MERRY CHRISTMAS! (AND A HAPPY NEW YEAR!)

Hello crafters!

Today I'd just like to wish you all a very Merry Christmas! I'm spending my Christmas break in Florida, so no snow for me! ;P You're also not going to see any crafts from me while I'm on break because I don't have any way to make crafts down here. :( Anyway, how are you spending your Christmas break and what did you receive for Christmas? Leave a comment below and tell me! :D

May your Christmas be crafty,
Taylor Spades ♠

Check This Blog Out! "The Crafts Dept."

Hey crafters!

How are you all today? Bundled up I hope, it's pretty chilly out there! :) Anyway, today I've got another awesome craft blog for you guys to check out! Today's blog is called 'The Crafts Dept.' and it's a craft blog by Martha Stewart. It's really a great blog with lots of fantastic craft ideas! It's also crammed with colorful pictures, very appealing to the eyes! ;) So, please check out 'The Crafts Department' by Martha Stewart! You won't regret it! ;)

http://thecraftsdept.marthastewart.com/

May your day be crafty,
Taylor Spades ♠

Please Send A Card To A Soldier!

Hello crafters!

Today I'd like you all to take the time to send a card to a soldier. Yes, you might say: "I don't have time for that!" Yes, believe me you do, especially since Xerox is offering to send a card FREE to a soldier. So, please take five minutes out of your day and make a soldier's day a little bit brighter. Thanks crafters, the link is below, and god bless you:




May your day be crafty,
Taylor Spades ♠

It's A Snow Day!!! Hooray!

Hey crafters are you frozen yet? :)

Well crafters today is a snow day and you know what that means right? Yeah, NO SCHOOL! :D Hooray! So, I wanted to show you the snow that was responsible for giving us this fabulous day off. All you have to do is scroll down and see the frozen tundra. :)

Haha! So, did you enjoy that? The cats sure did, they love the snow! :) Just so you can know which is which, the Siamese cat (dark one) is Sam and the yellow fluffy cat (red Persian) is Spencer. They gladly volunteered to pose for pictures. :) Well crafters, I hope you enjoyed these pictures because my feet literally froze to my front porch while I was taking them. ;) Anyway, I hope you enjoy this lovely snow day and stay warm everyone! (Psst! Oh, and hope for another snow day! *wink*)

May your day be crafty,
Taylor Spades ♠

Check This Blog Out! "Angry Chicken"

Wow crafters! It's almost Friday! HOOORAAY!!! :D

So, today I have a new blog for you to check out. This blog is called Angry Chicken, and it's run by a woman named Amy Karol. It's an awesome craft blog with all sorts of different crafts, plus it has a really intriguing name. Amy is great too, she sews, she glues, she bakes! She does it all! :) So, if you have some time on your busy Thursday afternoon please check out Angry Chicken! It'll be the most fun you'll have until Friday. ;) Thanks for reading crafters and the link to the blog is below.

http://www.angrychicken.typepad.com/

May your day be crafty,
Taylor Spades ♠

The Eyes Have it! - I'm Sorry I Couldn't Help It! :D

Hello crafters!

Today I'm giving you a little preview of the clay eyes I'm making for my Toothless dragon plushie! They are really rough (as in not done) right now, but they're still pretty neat! So, on to the pictures. There will also be a picture of the dragon Toothless so you can know who he is!

 

 

Pretty cute, huh? :) I can't wait until I can start making him, just need the funds to buy the fabric! :D Anyway, thanks for reading crafters and have a very happy day!

May your day be crafty,
Taylor Spades ♠

The New Question Of The Day! - Winter Related!

Hello crafters? Is it snowing where you live? ;)

It sure is snowing where I live! All I can say is brrrr...Anyway, you know what crafters I just thought of a new question of the day, but then I thought of another question I wanted to ask! So, today you get to answer TWO questions of the day! :D The questions are as follows:

Do you like snow, or would you like it to all just melt?

and

What is your favorite winter craft?

Please leave a comment below answering these two fabulous questions! I'll be waiting! Thanks crafters, love you all! ;)

May your day be crafty,
Taylor Spades ♠

The Last Update For The Day On My Little Sister's Crafts!

Hello for the last time today crafters! ;)

This is the last update I have for you today on my little sister's crafts! This is actually a craft she made today! :) It was for a 'play' she was doing for all her stuffed animals. This is supposed to be her tweety bird! :D You can see it below, it was completely made out of modeling clay.

So, pretty neat huh? I really hope you liked these crafts because I love the fact that my little sister is so into crafting! It's really great that arts and crafts live on in some children because it really is an amazing hobby. :) Thanks so much for reading everyone and have a very happy Sunday.

May your day be crafty,
Taylor Spades ♠

Another Update On My Little Sister's Crafts!

Hello again crafters!

Here's the second craft from my little sister that I'm going to feature! This is another extension from a project that I did a few posts ago! Here the link to the tutorial if you missed it :) :  

http://letsgetdownandcrafty.blogspot.com/2010/11/make-neat-pencil-holder-tutorial.html

She made this craft along with me and she loved it! She actually colored it herself and she took the pictures herself! :) Now, without further ado her lovely pictures!

 

Just so everyone knows the green lines (according to her :) ) are lines of seaweed! Haha! Like I said before she has quite the imagination! :) Thanks for reading everyone!

May your day be crafty,
Taylor Spades ♠

An Update On My Little Sister's Crafts!

Well hello crafters,

I realized that I never showed you my little sister's puppet that she made. So, all the posts today are dedicated to my little sister's crafts! Now, let's start with her paper bag puppet! It's a cat, wearing a purple dress. Yeah....She's got quite the imagination! :D Anyway, on to the pictures!

So, as you can see it's an orange cat wearing a purple dress! :D I giggle every time I see it, I'm so proud of her for liking arts and crafts! She's the best! :) Thanks for reading and look out for more of my little sister's crafts!

May your day be crafty,
Taylor Spades ♠

I'm Sure You've Seen It But!

What's up crafters?

Today I've got something very different for you to watch. This video has nothing to do with crafts, but it cracks me up everytime I see it. It has over 20 million views so I'm sure most of you have already seen it, but I thought I'd share it anyway. :)



May your day be crafty,
Taylor Spades ♠

Crafts Fails? Do You Have Any? :)

What's up crafters?

Well, today I'm back in school and I'm feeling the break time blues! Don't know what the break time blues are? Let me explain, I love having school breaks and when we finally come back to school I get a little bummed out. I get the break time blues! :( So, crafters today I need a little pick me up! Would all you crafters please tell me about ANY craft fails you've had? If I get some comments with some awesome craft fails I will tell you all about my craft fails! (Believe me, I've had plenty! ;) ) Anyway, please leave a comment below and tell me all about your craft fails! You know you want to! ;)


May your day be crafty,
Taylor Spades ♠

Question Of The Day!

Bonjour crafters!

It's time for another question of the day! Today's question is this: What is your favorite art/crafting website? I really like deviantart.com, but I'm sure you have other favorite websites you can tell me about! :) So, please think about your favorite art/crafting websites and leave a comment below! Thanks for reading everyone!

May your day be crafty,
Taylor Spades ♠

Make A Neat Pencil Holder! - A Tutorial!

HEY CRAFTERS! :D

Well, today I saw that our paper towels were empty so I went to replace them and I decided to save the tube. After, I went online and I looked up paper towel tube crafts and I found a really neat craft! It's how to make your own paper towel tube pencil holder! It's very simple to do and I decided to have a crafting day with my little sister! So, please enjoy this tutorial and try to make your own paper towel tube pencil holder! :D

Materials needed:

• Craft Sticks
• Paint (Optional, you can paint your sticks if you want to!)
• Bathroom Tissue Roll or Tin Can
• Cardboard (For the bottom of your tube! I used clear tape to keep the bottom closed!)
• Rubber Bands (To make sure the sticks stay in place until they dry!)
• Craft Glue (I used hot glue)
• Paint Brush
• Scissors

1. First you need an empty paper towel tube

2. (Not Pictured) Cut the tube in half

3. Cover the bottom of the tube with cardboard or tape so the pencils won't fall out

4. Start gluing the sticks on

5. Let the glue dry

6. (Optional) Paint your sticks any color you want, or you can leave them the natural color

7. Put pencils in your new pencil holder!

8. Congratulations! You made your own pencil holder!

My pencil holder

My Sister's pencil holder

Thanks for reading! I will be sure to update when my sister finishes coloring hers! By the way, happy belated Thanksgiving everyone! I hope your turkeys were delicious! (The tutorial was found at this website: http://familycrafts.about.com/od/craftsticks/a/CraftStickVase.htm)

May your day be crafty,
Taylor Spades ♠

A Silly Little Post - Brutus The Buckeye With Cat Ears! - GO BUCKEYES!

Hello crafters! I'm enjoying a fabulous day today, how about you?

Today I've just got a silly post for you, I'm sure you're all Buckeye fans right? Come on, right?!? :) You know, I've always noticed that Brutus has no ears. I know he's a crazy nut, but how does he hear? So, I decided to fix that problem by giving him some ears! Scroll down to see the pictures of Brutus's new ears! :D (PSST! They were hand-made by me for anime conventions!)

So, what do you think? Do you think Brutus can hear now? I sure hope so! ;) He'll need to hear all the cheering we're going to do when WE WHIP MICHIGAN'S BUTT!!! O-H!! (Leave a post if you know what comes next!) Thanks for reading crafters and GO BUCKEYES!!

May your day be crafty,
Taylor Spades ♠

Feathered Fridays - A New Let's Get Down And Crafty Feature!

Hello Crafters, I've got a little treat for you!

I'm going to start a little Friday feature called Feathered Fridays! I will give you a picture or tell you a funny story about our three parrots! You might be saying, birds are boring! To this I say PAH! Parrots are one of the most entertaining pets out there! Can your dog or cat talk or mimic noises or dance? I think not! So, to show how great these little feathered creatures are I'm going to subject you to them every Friday. MUHAHAHA! >:) So keep on the lookout! You never know who may be swooping in! WHOOSH!

May your day be crafty,
Taylor Spades ♠

Check This Blog Out! "MADE"

Howdy crafters!

It's time for another check this blog out! Today I'd like you all to check out an amazing blog called "MADE", it's a huge blog with pictures galore! I absolutely LOVE it when there are tons of pictures for me to look at! :D I highly recommend this blog if you are looking for interesting and fun crafts and if you love pictures! I've included the link below, so click it and check this blog out!

http://www.dana-made-it.com/

May your day be crafty,
Taylor Spades ♠

My Art Project That I've Been Working On - It's A Book!

How are all you crafters doing? You're all probably watching the American Music Awards! ;)

Well today I'm going to show you what has been consuming my time for the past week. I've been very busy making a book for my advanced art class! We're making a Yin-Yang coloring book and we got to design the book cover! We still haven't put the pages in yet, but we're working on it! If you'd like to see an awesome (furry) book then scroll down to the pictures! Enjoy! :)

This is the front cover, it's got a yin-yang made out of faux fur on the front! It's very soft and fuzzy! As you can see it also has YIN YANG painted on the front with some faux fur, a small ribbon and a metal zipper.

 This is one of the inside covers, it's covered with lace and a spiral fabric. If you spin it really fast you get kinda dizzy! @_@

This is the other inside cover, it has lace and a fun heart fabric.

Last, but not least, we have the back cover. It's got a little lace, a little faux fur, and two African Grey Parrot feathers. The black pieces of fabric are leather. It was fun to stick all the little leather pieces on! :)

Well, I really hope you like my book covers! They were a blast to make and I can't wait until I can put the pages in! I'll be sure to show you when it's completely finished! Thanks guys and have a very pleasant evening.

May your day be crafty,
Taylor Spades ♠

A Little Pick Me Up!

Hello again crafters,

I thought I'd do something a little different with this post and give you a link for 10 life enhancing things that you can do in ten minutes or less. It definitely helped me when I was feeling down and I thought that some of you might be feeling a little down as well. So please check out this link and read the ten things! It really will help enhance your life! :)

http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/emotional-fitness/201004/10-life-enhancing-things-you-can-do-in-ten-minutes-or-less

May your day be crafty,
Taylor Spades ♠

It's (Finally!) Time For A New Question Of The Day!

How are all you crafters out there?

I just realized that we haven't had a question of the day in a couple of weeks! That's shameful! So, today we're finally going to have a new question of the day! It's actually not craft related, but I've been wondering if there's anyone other than me that knows about it.

Here's the question: Do you know what anime and/or what manga is?

Please put a comment below and answer the new question of the day! I'd love to see some comments! :)

May your day be crafty,
Taylor Spades ♠

Check This Blog Out! "Zakka Life"

Hello crafty people!

I've got a really great blog for you to check out today! It's called Zakka Life and it's a Japanese style craft blog. Everything on their blog is really neat and it's definitely worth checking out! I've included the link below so please check it out! :)

http://zakkalife.blogspot.com/

May your day be crafty,
Taylor Spades ♠

A Huge Indian Project! - A Picture Heavy Post!

Hey! What's up crafters!

Well, before I start today's post I would like to apologize for the last of posts this week. I've been sick for about two weeks now and I've really been down in the dumps. So, once again I'm sorry for the lack of posts this week.

Now, on to the post! :) Today I'm going to show you an awesome project that I helped make. It's my brother's fifth grade American Indian project. He was assigned the subarctic Indians so the diorama had to be covered in snow. There are real trees, real moss, clay, fake snow, fabric, twigs, and paint. If I do say so myself it turned out fabulous, but I'll let you see the pictures and decide for yourself how fabulous it is! ;) Alright, on to the pictures! (There will also be a short video showing the project from 360 degrees.)

 

May your day be crafty,
Taylor Spades ♠

Check This Blog Out! "Dollar Store Crafts"

Hey, Crafters!

You know what time it is! Yeah, that's right! It's Check This Blog Out time! :D Today I've got a thrifty blog to show you. It's called Dollar Store Crafts and it's the holy grail of cheap crafting. The crafts on the blog start from free to ten dollars and beyond. It's truly a fantastic resource. So, if you love to craft, but you're on a tight budget then Dollar Store Crafts is the blog for you. :) Now, click the link and go check it out! I promise you'll love it. Thanks for reading! ;)


http://dollarstorecrafts.com/


May your day be crafty,
Taylor Spades ♠

Oh Deer! - WIP

Hello crafters, sorry for that terrible pun! I couldn't help myself! :)

Today I'm going to show you a WIP (Work in progress) of a clay deer I am making. It's for my brother's project that he has to do about Native American tribes. He's making a model of the Indian's environment, so being the crafter I got saddled with making....well almost everything! So, I really hope you enjoy this clay deer. (Psst...I'm really hoping I....I mean my brother gets an A! ;) ) Pictures are below!

May your day be crafty,
Taylor Spades ♠

A Quick Little Video - Our Christmas Cactus

May your day be crafty,
Taylor Spades ♠

A Paper Bag Puppet Bird - Another Tutorial! :D

What's up crafters? Are you having a relaxing Sunday?

I've got another tutorial for you today. YAY! It's a paper bag puppet tutorial! :D So, if you have some extra time on your lovely Sunday make a paper bag puppet bird! ;) WOW, that's a mouthful! It's really fun and easy, so give it a try! Now, without further ado the paper bag puppet bird tutorial:

  Step 1: Get a brown paper bag. This is just a simple school lunch brown bag! :)

Step 2: Cut two identical pieces for wings!

Step 3: Put some glue on the wings and stick them to the brown bag.

Step 4: Cut out a tail and cut little slits on the bottom. I like to ruffle the tail a little bit so it has some fluffyness! :) After that's done glue it to the bottom of the brown bag.

Step 5: Cut out a triangle beak and glue it to the brown paper bag.

Step 6: Cut out a pair of small eyes. You don't have to worry if they aren't perfect circles! It gives your bird character! ;)

Step 7: Cut out a small triangle for the pupil of your eyes. You can make a lot of different expressions with pupils, so you don't always have to have them right in the center!

Step 8: (Optional) I cut out a cute little crest for my paper puppet bird. You don't have to make one if you don't want to. I just thought it looked cute! :D

Step 9: Next cut out a pair of legs for your puppet. You can cut little triangles for the claws.

Step 10: (Optional) I cut an oval for my bird's belly. You don't have to do this, but I thought it added a splash of color! :)

Step 11: There is no step 11, you are finished! Now, stick that paper bag bird on your hand and fly him around the house! Congratulations on finishing him! (or her! ;) )

Thanks for reading everyone, and I hope you enjoyed this tutorial! If you make a paper bag puppet bird, please post a picture and show me! See you guys and gals later!

 

May your day be crafty,
Taylor Spades ♠