetti steal today (with your free gift while they last).

2. Go play with your stash and create away with our Birthday Challenge sketch. When you are done, be sure to enter your photo below to win some fun CraftySteals goodies!

3. Check back in tomorrow for another awesome birthday steal. (Because we can't have only one day of partying at CraftySteals.com, can we?)

Thanks to each and every one of you for being such wonderful customers, and for supporting CraftySteals.com. We look forward to many more years of bringing you incredible steals!

Oh, and if you need to do a little organizing, you may want to check out today's StitchSteal. We're partying over there for StitchSteals.com's very FIRST birthday - but I warn you, you may find yourself addicted to stealing over there too...

Come join the Birthday Sketch challenge!

Sunday School - Make yourself a floral frog

noreply@blogger.com (Andreana) — Sun, 19 Jun 2011 14:30:00 +0000

I know, I know, many of you are thinking "What do flowers and frogs have to do with crafting?" Well, I promise, there's a correlation, just keep reading! (And if you already know, kudos to you!).

Every once in a while on a blog, or in a magazine, you will see cards being displayed on a very cute little stand that looks like a metal brush head. Here’s an example from Martha Stewart (she uses them as placecard stands).

Well, I thought they were a fun way to display papercrafts, and upon googling, figured out that they are floral frogs – used to hold flowers in place before foam took over. They come in all shapes, sizes and designs, and the vintage ones I found on the internet are design pieces in their own right. If you live near a flea market, or a great thrift shop, you might be able to find one for yourself. Maybe even a search on Craigslist or Ebay could net you one. I thought it didn’t seem to be too difficult of a task to try to make one myself (since I don’t live near a flea market and never have good luck on Ebay). So I did, and here is how.

What you will need:

Wooden block

Size and shape is up to you, but you do need it to be at least ½” thick. You can get small precut pieces at craft stores or hardware stores. (I would recommend buying real wood, not MDF – you’ll see why)

Scratch paper

Ruler

2” circle punch (optional)

Spray Paint

Nails (about an inch or so longer than your piece of wood)

Drill

Hammer

Sandpaper

First step is to make a grid for your drilling guide. I punched out a 2” inch circle (because it would fit nicely on my piece of wood).

On the circle, I made a dot for the center, then made marks at each half mark across the circle’s diameter. Turning my ruler 90 degrees, I did the same ½” marks again. Then I drew lines across the marks, making a grid that looks like this:

Notice, that I made “X” marks on the places where the lines met on only TWO of the horizontal lines. For the middle row, I made “X” marks in the middle of the places where the lines meet (so at the ¼” mark, then 1/2" inch apart - clear as mud?).

Now it’s ready for drilling! Tape the grid onto the place you’d like to drill.

Using a drill bit that is just a little smaller than the thickness of your nails, drill holes where the “X” marks are on your grid. A tip: if you don’t have a workplace good for drilling, turn a cardboard box upside down and use it for a table (so you won’t drill holes in anything else). A thick piece of foam would also work.

(Note: This step is where I learned that buying a piece of MDF wasn’t the brightest thing to do. It takes forever to drill a hole in MDF! If you noticed, I switched over to a nice piece of wood and my holes were drilled in less than a minute.)

Now, insert your nails from the back. Hammer them into place securely (again on top of your cardboard box if you need it). A couple of my nails are a bit crooked, but it won't matter in the finished product.

Ready for some spray painting! Turn your cardboard box on its side and use it for a shield if you’d like. Cover the nails and wood with paint according to the directions. I had to coat mine twice for an even color.

Now you have your very own stands for your cards, or layouts. You could even make an extra long one to house your embellishments in a creative way. Here's my new one in action...(the cute fish paper is from the Bella Blvd "Boys" Steal - take a look at this great bundle, there are a few left on the past steals page.)

Have a great day, and Happy Crafting!

Feature You Friday - An "A"dorable Party

noreply@blogger.com (Andreana) — Fri, 17 Jun 2011 14:30:00 +0000

Good morning CraftyStealers!

A while back, I wrote a blog post over at StitchSteals about some aprons I had made (using Silhouette heat transfer) for a couple of sweet girls who were turning 5. I thought I was being pretty darn crafty with those aprons. See?

Well, when I got to the party, I was BLOWN AWAY at the craftiness of their mama, Lori, a friend and CraftySteals fan. The decorations and little touches - most of them made by the Silhouette - were fabulous. Stephanie was there as well, and we decided that we HAD to share this party with all of you. So here goes...

Here is the sign on the front door. Now when I walked up, I thought to myself, "How cool! I wonder where she got that."

Then I walked in and saw this...

And these hanging...

And then this on the table with an assortment of coordinated colorful goodies.

I realized then that she had done it all. Front door to backyard. And that wasn't even it! Here are the cupcakes with their Silhouette made toppers,

and here's the "Happy Birthday" banner that she HAND-CUT out of corrugated cardboard with a box cutter and painted, (This is even cuter in person!)

and the party favors with their dimensional sentiments (my kids went crazy for the little bubble gum dispensers that were inside of them).

Thanks, Lori, for letting us showcase all of your hard work! It was a beautiful party (and so much fun!). Yes, it was so much fun that my 6-year-old jumped into the pool with his clothes on!! Right before I had to take him to play in a baseball game. (At least he took off his shoes, right?) I hope you all enjoyed seeing this fabulous party - and maybe take away a little inspiration from your fellow CraftySteals fan.

Enjoy your Friday!

Do you have any party pictures you want to share? Would you like to be featured on a future “Feature You Friday”? It’s a great way to show off your skills, share your talents, or promote a business, blog or cause that’s dear to you. All you need to do is send us a photo (or photos) of a project (layout, card, altered item, your imagination is the limit!) to the blog@craftysteals.com. If you are chosen, your work (and links) will be seen by all of our CraftySteals Blog readers and Facebook fans. Submit your photos today – we can’t wait to see what you have come up with!

Ideas for your Bella Doilies

noreply@blogger.com (Andreana) — Wed, 15 Jun 2011 14:09:00 +0000

Good morning CraftyStealers!

By now, you've hopefully seen today's awesome Crafty Steals, the Unity Stamp kits: Bella Doilies and Webster's Pages. (If not, head over and grab one before they are gone!).

I just dropped in to make sure you see this YouTube video (it's from the UnityTV Channel). It's a fun technique using the Bella Doilies, Distress Inks and embossing powder to come up with this...

Here's the video:

Happy Crafting!

Sunday School - Colored Pencils + Minerals Spirits = Easy Blending!

noreply@blogger.com (Andreana) — Sun, 12 Jun 2011 14:30:00 +0000

Good morning CraftyStealers!

The longer I work here at CraftySteals.com, the more interested I have become in stamping. I don't know whether it has more to do with all of the fun stamps that Stephanie finds, or the fact that so many of you share your incredible stamping talents and make me want to expand my crafty horizons. In any case, I'm now adding stamps and ink to my list of craft supplies to hoard (along with thickers, patterned paper and punches). I am also constantly searching out new (or new to me!) techniques to use with stamps.

This morning, I'm sharing a new technique that I've been playing with to color in stamped images. It uses colored pencils, odorless mineral spirits and a blending tool. Some of you may have heard of this mentioned with Gamsol (which is a brand of odorless mineral spirits). You can use this technique to blend colors together and make the colors looks smooth without visible pencil lines. It's a very cool technique with what I think is a fairly small learning curve, and looks great for not a lot of work!

Here's all you need:

Colored Pencils
A note: You'll need to use a better quality pencil than the Crayola. Many people love to use Prismacolor pencils, I actually used Staedtler pencils because I've had a set for twenty years and figured I would use them up before investing the cash in more pencils.

Odorless Mineral Spirits
As I mentioned, Gamsol is probably the most mentioned brand - it can be found in art supply stores. I don't have one in close proximity, so I picked up the Masterpiece brand at a craft store. I've also heard Mona Lisa makes a brand sold in craft stores, and even Wal-Mart carries a cheap version.

Blending tools

I picked up some blending stumps at the same craft store where I got the odorless mineral spirits. They are basically tightly rolled paper pencils. I've also seen q-tips used as well as other blending tools. You can experiment with what you like the best!

Now that you've got the tools, here's how to use them (well, how *I* use them, at least!).

Stamp your image onto a piece of cardstock (I'm using the very adorable princess stamp from a past steal, Imaginisce's Enchanted).

Color in your image with the colored pencils. On the skirt, I used a darker pink to outline, and a lighter shade on the center. Also, I didn't have to be too careful with the pencil marks, as I knew they would be softened later.

Next up, the blending! Dip your blending stump into the odorless mineral spirits, getting it wet, but not dripping wet. Now you can carefully blend the colors together - moving the tip gently over the colors (on the skirt I went from dark to light).

To clean off the stump, you can just rub it onto a piece of scrap paper. It can also be sharpened like a pencil.

When you have blended to your satisfaction, you're done!

I cut out this sweet little princess as an embellshment for a birthday card. I finished off the card with some punched out circles and scallop-edged circles, adhesive border strips and ribbon - all from the Imaginisce line.

What do you think? I personally love that there is more control than using a watercolor pencil (at least in my experience), and it's a relatively inexpensive method of coloring (I have yet to dive into the world of Copics or similar markers). I hope you'll like it too (if you haven't already tried it). Don't forget to check out today's steal for some new supplies to get you started!

Have a fabulous day, and Happy Crafting!

By the way, I *hope* the comments are working again for the blog. Let us know if you have any issues!

We've got our "Charmed by Heather" winner!

noreply@blogger.com (Andreana) — Sat, 11 Jun 2011 14:55:00 +0000

Good morning!

Thank you all for checking out the Charmed by Heather Facebook page and "heart"ing her etsy store!

The winner of a custom 1-inch photo necklace is...

Kathy Dieterle Am now a fan of Charmed by Heather. Wonderful items she has.

10 hours ago

Congratulations, Kathy! Send me an email at blog@craftysteals.com with your email, and I will have Heather contact you with the details.

Even if you didn't win, you can still get some of Heather's gorgeous jewelry for a steal with the coupon code for 25% off. Just use the code CRAFTYSTEALSFAN at checkout at the Charmed by Heather Etsy store to get the discount!

Thanks again to Heather from Charmed by Heather for being so generous with our fans!

Have a great Saturday, and I hope you all get a little crafting in today!

Feature You Friday - Charmed by Heather (and a GIVEAWAY)

noreply@blogger.com (Andreana) — Fri, 10 Jun 2011 14:30:00 +0000

Good morning, CraftyStealers!

Do you have a picture of your family or children or even pets that you absolutely LOVE and want to do more with than just put it on a layout tucked into an album, or stick them in a frame? Well, today’s feature is for you! We are featuring the Etsy business of a CraftySteals friend, Heather.

Heather is a fellow craft lover and stay-at-home mom who got a creative itch and “discovered a passion for making and designing jewelry.” A few years ago, she started making glass pendants for her family and friends. These early gifts were the springboard for her website, Personally Charmed, and her etsy shop, Charmed by Heather. She makes beautiful custom photo jewelry, as well as gorgeous hand-forged silver and copper jewelry.

The custom photo jewelry is such a fun way to make a gift personal for anyone in your life (I know I’ll be gifting myself as well as my loved ones!). There are cuff links for dad (just a note, that if you want them in time for Father’s Day, you’ll have to order by today!), necklaces, bangles, bracelets, key chains, even custom bobby pins! Please don't forget to check out the hand-forged stuff. There are sterling silver and copper rings and earrings and more that are utterly beautiful and very unique.

Heather has done something very special for all of our CraftySteals fans. She is offering all of you a 25% off coupon code (she told us this discount is the BIGGEST she’s ever given!). Just do your shopping at Charmed by Heather on Etsy, and enter CRAFTYSTEALSFAN at checkout. (This code is good for one month and will expire on July 10^th).

Heather has also very generously offered to give away one of her fabulous custom pieces to one of our lucky CraftyStealers! The winner will get to choose between a custom 1-inch square necklace or a custom 1-inch key chain. Here is an example of the necklace:

I know you want it! All you have to do for your chance to win, is to head over to Charmed by Heather’s Facebook page and "like" it. Then leave us a comment on the CraftySteals Facebook wall, letting us know that you are a new fan of Charmed by Heather. We’ll even give you an additional chance to win if you “heart” her Etsy store, Charmed by Heather. Just leave us another comment on the CraftySteals Facebook wall and let us know you “heart” her store. We’ll take comments for 24 hours and make our winner known tomorrow morning.

Good luck, and have a wonderful Friday!

By the way, I’m sorry we have to have you comment on our Facebook wall for this giveaway. We know you have had issues commenting on our blog (heck, I can’t even comment here!), and we are so sorry for the inconvenience. Believe me, I would love to read your comments! We are making some changes soon that will make our blog more fan friendly! Until we've gotten it fixed, just let us know what you think on Facebook!

Would you like to be featured on a future “Feature You Friday”? It’s a great way to show off your skills, share your talents, or promote a business, blog or cause that’s dear to you. All you need to do is send us a photo (or photos) of a project (layout, card, altered item, your imagination is the limit!) to the CraftySteals blog at blog@craftysteals.com If you are chosen, your work (and links) will be seen by all of our CraftySteals Blog readers and Facebook fans. Submit your photos today – we can’t wait to see what you have come up with!

Pink Paislee 365 Degrees Ideas

noreply@blogger.com (Stephanie) — Mon, 06 Jun 2011 14:03:00 +0000

Hi!

I hope everyone is having a great start to their summer! Andreana is enjoying a girl's weekend so I am hijacking the blog this morning to show off some super cute creations by the Pink Paislee Design team using today's STEAL!

The 365 degree kit is beautiful, I love all the papers and the colors are fantastic for summer!

Have a great Monday!

Stephanie

Sunday School: Busting Summer Boredom

noreply@blogger.com (Andreana) — Sun, 05 Jun 2011 14:30:00 +0000

Good morning CraftyStealers!

My son officially ended his first year of school on Thursday. (sniff!)  These first couple of weeks will be fun, with the novelty of the pool and playing with forgotten toys (in jammies all day, of course!), but I'm fairly certain that soon, the lazy days will become "boring" and so I'm getting prepared for that day now.

Last spring, I heard about a book called Photo Freedom, by scrapbooker Stacy Julian. (If you clicked the link and are wondering why the price is so high, it's an out-of-print book.)  The book is about how to organize your photos in a way that frees you to get some actual scrapping done. In it, I saw an idea for a way to jump-start your creative process. Basically, you have a jar filled with popsicle sticks. On each stick, a category was written (her system has photo filing categories such as places you go, people you love, etc.), and that was where you were supposed to start!

Seeing that jar, made me think about how I could tweak the idea for the upcoming summer with my kiddos. So I made a crude version with a plain glass jar and popsicle sticks with a bit of ribbon tied to them.  My children and I brainstormed ideas that they would love to do: play football outside, play with PlayDoh, finger paint, and build a cushion fort. I also looked through my Disney Family Fun magazines for craft ideas, and used those on popsicle sticks too (making sure to mark the issue and page I'd gotten the idea from).

Turned out to be a fabulous plan. When the kids got bored, they would ask to pick from the jar, and we'd get to work creating or playing. It was great for me too, because it was a way to make sure I stopped and played along with them as well (in between the loads of laundry that never end). After the summer was over, we got busy again and stopped going to the jar for activities. Also at some point over the fall and winter, my daughter took a fancy to playing with (and subsequently losing) the popsicle sticks, choosing to draw on them with crayons, and basically disassembling our "boredom busters."

When I saw today's CraftySteal, the KI Memories Juicy Summer Collection, I knew it was the perfect kit to revive my sad little summer-saving buckets. Today's steal comes packed with some gorgeous shimmer papers, (the photographs don't do the shimmer justice),

bright glitter papers,

fun lace papers,

and card stock letter stickers, epoxy stickers, and ribbons.

When I got my hands on it, I got to work re-making the jars that saved me last summer (in hopes that they will do the same again!).

Here's what you need to make your own summer boredom busters:

Buckets (I found mine in the Target dollar bins)
Patterned paper
Wooden Craft sticks
Ribbons and other embellishments
Adhesive (I used a glue gun for sticking paper to the metal bucket, and a glue runner)

Cut the patterned paper into strips (mine ranged from 1" to 1.5" wide).

Cut a strip to a desired length and fold it in half. Unfold it, put adhesive on it, and wrap it around a craft stick.

Now you can pull out your edge punches, or dust off your decorative edged scissors (yes, I know you still have some!) and fancy up your sticks. I also used stickers and ribbon to dress my sticks up.

Next step is to write down activities on the sticks. (Make sure to get ideas from the kids!)

Now you can decorate your bucket (or buckets in my case - I made one for sunny day activities and one for rainy day activities) and fill it with the finished sticks. (I filled the bottom of my buckets with glass stones to make the sticks stand up a little bit better).

Voila! Summertime boredom solved! If you are looking for ideas about more activities to put on your sticks, check out this cool free printable of "101 bit of summer fun" made by Laura Winslow Photography (that I found via a link from the TomKat Studio):

Now, if you don't have to worry about distracting children this summer, you can make yourself a bucket of projects you'd like to do this summer, or maybe books you want to read, or movies you want to watch. Or even use this idea in its original form and use it to kick your creativity into gear, maybe listing trips or events you'd like to eventually scrap (and then actually having to start scrapping when you draw the stick!).

Then, when you've finished this project, you can use the other papers and embellies from today's steal to scrap your sunny adventures, decorate for a summer pool party, or make a simple birthday card for a friend (like I did)...

Have a fabulous day, and Happy Crafting!

Feature You Friday - EK Success Canvas Frames by Lynn

noreply@blogger.com (Andreana) — Fri, 03 Jun 2011 15:00:00 +0000

Good morning CraftyStealers!

Today, we are featuring your fellow CraftyStealer, Lynn. We've featured her beautiful cards on the blog previously (she is a very talented cardmaker!) This time, she took today's CraftySteal, EK Success canvas frames, and turned plain, white and boring into some fabulous fun graduation gifts.

Lynn used the following supplies: Stamps: Pink Paislee "Daily Junque" and "Soiree", Ippity/Unity "Authentic Man", Marah Johnson "Journey" stamp, Ink: Unity "Noir" and "Burnt Umber", Tim Holtz: Trinket Pins and "Timeworks" Masks (masculine frame), Letter: Pink Paislee, Tattered Angels "Fanciful Stencils" (feminine frame), Glimmer Mist "Coffee Shop" & "Bronze", Prima flower, Acrylic paint in tans and gold tones

Aren't they gorgeous? Thanks for sharing with us Lynn! If you'd like to see more of Lynn's work, go check out her blog, From My Bungalow. It is chock full of stamping, cards and altered project eye candy! Today, especially for her fellow CraftySteals fans, she's posting some cards she has made using her latest Crafty Steal, Unity's Spotted Owl stamps - be sure to head over and take a peek!

Have a great Friday, and Happy Crafting!

Would you like to be featured on a future “Feature You Friday”? It’s a great way to show off your skills, share your talents, or promote a business, blog or cause that’s dear to you. All you need to do is send us a photo (or photos) of a project (layout, card, altered item, your imagination is the limit!) to the CraftySteals blog at blog@craftysteals.com. If you are chosen, your work (and links) will be seen by all of our CraftySteals Blog readers and Facebook fans. Submit your photos today – we can’t wait to see what you have come up with!

Unity lovers, come on in and see if you are a winner!

noreply@blogger.com (Andreana) — Mon, 30 May 2011 15:34:00 +0000

Good morning CraftyStealers!

I hope you are all having a great holiday weekend so far! To make some of your weekends even more fun, I'm here to tell you who our winners are (courtesy of random.org)!

Here are the seven lucky CraftyStealers who each win a stamp set from Unity Stamps.

67. lori said... I am a Unity Fan! Thanks for the give aways and a chance to win the great stamps. I love them. May 28, 2011 10:50 AM

119. NoraAnne said... I am a long time Unity fan :) and I love Crafty Steals! I can't believe I missed the Unity deal today :( Thanks for the chance on the giveaway! May 28, 2011 1:17 PM

34. Tami said... 34. Tami said...LOVE unity! Was already a fan on FB! May 28, 2011 10:20 AM

97. Cynthia B. said... I've liked Unity on FB for a while. They have fabulous stamps! Thanks for the chance to win! May 28, 2011 12:02 PM

37. Jennifer Tibbetts said...I have always been impressed with not only the stamps themselves but also the company. I first experienced Unity at Scrapfest and the employees at their booth were so genuine and you could tell that they took pride in their product as well. May 28, 2011 10:25 AM

177. jennifer mitten said... I have been a Unity fan forever! I love them and Crafty Steals - two companies with amazing customer service! May 29, 2011 10:56 AM

142. Dragonfly73 said...I loved the unity stamps that craftysteals had today, but I missed out on it. I would love another chance at getting one. Thanks for all of the hard work! Ruth Anne Varn May 28, 2011 3:44 PM

Congratulations, ladies! If you see your name listed here, please send an email to service@craftysteals.com with your name and address. We'll make sure your new Unity stamp is on its way

Now, before I let my kids drag me to the pool, and our day is lost in a sea of hot dogs and sunscreen, I'd like to give a huge thank you to our servicemen and veterans for all of the sacrifices they make for our country every day.

I hope you all have a wonderful day.

Sunday School: A tie (card) for Father's Day

noreply@blogger.com (Andreana) — Sun, 29 May 2011 14:30:00 +0000

Good morning CraftyStealers!

On Friday, I told you about Operation Write Home. When I was looking at their Stars and Stamps blog, I came across this tutorial, for a Father's Day necktie card. It's too late to make them for our troops (the deadline has passed), but it's such a cute (and easy!) card, that I thought it would make a fun Sunday School for all of you - and having your Father's Day cards made today, means you can check one more thing off your "to do" lists!

Here's what you need:

Blank Card (mine is an A2)

Square piece of patterned paper (thinner is a little better since you have to fold)

Rectangular piece of cardstock or patterned paper that coordinates with the square piece

Buttons/Brads

Adhesive

Take your square (this is a 4" square),

place it patterned side down, and fold it diagonally, making a nice crease. Now,flatten it out again.

Fold two edges in, so that they form a kite shape, lining up the edges with the crease along the middle.

Now flip over the paper, and fold the bottom (narrow end), so the point is about 1/3 of the way up the crease.

Now fold the point in the opposite direction, so that it almost lines up with the bottom edge.

Fold 2/3 of this piece down again, as shown in the picture below. This is going to be the knot of the necktie.

Turn the paper over, and fold the edges inward, again to make them line up with the crease.(Seeing the necktie, now?)

Flip it over again, and there is your origami necktie, read to go on a card!

To make a "shirt" take your rectangular piece of coordinating cardstock, and cut two slits inward (these slits are about 1 1/2" long).

Fold these cut pieces inward, so the the top two corners meet to make the "collar."

Glue down the ends of the collar, add on the necktie, and any other embellishments you want. You could do buttons, as I have, use a brad for a tie tack, or even make a pocket with some more cardstock.

These were so quick and so simple, that I'm sure older kids could even do one on their own. If you are looking for some fun paper for your Father's Day cards, check out today's steal, the adorable Imaginisce Dino Roar collection - you can use them for boy and summer adventures layouts and cards AND Father's Day cards and projects - they are very versatile!

Don't forget to enter the Unity Giveaway going on right now at the CraftySteals Blog. We'll be closing comments at 9:00 am tomorrow morning. Be sure you have your chance to be one of our 7 winners of some awesome Unity Stamps!

Have a wonderful Sunday and I hope you are all getting in a little crafting time!

If you love Unity, you are going to love CraftySteals today! (GIVEAWAY ALERT!)

noreply@blogger.com (Andreana) — Sat, 28 May 2011 14:30:00 +0000

Good morning CraftyStealers!

It seems like late winter storms and grey skies have been all over the place in the past few weeks, but today's steal, these fabulous Summer stamp kits from Unity are sure to get you in a brighter mood no matter what it looks like outside your window!

Now, to make this holiday weekend even better, Unity has also sent along some goodies for CraftySteals to GIVE AWAY!! They were so generous, that we are able to give away prizes to SEVEN of you!

Here are the kits that are up for grabs:

If you want to get your hands on one of these prizes, here's what you do:

1. Go to Unity's Facebook page and "like" it.

2. Come back to the CraftySteals blog and leave a comment below telling us you are a Unity fan!

Simple as that! We'll close comments on Monday at 9:00 am CST and pick our random random winners shortly after!

Have a great Saturday!

Feature You Friday - Operation Write Home

noreply@blogger.com (Andreana) — Fri, 27 May 2011 14:30:00 +0000

Good morning CraftyStealers!

This weekend, many of us will be firing up our grills, maybe hitting the local swimming hole, or finding some way to celebrate a 3-day weekend. I thought that on this Friday, before Memorial Day, we should feature an organization that might give us a little reminder of why we really have Monday off.

Operation Write Home is an organization that sends handmade cards to servicemen and women - so they can send them home to their loved ones. Donations are sent to volunteer shippers who log, sort and box them up (along with 20-30 letters of support from kids and adults) and send them off to our military men and women.

Want to help? Check out their "Needs" page, to find out what kind of cards the different shippers are looking for. There are also a few guidelines that will help navigate the specifics of making and sending the cards. So next time you're sitting down to make a card, consider making an extra to send along to Operation Write Home. It's tax-deductible, a great way to use up scraps, try out new techniques and most of all, it's such an easy way to give back to those who give so much for us!

Be sure to visit the Operation Write Home Facebook Page or their Blogger's Circle for inspiration, card galleries, and sketch challenges.

Have a great weekend and Happy Crafting!

Would you like to be featured on a future “Feature You Friday”? It’s a great way to show off your skills, share your talents, or promote a business, blog or cause that’s dear to you. All you need to do is send us a photo (or photos) of a project (layout, card, altered item, your imagination is the limit!) at blog@craftysteals.com. If you are chosen, your work (and links) will be seen by all of our CraftySteals Blog readers and Facebook fans. Submit your photos today – we can’t wait to see what you have come up with!

Summer's coming, but the American Crafts Heat Wave is already here!

noreply@blogger.com (Andreana) — Wed, 25 May 2011 14:30:00 +0000

Good morning CraftyStealers!

It's time to gather all of your sunny pictures and summer card ideas, because today's steal, the American Crafts Heat Wave Mega Bundle, is packed with goodies to brighten all of your projects!

This steal includes 48- 12"x12" pieces of cardstock (4 of 12 patterns, 24 have glitter), 16 pieces of flair, 2 packs of dimensional stickers, chipboard stickers, 2 packs of details layered embellishments, Alphabet stickers, journal stickers with glitter, accent stickers with glitter, 24 glittered paper flowers and 24 printed chipboard pieces.

This bundle has bold, bright colors that will work perfectly on your next card,

layout,

or project.

Aren't those luggage tags fun? As always, the AC Design Team has come up with some imaginative ways to use this line. Go steal yours now, and get your summer started!

Happy Crafting!

Sunday School -- Silhouette Heat Transfer Tutorial

noreply@blogger.com (Andreana) — Sun, 22 May 2011 14:30:00 +0000

Hello CraftyStealers!

Last Friday, we featured som Silhouette heat transfer bundles on CraftySteals. I wrote this nice tutorial for all of you as well, but Blogger was down most of that day (and decided to eat my post!). I still want to share it with you, and as your packages of heat transfer roll in, I hope you find it helpful!

A few months ago, my daughter started take gymnastics classes. She was enamored with the leotards and tutus that the other girls were wearing (they usually come from a ballet class). So much so, that she wants to drop gymnastics in favor of tap and ballet classes - so she can get her own leotard and tutu :)

I figured since I was getting her a leotard, I might as well make a special one for my dancing queen. So I picked up a plain pink cotton leotard, pulled out some heat transfer paper, and got to work. Here's the result:

Want to learn how to customize clothes (among other things) in minutes? Here's how....

First, open up a new file in your Silhouette Studio and choose the design you want to do - either from your library or the online store (this is a Princess set from the Silhouette Online Store).

Now, since I didn't want to use all of the images on this particular project, I needed to isolate the one I did want (the crown). To do this, click to highlight the image, and from the drop-down "Object" menu, select "Release Compound Path."

Now each piece can be moved around (or deleted) on its own. Just click to select and press delete! Here, I deleted everything but the two pieces of the crown, and then moved one on top of the other.

Now, since these images are still separate from each other, they need to be merged together (so the cut lines are not still in the middle of the crown). In order to do so, press the shift key while selecting each piece. Now go to the Object menu, choose Modify window and select Weld. (You can also use the buttons on the top right to shortcut to these menus).

Here's where I'll tell you my little Silhouette secret. I like to turn my images in a way that helps me get the most out of every bit of heat transer paper, so I flipped the crown on it's side. Easy to do, just go to the Object menu, select rotate and choose 90 degrees.

Next up, the text. Choose a text box (the "A" button on the left-hand side). In this case, I made two text boxes - one for each word. Again, so I could move them around to fit them on the page the best way to get the most bang for my buck. (This text is "French Script" from dafont.com)

Before rotating, I welded the words, just like I had done with the crown - otherwise with a script print the letters will cut individually.

Something I tend to forget until the end, is the need to MIRROR YOUR IMAGE OR TEXT for heat transfer. Choose the "Object" menue, then "Replicate" to mirror the image.

All that's left it to send it to the Silhouette for cutting! I know Silhouette has recommendations for cutting, but after experimenting, I have decided that the slower I go, the less likely the possibility of a mistake. You can experiment and find what works best for your machine too. For heat transfer, I set at a 5 for speed and a 16 for thickness. Put the heat transfer paper in the Silhouette with the shiny plastic side down, and cut!

Once cut, remove all of the negative heat transfer from the plastic. Remember to take out the insides of "o"s and "a"s!

Place on your fabric - making sure you have it exactly where you want it to live forever.

Take another piece of fabric and lay it on top of the heat transfer. Using an iron that is not too hot for the fabric you are adhering to, press down firmly on the design for 45 seconds.

After the time is up, pull up a corner of the plastic to make sure the heat transfer is adhering to the fabric. If not, don't fret, just put more pressure and more time under the hot iron.

Finished! I also topped mine off with some Silhouette rhinestones - because every little girl needs a little sparkle on her leotard, right? Needless to say, my little one digs her new duds and can't wait for ballet to start in a few weeks.

Tell me, what are you making with your heat transfer? Have you decided yet? If you are looking for more inspiration, the Silhouette blog is a great place to go for ideas and tutorials. And when you do decide what to make, please share your photos with all of us on our Facebook wall - we would LOVE to see what you do!

By the way, if you missed the Silhouette accessories last week, there are still a handful of heat transfer bundles on the CraftySteals Past Steals page - go get yours so you can get creating!

Happy Crafting!

Time to give away some Glitz!!

noreply@blogger.com (Andreana) — Sat, 21 May 2011 23:31:00 +0000

Hello CraftyStealers!

I hope everyone is having a great day! It's been VERY busy at Crafty Steals with all of the Smash book excitement, but we are also super excited that it is finally time to give away these awesome Glitz bundles to our lucky winners!

Thanks to random.org, here are our winners:

150. Beejay said...: Love thia Glitz givaway! Thanks so much for the opportunity to win it!; May 20, 2011 8:13 PM

170. Shellie Anderson said...: Looks like a good prize pack! Thanks! shellie dot anderson at mcfls dot org; May 20, 2011 9:34 PM

119. Linda S. said...: My projects always seem naked unless I have some ribbon on them. I own several sets og Glitz clear stamps, and they are some of my favorites. Linda Slattery ls4atwindstreamotnet; May 20, 2011 2:37 PM
61. Anita said...: I love using ribbon.; May 20, 2011 9:25 AM

Congratulations, ladies! If you are a winner, please send an email to service@craftysteals.com with your name and mailing address and Stephanie will get your Glitz prize out to you!

Thanks to all of you who entered. Keep your eyes on the blog, we may have more chances to win other fabulous goodies coming soon.....

Have a great night, and Happy Crafting!

You want it? You got it! A new vendor for you - and a giveaway too!

noreply@blogger.com (Andreana) — Fri, 20 May 2011 12:44:00 +0000

Good morning CraftyStealers!

Many of you asked for more variety and new vendors last week during our 20,000 fan giveaway. Well, we are never one to disappoint! Today, we are introducing (well, to be technical we are "re"introducing, since it's been a loooong time since we have had them on our site), Glitz Designs.

Glitz Designs was started by three women who decided the crafting world needed something new and innovative! The results are a fabulous array of products for scrapbookers and papercrafters. The company produces lines of papers, stickers, rub-ons, stamps, chipboard albums, and rhinestone strips (they call them "frosting").

In order to make a grand entrance to the CraftySteals family, Glitz has sent along some goodies for us to giveaway to you! Four of you! Here are the 4 awesome bundles that are up for grabs:

To enter, all you need to do is leave a comment below telling us what your "go-to" embellishment is - is there one kind that almost always ends up on your layouts, cards or art? Are you a flower gal? Love your bling? Need ribbon to make your project complete? We want to know!

To leave a comment on the blog, you need to do the following:
1) Scroll down until you see a comment box.
2) Write your comment in the box.
3) Choose a profile from the drop down menu. Don't worry if you don't have a Google account, keep scrolling down the menu. You should be able to comment using Name/URL as shown below (you don't actually need a URL, just your name) or you can also post as Anonymous (just make sure to put your name in the comment box so we know who you are).

4) Click on the "Post Comment" button. You will see a pop-up box asking you to type in a word (to confirm you are a person :)). After you type in the word and press enter, that should do the trick and you should see your [posted comment!

We'll close comments at 5:00 p.m. CST tomorrow and randomly pick our winners shortly after!

Go check out today's Glitz Designs "Divalicious" CraftySteal and then check back tomorrow afternoon to see if YOU are one of the lucky winners!

Oh, and if you need any "Glitz"-y inspiration, go check out their blog - their design team comes up with gorgeous stuff!

Happy crafting!

American Girl Art and Message boards - Get one for your daughter and two for you!

noreply@blogger.com (Andreana) — Tue, 17 May 2011 14:29:00 +0000

Good morning CraftyStealers!

When Stephanie told me about today's steal, I was so excited to check it out. You see, as soon as I heard the word "board", I had a project in mind (you know how it is, there's always something you've been meaning to make - and I have a very long "to-do" list!). I saw the American Girl Art and Message Board, I knew it would be perfect!

Before I share my project, let me tell you a little bit about these boards. Each one is a bulletin board, covered tightly in fabric, and surrounded by a white metal frame. They have two keyholes in the back for easy hanging. The cool thing about these boards, is that the board is held into the frame with screws. So if sometime in the future you'd like to change the fabric with the decor of your room, it will be very easy to do so! Here's a peek at the back:

Another great thing is the size - they are 11x14. So you could get a few and make a wall of boards, or you could hang one where you may not have much space, say above your desk in your craft area for an inspiration board:

The white frame is a great canvas for any kind of embellishment or even paint markers! On the above board, I used some adhesive pearls by Creative Charms to dress up the scallops while still leaving it simple. Below, I used some fun butterfly and flower embellies from Creative Charms to make it look pretty while holding all of the treasures my preschooler comes home with.

Now, back to the project I originally had in mind when I heard about the boards. This project kicks it up a notch from a plain old bulletin board. I took some ribbon that coordinated with my daughter's purple and green big girl room, and made it into a bow, barrette and accessories holder. I hung it low enough for her so she could have fun choosing her own bows (and maybe that will also help her put them away! Wishful thinking, right?).

Another fun thing to do is to fancy up some plain thumbtacks by adding any spare embellishments. On these boards I used pearl and gem adhesives, crocheted butterflies, sequined flowers and large gem brads (with the prongs removed), all from Creative Charms, and glued them to the ends of clear pushpins. Super cute and ridiculously easy (and if you need some more to replenish your stash, check out the different embellishment bundles on the CraftySteals Past Steals page!).

So go grab yourself this CraftySteal, make it your own, and then don't forget to come back and share a picture on our Facebook wall to show us how you are using it!

Happy Crafting!