25 Blogs of Christmas

Amazing blog Dos Family (recently named by the London Times as a top 50 design site) is hosting a Christmas Calendar blog tour!  I’m honored that Prudent Advice is featured today as Day 21 with some snippets from the upcoming book.
  
But you simpy must check it out for all the amazing how-to’s from other crafty bloggers, including Day 19, a pattern for this crochet christmas ornament from Erica Laurell

Or Day 13, this super-cute Christmas embroidery from Meet Me at Mike’s

There’s so much more stylish international goodness going on at Dos Family!  Go check it out!

by

Crochet Hot Water Bottle Cozy

For The Season of Cozy i bring you this crochet Hot Water Bottle – a little retro, a little sweet.  This crochet hot water bottle cozy is very quick and simple to make, if you have access to a hot water bottle it’s a great last minute gift. I ordered the hot water bottle for on amazon here and used my favorite Wool-Ease Thick & Quick Yarn.
 Get the pattern after the jump…

(more…)

by

Prudent Tip: Ribbon Gift Label

Here is a quick way to use a scrap of ribbon to fancify a plain gift label. Extra nice for flat shipping (no smushed bows) and a thrifty way to stretch out a roll of ribbon.


The paper is from Old Navy, the labels are a few years old from Paper Source.

by

Handmade Home: Giveaway winner!


The winner of Handmade Home: Simple Ways to Repurpose Old Materials into New Family Treasures by Amanda Blake Soule is… #98, Jessica of Craft Madness!

Congrats Jessica! Just message us your address using the contact us link up there to the left and we will get your book out straight away.

Be sure to show us what you make!

Everyone, we enjoyed hearing about what you didn’t get to this year. You are really funny. But seriously, now we want to see what you did get to, so don’t be shy, send us a photo, or a link. We would love to see your creations. We’re nosy like that.

by

Handmade Hanukkah Day 8: Simple Sparkly Crochet Bow Headband


You can whip one of these crochet headbands out in ten minutes.  I want to make a jillion crochet headbands with or without bows.  It’s basically another version of Jacinda’s Hot Mess Mommy headband.  Make it longer or shorter to suit you or your giftee’s head.

Get the Crochet Bow Headband Pattern after the jump…

(more…)

by

Giveaway: Craft, Inc

The final giveaway in the Prudent Baby Craft Bazaar and Giveaway Bonanza is this AMAZING book Craft, Inc.: Turn Your Creative Hobby into a Businessby Meg Mateo Ilasco.
I know so many successful people who have utilized this book to make money doing what they love.  Even if you think you are too busy, this guide distills the process into simple steps that will help you get started just earning a few extra dollars.  From a booth at your local craft fair to an etsy shop to a big business plan for a nationwide chain of crafty products with your name on it, all the information is here, broken down into easily digestible and doable steps.  It’s even possible to do if you have kids!
To enter this giveaway just leave us a comment telling us what you might sell or what you might call your business.  For example, in my day job I’m a marketing consultant and I call my business One More Sunny Day.  My friend sells cupcakes and calls her company Cuppielove (and she used this book to get off the ground and was recently featured in Daily Candy)!  I’ve always thought it would be cool to make robots that fold laundry and I would call my company Industrial Industries Incorporated Co.  So do tell.
I wish we could pick the winner by how cool their company sounds, but to be fair we will close the entries on Christmas, Friday, December 25th at midnight CT and select a winner using Random.org.  Wouldn’t it be great to get a little extra present like this?
Share the giveaway on Twitter, Facebook or your own blog and leave another comment for an extra entry.
And don’t forget to enter all the current giveaways listed in the top right corner including the gorgeous SucculentLOVE Centerpiece, the Ex Libris Anonymous Book Journal and the Handmade Home Book which ends tonight at midnight!  Now go!!

by

DIY: Paint Ornaments

Photo: Buggie and Jellybean

Amy from Buggie and Jellybean sent us this great DIY for Paint Ornaments. I couldn’t help but try these out at home with Clare. They were so much fun (and VERY quick and easy, just the way we like it!) We added some glitter paint as one commenter suggested. We didn’t let the glitter dry before adding the paint so it “washed” away the glitter and left clear spaces but I kinda like the effect. Visit Amy’s blog for the full tutorial.

there are a few shots of our project night after the jump…
(more…)

by