Little Pink Studio

Craft-a-thon with my niece

Hello! Hope you're having a lovely weekend. Before we get too far into the new year, I wanted to share with you my craft-a-thon week I had with my niece. Every year my niece and nephew come spend time with us during the Christmas season and we do things like bake cookies, make gingerbread houses, craft, watch movies, and drive around drinking cocoa and looking at lights. This year, my niece stayed a whole week with us, and we did some serious crafting. :) Here she is in my studio. She stayed in her jammies and wore a Christmas hat most of the time. 

We made more wine glass snow globes. I think I liked hers best of all. If you can't tell, there's a little mouse and bunny kissing inside her globe. 

We also made this one as a gift for my Mom's birthday. Isn't it sweet? Desi and I did a holiday swap with my sweet friend Lilia and her daughter which was lots of fun! (My niece's first swap!) The girls swapped handmade ornaments and little trinkets for each other, and Lilia and I swapped ornaments and art supply goodies. 

A few more shots of our creations and fun. That bottom photo is the silly amount of marshmallows we like to put in our hot cocoa. I can spoil her that way, because I'm just the aunt. 

I cherish these times with her and hope that she always will also. 

xo, Cerri 

PS, As a few of you have already figured out, I extended the free shipping sale on qualifying orders through the weekend. It will end on Monday at midnight. I'll announce the winner of the giveaway then too, so don't forget to enter if you haven't done so yet. I love reading about your favorite Christmas gifts. 

Tuesday tutorial: A Little More Vintage Kitsch

Hello! I hope you had a lovely weekend. We had a fabulous weekend celebrating my Mom and daughter's birthdays. Mom's birthday is the 8th, and my baby girl will be 21 on Wednesday! Hard to believe I have a daughter turning 21. Time goes by so fast, it really does. To celebrate,  I threw them a jewelry making party in my studio and will be sharing some of that soon. It's always such fun to get all of the ladies in my family together to craft and spend time together. 

 Today's tutorial is actually my take on someone else's darling tutorial. But first, I have to tell you, I had an awful time taking photos of these little "snow globes". I retook photos several times and edited and edited, but just couldn't get them to look that great, but at least you will get the general idea of how I made mine. 

These daring ornaments were our inspiration. And I don't know how she was able to take such fabulous photos of these plastic snow globes, but they're lovely.  (To see the full tutorial and the rest of her ornaments, click here. ) You'll never believe that these sweet little snow globes are made using disposable plastic wine glasses! 

My daughter and I made our little snow globes during our craft sessions when she was home for Thanksgiving. She actually made 3 of them while I worked on one and made these ornaments.  

The tutorial thoroughly shows you how to create these, but you simply cut off the stem of the wine glass using a dremel. Create your little scenes using whatever vintage elements you would like on a paper base, glue them in place, and add mica flakes through the top openings. 

In the original tutorial she used beads to seal and hang the snow globes, and I had some beads that would have worked perfect for that, but I recently got rid of them thinking, "I'm never going to use these...". Isn't that how it goes? So instead, we used small vintage glass ornaments, and just pulled out the little loop.  To create the globe above, my daughter used some plastic deer that I had completely covered in silver glass glitter. Love that look!

This is the only snow globe that I made, my daughter made all of the others shown in this post. Gotta love a vintage Santa and his little helpers. :)

The snow globes are quite easy to make and would be a fun activity to do with your children of any age. :)

A couple of things...

If you're part of the vintage stocking swap, you should be getting ready to mail your stockings. 

And if you're waiting on an order, rest assured that I have been working around the clock trying to get all of the orders shipped out. I'm getting close to being caught up, thankfully. 

I would love to see if you make any snow globes from the plastic wine glasses! 

Happy creating! Cerri 

Tuesday tutorial: Spooky little shadow box

Hello! How was your weekend? Have you begun to have lovely fall weather? We have, and honestly I could not be happier. I adore fall, it's definitely my favorite time of year. I love sweaters, and spiced chai tea, fall colors, warm (not hot!!) weather with cool evenings, soups, and that lovely snuggle in feeling I get this time of year. And of course, with fall brings Halloween, so today I thought I would start off the Halloween crafting by bringing back a super easy little shadow box I did a couple of years ago on Joli Paquet. Want to join me? 

You'll need this sweet vintage image printed onto cardstock. I printed mine on kraft cardstock as I like the color better. To save the image, just double click on it to get the correct size, and right click and save to your computer. 

You're also going to need a little box half, black paint, Stickles glitter, a sturdy adhesive, black ribbon, sponge brush, scissors, and a bit of vintage ledger paper. 

!. Gather up those supplies. 

2. Using your sponge brush, paint the inside of the box black.

3. Print and cut out your images. (Note, when cutting out your images you will want to leave a "tab" or space below the image to be folded over later) If your image needs it, go over any of the details with a fine tipped sharpie. You can go ahead and embellish a bit with some Stickles glitter glue here as well. 

4. Cut some random cloud shapes out of vintage ledger paper. Once the box is dry, go ahead and glue your little cloud shapes inside.

5. Once your glitter is dry, fold over the little space you left on your image and give it a good crease. Using your strong adhesive you will want to add some glue to the bottom adn place the tree standing upright in your box. Do the same with the little girl. You can place a little block or wooden spool behind the images while they dry to help them stand up.

6. Add a bead of adhesive all the way around the outer edge of your box.

7. Tie on a bit of black ribbon over the glue and tie a bow at the top. 

That's it! Maybe 30 minutes start to finish? You could make a series of these little boxes with different images for your mantle. (all different shapes and sizes would be fun) Or make a bunch of them for place settings at a little get together with your art friends. And really, this project is easy enough to do with the kids during an afternoon of craft time! 

I hope you will enjoy this little project! I'll hopefully be back with lots of fun things this week...I keep disappearing after my tutorials each week and I don't mean to do that! 

Happy crafting, Cerri xoxo

 

 

Merry making..

My niece and nephew visited us the past few days, and what a wonderful time we had. This is my sweet niece in her Santa hat. The kids coming to visit us every year during their Christmas break is a family tradition, and we've been doing it for years. I love this special time and look forward to it every year. This weekend we packed as much activity into 3 days as we possibly could. 

My niece and I dressed up and went to the original "Miracle on 34th Street" movie at our historical Tennessee theater. 

We baked lots of cookies and the kids decorated them. I love how cute kids do cookies and other sweet treats. 

And of course, we had to make plates and mugs to leave out for Santa, right?

My nephew wanted to make a spanish mug...

We also went to see this movie.  We snuggled up in the car and drove around looking at all of the pretty Christmas lights. (something I've been doing since my girls were little)

And of course, we had to have crafts. We made simple ornaments from kits picked out at Michaels this year to keep things easy, but the kids loved it nonetheless. 

But most importantly, we laughed, we snuggled, we loved each other, and we created memories that will hopefully last a lifetime. 

I hope you're enjoying this holiday week!

Cerri xoxo

Paper Dolls!

Hello friends! How is your summer coming along? Is it as hot where you are as it is here? I keep trying to remind myself why I live in the south? :) I hope you'll indulge me a little bragging on my oldest daughter today? She created these darling paper doll illustrations and I had them printed for her. 

They are professionally printed on heavy cardstock and come with the tiny brads you need to put them together and make them "jointed". Perfect for any little girl, (or big girls too) they even have hair accessories! I'm making a little garland of them to hang in my studio, but I think they'd be super cute in a scrapbook too. :)

When she was looking at colleges, one of the ladies we met told her that her illustrations were so refreshing and they just make her smile. I have to agree, Kenzie's art always makes this momma smile. 

Oh! And this is her latest business card! I just love it!

If you're interested, you can purchase her dolls or prints in her little etsy shop here, or if you happen to be local they'll be for sale in a tiny little shop that I'll tell you about very soon. :)

I hope you're enjoying your summers! I can hardly believe it's almost time for school to start back! This summer has flown by!

xo, Cerri

 

For the children on your list

Christmas is around the corner. That also means that Christmas vacation is around the corner and your children will be home from school for a couple of weeks. These adorable projects make wonderful quiet time activities or special crafting time with your child. With projects as low as $6.99 they also make wonderful stocking stuffers, angel tree gifts, and just sweet little projects to tuck away for those "too cold to play outside days".  You can find them all right here.

We've tested them all, and they're great fun to make!

Cerri xoxo

Gothic Romance, a petite theater

Hello! I'm pretty excited about my Halloween kit for Joli Paquet this year. I've had the idea of a tiny theater in my mind for quite some time, and this seemed like the time to give it a try. In my mind, the hauntingly beautiful lady on the cover is Emile, and Emile is remembering the past, of days of romance gone by. Her heart aches at the memories and longing of a once marvelous romance. To capture that memory forever I created a theater scene in which Emile is remembering a special evening with her beloved. Because the 'memory scene' was created inside of a large matchbox, it has the ability of being "tucked away" and carried with Emile always.

Of courese, you can create your story your way, but I will provide all of the elements and instructions on how to create this lovely petite theater.

The petite theater kit will be available right here!

(kit will be on sale Thursday)

There are a few other Halloween goodies available in the shop as well, such as this darling Monster pillow kit in our Crafting with Children section.

While you're working away on your petite theather, your children can be creating these darling and easy, no sew monster pillows! (all materials included--and even better, they're pre cut!)

There are also a few play packs, pin sets, trim cards, and grab bags left too! Just click on "What's New" and take a look around.

Also be sure to visit the Joli Paquet blog to see the other cute kits the ladies have come up with, there's something for everyone!

Cerri xo

 

Happenings...

Hello! I know you're waiting to see what I found at the flea market, right? Well I did find some lovely things and I will share them soon, but on the way home from our little weekend getaway, my Jeep broke down. Ugh. Not good. At all. So, I've been a little preoccupied this week with that, but as soon as I get everything unloaded and photos taken I will be sure to share.

There are exciting things happening though! Some I can tell you about now, and some I will let you know about pretty soon. :) First up, Parents magazine started a wonderful feature on their websiste last year called the "One hundred days of holidays". Basically, you can sign up to receive a daily email of wonderful holiday themed projects to do with and for your children. (You can also view this slideshow on the website if you prefer.) Everything from recipes to costumes will be covered and I was over the moon excited to be asked to be a part of the project this year! I'll be sure to let you know when my day is up, but you can go here, right now and sign up for yourself. They're expecting more than 300,000 readers, so that is pretty exciting news for me!

Next up. Halloween. Can you believe it is almost that time of year?  My play packs had to take a little hiatus this summer while I fussed and worried over every single detail of getting my daughter ready to live on her own at college, but they're back now. (or will be in a day or so) I have a super cute Halloween themed play pack almost ready for you as well as some other cute things.

 
Here's a quick peek at the new Halloween themed pin/embellishments I designed for you, and wait until you see them in their cute little bag.

Here's a tiny peek at the play pack contents.

Non Halloween themed treats are also making their way to the shop, here's a peek of those.

 
Arent' they the cutest little things you've ever seen? Love them. They too, have a super cute little bag they will arrive in.

If all goes right, I'll have all the frightfully fun treats (lame, I know...but I had to, lol) ready for you in the shop tomorrow afternoon. You'll come back and see, won't you?

Cerri xoxo

Facebook, monkeys, and more

Hello! Thanks for the well wishes for our weekend, we did have a really great weekend together and it was good to have her home. I'm actually headed to Nashville to the flea market this weekend and will get to hang out with her some more. Mom's going too, so it should be a great girl's weekend!

I wanted to share with you some of the other kids crafting projects we currently have available in the shop. First up, monkeys!  Who doesn't love a sweet little sock monkey? The monkey kits we have are a modern twist on the old favorite with their brightly colored stripes and personalities. The 'gal' you see is her Rosie La Vie, and she's a party planning monkey with the best cupcake recipe in town!

  

There is also Finoola Peach, Bon Rompus, (who isn't even a monkey at all, but a Sockodile!) and Eenie Mo. You can read more about their personalities on the website, but they're just the cutest thing! The kits are small, so they will slide perfectly into a tote bag for a quiet time activity needed anywhere! I also think they would be darling embellished some more. Wouldn't Rosie look charming with a little flowered hat, or a button brooch? How about a skirt made of tulle? 

Now, you can stuff your monkeys or any of your new stitching projects with any ol' fiberfill, but I discovered something wonderful that you might like too, Monkey Fluff! Monkey fluff is a super soft and cuddly fiberfill that is made from corn! That means it's made from a renewable resource, hypoallergenic, and friendly to our earth. Love that.

 Monkeys aside, there are some other darling kits that I haven't talked to you about yet, like this Love Hearts stitch it kit. What little girl wouldn't love to create these little stuffed hearts to hang in her room? They're also perfect for learning to embroider! (the flowers are stamped on the fabric, but the words are not so they can be customized anyway you want.) Like many of our new kids crafting kits these come complete with every thing you need to create them including little pink handled scissors! 

I've showed you the bitty bear kit before, but I didn't show you the darling bunny and puppy mini kits. They too, come with pre cut felt and fabric, the stuffing, and needle and thread, and for only $6.99, how could you possibly go wrong? (the puppy was stitched together by my young niece who is just learning to sew) These little guys are perfect for hanging on backpacks, but if you just want a little loveable animal for your doll house the key ring and loop can be left off. Gah, I just love them! For those of you with little guys at home that aren't as fond of pink bears and bunnies, just wait, I'll have some aliens and cute monsters w/in the next few weeks too.

I also wanted to mention this darling stamp kit. This was a special buy, and once they're gone, they're gone for good. Each set is packaged in a draw string bag, and I think they're just the cutest kids stamps around.

Let's see, what else is happening here? Oh! Play packs will be coming back soon, I have two in the works actually and I think you're going to love them. They took a little hiatus this summer(along with so many other things) when I was so consumed with getting my daughter ready for college, but I'm back on track and loving working in the studio again.

I almost forgot, last week I finally started a facebook page for The Little Pink Studio. I had thought of doing that a million times, but kept putting it off as I knew it would be something else to keep up with. I've had a personal facebook for a while that I mostly use to keep up with my daughter at college and other family members, but I only use it intermittently. I  finally decided I better get with the times as so many businesses have a page, and it never hurts to get your name out there in any way you can. I would love it if you would join me there, I'm planning some fun things to do with it, so it's not just a copy of the blog posts. As a little bribe to get you to join me and help me get the word out, click here to follow and comment "15" on my wall and I'll give you a 15% discount on your next order, whenever that will be. (that offer doesn't expire!)

I'll be back soon with some flea market finds!

Cerri xo

PS, Special thanks to my Mom who stitched up the monkeys and hearts for me, and to Destiny who worked on the puppy. :)

Something new

Hello! It's been a little while, hasn't it? I've been super busy getting the new website ready and dealing with some other issues, but I'm happy to tell you that the website is almost ready! I'm so excited to show you, and my plan is to have it ready to share by the end of the week. If you have been reading my blog for long, you know that I love to craft with children. I always have been passionate about crafting with children. I was doing projects with my own girls as soon as they were old enough to sit up in a high chair, but I also worked with mentally ill children for many years and often in art therapy, and now, I love to craft with my niece and nephews when they visit. I think it is such an important part of any child's life, so I am ridiculously excited to let you know about the new crafting with children section of the shop.

In the past, I have designed some kids crafting kits under my "Mommy and Me" label, but it's been hard to keep that section stocked. So I scoured the web until I found other crafting kits for children that I simply adore.  The doll above was created from a wonderful kit that comes complete with everything you need to make her; from the printed fabric to the scissors, stuffing, and needle and thread! This line of kits is genius in the fact that all of the packaging can be recycled into something else. For instance, the dolly's kit packaging recycles into a chair for her to sit in! Such a cute idea and eco friendly at the same time! This wonderful kit will retail for only $14.99!

The Momma and baby owl above is another of the sweet kits. Can you possibly resist? This set also will retail for only $14.99 and comes complete with all materials needed. I love the fact that these kits have all of the materials, that makes them perfect for taking on vacation, sitting in the car activities, or even projects for a rainy day at home.

I'll also be adding a series of darling mini kits and they too, include everything needed to create the projects. One of the wonderful thing about these kits (besides being simply ADORABLE) is that they will retail for only $6.99! (yes, I know!) I am completely smitten with the sweet little bear key chain above. 

I have more crafting with children kits to share with you soon as well, and of course  I will still have my own "Mommy and Me" projects available too.

This is just one of the changes to my shop that I am over the moon excited about and I hope you will be as well!

More soon!

Cerri xoxo