DIY Valentine Coloring Cards {tutorial} + Giveaway

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Good morning! I am excited to be joining the Creative Crafts: Last Minute Valentine Crafts edition. Yay! I love Valentine’s Day, and the most special part of Valentines is giving sweet Valentines away ~ especially for the kiddos! Annnnnd these DIY Valentine Coloring Cards are so easy to make & will for sure bring a smile to someone's face. Let’s get started! :)

How to Make Cards with the Cricut Joy {tutorial}

This is not a sponsored post, but Cricut affiliate links are used. Thank you for supporting Ginger Snap Crafts. :)

Good morning! Every year I make a goal to send a card to all of my family members for their birthdays….and every year I don’t get to the store & run out of time to get it in the mail. :( Buuuuut thanks to my Cricut Joy this will not be a problem for me ever again. Yay! In minutes, I can whip out an adorable, handmade, personalized card and get it in the mail right from home! :) I love how easy the Cricut Joy makes card making. Anyone can do this. Let me show you how to make cards with the Cricut Joy! :)

70+ Handmade Valentine Ideas

Hello! Good morning! Valentine’s Day is fast approaching. Annnnnd I am working on a fun Valentine’s post for next week with some cute DIY Valentine card ideas with my Cricut machine. Buuuuut first, I thought it would be fun to look back & share some of the fun handmade Valentine ideas that I’ve shared here over the years. Most of these don’t required any special crafting tools & don’t cost a lot of money to put together. I hope you enjoy this look back at 70+ Handmade Valentine Ideas as much as I did putting it together. Enjoy! :)

Simple Handmade Valentine & Printable

10 Easy Father’s Day Card Ideas with Cricut

This post is brought to you by Cricut.

Good morning! Father's Day is this weekend! Eek! Are you ready? If not, hop on over to the Cricut blog. I’m sharing 10 Easy Father’s Day Card Ideas (including a fun fill in the blank card that your kiddos could make!) over there. You can see all of those right here. Keep reading this post first though. I’m sharing some of my favorite Father’s Day projects! Enjoy! :)

My 10 Favorite Christmas Traditions

As we have been getting our Christmas decorations out this year, I’ve noticed my kiddos saying, “This always goes here.”& “We always do this”. Annnnnd it reminded me of all the special Christmas traditions that we have as a family. This is also the first Christmas my oldest son won’t be home with us. He is serving a mission in Utah. So I’ve been super emotional reflecting on all the Christmases we have had together. I am so blessed to have such a wonderful family to share the holidays with. So humor me as we walk down my Memory Lane, & I’d love to hear your favorite Christmas Traditions in the comments below. :)

Father's Day Tie Cake Topper & Matching Polka Dot Frame {tutorial}

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #CelebrateAmazingDads #CollectiveBias

Hello! Father's Day will be here before you know it! Eek! I don’t really need a reason to celebrate the dads in my life. They are pretty wonderful every day, & I hope I make them feel that way all year long. ;) Buuuuut I am glad that we have a special day to celebrate the amazing dads in our lives! It also gives me a chance to go out of my way to make them all feel special & loved! I love putting a smile on their face with the perfectly worded Father’s Day Card. I also love helping my kiddos make sweet homemade gifts & treats for their dad & grandpas.  This post is packed full of Father’s Day Ideas. I have two easy crafts that you can make, too. I’m also going to share some of things I love about the dads in my life. So keep reading!

How to Organize Family Birthdays #sendsmiles

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone.
#SendSmiles #CollectiveBias

Hello! Our family is getting big! My siblings are just about all married. Annnd with that comes more cute little nieces & nephews. Yay! I love being an aunt. I don’t love when I forget their birthdays though! I know I always love getting cards in the mail on my birthday. My kiddos wait anxiously as their birthday nears for their birthday mail. We always display all of their birthday cards on the mantel as they come in. So I’ve made it a goal this year to not miss any birthdays! Recently on a trip to Walmart I found some super cute & awesome Hallmark Cards starting at 47 Cents. I couldn’t help but stock up on these birthday cards, & I bought a bunch! Today I’d love to share How to Organize Family Birthdays. I’m also sharing a free Family Birthday Calendar printable with you. So let’s get started! :)

Hallmark Poster Cards for Kids #KidsCards

I am a member of the Collective Bias®  Social Fabric® Community.  This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper amplification for Collective Bias and its advertiser. #KidsCards #CollectiveBias #shop

Hello! Let’s talk a little bit about cards today! ;) Don’t you just love getting cards in the mail? I know I do, & my kiddos love it even more. Nothing is better than finding a surprise in your mailbox addressed especially for YOU! It is so fun giving & receiving birthday cards, good luck cards, get well soon cards or even better, just because cards. :) My kiddos have a bunch of cousins, and one of them has a birthday coming up really quick! So recently we swung by Walmart to do a little card shopping. We found the coolest poster cards for kids from Hallmark. They look just like a regular card but unfold into a full size poster! So keep reading to see what lucky kiddo is going to getting this awesome Batman card in the mail! :)

Mother’s Day Card with Detailz #LifestyleCrafts

Mother’s Day is right around the corner! (If you still need a gift idea go check out my 15+ Mother’s Day gift ideas!) Along with a gift you’ll need a pretty card as well, right? :) Annnd nothing is better that a handmade card made with lots of love.  Today I am excited to show you these Mother’s Day cards I made using Lifestyle Crafts new Detailz dies. They are ah-mazing! You can cut, emboss & stencil all with the same die. Wow! Keep reading to find out how. :)

christmas cards {shutterfly}

Have YOU seen the Shutterfly ads on my blog?

Love Shutterfly…especially at Christmas.

I love this time of year.  {Don’t you?}

It’s a time where we get to reconnect with others

…a time to catch up with family & friends. 

I love sharing what my busy family has been up to,

& I love keeping up with everyone else! :)

{Especially those that are far away.}

What is one thing that helps keep us close

with family & friends that are far away?

Christmas cards.

I love sending & receiving

old fashioned {through the mail} Christmas cards. 

Don’t you?  There’s nothing better than a

personalized Christmas card with a note & family pictures! 

We have a box in our attic

where we keep all of our Christmas cards

that we receive each year,

& I love looking through them every year

when we drag all the Christmas stuff out of the attic.

I love checking my mail during the holidays

& finding my mailbox full of Christmas cards!

Don't you just love seeing pictures of everyone's family,

seeing how big their kids have grown,

hearing about the good, the bad, the first, the fun,

the family vacations, new jobs, school days, new homes, moves,

funny things, graduations, new babies….everything

that has happened in their lives over the past year?

If you are like me, you haven't even

had much time to think about

Christmas cards yet.

(Let's get through Thanksgiving first, right?)

Well, take a second & check out Shutterfly.

You are going to love

their super cute & classic Christmas cards.

{I use them every year…it’s fast, simple & your cards will be beautiful!}

 

P.S.  Also, check out their ideas for those hard to find gifts for.

Aren't these desk calendars perfect?

Or how about a photo book?

Disclosure:  I was given 25 free cards from Shutterfly.  This in no way influenced my post.  I do love Shutterfly, & I use them for our family Christmas cards each year.  I hope you love them as much as I do. :)

fab friday {father's day gift ideas x three}

I just realized this week that Father's Day is literally right around the corner! Yikes!

So I'd did some searching online for some quick & easy Father's Day gift ideas.

The first one comes from Robyn Bobbin Bo Bobbin

{or if you know her like I do you can just call her Robyn ;)}

She makes these cute, cute, cute Father's Day cards.

Robyn makes & swaps these cards on whoopdwhoop!

{You can read more about whoopdwhoop here.}

Robyn had sent me some, but I needed one more.

Can you tell which one is the "knock off"? :)

You'll need white cardstock, buttons, scrapbook paper,

glue, photo stickers, straight edge paper cutter & scissors.

You'll fold your cardstock in half from top to bottom.

Then cut that in half.  You'll be able to make two cards from one sheet.

About in inch down you'll make two cuts in the paper about in inch long on each side.

You'll fold those in to make the collar of your "shirt".

I used one of Robyn's ties to trace a tie on my scrapbook paper & then cut it out.

Stick the tie on under the collar then stick your collar down with some photo stickers.

Glue on your buttons on each side of your collar with some Elmer's glue.

{There you go...so cute, simple & easy...plus it looks so fancy!}

Here's Father's Day gift idea #2!

This fun {& fReE} Father's Day printable

found here at Delightfully Noted

{A fun new blog I just stumbled across.}

You'll definitely have to go check out how she made hers

because she put the labels on vintage glass soda bottles.  {Very cool!}

I just used some soda cans & the labels fit perfectly. :)

{Wouldn't Dad just love these on his favortie soda?}

You'll need your print out from Delightfully Noted,

photo stickers, scissors & some ribbon. 

{I'm low on ink so mine printed blue & PINK...oops!} 

The labels are really a more dad friendly blue & orange. ;)

I just cut out the labels, & then I used my photo stickers to stick the labels on my cans.

I tied my ribbon around the top tab & then curled it.

That's it!  So cute & easy.  The kiddos could definitely help out with this one. :)

Father's Day gift idea #3

How about combining the two??

A {white shirt with tie} soda can label!

{How awesome is that??!!}

This fun {& FrEe} printable can

be found here at The Dating Divas.

{So what are you doing for dear old dad this year?}

Have a great weekend!

this & that tuesday {last day of school gifts}

My 10 year old daughter wanted some end of the year gifts to give to best friends at school.

{Today is the last day of school by the way! Summer is here!} :)

Thanks to whoopdwhoop we found the perfect thing for free! Wahoo!

{If you haven't joined whoopdwhoop yet you're missing out!}

For just two whoops {whoops are what you use to swap your creations}
 we received 4 cute tile pendants from Donna Bowes. 

{We just added some chains that we already had.}

Then Robyn Bobbin makes these super cute handmade cards for 1 whoop.

{I actually know Robyn.  We go way back to when we were both in college!}
Aren't they cute together? {Love it!}

{I think her friends are going to love them!}

You can join whoopdwhoop, too.

Here's the link!

{Enjoy!}

Blog Swap {Always Just a Mom} + giveaway winner

Happy Monday everyone!

I am so excited to announced the

giveaway winner

for my 100 follower giveaway.

And the winner is:

Katie @ EyeSpyDIY who said

...I, of course, am a follower of your great blog!

Congrats, Katie. 

{I'll be contacting you shortly!}

I also want to thank everyone for following along.

This weekend Ginger Snaps passed 200 followers!

{I'm so doing the happy dance!}

Next giveaway will be a 250 followers.

So keep checking back.

I hope everyone had a wonderful

Mother's Day weekend.

I'm so excited to have

Stephanie from

Always Just a Mom

over today for a blog swap.

{Take it away, Stephanie.}

*****************************************************

Hi. I'm Stephanie from Always Just A Mom!  I've loved learning more about blogging and it's been fun to showcase some of my crafts, my etsy shop (you'll learn more about that this week), adventures I take with my boys, stuff I love online, and well anything else I want to share!

I'm a wife to one handsome guy and the crazy stay at home mom to two little boys (String Bean (3) and Biscuit (2)) who are 13 1/2 months apart!  We never have a dull moment around here!!

I love blogging, paper crafting, gardening, organizing and cleaning, and most recently decorating.  I've become obsessed with reading how other people make this amazing home decor out of a shoe string and paint stirrer sticks...it's awesome.  I've started bookmarking and coping all the fun stuff so one day my home will also look amazing!  (Right now we're going for the Early American Garage Sale decor...but we'll move up!)
One of the most amazing concept about blogging is the connection you make to those who have similar interests and passions.  I love that I have this whole community of women (sorry guys...right now I really only follow women...if anyone knows a good "dude" blog hook me up) who are also dealing with toddlers, a small budget, learning how to make trash into treasures and well...just the stuff one deals with when they are a mom!  So...Ginger...thanks for having me over here on your blog today!  This is fun and don't forget to check out Always Just a Mom for some Ginger Snap Crafts
One of my favorite tools in my craft room is the Martha Stewart Scoreboard!  I got mine at Michael's last fall when I had one of those sweet 50% off coupons (I paid like $12.99 for this baby and it has been put to use)!
I would like to share one of my FAVORITE and QUICK crafts...gift card envelops!  Creating a gift card envelop takes about 3-5 minutes and it really adds a nice, personal touch to the gift card you're giving!
First start with a piece of cardstock cut into a 5 x 5 square.

Next you will pull out the envelop guide to make your score lines. 

For the gift card envelop you will be scoring two sides at 2" and two sides at 2 1/2".

 Then take your score and just follow the lines down your paper.  This first line is A (2 inches) and then turn it to the next side and that is line B (2 1/2 inches), then 2 inches on the next and 2 1/2 inches on the last side.

 You can see my score lines on the cardstock here:

 Then use your scissors and cut each of the triangles where the scoring lines meet.

 This is what your envelop will look like without those cute triangles (same piece of paper...lighting is just off).

Then fold on all four of the score lines.

 You will want to cut the bottom flag straight across.

 Use adhesive on each of the side flaps.  This will allow you to easily attach the bottom to complete the envelop but also still allow for the gift card to go in easily.  (You can use adhesive tape as I show here or even just a glue stick works great!)

 Then to close the envelop find a fun shape punch that is not too decorative (star, heart, basic flower-shown below).  Punch it in a separate color, I chose white...but you can use whatever works with the design you're using.

 Then center the bunch on the TOP flap of your envelop (the one not glued down) and make the punch again.

 You will now have a punch on the envelop and a little flower, in my case, on the side in a nice contrasting or coordinating color.

 Use a small raised glue dot and stick that to the actual flower and then hold down the upper flap of the envelop and stick the punch through the whole on the envelop.  This will ensure that it will line up and stay shut.  This is the back of your gift card envelop.

 I decorated mine with a "THANK YOU" I cut out in this fun and funky garden paper...but you could put whatever you want on the front! 

I love making these because 1) they are quick and 2) they add a little more "fun" to just giving a plain ol' gift card!

Thanks again for having me today Ginger!  I enjoyed swapping blogs for the day and hope your readers did too!  Feel free to drop by Always Just A Mom to see Ginger Snap Crafts today!