Cupcake Liner Turkeys {Kid Craft}

{Don't forget about my $50 Tiny Prints Giveaway! Click HERE to enter}

How about a fun little craft to do with the kiddos in anticipation of Thanksgiving?

Simply gather some of these....

Mason Jar of Cupcake Liners

... plus some construction paper, a glue stick and some markers. Oh yeah, and the kids! :)

Step by step directions:

1 - Let the kiddos choose a cupcake liner.

2 - Have them fold the liner in half.

3 - Glue liner to the construction paper. (these are your feathers/body)

4 - Take a second cupcake liner (with a light bottom), have child cut bottom circle out and glue circle to folded liner. Draw face on glued-on circle.

4 - Decorate "feathers" with markers, if desired.

5 - Admire! :)

Of course you can get fancy and embellish with real feathers or whatever else, but we really enjoyed the simplicity of our turkeys. :)

Cupcake Liner Turkeys - easy kid craft

Above you see the masterpiece created by my 4 year old. Love those turkeys! We just hung ours on display for everyone to enjoy, but they would make really cute placemats for Thanksgiving too.

What Thanksgiving crafts do you enjoy making with your little ones?

Linking up to parties here - check 'em out!

Someday Crafts
The Thrifty Home
House of Hepworths
Somewhat Simple
A Little Kinck Knack
The Frugal GIrls
While he was napping
Kitchen Fun with my 3 Sons
Simply Designing
Truly Lovely
Keeping it Simple
NIfty Thrifty Things
Under the Table and Dreaming
Krafty Kat

Tiny Prints Holiday Cards {Giveaway}

**GIVEAWAY CLOSED*

So it's that time of year again! My annual post on Holiday Cards! :)

I love getting holiday cards. I really do! Partly because I just love receiving "snail mail" that isn't junk or bills. I mean really, who doesn't love getting a REAL letter?? Isn't it such a treat?? But I also love hearing from friends and family that I just don't get a chance to see or talk to very often. Some folks send out beautiful holiday designs with lovely messages of holiday cheer. Others send the annual newsletter which allows you to catch up on what they've been doing all year. And others go the photo card route giving you a visual glimpse into their current lives. I love them all, but admit that photo cards are my holiday greeting of choice. I just love to see those old familiar faces as well always observe how all the kids have changed and grown over the past year. SO FUN!

I've been sending photo cards for over 5 years now. Last year I tried Tiny Prints for the first time and couldn't have been more pleased. The cardstock they use is so quality! Check out this fun video...

Now that is some high-class cardstock!! And the design options are plentiful. Here's what we ended up going with for 2011... It was a square, front and back design for which I used some photos from our family vacation out west to Arizona last summer.

Front

Back

Wasn't it fun?? I loved it!

So I've decided to go with Tiny Prints again this year. They've got such an amazing selection of Holiday Photo Cards that there is definitely something to please everyone! Here are just a few that pique my fancy this year...

I think that last one may take the cake! ;)  But, seriously, I don't know how I'm going to choose! I can't wait to get started!

I recommend you give them a try too. They have so many fabulous choices in a variety of price ranges that they are sure to have something that suits your tastes and your budget! And be sure to check out their Special Offers page HERE to find a good deal.

Giveaway time!!!

One lucky RACKS and Mooby reader will win $50 off their total order at Tiny Prints!!

(Note: Code expires 12/14/2012 – no extensions! Code does not include shipping and cannot be combined with any other promos)

Use the Raf­fle­copter form below to enter! (give it a few seconds to load!) Giveaway ends November 14, 2012. Winner will be contacted by email so be sure I can reach you!

*GIVEAWAY CLOSED - winner announced below! * I never heard back from the first winner, so a new one was selected - check your email!*

a Rafflecopter giveaway

You can also check out the Tiny Prints Social Channels here:

• Facebook
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• Pinterest
• Instagram: Tiny Prints
• Google +
• Blog

Disclosure: This post has been sponsored by Tiny Prints. However, all opinions are 100% my own.

Let there be light!

A little over a month ago I won a giveaway over on the awesome blog The CSI Project. My prize? The opportunity to design my very own lamp and lampshade from Lamps Plus using their very cool "Design It" feature! Woohoo!

We really were in desperate need of a new table lamp for our living room so this win was perfect timing. I played around with the different lamp bases available to me, but the real fun was in choosing a lamp shade. Talk about options! You get to choose from TONS of patterns but the really neat thing is that you can actually customize each of the colors used in that pattern. And you can even choose the trim color you want! Talk about personalization. Seriously, it was cool! And I highly recommend checking it out.

Anyway, we ended up going with a yellow shade as it is the accent color we're already using in that room. The lamp arrived within about a week of placing the order which was great. Here are a few pics of the lamp in the room.

And one final "full room" shot.

Well, I'm no interior decorator (I'm a numbers gal, remember?!), but I think it looks pretty darn nice! :)

What do you think? YAY for giveaways!! :)

How to {frugally} Dress up a Dessert Plate

I know I am a little late with this post as it relates to a craft I did for the 4th of July, but you really can use this "trick" for any occassion so I figured I would share it anyway. It's fast, super easy and cheap frugal. Just the way I like it! {TWSS} ;)




How to dress up a simple dessert plate



We went to a BBQ for the 4th of July and were asked to bring a dessert. I raided my pantry and found a box of funfetti brownie mix that I had bought on clearance after Christmas for some ridiculous price like 50 cents. The kids helped me whip the brownies up and instead of using the green, red and white "funfettis" that came with the mix (since the colors weren't exactly patriotic), we used our own mix of sprinkles from the pantry and just sprinkled them on top. YUM!

Who doesn't love some gooey brownies??

When it came time to pack them up and head out to the BBQ, I decided not to use one of my fancy glass/metal/ceramic platters so I wouldn't have to worry about cleaning it off when we left or leaving it there or whatever. So instead, I went for my dessert plate "trick" of choice which is to dress up a simple disposable plate.

First I selected a plate. I've done this before using those nice thick paper plates but didn't have any in my "stash" that day, so instead, I used a simple white stryofoam plate. Really any type of disposable plate will work for this project as long as the plate isn't too thick. You'll see why in a minute...

Next I took a hole puncher and made holes around the outer lip of the plate - about 1" apart. I just eyeballed it. (This is why you don't want the plate to be too thick or plastic or something that would be difficult to hole punch).

Then I found a piece of ribbon in my "stash" and threaded it through the holes.

Tie it off with a bow and TA-DAAA! From drab to FAB! :)

Since it looked a little too valentine-ish with all that red and white, I colored a few simple stars in the gaps with a blue Sharpie. Much better and definitely nice and patriotic. :)

Everyone thought the plate was so cute and I had no qualms about leaving it at the BBQ to be thrown away later!

What are some of your favorite ways to dress up otherwise plain items?



Linking up to these fun parties - be sure to check them out:
Someday Crafts
The Thrifty Home
The Frugal Girls