2 Halloween Door Signs in One

Here's the How-to Step by Step:

This is a double sided Halloween door sign

1. Start with a wood sign (I bought mine at hobby lobby for $5.99),

 paint in multiple colors and a sponge brush.

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2. I painted the back side 1st. I applied a coat of white paint for the base. let dry.

 3. I am doing a candy corn style so now I applied a strip of yellow. let dry. 

 4. applied orange. let dry. 

5. I cut out the words with my cricut. Using my cricut and a sheet of vinyl.

the font is called: barbed ink.

Once you cut the letters out, remove off of the cricut mat, now strip the backing off the (vinyl as shown).

6. Apply the vinyl letters onto the wood. 

7. because i didn't mind the black bleeding through i applied the black straight onto the sign.

 8. Completely cover the entire back with black.

 9. once dry remove the vinyl letters and this is what you get. see how the black bleed into the letters a little. it looks cool on a Halloween sign.

If you don't want it to bleed. keep reading and I will show you how to stop the bleeding.

 I am now working on the front. this side I wanted it to be a solid red.

 I again applied the vinyl onto the wood. the font on this side is called: Creepsville

To make sure it doesn't bleed. apply a layer of the same color as the letters (in this case red).  

 Once it is dry you can now apply the color you want around the letters. (in this case black)

 Tada: no bleeding.

 To attached the ribbon for hanging. I grabbed some dark nails and hammered the ribbon to the top end of the sign. 

 made some cute pleats on the side and added a few more nails under.

 Here is one side 

 Here is the other side. 

I love my sign. 

also if you are wanting to not waste your vinyl .. here are some tips on how to keep them for another project and how to organize them. 

Once I peeled the letters off my sign I attached them to a sheet of wax paper. 

Here is a shot of the other part of the vinyl. You can use this as a stencil. just make sure you keep the pieces that go in the centers of o's, a's, etc.

I am organizing them in file folders. If you notice I have taken the centers and taped them to the inside of the folder. see the top right of the folder. I taped them there and wrote under each on which letter the center belonged to. 

 Now just add the wax paper with the letters and your done. Write the description on the top and file it away. 

Can't we all just get along??

I have been seriously blogging for a little under a year now and simply love it. I love sharing my thoughts, ideas and inspiration with others. I have met many terrific ladies along the way. We get to know each other through our posts and conversations. Then the few times we get blogger event opportunities we get to meet in person. Meeting some of these great ladies is like seeing an old friend or family member. We are instantly bonded. I think most of us have a friendly personality and mix well with others. But there are always a few in the bunch that sometimes make things harder then they should. As any of you fellow bloggers know, life in the blogging world is not always smooth. We all work with the all powerful thing called the web and also spend much time on numerous social networks. Because our viewers and fellow bloggers are on the other side of a screen, instead of up close and personal, some feel a bit braver about running there mouths. It's one thing for a viewer to leave a negative comment. But it is a different story when it is another blogger. Getting bullied or run over by another blogger is not only alarming but worrisome. I had a bad experience earlier this year with such a problem. Not only is this hurtful that someone else wants to make your life a little harder but then you also worry about them being the type of person to then blog about it or smear your name to viewers and fellow bloggers. No one wants to feel this way. Our blogs are our babies and no one wants bad things to come it's way. I know that I am not the only one to experience this. It is such a shame. As a blogger I try to always treat other bloggers with respect, blogging can be hard work, and some are still learning the ropes and still very intimidated. Please think before you write anything, words can hurt and don't use the false feeling of sitting behind a screen and thinking you don't have to worry about other's feelings because they aren't in front of you. Have you had this happen to you? Have you been the bully? Think before writing.

Carrie

Project Life - Becky Higgins Kit

When this opportunity came along I was doing a happy dance. Project life by Becky Higgins is a scrapbook line, which can I say it " fantastic products", she just blows me away with all the fun things you can do with these kits.

I was lucky enough to get to play with one of her newest kits: 

Vintage Travel Edition

When I received my kit and was able to shuffle through all the fabulous cards I was so giddy with creative mojo. This is a great kit for all you who love to travel or have little boys. The kit includes cards with airplanes, trains, hot air balloons, automobiles, world maps and so much more. 

Her kits are built so that you can scrapbook quick and easy,

 while still looking fantastic.

You can find other great kits @ http://www.beckyhiggins.com/blog/

The photo below shows that you will need an album, (1) of her kits, Photo pocket pages, your own photos and a pen to complete a page. 

Below I created a 2 page layout using only the above required products. 

I grabbed my album, chose which photo pocket pages I was going to use, found the cards that would be perfect with my train photos, arranged all the photos and cards, then last but not least did my journalling and I had a finished 2 page layout. 

But I didn't stop there. I decided to do it old school also. To show you how

 many ways you can use this kit. I love adding extras. So on this 2 page layout I picked 2 brown 12x12 pages for the background. Then looked for cards in the kit that would match my photos and colors. created a great layout with both. Then added a touch of this and a touch of that with washi tape, metal buttons, puffy words and red glittery thickers.

Not only can you use this kit for scrapbooking but so many other things as well. Here I used some of the cards to decorate an envelope. But the possibilities are endless. Because this is an adventure kit you can take one of the cards, put your personal info on the front, laminate the entire card, punch a hole at the top, add a ribbon and you now have a personalized travel tag to tie onto your luggage. You can also turn one into a To/From tag for a gift bag.

Using this kit was so much fun. 

You'll have to keep an eye out for any other projects that come out in the future.

Carrie

*This was a product review where I did receive free products. The opinions are my own. 

Season 17 Auditions for "So you think you're crafty"

I am a proud participate in the auditions for Season 17 of 

"So you think you're crafty"

Come and check it out. the theme is "back to school" and there are 20 fantastic projects by 20 different bloggers. So much craftiness in one space should be illegal. Now I can't tell you which one is mine but I do want you to take 1 minute to click on the following link: http://www.soyouthinkyourecrafty.com/season-17-auditions/ , check out the projects and click on your top 5 favorites. It's that easy.

Voting will be open until Thursday, August 8, at 5 p.m. MST.

I had so much fun with my project, 

I can't wait until you find out which one is mine.

Carrie

Top 5 Tips for Capturing & Sharing meaningful family Vacation moments

Growing up my family didn't have too many opportunities to take vacations. So now that I am older I really cherish the moments when we do. We try to get at least 1 big vacation each year. Research is the most important thing when wanting to get the most out of your vacation. I know that any time a vacation is getting close on the calendar I go into research mode.

Here are 5 ways to research your destination and find all the fun things to do.
(For all my examples I will use a Disney Vacation as the destination)

1. Internet (Locations Main Website): Depending on where we are heading, my 1st stop is the internet (you can find practically everything you want on the internet these days). I am the type of person who wants to experience everything and I don't like to miss out on new experiences because I didn't know about it. So of course I go to disney's main website address (www.disneyland.com) first and read about everything. Including what rides will be down during the time I will be there. It is the worst feeling when you get to this magical land and find out your favorite ride will be down the entire time you are there. Remember also if you are bringing little ones to check out height requirements (most rides all your kids should be able to go on.)
2. Internet (reservations & vacation companies): this tip is about researching your options for lodging and vacation packages. I have booked my vacation a number of ways over the years. You can go through disney themselves, they have lots of options for packages that meet many price ranges. Then you have companies such as www.getawaytoday.com that do similar packages but are fantastic to work with and have many add on options for things like a pirate dinner show or tickets to lego land.  One great thing about the packages is how easy it is to add on a character breakfast, these are located at different restaurants inside the park where your kids or you can experience having breakfast with some of there favorite disney characters. and you get some great photos too. Or last but not least you can book the hotel, tickets and everything else yourself.
3. Disney Blogger Websites: Now  a day's you can find tons of disney fans that love disney so much that they have made it a full time gig by blogging about nothing but disney. These people have some great ideas and info that you normally wouldn't find. Here is where you can find out more facts about the rides or buildings or little extras. Here you will find personally experiences and tips about what not to do and some helpful tips like tying a colorful scarf to your stroller so that you can find it easily through the mass of identical strollers or that if you go to a food vendor if asked they will give you a free cup of ice water. You will also see polls on what restaurant has the best hamburger or ideas on keeping your child safe (they have come out with these cool rub on tattoos that have your phone # on them so that if your child gets lost they can call the number and find you). Also there are plenty of posts out there about saving money on these kind of vacations, some of the ideas are fantastic.
4. Guest Relations: We always stop at guest relations located at the front of the parks
   . these people are awesome (they are Disney Concierge) and they can tell you about so many fun things to do while you are in the park. To start out with you can take your child in there and they can call and talk to a disney character on one of there old timey phones. You can grab a button that tells people you are celebrating and event (anniversary, birthday, etc) while you have this button on, the cast members will be extra nice to you when they see your button. Also you can not only pick up maps of the park but you can also get special maps (there is one that tells you where every penny press machine is in the park). they can also set up special things such as tours, princess makeover, pirate makeover or jedi training. They can tell you about the parades and extra little shows that go on through out the day and give you times and tips on how to make the most of them.
5. Cast Members: I talk to these people a lot and see if there are things they may know about that are not widely known. We scored with this one a couple years ago. By asking a cast member this question they then told us that if you talked to the captain of the mark twain there was an opportunity to ride the boat in the captains box. So we asked and we're then invited up to the top room, where we were not only allowed to blow the horn, but steer. at the end of our voyage we we're able to sign the captain's book and we're given official license's to drive the mark twain. Disney has tons of ways to get around. Make sure you try a ride on the double decker bus, horse drawn carriage, old automobile and don't forget the train, it is fantastic to use to get around the park with a little less walking. Cast members are always willing to take photos so don't forget those photo ops. We all want to remember the fun for years to come.

Those are my 5 top tips. I hope you all enjoyed and learned some new things.

Carrie

Bathroom Wall Art - Epic WIN

I am doing the happy dance.

uh huh, oh yeah

After my epic fail a couple days ago, I was determined to make this work.

If you want to check out the epic fail click here

So I figured while I was redoing it, I might as well make a few adjustments that will help this artwork last longer. My first attempt I used Card Stock, this time I grabbed 2 slats from a venetian blind and cut them up. Because after I put up the first set I thought to myself " hmmm card stock and moisture, not sure if that's a good idea". So after thinking about it for a while I thought of these slats that i had. and thought "hmm there plastic, plastic & moisture, purrrrfect".

The only reason I have these extra slats is because they broke off the blind and they were replaced by new ones. 

supplies I used for this project:

• 2 off white venetian blind slat's
• scissors
• hot glue gun & glue
• washi tape
• chipboard or recycled cereal boxes
• 3 different colored scrapbook paper 12x12
• glitter modge podge
• tacks

Let me know how you like my win on this project

Happy Dance!!

Carrie

Linky Parties

So You Think You're Crafty

Bucket List - Disney Project

Bucket Lists can be so much fun not only to create but to fulfill. I have had many items on my list over the years and have been able to check a couple off along the way. Including: riding an elephant, riding on a dogsled in Alaska, taking a ride on a airboat, seeing a moose up close, creating my own quilt pattern line, visiting both disneyland and Disney World and so many more wonderful things.

There are so many things I would love to accomplish this summer and so many more that i wish I had a house of my own so I could do them. I would absolutely love to have my own garden and get down and dirty. 

My Bucket List choice that I would like to share with you all is a craft project I have been dying to create. Every year since me and my sweetheart have been married we go on vacation and it usually is to Disneyland or Disneyworld. Each time we go we always come home with ticket stubs, buttons, disney dollars, pressed pennies and this last time we also went to "the animation academy" in Disney California Adventures and learned how to draw jack skellington. So my plan is to take all these mementos arrange a fantastic collage and frame it, leaving room to add to it each year. 

If you would like to make something like this. save all the little things that you get while at disney. Stop in at the guest relations office near the entrance of the park and grab a button. They have one for every occasion including: Happy Birthday, Happily Ever After, Just Married, Happy Anniversary, Just Engaged, First Visit, I'm Celebrating, Family Reunion, My Magical Triumph (for marathon runners) and Honorary Citizen (this one you have to repeat an oath and then they make you an honorary citizen. We also have an official certificate saying we are licensed to drive the Mark Twain Riverboat. We received this certificate after going up to the top cabin withe the captain and she let us honk the horn and turn the wheel. After our ride we signed the captains guest book and she rewarded us with the certificate. It was a great experience. If you ever want to do this. You must ask the captain before the ride if you can go up to the top cabin, if she/he gives you permission she will instruct you of what to do and where to go. Highly recommended. When it comes to some of the other items. you will always have an entrance ticket, we also save unused fast pass tickets. For the Disney dollars you can usually get these at any of the shops or guest relations. A disney dollar is equal to a u.s. dollar but can only be spent as real money in a disney park or store. Last but not least are the Disney pressed pennies. there are a number of locations for these and each machine has different designs. If you want to know where all of the machines are go again to guest relations and ask for a map for the pressed pennies. This map will tell you where every single machine is and which designs they hold. 

 If you need any more info or want to send me pictures of your collages. come on over and see me at craftynightowls.blogspot.com

Thanks

Carrie

BareMinerals Passionate for Pastels Giveaway!!!

It is summertime, it is hot outside and who is not passionate for pastels? Enjoy this fabulous Ulta Passionate for Pastels giveaway from Le Chateau Des Fleurs:

Passionate For Pastels includes bareMinerals READY Eyeshadow 4.0 in The Sweetest Thing, Flawless Definition Mascara in Black, Sorbet Blush, Marvelous Moxie Lipgloss in Go Getter and a cosmetic bag.

Butterfly Clip out of Recycled cardboard

I have been saving cardboard and plastic pieces from packaging. This butterfly's body and wings are made from recycled cardboard (embellished with some fun inks and beads). I started out making a pattern for one wing. My Wing has 3 layers.  #3 is the larger base piece of the wing, #2 is a lower layer of the wing, #1 has a top and a bottom top layer of the wing. 4 total pieces to each wing. 

Once you have the pattern trace it onto more recycled cardboard. I labeled my pieces so there would be no confusion.

Cut all pieces out and lay onto newspaper or some kind of scrap paper that can get messy. Make sure you flip all pieces on the left so they match the right side.

Spray all pieces with a base color. (both sides)

now add different colors in an abstract way on the top wing pieces.

I also outlined the top wing pieces with black ink.

Putting the butterfly together

• hot glue 5 beads together to form the body of the butterfly
• glue #3 pieces of the wing to the beads
• glue #2 Pieces to the lower half of the butterfly wings
• flue #1 pieces to the top and bottom of the wings (the bottom one should overlap #2 piece.
• bend some copper wire to use for antenna and glue to the top bead
• glue a hair clip to the back of the butterfly
• Last, I hot glued some copper beads onto the middle of body and edges of wings.

Supplies I used:

• Recycled cardboard from some craft packaging
• Hot Glue Gun & Glue
• Mister Huey's Color Mists - Dark Calico
• Luminarte - Radiant Rain - Solar Gold
• Luminarte - Radiant Rain - Apple Blossom
• Apple Barrel - White 
• Spronge Brush
• 5 beads
• copper wire
• Martha Stewart luster glass microbeads - Copper
• Hair Clip

Happy Crafting

Carrie

Linky Parties:

Six Sister's Stuff

Indiana Jones Disneyland Facts & Tips

This week I am going to fill you in on the Indiana Jones Adventures that is only located in Disneyland.

The Ride

Not only does this ride have a fantastic que where you will see fantastic artwork depicting scenes you will find in the Indiana Movies. But the ride itself is top notch. You'll board a 12-person troop transport that will take you through some rough and ragged terrain, where you better buckle up because you will be shifted up, down, backward, forward and you don't want to fall off the bridge or get left back and shot with arrows.

On this adventure you will take a cliff-hanging journey through the Temple of the Forbidden Eye. With Indy's help, you will get through giant Gates of Doom. Pass molten lava in the Cavern of Bubbling Death and avoid the undead mummies of the temple's past victims and swerve to avoid lava eruptions, swarms of insects and evil wraiths. 

Next you will cross over a rickety bridge and come face to face with a giant snake. Just when you thought you were past all dangers you will have to outrun a giant boulder.

The Que

The adventure really starts in the sue. Where you will work your way into the attraction area which is the site for an archaeological expedition. After crossing over a wooden bridge, you will finally reach the temple, here is where the waiting can begin. One great thing is that you can download the below decoder card and look for the mara-glyphics on items and the walls. These originally were part of a AT&T sponsorship, disney cast members would hand these decoder cards out at the beginning of the que, but after a while they stopped doing this. If the line is moving more quickly take a picture and decode later. 

Attraction Tips

• Ride is considered a fast, rough and dark ride
• make sure you always correctly fasten your seat belt.
• the height requirement is 46"
• You can get Fastpass's for this ride.
• Ride duration time: 3:15 minutes
• each time you ride this ride you will get a different experience. because of the countless variations, there are 160,000 possible ride combinations.

Fun Facts

• This ride opened in March 1995
• the entire site features more than 1,300 props, including the actual troop transport from the movie, Raiders of the Lost Ark. (you can see this on the right hand site when exiting.
• Over 600 strobes simulate lighting inside the Tunnel of Torment
• the Cavern of Bubbling Death measures 50 feet high
• Mara's power can cause nearly 60 pounds of rubble to tumble every 18 seconds
• wind speeds inside the Mummy Chamber can gust up to 60 mph
• the Rolling Boulder in the attractions finale is 16 feet diameter.
• The Temple of the Forbidden Eye has over 2,000 replicated skulls
• 
  
  
  
  
  Go and Enjoy the Adventure!!
  
  
  Carrie

Resources:
Disneyland.com
touringplans.com
allears.net
themeparkinsider.com