Happy Halloween!

~ Happy Halloween ~

Hope you all have a fun and safe day!



Share Your Shop Link Up

So as you may or may not know....I just opened my first

online shop!!

And, well...I'm pretty excited that I did. I went with Bigcartel for the simple reason that when you keep it small it's free.....as in free, free. I wanted to test the waters and see if anyone would actually want to buy something that I have made and I thought this was the best way to start out.

I wanted to get it going before Christmas because I love the idea of giving handmade gifts for Christmas. And I love seeing all the creative, God given talents that other's have in making handmade items and want to share that with my family and friends this year too!

This fun world of crafty blogging just blows me away and I love idea of buying gifts from my blogging friends to share with my family this Christmas

So share your shop and link up! And, be sure to take a look around at the other shops too! We are all in this together, right?

I can't wait to start shopping!

I Finally got the Courage.....

So, as I sit here typing out this post, my daughter is watching The Wizard of Oz. Just before she starting watching her all time favorite movie she took the time to give her momma a big high five....and the reason for that is.....

I finally found the courage.....

source

Courage, in this case, means putting myself out there....
and, I'll be honest, it's a little scary.

But I finally put my fear aside and opened my own little shop to sell some of the creations that put a smile on my face every time I make them.

And that's really what it's all about, right? Creating and being creative for the pure joy of it. I have found in life that if you pay close enough attention you will notice the times when you are most joyful and that, my friends, is what you should do...or what you should be "when you grow up".
The times when I find the most joy are when I am spending time with my beautiful family and when I am being creative. I am so happy I have found a way to find balance in both.

I hope you will like the things that give me a little joy too.....















So...I hope you'll stop by my little shop and enjoy the grand opening prices because after all....if you are reading this, you are part of the reason I found my courage



She's my Sister....and I Love Her.....

I have always known how blessed I am to have a sister like mine. She's such an encouragement in my life. She sort of thinks everything I do is great...even if I think it's a fail.

Awww...aren't we cute?? I know you're jealous of my awesome sweater too, right?

My sister and her family recently made a decision that she would be a stay at home momma to her beautiful kids....this was a big deal in her life because since she was old enough to work she has. And...she has worked harder than anyone I know. She still works harder than anyone I know, she just doesn't get a paycheck for it now. I know this has been an adjustment for their family and to help out she has started a home business as an Avon rep.

I am just so proud of her for so many reasons and because she has always been my biggest cheerleader, I want to cheer for her now.

I hope you can take a little time to check out her
 online shop
...and  until Midnight 10/21 (that's today!!) you can get free shipping on orders $10 and up! Just use the code FREEFALL

And...did you know that Avon now has the cutest line of baby products too?? You know I love this stuff! I love it all waaaay to much :)

Cool stuff, huh?
 And if you have decided to make an order today and support her, I want to say a huge
THANK YOU
on her behalf....I know how much she appreciates it!

Thanks for taking some time to get to know my sister a little bit.....she's the BEST!
She makes me smile...and when it comes down to it, we all need someone that makes us smile :)

Dollar Section Crafts......Bottle Top Stamp

Last night I remembered that I still had a few thank you notes to send out for gifts that we got for our little guy and guess what....I was out of thank you notes.
These days, it really isn't as easy to run out to a store and pick up anything...it has to be planned and well, I am not a great planner but I am pretty creative! So...I went to my craft closet (which is currently in the works for a makeover) and saw that I had just what I needed to make a pretty cute little card.

Our local Wal-Mart has a fun little $1 section full of stamps, blank cards and embellishments.... I like to keep things like this on hand for moments just like this.

Here's what I used to make my cards

I saw the bottle cap stamp idea on Pinterest and it was one of those moments like, "why didn't I think of this??"

Anyway...here's what you do to make one....are you ready.....it's going to blow your mind...

put.the.sticker.on.the.cap

I told you it was going to blow your mind!

Once you have spent seconds laboring to make your stamp...you are ready to start stamping.....

For another fun and super easy stamp, use the end of an eraser...I really love the way this one turned out too

Handmade cards are the best.....well, that's what my momma has always told me :)

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An Un-giveaway for the Cure......

When my friend Amy from One Artsy Mama let me know about a wonderful idea she had to do an "un-giveaway" to help support the fight against breast cancer I was so excited to help her share and get the word out!

 She and a few other awesome bloggers are hosting a silent auction with all proceeds going to the Susan G. Komen Foundation. I hope you will take some time to check out these amazing treasures up for auction! Here are just a few of them...be sure to stop by One Artsy Mama to see all them!!  Nicole at Threes4Me  Erin at Momma StJ Says  Kim at Craftaphile:    And these are just a few....I am so proud of you ladies for stepping up in such a great way!! 

  

Recycled Newspaper Pumpkins....

The family and I had a little weekend adventure to our local pumpkin patch this past Saturday....we all had so much fun! Hayrides, train rides, donkey rides (yes, you read that right) slides, corn mazes, ice cream, popcorn and pumpkin picking...... what a great day it was!

 I would love to share pictures of our fun day but guess what???

(we forgot to pack the camera....at least all of our children were accounted for, right?)

So instead of pumpkin patch pictures how about painted pumpkins made from recycled newspaper

Pin It

Here's what you will need:

newspaper

glue

acrylic paint

Mod Podge

Start by shredding newspaper into small pieces. You can use a paper shredder or, if you have a couple of helpers like I have, you can have them tear it into small pieces for you :) Put all the paper pieces into a large stock pot

Next, cover the newspaper with enough boiling water just to cover. Let it sit for about an hour and stir to help break it down

Once your newspaper has turned to mush (very technical, huh?) drain off the water. Add glue to the paper until it starts to stick together

Now, you can start shaping...squeeze off any remaining water as you shape until you get something that looks like this....

You will need to let your little creation dry for a few days....I am very impatient so this was the hardest part of the project for me!

When they are all dry you can paint them up using acrylic paint. I used Mod Podge after the paint was dry to seal them and give them a glossy look

Despite being worried that they would turn out to look like giant spit balls, I love them!

What would you sculpt with recycled newspaper? I would love to hear what you think because I'll be trying this little project again for sure!

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200 Followers Giveaway Winner is............

Happy, Happy Saturday! It's time for me to announce the winner of the 200 Followers Giveaway!

Using the trusty site.. Random.org ,

the lucky winner is comment #12

Nancy from Nancy's Tidbits!

Congrats to you Nancy...I'll be in touch soon!

Thank you so much to everyone that entered! I wish I could choose every SINGLE one of you...that's how special you all are to me :)

I hope you all have a great weekend....we are headed off to the Pumpkin Patch....see you soon!

 

One for the Big Kids...Homemade Slime!

Lately...this momma has been getting a little lost in baby land. It's hard to get anything done when I have such a sweet little bundle to look after....but, I do have two other kiddos. And they need their momma too. They need to know that I'm still fun and love them to pieces too. So....what's a mom to do??  I decided to find a creative project that would give them my undivided attention....and something to make me look like a pretty cool mom in the process...

When I found this fun idea from Margo at Joyful Homemaking, I knew I had to try it out with the kids....my big kids that it :) I love being creative with my kids and this project seemed like just the right thing to let us all have some fun together!

Yep...that's my mini-me and nothing grosses her out!

So we followed Margo's directions and here's what we did:

We used:

1 Cup of Elmer's glue

4 tsp of Borax

green food coloring

You need two bowls to make this slimey concoction. In the first bowl combine 3/4 cup warm water, glue and food coloring. Stir until combined

In the second bowl mix 1 1/3 cup warm water and Borax. Stir until Borax is dissolved.

Now time for some fun....let your kiddos pour the glue mixture into the bowl with the Borax. No stirring needed....it should turn to slime immediately!

Lift out the gooey mass and let it drain and then you are ready to play!

Have fun moms.....and just a little note.....if you find yourself needing to leave the room while your kids are playing with this, please tell them the following:

Slime is not to go on your brother's/sister's head

Slime should not be made into a dress for your Barbie

Slime should not find it's way off of the table and onto the living room rug

Slime should not be used to make obscene things coming from your nose

So....with that said, have fun...LOL!



Free Fall Printable.....

First up...I wanted to remind you all about the GIVEAWAY that ends on 10/15....you could win a pretty necklace made by me!! ======>>

Now...onto the next topic.....

We all love Fall, right?

There are so many things to love about it, I decided to put it to words and make a fun printable.

This was the first time I tried this out, it was easier than I thought it would be and a lot of fun too...

I used Picnik to make it and here is what I did......

1. Upload a picture....any picture at all because in the end you won't see it

2. Using the "stickers" tab, cover your picture with a rectangle....color of your choice. For this one, I did two rectangles and layered them over my orginal pic

3. Use the "text" tab to start adding your words. I used different styles of text and different colors...then all you have to do is click and drag them where you want them.

That was all there was to it....

 You are welcome to right click on this printable and use it how ever you like,

I only ask that you be a Creative Carmella follower and link back if you post about it :)

Happy Fall!

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Guest Blogger....Literally Inspired

Today's guest blogger is my friend Ginger from Literally Inspired. She is so wonderfully talented and I am so happy she took some time to share a great project with all of us today! I'll be quiet now and let her do the talking...... 

congratulations carmella and family on little liam. he is the cutest little thing. i get baby fever every time i look at him! shhh.... don't tell my husband he might go all jerry maguire on me and freak out.

now that i am done gushing over liam - hello creative carmella friends! i am stoked to be over here today. my name is ginger and i blog over at literally inspired. it's my little place where i share my thoughts on books, family, life, and my attempts at crafting. i am just your average southern girl trying to navigate through motherhood and still keep a part of myself. i also just opened a little etsy shop if you wanted to take a peek.



i thought i would share with you a cute embroidery hoop project today. i put a list of possible ideas together on my blog and i decided to make a cute display for my son's artwork. he is quite the little creative at playschool.


this project was super easy to put together. most of my projects are. i figure, life is complicated enough so keep everything else simple.

you will need:
[] embroidery hoops

[] fabric

[] paint

[] e600 glue (or something similar)

[] clothes pins

[] adorable artwork

first step:

paint your embroidery hoops and clothes pins. you really only have to paint the outside hoop because the inside hoop will be covered by fabric.

second step:

cut your fabric and place inside your hoop.

third step:

pull fabric where it is very taunt and trim excess. the tighter the fabric is in the hoop the better.
fourth step:

attach clothes pins with your glue of choice. my preference is e600.

fifth and final step:

find the perfect place to hang your hoops and add your artwork.

i love having this new set-up in our home. it shows off my budding artist and he is so proud seeing his artwork up on the wall and it also helps me re-inforce everything he is learning in school.

thank you so much for having me carmella and congratulations again on your new addition!

Ginger, thank you so much for sharing this adorable way to celebrate our little artists! My kiddos are going to love this idea.....I know their momma sure does :)