10/31/13

Make It: Chocolate Popcorn {a Halloween Treat}

Need a last minute treat for Halloween night? You probably have all these ingredients in your pantry.


I made this Chocolate Popcorn for some of the girls' friends and teachers. Literally, this is just about the easiest thing you will ever make! I got the inspiration from my friend Jennifer- she used to make something similar with white chocolate and cute Halloween sprinkles. I didn't have either, so I just worked with what I had :)

Want to make Chocolate Popcorn? You will need:
-Microwave popcorn
-Almond Bark

I popped a bag of popcorn and added three sqaures of melted chocolate. Then I mixed it together gently and spread it out on wax paper to 'dry'.


After about 30 minutes, I scooped it into these fun little bags. (It took 3 bags of microwave popcorn to fill 20 treat bags)




Then I printed these tags on thick craft paper. You can print your own free Happy Halloween tags over at Lil Luna. There are several color choices, I pulled the images over to a Word document and was able to fit 6 tags per page for easy printing.
Source

The Chocolate Popcorn was a hit with our crowd-- and you can always 'make it your own' by adding candy corn, m&m's, sprinkles, or marshmallows etc.

I made a few bags with 'plain' popcorn for our friends with food allergies. 
Have a Happy Halloween! 

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10/30/13

DIY Minion Costume

My little girl surprised us all by wanting to be a "Minion" from Despicable Me. This makes me laugh because she is such a 'princess-loving-girly-girl'. But when Maisy makes up her mind, you just go with it!


Here was inspiration for this costume. I tried to find one to buy, but the guy at Party City said "Minions are a real problem this year." What???! Turns out the manufacturer of Minion costumes didn't come through. So we ended up with another DIY costume project {Yay!!!}


This one is pretty easy. A minion is basically a yellow body in overalls. Add some goggles/glasses and voila! A minion is born. Maisy's overalls and shirt are from Target. (This costume is awesome because she will actually be able to wear it as 'regular' clothes after Halloween is over.)


The 'goggles' are actually 'geezer glasses' from the "Over the Hill" section at Party City. Then we added face paint and a construction hat- also from Party City.


Maisy wore this to her Fall Festival at preschool, it was a good dry run for the big day. I am hoping that on the 'real' Halloween she will let me paint her entire face yellow. Some little black gloves would also be cute. I could add a few black 'pipe cleaner' hairs poking out of the top of the hat. Oh and maybe she will actually keep all her accessories on, so people will know 'who' she is!


If not, that's ok. I've always got these pictures :) And she is happy as can be in her comfy overalls.


----UPDATE----
Halloween was a success! She let me paint her entire face yellow. I added some pipe cleaner hair to the hat too. Her 'goggles' broke, so we added these plastic glasses. Her look Minion-look was perfect. Although she ended up taking off the hat and glasses for trick-or-treating, I got some great "before" pics :)





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10/28/13

DIY Katy Perry Costume

My big girl wanted to be Katy Perry for Halloween. She loves her songs on the radio, but almost more than that, she loves those 'blue hair/bright lipstick' photos she has seen.


So we decided to do a "DIY Little Girl Katy Perry Costume"-- something age appropriate that captures the fun and creativity of the singer. Here was our inspiration for the project...


I bought white fabric, it is a thick cotton. Using the top of another dress as a guide, I made a pattern. The top of the dress is lined and has bows that tie on the shoulder. Once I had sewn the dress, I painted and cut styrofoam balls. Then I let the balls dry for 48 hours.


Finally, I glued them to the front of the dress.



The blue wig is from Party City and so are the little gloves. To give the dress some 'umph'- she is wearing a pettiskirt underneath. Then a little hot pink lipstick and mascara complete the look.


I am really happy with how it turned out. She looks like she came straight from Candy Land. The perfect mix of Katy Perry 'rockstar' with the sweetness of a little girl.


Needless to say, she didn't want to the take costume off! Bring on Halloween!


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10/26/13

Charisma Home Decor: Shop Giveaway

Happy Saturday! Today I am welcoming a new sponsor, Charisma Home Decor.


Charisma Home Decor prides themselves on handcrafted, unique items for the home and stylish accessories. From pillows to frames, vases to jewlery-- Charisma has something for everyone.


Today, Charisma is offering Crafty Texas Girls readers a chance to win a gift basket valued at $85 filled with unique home decor goodies. To enter, simply use the rafflecopter widget below.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Find more about Charisma:

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10/25/13

Out of the Box-First Impressions

Back in September I traveled to NYC as part of the Miele Pure Air Blog Campaign. Over the next few months I will be sharing my experiences with my Miele vacuum. 

Woohoo my new Miele has arrived! You may remember that we already own a Miele upright. Jeff and I bought it from Lonestar Vacuum here in Grapevine before I even knew what a "Miele" was :) And since then, I can honestly say that my floors and my home are cleaner than ever. As part of the blog campaign, I received a new vacuum from Miele. I still have my lovely red upright, but now she has a friend...


Meet the red canister!  She rolls, she glides, she gets into 'hard to reach' spaces :)


It's easy for me to talk about this new vacuum because I already owned a Miele, waaaaay before this campaign ever started. Meile is the best vacuum on the market because it cleans your home. It really, really cleans your home.
Read more about Miele and allergens here. 
As the air moves through the vacuum filters, allergens and dust are trapped and removed. So not only are your floors clean, but the air is too. The allergens and dirt are trapped in the closed system and sealed away in vacuum bags (not blown out and scattered around your home like other vacuum cleaners). This is important to anyone who suffers from allergies (or anyone who has lungs!) Cleaner air is better for my kids, my husband, and me (it means I don't have to dust the furniture as often!)

So what does a girl with two beautiful Miele vacuum cleaners do? Well one lives upstairs and one lives downstairs. My new canister is great for the hardwoods and reaching all the high nooks and crannies on the first floor.


On a recent trip to Lone Star Vacuum, to get those awesome 'allergen catching' bags for my upright, I had a chance to talk "Miele" with one of the owners. It's funny how exciting vacuums can be-- but seriously how hard do we all work to make our homes beautiful? Part of that comes from having a clean home! I was thrilled to find out that the yummy Miele coffee that I feel in love with in Princeton, was available right here in Texas:)


Now I am off to vacuum my floors- nothing better than starting the weekend with a clean house. Happy Friday my friends!

I was selected for this opportunity as a member of Clever Girls Collective and the content and opinions expressed here are all my own.

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10/23/13

Craft It: Easy Pumpkin Craft for Kids

The countdown to Halloween is on! This past weekend we were all about pumpkins.


First, we worked on costumes. I don't make their costumes every year, but this Halloween, it just seemed like a good idea. Afton is going to be Katy Perry. I made her this white dress, we are adding 'candy dots' made from styrofoam balls to it tomorrow. Maisy is going to be a Minion from Despicable Me. I have yellow face paint for her! I'll post more about the costumes once they are finished.
 Then we headed to Hall's Pumpkin Farm for some pumpkins. I think everyone else in town had the same idea, because it was crowded. So we quickly picked out pumpkins and brought them home for carving.




Maisy's pumpkin was so small, I wasn't sure it could be carved. But- it turned out to be the perfect size for a "Mike Wazowski" from Monsters Inc.  (Maisy wouldn't put her pumpkin next to Afton's on the porch-- she said Afton's pumpkin was too scary!)


Finally, we settled on the couch for some quiet crafting. We used cute beads and pipe cleaners from CraftProjectIdeas.com to make these little pumpkins.

The supplies for the Pipe Cleaner Pumpkins were provided for free by CraftProjectIdeas.com
To make your own, twist together four pipe cleaners. Then thread on the beads and twist together the pipe cleaners at the top. Afton made hers colorful. I did one with orange/white and then left one plain, without any beads. Finally, bend the pipe cleaners into a 'pumpkin' shape and add a twisty green pipe cleaner stem.


Have you brought any pumpkins home yet?


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Sharing here: The Lettered Cottage--Home Stories A to Z  -Tatertots&Jello  -The 36th Avenue --Serenity Now -Love of Family and Home -It's Overflowing  -I Should Be Mopping the Floor 

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10/21/13

Craft It: "American Girl Doll" Tote Bag

Know someone who LOVES American Girl Dolls? Me too:) One of our cheer friends, Ensley, recently had a birthday. And for this girl, I really wanted to hand-make a special gift.

A little back-story: This girl is an aspiring blogger! Ensley has a site called Pages for Patients and she is dedicated to raising money for children who are patients. Ensley was inspired to start her site after her mom pledged to pay .01 for every page she reads this year. Ensley decided to share her reading journey on her blog and encourage others to join her. Kids of all ages simply gather sponsors for their reading. Parents, grandparents, friends, neighbors etc. pledge a flat rate per page. Then the reading begins! As the number of pages read increase, so do the donations. "Pages for Patients" encourages kids to help kids by simply reading.

photo courtesy of "Pages for Patients"
So knowing that this sweet girl loves reading, her blog and her American Girl doll, I knew exactly what I wanted to make her :) 
                    

I bought a medium-sized black tote bag from Hobby Lobby. Using the same technique as shown in my "Personalized Tote Bag" tutorial, I sewed chevron fabric to the front. Then I hand-cut the letters to spell out her blog name 'Pages for Patients'. (You can use pre-made letters, or use Tulip Iron-On Shimmer Sheets like I did.) Finally, I ironed them on to the bag. 

To see the full tutorial for the Personalized Tote Bag, click here. 
Then I made a coordinating mini-bag for her American Girl doll. Which also inspired me to make a headband and a matching 'mini' headband for her doll. So sweet! The best part was watching her open the gift. She was thrilled!
photo courtesy of "Pages for Patients"
Photo Courtesy of "Pages for Patients"
Do you know someone who would love a personalized tote bag and a mini one for her "American Girl" doll? They are easy to make and everyone loves a handmade gift :)

Now, pop on over to "Pages for Patients" blog or facebook-- I know a sweet girl who would love to hear from you!

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