Craftsy Mini Courses for Free!

The courses on Craftsy are awesome! So awesome, they've got a few FREE mini courses available.

The best part is that you're able to test them out ans become familiar with the courses available on the website.

 

The next 2 Craftsy mini-courses I'm going to take are:

 

1. Sewing Machine 911: Give your sewing machine some TLC with the help of this free course. Learn to clean and maintain your sewing machine with tips and tricks taught in this class.

Although I already know how to sew, I believe this class would be a great refresher and I might even learn a few tips.

2. The Hand-Painted Cake: Elevate your cake with Erin Schaefgen's freehand painting techniques. Create beautiful and edible works of art with Erin's tips and tricks.

Check out all of the other free Craftsy mini-courses by clicking here.

All Craftsy Classes up to 75% off! Today Only!

With the warm weather rolling in, it's time to shake off the winter blues and fire up our creativity!

Craftsy is having a one day sale on all their online classes. All Craftsy Classes are up to 75% off!

There are tons of great ebook and online classes that will help inspire you. Learn how to bake artisan breads, decorate fondant cakes, or even master the art of epoxy clay jewelry. There's even a class on recreating your favorite pair of jeans without having to take them apart!

If you're familiar with YouCanMakeThis.com, then Craftsy will blow your mind! :)

Take advantage of this offer and learn a new crafting skill. It expires TONIGHT at midnight MDT!

All Craftsy Classes up to 75% off!

Have a great day!

-Mariana

Free 4 Week Reading Eggs Trial!

I just received an email from Reading Eggs for a free 4 week trial. The normal trial is usually only 14 days, but I received a special email granting a 4 week trial instead. I thought Iwould pass on this great opportunity to you.

My experience with Reading Eggs has been great. The kids love it and I have nothing but great things to say. Read my full review here.

Simply go register before midnight Wednesday March 20, 2013 and you can start your 4 week FREE trialby typing 4WEEK in the 'Have a Promo Code?' box.

 

 

Repurposed Cardboard Box

I've thrown away countless of cardboard boxes ranging from cereal boxes, big boxes of baby wipes refills and diaper boxes. Had I known, I could've saved a lot of money by reusing them. I have baby #4 on the way and I recently had to move my 3 year old daughter out of our co-sleeping arrangement and into her new bed. The transition went smoothly. :)

 

Now I need to declutter the girls room and use the bookcase. I've donated quite a few books so I can use the bookcase for their underwear, socks, pj and toy storage. So the past few weeks, I've saved almost every box and container imaginable so that I can make storage boxes for their bookcase.

For the following project, you will need:

* Carboard Boxes (Preferably the same size)
* Tissue Paper (Different colors to match the scene you want to create on your boxes)
* Modge Podge or Elmers glue slightly diluted with very little water)
* Paint Brush to apply glue evenly
* Extra Cardboard pieces to use as dividers for your box (Optional)

 

 

1. I pulled out two baby wipes cardboard boxes and cut off the flaps using a box cutter.

 

 

 

 

 

2. You can start spreading on small amounts of modge podge or diluted Elmer's glue onto the box. Tear off small amounts of tissue paper or glue a large sheet of tissue paper to cover the entire front face of the box. As you can see in the photo below, I glued a large sheet on top. I used this color as my base.

 

3. The bottom tissue layer seemed dry enough and I went ahead and started adding blues, and some turquoise tissue paper. Add the glue mixture or modge podge on top of each piece to adhere it to the box. Be careful not to add too many layers on top of each other because that may cause the layers to become too soggy and rip. You might need to let it dry a bit before adding more layers.

4. Once you have your background, you can add additional shapes or elements to your tissue paper collage. For my daughters room, I repurposed a cardboard box and made it into a cute underwater ocean scene. I was going to go with just a pink and purple combination, but thought I would try something different. :)

5. After the boxes dry, you can add cardboard dividers inside the boxes in order to divide underwear and socks.

6. Here's what it looks like filled.

7. I placed the boxes in the bookcase, and the greatest part is that I only covered the front face of the box. Shhhh!

Free Valentines Day Cards from Little Passports

Saying I LOVE YOU has no language barrier. Little Passports help you say I LOVE YOU in multiple languages!!! Use the link below to download really cute Valentine cards: http://www.littlepassports.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/low-res-Valentine-Cards.pdf

Baby & Toddler Leg Warmers

I thought I would share a tutorial on making baby leg warmers from an existing pair of adult or childrens colorful socks. Follow Love Bug Living tutorial and keep your baby's knees protected, warm or even as a cute accessory to be used under skirts and tutus.

 

 

Smashed Peas and Carrots also has a cute tutorial on repurposing a child's dress and taking the sleeves an making leg warmers out of them. Both are very cute an involve minimal sewing.

 

 

 

 

 

Minnie Mouse Crochet Hat Pattern

I thought this was too cute not to share. I definitely want to learn how to crochet now after seing this adorable Minnie Mouse Crochet Hat Pattern from Craftsy.

The designer, Lizziee has several pdf patterns listed on the site and what's great is that they're only $3 for each pattern. Her reviews on all her patterns are good and that's why I've featured her on here.

Craftsy has several other types of crafts and even have food craft projects such as baking artisan breads and fondant cake recipes. These projects are a lot more expensive and are listed under the online classes portion of the website.

Check this Knight Helmet Crochet Pattern, also from Craftsy, designed by Martina Gardner.