Making the Holidays Bright!

I am so excited to join my Etsy Dallas friends at NorthPark Mall this Saturday. We will be demonstrating some fun modern crafts that kids can make. And what's even better? This craftastic event will benefit the Dallas Public Libraries! If you are in the area, I hope you will stop by and make something with us!

Bookmarks Library

NorthPark Center

December 15th

2-3pm

Get more info here.

Yup, that's my girl with the crafty skills!

Can you believe what my girl has made now? She made this adorable felt coffee cup plushie (with a little help from Mommy and one Super Cute DIY craft book). Don't you just love that kawaii cute smile?

image via M&S

Check out Super Cute if you are looking for some fun, easy projects that really are super cute! I believe she found this in the kids' section at Half-Price Books about three weeks ago, and in three weeks time she has made a total of 6 awesome projects. This just might be the best kids' craft book ever!

How to Make a Stitched Handwriting Practice Dry Erase Board

This dry erase board is easy and inexpensive to make. It is a fun way to help learners both see and feel the writing lines as they are learning to write. It can be used for print and cursive.

Supplies Needed:

Heavy Weight Sheet Protectors

Colored Cardstock Paper

Printer

Sewing Machine

Thread

Dry Erase Markers

Step 1:

Download this PDF file, and print it on 2 sheets of colored cardstock paper.

Step 2,

Put the two pages backsides together. Straight stitch with large stitches onto the paper. I used size 4 stitches. Just follow the printed lines.

Step 3.

Insert the sewn cardstock paper into the sheet protector.

Your Handwriting Practice Board is ready to begin writing!

Make Your Own Candy Cake

Oh, how my kids LOVE candy! To them, nothing's better than a cake made entirely out of candy. Lots and lots of candy.

A good friend of mine has been paying big bucks for these, and they are always the hit of the party. My kids and I decided to figure out how to make these ourselves. They are so simple and lots of fun!

Here's how you can make one too.

You will need:

1 5 inch Florist Foam Circle

2 Layer Cake Pans (I used 8 inch and 10 inch circle pans)

14 inch Cardboard Cake Circle

Hot Glue Gun

Hot Glue Sticks

E 6000 Adhesive Glue

Several Large Bags of Individually Wrapped Candies

Step 1:

Run a bead of E6000 glue along the upper rim of the largest cake pan. Glue it to the cardboard cake circle. Do this on the smaller cake pan also, and stack them.

Step 2:

Use the E6000 to glue the Floral Foam to the top. This will be your base for your candy. Let this dry for about 30 minutes.

Step 3:

Hot glue pieces of candy to the cake pans and foam.

See, how easy is that!

I have seen these made with a styrofoam base, but we all know how bad that is for the environment, and it sometimes tears when the kids pull the candy off. So I decided to use real cake pans so that we could use the base over and over again. We did use florist foam for the top layer so that we could stick lollipops or candles on the top. You could also use boxes for your base depending upon the shape that you want.

Hope you enjoy making your own candy cake.

Recycled Mailer Tutorial

Most Regal Cottage items are mailed in handmade recycled mailers. We love to share our secrets, so here's how it's done.

To get started, you will need:

Empty Cracker or Cereal Box

Pinking Shears

Mailing Labels

Thread

Sewing Machine

Rubber Stamps

Ink Pad

Packing Tape

Step 1:

Cut the front and back off of your empty box with the pinking shears. Be sure to leave the end flaps until the next step.

Step 2:

Choose one end flap to be the closing end of your mailer. Cut the other three end flaps off.

Step 3:

Place printed sides together and zig-zag stitch around edges leaving the flap end open.

Step 4:

Place your mailing labels and decorate with rubber stamps for that special handmade touch. Use packing tape to close the end flap securely.

ScribblingClub on Etsy makes wonderful custom rubber stamps. She will make them for you with your own graphics (http://Scribblingclub.etsy.com). I also use the stamp that she made for me for my hangtags (also from recycled boxes).

I make it a habit to flatten and save all of our cereal boxes, cracker boxes, etc. so when I am in the mood, I can make a ton of these.

See, it's so easy being GREEN! I hope you have a Happy Earth Day everyday!