Toy Deal

Do you have an Ebates account?  Do you have someone on your list who would love something from The Disney Store?  Have I got a deal for you!  (Have I got a deal for you? I feel like a used car salesman!!) 


I don't do this very often, but this is a great deal!  20% off, free shipping AND 8% back - who wouldn't like this?!


Okay.  Your steps for getting this deal.


*If you don't already have an Ebates account - sign up for one.  This will allow you to get the 8% back on your Disney purchase.  They are also giving gifts to new signups that are received after your first $25 purchase.  Bonus!


*Do a search for Disney and get to The Disney Store.


*Do whatever shopping you want and then go to the checkout.


*In the Promo Code box enter FAMILYFUN20 to get your 20% off one item.


*Enter TOYSHIP in the Promo Code box to get free shipping on your order.  You have to have at least one toy or plush item in your cart for this to work.


*Continue finishing your checkout process and you are done.


Things to keep in mind - The 20% off is only for one item and can only be used one time, so shop wisely.  To use the free shipping code you have to have at least one toy or plush item in your cart.  8% Cash Back is only through Ebates, but the two promo codes can be used regardless.  I think this deal might actually end today.


Hope this helps you to round out or finish up those Christmas lists!


**In the interest of full disclosure - The Ebates links are attached to my account and I will be compensated for any new accounts signed up using said links.  Thanks in advance!

Gift Idea - Apps and Tunes

I thought I would deviate from handmade to easy and cheap.  I know a LOT of people out there have a smart phone.  How many of you allow your kids to play with said smart phone turning it into a ridiculously expensive 'toy'?  Yep, I'm guilty.  There are times when parents get desperate to entertain the little ones, though.  {Like when you have to spend 5 hours at the auto repair place with 3 kids waiting for tires.  Not the most kid friendly place and even new display tires are dirty.}


I personally I have an iPhone.  I absolutely love it!  Apps for me and the kids, plus all the music we like to listen to.  We rarely listen to the radio anymore when in the vehicle.  I also like to have it playing throughout the house when we're cleaning.

Do you have an iPhone or Mac?  If you do, I'm sure you have iTunes on your electronic already.  If not, you can download itunes easy enough.  Itunes cards are all over the place and make great gifts for all ages.  Plus, it takes away the angst of deciding which songs/albums someone else would like or want.  For younger kids, consider placing money in your iTunes account and then giving each child a certificate or coupon they can redeem for x amount of songs.  (This is what we plan to do for our older kids.)  Or, pick the songs and make a personal CD for the receiver.

'There's an app for that.'  An app for just about anything you might want - couponing, stores, games, educational, jokes, weather - you name it.  Want to know what's popular?  How about apps for kids?  Just do a quick search and you've got it!  There are so many free ones out there, too.

Here's a rundown on some that we like - Nook and Kindle, The Weather Channel, Angry Birds,  Glow Draw, Racing Penguin, DoodleBuddy, Fisher Price,  and KidCalc.  Right now I'm bribing my 8 yr old with Fruit Ninja for when she passes her times table test.

I know this isn't a crafty post, but it is a gift idea.  Hopefully this will give you another idea for your gift list.

Do you have some favorite apps?  Please share - Here in the comments or on Facebook.

** I know there are other devices that can download apps.  I'm not familiar with them.  Better to stick to what I know.  :)  Do a google search if you have a different brand of smartphone.

Gift Idea - Tents

Did you ever make tents out of blankets when you were growing up?  My siblings and I did.  All.  The.  Time.  We had some pretty amazing structures made out of card tables, sheets, chairs and clothes pins.  Best of all?  It could be anything we wanted - a castle, a treehouse, a mansion or even a secret cave.  We had so much fun and now have so many memories.

Here are a few tent ideas I've come across to share with you all.

Fire Station Card Table Tent by Utah County Mom

Hoola Hoop Tent by Living With Punks

Kid's Tent/ Reading Nook by Ana White (seriously love this site!)

Playtime Teepee by Baby Lock

Use a little imagination and any of the above tutorials can be modified to make a little one's pretend play much more real.  These are all easy to store and easy to move.  Use them indoors during the cold and/or rainy times of the year and then move them outside when nice weather rolls around.

So, how many of you out there built tents as a kid?

Gift Idea - Handmade Ornaments

Handmade ornaments are such an easy thing to do.  Have you looked at all the tutorials out there?  Just about anything you could want to do is available.  How about this 3D Paper Snowflake?

Last year my family did the 12 Days of Christmas for my parents.  (Had to get it in before babies 13 and 14 showed up this year.)  Since my kids are the oldest, we did the first few.  Larissa had done a partridge and a pear in one of her posts.  These were such a cute idea, I got the kids working on a set.

They had such a good time!  My oldest (who has the attention span of a fish) almost made her ornament in one sitting.  

Were they perfect? No.  But, the grandparents really appreciated the kids' work and effort, and the kids were so proud of the finished products.

Another Idea...

Make the ornament sentimental.  My husband's aunt made snowmen for all the grandkids out of his grandmother's chenille bedspread.

Such a wonderful addition to our Christmas tree this year!

Other ideas...
3D Star from Sawdust and Paperscraps
Icosahedron Ball from The Quilted Turtle
Beaded Snowflake Star from Bead Jewelry Making
Owl Plushie
Or any number of other ideas  (Just click on a picture to be taken to the original site.)

Any other ideas out there?  Let me know in the comments or on Facebook to share what you know!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Wishing you all a wonderful holiday weekend!  For those of you outside the U.S. not celebrating Thanksgiving,  eat a slice of pie just for the fun of it.  :) Enjoy your wonderful food and fun time with family.  Stay safe in your travels and I'll see you all back here next week!

Gift Idea - Kid's Apron

My kids love helping in the kitchen.  What kid doesn't?  So, my mother sewed up these pretty little aprons for all the girls in the family one spring.  If you look at the picture closely, you can see she even made matching aprons for each of the girls' Bitty Babies.  They were all thrilled!

These are great ideas for being in the kitchen or getting into character when playing 'house', too.  My kids pull them out all the time.  Do a quick Google search for 'kid's apron patterns' and you will have several free patterns from which to choose.  Or, head over to Joann's during one of their sales and get a pattern for $2 or less.

**Patterns used - Simplicity 3802, Simplicity 4286, Simplicity 2626

Ladybug Applique Tutorial

Well, I've been able to get a few presents put together and finished.  This bag project took me much longer than expected. {Isn't that always the way it goes, though?}  I'm very pleased with the overall outcome even if it took more time.

You want to know where I got the idea, right?  About 6 or 7 years ago, one of my sisters made a bag for me and my oldest child.  I LOVE this bag!

I get complements every time I take it out.  Unfortunately, I've had a diaper bag slung over my shoulder instead of a purse for the majority of the past 8.5 years.  That will change soon enough, though, my friends.
This is the bag she made for my oldest.

Colorful and fun - just perfect for her!

Here's the secret behind these bags.  They are made out of placemats!  Yep.  Couldn't tell, could ya?  Such an easy project.

Now, I'm not going to give you a tutorial on the bag itself, since there is a perfectly good one right here at JCaroline Creative.  I will give you a short tutorial on how I did the ladybug on the front of one bag.

**Any embellishments will need to be done before sewing the bag together if you will be using the machine.**

What you need:

*Sewing supplies - scissors, thread, sewing machine, iron and ironing board, etc.
*2 Fabric colors (mine were red and black)
*Iron-on adhesive - I used Heat n Bond lite - follow the directions that come with whichever brand you get when ironing
*Ladybug printable pattern {I apologize.  I can't remember how to put it on my website, so you will have to get it off of MediaFire.  It's 11pm and I'm tired.}

1.  Download and print off the ladybug pattern on card stock.

2.  Cut out the pattern pieces and trace them on to the paper side of your iron-on adhesive.

3.  Iron the pieces on to the corresponding fabric colors on the wrong side of the fabric.  Don't worry about cutting out the individual pieces - you will do that in the next step.

 4.  Cut out each of the pieces of your ladybug.

 5.  Peel the paper backing off the fabric.

 The shiny side will now stick to whatever you are embellishing.

 6.  Do a dry run.  Place all the patten pieces on the front of the bag (shiny side down) making sure to leave room for seams.  Also, take the time now to make a mark down the wings with an air or water soluble marker, if so desired.

 7.  Leaving the head and body pieces in place, remove the wings carefully.  Iron down both the head and body.  Place the wings back on the body and head and iron in place.

 8.  Do a dry run with the spots.  You can always leave the line off and keep all the spots whole.  However, if you choose to have overhang, now is the time to trim the spots before ironing them down. Once you have them the way you like, iron them down.

 9.  Next is the process of satin stitching around all your pieces.  Each machine is different in settings and temperament with this stitch.  I highly recommend using some scrap material to get the setting the way you like - stitch length, stitch width are both factors.  When the stitches look the way you like on the scrap switch over to your project.
Stitch in this order - antenna (starting at the head and moving out), head, body

       all spots - notice I did not stitch all the way around the spots that were trimmed.  You don't want to have a doubled up stitch.

 Lastly, you will stitch down the wings.  Start right behind the head down the center of the wings flowing all the way around.  This will give you one long continuous stitching.

There you have it!  Once you get the hang of it, it goes pretty quickly.  The spots are more of a challenge, but can be done.  This gives such a nice finished look to your project.

Any one, young or 'old' would be please with such a gift!