Happy Halloween! A Special Guest! and Week 21: Made It Myself Monday!

Hello Everyone!


This is Robyn from My Pink Stamper and I am so thrilled that Alex asked me to be her guest designer on Halloween!  I absolutely LOVE making goodie bags for this time of the year.  I have been busy this weekend making over 90 goodie bags for my children's classes.  I am a mom of 5 awesome kids so I have the fun job of making them goodie bags for almost every occasion!  

I used Spook-alicious from My Pink Stamper Stamps for this EASY goodie bag!  

Hope you enjoy it!  Leave a comment on this post for a chance to win ANY stamp set from My Pink Stamper.  Click HERE to view them all!

Thank you so much Alex for letting me guest design today!  You ROCK!!
Thanks a Robyn! You ROCK TOO! Thanks for being a Special Guest on
My Blog Today!

I hope everyone has a FUN and HAPPY HALLOWEEN! 

NOW IT'S TIME FOR A "SPECIAL HALLOWEEN" LINKING PARTY!

Never partied here before? Check out the deets below...

1. Link any crafty project NEW or OLD.

2. Link UP to 3 projects.

3. Place the party BUTTON on your post.



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4. Visit and Comment on at least 2 Other Blogs

5. Lastly, leave a comment HERE!

Guest Designer Lala Palooza - Crocheting

Happy Friday Crafty Friends!

This is Kathy from Kathy and Kids.

I'm so excited to be a Lala Palooza Guest Designer today! Thank you Alex for inviting me to share on your blog!

Today I'd like to share a non-paper craft project with you. I love my paper, stamps, and Cricut, but before I started paper crafting I learned how to sew and crochet.

I came across a really cute shop on etsy and through Facebook that sells crocheted beanie, headbands, and hat patterns. Her site is snappy-tots.com, and her page is Snappy Tots on Facebook.

Here is some of the projects that I've been making.

Fingerless Mittens

Mouse Beanie Bands
Flower Head Bands

Boarder Beanies

Aren't these the cutest?! My kids have all gotten beanies and I've been working on Christmas gifts as well.

If you crochet, you should stop by Snappy Tots on Facebook and check out all her cute patterns. Be sure to say Hi and tell her I sent you!

If anyone is interested in placing an order with me, head on over to my blog and leave me a message and I'll cotact you.

Thanks for stopping by!

Guest Designer Lala-palooza with My Quilling Nest

Hello there my name is Linda and my Blog is "My Quilling Nest".  I am so honored to be one of Alex's Lala-palooza's Guest Designer today.  I met Alex over a year ago through a post on FB, I don't know if she remembers this but I was her follower # 4...lol  She returned the favor by following my blog as well. I am so happy to see that now she has a thousand + followers...way to go Alex!!!!  Ok so for those of you who don't know me let me tell you that Quilling is my thing!  And for those who have never heard of Quilling, well Quilling is the art of rolling thin strips of paper and forming them into fun shapes.  For today I have a video to show you how you can make a simple quilled flower.  Check it out

Ok so I hope you enjoyed the mini tutorial  you can leave me a comment and let me know your thoughts on Quilling.  I hope you give it a try, you are always welcome to visit my blog for more inspiration and turorials.  This was my small contribution to Alex's Guest Designer Lalapalooza, Gracias Amiga and many blessings in your new home!

Quilled Hugs,

Linda K.

Guest Designer Lala-Palooza : Havana Nights Party Centerpiece

Hi friends!  My name is Dorcas and am from Crafty Card Angel.  I am thrilled and honored to be a Guest Designer for Alex today at You Had Me @ Craft.  Let me tell you that from the day I found Alex, I have been hooked.  I read her blog often and check it several times a week.  She is such an inspiration to me.  The best part is she's Cuban just like me!!!!  I love my heritage and my Latin flavor and am thrilled to share it with someone as special as Alex is.

My project is a centerpiece for a Havana Nights Surprise birthday party for my cousin who turned 40 last month.  This was a fun and easy centerpiece to make and I am blessed to have a secret weapon - my BFF, Marisol!  She is the Martha Stewart in my life and she makes all things possible with a little glue. :)

Materials:

• straw hats (I purchased them on ebay for next to nothing)
• Plant of choice - we used Lavender Flower Spikes because the leaves look like areca palms...and they were only $2 at Lowe's.  
• Linen paper for the guayabera shirts (I'll show you how to fold them)
• Cuttlebug embossing folders (small strip sized ones)
• Bamboo skewers
• burlap bags - we had them ordered at a Cuban store here in Miami.  They were even personalized.  We paid $6 for a package of 12.  One package says Sugar and the other says Coffee. 
• Cigar boxes - we went to a local cigar shop and had them donate them.  We don't smoke, but it was a good theme. We will also put Dominoes down on the tables for interest and will be wrapping small espresso cups and saucers with coffee candy inside them in cellophane paper as favors.  Fun!
• Paper bags (lunch size 5 3/8" x 3 1/8")
• jute twine
• Ziploc Bags 
• Glue Gun

Step one was to make sure that the pots were placed into Ziploc bags so the moisture wouldn't destroy the paper bag.

Place the plant inside the paper bag and wrap a piece of jute twine around it .

Hot glue different memorabilia or decorative elements to the cigar box.
This is a "Sugar bag".  It says Circa 1971.  Magdiel (my cousin) and Las Villas (a province).  Made in Cuba.  SO CUTE! (it's actually filled with rice...another great idea that we can make ourselves next time)

This guayabera is made from an 81/2 x 11 sheet of linen paper.  It is super simple.  Click HERE for my original post on how to make these shirts (on a smaller scale).

The finished product.  Aren't they cute?  

The circle is a coaster we bought.  The Cuban currency is a replica we purchased online. 

We ran out of the cigar boxes that would fit the plant inside, so we made these three to stand alone.
It makes a pretty centerpiece even without the cigar box.   

I sure hope Max loves his party.  We put a lot of love into this event!

NOW IT'S TIME TO PARTY!!!!

Never partied here before? Check out the deets below...

1. Link any crafty project NEW or OLD.

2. Link UP to 3 projects.

3. Place the party BUTTON on your post.



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4. Visit and Comment on at least 2 Other Blogs

5. Lastly, leave a comment HERE!

Guest Designer Lala-Palooza with REBECCA

 ~Hi everyone ~

My name is Rebecca and I am the Crafting Mamma.  I am so excited to be with you as a guest designer for Alex.  I really hope her move is going well and all of you are enjoying her guest designer posts, I know I am!!!  I also really appreciate the opportunity as this is my first guest design post. 

And now on to my project.  I am primarily a card and scrapbooker, but occasionally I dabble in fabric. The one thing that stays consistent is that I always use my Cricut.   Today I have done some T-shirts for you all.  They are Halloween T-shirts to go with the upcoming holiday and so that I could have something to wear when I take my girls trick-or-treating this year.

This first T-shirt is a scary one.  The images are cut from the Happy Hauntings cartridge.  I used neon orange fabric spray paint for the scary pumpkin.  The cool thing about this shirt is that for the face and word I used glow-in-the-dark fabric spray paint.  In the dark, you can really only see the face and word.  One thing I did learn is that I don't like the spray fabric paint.  It is hard to control where it goes and rather drippy.  Lessons learned!!!

This next shirt is an homage to my love of wine!!  The wine glass was cut from the Simply Charmed cartridge and the text was from the Happy Hauntings cartridge.  I used regular green fabric paint for the wine glass.  Another cool feature is that the wine and the text were done with glow-in-the-dark purple fabric paint.  It really glows well, although I couldn't get a good picture to show you.

This last shirt was done using some cool iridescent orange paint and standard black paint.  Both images are again from the Happy Hauntings cartridge. 

Hope you have enjoyed the shirts and inspired you to go beyond paper.  If you want step-by-step instructions please drop by my blog at http://rebeccascrafts.blogspot.com/ .  Thanks again to Alex for this wonderful opportunity.  Happy Crafting Everyone -- Rebecca 

Guest Designer Lala-Palooza with JANNIE

I'm so happy to be a Guest Designer here on "You Had Me At Craft"!

A few weeks ago Alex asked if someone would like to be a guest designer and if so, then they could apply, I did and she picked me!! Can you believe it??

Thank you so much Alex!!

My name is Jannie van Beelen and I live in the Netherlands, I have a blog as well. If you would like to see it, you can click here.

Crafting is a big part of my life and am crafting mostly every day.

So for this day I decided to make the following!

Being so close to Halloween, a Holiday we don't have or celebrate in the Netherlands, I thought I would do my version of this Holiday.

I shop a lot in a store where they sell anything from Household stuff to Paper crafting and it is really cheap. So I found these Iron-on Patches in the shape of Owls and I love Owls!!! And when I was thinking about making something different for Halloween I instantly thought of these cut Owls!

Because I like to play with words, I thought of Owl and Halloween...if you prenounce it the right way it almosts sounds like Happy Owlween..doesn't it?? Maybe it is a Dutch thing, LOL.

So I made three different cards!

The first one I got a piece of chocolatebrown CS and cut it into 4"x 4", then I ran a piece of brown 3,75" x 3x75" through my Cuttlebug with the Leaf Branch folder to create a scenery for the Owl to sit in. I then used my favorite letters to create "Happy" the Owl speaks for itself (isn't he adorable??) and then I created the word "Ween" I tried to use all the colors of the owl to blend in together. I also put on some little hearts (from the Owl punch from Stampin Up isn't that funny)

The second one I made a more traditional scenery for the Owl, the paper I used is actually a piece of wallpaper, I got it at a DIY store! It is a sample which are free so I took some....it is a perfect size to use on cards so! I then cut a hole for the Owl to sit in and then the same phrase again! Used it as a theme! And the hearts are also done in the same colors as the little Owl.

The third and final one is a girlie one! I also used a piece of wallpaper again, from the same store, gave the Owl a Halloweenhat and create the text again.

I hope this idea has given you inspiration to new ideas as well!

Thank you so much again dear Alex, for the opportunity and I hope to see you all on my blog as well www.knutselfrutselen.blogspot.com

Week 19: Made It Myself Mondays & Guest Designer Lala-Palooza with LISA

Hello Everyone!!


I'm Lisa from My Pulelehua Inspirations and I am so excited to be a Guest Designer on Alex's Blog, You Had Me At Craft! Thank you so much Alex for this awesome opportunity!


My love of jewelry making came about 5 years ago. I bought a new outfit, but couldn't find the right accessories. That day I went with whatever I had in my jewelry box, not very happy either. Then the search on how to make jewelry began. Let's just say that now no matter what outfit I choose to wear, I ALWAYS have the perfect accessory! Lately, I've been into the vintage look and here's what I've created to share with you.

I've used antiqued metal chains, jump rings, head pins, necklace findings, earring findings and charms from Blue Moon Beads. The paper used for the charms are from Graphic45-Curtain Call to which I applied Glossy Accents over to create a shiny protective seal. The flowers are from I Am Roses and I also used Glossy Accents to adhere it to a 'doughnut' piece attatched to the chain. I added a ribbon from Offray in Oatmeal just to give it a little something extra. The beads were from a mixed bag I got years ago. And to finish it off, I added a butterfly charm to the necklace finding I got from a friend. Why a butterfly? Well, Pulelehua is how you'd say butterfly in Hawaiian and it's part of my blog :)


I want to thank you for taking the time to read my post! If you'd like to see more of what I do, please visit my blog! http://mypulelehuainspirations.blogspot.com 

Have a blessed day!!
Lisa

NOW IT'S TIME TO PARTY!!!!

Never partied here before? Check out the deets below...

1. Link any crafty project NEW or OLD.

2. Link UP to 3 projects.

3. Place the party BUTTON on your post.


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4. Visit and Comment on at least 2 Other Blogs

5. Lastly, leave a comment HERE!

Guest Desginer Lala-Palooza with TARA

Hello Everyone,

I am so excited to be part of Alex's Guest Designer Lala-Palooza. Thanks Alex for this fabulous opportunity!My name is Tara and my blog is Homemade Happiness. Today I have a thankful mini album I recently made to show you. I have seen these on other blogs and decided this year I was going to try my hand at it. I made it for the month of October because that is the month we celebrate Thanksgiving here in Canada. I made it so that it would be very easy to keep updated with a template that I only had to write one word in each day if that is all I felt I had time for. I have very limited time to craft during the week and I wanted something that I wouldn't fall off the wagon trying to keep up with. So far so good! I have already discovered that some days will be insightful and meaningful where as other days will be silly and just for pure fun. But hey no one but I can say what I am thankful for right?! lol

To create this book I made a rectangle in Design Studio to the rough size I wanted the book to be and then just sized shapes and tags from various cartridges to be about the same size to keep my pages somewhat consistent. All the pages are made from Plantin Schoolbook, Accent Essentials and Once Upon a Princess. I cut all the pages out of Recollections kraft cardstock first then created the same image again in a smaller size to cut my patterned paper so each page was left with a border of the kraft cardstock. I used my Big Bite to punch holes for my binder rings.

The thankful journaling spots were created by printing off the saying on my computer and then using my paper trimmer and/or punches to cut them into different shapes. I inked all the journaling spots with Martha Stewart brown chalk ink before adhering them down.

Here are all the other details:
Numbers inside - Plantin Schoolbook 1.5"
Letters and Numbers on cover - Plantin Schoolbook 3/4" and 1"
Flowers on front - Accent Essentials 3/4", 1", 1 1/4"
Pink Gems - Dollarama
Mini Brads - from my stash
Eyelets - We R Memory Keepers (cool metal)
Glossy Accents (you can't see really well in the photo but the title on the cover is all done in Glossy Accents)
Hinged Binder Rings- Staples

Thanks again Alex for having me as a Guest Designer and thanks to everyone for stopping by today. If you would like to see the rest of the pages from my book I will post them on my blog.

Happy Crafting!!!

Tara

Guest Designer Lala Palooza with BARBARA

Hello and Welcome
I am Barbara from Craft Me This 

I am so happy and excited today to be the Guest Designer for
Alex.  This is my very first time for me being a Guest Designer.

When the call went out, it was about 6AM and I was on my Lap Top in bed like I do every morning going through all my blogs that I follow.

Well I could not believe my eyes when I read Alex’s post looking for Guest Designers.  So I went into action and emailed her and here I am. (Exciting)  Thanks Alex.

For my project today I am making a Pen and Pencil Holder, etc.  It is made from the Toilet Paper Roll!!  So I went to all my neighbors and requested all their T.P. Rolls.  I can’t get them fast enough.  Once you start making these you want to make more.

                You start with a T.P. roll.

                Cut your card stock or your choice at 4”x6.5”

                Cut another piece of the same or contrasting color for the top at 2”x5 ¾”

                And score or fold the length so you have an overhang of about ½”

                Cut Slits along the length so it is easy to fit into the T.P.  roll

                The Base is wood and cut on a Drill Press by my husband Tommy. 

                 The size is 3” in Diameter and 1/2" high.                

                 The inside hole fits the T.P. roll at 1 ½”

Assemble the above and decorate.

Thanks for stopping and sharing my day as the Guest Designer for Alex.

You can visit me at my blog
http://letsgocrafting.blogspot.com/ 
  

A Message That Is Important To Me

All politics aside, but in the midst of the current remarks made concerning my faith. I feel it only right to speak up and express, most especially to my non-mormon friends… that I, as a “Mormon” or more correctly, as a member of The Church of JESUS CHRIST of Latter Day Saints, declare that Jesus Christ is CENTRAL to my faith. I follow and worship that same Jesus that was born of the Virgin Mary, is the literal  Son of God, He who preached love and service, He who performed miracles, He who suffered in Gethsemane and ultimately gave His life on the cross for the sins of the world. There is only one CHRIST and I strive every day to follow Him. Although I have many faults, I know with all my heart that through Jesus Christ's infinite atonement, I can be forgiven and made whole again. This is my faith. I am a Christian. I am a Mormon. And finally, I wish to express that I honor and respect all faiths that teach love, kindness, service and doing good to all men.


If you wish to know more about The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, you may visit 
http://mormon.org/  or feel free to ask me. 



This video shares some of my basic beliefs and explains a little about my church.

Week 18: Made It Myself Monday AND Guest Designer LoLa PaLooZa with Jessica

Hi, my name is Jessica and I'm otherwise known as the  That'z Uneek or Jess B. Ippity Stamps

Today, I have been given the honor and privilege to be one of Alex's Guest Designers during her hiatus! She will be returning soon so don’t be dismayed. 

Alex has given us GD’s a carte blanche pass to design whatever we wish to for her followers. Woot Woot!

Looking back... we met through a KinderStampO blog hop about a year ago. Although we never physically met I feel that I’ve known Alex forever.  Glad to have her as my cyber friend.  She always has wonderful tutorials and fantastic inspirations throughout her site.

Total AWESOMENESS!

I have decided to design a

Mi Casa Es Su Casa

Welcome Shadow Box

Congratulations on your new home my friend!

 Lately I've been catching the sun rising and sun setting

 I am sure living near the coast and having it up close and personal 

would bring anyone joy

 Capturing God's in all HisGlory

Thanks for stopping by
for more details hop to my blog
Jess B

NOW IT'S TIME TO PARTY!!!!

Never partied here before? Check out the deets below...

1. Link any crafty project NEW or OLD.

2. Link UP to 3 projects.

3. Place the party BUTTON on your post.





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4. Visit and Comment on at least 2 Other Blogs

5. Lastly, leave a comment HERE!

Doctor in the HOUSE! Guest Designer Lala Palooza with DR SONIA

DIY Photo frame Tutorial

Photo Frame Tutorial

Hi ,I am Dr Sonia S V  an ENT Surgeon from Bangalore , India. I dabble in various crafts as a stress busting hobby.

I am so thrilled to be the Guest designer at Alex fabulous blog . Her weekly link up parties are the best and the source of so much information and inspiration. Thank You so much Alex for this honor to write for your blog!

I love recycling and transforming what is lying around the house to something beautiful and useful.You help the environment as well as your pocket! Sharing 2 simple ways to make a DIY photo frame!

This gorgeous photo frame is in fact and old desktop calendar !

Photo Frame Tutorial

One side has hand made roses made from a 5 petal punched flower and leaves which were hand cut from an old grocery box.I drew the stems and swirls with glitter glue and added magenta rhinestones.

Photo Frame Tutorial

Since the desktop calendar has 2 sides you can make a double sides photo frame.On the other side of the photo frame I added some ribbon flowers and gemstones and pearls.

Photo Frame Tutorial

Added some red lace on the top border and some pearls on the ribbon roses and the flower shaped gemstones.

Photo Frame Tutorial

Materials required to make the Photo Frame

DIY Photo frame tutorial

• Old Desktop calendar- If you dont have one you can use cardboard pieces like I have done in the 2nd tutorial here.
• White Glue
• Craft Knife - should be sharp to avoid ragged edges
• OHP sheet[ Transparency] - Optional - good quality scratch free
• Photo - to serve as a template guide for your frame
• Thick paper,cardboard, foam or felt- I used 2 sheets of corrugated paper the same size as the desktop calendar. You can even use fabric to wrap the cardboard for a lovely texture.

Make the front of your photo frame: Take your cardboard/Paper pieces and center your photo on it and mark all around to get your aperture.

DIY Photo frame tutorial

Cut out  the marked area at a slightly smaller size [ so that the frame will overlap your photo slightly]

DIY Photo frame tutorial

Place an OHP/ transparency over the marked aperture and mark out the size required - I allowed my transparency to cover slightly more than the aperture  on 3 sides[ below, top and left] and reach till the right edge of the frame
Apply glue to 3 borders leaving a small margin near the aperture.And stick on to your desktop calendar.

When dry you can slip in your transparency and your photo

DIY Photo frame tutorial

Decorate your frame with stickers, shells, beads, gems what not!
My blogger friend Indira who was the inspiration behind this desktop calendar photo frame shared an idea to remove the spring and replace it with nylon strings. I threaded a golden ribbon through the slots of the original spring on the desktop calendar [This step took longer than making the whole frame! So if you want a quick and easy frame leave the original spring on!]

Handmade Punch craft Rose

Making a photo frame from a desktop calendar is easy as there is hardly any cutting involved, it stands on its own and you don't need to make a stand for it.
If you don't have a desktop calendar you can use cardboard pieces or recycle a cardboard box and make this easy and inexpensive homemade photo frame

Photoframe Tutorial

I am a bit of a " junk collector" and in addition to all sorts of junk, I dont throw away boxes either and this is the box I recycled into a photoframe.

Photoframe Tutorial

Here you need the same materials as  in the earlier Photo frame tutorial except that instead of a desktop calendar you can use cardboard pieces or a cardboard box which you can recycle.
You need 2 similar sized cardboard pieces for the front and back of your photo frame - thickness depends on how sturdy you want your photo frame to be. I used the 2 sides of my cardboard box

Photoframe Tutorial

Make the front of your photo frame as in the earlier tutorial.
If you plan on frequently changing your photo ,cut off a centimeter or so from the top central part of the back as shown so as to allow easy sliding in of the transparency and the photo. If you are going to use the same photo in the frame you can skip this step.

Photoframe Tutorial

Cut your OHP/ transparency slightly more than the size of your frame aperture. I allowed my transparency to cover slightly more than the aperture  on 3 sides[ below, right and left] and reach till the top

Stick some pattern paper if you want to the back of the photo frame[ optional  as once your photo is in the frame this area is not seen - however if you want to gift the frame cover it with pattern paper so that it looks prettier.

Photoframe Tutorial

Apply glue to the back of the front of the photo frame leaving a small gap of a few millimeters from the aperture edge. Dont apply glue to the top as this is where you will slide your photo in.

Photoframe Tutorial

Stick the front and back together and leave to dry well.

Photoframe Tutorial

Make a stand for your photo frame using a strip of cardboard. Take a wide strip of cardboard and bend one end up as shown. I have bent up a 2 cm strip

Photoframe Tutorial

Decorate your photo stand strip if your wish. Here I have used the same corrugated paper as the front for a matching effect.Apply glue to the back of the bent strip 

Photoframe Tutorial

Position your stand strip at the center and stick it to complete your frame

Photoframe Tutorial

Your basic photo frame is ready

Decorate your photo frame as you desire:Use shells, beads, quilling, punch craft, clay craft , mirrors , mosaic tiles etc

Photoframe Tutorial

You can slide in the transparency and the photo once you have decorated your photo frame.

I made the paper roses using a 5 petal punch[ shall share tutorial soon on my blog] .

Photoframe Tutorial

The leaves and branches have been hand cut from this glossy green box [Now you can see how serious I am about collecting stuff!].

Photoframe Tutorial

The gorgeous pink pearls are from my daughter necklace which had broken!

Photoframe Tutorial

I have glued on the base of  the leaves after giving a small fold so that the leaves stand up at angles

Photoframe Tutorial

I hope I can tempt you into recycling some cardboard or an old desktop calendar to make a DIY photo frame. 

Since I am a self taught crafter  learning from fellow bloggers on the net and books,I like to give a bit back by posting tutorials on my blog. Do drop by my blog Cards Crafts & School Projects to check out some more of my tutorials. Thank You  Alex once again for this wonderful opportunity.