Applicious Centerpiece!

I take my two oldest kids to school every morning and since my mother-in-law is their principal my two youngest kids and I stop by her office before we leave every morning to get a yummy piece of candy. On our way through the teacher's lounge to her office I stumbled upon some of the cutest centerpieces!

Look!

How adorable and how SIMPLE! She simply pinned those cute little flowers into the tops of those apples, put the apple on a candle stick, tied a bow out of tulle and then sprinkled some lemon heads at the base on top of a lime green plastic table runner.

I want to pin some flowers to the base of this pumpkin too:)

What a cute idea . . . my sister-in-laws mother, Suzette, was responsible for this stylish center piece:)

So cute! Who says you can't learn something at school?!

Happy Crafting!

xoxo, Amy

Time For A Change! And No, That is not a pillow!

First a teaser and then an explanation:

While I hope the weather will clue into to the title of my blog post, I really mean this for you my dearest 29 followers. How you make our hearts happy! Every comment puts a bounce in our step! Thank you so much for supporting out endeavors in the world of the craft blog! We are hoping that you won't terribly mind the change of name. "The Craft Bucket" was originally meant to be like my own pinterset board until I discovered pinterest. Otherwise I would have thought of a better title right off the bat. So, our new title will be

"Made From ScrAtch."

We hope to provide you with fun crafts, recipes, sewing techniques, household tips and activities that will make your day to day activities more fun!
Please share our site with your friends!

And now . . . for the Craft!
Let's make a Beautiful Soft Covered Fabric Photo Album! It is really quite an easy craft and best of all . . . no sewing!

My cousins did this for a final during their senior year of high school. . . I never had a cool final like that!

You can really adjust this to any size you would like but to make one like mine you need:

1 yard of fabric, batting, cardboard (I used my diaper box), 5 ft of ribbon, scissors, a hot glue gun and 8-10 12x12 scrapbook paper.

I cut my card board to be 12.5 inches in ht and the width was 12 in.
Then on each page of the scrapbook paper I measured off a half inch and folded that piece back and forth a few times. That will become the spine of your photo album.

Then I glued all the hot glued all the pieces of scrapbook paper together
and created the spine . . . (p.s. you can see a bar code in this picture and it didn't matter because I will be attaching that part to the cover of the book. You should make sure that no bar codes are shown on the other pages.)

There is your spine!

I measured my fabric to allow 3 inches around each edge of the cardboard. My length ended up being 31.5 inch and my ht was 19 inches.

I didn't connect the two pieces of cardboard because I wanted to allow for the spine of the album. I left about an inch of room between the two pieces.

Then I wrapped the cardboard like a present and stuffed it with a generous amount of batting.

Pay attention to your corners and fold them as nicely as you can. Most of this area will be covered with scrapbook paper, but still, you want it to look nice:)

For the back cover I laid the batting down on top of the fabric and then laid the cardboard on top of it like a sandwich. Glue the fabric around the sides remembering to leave room for the spine.

How on earth did I miss taking a picture of attaching the scrapbook paper?!

Take the pages that you glued together and place them on your photo album so you can get an idea of where you will need to hot glue the edges of your scrapbook paper to you album. Once you have it all "eyeballed" glue the scrapbook pages to the album making sure that your spine lines up in the middle of your album.

FOR THE BACK COVER: Put the hot glue on the back side of your first scrapbook page and close the album to seal the two sides together. This will ensure that your album opens and shuts properly!

I measure out five feet of satin ribbon and hot glued the back of the ribbon to the back of the album only, then I tied the bow in the front.

I am so happy with the way it turned out!

Can you imagine all of the cute fabric/ribbon/scrapbook paper combinations you could come up with! Seriously, this project is only limited to your imagination! You could even add flowers to the front.

I think this would make a great gift as well. Fill it with your favorite family photos and then give it to Grandma! Christmas is coming you know. I'm just sayin'!

Happy Crafting!

xoxo, Amy

My Not So Itty, Itty Bitty Dress

When I was pregnant with Aarilynn, I spent hours searching the internet for free patterns or ideas for baby cloths. I found a lot; but, my favorite site is Made-By-Rae. She is uber talented and has so many crafty ideas and baby patterns!!!!!! This is her picture of the Itty Bitty Dress she created and posted on her site:

I wanted to make the this dress ever since I stumble across it, but I wasn't sure how much she would weigh.
Since her sister was over 8 pounds I figured she would be too ~ and she was. Anyways, I finally got my chance to make it for a baby shower. Everyone I know was having boys, so I was super excited when I got invited to one for a girl!


I pulled the pattern out and decided to go a little bigger in case she has big babies too {I was too tired to think of that when she was born} but I went a little too big for a newborn. I guess I just had 12 months on the brain. Since it fit my baby, I had to crochet a cocoon instead ;)

So if you want a 9-12 months, then print it and add like 2 inches on the sides and bottom. Also extend the round part by about an inch. I didn't do this part because for some sleepy reason I didn't think it was going to be this big! I have been making lots of dresses and PJs for the baby, so I must have just been on automatic. Also, Rae's design doesn't call for buttons or zippers, but I added buttons on the back so I wouldn't have to fuss getting it on and off her. I still love this dress and the next chance I get to make one for a baby girl I will follow instructions lol.

If you want to find this dress in a 3T size click here.



Happy Sewing!!!

I've Been Framed- Hang Pictures With Ease- DIY

Forgive me for I have sinned, I took pictures in poor lighting. Many pictures. And I plan to post them on my blog. Forgive me, please:)
This was such a massive project! I have an EIGHT foot long wall and EIGHT years of pictures that have been sitting and waiting for something to be done with them.
Enter Ambition.
I finally decided that it was time to hang my pictures on my wall. But I didn't want to put 80 holes in the wall in order to hang 28 pictures. So, I got this idea . . .
I used butcher paper for a template.
I had to tape a massive amount of it together to make it long enough. In hind sight I wish I had used wrapping paper or something was all one piece, but hindsight is always 20/20
I spread out the paper and taped it all together . . . those cute little legs belong to my one year old:) by the way.

After I got my paper all situated and taped together (and put my two youngest to bed so that they would stop trying to run on my paper) I arranged my frames on the butcher paper the way I wanted to hang them on my wall. This took a surprising amount of time.

I decided to lay them out somewhat chronologically. I began with my hubby and I and then went to the next child and the next and so on. It became a very abbreviated story of our life.

Once I had the frames where I wanted the, I traced around every single frame with a black marker so I would remember the placement. (I also took pictures so I could refer back to my camera- 28 pictures is a lot to keep track of)

Then I hung the butcher paper on the wall using push pins, you could use painters taper.

Then I hammered a nail in to the butcher paper. Pay attention to where the hanging bracket is on the back of your frame.

Then I carefully removed the butcher paper leaving the nails in the wall

Then I hung my pictures with amazing speed! The longest part of the whole project was arranging the frames. Once I got the butcher paper up, everything was done in and hour.

I love to walk down this hall now and my kids think it is so fun to see all of the pictures too!

I hope this info can come in handy someday, eight foot wall or three foot wall, this is a great technique!

Happy Crafting!

xoxo, Amy

Booty Buns Cloth Diapers

Sooooo,
this post isn't so much about a crafty tutorial,
but more about me finding a crafty way to give charity.



I have been uber busy working on our new company, Booty Buns Cloth Diapers.
First let me say that I have been dreaming about this company for over a year and all the wonderful help that we will be able to provide because of it! I am a loss for words to describe the excitement and peace I feel surrounding this whole new endeavor!



I have been in communication with Sprouts Farmers' Market about
getting them into their stores. I just have this feeling inside that this going to change not only our family's whole world, but it will change the world and make it a better place for so many people! To find out more about us, and support us, check out the following links, then follow and share them and talk about us on your blogs, facebooks and twitters!!!


A BIG THANKS to Sherrie Green for being our first follower on all sites!! :)



BOOTYBUNSCLOTHDIAPERS


TWITTER


FACEBOOK


BLOGGER

YAY!!!!!



:) :) :)

DIY No-Sew Tutu

These tutus are so simple an quick!! You just need 2 things and a hour of time.
The materials listed will give you a infant/toddler sized tutu.
If you have an older child, just buy a couple more yards of tulle.

What You'll Need:
*5 yards of tulle
[I used the stuff that comes on the bolt since its cheaper,
but you can use the rolled stuff from wedding decor if you'd like.]
*Elastic
[Same measurement as waist]
*Small Piece Of Ribbon or Fabric
[Literally 1 inch is plenty]



First, line up the ends of the ribbon on top of the ribbon piece or fabric
and sew over the piece several times so they are secure.
I put the ribbon down first then held one end of the elastic in place,
then lowered the needle into it; next I put the other end down and
sewed over the 2 ends, then back stitched.
I did this 3 or 4 times.

I only used 1 color of tulle since I wanted a skirt that would make my baby's
crystal blue eyes pop. If you are using more than one color,
make sure it adds up to 5 yards total. Next I took the tulle and cut it
down the middle on the crease from the bolt.
Then I folded it in half several times along the 5 yards.
So the first fold you'll have 2 1/2 yards, then 1 1/4 yards,
then just over 1/2 yard then just over 1/4 yard. Basically, I kept folding until the tulle was about 4-6 inches wide.

Hold the tulle down and cut all the way through every 3-4 inches across
until you have cut all of it.

Now you should have a bunch of strips like this.

Its hard to see the tulle when its just one layer, so I'll use this ribbon to
show you how to tie the tulle to the elastic.
Fold it in half and put the fold under the elastic.

Take the ends and wrap over the elastic then pull through the fold.

Pull tight. Now repeat for every piece.

It should look like this when you're all done.

I've seen hair bands made in a similar fashion.

To make one of those, just grab some coordinating ribbon and attach in the same fashion.

DIY Corker Hair ribbons

Wanna make these cute little things??? They are so easy to do!

I actually learned how to do these fun little ribbons from my sister in law Shanni (Thanks Shannon!) These are so fun to make and the best thing is, now you can have a ribbon custom made to match your little girl's outfit . . . or better yet to get into the spirit of a holiday.

I wanted to make a black and orange corker so here we go!

You will nee gross grain ribbon, I used orange and black, dowels (Walmart craft section), wooden clothespins, aerosol hairspray and a cookie sheet. Preheat your oven to 250 degrees

Begin by wrapping your ribbon around the dowel. Secure in place with clothes pin. Wrap ribbon around until you get to the end of dowel and secure other side with clothespin as well.

Spray with hairspray . . .

Repeat until you have 5 of each color. It is okay to use different size dowels. When you are done, place on cookie sheet (mine is kinda dirty- huh. Don't worry, if I use it for food I cover it with foil first) and cook for 25 minutes on 250.

Unwrap . . .

They should look like this . . .

Cut corkers in half (this make a large corker hair clip- for smaller corkers, cut in half and then in half again) and arrange them together, making sure you alternate colors in a pleasing pattern, separate in the middle, you can use clothespins to help you . . .

Tie a ribbon of matching color (I used an orange corker) tightly in the center.

Remove clothespins and fluff. I hot glued mine onto a hair clip. You could attach yours to a clip, a headband, a hat . . . whatevers:)

You can make them any size and any color.

Fun, fun!

Now, I just have to make one more to keep sisterly peace in the family:)

Have fun! Happy Crafting!

xoxo, Amy