Thingamabobs and Doodads: April 2010

Tuesday, April 27

Cards for Heroes

Thanks for stopping by! As Spring is upon us life seems to be ramping up leaving less and less time for things like scrapbooking and blogging! Kelli has been getting her nest all ready for baby. I have been doing what I usually do this time of year - making plans for every single day and weekend of the summer. Not really, but sometimes it feels like that with the crazy schedule I create for myself. Enough about us though...let's talk crafts!

Today we wanted to share some information with you about a great organization called Operation Write Home. About a year ago, we came across this group that sends homemade cards to troops serving overseas. They recruit crafty people like us to make homemade cards to give to the troops to write home to their loved ones. After learning about this great organization we were feeling inspired and went to our friend Toni - the best card designer we know! Last year, a small group of us got together and made about 85 cards in one day for the troops. Toni would design the cards and we would each make a few of each. We worked from 10 AM to 10 PM, stopping to refuel on snacks periodically. It was quite a day, but we felt great giving back to those serving our country!

This year Toni decided to host a special event called Stamp-A-Stack. She invited all sorts of crafty ladies to make cards for Operation Write Home. She designed all of the cards and had stations set up for everyone to complete some cards. We all made 30 cards - donating one to the troops and keeping one for ourselves. We had a blast! After all was said and done approximately 430 cards were made for the troops! Thanks Toni for hosting such a great event - YOU ROCK! If you would like to check out some of the cards Toni designed hop on over to her blog. She has been posting them every day for a couple weeks now. If you are interested in making your own cards for Operation Write Home jump over to their website. They have monthly card-making challenges you can participate in OR host your own event like Toni did! It's so much more fun when you get a whole group of crafty friends involved!

In case you haven't heard, Saturday is National Scrapbooking Day! We have blocked off some time this weekend to celebrate our passion - SCRAPBOOKING! What are your plans for National Scrapbooking Day? Be sure to stop by... we will show you what we are working on and we will be having a special giveaway!

Happy Scrappin!

-Crystal & Kelli

Friday, April 23

Blog Par-tay!

Let's PAR-TAY!!!

Link up to our new Blog party!

grab our button too!

Thursday, April 22

Soon-to-be pins

We're back with more of our homemade baby shower ideas from Kelli's shower! Awhile back we were shopping around our local craft store for some decorating supplies when we came across some pins designed especially for baby showers. There was a pin for the Soon-to-be Mom, Soon-to-be Grandma, etc. We really liked the idea of giving Kelli's family something special to highlight their new role. Also, Kelli's mom is EXTREMELY excited to be a grandma again, so we just knew she would love a button to make sure everyone at the shower could see that she is the grandma-to-be! The problem - the pins we saw at the store were U-G-L-Y and the colors definitely did not match her shower theme. So what do we do?? Make our own of course!

Here's how we made them...

Last Minute Cupcake Tower

Over the weekend we had Kelli's baby shower with family and friends. We had been planning to have a special cake for her, but late last week the plans changed to cupcakes instead. So, we decided to whip up a fun little tower to display the delicious cupcakes. We were actually kind of glad the plans changed to cupcakes because the display turned out super cute!

Here's how you can make a cupcake tower like ours...

Blog Par-tay!

Let's PAR-TAY!!!

Link up to our new Blog party!

grab a button too!

Thursday, April 15

APRIL 15th -- it's a whole new day!!

April 15th - for some it's the dreadful day your taxes are due. At Thingamabobs & Doodads, we are giving April 15th a whole new meaning... it's the beginning of our week long SALE!

APRIL 15th - 22nd get 15% OFF all of the kits in our store! Plus, if you buy 2 kits the 2nd one ships for FREE!

It's a win-win situation... If you had to pay into Uncle Sam, one of our kits is sure to cheer you up! Or if you were lucky enough to get a refund, why not celebrate and get everything you need to complete a fun project!

APRIL 15th -- it's a whole new day!

Let's keep celebrating! What better way to keep the fun going than a new blog party?!! We are participating in Serenity Now's Dishing It! It's a special party for bloggers to share a little about themselves!

So here is what you need to know about us...

Tea Party Favor

As promised, we wanted to show you how Kelli made this favor for the guests at her shower. It literally took about a minute to make and all of the guests were raving about how cute and thoughtful it was!

Materials:

8 1/2 inch piece of cardstock,

a few scraps of patterned paper,

a couple of your favorite punches,

adhesive (we used glue dots),

an individual packet of tea,

a neat stamp & some ink.

How To:

Step 1: Cut a piece of cardstock to 8 1/2 inches x 3 inches.

Baby Shower #1

It's been a busy week! Kelli is expecting her first child in May and we had her very first baby shower! It was a lot of fun and of course I wanted to use my crafty skillz to make all the decorations. Since the shower was at work we had a tea luncheon in the conference room for her. Kelli and her husband received all sorts of fun things for the baby. As a special thank you, Kelli made some tea favors for all of the guests.