Category Archives: Entertaining

Make the absolutely positively bestest Christmas present ever And Make it in less than an hour

Make the absolutely positively bestest Christmas present ever And Make it in less than an hour

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How do I know that this will be the best Christmas present ever? Just look at the facts:

Fact: These days most of us turn to the internet for recipes.

Fact: If you have kids, you can never find an ipad or other tablet when you need it.

Fact: You hate smearing raw meatloaf all over your screen.

Fact:: None Not all your friends and relatives appreciate your handmade art, but it is hard to go wrong with something cute for the kitchen.

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I discovered this tablet holder at Gypsy Soul Laser Cuts and thought it might come in handy. When I discovered how easy-peasy it was to assemble and decorate, I fell in love.

Think about it. Using this means you now have a designated place for your tablet–that way it is less likely to get toted off to the kitchen table, stuck among the couch cushions or dropped in the toilet–ew. Plus! Since it is nicely propped so you can refer to a recipe, you won’t get raw ingredients smeared all over it. This is especially good if the last kiddo brought it into the bathroom. Ew again.

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I took some lovely tutorial pictures for this project, but my SD card decided to act like a politician and corrupt itself. (Sorry about that reference. Still suffering from a little election PTSD). Honestly though, this project is so easy you don’t need a tutorial.

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Just measure and cut pieces of cardstock for the front back and top of the holder. Adhere the cardstock to the chipboard. Insert the chipboard tabs into the slots and glue the whole thing together. Then just add an embellishment, like the cute little rolling-pin I used.

This is the third installment of my guest designers posts for Gypsy Soul Laser Cuts. Please stop by their blog and tell them how much you adore me. Or…if all the talk about meatloaf and toilets disgusted you, stop by their blog and tell them how much you adore them–because they are ever so much classier than me.

Great Stuff

Tablet/ipad/Phone Holder

Holiday Baking Butcher Paper

Red and Ivory Fleur de Lis

Red and Ivory Ticking

Red and White Mini Hearts

Beacon Fabri-tac

Beacon 3-in-1 Adhesive

Miniature Rolling Pin

Spoon up some holiday bashing fun

Spoon up some holiday bashing fun

 

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One might not think it is possible to trash talk a national holiday, family traditions and my siblings with one little altered art project. Turkey Wattles! Think again! I managed to denigrate them all in one swoop and present my Thanksgiving altered trading spoon on the Altered Pages blog.

 

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Make colorful flower napkin rings from paper bags

Make colorful flower napkin rings from paper bags
Make colorful flower napkin rings from paper bags

 

 

These beautiful napkin rings humble me. Why? Because I attempted to create some mother-daughter bonding time by crafting floral place card settings. As I struggled in vain to figure out how the flowers could uphold the name cards, my daughter breezed in, took one look at the project and said it would be much wiser to make napkin rings. I had to admit, she was right.

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That, my friends, is just the beginning. It turned out she was right many more times. She was right when she suggested we scallop the edges of the flowers, she was right when she said the flowers would look better if we made the centers with a paper fringe, she was right when she said we should add leaves and she was right when she suggested running the pipe cleaner through the leaves.

Just who is the professional crafter around here? I pride myself on my creativity, but it is nothing compared to the unhindered mind of the young.

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Root-a-toot-toot grad party decorations

Root-a-toot-toot grad party decorations

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My oldest graduating from high school. What is the big meaning of this? Diploma? No. College? No. Employment? Of course not. It’s the opportunity to throw a theme party!

Since my son loves root beer we decided to throw a root beer kegger, complete with root beer flavored candy and vintage root beer decorations.  Please take a look at all the vintage style centerpieces I made (as well as an easy-peasy tutorial) over at the Robin’s Nest.

Prima summer cone tutorial

Prima summer cone tutorial

 

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Awhile back I posted several different Prima projects. Today, I want to share with you how to make the paper cones. They are relatively easy and a super fun way to decorate your home for summer or for different holidays.

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Be a trendsetter–join the fun of Artist Trading Spoons

Be a trendsetter–join the fun of Artist Trading Spoons

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 You’ve heard of Artist Trading Cards (ATCs) and Artrist Trading Blocks (ATBs), but I bet you never heard of the Artist Trading Spoons (ATS). Why? Because I just invented them!

To accompany the Robin’s Nest recipe themed blog hop, I decided to have some fun and create some retro ATSes featuring bold and fun mid-century graphics.

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Hop to it and create some springtime decorations

Hop to it and create some springtime decorations

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Beginning this project was scary. Burned into my memory is the clay dog I proudly gave my mother when I was in elementary school. Purple, with orange zig zags and green dots, it was supposed to be an artsy rendition of our Golden Retriever. In reality it looked like it have five legs and a mass of tumors. I guess I really can’t blame my mom for her less than enthusiastic reception–or at least that’s what I have been telling my analyst every week since 1979.

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Make a vintage Halloween wreath & fa la la all the way into the holidays

Make a vintage Halloween wreath & fa la la all the way into the holidays

 

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It is the end of October. Tomorrow is Halloween. Yet, my Pinterest feed is inundated with Christmas projects. When I head to Target, I make a beeline to see what’s new in the the Christmas section. The Daughter™ has even begun singing Christmas carols.

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Make a cutie pie pumpkin centerpiece from bags

Make a cutie pie pumpkin centerpiece from bags

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It is Day 11 of Paper Calliope’s 13 Days of October and today’s post offers a little treat for the center of your table. Remember the rosette party decorations we made way back in Day Two? Well, to make this pumpkin centerpiece, you are going to follow most of the same directions. Read the rest of this entry