FAVORITE WEBSITE WEDNESDAY: I ♥ Handmade

If you're like me, you love handmade goodies but find searching Etsy a little overwhelming.  Enter I ♥ Handmade, a fabulous site that helps crafters market their adorable products.

Here's how it works.  I ♥ Handmade has seasonal markets which feature items tied to a particular theme - Holiday, Weddings, Eco-friendly, etc. - making it much easier to locate something amazing, like jewelry from Plum & Sage, which was part of their Valentine's market.

And I ♥ Handmade has a blog too, where they spotlight fabulous finds like this fun Japanese washi paper tape from happy tape....

And offer terrific giveaways like this adorable coin purse from Pretty Lulu.

If you're a fan of unique products, be sure to check out I ♥ Handmade.  And be sure to have your wallet close by 'cause you're gonna want to use it!


Images: Pretty Lulu, Plum & Sage & I ♥ Handmade

FAVORITE WEBSITE WEDNESDAY: So You Think You're Crafty

I'm a huge fan of reality shows.  Project Runway, Survivor, American Idol, Big Brother - you name it, I watch it.  I also love crafts.  Even if I can't pull some of projects off myself, I love to read about them and get inspired by them.  So when I stumbled up the fabulous blog So You Think You're Crafty, I was overwhelmed.  Crafts + eliminations = heaven in my book! 

Here's how it works.  Ten of the most creative crafters on the web have been selected to compete for 10 weeks creating 10 crafts.  Each week is a different theme, and the blog's readers vote for their favorite project.  The person who creates the week's winning craft provides a tutorial for how to make it, and the lowest vote getter is eliminated.  The catch is that you never knew whose craft you're voting for.  I read the blogs of a lot of the participants and I try to guess whose project is whose but I'm usually wrong which helps to keep things interesting. 

This is the second go round of So You Think You're Crafty and the second challenge is underway. The first week's theme required the crafters make something for themselves. The winner was this adorable wallet made from clothing tags by Kalleen from At Second Street.

Super impressive, right?  You can find the tutorial here.

This week's theme is Under $5 and you won't believe some of the amazing things the crafters came up with for next to nothing.  Like this great clutch bag made from an old men's tweed jacket.

This fantastic children's on-the-go book.

And this fun fabric alphabet set.

There are two days left to vote in this round so head on over to So You Think You're Crafty, check out the other entries and like Heidi Klum, Michael Kors or Nina Garcia, pick your favorite.  Because really, why should they have all the fun?

Images: So You Think You're Crafty

FAVORITE WEBSITE WEDNESDAY: Crafty Nest

Today's favorite website is Crafty Nest, a great source for inexpensive projects geared toward feathering your nest.  Once you start browsing through the tutorials, I guarantee you'll be hooked.  I love the site's more kid-oriented crafts like this fabulous repurposed bulletin board:

Can you believe it used to be this ugly $9 plastic mirror?

I adore this stenciled dresser and want to attempt to make something like it when Gabrielle & Alaina graduate to their "big girl" room.

And how sweet are these fabric silhouettes?

They'd look great in a little girl's room and would also make terrific holiday gifts!

Speaking of, these framed doilies are simple, inexpensive to make and would be perfect presents too.

And if you need an easy holiday project for your kids, check out these craft stick snowflakes.

Such a fun and creative way for your little ones to get into the holiday spirit! 

Like what you see?  There's lots more where these came from.  Head on over to Crafty Nest for fantastic (and cheap!) projects as well as the full instructions for all of the ones you see here.  And if you do one of these at home, be sure to send in a picture so we can feature your handiwork on AFOMFT!


Images: Crafty Nest

CRAFTASTIC: Christmas Tree Wall Decoration

You may remember that I featured BloesemKids here on FAVORITE WEBSITE WEDNESDAY back in October.  Just in case you didn't bookmark it, I have to share a fantastic holiday craft they recently posted.

This great Christmas tree wall decoration is so simple to make and you probably have almost all of the supplies on hand already.  All you need are some paper plates, colored paper cut into squares, a few holiday cards, a stapler, double sided tape and Blu Tac (you know, the clay-like stuff that sticks things to your wall).  Then you....

Accordion the paper, stick it to the plates, cut out some images from the cards, stick them on a circle cut out of paper and attach everything to the wall.  See, I told you it was easy!  Need more detailed instructions? Find all of the details at BloesemKids.
If you make any of the crafts featured on AFOMFT, please send us some pictures!

Images: BloesemKids

FAVORITE WEBSITE WEDNESDAY: Design*Sponge

What can I say?  I love love love Design*Sponge!  It's a great website devoted to home and product design and every day, it's chock full of fantastic posts featuring glorious eye candy and decor inspiration.  I'm sure you're thinking "Great.  But what does it have to do with kids?"  Yes, it may be adult-centric but quite a few of the projects and ideas featured on Design*Sponge can be tailored for your little ones.  Here are a few of my recent holiday-inspired favorites.

This great wall art feature comes from Tali at Growing Up Creative.  Cute, right?  Did you happen to notice that it's made entirely from toilet paper rolls?  Take a closer look.

Talk about a simple eco-friendly craft to do with your kids!  Just cut the cardboard tubes into small strips.

Assemble them into the shape you want to create:

 Then add some glue and secure with clothes pins until the glue dries.

After that, your kids can paint their new creation, decorate it with glitter or just hang it as is.

The sky's the limit when it comes to what you can create with this project!  You can make ornaments for the Christmas tree, big flowers for the wall (how cute would they be as birthday party decorations?) or if you get really creative, you could even make feathers for a turkey in honor of Thanksgiving.  Want the step-by-step instructions?  Find them at Design*Sponge.

Here's another fabulous inexpensive craft that's perfect for the holidays - a Pipe Cleaner Garland.

And boy is this easy!  All you need are a bunch of pipe cleaners and a pair of scissors.

Take the pipe cleaners, fold them in half and twist the ends together.  Shape each one so it looks like a petal and then attach them to each other.  Once you have each flower created, you can connect them to create a screen or a garland or keep them separate to hang as decorations and ornaments.  You can find the full how-to here.

Last but not least is this super simple idea from designer David Stark.

How cute are those twine snowmen?  To make some of your own, just take three varying sized balls of twine, stick 'em together and decorate with buttons or anything else you like.

To make other fun elements like these stars, hats or words:

You just take some wire and wrap the twine around it:

Then mold it into the shape you want.  Simple, right?  For more information and inspiration for this project, check out the full post here.

Trust me, there are tons more great ideas where those came from.  Now can you see why Design*Sponge is one of my favorite sites?  Yeah, I thought so.


Images: Design*Sponge & Growing Up Creative

FAVORITE WEBSITE WEDNESDAY: Free Letters From Santa Claus

If you're keeping count, Christmas is still 43 days away (or only 43 days away if you haven't started shopping yet!) but for FAVORITE WEBSITE WEDNESDAY, I decided to feature a site with a whole lot of holiday spirit.

Free Letters From Santa Claus provides you with a great way to give your little one something to look forward to on Christmas Day.  Just plug in some basic information (your child's name, age, the gift he or she wants, etc.) and presto!  You have a personalized letter from Santa!  Here's one I made for Gabrielle (I love the part where Santa tells her to remind her sister to be good too!):

There are five different letters to choose from and five different designs as well. This is the one I created for Alaina where Santa specifically references the doll she wants:

Creating the letter is free and you can either download it or have it e-mailed to you to print at home at no charge.  And for just $2.99, you can have the letter sent to your child via mail and it will arrive with a North Pole postmark!  How great is that?

So while you're busy making a list and checking it twice, be sure to add a reminder to visit Free Letters From Santa Claus.  After all, shouldn't every kid believe?

Images: Free Letters From Santa Claus

FAVORITE WEBSITE WEDNESDAY: Skip To My Lou

Skip to my Lou is one of the best craft blogs around and I've posted CRAFTASTIC projects from the site before - the Silly Snakes and Ghost Lanterns.  But Cindy, the craftess extraordinaire behind Skip to my Lou, just launched a new feature that I have to share.

That's right - it's a Handmade Holiday Gift Guide!  Sure, you could go out and buy gifts for everyone on your list, but this year, why not give the people you love something from your heart - and hands! - while saving money in the process?

That's where the Handmade Gift Guide comes in.  Cindy has created and assembled some of the best projects around for making presents.  There are lots of "giftee" categories to choose from and each craft includes pictures and step-by-step instructions.  Here are a few favorites of mine.

From the Kid's category, a super cute Crayon Roll:

 

A fun Felt Brown Bag Lunch:

And this adorable Hat and Scarf Combo:

Would you believe it was re-fashioned from a Dollar Store sweater?

There are also some terrific ideas for edible gifts, like this Candy Wreath:

And the deceptively quick and easy Peppermint Bark:

And I really like the projects for the girlie gifts. Need something for a friend who travels?  Try one of these Drawstring Bags from bunnybum, which would be perfect for packing shoes or separating laundry in your luggage:

And you could pair a Drawstring Bag with an adorable Travel Jewelry Wrap from African Kelli:

Know someone who could use some relaxing "me" time?  Why not make her a Rice Heat Therapy Bag, from Sew, Mama, Sew?

Or some Coconut Sugar Scrub, from the outrageous Angry Chicken.

I can't help myself - there are just a few more gifts I have to throw out there.  Skip to my Lou has a free download along with the instructions for DIY Mom Notepads:

  

If you have a teacher you need a gift for, try making the notepad above and including it with a coffee mug wrapped up to say "Thanks a Latte":

 

And last but not least, this idea could work for almost anyone so why not make a few sets of these Embellished Coasters to have on hand for emergency gifting situations?

 

There will be new additions to the Handmade Gift Guide daily and if you're going to make this a handmade holiday, be sure to download the free planner over at Skip to my Lou.

Images: Skip to my Lou, African Kelli, Sew, Mama, Sew!, bunnybum & Angry Chicken