Category: handmade

Hand Stamped Fishing Tackle & Gifts from Fish with Hope and Stamped with Hope ~ Festive Family Holiday Gift Guide Review

custom hand stamped gifts from  Stamped with Hope

Personalized gifts from Fish with Hope and Stamped with Hope are a part of my holiday gift guide for the second year in a row for a very good reason. Meaningful, personal gifts for men that they can actually use are difficult to find. In both shops you’ll find gifts that are practical, useful, and well made. Read on for our review of the father/daughter gift set I had made for my brother and his daughter.

fish with hope collage

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Handmade Snuggly Swaddle Dolls from Designs by MSusan ~ Festive Family Gift Guide Review

designs by msusan snuggly swaddle dolls handmade

Is there a precious wee one in your life who would to receive love a snuggly friend as a holiday gift? Our Pearl Girl got her first handmade swaddle doll from Designs by MSusan last year for Christmas, and she still snuggles her daily. This year we are reviewing a super cute set of blonde baby dolls just made for playing. Read on to find out what we thought about our set of Snuggly Swaddle Dolls.

Designs by MSusan collage

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Freshly Picked Moccasins Review ~ Festive Family Holiday Gift Guide

freshly picked reviewToday’s Festive Family Holiday Gift Guide brand review is all about the stylish wee ones. My sweet Pearl Girl helped me review a gorgeous pair of gold Freshly Picked baby moccasins and we can’t wait to tell you all about them. If there is a child on your holiday shopping list, these are a hot ticket item. Handmade in the U.S.A. from 100% genuine leather in sizes 1-10 (baby-preschooler), these shoes are durable, super cute, and won’t come off. Read on to find out what we thought about these precious shoes.

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Simple Fall Leaf Wreath Tutorial with Felt and Burlap

Simple Fall Felt Leaf Wreath Tutorial with felt and burlap

My old faithful burlap interchangeable wreath is back in business for the fall. I created a strand of colorful fall leaves from felt scraps and added a wool letter to make a simple fall leaf wreath for our front door. Who knew a pool noodle covered in burlap could be so useful? Here is the super cute Easter version of my burlap interchangeable wreath, a summer version with pinwheels, and a 4th of July version with fun tulle fireworks. If you love to change out decorations every season, a burlap wreath is the way to go. As you’ll see below, it is super easy to change it up often.

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Create DIY Fall Felt Leaf Headbands for Girls {& Mamas} #GoodyGorgeous

This shop is part of a social shopper marketing insight campaign with Pollinate Media Group® and Goody, but all my opinions are my own. #pmedia #GoodyGorgeous http://my-disclosur.es/OBsstV
DIY Fall Felt Leaf Headbands Tutorial Easy Mother Daughter Fall Fashion #GoodyGorgeous #Pmedia #ad

My sweet girl officially has hair long enough to style, and it is a daily challenge for this mama. She may look cute and innocent, but my little peanut turns in to a MMA fighter when I try to style her hair. Thankfully I’ve learned a few tricks that are making it easier on both of us. Sorting out her tangles with the Goody TangleFix brush and then throwing on a cute headband is our new daily hair routine. I created a fun fall felt leaf headband for a mother/daughter style that is easy to throw together. Read on for the full tutorial and more of our toddler hair tips.

fall felt leaf headbands #goodygorgeous #pmedia #ad

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Two Minute Tiny Turban Headbands for Baby and Toddler Girls {with Tutorial}

tinyturbanheadbands

Today I’m showing you how to make a super cute tiny turban headband for the little cutie in your life, made from old onesies or t-shirts. These are so simple and quick to make, but I love the way they look and that my daughter’s stained and outgrown clothing can find new life in darling accessories. These require no sewing and can be made in about two minutes, seriously.

tinybabyturbanheadbands

Here’s all you need to make these cute headbands:
scissors (sharp for cutting fabric)
old baby t-shirt or onesie with at least a 2 inch stain free strip in the middle
Patterns and stripes are especially cute if they are a similar shade on both sides of the fabric.

tinyturbanheadband5

Cut a strip out of the middle of the t-shirt or onesie. Knit fabrics are ideal because they are less likely to fray. I like to cut a 2-3 inch strip for each headband, but you can test different widths and see what you like the best.

tinyturbanheadband3

This is the perfect use for all of those outgrown onesies with stains around the collar, and is so quick and easy. After you cut out your strip, stretch it out using your hands. Then twist it over once, then once more to form the turban style twist shown below. You’re done.  See what I mean about super quick and easy? Find a cute baby to wear it and whip out 20 more while you catch up on Downton Abbey.

tinyturbanheadband1

tinybabyturbanheadbandsdiy

Isn’t it the cutest on my Pearl Girl?!  Another bonus is the headbands are super comfy because they are made from soft, worn in fabric. Here’s another fun idea: make one in your size to match your little one. You can also cut the strip and tie a knot to create another style of headband.

babyturbanheadband

What is your favorite way to upcycle old clothes?

Handmade Holiday Gift Guide Review: Personalized Fishing Lures by Stamped with Hope

Handmade gifts for men are notoriously hard to find, but Stamped with Hope has you covered with gifts for the fishermen and golfers in your life, as well as jewelry and other gifts perfect for anyone.  One of the main reasons I wanted to feature Stamped with Hope is that the shop owner, Jennifer, is a woman with a dream.  Proceeds from her sales are going to help establish Hope Ranch, a home for children with special emotional and developmental needs.  Shopping for a cause is my favorite kind of shopping.  Don’t forget to enter to win the HUGE Handmade Holiday Gift Guide Giveaway that ends on November 23rd.  Stamped with Hope is giving away a $20 shop credit that can be spent at any of her three shops.  

Jennifer sent me a beautiful hand stamped fishing lure for my dad, our #1 Poppy.  It is a real and functional lure with a special little heartfelt message attached, perfect for a stocking stuffer.  It comes ready to gift in it’s own bag, and would be the perfect item for any fishermen (or women) in your life.  She will customize the lure of your choice with the message of your choice, so the possibilities are endless.  

For more custom fishing tackle options, check out Custom Fishing Tackle, another shop by Jennifer.  
Shop owner Jennifer and her grandmother Lorene have partnered to create Lorene’s Locket, a specialty shop creating covers for medical alert necklaces.  I cried reading the story behind it because my own grandmother hated wearing her medic alert necklace and thought it was so ugly.  Jennifer and Lorene created a unique solution to a common problem.  If you have a person on your list who has to wear one of those life saving devices, check out Lorene’s Locket.  
Stamped with Hope also offers a variety of personalized golfer gifts, best friend gifts, hand stamped necklaces, teacher gifts, and so much more.  If you love to shop while giving back, Stamped with Hope is perfect for you.  Jennifer is super easy to work with and has a fast turn around.  Head over and pick out stocking stuffers for your loved ones today.  
Ready to shop?
   Use the coupon code HOPERANCH1 for a 10% discount at all three shops.  
Check it out: Shop  Facebook
Gifts for: everyone on your list
Price Range: $13-165

Let’s Make an Easter Basket – A Tutorial

I love the joy of Easter and the new life it brings.  You can read some of my other Easter posts here.  Last year I looked long and hard to find the perfect Easter basket for the Bear, but all the options I loved were too pricey.  I had paint and ribbon on hand and decided to make a frugal, durable, cute Easter basket. I purchased a peck size basket at Hobby Lobby for about $4.  Here’s a crappy image of a peck basket from Amazon so you can see what it looked like before.  I totally forgot to take before pics.

I painted the basket using Rustoleum Painter’s Touch Satin in Heritage White and a sponge brush.  It took two coats to really cover the wood.

I used my glue gun to line the inside and outside with satin ribbon leftover from our wedding.  Yes, we’ve been married almost 5 years.  Yes, I probably over bought on wedding ribbon.  Oh well.  The ribbon serves two purposes.  It looks super cute and covers up the rough edges and staples that hold the peck basket together.

I tied satin ribbon into bows on each handle and glued them in place.  I’m sure these will have to be replaced someday but they are holding up well so far.

I painted the Bear’s name onto the basket using a navy blue paint pen.  I am not skilled in the handwriting department so it took a few tries and a few wipe off/repaints.  I finally went with dot letters because they are very forgiving and look super cute.  I highly recommend this method if you struggle with paint pen writing like I do.

We use ribbon as Easter grass after seeing the idea on Young House Love and not wanting to find the plastic stuff everywhere.  My dad hates the plastic Easter grass with a passion (4 kids = a ton of Easter grass clean up over the years) and loves this idea.  I used two rolls of green ribbon from the dollar store and just unrolled them completely and put them in the basket.  The clean up is incredibly easy.  You just pick up each long piece of ribbon and throw it back into the basket.  We’ve made a game out of tossing the ribbon and eggs back into the basket after Bear inevitably dumps them out.

The Bear loves his basket even more this year.  He has carried it all over the house and loves playing with the ribbon and plastic eggs.

What’s your favorite Easter candy?
I’m obsessed with Cadbury eggs.

 

 

Best of Bare Feet on the Dashboard – Crafty Edition

It’s my 3 year blogging anniversary this week, and I’m celebrating by bringing you my favorite and most popular posts from the past 3 years.   I’m kicking off the party with my favorite crafty posts.  I started blogging to have a creative outlet, and creating fun stuff is a huge part of that.  I’d love for y’all to check out my old projects and feel free to pin away if you like what you see.

DIY Baby Book with Free Printable Pages
(My most popular crafty post so far.)
The Picket Fence Project – Roadside Trash to Wall Decor
Part One   Part Two
Anthro Inspired Sandal Makeover
Anthro Inspired Headband with Vintage Fabric
Cake Plate Jewelry Holder
Festive Paper Flower Tutorial
The Mod Podge Doily Canvas Project
DIY Solar Powered Light Jars
Ribbon Mobile for Baby’s Nursery
Felt Embroidered Bird Onesie
Handmade Felt Christmas Stockings
Burlap Easter Wreath
A Burlap Wreath for All Seasons
Bowtie Onesie Tutorial
Vintage Highchair Makeover
Birds in Flight Nursery Mobile
Burlap and Pinwheels Summer Wreath
Cheap Giant Photo
Pinterest Free Printable
There they are, all my fav crafty posts.  Happy blog anniversary to me!  
What was your favorite craft project that you made in 2012? 

Frugal Christmas: Our Red and Aqua Mantle and Color Scheme

My goal this year was to decorate our new house in as festive a manor as possible while spending as little as possible and repurposing old decorations.  For this project I ended up buying only one can of spray paint and two spools of ribbon.  Everything else came from old decorations or prior projects.  Mission accomplished.  I just love red and aqua together, and I had some candles, mason jars, and Christmas balls that worked toward the color scheme, so I went for it.  

 These blue mason jars were a gift from my Meme (that’s southern for grandmother) and I use them all the time.  I filled them with Smell of Christmas potpourri by Aromatique, an Arkansas company.  I tied red ribbon leftover from other projects around them and placed this cute little trio on one end of the mantle.  

 Our stockings are hung by the chimney with care.  I made Jed’s and mine, but ended up throwing the one I attempted for the Bear away in a fit of crafting rage last year (long story).  You can read about how I made ours here.

 For the wreath I took apart this spring wreath, spray painted it white, and wrapped it in aqua ribbon.  I used pine cones that were already wired from my bouquet in Marci’s winter wedding, spray painted them white, and tied them with aqua and white ribbons.  I attached three red jingle bells leftover from the Bear’s toddler friendly Christmas tree.  I hung it with wide aqua ribbon.  

 I bought the joy sign at a yard sale a few years back, and the red and aqua Christmas balls were from after Christmas clearance years ago.  I nestled them in aqua fine net tulle that I also used the last few years.

 The red candles normally live in other spots around the house, but they look cute as a trio mirroring the trio of mason jars.

 I carried the red and aqua theme into our bedroom by decorating another mini tree with leftover jingle bells and white ribbon.

What’s your favorite Christmas color scheme?
How do your stay frugal with holiday decorating?