Bitty Ruffle Skirt

Barter: (v) to trade by exchange of commodities rather than by use of money 

Remember learning about bartering in grade school? I remember taking a toy to school and all the kids got to exchange toys. I remember thinking, "Why don't we do this all the time...but with everything?!" 

:)

I know what you're thinking...What does this have to do with ANYTHING?

My friend just had a beautiful baby girl. She is also an amazing photographer. I really want to make my photos look more beautiful, so the other day I text her and asked if we could trade a ruffle skirt for her girl for photo editing skills. She was totally okay with it! I was so excited! Bartering!!

And so was born the Bitty Ruffle Skirt.

I LOVE this fabric. And no, there is no tutorial, but really...just go to Pinterest and type in ruffle skirt. They're really simple to make. Just time consuming. Or you can check out the 8 Ruffle Tutorials I posted about.

I wish I had one for my baby girl! And if my friend doesn't like the tulle on the bottom, she can easily just cut it off! No worries.

Lovin' those sweet ruffles!

Sharing here: Serendipity & Spice,  Lil Luna,  Ginger Snap Crafts,  Sew Woodsey,  Someday Crafts, It's Overflowing, 36th Avenue, Seven Alive, The Crafty Nest,  30 Handmade Days, Raising Oranges,

DIY Envelopes

Do you guys just love the new look? I know I do!!

Brooke from Babbling Brooke Designs made my blog look SO beautiful! I highly recommend her if you're thinking of giving your blog a facelift. She's sooo nice and quick to respond to your questions/concerns. Go stop by and look at her portfolio!

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Well, with my son's birthday approaching, I decided I needed to give out his invites, like, NOW! I made super fun invitations but I didn't have an envelope for them.

So, of course, I took matters into my own hands. 

And I'm happy with the outcome!

Let me run you through a quick tutorial. They're super easy to make!

1.

You need a template. Trace whatever you're going to be putting inside the envelope. You'll then need to draw four flaps around that traced object. Make sure you leave a little room around the traced object so it'll fit once you put the envelope together. For the sides, one flap needs to be wider than the other, so that they will overlap.

2.

Cut out your template and trace it onto your desired paper. (Isn't that invite so fun? I made it myself...with the hub's help!)

3. 

Cut out your envelope. Fold over all your flaps before gluing. 

4.

Last step: Gluing. Glue along the edge of the wider flap. Smooth the smaller flap on top to adhere the two. Then glue the edge of the bottom flap and smooth that on top of the middle flaps.

And then you'll have a handmade envelope!

P.S. Link up in the Destination: Cutesy Monday link party by clicking HERE. Features are on Friday!!

Sharing here: Not Just a Housewife,  Mommy by Day, Crafter by Night,  Creative Itch,  Sugar Bee Crafts, Cherished Bliss,

Destination: Cutesy Monday!

Time to show off your projects again!

Did you see the featured projects from last week?

Also, check out the 8 Ruffle Tutorials I found for you!

Have fun linkin' up! I should have buttons soon! (D:C is getting a makeover :)

Please become a follower and check out other links! Thanks!

8 Ruffle Tutorials

Ruffles!

Are you as obsessed with ruffles as I am?

I seriously am in LOVE with ruffles right now. If I had the time/patience, I would be sewing ruffles onto all of my little girl's clothes.

I found 8 adorable ruffle tutorials. They range from baby tops to aprons to wreaths.

Enjoy!!

Ruffle Bonnet Tutorial

By Lindsay at The Cottage Home

Ruffle Apron Tutorial

By One More Moore

Ruffle Waist Skirt Tutorial

By Disney at Ruffles & Stuff

"The Baby in Red Top" Tutorial

by Sewing in No Man's Land

Country Ruffle Top Tutorial

By Shwin & Shwin

Cascading Ruffle Skirt

By Ashley at Lil Blue Boo

DIY Ruffle Wreath

By Kelly Hicks Design & Photography

Ruffle Skirt Tutorial

By Sweetie Pie Bakery

Stop back by Monday for the Destination: Cutesy Monday Linky Party!!

Sharing here: Flamingo Toes, I Heart Naptime, While He Was Napping, The Girl Creative, Becolorful,  Skip to My Lou, Cherished Bliss, An Original Belle,

Thanks for stopping by!

Feature Friday!

I just want to say 

THANK YOU!!

to everyone that joined my link party! I LOVED seeing all the projects. You are seriously amazing. I just want you to know that. 

Here's what I've been working on this past week

The Top 3 most viewed links were the following:

 

Paper Bag Skirt Tutorial 

by Christy at Sew Love It

DIY Crafting Desk

by Measure Once, Cut Twice

Simple Valentine's Day Art

by Aimee at It's Overflowing

Look at those wonderful projects!! Unfortunately, I don't have a button for you...YET! 

My blog is under construction and hopefully by next Feature Friday there will be a button for everyone who is featured to grab!

Remember to stop by on Monday to link up again!

DIY Photo Canvas

One of the crafts I've ALWAYS wanted to do was make a photo canvas. 

I just have never done it. I'm not sure why (probably laziness). But I finally got all my supplies together, got myself a good tutorial from Pinterest, and I was on my way.

And guess what? It's easy peasy lemon squeezy!

Gather your supplies:

Supplies:

- Mod Podge

- Canvases, whatever size you want. I did 8 x 10. (They were 30% off at Hob Lob)

- Distress Ink & Scrapbook paper, for the sides (however, you can also paint the sides, so whatever look you want to go for).

- Prints (I got mine done at Wal-Mart for $5 a print.)

- Paper cutter or scissors

Okay, I'm not going to go through the whole tutorial because Vanessa at The Crafty Nest did a beautiful tutorial. I just wanted to show you all the supplies you need. Now go follow Vanessa's instructions!

What do you get in the end? Beautiful wall art!

It helps to have beautiful subjects :)

Go make your own!

Make sure you stop by tomorrow for Feature Friday! Haven't added your project to the link party? Hurry and do it!!

Sharing here: Mine for the Making,  Crafty Scrappy Happy,  A Glimpse Inside,  Mommnivore's Dilemma,  Saved by Love Creations,  Gluesticks,  Passionately Perfect, 36th Avenue, Toys in the Dryer,

Scratch-off Valentine Countdown

My hubby and I don't play the lotto. 

However, there's something so fun with scratching off that silver gunk and wondering if you won a little somethin'... 

So I decided to give my hubs something exciting this Valentine's Day and give him a lotto-like experience!

Each of those hearts have a scratch off with a special activity underneath! So fun! There is one up there for Feb 1st-Feb 14th. 

I found the tutorial for the scratch off HERE, but I'll walk ya through it real quick-like. 

Supplies:

- Silver metallic paint

- Dish soap

- Red & white cardstock

- Number stickers

- Fun border punches

- Not pictured but ESSENTIAL: Either packaging tape or contact paper

First, I cut out some rectangles and hearts. Like so.

Then I mixed the paint with the dish soap: 2 part paint to 1 part soap.

Write/print your message. Put the tape or contact paper on OVER the message. Then you can paint ON TOP of the tape. This will make it so you can scratch off the paint. 

Now you need to attach the heart to the rectangles and decorate them! Have fun with them. Remember to put your numbers on each rectangle: 1-14.

Starting February 1st, your honey can have a heart to scratch off! How fun!

And you can still enter the Destination: Cutesy Monday link party!! Please do! I'll do features on Friday!

Sharing here: Serendipity & Spice,  Lil Luna,  Mommy by Day, Crafter by Night,  Fabric Bows& More,  Ginger Snap Crafts,  Rae Gun Ramblings, Sugar and Dots,  My Girlish Whims,  Southern Lovely,  Pretty Things for You, It's Overflowing,  Summit Street Joy, Gluesticks,  A Crafty Soiree, 36th Avenue, Toys in the Dryer,

Destination: Cutesy Monday!

Welcome to Destination: Craft's FIRST linky party!!

Since I like to get ideas on Monday to motivate me the rest of the week, I'd like to call my Linky party:

Destination: Cutesy Monday!

Link up ANYTHING cute: cute crafts, cute ideas, cute recipes...anything you want!

PLEASE become a follower and PLEASE visit other submissions!!

Thanks and have fun!

Pinterest-Inspired Craft Night

A couple of my friends and I wanted to make a Valentine craft. After scouring Pinterest, we decided we liked this wreath the best:

Source

However, my friend Becca and I also decided to use the foam tubing trick we also saw on Pinterest to make the wreath. You know, you buy a 6 foot long piece of foam tubing at Home Depot, cut it in half, tape the ends together, and you have a cheap wreath. That's the idea, anyway.

I got all the supplies together I needed and made the wreaths out of the foam tubing. They were a little lopsided but I thought once we wrapped them with yarn, they would straighten up. I'll show you how our wreaths turned out in a minute. Let me show you the Pinterest-inspired treats!

Becca's Bloomin' Onion Bread inspired by The Girl Who Ate Everything. Wow, they were DELISH!! Seriously, soooo good!

My Oreo Pudding Poke Cake inspired by The Country Cook.  The pudding made the cake so moist and tasty! And how can you go wrong with combining cake, pudding, and Oreos??

And now on to the actual craft. Ashley's turned out PERFECT. Becca and I had serious wreath envy. Why, you ask? Maybe because the foam tubing idea didn't work out as well as it was advertised. 

First, take a look at Ashley's beautiful wreath:

Isn't it gorgeous? It looks just like the picture we were inspired by!!

...And then there's mine and Becca's.  I think the problems with the foam tubing idea is that it's not fat enough and it needs to be a little longer. Becca and I were pretty, uh, disappointed with how our wreaths turned out:

Oh my goodness, we almost busted a gut laughing at how pathetic ours turned out! My advice to you: Just pay the extra couple dollars at Hobby Lobby for a regular foam wreath. This is what we get for trying to be frugal!

P.S. Don't forget to come back Monday (Jan 23) for Destination: Craft's 1st LINKY party! Woohoo!!

Sharing here: 30 Handmade Days,  The Shabby Nest,  Nap Time Crafters, Lolly Jane, Tatertots & Jello, The Blue Mason Jar, Mommy by Day, Crafter by Night, 

High Chair Ribbon Banner + Exciting News!!

Here is ANOTHER birthday project!

I'm going to have to take a high chair to the bakery for my birthday girl, so I figured I need to make the high chair cute. I'm going to borrow my friend's white high chair, which will be better than the blue and brown one shown here.

May I introduce you to the High Chair Ribbon Banner...

This project was SO easy.

Just a little time consuming.

I just cut each ribbon to 14 inches and then pinned them onto a longer piece of ribbon. I sewed all the ribbons down. I then used wired ribbon and folded that along the top so I couldn't see the tops of the ribbons.

I made big bows out of the same wired ribbon for either side. I think it'll be a sweet addition to the decor!

And now for the BIG, EXCITING news...

MONDAY, JAN 23 will be the first link party for Destination: Craft!!!

I'm calling it Destination: Cutesy Monday

Please come back Monday to submit your awesome projects!!!

Sharing here: It's Overflowing, 36th Avenue, Gluesticks, Fireflies & Jellybeans,