Sometimes life has other ideas.....

My kids really love camping. A lot.

We've been going ever since the girls were about 3 and 6 (for 4 or 5 years now), and they really look forward to it. We started out with a very small pop up camper and quickly moved up to a very nice trailer with 2 slides, a kitchen, and most importantly a bathroom. Mommy sure likes having a bathroom!

Since I was very pregnant with the boy monster last summer, we skipped camping altogether. The girls weren't thrilled with the idea but there was no way I could physically swing it. We promised them that we would go 3 or 4 times this summer to make up for it, and I booked a handful of trips early to make sure I kept that promise.

Fast forward to two weeks ago. The boy monster turned 10 months old and the mommy anxiety started creeping in about our first camping trip of the season, which was scheduled for 4 days this weekend (Memorial Day weekend). How would it all work? Would any of us get any sleep? Would he start waking up again at night? Would he and I spend the entire weekend in the camper because of the forecast (lots and lots of heat and humidity)? Would it be ANY fun for anyone???

Two weeks of worry. BLECH!

Departure day finally arrived and that morning we spent hours upon hours packing the camper. I actually started to get a little excited about it and loved seeing the thrill on the girls' faces. There was A LOT more to pack this time around since a baby was involved. Babies need way too much stuff.

After what seemed to be 100 trips from the house to the camper, everything was done. Packed. Ready to go.

I told the girls to hit the bathroom and Ron headed out to hook the camper to the truck.

The anxiety was almost gone....I told myself it was fine, people take much younger babies to much harder places all the time. I would make the best of it and enjoy myself and it would be great! Let's get this long overdue vacation STARTED!!!! YAY!!!!!!!!!

Next thing I know, Stephanie comes in the house proclaiming "Daddy said we aren't going camping. His truck is broke." I thought this must be a joke...it was working fine while running errands just this morning! But sure enough, it wouldn't shift into drive or reverse. We then spent the next 3 or 4 hours trying to calm the hysterical kids, get the truck towed to the dealership for repair, find a way to get the camper to the campground, realized that it just wasn't going to work, stressing out about repair costs, cancelling the campground, deciding that we needed to "save" the weekend and do something else fun, researching available hotel rooms at the Jersey Shore (and booking one), and thanking GOD that the truck issue happened at home and not while we were already at the campground (or worse yet, on the way TO the campground!!)

So, our plans have completely changed for the weekend and I'm OK with that. We're having all kinds of fun adventures that we wouldn't have had if the trip was still on, and getting a few things done at home.

And since a post without pictures is just sad.....here are a few recent custom orders that I've finished. Please visit me on my Funsize Creations Facebook page (click here) if you see something you like and would be interested in having me make for you!

Thanks for stopping by!

funsize's first GIVEAWAY!

This giveaway is now closed!

The winner is: #9, Amanda Shivonne

Congratulations and thank you for entering!!! Please send me a PM on Facebook or an email at achrupcala@hotmail.com with your mailing address and I will get these mailed to you ASAP!

Thanks again to everyone who entered, I sincerely appreciate it and look forward to doing another giveaway when I hit 200 likes!!!  :o)

Everyone has been so kind and supportive of my little handmade items, and I appreciate each and every one of you VERY VERY much, so in order to celebrate reaching 100 "likes" on my brand new Facebook page....let's do a giveaway!

One lucky winner will receive the adorable set of handmade polka dot blue hair clips pictured above. These clips are perfect for any special little girl in your life and would make an awesome gift! Oh, and shipping is INCLUDED in this giveaway!

The giveaway will close on Friday, June 1st at 11:59 PM {EST}.

Here are the rules:

Everyone will have three chances to win.   You must make a new comment on this blog after completing each "task" below in order for your entries to be counted!  I'll choose the winner the old fashioned way.....by having my infant pick a number from a hat! LOL

"Tasks" to complete (each "task" counts as ONE entry):

1.  Like Funsize Creations' Facebook page.  If you already "like" it, just leave a comment saying so!  

{Facebook page is found here}

2.  Tweet, blog, or link this giveaway on your Facebook page and come back here to let me know!

3.  "Follow" this super awesome blog (click the "join this site button on the right)!  If you already do, just leave a comment saying so!  

Remember, you must comment for each task in order to get 3 entries!  Good luck and I will announce the winner on Saturday!!!

Friends don't let friends give away ugly gift bags

 It's almost the end of the year for my Daisy Troop, and as their fearless leader I want to send them off with a little gift bag filled with a few items for them to remember the fun year we had together. I picked up 10 kraft gift bags really cheap, but realized very quickly that I got what I paid for. Plain BORING gift bags!!!! 


A simple yet useful reminder: you don't have to give that awesome gift away in that plain ugly bag that you just bought, dug out from under your bed, or found in a "gift wrapping" tote in your basement.

Nope....you can pretty it up in a matter of minutes!


All you need is:

* a plain gift bag (or 10 in my case)
* a stamp (the one I'm using is a nice big one from the Donna Downey collection that I've been hoarding for quite some time. The stamp you use doesn't have to be as big, you can use any small shape and just repeat the stamp in a pattern for the same effect).
* acrylic paint or an ink pad (I'm using a foam stamp so I'll be using acrylic paint with mine, but ink on a rubber stamp works just as good).
* paint brush or foam brush

 Step 1: gather your supplies.

Step 2: Paint (or ink) up your stamp real good.

Step 3: Stamp your bag making sure you put plenty of pressure on all points of the stamp to ensure that the entire image transfers onto the surface.

 Step 4: Fill em' up and enjoy watching their faces as they open their gifts (in their new super pretty gift bag!)

Hello again!

Yep. It's been quite some time since I showed this particular blog some love. About 2 years in fact.

Let's see...in that 2 year time frame quite a few things have happened.

To name just a few:

* Got laid off from my full time job and became a SAHM
* Took a few big trips (to Disney World, Las Vegas, and Seattle)
* Graduated college with a business degree that I hope to actually use someday
* Had my 3rd child
* Stopped crafting COMPLETELY for awhile (like a year. GULP)
* Enjoyed being home with my kids!!!!
* Started crafting again and realized how much I've missed it
* Became the leader of my very own Daisy Girl Scout troop
* Ate lots and lots of milkshakes, Snickers, and tacos
* Recently got voted into the MVP position of my local Mom's Club
* Decided to start selling my handmade items locally
* Drove my older children all over the universe to Junior Girl Scout meetings and functions, band practices, gymnastics, softball games, birthday parties, doctor's appointments, school functions, blah, blah, blah
* Decided to give blogging another try

So...... now that I'm crafting again I have something to occasionally post about.  I hope to see some friendly faces around here every so often!

In other news, very shortly the item below will be featured in a giveaway on The Mouse House! Stay tuned for information on how you can win it!!

Christmas paper ornament tutorial

Its that time of year (already!) to start thinking about Christmas gifts, decorations, and wrapping. Christmas is already less than 6 weeks away!!!

*gulp*

These paper ornaments make a great addition to any Christmas tree, can be used as a pretty tag or "bow" on the top of a gift, or can be strung together to make a beautiful garland. You can use what you already have available at home and they're so easy to make that it's the perfect afternoon craft project to do with your kids.

Lets get started:

Supplies needed:

* construction paper, scrapbooking paper, or any cardstock weight paper you have at home. You can even glue wrapping paper to a piece of heavy weight paper to make your own unique design!

* scissors

* pencil

* string, twine, or floss (I used baker's twine)

* glue

* juice glass (or a paper punch if you have one which is what I used and makes the process go a little bit faster).

Step 1: Trace 8 circles on your paper using your glass and cut them out (or just punch 8 circles out).

Step 2: Fold each circle in half making sure that the pattern you want to show on the ornament is on the INSIDE of the fold.

Step 3: Glue the backs of each folded circle to another folded circle (making sure that you glue the sides together that you don't want to be seen).

When your finished gluing it looks like this:

Step 4: Tie your string into a hanger by putting a loop at top and a knot at the bottom. This will help ensure that the string doesn't slip through your finished ornament.

Step 4: After you glue all 8 pieces together lay your string down the spine of your ornament, then glue the final two paper ends together to form a circle around your string.

 

Enjoy your beautiful paper ornament!



Layouts

A few more recent layouts to share.

ATC step by step

I recently started to get hooked onto making ATC's (artist trading cards). The definition of ATC straight from Wikipedia is:

Artist Trading Cards (or ATCs) are miniature works of art about the same size as modern baseball cards,[1] or 2 ½ X 3 ½ inches (63 mm X 89 mm),[2] small enough to fit inside standard card-collector pockets, sleeves or sheets.[3] The ATC movement developed out of the mail art movement and has its origins in Switzerland.[4] Cards are produced in various media, including dry media (pencils, pens, markers, etc.), wet media (watercolor, acrylic paints, etc.), paper media (in the form of collage, papercuts, found objects, etc.) or even metals or cloth. The cards are usually traded or exchanged rather than sold.

What's great about them is that they come together quickly, you can try new mixed media techniques out on them without the fear of ruining or wasting a canvas or other large item, and that they really are beautiful miniature pieces of art.

Here's a quick step by step for you:

The ATC below was made using a masking technique which utilized the "trash" from the back of some paper tape and some spray ink. When I separate paper tape from the backing I always save the backing paper to use later for projects just like this.

Step 1: Remove the plastic backing from your paper tape.

Step 2: Wrap it around your ATC and secure with removable tape on back.

Step 3: Spray your ATC with a few different colors of spray ink or mist, then remove the backing.

Step 4: Finish off your ATC.

Thanks for stopping by!