Everyday Art {blog swap}

Good morning! 
Today I’d LOVE to introduce YOU to two fabulous ladies from Everyday Art.
{You’ll have to pop over to their blog to see what I’m up to today!}
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Hi Everyone! We're happy to be here today, sharing our blog with all of you.
We're Emily and Jaime from Everyday Art.

 

 

blog swap {christy’s cuties}

I’m so excited to introduce you to Christy from Christy’s Cuties.  She’s got a super cute blog!  You’ll have to go over & check it out!  {I’ll be sharing something fun over there today, too!}

Take it away, Christy!

Good Morning all of you lovely Ginger Snap Crafts readers! I am too excited to be here today and so thankful for Ginger to allow me to come and share a project with you all. Shall we get started? My name is Christy, and I blog over on Christy's Cuties.

Today I would like to show you a project that I have been so excited to begin.  When I found out I was getting the chance to be here, I jumped right on it.  Pallets!!  I love pallets!  They are everywhere, right?  I love being able to do projects with items I already have on hand, or can get for next to nothing.  My hubby was able to score me a few pallets from his work place, so we got started.  {I like a lot of pictures, so just be aware.  lol} Begin by taking apart the pallet.  We left the outside board for the beginning of the table.  We also kept it the same length.  This makes it much easier.

Continue taking the boards off, and moving them closer together.  We too the second board off, then moved to the last board.  By doing this, we only had to remove two boards, instead of three.

This is what it will look like once the boards are together.

Now, you need to cut the excess wood off.

And when the electric saw doesn't cut it, move to the cheap-o way!  lol

Here is the top of the table.

I decided I wanted sides for the table. So we used the extra boards from the pallet for the sides.

We used a board from a second pallet for the sides....you will just have to cut it down to size.

This is what the back/bottom will look like.

Since I hate to waste things, we used the part of the "middle" of the leftover pallet to make the legs.  You will need to use one of the "middle" pieces from the second pallet for one of the legs, too.  Then we screwed them in using L brackets.  We put the larger side on the top, with the smaller part on the bottom.  I think it makes it look like "feet" when done. :)

Here is the finished product!  We decided to use it for a table by our bonfire.  We love bonfires during fall.  Perfect timing!

And its perfect for the food, and big enough to set the kids down and eat....instead of making a mess by dropping plates and loosing food.

It's really makes our bonfire area complete.  We love it!

The best part about this table, is that it only cost us $4 for the L brackets!  Score!!  I really hope you enjoyed all of the pictures....and that I was able to keep your attention even though there were tons!  Thanks so much to Ginger for having me over.  Have a fabulous day!

blog swap {preschool color book with jujuB}

Today I’ve got a TWO super cute crafty gals to introduce you to!

You’ll LOVE what they are sharing today (perfect for back to school},

and you’ll LOVE their blog even more.

Make sure you stop by jujuB today & say hi!

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Hello Hello!  We are jujuB!  Just two friends and neighbors who LOVE to craft. 

Okay, we don't just love to craft, we are kind of obsessed with it. 

We get together just to craft at least once a week. 

Ok ok...truthfully, since we started jujuB we do it way more than that,

but we don't want to sound so obsessed that you think we are crazy.  :) 

Ok, I, Becky am a little crazy, and Juliana is what keeps us all together,

that's why we are such a great team! 

 

We are so excited to be doing a blog swap with Ginger! 

So, remember to check out our blog today and see what she's up to! 

Today, we wanted to share this darling Color Book that Juliana came up with. 

Since school is started again--we figured this was a GREAT Back to School idea for the little ones. :) 

So check it out and remember to check out our blog at jujubstash.blogspot.com 

We are always up to something new and fun!

 

As I prepare to teach my little one preschool this year I wanted to make a fun color book that we could look at to review colors. Children learn so much better when you include more then one way of learning. For example show them a picture of a dinosaur (visual) then have them act out how to be a dinosaur (physical). So how do teach colors using different senses? Add TEXTURE!!!!! This color book is all about texture, so as your child is looking at the picture (visual) they can also feel different textures (tactile)! I made this great book using random stuff I found all around my house and I'm sure you have a lot of this stuff in your house, too!!

I had little color wands left over from our preschool curriculum last year so I cut up some old page protectors and sewed them on to make a pocket for the wand. Then I sewed on some super cute ribbon on the edges to make it cute. Then I sewed 2 pieces of paper together to hide the sewing and to make my pages more sturdy. Lastly, I just hot glued everything on the pages. I had a great color sticker book that I used a lot,

but you could also use pictures from a coloring book or picture book.

 

 

The ribbon was seriously my favorite thing about this book. Isn't it awesome!!!

 

Yellow Page

Texture: yarn, a straw and a sponge!

Green Page

Texture: a left over piece of felt

Blue Page

Texture: Wands

Red Page

Texture: Ribbon

Orange Page

Texture: popsicle stick, bead, paper flower

Pink Page

Texture: buttons

Purple Page

Texture: pipe cleaner

Brown Page

Texture:  burlap

Black Page

Texture: lace

White Page

Texture: shoe lace

 

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So cute!!  What a wonderful way to teach colors to your little ones!

{Thanks so much for sharing, ladies!}

 

Remember if YOU have a fabulous back to school idea, link it up {HERE}.

 

blog swap {ashley from cherished bliss}

I'm so excited to have Ashley over today! 
What she doesn't tell you is that she is in the wild card finale round for
 So You Think You're Crafty. 
I know...so exciting!  So, pop over {HERE} and vote for Ashley! :)
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Hi Everyone! I'm Ashley from Cherished Bliss,

and I am SO excited to be over here at Ginger Snap Crafts!

Don't forget to head on over to my blog today and check out Ginger's awesome-ness!

I am a wife to the most wonderful man and a mommy to two adorable children!

I love to craft, sew, blog, and anything with my family! They are my inspiration : )

           

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Today I am going to show you how to make this floor pillow.

First, I have to tell you why I wanted to make this.
I'm from Texas and well, its somewhere around 200 107 degrees here right now,
so I let my otherwise normally outdoor dog inside.
He has a LOT of hair, so much that I could make puppies from the hair he sheds.
It's gross and I hate that he is inside so much
(mainly because I don't want to vacuum 3 times a day).
Anyways.. my children seem to think Stewart's (dog) bed is their playground,
which leads to hair all over them (I hate this so much!).
and so it I made them their own "dog" beds : )

  
Supplies
Home Decor Fabric
Muslin, or other cheap fabric (for pillow form)
coordinating thread
2 pkgs piping
poly fil
zipper
scissors
sewing machine

1. Cut out all your fabric pieces.
You will need:
2 - 19"x 19" squares (top and bottom)
3 - 19" x 7" rectangles (3 sides)
2 19" x 4" rectangles (zipper side)
4 - (handles)

2. The Handles
First, pin the raw edges of piping to the right side of the fabric you cut out for the handles.
 Do this on both edges of two pieces.

Using your zipper foot, sew along the piping. 
Then, put your other two pieces on top of each of these, right sides together and pin.
Turn over (so you are sewing on the back of the piece with the piping)
and sew along the seam from the piping.

Turn your tube right side out, fold in the edges and stitch closed.

Now, we are going to attach the handles to the sides of the floor pillow.
Center, the hand on one of the 19" x 7" pieces.
Stitch a box with and "X" in it, double stitch to make sure it is sturdy.

Do this again on another "side" piece. Then set those aside.

3. Insert a zipper
on the two 19" x 4" pieces of fabric using my zipper insertion instructions here
Now set that aside (all your side pieces are finished).

4. Piping
To add the piping around the edges you will pin it all the way
around your 19"x19" squares on the RIGHT side of the fabric,
matching up the raw edges just like on the handles.
Then sew it down using your zipper foot. Do this to both the top and bottom pieces.

5. The Sides
Now, you are going to attach the side panels to the top panel. Make sure the two pieces we attached the handles to are opposite each other : ) Line up your side panel right sides together with your square. and sew along the stitching from when you attached your piping. This makes sure you have a very clean edge with your piping!

Once you are done with all the sides, it will look like this!

6. Forming the box
Now you will match up the short sides and sew them up.
Make sure you don't sew onto the top panel,
but get close enough to close it up.
This is what it looks like.

7. The bottom piece
Now take your other 19" x19" square and line up the edges, and sew it up following your stitch line from the piping. When you are done, you will have a box. HINT: Make sure you unzip your zipper BEFORE you sew it all up so that you don't have to wiggle it open to turn it right side out : ) Lesson learned!

8. The Pillow Form
To make the pillow insert, I cut all the same pieces out except I did for identical side panels since we won't need a zipper. Follow the same instructions as above, you just don't have to worry about piping! Don't forget to leave one edge up to turn and stuff. The sew up your hole and now you have a pillow insert!

9. Insert the Pillow and ENJOY!
Your kiddos can sit on them, fly on them, drive them, drag them, and more than likely throw them : )
My son already loves his and carries drags it all over the house. Now it's time to make one for the princess!

A big thank you to Ginger for having me over at her wonderful blog! I had so much fun.
I would love to see you at my weekly link party, Craft and Tell, every Tuesday!

 

So come on over : )!! 

Such a cute idea!

Thanks so much for sharing, Ashley!