Tuesday, October 27, 2009

Spooky Spider Treats

Just in time for Halloween...
I found this super cute idea from here.

These little spider pops are great for small inexpensive
party favors for your little one's Halloween party!

I simply grabbed some black pipe cleaners (cut in half),
and wrapped around the stem of a tootsie pop and
formed spider legs..
{I skipped on adding little googly eyes to each
spider, but if you have the time go ahead
and glue some on!}


A&J

Monday, October 26, 2009

Craft Room

I love looking at how people have their craft rooms organized and how pretty everything is. Let's be honest, not everyone has an extra room in their house just for crafts.
When we moved into our new house several years ago, I had one major request... I wanted a scrapbook/craft area. I do have to double it as a guest room when we have guests though so I don't have a full craft room, but I love it anyway.
Notice we had this really weird shaped window area to work with. If we had put a piece of furniture on that wall it would have totally blocked the window off. So my husband built me a custom work area. I drew out a big long skinny "U" shape plan and he put it all together. I slapped a coat of white paint on it all, and that was that!
Nope it's not as fancy as some of these very custom rooms, but it is perfect for me and what I use it for. {And a heck of a lot more inexpensive I'm sure!}

See this really weird shape we had to work with?
I have my sewing machine setup on one end which is super handy to not have to pack up when it's not being used.

The desk was made out of plywood and trimed out with 2x4's all the way around. The legs are also from the hardware store, just premade legs. All of the shelving is premade as well. We bought the 12" closet shelving, premade wooden brackets and finished out underneath
with more 2x4's for support. Notice, my work area is pretty narrow. I think it's only about 28" deep, so I've tried to use as much wall storage as possible.

These ribbon jars are not only functional but pretty as well. I needed an easy way to store all my ribbon where I could see what I have. I just bought a case of mason jars from the grocery store, and spray painted the lid silver. {Note: I left the middle circle out of the lid and just screwed the rim on the jar. So it looks like there are lids, but there really aren't. Makes it alot easier just to grab what you need.}


More pictures of the storage. Black photo storage boxes, baskets, and magazine holders for all my idea books.

This utensil holder was something that my husband made as well and I had gotten the idea from a magazine. It was just 2 2x4's made into a "T". He cut out 4 circles and I bought some inexpensive glasses to drop in. Very handy to have everything right there in front of you while your working, but off the table and out of the way.

More storage solutions... I found these silver salt shakers at the Dollar Store one day. Took the lids off and used them for storage.

Look everywhere for things you can use!

This is one of my bulletin boards in the room. I have several sets of stamps. And unless you have them out everyday it's hard to remember what you even have. Most of these were bought from Stampin' Up so I made a copy of the sets I have out of their catalog and posted them on my bulletin board and now I know exactly what all I have stored away!

This little cabinet was a garage sale find by my Mom. It was originally just an old wooden box used for spices. She grabbed it for a dime and gave it to me and said you can find something to do with this. And, yes I did.

I turned it on it's side, added a small little shelf inside, and a black drawer knob on the outside. Painted it all white and hung it on the wall. It's perfect for all of my "little" storage, like ink pads misc stamps, paint, etc. {Like I said, look everywhere for things you can use for creative storage.}
This is back in the corner of the desk. I have enough room to keep my cutting mat out which was another important thing for me.

And there you have it. A peek inside my Craft Area. {I'll be honest and say that it doesn't always look as tidy as this. And really, if it did then no one would ever believe that I actually use it. :) }


So what do your craft areas look like? Are there things that you love that you just can't live without?

A&J

Tuesday, October 20, 2009

Fall decorations...

I love decorating for fall. All of the colors are so warm
and inviting. It just makes me want to light a fire and
cuddle up in my pj pants.
Maybe read a book and take a nap.

Then I wake up from my daydream to break up
a fight between the kids and holler at the
dog to quit barking at the wind again...
One of these days though.
Anyway....

Most of theses decorations are from my favorite
craft store Hobby Lobby.

The top left is a shot of my fireplace mantel.  It has alot going on with the rock already so I just put a simple fall berry garland across and a few little pumpkins.  The black crow was a clearance find, but had totally ugly navy ribbon on it so I switched it to black and orange.  Seriously, since when did black and navy become a pair again??

The scarecrow was put up in our TV console by my 4 yr old.  Looked just as good as anything I could do with it so it stayed.

The white pumpkin is artificial and I just added "Boo" with a sharpe marker. {I just might have kinda copied by partner-n-crime "A" on this one. :-) } I plan to just turn it around after Halloween and just have a white pumpkin for fall.

The candy jar I filled with Halloween m&m's and printed one of these neat bottle labels and used double sticky tape to stick it on. {My favorite new thing this year.}

And that's all folks.
Happy Fall Ya'll!!

A&J

Tuesday, October 13, 2009

Halloween Costume - Tutu Witch


Need a super cute & unique witch costume for Halloween?
This one is simple to make and inexpensive!

{I wish I had a cute little model to show off how darling
 this actually looks on, but my little boy just wasn't up to the task -  
I even bribed him with candy and that didn't work.
Poor thing, guess I can't blame him....}

You'll need some ribbon, elastic, and at least two rolls of tulle (6 inches wide).

Elastic was cut about 16 inches long, and ribbon on each side was cut about 26 inches long. (these can be longer or shorter depending on how big you are making this.)
I stitched the ribbon on to each side of the elastic.

I sewed a third piece of ribbon that was cut about 50 inches to the middle in a "V". This will be the halter straps.


Then just cut strips of tulle for the tutu. They will need to be double the length you want it to be because you will fold them in half and tie onto the elastic. I tied two pieces together at a time.

Add a strip of green ribbon around the waist and safety pin a flower in the middle of the neckline.
(All of the ribbon just ties in a bow in the back)


All you need to finish the costume is a witch hat, and some striped leggings or tights!


A&J

Superhero Cape

A superhero cape for those rowdy little boys (or girls)!
This one was for Mr. Davis, so it has a "D" on it.

Instructions: (Keep in mind that this can be made any size at all. I made this one 22 inches wide by 26 inches long.)

Take 1 yard of fabric and cut two pieces similar to the shape above. Applique your letter or other "super" shape on one piece. Put right sides together and sew along the edges leaving a small opening to turn it right side out. Then iron all of your seams flat and make a final stitch all along the outside edges of the cape. To finish it off, sew velcro tabs to the neck of the cape.... and it's done!

A&J

I LOVE Halloween....

I LOVE Halloween....
Halloween has to be my favorite holiday. I love decorating the house and getting treat bags ready. Halloween parties and designing costumes.
Since my independent little ones had their own say in costumes this year, of which were store bought, I'm spending my energy on decorating.
I love all you creative people out there and am in awe at all your delicious little blogs full of all the cutest ideas. See my version of the white boo pumpkins. It's everywhere, so of course I had to try it out myself. My new fav item of the year. Hobby Lobby has these feathered topiary trees that are also a new fav of mine. And no Halloween is complete without a giant spider and her web to greet you in the entryway. We call her Charlotte because we are creative like that.
The front porch is my next project.
Happy Halloween All!!!

A&J

Monday, October 12, 2009

Adorable Hat

Check out this most adorable hat I found on Etsy this weekend. Love it!!! Can you say fall photo op? Kathyneilsen is the genius maker. Of course I ordered 2. The girls will look so cute. Especially with their matching pea coats I bought from Target. CUTE!!!

A&J

Thursday, October 8, 2009

Halloween Candy Necklace

Here is a different take on candy necklace. I made this for my son's preschool class for little party favors for their Halloween Party. They turned out so cute and very easy to do!


I grabbed a roll of clear cellophane from the craft store and cut about 6 inch wide strips. Place you choice of candy, treats or other goodies in the cellophane. Then just wrap it up and tie each section off with some ribbon.
I used:
little bags of pretzels
nerds
fruit snacks
a Halloween stamp ($1 spot at Target)
eyeball gumballs
& of course some candy corn packets.
You can use anything!
(Note: you may need to use two strips of cellophane for each necklace to make it long enough. Just overlap them in between one of the sections)

A&J

Sunday, October 4, 2009

My Favorite Blog...


I read all of her posts.
Some of them make me smile.
Some of them make me cry.
Some of them inspire me to get a little more crafty.
Some of them inspire me to try something new.
Her witty humor makes me laugh.
So sometimes I even re-read them.
Then I laugh again.
And sometimes I even call my friend (A) that
works down the hall and tell her she
needs to read it as well.
Sometimes we get to laughing so hard that
I almost fall out of my chair.

It’s the little things in life.
Julie, you rock!
And if you happen upon here,
we heart you!
Keep the posts a comin’!

J

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