Spooky Banner Craft Kit

It's a new Halloween Spooky Banner! I don't think I've ever had a banner with so many different things going on at once...

We have a boy Jack-O'-Lantern, Bride of Frankenstein, Skull and Crossbones (this one happens to be a girl, but you can make a boy as well), 

A Ghostie, Frankenstein's Monster, And Candy Corn (it's spooky because it will rot your teeth! Ha!)...

And a Spider (okay, this one's also a girl - I can't help it! - girls are more fun to accessorize - but any of these can be made into boys), a Mummy, and a girl Jack-O'-Lantern...

And a Witch, and a Bat, and Dracula!

I KNOW! It's a lot. Are you overwhelmed with all the possibilities? 

Well. It gets better. 

Each little scrapbook paper decoration you see - Pumpkin stems, Bride of Frankenstein's hair, Frankenstein's Monster's hair, Dracula's hair, Witch's hat and hat band, Spider legs, Skull and Crossbones' bones, and Bat wings - comes in 3 different paper variations in the kit. So, not only are there lots and lots of paper choices, if you decide you want to skip the Skull and Crossbones and Bat and make 3 spooky Spiders instead, go for it! The paper supplies are there. And they are awesome.

And then. It gets even better.

This kit has tons of decorative ribbon (I mean, I didn't actually weigh it, but I'm pretty sure it's about a ton), and crushed tulle for the Ghost...

And muslin Mummy wrap, orange flowers, hand-punched rosy cheeks and eyelashes and curls and ghost eyes (I hand-punched each and every one!)... 

And wiggly eyes and colorful sequins and black buttons! Oh, and I even include a pencil so your little one(s) can draw sweet or spooky little mouths onto the faces. It does not get any cuter than child-drawn mouths!

Oooooh.....Spoooooooky!

And it all comes packaged in a cute little box...

Happy Halloween Crafting!

Stained-Glass Butterfly Craft Kit

My Stained-Glass Butterfly Craft Kit got revamped! Oh, the colorful sparkliness of it all!

So now the craft kit makes even more butterflies! It contains supplies to create FIVE butterflies with lots of mix and match decorations - colorful tissue paper for the wings, preprinted decorative paper butterfly bodies, iridescent chenille stem antennae, and lots of sparkly sequins!

I'm pretty proud of that rainbow butterfly. I ripped the tissue paper into long strips and just went for it. Then I matched the sequins going down his body so he's extra, extra rainbow-y. I love him so much that I made him my etsy shop avatar. And then I was inspired to change my shop banner, too. Go look! He's my own little fluttering muse. 

Ready for some behind-the-scenes glamour? Now, I'm not a professional photographer. But I'm pretty sure any professional photographer would have taken the butterfly pictures EXACTLY like I did.  

Which is by lying on my back on the dirty cement while giggly, squirmy kids held a backless, glass-is-taped-to-the-wood-and-it-might-fall-out-and-shatter-at-any-moment frame above my head so I could take pictures.

They could not, for the life of them, hold that frame level.

Do you see what I go through? It's a very dangerous line of work I'm in. 

Oh, look! That kid there thinks holding the frame with his 8 year old thumbs is perfectly safe.

I could not get out from under there fast enough.

But anyway!

Big news! I've changed my craft kit packaging! Slowly but surely, I'm going to be switching over from the bags to these extra fancy looking things:

I loved the bags, but boxes are much more sturdy. 

It also might have something to do with the fact that when I had a booth at an outdoor craft fair recently, the craft kit bags kept blowing over and it was really driving me bananas. BANANAS! I just don't need any extra crazy in my life.

And, seriously, this box is a gift giver's dream! It's colorful and pretty enough to give as is, or you could easily wrap it up in decorative paper, or you could just slap a bow on the top and call it a day.

Anyway. Look how cute the back is! Why, yes, I do feel a little extra professional right about now.

Did you notice how the rainbow-colored blocks on the packaging match the banner in my etsy shop? I'm pretty excited about all the changes going on around here.

The butterflies look best taped to a window, but you could also hang them up on your child's wall, like so...

Or go for a simple framed look...

Cute! Cute! 

                         

Happy crafting!

Patriotic Stars Banner Craft Kit

It's new craft kit time! Happy red, white, and blue! It's a Patriotic Stars Banner Craft Kit!

Perfect for 4th of July decorating, parties, family reunions... go ahead... have everyone in your family make a star... you happy little American family, you!



Here's what you get!

12 large stars - 6 red and 6 blue. You and your kid will cut them out - don't worry! They're preprinted. And it's great scissor practice!

Red, white, and blue!... and burlap! (I love the burlap!).... solid and patterned!... medium and small paper stars. So you can layer colors and patterns to your heart's content. Oh, you'll be cutting those stars out, too. Hey! Don't be whiny. A little star cutting never hurt anyone. Except me. It would probably hurt me if I had to cut out all the stars from the millions of Star Banner Kits I'm planning on selling. I have big dreams. BIG DREAMS!

Sparkly rhinestones and shiny sequins and sweet buttons...oh! and stickers, too! 

Seriously. How cute is that little red heart button? SO CUTE! Dude. This banner is all rockin' the Americana Sweetness. 

7 feet of jute - twice! - so you can double up your banner. It's extra fancy that way. And lots of colorful decorative ribbon...

Love it!

All packaged up like so...

Cute! Cute!

Ella and Peyton wanted to make one before I even finished creating the kit. Holy Crafting Pride, Batman! I love those kids!

Ella's is the red, Peyton's is the blue.

Ella broke all the rules. Trouble maker. You see that eyeball? Yeah. You won't be getting that in your kit. But she made up for all the troublemaking with what she wrote on her star...

Family. With a heart. By Ella.

Lordy. That's sweet.

Eyeball.

Happy 4th of July!

Fish Aquarium Classroom Kit

I wanna rock right now

I'm a Fish Aquarium and I came to get down

I'm not internationally known

But I'm known to rock the cool classroom.

That totally does not rhyme.

Hit it!

That song NEVER gets old. Picture me dancing like Elaine on Seinfeld while I rock it out and you've got yourself the real life visual.

Except when I said I'm not internationally known, I really meant that the Fish Aquarium Classroom Kit is NOW OFFICIALLY INTERNATIONALLY KNOWN.  As in there is a classroom full of kids on an American Army base in SOUTH KOREA who are currently creating 14  Fish Aquariums using the supplies of this super awesome classroom kit. 

This teacher only has 14 students in her classroom, but I can make a classroom kit for as many students as you have.

All the supplies are packed up in this reusable scrapbook paper box. You can use it again and again. Store your leftover art supplies in it. Or your calming aromatherapy oils. Or your candy and cookie stash. I used to be a teacher. I don't judge.

Want to see inside?

Ooh wee T-Shane! That's a lot of stuff! 

Paint and glue and paper plates and preprinted fish parts (that the students will cut - it's great scissor practice!) and sand and shells and crushed shells and seaweed and the list goes on and on! All you need to supply is scissors. Easy peasy!

Hey parents! You know what? Even though this is a classroom kit, you could also use it for a party craft. Super fun. Super cute. I do all the work. You get all the credit. Superstaaaa! 

And see how those little bags tell you how much of each supply to give each kid? You could do this in your sleep! Which is good, because if you're a teacher, you're probably not getting much sleep anyway.

Bonus! I've included lots of extra scrapbook paper fish parts so that the kids will have a variety of colors and patterns to choose from. If you want to actually let them choose, well, that's up to you. :)

Did I forget to mention that I wrap it all up with some yarn? Eh? I KNOW! Totally amazing.

Happy classroom crafting!

Gnome and Mushroom Banner Craft Kit

YAY! I just created a brand spanking new craft kit! It's about time, I know!

Here's how it all started. I lived in California. I didn't care about gnomes. It's sad, but true. I'm a little ashamed.
I moved to Iowa and I went to Reiman Gardens where they had this traveling exhibit. And I fell in love with gnomes.
Then I moved back to California. I seriously needed some gnomes in my life so I created this gnome kit. It only took me two years. Because I'm really speedy like that. The end.

Gnomies! And mushroom homes for shelter, of course!
Here's what you get!
3 boy gnomes!
3 girl gnomes!
6 mushrooms!
And enough jute twine to string them all together to make the sweetest dang banner you ever did see!

And I'll even send you a page full of exclamation points if you didn't get enough just now.

The boy gnomes come with lots of choices of fancy scrapbook paper shirts and pants and beards. And bling just in case your gnome wants a sparkle beard. It might just give him the boost he needs to pick up some gnome chicks. Who knows? Help a gnomie out!

The girl gnomes come with lots of choices of fancy scrapbook paper dresses and aprons and curly rick rack ribbon hair. And bling just in case your gnome wants sparkly hair. And, really, what girl gnome doesn't want sparkly hair? It brings the magic I tell you!

The mushrooms come with lots of choices of fancy scrapbook paper mushroom caps and stems and wide fancy stripes. And cute little doors and windows that don't even open and are way too small for the gnomes to actually use. Whatever! Maybe they can use their magic or something. Don't give me any grief, gnomes! Make it work!

You will only need scissors for this kit. It's great scissor practice for kids to cut out the preprinted, colorful, and simple scrapbook paper and cardstock shapes. And, besides, cutting the shapes is relaxing, easy, and it provides great quality time.

And! I've also included decorative ribbons, hand-punched paper flowers and butterflies, sparkly sequins, 

colorful buttons, and scrapbook paper shapes. 

Oh! And rosy cheeks! I almost forgot about the rosy cheeks!

It is a lot of cuteness.

Not that you need an excuse to bring gnomes into your life, they do bring magic and good fortune, after all.

BUT!

This kit would also be perfect to decorate a woodland-themed party. Or you could have the party guests create their own gnomes to take home as a party favors.

Or you could make your own gnome family. Have each member of your family make a gnome and a mushroom house - how cute would that be!!!

I don't know. I might just make a bunch to hang from the ceiling in my closet. So that they can greet me every morning with their magical adorableness. And maybe they can do some cleaning up in there. I mean, if they're just going to be standing around all day. They might as well do something. Get to work, gnomes!

Anyway. They come all packaged up in this:

Cute, right?



Happy Gnoming!

Easter Egg Banner Craft Kit

My Easter Egg Banner Craft Kit just got a remake! Now it's extra, extra fancy just like we always knew it could be - putting forth its best effort and living up to its potential and all that.

Kids love it, grown-ups love it, I love it, and I know for certain that the Easter Bunny will leave more presents in your basket if he sees this thing Easterfying your house. It's a known fact. Or, at least, it is in my house. Although our Easter Bunny brings things like paint, so that might not be what you're going for. I just want you to be able to make an informed decision on such an important matter.

But LOOK!



Look how pretty!

Would you like to know about the supplies that come in this kit?

WELL! You get:

12 brightly colored card stock eggs (egg templates, actually. A little extra scissor practice is good for you and your kid!)...



And lots of fancy paper strips...

And rick rack and skinny decorative ribbon...

And buttons and sequins...

And rhinestones and hand-punched paper flowers...

And, of course, enough tacky glue to stick on all the fanciness...



And lots and lots of banner ribbon to string up your eggs in a happy manner. Like so...

All packaged in this cuteness...

Potential achieved!


Happy Easter Crafting!!!