The Craft Pack Bloggy Book Tour

The Craft Pack, you know that group project (business) we started that wrote A Hip Handmade Holiday, well we partnered with Vivint and their new blog The Neighborhood to host a bloggy book tour!

One thing we wanted to promote with our book is that our crafts are very customizable. You can use our ideas and patterns to make things your own. We filmed 10 videos with 10 AMAZING bloggers to do just that.

We gave each blogger a sneak-peek of the book, and then asked them to choose a craft to try. The bloggers then got to have a crazy craft day and film a video with Susan and me! It was so much fun. I only wish I would have been able to craft more, but Susan and I were filming most of the day. Oh the life!

This week some of our bloggers posted their videos with their versions of our crafts from A Hip Handmade Holiday, and also shared some thoughts about handmade gifts. Here’s a list of the lovely ladies who posted this week!

Liz Bryson of Cotton & Curls: made the most ADORABLE version of our Mr. & Mrs. Ho Ho Ho pillows, complete with faux fur trim and pom poms

EZ of Creature Comforts: this classy lady used our Happy Holiday blocks to make a custom set for her new nephew Aiden

Nicole Balch of Making It Lovely: added tons of sass to our Nutcracker Bowling League with rick-rack and non-traditional colors

Natalie Holbrook of Nat the Fat Rat: this not-so-crafty diva added some New York flair to our Bare Necessities tin by keeping the contents compact and simple

Emily of Small Fry Blog: made a version of our Book with POP! with pictures of her adorable little boys

For me the most thrilling thing in the world is when people use my ideas to make something they are excited about. It’s the whole reason I do what I do. And on that note! I hope if you ever make one of my crafts you share it with me! I get so giddy!

I love you all! Have a wonderful weekend!

xo
Alison

Turkey Butt Stencil Leggings




I just cannot stand the cuteness of that turkey bum! And if you could see the way Gigi works it! She has the funniest little wiggle walk which makes it all the better.

So basically I just put my turkey t-shirt stencil on these cute lil leggings I bought at Target, and BOOM! Turkey-butt jeans…boots with the fur! Or turkey-butt leggings and ballet flats. Either way. I made a pair for all of Gigi’s cousins, she’s the oldest of 3 other little ladies so I basically had the time of my life painting turkeys for their tiny booties.

I know I made it, but I love the turkey stencil! I’m going to be making a turkey table cloth, and I’d LOVE to see anything you use it for! So please send me your pictures so I can do a turkey stencil round-up! Even if you made yours last year.

So again, here’s the freezer paper stencil and tutorial. Gobble gobble gobble!

And seriously. You have no idea how sassy my child is. Like, take this picture, that purse, every little hip pose, then add 100 finger wags, a billion snotty, “Why?”s and a, “NO SINGING MAMA!” and you still can’t comprehend what I’m dealing with.

Oh Ginger Jane! I love her little guts.

Ok, go get your stencil on!

Gobble,
Alison

p.s.
I LOVED all your input on Pinterest! Such a fun and interesting conversation! If you missed it, add your two cents here!

I’m a Pinterest Party Pooper

I know, I know, bloggers just LOVE Pinterest. It’s almost blashphemy to say I’m not obsessed with it. And don’t get me wrong, I THINK IT’S GENIUS. Brilliant. But, I’ve been kind of a Pinterest party pooper. Let me tell you why.

1. I like using Pinterest as a place to bookmark things I want, ideas I like etc. But I don’t really love just browsing around on Pinterest. I usually just get frustrated that what I want is either too expensive or the back links take your to nowhere land.

I feel like browsing Pinterest is the online equivalent to shopping at Marshalls. Sure, you can find AMAZING things, but you have to mentally prepare for battle. You have to be willing to sort through crap, dig like a graveyard worker, and be prepared to come out of there a week later, unshaven, starving, and not sure of your last name. I just feel like it’s a lot to commit to.

2. It has changed the way blog traffic works. This is a really good thing, and then again, a misleading thing. A blog can get a lot of traffic from ONE pin, but it may not be a true representation of what really draws READERS to your blog. Or even a great representation of your blog. But I guess the say there’s no such thing as bad press? I’m not convinced.

3. I TWITCH when people say, “I got this idea on Pinterest.” I know I’m being such a nerd, but the thing is PINTEREST HAS NO IDEAS. There’s a hardworking blogger, or writer, or Martha Stewart minion somewhere out there who put their heart and soul into that idea! It’s not Ben from Pinterest’s idea. I guess I just respect creative property so much that it just bugs me a little. But I totally get on the flip side it’s helping people find that creative content that would have never otherwise seen it. So that’s good. Yet at the same time, I don’t think I’ve ever made a connection with someone who I found through Pinterest. It creates this disconnect. But maybe you found my blog through Pinterest, so it’s just me?!

As you can see I’ve given some thought on the matter.

But, I’ve decided, love it or hate it Pinterest is a valuable tool. And if I’m going to use it at all, well, I want it to represent me and what I love. So I spent an obscene amount of time the other night going through my boards. I deleted faulty links, reorganized my content, and made my titles and labels easier to understand. And maybe just maybe, I’ll come to love it.

Either way, if you want to check out my boards or follow me you can do so here!

And here are some of the boards I’ve been working on.


You know I love to party. And I really want my Party Ideas board to be a good time. So I’ve been working on that.


I have a thing for loud shoes. Well, I have a thing for LOUD. Then I realized I’ve been wearing the same pair of boring shoes almost everyday for the past 2 years. Then I realized Ginger is 2. She has ruined me!


Bed time is sexy time! I am on the HUNT for new bedding. I finally found some I loved at West Elm. I’ve been waiting so long to buy it because I wanted to make sure I really wanted it (and because I have no money). But now the shams are sold out! Now I can’t decide whether or not I care enough to have matching shams. MY LIFE IS SO HARD. Ok, it’s not. But thoughts?

And so there you have it. A post in which I denounce Pinterest, and at the same time invite you to follow me on it. What can I say, IT’S ALWAYS CRAZY ON THE ALISON SHOW!

XO,
Alison

What About Thanksgiving?

thanksgiving craft idea
This is Cole, modeling one of my Turkey tee’s from last year! You can find the tutorial here.

Have you noticed how the blogging world (including me relentlessly pushing A Hip Handmade Holiday, see I did it again) has jumped straight from Halloween to Christmas?

But what about Thanksgiving? I’m actually a really big fan of Turkey day. I love the concept of gathering together and being thankful and shoving our fat faces. I know it’s super American and all, but I kind of like that it’s an American holiday and not a religious holiday. I myself am religious, but I like having a day where we all believe the same thing more or less. Unlike Christmas where we are all celebrating for different reasons, on Thanksgiving we’ve pretty much all agreed to be thankful. And it feels very unifying.

But for a girl who likes to get festive, and you know I’m a girl who likes to get fesssssss-tiiiiiive, November is that odd month in which you must decide, “Do I clean up Halloween and go straight for the mistletoe?” Or “Do I throw up some leafy garlands?” Which kind of seem like the only November option, right?

Well I have a few November DIY’s up my sleeve that I’m excited to share, and I also think it’s a good month to focus on pie. So let’s for sure do that.

But other than that I’m looking for some good Thanksgiving crafts/decor ideas or wants, if you got some up your sleeve!? Do they interest you? Or does it seem like something so fleeting there’s no point in really expending the energy?

Either way I probably will rustle some up because I always want to expend energy. I just can’t be stopped!

To get your juices flowing I’m excited about this upcoming series of Fast and Fresh Thanksgiving ideas,

as well as this AWESOME color-blocked branch. So fall, so festive.

But if you’re ITCHING to get your Christmas Craft on, then be sure to check out The Paper Mama’s 50 DIY Days of Christmas (some of her ideas work well for fall too!)

Alright, I hope you have a wonderful week! It’s my birthday on Saturday. Hint, hint. So get excited.

xo
Alison

Sugar Cookie Place Cards

Sugar cookies as place cards at a birthday party

Ginger’s Pony Party was over a month ago, but I still have so many details to share!

One fun thing I did for the party was set up a tiny tots table. (see above!) I made the table by placing an old door (we have tons laying around, I don’t know why) on cinder blocks. This way I had a table that was exactly toddler tummy height! Yum, toddler tummies.

At each place setting I set out a bandana for the kids (made from scrap fabric I had on hand), their party hat, bubbles with a pony head finger puppet, their cup, and also a sugar cookie with their name on it. I loved creating a special cookie for each child who was coming to the party. Also, it kept me from feeling the need to make party favors! Or at least fight the urge…

Sugar cookies as place cards

Cutest party guests EVER enjoying their place card cookies. Their hot mom has a beautiful blog about raising little braves here!


HOW I MADE THE SUGAR COOKIE PLACE CARD:


This was also the first time I placed a cookie on top of a cookie!

1. I made the tiny ponies, frosted them, and let them dry. I added the saddle, eyes, nose and hoofs with an edible writing pen.
2. I used a Tupperware to make the rectangle cookie with rounded corners (one from Ikea I believe).
3. I iced the larger cookie and let it dry.
4. I adhered the ponies to the larger cookie with royal icing –I used royal icing for all for all of the frosting (instructional video here, but I need to make a new one this one is so bad! sorry).
5. I piped the kid’s named with a #2 tip. I wrote the letters on the diagonal for children who had longer names.

Sugar cookies keep really well, so you could do this like 4-5 days before the party. Store the cookies in sealed containers, and be sure to separate them with parchment paper. Also don’t do too many layers, I do two. You don’t want the cookies to weigh down on top of one another.

This would be really REALLY cute for a kid’s Thanksgiving table. Little turkeys with the kiddos names on them?! Be still my heart. I can’t wait for the day I host Thanksgiving. Muhahahaha.

Love you all! I hope you have a happy weekend! And a HUGE HUGE thank you to those of you who bought our book yesterday! We were giddy with each sale! And will continue to get giddy!

To see more pony party ideas click on the meta tag below that says “Pony Party.”

xo
Alison

Keep it crafty, Keep it sassy.