crafting Archives - TaylorMade

Mosaic Corn Art with Kids!

November 16, 2016 By Taylor 3 Comments

Today I have a super fun Thanksgiving craft to share with you guys. I can hardy believe that I am typing the word “Thanksgiving”! It’s still back-to-school time in my head. I guess I need to catch up… and this craft will help :) I found this kids craft for Mosaic Corn Art on the Imperial Sugar website and fell in love! I remember doing something similar when I was little… it’s a little old school and a little modern. If you had everything ready ahead of time this could be something fun to have on the kids table on Thanksgiving Day. Imperial Sugar has a ton of kid crafts and recipes on their site and the best part is they are organized by holiday (look at how many Thanksgiving crafts they have!). We made the Salt Dough Leaves a few years ago and I’m thinking about trying the Glitter Leaf Votive Holders next!

For this craft you need:

-gel food coloring
-popcorn kernels
-white vinegar
-sugar
-flour
-water
-cardstock

My kids loved this project because it was almost three different mini projects in one. First, you make the sugar paste (that will be your glue for the final project).

Mix the following ingredients together in a mixing bowl:

1 cup flour, 3 tablespoons Imperial Granulated Sugar, 1 cup cold water and 1 cup boiling water.

Mix until smooth, bring to room temp, then store in an air-tight container.

Second… time to dye the popcorn kernels, which also happens to be our personal favorite. My kids LOVED doing this for some reason. Actually I did too haha. We used clear plastic cups for this step which I think made it even more fun. Add 1/2 cup water and 1 tbsp white vinegar to some small cups. My two year old measured all the water and my 5 year old got to do the vinegar :)

Next add a few drops of gel food coloring to each cup. They gel is really fun to watch… we had clapping and shrieking! Then add 1/2 cup of popcorn kernels to the cups. Let them sit for at least 4 hours, or overnight.

The next morning I took the kernels out and placed them on a pan to dry, that also takes a few hours.

After they were completely dry I got some cardstock and the kids started planning. I showed them the original Mosaic design that I saw on the Imperial Sugar website but they went rogue haha. I put some sugar paste in a baggie and trimmed the end to make it easier to handle. You could also use a paintbrush to apply the sugar paste.

We had a sun, dots, stripes and an abstract scene. After we finished we had some colorful kernels left over and now I’m thinking about placards for the Thanksgiving Day Table??

Imperial is having a Holiday Baking kit contest so check that out HERE! And be sure to also visit them for so many more Thanksgiving crafts, recipes and even printables! Check them out HERE.

Tips for Catching up on Project Life

December 1, 2015 By Taylor 9 Comments

If you are anything like me you have thousands and thousands of photos just sitting on your phone/camera/memory stick. What are you doing with them? Guys… print them and get those precious photos into a book!! You can do it! I was super behind when I started so today I have a few tips to share along with a GIVEAWAY so a lucky reader can make it happen too!!

It’s no secret that I am a huge Project Lifer because it’s the quickest and easiest way for me to save all of our memories but still get to “scrapbook”. I got to try out some Project Life for Stamping’ Up (which was so exciting because you can’t just buy these kits anywhere!). Just like all of the other PL products I have tried the quality and designs of these cards were no exception! I was also super geeked out that I got to try their exclusive plastic page protectors!

TIP: ORGANIZE! I print my pictures out online a few times a year (I usually wait for a snapfish or shutterfly sale) and then when they come in I organize them by month. I use plastic page protectors and a post it note. We have a drawer where “memorabilia” lives like receipts, to-go menus, programs and artwork. I organize all of that into the same page protector and put those into a box. And honestly that is the hardest and most time consuming part, which after a few months takes me under an hour.

TIP: KEEP THE JOURNALING SIMPLE! I’ve noticed when I look at my books (or when I show them off :) no one really reads the long journaling. To save time, I only jot a few words about each picture if any at all. I’m such a sucker for a weekly card! These are my favorites because I can just slip in seven pics, one for each day of the week and then add a card like this with a few descriptions and there you have a page! I also love number stickers for this reason. These are from the “This Is The Life Project Life Card Collection”.

TIP: EASY EMBELLISHMENTS! Spend a few dollars on some good quality stickers, veneer embellishments, stamps and washi tape. These are my go-to for extra “wow” factor. It really takes no time at all to add stuff like this but it makes your album look unique. I love these skinny washi tapes from Stampinn’ Up! I also highly recommend month/days of the week stamps. Trust me, it makes Project Life even easier. Speaking of embellishments I usually go for fun colors that are generic except for one thing… I have so many photos from the Holidays each year I usually get a few packs of Holiday extras! I am LOVING this years “Hello December 2015” from Stampin’ Up.

TIP: DO WHAT YOU CAN WHEN YOU CAN! I leave my stuff out for a few weeks at a time, which is hard for people like me who can’t stand clutter haha! But think of it as a pretty mess. If you leave this stuff out, you can walk by, add a few embellishments, write a sentence for two and before you know it you have finished a few pages.

TIP: KEEP IT SIMPLE, VERY SIMPLE. While I do love stickers and stamps etc. sometimes, I just slap my photos in and let them speak for themselves. It helps break up the album (and it helps you catch up faster).

If you work on your album when you can and keep it simple, before you know it you have a beautiful family yearbook! I’m working on my 5th one and Im still hooked!

Stamping’ Up carries a ton of exclusive Project Life products as well as a ton of other stuff for scrapbooking and paper crafting! Their new catalog comes out on January 5th so be sure to check that out! Now for the best part!! One lucky reader is going to win the “This is the Life” bundle, which includes: the card collection, accessory pack and stamp set. More than enough to get you started on your scrapbook “journey”!! Good Luck guys :)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Tissue Paper Pom Pom Flower Kit

October 6, 2015 By Taylor 1 Comment

UPDATE: You can find the whole/cream flower kits HEREand the pink kit HERE!

If you know me you know that I can’t leave a blank wall alone for long :) Well… here is our “nook wall” as we call it the day we moved in to our house two years ago, such a sad little nook. About a year later my talented husband built some nook shelves (that I still need to post about). But I felt like it needed a little something more. When I saw this Tissue Paper Pom-Pom Flower kit from Martha Stewart Crafts in these colors I knew they were perfect for our nook wall!

We just had our kitchen remodeled this past summer and because we have a pretty open floor plan, that turned into remodeling the breakfast room and all redoing all of the flooring. The living room to the left has a lot of color and the breakfast room to the right has some amazing new wallpaper. I didn’t want to go too wild so the mix of pinks and whites were perfect for this space!

I have made a few versions of these flowers before for showers but these turned out way better! I obviously never added enough layers of tissue. These actually took me longer than I expected because there are so many layers haha!

They really look pretty anywhere, my husband even thought they were a dining room centerpiece when I was building them on the table :)

Here is our wall before…. better than when we moved in but lacking the TaylorMade pop of color.

After the perfect “floofing” of the flowers I just hung them up with thumbtacks. Ahhh the colors!! LOVE!

I just used two packs (5 each). Martha Stewart Crafts Halloween products are available in store at Michaels :)

Salt Dough Napkin Holders

November 18, 2014 By Taylor 3 Comments

It’s almost Thanksgiving here in the States so that means it’s time to fill your calendars with family, food and crafts :) These adorable Salt Dough Napkin Holders are not only a pretty way to set the table but also super fun to make! My boys are only 3 and 5 and they did almost everything here. I found the salt dough “recipe” at Imperial Sugar. They have a whole section of their site dedicated to holiday crafting and baking with your kids, not to mention a million great recipes. They also have free coloring and activity sheets for your kids to do over the break!

Ingredients:

2 cups salt
1 cup water, divided
1 cup cornstarch
Tin foil covered baking sheet
Red, yellow and orange food coloring
Leaf shaped cookie cutter

Directions:

Stir salt into 1/2 cup of water in a medium saucepan. The boys LOVE measuring so this craft is right up their alley! Cook over medium-low heat until hot then remove from heat.

In a bowl, mix the remaining 1/2 cup of water with the cornstarch until smooth.

Add the cornstarch mixture to the salt mixture. Return the saucepan to the stove and cook, stirring constantly over medium-low heat until the mixture thickens into the consistency of stiff mashed potatoes.

Turn mixture out onto a glass plate and cover with a damp towel.

Allow to cool, then divide dough into 3 equal parts. Add red food coloring to one, yellow to the second and orange (often a combination of red and yellow) to the third batch.

Flatten the dough with a rolling pin or with your hands. Use the leaf cookie cutter to cut out multiple shapes.

Bake the leaves on a tin foil lined baking sheet at 250 degrees for 2-3 hours until completely hard.

Let cool, then attach to cloth napkins with ribbon, twine, or tulle.

The boys and I had so much fun making these!! They even helped me set the table for our Friendsgiving that we are having this week. It will be a cute little favor to take home too! Hope you all have a fun and safe Thanksgiving!

This post was sponsored by Imperial Sugar, all thought and opinion are my own.