Blitz Card Holder

I recently started my own business with a company called It Works!  (Check out my BLOG for information).  They have these amazing cards called blitz card, which are used like business cards.  They are ruffly the size of post cards, and I was having a little trouble from keeping them from getting bent up in my purse. So I came up with a bliz card holder!  I love it and had to share!  I wouldn't mind dazzling it up a bit more, but for now it suits my needs!  I thought I'd share my quick tutorial for those in the same business or maybe wanting to use it for something else.  

First I found a mini coupon file at Wal-Mart for about a $1

They have tabs inside, so I removed them.  They tare right out and takes only a few seconds to do it!

I didn't like the accordion sides, so I removed them!

Here's what it looks like after cutting of the extra unneeded plastic.

Then I glued the sides together with a hot glue gun.  Not sure if there's something that might work better, it's just what I happened to have on hand.

 I wasn't too fond of how the sides looked, so I covered them with some ribbon I had on hand.  Once again, I just used my hot glue gun.  It's not exactly gorgeous, but it looks better then before in my opinion.

 I purchased the green coupon holder at Dollar Tree, but it was just a tad bit smaller then the one from Wal-Mart, making it a tight fit on the top.  But I loved the look of the green one SO much better!  I decided to add a little more room at the top by taking off the elastic, and using velcro instead.  I find it makes it more convent then the elastic as well!

 I added some black ribbon to cover up my messy sides. 

There you have it!  A great business card holder for the large size cards! 

Room Makeover Giveaway

VOTING IS NOW OPEN!  GO HERE SCROLL DOWN TO #92 AND CLICK VOTE!!!

Vintage Revivals is doing their AMAZING room make over and I debated whether or not to enter.  Not because I don't want it, believe me, I SOOOOO do! But because I think my chances of winner are very slim, not because my room wouldn't qualify, but because it's seems more based on popularity then the dire need of help with your space.  And lets face it, I suffer from an extreme case of shyness and am overly self-conscious, which tends to hinder my friend making abilities which leads to not very many friends, in the blogging world or otherwise!  But regardless of my limited chances of winning, I decided I had zero chance of winning if I didn't enter at all, so here I am giving it a try!

 

So I'll share with you my despicable office/craft room/storage room!  Why don't I let you take a look around first before I get on to the story of how this came to be! 

Come on in!

  This sad mess is what you see when you first open the door to this insane room!  Oh please don't turn around and shut the door just yet, I'm just getting started!

 Don't you just love our desk!  What's that, you want to know what it's made out of?  I don't think you can handle the truth!

Alright, you asked for it!

Yep it's a DOOR!  A closet door to be exact!  When we moved into our small apartment the closet doors in the bedrooms took up WAY to much space!  So We took them off.  Rather then have them against the wall in this same space, we put them to use since we obviously don't have a much needed desk!  So I propped the little sucker up on top of three dinner tray tables threw on an old bed sheet to keep it safe from the three kids I have and whoala!  A large desk for both my working from home husband and my digital scrapbooking self freak!

This is what sits next to my husband while he works, a little princess horse!  Every mans dream I'm sure!  And yes, the closet you can't get to is also full, with all my house decorations I have yet to put up because I wanted to repaint first (obviously hasn't happened yet).

 

Oh, and don't forget the crazy large filing cabinet piled around by books lacking an appropriate bookshelf!

What's behind my hard working hubby?  That would be everything that makes me, well ME! (Minus the unorganized aspects of it, which is driving me to insanity!)

Here we have the OTHER closet door!  This time set on top of some craft trays my mom was kind enough to give me. All of my craftiness is piled onto one side of the room!  So how much crafting do I get done?  Notta! Zilch!  I started this blog in hopes of having a fun little place to share my creations, but as you can tell, I have not gotten very far!  And now with everything piled against the wall, there are no crafts getting done and my head is piling up as high as my room with ideas and things I want to create!   

 

There you have it, my mess of a room, hard to believe there's even a room underneath all that unorganized junk! Now how did this all come about?  Well let me tell you!

It's pretty much the same story you hear over and over these days, MONEY!  I don't have it!  There was time in our lives where we had to count pocket change just to buy a loaf of bread!  I'll spare you the novel long sob story, but thanks to amazing people helping us out, we have survived to make it where we are today.  Although money is still tight, we are doing it all on our own and can even buy peanut butter and jelly for our bread!  Whaooo!  So grateful for where we are, but we still have a long way to go before decorating my home ends up on my "to do" list.  Although I do have many crafts I could complete to make my home look a little more like I'd want, as you can tell, it's not happening in this room!  To be completely honest, I use to look at decorating blogs all day long, but all it did was depress me.  Sorry Mandi, but don't dare visit your blog (or many others for that matter) very often for fear I'll start to feel sorry for myself again (not a good thing when life is actually pretty great).  I have it good, a great husband who's working his REAR-END off to get us where we are and not stopping until he gets us where we were 4 1/2 years ago before the bottom fell out!  I would love to redo this office space for him!  As I mentioned earlier, my husband works from home (part-time), he does business from this office as a manager for an insurance company and makes appointments from a closet door desk!  He deserves this more than ANY man I know!  What he's been through in the last four+ years would take up too much of your time, but just know he is my everything and I would do it all over again as long as I was with him!

So by picking me, not only will you make it more feasible for me to make the rest of my house/apartment more like a home, but it would be a great place for my the man in my life as well, who deserves this and so much more!!  

I know I know, I talk/write too much, but there is more to be said here!  It's always been a dream to make over my home!  I know I can do it and make it look fabulicious!  Even as fabulous as Mandi's amazing designs (okay, maybe not that good, but I'd like to think I could get pretty close), I just don't have the funds to do so.  I even lack the tools to do many of the projects I have on my list!  To be completely honest, finding out Lowes was giving you the tools to make all this happen and I would get to keep them is totally the icing on the cake for me!  Oh what I could do with such things!  I actually made a wish list for my husband as a map for gifts, (he's not that great at gift giving) and a large part if it is tools!  

In all honestly, you wouldn't be making over just one room but EVERY room in my house if I won!

Pretty sure I could actually do something with the old blog as well!  I stated it hoping I could turn it something fantastic like Vintage Revivals, but it sadly never happen.  If I won this makeover, I would have the tools I need to get this blog up and running!  Everyone could get something in return!  New ideas, giveaways!  Oh how great would it be to able to give it back!  Pretty please vote for me!

Prego Mom Costume

I usually don't dress up for Halloween, but I saw these last year and HAD to have one!  I couldn't really afford what everyone was asking, so I made my own!  now here I am, sharing!  This was by far the biggest pain in the you know what, but I was thrilled with the way it turned out.  Since I don't have the vinyl cutter I'm dying to get, this project took a few extra steps.  Also, since printers don't print white, iron on printable was out.  So I printed out my template (using 4 sheets of paper) cut it out, attached it to some white fabric (with iron on adhesive I'd previously added), cut out all the fabric pieces, then proceeded to lay them out on my black shirt, then ironed them on!  To keep it from falling off, I plan on sewing around the edges........eventually.  If I had been smart I would have found a white sheet of iron on decal and cut my shapes from that, but it was a little bit of a last minute project on a tight budget, so I used some fabric I already had. 

Like it?  Want it?  Well just go HERE for the download!  I should have added a bow in for a girl, but I didn't.  However, for all you 'do it yourselfers' out there, how cute would a ribbon bow sew on be?!?!?

That's me, sprouting my little boy just three months shy of my due date!

LINK UPS:
Someday Crafts

Craft-O-Maniac

Kid Friendly Stocking Holders

Remember the stocking holders I posted ages ago.  Well I made my own last Christmas, and I'm now just posting. My bad, but here it is, in plenty of time for Christmas!  I followed the directions found at The Many Faces of Mom, but added my own little twist!  I wanted them white, so out came my paint, then a dollar store tree ornaments hot glued to the front!  I love the way they turned out, not to mention it actually takes quite a bit of pulling to get them to fall.  So perfect for little kids and pets who don't seem to understand the dangers of a heavy weight stocking holder falling on ones head.  Here's a few of my own tips.

~Before painting, bend the ring to fit exactly where you want it.  Because my mantel has decorative boarding under it, it didn't fit the way it did on my counter top.  (Love how adjustable these are!)
~Before embellishing, put it on your mantel to make sure you attach it to the right spot and not to high/low. 

I love how versatile these can be!  Get creative and add your own style!

LINK UPS:

Craft-O-Maniac
Someday Crafts

Halloween Decor

My Halloween decor is a bit sparse, and I desperately wanted to add something to it.  So I grab three black frames I had on hand, whet through my scrapbooking paper and came up with this picture decor.  I love the way it turned out and how much more personal it makes my space.  It's all pretty self explanatory, so there are no before or during pictures.  I simply hot glued orange ribbon to the back of the frames, connected them, then to add a little charm, I tied a corresponding ribbon around the orange.  Whoa-la! Simple easy and took about 1/2 hour of my day.  Can't get any better then that!

Flowers

I'm thinking these beautiful paper flowers are a must in my girls room!  What a great and cheap way to make a big impact to your little girls bedroom decor!  Best part is I most likely have all the supplies!  Can't wait to give it a try! Head over to The Blueberry Monkey to see how easy these Paper Wall Flowers are!

Candy Pencils

I wish I'd have seen this sooner!  I might have made these for the teachers instead of the apples (maybe, it's a toss up)!  Aren't they cute!  The Blackberry Vine made these yummy pencils with Rollos and Hersey Kisses!

I guess I'll just save it for another day!

Here's how the apples turned out I made for Kylie's teachers!  

I had originally made the leaves out of  the sour candy straws, but they broke by that morning, and since I'd eaten all the rest of them :), I had to come up with another idea.  I was out of time to fix it before my daughter headed off to preschool, so I came home and printed out a little label, then outlined it with some glitter glue from the dollar store.  I was pretty pleased with how they tuned out! 

Christmas Calender

So is it really that bad to be looking at Christmas stuff already??  I've actually got my list of gifts all figured out for everyone in my family!  Now I just have to get shopping!  My goal this year is to have all my shopping done by the end of October, as to fully enjoy the holidays without stress!  Every year I'm overwhelmed with one thing and one thing only, getting gifts for everyone.  I've vowed ever year to get my shopping done early, but thanks to money, it never seems to happen.  The worst part is I find it hard to focus on the true meaning of  Christmas!  I've tried every season to get in the right mind set, but it never happens, this year will be different!  I hope........

When I came across this Christmas calendar I knew I had to have one!  Oh I wish I could sew!  I'm lousy with a sewing machine, and the one I have is an old hand me down.  The last time I got it out, I could not for the life of me figure out how to thread it!  I'd done it before, but this time, it was hopeless.  However Ashlee Woolf has amazing sewing skills and was kind enough to showcase her beautiful Christmas calender and I want one!  I'm thinking I might actually try it as a magnet board instead.  I'll let you know how mine turns out (whenever I get around to it).

Acorn Cake

Again, I know I'm ahead of myself with the holidays, but I came a cross this cake and thought it just looked SO delicious!  Oh it'd be great for Thanksgiving!

I actually really don't enjoy cooking, but when it comes to cakes or anything involving sugar, I can usually find the desire to do a little baking!

Stocking Holder

I know it's early, but I saw this and knew I had to save it somewhere!  So here I will save it!  Stocking holders are not something I particularly love.  They're heavy and just downright dangerous with kids in the house (or even pets)!  I usually use those command strip hooks every year, but this year, I hope to be using something a little different!  The Many Faces Of Mom made these amazing stocking holders and was kind enough to show us all how to do it ourselves!  It's genius I tell ya!

All dangers go out the window, it's decorative and will actually hold the goodies Santa leaves behind, unlike most of your traditional stocking holders!

Laundry Room Dream

Awhile ago I came across a post of an amazing laundry room make over.  The best part, the storage under the washer and dryer!  I'm dying to get my hands on a nice front load washer and dryer and when I do, I will beg my husband to build me one of these!

Show & Tell gives step by step instructions making it look so easy!  Hopefully it will be a project the hubby wouldn't mind taking on, although I'd like to think I could do it myself if I had too!

Gift For Teacher

I've been wanting to give a gift to my daughters teachers this year, but wasn't sure what to give them.  I don't know them (I think she'll have two teachers), the budgets a little tight, and I'm not in the mood to spend forever on a project (thanks to my lazy pregnancy hormones).  So when I stopped by Someday Crafts and saw these adorable little apples, I knew I'd found my gift!  I'm off to the store tomorrow to purchase my supplies, oh I can't wait!  I love simple projects!

Personalized Home Decor

Here's another creative idea I have to save!  The Crafting Chicks came up with the gorgeous canvas picture display!  If you had enough members in your family, you could do the word 'FAMILY' also!  What a great gift this would make for grandparents!  So excited to give it a try!

Knockoff Clock Face

I just have to bookmark this idea because holy clever!!  Remodelaholic come up with this oh so cute decor, and so cheap too!  So my type of project!  The tutorial  can be found here.  You have to take a look at how she made this beautiful wall clock face!  I can't wait to give this a try.

Art Supply Organizer

A while ago I found an old milk carton holder turned into a child's art supply holder.  Ever since I've been on the look out for something similar.  My children's markers, crayons, scissors, glue etc. are ALL over my house at times and so unorganized.  Then I came across this little gem!

Some people just have that creative gene!  LOVE this idea from Me Making Do!  I can't wait to give it a try and oh how cheap this will be! 

I found this over at Random Acts of Obsession, and I'm so wishing I'd seen it sooner!  How cute is this birthday wreath!!!  I'm so making this to hang on my door when my girls birthdays come around next year!

Girls Hair Styles

I have two adorable little girls whom I'm completely OBSESSED with!  Just to tell you a little about myself, I am the oldest and ONLY girl in my family.  Growing up with four younger brothers was not exactly a princess fairytale.  There are many times I long for a sister, especially the moment when I see other sisters shopping, crafting, taking their kids to the park etc.  So for me to have two little girls is like being in heaven!  Yes I'm aware my opinion will most likely change as the teenage years begin, but for now, I love it!  I came across a couple of websites showing amazing hair styles for little girls and I have completely become addicted!  Unfortunately, my girls were both born without much hair, so it's taken FOREVER to get to the point were I can actually do something cute with my oldest hair.  Sadly, my youngest straggly hair looks a lot like Einsteins at the moment!  Poor girl is so bald on top, I can't even do a cute little ponytail on top without her looking like she has a receding hairline!  But yes, my oldest finally has enough hair to play with, and play with I do!  I found these photos on The Story Of A Princess And Her Hair, and I just had to try it out!  I was wishing I'd seen it for Valentines Day, but I didn't, so I decided Mothers Day would be a great day to do this wonderful style!

  My daughter LOVES this!  She has since asked for hearts in her hair several times!

Little Einstein Birthday Party

My daughter tuned four this year, and is OBSESSED with Little Einsteins.  So a Little Einstein party was a must for her.  These are the invitations I made with my photoshop program. (Download is at the end of this post).

I printed the invitations on photo paper (front and back), than cut them out, including the window (not a fun task I assure you).  To make it a little more girlie I used some glitter glue and outlined the window, and filled in the headlights.

I printed the Little Einstein characters on sticker paper, than put them on the card with pop-up dots.  That way the kids had something to enjoy while the waited for the day of the party to arrive.  Yes I know I messed up on the time and had to use a pen to correct it.  Sadly I didn't catch it until a friend pointed it out after I had handed out a few of them.

Yes I made her cake!  Of course I had to keep the Little Einstein theme going, so I made a four layer cake using a 9" round cake pan.  Stacked them up, cut to size and obviously frosted it in red (I had to mix in TWO of the Wilton red (no taste) food coloring)!

I love decorating with candy, so the windows are made out of blue Airheads, the antenna is a Tootsie Roll sucker, headlights are Jaw Breakers, the rockets are Twinkies with red M&M's and Shockers on the front, and the entire thing is outlined with Licorice pull-n-peel.  I desperately wanted to make the characters with edible stickers, but procrastinated too long and didn't have time to order them off the internet (turns out Albersons can actually do it for you too).  Since I wasn't sure where to go here in town, I had to just print them off the computer and use peanut butter to make them stick.  The peanut butter made a grease mark on the paper, so I probably should have gone a different route. 

For their party hates, I made these!  They were meant to resemble the antenna on Rocket.  What do you think?  (For a download, see the end of this post.)

I'm also a cheapskate so I made the pinata.  No way was I going so spend $20 on something the kids were were going to break.  So I found this tutorial here and decided making my own was a must!  So I taped two balloons together and went to town!  I then covered it in tissue paper and glued on Little Einstein printouts. Here's a tip:  Make this at least a week in advance!  I made it two day before and well...... it didn't quite dry all the way, so I had to pull out the hair dryer that morning!  

So you know how everyone makes cars and trains out of cardboard boxes??  Well I wanted to make rocket, so this is what I came up with!

I painted a bunch of boxes red, and glued on Little Einstein cutouts for the kids to color!  I bought some blue ribbon to use for the "seat belts" but it wasn't working out so well, and I ran out after the second box!  (Had no idea I needed so much!)  So instead, I used ribbon for wrapping, and it worked out great!  If only I would have had blue on hand!  I also bought some buckles on eBay to resemble the seat belts on rocket.

Here's the birthday girl sporting her masterpiece!

So why do we need these rockets you ask?  Well I'll tell ya!  We went on a treasure hunt!  I hid a map I made inside the pinata.  On this map, it displayed pictures of four different parts of the world!  We climbed into our rockets and "Blast Off"!

(Feel free to use this if it's to your liking.)  I printed it up on some paper, crumbled it up and inked it to make it look old.

Unfortunately, this is the only picture I have of the actual map.  And of course, I didn't get any pictures of the places we flew off to, so you'll have to read about it.  The original plan was to get poster size printouts of all these places, hang them up around the house and have the kids "travel" the world.  But it was much to costly for my budget, and I couldn't figure out how to print a poster size on my computer (to tape it all together), so they had to deal with a regular old paper printout taped on various walls.  At each place, there was a puzzle piece hidden.  Once they gathered all the pieces they put them together to show the place where the treasure was hidden!

Here's what the treasure was:

(Again, the download for the tag is at the end of this post)

Here is what each bag contained.  If you're aware, Little Einstein is very musically inclined, so of  course I had to add all the instruments I could find! 

Hope this party was enjoyable for you!

Go here to download all my printouts! Thanks for stopping by!