Elmer's Look for Less challenge (and giveaway)

If you remember, last summer I had the opportunity to work with Elmer's and host a Kid's Craft Camp party.  They provided all the supplies and the kids provided the creativity.  

Cut to a few weeks ago. 

I was contacted again and presented with a challenge.  

"Look for Less"

The goal was to create something for the home or holidays.  

Elmer's sent these supplies

(foam board, paint pens, exacto knife and glue sticks)

plus a $25 Visa gift card to get some extras.

My first thought was the black foam board looks like a chalkboard.

The lizard loves yellow.  I used the all purpose glue stick to add a few pieces of cardstock (from my stash) to a piece of the board. 

 

Super simple, super cute 'chalkboard' door sign.

I also wanted to make something a little shiny :) 

I picked up some metallic paint (~$4)

I had a stash of clothespins - one of my fave things in the world!

 I used the exacto to cut a circle from the foam board.

I added the clothespins.

and spray painted the entire thing



And ended up with this...

I was going for a starburst-y look.

I'm happy with how these projects turned out.  

And the only extra that I bought was the Krylon metallic spray paint.

My next idea is to create sconces with the remaining foam board.  

I'll be sure to share them when I finish.

In the meantime, Elmer's has generously given me 2 'look for less' kits to giveaway away!

Each kit includes:

·         Black 20x30 Foam Board

·         White 20x30 Foam Board

·         CraftBond All-Purpose Glue Stick

·         CraftBond Repositionable Glue Stick

·         CraftBond Extra-Strength Glue Stick

·         X-ACTO Designer Series Gripster Knife

·         Painters Assorted Colors Set

to enter (up to 2 times)

1. LIKE Elmer's on Facebook (come back and tell me you do)

2. Leave me a comment telling me what you would make if you win

Good luck!!

(giveaway ends Sunday Dec 11 @ midnight est)

Turkey Thursday (FLASHBACK)

Last year, I started a 'Turkey Thursday'..totally by accident. 

I may start it up again :)

Here is my Thankful Turkey -

it's easy to make and is a perfect addition to Thanksgiving dinner!!

(this following post is from last year)

but is currently featured at Fun Family Crafts! (thanks Amanda)

Here are my supplies.  

jugs (spray painted some from McDonalds), paper, ribbon. glue gun & googly eyes

This is pretty straight forward.  Have your kids (or you can do it for them) write what they are thankful for on strips of paper.  

I decided NOT to cut feather shapes but feel free.  

Once you have all of your 'feathers' - glue them on. 

yes..the ladybug is thankful for the 'couch' :)

These little cuties are on our mantle.  

I think I'll put them on our Thanksgiving table with flowers in them...

or maybe some of my 'gobble gobble' toppers!

Halloween project (FLASHBACK)

Here is one of my favorite projects from last year & super simple too!!!

This is the original post - enjoy!

take a few of these...

 add some of this

and you've got these cuties

I made several (and have several more to make).  I see these hanging in our trees, sitting on our mantle and even piled high in a basket on a side table.

Happy Monday!!

It's a bird! It's a pumpkin! It's Angry Bird pumpkins!

The lizard & ladybug LOVE Angry Birds 

(the lizard especially).  

He is going as an Angry Bird for Halloween :)

During our trip to the pumpkin patch, 

they announced they wanted 'all the birds and pigs'. 

Well, they got 8 small pumpkins and I got to spray painting.

(and I'm very proud that I actually primed the pumpkins)

Here's proof!!

After each pumpkin was painted, 

I started cutting shapes for the eyes, noses & brows.  

I tried to be as accurate as possible 

(but used super simple shapes)

The lizard schooled me a bit in how 'angry' the eyes should look!!

We created a little scene in our yard.

The birds are waiting their turn:

and the pigs are waiting to laugh :)

I love how the kids sat down to look at it 

(like something was going to happen)

I have a feeling once Halloween is over, 

this will turn into a 'live' Angry Birds game.

I hope you all had a great weekend!

 

sharing here:

Our trip to the pumpkin patch

I took the lizard & ladybug to the pumpkin patch yesterday.  

It was hot and dirty..but I managed to get a few cute pictures :)

There were lots of pumpkins...little ones

colorful ones

big ones

(thank goodness they decided against this giant one)

We got several smaller ones...any idea what I'm planning?

Do you decorate with pumpkins?  

How many do you normally get?

inexpensive art

I've been looking for something colorful and fun for the kid's bathroom.  

I also wanted some color for the pool bath.  

Something inexpensive.  

Ding Ding!

Sprik Space has a TON of pattern pieces, so I got to printing.  

A few sheets of chevron prints and I had some color!

I picked up a few cheapo frames from Wal-Mart and sprayed them white.

I went with 5x7 sizes 

(for the record, I'm not sure I'm loving the frames).  

Bigger may actually be better in this case.

For the kid's bathroom, I decided to use Wordle.  

I love how it turned out.

Looks great in the $4 frame from Walmart 
(with edges sprayed white).

if you love it..here's the link to print your own.

I will probably make a few changes to the pool bath - 

but I'll be sure to share pictures

Have a great Labor Day!!

easy 'metal' letters

I saw an idea for Zinc inspired letters 

(via Lauren McKinsey's Facebook page).  

It's exactly what I wanted to use in our new kitchen.  

As luck would have it, I already had the letters.  

I also had silver spray paint (totally the lazy way out).  

Here's what I started with:

 

(letters from JoAnns & silver spray paint)

Here's how they ended up:

even though they look pretty good on the counter, 

I'm going to hang them so they are easier to see 

(and they will 'shine' more)

Hopefully, I'll get to another letter project this week.  

It's an idea I have for each of the kid's room.  Stay tuned :)



linking up:

Mother's Day Monday

I hope you all had a great weekend & Mother's Day.  

I thought I'd share a little of my Mother's Day get-together.  

I expected a few more people but 

due to uncontrollable circumstances, we had a much smaller celebration.

Here is some of the way too much food for the amount of people we had :)

cookies, of course.

m&m bites (pretzels, candy melts & m&m's)

 

fruit salsa with cinnamon 'chips'

cake, decorated by the lizard & ladybug

My Mother's Day Relaxation Kits.

They included :

A clear mug

Mother's Day blend coffee (my mix of reg and French Vanilla)

A candle

A bookmark (from here)

A HUGE coffee filter flower (here's the tutorial)

The tags are chalkboard tags I made (here's the tutorial)

It was a fun day. 

I'm getting my mani/pedi today...so Mother's Day continues :)

Have a great Monday!

tiered stand...2 ways.

If you follow me on Facebook - 

you saw a sneak peek of something I'm working on. 

  

 

My inspiration was this tiered stand I saw at The Purple Pug 

(she has the 'original' Pottery Barn one...but I'm too cheap to buy one)

My version is much less expensive and I'm hoping it will be just as cute!

It's not finished yet..but it's pretty darn good, if I do say so myself. 

The next stand I'm working on is more colorful.  

I fell in love with the bright colors of these plates from Target.  

I had a wooden candlestick (from Goodwill) already.  

I've painted the candlestick a glossy, bright red. 

So neither of my stands are finished..

but I wanted to share what I've been working on.  

It feels like forever since I've done an actual project. 

Once they are finished, you guys will be the first to know :)

Have a great Thursday!!

simple (and sweet) Valentine pinecones

I am in love with how these turned out.  

Krylon paint (red and pink) and some pine cones made these cuties.  

I piled them into a galvanized tub and sat them on our front porch.  

Couldn't be easier.

Tomorrow, I'll share the Valentine's treats I'm sending with the lizard 

(plus some freebies)

'gumball machine' - Hanukkah style

During October, I saw several 'gumball machine' crafts...

using clay pots & bottoms and bowl vases.  

I even started one but was stuck for what to use as the handle on top.  

Here are some of my pictures from before Halloween.

 

Stacked (but not glued) and ready to go....

well..it didn't go far.  

Until today (yesterday)...I decided to use it for Hanukkah.  

I spray painted it blue and found the perfect knob!

'HAY' it's a dreidel :)

It's filled with jelly beans (that were to be used for another Hanukkah project) 

that the husband apparently is addicted to.  

Let's just say I will be getting more jelly beans today!!!

And since Hanukkah involves eating, gifts and parties..

our annual Hanukkah party is next week - here are the invitations.  

My standard Microsoft Word invite printed on labels on top of cute card stock. 

I'll be sharing some of the treats we'll have at the party.  

One of those goodies will be the dreidels from yesterday's post.  

Dawn at Not Just A Mommy was sweet enough 

to add them to her Happy Hanukkah post.  

Check it out, you may see the printables from Frog Prince Paperie again :)

I'm still working on our 'holiday' mantle 

(once I get more jelly beans, it will be done) 

and a festive wreath for our door.  

I share it all with you soon.

Happy Thursday!!