The Crafty Scientist

Jute Projects: Another Supply-Related Roundup

noreply@blogger.com (Mel the Crafty Scientist) — Sun, 19 May 2013 21:43:00 +0000

I bought a lot of jute for a project recently and then had a decent amount leftover so I was looking through jute projects to get some ideas and put together this fun roundup...

These are some of my favorite jute finds and projects I'm thinking about making (after I finally pick some)...

I'll be linking up to some of my favorite parties...
Mondays: Monday Funday, The DIY ShowOff, Craft-O-Maniac, Making the World Cuter, Skip to My Lou, Mad in Crafts, Sew Can Do, Boogieboard Cottage, Keeping It Simple, Pinkapotamus, Singing Three Little Birds, Colours Dekor, DIY Home Sweet Home, Be Colorful, The Gunny Sack, 3 Mango Seeds, I Should Be Mopping the Floor, Sarahndipities, Sumo's Sweet Stuff, Project Inspire{d}, Between Naps on the Porch, Ninth Street Notions, Sew Chatty, Thrifty Decor Chick, Reinventing the Ordinary (Pet Party), ClaireJustineOXOX, Create With Joy, Alderberry Hill, A Round Tuit, Marvelously Messy, An Oldie But Goodie, Moonlight & Mason Jars

Tuesdays: New Nostalgia, Hope Studios, Tip Junkie, Ladybug Blessings, Funky Polkadot Giraffe, Reasons to Skip the Housework, Coastal Charm, A Bowl Full of Lemons, Not Just a Housewife, A Diamond in the Stuff, homework, Crafty Confessions, Me and My Boys, The Kurtz Corner, Sugar Bee, Sweet Little Gals, Chef in Training, Today's Creative Blog, Home Stories A to Z, DIY by Design, Tales of a Trophy Wife, Our Delightful Home, homemade ginger, Mom 4 Real, If It's Not Baroque, Time to Sparkle

Wednesdays: Creations By Kara, Seven Thirty Three, Sugar and Dots, Someday Crafts, Night Owl Crafting, Lil Luna, Sew Much Ado, We Are That Family, A Little Tipsy, My Girlish Whims, Polka Dots on Parade, Ginger Snap Crafts, Frugally Sustainable, Handy Man Crafty Woman, Clean & Scentsible, Pincushion Creations, Primp Junktion, Organize and Decorate Everything, Savvy Southern Style, JAQS Studio, The DIY Dreamer, Free Pretty Things

Thursdays: Somewhat Simple, House of Hepworths, The Shabby Creek Cottage, A Glimpse Inside, Fireflies and Jellybeans, Momnivore's Dilemma, Yesterday on Thursday & Katie's Nesting Spot, Beyond the Picket Fence, Rhinestone Beagle, Suzy's Artsy-Craftsy Sitcom, Christina's Adventures, Seven Alive, The 36th Avenue, Southern Lovely, The Crafty Blog Stalker, Bear Rabbit Bear, Crafty Scrappy Happy, 52 Mantels, live. laugh. rowe., Artsy Corner, Delightful Order, The Train to Crazy, Mine for the Making, The Taylor House, The Frugal Girls, No Minimalist Here, Keep Calm & Link Up

Fridays: Fingerprints on the Fridge, The Shabby Nest, Tatertots & Jello, Simply Sweet Home, 30 Handmade Days, WhipperBerry, Lovely Crafty Home, Catch As Catch Can, Nap Time Crafters, 504 Main, My Simple Home Life, Simply Designing, The Picket Fence, Chic on a Shoestring, The Hungry Hypo, French Country Cottage, Ladybird Lane, The Answer is Chocolate, Truly Lovely, Little Becky Homecky, Delicate Construction, Serenity Now, See Vanessa Craft, Happy Hour Projects, One Artsy Mama, So You Think You're Crafty, Finding Fabulous For Less, It's a Hodgepodge Life, Tidy Mom, While He Was Napping, Craftionary, Five Days... Five Ways, Diana Rambles

Saturdays: Tutus & Tea Parties & Here's to Handy Andy, Funky Junk Interiors, Young & Crafty, Be Different Act Normal, To Sew With Love, Six Sisters' Stuff, Gingerbread, Homemaker in Heels, A Vision to Remember, Positively Splendid, Too Much Time, Crafty Moms Share, Polkadot Pretties, Candace Creations, Serenity You, Shaken Together, Classy Clutter, The Weekend Creative

Sundays: I Heart Nap Time, Under the Table and Dreaming, LambAround, Flamingo Toes, Petite Hermine, Homemaker on a Dime, The Foley Fam, Nifty Thrifty Things, The Tablescaper, My 1929 Charmer, It's Overflowing, Circle of Faith

Ramsign Winner!

noreply@blogger.com (Mel the Crafty Scientist) — Mon, 13 May 2013 01:43:00 +0000

Lucky commenter #13 is the winner of the Ramsign giveaway!

And that lucky commenter is...

Congrats Suzanne! Check your email and email me back within 24 hours to claim your prize!

A big thank you to all of you that entered the contest!

Confetti Shot Glasses

noreply@blogger.com (Mel the Crafty Scientist) — Tue, 07 May 2013 01:08:00 +0000

I saw these awesome Anthro-knockoff glasses with the painted confetti-style dots from It All Started With Paint and Radical Possibility and I wanted to do something with paint dots. When I saw these plain shot glasses at Target's dollar spot, it was ON. Here's what I did...

Supplies

Plain shot glasses (from the Target dollar spot)
Martha Stewart paints
Bamboo skewers (with one flat end)

Instructions

I used the flat end of the bamboo skewers and dipped them into the Martha Stewart paints. I made a lot of dots on the bottom and then just spaced them out as I got closer to the edge/lid.

I didn't have too many different colors of the Martha Stewart paint (which is good for glass, which is why I used it) and luckily, they were the darker colors so I just added some white paint to one color, then added some dots with that lighter color and repeated the process...

Then, just let them dry and voila! Anthro-knockoff-style shot glasses! I didn't bake them and so far, they've held up just fine to soap and hot water.

I'll be linking up to some of my favorite parties!

Mondays: Monday Funday, The DIY ShowOff, Craft-O-Maniac, Making the World Cuter, Skip to My Lou, Mad in Crafts, Sew Can Do, Boogieboard Cottage, Keeping It Simple, Pinkapotamus, Singing Three Little Birds, Colours Dekor, DIY Home Sweet Home, Be Colorful, The Gunny Sack, 3 Mango Seeds, I Should Be Mopping the Floor, Sarahndipities, Sumo's Sweet Stuff, Project Inspire{d}, Between Naps on the Porch, Ninth Street Notions, Sew Chatty, Thrifty Decor Chick, Reinventing the Ordinary (Pet Party), ClaireJustineOXOX, Create With Joy, Alderberry Hill, A Round Tuit, Marvelously Messy, An Oldie But Goodie

Tuesdays: New Nostalgia, Hope Studios, Tip Junkie, Ladybug Blessings, Funky Polkadot Giraffe, Reasons to Skip the Housework, Coastal Charm, A Bowl Full of Lemons, Not Just a Housewife, A Diamond in the Stuff, homework, Crafty Confessions, Me and My Boys, The Kurtz Corner, Sugar Bee, Sweet Little Gals, Chef in Training, Today's Creative Blog, Home Stories A to Z, DIY by Design, Tales of a Trophy Wife, Our Delightful Home, homemade ginger, Mom 4 Real, If It's Not Baroque, Time to Sparkle

Wednesdays: Creations By Kara, Seven Thirty Three, Sugar and Dots, Someday Crafts, Night Owl Crafting, Lil Luna, Sew Much Ado, We Are That Family, A Little Tipsy, My Girlish Whims, Polka Dots on Parade, Ginger Snap Crafts, Frugally Sustainable, Handy Man Crafty Woman, Clean & Scentsible, Pincushion Creations, Primp Junktion, Organize and Decorate Everything, Savvy Southern Style, JAQS Studio, The DIY Dreamer, Free Pretty Things

Thursdays: Somewhat Simple, House of Hepworths, The Shabby Creek Cottage, A Glimpse Inside, Fireflies and Jellybeans, Momnivore's Dilemma, Yesterday on Thursday & Katie's Nesting Spot, Beyond the Picket Fence, Rhinestone Beagle, Suzy's Artsy-Craftsy Sitcom, Christina's Adventures, Seven Alive, The 36th Avenue, Southern Lovely, The Crafty Blog Stalker, Bear Rabbit Bear, Crafty Scrappy Happy, 52 Mantels, live. laugh. rowe., Artsy Corner, Delightful Order, The Train to Crazy, Mine for the Making, The Taylor House, The Frugal Girls, No Minimalist Here, Keep Calm & Link Up

Fridays: Fingerprints on the Fridge, The Shabby Nest, Tatertots & Jello, Simply Sweet Home, 30 Handmade Days, WhipperBerry, Lovely Crafty Home, Catch As Catch Can, Nap Time Crafters, 504 Main, My Simple Home Life, Simply Designing, The Picket Fence, Chic on a Shoestring, The Hungry Hypo, French Country Cottage, Ladybird Lane, The Answer is Chocolate, Truly Lovely, Little Becky Homecky, Delicate Construction, Serenity Now, See Vanessa Craft, Happy Hour Projects, One Artsy Mama, So You Think You're Crafty, Finding Fabulous For Less, It's a Hodgepodge Life, Tidy Mom, While He Was Napping, Craftionary, Five Days... Five Ways, Diana Rambles

Saturdays: Tutus & Tea Parties & Here's to Handy Andy, Funky Junk Interiors, Young & Crafty, Be Different Act Normal, To Sew With Love, Six Sisters' Stuff, Gingerbread, Homemaker in Heels, A Vision to Remember, Positively Splendid, Too Much Time, Crafty Moms Share, Polkadot Pretties, Candace Creations, Serenity You, Shaken Together, Classy Clutter, The Weekend Creative

Sundays: I Heart Nap Time, Under the Table and Dreaming, LambAround, Flamingo Toes, Petite Hermine, Homemaker on a Dime, The Foley Fam, Nifty Thrifty Things, The Tablescaper, My 1929 Charmer, It's Overflowing, Circle of Faith

Ramsign Giveaway!

noreply@blogger.com (Mel the Crafty Scientist) — Wed, 01 May 2013 00:51:00 +0000

I know it's been awhile since I did a giveaway, but I just wasn't up to the challenge of dealing with it and I hadn't really seen anything that I thought "hey, I'd love to win one!" which is basically my standard for agreeing to do something like this... but then I got an email from a wonderful representative at Ramsign and I knew I was doing this! So here's the deal...

The Prize: Any House Number Sign, 1-5 Digits (not name or address plaques) in any of their 5 design styles (the 4 digit ones go for $99 so this is a pretty sweet prize, if I do say so myself)

Here are a few gorgeous examples of their signs...

Who is Eligible? Everyone! No restrictions by geographic region or anything!

How Can You Enter? First, be a follower (using Google Friend Connect) of my blog and then leave me a comment on this post telling me you did that. (If you already follow, thank you and just tell me you already follow!) If you want more chances, just follow me on Facebook (here's the page) and leave another comment telling me you did that (just now or a million years ago)! You can leave two comments for two chances to enter! I'll use random.org to pick a winner and email you so make sure you leave your email address with your comments so I can tell you if you won! (Do all this BEFORE 11:59pm on Friday May 10th. I'll pick the winner that Saturday May 11th!

Got it? Good. Now you can check out their signs and buy one for yourself here on their website. Or you can check them out on Facebook or Twitter!

Thank you again to Ramsign for sponsoring this giveaway!

Plant Labels

noreply@blogger.com (Mel the Crafty Scientist) — Sat, 27 Apr 2013 15:35:00 +0000

I've made a number of different versions of plant markers and plant flags over the past couple of years. The boy does a lot of gardening. And we have a LOT of plants. So we usually end up running out of one kind of plant marker or materials for making that and that's inspired some creativity. The bottom line is that I realize I should share a few of the plant labels I've made and I'm kicking off with what I think might be my favorite because it's really the most functional and long lasting, yet easy to read and didn't take a decade to make...

Supplies

Plastic plant labels
Vinyl + Silhouette
Vinyl weeding tool
Vinyl transfer paper

Instructions

Basically, you get your list of labels to make together and then design the file in your cutting software (for me, it was the Silhouette Studio) and I basically tried to put as many labels on a page as I could.

I'm also super-excited to tell you that I was watching some TV on my Kindle while making this project... and, I kid you not, through Amazon Prime, I got the first season of "Hey Dude" streaming for FREE. EPIC WIN.

LOVE. This. Show. Freakout over now... back to the plant labels! You want to "weed" the extra vinyl off, per standard Silhouette/vinyl transfer process.

After you get rid of the extra vinyl, you cut a piece of the vinyl transfer tape, put it down on top of the vinyl letters, and use a smoothing tool to make sure the transfer tape stick to the vinyl.

Then, you peel up the transfer tape...

And you place it down on the blank plant label and use the smoothing tool to rub the vinyl letters on there and then peel back the transfer paper and voila!

One label made!

Just repeat the process...

Plant markers that hold up to the elements, are easy to read, and cost very little for each one! And they don't look too bad in the plants themselves, if you ask me...

What do you think? If you have any great ideas for plant labels or markers, I'd love to hear/see them - I'm constantly on the lookout for more ideas!

I'll be linking up to some of my favorite linky parties...

Mondays: Monday Funday, The DIY ShowOff, Craft-O-Maniac, Making the World Cuter, Skip to My Lou, Mad in Crafts, Sew Can Do, Boogieboard Cottage, Keeping It Simple, Pinkapotamus, Singing Three Little Birds, Colours Dekor, DIY Home Sweet Home, Be Colorful, The Gunny Sack, 3 Mango Seeds, I Should Be Mopping the Floor, Sarahndipities, Sumo's Sweet Stuff, Project Inspire{d}, Between Naps on the Porch, Ninth Street Notions, Sew Chatty, Thrifty Decor Chick, Reinventing the Ordinary (Pet Party), ClaireJustineOXOX, Create With Joy, Alderberry Hill, A Round Tuit, Marvelously Messy, An Oldie But Goodie

Tuesdays: New Nostalgia, Hope Studios, Tip Junkie, Ladybug Blessings, Funky Polkadot Giraffe, Reasons to Skip the Housework, Coastal Charm, A Bowl Full of Lemons, Not Just a Housewife, A Diamond in the Stuff, homework, Crafty Confessions, Me and My Boys, The Kurtz Corner, Sugar Bee, Sweet Little Gals, Chef in Training, Today's Creative Blog, Home Stories A to Z, DIY by Design, Tales of a Trophy Wife, Our Delightful Home, homemade ginger, Mom 4 Real, If It's Not Baroque, Time to Sparkle

Wednesdays: Creations By Kara, Seven Thirty Three, Sugar and Dots, Someday Crafts, Night Owl Crafting, Lil Luna, Sew Much Ado, We Are That Family, A Little Tipsy, My Girlish Whims, Polka Dots on Parade, Ginger Snap Crafts, Frugally Sustainable, Handy Man Crafty Woman, Clean & Scentsible, Pincushion Creations, Primp Junktion, Organize and Decorate Everything, Savvy Southern Style, JAQS Studio, The DIY Dreamer, Free Pretty Things

Thursdays: Somewhat Simple, House of Hepworths, The Shabby Creek Cottage, A Glimpse Inside, Fireflies and Jellybeans, Momnivore's Dilemma, Yesterday on Thursday & Katie's Nesting Spot, Beyond the Picket Fence, Rhinestone Beagle, Suzy's Artsy-Craftsy Sitcom, Christina's Adventures, Seven Alive, The 36th Avenue, Southern Lovely, The Crafty Blog Stalker, Bear Rabbit Bear, Crafty Scrappy Happy, 52 Mantels, live. laugh. rowe., Artsy Corner, Delightful Order, The Train to Crazy, Mine for the Making, The Taylor House, The Frugal Girls, No Minimalist Here, Keep Calm & Link Up

Fridays: Fingerprints on the Fridge, The Shabby Nest, Tatertots & Jello, Simply Sweet Home, 30 Handmade Days, WhipperBerry, Lovely Crafty Home, Catch As Catch Can, Nap Time Crafters, 504 Main, My Simple Home Life, Simply Designing, The Picket Fence, Chic on a Shoestring, The Hungry Hypo, French Country Cottage, Ladybird Lane, The Answer is Chocolate, Truly Lovely, Little Becky Homecky, Delicate Construction, Serenity Now, See Vanessa Craft, Happy Hour Projects, One Artsy Mama, So You Think You're Crafty, Finding Fabulous For Less, It's a Hodgepodge Life, Tidy Mom, While He Was Napping, Craftionary, Five Days... Five Ways, Diana Rambles

Saturdays: Tutus & Tea Parties & Here's to Handy Andy, Funky Junk Interiors, Young & Crafty, Be Different Act Normal, To Sew With Love, Six Sisters' Stuff, Gingerbread, Homemaker in Heels, A Vision to Remember, Positively Splendid, Too Much Time, Crafty Moms Share, Polkadot Pretties, Candace Creations, Serenity You, Shaken Together, Classy Clutter, The Weekend Creative

Sundays: I Heart Nap Time, Under the Table and Dreaming, LambAround, Flamingo Toes, Petite Hermine, Homemaker on a Dime, The Foley Fam, Nifty Thrifty Things, The Tablescaper, My 1929 Charmer, It's Overflowing, Circle of Faith

Your Science Experiments: Jodi's Scarf Organizer

noreply@blogger.com (Mel the Crafty Scientist) — Thu, 25 Apr 2013 21:06:00 +0000

I've been INSANELY flattered recently because apparently some of the stuff I've made has inspired some of you guys to make your own versions... seriously, seeing comments or emails like that makes me kind of giddy and excited to check out what you made! So even though I've slacked a bit on this, I'm determined to do better and show off some of your science experiments - projects made using tutorials or ideas from here on the blog.

Today I'm excited to share Jodi of Oh.Scrap.That.'s Scarf Organizer!

Awesome, right? I was pretty excited...

In case you don't follow this blog and remember every post quite like I do (no judgment), Jodi made this after I posted this tutorial for a Scarf Organizer made from twine and shower curtain rings. This was my version (without anywhere near as many awesome scarves as Jodi has)!

A BIG thank you to Jodi for sharing this project with me AND letting me share it with all of you guys! You can visit Jodi and her projects at her blog, Oh.Scrap.That!

Purple & Green Wreath

noreply@blogger.com (Mel the Crafty Scientist) — Mon, 22 Apr 2013 01:29:00 +0000

I decided our front door needed a little "spring" fun and when I saw this purple and green yarn at A.C. Moore (I think?), I thought this was just perfect for a new wreath...

Supplies

Wreath form
Yarn
Felt
Scissors
Ribbon
Glue

Basic Instructions (or A Little About How I Made It)

It just took a little yarn to wrap the wreath form with and then I added a green felt bow using the same bow technique I provided a tutorial for here (for making pretty bows for the Lemon Scrub gifts; this is what you need the felt and glue for).

...and then I looped some of this green glitter ribbon through the wreath, made a little bow of that, and it was ready to hang. (Although that glitter ribbon is not as awesome as I thought... it shedded and got everywhere, ugh! And I was seriously excited about it... )

And the final product, in all its glory on our front door!

The irony of the fact that we just got a Frost Advisory while I write up this post on a springtime wreath for us is not lost on me.... this weather is beyond insane!

Enough of that un-fun stuff, I'll be linking up to some of my favorite parties...

Blog Design Resources

noreply@blogger.com (Mel the Crafty Scientist) — Mon, 15 Apr 2013 23:49:00 +0000

In the course of this re-design/update, I did discover a few great new resources that I thought I'd pass along to all of you...

First, I actually downloaded some great freebies and spent almost nothing to get tons of free clipart and digital freebies for the blog from Two Peas in a Bucket (from the digital gallery section/tab). They had a sale and everything was 60% off, I believe... I'm not being paid to say this and this is not a sponsored post, I just really liked what I got from them! On that note, some other great sources of digital scrapbooking downloads, fonts, etc. include:

MissTiina
Just Jaimee
6 guys & a gal (Jen Martakis, one of the designers for Two Peas in a Bucket)

Second, I found some great sites for tutorials, including these:

Something Swanky's DIY Design (the main page doesn't list all the tutorials, but the drop down part of the menu for this tab has all the tutorials listed) - so many great tutorials, including how to add multiple links to one picture and creating a custom nav bar
Sew.Craft.Create. 's Blog Design 101 Series - more wonderful tutorials including designing a custom nav bar and moving gadgets around on the page
the blog guidebook - the whole blog has lots of helpful hints and tips, including creating a gadget to display your Instagram pics and a "help desk"

And I found specific tutorials I liked:

Blogger Hints-and-Tips: Hiding the Space... - how to remove the space where your Blogger nav bar used to be (after you remove it)
Souther Speakers: Remove Space Between Gadgets - only for the sidebar, but you can go from there...
Code It Pretty: Appendix for "Pin It" Button - help and ideas for installing the "Pin It" button on images on your blog

I also found some pretty sites for color inspiration and palettes...

The Perfect Palette blog - weddings and parties designed around particular color themes
Design Seeds - palettes created from a photo
Colorspire - pick a color and the site will generate similar/matching colors that coordinate well
Color Palette Generator - you can upload a photo or link to a photo/website and this tool will generate two color palettes based on what you put in

I also have two great pinboards for blog design. First, there's the one I started awhile ago that contains links to blog and photo design resources and tools. And now, there's a second one ("blog design inspiration") with screenshots of blogs that have design I just love and found inspiring...

Enjoy! I'll be linking up to some of my favorite parties...

The National Cherry Blossom Festival

noreply@blogger.com (Mel the Crafty Scientist) — Fri, 12 Apr 2013 20:31:00 +0000

This is the first spring the boy and I have lived in the DC area and as many of you know, one of the big things DC is known for or big events here is the National Cherry Blossom Festival (learn more about it here on the festival's official website). So we went to check it out earlier this week and it was crazy hot (92 F) and ridiculously crowded, but it was gorgeous and I had a very tough time narrowing down the pictures for this post... and I didn't even take very many photos at the time because it was so crowded and I just wanted to enjoy the experience and not try to protect the camera from people bumping into us. Anyways, these are some of the photos from the adventure...

I love that you can see the Cherry Blossoms all around the Basin...

The Jefferson Memorial

Because it's DC, you can see the helicopter and plane flying right above the Tidal Basin here...

Some day we'll have to go back and go paddle boat around...

And some blossoms up close and personal...

You can sort of see how unbelievably crowded it is here - just realize that we found this spot/I cropped as many people out of this as possible and it was more crowded for the giant distance around the Tidal Basin AND this was really only 4pm on a weekday...

If you follow me on Instagram (@craftyscientist), you saw these four pictures from the adventure that I shared earlier this week...

If you're thinking about going, I recommend comfortable shoes and the snow cones! : )

I'll be linking up to some of my favorite parties...

Mondays: Monday Funday, The DIY ShowOff, Craft-O-Maniac, Making the World Cuter, Skip to My Lou, Mad in Crafts, Sew Can Do, Boogieboard Cottage, Keeping It Simple, Pinkapotamus, Singing Three Little Birds, Colours Dekor, DIY Home Sweet Home, Be Colorful, The Gunny Sack, 3 Mango Seeds, I Should Be Mopping the Floor, Sarahndipities, Sumo's Sweet Stuff, Project Inspire{d}, Between Naps on the Porch, Ninth Street Notions, Sew Chatty, Thrifty Decor Chick, Reinventing the Ordinary (Pet Party), ClaireJustineOXOX, Create With Joy, Alderberry Hill, A Round Tuit, Marvelously Messy, An Oldie But Goodie

Tuesdays: New Nostalgia, Hope Studios, Tip Junkie, Ladybug Blessings, Funky Polkadot Giraffe, Reasons to Skip the Housework, Coastal Charm, A Bowl Full of Lemons, Not Just a Housewife, A Diamond in the Stuff, homework, Crafty Confessions, Me and My Boys, The Kurtz Corner, Sugar Bee, Sweet Little Gals, Chef in Training, Today's Creative Blog, Home Stories A to Z, DIY by Design, Tales of a Trophy Wife, Our Delightful Home, homemade ginger, Mom 4 Real, If It's Not Baroque, Time to Sparkle

Wednesdays: Creations By Kara, Seven Thirty Three, Sugar and Dots, Someday Crafts, Night Owl Crafting, Lil Luna, Sew Much Ado, We Are That Family, A Little Tipsy, My Girlish Whims, Polka Dots on Parade, Ginger Snap Crafts, Frugally Sustainable, Handy Man Crafty Woman, Clean & Scentsible, Pincushion Creations, Primp Junktion, Organize and Decorate Everything, Savvy Southern Style, JAQS Studio, The DIY Dreamer, Free Pretty Things

Thursdays: Somewhat Simple, House of Hepworths, The Shabby Creek Cottage, A Glimpse Inside, Fireflies and Jellybeans, Momnivore's Dilemma, Yesterday on Thursday & Katie's Nesting Spot, Beyond the Picket Fence, Rhinestone Beagle, Suzy's Artsy-Craftsy Sitcom, Christina's Adventures, Seven Alive, The 36th Avenue, Southern Lovely, The Crafty Blog Stalker, Bear Rabbit Bear, Crafty Scrappy Happy, 52 Mantels, live. laugh. rowe., Artsy Corner, Delightful Order, The Train to Crazy, Mine for the Making, The Taylor House, The Frugal Girls, No Minimalist Here, Keep Calm & Link Up

Fridays: Fingerprints on the Fridge, The Shabby Nest, Tatertots & Jello, Simply Sweet Home, 30 Handmade Days, WhipperBerry, Lovely Crafty Home, Catch As Catch Can, Nap Time Crafters, 504 Main, My Simple Home Life, Simply Designing, The Picket Fence, Chic on a Shoestring, The Hungry Hypo, French Country Cottage, Ladybird Lane, The Answer is Chocolate, Truly Lovely, Little Becky Homecky, Delicate Construction, Serenity Now, See Vanessa Craft, Happy Hour Projects, One Artsy Mama, So You Think You're Crafty, Finding Fabulous For Less, It's a Hodgepodge Life, Tidy Mom, While He Was Napping, Craftionary, Five Days... Five Ways, Diana Rambles

Saturdays: Tutus & Tea Parties & Here's to Handy Andy, Funky Junk Interiors, Young & Crafty, Be Different Act Normal, To Sew With Love, Six Sisters' Stuff, Gingerbread, Homemaker in Heels, A Vision to Remember, Positively Splendid, Too Much Time, Crafty Moms Share, Polkadot Pretties, Candace Creations, Serenity You, Shaken Together, Classy Clutter, The Weekend Creative

Sundays: I Heart Nap Time, Under the Table and Dreaming, LambAround, Flamingo Toes, Petite Hermine, Homemaker on a Dime, The Foley Fam, Nifty Thrifty Things, The Tablescaper, My 1929 Charmer, It's Overflowing, Circle of Faith

Tour of the New Blog Design

noreply@blogger.com (Mel the Crafty Scientist) — Sat, 06 Apr 2013 20:53:00 +0000

I'm finally mostly done re-arranging, editing, and updating the blog's design. So, if you're reading this in a reader, I'd love for you to click on over to the blog itself and check it out and tell me what you think!

I also re-arranged some things - most notably, the separate pages for tutorials and the drop down menu bar where you can find everything and navigate directly to a post, if you know what you want. Hopefully it's MUCH easier to find what you want now. You'll always be able to take the tour by clicking on the "Welcome" message above the posts, highlighted here:

But you can also hold your mouse over the "About" part of the menu/navigation bar and you'll see a drop down bar that will let you go to pages about me or the tour of the blog.

Then, if you move your mouse over the other tabs, you'll see that there are "Experiments" which are the crafty tutorials and projects I've made. If you click on any of those labels, you'll see images for all the projects that fit that label. The labels are the standard ones you've seen on the blog, including Free Printables, Holiday Fun, Home Decor, Organizing, Other Tutorials, Paint Chips, Wall Art, Wearables, and Wreaths.

Head over to the "Past Research" tab which has details for other sections or series I've had on the blog including Blogging Tips, Roundups, Pretty Palettes, Supply-Related Roundups, Q&A, Recipes, and My Adventures {Photographed}. The next tabe is "Collaboration" and has the official Crafty Scientist Directory, my Sources page (some of my favorite blogs), Peers (fab bloggers who display CS buttons), Conferences (link parties), Featured, Your Experiments (projects based on tutorials here), Guest Posts, Guest Posts: Crafty Interviews, and Me Elsewhere (my guest posts on other blogs). Lastly, you'll see "Miscellaneous." The drop down menu has links to Badges (or blog buttons), PR & Advertising, and Future Research (my crafty to do list). Oh, and if you click on the big header, you'll go to the home page of the blog! (P.S. Sorry the font is different in the pictures... I keep messing with the font on the header... hopefully it'll stay this way for a little while.)

I also made a fabulous new button for the blog that you can grab...

So please take a look around, check out the options and navigation and let me know what you think! (And maybe even grab a shiny new button!)

Also, I'll be posting again soon with some fabulous resources for clip art and tutorials that I found in this whole process and think you all might want to check out!

I'll be linking up to some of my favorite parties...

Mondays: Monday Funday, The DIY ShowOff, Craft-O-Maniac, Making the World Cuter, Skip to My Lou, Mad in Crafts, Sew Can Do, Boogieboard Cottage, Keeping It Simple, Pinkapotamus, Singing Three Little Birds, Colours Dekor, DIY Home Sweet Home, Be Colorful, The Gunny Sack, 3 Mango Seeds, I Should Be Mopping the Floor, Sarahndipities, Sumo's Sweet Stuff, Project Inspire{d}, Between Naps on the Porch, Ninth Street Notions, Sew Chatty, Thrifty Decor Chick, Reinventing the Ordinary (Pet Party), ClaireJustineOXOX, Create With Joy, Alderberry Hill, A Round Tuit, Marvelously Messy, An Oldie But Goodie

Tuesdays: New Nostalgia, Hope Studios, Tip Junkie, Ladybug Blessings, Funky Polkadot Giraffe, Reasons to Skip the Housework, Coastal Charm, A Bowl Full of Lemons, Not Just a Housewife, A Diamond in the Stuff, homework, Crafty Confessions, Me and My Boys, The Kurtz Corner, Sugar Bee, Sweet Little Gals, Chef in Training, Today's Creative Blog, Home Stories A to Z, DIY by Design, Tales of a Trophy Wife, Our Delightful Home, homemade ginger, Mom 4 Real, If It's Not Baroque, Time to Sparkle

Wednesdays: Creations By Kara, Seven Thirty Three, Sugar and Dots, Someday Crafts, Night Owl Crafting, Lil Luna, Sew Much Ado, We Are That Family, A Little Tipsy, My Girlish Whims, Polka Dots on Parade, Ginger Snap Crafts, Frugally Sustainable, Handy Man Crafty Woman, Clean & Scentsible, Pincushion Creations, Primp Junktion, Organize and Decorate Everything, Savvy Southern Style, JAQS Studio, The DIY Dreamer, Free Pretty Things

Thursdays: Somewhat Simple, House of Hepworths, The Shabby Creek Cottage, A Glimpse Inside, Fireflies and Jellybeans, Momnivore's Dilemma, Yesterday on Thursday & Katie's Nesting Spot, Beyond the Picket Fence, Rhinestone Beagle, Suzy's Artsy-Craftsy Sitcom, Christina's Adventures, Seven Alive, The 36th Avenue, Southern Lovely, The Crafty Blog Stalker, Bear Rabbit Bear, Crafty Scrappy Happy, 52 Mantels, live. laugh. rowe., Artsy Corner, Delightful Order, The Train to Crazy, Mine for the Making, The Taylor House, The Frugal Girls, No Minimalist Here, Keep Calm & Link Up

Fridays: Fingerprints on the Fridge, The Shabby Nest, Tatertots & Jello, Simply Sweet Home, 30 Handmade Days, WhipperBerry, Lovely Crafty Home, Catch As Catch Can, Nap Time Crafters, 504 Main, My Simple Home Life, Simply Designing, The Picket Fence, Chic on a Shoestring, The Hungry Hypo, French Country Cottage, Ladybird Lane, The Answer is Chocolate, Truly Lovely, Little Becky Homecky, Delicate Construction, Serenity Now, See Vanessa Craft, Happy Hour Projects, One Artsy Mama, So You Think You're Crafty, Finding Fabulous For Less, It's a Hodgepodge Life, Tidy Mom, While He Was Napping, Craftionary, Five Days... Five Ways, Diana Rambles

Saturdays: Tutus & Tea Parties & Here's to Handy Andy, Funky Junk Interiors, Young & Crafty, Be Different Act Normal, To Sew With Love, Six Sisters' Stuff, Gingerbread, Homemaker in Heels, A Vision to Remember, Positively Splendid, Too Much Time, Crafty Moms Share, Polkadot Pretties, Candace Creations, Serenity You, Shaken Together, Classy Clutter, The Weekend Creative

Sundays: I Heart Nap Time, Under the Table and Dreaming, LambAround, Flamingo Toes, Petite Hermine, Homemaker on a Dime, The Foley Fam, Nifty Thrifty Things, The Tablescaper, My 1929 Charmer, It's Overflowing, Circle of Faith

Scarf Organizer

noreply@blogger.com (Mel the Crafty Scientist) — Thu, 04 Apr 2013 21:41:00 +0000

I LOVE projects that are super simple and make me feel organized... this one was both (and almost free). I was inspired by this project from Dollar Store Crafts and a replica from JaeBellz here.

I made some quick instructions, but you really only need to look at the pictures to replicate it...

Supplies

Shower curtain rings
Hanger
String/twine/ribbon
Scissors
Scarves to organize!

Instructions

Round up your supplies and clip the shower curtain rings closed. Tie them together like those plastic 6-pack can holders (that we're all told to cut up so they don't hurt the dolphins when they somehow make their way into the ocean).

Tie the rings onto the hanger and voila!

I added some regular scarves, but I think this might be suited to some lighter, gauzy spring/summer scarves so you don't overload it and break the hanger. So far, I haven't had any issues with it and I have the regular heavier ones on there, but I did go for the thicker, stronger hanger.

Cheap, easy, quick, and helps you organize... my favorite kind of project!

I'll be linking up to some of my favorite parties...

Mondays: Monday Funday, The DIY ShowOff, Craft-O-Maniac, Making the World Cuter, Skip to My Lou, Mad in Crafts, Sew Can Do, Boogieboard Cottage, Keeping It Simple, Pinkapotamus, Singing Three Little Birds, Colours Dekor, DIY Home Sweet Home, Be Colorful, The Gunny Sack, 3 Mango Seeds, I Should Be Mopping the Floor, Sarahndipities, Sumo's Sweet Stuff, Project Inspire{d}, Between Naps on the Porch, Ninth Street Notions, Sew Chatty, Thrifty Decor Chick, Reinventing the Ordinary (Pet Party), ClaireJustineOXOX, Create With Joy, Alderberry Hill, A Round Tuit, Marvelously Messy

Tuesdays: New Nostalgia, Hope Studios, Tip Junkie, Ladybug Blessings, Funky Polkadot Giraffe, Reasons to Skip the Housework, Coastal Charm, A Bowl Full of Lemons, Not Just a Housewife, A Diamond in the Stuff, homework, Crafty Confessions, Me and My Boys, The Kurtz Corner, Sugar Bee, Sweet Little Gals, Chef in Training, Today's Creative Blog, Home Stories A to Z, DIY by Design, Tales of a Trophy Wife, Our Delightful Home, homemade ginger, Mom 4 Real

Wednesdays: Creations By Kara, Seven Thirty Three, Sugar and Dots, Someday Crafts, Night Owl Crafting, Lil Luna, Sew Much Ado, We Are That Family, A Little Tipsy, My Girlish Whims, Polka Dots on Parade, Ginger Snap Crafts, Frugally Sustainable, Handy Man Crafty Woman, Clean & Scentsible, Pincushion Creations, Primp Junktion, Organize and Decorate Everything, Savvy Southern Style, JAQS Studio, The DIY Dreamer, Free Pretty Things

Thursdays: Somewhat Simple, House of Hepworths, The Shabby Creek Cottage, A Glimpse Inside, Fireflies and Jellybeans, Momnivore's Dilemma, Yesterday on Thursday & Katie's Nesting Spot, Beyond the Picket Fence, Rhinestone Beagle, Suzy's Artsy-Craftsy Sitcom, Christina's Adventures, Seven Alive, The 36th Avenue, Southern Lovely, The Crafty Blog Stalker, Bear Rabbit Bear, Crafty Scrappy Happy, 52 Mantels, live. laugh. rowe., Artsy Corner, Delightful Order, The Train to Crazy, Mine for the Making, The Taylor House, The Frugal Girls, No Minimalist Here

Fridays: Fingerprints on the Fridge, The Shabby Nest, Tatertots & Jello, Simply Sweet Home, 30 Handmade Days, WhipperBerry, Lovely Crafty Home, Catch As Catch Can, Nap Time Crafters, 504 Main, My Simple Home Life, Simply Designing, The Picket Fence, Chic on a Shoestring, The Hungry Hypo, French Country Cottage, Ladybird Lane, The Answer is Chocolate, Truly Lovely, Little Becky Homecky, Delicate Construction, Serenity Now, See Vanessa Craft, Happy Hour Projects, One Artsy Mama, So You Think You're Crafty, Finding Fabulous For Less, It's a Hodgepodge Life, Tidy Mom, While He Was Napping, Craftionary, Five Days... Five Ways, Diana Rambles

Saturdays: Tutus & Tea Parties, Here's to Handy Andy, Funky Junk Interiors, Young & Crafty, Be Different Act Normal, To Sew With Love, Six Sisters' Stuff, Gingerbread, Homemaker in Heels, A Vision to Remember, Positively Splendid, Too Much Time, Crafty Moms Share, Polkadot Pretties, Candace Creations, Serenity You, Shaken Together, Classy Clutter

Sundays: I Heart Nap Time, Under the Table and Dreaming, LambAround, Flamingo Toes, Petite Hermine, Homemaker on a Dime, The Foley Fam, Nifty Thrifty Things, The Tablescaper, My 1929 Charmer, It's Overflowing, Circle of Faith

Easter Eggs: 2013 Edition

noreply@blogger.com (Mel the Crafty Scientist) — Sun, 31 Mar 2013 04:29:00 +0000

In between regular work and life chaos and re-designing the blog, plus my birthday (more about that later, hopefully), the boy and I somehow found some time to dye Easter eggs (follow me on Instagram - @craftyscientist to see more of that fun stuff). I realize I should keep working on the blog design, but I had to take a break and share some pictures of this recent fun... This year, the eggs were for a work friend's niece because we're ridiculous and love dyeing eggs (but don't know many/any kids up here). It was sad not using eggs from the farm, but still made some fun ones.

We made some pastel eggs with one regular kit...

The paper towels looked pretty fun...

We also got a marbleized eggs kit and it was kind of weird... you add cooking oil to the dye and it looks super-crazy and then you end up with speckled eggs.

I got a little obsessed with the oil + water + dye cups...

They remind me of those "calming jars" or bottles that people make for kids that have the food coloring and oil (maybe water too?) and call it waves in a jar or something like that... anyone else?

Bella was super-fascinated and agreed with me... (She hung out by the table all night - I think she thought they were yummy puppy snacks...)

Anyways, I was super-excited about this and sad we didn't have the farm full of eggs to use and I ended up grabbing our regular food/for eating eggs...

The little holes in some of the eggs are because we blew out the contents of the eggs so the boy could use the contents for his garden and so I could bring them to my friend a few days before the holiday and they wouldn't smell so stinky!

This is just a portion of the egg contents turned fertilizer...

In the interest of "keeping it real," here's a pic of the larger process and giant mess... though some of my gorgeous birthday roses (from my sweet parents) are in there to class it up!

And because these were all phone pics from me, I also edited these and had some fun... so these are some pop art eggs (you might also recognize from Instagram).

I'll get back to blog designing now, but feel free to let me know what you think of the design so far... I'd love some feedback!

Pardon the dust...

noreply@blogger.com (Mel the Crafty Scientist) — Wed, 20 Mar 2013 23:15:00 +0000

I've been working on some fresh new design for the blog (this one was more than a year old!) and I'm trying to mess with the code and put the pieces into place - LIVE on the blog! So if you see buttons not working or messed up pictures, I apologize and hopefully it'll be fixed soon. I'll post another update when I'm finished... until then, I'm excitedly designing and editing to make the blog feel a little more "me" as I am now and not as I was... stay tuned!

St. Paddy's Day Embroidery Update

noreply@blogger.com (Mel the Crafty Scientist) — Sun, 17 Mar 2013 19:52:00 +0000

You might remember this little St. Patrick's Day/ Valentine's Day/ love-y embroidery project from last year (or you can remind yourself here). Well, I didn't quite finish it in time for the holidays last year so I posted my in progress photos or mostly done version...

But I finally finished this thing and EVEN LATER, ironed it! So here are some more pictures of the finished, ironed product...

And some close-up views...

This might be the only one where it's actually ironed well...

If you want to make your own, you can download the pattern I made for this from last year's blog entry here. As always, if you make a version, I would LOOOOVE to see it!

I'll be linking up here (since I totally missed the boat and forgot to actually post this until St. Paddy's Day!)...
Sundays: I Heart Nap Time, Under the Table and Dreaming, LambAround, Flamingo Toes, Petite Hermine, Homemaker on a Dime, The Foley Fam, Nifty Thrifty Things, The Tablescaper, My 1929 Charmer, It's Overflowing

Roundup: Quatrefoil Crafts

noreply@blogger.com (Mel the Crafty Scientist) — Mon, 11 Mar 2013 23:39:00 +0000

I've been working on a few roundups recently and quatrefoil is one of my favorite patterns (and has been for a ridiculously long time)... lots of the projects seemed perfect for St. Paddy's Day so I figured I'd share this one with you... a big list of some AMAZING DIY crafty projects featuring the quatrefoil pattern!

I'll be sharing this at some of my favorite parties...

Mondays: C.R.A.F.T., The DIY ShowOff, Craft-O-Maniac, Making the World Cuter, Skip to My Lou, Mad in Crafts, Sew Can Do, Boogieboard Cottage, Keeping It Simple, Polish the Stars, Pinkapotamus, Singing Three Little Birds, Colours Dekor, DIY Home Sweet Home, Be Colorful, The Gunny Sack, Lines Across, The Southern Institute, Get Outta My Head, 3 Mango Seeds, You're Talking Too Much, I Should Be Mopping the Floor, Destination: Craft, Cherished Bliss, 11th Heaven's Homemaking Haven, Sarahndipities, Sumo's Sweet Stuff, Project Inspire{d}, Between Naps on the Porch, Ninth Street Notions, Southern Hospitality, Sew Chatty, Thrifty Decor Chick, Reinventing the Ordinary (Pet Party)

Tuesdays: New Nostalgia, Hope Studios, Vintage Wanna Bee, Tip Junkie, Ladybug Blessings, Topsy Turvy, Funky Polkadot Giraffe, Giggles Glitz & Glam, Reasons to Skip the Housework, Coastal Charm, A Bowl Full of Lemons, Not Just a Housewife, A Diamond in the Stuff, The Ivy Cottage, homework, Crayon Freckles, Crafty Confessions, Me and My Boys, The Kurtz Corner, Sugar Bee, Sweet Little Gals, Chef in Training, Today's Creative Blog, Home Stories A to Z, DIY by Design, Tales of a Trophy Wife, Our Delightful Home, homemade ginger

Wednesdays: Creations By Kara, Seven Thirty Three, Sugar and Dots, Someday Crafts, Night Owl Crafting, Lil Luna, Sew Much Ado, We Are That Family, A Little Tipsy, My Girlish Whims, Polka Dots on Parade, Ginger Snap Crafts, Frugally Sustainable, Handy Man Crafty Woman, Clean & Scentsible, Pincushion Creations, Primp Junktion, Organize and Decorate Everything, Savvy Southern Style, JAQS Studio, The DIY Dreamer

Thursdays: Somewhat Simple, House of Hepworths, The Shabby Creek Cottage, A Glimpse Inside, Fireflies and Jellybeans, Momnivore's Dilemma, Yesterday on Thursday & Katie's Nesting Spot, Beyond the Picket Fence, Rhinestone Beagle, Suzy's Artsy-Craftsy Sitcom, Christina's Adventures, Seven Alive, The 36th Avenue, Southern Lovely, The Crafty Blog Stalker, Bear Rabbit Bear, Crafty Scrappy Happy, 52 Mantels, live. laugh. rowe., Artsy Corner, Delightful Order, The Train to Crazy, Mine for the Making, The Taylor House, The Frugal Girls, No Minimalist Here

Fridays: Fingerprints on the Fridge, The Shabby Nest, Tatertots & Jello, Simply Sweet Home, 30 Handmade Days, WhipperBerry, Lovely Crafty Home, Catch As Catch Can, Nap Time Crafters, 504 Main, My Simple Home Life, Simply Designing, The Picket Fence, Chic on a Shoestring, The Hungry Hypo, French Country Cottage, Ladybird Lane, The Answer is Chocolate, Truly Lovely, Little Becky Homecky, Delicate Construction, Serenity Now, See Vanessa Craft, Happy Hour Projects, One Artsy Mama, Mom 4 Real, So You Think You're Crafty, Finding Fabulous For Less, It's a Hodgepodge Life, Tidy Mom, While He Was Napping, Craftionary, Five Days... Five Ways

Saturdays: Tutus & Tea Parties, Here's to Handy Andy, Funky Junk Interiors, Young & Crafty, Be Different Act Normal, To Sew With Love, Six Sisters' Stuff, Gingerbread, Homemaker in Heels, A Vision to Remember, Positively Splendid, Too Much Time, Crafty Moms Share, Polkadot Pretties, Candace Creations, Serenity You, Shaken Together, Classy Clutter

Sundays: I Heart Nap Time, Under the Table and Dreaming, LambAround, Flamingo Toes, Petite Hermine, Homemaker on a Dime, The Foley Fam, Nifty Thrifty Things, The Tablescaper, My 1929 Charmer, It's Overflowing

Miscellaneous: The Girl Creative, Every Crafty Endeavor, My House of Giggles, My Lil Pumpkin Patch, Vintage Gwen

The Utilities Tracker

noreply@blogger.com (Mel the Crafty Scientist) — Tue, 05 Mar 2013 23:43:00 +0000

It's time for another FREE printable for your financial binder! If you're not sure what I'm talking about, check out this post for the original story and details on the financial binder I've made and am slowly sharing with all of you...

This printable is the Utilities Tracker and here's a peak at the Teal & Lime version...

This printable is one that I printed out several versions of and placed right behind the dividers for all of the utilities we have. Basically, there's a section for our water and sewage bill and it has this page after the labeled divider and then all the water and sewage bills for 2013 right behind it. Then there's another one for electricity, gas, etc.

Here's a little tour of the printable and how I use it...

(1) Due Date - I put the day of the month this bill is due. So if this is the tracker for our water and sewage bill and that's due on the 8th of every month, I write in a big 8 as a reminder.

(2) Company - that's just the nane of the company for the utility/service.

(3) Service - that's where I write in if it's water, internet, phone, cable, or some combination (so you know what exactly you're paying for with that company).

(4) Address - I like to write in where our checks go or where to go if something's wrong or missing or we need help.

(5) Phone Number - phone number for the company if we have an issue... just so it's all there and convenient.

(6) Account Number - if you have problems and give them a call, you want to be able to tell them your account number so I write that in there too.

(7) Amount Paid - this box is where I'd right in the amount we paid for that utility in January. The box below (that whole column) would be the amount we paid each month.

(8) Date Paid - when we wrote the check or paid online.

(9) Payment Method - credit card, check, online payment, whatever.

(10) Check No. - this is where I write in our check number if it's one of the companies that requires payment via check (I don't know why some of them are still like this...)

(11) Confirmation Number - this is mostly just if we pay online or have to pay by phone or something and get a confirmation number for that payment, we can record it here.

This will last you through 2013, but again, I like to have multiples - one for each company. Our water/sewage is only quarterly, so I just put an "X"or a line through the months that we aren't paying a separate bill.

So that's how I use it... if you use it, I'd love to see it and hear about it! You can download it in Lime & Teal or Citrus & Magenta, whichever you prefer. Please play nice and don't link to the actual download from your website.

Click here to download the Lime & Teal version.

Click here to download the Citrus & Magenta version.

Enjoy!

I'll be sharing this at some of my favorite parties...

Mondays: C.R.A.F.T., The DIY ShowOff, Craft-O-Maniac, Making the World Cuter, Skip to My Lou, Mad in Crafts, Sew Can Do, Boogieboard Cottage, Keeping It Simple, Polish the Stars, Pinkapotamus, Singing Three Little Birds, Colours Dekor, DIY Home Sweet Home, Be Colorful, The Gunny Sack, Lines Across, The Southern Institute, Get Outta My Head, 3 Mango Seeds, You're Talking Too Much, I Should Be Mopping the Floor, Destination: Craft, Cherished Bliss, 11th Heaven's Homemaking Haven, Sarahndipities, Sumo's Sweet Stuff, Project Inspire{d}, Between Naps on the Porch, Ninth Street Notions, Southern Hospitality, Sew Chatty, Thrifty Decor Chick, Reinventing the Ordinary (Pet Party)

Tuesdays: New Nostalgia, Hope Studios, Vintage Wanna Bee, Tip Junkie, Ladybug Blessings, Topsy Turvy, Funky Polkadot Giraffe, Giggles Glitz & Glam, Reasons to Skip the Housework, Coastal Charm, A Bowl Full of Lemons, Not Just a Housewife, A Diamond in the Stuff, The Ivy Cottage, homework, Crayon Freckles, Crafty Confessions, Me and My Boys, The Kurtz Corner, Sugar Bee, Sweet Little Gals, Chef in Training, Today's Creative Blog, Home Stories A to Z, DIY by Design, Tales of a Trophy Wife, Our Delightful Home, homemade ginger

Wednesdays: Creations By Kara, Seven Thirty Three, Sugar and Dots, Someday Crafts, Night Owl Crafting, Lil Luna, Sew Much Ado, We Are That Family, A Little Tipsy, My Girlish Whims, Polka Dots on Parade, Ginger Snap Crafts, Frugally Sustainable, Handy Man Crafty Woman, Clean & Scentsible, Pincushion Creations, Primp Junktion, Organize and Decorate Everything, Savvy Southern Style, JAQS Studio, The DIY Dreamer

Thursdays: Somewhat Simple, House of Hepworths, The Shabby Creek Cottage, A Glimpse Inside, Fireflies and Jellybeans, Momnivore's Dilemma, Yesterday on Thursday & Katie's Nesting Spot, Beyond the Picket Fence, Rhinestone Beagle, Suzy's Artsy-Craftsy Sitcom, Christina's Adventures, Seven Alive, The 36th Avenue, Southern Lovely, The Crafty Blog Stalker, Bear Rabbit Bear, Crafty Scrappy Happy, 52 Mantels, live. laugh. rowe., Artsy Corner, Delightful Order, The Train to Crazy, Mine for the Making, The Taylor House, The Frugal Girls, No Minimalist Here

Fridays: Fingerprints on the Fridge, The Shabby Nest, Tatertots & Jello, Simply Sweet Home, 30 Handmade Days, WhipperBerry, Lovely Crafty Home, Catch As Catch Can, Nap Time Crafters, 504 Main, My Simple Home Life, Simply Designing, The Picket Fence, Chic on a Shoestring, The Hungry Hypo, French Country Cottage, Ladybird Lane, The Answer is Chocolate, Truly Lovely, Bubbly Nature Creations, Little Becky Homecky, Delicate Construction, Serenity Now, See Vanessa Craft, Happy Hour Projects, Making Lemonade, One Artsy Mama, Mom 4 Real, So You Think You're Crafty, Finding Fabulous For Less, It's a Hodgepodge Life, Tidy Mom, Scissors & Spatulas, While He Was Napping, Release Me Creations, Craftionary, Five Days... Five Ways, The Creative Paige, Blissful Bucketlist

Saturdays: Tutus & Tea Parties, Here's to Handy Andy, Funky Junk Interiors, Young & Crafty, Be Different Act Normal, To Sew With Love, Six Sisters' Stuff, Gingerbread, Homemaker in Heels, A Vision to Remember, Positively Splendid, Too Much Time, Crafty Moms Share, Polkadot Pretties, Candace Creations, Serenity You, Shaken Together, Classy Clutter

Sundays: I Heart Nap Time, Under the Table and Dreaming, LambAround, Flamingo Toes, Petite Hermine, Homemaker on a Dime, The Foley Fam, The SweetTa lk Shop, Nifty Thrifty Things, The Tablescaper, My 1929 Charmer, It's Overflowing

Miscellaneous: The Girl Creative, Every Crafty Endeavor, My House of Giggles, My Lil Pumpkin Patch, Vintage Gwen

Favorite Things - February 2013 Edition

noreply@blogger.com (Mel the Crafty Scientist) — Mon, 25 Feb 2013 01:07:00 +0000

I haven't done a favorite things roundup in about a million years, but I have started several and I'm determined to finish this one because I've been obsessed with some pretty cool stuff lately and I just have to share it with you guys...

(1) Danskin Sweatpants from Walmart - much cheaper than the ones you'd buy directly from Danskin and I pretty much live in them at home. I like every version I've tried and you can click the link to see the version pictured above.

(2) Jenna Sue font - so cute and readable and FREE! You can download it for free by clicking here (or the font name).

(3) Nina Ricci's Premier Jour perfume - I know next to nothing about the scents in different perfumes, but I love this one. It's not really new... I think I got my first bottle as a gift when I graduated from high school many years ago, but I've continued to buy it and use it most days because it's that awesome.

(4) Belkin Mini Surge Protector - not too glamorous, but so useful! Especially when you travel a lot... you can plug it in and suddenly you can plug in your computer, phone, etc. through regular plugs or directly in the USB ports. Magic and it fits in a carry on!

(5) All*You Magazine - I thought it was just for coupons and I finally got a subscription recently and while I might be a little younger than the target demographic, I love it. Coupons, Sudoku, fashion that I can find at real stores AND afford... a lot of stuff in there is a lot more applicable to my life than the more "fantasy-oriented" women's magazines you see at the grocery store checkout.

(6) e.l.f. Super Glossy Lip Shine - I got a bunch of these for less than a buck each at Target's after Christmas sales (I think they were originally stocking stuffers) and I love them. They smell good, aren't too thick and gooey, and even when not on sale, pretty darn affordable. You can buy them on Amazon here or from Target's site here (3 for $3 here... currently a better deal than Amazon).

(7) Paper Mate Flair Pens - I have a pack at home and one at work because I LOVE them so much. They're great for doodling, list making, note taking, etc. Lots of colors and they don't bleed through most papers. I'm kind of obsessed with office supplies, including pens, and these are the top of my life these days.

(8) Archipelago Pomegranate Body Butter - another blogger told me about this and I got a jar for my birthday a year or so ago and I love it. It's great for my hands and feet, in particular. It's more expensive than I'd spend on most things, but I love pomegranate and wanted to try it... it's lasted so long and I've loved it so much, that I continue to buy it. It's also taught me what "body butter" should look at act like - almost like butter that actually melts into a lotion when you touch it and your body heat warms it. This continues to amaze me...

Any favorite things you've discovered recently? Or think I should know about?

(Note that no one is paying me - I did link to my Amazon Associates account for some of these and you can see all of my favorite things in my Amazon Associates storefront here... anyways, I posted about them all here because I just genuinely love these products!)

Bars of Beads Necklaces

noreply@blogger.com (Mel the Crafty Scientist) — Wed, 20 Feb 2013 04:06:00 +0000

I realized I've been LOVING bars of rondelles or little beads on necklaces on Etsy (check out my Etsy treasury here for some I lusted over...) and I wanted to see if I could figure out how to make some on my own... unfortunately, I really don't know how to do pictures of jewelry tutorials (I barely have enough hands to make anything myself, let alone push a button or position a camera). But I still wanted to share this and hopefully you can see enough to recreate it if you want to!

Supplies

Chain
Clasp
Colored beads (I got all of these on the one string from Michael's)
Small jewelry pliers & trimmers/clippers (like those I used and took pictures of for this necklace tutorial - for clipping and loop making)
Jewelry pins (with the curled end)
Jump rings

Instructions

Gather up your supplies. I separated the beads by color because I wanted to layer the necklaces, but all of these little ones came on one string together...

Then measure your chain to the length you want it, remembering that your clasp and the bar of beads will add length to that. I did this part first, but it might be easier to wait until the end...

Add the clasp to two ends using the jump rings and jewelry pliers. Then, grab the curled straight pin-like thing and use your jewelry pliers to curl the ring on the pin around one of the links in the chain. Then string your beads onto the pin, leaving some room at the end of it....

Then, use your pliers to curl the straight end of the pin around the end link on the other side of the chain. Pinch the loop closed with the pliers and trim off any extra wire. Luckily, you get a few pins in the package so you can make a mistake or two and it's not a big deal...

And ta da! Necklaces perfect for layering and tank top weather (whenever it arrives) and seriously cheap... (I think the beads were around $2 and I still have many, many leftover; the chain was around the same price and I made two necklaces and still have more left and then I owned everything else already).

I'll be linking up to some of my favorite parties...
Mondays: C.R.A.F.T., The DIY ShowOff, Craft-O-Maniac, Making the World Cuter, Skip to My Lou, Mad in Crafts, Sew Can Do, Boogieboard Cottage, Keeping It Simple, Polish the Stars, Pinkapotamus, Singing Three Little Birds, Colours Dekor, DIY Home Sweet Home, Be Colorful, The Gunny Sack, Lines Across, The Southern Institute, Get Outta My Head, 3 Mango Seeds, You're Talking Too Much, I Should Be Mopping the Floor, Destination: Craft, Cherished Bliss, 11th Heaven's Homemaking Haven, Sarahndipities, Sumo's Sweet Stuff, Project Inspire{d}, Between Naps on the Porch, Ninth Street Notions, Southern Hospitality, Sew Chatty, Thrifty Decor Chick, Reinventing the Ordinary (Pet Party)

Tuesdays: New Nostalgia, Hope Studios, Vintage Wanna Bee, Tip Junkie, Ladybug Blessings, Topsy Turvy, Funky Polkadot Giraffe, Giggles Glitz & Glam, Reasons to Skip the Housework, Coastal Charm, A Bowl Full of Lemons, Not Just a Housewife, A Diamond in the Stuff, The Ivy Cottage, homework, Crayon Freckles, Crafty Confessions, Me and My Boys, The Kurtz Corner, Sugar Bee, Sweet Little Gals, Chef in Training, Today's Creative Blog, Home Stories A to Z, DIY by Design, Tales of a Trophy Wife, Our Delightful Home, homemade ginger

Wednesdays: Creations By Kara, Seven Thirty Three, Sugar and Dots, Someday Crafts, Night Owl Crafting, Lil Luna, Sew Much Ado, We Are That Family, A Little Tipsy, My Girlish Whims, Polka Dots on Parade, Ginger Snap Crafts, Frugally Sustainable, Handy Man Crafty Woman, Clean & Scentsible, Pincushion Creations, Primp Junktion, Organize and Decorate Everything, Savvy Southern Style, JAQS Studio, The DIY Dreamer

Thursdays: Somewhat Simple, House of Hepworths, The Shabby Creek Cottage, A Glimpse Inside, Fireflies and Jellybeans, Momnivore's Dilemma, Yesterday on Thursday & Katie's Nesting Spot, Beyond the Picket Fence, Rhinestone Beagle, Suzy's Artsy-Craftsy Sitcom, Christina's Adventures, Seven Alive, The 36th Avenue, Southern Lovely, The Crafty Blog Stalker, Bear Rabbit Bear, Crafty Scrappy Happy, 52 Mantels, live. laugh. rowe., Artsy Corner, Delightful Order, The Train to Crazy, Mine for the Making, The Taylor House, The Frugal Girls, No Minimalist Here

Fridays: Fingerprints on the Fridge, The Shabby Nest, Tatertots & Jello, Simply Sweet Home, 30 Handmade Days, WhipperBerry, Lovely Crafty Home, Catch As Catch Can, Nap Time Crafters, 504 Main, My Simple Home Life, Simply Designing, The Picket Fence, Chic on a Shoestring, The Hungry Hypo, French Country Cottage, Ladybird Lane, The Answer is Chocolate, Truly Lovely, Bubbly Nature Creations, Little Becky Homecky, Delicate Construction, Serenity Now, See Vanessa Craft, Happy Hour Projects, Making Lemonade, One Artsy Mama, Mom 4 Real, So You Think You're Crafty, Finding Fabulous For Less, It's a Hodgepodge Life, Tidy Mom, Scissors & Spatulas, While He Was Napping, Release Me Creations, Craftionary, Five Days... Five Ways, The Creative Paige, Blissful Bucketlist

Saturdays: Tutus & Tea Parties, Here's to Handy Andy, Funky Junk Interiors, Young & Crafty, Be Different Act Normal, To Sew With Love, Six Sisters' Stuff, Gingerbread, Homemaker in Heels, A Vision to Remember, Positively Splendid, Too Much Time, Crafty Moms Share, Polkadot Pretties, Candace Creations, Serenity You, Shaken Together, Classy Clutter

Sundays: I Heart Nap Time, Under the Table and Dreaming, LambAround, Flamingo Toes, Petite Hermine, Homemaker on a Dime, The Foley Fam, The SweetTa lk Shop, Nifty Thrifty Things, The Tablescaper, My 1929 Charmer, It's Overflowing

Miscellaneous: The Girl Creative, Every Crafty Endeavor, My House of Giggles, My Lil Pumpkin Patch, Vintage Gwen

Bills & Other Fun: A Free Printable Tracker

noreply@blogger.com (Mel the Crafty Scientist) — Tue, 05 Feb 2013 21:40:00 +0000

At the end of 2012, as I started thinking about tax season and getting that stuff together, I started to get the regular "new year, new start" excitement AND the overwhelming desire to get some things in order so that I feel more prepared next year. I also had a few minutes off of work and a long road trip to plan some things out in my head and so I designed two notebooks for the boy and me to use. One is a financial binder and the other is cleaning, organizing, and miscellaneous household stuff. I made a lot of printables and we've been using the binders for little while now and the boy even likes them now (at first he thought they'd just be more work for us) and so I figured it was time to tweak them and start sharing.

This is the first of the printables for the financial binder. It's the big, main tracker that the boy and I use for keeping up with all of our bills and monthly obligations (including prescription refills, giving the puppies their heartworm medication, etc.). You only need one for the whole year because it is that awesome... but before I show you how I use that, here's an overview of the financial binder I made.

The Legal Stuff

Like all the printables I'll be sharing, when you click on the link or images at the bottom of the post, you'll be taken over to Box to download them for free. They are free for personal use and you should use them and enjoy them and hopefully they will make your life easier. Please don't sell them or claim them as your own and please don't have people download them from your site - you can direct them here all you want (and that would be wonderful).

The Financial Binder

With all that un-fun stuff out of the way, it's time to move on to the binder process. I purchased two pretty 3-ring binders from Target and some dividers, broke out my new Chrismukkah label maker (best present EVER!) and put this together...

I'll give you a quick tour of the binder itself and then show you how I use the tracker printable....

I used the Silhouette to label the side of the binder and it says "Financial Information" in light blue vinyl letters.

When you open the binder, there is a plastic divider that says "General" and this is the big section that starts off with the tracker and also has some general financial information, including the most recent credit report information I have and the information we got from the home owner when we moved to Maryland about utilities... just little stuff I wanted to keep.

Then there are lots of more dividers. The colored dividers are the big sections, the white dividers are the sort of sub-sections (because I have a little OCD). The first colored divider is for "General" stuff, then we have "Utilities" and then "Credit Cards" and "(Bank) Accounts" and "Donations." After the big Utilities divider, there are white divider tabs for each of our major utility accounts - the electricity, gas, cable/internet/phone, and water/sewer. The Credit Card section has tabs/dividers for each credit card the boy and I have and the same is true for the Accounts section. Donations is just by itself at the end!

So it looks like this:

General
Utilities

Electricity
Gas
Water/Sewer
Internet/Cable/Phone

Credit Cards

Card #1
Card #2
Card #3

(Bank) Accounts

Account #1
Account #2
Account #3

Donations

The Tracker Printable

That's the overview and now here's an example of how you might use the tracker. I've blocked out the personal information from casa de Crafty Scientist and written in some examples. On the first line, you have rent. In the second column on that row, you see "24" which indicates that rent is due on the 24th of each month (unlikely, but you get the point) and then you see an "X" in that third column indicating that rent was paid for January. On the next line, you see electricity, which is due on the 4th and you see "1/4" written in the third column. You could do that to indicate you paid the bill on January 4th. You can go with the "X" or the date paid - it's up to you!

It's a little easier to see the example and what I was talking about in this picture...

Downloads

And now, for the real excitement... (drumroll)... the trackers! I've made everything in two versions. The first is Citrus & Magenta (pink and yellow/orange)....

Click here to download.

And the second is in Teal and Lime (two of my very favorite colors). You can choose one or both - it's up to you. But all of the printables will be offered in both colors.

Click here to download.

Feel free to download and use and hopefully they will make your life easier and help get your finances in order. The boy and I actually use one tracker in our notebook and have one up on a bulletin board so that we can be sure we've gotten everything done on time at a glance. I'd love to hear what you think and I'll be sharing more printables from the financial binder soon and then the general/organizing one...

Seriously, I am LOVING this organizing thing. It just feels like all is right in the world when this stuff is in order, you know? So if you have any great organizing tips or ideas, I would LOVE to hear them.

I'll be sharing this post at some of my favorite parties!

Mondays: C.R.A.F.T., The DIY ShowOff, Craft-O-Maniac, Making the World Cuter, Skip to My Lou, Mad in Crafts, Sew Can Do, Boogieboard Cottage, Keeping It Simple, Polish the Stars, Pinkapotamus, Singing Three Little Birds, Colours Dekor, DIY Home Sweet Home, Be Colorful, The Gunny Sack, Lines Across, The Southern Institute, Get Outta My Head, 3 Mango Seeds, You're Talking Too Much, I Should Be Mopping the Floor, Destination: Craft, Cherished Bliss, 11th Heaven's Homemaking Haven, Sarahndipities, Sumo's Sweet Stuff, Between Naps on the Porch, Ninth Street Notions, Southern Hospitality, Sew Chatty, Thrifty Decor Chick, Reinventing the Ordinary (Pet Party)

Tuesdays: New Nostalgia, Hope Studios, Vintage Wanna Bee, Tip Junkie, Ladybug Blessings, Topsy Turvy, Funky Polkadot Giraffe, Giggles Glitz & Glam, Reasons to Skip the Housework, Coastal Charm, A Bowl Full of Lemons, Not Just a Housewife, A Diamond in the Stuff, The Ivy Cottage, homework, Crayon Freckles, Crafty Confessions, Me and My Boys, The Kurtz Corner, Sugar Bee, Sweet Little Gals, Chef in Training, Today's Creative Blog, Home Stories A to Z, DIY by Design, Tales of a Trophy Wife, Our Delightful Home

Wednesdays: Creations By Kara, Seven Thirty Three, Sugar and Dots, Someday Crafts, Night Owl Crafting, Lil Luna, Sew Much Ado, We Are That Family, A Little Tipsy, My Girlish Whims, Polka Dots on Parade, Ginger Snap Crafts, Frugally Sustainable, Handy Man Crafty Woman, Clean & Scentsible, Pincushion Creations, Primp Junktion, Organize and Decorate Everything, Savvy Southern Style, JAQS Studio, The DIY Dreamer

Thursdays: Somewhat Simple, House of Hepworths, The Shabby Creek Cottage, A Glimpse Inside, Fireflies and Jellybeans, Momnivore's Dilemma, Yesterday on Thursday & Katie's Nesting Spot, Beyond the Picket Fence, Rhinestone Beagle, Suzy's Artsy-Craftsy Sitcom, Christina's Adventures, Seven Alive, The 36th Avenue, Southern Lovely, The Crafty Blog Stalker, Bear Rabbit Bear, Crafty Scrappy Happy, 52 Mantels, live. laugh. rowe., Artsy Corner, Delightful Order, The Train to Crazy, Mine for the Making, The Taylor House, The Frugal Girls, No Minimalist Here

Fridays: Fingerprints on the Fridge, The Shabby Nest, Tatertots & Jello, Simply Sweet Home, 30 Handmade Days, WhipperBerry, Lovely Crafty Home, Catch As Catch Can, Nap Time Crafters, 504 Main, My Simple Home Life, Simply Designing, The Picket Fence, Chic on a Shoestring, The Hungry Hypo, French Country Cottage, Ladybird Lane, The Answer is Chocolate, Truly Lovely, Bubbly Nature Creations, Little Becky Homecky, Delicate Construction, Serenity Now, See Vanessa Craft, Happy Hour Projects, Making Lemonade, One Artsy Mama, Mom 4 Real, So You Think You're Crafty, Finding Fabulous For Less, It's a Hodgepodge Life, Tidy Mom, Scissors & Spatulas, While He Was Napping, Release Me Creations, Craftionary, Five Days... Five Ways, The Creative Paige, Blissful Bucketlist

Saturdays: Tutus & Tea Parties, Here's to Handy Andy, Funky Junk Interiors, Young & Crafty, Be Different Act Normal, To Sew With Love, Six Sisters' Stuff, Gingerbread, Homemaker in Heels, A Vision to Remember, Positively Splendid, Too Much Time, Crafty Moms Share, Polkadot Pretties, Candace Creations, Serenity You, Shaken Together, Classy Clutter

Sundays: I Heart Nap Time, Under the Table and Dreaming, LambAround, Flamingo Toes, Petite Hermine, Homemaker on a Dime, The Foley Fam, The SweetTa lk Shop, Nifty Thrifty Things, The Tablescaper, My 1929 Charmer, It's Overflowing

Miscellaneous: The Girl Creative, Every Crafty Endeavor, My House of Giggles, My Lil Pumpkin Patch, Vintage Gwen

We're Engaged!

noreply@blogger.com (Mel the Crafty Scientist) — Fri, 01 Feb 2013 23:07:00 +0000

Just after midnight, on January 1, 2013, the boyfriend proposed and I accepted, so...

Since then, it's been crazy and I somehow forgot to announce it here... oops! But it's official - we're engaged and the boyfriend is now the fiance!

No real details to share yet. He used an old family ring he got from my dad after asking my dad's permission and we're having it re-done a bit so I took some pictures (for the jewelers actually, haha), but I've got that bit to share with you... (well, mostly me playing with photo editing, but you get the point)!

Other than that, I'm just enjoying this stage in our lives and I just wanted to tell you guys the great news!

Past Valentine's Day Projects

noreply@blogger.com (Mel the Crafty Scientist) — Thu, 31 Jan 2013 02:57:00 +0000

Now that I've been making projects and blogging about them for a bit, I'm liking the idea of "rounding up" my projects for various holidays/occasions. So, in sticking with that, I'm reviewing my past Valentine's Day crafts and other projects/crafts related to it. So take a look around at some crafts from previous Valentine's Days and some other pretty red crafts...

I'll be linking up to some of my favorite link parties...
Mondays: C.R.A.F.T., The DIY ShowOff, Craft-O-Maniac, Making the World Cuter, Skip to My Lou, Mad in Crafts, Sew Can Do, Boogieboard Cottage, Keeping It Simple, Polish the Stars, Pinkapotamus, Singing Three Little Birds, Colours Dekor, DIY Home Sweet Home, Be Colorful, The Gunny Sack, Lines Across, The Southern Institute, Get Outta My Head, 3 Mango Seeds, You're Talking Too Much, I Should Be Mopping the Floor, Destination: Craft, Cherished Bliss, 11th Heaven's Homemaking Haven, Sarahndipities, Sumo's Sweet Stuff, Between Naps on the Porch, Ninth Street Notions, Southern Hospitality, Sew Chatty, Thrifty Decor Chick, Reinventing the Ordinary (Pet Party)

Tuesdays: New Nostalgia, Hope Studios, Vintage Wanna Bee, Tip Junkie, Ladybug Blessings, Topsy Turvy, Funky Polkadot Giraffe, Giggles Glitz & Glam, Reasons to Skip the Housework, Coastal Charm, A Bowl Full of Lemons, Not Just a Housewife, A Diamond in the Stuff, The Ivy Cottage, homework, Crayon Freckles, Crafty Confessions, Me and My Boys, The Kurtz Corner, Sugar Bee, Sweet Little Gals, Chef in Training, Today's Creative Blog, Home Stories A to Z, DIY by Design, Tales of a Trophy Wife, Our Delightful Home

Wednesdays: Creations By Kara, Seven Thirty Three, Sugar and Dots, Someday Crafts, Night Owl Crafting, Lil Luna, Sew Much Ado, We Are That Family, A Little Tipsy, My Girlish Whims, Polka Dots on Parade, Ginger Snap Crafts, Frugally Sustainable, Handy Man Crafty Woman, Clean & Scentsible, Pincushion Creations, Primp Junktion, Organize and Decorate Everything, Savvy Southern Style, JAQS Studio, The DIY Dreamer

Thursdays: Somewhat Simple, House of Hepworths, The Shabby Creek Cottage, A Glimpse Inside, Fireflies and Jellybeans, Momnivore's Dilemma, Yesterday on Thursday & Katie's Nesting Spot, Beyond the Picket Fence, Rhinestone Beagle, Suzy's Artsy-Craftsy Sitcom, Christina's Adventures, Seven Alive, The 36th Avenue, Southern Lovely, The Crafty Blog Stalker, Bear Rabbit Bear, Crafty Scrappy Happy, 52 Mantels, live. laugh. rowe., Artsy Corner, Delightful Order, The Train to Crazy, Mine for the Making, The Taylor House, The Frugal Girls, No Minimalist Here

Fridays: Fingerprints on the Fridge, The Shabby Nest, Tatertots & Jello, Simply Sweet Home, 30 Handmade Days, WhipperBerry, Lovely Crafty Home, Catch As Catch Can, Nap Time Crafters, 504 Main, My Simple Home Life, Simply Designing, The Picket Fence, Chic on a Shoestring, The Hungry Hypo, French Country Cottage, Ladybird Lane, The Answer is Chocolate, Truly Lovely, Bubbly Nature Creations, Little Becky Homecky, Delicate Construction, Serenity Now, See Vanessa Craft, Happy Hour Projects, Making Lemonade, One Artsy Mama, Mom 4 Real, So You Think You're Crafty, Finding Fabulous For Less, It's a Hodgepodge Life, Tidy Mom, Scissors & Spatulas, While He Was Napping, Release Me Creations, Craftionary, Five Days... Five Ways, The Creative Paige, Blissful Bucketlist

Saturdays: Tutus & Tea Parties, Here's to Handy Andy, Craft Envy, Funky Junk Interiors, Young & Crafty, Be Different Act Normal, To Sew With Love, Six Sisters' Stuff, Gingerbread, Lolly Jane, Homemaker in Heels, A Vision to Remember, Positively Splendid, Too Much Time, Crafty Moms Share, Polkadot Pretties, Candace Creations, Serenity You, Shaken Together

Sundays: I Heart Nap Time, Under the Table and Dreaming, LambAround, Flamingo Toes, Petite Hermine, Homemaker on a Dime, The Foley Fam, The SweetTa lk Shop, Nifty Thrifty Things, The Tablescaper, My 1929 Charmer, It's Overflowing

Miscellaneous: The Girl Creative, Every Crafty Endeavor, My House of Giggles, My Lil Pumpkin Patch, Vintage Gwen

Couple Map Silhouette Art

noreply@blogger.com (Mel the Crafty Scientist) — Thu, 24 Jan 2013 01:57:00 +0000

I made this cute little map art for the boyfriend last year for Valentine's Day and then never got around to posting it so I figured now that it's almost a year later... it's time! This is what I made for Valentine's Day 2012...

And here's how you can make one!

Supplies

Stencil or pattern of boy and girl silhouette/outline (maybe some vinyl)
Maps of where you each are from
Scrap paper (preferably white)
Small piece of red felt
Glue stick
Glue/sticky squares/dots
Frame
Cardstock background
Scissors
Pencil

Instructions

I cut out silhouettes of a boy and a girl shape using my Silhouette machine and some outlines I found online (I have no idea where - sorry! I just know that I did not buy them). Then I stuck those things onto some spare white paper. (I messed up with the head and body of the girl, but you should probably just stick them on there and not try to duplicate my mistake.)

Then I held up the vinyl outline behind the maps for each and traced the outline onto the map. I tried to put the actual city or place where each of us was born/grew up where the heart was on the figure. If you hold up the vinyl and map in front of a lamp, that makes it much easier.

Just cut out your map figure/outline of the boy and the girl.

(You can see the point on the map where the town I wanted is - it's near the heart of the boy silhouette!)

After those are both cut out, you just pop some foam squares on the back of them...

Cut out some cardstock to fit your frame and be the background and flip the silhouettes onto the cardstock.

Cut out two little hearts and paste those onto the town/city area you want to highlight (or where the heart should go on the silhouettes - whichever you prefer) using some more foam squares or some foam circles.

I had a kind of weird shadowbox frame and so I used little pearl-topped straight pins that came with it to attach my art to the frame background/area.

You can see how 3-D they are from this angle...

And this one...

Then just pop your artwork into the frame and you have a masterpiece!

The boy hung it up, but the lighting was not so great in that room (in our old apartment, haha)...

It cost me almost nothing to make, it was very personal, and the boy liked it... so I'm calling that pretty awesome and a big success!

I'll be linking up here...

Mondays: C.R.A.F.T., The DIY ShowOff, Craft-O-Maniac, Making the World Cuter, Skip to My Lou, Mad in Crafts, Sew Can Do, Boogieboard Cottage, Keeping It Simple, Polish the Stars, Pinkapotamus, Singing Three Little Birds, Colours Dekor, DIY Home Sweet Home, Be Colorful, The Gunny Sack, Lines Across, The Southern Institute, Get Outta My Head, 3 Mango Seeds, You're Talking Too Much, I Should Be Mopping the Floor, Destination: Craft, Cherished Bliss, 11th Heaven's Homemaking Haven, Sarahndipities, Sumo's Sweet Stuff, Between Naps on the Porch, Ninth Street Notions, Southern Hospitality, Sew Chatty, Thrifty Decor Chick, Reinventing the Ordinary (Pet Party)

Tuesdays: New Nostalgia, Hope Studios, Vintage Wanna Bee, Tip Junkie, Ladybug Blessings, Topsy Turvy, Funky Polkadot Giraffe, Giggles Glitz & Glam, Reasons to Skip the Housework, Coastal Charm, A Bowl Full of Lemons, Not Just a Housewife, A Diamond in the Stuff, The Ivy Cottage, homework, Crayon Freckles, Crafty Confessions, Me and My Boys, The Kurtz Corner, Sugar Bee, Sweet Little Gals, Chef in Training, Today's Creative Blog, Home Stories A to Z, DIY by Design, Tales of a Trophy Wife, Our Delightful Home

Wednesdays: Creations By Kara, Seven Thirty Three, Sugar and Dots, Someday Crafts, Night Owl Crafting, Lil Luna, Sew Much Ado, We Are That Family, A Little Tipsy, My Girlish Whims, Polka Dots on Parade, Ginger Snap Crafts, Frugally Sustainable, Handy Man Crafty Woman, Clean & Scentsible, Pincushion Creations, Primp Junktion, Organize and Decorate Everything, Savvy Southern Style, JAQS Studio, The DIY Dreamer

Thursdays: Somewhat Simple, House of Hepworths, The Shabby Creek Cottage, A Glimpse Inside, Fireflies and Jellybeans, Momnivore's Dilemma, Yesterday on Thursday & Katie's Nesting Spot, Beyond the Picket Fence, Rhinestone Beagle, Suzy's Artsy-Craftsy Sitcom, Christina's Adventures, Seven Alive, The 36th Avenue, Southern Lovely, The Crafty Blog Stalker, Bear Rabbit Bear, Crafty Scrappy Happy, 52 Mantels, live. laugh. rowe., Artsy Corner, Delightful Order, The Train to Crazy, Mine for the Making, The Taylor House, The Frugal Girls, No Minimalist Here

Fridays: Fingerprints on the Fridge, The Shabby Nest, Tatertots & Jello, Simply Sweet Home, 30 Handmade Days, WhipperBerry, Lovely Crafty Home, Catch As Catch Can, Nap Time Crafters, 504 Main, My Simple Home Life, Simply Designing, The Picket Fence, Chic on a Shoestring, The Hungry Hypo, French Country Cottage, Ladybird Lane, The Answer is Chocolate, Truly Lovely, Bubbly Nature Creations, Little Becky Homecky, Delicate Construction, Serenity Now, See Vanessa Craft, Happy Hour Projects, Making Lemonade, One Artsy Mama, Mom 4 Real, So You Think You're Crafty, Finding Fabulous For Less, It's a Hodgepodge Life, Tidy Mom, Scissors & Spatulas, While He Was Napping, Release Me Creations, Craftionary, Five Days... Five Ways, The Creative Paige, Blissful Bucketlist

Saturdays: Tutus & Tea Parties, Here's to Handy Andy, Craft Envy, Funky Junk Interiors, Young & Crafty, Be Different Act Normal, To Sew With Love, Six Sisters' Stuff, Gingerbread, Lolly Jane, Homemaker in Heels, A Vision to Remember, Positively Splendid, Too Much Time, Crafty Moms Share, Polkadot Pretties, Candace Creations, Serenity You, Shaken Together

Sundays: I Heart Nap Time, Under the Table and Dreaming, LambAround, Flamingo Toes, Petite Hermine, Homemaker on a Dime, The Foley Fam, The SweetTa lk Shop, Nifty Thrifty Things, The Tablescaper, My 1929 Charmer, It's Overflowing

Miscellaneous: The Girl Creative, Every Crafty Endeavor, My House of Giggles, My Lil Pumpkin Patch, Vintage Gwen

Mom's Quatrefoil Bulletin Board

noreply@blogger.com (Mel the Crafty Scientist) — Fri, 18 Jan 2013 02:22:00 +0000

Remember when I showed you guys how I made this awesome green quatrefoil bulletin board for my old office? Well, after that, my mom asked me to make her a version of the bulletin board for her office... and I did! (A million years ago, but I'm going to keep going with this theme of "projects-I-did-a-million-years-ago-and-never-posted-here-because-we-were-moving-and-I-didn't-even-have-time-to-shower"... a theme that's true and accurate, but I might need to make a bit more catchy...)

This time, it was black and white and I used my Silhouette to cut out some flags for bunting (I did actually buy the pattern for these little flags - it was one of those with the 4 flags for a dollar) and put that together with twine to make it fancy...

I was much better at this one and I was able to use the Silhouette to cut out the quatrefoil stencil so it's much neater than mine... here's are some close ups of the painting and the bunting:

Mom sent me some pictures after she put the board up on her wall...

I'm a little jealous, but I still love my green one!

I'll be linking up to some of my favorite parties...
Mondays: C.R.A.F.T., The DIY ShowOff, Craft-O-Maniac, Making the World Cuter, Skip to My Lou, Mad in Crafts, Sew Can Do, Boogieboard Cottage, Keeping It Simple, Polish the Stars, Pinkapotamus, Singing Three Little Birds, Colours Dekor, DIY Home Sweet Home, Be Colorful, The Gunny Sack, Lines Across, The Southern Institute, Get Outta My Head, 3 Mango Seeds, You're Talking Too Much, I Should Be Mopping the Floor, Destination: Craft, Cherished Bliss, 11th Heaven's Homemaking Haven, Sarahndipities, Sumo's Sweet Stuff, Between Naps on the Porch, Ninth Street Notions, Southern Hospitality, Sew Chatty, Thrifty Decor Chick, Reinventing the Ordinary (Pet Party)

Tuesdays: New Nostalgia, Hope Studios, Vintage Wanna Bee, Tip Junkie, Ladybug Blessings, Topsy Turvy, Funky Polkadot Giraffe, Giggles Glitz & Glam, Reasons to Skip the Housework, Coastal Charm, A Bowl Full of Lemons, Not Just a Housewife, A Diamond in the Stuff, The Ivy Cottage, homework, Crayon Freckles, Crafty Confessions, Me and My Boys, The Kurtz Corner, Sugar Bee, Sweet Little Gals, Chef in Training, A to Zebra Celebrations, Today's Creative Blog, Home Stories A to Z, DIY by Design, Tales of a Trophy Wife, Our Delightful Home

Wednesdays: Creations By Kara, Seven Thirty Three, Sugar and Dots, Someday Crafts, Night Owl Crafting, Lil Luna, Sew Much Ado, We Are That Family, A Little Tipsy, My Girlish Whims, Polka Dots on Parade, Passionately Artistic, Ginger Snap Crafts, Frugally Sustainable, Handy Man Crafty Woman, The Sasse Life, Clean & Scentsible, Junk in their Trunk, Pincushion Creations, It's Just Called Spicy, Sew Woodsy, Primp Junktion, Organize and Decorate Everything, Savvy Southern Style, JAQS Studio, The DIY Dreamer

Thursdays: Somewhat Simple, House of Hepworths, The Shabby Creek Cottage, A Glimpse Inside, Fireflies and Jellybeans, Momnivore's Dilemma, Yesterday on Thursday & Katie's Nesting Spot, Beyond the Picket Fence, Rhinestone Beagle, Suzy's Artsy-Craftsy Sitcom, Christina's Adventures, Seven Alive, The 36th Avenue, Southern Lovely, The Crafty Blog Stalker, Bear Rabbit Bear, Crafty Scrappy Happy, 52 Mantels, live. laugh. rowe., Artsy Corner, Delightful Order, The Train to Crazy, Mine for the Making, The Taylor House, The Frugal Girls, No Minimalist Here

Fridays: Fingerprints on the Fridge, The Shabby Nest, Tatertots & Jello, Simply Sweet Home, 30 Handmade Days, WhipperBerry, Lovely Crafty Home, Catch As Catch Can, Nap Time Crafters, 504 Main, My Simple Home Life, Simply Designing, The Picket Fence, Chic on a Shoestring, The Hungry Hypo, French Country Cottage, Ladybird Lane, The Answer is Chocolate, Truly Lovely, Bubbly Nature Creations, Little Becky Homecky, Delicate Construction, Serenity Now, See Vanessa Craft, Happy Hour Projects, Making Lemonade, One Artsy Mama, Mom 4 Real, So You Think You're Crafty, Finding Fabulous For Less, It's a Hodgepodge Life, Tidy Mom, Scissors & Spatulas, While He Was Napping, Release Me Creations, Craftionary, Five Days... Five Ways, The Creative Paige, Blissful Bucketlist

Saturdays: Tutus & Tea Parties, Here's to Handy Andy, Craft Envy, Funky Junk Interiors, Young & Crafty, Be Different Act Normal, To Sew With Love, Six Sisters' Stuff, Gingerbread, Lolly Jane, Homemaker in Heels, A Vision to Remember, Positively Splendid, Too Much Time, Crafty Moms Share, Polkadot Pretties, Candace Creations, Serenity You, Shaken Together

Sundays: I Heart Nap Time, Under the Table and Dreaming, LambAround, Flamingo Toes, Petite Hermine, Homemaker on a Dime, The Foley Fam, The SweetTa lk Shop, Nifty Thrifty Things, The Tablescaper, My 1929 Charmer, It's Overflowing

Miscellaneous: The Girl Creative, Every Crafty Endeavor, My House of Giggles, My Lil Pumpkin Patch, Vintage Gwen

Baby Chick Embroidery

noreply@blogger.com (Mel the Crafty Scientist) — Mon, 14 Jan 2013 03:02:00 +0000

Remember how I told you guys that I took up embroidery last year? Sadly, I only rarely showed you guys any of my projects... largely because I didn't straighten them out and frame them, but this is a rare exception. I actually made this piece pretty early on in my embroidery career for the boyfriend's mother on her birthday.

I picked out some baby chick patterns from the Doodle Stitching by Aimee Ray book I've mentioned here before and just made this - three baby chicks in a row!

Here they are before they went in the frame...

A close up...

Then, I used the Silhouette to cut a frame shape from some patterned pink cardstock. Then, I just put them together and voila!

The boyfriend's mom loved it... probably because she loves her baby chicks, but I'm pretty proud of this little piece of artwork!

I'm linking up to some of my favorite link parties...

Mondays: C.R.A.F.T., Polly Want a Crafter, The DIY ShowOff, Craft-O-Maniac, Making the World Cuter, Skip to My Lou, Mad in Crafts, Sew Can Do, Boogieboard Cottage, Keeping It Simple, Polish the Stars, Pinkapotamus, Singing Three Little Birds, Colours Dekor, DIY Home Sweet Home, Ask Anna, Home Savvy, Be Colorful, The Gunny Sack, Lines Across, The Southern Institute, Get Outta My Head, 3 Mango Seeds, You're Talking Too Much, I Should Be Mopping the Floor, Destination: Craft, Cherished Bliss, 11th Heaven's Homemaking Haven, Sarahndipities, Sumo's Sweet Stuff, Marvelously Messy, Between Naps on the Porch, Bringing Beauty, Ninth Street Notions, Southern Hospitality, Sew Chatty, Thrifty Decor Chick, Reinventing the Ordinary (Pet Party)

Tuesdays: Embellishing Life, New Nostalgia, Hope Studios, Vintage Wanna Bee, Tip Junkie, Ladybug Blessings, Topsy Turvy, Funky Polkadot Giraffe, Giggles Glitz & Glam, Reasons to Skip the Housework, Coastal Charm, A Bowl Full of Lemons, Not Just a Housewife, A Diamond in the Stuff, The Ivy Cottage, homework, Crayon Freckles, Crafty Confessions, Me and My Boys, The Kurtz Corner, Sugar Bee, Sweet Little Gals, Chef in Training, Raising 4 Princesses, A to Zebra Celebrations, Natural Nesters, Today's Creative Blog, Home Stories A to Z, DIY by Design, Tales of a Trophy Wife, Our Delightful Home

Wednesdays: Creations By Kara, Seven Thirty Three, Sugar and Dots, Someday Crafts, Night Owl Crafting, Lil Luna, Sew Much Ado, We Are That Family, A Little Tipsy, My Girlish Whims, Polka Dots on Parade, Passionately Artistic, Ginger Snap Crafts, Frugally Sustainable, Handy Man Crafty Woman, The Sasse Life, Clean & Scentsible, Junk in their Trunk, Pincushion Creations, It's Just Called Spicy, Sew Woodsy, Primp Junktion, Organize and Decorate Everything, Savvy Southern Style, JAQS Studio, The DIY Dreamer

Thursdays: Somewhat Simple, House of Hepworths, The Shabby Creek Cottage, A Glimpse Inside, Fireflies and Jellybeans, Gluesticks, Momnivore's Dilemma, Yesterday on Thursday & Katie's Nesting Spot, Beyond the Picket Fence, Making It With Allie, Rhinestone Beagle, Suzy's Artsy-Craftsy Sitcom, Tales From Bloggeritaville, Christina's Adventures, Saved By Love Creations, Thrifty Decorating, Seven Alive, The 36th Avenue, Southern Lovely, The Crafty Blog Stalker, Kissed by a Frog, Bear Rabbit Bear, Crafty Scrappy Happy, 52 Mantels, live. laugh. rowe., Delightful Order, The Train to Crazy, Mine for the Making, The Taylor House, Just a Little Creativity, Hating Martha, The Frugal Girls, No Minimalist Here, Artsy Corner

Fridays: Fingerprints on the Fridge, The Shabby Nest, Tatertots & Jello, Simply Sweet Home, 30 Handmade Days, WhipperBerry, Lovely Crafty Home, Catch As Catch Can, Nap Time Crafters, 504 Main, My Simple Home Life, Simply Designing, The Picket Fence, Chic on a Shoestring, The Hungry Hypo, French Country Cottage, Ladybird Lane, The Answer is Chocolate, Truly Lovely, Bubbly Nature Creations, Little Becky Homecky, Delicate Construction, Serenity Now, See Vanessa Craft, Happy Hour Projects, Making Lemonade, One Artsy Mama, Mom 4 Real, So You Think You're Crafty, Finding Fabulous For Less, It's a Hodgepodge Life, Tidy Mom, Scissors & Spatulas, While He Was Napping, Release Me Creations, Craftionary, Five Days... Five Ways, The Creative Paige, Blissful Bucketlist

Saturdays: Tutus & Tea Parties, Here's to Handy Andy, Craft Envy, Funky Junk Interiors, Young & Crafty, Be Different Act Normal, To Sew With Love, Six Sisters' Stuff, Gingerbread, Lolly Jane, Homemaker in Heels, A Vision to Remember, Positively Splendid, Too Much Time, Crafty Moms Share, Polkadot Pretties, Candace Creations, Serenity You, Shaken Together

Sundays: I Heart Nap Time, Under the Table and Dreaming, LambAround, Flamingo Toes, Petite Hermine, Homemaker on a Dime, The Foley Fam, The SweetTa lk Shop, Nifty Thrifty Things, The Tablescaper, My 1929 Charmer, It's Overflowing

Miscellaneous: The Girl Creative, Every Crafty Endeavor, My House of Giggles, My Lil Pumpkin Patch, Vintage Gwen

Paper & Tile Coasters

noreply@blogger.com (Mel the Crafty Scientist) — Wed, 09 Jan 2013 02:21:00 +0000

Another project I did a million years ago was making some coasters from tile, felt, and Mod Podge. I gave them out as gifts to my family last Chrismukkah (as in, December 2011) and they were a success. Plus, I kept a set for us and we've continued to use them... so, I figured I'd at least post pictures of the finished project!

Supplies

Tiles (Less than $0.40 at Lowe's!)
Mod Podge
Glue
Scrapbook Paper
Scissors
Ruler
Felt

Instructions

First, cut your scrapbook paper to be slightly smaller than your tiles. Then, attach it to the tile with your Mod Podge (I used the glossy kind). I applied a couple of coats of the MP to protect it so it could actually be used to handle drinks.

While you wait for your tiles to dry, you want to cut your felt to about the same size as the paper - just slightly smaller than the tile. After the tiles are dry, glue the felt squares to the back of the tile (the not-so-pretty, non-smooth side).

After that dries, you're done! The felt cutting doesn't have to be perfect - it's just to protect nice household surfaces from the rough back of the tile.

I just packaged these up into groups of four (blue for my sister, red for us, etc.), tied a ribbon around the ones I was giving as gifts, and then they were ready for gifting and use!

There you have it! An awesome gift you can make in a variety of colors for less than $2 for a set of 4 (assuming you only have to buy the tiles)!

I'll be linking up to some of my favorite link parties...

Mondays: C.R.A.F.T., Polly Want a Crafter, The DIY ShowOff, Craft-O-Maniac, Making the World Cuter, Skip to My Lou, Mad in Crafts, Sew Can Do, Boogieboard Cottage, Keeping It Simple, Polish the Stars, Pinkapotamus, Singing Three Little Birds, Colours Dekor, DIY Home Sweet Home, Ask Anna, Home Savvy, Be Colorful, The Gunny Sack, Lines Across, The Southern Institute, Get Outta My Head, 3 Mango Seeds, You're Talking Too Much, I Should Be Mopping the Floor, Destination: Craft, Cherished Bliss, 11th Heaven's Homemaking Haven, Sarahndipities, Sumo's Sweet Stuff, Marvelously Messy, Between Naps on the Porch, Bringing Beauty, Ninth Street Notions, Southern Hospitality, Sew Chatty, Thrifty Decor Chick, Reinventing the Ordinary (Pet Party)

Tuesdays: Embellishing Life, New Nostalgia, Hope Studios, Vintage Wanna Bee, Tip Junkie, Ladybug Blessings, Topsy Turvy, Funky Polkadot Giraffe, Giggles Glitz & Glam, Reasons to Skip the Housework, Coastal Charm, A Bowl Full of Lemons, Not Just a Housewife, A Diamond in the Stuff, The Ivy Cottage, homework, Crayon Freckles, Crafty Confessions, Me and My Boys, The Kurtz Corner, Sugar Bee, Sweet Little Gals, Chef in Training, Raising 4 Princesses, A to Zebra Celebrations, Natural Nesters, Today's Creative Blog, Home Stories A to Z, DIY by Design, Tales of a Trophy Wife, Our Delightful Home

Wednesdays: Creations By Kara, Seven Thirty Three, Sugar and Dots, Someday Crafts, Night Owl Crafting, Lil Luna, Sew Much Ado, We Are That Family, A Little Tipsy, My Girlish Whims, Polka Dots on Parade, Passionately Artistic, Ginger Snap Crafts, Not So Simple Housewife, Frugally Sustainable, Handy Man Crafty Woman, Faded Charm, let birds fly, The Sasse Life, Clean & Scentsible, Junk in their Trunk, Uncommo n, Pincushion Creations, It's Just Called Spicy, Sew Woodsy, Primp Junktion, Organize and Decorate Everything, Savvy Southern Style, A Beach Cottage, JAQS Studio, The DIY Dreamer

Thursdays: Somewhat Simple, House of Hepworths, The Shabby Creek Cottage, A Glimpse Inside, Fireflies and Jellybeans, Gluesticks, Momnivore's Dilemma, Yesterday on Thursday & Katie's Nesting Spot, Beyond the Picket Fence, Making It With Allie, Rhinestone Beagle, Suzy's Artsy-Craftsy Sitcom, Tales From Bloggeritaville, Christina's Adventures, Saved By Love Creations, Thrifty Decorating, Seven Alive, The 36th Avenue, Southern Lovely, The Crafty Blog Stalker, Kissed by a Frog, Bear Rabbit Bear, Crafty Scrappy Happy, 52 Mantels, live. laugh. rowe., Delightful Order, The Train to Crazy, Mine for the Making, The Taylor House, Just a Little Creativity, Hating Martha, The Frugal Girls, No Minimalist Here, Artsy Corner

Fridays: Fingerprints on the Fridge, The Shabby Nest, Tatertots & Jello, Simply Sweet Home, 30 Handmade Days, WhipperBerry, Lovely Crafty Home, Catch As Catch Can, Nap Time Crafters, 504 Main, My Simple Home Life, Simply Designing, The Picket Fence, Chic on a Shoestring, The Hungry Hypo, French Country Cottage, Ladybird Lane, The Answer is Chocolate, Truly Lovely, Bubbly Nature Creations, Little Becky Homecky, Delicate Construction, Serenity Now, See Vanessa Craft, Happy Hour Projects, Making Lemonade, One Artsy Mama, Mom 4 Real, So You Think You're Crafty, Finding Fabulous For Less, It's a Hodgepodge Life, Tidy Mom, Scissors & Spatulas, While He Was Napping, Release Me Creations, Craftionary, Five Days... Five Ways, The Creative Paige, Blissful Bucketlist

Saturdays: Tutus & Tea Parties, Here's to Handy Andy, Craft Envy, Funky Junk Interiors, Young & Crafty, Be Different Act Normal, To Sew With Love, Six Sisters' Stuff, Gingerbread, Lolly Jane, Homemaker in Heels, A Vision to Remember, Positively Splendid, Too Much Time, Crafty Moms Share, Polkadot Pretties, Candace Creations, Serenity You, Shaken Together

Sundays: I Heart Nap Time, Under the Table and Dreaming, LambAround, Flamingo Toes, Petite Hermine, Homemaker on a Dime, The Foley Fam, The SweetTa lk Shop, Nifty Thrifty Things, The Tablescaper, My 1929 Charmer, It's Overflowing

Miscellaneous: The Girl Creative, Every Crafty Endeavor, My House of Giggles, My Lil Pumpkin Patch, Vintage Gwen