Crafting With Little Ones {Re-Post}

This is one of my all-time favorite posts and it was written well before I had many readers. I'd like to share it with you again because I think that the message is important if you want to foster a love of creativity in your children from a young age: It's not the outcome that matters; the process is most important.

(Trying to Be) Creative with the Camera {Wordless Wednesday}

Rainbow Sunset

Shadows in the Stairwell

Pointillism?

OK - not "camera-creative", but creative just the same. We made these bookmarks with THIS PIN as inspiration.

River of Sticks - These must have been left over from the flooding we had a few months back. The dark area is made up of a 4-inch-thick bed of twigs, dead grass, and seed pods. All of the grass & sticks were pointing in the same direction. Well, either the flooding or miniature aliens...

What We Did Last Week {Wordless Wednesday}

Discovered that art easels can be used as forts!

Designed a puzzle.

Went for a (very cold) twilight walk.

Took lots of naps.

 And...

Created a work of art!

(Frame made with cardboard & a few paints. Fancy, huh?)

We received the Master Kitz Gustav Klimt Tree of Life painting kit from a giveaway sponsored by Kidzaw on 2 Boys + 1 Girl = 1 Crazy Mom. (Thank you!)

Mamatography - 366 Pictures in 2012

I love taking photos, want to learn more about using my digital camera, and keep a journal in pictures for the year. That's why I've decided to join Luschka of Diary of a First Child in her Mamatography 2012 Challenge. I will take a photo each day that kind of reflects what our day was like, whether it's the pile of dirty dishes that I repeatedly walked past (feeling guilty) or a project that the kids and I worked on.

This is a creative challenge, so you can go anywhere with it! Maybe you want to take a photo of your kids next to the same wall every single day to show how they've grown, or perhaps you want to take some risks and attempt to take an artsy photo each day? Whatever floats your boat goes here. And, if you miss a week or two - no problem. Just pick up when you can. You can post just photos, captions, or even little explanatory paragraphs of each picture. (I think this will help me with my major UN-Wordless Wednesday problem!)

I've just learned of this challenge today, so I may not have all of the facts straight yet. But, from what I can understand, there will be a linky posted on Diary of a First Child on Wednesdays to link up. If you're interested in taking part, you can visit THIS POST to learn more and sign up.

Let me know if you plan to join and I'll try to make it to check out your progress every week! 

Small Business Saturday - Say Goodbye to Black Friday!

If you read most of my blog posts, you know that I really believe in buying from small businesses over large stores. It helps the local economy (it doesn't matter which local economy to me) and supports those brave enough to start their own business.

So, on Black Friday, I'll be snug in my bed, belly full of pumpkin pie, while others are freezing their butts of outside of WalMart just waiting to get inside to buy a PS3 for $49 (if you read the fine print in the ad, you'll know there are only three available at that price per store.) Nope, I'm saving up my money to head downtown. I'll be stopping at the farmer's market to browse the local crafters' items. I'll head to our little bookstore to see if they have any used books that someone on my list might be interested in. When I get home, I'll warm up with a mug of hot spiced cider. I'll put my virtual pennies from PayPal into my imaginary purse and check out some of my favorite online businesses, mainly on Etsy. (Psst... I'm working on compiling a list of my favorite small online business that I've had the pleasure to find over the past year. Here's to hoping I get it done and posted before Nov. 26 - Small Business Saturday!)

If you're interested in learning more about Small Business Saturday, you can check it out HERE. You can also pledge to shop small business on Saturday, November 26, HERE. Oh, and there's a Facebook Page, too!

*Just so you know, I'm not getting anything for telling you about this - I just think it's important. You should also know that American Express is the main sponsor of Small Business Saturday. Also, I found out about this cool campaign through Vocalpoint - I'm a member.

I LOVE Folklore From Around the World {Story Harbour #Giveaway! (11/23) US}

Sponsored by Tomoson.com I love a good story. When I was very young, I remember coming across a copy of Grimm's Fairy Tales and found myself lost in another world. This was the unabridged version - with a lot of gory details and vocabulary that was beyond my scope of understanding. But what I understood held my mind captive! I could almost hear the characters' voices in my head as I read. Since then, I have always preferred the "real" story over the pared-down versions.

That's why I was excited to have the opportunity to review the Story Harbour: Vol. 1, performed by Zette Harbour. This CD contains 50 minutes of folklore about life from all over the world. The six stories are not only entertaining, they're also tales that describe basic human desires and the consequences and rewards of each.

Track 1: Anansi & Stories
Track 2: Master Of All Masters
Track 3: The Little Old Woman Who Lived In A Vinegar Bottle
Track 4: The Crane Wife
Track 5: The Sound Of The Money
Track 6: The Innkeeper's Clever Daughter

 I'm going to tell you something about me that I'm slightly embarrassed about: I am terrible at reading aloud. First, my eyes are much faster than my mouth and I'm slightly dyslexic - I end up scrambling up the words on the page and often need to start over. It drives the kids nuts! The other day, after my third screw-up, Little Guy closed the book and told me he's wait for Brubber to get home to read it. Yeah, it's that bad. And, even on a good day, I mess things up. I try to give the characters voices to make the stories more fun. Ha! Either I end up giving them all the same silly voice, or I get mixed up over which voice is whose and none of the characters ever has the same voice twice in a story. (Good thing there are lots of pictures so Little Guy doesn't get confused over who is talking!)

Zette Harbour isn't just good at telling stories, she's a brilliant performer who can paint a beautiful picture in your mind with only her spoken words. Her story-telling style grabs your attention from the first word and has you listening with rapt attention. She gives the perfect voices to her characters and even includes accents based on where in the world the story originated. She adds excitement to her stories by speeding up and slowing down her speech, her tones rise and fall with the emotions in the stories. I could listen to Story Harbour, Vol. 1 repeatedly through the day and not get tired of it - I'm serious!

Now, it all well and good that I like this CD, but what about the kids? They both love it as much as I do! My oldest has always been fond of folklore and was excited to hear it playing when he came home from school last week. He was being "cool" and nonchalant about it, though. Rather than dropping his bag and heading outside to "hang", he sat in the kitchen and listened until the CD was over.

And then there's Little Guy. He's just turned three and doesn't have a lot of patience for many things. The first time I played Story Harbour, I was doing it for myself for this review. He was busy playing with cars, puzzles and guys all at the same time. After the first story, Anansi & Stories, I realized that it had gotten quiet - no more cars smashing into one another, no frustrated whining about a puzzle piece not fitting right, and I hadn't been hit in the head with a flying elephant for some time. Nope - Little Guy was sitting on his little chair with his hands folded in his lap, intently listening to the stories! It was especially surprising because some of the vocabulary is beyond his understanding. I guess he was doing what I did with Grimm's - just doing his best to understand. We've been listening to one story a night before bed lately. As he's falling asleep, we talk about the story. I'm really liking this new ritual!

Would you like a chance to share this wonderful CD with a little one in your life? Heck, you don't need a child around to enjoy this CD - enter if you love a good story!

I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.

Typical Tuesday {Wordless Wednesday}

Morning dew on the Blue Spruce outside my window.

This is new - he's never done the filigree-looking thing before. He was calling this "Tree" - I LOVE IT!

Bedtime after a long day.

Are You Ready for Another Etsy Giveaway? (11/17) US {ElJay Plushie }

I cannot tell you how happy I was to receive an email from Leah, owner of ElJay Plushie, asking me if I'd be interested in hosting a giveaway. Early this past spring, I won a really cool Stuffed Fleece Hippo and Matching Pillow. "Hippie" has become one of Little Guy's very favorite friends. Hippie has become a great comfort to him since he's decided to fall asleep on his own most nights. And, in addition to being a lovey toy, Hippie also can play rough. He's a very good volleyball and makes a great monster truck obstacle. And, through all of the loving and roughhousing, Hippie is as good as new. His seams are all perfect and he's as soft and squishy as ever!

When I hosted the Etsy giveaways in May as part of my Random Acts of Kindness, I was sure to include ElJay Plushie in the line up. I paid for a really cute rattle set that was in the shop and Leah doubled the prize by adding a really cute stuffed lion that was similar to Hippie (except he was a lion - LOL) You can read more of my review of ElJay Plushie from that giveaway post HERE.

Now, I must admit that is has been a while since I visited Leah's shop. Let me tell you - I was shocked at how much she's expanded over the summer! She has a lot more items for sale now and she's also expanded the types of things she makes. What I tend to think of as her signature Stuffed Animals are still available and there are so many to choose from now! One of the new items I see is the Cloth Baby Books. I absolutely love this kind of books for little ones - they can become familiar with books in infancy, yet all the chewing that inevitable occurs doesn't ruin the book and it can be easily tossed into the washer to get all of that extra teething drool off. Another new item that I really like is the Fleece Dolls. They're soft and simple - perfect for any doll-loving kid. And they're affordable at only $10 each!

Here's where I was surprised the most - ElJay Plushie doesn't just carry plush items anymore. If you love brightly-colored, affordable, original Paintings or expertly Painted Art Dolls, this is the place to stop!




So, how would you like to WIN a $25 GC to ElJay Plushie? You can use it on any item in the shop, or Leah can work with you to create a custom item worth $25 (or more if you'd like to pay the overage.) Just fill out the Rafflecopter form below and get your chance to win a great gift for yourself or someone special in your life!
***If the Rafflecopter form is acting funky, please click on the title of this post. It will reload the page so only this giveaway is showing. Somehow, having a few Rafflecopter forms on the same page crosses wires or something!

Who is the BIG WINNER of the #MadeinMichigan Hop?

OK, you guys are AWESOME!!!There were a total of879 entries, including the extra entries on my review posts. Now, here's how I picked the winner (hope it makes sense!)

I added up all of the extra entries on the review posts, in the order that I posted. There were only 16 entries total. Then, I added the main giveaway entries (863), which brought the total entries to 879.
Here's where it gets a little weird, and I hope I make sense. First, I went to Random.org and plugged in the numbers (1-879). I wanted to see if one of the 16 extra entries won before I went any farther. Well, Random.org chose #759.

Now, I had to figure out what number entry that would be... Hmm. Now, I'm pretty sure I did this right. Instead of sitting here counting each entry (which was my first idea - duh!), I took the winning number and subtracted 16 from it (from the extra entries at the beginning.) Now, stick with me!!! The magic number was 743 - the number I am about to look up on the Rafflecopter entries in the main giveaway post. I sure hope it makes sense. If not, please know that I checked and rechecked and eventually counted all of the entries in a row (took forever with Little Guy saying, "Mama! I three now!" every two minutes!) and the number 743 came up again and again. Next time, I'm figuring out how to do this without the extra entries! So, this is "live" - I'm heading to Rafflecopter to find out who the winner is....

UGH! The person didn't leave a Facebook name... OK, back to Random.org and my screwy math.

And, 86 - 16 (extra entries) = 70...

Gotta love my wonderful control of the mouse on Paint!

Congrats, Lisa!!!

So, there you have it. I'll be emailing Lisa as soon as I get this posted and she'll have 48 hours to respond to my email. If not, I'll be back on Saturday to do this ALL OVER AGAIN!

Please don't forget my generous sponsors when your shopping for holiday gifts. These shops have a lot to offer and their prices are very low. Plus, most of them offer discounts and have clearance sections. Here's a run-down of links to my review, once more. Please keep handmade businesses in business! (You'll be helping local economies, supporting artists, buying original gifts for important people, and most of the handmade businesses you come across are MUCH greener than all of those large manufacturers!)

Thank You To My Sponsors!

The Star Box

8daysOfTreasures

Beatifical

Amore Vivo

MelJoy Creations

Michigan Spinning Company

PETfection

4th Street Candle Co.

#WIN a #Handmade Scrapbook! (11/10) #Rafflecopter {Scrapin' Sara #Giveaway}

About a year ago, I won my very first blog giveaway! It was a set of Christmas cards from Scrapin' Sara's Gifts on Etsy. Man, oh, man was I thrilled!!! I waited for the mail to come every day until those cards showed up. And, when they did, I was curious about the size of the package. I mean, it was a BOX for a set of holiday cards... Upon opening my mysterious box, I found not only the cards I had won, but also a sparkly Christmas ornament and a few more cards. Hmm... did she send me the wrong thing?

So, I headed over to Scrapin' Sara's Gifts to contact her to find out if there was some kind of snafu. That's when I saw it, nestles between the thumbnails of her items and her header: All orders come with FREE GOODIES! Wow! Free stuff with every order? I had to try it out, so I ordered another set of holiday cards. Sure enough, that box came and there were TWICE as many cards as I had ordered in there! Not only did I end up with two sets of cards and a pretty ornament, I also ended up with nearly a dozen extra all-occasion and blank cards. (By the way - I hung that ornament in my kitchen window and forgot to pack it up in January February with all of the other Christmas stuff. It catches the morning sunrise in the summer beautifully!)

There are still 3 available - go grab one by clicking on this caption!

When my little brother became a father a few months ago, I wanted a special card to congratulate him and his girlfriend. The first place I went to was Scrapin' Sara. I knew that, if I couldn't find what I was looking for, she'd be able to make it for me. I didn't have to ask - I saw this card and knew it was just what I wanted.


And, if you'll remember, in March I participated in the March of Kindness hosted by Code Name: Mama. Participating really got me thinking and I decided to hold a giveaway that had two purposes: I wanted to give my readers a chance to win some great items and I wanted to thank some of the Etsy shops that I had won prizes from by sharing their shops with my readers. I contacted each of the shops and told them that I wanted to run a giveaway of one of their items - and pay for it myself (I had saved up survey payments on my PayPal account for a couple of months to do this.) It worked out wonderfully - every single one of the shops either offered the item for free or added to the giveaway prize offered. Sara not only offered the set of cards I had picked out for free, she also added a second set of cards so there would be two winners! (You can see the post HERE.) Now, how cool is that?!

And Scrapin' Sara's Gifts doesn't just have cards. Oh, no! Sara also makes gift tags, really cool gift tag holders, photo frames, and ornaments! Now, I know that most bloggers don't mention price, but I'm going to - I don't know how she manages to make a dime from her orders because the prices are so low and she's always packing in free stuff! I mean, the card I bought for my brother was just $2, and then she went and sent three more cards to me with it. And, on top of that, she's got a clearance section...

So, when Sara asked me if I'd like to do another giveaway with her, I jumped at the chance. She'd like to offer one of my readers the chance to

WIN a Handmade 6"X6" Winter-Themed Scrapbook!

It is all ready for you to add photos of a special wintertime family outing or get-together. The background paper has distressed snowflakes on it and is light enough that you could even write on it.

 

I'm imagining it as a great little book to keep a crafty kid busy during winter break from school - put them in charge of decorating the book and taking pictures of the family! Another idea: My mom lives in Florida and ships the kids their gifts. She always over-does it (she says that's how grandmas are supposed to do it.) I try to take a ton of photos and then call her immediately after the kids have opened their gifts from her. I would use this book to make a little keepsake "thank you" album for her. There are a ton of possibilities for this little scrapbook!

 

You can find Scrapin' Sara's Gifts on Etsy. Sara also write a very good blog called Sara's Organized Chaos. I've got her RSS feed going right to my Google homepage so I don't miss a thing!
***If the Rafflecopter form is acting funky, please click on the title of this post. It will reload the page so only this giveaway is showing. Somehow, having a few Rafflecopter forms on the same page crosses wires or something!

The Star Box - Review and Extra (Easy) Enrty {#MadeInMichigan}

This is a review for one of my sponsors of the Made in Michigan Blog Giveaway Hop, which will take place from October 28 – November 2. I will be offering my readers the chance to win a (Hand)Made in Michigan prize package worth nearly $200! Please take a moment to read about this wonderful Etsy shop and then fill out the Rafflecopter form below for a very easy extra entry into the giveaway.


I've been waiting for the item that The Star Box sent me to review, but it is in the hands of the USPS and I'm just not sure when it will arrive, so I'm going to tell you about this really cool Etsy shop right now and, hopefully, I'll be able to add my own review later!

If you are crafty in the least (or know someone who is), The Star Box is a shop to check out. Debra, the shop's owner, creates these stamps by hand, carving the rubber for each and hand sanding the wooden blocks they are mounted to. Now, I don't know how many of you have ever attempted making your own stamps, but I can tell you it isn't easy! I always skip over those neat and creative kids' crafts that I come across that include the word "stamp" in them - whether you make them from potatoes or Styrofoam, I cannot got them right. In high school, I had the opportunity to try to create stamps from rubber. Yeah. That didn't go well, either. One wrong move and the entire thing is ruined! And the time I put into very slowly and carefully carving them was too much for me to want to pursue the art any longer.

Look at how intricate the carving is for these Dragonfly Wings!

So, I have the utmost respect for anyone who has the skill and patience for making stamps. You really have to love your work when you do this! While I may not care for the actual making of stamps, I do love using them! Stamps aren't just for adding a little embellishment to a handmade card or scrapbook. I've seen tutorials that use rubber stamps to decorate clothing, for handmade wrapping paper, and to include as images in art. Check out the use of this Fancy Bird Cage Stamp, for instance:

In addition to single stamps, The Star Box offers stamp sets. These can be used in any number of ways. For this review, I'm waiting on a set of Art Doll Paper Doll Stamps. The set includes the five stamps pictured below, along with an entire kit to make a ton of little paper dolls for playing with or using for crafting:

• (4) 4"x4" squares of light weight, up-cycled cardboard for the doll body parts
• 
  (10) 4"x4" sheets of assorted decorative papers
• 
  (4) metal bottle caps ( these are real used, clean bottle caps, not the shiny new ready made caps for crafting)
• 
  Assorted Paper Ephemera - this can include book pages, vintage images, tags, paper stubs, tickets, etc.
• 
  Assorted Embellishments - this can include tinsel pipe cleaners, metal letters, assorted beads, assorted buttons, fabric pom pom ribbon, small amounts of jewelry wire in various colors, sticky back label strips in various colors with words punched on them, etc.
• 
  (12)- mini brads for moveable arms and legs

I cannot wait to get my hands on this kit! I'd love to make my niece a set of paper dolls with family members' faces on them. I'm thinking of even creating a diorama of a dollhouse from a big box so she can play with them like that. The Star Box has this really cool set of Retro Kitchen Appliance Stamps that I think would be really neat to use in the background of the kitchen section of the house. Think of it: a pretty much flat dollhouse in which she can store all of her dolls and slide it under the bed when she's through! Not only would it be a gift, but a much-needed creative venture for me, too. Check out what Debra has done with this kit:

Today only (ends 10/30 at midnight EST), if you're a Twitter follower of The Star Box, you can get in on the Buy 1, Get 1 Sale! Buy one stamp or set, get one of equal or lesser value ABSOLUTELY FREE! So, head over and follow and get your order in ASAP. Oh, and if you follow, make sure to claim your entry in the Made in Michigan Blog Hop. You can win one of the above Art Doll Paper Doll Kits (including all of the extras!) or a $35 gift certificate to The Star Box as part of the HUGE prize package! 

In addition to The Star Box's Etsy shop and Twitter account, you can find the business on Facebook. Also, if you didn't make the connection, Debra is the owner of Michigan Spinning Company! You can find out more about that on my review post HERE (it was my favorite review so far!)

Disclosure: I will receive an Art Doll Paper Doll Stamp Set and Kit, as described above, for the purpose of review. No other compensation will be received. All opinions are 100% my own.

Super-Easy Pumpkin Decorating!

The last few years, we haven't carved pumpkins. I always hated paying for a pumpkin, only to throw it out after Halloween. Yeah, we got pumpkin seeds from those carving pumpkins, but they weren't very yummy. So, I started to buy pie pumpkins and we do this to them:

It's so fun and easy for the kids to cut out eyeballs, mouths, and noses from magazines. Then, with a little glue, we make some pretty creepy pumpkins. I mean, really - Which is scarier? A pumpkin with triangles carved into it, or these weird-looking faces that just aren't right?

Plus, it's safer and everyone can participate. I mean, I know that my oldest is 13, but his knife skills aren't all there. I don't want him showing his kids a scar on his hand one day, saying, "You see this one? I got this while carving a pumpkin. Twenty-three stitches!" And then there's Little Guy who is at a point where, "I do it myself!" translates into: "If you don't let me do exactly the same thing as everyone else, I'm going to flip out into a pool of tears and ear-piercing screaming!" So, letting him try to figure out how to use scissors, then giving him a paintbrush and a bowl with some white glue it such an easy solution.

Just checking out the pumpkins.

This is a great way to explore some creative options in facial features!

We're planning on gluing on some marigolds and autumn leaves for hair tomorrow.

On Tuesday, I'll cut up the pumpkins and bake the seeds and cook the pumpkin in the crock pot, then puree it for pies, cookies, etc. No wasted money - and some healthy fall treats, too!

Do you have any good pumpkin recipes we might want to try? Let me know!