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 ♥

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 ♥

Easy DIY Girls-Teens Gift Set

Welcome to day 2 of the 4th Annual Handmade Holidays Blog Hop! A few years ago we were looking online for handmade gift ideas and thought it would be great if there was a resource dedicated JUST to handmade gift ideas. Enter the Handmade Holidays hop! We've gathered over 100 of our creative blogger friends in the craft industry as well as some of our fellow product manufacturers to bring you a plethora of inspiring gift ideas you can make now to give to your friends, family, and colleagues. Pin and bookmark these ideas for this holiday season and to use throughout the year! Each day of the hop features approximately 30 gift projects and you can "hop" from one blog to another to check them all out.

I don't know  about you but shopping for tween girls is tough. You can't buy them princess girly stuff, but (as much as they would disagree) you also can't just buy them stuff they are just not ready for yet. To add to this, you have to be very specific about colors, designs... no princess, well maybe just one but if its the wrong one, well then... it could really mean ANYTHING.

I am going through this 8-12 age range with my daughter. I have really enjoyed it but am still baffled as to what style she enjoys (especially since it changes... ALL THE TIME).

SO with this in mind, I thought it might be fun to share some fun, EASY DIY gift items that will still be age appropriate yet make this age range of developing girls feel special, appreciated and acknowledges for the age and "maturity" that they are.

Here are a few of the ideas I came up with. Make sure to check back in the next few weeks for some more simple DIY gifts.

Tinted Vintage Vanity Tray- using Clearsnap Surfacez Solvent permanent Inks

This old brass vanity tray got an updated and chic make over with the help of Surfacez Ink by Clearsnap.


 Available here:Surfacez Ink Pads and Refills


Doodle Iphone Case using Sakura Glaze Pens

Here is a beautiful custom $1 store cell phone case using Sakura of America's Glaze Pens. The pens are great for doodling on non porous surfaces.

 

This tutorial will be one of the videos I will be sharing within the next few weeks :)

Available here: Sakura Glaze Pens


Floral Travel Bag using Oly-Fun fabric

Available here: Oly Fun

Like I said, I will be posting more videos and quick tutorials featuring these or other projects within the next few weeks... I just didn't have enough time to feature all of my projects in this one post :)

Are you ready for lots more creative handmade gift ideas and projects?? Follow along on our blog hop! Simply click on each of the links below to be taken to that post with additional information and photos on how to create a handmade gift project. Have fun and pin away!

 Clearsnap  Ellison Educational Equipment  Walnut Hollow  Graphic 45 Hydrangea Hippo Westcott Scrapbook Adhesives by 3L Rowland Technologies Neat and Tangled ICE Resin Therm O Web Elizabeth Craft Designs Pink and Main The Buckle Boutique Clearsnap - Vivian Keh Ashley Rader - Giddy Upcycled ICE Resin - Jen Cushman Candy Spiegel- Candy Scraps Graphic 45 - Andrew Roberts Rina Gonzales - Mothership Scrapbook Gal Therm O Web - Amanda Niederhauser Cori Warner - The Flying C Yana Smakula - My Cardmaking & Scrapbooking The Buckle Boutique - Shawn Mosch Eileen Hull Designs - Eileen Hull Angela Muir - Handmade in the Heartland Krista Winters - eat, knit & d.i.y. Scrapbook Adhesives by 3L - Erica Houghton Katie Smith - Punk Projects Elizabeth Craft Designs - Karen Aicken Jeanie Hevener - Create & Babble Ellison Educational Equipment - Hilary Kanwischer Fancy Shanty - Stacy Molter Liz Hicks - Blogerisms 

 a Rafflecopter giveaway

Follow our Handmade Holidays Gift Ideas Pinterest board for even more inspiration!

Follow Jennifer Priest of RainMaker Media Works + Hydrangea Hippo's board Handmade Holidays on Pinterest.

A huge thank you to our sponsors for this hop - please visit their blogs below and follow them. And be sure to come back tomorrow for another 30+ amazing Handmade Gift Ideas!

 

Clearsnap || Ellison Educational Equipment || Walnut Hollow || Graphic45 || Westcott || ICE Resin || Therm O Web || Rowland Industries || Scrapbook Adhesives by 3L || Pink and Main || Elizabeth Craft Designs || The Buckle Boutique || Neat and Tangled

Additional Sponsorship provided to bloggers by:

Sakura || Fairfield Processing

Product has been provided by sponsors for this blog post although opinions are entirely that of Liz Hicks Studios. No monetary compensation was collected for this blog post nor for links. Links provided are for educational purposes. This blog does not receive compensation for purchases made from these links.

Thanks so much for check out our blog hop today :)

~Liz Hicks

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- Handmade Holidays

I want to take a moment to share with you one of my FAVORITE recipes for the holidays. Now for those of you who have followed my blog for a while may recognize it, but I just want to take a moment to re-share it since it is the perfect time of year. This recipe really works great for all of the holidays but with Thanksgiving rounding the corner this is a sure hit.

Apple Crumble

You can find the recipe on the link but here is a great picture of the pies before they went into the oven to give you an idea of just how amazing they all are ♥

I have teamed up with some of my creative friends to collaborate on a new project. We will be sharing some Creative DIY inspirations on a regular basis as a group...

So make sure to check out the Creative DIY teams sites:

Eileen Hull
Jonathan Fong
Tanner Bob Bell
Jennifer Priest
Norma Rapko
Jen Cushman

Since we all have a different type of craft or industry, this makes for a very versatile group. And I have to say... talented too! I am very blessed to be able to work with these crafters.

If you have a chance, check out their blogs and share some love... I would love to hear your thoughts on what we are up to!

~Liz ♥

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.


a Rafflecopter giveaway

Thanks so much  for stopping by today!


Happy Creating ♥

~Liz Hicks (and Family, aka crew)