Creative Mom #8 Bits of This and That

Hello Small Fry & Co. readers! My name is Britli and I am the girl behind Bits of this and that. I am so excited to be blogging over here today! I recently have just started a blog and love being part of the blogging world. I love to craft, sew, decorate, organize, paint, coupon and scrapbook. I blog about bits of this and that, a little of everything!
I have a 9 month old boy and his room is done in a cowboy theme. With all of the subway art floating around I decided to do a cowboy themed one to go with his room. So thats where the project started....
This is the before picture.... I found this frame at DI for a dollar and thought it would be perfect for this project.

I started out by taking the old picture out and using the cardboard piece behind it. I got paint color strips and glued them onto the cardboard piece. (I did every other strip with the dark end on different sides so the dark and light wouldn't be the same place) I put a books on top of it until it dried so it wouldn't curl.

Once the glue dried I cut the extra off and put it on a newspaper. Then paint with crackle medium and let that dry.

Once the crackle medium was dry I painted over the top with a tan paint.

As its starting to crackle...

I then got out my handy dandy Silhouette! I did cowboy words so it would match Baby B's room, but you could do any variety of words. Also if you don't have a silhouette you could print or stamp letters and cut them out. Or even the press on letters would work good too. :) (Or if you want certain words cut out in vinyl e-mail me and I can do cusotm orders through my etsy shop. :) There is a link on my blog.)

After I pulled all the extra vinyl off. (I had to do it in a few different pieces where the frame is so long) And yes the U is missing in "Buckaroo." Accidentally pulled it off too so I had to cut an extra one. :)

I then pressed transfer paper on top of the vinyl so I wouldn't have to mess with the spacing.

Here it is once on the transfer paper. It is backwards but will be the right way once it is on whatever you are putting it on.

Here was the first finished product. I got this far and didn't like the color of the frame. So back to a new idea... :)

I decided to paint it with a really light tan. Once it was dry I sanded it to make it look distressed and old. I also got out a flat head screw driver and scratched it up and hammered some screw driver marks into it. Yep don't know what else to call that. :)

And here is the finished product! It was a fun project and really quite easy and quick!

Stop by Bits of this and that and say hi! Become a follower! And stay a while and see what I have been blogging about!

Creative Mom # 6 Always Homemade

Hello all, my name is Lisa from Always Homemade.  I'm a wife and a mother of one cute little boy.  Crafting is my therapy.  When I've had a stressful day or nothing seems to be going right I find something to craft, sew, scrapbook, or bake.  Creating something, start to finish, gives me a thrill.  Here are a few things I've created since starting my blog.

I love making things for babies.  This is one of my number 1 gifts:

I make things like homemade laundry detergent, dishwasher detergent, and baby wipes

And my favorite thing to do is to craft for my little man grant, 

There's lots more where those came from so if you've got a moment stop in at Always Homemade.

My newest project has been a coupon organizer.  Digging through my purse the other day I realized how much I needed one.  The one I currently use is too large for my liking and takes up too much room in my purse, so I decided it was time for a new one, a little smaller, a little cuter, and made by me.  Most of my friends just use a small accordian file but I wanted something different.

Here's how I made mine:

You will need stabilizer, an inside fabric and outside fabric (I didn't have any coordinating fabric so I used the same for the inside and out).  Cut each to 4 1/2inches x 12 inches and stack them as follows stabilizer, outside fabric (right side up) , inside fabric (right side down).

Sew around using 1/2 inch seam allowance, leaving a 3 inch opening to turn.  After sewing around the outside, clip corners.

Turn right side out and pin all the way around making sure to pin close the opening used for turning.

Sew around the outside using a 1/4inch seam allowance.  Next you will need to sew your velcro on.  Have your organizer inside fabric facing you, measure down from the top 1/2 inch and pin a strip of velcro on (it can be as long as you like). 

Sew around the piece of velcro making sure to backstitch at the corners.

Turn your fabric so the outside fabric is facing you (and make sure it is at the opposite end of where you just stitched your velcro),  place another piece of velcro and stitch it into place.  Place organizer so inside fabric is facing you again and fold the bottom up approximately 4 inches and pin in place.  It should look like this:

Start at the top left corner of your pocket and stitch down, across the bottom and then up the right side to the right corner of your pocket.

I used my Cricut to cut my dividers using the In My Kitchen cartridge, making my dividers 3.5inches.  You could just as easily use notecards with tab dividers attached. 

Place the dividers in the pocket.

Now your ready to go shopping!

Creative Mom #5 Chyrstal's Corner

I have to start by saying that I have been following Small Fry& Co for awhile now and find her to be an incredibly talented and crafty lady. So to be featured here for being creative feels like such an honor! 

Now that I have gotten the gushing out of the way, let me tell you a little about myself. As a stay at home mom of 3 boys ages 4, 3 and 10 months, blogging is one of my favorite outlets. I like to use my blog Chrystal's Corner to write about everything from parenting, to recipes we are trying, to the great deals I am finding. I especially like to share my craft projects. I mostly create things for my kids or my nieces as I find kids crafts to be so much fun. Plus, kids are so appreciative when it comes to homemade gifts.

What I love most about crafting is taking an idea that started in my head and making it come to life. So often these ideas come to me at the most random times. In the past year between the end of pregnancy and taking care of a baby, I have spent many a night awake at all hours. I have found myself using that quiet time to brainstorm.

Sometimes the projects I create are for a specific occasion, be it a birthday, a baby shower or a Christmas present. Here are some examples:

One of my boys' birthday invitations

A nursing cover for a friend's first baby

A tutu for my niece

A present for my husband's birthday from our sons

Sometimes what I make is for the purpose of re-using something I have laying around the house:

Turning broken crayons into new crayons

Making an old frame into a wipe-off weekly menu board

Re-purposing old CDs

Formula can turned into a centerpiece

Bamboo place mat transformed into a wall hanging

Whatever the project, whatever the occasion, whatever the material it feels good to create! I love knowing that I can take an idea and make it come to life. And isn't there just something so special about a handmade gift or a piece in your home that you crafted yourself? I hope some of these projects have inspired you to spend some time getting in touch with your creative side.

Creative Mom #3 Jenni

This creative mom is my neighbor Jenni.  She doesn't write a craft blog but she totally could.  She takes amazing pictures too.  I am glad she decided to share this idea with everyone.

This idea just popped into my head one day because I wanted my
projects to have a different look .  So first I painted the base
color, then brushed paint onto my stamp roller each time before I
rolled it so it would be pretty consistant - I brushed it on instead
of rolling it into paint so that it wouldn't be a globby mess.
Sometimes there were lighter spots, but I think it just adds to the
cuteness.  Then I put vinyl lettering over top.  But it would be cute
even for just a wall hanging in a bathroom, hallway - well anywhere!
FUN!