DIY Designed CraftOManiac bag for evo'12

I am so excited for the conference evo'12, and its just a little over a week away. Held up in gorgeous Park City Utah, hundreds of talented people, business's, workshops, and lots of activities and fun. Yep' I can't wait!!!

I am also so LUCKY to have such an amazing company Canvas Corp. sponsor my ticket to evo'12. I have been a huge fan of Canvas Corp. and using their amazing, and darling products. It's very important to have your business cards for conferences and events such as this. I also think if you can find other ways to promote and brand your site, go for it. I made a cute tote to carry around evo'12. I was able to create my bag using some Canvas Corp. products, as well as some other crafty products. 


Here are some pictures showing my steps to creating my bag.

Here are some of the products and goodies I had fun using and playing with. The yellow flower with pearls I made sometime ago and ended up using it.

 I started with a large plain canvas tote from Canvas Corp.

I was so lucky when I found that on my Sentimental's Cricut Cartridge there was a frame that looked like COM! SQUEAL! I cut out the frame using heat transfer vinyl as well as the letters "C.O.M". I pealed of the extra vinyl not needed, and ironed them onto the bag.

I then worked on making and dressing up some flowers for my bag. I absolutely LOVE LOVE THE tattered Angels Glimmer Mist in Bahama Blue. I sprayed the mist all over a Canvas Corp. flower, and blotted the flower with some tissue. I LOVE IT!

I also used some Canvas Corp. fringe ribbon to roll into a rosette. I hot glued down every flower.

 I rolled two flowers using Ric Rac, also LOVE!

I cut the strap in the center and tied a knot and then added some Ric Rac and white fabric.

SO WHAT DO YOU THINK? DOES IT LOOK LIKE or REMIND YOU OF MY BLOG?

I have more work to do before evo'12 but its all so much fun.

Thanks for stopping in.

jen

Saturday Spotlight Talent Show- Decorate Your Home Edition!

Today's Talent Show is super special. I love taking pride in  my home and in my spaces, I love turning them from plain to pretty! Each room and space you see today is fantastic and done by some Super Talented Ladies.

Lets get this AWESOME TALENT SHOW STARTED!

Owen's Olivia- Owens Room Reveal-love it all!

 The Plum Verbena- Olivia's Room- so darling!

 Everyday Art- Painted Kitchen Table- Great colors!

 Dream Home DIY- Chalkboard stairs- Fantastic idea!

Lolly Jane- Crib mattress turned bulletin board- I love this, and can't wait to do this myself.

 Shabby Love- Old Door turned Shelves- I ADORE THIS, So cute!

 Echoes of Laughter- Summer Beach Mantel- Beautiful!

Fancy Frugal Life- Pantry Makeover- LOVE IT! I need to do this ASAP!

That was one inspiring talent show. Now I feel inspired to clean, organize, and put all my love into my home. 

Thanks ladies. See you all tomorrow evening for another Craft-O-Maniac Monday Link Party.

hugs, jen

Home Decor New Entry Table from Craigslist

Oh' I still can't believe I got this real heavy solid wood large entry table for $65.00 dollars on Craigslist. I AM SO IN LOVE WITH IT AND ITS SIZE. 

Its even already beat up and given that worn look I like. I love it in black, BUT I am pretty sure I will paint it at some point and when I do, I will have to paint my mirror to match. I just am not ready to make the plunge to yellow, turquoise, or kelly green, IDK? I may just do both mirror and table white. White and Black are timeless and classic and will always go with your decor... will see. 

Anyway, I am sharing my new table with you all because I am as HAPPY as a little girl at a Justin Beiber concert!

 

 

 

 I am going to love LOVE decorating this new piece for the holidays. Thanks for stopping by COM

hugs, 

jen

DIY Sweet and Simple Pin Cushion

Hello! My name is Carrie and I am so excited to be here at CraftOManiac today! Since this is my first time guest posting here, let me tell you a little bit about myself and my little blog, Hooked on Decorating.


First, why is my blog called Hooked on Decorating? Because I really am a decorating fanatic! If I could spend every waking hour of my day thinking about making over the rooms in my home, transforming my latest furniture find or dreaming up my newest craft project, I would be on "Cloud Nine"!


Also, the main reason that I created my blog is to hopefully inspire others on how to decorate their homes without breaking the bank! I like to make sure that every project that I share with my readers uses thrift store finds or the most inexpensive materials available. It is amazing how great something can look with very little money!

That said, I have a quick and easy tutorial to share with you today. Recently, I made up this little pin cushion for use on top of my newly painted sewing cabinet. I had found the milk glass vase (below) at a thrift store a while back and I thought it would be perfect to use as a holder for a pin cushion.

This pin cushion is so simple to make. It only takes about 10 minutes from start to finish to complete. You could even make this while sitting on the couch watching your favorite TV show. I love those kind of projects! Don't you?

 

Supplies You’ll Need:

• a small glass/wooden dish, a wide-mouthed vase or a teacup
• polyester batting
• cotton fabric in the pattern of your choice
• a plate to use as a template or any other round object
• an erasable fabric pen or chalk
• thread
• a sewing needle
• scissors

 

 Step 1: Determining the size of fabric you will need

 Measure the diameter of the opening of your bowl/teacup etc. then double your measurement and add a couple of inches extra for good measure. The excess will help to fill out the inside of your container

1. I used a small side plate as my circle template but you could also use a plastic pail or cut a circle out of cardboard to use

 

 Step 2: Drawing and cutting out your fabric shape

1. Trace out your circle shape onto your fabric using an erasable fabric pen or a piece of chalk
2. Cut out your shape (doesn't need to be perfect, mine isn't!) and iron your piece of fabric to get out all of the wrinkles

Step 3: Stitching, filling it up & finishing it off

1. Thread your sewing needle with a long length of thread and knot the end. The diameter of my circle was 7 inches so I used about a 14-18 inch length of thread so that I would not run out of thread as I was stitching around my circle
2. Baste loose stitches around the edge of your circle about 1/2 " from the edge
3. When you have basted around the entire circle, pull lightly on the thread while holding your piece of fabric in your other hand. Your circle will start to gather to make a little pouch
4. Gather your circle evenly all around until there is about a 2-3 inch opening. Then stuff it with a handful of polyester batting until it is entirely full. You can use the end of your finger to push the batting around to make sure that it fills all of the pouch and that your pin cushion is a nice, round-shaped circle
5. Pull the remaining thread tight to bring all of the gathering together. Stitch your pin cushion closed, knot the ends and cut your excess thread
6. Place your pin cushion inside your container. You shouldn't have to secure it inside your container; the batting should help to hold it in. If you do find that your pincushion wants to pop out of your container you could add a piece of Velcro or some double-sided tape at the bottom to help hold it down

Well there you have it! Easy peasy!

Below is another pin cushion that I made using a little china jewelry holder that I also found at the thrift store. Isn't it cute?

A cost rundown for this project is as follows:

$0.50 Little milk glass vase

$1.00 Fabric from the clearance bin at my local fabric store

$0.00 Polyester batting, needle, thread, erasable pen - free as I already had it.

Total for this project: $1.50!



I love little projects that cost next to nothing, look great and are also useful!


I hope you liked my tutorial and you decide to give it a try sometime. I'm sure you'll agree that this pin cushion would be a welcome replacement for the old, tired tomato pin cushion that you may still have stuffed into the back of your sewing cabinet drawer.


If you like to sew, this is a perfect way to use up all of those little vases and teacups that you will sometimes find at thrift stores and garage sales. They are too cute to pass up but they somehow get lost amongst the other items displayed in your home. You know what I'm talking about, right?


Take those small vases and teacups out of your china cabinet and make them useful again. Turn them into a pin cushion or two!


I would love it if you would stop by my blog some time to say "hi" and check out some of my other tutorials and projects I have shared. You can also find me hanging out on Facebook, Pinterest and Twitter on a regular basis! It's great making new friends!



Thanks Jen for inviting me to share my DIY pin cushion project with your readers! I had so much fun!


Thank you Carrie, its super cute and simple. I LOVE IT.  JEN

DIY Burlap Flag Banner

Hi Craft-O-Maniac readers! We are Bonnie and Trish from the craft/DIY blog...Uncommon! We are thrilled to be here today at COM, Jen is such a sweetie for having us stop by! Today we are going to show you one of our favorite 4th of July projects from last year...

Soooo....I promised myself that I would finish my Fourth of July porch decor this year and I might just make it!! WooWho!!

One of the projects I wanted to make was this....

Burlap 4th of July Banner!

I saw this burlap flag banner last year about ths time. I snatched up the flags when all the Fourth of July decorations went on clearance and I stored them away,with every intention of making this banner way before the 4th this year!! I have a few more days until then, so really I made my timeline...right??!!

My front porch is rather large, so I made four banners and tied two together on each side. Each banner has 6 flags sewn onto burlap rectangles with a simple zig-zag stitch and then attached to the jute  twine!

I love the simplicity of this banner !

Love how it is all starting to look!

We are truly blessed to live in the "land of the free"...

A big "THANK YOU!" to Jen for having us today here at

 Craft-O-Manic! We would love to have you visit us at Uncommon! You can also find us on facebook, twitter, and pinterest !

TRISH AND BONNIE, I ADORE THIS Burlap Flag Banner, and I ADORE that you shared it will all of us today. Thank you so much. P.S. is that house not totally gorg? Sighhhh, I love it.

... and for more awesome burlap in lots of colors check out Burlap Fabric

THANK YOU ALL FOR STOPPING IN TODAY.

jen

Campus Book Rentals and for a Great Cause too

My goodness SCHOOL AND COLLEGE has been mine and hubbys whole marriage. Kevin has been in school our whole marriage (due to moves, jobs, and a growing family) up until this last year, when VICTORY STRUCK and he got his Bachelors degree. WA-HOO- go hubs. I know all about school loans, grants, and text books, as well as text book costs.....

 picture source here

...That is why Campus Book Rentals is such a great idea!

JUST READ ALL THE PERKS:
-save 40-90% off of bookstore prices
-free shipping both ways
-can highlight in the textbooks
-flexible renting periods
-we donate to Operation Smile with each textbook rented

I just love that they donate to such a great cause. I am a mother of four, so helping a child out with their cleft lip/cleft pallet is such a gift and wonderful perk.


I hope that Campus Book Rentals can help you, or your child out in school.


and find Campus Book Rentals on FB.

Thanks so much,

jen

HAPPY  LEARNING!!!

Patriotic Marshmallow Star Pops

Today I am sharing with you all some dipped star marshmallows. I found the marshmallows at Walmart, because my little 3 year old Ryk.. saw them and said "wook mashmallow's mom" I had to get them, and I new right away I would dip them in some melted candy melts. 

So I bought some candy melts and some extra sprinkles and made some fun "Patriotic Marshmallow Star Pops." All you  have to do is melt your candies, stick a marshmallow on a sucker stick, and dip. Then over a bowl sprinkle on your candy sprinkles. Stick your star pops in some styrofoam and chill in the fridge for 30 minutes, or less.

 

 

 

 

I am so thrilled to celebrate the 4th of July. 

These "Patriotic Marshmallow Star Pops" 

would be the perfect edition to your fun FAMILY & FRIENDS fire cracken holiday.  

I am so blessed to be an American and to have my freedom and freedom of speech. Having this blog is just one more opportunity and reminder of my freedom of speech.

I feel so much love, pride, and freedom when I see a large flag waving in the summer breeze. I love 4th of July night and watching all those fire works light up the dark sky. I just can't wait.

HURRAY FOR THE RED, WHITE AND BLUE! 

hugs, 

jen