Oh, Tooooodles!!!!!

I have had so many requests and questions about the Toodles pillows I have made in the past and have felt terrible turning people away, because I simply did not have the time to cut out and hand stitch all of the pieces it would involve. Well...I do believe I have found a solution that allows customers to enjoy a handmade, sturdy, Toodles pillow without costing me tons of time and potential sanity. Using a design program on my computer, I printed a design similar to the Toodles we all know and love onto quality, transfer paper and ironed the pattern onto the fabric. The pillow is machine sewn and made of felt fabric. If you are interested in this item or know someone that might be, please check out my Etsy shop HERE to purchase!

$3 Cupcake Stand

Who doesn't love a $3 craft project that takes about 10 minutes to complete? Ah, simplicity! As much as I love a good, hearty craft project, its always nice to throw a super simple one into the mix.  This one takes the (cup)cake, as far as super simple projects go (enter drum set, buh dum bum!). The project involves two, glass plates (you could really use any plates you have around the house, but I loved the look of these clear plates, purchased at my local dollar store) and a candlestick (also $1, Whoop!).

Here are the deets!

Materials:

-2 plates

-candlestick

-epoxy (I used my fave...E6000)

Instructions:

1. Spread a thin layer of glue around the bottom rim of the candlestick and adhere to the inside of one of the plates.

2. Spread another thin layer of epoxy around the top rim of the candlestick and place the bottom of the        

    second plate on top, being careful to make it centered and avoid the bottom plate moving.

3. Give the plates and candlestick at least 24 hours to dry completely.

Mmmmmm...cupcakes! I was able to fit 12 panda cupcakes on this stand for Claire's first birthday party, but I suppose you could add another layer of candlestick and plate for an additional tier! Afterall, you can never have too many cupcakes!!!

...Although my waistline would beg to differ!

Give It Away, Give It Away, Give It Away Now...

In celebration of 100+ followers on her blog Nine Months, my amazing sister Kyra is giving away a prize package filled with some of her favorite things, including a Starbucks gift card, Luna bars, a Bondi band, Zico coconut water, GU enery gel, and an inspirational necklace made by yours truly. Kyra has worked her tail off (literally and figuratively) to lose 42 lbs. over about a year's time and has transformed herself into an avid runner and hilariously real blogger. You can enter the giveaway yourself by going HERE and using the Rafflecopter widget provided. Simple to enter and somebody's gotta win...might as well be you, right??? Good luck!

And have no fear...if you are not the big winner, you can purchase a custom-made, definition necklace. Message me for info. at hoybycrafts@gmail.com

Metal Stamping-Practice Makes (semi-) Perfect

If you've been paying attention to my blog for awhile (and God bless you for sticking with me!), you may have seen my attempts to use my metal stamping set to create initial necklaces for some of my faves. If you're newer to the blog (Yaaay!!!), you can see the attempts HERE! I have been a good little crafter in the time since and, while I still buy plenty of stamping  blanks in case of uncentered or "jacked up" letters and certainly won't be opening up a shop featuring these guys any time soon, I've gotten much better at this metal stamping thing and actually find it a lot of fun!



One of my mom's Mother's Day gifts, in honor of her three grandbabies and their corresponding birth stones



I won't lie, this one took a few takes, but I'm happy with the overall product!

This one was in honor of my sister's first marathon

One of my Facebook giveaway winners won this necklace, in honor of her four sweethearts

Kids' Craft-Sunflower Fields Forever

What is it about sunflower fields that are so inspiring and energy-changing? About two weeks ago, I was taking the three-hour drive from my hometown of Chambersburg, PA to Pittsburgh (yet again) feeling annoyed about driving, stressed about getting things ready for the upcoming school year and a little sleepy to top it all off. As I was driving through the mountains, I looked to my right and noticed a huge field filled with hundreds of big, gorgeous sunflowers. Instantly, my entire attitude changed and I felt refreshed and ready to continue my trip. Had it not been for the lack of places to pull over and the cranky toddler in the back seat, I would have taken and shared a picture of its beauty with all of you.

Here are instructions for the cutest, construction paper sunflowers, in honor of this amazing plant:

Materials:

-yellow and green large, construction paper (2 pieces of each)

-yellow paper plate

-brown and white tissue paper, cut into small squares

-scissors

-glue

Instructions:

1. Trace 2 circles onto yellow construction paper, one 8" in diameter and one 10".

2. Cut out circles and create fringe along the sides about 1" apart on both (we wanted the kids to practice their fine motor skills by cutting the fringe themselves and drew lines around the circle to assist them)

3. Using a sheets of large, green, constuction paper, cut out the stem of the sunflower (about 3" in width and the entire length of the paper) and two leaves

4. Glue the smaller circle on top of the larger circle and the yellow plate on top of the small circle.

5. Crumple the white and brown tissue paper squares and paste onto the yellow plate

6. Glue the stem to the back of the large, yellow circle and the leaves on the back of the stem.

We embellished our flowers with black marker and green, tissue paper, but they stand alone quite nicely, as well!

I hope this post not only gives you an awesome craft idea to try with your kiddos, but also encourages you to stop every once in awhile and smell the sunflowers :)

Revamped-paper towel holder to jewelry stand

 

Before (meh!) and After (ahhh!)



Time for another revamped project here at Hoyby Crafts...Man I love making old crap new again! I found this paper towel holder at my local thrift store and knew it would make an excellent stand for bracelets! What I didn't realize was just how many bracelets this bad boy could actually hold! Score!!! After getting the holder home, I sanded it down and added 2 coats of chalkboard paint. While I love the look of the black paint, my reasoning for using the chalkboard paint was actually so that I can write prices or cutesy words and quotes on the holder if I ever get into selling my jewelry at shows again.

Sanded and ready to go

Two coats of chalkboard paint and short drying time makes this project ridic easy!

Closeup of bracelets on the stand---as you can tell, I've got about 6 bracelets on the stand, which doesn't even take up half the length of the holder. Woohoo for jewelry storage!

Winner Winner, Chicken Dinner!

Congratulations to our Scrabble tile plaque winner, Sarah N!!! Please check your inbox shortly to discuss details. Stay tuned for future giveaways, courtesy of Hoyby Crafts!

Scrabble Tile Ring-Super Easy Tutorial

Confessions of a Craft-A-Holic...

Have you ever looked through your craft stockpile and discovered items you don't even remember purchasing?

Just me???

 In my last scavenge of craft materials, I came across a bag of about 10 ring blanks that I do NOT recall purchasing, but have NO complaints about finding. I immediately started playing around with things I could adhere to the bases...and that is how the Scrabble tile ring came to be.

 Here is the easiest tutorial I will probably ever share:

Materials:

-Scrabble tile (letter of your choice-I chose "S" for Shannon)

-craft epoxy (I used E9000)

-ring base

Instructions:

1. Adhere a small drop of epoxy onto the center of the ring base

2. Place the Scrabble tile on the epoxy and let dry.

That's all, folks!!!

Giveaway!!! Scrabble Tile Plaque

Its giveaway time, folks! This time, you'll be entering to win an 8x10, framed plaque featuring Scrabble tiles to honor your loved ones, friends, favorite quote, words to live by, etc...the choice is yours if you're the lucky winner! Here is a pic to give you an idea of what your prize may entail. If you are our winner, I will be in contact with you to choose background color and design and will ship the completed prize directly to you! Please use the widget below to enter, and good luck!!!

a Rafflecopter giveaway