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

As summer is approaching, the school year is ending.  You've spent out on spring pictures, yearbooks, possibly graduation supplies, and a list of other things.  Do you really need to buy anything else?  If you are like me, you become guilt ridden and cannot bear the thought of not providing some type of end of year teacher appreciation gift.  After all, these teachers have seen our children more during the past ten months than we have.  Shouldn't we show them how much we appreciate them and all their hard work and dedication?  So how do you do this without breaking in to the vacation fund?  Especially if you have more than one child, and they have more than one teacher?   I've been trying to master this for the past five years and I have done fairly well.  This year I am really pleased with what I put together.  We have five teachers to buy for, and a birthday party this weekend.  I have been pinning through Pinterest ...

The original title of my blog is, "That Thing Called Life", because let's face it: it happens.  I realize I have been MIA for a while and I have a long list of reasons why, but we'll save that for later.  Why don't we get back to some great gift ideas?  First, let me show you what I woke up to this morning... Just as the sun was coming up, so beautiful. Ok, let's make a hair bow basket.  If you already make hair bows and are anything like me, you have a stash of them.  If you do not make hair bows, find someone you know that might make them for you or dabble in making some yourself.  There are some great tutorials on You Tube. Supplies: A basket or flower pot Floral foam Skewer sticks Duck tape Hair bows I had these great round floral foam pieces I found at the Dollar Tree a while back and stocked up on them.  Also in my stash was this really cute basket with the inside round and a perfect fit for the foam. All you do next is...

What is Kitschy you may ask?  Well if you live in the dark like me I'm sure you are asking this question.  From a little "googling" I have found that the best definition for Kitschy is: tacky, lame, mismatched.  Attractive right?  I was reading through my emails last week and came across this little blog post counting down the days to Halloween.  On day 19, there is the title Kitschy Pumpkin , linked to Cool2Craft .  (If you are not following this blog, you should.  Crafts and instructions of all kinds, it's awesome.) Anyway the little project intrigued me.  You use a bunch of buttons, resins, broken jewelry, just any little thing you have laying around.  In the Pumpkin piece I read, she had her husband carve her out a wood pumpkin.  For some reason this turned on a light bulb in my over worked head, and I remembered purchasing some unfinished wood photo frames last year that I had never used.  Then I thought about all these res...

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 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...