November 2010 - Crap I've Made

Vinyl-ize your ornaments

November 30, 2010 By Char @ Crap I've Made 16 Comments

***Today is THE LAST day to get the best deal in the history of Silhouette deals ($199 for the machine and a bunch of goodies). Use code “CRAP” at check out and they’ll be added to your cart automatically.***

In honor of the Expressions Vinyl giveaway this week (go here to enter), I have another vinyl project for you today.

You don’t need a vinyl cutter to do these. You can use a craft punch (my recommendation) or scissors or an Exacto knife or whatever.

My Christmas tree this year looks like a whole lot of crazy threw up on it. I let the kids go nuts with it….and I kind of like it. OK, I really like it. Here’s a little glimpse of the crazy:

Regular ornaments? Obviously not quite our style.

(Green ornament with red vinyl circles punched in various sizes)

(Aqua ornament with red vinyl snowflake)

(Green ornament with red vinyl snowflakes. Also? A prime example of why you shouldn’t worry about getting out or the reflection…you’ll just look like an idiot squatting and holding the camera like that!)

What about a red ornament with a black vinyl “belt” and a little gold buckle?

Think of the possibilities!

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Filed Under: Silhouette, vinyl

Next week: Nativity Parade @ Crap I’ve Made

November 29, 2010 By Char @ Crap I've Made 13 Comments

(Button courtesy of the fabulous Kim @ 733 design)

I don’t care if you call it a nativity set or a creche, I love them all.

When I was a kid, we had one made entirely (by my mom) out of salt dough. Each little figure had garlic pressed dough hair and hand drawn faces. I really wish there were pictures of that thing, because it was AMAZING. I’m giddy just thinking about the camels and sheep. INSANE!

Now that I’m all grown up, I have a couple on display, which I’ll be sharing next week.

Starting next Tuesday (December 7th), I’ll be hosting a linky party. I want YOU to show off your nativity. I don’t care if it’s Fisher Price or olive wood from Jerusalem or terra cotta pots (or salt dough)…I WANT TO SEE IT!

So get it out, dust it off, set it up and then BLOG it and link up with us!

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Filed Under: Uncategorized

Giveaway: Expressions Vinyl

November 29, 2010 By Char @ Crap I've Made 304 Comments

Good (?) Monday morning!

I opened the shutters to my (2nd story) bedroom this morning and saw this:

And then I got stuck a whole lot of times taking kids to school (hint: 4). Thanks to the random neighbor dude out snow blowing who pushed us or I’d probably still be there now. Good times. Good times.

Did I mention some of us are also enjoying pink eye? Blah.

Are you familiar with Expressions Vinyl? Click on over there now and look. I’ll wait.

Expressions Vinyl sells vinyl for all your crafty needs. It’s good thick quality stuff. They sell it sized for whatever craft cutter you’re using. (Don’t forget…Silhouette = $100 off plus free home décor CD using code “CRAP” today AND tomorrow!!!).

What I love about Expressions Vinyl is that you can buy small pieces of any color you need without committing to a whole roll. I also love that if you order before 2pm MST, it ships out the very same day.

They carry some fun variations, like t-shirt vinyl and chalkboard vinyl, too.

What’s in it for you?

Expressions Vinyl is giving one lucky Crap I’ve Made reader a $25 gift certificate!

TO ENTER:

Take a quick look at all the vinyl projects here on Crap I’ve Made. Get inspired by them and then leave a comment ON THIS POST saying which one you’re most excited to recreate or what your first vinyl project would be.

and/or

“Like’ Expressions Vinyl on Facebook. Come back and leave a comment ON THIS POST saying that you did.

and/or

Click on over to Expressions Vinyl and sign up for their newsletter (bottom of the left hand column). Come back and leave a comment ON THIS POST saying that you did.

That’s 3 chances to win. Do any or all of them.

ONLY COMMENTS ON THE BLOG WILL BE ENTERED TO WIN!

This giveaway will run clear through Saturday, December 4th at midnight MST.

Look forward to more vinyl projects all week, and some won’t require a cutter, in case you’re still waiting for Santa to bring yours.

Now off to pay some bills and respond to some emails!

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Filed Under: giveaway

Winners!!!: Crafty Cierra & DS Head Rush PLUS a deal for you!

November 28, 2010 By Char @ Crap I've Made 2 Comments

The winners of the 25 Days of Christmas Activity Books from Crafty Cierra are…

#14, aka Here I Am, who said:

“I’m a follower! How fun!”

#49, aka Daleen, who said:

“I just became a follower of Crafty Cierra!”

And the winner of the hat and flowers from DS Head Rush is…

#299, aka Celia, who said:

“I’m thankful for dishwashers… I never knew how much I loved and used them until I didn’t have one for about six months… they’re wonderful things!!”

AND, DS Head Rush is offering all of you 20% off (which makes your shipping pretty much free) using code “thankfulforcrap” for the next 2 days!!!

Shoot me an email to [email protected] to claim your prize!

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Filed Under: Uncategorized

Snowflake Lamps

November 28, 2010 By Char @ Crap I've Made 16 Comments

Are you familiar with these GRONO lamps from IKEA?

They’re $14.99 for the 2 pack. I like them, but wanted to perk them up a bit.

I cut some vinyl with my Silhouette ($100 off through the end of the month using code “CRAP” Winking smile ) into snowflake shapes and applied it to the inside of the glass. You could do the outside, but I wanted a little more subtle look.

Here it is turned off:

And illuminated:

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Filed Under: Silhouette, vinyl

When’s the last time YOU checked out Pier 1?

November 25, 2010 By Char @ Crap I've Made 20 Comments

This post brought to you by Pier 1 Imports. All opinions are 100% mine.

A few weeks ago, I was given a Pier 1 gift card to spend. And if there’s one thing I do well, it’s spend. Seriously…just ask BC. Or my mom. Or the ladies that helped me at Pier 1. Let’s just say I *might* have spent 3 times more than my gift card…plus $15. Oops.

And that was with my trusty assistant in tow.

Think of the damage I would have done if I’d been kid free!

We headed inside and were greeted by a host of helpful employees. One of them asked if I was a photographer on account of the fact that I was wearing my camera around my neck. Aside from one tiny little problem with that scenario (that my pictures sucketh), an actual photographer would have made sure that her battery didn’t die approximately 45 seconds after that.

Random fact: Pier 1 smells GOOD. Go in and sniff stuff if nothing else!

One thing I LOVED, but did not buy (for a whole host of reasons known as “my children”), was their new Tastings Party™ Collection. I think a tasting party would make for some fabulous holiday entertaining. Can’t decide what to make? MAKE IT ALL…only tiny!

Cute, right? Those wine glasses are under 6” tall.

Are you more casual in your holiday entertaining? I bought a 3 tiered basket for chips that I can pair with a festive bowl of dippy goodness for any occasion.

In addition to a few things I plan on gifting, I picked up the following to do a little holiday decorating:

(Those houndstooth placemats are on clearance for $1.88)

What’d I do with them?

All the placemats became pillows.

I already had the aqua linen and the white cotton, so the total cost of each snowflake pillow was the $2.95 for the placemat. I cut 18” squares and stitched down the center of each snowflake “point”. I made envelope backs so that I can store the covers flat and reuse my pillow forms all year long.

And the wreath and glittery trees were just the push I needed to finish a project that’s been on my to do list since, oh, May?

Bye bye awkward hole above my fireplace!

(The shutters were an $8 thrift store find that benefited greatly from a coat of Key Lime spray paint and some Ralph Lauren Tobacco glaze.)

In addition to being a great place to pick up some gifts and decor, Pier 1 is doing something awesome this holiday season. For every new person that “likes” Pier 1 on Facebook, they’ll donate $1 to Toys for Tots…up to $100,000! You can also drop your Toys for Tots donation off at any Pier 1 location or make a donation at the register.

Thanks Pier 1. I’ll be back soon!

(I totally already have been.)

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Filed Under: fabric, home decor, sewing

Happy Thanksgiving

November 24, 2010 By Char @ Crap I've Made 1 Comment

(Tilt-y pinecone turkey courtesy of Macy)

Be safe and eat well.

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Filed Under: Uncategorized

2 X 4 Stocking Hangers

November 24, 2010 By Char @ Crap I've Made 57 Comments

***Don’t forget to enter to win a 25 Days of Christmas Activity Book here and a darling crocheted hat with flowers here.***

Supplies:
Two 5.5” pieces of a 2X4
1 wood screw (2” or longer)
1 screw-in hook
Drill and drill bit for making pilot holes
Whatever paint, paper, pictures, etc you want for embellishing

You may want to sand your 2X4 pieces first. Or, just cut them straighter than I did. You decide.

Embellish as desired. For the gingham looking one, I cut pieces of scrapbook paper the same size as the sides of my 2X4 and Mod Podged them on.

I just painted the red one with acrylic craft paint.

I applied a red paper C that I cut with my Silhouette to the gingham one and a silver vinyl C (also cut with my Silhouette) to the red one. You absolutely do not need a Silhouette to make these, mine’s just made me lazy. You could trace and cut by hand or print or paint or leave letters off completely. I think these have some hilariously awesome potential with family members’ faces on them.

I sanded the edges and used stain on one (gingham) and Ralph Lauren glaze on the other (red).

Using a straight edge, make lines connecting the corners of both pieces. This will give you the center/location of your pilot holes. Because my children have stolen all the rulers, I used a paint stick.

Drill all the way through the board for the bottom piece and an inch or so into the board for the top piece.

Drill another pilot hole on the center front. This picture shows the boards already assembled because I forgot to drill the hole for the hook the first time around.

Put your screw all the way through the bottom board, so it sticks out just a little.

Line up the screw with the hole in the top piece and finish driving the screw in. You’ll want to sink the head of the screw in just a little so that the boards will lay flat on your mantel, like this:

Here are what the hooks that I used looked like:

You won’t need the plastic wall anchor part, just the hooks.

Screw them in, and you’re finished!

***Only use for hanging EMPTY stockings!***

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Filed Under: Silhouette, vinyl, wood

Is there an AccuQuilt product on your Christmas list?

November 24, 2010 By Char @ Crap I've Made Leave a Comment

I still get a lot of emails asking about my GO! Cutter, so I thought I’d pass this information along!

AccuQuilt’s Black Friday Sale – Lowest Prices Ever!

AccuQuilt is giving its blogger friends a sneak peek of their upcoming Black Friday sale! As you all know, Black Friday has become a great shopping tradition among Americans everywhere. However, a majority of consumers now prefer to shop online to escape the dangers of stampede and the hassles of long lines at stores. If you can’t find the items you want, it’s easy to hop from one store website to the next without being disappointed. Savvy online shoppers know how to get the most out of Black Friday sales by utilizing blogs, Facebook, Twitter, and other websites to get the inside track on tremendous sales.

AccuQuilt is offering the lowest prices ever on some of their most popular items plus special Daily Deals you don’t want to miss! AccuQuilt’s Black Friday sale begins on Wednesday, November 24^th and ends on Cyber Monday, November 29^th! Don’t miss out – visit accuquilt.com starting Wednesday to place your order!

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Filed Under: AccuQuilt

Peppermint Platters

November 23, 2010 By Char @ Crap I've Made 9 Comments

***Don’t forget to enter to win a 25 Days of Christmas Activity Book here and a darling crocheted hat with flowers here.***

This project is another hint about next week’s giveaway. Sorry, it’s not a Silhouette, you don’t even need one for this project, but you can buy one for $100 off plus a free home décor CD using code “CRAP” through the end of the month.

I started with a boring old candle plate from IKEA. It’s metal and was 2 or 3 dollars.