Saturday, December 3, 2011
Mamachee Patterns Giveaway Winner
Friday, December 2, 2011
Holiday 2010 Recap
I had fun making some great Christmas items last year and I wanted to share them with you. In case you missed them you can follow the link to get the tutorial or for more information. I will have more gifts that I am making and decorations coming up this month!
Christmas Decorations, Recipes & Traditions
Christmas Decorations, Recipes & Traditions
Christmas Printables
Whether you have your decorations up yet or not, add a bit to it with one of these great printables. Follow the link for how to download and print!
From Jones Design Company
Thursday, December 1, 2011
And the winner of the $25 shop credit to Elijah's Attic is....
Thank you to Chris and Jennifer, from Elijah's Attic, for sponsoring this giveaway for us! Your work is amazing. Now to announce the winner, chosen by random.org...
Wednesday, November 30, 2011
Making a Photo Board-A Tutorial
Do you want a super, easy, inexpensive way to display your pictures?
This makes a great holiday decoration too!
My Santa Photo Board
You will need:
A wooden board... whatever size you'd like. Mine is about 11x18".
Background Paper
Vinyl (I cut mine on my Silhouette)
Mod Podge
Paint
2 foam brushes (one for painting and one for Mod Podge)
Ribbon (I used two sizes. One for the main bow and a smaller one for the bows on top.)
Wire
A Drill
You favorite picture or pictures to post
Double Sided Tape for Posting
Sandpaper or a belt sander
Step 1-Sand the edges of your board smooth.
Step 2-Paint the edges and the border of the front of your board. Let it dry completely. There's no need to paint the entire board since it will be covered with your background paper.
Step 3-Choose your background papers and cut them to size. Most papers are 12x12. Since my board was longer than one piece, I neatly tore the second sheet to overlap the first sheet. I really like the way this looks.
Step 4-Spread a heavy layer of Mod Podge onto your wooden board. It should be thick enough where it looks white but not clumpy.
Step 5-Carefully place your background paper on the board. Using your hands, smooth the paper down as much as possible. When you are done, you may want to use a roller, (I use my Pampered Chef one) to get out as many wrinkles and bubbles as possible.
Step 6-You may want to place a book or piece of wood on top of the board to minimize lifting and bubbles. Let it dry about 30 minutes. Going onto the next step before letting it dry will cause more wrinkling in the paper.
Step 7-Apply a thick coat of Mod Podge over the entire surface of the background paper. Let it dry thoroughly.
Step 8-Sand the edges, where the board and paper meet, with an electric sander, sanding block, or piece of sand paper. This helps the edges blend in.
Step 9-Drill holes on either side of the board, large enough to slip your wire through.
Step 11-Tie your small bows around the top wires. Tie your large bow around the middle of the board. I did it about 2/3rds down.
Step 12-Remove all the vinyl around your words until all you have left is what you actually want on the board. Take a piece of transfer tape and put it on the vinyl. Rub the transfer tape with a too. I have one that came with my Silhouette. You can also use your Pampered Chef stoneware scraper, like Jill did, or a popsicle stick would work too. Place the words, on the board, where you want them. I chose the bottom right corner. Rub the transfer tape again. Gently peel away the transfer tape. Sometimes, I've had to use the tool to hold the vinyl letters away from the transfer tape, so they go on smoothly. The more you do this, the better you get.
Step 13-This is your lucky step. You're almost done! Using double sided tape, attach your favorite picture or pictures to the board. I plan to add more in a random pattern.
Congratulations! You're done! In an earlier post, I showed how I made a similar board for Thanksgiving. I plan on making one of these for every holiday. They are easy to make, fun, and inexpensive.
Tuesday, November 29, 2011
Crochet Dreamz Pattern Giveaway
Today marks the last of our 12 days of Giveaways! Do not fear, we have another great giveaway to finish off our 12 fabulous giveaways! We've are so thankful to all our wonderful sponsors for the fantastic giveaways. I hope that you have enjoyed them as well!
Today's giveaway is from Crochet Dreamz Patterns. Shenaaz is the creative crochet shoe-master behind Crochet Dreamz. She has more than shoes, but she is one talented lady when it comes to making all these fabulous shoes!
Today's giveaway is from Crochet Dreamz Patterns. Shenaaz is the creative crochet shoe-master behind Crochet Dreamz. She has more than shoes, but she is one talented lady when it comes to making all these fabulous shoes!
Monday, November 28, 2011
Jill's Etsy & Paying it Forward Announcement
As many of you know, I recently opened up an Etsy shop. I am very excited to get more listings up and to expand the items that I am creating.
I'm not sure what I was thinking opening up a shop so close to Christmas. I realize now that I have missed out on some key business, but I also realized that I may overload myself at one of the busiest times of the year. I'm not worried though, I would best under pressure. My sister says it is my preferred method. It probably is, but of insanity!
I finished up a few local orders and then opened up my shop. Then I got a flood of local orders again. I am very thankful for the business locally and on Etsy as it helps to pay for Christmas gifts and my yarn addiction!
I was incredibly happy when I got my first official Etsy order last week! Woo hoo! I was excited. Plus, it was from someone in Canada! Yippee, I've gone international to start. I can't wait to see where future orders will come from.
I share all of this information to let you know that I have a big announcement about my shop. Let me give you the background first. My husband is an avid reader. (I just read beach novels and Francine Rivers). He recently read Entreleadership by Dave Ramsey (he passed along many business tips to me from this book) and Start Something that Matters by Blake Mycoskie. If you aren't familiar with Blake Mycoskie, you might know him better as the creator of the TOMS brand of shoes. TOMS shoes started a program that for every pair of shoes that is purchased another pair will be given to a deserving recipient in South America.
Both of the books have been wrestling in my husband's mind for the last few weeks. After I opened up my shop, he came to be with an idea, which I loved. He said to me, "What if for every hat that is purchased on etsy you make another hat or item that goes to charity or the NICU." I told him that his idea was perfect!
In the past I had always thought of making blankets for Project Linus, but blankets are very time intensive and I didn't have that much time. A hat I can do though. I know local hospitals need many hats for all the babies, especially those in the NICU. That is where I want to make an impact. I love giving to others and I want to give to God's little gifts the most!
Therefore...
With the opening of my shop, I want to announce that for every hat that is purchased, I will make a special hat that will be donated to NICU babies in local Atlanta hospitals.
I will regularly post my stash of hats that I make for this pay it forward part of my shop here on the blog. I won't be making boring little hats, but the cute ones like the ones that you see in my shop. Every baby deserves something special and I want to help keep them warm and know that they are loved.
The next time you want to buy a handmade gift, please consider my shop. You'll be giving a gift twice!
I would love it if you would share my shop and mission to pay it forward with others. I know it might not be something huge, but every little bit makes a difference.
I'm not sure what I was thinking opening up a shop so close to Christmas. I realize now that I have missed out on some key business, but I also realized that I may overload myself at one of the busiest times of the year. I'm not worried though, I would best under pressure. My sister says it is my preferred method. It probably is, but of insanity!
I finished up a few local orders and then opened up my shop. Then I got a flood of local orders again. I am very thankful for the business locally and on Etsy as it helps to pay for Christmas gifts and my yarn addiction!
I was incredibly happy when I got my first official Etsy order last week! Woo hoo! I was excited. Plus, it was from someone in Canada! Yippee, I've gone international to start. I can't wait to see where future orders will come from.
I share all of this information to let you know that I have a big announcement about my shop. Let me give you the background first. My husband is an avid reader. (I just read beach novels and Francine Rivers). He recently read Entreleadership by Dave Ramsey (he passed along many business tips to me from this book) and Start Something that Matters by Blake Mycoskie. If you aren't familiar with Blake Mycoskie, you might know him better as the creator of the TOMS brand of shoes. TOMS shoes started a program that for every pair of shoes that is purchased another pair will be given to a deserving recipient in South America.
Both of the books have been wrestling in my husband's mind for the last few weeks. After I opened up my shop, he came to be with an idea, which I loved. He said to me, "What if for every hat that is purchased on etsy you make another hat or item that goes to charity or the NICU." I told him that his idea was perfect!
In the past I had always thought of making blankets for Project Linus, but blankets are very time intensive and I didn't have that much time. A hat I can do though. I know local hospitals need many hats for all the babies, especially those in the NICU. That is where I want to make an impact. I love giving to others and I want to give to God's little gifts the most!
Therefore...
With the opening of my shop, I want to announce that for every hat that is purchased, I will make a special hat that will be donated to NICU babies in local Atlanta hospitals.
I will regularly post my stash of hats that I make for this pay it forward part of my shop here on the blog. I won't be making boring little hats, but the cute ones like the ones that you see in my shop. Every baby deserves something special and I want to help keep them warm and know that they are loved.
The next time you want to buy a handmade gift, please consider my shop. You'll be giving a gift twice!
I would love it if you would share my shop and mission to pay it forward with others. I know it might not be something huge, but every little bit makes a difference.
Snowball Hat with Earflaps
I've been making some new hats lately and wanted to share them with you. We've had a few cool days here in Georgia, even though last week it was close to 80 degrees!
I wanted to make my kids a cute earflap hat to keep them warm while we do some holiday activities outdoors. I love the little snowball that is multi-colored on top as well.
I wanted to make my kids a cute earflap hat to keep them warm while we do some holiday activities outdoors. I love the little snowball that is multi-colored on top as well.
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