6000 Piece Loom Band Kit

My boys love making crafts and the big thing the last year or so has been loom bands. Every where I go kids are wearing them, making projects, and asking for them. So, when Tomoson gave me the opportunity to work with RubberBandBracelet.net and get the 6000 piece Loom Band Kit for FREE in exchange for my honest review, I quickly accepted.

Is 6000 pieces a little excessive? Maybe, or maybe not. This can be the perfect gathering activity for scouts or a birthday party, a play date, or rainy day afternoon project fun! Even though there are a lot of bands, I have no doubt they will get used. Especially when you consider most project take several bands to complete.

The bands come packaged by color. 600 each of red, yellow, green, blue, pink, purple, black, and white. Each color bag has it's own small bag of clips. There are 200+ clips in the entire kit. And you can find them at my favorite store in the world... Amazon :)

This is an amazing deal. When you consider one pack of 500 bands is about $5.00 at most stores, and in this kit you are getting 6,000 bands. This is by far the best way to buy them. Plus, with the kit you get a variety of colors to make all the fun projects the kids pick out.

The bands are latex-free. Stretchy and soft. Perfect for kids and (parent helpers) and compatible with all major rainbow loom brands. Plus, they are 100% guaranteed!

Since my boys were off playing with their Dad this weekend I sat down on the floor, and picked two projects to make with the bands. 1st I made two cute little Pokeball charms for them to hang on the zipper of their backpacks. Then I made two quick and easy little Easter Eggs to put in their baskets.

The Pokemon Pokeball Charm:

I found the video instructions for this charm at http://rainbowloominstructions.com/. They have a whole collection of fun projects to make with your bands. Most do require a loom so if you don't have you will need one and a hook to make the two projects I did.

Yeah! Two pokeballs down and it only took me an hour to figure out how to use the loom correctly... If my boys would have been here I swear these would have only taken about 10 minutes a piece! So much for quickly making a surprise. I will save you the sad pictures of me pulling everything off and trying again and again.  Thank heavens for the pause and rewind feature on youtube!

The second project was much quicker. I was getting the hang of using the loom and there weren't any crazy knots, just straight forward weaving.

Tiny Loom Band Easter Egg:

This project was taken off the Rubber Band Bracelet website.  So, in addition to supplying you with this fabulous kit, they have a blog with several Loom Band projects.  They also have a Video Project Gallery if you sign up for their club/newsletter. This video doesn't have as much detail as the Pokemon project, however it was an easier project so it didn't need as much. For this you will need a loom and a hook, and some fiber-fill stuffing or cotton balls to make the eggs puffy. (The trick is keeping your puppy from thinking that the stuffing is really his to play with...)

Two projects down and more to come!

These bands will be perfect to make scout neckerchief slides... Blue and yellow!

9th Day of Bloggy Christmas: Candy Cane Rooftop Gingerbread Birdhouse

On the 9th Day of Bloggy Christmas Miss Lisa from Hoopla Palooza gave to me 

Candy Cane Rooftop Gingerbread Birdhouses!

are you a gingerbread house maker?

do you mix the dough, 

roll it,

cut the house shapes up,

allow them to cool?

frost them together to make the house?

go to the store to get gumdrops, candy canes, peppermints, sprinkles, chocolate, sixlets,

etc etc etc.,

then display it for all to see?

then shoo all children away from it, 

young and old,

telling them santa will add them to the naughty list if he sees them anywhere near the house nibbling on the roof?

then on december 26th, what do you do?

throw it away?

oh the horror of it all!

all those hours and hours of work down the tube.

believe me, been there.

done that.

but i wanna keep those suckers!

it's SO beautiful to throw away but lordy knows you can't keep an edible house without having the mold come by for a permanent visit!

so what to do!?!?

do the following.

Brought to you by:

   

See how to make your own DIY Candy Cane Rooftop Gingerbread Birdhouses here!

Lisa @ Hoopla Palooza

An InLinkz Link-up

 Follow A Handful of Everything's board Baker's Dozen Christmas Cookie Exchange 2014 on Pinterest. 

 Follow A Handful of Everything's board Bloggy Christmas 2014 on Pinterest.

What a fabulous idea to make lasting Gingerbread houses. Thanks Lisa for sharing your amazing DIY Candy Cane Rooftop Gingerbread Birdhouses with us!

Tweetle Beetles

I love Dr. Seuss! Some of my favorite Dr. Seuss characters are Tweetle Beetles.  I don't know why, but they are just fun. So, while I was stuck at home with my kids last week with yet another snow day we pulled out our copy of Fox in Socks. This book is challenging to read regardless but with my fabulous cold I'm sure it was quite comical to hear this time... Anyway, we enjoyed our snowed in afternoon making our own DIY Rock pet Tweetle Beetles.

 

Supplies:

Smooth Rocks

Hot Glue Gun and Glue Sticks

Paint

Paint Brushes

Water

Paper Towels

Google Eyes

Colored Pipe Cleaners

Scissors

Hair Dryer (for impatient kiddos who are in a hurry for the paint to dry)

I picked up a bag of rocks at Walmart for $4-5. It seems like a shame to buy rocks but I don't have any close that were what I was looking for. I'm sure you could find these or something like them at any craft store too.

Grab some acrylic or tempura paint and let your kids mix the colors and decorate their rocks however they want. My kids immediately wanted to add eyes and antennae so we had to pull out the trusty hair dryer to help the paint dry quicker.  Hopefully your kids are more patient but if not it works wonders!

Grab your hot glue gun.  We tried regular school glue and tacky glue but if you want your pieces to stick you pretty much need hot glue.  My kids are older so I let them use it on their own so they could show off their individuality. Cut up some pipe cleaners and make some fun furry antennae for your beetles.

Now the most important part, Google eyes.  Everything is more fun with Google eyes! Even if you kids want to add 3 or 4 or 10, who cares? It's fun right? :)

Now you have some fun friends to read with!

Yeah for Tweetle Beetles :)

I Heart You Valentine's Applique Quilt

Today my Post is at Parade.com! 

I Heart You Valentines Quilt

What do you think? Do you love my fun Valentine's Quilt? 

If so, *Pretty Please* visit the link to the full DIY post at Parade.com and leave a comment! If enough of my fabulous friends, family, and readers leave comments I may be offered an opportunity to become a regular contributor! Needless to say, I would be immensely grateful for your comment love :)

I am thrilled with how fun it turned out. I love how the pinks just pop up off the monochromatic background. I made this quilt as a blanket for my sweet cousins first baby girl! I can't wait to see what she thinks of it, it goes off in the mail today!

After I finished the blanket, I thought it would be adorable as Valentines Day wall hanging. It's a great size for both.

I was offered this amazing opportunity through Sverve. For those of you who aren't familiar with Sverve, check it out (I'd love it if you endorsed me while you are there! I always return the favor :) ) It's a great place to connect with brands and get some fabulous blogging opportunities!

To see the other Sverve Bloggers who are on Parade check out the Sverve Contributor page: http://parade.condenast.com/member/sverve/!

Honey Bear Counted Cross-Stitch

I love to cross-stitch.  I remember learning how to do some really basic ones when I was in elementary school and then tackling some bigger counted cross-stitch projects in middle school.  When my boys were born I made a little sampler for each of them but this was the largest project I had ever made.

I originally bought the kit at JoAnn's however after searching online so I could give you the link I learned that it is a discontinued kit. I saw a few on E-bay, and you can find it at:

Cross-Stitch World
Sunset Dimensions: Honey Bear by Doug Knutson
Counted Cross Stitch
14x9"
Kit No. 13696 / UPC: 088677136921

It is a large piece (14x9") and took me about 2 years to complete.  I would work on it, put it away then bring it out and work on it some more.  It was a great project to do watching TV at night or during playgroup when my kids were little.  I love hand stitching because it's very relaxing to me and you can still carry on conversation while you work.  I completed it when we lived in Arizona and it has moved with us and hangs in it's own special little corner in our home.

I love making projects like this because you can see all your hard work.  Normally a night watching TV is gone, wasted. But when you work on a project at the same time, at least you have something beautiful to show for it!

Every time I walk past it I remember how long it took me to complete, it seems like such a long time for one picture.  But I did it, I finished.  One stitch at a time.  Almost like a metaphor to life.  When you are working on a project or muddling through a hard part of life, you have to untie knots, separate strings, unpick where you miscounted, and do sections all over again. With practice it gets easier but inevitably another mistake will happen. Looking up from the bottom all you see is a tangled mess of colorful strings. Some brown and black along with all the other colors of the rainbow.  Over time a picture starts to take shape.  Little by little everything comes together and you can see what it was supposed to be all along.

Image Credit: http://melonheadsldsillustrating.blogspot.com/2011/05/quotes-and-wordies.html

Oriental Trading: One Stop Shop for Halloween Planning

Sometimes planning a carnival/party can be a huge undertaking.  Not only do you have to plan for the activities that you will have at your event, but you also have to plan what all of the goody bag/prizes will be. There are so many places out there to get different supplies but I have found Oriental Trading to be a great one stop shop for many occasions.  And you can do it from the comfort of your own home!

I have done several different birthday parties using their decorations, crafts, and their toys and games.  I have purchased costumes and dress up clothes.  And I have planned 3 Halloween Carnivals all using Oriental Trading products.  They are the first place I look for little prizes, especially when I need to buy in bulk.

When I look for prizes I am looking for a variety of options, I don't want to get the exact same thing every time.  I'm looking for things my kids and their friends will actually like and something with a reasonable price point.  Oriental Trading has done a great job with everything I'm looking for.  Not every single one of the toys have been hits with my boys, a few break pretty easily, but these are carnival prizes and something I'm not expecting to last a long time anyway.  I'm looking for something to bring enjoyment and not something that has to be thrown directly in the trash.

I am so excited to be working with Oriental Trading this year! They have graciously donated the prizes to be used at my boys's Cub Scout Pack Halloween Carnival! Aren't they amazing?  Talk about bringing smiles to 50 boys and their siblings!  Thank you Oriental Trading!!! My boys eagerly helped me open the two boxes of toys to see what they could win this year.

Mega Halloween Novelty Assortment

Halloween Stencil Bookmarks

Sticky Jack O Lantern's

Halloween Finger Puppets

Halloween Stampers

Iconic Halloween Stampers

Last year we also got the Mega Halloween Assortment and it is just a good well rounded mix of prizes.  We selected different prizes to go with the assortment this year from what we offered last year to change it up a little, and we tried to focus on some of the kids's favorites.

Hopefully I sparked some ideas for your planning!  

Shipping was quick and they have deals quite frequently for FREE shipping so make sure to look for that.

Be sure to check out this great site from Oriental Trading full of lots of great ideas to help make your Spooky Night Spectacular!

Free-N-Fun Halloween

This is a great resource with tons of FREE Recipes, Coloring Pages, Pumpkin Decorating Tips, Halloween Costumes, and other great Halloween Craft and Decorating Tips!

Click Here to: Request a Free Catalog, Sign up to receive exclusive offers, promotions and coupons

Follow Oriental Trading:  

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Here are some handy links:

Oriental Trading Halloween Toys, Games, and Novelties

Oriental Trading Halloween Decorations

 Oriental Trading Halloween Costumes

(I bought this costume for my boys about 4 years ago, and my youngest still wears it around, my oldest would wear it now if it wasn't so ridiculously small on him!)

Happy Haunting!

The review of Oriental Trading is based solely on my opinion.  I have used this company for over five years for Birthday parties, carnivals, and for costumes.  Others may have had a different opinion or experience with the products/company.  I was provided FREE samples from Oriental Trading as prizes for my Cub Scout Pack's carnival, no other compensation was received for this review and I am giving my honest opinion.

*Images in this post are being used with permission from the Oriental Trading Websites