Crafty Blogger Blurbs

Carmi's Art/Life World 
The spring ring. So easy to make and wear! 

Craftside-A behind-the-scenes peek at our crafty world 
This week at Craftside there are tutorials on how to make an Easter egg pop art decoration, a recycled leather Steampunk style cuff, embroider multicolored yarn "X" shapes on your knitting and a recipe for bacon butter. 

Crafty Princess Diaries 
The Crafty Princess takes a road trip and visits an amazing yarn shop in Florida.

Eileen - The Artful Crafter 
You can make any size envelope with the Crafter’s Companion Ultimate crafting tool. Look at how easy it is to “push the envelope”

Mixed Media Artist 
Even though she has very few drawing skills, Cyndi is pleased with the results of her latest quilt experiment.

Stefanie Girard's Sweater Surgery 
How to applique a "Zzz" pillowcase. 

Bowties and Mr Kevin.

Had a fun day visiting Mr. Kevin yesterday.

Seeing him walk and run like a drunken sailor LOL

While I was there I helped my DIL make some

bowties for pictures for his 1st birthday coming up.

I'm not a sewer if I don't have to...I can sew, but if I 

can use iron-on fusible tape or fabri glue I'd rather do it 

that way.We mostly used iron on seam tape that was 

actually perfect.  One how-to did a combination of 

sewing and gluing.  We used  seam tape, fabri-tac glue 

and hot glue.  I have to say once we did the first one we 

really got the hang of it and were able to make a few 

adjustments regarding size because it really does 

depend on the size of child your making them for. 

Several of the tutorials said to use felt inside to 

stuff it or interfacing, but we didn't think they 

needed the extra bulk

Here's a few links of various tutorials (look 

through them do your own search even and 

find one that works for your crafting style):

PaperNstitch

Kiki Creates

The Daily B

Living The Swell Life

Picture of the Day 03-27-12

Since I love all things Scottish and tartan my son snappedthis picture for me near his college.  I'd love to have a plaidpainted car LOL

Crafty Blogger Blurbs

About Family Crafts 
Play along with the new Make-It-Over craft challenge. This challenge is all about making crafts using Easter Peeps candy. 

Carmi's Art/Life World 
Carmi makes some pop up cards using some beloved vintage imagery! 

Craftside-A behind-the-scenes peek at our crafty world 
This week at Craftside there tutorials on how to make tube rivets, recycled envelope stamped mail art, use an ironing board to adjust drape, info on Crafted at The Port of Los Angeles and a recipe for peanut butter bread.

Crafty Princess Diaries 
Tammy shows off a new work in progress, a beautiful ripple shawl using self-striping yarn. 

Eileen - The Artful Crafter 
One of The Artful Crafter's readers has developed a new, improved recipe for homemade polymer clay. Be sure to check out Eva’s recipe, as well as the darling "gingerbread" house she made with it. 

Mixed Media Artist 
What's a girl to do when she can't draw but she wants to include a drawing in her quilt?

The Card Album Blog 
How to make a "Keep Calm and Cut On" Recycled art card 

From whisk to caged bird

 The Caged Bird Sings

I recently cleaned out my silverware drawer and this bird is the end result..huh your probably wondering LOL

I started to throw away a whisk attachment that I still had, but no longer had the electric part for it. I even went as far as to put it into the garbage, but pulled it out twice....I just couldn't do!  I had a couple of bird projects I was mulling over and the whisk looked like the perfect bird cage so out of the garbage it came for good I mean I can't be a hoarder if I actually made something out of it...right?  

The bird is a sculpted paperclay bird I had made, and  

the bottom base was an empty ribbon spool.

For the nesting I used regular and mini cupcake liners

cut to create fringe.

I've had a couple of inquiries on purchasing this piece and have decided to list it HERE

Magnetic Easter or Mother's Day Project

This is such a fun project that can be used for either an Easter or Mother's Day project that I wanted to re post it.You can use whatever themed rub-ons you happen to haveon hand or rubber stamps...don't limit yourself to thinking that your project has to be exactly like this use it as an inspiration to create your own one of a kind piece.Click HERE to see my tutorial

Picture of the Day 03-20-12

Picture of the Day ADD YOUR CAPTION!It's been a rough few weeks but taking this picture this morning just made my day and brought a smile to my face. 
Typically we hear Mr Rooster cockadoodle dooing in the wee hours of the morning and its a comforting feeling that takes me back to when I lived on a farm with my mother.  Only thing is we don't live on a farm nor in the country, we live smack dab in the city.  Occasionally, we hear it's owner calling his name telling him to get home when he gets out.  When I heard him this morning I could tell he was right outside our house when I went out I found him atop our fence but I scared him and there he was walkin' the line in the street like I'd asked him to do a sobriety test or something.

Crafty Blogger Blurbs

Craftside-A behind-the-scenes peek at our crafty world 

This week at Craftside there is a Double Giveaway filled with books and Westcott cutting tools, transparency versus opaque technique from Suzi Blu's new book, a wild scissor holder made from a doll head and a healthy shepherd's pie recipe. 

Eileen - The Artful Crafter 

Looking for spring and Easter craft projects? The Artful Crafter has something for everyone! 

Mixed Media Artist 

Have you ever thought about joining in with the "Take A Stitch Tuesday" challenge?

Stefanie Girard's Sweater Surgery 

How to sew a scrap fabric and recycled tank top dress.

Funny thing...

Just had to share a funny blog and story....
My sister recently shared this blog Isn't That So Funny? with me saying isn't she funny....I read it, and was literally laughing out loud.  I then shared it with a friend even telling her that they were kindred spirits in the humor department. My friend asked me if I knew her and I said no but maybe my sister did...not even realizing that of course I did....long story short she was once upon a time a student of my mothers who became a life long family friend...I just had no idea that it was her blog I was reading LOL 
Her husband is an extraordinarily talented woodworker. You can check out his work here at the Mad Woodchuck.com

Happy St Paddy's Day!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

AN IRISH FRIENDSHIP WISH:

May there always be work for your hands to do;

May your purse always hold a coin or two;

May the sun always shine on your windowpane;

May a rainbow be certain to follow each rain;

May the hand of a friend always be near you;

May God fill your heart with gladness to cheer you

and may you be in heaven a half hour

before the devil knows you're dead.

Lemon Marmalade & Free Lable

I feel like the Bubba Gump of Lemons as I find new recipes 

to make things out of all our lemons.  Today's recipe features

Lemon Marmalade...and boy is it tasty! Almost like a tart 

apple flavor.

I found two different lemon marmalade recipes Here,

and ended up using this one  HERE

I'm the type of person that likes to know the WHY of 

things and when the recipe said to wrap up the seeds and 

membranes in cheese cloth and boil it with the cut lemons 

I had to know WHY.  The why of it is that the pectin is in the 

seeds and it helps the jelly set up.

In the recipe they used Meyer lemons I just used regular lemons

I guess they are regular I have no idea what type they are I just

know they're not Meyer.  They have a thick skin on them so

I tried very hard to slice as thinly as possible and cut off any

parts that were too thick near the ends.

I never quite reached the temperature it said, but I

did do the wrinkle test as suggested in the recipe link 

above and it worked just fine.   I also added 1-2 tsps of 

cinnamon while it was cooking down.I tasted it first and 

decided it was missing a little something so add to

your taste.  I also added 3 tsps of vanilla at the end.

The marmalade got a little darker then I was expecting.  

I guess I thought it would stay bright yellow. It didn't help

that I had to step away for a moment and wasn't able to 

stir it constantly (I recommend staying) I noticed no 

change in the flavor so it was none the worse for wear.

Freebie Lemon Marmalade Label

Click the image, right click and save to your computer.

Resize to the desired size you'd like print, punch a hole

and tie a ribbon to it and the jar or use elastic ribbon.

Caged Bird!

Too adorable!Kris from Brain Bubbles took one of Outside The Margin's pink polkadotted felt bird kit and created the most adorable caged platform for the little bird using an Artist Trading Block.Love, love love it!!

Crafty Blogger Blurbs

About Family Crafts 
The current craft challenge might make you crave chocolate! Do you have a craft to share that is made using a Nesquik container? 
Craftside-A behind-the-scenes peek at our crafty world 
This week at Craftside there are tutorials on how to make a watercolor and plastic wrap painting along with one of Lisa Engelbrecht's fun lettering techniques used to decorate an Easter egg, a recipe for flourless banana breakfast bars and info on a bunch of SoCal events this weekend we will be at. 
Crafty Princess Diaries 
Tammy has discovered some super duper soft yarn for baby afghans.
Eileen - The Artful Crafter 
Come join the Card Party at The Artful Crafter and create cards for people with cancer. 
Mixed Media Artist 
Have you had the opportunity to experiment with rubbing plates, aka texture plates?
Stefanie Girard's Sweater Surgery 
How to make a recycled leather shamrock St Patrick's Day cuff 

Versatile Blogger Award

Been awhile since I received one of these or participated in something like this so thank you Robin Hartman from Snips and Snails for bestowing this Versatile Blogger Award upon me.

So here goes 7 random facts about me:
1.  I love anything with Lime and Cilantro in it!
2.  I love watching old black and white movies (especially old Cary Grant movies).
3.  I love all things colorful.
4.  I detest snakes (not even on seeing them TV).
5.  I'm addicted to Pinterest.
6.  I like to decorate cakes for family and friends.
7.  Hate the heat but love rainy days.
Now I must pass it on and name other bloggers for this award so here goes:
Tipi's Tinkerings
Altered Book Studio
Thecraftyblogstalker.blogspot.com
livealoha.typepad.com/live_aloha
Art Chickadees Reflections

Crafty Blogger Blurbs

Craftside-A behind-the-scenes peek at our crafty world 
This week at Craftside there is a Double Giveaway filled with books and Westcott cutting tools, transparency versus opaque technique from Suzi Blu's new book, a wild scissor holder made from a doll head and a healthy shepherd's pie recipe.  

Eileen - The Artful Crafter 
Looking for spring and Easter craft projects? The Artful Crafter has something for everyone!  

Mixed Media Artist 
Have you ever thought about joining in with the "Take A Stitch Tuesday" challenge? 

Stefanie Girard's Sweater Surgery 
How to sew a scrap fabric and recycled tank top dress. 

Skittle Infused Vodka

I had a fun day yesterday getting together with 

a good friend. It was nice to do something 

colorful and somewhat creative. I can't thank her 

enough! We made Skittle Infused Vodka!

Here are our skittles all sorted out by colors.  

We opted not to use the purple skittles because 

neither of us liked the taste of the purple flavor

nor did we like the color LOL besides we needed

one of the jars for something else tasty we made 

(stay tuned for that)

Here the skittles are in the pint size 

Mason jars (120 skittles) we used.

Aren't they pretty all lined up! Now you just shake,

shake, shake. By the next morning my candies were

all melted and ready to be filtered.

 Click the freebie recipe card below to download 

and print for the complete directions.

The Skittle infused vodka would be perfect for 

cocktails  for an Easter get together 

Here I made a new drink I call SkittleDew 

I first rimmed the glass with colored candy sugar 

then added my I mixed 

1 part lime/green  skittle infused vodka 

with 3 parts Mountain Dew. 

And garnished it off with jelly beans on a toothpick.
Here's some other ideas for rimming the glasses for an Easter feel:
Use green colored coconut (click HERE to see how I did this) to resemble Easter grass.Use small Peeps marshmallows for garnishSmall colored sprinkles  

This would make a great gift idea as well.  Download and print the recipe card and attach it to one of the jars you've made and give it as a hostess, neighbor, Christmas or birthday gift!
Cheers!

Crafty Blogger Blurbs

Carmi's Art/Life World 
Carmi shows you how to apply tissue papers to new wood shapes by Claudine Hellmuth.
Craftside-A behind-the-scenes peek at our crafty world 
This week at Craftside there is a bit of fashion and jewelry inspiration, spool and thread unconventional ideas, info on the upcoming Makerie event and Stitch & Craft Show along with how to make and eat stuffed artichokes.
Crafty Princess Diaries 
It's big, super big, and knitters will want to know what the deal is with this new knitting book.
Eileen - The Artful Crafter 
Make custom envelopes the quick and easy way with the Crafter's Companion Ultimate crafting tool. 
Mixed Media Artist 
Cyndi shares a few more ideas for manipulating fabric and shows off her textured quilt top...now it's time for embellishments!
Stefanie Girard's Sweater Surgery 
How to make a recycled wool felted sweater Peep garland 

Freebies!

I haven't been able to post much lately due some things going on in my life, but I wanted to invite you to check out the 3 pages of freebie projects and techniques offered over at www.OutsideTheMargins.com

Take me to the FREEBIES

Here