Have Yourself a DIY Christmas!

Ok, I realize there are still a few months to go, but I bought the kiddos first Christmas gifts today and I'm feeling the spirit! 

Every year I try to make at least one gift for everyone (doesn't ever happen).  This year it is extra important that I get started early and get these gifts made!  Living off our savings for the next two years means that I cannot blow my Christmas budget this year.  Can. NOT.

So, I thought I would share my current list of gifts to make!  Some of these may not happen, but I really want them to! 

I'm sure there will be more little projects added to my list.  PS. You can find all of these and more on the CraftAMatic Pinterest board!  PM me to join!

My Jamberry Addiction + A Giveaway!

It was close to this time last year when I first tried Jamberry.  I remember thinking, "Whatever, I'll try this." Whoa.

I immediately fell in love with them!

I mean, c'mon!  A fabulous mani for less than $3.50 that won't chip, has no dry time, and last for 2 weeks!

Need to scrub the bathroom?  Jamberry can handle it!

Mommy and me mani time?  Jamberry can handle that too!

 Soooooo, I may have a large Jamberry collection.  And I may have made another Buy 3 Get 1 Free order two days ago when the brand new catalog came out, but hey, who's keeping track of that anyway!?

Want to win some?  Today is your lucky day!  I'm giving away a half sheet of your choice of any available wrap!  Enter below!


a Rafflecopter giveaway

Squishes GC Winner!

We have a winner!  Congratulations to Ani W! 

Hurry, go check your email and get back to be ASAP!

Didn't win?  Here is a 15% off code just for you!  Enter THANKS2YOU  at checkout and have fun shopping!

Building a Fall Wardrobe at the Thrift Store

Cooler weather is on the horizon. That can only mean one thing...time to get your fall wardrobe together!

I'll admit, I love new clothes, but I am a cheap-o. I'm not about to spend $50+ on anything when I can get it at the thrift store for soooo much less. 

But, you really have to look to find what you want when you're thrift store shopping. A lot. I mean, dig through those racks! 

My first trip was totally worth the time invested! What was my haul, you ask?  Well let me tell ya!

1 pair of gap jeans

1 pair of Levi's jeans

1 Old Navy cardigan

2 Old Navy shirts

1 Forever 21 shirt 

1 BN pair of Toms

Total cost= $28!

Ok, so the Toms were $16 but seriously, they are perfect! Look how cute! 

New to this whole thrift store thing? Let me help you out!

These are my best thrift store shopping tips!

• Whatever you do, don't take the kids with you. It is really, really difficult to hint through all those racks with kiddos to keep track of.  

• Go during off hours. Early on Monday or Tuesday mornings are the best at my store. It's practically empty and they've got a fresh batch of goods out!

• When you see something you like, toss it in your basket. You can weed out your least favorites before you check out. 

• Try it on. This one's important. Most thrift stores offer exchange only or no returns at all. You don't want to get home with something that doesn't fit and not be able to return it. 

• Don't buy something just for the name brand. Sure that $100 top is only 3 bucks but will you really wear it? It's not thrifty if your filling your cart with stuff you'll never wear. 

I hope these tips will help you find your thrift store love! 

What was your last thrift store steal? 

It's (almost) Fall, Y'all + a giveaway!

Fall (aka my favorite time of year) is almost here! 

I've started on the cool weather gear, and many items are now available in my shop!

Have something you want made but don't see it listed?  PM me and we can set up a custom listing just for you!

Up for grabs this week is a $10 GC to my shop!  This can be applied to any item of your choice (excluding testers).

a Rafflecopter giveaway

"Distressing" a Picture Frame in Under 10 Minutes!

Now that the Holiday's are over and all of my festive decor is put away, I find myself wishing for a more nicely decorated house.

Lucky for me I'm pretty darn crafty, so I have been a busy little beaver so far this week.

The hardest part about decorating is not being able to make any major changes to the house (we rent) but I a having a ton of fun sprucing up the place!

So, consider this a sneak preview of what's to come over the next couple weeks, as I redecorate, organize and share some awesome (and easy) DIY projects!

"Distressing" a picture frame the quick and easy way!

My goal when i redo any part of my house, is to do it without having to buy anything, and this time is no different! 

I love to reuse things, paint them, change them in whatever way I need to make it into what I want.

This time, it was  a plain black picture frame. 

(Imagine before picture here)

Seriously, I didn't think to take a picture before I got started, plus my camera died so it'll be phone photos for the time being.  

But, it was a plain black picture frame with a plain picture in it.

I can't giveaway my new kitchen theme, but let's just say, I wanted it to look a little different to go nicely with the room.

Here is what you will need:

• Frame
• Cream colored acrylic paint
• paper towel

That's it!

First, put a few drops of paint on your paper towel.

Next, rub it lengthwise on your frame.

It should look something like this:

Do this all the way around your frame.  I did the top only, not pressing paint into the smaller crevices or on the sides of the frame.  Give it a little dimension.

Last step, dab a very small amount of paint on your paper towel, and make an "S" shape down one side of your frame, on top of the paint that should be almost dry by now.  After that, take your paper towel (don't add any more paint) and buff the "S" shape until it looks more like random grain than and "S".

Repeat on each side.

Once it dries, and it shouldn't take long, add your picture and you're done!

Shouldn't take more than 5-10 minutes for the whole thing!

I used a piece of an old rice bag for my backing, and a great picture from an old canning book. 

Total cost of this project, $0.00, because I used what I already had!

Recipe: Gluten Free Fruit & Oat Bars

The last two weeks has been crazy to say the least!  Between Christmas, New Year, family visiting, and every body's schedule being generally screwed up, it was exhausting!

Now that we are finally getting back to our normal routine, I played around with a new recipe, and it is YUM!

This is a great, not too sweet, east to customize recipe.

Enjoy!

Gluten Free Fruit & Oat Bars

Crust
1 Cup Gluten Free All Purpose Flour
3/4 Cup Oats or Oatmeal
1/2 Cup Brown Sugar
1 Stick Butter, melted
1 Egg

Combine all ingredients in bowl and mix well.  Mixture should be wet but crumbly.  Press onto bottom of greased pan, until about 1/8 inch thick.

Filling
This is totally up to you!  I used jelly because I have way too much of it hanging around the house.  You can use any kind of jam/jelly/preserve, or you can puree fresh or frozen fruit for your filling. 

Spread on top of crust, leaving a small space at the edge.

Top
1 Cup Oats or Oatmeal
1/2 C Gluten Free All Purpose Flour
1/4 C Brown Sugar
1/2 Stick Butter, melted
1 Egg

Mix well.  This will be stickier than the bottom crust.  You can either roll this out between 2 pieces of wax paper and piece on top, or you can cheat like I did.  I flattened small pieces of dough between my hands and pieced them onto the top of the jelly.  Don't worry about gaps between your pieces, that's to be expected.

Now that you have it put together, bake at 350 for 18-20 minutes.  There will be some jelly leakage, so don't freak out!

Let it cool completely before cutting and removing from the pan.

Now eat up!

Quick Tips:

• You can substitute applesauce in place of the butter and sugar, just be sure that your textures are right.
• Try adding some extras to the top crust!  I added large flake coconut to mine.  Some other ideas are nuts, seeds, chocolate chips, raisins.
• These will fall apart easily until they are cool, so try to let them rest for a while before transferring off the pan.
• Use a pizza cutter to cut them, super easy!
• For a quick dessert, heat your bars for a few seconds and top with whipped cream and fresh berries!