I'm a Fiskateer!

I was so excited to get this box in my mailbox the other day!

I wasn't exactly sure what was in it.....but it said Fiskars and Fiskateers on it, so I knew it was something good!  I know everyone that hasn't been living under a rock somewhere has heard of Fiskars......but have you ever heard of Fiskateers?  Let me tell you a little bit about it and then I'll show you what was IN the box!

Fiskateers is an online community of creative people who love sharing their passion for crafting.  As a Fiskateer you have access to many benefits - here are a few

• Get inspiration from the fabulous Fiskateers Blog
• Learn tips and tricks, get questions answered and even share your knowledge on the Message Boards
• Check out the Project Gallery for new ideas and techniques
• Participate in crafting challenges on the Message Boards
• Put your crafting skills to good use in "Random Acts of Kindness"
• Share your projects with like-minded crafters
• Learn about upcoming events held all over the country
• Join online chats with other crafters to connect with the community
• And much more!

Here is the link for you to go check it out!  Click here and sign up to be a Fiskateer - it's free!

Now to show you the rest of my happy  mail!  You saw the box I got in my mailbox - this is what I saw when I opened the box:

that is a super cute burlap bag!  Who doesn't love burlap?!  Wanna see what's inside?

Aren't they purty??!!!  I was so excited to see these!  I've always loved Fiskar products.  When I was growing up, my mom's Orange handled Fiskars scissors were a big no-no!  Us kids were not allowed to touch them!  LOL!  They were her "fabric scissors" and she knew if we ever used them on anything else.  Now that I'm a crafter myself, I completely understand that you need a pair for fabric and another pair for paper - and lucky for you, Fiskars has a pair for anything you need.....and many other awesome products also - not just for crafting.  Click here to see their crafting products, yard and garden products, sewing and quilting, hardware products,  classroom products, office products and they even have what they call ease-of-use products that have earned the "Ease-of-Use Commendation" from the Arthritis Foundation that has helped millions of people suffering from arthritis to continue doing the things they love to do.  I just love Fiskars!  Did I already tell you that?

I love my new scissors and here's my favorite part - they are personalized with my Fiskateers number on them.....that's ME.....Fiskateer #8990! 

I hope that I've intrigued you enough to go check it out!  There really are sooo many great resources - it's a wealth of information!

Thanks for stopping by!  Have a great week!

Blender drinks!

Hey everyone!  I have a fun recipe for you that you can make right in your mason jar!  I love drinking out of the mason jars of all sizes.  I grew up in the south and it just feels right!

I am also a little...ok a lot.....obssessed with the Skinny Girl products.  I love Bethenny - she is so tell-it-like-it-is, a real go-getter, funny and she really made something out of nothing.  Skinny Girl was just an idea she had and she went for it.  I find her a real inspiration.  So I am making the Skinny Girl Strawberry Margarita!  Of course, you could substiitue any type of drink mix, fruit, or whatever you want for this - you could get really crazy!

  This is what you need:

Drink mix, fruit, salt or sugar depending on your drink, standard mouth mason jar (no wide mouth), ice and blender.

I'm using lime in my drink, so just trim off the rind

Next just pour in about 3/4 glass of your drink mix, chop up some fruit and throw in your lime and whatever else you're adding. 

It looks so pretty in there!

Now add your ice

Now comes the fun part!  Screw on the attachment to your blender.

Now put it on your blender and blend away!  Isn't that a really cool trick?!!

and that's it!  You have a really yummy drink!  I really wish I had some of those really cute paper straws to use in my mason jar......gotta get some of those!

Now I want one! 

P.S.  Bethenny.....if you are reading this......you have my permission to use this in any way you want!  (haha!  Bethenny reading my blog....yeah right!)

I have found some other really yummy drink recipes on some other blogs that I stalk....I mean, read....that I will post for you soon!  Enjoy!

CHEERS!!

Mason Jar Sewing Kit

 

{I have just a few things to share before I get to my main post....be patient!}

Hi all!  I've been MIA for a while - I cannot even begin to explain the series of unfortunate events that have happened here over the last month and a half!  Our life has not been our own....that is for sure!  There has been a few awesome events happen though - I'll share those, they are much more fun!  I entered the Great Pinterest Hunt contest on one of my favorite blogs of all time - I Heart Naptime......and I won something!  OMGosh, and not just something......something awesome!!  I am so excited to get it and get it all set up.  This is what I won......



Amazing, right??!!!!  It is the Scrapbox Workbox, but that's just one of their many amazing products.  If you've ever dreamed of truly getting organized, these people have made your job easy!  Go check out their website - www.theoriginalscrapbox.com.   As soon as I get it, I will take pictures to show you!

OK now on to why I title this post "Mason Jar Sewing Kit"!

This is a really fun project to make for yourself or to give as a gift.  It's really pretty simple and I'm sure you could figure out how to do it by just looking at it, but I've put together this little tutorial on how to do it for you anyway just because it's fun for me.....and I'm just selfish like that.

Supplies:
Small Mason Jar with lid - I used one of the short jelly jars, but you could use any you want.
Sewing Kit - I bought mine at Walmart for $1.47!
Small scrap of fabric
Stuffing
Glue gun

Place sewing kit it jar

Here is a close up of the different items in the sewing kit.  (tape measure, several small spools of thread, small scissors, straight pins, thimble)  You can be creative here and add a few extra items that may be relevant to the person you're giving it to.

Next, you need a scrap of fabric that is about an inch bigger than your lid all the way around.  Use a pencil and draw a circle about an inch bigger than the lid, then cut out your circle.

Turn your fabric upside down and place your lid in the center.  Using your glue gun, start adding glue around the red rim a little at a time and pressing the fabric down, gathering it a little as you go.

Do this until you have just a small opening left.  You would be surprised at how easy it is to shove the stuffing in a small opening.  I tried leaving it bigger, because I thought it would be easier, but it just made it harder to continue gluing with the stuffing already in there.  This also gives you a better idea how much stuffing you need to get your desired "puffiness" for your pin cushion.

Finish by closing up the opening and pushing it through the rim and putting lid on jar.  If you wanted it to have a more finished look, you could always cut a circle to glue down to cover up the raw edges underneath.

Put a few straight pins in and you have a stinkin' cute little sewing kit/pin cushion that all your friends will covet!  I think even non-sewers would love to have this!

I would love for you to send me pics of yours that you make and I will post them here for everyone to see!

Thanks for stopping by!  See you tomorrow for some fun drink recipes to make right in you mason jars using your blender!

Umm........

I guess I, um, didn't, um, realize how many times, um, the word UM comes out of, um, my mouth!!  LOL!!  Holy cow! 

The funny thing is, that I knew that happened when people get nervous and I was consciously thinking about it before I went.  I told Jeff that I needed to really think when I was speaking so I didn't do that.  He told me, "Don't think about it too much, just be natural and be yourself and you'll be great!"  Even though I lost all my nervousness by the time it was my turn, because everyone there was so great and does such a great job at making you feel comfortable, I felt like I did a good job!  If you would've asked me if I said "um" a lot after it was over, I would've said, "NO, I didn't say it at all!"  Ha ha!  Wow.....have I ever heard myself?  Who was that, um, person?! 

So, needless to say, I need to work on my public speaking!  If anyone has any suggestions to help my "UM" problem, PLEASE....I'm all ears!

Regardless, I had a great time and can't wait to get to do it again.  As I promised, here is the link to watch the segment.  I'm still trying to figure out how to put the actual video on here?  Project instructions to come soon! 

KMOV Great Day St. Louis - Hillbilly Wine Glass and Mason Jar Segment
http://www.kmov.com/great-day-st-louis/Hillbilly-Wine-Glass-159788955.html

Thanks so much for stopping by!  I'd love to hear your comments or suggestions!

Great Day St. Louis!

I had the wonderful opportunity to do a segment on KMOV's Great Day St. Louis today!  I wanted to thank everyone there for a wonderful experience.  This was my first crafting TV gig and they made me feel really at ease.  Everyone was so friendly, and really made me feel very comfortable.....like I was just talking with friends.  So thank you, Sammi, for helping prepare me for what was coming and a big thank you to Virginia!  She did an awesome job guiding me along and even jumping in a few times when she saw I was struggling with what to say next!  LOL!  She earned her wine glass that I left for her!  I'm really looking forward to the next time!

I will be posting a link to the segment later on, along with the projects and instructions that were on the segment. 

Thanks again!  You guys rock!

Hillbilly Wine Glass

I just added these on my Etsy shop and on eBay.  They are so fun whether you use them or for just display.  Don't be afraid to embrace your inner redneck!  I have more styles available to purchase:
Hillbilly Martini Glass
Hillbilly Margarita Glass
Hillbilly Champagne Glass
As soon as I get the others photographed I will list them also.

I am taking orders now.....whether it's for just 1 or for 100 (or more!).  Please email me at shonastone@gmail.com to place your order today!

They are only $8!!  Much less expensive than I have seen them other places!  Shipping will be $5....contact me for shipping rates for multiple items.  I also will give special bulk rates for those ordering 4 or more of the glasses.

I greatly appreciate any referrals I get from my subscribers!  If you forward the link to my blog post, Etsy shop link, or my eBay link, you will receive a FREE glass of your choice with FREE shipping, from any purchases made from referrals!  Just make sure when you refer someone, that they contact me to let me know that they are a referral.

Have a great rest of the week and stay tuned for the other styles as they get added!

Thanks for stopping by!

Easter Treats - Part 2

This is part 2 of the Easter Treats tutorials.  Who knows, there's still time before Easter to do some more....please leave a comment and let me know if you would like to see more, and if you have any suggestions on something that you would like to see.

This one is another quick and easy one that you could do multiples very quickly.  It's called a Slider..

Isn't he cute?!!  Here's the Supply list:
Cardstock or Scrapbook Paper
Ribbon
Embellishments
Stamps (optional)
Paper Trimmer
Double Sided Tape
Dimensionals
Pack of gum, Candy bar, or other treat

Cut paper to fit around your treat with an extra half inch to adhere two the two sides.  I am using measurements for a pack of gum in this tutorial, but you can adjust to whatever treat you use.

For the gum, cut the paper to 4" x 5 1/2".  Score at 2", 2 1/2", 4 1/2" and 5" on the long side.

Adhere the two ends together to form a "sleeve" for the treat to slide into.

Embellish the sleeve as you wish.  I used an image I stamped on another piece of paper, then I cut it out and used dimensionals to attach it to the front.  I stamped the image on another patterned piece of paper and cut out the egg portion and attached it just to give it a little more dimension.  This technique is called paper piecing.  It's a fun way to piece together an image using different colored or patterned paper.

Squeeze the front and back panels together at the top of and using a hole punch, punch through both layers.

Thread the ribbon through both holes until the ribbon has an equal length on front and back.

Slide the treat in the sleeve pushing the ribbon down to the bottom.

Tie the ribbon in a knor or a bow.

When you pull the ribbon up, the teat will slide up out of the sleeve.  You can put a little tag with instructions to "pull" if you like.

This is a really fun project because you can adjust it to pretty much anything!  Some ideas to use are packs of gum, Candy bars, Microwave popcorn, hot chocolate packs, or gift cards.  Just be creative!

Thanks for stopping by!  Comment to let me know if you want more tutorials for Easter treats and what tutorials you would like to see.

Have a great rest of the week!

Easter Treats - Part 1

I have a few different Easter treats to share with you this week.  They are both so cute and can be completed in a matter of minutes!  The first is a Tic Tac Holder

Supply List
Cardstock or Scrapbook Paper
Ribbon
Embellishments
Paper Trimmer
Glue Dots and/or Double Sided Tape
Tic Tacs

Cut paper to 4 3/4" x 3".  Score at 2" and 2 3/4" on the long side.

Cut a strip of coordinating paper to use as embellishment.  I made it 1 1/2" x 4 3/4" and scored it at 2" and 2 3/4" just like the other.  You can adjust the size of this piece depending on how you are going to embellish the front.  Adhere it to the larger piece with double sided tape.

 
Add other embellishments if you want.  I attached the ribbon to the "spine" of the holder with a glue dot for the tie closure.  I also added a few glue dots on the back of the tic tac box and adhered it to the inside back of the holder.

Here are a few examples of how I embellished them.  The sky is the limit!  This is a great chance to use up some of your "leftovers" that you may not have enough of to use on other projects.

These are quick and easy enough that you could make several at a time.  They make great party favors!  This idea can be adapted to many different types of treats.  Just adjust the measurements to fit the size of whatever treat you are using.  Some other ideas are candy bars, microwave popcorn, packs of gum or whatever else you can find!

Stay tuned this week for another tutorial on Easter treats!

Thanks for stopping by!

Fix your broken up Make Up!!

I just read this neat little trick on the internet today.....but I'm sorry, I don't remember where :(

You know how your favorite pressed powder or eye shadow or blush gets broken up inside the case sometimes? I hate that! Especially when you still have enough in there for some more uses, but just. can't. get. it. out!! GRRR!!

Well, turns out there's a way to fix it! Yay!

What you'll need:
sad broken up make up (quick! go dig it out of the trash!)
alcohol (not the kind you drink...although to celebrate your saved make up...not a bad idea!)

1. Put a couple of drops of rubbing alcohol in, depending on how big your compact is and how much make up is in there. You want to be able to smush it together, but don't want it so runny that it doesn't dry. Use your fingers or the back of a spoon.

2. Smush it all together into the compact so it's all one piece again.

3. Let it dry overnight. The alcohol and the alcohol smell will evaporate.

Isn't that the coolest! I can't wait to try it.

Do you have any tips...household or otherwise? I'd love to hear them.

Have a great rest of the week!