Top 10 Posts of 2012

As we get ready to head into a New Year, it's a time for new beginnings.  Goals, resolutions, and fresh starts can be a really good thing in all areas of our lives.  But before we move on to 2013, I wanted to take just a moment to revisit 10 of the most well-loved posts and projects here at One Artsy Mama in 2012.  To see the original post, click on the title of each project.  Come along, take a walk down memory lane with me...

Cutest Clothespins on the Block

I made these fun clothespins back in February and use them constantly, either as magnets to hold LC's artwork, or as chip clips.  I thought they were such a simple project that no one would be interested, but they actually got featured on Tatertots and Jello and were repinned like crazy on Pinterest.  I love how cheerful they are and how quick and easy it is to make as many as you like!

Easy Character Magnets

LC and I made these magnets on the spur of the moment back in October keep us both from going crazy when we were stuck in the house all day.  I grabbed a magazine and some things from our crafting stash and came up with these.  I took the pics with my little point and shoot camera since the DSLR had been sent away for repairs, and lo and behold, this simple photo made it onto craftgawker and went viral. 

 

Shabby Chic Jewelry Organizer

This project was particularly special to me because the wooden organizer itself was made by my grandfather, who passed away more than 10 years ago.  I love the idea that somehow we worked on the project together, just years apart.

 

Grow Your Blog Series

Early in the year, I was brainstorming what kind of new things I wanted to do on the blog, and I just kept thinking of tips and advice I'd learned during my first year of blogging that I wanted to share with others who were just starting out.  The ideas just kept coming, and as a result, the Grow Your Blog series was born.  Initially, it was a week-long series with a new tip each day, but since then, I continue to add new installments periodically.  You can find all of the posts listed with links on the sidebar.  I may or may not actually be in the process of writing an e-book including some of this information as well as other info that hasn't been posted about yet.  I continue to get a great response to this series, which is a real joy to me because my goal was to be a help to other bloggers and fill them in on what I wish I'd known when I was starting out!

 

 

Monster Jeans Patch

I saw an idea similar to this one linked up at Shine on Fridays one week {by Watch out for the Woestmans}, and couldn't resist trying it out myself.  LC's jeans had a teeny tiny almost invisible hole in them, so I ripped that sucker apart and made these.  To this day, they're his favorite pair of jeans and he wears them every time they're clean {and sometimes when they're not}.  They were a huge hit on Craftgawker and Pinterest, and the best part is how many people have emailed me links and photos of the monster patches they made that were inspired by this tutorial!  I just love that!

 

Stenciled Vanity

I still get ridiculously excited about this project because it was the first time I ever tackled furniture.  I had just received a stencil to try out from Cutting Edge Stencils and I wanted to use it on everything in the whole house.  This vanity used to be old and ugly, but I knew it could be something much more chic.  I'm so stinkin' proud that I actually did it!  Yay!

 

 

One Crafty Contest

In the early spring, I decided I wanted to try something new and exciting by running a craft contest.  It took SO much work, like organizing sponsors, coming up with official rules, choosing judges, selecting contestants, figuring out how the contest would run, and successfully moderating it, but oh, what fun it all was!  If you missed it, check out the aMAzing entries we got in each of the 5 rounds.  Be ready to have your socks knocked off!  And yes, the contest will be back in April by popular demand, so start getting your entries ready!

 

Fall Leaf Coasters

LC and I saw some tissue paper leaf coasters on Inner Child Fun and immediately knew we needed to make some of our own to help decorate for fall.  We bought a few cheap tiles at Home Depot, added some tissue paper and Mod Podge, and ended up with these!  We used them until the Christmas decorations came out and they held up wonderfully.  They were featured on Fun Family Crafts and Craftgawker, and I really hope it inspired other people to make some because they're so easy, inexpensive, kid-friendly, and fun!

 

 

Peanut Butter Balls

You all know I'm not typically a recipe-poster, but these Peanut Butter Balls from Taste of Home are simply a-MA-zing.  I made five batches between the time of the original post in November and Christmas Day.  They were a HUGE hit at church, in our family, and even with the plumber.  Everyone seriously loves them...and they got me my first and only feature on Foodgawker!  Really, if you haven't tried the recipe yet, you're missing something deLICious!

 

 

Bottlecap Snowmen

My friend Kelly and I got together back in November for a crafting date and made these cute little guys based on a picture we saw on Pinterest.  They went absolutely viral on Craftgawker and Pinterest, were featured on Fun Family Crafts, and featured on a number of independent sites in ornament roundups.  I was shocked by how much attention they got, but I do think they're awfully cute!


What about you?  What were your favorite posts and projects from 2012?
I'm looking forward to another fun year, filled with more Blogging Tips {hopefully an e-book}, a new round of One Crafty Contest, and lots more tutorials for all kinds of artsy things.  I promise they won't all involve Cammie the Silhouette Cameo...lol.
Will you join me?

Hugs & Glitter,

 

 

 

Ringing in a New Year, Artsy-Family Style

We had some really great plans for New Year's Eve.  Hubby and I were going to get all dressed up for going out to dinner and then dancing with some of our good friends.  But then, the day after Christmas, we all got sick.  Fortunately, Little Crafter and I are doing considerably better.  But hubby, not so much.  So, we decided to keep our germs to ourselves and play it low-key instead.  We didn't want to be party poopers {tell me I'm not the only one who hears Arnold in my head saying "Don't be a pah-ty poop-ah!"}, so I decided to throw together some things to make our evening at home festive and fun.

The silver lining is that Little Crafter is beyond excited about having an at-home celebration with us...and I have to admit, now that everything is coming together for our little party, I am too. 

Here's a little sneak peek at how we're going to ring in the New Year, Artsy-style!  Let me first say, thank goodness for Pinterest, other blogs, and of course, Cammie {my Silhouette Cameo} which made it possible for me to pull this all together in 48 hours.

 



THE PLAN:
Our party will run from 5-9 PM.  Every half hour, Little Crafter gets to open one of these bags and we'll do the activity described inside!



Huge kudos here to KC from The Real Thing with the Coake Family; she linked up this idea {link #1} at this week's Shine on Fridays party, and I just adapted the specific activities to fit our family.  THANK YOU, KC!!  Stop by and give her some love for such a great idea!

 

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5:00
Activity - Follow the leader {Little Crafter} to the table and Eat Dinner
In the bag - Noisemaker/blowers
On the table - Cracker Placecards

 

These are made with toilet paper/paper towel rolls.  Little Crafter helped me put a beaded necklace and a deflated balloon inside each one, then wrap them up with silver wrapping paper.  We secured the ends with wired garland, and I cut out our names and the year on adhesive gray vinyl {with Cammie's help, of course}!

 

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5:30
Activity - Make paper plate noisemakers
In the bag - stickers, dried macaroni, jingle bells

This pic is from two years ago, but gives you an idea of what we're going to be making!

 

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6:00
Activity - Write goals and resolutions for 2013 and share them
In the bag - Resolution printables

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6:30
Activity - Make resolution bracelets
In the bag - Waxed linen, jute, assorted small beads
{Idea from room 6}

 

These simple bracelets are made by knotting your linen or jute, stringing on as many beads as you like, knotting it again, and tying it off.  If you tie each end in a knot around the other string, it will even be adjustable.  The idea is that when you wear the bracelet, every time you see it, you'll be reminded of your resolutions, instead of forgetting them like we all tend to do.  For example, if you resolve not to gossip, every time you're tempted to talk about someone, your bracelet will be a reminder.  Or if you resolve to eat healthy or to exercise, each time you see the bracelet, you'll be reminded not to eat that candy bar or to make time for your workout.  We'll see how effective they are...!

 

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7:00
Activity - Play games!  Candyland, Chutes and Ladders, Angry Bird UNO, and eat cookies!
In the bag - Card game
{Idea from the Coake family}

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7:30
Activity - Make festive streamer wands
In the bag - Craft sticks and curly ribbon
*This would also be a great time to make wishing wands, if we hadn't done it already!

 

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8:00
Activity - Funny Photo Booth with props
In the bag - Silly hat
{Idea from the Silhouette blog}

I downloaded these designs from the Silhouette online store and Cammie cut them out on black cardstock for me.  Little Crafter helped me glitter them and we put them on craft sticks when dry! {Thanks to Craftprojectideas.com for the fun glitter shakers and the craft sticks we used!}
Stay tuned to see how our pictures turn out!!  We had fun testing the props ahead of time...

 



 

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8:30
Activity - Dancing in the dark: dance with flashlights and glowsticks to "Firework"
In the bag - Glowstick
{Idea from the Coake family}

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9:00
Activity - Ring in the New Year by watching You Tube videos from other countries where it's already midnight, drop our own "New Year's ball," and toast with sparkling cider
In the bag - Wine glass charms
{Ideas: YouTube video from the Coake Family, Sequin ball from the 3 R's blog}

 



 

The ball is a styrofoam ball covered in sequins.  Each sequin is held in place by a straight pin.  The process took forever, but I think it's a super fun effect!

 

 

To make the charms, I just added a few seed beads and a letter bead on an earring hoop for each person.  Super-simple!

 

 

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I also included bonus activity suggestions in each bag in case we finish early and need to waste a little time before opening the next bag.  Some of those include: Play a round of "Pop the Pig," play a round of "Don't Break the Ice," play "Bop the Balloon," talk about our favorite 2012 memories, etc.

What do you think?  I think we're going to have one fabulous party!  What about you?  How will you be ringing in the new year?  Best wishes and blessings for a Happy New Year!

Hugs & Glitter,



New Year's Centerpiece and Wishing Wand

The New Year is almost here, friends!  How are you celebrating?  Are you decorating?  Hosting?  Partying with the family?  Here are two of the things we whipped up here in the Artsy House; I thought I'd share them for a bit of last minute inspiration!  Both of these were made in less than 10 minutes and used only things we already had in the house.  Easy, quick, and free; some of my favorite things!

I made a glitzy centerpiece using some silver ornaments I had laying around and some of the gold leaves I had left from the Ravens wreath I made back in October.  All I did was arrange them in my hurricane vase...I love this vase; I change it out seasonally for all kinds of fun centerpieces!  I put the leaves in first around the bottom, added seven ornaments, and stuck one last leaf in the top.  Voila.  Two minutes, no money, and lots of New Year's glamour!

 Here's project #2...this one's for the kiddos!  I saw this idea on Pinterest and immediately knew we needed to make it!

WISHING WAND

We already had all the supplies:
- cardstock
- contact paper
- scissors
- assorted sequins and glitter {ours came from our friends at CraftProjectIdeas.com!}
- marker
- a stick/dowel/pencil
- ribbon or wired garland

The original tutorial is great; we followed the instructions almost exactly, and they give a great tip for cutting a halfway decent looking six pointed star.  So, no need to reinvent the wheel.  You can check out the step by step tutorial on babycentre, but here are a few pics of LC making his version.  He looooved sprinkling and arranging the glitter and sequins on the contact paper!

As we worked, I talked with him about what it meant to set goals and make resolutions, then we wrote his around the star on both sides.  Here's what he came up with:

FRONT: In 2013, I want to play soccer, pass another belt test, earn a new belt, go to the beach.

BACK: Learn to read, play basketball, learn to divide, start eating dessert after breakfast.

Good luck with that last one!  Here he is in all his sock monkey-Angry Birds-Mommy's boots glory...

What about you?  What are your goals for the new year?  Will you start eating dessert after breakfast too?

Hugs & Glitter,

Anniversary Sign

Today is a very special day for this Artsy Mama and the hubs...our 11th wedding anniversary!  Where does the time go?!  Usually, we don't exchange gifts since it's so close to Christmas; instead we treat ourselves to a little trip, a fancy meal or an overnight somewhere.  But this year, I couldn't help myself.  Now that Cammie {my beloved Silhouette Cameo} has joined the family, I just had to use her to make a special little something for the Mr...

Here's what I came up with:

ANNIVERSARY SIGN

Materials:

- adhesive vinyl {more about that later}

- wooden sign {mine came repainted from Michaels}

- Silhouette Cameo and Silhouette Studio

 STEP 1:  Decide on a special phrase.  Back when we were dating, hubby started singing the line from this old song to me all the time, "I love you more today than yesterday {doot doot doo doo doo} but not as much as tomorrow".  Over time, it became our special little saying.  Several years ago, for Valentine's Day, I had it engraved on the inside of his wedding band.  So, for me, it was a no brainer to put it on this sign for him.

STEP 2: Type your phrase using whatever font{s} you like in Silhouette Studio.  Size it to your wooden sign and send to your Cameo.

 

STEP 3: Load your machine and let it do all the work for you!

STEP 4: I also cut out this fabulous silhouette of tango dancers doing a rock to corté.

STEP 5: Peel off each letter/image and stick it onto your wood.  I suppose you could measure and draw lines and make sure everything is centered...me, I'm too lazy, impatient, um...I just don't.  I stuck them on and hoped for the best.  And the good news is, they peel off and can be repositioned if something isn't quite right.



The first set of dancers I cut were a little too small, so I cut a second set that was a better fit.  Of course, I couldn't waste my vinyl {or such a fabulous image}, so I decided Cammie needed a little more personalization.  I think she likes it.  She always wanted to learn the tango.

 

 

Ok, so now let's talk vinyl.  Since I've been posting about Cammie and my various projects with her, I've gotten questions regarding what kind of adhesive vinyl I've been using.  I also saw a whole Facebook thread about what the best kind of vinyl is to use with a Silhouette or Cricut.  I'm no expert, but here's my two cents.

In my experience, the best quality and most user-friendly vinyl is Oracal.  Originally, I got mine from a great deal day at Pick Your Plum, but since that's not always available, I needed another supplier.  My favorite is called MyVinylDirect.com.  You can get Craft Vinyl by the Sheet in a variety of sizes or you can "Pick Your Pack" and get 12 sheets of any colors you like for a discounted price. 

You can get all different kinds of  vinyl.  The regular ol' matte adhesive kind, which is what I typically use, is called Oracal 631 and it's available in 36 colors.  You can also get it in gloss if you prefer, or specialty types like chalkboard, dry erase, outdoor, iron-on, or metallic.  I cannot wait to get my hands on some of the iron-on kind to make LC some fun t-shirts!!

So, if you're wondering what to get, that's my best advice.  It's easy to use, works great with my machine, and easily peels off and repositions. 

And as far as durability, let me just tell you from my experience that this stuff is made to last.  I put some of the white Oracal 631 {not the outdoor stuff, just the regular matte} on my car to advertise my business.  This was in my pre-Cammie days, so I painstakingly cut all those letters and numbers out by hand.  Yeah.  Craziness.

Anyway, I put it on several months ago, and it's been through rain, snow, ice, defrosting, windshield wiper-ing, and it still looks as good as the day I applied it.  In fact, it's held up better than the Ravens fan stick family I bought for an exorbitant price at the sports store and put on the other side.

 



So...that's my 2 cents on the vinyl issue...hope that helps!  I've also heard through the grapevine about a number of you who have Cameos and have yet to actually use them.  {I cry}.  My advice to you, friends, is to take them out of the box, download the software, and just try something!  Anything!  Need help?  Email me and I'll talk you through it. 

Well, off to celebrate with the Mister!

Hugs & Glitter,



 

Shine on Fridays #60 {and a giveaway!}!

Welcome to the 60th edition of our Shine on Fridays link party!  Kara and I so enjoy seeing all of your creativity each week and we appreciate you joining us.  We especially want to thank each of you who linked up projects at last week's special Sandy Hook Benefit edition.  Together with the other bloggers who are contributing, we will be sending a total of more than $800 to the Newtown, CT community.  At the time of this writing, we were up to 827 links!  What a blessing!  If you're interested in doing more to help the children of Sandy Hook Elementary, check out Project Snowflake, which is a simple, inexpensive way to show them some love.

This week's party is sponsored by Jessi from Practically Functional, who is donating a set of her adorable homemade pocket hand warmers.  {Winner chooses shape and fabric}.  I can tell you first hand how cute these are because she sent three pairs for our family as Christmas gifts...LC has the blue snowflake ones and he is crazy about them!

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

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.

 

Vinyl Signs

So I warned you yesterday, nothing in the Artsy House is safe if I think I can stick vinyl on it!  After completing my ornaments & customizing Cammie's control panel, I was ready to move on to bigger and better projects. 

We all know what this means. 

I went to Pinterest.

I found all kinds of things I want to do...wooden signs, decorative plates, mugs and insulated cups, t-shirt transfers...ah, the possibilities!  Trouble is, I'm snowed in.  Well, more like iced in.  I couldn't leave the house safely, so that meant I had to find a project requiring only things I already had in the house.  Like a door. 

I found this funny little Laundry door sign and immediately the wheels started turning.  Here's what I ended up with.

 

LAUNDRY ROOM SIGN

 



Materials:
- door :)
- Silhouette Cameo and Software
- adhesive vinyl

All I did to make it was open a new file in the Silhouette Studio and type in the words "The Room Loads of Fun" in 72 point font.  I chose one that I downloaded, LD Carefree Black.  I sent it to Cammie, who cut it out for me on gray adhesive vinyl.  Then, I typed "LAUNDRY" in 72 point FrankRuehl font and Cammie cut that out on turquoise adhesive vinyl.  Then I counted out the letters to figure out what center would be and stuck them on!  Easy peasy!

 

Besides being fun, it's actually helpful because when you get to the bottom of the basement steps, there are two identical doors; one is a bathroom and the other is the laundry room.  Now, when guests {or plumbers} come over, they won't have to worry about asking or choosing the wrong one.  Meanwhile, the plumber was here today looking at my dishwasher and ate all the rest of the peanut butter balls!!  But that's another story...

What do you think?

I also made up a quick little No Soliciting sign for the little side window next to our front door.  We live in a big neighborhood, so literally every other day, someone is knocking on the door trying to sell me a Kirby vacuum, new siding, a new roof, new windows, or carpet cleaning.  I didn't want to seem mean though, so I thought the cute little bird would take the edge off. ;)

 

I used the same LD Carefree Black font for the words on gray vinyl, and the bird is one I downloaded, "Echo Park Bird." Adorable, isn't he?  Now here's hoping it works!

 

Now, what else can I vinyl-ize without leaving the house for supplies?  Help!

 

Hugs & Glitter {and some vinyl too},



Introducing: Cammie

Hey there, friends!  Well, Christmas is officially over and now we're left with wonderful memories, good food in the fridge, mountains of wrapping paper, and new toys to play with.  I hope your holiday was as special as ours was.  One of the highlights of the day for me was spending some real quality time with my family in the afternoon/evening.  Another, although I know it's not about the gifts, was this new addition to our family.   Meet my Silhouette Cameo.  I call her Cammie.

Hey, people name their cars, I can name my much-coveted cutting machine, right?  She's more than a machine, she's a crafting accomplice, no?  Just so you feel like you didn't miss anything, why don't you come on in and watch me open her...

Yup.  Just as you suspected, I'm a big dork.  I was super-excited {as the flapping arms would indicate} because although it was the one big thing I really wanted, my husband and mom had done a stellar job of implying that it wasn't going to happen.  Sneaky-sneaks.

I was a good girl and played nicely with my family while they were here and didn't rush anyone out the door, but once the family had left and LC was in bed, it was time for Cammie and I to get acquainted!  I ran downstairs to grab the adhesive vinyl I'd bought from Pick Your Plum months ago in the hopes of having the means to cut it and searched everywhere for anything I could slap vinyl on.  Here's what I came up with.

Materials:
- adhesive vinyl
- clear plastic ornament
- Silhouette Cameo!!!!!

First, I put the vinyl on my cutting mat and loaded the machine.  Well, actually, first I read the instruction manual a billion times and installed the software.  But then I loaded the machine.

Isn't she pretty?  {Sigh of contentment.}

Then, I chose one of the designs in my library that came with the software, a snowflake, for a test run.  I sent it to the machine and it went to work. {Notice the tins there...homemade toffee and peanut butter balls...one needs energy to be creative, right?}.

And out came a snowflake!  Lookie!  I know it's hard to see, but it's there in all its machine cut glory.

I quickly stuck it on my ornament, and voilá!  Hubby, who wasn't even really sure exactly what a Silhouette was, let alone all of its endless creative possibilities, was duly impressed.  It was at that moment that I fell in love with Cammie.

*Side note: Sorry for the less than awesome photos...I was more interested in playing with my new toy than in getting craftgawker-quality pics, for once.  You understand, don't you?*

I went to the online store and quickly spent all but 40 cents of the $10 gift card that came as part of the package, buying sayings, fonts, and flowers.  Then, I went into the studio, typed up "one artsy mama" and started cutting it, along with the flowers I'd chosen.  I grabbed another plastic ornament {I have a million of them in my stash} and went to town.  And there you have it...the first ever One Artsy Mama personalized ornament.  Ahhhhhhh!

How fun is that?!  And it's so ridiculously easy.  Well, except for when I loaded the machine wrong and it cut in the wrong place, and well...we won't talk about that.  Lookie!

I didn't need any more ornaments and hubby wouldn't let me start vinyling everything in our house like I wanted to, so I had to settle for just this one last project before bedtime...Mackenzie from Cheerios and Lattes suggested making a control panel cover for Cammie!  It's one of the preloaded designs in the library; you just cut it out of scrapbook paper and ta da!  Isn't she stylish?  I think pink is definitely her color...just do me a favor and reassure her it doesn't make her look fat, ok?

Well, that's just a little tiny preview of what my girl Cammie can do!  I really REALLY wanted to head out to the store today to get all kinds of random things to stick vinyl on, but, well...this is happening.

And so I'm pouting.  And looking around the house for something I can prettify...hmmmm....what about the glass doors of the china cabinet?  Or maybe the wall?  Um, gotta run!

Hugs and Glitter,