Our no sew fleece blanket obsession....

Have y'all ever made a no sew fleece tie blanket?  Sooooo super easy!  My teen found the instructions in Seventeen magazine and our obsession with 'em started before Christmas.  I googled and found some instructions here for ya. So far we have made three of these quick and easy projects.  My 17 year old and my 11 year old both made one all by themselves.  When it came time to make the 6 year old one, I had to give a little assistance.  This is him helping out though....

Joanne's had their kits for 50% off after Christmas.  Keep an eye on them if you want to try this one.  I think it is $16 for the kit after the discount.  Plus your kids get the satisfaction of having a blanket that they made all by themselves!  That is priceless!  
The football kit in the picture actually came from Walmart for around $17.  It is intended to be sewn.  But you can use the instructions online with the fleece in those kits as well.  Worked like a charm.
~Thanks for stopping by!~
~Angie~

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Hide the toys in plain sight...

I discussed one way to tame the toy clutter yesterday.  I have another tip for you.  Hide those toys in plain sight!  Can you tell me where the toys are in the picture below?

Yep I have a little parking garage under that covered table...

I made the original slip cover for the table here.  It was short and showed off the table legs.  Then I found a lovely image on Pinterest of a table with a tablecloth for toy storage.  I cannot for the life of me find that image now.  If you have it and want to link it in the comments, I will be more than happy to give credit where credit is due.
At any rate, I just sewed another longer skirt on my original slip cover and made it where it would open in the front...

See the original one is still under there and you can just catch a glimpse of some bumpers...

I added ties so we can have the cover open or closed...

So when company comes, all you see is something neat and orderly.  Best part is my son loves to park his trucks in here.  Yep...that means he LIKES putting them away!

 Posted at Get Your Craft On on Today's Creative Blog.

Posted at Take a Look Tuesday on Sugar Bee Craft Edition.

Posted at Tip Me Tuesday on Tip Junkie.

Posted at Tutorials and Tips on The Stories of A to Z.
~Thanks for stopping by!~
~Angie~
The Country Chic Cottage  

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Snowman Wreath Door Art -- with The Graphics Fairy

This week over at One Month To Win It the theme is The Graphics Fairy!  If you have not voted yet -- head on over here to vote for your favorite contestant project.  I couldn't let the week slip by without making my own graphics fairy project.  I have been infatuated with BIG door art ever since my JOY Christmas Door.  I wanted something equally as BIG for winter.  So I took a little pinterest inspiration and came up with this snowman wreath...

I started with a very rustic vision of what I wanted.  More true to the original.  However, the kids had other ideas.  They took one look at my rustic version in progress and gave it a big veto.  So I went whimsical.  The kids love it!  The wreaths came from the dollar tree and I spray painted them white.  I then cut white felt to the size of the wreaths...

I used the tulip shimmer iron on sheets for a very easy snowman face and buttons.  So very easy.  Just cut out your shapes, peel, and iron.  You can't mess them up.  Yes the nose is really red....but you won't tell will ya?? 

I then used these snowflake images from the graphics fairy.  I just printed them on white paper and cut them out.  The snowman got a pretty hat from the basket of winter hats in the mudroom.

The scarf is just a few pieces out of an old sweater that I glued on.  The "arms" are broken pieces from a dollar tree snowflake that I painted blue.

Total cost for my front door -- $4 -- three dollar tree wreaths plus one dollar tree snowflake.  All other items I had on hand.  You gotta love that!

Posted at Show and Tell on Blue Cricket Design.

Posted at Whatever Goes Wednesday on Someday Crafts.
Posted at What I Whipped Up Wednesday on Sugar and Dots.
Posted at Good Life Wednesdays on A Beach Cottage.
Posted at the party on Organize and Decorate Everything. 
Posted at DIY Under $5 on A Little Tipsy.

~Thanks for stopping by!~

~Angie~
The Country Chic Cottage

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"Gingerbread" Houses the EASY way!

I posted about our gingerbread houses last year.  But we repeated the annual tradition and I thought I would share it again.  Absolutely the easiest way to make a "gingerbread" house.  Full instructions can be found here.  The basics are -- use melted sugar to glue together graham crackers in whatever shape your kids can imagine.  Then let them go wild with icing and candy til your kitchen is a mess!  But it is tons of fun and will soon become an annual tradition for you as well.  Don't worry there is still time!  We made ours in a few hours...

Ice cream cones covered in green icing become trees...my "icing" is just powdered sugar mixed with water.  I don't get fancy.

Every house gets a powdered sugar snow before being put out on display.

This year there were some fairly elaborate designs...plus lots of laughs...

Yep I even made a few myself...

So break out the graham crackers and whatever you can find in the cabinets!  Spend an hour or two making a mess with the kids!  It is what the holidays are for!

 Posted at Get Your Craft On on Today's Creative Blog.

Posted at Take a Look Tuesday on Sugar Bee Craft Edition.

Posted at Tip Me Tuesday on Tip Junkie.

Posted at Tutorials and Tips on The Stories of A to Z.
~Thanks for stopping by!~
~Angie~
The Country Chic Cottage  

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Cork Christmas Ornaments -- Crafting with Kids

Every year I make some type of ornament with my kids.  This year I went with some cork!  A touch of rustic with a little whimsey added by the kids....

Cork??  Yes cork!  I found these cork strips at the dollar store for $1.  One pack made a whole pile of ornaments.

Did my kids paint those??  Why yes they did!  The secret....teach them to paint perfect dots with the WRONG end of the paintbrush.  Yep dip your paint brush end right in the paint and dot til your heart is content!

I used a pair of scissors and cut the cork into shapes.  The kiddos went dot wild.  After they dried I pokes a hole with a small screwdriver and added some twine.  Yep this is one $1 pack of cork...

We even made a set of mittens!

Red and green polka dot perfection!  We had an entire pile of ornaments in 20 minutes.  Kid's crafts need to quick!

The cork is backed in a foam material.  It cut fairly easily.  I would not let the kids cut it though.  And don't use your best scissors.

We added them to our stair railing.  Stay tuned as later this week I will have a full Christmas tour.  Any kid's crafting happening at your house?

 Posted at Get Your Craft On on Today's Creative Blog.

Posted at Take a Look Tuesday on Sugar Bee Craft Edition.

Posted at Tip Me Tuesday on Tip Junkie.

Posted at Tutorials and Tips on The Stories of A to Z.
~Thanks for stopping by!~
~Angie~
The Country Chic Cottage  

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Bonfire Football Party #hometailgate @aptguide

Remember when I did my post on planning my home tailgate bonfire?  Well with all of the homemade gifts, etc this month, I never got around to updating y'all.  We had a fabulous time!  I thought I would give y'all a peek into the party.  We started with a bonfire with hot dogs, hot chocolate, and smores.  Here I am having a great time -- and yes that is proper attire for a bonfire in November.  :)

We had the neighborhood over to visit, eat, and watch a little football.  Once the game started, we had even more food and fun in the house.  I snapped a few pics as I was setting up the food...

 I bought a tan tablecloth.  Then hunted down this vintage goodness at an antique store.  You know I had to do a touch of vintage for the party...

I just used small pumpkins and gourds for decor... 

One of my fave things was what I did on the eating tables.  I spread out brown kraft paper with a paper garland down the center.  A few faux pumpkins and gourds for the centerpiece.  Then I laid out tons of markers... 

The perfect activity for the kids that were not at all interested in the football game... 

It kept them occupied plus I got to look at the fabulous artwork... 

Plus of couse the kids got into the football theme also...free decor for our party! 

I hosted this party with the help of the Apartment Guide.  Yes you can use the Apartment Guide to find an apartment but you can also use their resources to get decor and entertaining ideas.  Stay updated by following Apartment Guide on twitter and facebook.   

Many thanks to the Apartment Guide for sponsoring this post and helping me to throw my home tailgate bash!
Linking up my kid's tablescape to Centsational Girl.

~Thanks for stopping by!~

~Angie~ 

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Styrofoam Spiders -- Kids Craft

Before we get to the spiders -- go vote for your favorite Krylon project over at One Month to Win It -- Season 6 projects are up for voting!
Do your kids ever want to craft?  My kids ask frequently to make things.  So last Saturday my daughter said "I want to paint something".  I told her to look through my craft supplies.  She asked if she could paint Styrofoam balls.  Um...sure.  I totally did not know what the final results would be.  But I must say....cuteness was the final result....Styrofoam Spiders...

They were so darn cute I had to take some pics and share em with y'all!  Plus a few tips too!  My first tip has to do with Styrofoam.  Did you know that genuine Styrofoam foam is rough to the touch?  If it is smooth like a foam cup...well it is not officially Styrofoam!  Who knew right??  There are all sorts of imitators out there! 

My next tip is on painting Styrofoam balls.  Take a skewer and put it in your ball.  The stick the skewer into anything.  I had some old packaging material laying around so I used it.  This keeps your ball steady and lets it dry evenly. 

Our spiders have pipe cleaner legs.  Some just regular pipe cleaners and some fuzzy ones.

The bug eyed ones (so cute!!) are just glass gems with a dot painted on the back.  Looks like they have big coke bottle glasses!

On others, my daughter used a smaller Styrofoam ball for the head and painted on a face...

I should have taken pics, but I dug up a smooth looking foam ball out of my Christmas supplies.  I tried painting it and IT LOOKED AWFUL!  Seriously for these type of projects look for the Styrofoam brand.  It will paint better, look better, and save you some headaches!

See how great the color is on these spiders!  All with one coat and genuine Styrofoam brand foam...

 

Styrofoam brand foam can be found at Walmart, Michaels, Jo-Ann Stores, Hobby Lobby and A.C. Moore.  Styrofoam is a sponsor of One Month To Win It (of which I am affiliate) however all opinions and ideas are my own.

I hope you enjoyed our spiders!  And maybe make some of your own!

Posted at Show and Tell on Blue Cricket Design.

Posted at Whatever Goes Wednesday on Someday Crafts.
Posted at What I Whipped Up Wednesday on Sugar and Dots.
Posted at Good Life Wednesdays on A Beach Cottage.
Posted at the party on Organize and Decorate Everything. 
Posted at DIY Under $5 on A Little Tipsy.
~Thanks for stopping by!~

~Angie~
The Country Chic Cottage

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How to Make a Jack Sparrow Costume and a COSTUME CONTEST!

Time to show off my little Jack Sparrow!  Plus I am entering a costume contest and you can enter too!  Are you ready to make your own Jack Sparrow costume??

We will get to all the costume details in a second.  First though I am entering this one into a great costume contest and thought y'all might want to join me!

PennySaverUSA and Mogasa are having a Costume Bash for Cash!  Submit a photo of your kid's halloween costume or YOUR halloween costume for a chance to win up to $300!!  Yes this one is definitely worth entering!

Contest details: 

Enter a contest photo of you or your kiddo all dressed up for Halloween anytime between now and November 1st, 2011 at PennySaverUSA.com. They pick the top three photos and host them on PennySaverUSA’s blog for voting between November 2nd-4th. The photo with the most votes in each category wins $250.  Or bonus...if you sign up for Mogasa you will win $300!  For full contest details, please visit: PennySaverUSA. 

Rules: Contest is open to anyone in the contiguous US. Must be 18 or older to participate. No entry fee or purchase necessary to participate. Can only enter one photo in either the Ghastly Grownup or Little Monster category.

Now let's talk about my entry!  Jack Sparrow is pretty simple to make and I personnally think it is adorable!  My little man thinks he is a super scary pirate though so don't ruin it for him...  :) 

I took a black witch's wig.  Cut it off to be about shoulder length.  Then I added on some beads, etc for authentic Jack Sparrow hair.... 

His mustache and goatee are just Halloween facepaint.  Easy to apply and remove... 

He got the pirate necklace for his birthday this year.  It was the only thing he wanted.  :)  I dug out two old belts that came from who knows where.  I added a hole for his small waist.  There is also a black sash in there.  I just took a long strip of fabric that I ripped off of a remnant in the closet.  The sword he has had forever but you can certainly find one at a dollar store...

The pants came from goodwill and so did the boots.  I looked for over a month and finally found the perfect pair of boots!  The key to a great budget Halloween costume is deciding waaaay in advance what your kids are going to be.  That way you have time to look for budget options at goodwill, thrift stores, or garage sales.  (Hint the Mogasa app will help you find garage sales in your area.)

I took a woman's red shirt from the goodwill and cut it into a vest.  I then used the arm fabric to make a bandana to go around his head.  The white shirt is just a button down shirt.  I actually got that one at goodwill as well but you may already have that in the closet...

Budget total -- $12.97!!  Any Jack Sparrow costume I looked at that even came close to looking like this was over $50. 

My little Jack Sparrow is ready to go trick or treating next week!

We had to get down in the creek at the house to get all of these pics.  Little man insisted that pictures with cows in the background were not good enough for Jack Sparrow.  :)

Do you have your kids (or your) Halloween costumes complete?  Are you going to enter them into the PennySaverUSA costume contest??  Ah...come on...come over and join me and Jack...

Mogasa paid for a link to the costume contest.  However, all opinions are mine.  And I will truely be entering -- I think it is a great opportunity!

Posted at Get Your Craft On on Today's Creative Blog.

Posted at Take a Look Tuesday on Sugar Bee Craft Edition.

Posted at Tip Me Tuesday on Tip Junkie.

Linking to Tackle it Tuesday on 5 Minutes for Mom.
Posted at Craft of the Week on All Thingz Related.
Posted at Tutorials and Tips on The Stories of A to Z.
Linking up with 5 Minutes for Mom.
~Thanks for stopping by!~
~Angie~

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