Fun for Kids with Crafty Bands

Kids wait all year for summertime to roll around. And usually within a few weeks parents start hearing "I'm bored", "there's nothing to do." My kids got the crafty gene from their momma and are always asking for something to do or make. Just before school was out I was at the Mega Meet in Novi and I stopped by the Epiphany Crafts booth. If you are not familiar with them, I urge you to take a look. Epiphany Crafts has created a punch tool that cuts and applies the coordinating epoxy sticker to your die cut for you all at the same time, eliminating the daunting task of lining up edges. And they have different shapes and sizes too!

Epiphany Crafts also has a line called Crafty Bands. Crafty Bands are bracelets designed for kids. They use the punch tool to create their epoxy covered stickers and adhere them into snaps with double-sided adhesive then snap them onto the bracelet. IT is VERY easy to do! To get started, simply pick up a starter kit like this...

It comes with the punch, 4 different colored bracelets with coordinating snaps, epoxy stickers and the adhesive to add the images to the snaps. The tool for the Crafty Bands is not sold separately. However, once you purchase the starter kit then you have the punch and only need to purchase additional bracelets when you need them. Here's Shelby working on her first one...

She had a blast! And it is super easy to do. My kids had no problem doing it on their own. Here was Shelby's finished project...

She used some of my scraps to create this but you could easily print your own images to work with! I held a class for the neighborhood kids and they all created a Crafty Band bracelet and matching necklace. They really enjoyed it! Check 'em out, the starter kits make excellent birthday or Christmas gifts!

Creative Space

In 2011, we converted our 2 car, detached garage into my creative space. It was the BEST present Rocky could have given us. I say us because before, ALL of my craft stuff was crammed into every little nook and cranny of our bedroom. And it was a chore just to get it out to begin a project. It has taken time to get it where it is today, but we continue to improve on the space and make it just right for my needs.

I was lucky to have found some super nice, solid wood cabinets that had been custom made for a law firm. They were renovating their office again and had listed the cabinets on Craigslist. I JUMPED on them and bought 6 of them. I LOVE that each of them has at least 1 file drawer in it. I used 4 of the 6 along with a kitchen counter top to create a 10 foot crafty workspace. Yes, it is wonderful! Here's a peek at what it looks like...

The far left side is where I keep my sewing machine. I will admit I do not sew nearly as much as I thought I would...especially since I have a dedicated space to do it...but I like having it out in the open view anyway. In the middle I have a pretty good sized parts organizer. Rocky's work was cleaning out and they allowed him to bring them home and he was kind enough to share with me. ;) I have my extensive washi tape collection and small parts like mini paper clips, clothes pins, etc. stored in there. Then the right side is my work space. I have my Making Memories Tool Turnabout with all my favorite go-to tools as well as my Scor-Pal and my paper trimmer right there within reach at all times. The drawers are organized with ink pads, Stampin' Up! cardstock, Spellbinders/Quickutz dies, etc. All things I use OFTEN. I am thinking of purchasing some small Expedit cases to hang above each side of my work space for more storage.

Last year I saw where crafters were buying the Bygel rail systems from Ikea and using them for punch storage. I don't have a LOT of punches, but I had enough to need a place for them. And anytime I am in Dallas or Chicago a trip to Ikea is a MUST! See my pink chairs, yep, Ikea. LOVE them! Anyway, I hit Ikea and stocked up on Bygel rails and some little baskets for them as well. We really didn't want to install them directly onto the sheetrock so we were thinking maybe we would create a little rolling storage system for them. But, again, I didn't need anything huge as I don't have that many punches. So, we decided to install them on the end of my work space.

They fit perfectly there and I love that my punches are out in the open. Maybe that will encourage me to use them more. While I continually change and re-organize, I really feel like my space is just about perfect. Thanks for stopping by today! If you have any organization tips I'd love to hear them...simply leave me a comment with a link if you have one!

DIY 4th of July Home Decor, Part I

If you are anything like me, you can't resist glitter. And any opportunity you have to use it, you do. I decided it was time to get my entryway decorated for 4th of July! And what better way to do that than to create it myself?! Here's what I did...

I grabbed my candles and star candle holders (from Ikea), Scor-Tape and American Crafts Zing embossing powders and set to work. The first, and probably most obvious thing to do is to cover your candles with the adhesive.

That is honestly, the trickiest part of this project. Once you have the candles covered in adhesive, you simply remove the coating and add glitter. After you have them covered, lightly press the glitter onto the adhesive to help it grab then clean up any extra glitter that was left behind when you tapped it off. A small paintbrush would be helpful to remove excess glitter from the candle when you are done. *Now I did use American Crafts Zing Glitter Embossing Powder, but since I was putting it on a candle (wax!) I chose to NOT heat set it. ;) I used a clear spray finish on mine to keep the glitter from rubbing off.

And here's what they looked like when they were done...

How bout that? Grand Old Flag Glitter Candles! LOVE! I finished them off with some We R Memory Keepers twine and a star charm from Teresa Collins.

Now, this post is Part I so that means there is more to come...stay tuned!

Plans for the week!

Hello friends! I hope you all had a fantastic weekend! I got some crafting done....well, I got some crafting started. :) I have a little announcement later this week. I know, sorry, but you will have to wait just a few more days.

I thought it might help me to keep up with my plans if I shared them here. So on Monday's I will share with you my crafty plans for the week.

I have been on Pinterest for quite some time now, but honestly didn't utilize it to its full potential. Sad, I know. But I am getting better and this weekend I pinned a few cards I liked and thought I might try to create, with my own twist. Here's number one...



I LOVE the simplicity of this card from the crafty side, however, it the complete card doesn't feel simple. Of course, I don't have those splatter stamps so I will be contacting my SU!rep asap! So this card itself won't be on this week's plate, however ordering the stamps will be. LOL!

Here's another one I pinned...



I LOVE the layers and the dimensional card front. This could easily be worked into a masculine card too by using chevrons and blue or green hues. Can't wait to try it.
Okay, well there you go. It may not seem like much, one card and a SU! order. ;) I know, one card isn't much. But I gotta start somewhere, right?

Craft for Dad

It had been a while since I was able to play in my craft room. My travel schedule had gotten a little out of hand for a while.  Thankfully, I have had some time off recently and managed to whip up something for Rocky for Father's Day.

I had some inexpensive display frames from Ikea that I had picked up during my last trip and couldn't wait to do something with them.  I pulled out my My Mind's Eye Stella & Rose Hattie collection I had snagged from ScrapAce.com and set to work. 

The frame has two plastic inserts that you can sandwich your pictures in between.  Since the My Mind's Eye papers were double-sided, I only had to use one base page then simply create a mini layout on both sides.  Here's side one...

After cutting the background page, I added a layer then cut a tag using a retired Quickutz Revolution Tag die then simply cropped and added the photo.  Then I began side two...

Since my base page was already started all I had to do was add some layers and my photo and I was done.  After sandwiching my mini layout in the plastic protectors and sliding it into the frame I began to embellish. 

On the "Dad" side of the frame, I added a trio of button in the lower left hand corner.  For the title, I die cut the banner from the LaLa Land Crafts Folding Banner Die then added Dad using some Thickers.

For side two, again I added the button trio in the lower corner.  This time, I die cut the LaLa Land Crafts Die Heart Banner, cutting it twice so that I could make the hearts a different color.  And lastly, I die cut the LaLa Land Stitched Tabs and added it to the lower right hand corner, finishing it off with the word 'family' with some Making Memories alpha stickers.

The original intention was to send it to work with him so he would have something for his desk but we decided to add it to our "family" decor instead.  I love how it turned out so much that I am thinking of making myself one for my office.  :)

Now I am hoping to steal some time for some 4th of July crafts soon!