Crochet Character Easter Baskets

Easter is coming soon and it is one of my favorite holidays.I just love the colors and all the fun activities. I especially love watching my kids at Easter egg hunts. In previous years I have just given them the plastic Easter baskets from Walmart and they were fine, but this year they are old enough to want the character baskets. If I only had one kid I would probably spend the $15 for an Elmo or Hello Kitty basket, but with 3 little ones, that comes out to $45 just for baskets! Ouch!

Being the crafty, crochet obsessed freak that I am, I decided to make my own Easter baskets this year.

Elmo and Hello Kitty weren't too difficult. They were just crocheted in a round with one color, then I added their faces.

 I enforced the bottoms with plastic canvas circles that I just sewed to the inside.

Thomas the Train, on the other hand, was a huge pain in the butt. I also crocheted him in a round, but he required color changes, and I had to reinforce the sides since he is a rectangle.

He actually looked MUCH better before, but my doggie got a hold of him. Poor Thomas never saw it coming... I really want to make another Thomas, but Dax is attached to this one and says he likes it just the way it is. Ok dude...

Easter basket line-up :P

So there you have them. My crocheted character baskets that only cost me around $10 to make all 3. With the money I saved I can stock them full of bubbles, eggs, and other fun (mostly non-sugar) goodies.

~Macy

Getting my linky fix with:

 

Chic on a Shoestring

The Shabby Nest

Chic On A Shoestring

Spring Features from last week's Tuesday Confessional

It is grey and gloomy here today, so I decided to focus on the Springy posts from last week's Tuesday Confessional. I think I can hear little birdies chirping in the distance...

This 10 Minute Easter Wreath from Cabin Fevered Gem looks like it took hours

My Raina Sunshine really wowed this week with a colorful butterfly wreath

Speaking of butterflies...I'm loving the whimsical butterfly art by Ashley's Dandelion Wishes

These bunny and chick silhouettes from Coley's Corner are adorable. I especially love the bunny's tail

One Artsy Mama made this adorable fingerprint art look so classy!

I am smitten over this bird nest frame from The Joys of Home Educating

If you are looking for a cute project to do solo or with your munchkins check out this 2x4 Spring character tutorial from Keeping It Simple

If you were featured be sure to grab a button and get your brag on!

 </span>width: 90%;"><div align="center"><a href="http://www.craftyconfessions.com" title="Confessions of a Stay At Home Mommy"><img src="http://i1221.photobucket.com/albums/dd474/Macy_Moon/newbragbutton.jpg" alt="Confessions of a Stay At Home Mommy" style="border:none;" /></a></div>

~Macy

Giveaway winner and a big OOPS!

Soooooo....I love my minivan. It is AWESOME. Do you know what one of my favorite features was when we first got it? The little compartment in the very back that you can use to stow things. Things like extra diapers, or water bottles, or stuff that you are supposed to send out to your Blogiversary winners from 2 months ago. Wait...what?!?! CRAP!

To the two lovely ladies who won the scrapbooking goodie bag and the hot glue gun, I am SO SORRY! It will be sent to you soon.

And to True Love Vintage who won the I Said NO! book giveaway I promise not to put the book in the back of my minivan. It eats things.

Speaking of "My bad", I saw this on Pinterest and thought it was appropriate. Lol!

Have a good night!

~Macy

Tuesday Confessional Link Party

Happy Monday night party people! It is time to link up and have your hard work seen by all.

Remember to follow me on Google Friend Connect and link back here with a pretty button or link.

Also, check out a few of the other link ups while you are here and give some comment love.

<div align="center"><a href="http://www.craftyconfessions.com" title="Confessions of a Stay At Home Mommy"><img src="http://i1221.photobucket.com/albums/dd474/Macy_Moon/NewTuesdayConfessionalButton.jpg" alt="Confessions of a Stay At Home Mommy" style="border:none;" /></a></div>

Book Review and Giveaway: I Said NO!

Being a parent is the most wonderful job in the world, but it can also be the most awkward and uncomfortable at times. There are topics such as puberty and the birds and the bees that need to be addressed as our children get older. I'm glad I still have a few years left on that one. One topic that needs to be addressed NOW is that of stranger danger and "good touch/bad touch". Yeah. Awkward.... I'm uncomfortable right now as I write this.

Thankfully, I was sent a book to review called "I Said NO! A Kid to Kid Guide to Keeping Your Privates Private".

It was written by Zack and Kimberly King-a mother and her child who experienced a bad situation and used their experience to educate others. The book is written from a child's point of view, uses non-icky terms to highlight green flag and red flag situations and tells your child how to deal with hazardous situations. It also gives parents a road map to start a dialogue with their kids.

Samantha read this to her brother and later they explained the book to me and which situations are red flag and green flag. It was nice to see that the message sunk in, and it made having that talk with them much less awkward. I also have some piece of mind knowing that my children are armed with this knowledge.

I would recommend this book to parents with children of any age. I am also giving away a copy to a random Confessions of a Stay at Home Mommy follower. Just make sure you are following this blog on Google Friend Connect and leave a comment below with your email address so I can contact you. If you aren't comfortable leaving your email address in the comments make sure it is on your Google profile. I will choose one winner at random on Monday, March 26th .

If you don't win, this book is available to purchase on Amazon.com and Barnes & Noble.com

Happy Reading
~Macy

4 Ingredient PB&J Cookies

I don't know where the classic 3 Ingredient Peanut Butter Cookie recipe came from. It has been around forever, and it is one of my favorites because it is one of the few treats I can give my littlest guy. He has a dairy and a soy allergy, so most baked goods are out.

I got bored with the traditional recipe and decided to add jelly. It is logical, right? They turned out fantastic and they have become the new family favorite.

Ingredients:

1 C creamy peanut butter

1 C sugar. I tried Sugar in the Raw for the recipe and it was a DISASTER! 

1 egg

Jelly

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Mix PB, egg, and sugar together and mix well.

 Make 1 inch balls on a greased cookie sheet. Make little dent/ditch with your finger and fill with jelly.

Bake at 350 for 11 minutes. Let them cool before you try to eat them or they will fall apart.

Dax took this picture and INSISTED that I put it on my blog :)

Easier than pie and oh-so yummy!

Happy baking!

~Macy

Gettin' my link on with:

/

5 Minute Project: Upcycled Art Drying Station

I love upcycling and I have had these toddler bed rails sitting in my closet just begging to be used. The idea came to me this morning while I was trying to figure out how to dry the kiddles' art projects without dripping paint everywhere. This is what I came up with!

Materials:
paper box lid
toddler bed rails or step ladder pieces
twine, ribbon, or yarn
clothes pins
hot glue

Place bed rails into the box and balance them against each other so they form a triangle. Tie them together. You could also glue them.

Hot glue a clothes pin near the top of each rail. This is where you can hang pictures.

I originally made this with curling ribbon, but replaced it with hemp cord.

If you want you can string ribbon inside the triangle for an extra picture hanger. This is good for hanging small papers or foam projects.

The box lid will catch any dripping paint, and works for drying wood or clay projects. We painted cans to make wind socks and placed them here to dry.

Decorate your box if desired. I painted mine with chalk board paint so I could write down the time I hung up the pictures/projects.

There you have it. A five minute project that you can use over and over!

Happy Crafting!
~Macy

Linking up to:

/

Tuesday Confessional Link Party 03/05/12 -- 03/11/12

Hi everyone! Sorry I missed you last week. I was busy preparing for my son's 4th birthday party. He had a blast and I still can't believe I have a 4 year old!

I can't wait to see what you have in store for me this week, so grab a button and get linking!

<div align="center"><a href="http://www.craftyconfessions.com" title="Confessions of a Stay At Home Mommy"><img src="http://i1221.photobucket.com/albums/dd474/Macy_Moon/NewTuesdayConfessionalButton.jpg" alt="Confessions of a Stay At Home Mommy" style="border:none;" /></a></div>

Tuesday Confessional Link Party 03/05/12 -- 03/11/12

Is it Monday night already?? Wow! Time flies when you don't have sick kids. :)

I hope everyone had a great week last week and I can't wait to see what you did.

Please remember to link back here so others can come and play, and follow me on Google Friend Connect.

<div align="center"><a href="http://www.craftyconfessions.com" title="Confessions of a Stay At Home Mommy"><img src="http://i1221.photobucket.com/albums/dd474/Macy_Moon/NewTuesdayConfessionalButton.jpg" alt="Confessions of a Stay At Home Mommy" style="border:none;" /></a></div>

Tagxedo: My Newest Obsession

Have you discovered Tagxedo yet? I have and I haven't gotten off my computer since! Tagxedo is this crazy cool site that lets you make fun word art with their shapes, or even download your own photos and make your own creations.

Here are a few that I have made with the available Tagxedo shapes:

A great way to remember an anniversary.

My mom is so crazy about shoes that it is actually her nickname.

PERFECT for a playroom or family room.

These are a few that I made with my own photos:

I'll be putting this up on 4shared so y'all can print your own!

I LOVE this one!

Here are a few tips for using your own photos:

Select the Shape menu on the left hand side. At the bottom click "Add Image" and upload your photo.

Go to Word/Layout Options and increase and word count. The more detailed your picture, the higher you will want your word count. You can keep increasing and decreasing until you get it right.

While in Word/Layout Options, increase the tightness. Just like with the word count you can play around until you get it right.

Changing the orientation on the left hand menu will also make a difference in the detail of your photo.

I hope this little post has been helpful, and please apologize to your family/friends for me for getting you hooked on this AWESOME site!

~Macy

Linking to: