71 Projects: Brave Birthday Invitations

Project 6: Brave Birthday Invitations

Start Date: March 21, 2013
Finish Date: March 21, 2013
Total Time: 2-3 hours
Difficulty Level: Moderate
Total Cost: zippity-do-dah

This year, Jaden has decided to have a Brave themed birthday party. I'm so excited to take her pictures! She wants me to make her hair super curly like Merida's. In fact, she wants to chop it all off (it almost reaches the top of her pants) but is waiting until after her birthday for that reason.

I came up with these fun invitations for J's party this year:

 

I always like to include a little note in her invitations to family members that tells her interests and clothing sizes. It makes it easier for them to come up with gift ideas. Of course this year, they were told NOT to read the last line out loud :-)

 

For her friends, the note either invited the friend to spend the night, or noted that the party was over at 4:00. I love how they turned out!

Are you planning a Brave birthday party? You can customize and order these printable invitations in my Etsy store! Click here for the listing.

Keep track of all of my DIY projects by clicking on the DIY Directory tab at the top of my blog!

Shanterest: Designing 800

Day 17: Design

As a profession, I'm a graphic designer.  No, I don't like my job. I do, however, like design. I appreciate good design.  I like getting ideas and inspiration from Pinterest.  I like finding awesome pieces and creating them myself.

Here are a couple of design ideas that I fell in love with:

Source: etsy.com via Shannon on Pinterest

Source: etsy.com via Shannon on Pinterest

Source: eighteen25.blogspot.com via Shannon on Pinterest

I had fun recreating these pieces for myself.  I am not going to give them to you or sell them in my Etsy store because, well, I pretty much copied them spot on.  I'm pretty good at that because, well, that's what I do... design, not copy.

BUT, inspired my the idea of using lyrics in design, I did make my own, using my favorite line from my favorite song.

I am listing this print in my Etsy store.  Because this very post happens to be my 800th post, I'm offering all of my blog readers 50% off anything in my Etsy store for the remainder of the month!  Enter the coupon code: FALL50 at checkout for the discount!  Not valid on private listings, sorry.

Thanks in advance and HAPPY 800 DAY :o)

Badges of Fun: Learn Something New & A GIVEAWAY!

The girls earned their third badge in Disney Family Fun's Badges of Fun challenge!  The theme for the third badge was Learn Something New.  To earn their badge, the girls started a scavenger hunt.  I created exploration guides for them to fill out to earn their badge. 

On each page of the guide, I read them a riddle and they (Jaden) had to try and guess the correct answer.  After that, they had to draw a picture of that object and then find it. 

Once we found it, I took their picture to put in their guide!

This has been a fun, ongoing project for both girls and myself!  We aren't completely finished with our guides yet, but I feel that they have completed enough to earn a badge :o)

 

 

Great job girls!

For the next badge, we all get to participate in some Family Night Fun!  To earn the badges, the girls must complete an activity in one of the following categories:

1. Play Table Sports
2. Make Some Custom Crafts
3. Hone Your Skills

As always, I like to choose an activity that is fit for the girls' age level (4 and 2) and the second category has the perfect activity for us!  As you can see, we love to display photos and artwork on our refrigerator. 

I think the girls would really enjoy making frames to hold their own coloring pictures and the photos of our friends!  I have two creative kiddos so I'm sure the frames will be awesome!  Like always, we'll put our own creative twist on our project.

I can not say enough good things about Disney Family Fun magazine!  We all love it at our house!  Jaden loves to grab the magazine when it comes in the mail and look through it to find her favorite characters.  You can only imagine her surprise when she came across these cuties on page 11:

She couldn't believe she was in the same magazine as Tinkerbell and Duck Tales! 

 

I want to thank Faye and everyone else at the magazine for featuring my girls and their hard work!  Disney has agreed to give one of my readers a ONE-YEAR SUBSCRIPTION to Disney Family Fun!  How awesome is that?!  If you already have a subscription, they will extend your current subscription for one year at no cost to you!

This is not a random giveaway.  Please leave a comment below telling my why you want this subscription.  Have you ever purchased a copy of the magazine before?  What is it about Disney Family Fun that you absolutely can not get enough of?  Who would you share your subscription with? 

Be sure to leave your email address in the comment!!  I will pick the commenter that I feel is most deserving of this awesome prize.  You must comment BEFORE November 13 to be considered.  I will pick and announce the winner on Monday, November 14.

Facebook friends: You do not have to have a Blogger ID to comment!  If you would like the subscription, leave a comment as anonymous, but be sure to leave your name and email address in the comment!

Also, I have listed the Exploration Guides I created in my Etsy shop.  They come as a printable PDF for you to make yourself!  Check out my shop if you are interested.

Good luck! 

Badges of Fun: September Badge

For the month of September, Disney Family Fun is challenging the girls to Learn Something New!  To earn their badge, they must complete an activity in one of the three categories:

1. Solve Science Puzzles
2. Explore Your World
3. Play with the Alphabet

The challenge that I always face when planning these activities is how to make them interesting enough to excite Jaden, yet basic enough to include Taylor.  In the first category, there are different science experiments suggested for the kids to do; from learning about bubbles to experimenting with physics.  For the second category, we could learn how to measure the height of trees or how a polar bear stays warm.  In the third category, there are fun activities such as, creating sentences with building blocks and finding the alphabet in strange places.  While all of the suggested activities sound fun, I'm obviously going to try to think up something on my own that both girls can do and have fun with!

To earn their September badge, I'm thinking about creating a scavenger hunt of objects found in their world.  I am going to make exploration books for the girls.  Jaden's book will have clues to lead her to objects.  For example, a page might say, "I am the tallest around with leaves so green.  My roots go down deep, I am a _____!"  Then, Jaden could guess that she had to find a tree, write the word on the line, and start her hunt!  In Taylor's book, I will draw a picture of a tree and write the word underneath it.  She will need to recognize a real tree by looking at a drawing of it. 

I am so excited to do these books with the girls!  It may even be fun to do a picture of something that represents each letter of the alphabet.  I have three weeks to get my books together and start our hunt!

Oh, and let me know if you are interested in participating in a scavenger hunt of your own!  I will be putting both versions of the books in my Etsy store :o)

Are you ready for some AWESOME stuff?!?!

I can't thank all of you enough for making blogging so much fun!

Today not only marks my 500th post, it is also my

VERY LAST POST...

...of 2010!

You were sweating a little, right?

I've decided that with such a monumental post, I needed to bring in the
big guns! 
I've got the crème de la crème of crafty mamas here to help me celebrate!

First up... well, she really needs no introduction...

It's BECCA from Blue Cricket!



Hip hip hooray! It's party hat day!

 

"The Charlie Bug Party Hat!" is ready to rock and roll any special birthday girl, boy, mom, dad, girlfriend or perfect strangers head! Customize yours with your favorite designer fabric and call it good! I've even included my free Birthday Patch pattern and instructions!

Order your very own pattern emailed straight to you in PDF format!

Print it off and get started!

Sewing level: Beginner

Estimated time of project: 30 min.

And to celebrate Shannon's 500th post celebration, I'm giving away
5 FREE Hat Patterns!

Be sure to come and enjoy all that Blue Cricket Design has to offer! BCD is a blog chuck full of DIY inspiration, craft projects, sewing tips, recipes and more! Amazing giveaways EVERY Wednesday and a "Show and Tell" linking party where you can link up your latest and greatest projects and have then seen by THOUSANDS! Come join in all the creative fun!

Thanks so much, Becca!

---

Next is my very own crafty mama, Jenny from
Bisque It Pottery Painting Studio!

Bisque It is a do it yourself pottery painting studio. You can select from hundreds of pieces of bisque: dinnerware, serving ware, decorative pieces, banks, picture frames, figurines... the list goes on! We also offer clay building; from pinch pots, to coil pots or slab building to wheel throwing.

We provide the materials and you provide the creativity!

 

Our studio fee includes the use of our tools, paints, glazes, and firing process. No experience or reservation is required. If you are in the Fort Wayne, Indiana area, come visit us and create a personalized masterpiece to keep for yourself or give as a gift!

Mention Shannon's 500th blog post and receive 20% off of one piece of pottery!

Visit

http://www.bisqueitpottery.com/

or find Bisque It on Facebook for more info on the studio!

 

My crafty mama has created this awesome car air freshener especially for one of my readers!!

Pretty cool, right?! 

Thanks, Mom!

---

I hope you aren't too partied out!  Let me introduce you to a fellow Fort Wayner, Lorri Courtney!

As far as my history, I guess like a lot of crafters I started as a child. My mother was very creative. She sewed a lot of our clothes when we were growing up but she also knit, crocheted, and did embroidery and crewel work. My grandmother tat and did embroidery. I don't really remember being taught, it was just always around. My sister and I were encouraged to try different things. I remember being very proud of the necklace I made by stringing paper hole punches onto thread.

I started knitting seriously after I graduated from college. I knit a bunch of sweaters, scarves, gloves and mittens. I still love knitting but I seem to have less time to devote to large projects. It wasn't until I went to my first indie craft show several years ago that I really thought about making and selling my things. I love the whole indie movement and the creative people it attracts. It sounds dumb but at that first show I really felt like I was around people like me. After that show in Columbus, OH I got organized and signed up for some area church and school holiday bazaars. I also got a shop on Etsy, the on-line site for crafters.

http://www.etsy.com/shop/llcourtney

Lorri is giving one of you a super-duper cute octopus!!

These things are too stinkin' cute!! 

Thanks, Lorri!

---

You may know this next guest as

Sumo!

Yep, that's right...

It's Summer of Sumo's Sweet Stuff!!

My real name is Summer, but my husband nicknamed me Sumo when we were dating (not sure if I should be offended or not!) so that's where the name Sumo comes from! I'm a huge fan of Diet Coke, peanut butter and chocolate (together and separate!), popcorn, chips and salsa, Christmas, the color black, and cats.

After I found out that my first baby was a girl, I started experimenting with bows and clips. I made the decision to dive right in and start selling things after I discovered how obsessed I was with it! You can imagine my delight when we found out our second was a girl, too! Our house is overflowing with bows, ribbons, headbands, and bracelets!

I decided to start my Sumo's Sweet Stuff blog when our family blog was starting to get a little taken over with my crafting. I never imagined that it would grow to what it is today! It's now a fun place for me to share my crafting habit, my new sewing obsession, giveaways, reviews, and feature other people's great ideas!

If I had to choose my favorite mode of crafting, right now it would have to be anything that involves fabric and sewing! I love buying fabric, and would do it all day long if we could afford it! My sewing machine is about to turn one, and I don't know how I ever lived without it!

To celebrate my 500th post, Summer is giving one lucky reader one of her gorgeous handmade charms and chain necklace!

  

Beautiful! 

Thanks, Summer :o)

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Our next visitor comes from the land of candy!  More specifically, GUMBALLS!

Greetings! My name is Alycia D’Avino, I am a full time artist and business owner with a B.S in Art Education. My YUMMI shop consists mostly of felted items. I love felting! It is a wonderful, but time consuming process. I have wonderful and talented team members who assist me in the creation of my products. YUMMI products are flying off the shelves! I can't make them fast enough! Whimsical, colorful and fun! Definite conversation starters, proven to steal the spotlight anywhere you go!!

http://www.etsy.com/shop/yummishop

Alycia has donated this sweet little clutch to give away to one of you!

Handmade Gumball inspired "yummi" change purse. Made out of wool. Created by using a felting process.

* 4 inches H X 6 inches W *
Beautifully lined, closes securely with zipper!

Thanks, Alycia... so creative!

 ---

Last but certainly not least, put your hands together and help me welcome the original crafty mama,

Abby Pecoriello!!

Abby is the author of the book, Crafty Mama!

Hey Everyone! Crafty Holidays! I'm Abby Pecoriello, a Crafty Mama...just like all of you! I've been crafty ever since I was four years old and was introduced to GLITTER. Glitter rocks! It adds everlasting OOMPH to every art project...as well as to the floor and your hair (just ask my mom!) As I got older, my glitter obsession turned into rhinestone one. Indeed I had a bedazzler and studded pretty much everything...my shoes, my shirts and even my dad's wedding tuxedo (oops!) Rhinestones turned to beads...and beads turned to tye-dye...and my snazzin' n' pizazzin' craziness continued right up until I had kids! I blinged out their onesies, teensy booties and even their wipe boxes and I loved every minute of it....and so did my playgroup! Every week we met and jazzed things up together...which led me to start my Crafty Mama Classes...which led to a few magazine articles...and next thing I knew, I was hot gluing my way into a book deal! It was awesome...and messy! You should have seen my small NYC apartment as I crafted those 49 projects in two weeks!

Lily and Sasha eating ices - they love EVERYTHING and ANYTHING sweet!

My teensy babies are now big (Lily is 7 and Sasha is almost 5) and they are super crafty too! When we're not coloring, gluing, blinging or making costumes on a random Tuesday and driving my husband Mike crazy with our mess, we all like to watch 80s and 90s movies, eat cereal, and sing and dance around our apartment to Glee! I have a full-time job now, but I still find time to craft...even if it is at 7:45 a.m. and I feel I just NEED to put some sort of funky iron-on onto Lily's shirt!? (That drives my husband nuts too!) Crafting has and always will...make me feel fantastic. And at the end of the day, a little glitter goes a long way!

Abby has so kindly shared one of her favorite crafts with us!

RECYCLED CRAYONS

Have kids? Will crayon! From all of the goodie bags, trips to the dollar store, visits to grandma and kid-friendly restaurants (oh wait, are there any other kind?)...we must amass about 100 crayons a year! We give a lot away, lose a lot, break a few, and even eat a few (no joke)...but at the end of the day we still have 50 extra at any given time...and they're sorta janky (so is my bag from them being at the bottom of it!) So we decided to give them a little holiday makeover...

Preheat oven to 275 degrees.

Peel off all the wrappers (if the wrappers are still on. My kids do this naturally)

Shave off any of the crayon scum with a knife (who knew crayons could be cheese doodle stained?!)

Break the crayons into small pieces (My kids do this naturally too!)

If they're chunky and hard to break into 1/4" - 1/2" pieces - cut them up carefully.

Spray mini-muffin tins with some cooking spray.



All nice and arranged in their mini-muffin tins.
We added glitter for some crayon pizazz!



Bake for about 8-10 minutes or until they're all nice and melty. The longer you let them melt, the less swirly they'll be.

All done (we might have cooked them a liiiiitle too long. d'oh!)

Take them out and let them cool. If you want to speed things up, put them in the freezer.

Pop them out of the tin.

A heaping bowl of crayons.

Stack 'em up!

Our favorite is the brown chocolatey looking one!

Color away!

 

They look soooo pretty that you can always slip them into a narrow cellophane bag, tie it up with some ribbon and give them away as gifts.

You guys can not even begin to understand my excitement when I saw that I got an email from Abby!  I immediately called Mike at work and told him my super huge, I-got-an-email-from-a-famous-person news, and he just didn't get it!  This book really got me started in crafting! 

Now, one of YOU can make the fab projects too because

Abby is giving a copy away!! 

AHH!  I know!

Thanks so much, Abby!  Truly an inspiration!

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There you have it!  I know you all are jumping out of your seats, screaming like I just gave you all new cars Oprah-style, right?  Only this is so much better!

Want to win one of these awesome prizes?

You can do so by:

1. Comment below and tell me which prize is your favorite or if you like them all, just give me a "PICK ME!!  PICK ME!!" Make sure you leave me your email address if I don't already have it!
2. Follow me!  If you are already a follower, comment again and tell me so!
3. Blog about this super awesome giveaway!  Comment AGAIN and tell me you did so!

I will randomly pick winners for each prize after the first of the year.  You need to leave separate comments for each entry.  I will email the winners so make sure I have your email address!!

Giveaway ends on January 1, 2011!

I wish everyone could win.  I enter giveaways all the time and have never won.

Aw heck, I can be like Oprah, too...

YOU ALL WIN!!

Seriously!  If you leave your email address in the comments below, I'll send you the printable PDF of my Household Organizational Binder!

It brightens my day to read your comments and visit your blogs, as well.  Have a very merry Christmas and a safe and happy new year!! 

See you in 2011 :o)