arts & crafts

Avery & Austin – NaBloPoMo

Posted on November 2, 2015 Written by Tonya

I just earned my first paycheck in over seven years!

Well, I guess that’s not entirely true. I’ve had several freelance writing gigs over the years and treasured each one. I love getting paid to write and research.

But this? This is different.

This feels like a whole new world of opportunity for me and it’s exciting every day!

For the last month, I have been the Social Media Manager for a company that I have grown to adore, a company I would sing the praises of even before I started working for, a company who is run by two of the smartest, most creative and busiest women and mothers I know, Nichole and Cam.

The company is Avery and Austin.

If you haven’t heard of Avery and Austin and you have children, you must check it out!

Avery and Austin is a monthly playdate subscription box company. Each of their carefully themed and adorably curated boxes come with two complete craft kits and snacks (nut and GMO free) for two children plus a special host gift.

Fly – Box #1

I’ve been a subscriber since they started in early 2015 and in a world now filled with subscription boxes, they stand out because of their enthusiastic attention to detail and the fact that everything you need to host the perfect playdate (even if it’s just you and your child) is included in the box each month. My son, Lucas, who is not so keen on arts and crafts loves getting his Avery and Austin box each month!

Rock Your Garden – Box #2

Together, we have painted, planted, glued, colored, built, and ended up making greeting cards and gifts for family and friends, homes and food for birds, bath bombs, a lemonade stand, a rock garden, home decor, door hangers, etc. etc.

In other words, we’ve created, played and used our imaginations in the best ways possible. What more could a mother or child ask for?

We’ve had fun and because I’m not a crafty person myself, these boxes are a lifesaver!

Just because I work for the company, I’m not privy to what the next box holds so I wait with as much anticipation as Lucas.

Get Cool & Clean – Box #7

I urge you to look into this amazing company and consider becoming a subscriber, especially with the holidays fast approaching. These boxes are a great way to spend some quality time with your child amidst the craziness that comes along with the season. They are also a good way for your children to connect with out of town guests, like grandparents or cousins.

Fall Harvest – Box #8

I’m thrilled to be working for Avery and Austin and getting paid to do it is just the icing on the cake.

7 Years & Counting… A Great Gift Idea

Posted on August 4, 2014 Written by Tonya

Seven years ago today I married my husband in a small ceremony in our backyard.

It has been the highest of highs (creating two amazing children, buying and making homes together and starting a business topping the list) and lowest of lows (losing my parents and struggling with secondary infertility topping the list).

Traditional or modern.

That was the question.

Well before our first anniversary, my husband and I decided that we would follow the traditional list of gifts for each of our anniversaries.

You know the gift list that was probably created by those geniuses at Hallmark…. paper for year 1, cotton for year 2, leather for year 3. Click here if you are unfamiliar.

Come to find out, thanks to Wikipedia, the origins of the current gift conventions date to 1937. Before that, only the 1st, 5th, 10th, 15th, 20th, 25th, 50th, and 75th anniversaries had an associated gift. In 1937, the Jewelers of America introduced an expanded list of gifts. The revamped list gave a gift for each year up to the 25th, and then for every fifth anniversary after that. You know Hallmark took this list to heart and ran with it!

Traditional anniversary gifts come from the list that was started in the middle ages in Germany with husbands giving garlands of silver and gold to their wives on their 25 and 50 years of marriage. – See more at: http://www.anniversary-gifts-by-year.com/traditional-anniversary-gifts.html#sthash.5xgs5LAF.dpu

So, what’s the seventh year traditional gift? Wool and/or copper. Basically a sweater, however, I did have fun with the copper part after I hit up Twitter for ideas! My husband is the worst person on the planet to shop for, so thank you to @christinA.

First I came up with seven significant years to us, scoured our piggy banks to find pennies minted in those years and used super glue to affix them to a piece of paper in the shape of a 7. I included a brief explanation of the years in chronological order beneath the 7, found an inexpensive frame at Aaron Brothers and voilà!

A Delightful Find

Posted on April 16, 2014 Written by Tonya

My mother was an elementary school teacher which is probably why she was so crafty, but not just crafty, she was creative. Although long before she was a teacher she made things.

She could wrap the most beautiful and unique looking presents with ribbons and bows and freehand draw anything.

I recall a spider ornament made out of pipe cleaners that she designed and mass produced for several school Christmas bazaars. I never got the spider/Christmas connection, but it was a huge hit.

When I was little, my mom handmade a lot of my clothes, all of my Halloween costumes and before you ask, yes, there were several mother/daughter ensembles. She made clothes for my dolls and even Barbies. I can’t even imagine sewing anything that tiny. I would spend hours in fabric stores with her looking through giant books of sewing patterns and fingering cloth for weight, texture and durability. Thirty years ago, patterns were $1.25 or less so I’m sure what was an enjoyable hobby was also a cost effective way to clothe her family.

I remember being fascinated by her sewing basket. It was filled with straight pins, scissors, the regular kind in various sizes and pinking shears, which I loved but was forbidden to touch. There were also needle packets, measuring tape, chalk, seam rippers, thimbles, buttons and spools and spools of colorful thread.

Does anyone sew anymore? Like with a needle and thread or a sewing machine? My grandmother had an entire room in her house devoted to sewing, crocheting, etc. I can barely replace a button and if I craft with Lucas, I have to follow directions provided by someone else. Apparently, I did not inherit the crafty gene and I do not own a sewing box.

My mother also dappled in ceramics, or rather used a mold and painted mugs, (see my past post Ceramic Mugs) knick knacks and because she loved decorating her home like her classroom, holiday items; including these decorative Easter eggs I found in my Easter stash.

I had forgotten all about them.

The eggs are rudimentary but whimsical and fun and I’m thrilled to have them.

Finding items like these amidst my own, items that were once my mothers, especially things that she made make me maudlin and miss her terribly.

Too Cute Halloween Peep S’mores

Posted on October 30, 2013 Written by Tonya

Lucas came home from preschool last year on Halloween with a treat bag full of goodies from his classmates. I felt like a total heel because we didn’t send any treats (I didn’t know!!), so this year I wanted to make sure we/I did. I am the least crafty person I know so I’m constantly ~~stealing~~ borrowing other people’s ideas. I wanted to do something different than just sending a bag of standard fun-size candy.

Low and behold… While waiting for a doctor’s appointment yesterday (nothing like procrastination!), I was going through my Instagram feed and found the cutest and more importantly easiest idea posted by Mamainlalaland.

A quick trip to Michael’s and the grocery store and an assembly line was set up! The result is too cute…

We put together 30 bags in less than an hour, so there is still time to make these for your favorite ghouls and boys!

Directions for Halloween Peep S’mores:

1 graham cracker (broken in half)
2 mini Hershey bars
1 ghost Peep (they make pumpkin Peeps too if you want to mix it up)
Place in treat bag
Tie (I used orange and black raffia and a Halloween tag I found a free printable for at Anders Ruff Custom Designs. You can download it here.

Directions for making the s’mores (in case anyone asks):

Place an unwrapped chocolate bar on top of a graham square. Top with ghost peep and second graham square. Microwave 10-15 second and enjoy!

I am so thankful for creative people who inspire me. Happy Halloween!

As Seen On Pinterest

Posted on September 24, 2012 Written by Tonya

Let me first preface this post by saying I am not the craftiest mom on the block and I have burned rice at least TWICE, but I can ~~usually~~ follow instructions.

Pinterest, while it may be somewhat of an obsession for me, (I have pinned over 5000 things) it mostly makes me feel inadequate about my life, my body, my homemaking skills and my craft quota.

I daydream of being that wife and mother that presents her family with four course homemade meals daily, decorates to the nines for each and every holiday, (or and day that end in -y) travels to far-off exotic destinations, always looking stylish and chic while doing any of the above, hand makes everything and knows how to decoupage, macrame and fishtail braid.

Every once in a while, however, I come across an idea I fool myself into believing I can pull off.

Pinterest is a great place for inspiration but the the outcome rarely resembles the picture, at least in my case. But at least I try…

Here are three of my latest attempts that are worthy of sharing!

The Pin – Book Cover Art Work

Click on image for source and how-to.

The Project

I’m pretty happy with the way this project turned out and actually like it better than the pin. Lucas was very excited about it too, although you wouldn’t know it by his expression. O_o

SIDE NOTE #1: I was a little disappointed that I e-mailed the original crafter for some help and have yet to hear back.

SIDE NOTE #2: 3M Super 77 multi-purpose adhesive is super nasty sticky stuff! If attempting this project, wear gloves at all times. Just saying.

The Pin – Photo Ideas For Boys

Click on image for source.

The Project

Lucas is crazy about cars and was really into this shoot, especially the set-up.

The Pin – Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bread

Click on image for source and recipe.

The Project

A complete and utter fail!

Photos of food always look better than the real thing, so please refrain from licking the screen.

Ack!

This was a complete disaster, AKA #PinterestFAIL.

After cooling for over an hour, I shook the loaf out of the pan and it fell into itself. Maybe I used too much pumpkin puree, my other ingredients were old, or I missed a step but clearly this did not turn out the way it was suppose to.

For more Pinterest projects that I have tried, visit my board, aptly titled Pinterest Projects I Have Tried. Clever, no?

Have you made any Pinterest projects come to life lately? How many have gone awry?

Click on image for source.

Linking up with Mama Kat’s Writer’s Workshop. Prompt #4 Choose an item you recently pinned on Pinterest and…TRY IT! Was it a success or failure?

She’s Crafty

Posted on October 11, 2011 Written by Tonya

What does the writer do when she can’t write? She gets crafty!

Expect that I am not crafty in the least bit, which is rather embarrassing to admit as the daughter of an elementary school teacher. Growing up our living room was always riddled with colored construction paper clippings, we saved toilet paper rolls for God’s knows what and I got roped into tracing letters for bulletin board displays all the time.

And yet, for no apparent reason, I found myself in Michael’s arts and crafts store today, where I spent the better part of an hour walking up and down the aisles filling an entire shopping cart. I bought all kinds of stuff I never thought would enter my home…. pipe cleaners, glitter glue and googly eyes.

I have been feeling like I should be doing more arts and crafts projects with Lucas at home and with the holidays approaching and my severe addiction to Pinterest, I have been running across so many cute ideas.

There are literally hundreds of things I’d like to try, but today we stuck with this simple little gem:

Okay, to be fair, I made it and Lucas made this (he’s only two, people), but he thoroughly enjoyed sampling the candy corn!

To make candy corn collage, you will need:

Card stock paper
Glue
White, orange and yellow tissue paper

Instructions:

Draw a large triangle on card stock and divide into three parts (use an actual piece of candy corn for inspiration).
Rip tissue paper into 1/2″ x 1/2″ square pieces and use eraser side of pencil to glue to triangle making the stripes of the candy corn.

We are turning our candy corn collages into greeting cards. Fun and easy, just not quite easy enough for two year olds.

For more candy corn craft ideas, visit Pinterest.

Avery & Austin – NaBloPoMo

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