Calendar DIY by Cutesy Bootsie

Hi, I'm Brook from Cutesy Bootsie.  I'm so happy to be guest posting here while Sarah takes care of her new baby (and herself, I hope!).  I blog about things going on around me, what I love to wear (and what I wish I was wearing), places to shop (darn you, Target!) books to read, and crafting!  My craft of choice is knitting but I also like projects that are more instant in their gratification.  I have an obsession with a passion for paper, office supplies, markers, pens, and organization.

Today I want to share with you a super simple calendar project you can use to keep yourself organized.  I've used it to help me keep my blog planning on track and organized but I've also seen it used to plan menus, kid playdates and summer activities, and homework project planning.

Here's what I used:

• 8x10 picture frame - mine came from...Target! 
• colored paper or card stock
• computer
• printer
• washi tape - I'm seriously obsessed!
• dry erase markers

There are some great websites with free calendar printables.  I really liked CreativeMamma.com and the tomkat studio.  Because I used colored card stock instead of white paper, I didn't print in color.  Truth be told, it would have been way cuter to be printed in color on white paper.  Lesson learned.  But I didn't want to waste it so my autumn calendars will be fancier than summer.

printed!

Then I used my washi tape to mark off what I knew was already planned and going on before I added anything else to it.  Not only do I love washi tape, I really like that it is so easy to see the days that are busy.  This is better than my old trick of just drawing an arrow across the days.

Then you throw it all in the frame and use the dry erase markers to write on the glass.  Voila!  An easy calendar you can continue to edit all month long!

Thank you to Sarah for allowing me to share my little crafty side!

How to Win Giveaways

The title of this post makes it seem like a sure thing, but it's not. However! I've been entering - and winning - giveaways around the blogosphere since 2009 and I've picked up a few tricks along the way.

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So I've decided to share my secrets with y'all (free of charge, haha!):

How to Win Giveways

1. Find them! I like Etsy Giveaways and Tip Junkie but there are tons of site that do giveaway roundups out there!

2. Read and follow the directions. Play by the rules!

3. Leave your email address in the comments (like this: johndoe at gmail dot com) OR check back on the day it ends for a winning announcement. Not all bloggers notify by email!

4. Do the extra entries. This is just basic math: probability. The more comments = the higher the likelihood that the Random Integer Generator will be your friend!

5. If you're worried about clogging your personal Facebook or Twitter account with likes and tweets, consider opening separate accounts reserved for giveaways. (Confession: I originally did this with a separate FB account and it turned into a pretty active account - I love keeping track of all of the small businesses I admire!)

6. Don't be afraid of being comment #1.

7. Avoid giveaways that have thousands of entries already. Especially if it's for something you feel ambivalent about. I only spend time on high volume entry giveaways if I reeeeeeeeeeeally want it.

8. Save time with copy/paste. If someone is giving 5 extra entries for putting their button on your blog, copy/paste your entry five times.

9. If you have a short amount of time, focus on the high value entries. Many bloggers will give 2 extra entries for spreading the word, or 5 extra entries for signing up for a newsletter.

10. Do the extra entries. Yes I know I already said that but it's worth repeating!

These are no guarantee that you'll win every time. But you may win more often! And even if/when you don't win, you'll have probably discovered a fun new blogger and a great new-to-you company or small business!

What about you? Are you "lucky"? Do you have any tips or tricks to share?

PS: Speaking of winning giveaways, the winner of the Toaster Transformations $20 gift certificate is Angie. Congrats!

How NOT to Grow your Blog

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How NOT to grow your blog:

(A semi-tongue-in-cheek guide from yours truly!)

1. Be fake.
2. Never comment on anyone else's blog.
3. Write in long, never-ending paragraphs with no line breaks.
4. Don't include any pictures.
5. Exclusively talk about your shop non-stop.
6. Don't write about anything worthwhile to your readers.
7. Write one post every other month.
8. Don't bother responding to any comments you get.
9. Insult others to make yourself look better.
10. Avoid participating in linky parties and blog hops.

Interchangeable Flower Belt

When I was in New Jersey over the summer, my sister and I created an interchangeable flower belt.

Here are the materials we used:

* one piece of felt

* scissors

* glue gun

* fake flowers

* one ribbon belt (super easy tutorial here)

Step 1: Cut the flowers off of the stems.

If you run into a flower like this where the tip of the stem is very 3D, then follow these simple steps:

Step 2: Use your glue gun to glue one piece of felt to the back of the flower, then another piece of felt over top for the belt to slide through:

Step 3: Once you've finished creating all the interchangeable flower parts, slip one onto your belt:

Step 4: Model for the camera!!

PS: Isn't my sister beautiful?

PPS: Winners!

The winner of the Seek First giveaway is Mallorie Owens

The winner of the Tell Your Girlfriends giveaway is Beth

The winner of the La Luce giveaway is the Washburn Family

State Silhouette Tutorial

I've been wanting to do this project for some time now. I was inspired by some paintings that I came across on Etsy. And since my area of crafting expertise is paper, I thought I'd give it a try paper-style!

Here's what you'll need:

Pretty patterned cardstock

Black paper

Pink/red paper

Pencil

Scissors

Glue

Frames

Computer to print out the states/countries you've lived in

As you can see, I've lived in five places: California, France, Germany, Michigan and Texas!

STEP 1: Start by cutting out each state/country. (I don't have a picture of this step because both my hands were busy!)

STEP 2: Take each state/country and trace onto black cardstock. NOTE: I discovered after I did France that it's easier to trace it backwards, that way you won't have to erase all the pencil lines after you've cut it out!

                                  
STEP 3: Cut out all of your states/countries. For me, this was a lot of cutting!

STEP 4: Cut out some small hearts, one for each city you've lived in. I just grabbed some pink scrap paper for this. Feel free to cut the hearts out free-hand - little imperfections make it charming!

STEP 5: Cut your pretty cardstock paper to a size that fits your frame (in my case, 5x7)

STEP 6: Glue the hearts down on the cities, then glue the states/countries onto the patterned paper.

STEP 7: Hang it all up! I added a chalkboard frame in the middle with a cute saying. You could add a cute print, like this one... or this one!

STEP 8: Step back and admire your craftiness!!

So now whenever anyone asks me where I'm from, instead of giving them a fifteen minute answer, I can just invite them over to the house and show them!


 

The little crafter that could

Does this ever happen to you? You're browsing along at the mall or online or wherever, and you come across something super cute... like this Full Bloom Belt from DownEast Basics.

And you think to yourself: "Hey, I think I can make that!"

A quick Google search led me to this fabulous tutorial from Ruffles and Stuff for a grosgrain ribbon belt. Check out her final product:

I even found a few great tutorials to make your own felt flowers for the belt! A pretty variety from One Little Minute. A fun and easy one from I Am Momma. And a classy and sophisticated flower from Lu Bird Baby.

I can already tell, these will be my new crafting obsession!

Guest blogging!

Hi everyone! I'm guest blogging a FABULOUS (and easy!) tutorial over at Momomod today. You can  check it out here. Please do go leave me some comment love over there :)

Altered mini-composition book tutorial

I'm excited to present my very first tutorial today! I recently made these to give as birthday gifts to my coworkers:

Aren't they cute? They're super easy and super cheap to make (my favorite kind of project!). And I'm going to show you how I did it -- although most of you out there are so crafty, I'm sure you can tell just by looking at the picture how to duplicate this :).

Step 1: I started with these supplies:

• Mini-composition books (three for a dollar at your local dollar store!)
• Spray adhesive glue (PVC glue or Yes Paste would also work)
• Scissors and/or paper trimmer
• Fun scrapbook paper
• Something to protect your work area from the spray adhesive

Step 2: Measure the length and width of your composition book. Don't include the black binding. But do include some overhang. I ended up cutting mine to 3 inches by 4.5 inches.

Step 3: Cut two panels per book (one for the front, and one for the back)

Step 4: Spray the backside of the paper with the adhesive. Attach to the cover of the book, working quickly. [No picture of this step... was too busy working quickly!]

Step 5: Trim the overhang around the edges.

Step 6 (optional): You could add coordinating paper to the inside of the front cover and the back cover, but I was too hungry for lunch at this point to care!

Step 7: Admire!

You could also add embellishments to the front of the cover, but I would make sure they weren't too bulky or three-dimensional: you want to make sure they're easy to carry around in a purse! I also thought about personalizing them with stamped initials on the front. Have fun with it!