Welcome!

Welcome!

Friday, March 29, 2013

D.I.Y.: Bunny Towel/Napkin Party Favors


 It has definitely been a very busy week in our household. With Easter just around the corner (can't believe it is mere days away!), we have been getting our last minute touches ready for the holiday weekend.

We spent a fun and creative Thursday evening decorating our Easter bonnets as a family for our local Easter parade




Since I was able to find the spare time, I figured I would go ahead and post one more quick, fun, and easy tutorial for the Easter weekend!

A lovely woman from our church showed me how to make these one year and I absolutely love them! These Bunny Towel Party Favors are just so sweet and are really quite versatile! They can be added to a centerpiece, a gift basket, as part of the place setting (just replace the towel with a napkin!) and so much more! I thought I would go ahead and share this one with everyone since it is just too cute!



Step 1: Gather Your Materials

Small Washcloth or Fabric
Rubber band or elastic string
Plastic Egg
Googly Eyes
White PomPom
Glue or Glue Gun
Scissors

Step 2: Clip Your Tag

Using your scissors, cut the tag off of your towel.

Step 3: Arrange Your Towel

Place the towel in front of you in a diamond shape

Step 4: Roll Towel

begin from the bottom and work your way up. Start rolling up  your towel

Step 5: Gather ends

Bring in the two ends of the towel until they meet.

Step 6: Fold Up Ears

Fold the two ends upwards to form your bunny ears.  Leave a small bump at the end to form your bunny face. Keep a firm hold.

Step 7: Tie up the ends

Hold your towel as I do in the following photos Once you are happy with the shape, either tie it into place using elastic string or use a rubber band

Step 8: Add egg

you should notice that your bunny's body forms a loop, this is the perfect
place to store your Easter goodies. For this tutorial, we are using a plastic egg.

Step 9: add your details.

This is where you can glue on your bunny's eyes and tail, but you do not have to stop there! You can add as many details as you would like (whiskers, bow tie, etc.)

Step 10: Enjoy your gift

I hope that everyone has a very Happy Easter with Friends and loved ones!


END!

Thank you for watching our tutorial! For more great D.I.Y. projects, reviews, and recipes, visit:

http://maryscraftynook.blogspot.com/


- Music written by Tom Cusack
- Composer – Tom Cusack
- Music from

www.freemusicforvideos.com



Friday, March 22, 2013

Printables: Easter Themed Coloring Sheets & Word Search

I can't believe Easter is just around the corner! This year is just moving so incredibly fast! Here are a few treats to share with your kiddos this Easter weekend. Who doesn't love to just sit around and play with some crayons every now and then ;).

These printables are free for all! While you are more than welcome to print these for whatever occasion you prefer, I ask that you do not post these on your own website with consulting me first. I also ask that if I do give you permission, you must refer back to this website. I also ask that you do not edit out the tiny signature I have added to each page. Thank you and Enjoy!

Enjoy!
 

When Google Docs opens, just click on file and then print.  

When Google Docs opens, just click on file and then print.  


When Google Docs opens, just click on file and then print.  

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It turns out, making the word search is actually quite simple with a little help from the internet. I used the word search maker over at Discovery Education - Word Search maker . You can print your word search straight from the website and make as many as you would like. The word search engine is plain text, so I added my word search to a decorated document using Paint Shop Pro. However, for the less than tech saavy, you can simply print the blank word search and have your children decorate the page themselves with festive drawings or stickers! Have fun making your own to share with your loved ones. 

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D.I.Y.: Flower Bow Tutorial

I am a huge fan of bows! I am 26 years old and will freely admit that even now, I will occasionally rock a fun bow with my outfit. What better way to start the beginning of Spring than with a fun bow tutorial!

I have been making these ribbon flower bows for a while now and I still can't get over how easy they are to make! Not only are they fun to wear, but they also make wonderful gifts or party favors for any little girls dream party :). What I especially loved about this product was that I was able to find about 98% of my supplies at my local Dollar Tree! I was able to purchase the felt, ribbon, pompoms, & glue sticks at my local store :)


So let's get started! I went ahead and made this tutorial into a video rather than a slideshow, but if the text gets hard to read, the instructions are also listed in the video description and at the end of this post as well. Enjoy!

Learn how to create your own boutique bow!
Step 1: Cut your felt circle
This will be the backing to your bow. I cut mine to be around 1 and 3/4 inches around, but you can definitely eyeball it if you would like a larger bow.

Step 2: Cut Your Ribbon into strips
The amount you need depends on the size of your bow. For this bow I cut about 7 strips of the blue grosgrain ribbon which will be my base,and 3 of each of the organza ribbons (navy and white). Make sure they are long enough to fold into loops so do not cut the ribbons to be less than 5 inches. 5-6 inches is just about right.

Step 3: Fold Your Ribbon
You are going to be folding over each strip of ribbon into small loops and gluing the ends together. You do not have to heat seal your ends as they are all going to
be covered in the end anyway.

Step 4: Begin placing your ribbon
You will start placing your ribbon loops on the outer circle of the felt forming a ring with an empty center like the following photos. You will be placing the strips more towards the center with the other two color strips. It is best to practice your placements before you glue them down to know how you would best like them arranged.

Step 5: Repeat steps 3 and 4 with the other ribbon strips
You will now create 2 more layers of ribbon using the next 2 colors. I started by placing down 3 white ribbon loops and then placed three navy loops on top of the white.

Step 6: Decorate your center
I decided to place simple white pompom puff as the center to my bow, but you can use just about anything from bottle caps to charms, to silk flowers. Be Creative! =)

Step 7: Create your backing
You can use any backing, but for this tutorial I am going to use an alligator clip as my backing of choice. Start by cutting out smaller felt circle.

Step 7: Create your backing (cont.)
Apply enough glue to cover your felt circle and then place the circle between the alligator clip prongs. the place the glue side of the felt onto the back of your bow. This should leave one prong glue to the felt and the other free to place in hair.

Step 8: Wear your bow!
Your bow is now complete. Be sure to give enough time to allow your glue to fully dry and set. Have fun wearing your own custom made hair piece!

END!
Thank you for watching our tutorial! For more great D.I.Y. projects, reviews, and recipes, visit:
http://maryscraftynook.blogspot.com/

- Music written by Tom Cusack - Composer -- Tom Cusack - Music from www.freemusicforvideos.com


It is amazing how creative you can be with these bows! Here are two other variations I have completed:




Mermaid Bow: https://www.etsy.com/listing/104868217/mermaid-tail-ribbon-bow-teal-and-green?ref=shop_home_active
Black and Orange Pumpkin Bow:https://www.etsy.com/listing/104920950/black-and-orange-halloween-pumpkin?ref=shop_home_active

Wednesday, March 13, 2013

St. Patrick's Day Printables!

With St. Patrick's Day just around the corner, I thought I would go ahead and post up two new printables to share! Here is a brand new coloring sheet and Word search for you all to enjoy! While you are more than welcome to print these for whatever occasion you prefer, I ask that you do not post these on your own website with consulting me first. I also ask that if I do give you permission, you must refer back to this website. I also ask that you do not edit out the tiny signature I have added to each page. Thank you and Enjoy!


 Download Word Search Here
When Google Docs opens, just click on file and then print.

When Google Docs opens, just click on file and then print.
_______________________________

It turns out, making the word search is actually quite simple with a little help from the internet. I used the word search maker over at Discovery Education - Word Search maker . You can print your word search straight from the website and make as many as you would like. The word search engine is plain text, so I added my word search to a decorated document using Paint Shop Pro. However, for the less than tech saavy, you can simply print the blank word search and have your children decorate the page themselves with festive drawings or stickers! Have fun making your own to share with your loved ones.
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Tuesday, March 12, 2013

DIY: St. Patricks Day Nail Design

I love painting my nails, but let's be honest ... judging from the pictures below, I should leave it to a professional lol. However, I still find it calming and fun to paint them myself even if my technique is no where near nice and neat. Since Saint Patricks Day falls on the 17th of March, I figured I would go ahead and practice a quick design that HOPEFULLY I can perfect closer to the date. Here it is!

I started off with my base coat. I used an all in one base from Essie


From there I went ahead and chose a lovely lime green that absolutely looks horrible on me, but I loved the shade anyway :P





I decided to use my white striping brush to paint a quick white tip across the top of my nails. I striped the tips when the lime green was still a little wet so that it would blend a bit and turn into a tasty light lime green rather than stark white.




The hardest part for me was getting the clover. I decided to only paint it on my middle nail and was really pleased with how it turned out. Trust me when I say this is a VERY abstract clover! :P





I finished off my nails with a quick top coat and admired my work :P. I actually like the results! The little imperfections make me smile and stay as a reminder that I did the design all by myself.





What are some of your favorite nail designs? I would love to see them!


"May the road rise up to meet you.
May the wind always be at your back.
May the sun shine warm upon your face,
and rains fall soft upon your fields.
And until we meet again,
May God hold you in the palm of His hand."

Happy Saint Patrick's day everyone!



Bzzagent Campaign Review: Quaker Up Snacks!

This week was spent putting my craft room back together. Trust me when I say it is a hefty job! What better way to enjoy my quick breaks than to enjoy a tasty snack. I am definitely a choco-holic, so when bzzagent gave me the opportunity to try Quaker brand's Quaker Up Snack line, I was definitely all in!

The bzzkit was absolutely amazing! Our kit was loaded with great snacks and fabulous coupons:


Our bzzkit included several fabulous coupons, our Quaker Up Bzzcampaign Guide full of interesting info, 1 box of Quaker Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies, 1 box of Quaker Big Chewy Chocolate Chip Granola Bars, and 1 Bag of Quaker Perfect Portions Oatmeal in yumtastic maple!

Who better to be my first taste tester than my wonderful assistant (and younger sister)! After all of her hard work helping me put the craft room back together, I figured she definitely deserved a treat.


She picked the Big Chewy Chocolate Chip Granola Bar as her reward and thoroughly enjoyed it! She loved the fact that the bars are definitely much larger than your average granola bar and are just really tasty! The bars have just the right balance of chocolate and oats and really do provide a quick boost of energy without hurting your tummy. This is definitely going to become a staple in our snack pantry!

I had my go at the chocolate chip cookies. I loved that they are made with whole grain oat flour which really adds a great taste to the cookies. I am also a huge sucker for bittersweet chocolate chips so that was another huge bonus.


So if you are looking for a new tasty treat to help wind down the day or just something to nibble on, I highly suggest trying out Quaker's line of snacks! You won't be disappointed!

To learn more about Quaker's snack line visit their facebook page at: https://www.facebook.com/Quaker

Want to learn more about fantastic products AND try them free? Learn more about becoming a bzzagent such as myself at: www.bzzagent.com 


Sunday, March 10, 2013

Daylight Saving Time begins on Sunday, March 10 & ends on Sunday, November 3, 2013


Just a quick reminder to our followers! It's that time of year again, time to set our clocks ahead one hour!

Daylight Saving Time begins on Sunday, March 10 & ends on Sunday, November 3, 2013

Friday, March 8, 2013

Bzzagent Campaign: Garnier Fructis Hydra Recharge Product Line

This was a wonderful two weeks of fabulous hair care products! Our last review discussed the Nexxus Hydra Light product line, and while their products are absolutely amazing, here is a similar line that is a bit more budget friendly.

As a Bzzagent, I have been given the wonderful pleasure of trying fantastic new products free of charge! I then get to review the products and share my opinions and and comments with you! So let us begin.

After unboxing my bzzcampaign kit, I was definitely pleased with my goodies! I received 1 8.5 FL oz tube of Garnier Fructis Hydra Recharge 1-minute moisture plenish treatment, 1 13 FL oz bottle of Garnier Fructis Hydra Recharge fortifying shampoo, and 1 13 FL oz bottle of Garnier Fructis Hydra Recharge fortifying conditioner.



The specific line I was sent was aimed towards dry hair, so I was really excited to try it out as we are having our dry season here in southern Texas. Lotion, lip balm, and an army of quality hair care products are a must during this season.

The scent is amazing! The formula boasts superfruits of Goji Berry, Passion fruit, & Kiwi and they really blend well into this amazing fruity scent. The shampoo is infused with itty bitty little beads of goji berry, passion fruit, & kiwi which in turn burst and activate weightless moisture.

After trying this product, I was VERY pleased with the results. My hair was incredibly shiny and seemed more durable. I loved the moisture it left without leaving behind an oily residue which I have encountered in other Garnier products. This line definitely redeemed the company quality for me.

Another perk of the product line is the price tag with products available anywhere from $3.99 to $6.99. Definitely a great and affordable purchase.

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Here are some wonderful facts straight from our leaders at Bzzagent.com:

Just the Facts

Infused with superfruits for silky-soft hydration, Hydra Recharge will recharge your thirsty locks and keep your hair super silky and surprisingly weightless for up to two whole days.
The Hydra Recharge line:
  • Works best on dry to normal hair
  • Keeps hair weightlessly silky for up to two days
  • Is available at grocery stores, drug stores and mass retailers
  • Retails for a suggested price of $3.99 to $6.99
Hydra Recharge Shampoo is a hydration innovator, featuring for the first time thousands of beads that burst on impact
Hydra Recharge Conditioner contains superfruits goji berry, passion fruit and kiwi to actively replenish without heaviness
Hydra Recharge 1-Minute Moisture-Plenish Treatment is a powerful deep treatment whose revolutionary lightweight crème-gel formula transforms dry hair with a surge of high-performance hydration in just one minute. For best results, use 2x a week

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Seriously, you don't get much better than this! Great hair at a great price? I'm in!


To learn more about other fantastic Garnier products or to learn more about the Hydra Recharge line, visit: findyourstrengthtoshine.com

Want to learn more about fantastic products AND try them free? Learn more about becoming a bzzagent such as myself at: www.bzzagent.com