Easy Fall Applique and Envelope Pillow Cover

Today I'm going to share with you a quick & easy Fall pillow I made. I appliqued the "Fall" letters onto the front of envelope style pillow cover that I made from an old curtain that we had.

This project was fun & economical for all sorts of reasons. By using an old curtain I was able to save money on the cost of the fabric and I have plenty of the curtain fabric left over to make a few more matching ones. Making an envelope style pillow cover that slides on and off of the pillow form allows me to change out the pillow whenever I want, and it's easy to make!

By adding just a few elements, like these beautiful handmade buttons from Button Mad, adds just enough texture and dimension to your pillows without much cost. And hand sewing a few buttons on is pretty easy too! 

I was lucky enough to receive these beautiful, Colorful Fall Leaf buttons, in exchange for a tutorial which was all made possible through the Totally Tutorials Supplier Exchange Program. 

Halloween Fabric Banner Tutorial Revisited

I'm going to re-share with you all the Halloween Fabric Bunting post that I did last year. I didn't have to many readers back then and think it's still a cute banner so why not? It's one of the first "in-depth" tutorials I did too! 

(Not sure if that's a bad or good thing! LOL) Enjoy! 

I love banners and pennants and have made a ton with paper, but just haven't gotten around to doing the fabric ones. I have the fabric for it (oh do i have the fabric!), it was just a matter of taking the time to do it.

There are so many different ways to make a fabric banner and part of my problem is I wasn't sure how I wanted to do it. Well, I decided how and I made a Halloween Fabric Banner! I love how it turned out so much that I wrote up my first tutorial and I'm super excited to be sharing it with you. This was super quick & easy to make and if you wanted to get in a last minute Halloween project this would be perfect. I was able to make it in a couple of hours and that was with my two little ones awake!

I've tried to explain what I'm doing in the photos the best I can, but if I've missed something or if you have any questions or comments please feel free to share. 

Here we go!

36 Halloween Party Decoration, Printables, & Favor Ideas

Hey all, sorry for getting the final party planning post out! I've been a little behind in my own party planning and then I thought I lost my post and had to start over then found it then....Argh!!! 

So, a party isn't complete without some decorations & some sort of party favor. I've collected some fun ideas that I think are super cute! There is a good mix of DIY projects and some are links to some super cute free printables, a little bit of everything to help you along your way to a fun party. Well, here it is! Thank goodness, Enjoy! 

Ten Halloween Kid-Friendly Drink Ideas

Growing up my mom almost always made some sort of punch for special events. So it's kind of become a thing of mine too, always trying to find a new punch recipe to go along with whatever party I'm planning. 

I've rounded up ten different kid-friendly drink or punch recipes that will make your party a little more festive. Enjoy!

15 Halloween Tasty Sweet Treats

Hey All! Since I spent most of Monday at the dentist office, I figure why not add  some super sweet Halloween treats to this whole party planning thing? I mean it is Halloween after all and isn't that really what it's all about, the treats?!?  Right?

 

So here are 15 super yummy treats I found. 

Oh, and since I was a Dental Hygienist before my Stay at Home gig, may I remind you to please brush and floss all those adorable little pearlies in your life. Don't want the sugar bugs to take over during this super sweet time of the year ;-) 

15 Halloween Savory Eat - Treats

I've been trying to plan something to make for the "Monsterly Main Food" for our little party and I found trying to come up with something Halloween, without being to spooky or gross, and kid-friendly can be a little difficult.   

 

So I looked around good 'ol Google and Pinterest and came up with a few things, fifteen to be exact, that might be worth trying. So here are 15 Halloween Savory Eat Treats, and there are even a couple of "healthier" options included. 

I know, that's kind of a crazy thing coming from me ;-)   

15 Halloween Kid Crafts

Now that we are in the second half of October we are pretty much in full Halloween mode. I'm planning a "Not-So-Scary" Monster Mash and just trying to do some fun Halloween stuff with the kids. So This week I have a few great ideas picked out that look fun to do and yummy to eat and thought I'd share with you all. 

 

 And since snow has been in our forecast lately, and we are starting to do more indoor activities, I thought today I'd start off by sharing fifteen different Halloween Crafts for Kids. Some of them are hands on for your toddler or pre-schooler, some for kids a little older, and some you will just want to help with and join in on the fun with them.

A Feathered Turkey Sign - Gobble 'til You Wobble

It's not to early to start thinking Thanksgiving is it? I mean it does kind of seem to sneak up every year, getting lost somewhere in between Halloween and Christmas. At least it seems to happen that way to me.

Well, today I have a tutorial for a "Gobble 'til you Wobble" Turkey sign and it is fun, bright & Full of feathers!  And can I tell you I just LOVE how it turned out!

So why a turkey sign and Thanksgiving decor alreay? Remember awhile back I participated in the Totally Tutorial Blog Supplier Exchange Program?  Well, I've been selected to participate again and this time I got to use feathers! The store Abakhan, (a fabric, hobby & home store) selected me to come up with something fun with these bright, beautiful feathers. 

Source: Abakhan

I'm not sure if you've ever worked with feathers before but if you haven't you should, they really are a lot of fun! The package I received consisted of a mix of marabou & patterned guinea feathers. The colors were bright green (kind of lime), orange, and a turquoise blue. They shipped great and I got them in plenty of time, even with there being a holiday included in the shipping time! 

So with all the fall decorating I've been doing I wanted to use the feathers in some sort of fall decor and then I thought why not get a head start on my Thanksgiving decorating. So that's what I did! I found the "Gobble 'til you Wobble" quote and knew I totally wanted to include it, so off to my craft room I went to make my sign. This tutorial has a lot of steps and a lot of pictures, don't worry, it's not difficult I'm just trying to be thorough since there are a couple of different elements to it. 

A Simple Fall Book Page Banner

Today I'm going to tell you how to make the quick & easy book page banner that I made for my Fall Mantel this year. Would you believe I didn't even you my hot glue gun??? Yep, I sure didn't and it is a very temporary banner that can easily be changed out and reused or taken down. Whatever suits your fancy!

This is also a little different than my normal tutorial, mainly because as I got started I totally changed my original idea and just kind of came up with it as I went and so I didn't get a bunch of pictures along the way.  Most of it is pretty self explanatory though.  So on to the tutorial...

Fall Mantel 2012... A Little Old With A Little New

Hey Everyone, I'm so excited to share my Fall Mantel with you all! I think this is honestly the first year I've had my mantel completely decorated for Fall, and I'm pretty happy with how it turned out!

I took a lot of what I already had and added a few new things and couldn't be happier. It's kind of rustic with some natural elements, like twigs from my backyard and burlap for texture. I think it turned out nice without being to "cutesy", or at least I think so ;-)

Welcome Fall Mini-Banner Tutorial

Today I'm going to show you the last little bit I added to the fall decor in my entryway. I found these super cute scarecrows in the $1 spot at Target and just knew immediately what I was going to do with them. So I brought them home, put them in a basket, and added some kraft paper raffia. They were cute, but I decided they really did need a little bit more and since they are on my entryway table I thought why not  a "Welcome Fall" banner? 

Cute right?!?! Well, today I'm going to show you how to make this quick miniature kraft banner. It's really a quick tutorial and you don't need any special supplies. If you can use a pair of scissors, a paint brush or marker, and a hot glue gun then you are all set!

Mason Jar Candy Corn Holder Tutorial

Since my little guys birthday is now over & done, I've been able to put back the fall decorations and start working on a few new little things to add to the Fall Decor in my entryway. I wanted to add a little bit more, but not to much since my entryway table is kind of small but just enough to make it a little more festive & fun. 

One of the things new this year is my Mason Jar candy corn holder. I love mason jars, and growing up living in the country and having a 1/4-1/2 acre garden most of my childhood, mason jars were always around for canning purposes.  So crafting with them and using them as part of my decor brings back many, many memories of my childhood. And if you are on Pinterest or follow many blogs at all then you know you see all sorts of crafts made with mason jars, so this is definitely not something new,  just something new to my table decor. :-)

Inviting Fall Decor for Entryway

Today I thought I'd share with you my Fall Decor for my entryway table. Fall is my absolute favorite time of the year and I can't wait to start decorating for it. Since I have to be careful of what type of decorations I put on my porch, due to the rain, snow, or cold temperatures that we get, my entryway table is a great way for me to say "Fall" and  "Welcome" to anyone who visits. And an added bonus for me is that since it's at the bottom of our stairs it's one of the first things I get to see every morning. :-)

It has several of my favorite fall things: candy corn, burlap, pumpkins, scarecrows, baskets and just all the different fall colors  put together. I already had most of the decorations but I did add a few new homemade touches.

A Busy, Blustery Fall

Hey All, lots of things going on around here!

We just recently celebrated our little guys Birthday. We also just went through a few major windstorms and I’m now just getting back into fall decorating! I have a ton of stuff going through my head and fingers crafting away and just need to get through several hundred pictures and get busy sharing!! LOL

I spent one week doing most of the prep work for the little guys 3^rd Birthday. It was so much fun, but it kind of snuck up on me or maybe I underestimated the time it would take me to do everything I wanted to do… nah that would never happen. Anywho, with hubby’s help we got done what needed to be done and had a “Choo-Choo” time of a party. That’s where the several hundreds of photos come in. I have so many pictures of everything that I need to edit, but it will be so worth the wait I promise!

Dr. Seuss "Oh, The Places You'll Go" Cake

So I've saved my favorite part of the whole party for last, the cake! Man did it turn out AWESOME!!! I wish I could take credit for this masterpiece, but that would have to be my wonderful hubby. Take a look and tell me what you think?

Graduation Open House Card Banner & Display

I'm sure you all are almost tired of my posts from the graduation open house. Bear with me, there should only be a few more posts then I'll be able to share the Open House all together and we can move on ;-) So today is just a quick post but I wanted to show you the display for the card basket and gift "table" that we used. 

I don't have a before photo, but my mom has had two old wooden school desks for I don't know how long. I know she had them when we were kids and I'm sure that before she painted them for the Open House they were probably still painted country blue. You know the mauve and blue country combo from the 90's? Yeah, I had it too. 

Well here is one of them all painted in a bright pink, and looks so cute!

Dr Seuss & Candy Bar Theme Centerpiece

I thought I'd share some of the centerpieces we had at the graduation party. The centerpieces were all my mom's idea and I was so proud and way impressed with what she came up with!!! (Of course I don't know why, my creativity had to come from somewhere right?!?)

It really is a super quick & easy centerpiece using jelly beans, glass vases, pinwheels, and a few other goodies to "stuff" in there. 

 Although I don't have a complete tutorial with pictures for you today I thought I would go ahead and try to tell you how the centerpieces come together. 

Dr. Seuss Inspired Whimsical Pinwheel Tutorial

I thought I'd share with you the template and tutorial for the whimsical pinwheels I made for the Dr Seuss Graduation Open House Banner, Centerpieces, and Photo Props. If you missed the banner post, you can find that post here.

I know there are lots of tutorials for pinwheels out there but this is just what I came up with and I wanted it to be a little different than just the typical square type. Please note this is for a pinwheel that does not spin, that doesn't mean they aren't just as cute though. They still make super cute decorations, photo props and centerpieces.

Sunshine Award

I'm a little late posting this, but a few weeks ago I was awarded the "Sunshine Award" by Hilda from Overwhelmed to Organized. If you haven't ever been by her blog you really should, she has some great ideas on orgainzing. She recently posted about their new Craft and Activity Area and I'm loving it, I'm always looking for ideas on how to organize the kids stuff in my craft/office area. 


So, onto the Sunshine Award. The Sunshine Award is given from bloggers to "bloggers who positively and creatively inspire others in the blogosphere."  

Okay, so here's how the award works:  

Dr Seuss Graduation Open House Banner

As some of my readers know, my "baby" sister graduated high school in May. And now that she is off to college and has started her first semester *sniff, sniff.* I thought "better late than never" sharing what we did for her Graduation Open House. I know, I know this is long over due and I know school is back in session for most and you aren't even thinking about graduation, but if you have a senior or even a little one that you will be planning a graduation event for let me tell you, it is NEVER to early to start planning!!! So I decided to go ahead and share this post with you and will probably re-share as graduation time approaches.

So my sister decided she wanted to use Dr. Seuss' "Oh The Places You'll Go" as her theme and wanted to include a "candy bar." Quick funny story, when my mom was explaining the idea of the "candy bar" to my dad she said "And she wants to have a candy bar" he said, "what kind?" So mom had to explain she didn't want a candy bar, but rather a bar full of candy...  I LOVED it and just started laughing, he he,  sometimes guys just don't get us do they?!? :-)

Quick & Easy Garlic Pizza Bread

Hey all today I have a super quick and easy, yummy post for you today!  It is no secret around here that my little guy and I LOVE pizza. We could eat it most days of the week and we wouldn't be bothered by it at all. We even do pizza night once a week, we try to mix it up so we aren't having the same thing all the time (although I have NO problem with a classic pepperoni pizza - it's my Fav!!!) and it gives us something to look forward to. Anyhow, while we were watching the Olympics my little guy saw a commercial for a garlic bread pizza and said, "We have this tonight?" I was thinking, "Um, no, we can totally make this on our own!" but politely said "Maybe on pizza night!" :-)

We've actually been eating this as a side where we would normally have garlic bread, but soon we won't be eating it all the time. Garlic bread has a lot of sodium and butter, something we try to limit, but while it's a new thing in our house we sure are loving it!

Happy Blogiversary To Bean Bug Crafts!

So I've totally been busy doing other stuff this summer rather than my blog and Etsy shop and I just realized my blogiversary just recently passed! Bean Bug Crafts Blog and Shop have been around for a whole year! I can't believe it!!! It has definitely been hard at times trying to figure the direction of both the blog and the shop, but I'm happy with doing both part-time and keeping my primary focus on my family.

Bird House Hair Bow Holder

Hello everyone! Remember me? I'm still around I have just been super busy enjoying every bit of this summer that I possibly can.

Well, since I'm here how about a tutorial?  I'm pretty excited about the tutorial I'm sharing with you all today for several reasons. 1) because it's been SO long since I've shared a tutorial 2) if you are like me and have a little girl then you probably have tons and tons of hair bows and need a place for all of them 3) I was given a $30 gift certificate for the online store Lots Of Buttons, through the Totally Tutorials Supplier Exchange Program,  to help me with my project!!!

Fabric Flower Tutorial

I wanted to share with you all how I made the fabric rosette for the Chevron Card I did for Mother's Day. The technique that I do in this tutorial is the same one that I used for some fabric lollipops that I made for my sister's graduation open house. (Be sure to watch for those posts. I CANNOT wait to share all the fun things we came up with!!!)

Stairway Photo Collage

Hey everyone! I've been on a much needed vacation and have spent some absolutely wonderful Quality Time with my family and it has been wonderful! The heat and hot weather hasn't been to bad either! :-) 

So I was trying to come up with something to share with you and and realized I never shared the Photo Collage that we did in our Stairway. I know photo collages aren't something new, but I do love them and think they are fun and a great way to get a lot of favorite pictures up on the wall. 

I actually bought 3 sets of different sized frames from Target on "Black Friday" and it took forever for us to get them up but I'm so glad we finally did. 

Here is the stairwell before, just kind of plain. 

Hubby used the cardboard that the frames came in to make a template. This is especially a good idea if you are working with funky angles and extras like the lights and hand rails. 

After the template was all cut out. We laid the frames on the cardboard and traced and marked the sizes and orientation that we wanted the frames to be on the wall. Here we are double checking to make sure we like the layout. (We did use a tip of nail to go through the cardboard to mark on the wall where to put the frames. )

Making progress!

Doesn't it look so much better?!?!  I love it and can't wait to start putting pictures in the frame! 

When we were done hubby said "You are going to make me paint the wall next aren't you?" Well, of course!! 

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Chevron Card Tutorial

I know Mother's Day is over, but I still wanted to share with you the card I made for my mom. (I had to make sure she got it in time before I shared and luckily she did...whew!) 

This card can easily be adapted to any holiday or occasion, just by changing the stamped sentiment. 

Supplies:

8 1/2inches x 11 inches White Cardstock: for card and mat

Two cordinating colored Cardstock or patterened paper (5 1/4 inches x 4 inches & a scrap piece for sentiment)

Ink Pad: I used black

Craft Knife

Ruler or straight edge

Stamp for sentiment

Fabric Flower

Scrap Fabric for leaves

Scissors

Adhesive

Hot glue gun. 

Chevron template or you could use Chevron printed paper

(Download the Chevron Template Here) *I've updated it so it will hopefully download on own. Please contact me if you have any problems.) 

Optional: Sewing Machine and Thread

First you will want to trim your cardstock down to 5 1/2 inches x 8 1/2 inches

This will give you a standard card size of 5 1/2 inches x 4 1/4 inches when folded in half. 

Next you will want to cut a mat 5 1/4 inches x 4 inches

The mat is where you will be putting your chevron background on. 

Use your choice of Chevron pattern, it should be the same size as your mat (5 1/4inches x 4 inches). This one was hand drawn by me so it is by no means perfect, but I think it still worked great!

The next thing I did was mark in pencil B=Blue and W=White so I wouldn't lose track of how I wanted the pattern to be on the card when I cut it out. 

Apply adhesive to a couple of the different "white" spots on the back of your template. 

Adhere the template to the blue piece of cardstock (or whatever paper you chose).

Using a craft knife and straight edge, start to cut out the chevron shapes. Trim the blue cardstock down to the mat size.

Once cut out, lay the chevron pieces out and adhere them to the white mat. 

Now cut two-three leaf shapes out from the scrap piece of green fabric ( I free-handed my leaf shapes). 

You could use paper here if you want, I just wanted to use fabric leaves to go along with the fabric flower. 

Now you could stop here and be done and just assemble your card, or you can add stitching all around like I did on the right. I just used yellow thread and my sewing machine and stitched along the edge. I didn't want it to be straight, I wanted it to be messy. 

I stamped my sentiment on a scrap piece of coordinating card stock then cut it out and made a banner shape.

I then inked around the edges of the now assembled and sewn chevron mat. 

And now I have everything ready to assemble. 

I used hot glue to adhere the fabric flower and leaves to the mat. Then using regular scrapbook adhesive attached the sentiment under the flower. Once everything was on the mat I then adhered it onto the card front using scrapbook adhesive.  

I ended up only using two leaves, but I really like how it turned out.

 I think I'll be making this one again. Maybe for a birthday or friend. What do you think? 

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