Shine on Fridays # 56!

Happy Friday, Friends!

It's that time of the week again...time to link up your latest and greatest and get all kinds of inspiration from others.

 

As usual, we have a giveaway for you, but this one is extra special!!  Kara and I have teamed up with a bunch of our favorite bloggy friends to offer one of you a Kindle Fire!  I am so excited about this giveaway, and I hope you are too!  Since our friends are running it with us, the rafflecopter is in a separate post.  To enter the giveaway, click here or on the image!  You can also enter from my Facebook page under the Rafflecopter tab.

 

 

 

Congratulations to last week's giveaway winner, Audrey Dawkins! 

 

Now, on to the party! 

 

Show off your fabulous creations with us and be inspired by what others have created!Please link up crafts, recipes, home decor, etc.

We can't wait to see what you've been up to lately!!

If you're going to play along with us, pretty please:
- follow both co-hosts

- grab a party button and put it somewhere on your blog
- have fun and visit some other friends
- no commercial sites

- send us Starbucks gift cards {just kidding...kind of!}

 

Linking up your photos gives us permission to use them in features on our blogs and Facebook pages.

Handmade Holidays: Kadie's Blankets



I'm so excited to be here today!  I LOVE Amy and all her crafty things she does.  Amy and I started blogging around the same time and have become good friends.  My name is Kadie and I blog at Seven Alive all Livin' in a Double Wide.  I like to blog about crafting, sewing, cooking, and my favorite, crocheting.  I also like to throw in a bit about being a mom to 5 amazing children. I love to make handmade gifts for Christmas.  It's a way I can give a little bit of myself to others.  Not only can I pour all my love and talents into a handmade gift, it is often cheaper to make a gift rather than buy one.  When you are on a tight budget, which with 5 kiddos we always are, cheap  less expensive is a good thing. So this year I am making each of my kiddos their own blanket, pillow case, and pajama bottom set.  It's really fun to have something custom made for you.  There are so many prints and colors to choose from it makes it easy to find something that who ever you are making them for will love!

I'm going to show you how to make the blanket today.  I will have the tutorial for the pillow case and PJ bottoms on my blog next week.

What you will need:

• 1-2 yards Polar Fleece {it is important that you get Polar Fleece because it wont fray} depending on how large a person you are making it for.  2 yards makes a great lap blanket for an adult or a large blanket for a child. The one shown here is 1 yard.
• quilting safety pins {these are the ones with the curve in them.} You can use regular safety pins too.
•   thread in a coordinating or contrasting color. {depending on what you like} I used contrasting thread for mine.
• scissors
• sewing machine {optional, I'll tell you how to make the same blanket sewing free}
• yard stick, or fabric measuring tape.

Like I said above you don't have to sew this blanket so if you don't have a sewing machine don't pass up on making these adorable blankets.  The sewing skills you need if you choose to sew it are minimal, great for a beginner. I am going to apologize for the quality of some of the photos now.  Because I'm making these for my kiddos for Christmas I had to work on them late at night so they don't see them. To start lay out your fabric wrong sides together.  You will need a large space to work on, either a large table or the floor would work best.  Trim the fabric so that the top and bottom are the same size.  You can use this tutorial for using a rotary cutter to do this, or you can use scissors   Be careful using scissors  it's hard to make a really straight line.

I like to pin an X in the blanket first.  Try not to move the blanket after you start. It only takes a couple of hours to finish the blanket, it's best if you can do it all in one sitting because until it is sewn {or cut and tied} the fabric will move all over the place every time you move it. It's a big pain to always have to straighten it back out!  I like use a yard stick to get my pins straight.

After you have your X you are going to cut a 4 inch square out of each corner.   You might need to adjust some of your pins in your X to match up with the corners of the square you cut out.

Now you are going to pin a 4 inch wide border all the way around your blanket.  I know it's a lot of pins but trust me the more pins you use the easier it's going to be over all.

If you are not sewing your blanket then you can skip the next few steps and go right to cutting and tying your fringe. If you are going to sew your blanket, start by following the X that you pinned.  This will make it so that when you wash your blanket the two sides will not come apart and bunch like they sometimes do. I'm going to pass on one of the best tips I ever got about sewing a large blanket like this.  You want to treat it more like driving a car.  It's easiest to keep a straight line if you can see where you are headed before you get there. Remove any pins that get in your way. DO NOT run over your pins; it will ruin your sewing machine. Now sew on the outside of your pins for the 4 inch border.  Each seam should meet at the corner of the 4 inch squares you cut out of your corners.  Take out any pins that are left over. If you are not sewing your blanket, start here after pinning. Cut 1 inch strips around the blanket in the 4 inch border you made.  If you sewed your blanket make sure you don't cut through the seam you sewed around the blanket. Again I like to lay out a yard stick and cut  at each one inch.  It makes it easier than guessing and is long enough that you aren't moving your ruler every couple of inches.

After your cut your strips tie them together in a knot, all around the blanket.  If you are planning on making a lot of these blankets or if you make a lot of rag blankets you might want to invest in some spring scissors, they are a blessing to your aching hands after cutting a ton of strips.  I like to tie my strips so that the strip from the opposite side shows.  I like to tie my blanket while I watch a show, on the couch or in bed.  If you have sewn the blanket you can move it where you need to at this point.  If you haven't sewn the blanket it's best to leave it where you have been working on it until it's all tied.

One kid down 4 more to go.  The first one may take you a while but after you know what you are doing it really only takes 2-4 hours start to finish {depending on how large a blanket you are making}.  They really are fun easy cozy blankets to make.  I hope you'll give them a try and give someone you love a handmade gift this year. Thanks so much for having me Amy I had a great time.

Kindle Fire Giveaway

'Twas the month before Christmas
And all throughout blog land
Were patterns and recipes,
Ornaments and cake stands.

Your favorite bloggers
Were busy as could be
Making projects and tutorials
For all to see.

Then we got an idea
For something to do
To make the holidays brighter
For one of you!

All year round
You bring us such joy
Why not give one reader
A special Christmas "toy?"

We thought and we thought
Till our brains were quite tired
Then it came to us,
"A Kindle Fire!"

We all joined together,
Now today is the day
So get in your entries
For this special giveaway!

This giveaway is sponsored by the following {fabulous} blogs; be sure to show them some love!

Rafflecopter will walk you through the entry process; good luck!!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Handmade Holidays: Blythe's Photo Coasters

 

Hi! This is Blythe from Desperate Craftwives, excited to be back guest posting at One Artsy Mama!
When Amy said she was going to do a series on handmade gifts for the holidays on the cheap, I had a great project in mind to share. Tile Photo Coasters! Family members LOVE getting these as gifts (especially the grandparents) and they are easy and inexpensive to make!

What You Need:

• Tiles (I got mine at Home Depot for about 15 cents each, measuring 4.25" x 4.25")
• Photographs (choosing which ones to use was the hardest part of this project!)
• Mod Podge
• Mod Podge Clear Acrylic Sealer Spray
• Cork or Adhesive Felt

How To Make Them:

• Trim photos to match tile size (my photographs were 4x6 and the tile was 4.25", so I had a little extra space at the top and bottom of my photo).

• Apply a thin layer of Mod Podge to the back of the photo and affix to tile. Be sure to smooth out any bubbles.

• Let dry completely.
• Apply Mod Podge to the edges of the tile to make sure picture edges are stuck down too.
• Spray several coats of Mod Podge Clear Acrylic Sealer onto tiles, spraying in a back and forth motion. Be sure to let it dry at least 15 minutes in between coats. I put about 8-10 coats on, which may have been overdoing it a bit, but wanted to make sure the coasters were waterproof.

• Once dry, glue cork onto the bottom or stick on some adhesive felt. 

• Now tie the tile coasters together with a pretty ribbon and make someone really happy by giving them this thoughtful, handmade gift!

Happy Holidays!
-Blythe

JOY Canvas



This year, as we were pulling out the Christmas decorations, I realized that while we have a ton of ornaments and plenty of candles, snowmen, and other decor to sit around, I don't have much that goes on the walls.  I have one wreath that I made a few years back that happens to be one of my all time favorite decorations, but other than that, we usually just leave up our normal pictures and artwork.  So, I decided it was time to create something new!  Here's what I came up with!

 

JOY CANVAS



Materials:
- 16x20 canvas
- 4 sheets of 12x12 scrapbook paper in Christmas-y designs.  I chose 2 reds, a green, and a brown
- paper cutter
- beige, brown, and red paint
- Martha Stewart adhesive stencils
- Super Gloss Mod Podge
- Martha Stewart coarse glitter paint in gold
- paint roller, paintbrushes

I made this while watching the first half of the Ravens v. Chargers game, so it should take about an hour and a half. 

STEP 1: Paint your entire canvas with the beige acrylic paint.  I used a roller so it looked smooth.

STEP 2: Using a paper cutter, cut three large triangles of slightly different heights and widths from scrapbook paper to make your trees.  Also, cut three rectangles for the tree stumps.

STEP 3: Spread Mod Podge on the back of each tree {and stump} and smooth it down onto your canvas. Then, go back and using a large brush or roller, spread Mod Podge over the entire canvas to seal the trees in place.

 

STEP 4: Stencil stars on the top of each tree using gold glitter paint.

 

STEP 5: Stencil, trace, or freehand "joy" onto the canvas and paint with dark brown.  Once dry, repaint with gold glitter.

 

STEP 6: Stencil "TO THE WORLD" to the right of "joy." Be sure you check your spacing before you start so it all fits on the canvas.

 

 

What do you think?  I'm loving it!  I put it in the foyer, right where I see it every time I come downstairs, and it keeps making me smile.  The best part is that since I already had the scrapbook paper, paint, Mod Podge, stencils, and even the canvas on hand, it literally cost me nothing...I mean, I know at one point I had to buy those things, but it didn't take any money out of my wallet this week!  Just a tip...I stock up on multi-packs of canvases whenever I see them on a really awesome sale, so I always have some on hand for whenever inspiration strikes!

 

What's your favorite holiday wall decor?

 

Happy Crafting!



 

Handmade Holidays: JOY Votives

 

Today's Handmade Holiday project is actually made by a real-life friend of mine, Erin.  She came over a few weekends ago to play with some of the goodies I got from Plaid and Martha Stewart, and this is what she created.

 

JOY Votive Holders

Materials:
- glass votive holders
- Martha Stewart sprayable Crystal Ice glass effect
- Martha Stewart glass paints
- Martha Stewart Monogram silkscreens
- Martha Stewart glitter paints
- painting supplies: paintbrushes, daubers, squeegies
- battery operated or real tealights

STEP 1:  First, spray the Crystal Ice on the inside of the votive holders and let it dry.  This way the surface of the votive will still be nice and smooth to paint on.  The Crystal Ice takes about 30 minutes before the full effect is complete and dry.

STEP 2: Use silkscreen letters and glass paint to stencil "J","O", "Y" on the votives.

 

STEP 3: Add "snow" by painting white around the bottom of each votive.  You can either freehand pine trees like Erin did, or use a stencil.  When dry, add glitter to the "snow."

 

STEP 4: Place a real or battery operated tealight in each votive and watch them light up with holiday cheer.

 



You can get the votives for just a few dollars, and if you already have paint supplies, the project is practically free.  It's a fun way to decorate your home with a personal touch.  Thanks, Erin, for letting me share your project today!

 

Happy Handmade Holidays!
 

Handmade Holidays: Reindeer Dust



Hello, I am DeDe from Designed Decor. If you have not met me before, I blog about handmade, decorating and just plain living. I am super excited to present this guest blog post for "Homemade for the Holidays" on One Artsy Mama.  I hope you will pop over and visit my blog when you can. Here on One Artsy Mama we are blogging about "Homemade for the Holidays", today is my turn... I decided to share a fun family craft project that all can do even if you don't have kids. This craft project makes great gifts for school parties or gifts for the little ones in your family, neighborhood kids or friends' kids. One of the fun family traditions I started with my boys when they were younger was Reindeer dust. I would make it every year and give out to all the kids in my son's classroom for their Holiday parties. I really enjoyed keeping this tradition going and spreading the tradition to other families. My hope was that someone from my son's class, may have never heard about reindeer dust and would start their own family tradition.

Do you know the legend of Reindeer dust? Well here it is -

 

Here is the list of materials you will need for this fun family craft project.

 

 

 

Oatmeal

Glitter

Holiday food sprinkles

Brown foam sheet

Brown pipe cleaners

google eyes

jingle bells

scrapbook paper

pom-pom

ribbon

cello bag

 

Mix together the oatmeal, glitter and sprinkles. Add 1/2 cup of the mixture to each cello bag and seal closed.

 

 

Cut a square 4 by 4 piece of scrapbook paper and fold in half and adhere to the top of the closed cello bag.

 

Now you are ready to make your reindeer face. Hand draw the head shape and the ears then cut a template from the foam sheet continuing to cut as many as needed for gifts. Then cut out smaller ear shapes using the pink scrapbook paper, this is for the inside section of the ear. Use 1 pipe cleaner for each antler. Cut the pipe cleaner in half and wrap one half around the other near the top. Place the jingle bell on the tip of pipe cleaner and bend to secure the bell into place. Bend and position the antlers as needed. Make a small bow out of the ribbon to use as an accent for the bottom of the Reindeer face. Now you are ready to assemble your reindeer.

 

Glue the google eyes, nose, ears, and ribbon to the foam face. Then turn over and glue the antlers to the back of the face. Tip - keep the pipe cleaners long so they are the same size as the face shape. This gives the face extra support to stand up on the bag. Adhere the foam face on the front of the cello bag making sure to securely attach to the top and bottom to give extra support.

 

 

 

Here is the print version of the poem so you can copy and paste it to your computer, this way you don't have to type the verse out.

 

On Christmas Eve before you sleep, step outside and take a peek. Be sure to take this packet and sprinkle it on the lawn. Santa’s reindeer travel miles before the dawn. The smell of the oats and glitter path will guide them on the way. You will wake up to Santa’s gifts on Christmas Day.

 

 There are many different versions to the Reindeer dust poem. Just do an internet search and you may find a version you like better. What other family traditions do you have for the holidays?