ETSY EXTRAVAGANZA!!

I was looking at some of the DARLING stores on ETSY and I realized that there are probably quite a few of you that have your own ETSY stores. I know there are other blogs that showcase ETSY stores, but I really want to know which of MY readers have stores. So, link up your store and I will help spread the word!!

Show Us What You're Workin' With #30!!

I'm on my way out the door to get my Gym on . . . I'll post a fun little project tomorrow morning!! I'm excited to see what you share with us!!

Let me know what you think!!

So, I have been fairly busy with the ETSY store this week and it got me thinking . . . As I've said before, I use ETSY for inspiration, as do others. How do you feel about copying an idea and selling it yourself? I feel like if I were to see someone selling the EXACT same thing as mine, down to the tiniest details then I may be irked by it. But, if they just take the idea and change it and then make it their own, I'm pretty sure I wouldn't have a problem with it. Is it wrong no matter what to use someone's idea? Because, let's face it . . . there are ZILLIONS of ETSY stores that sell tutus, hairbows, embroidered onesies, hand stamped silver jewelry, etc.

I would NEVER EVER want anyone to be upset by what I sell in my store and I would hope to never have to deal with that situation. so, what do you think?

Spooky Pals Trio

I turned some of my 2 x 4 scraps into this trio of spooky pals. I know that some of you had already made these, and you were my inspiration!! So thanks!! Of course they are in the ETSY store :)

I'm joining the revolution!!

So . . . I finally created a Facebook Fan page!! Crazy right?? hahaha. I have a twitter account and I've NEVER used it and I most likely NEVER will. So I figure, I use FB every day so it would be easier than twitter. I just started it and there aren't any pictures or details, but I wanted to let you all know about it so you can scoot on over there and be a fan!! I bet you can guess the name of the page? Click here to go there :) or you can look it up the old fashioned way, "me and my bucket"

Show Us What You're Workin' With #

OH MY HECK!!! I just realized that it's Wednesday morning and I haven't posted this yet!! AHHH!! I am on the Relief Society Committee and we had a dinner last night, so I didn't get home 'til late. Soo . . . I kinda spaced this and the day and everything else. So, without further ado, let's get to it!!!

Wild Wild West Memory Match Game

I know this isn't a new idea in the crafting/creating world, but I was looking at some scrap wood and decided to make a memory match game out of it!!


I made this super simple drawstring bag to hold all the pieces. I used that iron-on printable paper cotton stuff you can buy at the craft store . . . I know that isn't the technical term :)


I cut 20 approximately 2 1/4" x 2 1/4" pieces and painted them a light tan color. Then I cut up a 12 x 12 piece of cowboy themed scrapbook paper and mod-podged them to each square. Once they first coat was dry I inked all the edges with brown ink and let the ink dry. Then I applied another coat or 2 of mod podge over the top to give me a nice shiny finish.


I chose 10 wild west inspired images and converted them to SVG files and cut them out with my Cricut and SCAL software. I mod podged the images to cream colored paper and then mod-podged them to the wood. Inked the edges, then mod-podged again. SUPER EASY!!!

And, one last picture of the bag and the pieces. I LOVE how it turned out and it was super duper easy and it's going on the ETSY store!!!!

Features from last week's WYWW!!

I know I said that I was going to do this post last night after I folded the laundry, but . . . I fell asleep on the bed in the middle of the folding!! hahaha :) So, after a long day of zoo-ing and clean-ing and Home Depot-ing . . . I'm finally sitting down to my laptop to get this show on the road!!!

I'm diggin' this mason jar chandy that Kat over at "Measuring My Life in Love" made!! I know that these are quite popular right now and I've seen some of the price tags . . . YIKES!!! She didn't give the total price, but I have a feeling that it wasn't very much. Hop on over there and check it out!!

Ummm . . . I have no idea why this picture is sideways!! Oh well :) Mandy, from Mandy's Creative Corner, made these stuffed mushrooms that look TO-DIE-FOR!!! The hubs HATES mushrooms, but I love 'em, so I'm definitely going to be making some of these little beauties for myself!!

Check these out!! These little beauties are made out of masking tape!!!! Jessica, over at "Frenzied Mutterings of an Odd Duck" made these and stuck 'em to a canvas!!! Seriously, fabulous!!

As always, thank you so much for joining me every week!! You all inspire me and I LOVE IT!!!!

Show Us What You're Workin' With Wednesday #28!!

WELCOME!! WELCOME!! I hope you all are having a FABULOUS week!! I've been busy getting new things ready for the little ole ETSY store, but its been fun!! And tomorrow we are taking Bucket to the zoo, it should be a blast!! I made a fun memory game and I'll post pics first thing tomorrow or later this evening, I have to wait for the last coat of mod podge to dry :)

So, I love what you all linked up last week and I am going to post some of my favorites after I fold and put away some laundry ;) So, let's see what you have for us this week!!

What I made this weekend!!

I was showing my dad the cute blocks I made for my ETSY store and we got to talking about coming up with a new and original idea. I would LOVE to take full credit for this one, but it was all him!! THANKS DAD!! Anyway, he said "wouldn't it be cool if you could make flashcards?" Well . . . it would be cool!! and it is cool!! And here they are!!!

I made 26, one for each letter of the alphabet!! This is the crate I made for them, don't judge the nail holes, I haven't quite finished :)

This is the what the front of each card looks like!!

And here is what the back looks like. Don't you just flippin' love 'em??!!! I love that I never have to worry about them getting ripped, soggy or bent. I would guess that it would be rather difficult to lose one too, since they aren't just a thin card that can fall behind a couch or dresser or whatever. And, since they are wood, they can be treated like blocks and stacked and knocked down . . . I was going to give them to Bucket for Christmas, but he got soooo excited when he saw them, that I just couldn't wait. He loved playing with them and they kept him entertained for quite a while. Now, I just have to work with him to learn the words and the letters!!

Of course I put these on ETSY, I love 'em too much not to!! Also, I think it's too fabulous of a thing to not share with the world!! So, if you would like some, check out my store or shoot me an email: meandmybucket @ gmail . com

New additions to the ETSY store!!

I added some new treasures to the ETSY store . . . I LOVE LOVE LOVE how they all turned out and I'm excited to share them with you all!! This first one is DARLING!!

Cute right? Each side has a different face, so you can turn it and it's like a new little guy!!

These NOEL blocks are very traditional looking with the colors and embellishments. I love me a traditional country-ish Christmas!!

I think my moms boss may scoop these up!!

And how FABULOUS is this??!! I love the glitter, the rhinestones and especially love the little monster peeking over the edge of the O!!!

Show Us What You're Workin' With #27!!

HOWDY YA'LL!!! I'm excited for this weeks party because I want to show you what my latest project is :)

We've all seen those DARLING little card table play houses, right??!! If you haven't, skee-daddle on over to ETSY and do a search and you will FALL-IN-LOVE!! I've always wanted to make Bucket one (buying them from someone else is rather pricey) but I knew it would be very time consuming, hence the high pricetag. Anyhoo, I shoved the idea to the back of the brain, that is until recently. I got to thinking about Christmas and how it's going to be here before I know it . . . BLAR!! And I don't want to be running around like an even CRAZIER THAN NORMAL lady the week before trying to get all of his gifts ready. So, the back of my brain told the front of my brain to make him a playhouse!! I wanted it to be bigger than a card table size because I want him to be able to use it for years to come, have sleepovers in it with his cousins and basically not outgrow it in 2 years :) So, we busted out some PVC pipe and set to work. I'm not going to bore you with the supplies, unless you are interested in making one, so I'll just show you the pictures. The frame is ready to go, now I just have to start with the sewing and all that jazz!!!

Pretty sweet right? Its about 4 x 5 x 6 (at the point of the roof)


The roof is actually a separate piece that will be tied to the base. We had to do it this way because they don't make the necessary PVC joint pieces to give us the correct angles.

So far so good, right? I have a long ways to go and I'll be sure to show pictures of my progress!!

NOW LET'S PARTY!!!

CHECK IT!!

First off, I want to say thanks for all the love over my $1 Halloween Luminaries!!! They were a smash hit and I hope that if you make some you let me know so I can check 'em out!!

One of you darlings DID make some and DID post them on your blog ... AWESOME!!! Jennie, from Livin' on the Edge, made these . . .

She used a different $Tree vase, but still fabulous!! Battery operated t-lites (safety first) and pre-cut spooky foam stickers (TIME SAVER!!)

YOU ROCK JENNIE!! Go check her out and show her some love!!

On a side note, Jennie saw this project from Tip Junkie. I had no idea it was featured over there!!! WOOT-WOOT!!! I'm famous :)

Google Reader - - Next Button

So, I'm sure that a majority of you use Google Reader and I'm also sure that most of you that use it already know of the TOTALLY AWESOME Next button!!

In case you don't . . . Its a button that you put up in your Bookmark Toolbar and each time you click it, it takes you directly to the newest post in your reader!!! The button is TONS better than just the plain reader because it actually takes you to the post so you can comment or whatever. So, it eliminates the whole middle man in a way. With reader you have to click on the post and then it takes you to the blog. Anyway, in case you want to use it, and you most definitely should!! Here are the instructions . . .

Go to reader and click "settings" then "goodies" scroll down to this part, and follow the instructions . . . SUPER EASY!!!

Put Reader in a bookmark

The next bookmark is an innovative way to read your subscriptions. It allows you to use Google Reader through just one link - clicking on it takes you to the next unread item, marking it as read in the process. It is particularly useful for subscriptions which only include snippets or when you want to read an article in context.

To use the next bookmark, simply drag the link below to your bookmark bar.

Next »

<-- drag this to your bookmarks bar

Hurry up and get to it and let me know what you think!!

Halloween Luminaries

I'm on a bit of a Halloween Decor kick lately!! The season change is quickly approaching and I've already got Bucket's costume pattern and ready to go. I'M GETTING EXCITED!!! Anyway, I decided to make a few new luminaries to add to my collection, and of course I put a set on ETSY as well :)

I started with some Cylinder vases from $TREE. I used mod-podge and white tissue paper that I cut into strips, and applied them to the OUTSIDE of the glass. Once it was dry I used some watered down brown paint to age the paper a bit. Then I used my CRICUT and SCAL to cut out some spooky black images out of cardstock and then mod-podged 'em on. Throw a t-lite inside and VOILA!! They look awesome right? And sooooo easy, kinda time consuming but still easy!!


Bats are creepy, but PERFECT for Halloween.

This haunted house is my favorite!!


and lastly, this nasty crow!! I'm not a fan of birds or other flying creatures, you could say I'm a tad bit terrified. Luckily this guy won't come to life and fly around anytime soon!!


And here they are unlit . . . If you make some, I wanna see!!!

ETSY Originals Party

You all know Diana from The Girl Creative, right?? Well, if you don't, you need to skee-daddle on over there and check out her and all of her fabulousity!!

Anyhoo ... The first Thursday of every month she hosts an "ETSY Originals" Party. Anyone with an ETSY store can link up over there and it's great FREE advertising!!

Christmas Countdown Calendar

So, I loved the way my Halloween Countdown turned out that I just had to whip up the Christmas version!! It's not completely done yet, I still need to put a gloss sealer coat on the frame, but I was too excited to get this posted!! So, for now, just imagine that the frame is shiny :)

Cute right?


Just like the Halloween version, the first 24 cards are white ...


And the 25th card is green!!


and of course, I just HAD to add some rhinestones for some bling. This one is in my ETSY store too :) You may wonder why I'm selling them and not keeping them for myself ... well, I'm wondering the same thing!! HAHA I have a few 11 x 14 frames and I think I may mike mine using those, think it would be too big?

Well, I HOPE you love this one too!! And just in case you missed my Halloween version, scroll down, I promise you'll want to check it out!!

I'm linking up to these ladies ...