"Creatively Christmas: Inspired Yuletide Decor"

disclaimer:  We received the following for free in exchange for our honest opinions.  All opinions remain our own.

"Creatively Christmas:  Inspired Yuletide Décor"

by Jennifer Rizzo

  "Creatively Christmas:  Inspired Yuletide Décor" is a book of unique decorating ideas by Jennifer Rizzo.  She uses a lot of everyday items to create looks specifically for the Christmas season. 

  In the book you will learn how to make weatherproof presents, repurpose old ice skates, find uses for those doilies, and find a lot of unique uses for items in nature.

  She even includes a CD with stencils that she uses in the projects to save you some time.  And there is even a section at the back that shows you some other folks homes decorated for the holidays. 

  Mommy in GA: first off sorry for the delay, that was all me    :(  I sometimes have a hard time balancing my paid job, 4 kids', the house, life in general AND a blog, I sometimes drop the ball and it always seems to be the blog because the other priorities have major repercussions!!

This is a little late OR you could look at it as a HUGE head start on this coming Christmas'!! This will give you plenty of time to get your book AND have time to do your projects all in your own time!

I was looking at the book and it has SO many great ideas' for decorating to make your house look great for the holidays.... ON a budget! Most of the projects in here are to repurpose things you own, things you can find outside or if you have to purchase very cheap! (yard sales, goodwill and value village are a few of the good second hand places I can think of !)

Also another good thing is you get the whole CD for the templates so you can print out the projects and don't have to worry about your inner artist or there lack of!!

Me and the kids' will spend some quality time this summer going through the book and making our decorations for the Holidays and I can't wait!!!

  Mommy in PA:  I am going to send my kiddos on a mission to get me some acorn tops.  I totally fell in love with her Glittery Scatter Acorns, stunning and simple...you can't beat that!  I also loved the idea for the Paper Toy Animal-Inspired Napkin Rings, so cute!  Can't draw animals...that's ok, she includes the stencils on the CD!  Ok...I wanna make almost every single project! 

  What a creative lady!  And I love the fact that she includes a lot of her stencils on the enclosed CD, though at first I was bummed because I thought that the disk was Christmas songs to get you into the Christmas spirit : (  Oh well, stencils are good too : ) 

The photos in the book are gorgeous and very inspiring.

Back To School - Student Edition - Week 2 Day 3 - Klutz

disclaimer:  We received the products below for free in exchange for our honest opinions.  All opinions remain our own.

Klutz

 If you don't already know about Klutz than you are truly missing some awesome learning/crafting experiences with your kiddos.  You can see our previous reviews here, here, and here. 



 





Mommy in GA's kids received "Felted Friends" and "My Style Studio" and here is what they thought:

Mommy in GA:
"Felted Friends"
We were kinda bummed because Mommy in Pa called and said she got her Klutz!!!!  Awww Dangit ours wasn't here yet   :(  I proceeded to straighten up the house and shower and heard the door bell, "YAY the UPS man brought our Klutz!!!" Needless to say the kids' wanted to open it right that minute. Me being mean old mommy made them wait till morning.

They got the felted friends out and proceeded to make a bunny, a mouse and a cat. They had a friend over and made a fox as well. They had a blast and the little friends turned out good, for the kids' tackling the projects themselves :)

It was easy to do and the instructions were easy enough that they did the whole thing themselves and just showed me the outcome. The only disappointment was that our tool that came with the kit busted, with the help of my 5 year old son    :(


"My Style Studio"
The girls' were SUPER excited about this one! They are getting older and more into fashion, hair and make-up :) They got this one out and started making different models and stuff and that 5 year old stinker kept trying to peel the stickers off the stencils, you are not supposed to do that!!

This was fun for them to stencil the girls and fashion designs, it comes with the paper, the stencils, pencils and everything else you need!! All you need is the talent and patience :)

They made severel stencils each before getting bored and moving on to something else (you all have or know little ones to know that that is an accomplishment for a company!!!)

Very happy with the new products KLUTZ is comming out with and ALWAYS happy to work with them :)

Mommy in PA's kids received "Straw Shooter Jets" and here is what they thought:

Mommy in PA:  This is an amazing kit.  They give you everything you need to make over 60 jets.  There are 30 separate sheets with 2 jets per sheet.  They also give you a stencil so you can make more when you run out of the other ones.  The kit also contains straws and the nose weights that are reusable. 

Here is what the instructions look like.

My son wanted to make the Strawhawk jet first so we cut it out, folded where we needed to (love the little tips at the front of the book on how to do this easier), attached it to the straw and we were ready to fly (see pics below). 

This is what the pages look like, two jets per page.

Here is what our completed jet looked like before we attached it to the straw.

This was the jet ready to fly, you take the colored straw and insert it into the black straw and blow to launch your jet into the air.

 This was a really fun project and it only took a few minutes.  I think this would be great for a classroom when teaching about how airplanes fly. 

Here is the informational page about the one my son made.

Each style of jet in the book also shows which jet in real life it is based on and has facts about that jet.  Just like everything else Klutz makes it is not only fun but educational : )



Horray It's Earth Day! This month's Build And Grow

disclaimer:  I am receiving nothing in exchange for this post.  Just letting our readers know about a free activity for the kiddos.

Lowe's Build And Grow

  On the 12th my son got to make this awesome recycling truck at our local Lowe's as part of their Build And Grow Program.  This is his third time there and every project has been very nice.  To see his other projects just search Build And Grow in the search box : ) 

 

  Next month they will be building a Flower Delivery Truck just in time for Mother's Day.  See photo below.  To register your child for this event just go here. 

Mixed Media Masterpieces

disclaimer:  I received this book for free in exchange for my honest opinions.  All opinions remain my own.

 

"Mixed Media Masterpieces with Jenny & Aaron"

Create Incredible Art Journals and Handmade Mixed Media Treasures with Two Master Crafters

 

by Jenny Heid & Aaron Nieradka

 

 

 

  "Mixed Media Masterpieces with Jenny & Aaron"  is a book full of helpful ideas for art journal pages, scrapbooks, etc. It also contains a lot of techniques and helpful tips to make decorations and invitations a reflection of your personality.

 

 

  Mommy in PA:  This book was full of beautiful craft ideas for sprucing up your scrapbook pages to make them reflect who you really are.  They mention Art Journaling (which I had no idea even existed until this book).  They also do a lot of decorating using things like copies of old photographs. 

 

 

 

 

 

  The only project shown in the whole book that I didn't really care for was the fake food.  It looked beautiful I just couldn't see how it would be useful to me, but to each his own : )

 

 

  There are projects for every skill level.  They make sure they don't just show you the techniques but also show you a whole finished project.  They have photos for everything step by step which makes learning the techniques super easy. 
 

 

 

 

  The only problem I can see with attempting mixed media art is that I would probably end up with bins full of stuff that I would plan on using in projects and never get around to doing.  But if you are the crafty type and what to learn how to make multi-layer projects using mixed media than this is the book for you.

Crayon Rocks

disclaimer:  We received the item below for free in exchange for our honest opinions.  All opinions remain our own.

Crayon Rocks

Product Manufacturer:  Crayon Rocks

Product Use:  Coloring, helps with strengthening the tripod grip muscles to prepare children for pen and pencil use.  Helps with fine motor disabilities. 

Product features:  Natural waxes made from American soy beans, Colors come from mineral pigments. 

Price:  Varies depending on how many Crayon Rocks you get. 

Misc:  Created by a special needs teacher to help children with their tripod grip muscles. 

Find out More:  Crayon Rocks

Mommy in GA: These are really cool!! I love the shape because it makes it really easy for my 4 year old to grab a hold of it and do his thing (preferably on paper, NOT my walls!!!)

I think the Crayon Rocks would be great for kids' who have difficulty with regular crayons, they give you a better way to grasp them.

The packaging bag is also really cool because you dump them out to color and then you just scoop them back in the bag instead of trying to get them back in that cardboard box, I still have trouble with those sometimes lol.

The Crayon Rocks also come in different sized orders, You can get an 8 count or a 16 count, and also if you are a teacher you should go to the site because they have other options for you!!!

Here is mommy in PA's youngest showing off his artistic abilities.

Mommy in PA:  Not only are these super cute but also a very high quality crayon.  They kind of remind me of drawing with an oil pastel only not messy like those.  When you color it moves easily on the paper without sticking as much as the regular wax crayons. 

I also love the cute bag these come in, much easier storage than the boxes like other brands that always end up getting crushed or trampled on.  And what mother hasn't had to go around picking up the tiny pieces of paper that their kiddos managed to peel off of regular crayons...no issues with these ones : )

Crayon Rocks is offering our readers a chance to win their very own bag of Crayon Rocks.  Enter below for your chance to win!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Thrifty Thursday

Easter Grass Tips

 

 

  Do you happen to have some scraps of construction paper laying around your house?  Well I did so I decided to put it to some good use...homemade Easter grass.  Simply run it through a paper shredder and toss around to get the colors blended and there ya go!  I was quite impressed at how it turned out...my teenage daughter now thinks I am very strange...lol!

 

  Do you always end up with a lot of Easter grass left and don't like to store it from year to year...try using it as packaging material to cushion breakables. 

 

  If you have a cat, be sure to gather up every last piece of the store bought Easter grass because your feline will try to eat it.

 

  Do you have any ideas/tips that have to do with Easter grass?  If so, please feel free to leave a comment below.

Washing Wednesday

What to do with all that left over Easter dye????

Okay I am sure somebody somewhere has already had this idea, used this idea and posted this idea but, I was sitting here tonight and thinking about Easter related posts and realized I always have a ton of left over color and always wash it down the drain.......

What a waste!!!!

I could be using this Easter Egg Dye and making the kids:

tie dye tshirts

handbags

less boring PJ's

hair accessories (Mommy in Pa reminded me of this one lol!)

This is just the few things I rattled off the top of my head, If I missed anything PLEASE feel free to comment below and remind me of other items to tie dye!!

Spooktacular Week - Day 5

To finish up our Spooktacular Week we decided to give you all some links to check out for craft ideas, recipes, costume ideas, etc.  We hope you find what you need to make this Halloween Spooktacular for you too!

Crafts

Easy Halloween Crafts, Favors, and Games (Parenting.com)

Recipes

11 Spooky Halloween Recipes (Parenting.com)

Costume Ideas

35+ Homemade Halloween Costumes for Kids (Parenting.com)


Jack-O-Lantern
20 no-carve ideas for your pumpkins  (favecrafts.com)
17 Free Pumpkin Patterns (favecrafts.com)

 Disclaimer:  We want to thank Parenting.com and favecrafts.com for the wonderful Halloween Ideas!

Free Pack of Googly Eyes from Dazzey.com!!!

Click here and then click on the buy it button.  Then you will be asked to make an account or login.  This only takes a minute.  Then put in your mailing info and there is no payment required so you don't even have to put in any credit card info.  Very easy process!

FREE Children's Art Kelly Kit $9.99 Value!!!

 

Kelly Kits encourage art play using a wide variety of creative tools & materials beyond what coloring books can offer. The Original Kelly Kit comes complete with one set of five unique activities that cover the five art disciplines: painting, drawing, sculpting, printmaking, & collage. Each kit contains all of the tools & materials needed for the activities, the user just needs access to a kitchen! To increase functionality for homeschooling parents, each activity includes an instruction card with an enrichment idea to adapt the art activity to a school lesson. Kelly Kits are designed to encourage creativity & teach!

Go here to get your free kit!  Use promo code USFG99 at checkout.
There is a $2.49 shipping charge.

Disclaimer:  The information above we obtained through US Family Guide, We will be receiving a kit for posting this info and sharing it with our readers.

Funky Friday

Today's Funky Friday is Part 3 of our three part series on Klutz. If you happened to miss our part one you can view it by going here.   

  

Today Klutz brings to you:

Fashion Forums

by: April Chorba

You can see some of the stuff included but, there really is a lot!!!!  You get your patterns for all the different styles, glitter, ribbon, glue, tissue paper (for ruffles, let me just say we did not go there!!!) and your paper to use for the actual pattern!!!

This is the back, just to show you a few of your choices to make.

This is my 9 year old and a friend from school making the ball gowns (they are cutting out the patterns.

These are the patterns folded and waiting to be glued together (they work at different paces!!!)

These are the step by step instructions for the ball gown (very easy to follow)

This is the strapless top for the ball gown that i was making and below are the sides i had to glue to it to give it the full top effect

Here are the results of the 3 gowns we did!! It was fun and the girls' really enjoyed themselves!!!  Aside from a little difficulty with the patterns, this is a project that you have to be very precise when gluing and cutting and tracing or the whole thing will be off balance.

When we were done the girls' response was that it was fun and that it was ok about the dresses cause nothing is perfect, but we tried!!!!  They did a really good job with it I think!!!

For my second book this week I had to get my friend Dawn who also has a blog  CHECK IT OUT! DAWN,  help me out!

The other book I got was the Star Wars Folded Flyers also provided by Klutz.

I got dawn to help me out because my kids are 9 years and under ( I honestly don't even think they know what Star Wars is!!!  But, I knew Dawns boys' would love it!!!

Anyway enough rambling!! go CHECK THE REVIEW OUT WITH DAWN!!!!

Disclaimer:  I received the above item for free from Klutz but all opinions remain my own.

Funky Friday

Knitting

Okay so i was at wal-mart yesterday and i have been thinking about finding a new hobby........I had been thinking about crochet or knitting.

So i went into the yarn section and was looking around and found the knitting needles and some yarn, i got both for a total of $5.00!

I got online last night and went HERE and learned step by step how to knit!! Very excited about this at first i had a hard time but, now i got the hang of it and this is what i have made of a scarf so far......

I know it is not impressive yet or perfect but, i think it is fun and it is a cheap hobby, also once i quit getting so worked up about not being able to do it and got it, it was very relaxing!!!!

Anyway I will keep yall posted on the outcome of the scarf.....If I stick with it lol!!

disclaimer:  I received no compensation for this post and all comments are my own.

Funky Friday

  Today's Funky Friday is Part 2 of our three part series on Klutz.  If you happened to miss our part one you can view it by going here. 

"Twirly Q's"

by Anne Akers Johnson

Twirly Q's comes with everything you need to make these adorable paper critters.

Here's what the coiled up paper looks like on the shaping tool.

Here is what all the completed pieces looks like.

Here's what the pieces will look like after we figure out how to get the pieces to stick to themselves but not to us.  My 14 year old daughter was having a hard time getting the pieces to stay together so she tried a little more glue but now we need to let them dry longer so the glue isn't as sticky so they don't stick to us while we are trying to assemble them.

Mommy in PA says:  This one frustrated my 14 year old.  She was so excited about doing this craft because she really likes animals but ended up getting fed up with the glue.  I'm thinking we will be looking at the store for some other type of glue so that she can finish the project.  Other than that it was a fun, simple craft that she did enjoy. 


Mommy in Ga received:
Coin Blaster Arcade
by:The Editor's of KLUTZ

This is the front of the book, the picture doesn't show yall very well but, those are the pieces used to help flick your coins.

This is the index of how to and your list of games.....quite a variety to choose from too!!!

This section shows you how to load the launch and tells you about the card board pieces you might need for certain games (all pieces you need are included in your book!!)

This is the blastometer game.  The kids' had fun laughing at me while i missed and they thought they could do better!

 Here the girls' are showing me how it is done!! My 6 year old missed quite a bit but, she did knock 2 quarters out and got the "chump change"

 My 3 year old trying to edge in on her turn!! That caused a brief disagreement!

 My 9 year old beat us all with the "loose Cannon"

 They tell you about the ramp in the beginning of the book, you need this for a few of the games but, it is very simple to put it together.  If i can do it Yall can too!! lol.

 Here is the completed ramp

 Here is my 3 year old playing the Hot Shot Hoops,  He just wanted to play he didn't care it is a little above his skill level!

Here is my 6 year old, along with an action shot!  It's on the ramp, It's mid air, it's going toward the hoop and dangit it fell short!! Good try though!! LOL

These are just a few of the games we played but, i figured my post would be outrageous if i did all of them besides this is a recommended product for future birthdays' or Christmas so i don't want to ruin all the fun and spoil all of the surprises!!!

We enjoyed this activity alot and it also helps kids' use different money values as far as pennies, quarters etc....  We had a blast and hope that yall will give it a chance!!!

Disclaimer:  We received the above items for free in exchange for our review but all opinions are our own.