Family Calender tutorial - THRIVE 2015

 Happy New Year!


With this new year in full swing I wanted to share with you a super quick idea to help you get organized.

I am sure I am not alone in saying that keeping up with active kids and a full family schedule is tough.

Year after year we have tried different types of calenders, white boards, booklets and such just to keep communication in our family open.

THEY NEVER WORKED... well for us that is.

I realized that rather than to try and keep our schedule, notes and appointments hidden or mobile, It would probably benefit us more if ALL of us had access and it was easily viewed by ALL. WIth just a few simple supplies, we created this statement style house hold calender. My favorite part of this project is that we use the Marvy Uchida chalk bistro pens (which do not leave dust like chalk). These are my new favorite find from 2014. They are AMAZING and actually make it into my artwork once in a while too.

EASY DIY BLACKBOARD FAMILY CALENDER

 Create this gorgeous statement message board with just 3 items.

Black Board Panels

Marvy Uchida Bistro Chalk Pens-

Screws (and anchors if needed)

1) Preparation
To create this board, first find a wall that is at least 2 ft across. The panels are 2x3 feet making them a great size to use alone or add two together and make a larger board (as shown here).

After you remove your hardware and electrical outlet covers from the wall, layout your panels as you want them. To accommodate for these items, lightly rub your chalk pen along the opening of our outlet and press your board against it to create a marking on the back side of your panel.

2) Cut
Now that you have a marking on the backside of your board of where your outlets will be, take a saw and cut out these items. If you don't cut it exactly you can always place an inexpensive frame to help make the cut more appealing.

3) Glue and Screw
Now that your panels are ready, glue the panels onto the wall with wood glue (press firmly onto wall, remove then press again). Or if you don't want to panels to be permanent you can always just use screws. TIP: Make sure to screw your panels into studs if not use appropriate screw anchors to keep your boards from falling down.

*optional- You can also trim your boards with a little molding to help finish it off, we bought some with the intentions of doing so but were really happy with the way the boards looked just as they were.

Organizing your Blackboard

Here are a few different items that we use on our board that have really helped us communicate as a family and keep up on doctors appointments, events and meetings.

Important Dates: This is where we put dates of things coming up, things that are not regular or any time soon but that will need to be remembered.

Store Shopping Lists: This takes up a part of our panel and is basically the place we write things that we run out of or need from different stores. I have about 4 or 5 stores written and we just write what we need from each store below each item

Dinner List: This is where our weekly meal plan goes. This is a super flexible plan as well, things hardly even go as planned lol. I also don't account for left overs so this always leaves me some meals to start the next week with. PLUS if I am not the one cooking, this gives who ever is cooking the idea of what to do for the that evening.

Weekly Schedule: Under each day of the week we write what our schedule is in our family color coded pen. We each have a different color pen so we can see our schedule and how it impacts others each week.

This also helps to know who left you the message because it will be written in their color of chalk marker.

Upcoming month appointments: This helps a TON to keep track of what is coming. These dates are in a holding pattern till the time they are to be put on the weekly schedule.


Family message board:This is a place to write messages to each family member... more or less it is a place for our families inside jokes or for my son to practice Japanese which is his new interest. In an ideal world it would be a great place to leave notes for family members when schedules get super busy... we just are not there, lol.

Doodle station: The doodle station is a place for the kids to just draw, leave funny quotes and just be themselves. It is hilarious the things we find there.

You can see just how easy it is to put this calender station up in your house. We have had this since June of 2014 and it has been a lifesaver. If you are wondering where you can find the pens, check out stores like Hobby Lobby, Art supplies stores, and even amazon. They are amazing around the house.

Thanks for checking in with us this year... I hope this calender gives you some good ideas on how to keep you and yours organized this year. Its definitely not fool proof, so we do have to constantly adjust for our family... but that is the beauty of it all. You just go with it, stay flexible and press on the course of life.

Make sure to check out my friends too!

Designer Craft Connection
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This post is one of many that I will be doing this year for the theme THRIVE.

This year I will be sharing how the word THRIVE encouraged me to re-evaluate and organize my life. I will be sharing tips on how I work to THRIVE in family, relationships, community and in my art. I hope you'll join me. You can follow this as well as other free classes and tutorials through my facebook page (liz hicks studios), twitter (lizmhicks) instagram (liz_hicks) and tumbler (liz hicks) I use the following hastags for this.
 #thrivefamily #thrivecommunity #thriveart #pajwlh and #lizhicksstudios


Or you can sign up for our newsletter here!

Thanks again, and happy New Year to you and yours!

~Liz ♥

3 Easy Holiday Crafts With Hersheys Chocolate kisses

Every once in a while I get the opportunity to try out products for various companies. Mostly for the craft industry but lately I have had other types of companies and products come my way. My life (although full of crafting) has so many aspects to it... all of which I love to share here on my blog, Twitter, facebook or instagram.

It's me. It's my family. It's my life. It is probably very similar to yours too. And that's why I share, because chances are we all are going through similar things, like similar things and well if I can share something helpful, I will.

This summer I started receiving Voxboxes from Influenster to try out various products. I receive these products complimentary with no compensation other than the products themselves. I get the products, test them out and share my experiences with them. Pretty simple and it helps to break up the monotony of contract work with this little sprinkle of fun. It is a lot of fun to get a mystery box of goodies to play with.
 

This seasons Voxbox was for Hershey's Kisses (#merrykissmas). This makes sense for our family since we bake and craft a whole lot of stuff for the holidays and Hershey's are really easy to add into the mix.

Kids Craft- Puffy Candy Garland

This craft is perfect to do with kids, even younger kids. Using broader point needle helps to teach kids some good hand eye coordination, but also give them the basic skills of sewing. I recommend supervising kids as they create this even though it is such a simple craft.

Supplies:
dental floss
tapestry needle or other broad needle
puffy craft balls
Hershey Kisses
cute crafty kids :)

To begin simply take a string of dental floss and thread your needle. I only have the thread pass through once to keep the thread thin. tie the end to help prevent your garland from falling apart. Proceed to thread sequences of kisses and puffy balls. We did 3 puffy balls to 1 kiss. This can also be a great time for kids to work on color pattern sequences as well. You can structure this as a learning tool for kids or you can just let them have at it and create. Your choice, either way its fun, easy and something they accomplish which is always a win. When you are done tie off the end. Kids can gift wrap this and give it to friends, this can be a candy/craft garland that they share with a friend as a part of a crafty gift basket... truly the possibilities are endless with this. After the gift is given, the kisses can be eaten and the puffy balls can be used to help learn counting, or for older kids they can be used for crafts. In our family when our children were younger, these puffy balls were used as currency in our home... so seriously the sky is the limit with this craft and the creative ways you can integrate it into your home or gifts.

In Case of Emergency "Relax" Kit

My first craft I made with my Hershey Kisses was some hostess style gifts. I gave these to the brave moms who helped me wrangle 15 girls for my daughters 9th birthday party last week. It didn't take long, but it was a nice way to share a treat with my friends who helped me so very much.


supplies:

string or twine
2x2 white cardstock
ink
stamp- Collage of Digits- Unity Stamp Company (Liz Hicks Studios)
scissors
washi tape
bottled drink
hersheys kisses

To create these is super simple. I made the 2x2 cards by stamping the cardstock, adding some white washi tape and then writing on the card my sentiment "hugs and kisses". From here I tied the card around the neck of my soft drink and tied the string into a bow. I simply added the kisses with washi tape to add some chocolate to my gift because seriously... after 2 hours with (15) 8-9  year old girls... who wouldn't need a little chocolate?

Peanut Butter Blossom Cookies

Every year our neighborhood gals get together for a cookie exchange. It is by far my favorite time we get together because well, we eat... we chat and we all leave with a bunch of cookies... It's like an Oprah's favorite things moment for me :)

This year my neighbor made my kids favorites- Peanut Butter Blossom Cookies


If you really want to make something quick and easy... these are them. You can pick up the two ingredients (peanut butter cookie dough and hershey kisses) that you need at the store. If you have a little more time you could use this recipe here.



But seriously if you are in a pinch... all it takes is just these two ingredients to make these cookies happen. Super easy.

If you are interested in learning more about the Influenster program click here.

Hopefully this gives you some quick and easy ideas for some homemade treats.

Enjoy your weekend!

~Liz Hicks ♥

Chocolate Covered Caramel Wrapped Marshmallows- AKA The Scotchmallows

When I was younger my aunt worked for See's Candies. This meant every Christmas there would be some sort of sweet treat for each family and one of those tasty lollipops or a small assortment of candy sticks for each of us children. Even Easters would involve some of the dotted gum drops and of course... those lollipops.

With every mall visit, I was always so happy to stop by the See's shop and get my free piece of candy, as I grew older I still made it a point to drop by See's with every shopping trip, only this time to purchase candy out of guilt for all the free candy I had eaten through the years.

 From Apricot Delights, to Mint Truffles to Marsh Mints to well... just about any other candy they had there... my favorites changed just about every season :)

One of my consistent favorites has been the Scotchmallows. I mean who doesn't love butter caramel, wrapped around a sweet marshmallow and then dipped in dark chocolate?

Once in a while I will get a craving for something and I just have to make it. A few weeks ago it was for These Scotchmallows in which resulted in an in depth research project via the internet to find just the right recipe.

This recipe is a hack in order to make these beauties quicker and easier. Of course the original is much more flavorful, but momma doesn't have time for that.... so this recipe offers the flavor of homemade with the convenience of store bought for a few steps.

DIY Scotchmallows 

Ingredients:

1 cup- Ghirardelli's semi-sweet chocolate morsels

1 bag- mini marshmallows

PLUS

Caramel: (Recipe found at Not So Humble Pie)

2 cups granulated sugar
2 cups heavy cream

1 cup light corn syrup

1/2 teaspoons salt
4 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter
generous pinch salt

Find full recipe for caramel here.

TIPS: The recipe is really easy to follow although time consuming. I recommend following the recipe and timing as recommended as it really does take some time to let the caramel slowly cook. Also you will want a clean, flat area to let your caramel rest. A marble slab or greased pan are recommended in the recipe. Since I don't make enough candy to justify a marble slab I used some plates that were greased and still had some issues with the caramel sticking. Even if the caramel sticks, you can still pull most of it off and use it. You might want to heat the dish up a bit to help release your caramel. Just don't heat it to much as you want your caramel to be firm yet pliable when you are working with it.

Once you complete the caramel, it has cooled and is ready to be worked with it is now time to wrap your marshmallows. This is where store bought comes in great. The original recipe (above) has some great homemade marshmallows that would be HEAVEN in your candy... I just don't have the time or patience right now to add it to my recipe and found that in a pinch... the mini marshmallows (if fresh) worked well and were very well received.

After you have wrapped your caramel around your marshmallows. prepare your chocolate by melting it according to the directions on the bag. I would start with 45 seconds in a microwave and progressively add more time in 15 second increments as needed. If you are using more than 1 cup of chocolate than you might want to double the initial time.

To dip your caramel wrapped marshmallows use two tooth picks to help you roll and stabilize your bon bon as you cover it with chocolate. 

Allow your chocolate covered caramel marshmallow dry on wax paper and cool at room temperature. If your chocolate is not setting correctly, you can move it to a cool refrigerator but make sure to allow your candies to settle at room temperature before serving them. The caramel will harden when cooled and will not be fun for guests to take a bite out of (ouch!).

This may seem like a time consuming recipe but it is actually pretty easy and super yummy. I hope you'll give it a try... it truly is worth it!

In case you missed past years recipes.... Find them here.

Dark Chocolate Ganache Truffles

Peppermint Cookie Crunch Bark  

Oreo Mint Truffle Cake Pops

Apple Crumble Pie

These recipes are some of the most pinned and viewed posts on my site PLUS a favorite for our family and friends too...

Wishing you some wonderful baking fun this season!

~Liz ♥

 

How to Make a Sweet Garland in just 3 Easy Steps

I am a HUGE fan of my projects serving a purpose in my home. I love when something I have creating can serve multiple purposes, it is kind of like multiple projects all wrapped into one! This tree garland is one of those projects... After the holidays this can easily be used in my daughters room decor all year long.

SUGAR PLUM TREE GARLAND

SUPPLIES:

Smoothfoam 1.5 inch balls
scraps of fabric in 1/8th to 1/4 INCH strips (these will be super thin)
glue gun for foam
scraps of lace, tulle and muslin for the spacers
optional: Clear thread

TIP: For this project, I used scraps of clearance fabric. This fabric was on clearance for $4 a yard at my local craft store, I maybe needed 1/8th of a yard so that puts each cut at about $0.50 each.

Step 1 Create Fabric Balls: (This is super duper easy...)
take your fabric and cut it into 1/8 to 1/4 strips. You can traditional cut with scissors or rip it for frayed edges. NOTE: try and keep your fabric strips thin as this will wrap easier.

 

Glue one end of your fabric to your foam ball. I used a foam hot glue gun to prevent melting. This works great to keep the fabric secured your your foam.

Wrap fabric around your foam ball until covered. You can cut and reposition your fabric and can glue down any rough edges as you go. This is why having thin pieces of fabric works best. the thicker the width, the more likely you are to get puckers of fabric you will have to glue down.

 Here is what the fabric looks like if it is too wide, I had to glue down the right side pucker.

Here is what it looks like when the fabric strips are thinner, creating a smoother application.

Step 2 Add filler fabric

For this I simple took 1x12 inch strips of white lace, muslin and sparkly glittered tulle and created "swags" in between each of the fabric covered balls.

TIP: Glue all three fabric edges together before attaching them to your balls.

You have two options on how to attach your fabric you your balls.

1. You can sew them with a tapestry needle and transparent thread
   
   
   
2. You can hot glue gun them together

Once you have one end of your fabric trio glued to your first ball, lightly braid or twist your fabric allowing all of the fabrics to show.

Continue this till you have one continuous strand of garland (make sure to add fabric to both ends anchoring your garland with fabric to hang if needed).

Step 3 EMBELLISH!

This is my favorite step! Add scraps of tulle, netting, sequin fabric or any colorful fun trim you can find. I used scraps that I have had in my stash for a while. The basic idea is that you want to add depth and texture to your garland through different types of fabric.

I LOVE the way this turned out and I extremely LOVE the fact that it can be used year round since I didn't use traditional holiday colors. The nice thing is that as you go to create your own garland you can add WHATEVER you want in WHATEVER color you want. This project is totally versatile and customizable to YOUR needs :)

The Smoothfoam balls I used were nice and light weight, didn't shed and kept their shape well during construction.

Thanks for stopping by!

~Liz Hicks ♥

Quick and easy last minute costume- The Doughnut

If you have a pre-teen chances are you may be waking up on today... Halloween with a frantic scramble of trying to make some sort of costume quickly for them. Even as an adult I oftern struggle with the dilema of "To dress up or not to dress up" for Halloween.

This pre-teen age is a bridge between child and adult and can sometimes be tough for kids to be decisive in their desire to participate in Halloween. For our son, the results of massive amounts of candy always seem to steer him towards donning a costume and reaping the rewards.

Which this year resulted in...

The Doughnut

What you will need:

(2) 3x3 foot panels of brown fabric- I used Oly Fun by Fairfield Processing which is a lightweight non fraying (NO HEMS!!!) non-woven material. perfect for this project.

(1) 3x3 foot pink panel-to be cut slightly smaller and act as the frosting

(4) colors of the same fabric in 3x36 inch pieces (or rough cut around there)- This will be used as 1x3inch piece rectangle sprinkles.

An 8x12 inch black oval in the same fabric- The doughnut hole :)

Sewing machine or hot glue gun- (at this point... the hot glue gun may be your best bet but if you are looking to make this last, use a sewing machine... I used my Brother Innovis 950D machine for this, but you can use a simple machine as we are only using a straight stitch.)


Directions:

1) Cut the brown fabric into a 3x3 foot circle and your pink fabric just a bit smaller than your brown fabric.

3) Sew (or glue) your two brown panels together leaving a 1/4 inch seam allowance. Follow diagram below on where to sew and where not to sew. NOTE: If you are going to sew the entire costume, sew on all elements before binding the two brown panels together. Make sure to turn your costume inside out so that your seams are hidden inside.

3) Glue your pieces (If you did not sew them) onto your doughnut front. TIP... This is a great thing for your child to do, although I must warn you that the center of your doughnut may end up askew if a 12 year old boy puts it together (not that I would know by experience or anything ♥).

This costume is as easy as CUT SEW GLUE. You can pick up this or any other non-fray fabric at your local craft store today and have a costume within an hour (tops).

Until the next pre-teen moment we share ☺

~Liz Hicks ♥

*Please note that although this is NOT a sponsored post, some products have been provided for demonstration. Links provided are NOT affiliate links and in no way provide income or compensation to this blog. They are provided for educational purposes and to showcase what types of products were used for this tutorial.

Easy DIY Disney Elsa Corset

Chances are if you have a little girl... you know Elsa. You've seen Disney's Frozen and you are probably starting to hear the tune of "Let it Go" as you read this post...

Like many other little girls, our little one has fallen in love with Elsa's costume. I am pretty sure she likes Elsa too... but come on, let's be real here... Its probably the dress she is most impressed with.

For our daughters costume this year we hacked a second hand size 12 prom dress into an 8 year olds dream costume.

This took a few different steps to complete. One being this easy DIY corset.

What you'll need:

Simple sewing skills
Sewing machine (Brother Innovis 950D used here)
Various fabrics( listed below)
Thread
scissors
Eyelet/Grommets for leather making or fabric and a grommet setter (found in the same location as the grommets)
Ribbon (to tie the back)

Take a quick measure of your model (TIP: Use a fitted T-shirt to guestimate your models measurements) and figure out just about how much fabric you will need. For our 8 year old, we used  1/2 a yard.

Fabrics you will need (All fabrics found at Joann Fabric and Craft Store):

• Mid weight stabilizer (something that will be flexible yet hold shape)

• Light aqua cotton (I chose one with a swirl pattern on it)

• Flowy sequin embellished costume netting (this had sequin sewn onto it, which is great for wear)

• Plain fabric for backing (you could just use the initial cotton you buy, I used muslin since I had some on hand and had forgotten about the back...oops)

MEASURE
To start, measure from just under the collar bone to just under the belly button (lower if you want the peak to be longer). This will act as the markers for the top of your corset and the bottom of your corset (peak). The corset has a sweat heart neckline that peaks at the bottom.

For the length across, take measure the front of your model across the waist and about 1/4 of the back. The opening in the back will be the lace up corset part.

CUT
To create the base for the corset, take your stabilizer and fold it in half. Take your measurement and use this as a guide to figure the top and bottom of your corset. Once this is figured, take a pencil and draw a half of heart with the center being on the fold. From here add the sides (half of the length measurement). This will be a rectangle that is joined to the heart, smoothing out the joints like this.

Cut out your stabilizer and then use this as a pattern to cut out the rest of your materials. You will end up with the same size cut from all 4 of your materials.


SEW
Now that you have your materials layer the materials facing up towards you like so: (bottom) Stabilizer, Cotton print (light aqua, right side up), sequin netting (right side up), backing (right side down).

With the backing on top, pin the fabric into place. (TIP: Lower your feed dogs, page 25) Sew a seam along the side to join all of the pieces. I use a thin seem to conserve size (1/4 inch or less). Sew the top and the bottom leaving the sides open.

After sewing the top and bottom seam, pull through and press if needed. At this point you should make sure all of your peaks and shapes are fully formed.

To finish off, add a regular stitch to the top of your sequin fabric creating a finishing seam, folding in your sides as your go. This will create a finished looking corset.

EMBELLISH/LACE
To create the lace up of your corset, add 4 grommets/eyelets evenly to each side of your corset.

Add ribbon to your corset to lace the back and create a fitted look.

WEAR
This makes a nice fitted corset for a young girl. If you are looking to make a corset for an adult, make sure to add in bust measurements as well as waist intake. You would want to create your corset with a true front and two sides.

So this is it. An easy DIY Elsa corset in just a few steps. Measure. Cut. Sew. Embellish. Wear. It may seem like it might be tough... but it isn't. This corset was done in around an hour. Pair this will a tight fitted long sleeve shirt and an A line skirt and you have yourself a costume! For our daughters costume we opted to alter an adult prom dress with a few tucks and stiches and added an existing shirt she had as well as a yard of iridescent fabric for the cape. With just a little thought and creativity you are sure to come up with a great handmade DIY costume for not a lot of effort.

I would love to see your takes on this or any other Halloween costumes you are working on. Feel free to post in the comments below.

Thanks for stopping by!

~Liz Hicks ♥

*Please note that although this is not a sponsored post, some products have been provided for demonstration. Links provided are NOT affiliate links and in no way provide income or compensation to this blog. They are provided for educational purposes and to showcase what types of products were used for this tutorial.

Creative DIY- Fall Edition

So I have joined forces with some of my creative friends to bring you some Halloween/Fall Inspiration. Today I want to share with you a custom tote I made for my daughter to collect her candy in this Halloween.

The nice thing about this tote is that it can be used year round, but also has a bit of the seasons flair.

 

Supplies: Tote (local craft store), Fabric Paint (I love to Create), Pens (Sakura of America Permapaque), Stamps ( Liz Hicks studios for Unity Stamp Company), Ink (Clearsnap Ink), embroidery machine and cutting machine (Brother International), Fabric (Unknown, from Joann Fabric)

This project was so much fun... I had a blast creating this, using color, texture and adding some stamped detail for that "handmade" flair ♥

I used my Innovis 950-D by Brother and a darning foot to create some free motion stitching through out my bag. I love having the freedom to stitch as I please :) What I love about this machine is that it has all of the features of a sewing machine and embroidery machine, but not the heavy price tag of the upper end embroidery machines... I can have fun and not worry to much about the expense.

I added some text with a Sakura Permapaque paint pen... as well as some creative free motion stitched flowers colored in with Crafters Ink by Clearsnap Inc. (flowers and heart).

I used my ScanNCut machine to create the starts out of jersey knit and seasonal silver faux leather.

 

And last but not least... here is a shot of the stamps I designed and are sold through Unity Stamp Co. You can see them here.

So you can see how adding some different elements make for a fun tote that is good for all year around, but also artsy... My daughter loves it and already has big plans for her new tote.
Note: all paints and materials are washable with the exception of the Sakura Pen, it is water soluble and will wash out. I recommend using the pen to create your text and then going over it with the Clearsnap Crafters Inks for permanency. The pen has a great tip to create beautiful script and the inks will make it permanent :)

If you like this, thank you will love what me and my family share here on the blog as well as my other social media sites... I encourage you to take advantage of the giveaway below and maybe check out some of the other ways we share some artsy family fun ♥

Click your favorite social media site below to follow ♥

And to add to the fun, we have a second chance giveaway on a prize that wasn't claimed on our Facebook Page a few weeks back...

Take advantage of the options below to be entered into a random drawing for this prize package.


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Thanks so much  for stopping by today!


Happy Creating ♥

~Liz Hicks (and Family, aka crew)