Top 10 Creative Posts of 2016

It's the time of year when it's fun to take a look at the past year here on Home Crafts by Ali and see which posts were visited the most. So here are the top 10 creative posts that you, my wonderful readers, enjoyed this year!

10 most popular creative posts on Home Crafts by Ali in 2016

Can you believe that 2016 is already coming to a close? This year has just flown right by! It was interesting to look at the posts that were most popular this year. It's a nice mix of recipes and decor ideas. I'm so thankful for all of you who have visited this year and supported me with your kind comments. You are the best!!

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Button Snowflake Canvas Art

Winter time is here! If you want to add to your winter decor, this project I am sharing is perfect! You can keep it up all through the holidays. With only three craft supplies, it is a budget friendly craft too! Make one for your home, or a few for friends!

DIY Button Snowflake Art on Canvas

I don't usually decorate with a theme, but this year I loved the look of snowflakes and the light crystal blue color. It started with the Wooden Winter Snowflake I made, then I found the cute decorative ornament balls in silver and light blue, and now I've made this snowflake out of buttons. Read my tutorial so you can make one for yourself!
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DIY Decoupage Wooden Winter Snowflake

Winter decorating time has arrived! Pull out your favorite pieces to display, then gather just a few craft supplies and you can make this super cute wooden winter snowflake to add to your decor. The best part is you can keep it up after Christmas time too!

step by step tutorial diy decoupage wooden winter snowflake

When I brought down the box that holds my winter decorations, I noticed how sparse my decorations were. To remedy that, I decided to create a few winter themed decor pieces that I could add to the Christmas ones I already had. I was off to the craft store to see what inspiration I could find.
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Favorite Crafting Tools of Creative Craft Bloggers

It's always fun to find new crafting supplies that you haven't heard of before. What better way to find out about crafting tools than from craft bloggers? Today I have a list of favorite crafting items and why they are useful from 5 different creative bloggers.

favorite crafting tools you will love


I belong to a blogging group of some great crafty ladies. We all work on different types of creative projects, so when we were asked us to share our favorite crafting tools I was excited to see what the other ladies would put down as the crafting item that they loved. I hope you find something on this list that you, or your crafty loved one, will be able to use!
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A Day in Los Angeles

When my family went to California recently, our main focus was visiting Disneyland for the first time and enjoying the parks. We did take one day to drive around Los Angeles and see some interesting sights. I'm going to share a few of the places we went for the day.

A Day in Los Angeles. Photos from a vacation in Southern California

We drove up to Hollywood, took a trip to the beach, drove downtown, and visited a few places that we had been looking forward to. It was a nice but long day. There was so much beauty and I'm glad we were able to see it.
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Winter Home Decor Shopping Guide

With Thanksgiving behind us and cooler weather happening across the country, my thoughts turned to changing out my fall decor for winter. I put together a shopping guide with some wonderful winter home decor pieces to share with you today. To help you pay for some of these decor pieces, I am joining with a group of bloggers for a giveaway. Don't forget to enter at the bottom of this post!

Winter Home Decor Shopping Guide Items for Kitchen Living and Outdoor

This week we had a bit of snow and I loved sitting inside and watching the snowflakes falling. That prompted me to take down my fall wreath and put up my Christmas wreath. Once I did that, I decided to work on a few winter projects. I was working on a snowflake decor piece and realized that I didn't have very many decorations for winter. So I started looking online for some things that would be good through winter.

I was able to find so many great pieces that I just had to share them with you! I have decor for living areas, kitchen and dining, and also for outdoors. I hope some of these items are just what you are looking for.
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Favorite Finds from the Thrift Store

Thrift store shopping is a fun adventure, you never know what hidden treasures you will find. You can find so many quality items when you look at thrift stores. Today I am sharing some of my favorite finds at a recent thrift store shopping trip!

Favorite finds at the thrift store - books, decor pieces, clothes

I was introduced to thrift stores when I was in college. Yep, those years when money is tight or you are looking for vintage or funny items you normally wouldn't buy. What started out as a necessity, ended up being something that I really enjoy. I like looking through the racks of clothes, shelf after shelf of books, the decorations that people have donated. I call it treasure hunting!
15

Book Review ~Tasting Rome

When you can't travel to Rome but want the taste of authentic Italian cuisine, peruse this book and try one of the delicious recipes that are included.

A book review of tasting Rome

My dream is to one day travel to Italy and see as much of the beautiful and ancient country that I can. The cathedrals, village markets, ancient sites, and the picturesque countryside. A visit to Rome to see the Sistine Chapel and the Roman Forum is high on my list. And of course, tasting the delightful cuisine!
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Cash for Christmas Giveaway 2016

Could you use a little extra cash this time of year? Maybe for holiday shopping, or buying gifts to donate to needy families, or a decor piece you have had your eye on, or maybe even a little something to treat yourself.

Today is your lucky day then! I have joined with a great group of bloggers for this Cash for Christmas Giveaway! You can enter to win 1 of 8 gift cards! Fill out the Rafflecopter and you will be entered to win each of the gift cards.

$330 Cash for Christmas Giveaway


3

Slow Cooker Stuffed Pepper Soup

I love the ease of cooking when using my slow cooker. Put your ingredients in, go about your day, check your meal, then serve up a delicious and warm meal. If you are looking for some new slow cooker recipes, this is your lucky day! I am sharing my Slow Cooker Stuffed Pepper Soup recipe, and at the end of my post you can find other tasty slow cooker recipes from some of my blogging friends.

Slow Cooker Stuffed Pepper Soup
23

Quick and Easy Fabric Bookmarks

If you have 10 minutes and some fabric scraps or a fat quarter, you can easily make these quick bookmarks. They will be sure to please any reader in your life!  Grab some cute fabric, follow this simple tutorial, and get sewing!

Quick and Easy Sewn Fabric Bookmarks

The best part to making your own bookmark is you get to choose the design of the fabric used. Pick your favorite color, pattern, or theme.

These bookmarks are so quick to sew. After trying out the tutorial the first time, you will then be able to sew one of these fabric bookmarks in about 5 minutes! This craft is an easy one, perfect for a beginner at sewing.
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Fall Big KitchenAid Giveaway!

With holiday baking and cooking coming up, having good quality supplies in your kitchen is a must! I'm happy to bring you this giveaway for a KitchenAid mixer, along with other baking supplies that you will love!

Fall Big KitchenAid Prize Pack Giveaway

I bought my KitchenAid mixer years ago with money we received for our wedding. The first two years we lived in tiny apartments so I didn't unpack my mixer. While mixing cookies by hand did give my arms nice definition, it wasn't very fun. I finally unpacked my KitchenAid when we moved to our first house. It made baking so much easier. I even learned how to make the smoothest mashed potatoes using my KitchenAid!

Christmas cookie time is coming up and I always use my mixer for those. Snickerdoodles and Thumbprint cookies are our two favorite recipes. My girls love the maraschino cherries that go in the middle of the Thumbprint cookies and Santa loves the Snickerdoodle ones. The dough has to chill in the refrigerator, so I'm glad that I learned to make mixing bowl covers this year.

So, for all your fall baking and cooking needs, this KitcheAid mixer and other prizes will help make the holidays so much easier...and stylish.

I'm glad to be joining up with some awesome bloggers to bring you this wonderful giveaway. Special thanks go to Angie from My So-Called Chaos for hosting these superb giveaways every month.

For your chance to win this fall baking prize pack, enter the Rafflecopter below! Giveaway is open worldwide (international winner will receive $300 because of shipping restrictions). Enter by 12am MST on 11/15/16. Good luck!!


a Rafflecopter giveaway

What is your favorite fall recipe? Share in the comments below!


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Deseret Industries - Changing Lives One Sale at a Time

When we visit thrift stores, we usually only think about the freed space in our homes from the donations that we dropped off or the great deals we scored on our purchase. When I visited the new Deseret Industries store that opens this Thursday, I found out that there is so much more to Deseret Industries.

shop at deseret industries and help people reach their goals for the future

** This is a sponsored post on behalf of Deseret Industries. All thoughts and opinions are my own. **

If you have read my craft tutorials you will notice that I mention often that I buy my crafting supplies from thrift stores and I do makeovers to the items. Deseret Industries is the thrift store that I shop at most often because of the price and selection of items.

affordable craft supplies found thrifting

When I was invited with a group of local bloggers to tour the new store that opens this Thursday October 27th, I knew I couldn't pass up the opportunity to get a sneak peek at the items that would be for sale. When I left the store I was excited about the great treasures I saw, but the lasting impression I took away from the afternoon was the stories about employees who had their lives changed through working for the company.
2

Tape Art or Tape-ography

Have you heard of Tape Art or Tape-ography? It's the new and fascinating art of creating with different kinds and colors of tape.

Tape Art or Tape-ography created by Chad Farnes
You may have seen many different washi tape crafts (see my Pinterest board for some crafty ideas), or flowers and wallets that people make out of duct tape. Tape art is very different than that.

Over the summer I visited the Provo Library for an author event. After the event was over, I stopped into the Anderson Gallery that the library has on the second floor. I was intrigued by the tape art (tape-ography) displayed that was created by Chad Farnes.
2

Witchy Owl Halloween Treat Box

It's just about Halloween again this year. Time to think of class party treats, neighbor gifts, or goodies for youth groups. What better way to package your treats than in a cute decorated popcorn box! You can make your own witchy owl decorated treat box by following this simple tutorial.

Halloween Treat Box made from a decorated popcorn box

I designed my treat box as part of a Popcorn Box Blog Party challenge hosted by Laura Kelly of Me and My Inklings. She has organized this challenge for a few years, but it's my first time joining, and I had a lot of fun! After my tutorial, check out all of the other great ideas from talented bloggers and don't forget to enter the fun giveaway too!!
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Fun With Kids In the Kitchen - Decorating Waffles

Are your kids tired of the same old boring breakfast routine? Make breakfast time a little more fun when you put out waffle decorating ingredients. Kids will have fun in the kitchen when they decorate their own waffle, while having a good breakfast at the same time.

kids fun in the kitchen decorating waffles

We have cold cereal most days of the week, but sometimes it's nice for the kids to have something different and extra tasty for a change. The day we had these, my kids were super excited to make their own breakfast. I liked them adding fresh fruit to their waffles to make it a bit healthier. They ended up loving their red, white, and blue breakfast.
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Make Your Own Fall Sign

A few weeks ago I started to decorate for fall outside and this week I decided to concentrate on bringing a little fall happiness into our home. I started with this DIY fall sign, With just a few supplies, you can make a fall sign for your own home.

DIY fall sign on display with autumn decor pieces

This sign is a nice central piece for fall decorations. After making my sign, I added a few more pieces to complete my fall mantle decor. The nice part about the sign is that it didn't take long to make. Within 30 minutes, I had a fall sign I made myself.
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10 Oh So Cute Sewing Projects

I'm always looking for cute sewing tutorials to inspire me to start a new project. Looking at all the talented bloggers out there that share their ideas and projects has made me want to pull out my sewing machine, pick through my fabric stash, and start sewing.

10 Sewing Tutorials From Multiple Bloggers

These projects are for all different levels of sewing experience - some just right for beginners and other projects that are more advanced. No matter how experienced you are at sewing, you will be able to find a cute project just right for you.
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DIY Pumpkin Clothespin Wreath

Dress up your front door with this pumpkin wreath made from clothespins. It's an easy way to add fall decor to your home. If you are looking for a budget-friendly decor piece, this is the tutorial for you.

clothespin wreath display door

This year, I have fallen in love with fall. I've driven up the canyons to see the leaves changing colors, grew pumpkins in my garden (they have taken over!), and added some new pieces to my fall decor. Even though I love my fall owl wreath a lot, I wanted to make a pumpkin wreath this year.
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Celebrate National Sewing Month with a Giveaway!

September is National Sewing Month and I thought a great way to celebrate is to host a giveaway for all of my wonderful readers! Come celebrate the beautiful art of sewing by entering for your chance to win some of my favorite sewing supplies worth $95.

national sewing month 2016 supply giveaway notions fabric

I have had a good time this month writing about the essential supplies you need to get started sewing and sharing a tutorial for DIY mixing bowl covers. The most fun I have had though is shopping online and at local stores for sewing items that I thought you would love to have in this giveaway. Read below for detailed information about the items, then enter the giveaway below.
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DIY Mixing Bowl Cover

These DIY mixing bowl covers are useful in so many ways. You can cover your mixing bowl when not in use or when you put part of your cookie dough in the refrigerator between batches. These are great to cover a dish you take to a potluck. Want to keep pesky insects out of your food at a picnic? Use one of these!  The best part is you can choose any color or print that you want to use for you mixing bowl cover. In fact, you can make multiple ones for different seasons or occasions.

sewing tutorial mixing bowl cover kitchen aid DIY

I love using my Kitchen Aid mixer to make black bottom cupcakes, pumpkin pie, and the tastiest mashed potatoes. What I don't love is the dust that always seems to get inside my bowl and on my utensils between uses. Sewing a mixing bowl cover is a great way to keep my items dust free.
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Creamy Chicken Broccoli Casserole

Some nights a comforting casserole is just what you need. This creamy chicken broccoli casserole is a perfect meal on those nights.

creamy chicken broccoli casserole dished up

Years ago, a friend brought me a casserole after having my oldest daughter. It was a simple rice casserole that was delicious and filling. I made sure to get the recipe from her and over the years I have tweaked the recipe a bit to fit our taste. This chicken broccoli casserole is the result of my changing a few ingredients here or there. I hope you enjoy it as much as we do!
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Sewing For Beginners - Essential Sewing Supplies

When starting your first sewing project, it can be daunting to look at all the supplies they have at the store. As a beginning sewist you may not have any idea what they are for and if you really need to buy them. To make it easier for you, I have put together a basic list of the essential supplies you need to start sewing.

sewing for beginners essential sewing supplies cover photo

As you plan your first (or second or third) sewing project, you will need to focus on the essentials for supplies. These are the items that you will use in many of your projects. As you advance in what you are working on, you may need to add a few more items. These will give you a great start though.
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Fall Decor Shopping Guide

The weather is starting to cool off and it's time to transition from summer decor to fall decor. Say goodbye to the watermelon and patriotic items and hello to leaves, apples, and pumpkins. If you are looking to add a few new fall decor items to your home, this shopping guide will help with your decorating inspiration.

fall decor shopping indoor outdoor decorations



This past weekend I put up my fall owl wreath and bought a few fall flowers for my porch. We took a trip to a home decor store and there were so many cute owls, pumpkin decor, and lanterns just begging to come home with us. I try to add a few new pieces (either store bought or handmade) each year to our decorations. As I've searched online over the past few days, I've found so many cute items! I hope you like them as much as I do.
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Happy National Sewing Month

September is National Sewing Month and I'm so excited for this year! A whole month dedicated to sewing projects, learning to sew, sales on sewing items, and giveaways for sewing supplies. This sounds like a very happy national sewing month indeed!

national sewing month september 2016 sewing machine supplies

Last year for National Sewing Month, I shared a new sewing project tutorial each week. I still get quite a few visits to my easy pillowcases and easy doll blankets. This year I am going to do things a little different.
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The Beauty of US National Parks

There are so many beautiful places here in the United States that are wonderful to visit and enjoy nature. Our National Parks offer a spectacular view of protected beauty found in our country. Many of you can't visit these parks yourself, so I'm sharing some photos from our trips so you can enjoy the beauty of the National Parks from the comfort of your own home. Maybe they will even inspire you to go out and see some natural beauty near you.

photography national parks utah washington montana idaho

Over the past few years, my family has made trips to some national parks. They have been such amazing day trips and have created lasting memories and a love of nature in our children. They have been trips where we were able to get outside, go on hikes, talk about nature, the animals and plants that we saw, and how we can take care of this wonderful Earth that we live on.
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Helping Others Find Their Ancestors - Worldwide Indexing Event 2016

Genealogy, or family history, research has been on the rise in recent years. People have an interest to find out where their ancestors came from and what their stories are. Family history research has been made much simpler with the availability of so many records that are now in online databases. You can help volunteer in the work of making these free records available worldwide.

Worldwide Indexing Event 2016 FamilySearch Genealogy Family History ancestors

This post is sponsored by FamilySearch. All opinions and thoughts are my own

When I was a teenager, I began to be interested in finding out stories about when my grandparents were growing up and their parents too. I would sit with my grandmothers (both grandfathers had passed away) and look at old family photos and listen to their stories. I found out some interesting things that made me decide to dig a little deeper. I've always liked puzzles, mysteries, and using my brain for research; so genealogy was a perfect fit for me.

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DIY American Flag Pallet Project

If you are looking to add a little red, white, and blue to your outdoor area, follow this tutorial to make your own American Flag Pallet. This makes a beautiful piece to show your patriotism. It turns out sharp and clean looking.

Wood DIY American Flag pallet tutorial

I finished this project just in time to have it on my porch for the 4th of July. This flag would be great to display for all the patriotic holidays throughout the year.
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DIY Decoupage Wood Photo Frame - for baby

Do you have a sweet little one that you want to display a picture of in a cute way?  Follow the directions in this simple tutorial to make your own decorated wood frame. Perfect for your own little one, or to give as a gift to your friend or family member who is expecting a sweet baby.


diy decoupage photo frame baby


If you have wandered the aisles at your local craft store, I'm sure you have seen those unfinished wood frames. I just love those. You can decorate them in so many different ways that the possibilities are virtually endless. I bought one of the rounded corner square photo frames a few weeks ago and made this DIY decoupage photo frame for a baby shower gift for one of my blogging friends.

These decoupage frames are quite simple to make and are a nice way to display photos. Gather your supplies and within half an hour you will have a personalized photo frame.
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$50 IKEA Gift Card Giveaway

I have a deep love for IKEA, you can get good quality items for your home at a reasonable price. When we get the yearly catalog in the mail with their new items, all of us take turns flipping through the pages and daydreaming about which items we want for our home.

When my blogging friend Julia from The Quiet Grove announced it was her blogiversary and she was hosting an IKEA gift card giveaway, I knew that I wanted to join her for this giveaway. A $50 gift card can help you, my lovely readers, buy those necessary items for your home as well as those fun decor pieces you may want. If I entered and won, I would definitely buy their Raskog utility cart and a whole bunch of their lingonberry juice. Have you tried the juice? You must on your next visit!

IKEA Draper gift card giveaway

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Free Summer Reading Chart Printable

When summer break starts kids want to spend their summer doing all the things that they didn't have time for during the school year - swimming, playing with friends, riding bikes, family vacations, and relaxing. Continuing to read during the summer is important for kids though and sometimes you need to find an inventive way to keep reading time on your summer schedule.

free summer reading chart print out at home

Summer reading charts are fun ways to encourage children to read during their break from school. You can think up some things together that your child can work toward earning as a reward for filling out their reading chart.

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Relax with an adult coloring book

It's nice to take a little time for yourself and do something relaxing. Everyone enjoys relaxing in a different way. You need to find something that you enjoy, that is worry free, and that you can do in your available moments.

To relax, I like to be creative. I love working with colored pencils, but unfortunately I am not very talented at drawing. Thankfully over the past few years coloring books for adults have become popular and plentiful. Getting out my colored pencils and choosing which coloring book I want to work with is how I start to relax.

Read below why I love adult coloring books, then visit the giveaway at the end of my post to enter the Ultimate Adult Coloring Book Giveaway. It's a good one!

Coloring books for adults to relax with
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Must Have Summer Items For Your Home

Summer is a time to look forward to entertaining friends and family as well as relaxing during the warm days. Having a space that is welcoming and comfortable makes the time spent at home a joy. Whether you are hosting a casual dinner, a play area for the neighborhood kids, enjoying a leisurely afternoon on your own or have plans for a fun evening with the family, there are a few summer items that you will want to have for your home.

Summer Wish List Gardening entertaining grilling decor games kids food fun amazon giveaway


You may find quite a few items on the list that you want to buy for your own home. I have joined with a few blogging friends to bring you a Splash Into Summer Amazon Gift Card Giveaway. After you look at the summer items to buy for your home, enter the giveaway for a chance to win $100 towards a purchase on Amazon.  This giveaway has ended.
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How To Save When Buying Craft Supplies

When one of your hobbies is crafting, you may find that you have entered a competition that you didn't know about....she who dies with the most craft supplies wins. We've all seen the hilarious memes on Facebook that people create about shopping for craft supplies.

There is something about going to the craft store and picking up that 1 needed item, or in my case 1 needed item and 15 possibly needed supplies for a future craft project. It does tend to get expensive though and I am always looking for ways to save when buying craft supplies.

save on craft supplies groupon coupons deals discount shopping

This is a sponsored post on behalf of Groupon Coupons. All opinions are my own. #GrouponCoupons


How to Save When Buying Craft Supplies

I think we all look for ways to save money when shopping. I love hunting out a good deal or two. Who wants to pay full price for something when you can get it at a discount?

Thrift Stores

I'm a pretty thrifty shopper. I visit local thrift stores to see what crafting treasures I will find. I generally go to local thrift stores once a week. Pretty much all of my decor tutorials include and item that I found at the thrift store and I decided to give it a little makeover.

home decor piece made with craft supplies found at thrift store


As I think back to all the many crafting items I have bought at thrift stores, I think the best one was my scrapbook paper steal! 18 pounds of colorful pieces of scrapbook paper for $4.99! I use those papers to make cards, decorate picture frames, create decor pieces, and I have even started making scrapbook pages with them.

Clearance Section

When I head to my favorite craft stores, I check out their clearance section. You never know what gems of a deal you are going to find. Stores always have to make room for new products, so when things have been sitting on the shelf for a few months they rotate them back to the clearance section. Sometimes they are in the back of the store, tucked into the end of an aisle, on an end cap, or even mixed in with the regular priced items.

holiday decor pieces made from clearance section buys at craft stores

I think my favorite clearance section find was at Hobby Lobby where I found a cute wire dress form marked down to $1.99 (retail was $19.99). You can see that I filled it with glittery eggs for my Easter mantle decor. 


Store Coupons


The easiest way to save when you are shopping at a craft store though? Coupons!

Sign up for the emails, text alerts, and fliers for your favorite craft stores.

I get one flier a month from Jo-Ann's, one or two emails a week and the same for text messages. The best part? If you get an email, text, and print coupon for 40% an item, you can use all three of the coupons you have. The email and text coupons you can use multiple times too!

Hobby Lobby has a standard 40% off coupon each week that you get in your email. They don't have as many restrictions on what products you can use those on...so those high ticket items end up being a great deal!

I get emails from Michael's twice a week or so and they have the store sales as well as coupons you can use.

Groupon Coupons

I've found that when using Groupon Coupons you always find the deals that you are looking for and the codes are valid. The great part is that their codes are available for in store discounts as well as online shopping!

The Groupon website has % off coupons as well as information about sales too. I just scored a 60% off clearance deal at JoAnn.com because of checking out the Groupon site and seeing that there was a clearance sale going on.

save on craft supplies groupon coupons deals discount shopping

Groupon Coupons makes it easy to find coupons through their website. When you visit their site, you can search by store, by category, and even find local deals.

Their coupons aren't limited to craft supplies either. I have used them to buy kids clothes at Kohl's, and when ordering our yearly calendar through Shutterfly.

So when looking for a coupon for your next purchase, visit Groupon Coupons.

I hope that some of these tips will help you when you go shopping next time for your favorite craft supplies. I would love to hear any additional tips you have! You can tell me about them in the comments below.
0

Creamy Chicken Noodle Casserole

Some nights, a casserole is perfect for dinner. I love to make this rich and creamy chicken noodle casserole with a few veggies. It's a warm meal, filling, and delicious! I have to admit that the cheesy and creamy sauce is my favorite.

chicken noodle casserole rich creamy delicious family favorite cheesy

A few years ago, I found a tasty recipe over on Our Best Bites. I made the casserole following their directions the first time, but after making it again and again I have changed the recipe a bit. This is my personal take on their recipe (which was their take on another recipe). That's the nice thing about recipes - you try it out, change it a bit to fit your taste, then make it your own.

Today I'm sharing my recipe with you. It is a great pasta dish for when you want something different than red sauce with your noodles. I am joining 30+ other bloggers to bring you our favorite pasta dishes. Find links to their dishes at the end of this recipe.
24

10 Quick and Easy Teacher Appreciation Gifts

Can you believe that the school year has gone by so quickly? Summer is right around the corner. Before school gets out though, it's a nice idea to let your kids teachers know how much you appreciate the work, time, and effort they have put in for the year.

If you need a quick and easy idea for a teacher appreciation gift, you are in the right place. I have listed 10 ideas that are cute, quick, and easy for you to put together.

quick easy teacher appreciation gifts school supplies treats

With all the end of year activities going on, you probably don't have a lot of time to put into a gift for your child's teacher. These 10 gift ideas are perfect for you. Most involve printing a tag and buying a few items. You will be done in just a few short minutes!
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Easy Gift for a Teacher

Want to let a teacher know that you are thankful for them? I've got an easy gift for a teacher that you can put together in about 5 minutes. Don't forget to download the free printable I have for you!

easy gift for teacher appreciation quick kids craft free printable

Teachers work so hard during the school year teaching our children and they even use their own money to buy supplies for their classroom. It's nice to give the teachers a gift during the year, or teacher appreciation week, to let them know how much their hard work means to you.

We usually buy a gift card for a restaurant and put it in a card from us. This year, my girls wanted to make something that was just from them. When we saw grape soda at the store, I knew it would be perfect for the gift.
4

Easy Dinner Idea ~ Potato Soup Bar

I don't know about you, but I love dinners that are easy, delicious, and make even the pickiest eaters happy. Fixing a potato soup bar hits all three of those points. Everyone can customize their soup to how they want it, which makes for a  happy mealtime.

easy dinner potato soup bar

Who doesn't love a warm bowl of delicious potato soup? It's pretty great made with potatoes, broth, and some seasonings. When you add a few good tasting extras, it makes your soup even better.
16

How to Make a Greenery Wreath

Spring is here and it's time to decorate for the season. Using greenery for a wreath looks fresh and perfect for the spring season. This simple wreath can be assembled in about 15 minutes.

Make your own greenery wreath in 15 minutes

When making a greenery wreath, you have quite a few options for the greenery. You can choose plastic, dried, or fresh greenery. There is quite a selection of plastic and dried when you visit craft stores or look online. Fresh greenery can be bought at a local florist. For this wreath, we used dried eucalyptus leaves.
10

5 Yellowstone Must See Stops on the Southern Loop

Visiting Yellowstone National Park is a wonderful experience. There is natural beauty to see, plenty of wildlife,  and a nice leisurely drive. I would advise at least 2 days to explore the national park. One day for the northern loop and one day for the southern loop. Today I am going to share 5 must see stops on the southern loop at Yellowstone National Park.

5 Yellowstone must see spots lower loop

Your entrance to the park will determine which places you visit first. When you enter the park they give you a map that shows the whole park. Those are great to use to take notes on where you want to visit and make note of what wildlife you saw at different points.

2

Spring Decor - Colorful Painted Pots with Nests

I'm so glad it's springtime! The flowers are blooming, the sun starts to shine, and you can hear birds tweeting in the trees. Add a little springtime in your home with this simple DIY decor project. Painted pots with a few other items make a cute piece to add to your spring mantle or display.

colorful painted terra cotta pots with nests in spring decorations

Last week I shared my tutorial for painted terra cotta pots. At the time I wasn't sure what I was going to do with them, but I knew that I wanted to use them in my Spring display. While shopping at Hobby Lobby I saw a package of cute bird nests with eggs and knew that they would work perfectly with my pots.

This was so easy to put together. You can make these in about 5 minutes. The perfect project to add a little color to your home quickly!
2

Creatively Crafty Link Party

Happy Thursday all you creative people! Welcome again to the Creatively Crafty Link Party! This party is for any creative post that you have to share - in your craft room, in the kitchen, with your kiddos, or behind your camera. We love to see all creative posts.

This past week on my blog I shared how to add some fun Spring color to terra cotta pots and I also joined up with a group of bloggers for an $80 PayPal Cash Giveaway. If you could use some fun money, head over to enter by the 27th!

    


Welcome to the weekly link party!

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Painted Terra Cotta Pots

Adding a few colorful pieces to my spring decorations was so easy with these painted terra cotta pots. This was a quick DIY project and I love the finished result. In 15 minutes you can have multiple painted terra cotta pots. Read below to see how you can make these for your own home.

paint terra cotta pots for home decor

A few weeks ago I was wandering around Hobby Lobby (which truth be told, happens every 2 weeks or so because I can't stay away!) and I saw a package of small terra cotta pots (2.625 inch). There were six in the package and I thought they would be perfect for adding to my spring display, using to plant some small flowers to give to friends, or plant some succulents. I didn't want to leave them the terra cotta color though, so I decided to paint them. I had never painted pots before, so it was going to be a crafting adventure for me.

If you want to add some color to your pots go ahead and grab some paint and a brush, read my tutorial, and get crafting!
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March PayPal Cash Giveaway

I'm so glad it's finally springtime and the weather is getting a bit warmer. What better way to celebrate Spring that with some fun money? Enter this PayPal Cash Giveaway for the chance to win $80 that you can spend however you want!

$80 PayPal Cash Giveaway!!! | My Crafty Spot

March is the month where we dream about rainbows, leprechauns and spend a lot of time talking about luck. We hope you are feeling lucky this month because the contributors of My Cooking Spot and My Crafty Spot have teamed up to give one reader $80 in PayPal Cash!
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Creatively Crafty Link Party #6

Hello there all you creative people! Welcome back again to the Creatively Crafty Link Party! This party is for any creative post that you have to share - in your craft room, in the kitchen, with your kiddos, or behind your camera. We love to see all creative posts.

This past week on my blog I started a giveaway to celebrate National Craft Month and I shared a tutorial to make Easter decor.

      


Welcome to the weekly link party!

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