Family Friendly 2014 Celebrations

Photo Credit HERE

Some of you may be like me: the days of staying up until midnight at some party or celebration are long gone. Replacing party outfits are comfy PJs. Instead of a fancy dinner we'll stay in and eat homemade/frozen appetizers and pizza. Dancing with my current crush is replaced with dancing with Mr. Right and the two kiddos. And the party music will most definitely be kid friendly. 

 With two young children who just celebrated a pretty big holiday last week, I don't want to do anything too spendy or over the top. We won't have anyone coming over so it will be just the four of us. But this doesn't mean that New Years Eve can't be memorable or fun.

I took this week off from designing anything new, so these ideas are not mine. I love this person's approach to a fun, family friendly New Year's Eve. The ideas are simple and perfect for my kids. You can find her New Year's Eve party plan HERE. She also links over to another website where you can download a PDF for a "Year in Review" Page for each member of your family to fill out.

Midnight may come at 9pm for us, but you can be sure we'll be making memories and hopefully some new traditions too.

PeaBeeDesigns Winter Giveaway: 3 Winners!

Here's your chance to win an adorable coin purse/wristlet. It has room for cards, your cash, and even your phone! A great option for when you want to go out without a bulky purse. But what fun is a wallet if it doesn't come filled? This one comes with a $10 itunes gift card and a coupon for 30% off a future purchase at PeaBee Designs. To enter" like the peabeedesigns facebook page and then make sure to find this picture and like, comment, and share. THREE lucky winners will be announced Friday December 13th. 

Merry Christmas from PeaBeeDesigns!

Christmas Printable Round-Up

I may have outdone myself this year with Christmas printables, but I couldn't help myself.  There are so many fun sayings that I wanted to turn into prints, so instead of choosing one to feature this month, I decided to feature them all! 

Remember these can be printed in a variety of sizes and have tons of possibilities. Frame them to put in your home, print smaller versions for cards on treat plates or as part of your neighbor/teacher gifts. And please like, share, and pin this post so others can enjoy it as well! Merry Christmas!

To download the Christmas subway art, click HERE

To get the buddy the elf quote, click HERE

For the chalkboard print, click HERE

Hope you all have a wonderful holiday season! I have some fun things planned for 2014 and can't wait to share them with all of you!

Easy 3D Paper Snowflakes

I recently went to an activity where someone taught me how to make these fun and easy 3D paper snowflakes. They look so cool when finished and you can make them in any color. I can't wait to make some using some fun, Christmas themed, 12x12 scrapbook paper!

Materials needed

6 sheets of paper (any color, or some of each color for a 2-tone snowflake)

a glue gun

scissors

optional: stapler

Step 1: Fold your paper so it will make a square. Cut off the extra rectangle piece at the bottom.

 Step Two: Keep your square folded in a triangle shape. Fold again into a smaller triangle.

 Step Three: Cut 3 lines into your triangle. Cut from the folded side toward the open side, stop cutting about a half inch from the opening. Don't worry if your lines aren't straight or your sections aren't perfectly spaced. You'll never be able to tell once it's finished.

 Step Four: Open your triangle.

 Step Five: Starting with the middle pieces, use hot glue to secure the two sides together.

 Step Six: Flip your paper over. Use hot glue to secure the next two sides together. Keep flipping back and forth until all the sides have been glued.

 This is what one looks like when it's finished. Repeat steps for your other pieces of paper until you have six pieces that look like this.

 When you have all six pieces glued, it's time to assemble your snowflake. Instead of thinking each piece goes side by side, you actually will lay each piece on top of each other. Match the points up at the bottom. You can hot glue them together or you can staple them (I like to staple because it helps make them sturdier). Keep laying pieces on top of each other, matching the points at the bottom up, until you've secured all six.

 You will also need to glue or staple the pieces on the sides where they touch. This also helps reinforce them so it stays together.

The finished product:

This is a fun craft for kids and adults alike. You can make tons of different sizes on plain or printed paper.

And if you need a video tutorial for these, I liked this one HERE. Enjoy!

PeaBeeDesigns on Groopdealz

Have you been over to the groopdealz website yet? I'm addicted to buying everything from jewelry to clothing to kids stuff on there. The deals change daily and often you've got to be quick because some things sell out fast!

I'm really excited to announce that my monthly milestone stickers are being featured on their website right now! Yes, now! So spread the word and go over and check them out. There are only limited quanities of each design, so don't delay!

Here's the link to the site and my listing.
https://www.groopdealz.com/deal/monthly-milestone-stickers-set-of-12/8457

November Freebie: The Forgotten Holiday

Well, Halloween is over so let's jump right into Christmas, shall we? Just kidding! In my opinion, Thanksgiving shouldn't be overlooked. Although if you look in the stores and turn on your radio, it's quickly becoming the forgotten holiday. Poor Thanksgiving. It feels sad. Not anymore! This wonderful holiday full of good food, family, and no gift expectations is the focus of this month's freebie. I LOVE subway art (if you haven't noticed hee-hee). It's so easy to pop it in a frame to add just the right touch to your holiday decor. Put it on a mantel or shelf, or even as part of your table centerpiece. Print smaller versions for place settings, to make dinner invitations or to attach to pies or food you're bringing to a holiday gathering as a gift for the host. So many possibilities--that's why I love it!

To download this print, click HERE

Oh-Kay...for those of you wanting to get a jump start on the other holiday coming up (the holiday that shall not be named on this blog until AFTER Thanksgiving), go HERE to make an easy and fun advent calendar.

Don't forget to pin, share, and like these! Spreading the word about my little shop and the freebie printables is the best way to show your appreciation for what I do (or try to do). 

I also have some spots open for holiday cards. So if you're like me and like to get your cards done early, don't wait to order your custom cards designed by yours truly. I have tons of fun backgrounds, fonts, and layouts. I'm working on one right now that has 6 pictures on it as well as room for a subway style word art with your favorite memories from 2013. It looks AWESOME and will end up being way cheaper to print than ordering from one of those photo websites.

Confessions of a Wannabe Seamstress: DIY Toy Story Costumes

I like to pretend that I'm crafty. Sit me in front of a computer with a design program and I can whip up something as quick as a hiccup (or as quick as a pop-tart, as one of my middle school students said). Sit me in front of a sewing machine and I have flashbacks from my 7th grade home economics class where I accidently sewed the two legs of the boxer shorts I was making together. That made for several unpleasant days of unpicking the seams. But with pinterest and blogging, there are so many cute sewing projects out there! I keep wishing that I knew how to sew so I could make this stuff for my kids instead of spending money to buy it. 

Fast forward to a month ago when I decided that I wanted my kids to be Jessie and Woody from Toy Story. I researched costumes online and the money they wanted for these cheap little costumes was ridiculous! Finally, I decided to put my money where my mouth is and sew my own costumes.

First, I sought out my materials. Jessie and Woody make great DIY costumes because you probably have most of the materials already. Jessie and Woody both wear blue jeans (check) and I found a white collared shirt for Jessie at the second-hand store for $2. Woody's yellow shirt was a lucky find at Wal-Mart. I saw the yellow shirt (it has a picture on the front) and decided Woody could just wear it inside out and no one would know--plus then he could wear it after Halloween too. I think the shirt was around $4. Then, I bought cheap cowboy/girl hats online from Amazon. A trip to the fabric store and I found the cowprint fabric and fake leather material. I also needed velcro, ribbon, and red glitter glue. I also bought heat-bond hemming tape as a crutch--just in case the sewing got a little too intense for me--but I'm proud to say I didn't have to use it at all!

I bought a half yard of cowprint and a quarter yard of leather (mistake, I ended up needed a bit more), and I think a quarter yard of yellow as well.

I tackled Jessie's outfit first. I used yellow fabric and a pencil to trace the outline of the shirt. Then I used a pair of jeans to trace the cowprint fabric for the chaps.

Using the pencil, I drew a little detail to the bottom so it would look more like a cowgirl shirt. Then scissors to cut along the lines I drew.

 I realized that sewing onto a shirt was going to result in me messing up big time, so I opted to use velcro to secure the yellow piece to the front. I used the red glitter glue to add more western details to the front of the shirt.

 I also didn't think I could sew shirt cuffs onto the sleeves without majorly messing it up, so I made the cuffs with elastic that just slip over the existing shirt. I used white felt for the fringe.

I also added white fringe to the chaps. This is also where I got into my first problem. I didn't have enough fabric to hem the pants properly. So, I did do a quick seam up the sides so they wouldn't completely unraveled, but they do have a rough edge on them. I am just going to say they look more rugged/western that way ;)

 I didn't want to ruin a pair of jeans by permanently attaching a pair of chaps. So I found this idea there you use a piece of the leater to make a belt that just loops through the jeans beltloops, then use velcro to secure it in the front. I will probably add a belt buckle made from cardboard and spraypaint too.

Woody doesn't need as much for his costume (just a vest), but this part took me the longest. I used this pattern/tutorial for the vest. As a non-sewer I stared at the pattern and reread the directions multiple times, not understanding what I was supposed to to (it wasn't the tutorials fault, it was mine!). Apparently, cutting out 3 pieces of fabric was like brain surgery for me. Finally, I just went for it and started cutting and figured it out. Now, the pattern makes complete sense.

The original pattern uses felt for the vest, but Woody's vest is cowprint. I decided to line it with the leather and instead of hemming the cowprint, I folded over the leather to make an edge. It turned out pretty nice, I'd say (don't look to closely at my crooked lines! Also, I didn't buy enough of the leather so that's the back leather in two pieces instead of one like it should be--oh well)

Finally, after a day of sewing, I was done!

And you know what, I actually really liked this project! It was fun. This might not be the last sewing tutorial you see from me!