Introducing Mini Pillow Kids

With so many projects to complete, I soon discovered that often times, less is more. Soooo, we're now introducing the "MINI" pillow kids. Each doll measures 9 x 6.5 inches. Our super cuddly friends are hand-crocheted from an expansive assortment of rich colorful yarns. Yarn selections range from 100% wool, mohair, to wool and acrylic blends. They are stuffed with polyester fiberfill and have a muslin lining. The dolls will also have a multicultural theme. Earlier this month we entered several of our friends in craft fair auctions, needless to say they've since found new homes. Jackie is the first from our multi-ethnic "MINI" Pillow Kid collection to be introduced online. She's shown in multi-colored purple, pink, green and blue wool blended yarn. Her hair is black, she has brown eyes, a head of long, black hair and a cheery smile. She is an example of what we can create for you or as a gift. We'll have more dolls viewable within the upcoming weeks on our Etsy site. The collection is continuously expanding. These dolls are special and great for birthday, holiday or "thinking of you" gift giving. The Mini Pillow Kids are also available in 8 1/2 x 11- inch and 17 x 22-inch sizes. All requests can be customized to reflect hobbies, school colors, school emblems, etc. Eye-catching accents can include textured hair, lashes and vibrant colors.

Father's Day Card Tutorial

Here's a quick and easy how-to for making your own Father's Day card. Have your kids help you for a fun craft break! Once you have all of your materials gathered, this quick-and-easy card can be assembled in about 15 minutes. All of your materials can be purchased at the local craft store, Walmart or the $1 store.

You will need the following:

~2 pieces of 8 1/2" x 11" or 12" x 12 " plain colored cardstock (I used brown and orange).

~An 8 1/2 x 11" or 12" x 12" piece of patterned cardstock, look for one with your preferred theme. I chose a Father's Day embossed print).

~Adhesive mounting squares, photo safe glue-stick or double-sided tape.

~A paper trimmer or a ruler and scissors will do fine.

~A pencil (with a white eraser)

~A photo of your child or children that can be cropped.

~ Optional - decorative edge scissors (I used stamped edge)

1st, choose one piece of plain cardstock. With ruler and pencil, measure and mark off a 10" wide x 7" long rectangle. Use scissors or paper cutter to cut out the rectangle. Fold the rectangle in half, making a 5" x 7" vertical card.

2nd, cut 3 rectangles from the patterned paper:

a. 2" wide x 6 3/4" long

b. 2 7/8" x 3 3/8" long

c. 2 1/4" wide x 2 3/4" long

1 from the other colored cardstock:

d. 2 1/4" x 3 1/4"

and 1 from the photo, e. 1 3/4" x 2 1/4"(draw an outline of the rectangle around the area of the picture you want to keep). If you have decorative scissors, use them to trim around the edges of all the rectangles except d. and e. (as shown in the first photo).

~Take rectangle a. and apply adhesive to the back side all around the edges. Turn over and place this along the left side of the card.

~Take rectangle d., apply adhesive to the back and stick it to rectangle b.

~Take the photo (e.), apply adhesive to the back and stick it to rectangle c.

Apply adhesive to the backs of rectangles b. and c. and place them as shown in the photo to the left.

Finally, if you desire a little color on the inside of your card, cut a rectangle out of the left-over colored cardstock, 4 1/2" x 6". Put adhesive on the back and adhere it to the inside of the card. Trim with decorative scissors before adhering if desired.

Last but not least, don't forget to add your personalized message to Dad!

Whirlpool Mother of Invention Grant

How cool is this? Whirlpool wants to reward moms who are identifying challenges and coming up with creative solutions every day. To recognize these momtrepeneurs, the 2008 Whirlpool® Brand Mother of Invention Grant will provide winning moms with prizes ranging from a $5,000 grant and a Whirlpool® side-by-side refrigerator with water filtration to a $20,000 grant, Duet® Steam or Cabrio® washer and steam dryer pair, a Whirlpool® dishwasher and a $3,000 stipend for a new home office. Talk about jump starting your business!

Whirlpool added a "Green" category this year. Eligible ideas must meet one of the following criteria: minimize the impact on environmental resources, use recycled/natural materials or are an environmentally friendly product/service. The entry from both the traditional and green categories that receives the highest overall score will become the grand prize winner.

Entries must be postmarked by July 31, 2008. For more details check out Whirlpool Mother of Invention Grant.

Spice and the Light Box Construction

Having problems taking really good pictures? Want to learn how to perfect your picture taking skills? I found a great resource for anyone searching for digital picture taking tips check out http://digital-photography-school.com/. My time and workspace are both very limited to say the least. I often run into problems taking pictures because I'm unable to take them during the time of day when better natural lighting is available. In search of a solution, I thought I would try a light box to give me more flexibility. So I scoured the internet in search of information on digital picture taking. I eventually stumbled across the digital photography school blog. As you see from the picture shown, the light box is not the most glamorous item, but it works. The instructions can be found at http://digital-photography-school.com/blog/how-to-make-a-inexpensive-light-tent/. The blog itself is loaded with information and numerous tutorials. I might add that the instructions were clear and fool proof. However, when I began to glue the Bristol Board on the inside of the box, I realized that I had not purchased a glue stick. To those of you who have never done this before, please do not try to use cement glue like I did! I ended up going back out to the store to get what was suggested in the instruction....A GLUE STICK. Overall I am very pleased with my new "light box", digital-photography-school.com turned out to be a life saver!....Spice

Trying to Catch Our Breath!

So, you might be wondering what happened to our "On the road to our first craft show series", well since that first article we have participated in three local events back to back! As it turns out, at last weekend's expo we were invited by Picerne Military Housing to participate in the 3rd annual Military Spouse Appreciation Day.

Above are some of the items we created for the show...

The Picerne staff pampered the wives with free manicures, massages, a smorgasbord of tasty food and vendors selling a variety of items from candles to beautifully painted belly casts. Childcare was provided to really let the ladies enjoy their "me" time. A wonderful hula performance closed the afternoon out. The performers were so graceful and beautiful I think I'm going to sign my daughter up for lessons!

We teamed up once more with Mommymafia Designs who's fabulous tutu's and digital camo purses were a hit! We look forward to doing many more shows with her. We're still learning so much, this show we had a fun contest: "guess how many peanuts are in the elephant shaped jar". The winner will receive a custom mini scrapbook. Previously we had a sign-in sheet and drew a name for a guest to receive a hand-made greeting card. Set-up for the show is getting quicker as we study our pictures and figure out what works best. I'm also excited because I met a Stampin' up representative and I'm going to my first stamping class tomorrow!

And last but not least, we sold our first altered Bo Bunny Family Word Album among other items. I had just finished it the morning of the event, so I didn't even had time to take pictures of it before someone bought it! So, here's one the Scrapbook.com Bo Bunny team put together to give you an idea My Family Word Album. Next, I think we're heading to Raleigh to do a weekend flea market ...stay tuned...

Cinnamon & Spice Attend Expo

Cinnamon and Spice participated in the 9th annual W.O.M.E.N.'s expo in Fayetteville, North Carolina this past Friday and Saturday. What a rewarding experience! Not only did we receive positive feedback on our work, we were able to network and exchange ideas with both novice and seasoned business owners. The exchange of information and education we received from this event were invaluable. We embraced new ideas on enhancing displays (as you can see from our photos), marketing, and best practices. We put the fresh ideas into play immediately. We spruced up our display by adding rich fabric with staging underneath. We introduced a number of paperbag and fabric scrapbooks, tins, picture frames, new selections from our vintage card line, mini pillow kids, and crocheted rings. One of our most exciting moments was the sell of our hot new items...paperbag scrapbooks and minipillow kids! Everyone involved in this event benefited in a BIG way. I would suggest that every entrepreneur take advantage of similar events. We met new friends at this event, too many to name them all. These are just a few of the folks we'd like to thank for their support:

http://www.mommymafia2008.etsy.com/ , This shop features boutique styled items such as dresses, tutu's, purses and other gifts for your bambino's. Mommy Mafia also welcomes custom orders. What a delightful shop .

http://www.coxgallery.com/, The sensational artwork of Ms. Barbara Cox is featured at this site. Her online gallery is filled with awe inspiring pieces. Her insight and creativity are absolutely amazing.

http://www.godshandiworks.com/, Kudos to God's Handiworks! This site features handcrafted items from all over the world. They feature baskets, candles, crosses, houseware, jewelry, and many other items.

http://www.giftsforallnc.com/, Beautiful work here. This site embraces the custom aspect of gift giving. You will find diaper cakes, announcements and cards, gift baskets and candles. They also offer delivery to one of the local hospitals in the Fayetteville, NC area.

And last but definately not least the Custom Edge Inc, Offers amazing decorative curbing and hardscapes in the Fayetteville, NC area. This company is unique in the sense of the creative designs they offer not to mention their custom service approach.

This is Spice...signing out ....thanks again to all of our new friends including those at http://www.colormeangel.com/, who organized the EXPO!

Creativity

Hello there! This is Spice. I'm sitting here working on projects and began to reflect on the creative synergy Cinnamon and I experienced this week. We both came up with fresh new ideas for new projects practically out of nowhere, in the wee hours of the morning. Despite the fact that I'm in Chicago and she's in North Carolina, we just can't put a lid on our creativity these days. It's funny how once you embrace your creative side your senses become sharpened. It's like a chain reaction. Everything you come into contact with every place you go, every experience inspires you. For example, just yesterday, as I rode the subway to get additional supplies, I noticed the contrast of color in a red headed young woman's hair and her purple hoodie. I thought, boy, there is something really distinctive about those colors together. I later envisioned a read headed pillow kid with a lilac outfit. Another example, is a month ago I was blessed with a week of the Carribbean experience. The coral and yellow, limegreen, and pink hues of the architecture there; the beige wet sand, the icey blue color of the crisp clear waters, topped with white seafoam.....Ahhh! Experiencing these things gave me a fresh perspective which led to new and improved projects. These are just a few examples of the many sights and experiences that really enable one to tap into the creativity that we've been blessed us with. If you'd like to share what inspires you, please send comments. Until then, have a great day!

Etsians Making a Difference

Members of the Etsymom and NC Triangle Street Teams pulled together to make the art show/silent auction a resounding success at the school of Cinnamon's daughter this past Wednesday, April 30th. The donations of these fabulous teams were auctioned off as part of a charity event to raise funds for the parent's council, which has used its resources to purchase items such as this outdoor group art easel, to enrich the children's educational experience.

The night began with a spaghetti dinner and slide show of the children in action throughout the school year. After dinner, guests were free to browse and bid on the silent auction donations as well as "ooo" and "ahhhh" over their children's art displayed throughout the school.

Thank you to the Etsians for contributing merchandise worth over $140.00 in retail value to this worthy cause. The beautiful "Bucket of Spring" bag was contributed by ReVamped Creations. Hair Bow Diva donated two gift certificates for an adorable customized magazine cover. Cinnamon & Spice Crafts provided two mini "Pillow Kids" and the "Sweet Baby Girl" frame.

Orange Cat Art provided the scenic notecards featuring wonderful images of North Carolina's Outer Banks coastline and lighthouses. Again, kudos to these Etsians for their appreciation of the importance of early childhood education!