Christmas Craft Roundup!

one of the reasons we love this season is all the amazing crafts you can do!

here's a quick roundup of some awesome holiday crafting for you (by all means, not inclusive)

glitter pear ornament by a pumpkin & a princess

christmas wreath ornament by sarah ortega

 

 paper, fabric & felt trees by little inspiration

felt poinsettia from tidy mom

 

sharpie christmas ornament from the 36th avenue

 

 chalkboard ornaments from clean & scentsible

and some free chalkboard printables to inspire from nest of posies

washi tape ornaments from odessa may society

 

chalkboard mug from wit & whistle 

 

we'd love to hear more great craft ideas, just add them in the comments!

Handcrafted Books

We decided to make try our hand at bookbinding, and created personalized, unique books- perfect for journaling or sketching. They were easy to make, but be prepared to set aside a chunk of time to fold and sew in the individual pages. There are endless options for creating books, you can use fabric, paper, lace, ribbon, or anything your heart desires!

Easy to follow instructions: Bookbinding tutorial

Halloween Party Ribbons

Last year I hosted the 1st annual Halloween Pumpkin Carving Party, and it was so fun! I was inspired to make fancy awards for the winners, and based them off of these prize ribbons. 

The categories were: Most Random, Most Adorable, Most Spooky, Most Creative, Grossest, and Fanciest. 

I can't wait for this year's big competition!

The very trustworthy and serious judges selecting the winners.

WINNERS!!

Our creative, homemade costumes

(Little Red Riding Hood, a nurse, a lumberjack, and Paul Bunyan's Babe the Blue Ox)

Guest Post: Super Fancy Sugar Scrub

Today we have a lovely DIY Tutorial from the Super Fancy Chef herself, Rhiana Moussa.

 

This just might hurt a little… 

SO. You’ve been hanging out in the sun all summer, flaunting your perfect pedicure glazed with “Teeny Bikini” or “Go Overboard” Essie polish, accented by your stunning T Strap Sandal tan.

You haven’t been drinking nearly enough water and you may have forgotten to reapply your SPF 30 once or twice. 

I just need you to mix a couple things from your kitchen together (If these items aren’t already in your pantry, head to the market and get up on this game…) and then rub them all over yourself.

¾ Cup Raw Sugar

2 TB Coconut Oil

2 TB Almond Oil

2 TB Lavender Flowers

1 TS Rose Water

1 or 2 drops of Rose Essential Oil

Directions:

Once you mix everything together, take it into the shower with you and slough away. Concentrating on the knees, elbows and ankles. The sugar is gritty and your skin will turn red, you’ll want to cry a little and you might wonder how you will ever be able to survive child birth if you can’t even make it through a simple sugar scrub. You will endure. I never miss scrubbing my hips and thighs. Somehow this scrub temporarily banishes cellulite, giving you photo-shopped thighs for about two hours… if you ever find yourself in the need. Roses and Lavender definitely puts you in a mood too. Smooth skin and an exotic aroma - you’re in trouble.

Feel free to experiment with different scents, like rosemary and mint, or cinnamon. Used coffee grounds and ginger are delightful, but will do damage to your drain, so use that one outside if you can. Enjoy!!

Benefits of Coconut Oil:

Coconut Oil is heaven sent; it prevents destructive free-radical formation and provides protection against them. It can help to keep the skin from developing liver spots, and other blemishes caused by aging and over exposure to sunlight.  It helps to keep connective tissues strong and supple so that the skin doesn't sag and wrinkle.  The small molecular structure of coconut oil allows for easy absorption through the skin. Coconut oil also aids in removing the outer layer of dead skin cells, making the skin smoother. Your skin will become more evenly toned and textured. Check out this super smart post with a million reasons why you need more coconut oil in your life. 

Rose Water:

Rose water is a natural, gentle and lusciously fragrant toner for skin. It is an anti-inflammatory agent and will reduce swelling and redness. So it is perfect after a little too much sun. I swipe a cotton ball soaked in rose water on my face before bed, because… I am a lady… and my grandma says I have to. It is also the best make up brush cleaner. EVER.  

Almond Oil:

Almond oil contains vitamin E in abundance which is known as the food for the skin. Vitamin E protects our skin from damaging ultraviolet light, preventing cell damage. Sweet almond oil has refreshing fragrance which has positive impacts on your senses and has been known to reduce stress. Combine it with lavender and you got a knock out, one-two punch. 

Inspired by: Wedding Chicks Free Printables

These are awesome free printables that can be used for party or wedding invitations, baby or bridal shower decorations, escort cards, or as I used them recently- party food labels. They can really pull together a food spread and add a pop of color! 

Wedding Chicks Free Printables

On To Baby Free Printables

Template I used: Ombre Escort Cards

They are so easy to do, just choose your design template and colors, enter the titles you want, and create a print!  A printable document is created with four labels per page that you can print out on any normal printer using cardstock or glossy paper.

*A special Thank You to Rhiana Moussa of Super Fancy Chef for her wise recipe planning help, especially the Rosemary Pancetta Scones and Tea Party Salad recipes. These are the perfect summer brunch recipes!*

[Photo credit: Nikki Riley of Brown Paper Booth]

Sew What?: Colorful Aprons

The first, and most important step, for sewing anything: have fun!

Now that you want to sew and have fun, find a simple pattern to start with 

A lot of sewing patterns are marked with a difficulty level (some are even labeled "Sew Easy!")

Check the back of the pattern for what you'll need for the project and gather your supplies!

Tanya's fabrics:

Jessica's fabrics:

Trying to look the part of wise sewing advisor:

When you open the pattern, find the pieces you'll need for you're particular project

If you're not sure how to lay out your fabric, the pattern instructions usually have several layout
options to help you get started
I usually lay all the pieces out and move them around a couple of times before pinning
Once you have everything laid out, pin your pattern pieces to the fabric along the edges

And, then, get to cutting!

Before you unpin the pattern from the cutout fabric, make sure you clip the fabric at all the 

triangle marks, and make a mark at all of the dots

For marking dots, you can use a fabric pencil, a pin, or, my personal favorite, a "bonker" (pictured below)

Apparently, this tool is actually called a pattern marker but I've been calling it a "bonker" my whole life

It can be tempting to skip this step, but the marks come in handy later for lining things up, especially if you don't cut very straight lines (like me)

Once you have everything cut and marked, unpin the pattern pieces

Every pattern comes with instructions that you can follow along with, they are usually relatively easy to understand, or you can get together with your friends and share answers and have a sewing factory like we did!

It's pretty easy, once you get the hang of it!  

Here, Tanya is finishing the edges of her pockets before sewing them to the front of the apron:

Jess is demonstrating how to use this nifty tool we found for turning straps!

If you don't have a nifty tool, use a wooden chopstick or something similar

Checking Jess' work, she had to make hers a little shorter than the pattern...

Showing off the finished product!

And, voila!

At the end of the day, you have a finished apron that you can be proud of and show off to your friends and family while pouring them a cup of tea in their favorite pink elephant mug, just like Jess

**special thanks to Erin Cave for the use of her sewing machine!**