That Thing Called Life...A Day in the Life of a Crafty Mom

Holiday Countdown 2012 100 Days of Crafts, Gifts & More     Hey everyone!  Getting in to the fall spirit yet?  We are having so much fun getting ready for Halloween.  We can't wait until next week when we get to go to the "Pumpkin Patch" at a local church. Every year the youth group sets up in front of their church with some of the prettiest pumpkins around to sell.  I love to buy from them because all funds go to the youth missions.  Each year I take my kids there and let them pick out all the smaller pumpkins, the ones perfect to paint.  I typically come home with the entire trunk of my car full.  Then we cover the bar counter or floor with newspaper and I set out paints, glitter, glue and rhinestones, anything we have on hand for decorating.  The kids love it and it has become a yearly tradition for us.   This next craft is one that could be incorporated into any of the upcoming holidays....

Holiday Countdown 2012 100 Days of Crafts, Gifts & More 93  Days till Christmas 60  Days till Thanksgiving 38 Days till Halloween       Day 2 of Fall!  I do love this time of year, even though it doesn't seem to love me.  Anyone else battling the changing weather allergies?  Ugh!  However, I'll take it just so we can have the cooler weather.  I love getting up early in the morning and stepping outside with the need to feel all bundled up.  It may warm up some during the day, but the coolness of the morning air is very invigorating.  Who needs coffee?  Just give me good, cool, country air.   Since today is Sunday and typically our day to "rest" and get caught up for the week, I am going to share with you a link to another crafty lady's blog.  Red Couch Recipes.   Every year around this time she brings out the ever clever Zoulah to assist with her Halloween decor...

Holiday Countdown 2012   100 Days of Crafts, Gifts & More 94  Days till Christmas 61  Days till Thanksgiving 39  Days till Halloween     It's the first day of Fall Ya''ll!    From the wonderful world of Pinterest I found this interesting pin about making your own wreath form.  You've probably seen it but if not, here is a link to it.   I went out to my local big box hardware store and picked up 2 of the smallest foam pipe covers for less than $1 each.   Cut them in half.   And then TAPE them together with duct tape, or like I used, electrical tape.  DO NOT try to hot glue the ends together or you'll have a hot mess like I did.  Dear hubby said I shouldn't use hot glue, but I didn't listen, and he was right.  Just don't ever tell him I said that!       And yes, Miss Bella thought it was a new play toy.   Next decide how yo...

Holiday Countdown 2012 100 Days of Crafts, Gifts & More 95  Days till Christmas 62  Days till Thanksgiving 40  Days till Halloween       Today I really wanted to make a crafty pumpkin I found the idea for on Pinterest.  Making a pumpkin from dryer duct and spray paint.  I had a list of supplies to get on my shopping list and away I went to the big hardware super store.  I scan the isles finding what I need for various other projects and finally get to the dryer pipe.   Sticker Shock!   I found that the cheapest dryer duct that would work started at $10 and went to $20, and would probably only create one pumpkin at best.  Still skeptical, I went to the spray paint and to get the color I needed it would have added another $5 on to that.   $15-$25 total for a creative pumpkin was not in the budget.  I want cheap, inexpensive DIY projects.  When the supplies ...

Holiday Countdown 2012 100 Days of Crafts, Gifts & More 96 Days till Christmas 63 Days till Thanksgiving 41 days till Halloween       I must seriously be blogger illiterate.  I schedule, make sure the time zone is correct, and yet it still doesn't upload.  So for the next few days you may see 2 blogs a day while I play catch up to Blogger.  Grrrr.     Counting down with more Halloween crafts.  Today's craft is a simple TP Pumpkin.  That's right, the toilet paper pumpkin.  I saw these posted on a friend's page and couldn't believe when she said how easy they were made.  Here's the supplies you need:   Toilet Paper Orange Tissue Paper Brown Tissue Paper or an Empty TP Roll Green Ribbon   Next I took a sheet of orange tissue and folded it in half length wise and put the toilet paper on it to start rolling.   Just roll it up and tuck in each end t...

Holiday Countdown 2012 100 Days of Crafts, Gifts & More 97 Days till Christmas 64 Days till Thanksgiving 42 days till Halloween If you have noticed a delay in the posts I apologize.  I have several blogs ready to go and "scheduled" to be published each day at a certain time.  However, it hasn't worked so far so my apologies. On to the next craft! Another cute idea I found somewhere online (sorry-brain freeze and I can't find my reference) was to turn pumpkins in to cute "mummies".  This is another extremely easy project and inexpensive.  The kids will love helping you make these. Supplies: Pumpkin (real or fake) Gauze Google Eyes Glue of your choice Start with one end of the gauze and apply some glue or even double sided sticky tape.  Start wrapping from the bottom and around, and around, and around.  There is no exact science to this one, be as creative as you wish!  It is a good idea to...

Holiday Countdown 2012 100 Days of Crafts, Gifts & More 99 Days till Christmas 66 Days till Thanksgiving 44 days till Halloween DIY Dry Erase Board Actually it's more of a Dry Erase Stand.  This is super simple, super cheap, and super cute to make.  First, get a frame of your choice from your local Dollar Store. Take a sheet of lined notebook paper, or even decorative paper, and place inside the frame. Now grab some accessories.  I chose some flower heads and rhinestones but you can even add ribbon, painted wood flowers/stars/letters ect. Decide where you want them on the frame and glue in place with hot glue, e6000, or super glue. Ta Da! Now just package with a dry erase pen and your gift is all set.  This is a great gift for teachers, Sunday school teachers, mentors or just anyone that would like to have a nice way to make a quick note.  It doesn't break the bank and it's a unique gift. Tomo...

Holiday Countdown 2012 100 Days of Crafts, Gifts & More 98 Days till Christmas 65 Days till Thanksgiving 43 days till Halloween Ribbon Pumpkins I found the idea for these from a Michaels' pin on Pinterest .  Their version was to take pumpkins and wrap in decorative paper and tie some tulle on the stem.  I did mine slightly different. First, check out your local Dollar Store for great decorating help.  Seriously you will be amazed with how inexpensive things are.  (You'll see me referencing them a lot in this series.)  I found these super cute "carveable" pumpkins there.  Supposedly you can carve them like a real pumpkin but that's not what I had in mind. A craft group I am in posted a Craft Wars challenge to re-create a decorative item using certain ribbon.  I decided to make these Michaels' inspired pumpkins using ribbon instead of paper. I snagged several of these to decorate. Next I took my ...

Holiday Countdown 2012 100 Days of Crafts, Gifts & More 100 Days till Christmas 67 Days till Thanksgiving 45 days till Halloween The seasons are vastly approaching, are you ready?  Today starts the beginning of my 100 favorite days of the year.  Anyone that knows me will tell you that I am not a fan of spring and unless I am at the beach where the humidity is down, I loathe summertime.  I have seasonal allergies that beat me up when everything starts to bloom and the heat around here can be quite unbearable.  The past 2 or 3 years (or more) we have experienced the wonderful "code orange" about 90% of the summertime.  The kids are cooped up in the house while I work and we are all going stir crazy.  We can't even stand to go outside until it's dark.  Just, blah, miserable. Then bring in Fall.  You will see a ray of happiness around me.  Football.  Fairs.  Festivals.  Halloween.  LOVE.IT.  I a...

Hey everyone! I'm baaaaaccck! After a very long summer and a somewhat routine finally in place, I hope I am back for good.  But, then again, that's where the title of my blog comes from:  That Thing Called Life. It happens! I have been very busy getting prepared for the fall and winter seasons coming up on us so fast.  I already have lots of orders in place and I am fully booked for fall.  I absolutely love this time of year, fall especially.  Last year I was determined to start out blogging a 100 day countdown to Christmas craft list.  I think I made it 2 days in a row and became overwhelmed with school, cheer, dance, orders, a craft fair and on and on.  This year however, I'm ahead of the game.  I guess it's trial and error and we learn along the way. What I am lining up is a 100 Days of Holidays Countdown Crafts, Gifts and More.  The title is still being tweaked but you get the picture.  I will be counting down to Halloween, Tha...