So Hoppy To Be Crafting With Friends!

I am so sneaky!  I invited all these ladies over to my house to craft and didn't tell them until the very last moment that they had to get their picture taken!  HA!

I am totally joking, but seriously, I had the best time the past 2 days crafting with so many Minnesota friends!!!  

Since this past Christmas selling season, I just have not been able to get myself to craft.  I guess it is a side effect of making what you love as your job.  Eventually, you get tired of it!

Well, after a few online requests for my big bunny Sir-Hops-Alot, I thought I would just throw him out there on our local RS FB page and see if any of the sisters would like to make one.  Wohoo!  I was so excited to have 14 lovely ladies jump on the opportunity.

*staring blankly at a stack of uncut wood*....What have I DONE!

I volunteered myself for 3 days in the garage, between kid drop-offs and errands, that is.  It was totally worth it though.

This pile of pieces, when put into the hands of these talented painters, turned into hoppy, bright spring masterpieces!

Focus on the cute faces of my friends ;0}

Do not notice the messy disaster of a house behind them....

Morning and night Tuesday and Wednesday 13 of the 14 ladies smashed into my tiny space to make their bunnies.  

Tonight Emmalee and her BFF also painted bunnies while I got to chat with BFF's awesome mom.  My emotional bucket is officially filled!  Tonight we squeezed Me, Madison, Emmalee and BFF and BFF's mom, and 4 fabulous Eagan ward ladies in my little crafting space and had a blast.  Everyone got creative and painted their bunnies a little different.  It was so fun to see the difference and chat the entire night.

Emmalee went Mint, Coral, and Gold with her bunny.  I love the bow around the head instead of neck!

Girl bunnies ROCK!

BFF added yellow to her egg to match her hair bow...I guess it is her hare bow ...hehe.

Priya knows how to paint.  She brought a personal assistant ;0}  I love these ladies.  They both have such happy, friendly personalities it makes me smile just being around them.

I let my last two guests off the hook.  We took pics of their bunnies alone.  Apparently I get nicer as the night goes on.  Love the Coral/Gold/Purple egg on Sara's bunny!

And Loren's orange egg with green zigzag is very carrot-esque!  I love them all!

It makes me want to cut out 12 eggs and decorate them all differently....and then I remember I am exhausted.

Sadly, I only got pictures of the first few and last few of my friends, but it has been a SERIOUSLY long time since I had this much fun.  I can't wait to do it all again.  We have requests for hair bows and neck ties before Easter, promises of a Mother's Day and Father's Day and Patriotic door signs.  Then the phones started coming out and a flood of Pinterest Pins were presented, each of which I responded..."Oh, I can make that.  We can totally do that!"

I think we are going to need to buy some more paint.

Be back soon.  Mads and I have a photo shoot this weekend with live chicks and we are booked Friday and Saturday SOLID!  Sister Kallie and brand new baby will have to be there to help and next week I will be back with some cute, cute photos to show you!

p.s.  There was also sadness the past couple days as I thought back on my craft parties back in AZ.  My original crafting buddies.  I miss them so much ;0(  I hope you are craft-partying without me!  It is good for the soul

So Tweet

I made these little guys to cheer up my friend in the hospital.  They are pretty easy to cut out {if you skip the shells} and even quicker to paint.  I cut two sets and took them in so we could paint them together and take away some of the hospital monotony.  

 

 

I threw in the pattern just in case you need to brighten someone else's day ;0}

Don't cut wood?  Give me a call.  I can get you some chickies for your craft party!

Vanessa.cam5 at gmail dot com

New Pattern!!! Sir Hops-A-Lot

Remember this darling little guy that warmed up my porch last spring???  Well, FINALLY, I have finished the pattern!  That is right.  After so many requests, you can now purchase the pattern and make one for your self!  This guy is big, but the project is fairly low stress, as wood projects go.  So don't be afraid to give him a try.

I even made two versions in the same pattern.  You can have Sir Hoppy holding the Easter egg you see here, or a nice giant carrot to stick more to a Spring theme.

Where can you buy the pattern you say???  Well, on my Etsy site, of course ;0}  I am such a fabulous sales person, right?  No.  I know that I am not.  But, I do know that I totally love my big bunny on my door, so let me know if you want one too.  The pattern is only $4 and is available as an instant download.  Don't have a saw???  Not a problem.  I can get you a kit or even a finished bunny.  Just convo me on Etsy or email me at Vanessa.cam5@gmail.com

I hope your week is a hoppy one!

Such a Hoppy Family

Ok, last Easter craft I will show you today!!!!

This one has to be my favorite :0}

I had some ladies over on Tuesday to paint some bunnies.  I had the bigger bunny and three flowers for everyone to paint however they liked.

Ending up with one or two extra, I decided to make my family.

I hit the garage to cut out three little trouble makers that could resemble my own little monsters.

Above is Dad and Madison.  I still want to make a little tutu for the Madison bunny since my Madison just can't get enough of them....even at 14

Here is Momma and Eli bunny.  My nutty son absolutely loves to wear bow ties.  That is why his bunny had to have a bow tie.

My littlest princess bunny has a silvery crown.  I also have a little wand I will put on when I get her tutu finished.  Sadly, I have no more time for my "Hare"y family today.  With any luck my girls will have their skirts before the weekend is through though.  No worries.

I am loven' these chunky flowers too!

I love it when I have left overs ;0}

Miscellaneous Maker Stuff

I finally took down my St. Patrick's Day decorations that have lived on the mantel for over a month now.  I wanted to snap a quick pick of these guys before they hit the storage box.

The three non-sparkly shamrocks above were cut out the same time as my snowman head in January, intended for the front door, but alas, they were also too small.  I am totally happy though because they made a festive addition to the mantel.  I had intended to make a huge leprechaun head for the front door in their place, but never managed to get that project done.  Watch for him next year ;0)  I have the whole idea totally imaged in my mind...I might even have to make him next week just to make sure he is born!

Here are more of my shamrocks and the cute sparkly rainbow I made last year.  Looking back now I didn't do a very good job of posting them :0O

I also made this Easter Egg for a Door Decoration, just in case the bunny didn't work out.  

It wasn't actually that.  I had both the bunny and the egg swimming around in my head and decided to make them both.

Don't you love the little chicks!?!  I am not sure I love them on the egg, but they did turn out darling!  They are just missing a little squirt of yellow feathers on the top of their heads and they will be perfect.  I will get on that later :0)

Easter Is At Our Door

I feel like I have been painting for four days now.  I finally got to some wood projects Monday between running children, napping {still trying to recover from our "vacation"}, and trying to get my house clean enough to show {YeAH rIgHT!  Like that is ever gonna happen!!!}.

I cut out this handsome devil and about a thousand other projects :0)

The number of projects cut out is why I didn't get Sir Hops-A-Lot finished and on my door until today.  We are leaving out of town today...did I mention that!

That means I won't even get to enjoy seeing his cheery face upon my door step, but my neighbors can wink at him for me as they drive by.

I made the majority of my bunny out of 1/4" mdf plywood.  I cut him out, sanded the edges like I love on my disk sander, then painted him up, sanding again, then gluing him all together.

This door is not mine, so I haven't hammered a hole in it to hang my projects.  That is why I have the unsightly wreath hanger, but when we move, I am hoping to put it to rest. 

"Emmers.  I am still taking pictures, Love.  

Can you shut the door please?"

Emmalee's response: 

"Oh, so sorry to ruin your picture Mom!  I thought you were finished."

Mom's response:

"Darlin', you could NEVER ruin my pictures :0) 

X O X O

You are my dolly!"

We in the Sew*CakeMaker household wish you a very reflective Easter weekend, 

Not all about the bunnies, but about the love and sacrifice that inspired the holiday.

Oh, and have a very Hoppy Spring!

p.s.The pattern is for sale, only $4 and instantly downloadable on my Etsy site.  Let me know if you have any questions ;0}

Egg-cellent Easter Tradition!

I saw this idea on Pinterest {link not available} and HAD to try it!  We happened to have two packs of glow sticks from the dollar section at Micheals just sitting around.  I dragged my husband into the back room to stuff eggs with glow sticks, then wrangled the kids into the car for a late-night drive around the country block to "see the stars."

They had NO idea what was waiting for them at home.  We unlocked the front door and watched as is slowly opened.  The kids just stood there in amazement.  Seeing the front room, completely black, except for the soft glow of the "hidden" Easter eggs was simply magical.  

The kids giggled and laughed as they ran from egg to egg, gathering them up in their baskets.  They sat down to see their spoils and that was when the real fun began.

They played, and played and had a moment of total enjoyment.  We sat there as a family, purely enjoying that one moment and forgetting all the craziness and traumas of life.

After a while of goofing off, the egg fight began.  We were chucking those eggs at each other till they popped open.  Then we were throwing the glow sticks :0)

I am telling you, BEST TIME EVER! 

I am not going to say that things didn't get a little out of hand, but we seriously had a great time.  Whoever first thought of this idea...Bless YOu!  We will be having a surprise glow-in-the-dark egg hunt every year....and maybe not just at Easter.  I am an egg-keeper so we could actually do this any day we want :0)

Hint: tie the glow sticks into a knot {pretzel shape} and they will fit into the eggs-much easier than trying to roll them up or something.