Tracy's Fun Stuff!

McKenna Layne Designs Giveaway

2010-10-11T12:00:00.001-07:00

Check out the giveaway going on over at Someday Crafts from McKenna Layne Designs. They have really cute announcements, invitations and more!
Giveaway here

Fun Bag!

2010-09-27T19:13:00.001-07:00

I absolutely LOVE this idea!
Check it out here at Positively Splendid

It looks like an easy project for me to make, and fun for my kids to play with when we are out in public to keep them quiet! I'll have to make one!

Church Quiet Book

2010-09-23T09:19:00.000-07:00

Check out this super cute (and affordable) quiet book for church!
An I Spy bag, file folder games and paper (or coloring books) and colored pencils...
great ideas :)

A Girl and A Glue Gun has a tutorial here.
I can't wait to make one for each of my girls!

Flower Headbands

2010-09-21T22:34:00.000-07:00

Check out the super cute headband for baby...

or for mom

You can check them out here at Shanty2Chic. So cute!

Milk Carton Packaging

2010-09-17T09:00:00.000-07:00

I thought this idea was so cute! Definately a new way to wrap gifts!

Check it out here at A Spoonful of Sugar

I'm Back...sort of!

2010-09-16T10:10:00.000-07:00

Things have been so crazy with me for a while now...my husband joined the Air Force and left for basic training, so I took the kids for a few months on vacation and am finally back. Also, we found out that we are expecting baby #3! And it will be our first BOY! So, while I am back to reality, it's still a crazy one. I am finally feeling a little better (5 1/2 months later!) but preparing to move to North Dakota when my husband is done with all of his training, which will be Thanksgiving as if things aren't crazy enough, and we are supposed to move before Christmas. So I am back, but may not get to actually DO much crafting, but I'll do my best. And I'll pass along any ideas I find that I like, so even if I can't do it, one of you can! Hope you all had a great summer and are enjoying the beginning of fall.

Lollipop Cookies

2010-04-17T12:03:00.000-07:00

We had a Dessert Auction Fundraiser for the Scouts at church and I wanted to make something different and fun. Then I remembered seeing these great Lollipop Cookies over at The Idea Room, so I thought that I would give it a try. Here's how they turned out...

I made mine with kebab skewers because for the auction I wrapped them in plastic wrap and tied a ribbon around them, then stuck them in floral foam surrounded by rocks in a vase. They turned out super cute! I forgot to take pictures of them so here are the ones that I had left over.

Check out how to make them here

Blue Cricket Design is doing a give away!

2010-04-07T08:13:00.000-07:00

Check out this awesome giveaway here over at Blue Cricket Design! It's from the Vintage Pearl, which is awesome! Love the look of their custom jewelry.

Easter Bunny Peeps Smores

2010-04-01T12:51:00.001-07:00

I saw this cute idea over at Sisters' Stuff that linked to instructions here. If you don't want to head over there, here's the instructions from their site.

Here's what you need:

Bunny Peeps in the color of your choice (I used all 3).

Easter colored M&M's

Brown Sugar

(Butter and Vanilla too)

Put everything in the jar and make a note to go with it with the instructions on it.

It turned out cute!

Here's my instructions that I made:

Then give it away to your friends and family (or yourself) and enjoy!

Homemade Donuts (Sort of!)

2010-03-24T08:41:00.001-07:00

So I've been MIA lately, but I wanted to share the fun we have had making donuts!
The first time I made them was for St. Patricks Day (The green ones). The girls loved them, so we've made them a few times since.
They are super easy!
All you need is some pancake mix and water and oil to cook them in.
I used Krusteaz Buttermilk Pancake mix.
I added the water, but not the amount it says. I only added enough to make it doughy. (Adding more or less water changes the texture of them when they are done, so play with it to find what you like best!) Then I dropped it by the spoonful into hot oil, and let it cook on one side, then flip it over and cook on the other side. Then add frosting (powdered sugar and milk is what I used), or cinnamon and sugar, or something else you might like. It's fun to try new ways to make them!

These are the St.Patricks Day ones. For these, I made the dough, then mixed in the food coloring, which made them swirl on the inside (which was a fun effect for the kids!). Then I dyed the powdered sugar and milk green and dipped them in.

These ones were just for fun. This time I dyed the water red before mixing the water and pancake mix, so they turned out pink. (Next time I will make them brighter though) Then when they were done, I rolled them in a mixture of cinnamon and sugar.

The kids love these, and I love how easy they are! Have fun with them and try new ways to make them.

I'm linked to Whatever goes Wednesday at Someday Crafts

Interchangeable Flip Flops

2010-03-11T22:23:00.000-08:00

Check out these interchangeable flip flops! They are awesome! I can't wait to make my own. The tutorial is here at Make It and Love It.

Cute Scriptures

2010-02-18T20:27:00.000-08:00

I saw this super cute idea for scriptures that Linda at Craftaholics Anonymous did.
Check out her tutorial here.
Here's mine.

Gummi Candy

2010-02-10T15:12:00.000-08:00

Today I made Homemade Gummi Candy!

It's Jello, Knox, and water. That's it! So easy!
I went out and bought a package of assorted candy molds (it has the alphabet, numbers, hearts, flowers, peanut butter cups, sports, food, party & 2 lollipop molds) because I realized that I didn't have any molds. The kids loved them and so did my hubby!

I tried a few recipes and here is my favorite (along with a tutorial) from Skip to my Lou.
Enjoy!

Crisscross Coasters

2010-02-08T00:00:00.000-08:00

Check out these Coasters! Lacie, at Creative Attempts, shows a tutorial on how to make these awesome looking coasters out of material...oh the possibilities!

I have some cute scraps that I may have to get out to try this!
Thanks for sharing Lacie!

Free Digital Scrapbook kits!

2010-01-26T10:17:00.000-08:00

So if you do digital scrapbooking and you love freebies to do it, you have to check out Creative Busy Hands Digital Scrapbooking! There are links to many sites that are doing freebies everyday! And they are new freebies each day. Just wanted to share because I'm so excited about it!

Game Board Storage Art

2010-01-21T22:10:00.000-08:00

Check this out! She's a genious over at Infarrantly Creative!

See how she turned these games into art, and storage here.

Valentine Jars

2010-01-19T06:00:00.000-08:00

This is so cute! I better start saving my jars! Check out the tutorial here at Trey and Lucy

She has great ideas for tons of other stuff too!
Be sure to check her out!

Homemade Valentines at Creative Itch

2010-01-18T06:00:00.000-08:00

There are some great homemade Valentine ideas over at Creative Itch!
Check them out!

candy boxes

pixie stick valentines

stick of gum valentines

Monthly Bingo Cards

2010-01-17T06:00:00.000-08:00

BINGO CARDS...
(found at the Crafting Chicks)

So I know that this is not a Valentines craft, but it would be great to make one for every month of the year so that you can get in all of the activities that you want to do in a month! I can't wait to make some!
Make a Bingo card, in each square put some activity that you want to do, and cover it with a sticker or something when you do it. Check it out here.

Heart Tree

2010-01-16T06:00:00.000-08:00

Here is a super cute Valentine decoration from Inspiring Creations.

Head over here to see more.

Finally!

2010-01-15T07:44:00.000-08:00

Now that the Holidays are over, and we are back from vacation, I can get back to crafting! (No wonder I have been grumpy! I haven't had my craft time! lol!) But until I get a chance to sit down and get started, I'll just be showing some great Valentine ideas that I find. Enjoy!

Like this:

Such a cute idea! A cute card book of reasons that you love someone. This could be a fun one!

Scrap Ribbon Giveaway

2009-12-09T20:43:00.000-08:00

3 pounds of scrap ribbon give away!
Check it out here at Lil Blue Boo

Creative Crates Giveaway

2009-11-21T10:15:00.000-08:00

I know I have been MIA for a while, but I'm back now!
The Creative Crate is hosting a super cute giveaway! Check it out here!

Magnetic Paper Dolls

2009-10-30T09:49:00.000-07:00

Check out this adorable magnetic paper doll over at Skip to my Lou

Such a cute idea! I have a Cricut, and never thought about using it on magnet sheets!

She even made a cute holder for it!

Super cute bracelets

2009-10-28T13:13:00.000-07:00

Blue Cricket Design did these adorable bracelets!
Its made out of just chunky plastic bracelets and scraps of fabric.
It's such a cute thing to do with the girls bracelets that are in their dress up box.
When they are at school, I'll have to get them out and make some of my own!

Check out how they are made here.

Make your own gift bow

2009-10-26T21:01:00.000-07:00

So my computer has been down, but now I'm back!

Someday Crafts featured this awesome bow from How About Orange, and I just had to share! It's so adorable!

Learn how to make your own here.

Treat Buckets

2009-10-16T09:00:00.000-07:00

This is such a creative use for old ice cream buckets! I love cute ways to reuse things!
The tutorial is found over at Brown Paper Packages

Cute Reversible Skirt

2009-10-15T10:21:00.000-07:00

Check out this skirt from Cupkateer! It's a reversible skirt! So cute, I can't wait to make one myself! The tutorial is here.

When I get a chance to make my own, I'll post the pictures on here too!

Candy Corn Bark

2009-10-14T09:43:00.000-07:00

Candy Corn Bark!

I saw this over at The Idea Room and thought that it was such a great idea! For the instructions, check it out here. It looks delicious! Can't wait to try it!

(She also has instructions on Peppermint Bark & Oreo Bark!)

The Start of my Halloween Decorating

2009-10-03T00:22:00.000-07:00

My Halloween Garland!
So I have been saving toilet paper rolls for a while now (I'm surprised my husband hasn't questioned it though) and have been waiting to think of a really cool project to do with them. I found one!

So I cut it in half, then covered it in orange scrapbook paper. Once it was dry, I poked a hole in each side and stuck wire through it.

Then I drew on a pumpkin face with a sharpie (none are the same!) and tied a green ribbon around the wire.

After finishing the pumpkins, I cut out ghost shapes, glued on googly eyes, and white glitter, (because who doesn't love sparkle?!) and stuck a wire through the top

Then I hung both the pumpkins and the ghosts on my garland over the fireplace (yes it's been there since Christmas, but I decorate it for each season!)

I'm also doing the Fall Festival at DIY Show Off. Check it out!

Paper Plate Pumpkins

2009-09-30T11:38:00.000-07:00

We have started making our Halloween decorations!
I love Halloween!
This is such an easy project for any age!
Just paint some paper plates, and glue on the face. (I pre-cut them for my girls)

General Conference Goodies

2009-09-29T10:25:00.000-07:00

Stephanie at Somewhat Simple made these great General Conference goody crate & I thought that this way so cute! To see the blog in it's entireity go here
Such a cute idea to give as a visiting teaching gift!
Thanks for the cute idea!

Dresser

2009-09-18T23:23:00.000-07:00

The girls wanted to paint this dresser. Bex wanted yellow & Kenz wanted pink, so we compromised.

Painting Grams Livingroom

2009-08-22T11:59:00.000-07:00

Gram wants to repaint her living/dining room with the sponge technique, so I took her to Home Depot to get paint colors. She wanted Browns and Golds.

So we started with the 2 base coats she liked and we broke it into squares so that we could experiment with the top colors she liked.

This was the first square. She didn't like how dark it is, so we kept going.

This is what the wall looked like after we tried out all of the colors she liked. (Her faves are the top right 2)
It's a lot of work, but I had lots of fun doing it...plus, she watched the kids while I did it, so I had some time to myself :)

New School Backpacks

2009-08-21T23:09:00.000-07:00

After looking at tons of backpacks (and their prices) I figured that I didn't want to spend that much money on a backpack for a kindergartener, when the chances are that it won't be used for anything very heavy for such a young girl. So, when I walked through the grocery store today and saw a cheap ($4) plain black backpack, I thought...perfect! So I bought 2. I forgot to take pictures of the before though! I decorated them in my girls favorite color ribbons.

Pink and sparkly is totally my 5 year old! So, that's what she got! Lots of pink, lots of sparkle and of course the bling!

My 2 year old is all about yellow, she's not quite as into all the sparkle, so hers is toned down. But perfect for her likes! If she wants more color or sparkle, I'll be glad to add more, but I think she'll be happy.

My Scarf

2009-08-20T12:54:00.000-07:00

Here is the scarf that I crocheted for myself. I love the fuzzy soft feel!

(It's made out of the Fun Fur yarn)

Wind Spinners

2009-08-15T00:00:00.000-07:00

We made our own wind spinners out of paper plates to show the wind outside.

We started with a plain white paper plate

Then we colored them with crayons. (We didn't use markers because in Washington the air is so damp, I didn't want the colors to run!) Color the whole plate though since it will be cut.

After the plate is colored, cut it from the outside spiraling in to the center. Leave the center big enough to punch a whole in the center.

Tie a ribbon, string or yarn through the hole in the center

Tie it up outside and wait for the wind!

Scarves

2009-08-14T21:10:00.000-07:00

I have started to teach myself to crochet. I bought myself a beginners book and some yarn and made my girls scarves. I'm currently making one for myself out of the fuzzy fur yarn. But here's the completed ones.

Noodle Neclaces

2009-07-21T22:13:00.000-07:00

As a fun project for the girls, we made noodle necklaces. I bought two kinds of noodles, one that looks like a flower and one that could be a stem.

Mix Rubbing Alcohol and Food Coloring in a Ziploc bag

Add in the noodles and mix together. Lay out to dry. (Preferably not on anything that will stain since the color takes a while to set!)
Leave the colored noodles out to dry for a few hours. (I waited overnight just to be safe)

Then let the kids string them up and tie it off. The kids love to make them, and they are so easy!
(Just beware of fingers getting stained when you use the food coloring)

Cute Bags

2009-07-20T16:29:00.000-07:00

I saw some cute scripture totes on a blog that were made out of placemats, so I thought I'd give it a shot and make my own. It was so easy that I made 2, and then made one for each of the girls out of plain fabric. I made theirs big enough to hold a coloring book to take to church. They are so adorable! I know what I'm giving girls as gifts this year!

My first one was the brown one with the striped ribbon. Yes, it's a $2 placemat and a fun thick ribbon for decoration and handles, and a big flower as a finishing touch.