The Vintage Workshop

I love vintage images. Especially those old Valentines or Retro Christmas images. Things like that. The Vintage Workshop is so fun. You can pay $6.99 to download various collections of vintage images you can edit and size however you want. Or pay $4.99 for pre-sized images you can print and use. Once you pay, the images are saved to your hard drive so you can use them over and over again. And the selection is huge! The downloadable collections vary in theme from vintage children, various holidays, Victorian, and more. You can also download their "Home Arts" collections which include images for note cards, recipe cards, calendars, to-do lists, etc. Use the images for greeting cards, holiday goodies, children's rooms, sewing projects, or anything else.

Bunny Hop

I am finally getting back to my blog. It seems like ages since I've been able to post. The PC to Mac transition was a lot bumpier than I expected. I feel like I've missed out on sharing so many crafty things going on! There is no way to catch up on everything so I will have to look toward the future. Being that Easter is a only three weeks away, I have compiled several Easter inspired crafts from good ol' Martha to share with you.

1. I love these adorable Easter Egg cards. I always love new uses for fabric and paper scraps.
2. Who wouldn't look adorable in a pair of these DIY bunny ears?
3. These bunny envelopes are super sweet and would make great goodies bags for friends.
4. Give your home an Easter makeover with a springy bunny garland or use the bunny template to create Easter cards, cupcake toppers, or whatever you can think up.

Party Animals

I am finally posting photos of the cupcakes I made last Friday for a friend's baby shower. Since the mother-to-be is expecting her second boy I decided to go with the "boy" theme and opted to use animal cookies (my favorite) as cupcake toppers. So I dyed the frosting green to make faux grass and stuck the grazing animals on top. Honestly, I really liked the idea I came up with but I realized that the theme may be more suited for a birthday party.

Technical Difficulty

We made the transition from PC to Mac about two weeks ago and have had a few bugs to work out thus far. This is the explanation for my recent lack of blog posts. I am hopeful however that we have gotten the kinks smoothed out so that I can continue to update craftpad and fulfill my blogging addiction.

Spring is in the Air

I know it is only February but the weather has been very pleasant the past week and I have been getting anxious for Spring. I don't believe that old groundhog anyway. I think its coming. And due to the fact that Easter is fast approaching (it us in the middle of March this year!) I am already getting inspired by Easter-themed goodies. While doing a little cake research, I found a couple of "spring" cakes I love and would really like to try out. Isn't this lollipop garden cake from Martha Stewart super? And along the same lines, these lollipop cupcakes are just perfect for spring.

DIY Fabric Storage Baskets

I love these fabric storage baskets. Pick your favorite fabric and make your own storage baskets for all your odds and ends. These would be great for toy storage, magazines or fabric/sewing supplies. Endless ideas. J. Caroline Creative has a tutorial you can follow.

Project Runway Rundown

Did you catch Project Runway last night? I have to say that I am really glad Sweet Pea finally got cut. No offense to her personally, but I do not think she was up to par with the other designers. Christian and Jillian were total shoe-ins for the top two spots and I was voting for Rami to make it to Fashion Week with them. I absolutely LOVE Chris and think he is hilarious but I just don't think he can do high fashion. Yikes. I think giving Rami and Chris another chance to compete for the third spot is totally fair but I feel bad that they have so much more work to do and one of them won't make it. I am anxious to see their collections. As far as the final winner is concerned, I am definitely rooting for Christian who is funky and fresh and "fierce" (allbeit a little prideful). If you want a bit of a spoiler you can look online to see who ends up showing their collections and what they look like. But you'll still have to wait until the finale to see who wins.

Happy Valentine's Day!

I made a last minute decision to host my normal play group at my house this week and make it into a play group Valentine's Day Party. Jane had colored beautiful crayon pictures earlier in the week which I cut into hearts and taped together to make a garland. The kids made their own Valentines to take home by glueing various colors of paper hearts onto a larger pink heart. (I used whatever scraps of Valentine colored paper I had in my craft box). Then we dug into some Valentine themed goodies: heart shaped PB&J sandwhiches and prink frosted cupcakes. Jane and I borrowed our favorite idea from Martha S. and made up some heart-flower dum-dums to send home with our guests. Happy Valentine's Day everyone!

Learn to Sew

I came across the most adorable "learn to sew" lace-up cards for kids recently. They are made by MODA and retail for about $10. I spotted them at Pacific Fabrics and Crafts and have been thinking they would make a great Valentine gift for my little sweetie. I love MODA products and never realized they made fun kits for kids. They also make a super sweet "learn to sew" kit which comes in a retro case and includes an apron and bag plus six pockets you can sew onto them. How fun!

Pretty Little Patchwork

Yet another new book coming out this spring. Pretty Little Patchwork will be released May 6th. The book includes patterns from Tutti Fruiti (a blog I enjoy). I don't know any of the details about whats inside but I am anxious to get a sneak peak!

Valentine's Day Countdown (21-25)

21. Srenciled Valentine Cookies from One More Moore
















22.Free Valentine's Day Cards to Download from Yoonie-at-Home



















23.Felt Fortune Cookies from Martha Stewart















24.Melted Crayon Hearts from Martha Stewart





















25.Chocolate Dipped Strawberries How-to from Pastry Whiz

Valentine's Day Countdown (16-20)

16.Candy Filled Paper Heart Hangers from Martha Stewart





















17. Hand Sewn Heart Valentine Card from Better Homes and Gardens













18. Candy Cane Heart Cupcakes from Real Simple













19.Sentimental Valentine's Day Wheel template from Martha Stewart















20.DIY Paper Flower Bouquet kit from Paper Source

Valentine's Day Countdown (11-15)

11.Heart Garland How-to from Better Homes and Gardens
















12.Cupcake Liner Valentine How-to from Martha Stewart Kids





















13. Petite Pennants of Love to purchse from the Paper Princess (I love these!)













14.Stitched Heart Valentine How-to from Better Homes and Gardens
















15.Valentine Girl and other Valentines to purchase from the Paper Princess

Valentine's Day Countdown (6-10)

6. Romantic Banner Card How-to (Download the banner templates complete with lovey-dovey phrases from Martha Stewart)















7. Paper Wreath How-to from Better Homes and Gardens
















8.Simple X's and O's Cupcakes from Martha Stewart Kids















9. Kids Valentine Kit from Paper Source








10. Kodak Gallery Valentine Cards (several cute designs to choose from with the option to insert your favorite snapshot)

Valentine's Day Countdown (1-5)

Valentine's day is the perfect time to create homemade cards and goodies to give to those you love. I am a huge fan of doilies and Conversation Hearts so obviously I enjoy this special day. In honor of this occasion, I have compiled a thorough list of Valentine products, cards and items to recommend as well as homemade card how-to's, heart-themed goodies to concoct and other do-it-yourself Valentine ideas to make that special someone swoon. Check back for five new ideas each day this week.

1.Vintage Valentine stickers from Warm Biscuit





















2.Set of 20 Mini Valentines in lunch pail from the Paper Princess













3.Hello Lucky Letterpress retro themed Valentines

















4.Lollipop Valentine Flower how-to from Martha Stewart





















5.Stitched fabric Valentines how-to from The Purl Bee