Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas! I hope your day was as blessed with loved ones as mine was! I had the most wonderful Christmas and was in such good company! Merry Christmas from my heart to yours!

Love,

Erin

Thrift Store Finds!

Hi Everythingers!!!

I went to the local Goodwill with my mom yesterday and look what I found!!!! Arn't these retro canisters just adorable?!?! I only paid $2 a piece for them! When I first saw them I thought I would cover up the names on the canisters with chalkboard paint...but the more I looked at them, the more I thought that they were just so cute the way they are! So..... I decided to leave them as is.

The thrift store had all sorts of cool stuff.....I am going to go back after Christmas and buy some clothes with cool looking patterns and I am going to make some stuff!!! hahahah!

If you never visit the thrift stores in your area.....you should definitely check them out...sometimes they are gold mines!

Happy Thrifting!

-Erin

Happy Birthday Mom!

Today is my Mother's 50th Birthday! It's her very merry birthday........ today....hooray!!! Anyway, I decided I would make her this small little cake. It was just a simple box cake and I dyed the icing blue, but I think it's cute. Sometimes I find that less can sometimes be more :)

Happy Birthday Mom!!!!

Love,

Erin

Scrap Bag

So this morning I woke up early hungry to create something. So I got a couple of old t-shirts and an old hospital gown I had. I cut them into strips and sewed them together. The hospital gown had a big sewn in pocket on the front of the gown, so I cut out the pocket and sewed it to the inside of the bag. I used and orange t-shirt as the lining. For the strap I cut a long strip of the gown and twisted it, tying knots as I twisted it all the way down, then sewed it onto the bag.

This was a super easy project and super fun and fast....and the best part about this project is that it was FREE!!!!!!!

I had an old head band that had a cut black flower on it that I removed and just safety pinned it onto the bag....... viola!!! cuteness!!!

I hope you think this bag is cute too, and I hope it inspires you to make one of your own :)

Happy Scrapping!

-Erin :)

Travel Coasters by Crafting & Cartwheels

Hi Everything-ers!!

These are my favorite kinds of Christmas gifts....ones that are made with thought and love! One of the gifts I am making this year are these decoupage travel coasters. I have been decoupaging for years and it is by far one of my favorite crafts. I have decoupaged everything from jewelery to portraits. I just can't get enough of it. My aunt and uncle love to travel, and so their life style inspired me for the theme of these coasters....

*********************************Here is the tutorial*********************

You will need:

Bathroom tiles (whatever kind is on sale, I paid 16 cents a piece for mine)

2-3 foam brushes

A Pattern, scraps etc.

Modge Podge Glossy

Foam Contact paper or felt

A tiny can of Polyurathaine (8 oz)

Scissors

Tea or coffee

Tacky glue

Step 1:

Clean all your tiles with regular dish-washing soap and water and dry really well with paper towels or cloth, then set aside.

Step 2:

Place tile on pattern paper or on plain paper and trace around tile. Cut out all squares. If you are making the same coasters that I made you will use the plain paper and then once all the squares are cut out, proceed to step 3. If you are just making coasters on pattern paper skip step 3 and go on to step 4.

Step 3:

Lay out all squares and use coffee or tea bags to stain paper. Please allow paper to dry fully before proceeding to step 4.

Step 4 (optional):

Bring all paper squares outside and very carefully burn around all the edges. Use the lighter to light a section at a time, once it catches fire, immediately blow out, knocking ash residues off with your finger. You could also use a distress ink on the edges for a very similar effect but I chose the old method because I like the way it turns out different every-time.

Step 5:

Take one tile at a time and spread a generous portion of Modge Podge all over the finished side of the tile. Try and use patterned brush strokes.....going all one way. (ex. covering all either horizontal or vertical.) This just disperses it nicer. Add your paper square very carefully, and using your fingers gently rub out all air bubbles underneath paper. Once the air bubbles are all out cover in Modge Podge again.

***Hint: If you are making the coasters I made above then this is when you will be adding your tags, scraps, etc. layering and covering everything with Modge Podge.

Step 6:

Once all tiles are completely covered leave to dry for several hours.

Step 7:

Cover each tile with polyurethane to provide extra protection against water and heat etc. I put 3 coats of polyurethane on each coaster. Please remember to be patient and allow each coat to dry completely before applying another one.

Step 8:

Once your coasters are dry, then all you have left to do is to attach feet to the coasters. I choose a non skid foam contact paper material that I found at my local Home Depot on sale. You could use many things for this part including but not limited to; cork board, felt, rubber etc.

Cut four half inch squares out of material and glue with Tackey glue to all four corners of the bottom of the tile. Allow to dry completely and Enjoy! :)

Happy Coastering!!!!!!!!

-Erin :)

Creative Juice

Good Morning Everythingers!

I was just looking at my "Creative Juice Book" from the DIY network, starring Cathy Filian and Steve Piacenza. This is a picture of the exact book I have:

It's a great little book! Definitely worth the $5.54 I paid for it purchasing it used at Amazon.com

Also, if you go to the following youtube link, they have a channel with some great tutorial ideas. I'll post the link below....

http://www.youtube.com/user/CathieAndSteve#p/u/0/IfaqtCj1XqY

The sad news is that the show went off the air. I don't remember it ever being on, but I sure would have liked to see all of the episodes or at least have another book by them! The show lasted eight seasons according to Wikipedia. I wish I could order the DVDs of the seasons but I don't think that they are available.

I believe the only remains left of the series can be found through youtube, and I think if you go to the http://www.diynetwork.com/tv-shows/index.html and type Creative Juice there will be perhaps a few videos and some tutorials.

Get your Juice on......

-Erin :)

Pier One

Oh my Pier 1....... or shall I say Pier One-Derful!!!!!! If you are looking for some great inspiration ideas for your projects to go along with the season or just stopping by to browse the on sale goodies...... a trip to Pier 1 is never wasted! I wish they were paying me to say this but they are not!

Pier 1 is one of my all time favorite stores because they have such whimsical and unique things , great prices, and TONS of inspiration for new projects!!!!

So, if you have one near you....check it out...even for five minutes. You will be surprised how inspiring it can be :)

Happy Inspirations!

-Erin

Bottle Cap Magnets

So, I was going to post a tutorial today but I wasn't feeling very well, so it will have to wait until Monday. However, a friend of mine who is also an "everything-er" dropped off a sweet little homemade Christmas gift and I thought it was cute and I would share it with you.

Here is what she made me:

Arn't they just the cutest little things? I was thinking something that might be fun is to make a bunch of these for party favors...... and display them in a bowl.

I am in a book club and when we meet again I think I may make a bunch of these with our little book work logo on it and hand them out as party favors :)

Just an idea inspired from my friend Mandie! Thanks Mandie!

When I make a bunch of these I will post a tutorial for you all to see :)

Happy Crafting!!!

-Erin

Happy Crafting Launch!

Hi! My name is Erin Gutierrez and I am a: Wife, Daughter, Sister, Friend, Aunt,Blogger, Youtuber, Crafter, Gardner, Cook, Baker, and yes even candle stick maker at times! I am a Everything-er! Yep, I love it all! I just love to create, and design, and have a easy project, then do something hard that requires too much work! I love it all!!!!!

That is the purpose of this new blog..........to have fun and find others who have all the same addictions as me and share ideas! I am super excited and can't wait to get started!!!!!!!! My first official tutorial will begin tomorrow and I hope to meet many new "everything-ers" all along the way!!! :)

Happy Everything!!!! Happy Creating!!! :)