Boo! This is a fun one for the family. Boo!

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Hey, all! James, again. I am pleased with the progress we are making. I hope you all enjoy what you see so far. Don't be afraid to leave some comments. I would love to know what you're thinking, and I know that the Anns would too. I have another fun and easy craft that you may enjoy, and I wanted to share it with you.

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Supplies that you will need for this project are: A cereal box, black and white paint, paint brushes, scissors and a pencil.

As you know, I get together with the Ann and Ann on Sundays so that we can craft. I did this for Halloween. I was pleased with the outcome, and I know you will be too. As with all crafts, make some room for yourself and maybe other's where you can craft in comfort. Then, have it.

First, take the cereal box and cut off the front and back panels. Depending on how many decorations you would like, you may want to have several cereal boxes at your disposal.

Then, draw the outline of a ghost on the box. I used the pacman ghosts as my inspiration, but you can get a creative as you like with the shapes of your ghosts.

Next, paint the both sides of the ghost outline white.

Finally, paint a face on your ghost(s) using the black paint. I painted both sides because we hung these on Ann K's front screen door window, and they could be seen from both sides. I painted on side friendly and the other side scary.

And there you have it. A fun craft that the entire family can enjoy. It should cost you no more than $6.00 and a few bowls of cereal.

DIY Christmas Craft

Hey, everyone!  James here.  I have something fun and easy for you to create that will really bring Christmas cheer into your home.

The supplies you'll need are: sixty-four (64) popsicle sticks, a hot glue gun, hot glue sticks, paint, paint brushes, and a dollar store ascot(scarf).  Some other tools that may be helpful are a blanket or towel that you don't mind getting dirty and some cardboard that you can use as a table top. (I did this on the carpet and Ann K. would have my head on a pike if I messed it up.)  

To start off, lay twelve sticks in a row on your cardboard table top. 

Lay another stick across the twelve sticks, and use the glue gun to glue it. 

Your stick should look like this:

Do the same at the other end like so:

Note how the glue is on either side of the sticks. Doing this helps because hot glue dries quickly, and by the time you manage to get the glue on the stick without burning yourself and place it on the other sticks, the glue has dried. Plus, you won't have to worry about moving the other twelve sticks out of place. 

Next, lay another stick across the previous two and glue where it meets each other stick. Like this:

Do the same to the other end (and be sure to glue like above):

Repeat until you have four squares.

Once your squares are complete, paint them.  I used green and red. Wait until your squares are completely dry before painting the letters on.  I used white for the letters.  This is where your creativity comes in. You can use the same font that I used, or you can chose another.  

Finally, take the dollar store ascot, and feed it through the back of the squares. (You may need another popsicle stick help you with this. It helped me greatly....) Be sure to arrange the letters in order from top to bottom. 

And there you have it.  Holiday magic!  If you have paint from doing one of our previous tutorials, then this should cost you less than $6.00. 

I hope you enjoyed this tutorial, and remember ~ "Happiness lies in the joy of achievement and in the thrill of creative effort." - FDR 

Got Junk?

Hey all!! Ok, so I know everyone has one of those annoying drawers that collect everything...aka junk drawer.  It's the one that you never want to open for fear that you will never get it closed again.  Well now is the time to rip it open and get rid of all the junk.

Supplies needed:  A piece of wood, all of your junk, hot glue and spray paint (any color you desire).
1. Hot glue all of the junk to the wood. Place them as randomly as you can and cover all of the wood.
2. Spray paint the crap out of it. Make sure everything is covered with the paint. (took us several coats)
3. Hang on the wall (again we used command strips)
Have fun!!
~Happiness lies in the joy of achievement and in the thrill of creative effort-FDR

Canvas Wall Art

Hey all - Ann K here!! I had a very boring corner of my living room that needed some life.  Here's what I did....

Supplies Needed: Canvas, colored card stock, scissors, and glue

1. Find a heart pattern online and print it out in multiple sizes.
2. Trace the heart patterns onto the colored card stock and cut them out (you will need a variety of sizes)
     ~We even had the kids helping on this part
3. Fold the hearts in half
4. Glue one side of the heart to the canvas in the design of your choice.

Voila!! Beautiful piece of art for your wall!!

Need a cheap way to decorate?

Hey, everyone!  This is Ann M. I have a tutorial here that is super cheap, and it's a great way to fill the empty wall in your house that has been bugging you lately.  If you’re anything like me, you’re on a budget, especially right after a move.  I was so sick of looking at boring white walls, and I definitely did not want to paint and then be obligated to repaint the walls before I move out again.  That's just too much!  So... I happen to have an old, dusty mirror that was passed down to me from my great grandmother, and I was dying to incorporate it into my décor, but I couldn’t figure out how to do it. It didn't go with what I pictured my wall to be. Then... I had a stroke of genius. 

Supplies needed for this project include: old picture frames (and in my case the mirror I used for the center piece), spray paint, a sponge, and scrapbook paper.

1. Take the old frames (and the mirror) and paint them all one color. 

I chose a color that popped like yellow because again white is boring. For the mirror, I sponge painted it in order to keep some of the antique charm that it has.

2.  Cut out scrapbook paper to fit into the frames.

It's a good idea to do this while the paint is drying.

3. Once the frames are dry, put the scrapbook paper inside of them.

In my case, I left the glass out of the frames.

4.  Arrange the finished frames and/or mirror and hang them on the wall!  (I used command strips to hang everything. It keeps you from having holes in your wall)

I mapped out how everything would go on the wall so it was aesthetically pleasing to look at, and I am very happy with the finished product!   The final cost of the project was about $10!!!!! Now that’s what I call budget friendly!!!!!!

FYI

Hey all!! In the next few days we will be showing you some of our previous crafts and including tutorials on how we made them.  The first bunch will only have the finished product but going forward we will have pictures to follow to tutorial.  We hope you love the crafts and how budget friendly they are.  Hope they inspire you.  Please feel free to send us questions or comments.

For starters...

So... We're embarking on a journey into the land of the unknown.  Ann, Ann an' I - James - have been INSPIRED.  The thing is...... We're all BROKE!

Let me tell you a little somethin' about the three of us. We are three inseparable friends that get together on Sundays for some crafting fun.  Though we are going through some rough times, we keep life moving as we fight through the things that bring us down. Ann K. and the love of her life are living in separate countries and are struggling to be reunited, yet she keeps us going with her perpetual positivity.....  I don't know how she does it.....  Ann M. is recently separated from her husband and she has lost her job. She has two kids and a baby on the way, and she still manages to provide us comic relief with her infectious laugh.  You should totally hear her cackle and see her knee-slappin'.  As for me....  I am a guy with a certified rainbow card going through a recent break-up.  I'm stuck in a rut, and I would like to find my way in life.  Where's the Yellow-Brick Road when you need it?  I bring the hugs that nobody wants, and the sunshine that puts a smile on everyone's face.... Kinda!

We laugh. We cry. We all do our best to find happiness in the rough times that we are going through, and we wanted to share some of our crafting happiness with you.  We want to show everyone what friendship and crafting is about. 

Follow our blog for updates on our life (if you care that much ;)), pictures of our crafts, and easy-to-follow tutorials on some of our creations.