Allison: Christmas ABC Book

Hello, everyone!  I know we've been a little unreliable lately with posts, but we're figuring it out.  This is our first Christmas with a blog, and the balancing act is a little tricky.

Today, I'm going to share the text from the cute ABC Christmas book that I posted some pictures of last week.  This was such a fun project to put together as it brought back so many fun memories from my childhood.  In case you didn't read my last post, this ABC book was a book that my Grandma Golda put together for each of the families of her children.  The book includes a Christmas card for each letter of the alphabet, with a cute sentence.  I remember sitting for hours and looking through this book.  Sara and I have had ambitions of recreating this book for year.  We've been collecting cards, but this year I decided it was time.  Sara had given me the cards she had collected, so I made her a book first.

It was really easy to put together.  I felt a lot of freedom to make it specific for Sara's family, and didn't worry too much about making it look exactly like my Grandmother's book.  You can find the text here.
I used the font "Harrington".

I found this photo album at Joann's for $12.99.  Of course I used a coupon and it ended up being closer to $7.  I also used my favorite little paper stamp to round the edges of the letters and text (also from Joann's).  As far as the lay out of the book... that's up to you.  Have fun with it!  The book only had 10 pages, front and back, (though inserts were available), so I doubled up on some pages.

I hope you all are wrapping up your Christmas gift shopping/creating (pun intended), and have some time to relax and enjoy the season.  Until next week...


Allison

Sara Jane: Berry Crisp

For the past two weeks, I have had the opportunity to serve a sweet friend of mine, who has been in need of a little extra TLC, by taking her dinner.  My sweet friend is gluten intolerant so I have challenged myself to find delicious recipes that are within her strict dietary guidelines.  I have had so much fun doing this.  You would think that cooking for 6 extra people would be difficult but it really has been so easy and quite relaxing.  I don't know how else to describe it.  I have LOVED every minute of it and have found some pretty yummy alternatives to foods we eat all the time.  I will be compiling the recipes I have made along with some other delicious finds in a blog for my friend.  I am sure she won't mind me sharing the blog with you when it is finished.

With each yummy meal, I have tried to make a dessert that goes along with it.  I usually alternate between a fresh fruit dessert and a gooey chocolate dessert.  Yesterday, I made a creation that I know isn't new to anyone but it was so tasty last night at 10:00 PM that I have to share it with you.

Berry Crisp

I call this "Berry Crisp" because you could use any berry in it and it would still be delicious.  We happen to have raspberries so that is what I used.  I would just make sure to adjust the amount of sugar you use if you use a less tart berry, like a blackberries or blueberries. 

The only way this crisp is really different from other crisps I have made is that I didn't use flour in the topping.  Last week, I made my friend an apple crisp and used quinoa flour in the topping.  I didn't like the after taste that the quinoa left so I omitted that this week and actually enjoyed it better than my usual crisp topping.  

Ingredients:

4 cups berries (I used frozen berries from this summer; fresh would be delicious, too)

1/4 to 1/2 cup sugar (depending on how sweet you want your berries)

2 Tablespoon cornstarch 

1/2 cup melted butter

2 cups rolled oats

1 cup brown sugar

Directions:

Preheat your oven to 375*.

Toss your berries with the cornstarch and sugar, coating the berries. Set aside.

To make the "crisp" topping, combined your oats and brown sugar.  Pour your butter over the oats/brown sugar and mix together.  It should be very clumpy.  If it isn't, add more oats until it is.

To assemble the dessert, I filled small jars 1/2 way full of the berry mixture and then topped them with the crisp mixture.  When you have both in there, you should have your jar about 3/4 full.  Leave some room so when the berries start bubbling they don't over flow.

I put the full jars onto a pan (to catch any runaway berry juice) and cooked them for about a half hour or until the topping was nicely browned.

Since I was taking these to my friend and not eating them right away, I let the jars cool for about 10 minutes and then capped the them with a lid and a band.

* I find that when I make berry crisp with just sugar, the juices are too runny.  The cornstarch thickens the berry juices giving it more of a sauce feel.  If you don't care for that consistency, omit the cornstarch and just use the sugar.  

*If you feel like you need more or less of the oats, sugar and/or butter for the topping, then adjust to what YOU like.  We like a lot of oats in our topping so I tend to put a bit extra in.

*Since I knew a jar portion would be too little for my hubby, I cooked his crisp in an cereal bowl that was oven safe and it was the perfect portion for him. 

I really am so grateful for the opportunity to serve and hope that I can always serve with a happy heart, even if it doesn't involve food :)

Loves

Sara Jane

Sara Jane: Felt Pumpkin Bags

***Giveaway is now closed***

Have I told you how amazing my/our mother is?  Well, she is.  She always has been, too.  She was the mom who was always volunteering in the classroom.  She would give demonstrations at school on how to make bread or sew an apron.  She made (back when you could take homemade treats) birthday treats for the class when our birthdays came around (keep in mind she had 7 children).  She was very involved in PTA (her fundraisers funded the new playground when I was in elementary school).  She was/is amazing!

One of the fun things I remember her doing for at least a few of my school classes were pumpkin bags for Halloween.  She would spend hours cutting and sewing the bags and then stuff the cute bags with little treats and plastic spiders.  

A few years ago, I came across one of my pumpkin bags from my childhood.  At this time, Penelope was just beginning to understand how fun Halloween and other holidays were.  I made a pattern off of the bag, made 10 bags, and then Penelope and I took them to her favorite people (I think one actually made it back to my mom).  We had so much fun doing it that it has now become a tradition in my family and I hope to someday get to take a tray of them to my children's classes.

With special permission from my mother, I am going to share these bags with you.  Here we go...

First, you will need black and orange felt and ribbon for the handle.  My mom always used green ribbon so that is what I have used. First, cut out a pumpkin, a mouth, a nose and two eyes.  For the nose and eyes, I just cut random triangles so each pumpkin was different.  If you would like a copy of the template I used for the pumpkin and the mouth, either leave your email in a comment or email me at fivecraftysisters@gmail.com and I would be happy to send one to you.  I could not get the template uploaded.  Next, using your hot glue gun, glue on the eyes, nose and mouth making sure to leave enough room for a seam.

Next, you sew the pumpkin together, making a bag.  A few things to remember: (1) be sure to add the ribbon into the first few stitches, (2) make sure to back stitch the beginning and end and (3) make sure to keep the top open - You may be thinking "duh"...I've sewed the top shut before :)

I had quite a difficult time sewing these little guys this time around.  My thread kept breaking, my needle broke....needless to say, these bags are in no way perfect but I am sure the children who receive them will still love them.  I tried hot gluing the pumpkin pieces together and it worked really well.  I just like the look of the black thread on the orange felt :)

When you are finished sewing, this is what your bag should look like.

We like to fill ours with our favorite candy and I always add, just like my mom did, a plastic spider ring.  This year, we are also adding Dracula teeth.  

Penelope can't wait to hand out her favorite little goody bags.  

Now for the giveaway that I promised back here...

I will be giving away TEN pumpkin bags to one lucky reader (treats not included). 

All you have to do to be in the running to receive these is leave a comment on what your favorite holiday tradition is in your family.  This giveaway will close at 12:00 AM on Saturday morning.  That way I can mail the bags to you in time for Halloween.

 I hope you guys enjoy these bags as much as we do around here.

Sara Jane

Sara Jane: DIY Gifts

I am one of those annoying people who has 99% of their Christmassing (yes, that is a word in my home) done December 1st EVERY year.  I do if for two reasons: (1)  I LOVE the entire process of buying/making gifts and then giving them to others and (2) So I can really enjoy the entire month of December and focus on the family traditions that we have created within our own little family.

During the year, when I am out shopping, I am constantly thinking of who would like what.  Two years ago, I had my children's entire Christmas done in January (there was a fantastic sale I could not pass up).  This year, however, I have been slacking soooooo, I thought I would share with you some of the projects I have recently started working on for Christmas.  I love doing homemade gifts, especially for my children, so I can personalize the gift for the person who will be receiving.  Here are a few that I've started....

1.  Car Caddy
2.  Doll with carrying case
3.  Mini Coloring Tote
4.  Magnetic Scrabble Board
5.  Little man ties
6. Sticky Grams (such a cute idea for grandparents!)

I just finished one super simple gift this weekend and wanted to share it with you.

I went to our local Habitat for Humanity ReStore this weekend looking for materials that would inspire me to do something crafty.  This store is one of my favorites!  Not only do they serve a pretty incredible purpose but they have random parts and pieces that you can't find anywhere else.  We got our beautiful claw foot bathtub at our ReStore for a steal!

Anyway....while there, I discovered their tile section.  After holding a tile for probably 3 or 4 minutes, I remembered seeing a coaster somewhere that a person had made from a tile and some modge podge.  Perfect!  I grabbed a few tiles (only $0.10 each!) and headed home.

For this coaster project, you will need, tiles (however many you want to make), mod podge (mine is homemade - Just a 50/50 mixture of Elmer's glue and water), decorative paper, felt, a clear high-gloss spray paint (not pictured), and a hot glue gun.

First, cut your paper so that the paper squares are just slightly smaller than your tile.  Next, paint your tile with a thin layer of mod podge.  Place your decorative paper on top of the tile/mod podge.  Paint another layer of mod podge over the decorative paper.  Allow to completely dry (I had them dry over night) .  Finally, spray a coat of clear high-gloss spray paint on top.  To finish off the coaster, cut out felt squares to line the entire bottom of the tile (I simply traced the tile onto the felt) and glue them on with the hot glue gun.  So simple and they turned out really cute.

There are so many ways that you could personalize these coasters.  I will be making some for a certain family member that will have pictures on top of the decorative paper.  Another fun thing you could do is to first paint the tile and then add paper/pictures.  Or, how about adding stickers to say something fun.  The possibilities really are endless.

Until next week...

Sara Jane

Sara Jane: Spray Paint

A few years back, I discovered spray paint and all the fun, amazing, creative ways that you can use it.  My last spray paint project was our TV stand.  It is BRIGHT yellow and so very pleasant in our family room.  I haven't used spray paint in quite a while though so I decided today would be a good day to get reacquainted with my old friend.

For this project, I went to our local Goodwill store and found these three great pieces:  two tins (each $0.99) and one ceramic rooster ($1.99).  Then I headed to Joann's (which happens to be next door) and picked out a few colors that I liked.  If you don't want to spend oodles of money on spray paint, Walmart has cans for only $0.99!  Its not the most quality spray but it works fine.

Anyway, here are the three pieces I bought today:

First up was the rooster.  I have a special place in my heart for roosters.  Last year, we bought four chickens.  My chicken's name was Mrs. Pettitoes.  She was absolutely beautiful but one Sunday, when we came home from church, she was crowing at our back door and we realized that Mrs. Pettitoes was actually a MR. Pettitoes.  I was sad....

Anyway, I love roosters.

For my rooster, I wanted him to be a deep red.  To start, I sprayed my first coat and let it dry for about 15 minutes.  Then I sprayed another one.  Remember to use short, even sprays for the most even color.  After that coat, I only had to do a few touch up sprays in little cracks and here is how he turned out...

We don't have a permanent home for him yet but I am hopeful that he will have a nice place in my kitchen one day soon.

Next up were my tins.  I have seen spray painted tins all over Pinterest lately so I thought I would give it a try.  Well, the first tin (the one with the handle in the picture above) didn't turn out so well.  Since it is rather hideous (very gloppy and runny), it is now a small trash pail in the backyard for the kids.  The second time, I remembered to slow down and take my time (something I am constantly reminding myself of).  This one turned out perfectly!  For this tin, I sprayed very small areas to start. It took me about three coats and about 30 minutes to get it just right.  It turned out the perfect color and really transformed the tin.

I will definitely be spraying more tins around the holidays to use as the wrapping for gifts.  I love how they look!

Since I had this beautiful tin, I decided that today was a good day to do the cookie of the month for my father-in-law.  I tried out something new and loved how it turned out.

Using my favorite pie crust recipe, I made little cookies (simply make the dough and shape it how you like, sprinkle cinnamon sugar on the top then bake them at 450* for about 7 minutes or until lightly browned).

While I could eat pie crust all day long, I know not everyone likes it so I put a small jar of some pear jam my husband just made in the middle.  We had to test everything out before we gave them away and let me tell you, they were scrumptious!  It tastes exactly like you are eating a bite of pear pie.

I have decided that I will one day soon make an entire platter of these pie crust cookies and then put out all my favorite jams - blackberry, strawberry, pear, peach- and just eat pie all day.  Yummmm!

Happy crafting, my friends!

Sara Jane

Sara Jane: Nutella Wednesday

Would you believe me if I told you I once had an unopened jar of Nutella in my cupboard for a year and a half?!?  

True story. 

I had never had (or even heard of) Nutella before when a friend gave my hubby a jar of it for Christmas.  Having no idea what it was, I stuck it in the cupboard and completely forgot about it (tells you how much I actually clean my cupboards).  When the day came for me to finally clean out the cupboards (moving, I assume), I threw the jar away with out even thinking twice.  

That was nearly 4 years ago.   Now, I would never EVER throw a jar of that heavenly treat out.  We don't just buy Nutella to snack on.  No.  It is a part of our pantry staples.  We eat it on tortillas, on sandwiches, on crackers...heck, sometimes I eat it by the spoonfuls by itself.

The other day while pinning, I came across this recipe for Nutella cookies, by Tasty Kitchen.  I decided to try it out today to give to my father-in-law for his Cookie of the Month.  While they are not my absolute favorite cookie in the entire world (which would be oatmeal chocolate chip, by the way), they are pretty tasty and I think Eric will enjoy them.  The recipe at Tasty Kitchen uses sugar.  I omitted the sugar, as per the Pinterest recommendation.

Nutella Cookies

Ingredients:

* 1 cup Nutella

*1  cup flour

*1  egg

Directions:

Combined all the ingredients.  I then used my cookie scoop to scoop out the dough, rolled it in my hands, and then flattened the dough to about 1/4 inch.  Bake for 8 minutes at 350*.

Something that we have decided to do with our Cookie of the Month is to put it in a creative container.  For this month, I grabbed the following items...a glue gun, fabric, and a Pringles container.

Next, I cut out enough fabric to cover my canister.  To ensure you don't waste fabric, measure around the canister, just like you would if you were wrapping a present.  Then, I started gluing on the fabric.  I started at the top (make sure you don't glue the top fabric over where the lid will fit) and then glued down where the two pieces met creating a seam.

To finish off the bottom, I folded and glued, folded and glued and folded and glued until all the fabric was securely glued down.  

Here's how it should look when it is finished.

Pretty cute, if you ask me.

Is your mouth watering yet???

Happy Wednesday!

Sara Jane

Allison: Frame Revamp Tutorial

Hello, and welcome to another week!  I'm not sure where last week went.  I cannot believe how this summer is flying!  That being said, we know that summer is a busy time, and our lives are no exception.  With vacations and kids and babies coming, we're going to try to keep our weekly themes a little more general to just "Summer" for a few weeks.  This may mean less consistency between the sisters' posts, but it also means more variety.  Hopefully we'll get some guest bloggers to contribute along the way.  I can't wait to see what my sisters come up with!

I think my posts will follow the theme of "Summer Projects".  My crafting energy has been greatly consumed lately with getting my house ready for this little girl to arrive next month and nesting is in full force! I have been working on her room, and trying to make Isla's a little more girly in the process.

A couple of months ago, I cross-stitched some cute little bears and added Isla and Norah's names underneath.  I wanted to find the perfect frame for them, but could not find what I was looking for.  So, I decided to take matters into my own hands.  Here's what I did:

I found this black frame at Wal-Mart for $7.  I liked the mat, and I liked the frame, but not their colors.  Isla has more brown in her room than black, so I wanted her frame to be a neutral white.  Also, the mat needed more personality.  Here's what you'll need to revamp your frame:

*Obviously, you will need a frame to revamp.  :)  I wish I could have found a frame at a second-hand store, but I couldn't.  So, I bought this lovely frame, and spray painted it white.

*Mod Podge
*Foam brush for applying Mod Podge
*Scissors
*Tissue paper of choice

Here are the steps:

Step One: Remove the mat from the frame and apply a good amount of Mod Podge to the foam brush to cover the front surface of the mat.  I applied mine in stages.  Make sure to apply enough Mod Podge around the edges.

Step Two: Smooth the paper down, and then wrap the paper around the back of the mat.

Step Three: Puncture the center of the tissue, and cut to the four edges.  You'll need to cut paper in the center down before folding it over the edges of the mat.  Apply Mod Podge to the folded-over paper and glue to the back of the mat.

Step Four: Turn your mat over and smile, because it's SO CUTE!

I love how my frame turned out, and think it PERFECTLY showcases my little ballerina bear.  I can't wait to hang it on Isla's bedroom wall.

If you want your own little bear cross stitch, check out our Etsy Shop.  I'll be providing them made-to-order, with lots of themes to choose from.

http://www.etsy.com/shop/fivecraftysisters

I hope you've enjoyed this frame revamp!  I love being able to make something generic into something that's as special as my little Isla Girl.  Have a great week, and keep on creating!!


Allison

Friday Favorites: Pinterest Projects and Ideas

Hello, hello!  This is Allison.  "Wait a second," you're probably thinking, "your day is Tuesday, silly!"  True.  But we're doing a little rearranging here on Five Crafty Sisters.  Life has gotten a little crazy for Katrina, so she's decided to be more of a guest blogger than a regular, here on the blog.  With two little ones at home and a third on the way, who can blame her?  So we'll be playing around with Fridays for a bit, while Shauna moves her posts to Thursdays.

As our Etsy shop has now opened (http://www.etsy.com/shop/fivecraftysisters, in case you were wondering), we may occasionally do a "Friday's Market" to introduce new items in the shop.  Other Fridays may be posts from Katrina, or maybe our other sister-in-law or sister will want to add their craftiness.  We'll see if we can recruit them.  :)  But for today, we're going to play around with "Friday Favorites".  Today we will each share our favorite Pinterest/Internet finds.  They may be projects we've completed, or maybe a project inspired by something we saw online.  We may also decide to share a project that we're currently working on.  It's up to each crafty sister to decide.

I'll go first.  This is kind of cheating, right off the bat.  I guess I'm the rebel in the family.  :)  This is actually a project my husband, Brent, completed.  But I found a pin on Pinterest that will hopefully solve a problem I've been worried about.  My husband started wood working this year and has really enjoyed working with his hands.  He made this amazing bench for our kitchen table and started working on a toddler bed after we found out I was pregnant with baby #2.  I love this little bed!  He has really enjoyed Ana White's website found here which provides the plans and the supply lists for countless projects.  I've seen a ton of her stuff on Pinterest, and think she's my new hero.  Anyway...  I love this bed, and Isla does too.  Way to go, Brent!  Isn't my husband the best??  :)  (Did you notice the adorable quilt my mother-in-law, Linda, made?  Love it!)

So one of my fears with this bed, was that we wouldn't be able to easily add a guard rail for Isla to use until she got used to sleeping in a real bed.  I could just imagine all the drama of her falling out of bed in the middle of the night.  But then, I found this amazing idea on Pinterest: put a swimming noodle under the fitted sheet on the edge of the mattress.  It will serve as a bumper if your toddler gets too close to falling off.  SO SMART!  It was a total aha moment when I saw this pin.  I haven't tried it yet (as we're leaving Isla in her crib as long as she'll let us), but I definitely plan on seeing if it works.  Pinterest hasn't failed me yet, so I'm sure it will solve all of my worries.  :)  Okay... which of my amazing sisters is next?

Allison
http://pinterest.com/allisonlacey/

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 Hello there! This is Shauna.  I know you all have missed me since yesterday.  Today I want to get serious, and talk about something personal.  I have a problem.  My friends and family all know about it, and now I think it's time I share with you...I really like cats.  A lot.  I'm about five cat calenders away from being a crazy cat lady.  It's pretty scary.  Lisa's youngest, after forgetting my name, once referred to me as "the aunt who likes cat".  Well now that you know, I can be open about my cat crafting. Get ready for this. 

A few months ago I realized we really needed new pot holders.  We were barely surviving off our old tattered wedding gift pot holders, and I wanted a cheap way to vamp up the look of our kitchen.  Then I saw these pot holders off of  www.purlbee.com  and I fell in love. 

I loved how modern and unique looking they were.  So I decided to pull out some fabric my friend Bethany gave me and put my own twist on it.  I am kind of obsessed with them. 

I used the cat fabric on one side and gray neutral on the back.  I like to mix it up sometimes when I get sick of the cats.  One of these I really messed up on...I added the hoop onto the bottom instead of the top of the pot holder so the cats are upside down when I hang them up. 

I decided instead of sewing only a couple lines to hold together the batting on the pot holders, I decided to sew random lines all over the pot holders to give it some style. I hope you enjoy cat pot holders.

Shauna

....................................................................................................................................................................

Hello there!  Lisa here.  Just for the record, Shauna is a cute kind of cat lady not a crazy kind of cat lady!!  And Allie, that is a fantastic idea for a bed.  I was always worried about my babies falling in that crack between the mattress and the wall!  Smart!

For my project idea, I thought I would show you something I made awhile ago to hold my calendar and little notes and pictures for and from my sweet children. 

Calendar and little heart man is courtesy of my baby.  He's such a little sweetheart!

I thought I came up with this idea but once I joined Pinterest, I realized that there are very few original ideas, including mine!!  I had a large picture frame that I took the glass out of and painted to match the trim in my house.  I then took some cork tiles I found at Hobby Lobby and glued them to the back of the picture frame.  Super easy and a nice way to not feel bad about throwing out something perfectly useable!  And, bonus, it keeps the front of my fidge a little cleaner!!  Winner!

Lisa

***************************************************************************************************************************************

(Sara posted what I'm sure was a great post, but for some reason, it didn't save.  Look for it next week!)

Allison: Party Ideas & A Giveaway!!

**Giveaway is now closed**

Hello again!  I can not believe how fast the weeks are flying!  I feel like I just posted my weekly post, and here we are again.  As I enter my 30th week of my pregnancy, and another week of temperatures over 100 degrees here in Arizona, I'm not too sad that time seems to be flying.  :)

This is a special week in the history of our blog.  If you all continue to view our posts, we should hit our 5000th view sometime this week!  I can not believe that!  It has been so fun to stretch myself creatively and to have an excuse to stay better connected with my sisters.  So to celebrate this milestone, I'm going to have a giveaway that will start today and end tonight!  It's a quick one.  That's because I think we may see another give away from another crafty sister...

When I had my daughter, it seemed to ignite the crafting gene that lay dormant within me for thirty-one years.  As her first birthday approached, I began to scour the Internet in search of the cutest ideas, most creative favors and most beautiful cakes.  In other words, I totally stressed myself out, trying to make this birthday (that she wouldn't even remember) the best of her life.  Here's some of what I did.

For Isla's birthday, I decided on a princess theme.  The cake was pink, the decor was pink... lots of pink.  Probably my favorite part of Isla's party, was the party favor that I made for each of the kids that attended.  I found this wand online and thought it was adorable!  I considered putting together a tutorial of how it was made, but the one I found here couldn't have been easier to follow.  I LOVED how they turned out, and the kids seemed to enjoy them too.

A month later, I threw a baby shower for my good friend, Chiara.  She and I had talked about different themes, but I was secretly pushing a flower garden theme so that I could share my new favorite craft.  But before I got started on the decor, I had to focus on the invitations!

I had seen this invitation idea before, but wanted to make it my own.  So I came up with a template and started to play with the decorations.  I love how they turned out and was so glad that Chiara liked them too.

The diaper cake... oh, the diaper cake.  This was my first attempt at making this fun center piece, and it actually wasn't as difficult as I thought it would be.  My poor husband had to help me hold the diapers a few times, but besides that, it came together pretty easily.  I simply wrapped the diapers around and around each other (with an empty toilet paper roll in the center).  After I had reached the desired size, I stretched a large rubber band to secure the diapers.  To finish it off, I wrapped a folded receiving blanket around each level of diapers and secured each with a cute ribbon.  To add a little extra something, I decorated the cake with my favorite little fabric flowers.  The flowers became my main decoration at the shower.  I thought they looked so girly and cute.  After the shower, I sent at least one flower home with each guest as a favor.  They worked perfectly.  A couple of weeks ago, I shared the tutorial of how to make them here.

Finally, the best part of every party... THE FOOD!  Chiara is Italian, and requested some kind of version of tomato caprese.  I found a fun arrangement of fruit and had to use my good friend Brittany's amazing cheese ball recipe (which I think I'll save and share later.  So mean, huh?).  It was fun to plan and prepare for this shower, but it was even more amazing to see how much fun Chiara was having.  She was so excited for the arrival of her little Claire, and I was so glad that I got to be a part of the celebration.  Love you, Chiara!!

So there you have it!  Some of my favorite party ideas, mostly "borrowed" from other people.  :)  Those are the best ideas.  So now to the fun part...

**THE GIVEAWAY**

Alright... here's the deal.  You could take home these three adorable little wands for the princesses in your life, if you leave a comment below on the following question:

Why do you like to craft/create?  If you don't like to craft, why?

This is a question I've been thinking about a lot lately, and would love to hear your thoughts.  Comments left before midnight tonight will be entered in a random drawing for the wands.  Don't forget to sign your name to your comment.  Good luck, everyone!

**

Etsy shop grand opening & Saturday's Market

One final announcement before I end this eternal post.  Five Crafty Sisters has officially opened their own Etsy page!  Some of the crafts/projects you see on our posts will now be available to buy (in case you'd rather buy them than make them.)  So far, Sara and I are the only sisters selling, but we're hoping to convince the others soon.  Here's the address if you want to take a peek:

http://www.etsy.com/shop/fivecraftysisters

We're excited to be able to share our creations with our blog and Facebook friends.  One advantage our readers have, is that you probably know us.  And if you're local to the buyer, we can most likely just deliver whatever you buy instead of having to pay and wait for the shipping.  Not a bad deal!  :)

We will also be opening a "Saturday's Market" soon.  This will be a post on Saturdays that will either feature items that we're selling on Etsy, or introduce new items that will be available in our shop.  We're excited to take this new step.

Thanks for reading, and I hope your Summer parties are fun and full of great ideas!  Have a great week!!

Allison

Allison: Cookie of the Month Club

Not bad, Lisa!!  Your man is pretty great.   He's helped me out many times.  I'll vouch for him.  :)

Happy Father's Day Week, everyone!  I'm so excited to celebrate (aka gush about) the amazing fathers in my life!  I was blessed with an outstanding father.  I have turned to him countless times when I've needed words of wisdom or a voice of reason.  He is the greatest man I know and I love him very much.

Having this kind of father, raised the bar pretty high when looking for the future father of my children.  It took me awhile longer than most of my sisters, but I did it!  My husband is the most amazing example to me of kindness, compassion and unconditional love.  He can look at me when I'm sleep deprived, unshowered and irritable and tell me how beautiful I am (with a straight face).  I feel incredibly lucky and so blessed to have him as my eternal partner.

Not only is Brent the best husband in the world, he's also the most amazing father to our little "I".  She LOVES spending time with him, and literally paces the floor until he comes home to play with her each evening.  She trusts him like every little girl should trust her daddy.  The love I see in her eyes for her father, is only matched by Brent's love for his little girl.

I could go on and on, but I'll stop now.  Because I'm still tweaking Brent's gift, I thought I'd share the idea I came up with to honor my father.  I know that I don't express my appreciation enough to him for all that he's done/does for me.  So I found a gift that will keep expressing that gratitude each month this year.  My dad has now been enrolled in "Grandpa's Cookie of the Month" club!!  My idea is to send a dozen cookies each month to his office, along with a note from his granddaughter expressing our love for him.  For this first month, "I" and I are sending him my much loved butterscotch, oatmeal and peanut butter cookies.  The official name of this cookie in the Better Homes and Gardens' cookbook is Peanut Butter-Oatmeal Rounds.  But I have put my own twist on this cookie and renamed them Scotchers.  I've tweaked the recipe a bit too.  Here it is:

I promise... these are amazing!  I look forward to trying new recipes as I run out of my go-to's.  Along with the cookies, I'll send this fun little label with a picture of "I" and a note on the back.  

You can download the Grandpa label here.   I also made an option for a Dad's Cookie of the Month label that you can download and print here.  Sorry about the shadow under the label.  PowerPoint and I are still figuring out how to be friends.  I just cut it off.  Problem solved.  :)

                                      

Everyone have a great week, and enjoy spoiling the men in your life!  

Allison

Shauna: The Garden Apron

 

 

I love all the post from my sisters! They are such wonderful mothers.  I've been so blessed to have not only a wonderful mother, but a loving mother-in-law.  Both of these woman have been such a blessing to me as a young mother, and incredible grandmothers to our boys.  I could not ask for better examples of faith, strength, patience, kindness and love.  I love these woman so much!! It just happens that both of these woman like gardening, so I decided to make them garden aprons, and this is how I did it.

The Garden Apron Tutorial...

Allison: Family Memory Game

Hello, and Happy May Day!  Where did the week go?  It has been so fun reading my sisters' posts!  Aren't they creative?!

Mother's Day has always had significant meaning to me.  We have an amazing mother, who would do ANYTHING for her children.  She has been a great example to me of sacrifice and unconditional love.  

Mother's Day of 2010 was the best of my life.  We were expecting our first child and the day took on new meaning as I anticipated the changes that would happen within the following months and years.  My little "I" has become my life.  I love her with all that I am.  I love spending my days with her and can't wait to give her a little sister in August.  Being a mother is the hardest, most rewarding thing I've ever done.

Okay... back to mi madre.  My mom only loves being one thing as much as she loves being a mother and that's being a grandmother.  So for this Mother's Day, I decided to try an idea I saw once on Pinterest.  My gift to my mother is a Family Memory Game (to play with her grandchildren) featuring pictures of her children and grandchildren.  I took the basic idea, and made up the details as I went.  Here's what I used:

*Costco's photo department sells 4 wallet-size photos for $.39/ sheet.  I plan on making multiple sets, so this worked out great for me.

*I found this fun Fiskars punch at Joann's Fabric for $7.00 (after the 40% off coupon, of course).  I wanted rounded edges on my photos, and this little tool got the job done.  It even switches to a larger rounded punch which I used for the paper behind the photo.

*I wanted colored card stock behind the photo, so I used this mat stack from Joann's.  I've used it before, but had no idea that it came in an adhesive version too.  WHAT!?  How did I not know this!  I hate gluing (remember... I'm a lazy crafter), so this took out a big step in the process.

*I then picked out some cute scrapbook paper (a different style/pattern for each set, so they wouldn't get confused) to use for the backing.

*My Fiskars paper cutter is one of my best friends.  I use it ALL the time.  This made cutting down the backing paper much easier.  I made mine about 3 1/2 inches squared.

*Double-sided tape was my secret weapon during this project.  Since I planned on laminating each card, I didn't worry too much about only using tape.  I taped the picture to the colored paper, then removed the back of the colored paper and stuck it to the blank side of the scrapbook paper.  Done!

There are so many possibilities with this project!  I love having the freedom to adapt projects to the supplies I already have and to my level of laziness.  I hope my mother enjoys this game!  I also hope my sisters aren't surprised if a set ends up under their Christmas trees in a few months.  ;)


Finally, what's the point of having your own blog if you can't show off your latest projects?  This last week has been a mad dash to finish a crib bumper that I committed to make for a friend, who's welcoming her second child in a few weeks.  Her baby shower was Saturday, so I finally stopped procrastinating and finished it for her as a gift.  She had picked out the fabric, and had turned the project over to me.  It was my first bumper (with no pattern), so it was quite the learning experience.  At the last minute, I decided to make her a small wall quilt with the leftover fabric.  By last minute, I mean the afternoon before the baby shower.  Here's what I made:

Didn't they turn out cute?  I kind of love the simplicity of the quilt.  My friend was very surprised, and the rush and late night before was all worth it.

I hope every woman out there is spoiled rotten on her special day.  Happy Mother's Day, ladies!!

Allison