Apple Crafts

Apples are a huge hit this time of year. 

Thought I'd scour the little land of pinterest and see what I came up with.

Who doesn't love ripping paper and gluing?!?

Source: momto2poshlildivas.blogspot.com via Kerri on Pinterest

How cute is the candy necklace worm??

Source: notimeforflashcards.com via Motherhood on Pinterest

These are hysterical!  

Source: familyfun.go.com via Terri on Pinterest

I love all things paper plate craft related!

Source: google.com via Sarah on Pinterest

Have a taste test of apples!

Source: tumblrgym.tumblr.com via pitli27 on Pinterest

Hand print crafts make me swoon. How sweet are kiddos little hands!

Source: kiboomu.com via Sunghee on Pinterest

I love a good wreath! I love apples! So why not put them together!

Source: craftberrybush.blogspot.com via Alison on Pinterest

Source: familyfun.go.com via Liesel on Pinterest

And who doesn't love cupcakes?!?!

Source: familyfun.go.com via Liesel on Pinterest

Linking up {here}

Perhaps I should title this week card week?

I'm back again today with some more cards! Yea, I know, I'm totally "carding-out" aka-wiggin out on the card talk. But I'm ok with that.

Today I want to share about my little's birthday & the invites she made. I'm totally rubbing my craftiness off on her. (She told me that I have set a standard for when she comes over to my house-some type of crafting has to be done or else she will report to the mama that she is bored at my home. Oh no, can never have that word uttered in a sentence with the cool big sista's house!!!) Thus the invitation crafting began....


For her *gasp* 11th birthday, she planned on having 5 girls stay over, sleep in the tent, & play some Minute to Win it challenges. So for her invitations, she wanted to play up the challenge part.

For the cover, we picked a font & typed it up. Then cut it out & glued it onto some scraps I had, which just so happen to be the perfect size for invitations.

For the inside we typed up what we wanted it to say, printed & cut it out then just glued it down. She had so much fun creating it. I had little envelopes that we stuffed it into & sent them on their way.

And in an attempt to keep you all reading this bloggy here, I decided I wouldn't drag the card thing out with another day of posting. SO here is the card that I made for the little's birthday.

I used a sheet of that shimmery card-stock that I scarfed from Joann's for $.50! Played around in Microsoft Word and came up with this. I'm pretty proud of it, if I do say so myself.

Here is the inside. It was a hit at the party & Lexi really liked it, so that's all that matters.

For the envelope, I used my Cricut to cut out some letters & a flower. I used poster board since the scrapbook paper I have seems to be way to thing. (it is impossible to get it off the cutting mat & rips into a million pieces when I try) The poster board seemed to work perfect, although I'm sure it will weaken my cutting needle.
And just because it's my blog & I can...here is a picture from this past winter (before the sis &I chopped off our hair for Locks of Love)

I love her. I can't believe she is 11 and going into 6th grade. Not possible. I seriously can't wrap my head around it. She is becoming such an amazing young lady whose heart is currently set on following Jesus & I couldn't be more proud. My only wish for her is that she will continue to cling to His word through all the turmoil of middle school, jr. & sr high, & college. I'm hoping she has learned from my mistakes and will remember her true reward is in Heaven, after she has lived a life full of Jesus lovin & sharin :)

Love you Lexi-Lou.

Cards Again

Here is a card I made for my hubs for our anniversary which was last month for those of you who are unaware & dying to find out when I said I do!

I actually started this card at a recent Ladies Night Out at my amazing church (if you want to quick click over there & check it out, I won't mind).

Once a month the ladies get together and do something crafty. One month was making blankets, then there was knitting/crocheting, then card making, & bracelet making. This month we are just planning on watching Soul Surfer, which I'm super excited about!

So anyways, back to the topic. My card. I love cards. I am totally & absolutely a card person.

Mr. Edwards-not so much. He hates cards. Thinks they are a waste, which usually translates to me not getting one. But I was taught by my mama to hoard not throw away special cards. So I have a box in my office full of all the cards I have gotten since going to college 6 years ago (all the cards before that are at my parents house, since my mom kept them all)

{You might remember my quick mention of the Father's Day Card I made at Ladies Night Out.}

There is the cover. I am pretty proud of it. A friend at church busted out her Cricut and cut out the letters for me. And now that I have my own Cricut, I'm thinking I can make a whole lot more of these.

Oh Honey--look out for card overload :)

Don't be surprised either M, you married this!

Below is the inside of the card that I finished up at home since I wanted to type up the saying inside it. I found the saying on Pinterest, go figure. Are you surprised? No, ok. Since I didn't have time to make the actual canvas craft, I decided just to use the saying for my card.

Needless to say, M loved it!

 

Have I motivated you to start making your own cards? At all? Maybe a little? I promise it's fun, pretty easy, & cheap. (Which totally makes it easier to free up money in the hubs strict budget to buy other things...like say a Cricut or a canvas for some Chevron playing?

The possibilities are endless really.

Homemade Cards

So I have had a busy summer as far as bridal showers & weddings go! Which translates to a whole lot of money being spent on gifts (and decorations/food for the shower I helped plan). M wasn't to thrilled with all the spending so in an effort to keep him happy, I decided to make my own cards for the events. And I gotta tell ya....I had a blast doing it and they turned out a-mazing. (I'm kind of biased though so you can form your own opinion on them)

First step: gather your materials.

I LOVE me some Joann's. Seriously I am there at least twice a week (with much resistance from the hubster)

I found some shimmery card stock and envelopes for $.50! SAY WHAT?!?!

The envelopes were a long, thin shape so I had to get creative with how I designed the cards.

Second step: design your cards.

I measured the envelopes and then set up my document in Microsoft Word into 2 columns using the dimensions.

I scoured my clipart and found this adorbs hanging tag image. It was the perfect image for this type of envelope. So I got busy playing around with the design. I recommend using a whole bunch of text boxes instead of one big one. That way you can place them as close or as far apart as you want. The key to making it look flawless is to click "no fill" & "no outline" on the shape format tab. That way it blends right in with the background and you can overlap the text boxes if you need to.

Use your paper cutter (or scissors) to cut out the cards. Make sure you let the ink sit a bit before cutting so you don't smudge it.

Third step: make the name tag.

I cut up some scrapbook paper scraps I had lying (or is it laying? I minored in English & I still don't know which one is right) around. I chose to hand write the name instead of printing it to give it a more personal feel.

Fourth step: glue down the name tag  using your trusty mod-podge.

Put a thin layer on the paper and then press it onto the envelope.

Now here is where mine went a teeny tiny bit wrong. I put a thin layer of mod-podge over top of the paper and around it like the bottle told me to do. However...I ended up with the glue showing?!!? What did I do wrong famous card makers? Not sure why it didn't dry clear like it said it would but oh well...I ain't perfect so why the heck should my crafts be? :)

Fifth step: let them dry in the sunny-shine.

Sixth step: hole punch the card, tie some ribbon through it, & stuff it into the envelope.

Voila-you're done :)

Cheap & easy, right? (kind of fun too!)

Now below I just wanna show you the actual wedding cards I made just so you can see how I used the same shape since I'll be using the same envelopes, but how I was able to change up the design.

And here you have the result of what happens if you don't follow the second step very well! You end up with your fingerprints on the card from the ink not being entirely dry! Most of you would probably reprint the card. But hey I ain't perfect remember & since we are on a tight budget around these parts, I couldn't justify using more ink to print a new one. SO my bro and his wife will be getting a real handmade card, complete with my fingerprints.

{Disclaimer-their wedding isn't until September, so it's possible that I could maybe end up reprinting it without the hubs knowledge, because let's be honest it will bug me.}

Chevron Wall Art Tutorial

Nope. You aren't dreaming! The title really does have the word Chevron in it & this really is going to be a post about how to make this....

First gather all of your materials...

A canvas (you choose the size)-check Joann's for coupons.

A wooden letter-also from Joann's with a coupon.

2 different color spraypaints-I used yellow and gray.

Painters tape.

Measuring tape.

Then let your hubby offer his help completely take over the project! Spend some time in your cool basement, since the rest of the house is a sauna. He used the paint program to play around with different size stripes.

Next draw your lines. M wrote down the dimensions for what the size of the lines would be. If you would like the sizes please email me (ekedwards4@gmail.com) and I will share them with you. Reason I'm not sharing them now is because the hubs is not home and I don't understand his chicken scratch!

Then you want to tape it off. We knew we wanted it to be gray and white stripes. So we taped off the strips that we wanted to turn out white. You will have to get creative with your tape, ripping it at odd angles.

Take your canvas outside and spray away! It works best if you take the can across once, lift, then take the can back. Does that make sense? Don't worry if you get some spray paint in the grass....it grows :)

Let it dry! I recommend moving it to your basement since lots of little buggies like to sly right into the wet spray paint and get stuck! We have a well ventilated basement with a fan and dehumidifer so it wasn't a biggie to have it down there.

While that is drying take your wooden letter outside and spray that. We chose yellow and I love the pop it adds to the gray! Don't worry about spraying the back since nobody will see it!

We let everything dry for about 24 hours. We did add a second coat to the canvas and letter about halfway through. 

Then you want to carefully remove the tape. We did have some spots that bled, but you can't see them when it is hanging on the wall so it doesn't bother me!

Last you want to attach your letter. I don't have a picture of this process because M got too eager and wouldn't wait for me to get home before he glued it down. He used crazy glue. You could use epoxy or gorilla glue. Just something to make it stick. Let that dry before hanging it (something my hubs did not want to do)

And of course take lots of pictures of your awesome work so you can share them with all the bloggie people who fawn over your work!! No? not happening? Ok well at least take a picture to share with me so I can see how yours turned out :)

Like maybe on some baskets on the back porch? Cuz we all know that is exactly where this piece will be displayed...no it won't.

We hung this in our living room. It was a nice replacement to a certain canvas that I ordered and was not happy with the size of it. This piece really added a pop of color to our room too!

Here it is in all it's glory! (please don't mind the cords under the table, I know you have them somewhere in your house too! Any ideas on how to hide them??)

So there you have it! The long awaited Chevron tutorial! The hubs and I have been throwing around the idea of making these to sell for some extra income. What are your thoughts on that? Would you rather try making this on your own or paying someone a small fee to do all of the work for you? I'd love to hear your opinion. With me not having a teaching job, we are getting creative about where our income is coming from! We are currently making another one for my friends wedding present, the colors will match her bedroom!

And don't forget to email me if you want the dimensions! I know I wish someone would have posted the actual dimensions long before it took me Mr. 3 hours to figure it out!!

July 4th Craft & Rugrat Wrap-Up!

Remember how I posted a picture of some supplies the other day?

Well we finished our project and I gotta say---too much work entailed for a 7 yr old! Although my little sis who is almost 11 loved it. (As did my husband? Weird)

I got the idea from the amazing Tatortots & Jello!
(Seriously the craftiest lady)

Here is her finished project:

First let me share some photos of the wreath making in progress...

Notice how I'm not in any of those pictures, doing any work??? That's because as soon as my hubby heard the word craft, he took over! He is a perfectionist through and through, which makes him doubt my crafting ability since I tend to get frustrated pretty easily and want to rush to finish things! I gotta love him though..he did a great job (dare I say a better job than I would have done?!!)

SO without further adu...

 here is my (er..my hubby's) finished project:

Here is Lexi's wreath! I am pretty darn proud of how well she did! (We won't share N's cuz well let's just say, he wasn't very interested in gluing red hots---he wanted to eat them!) 

Besides working on this wreath we've been busy just having kid fun!

And can't forget to share this video of them in action!

Now we are off to go for a bike ride around a 3 mile trail! (This will be the first big physical thing I've tried since my surgery! I hope I can make the whole trail, otherwise I might get teased (in a loving way, of course) by the mr. and sibling..who always seem to be in cohorts against me!

Don't forget to enter my giveaway! Today is the LAST day!! I'll be picking 2 winners tomorrow!!!