CRAFTING CRUISE!!

 You've been asking about another Crafting Cruise....

so Cruise & Crop has delivered!!

Gail and Cheri are hosting a very unique crafting cruise.  Not only will you get to go on a cruise and craft, you will walk away with 20 home-made gifts!  Now these will not be your grandma's crafts.  Oh no!  We will be making hip, ultra cool, Pinterest inspired crafts to give to your friends and family members.  We are even going to give you the chance to send us suggestions of what you'd like to make (because, you know you've seen craft items on Pinterest that you haven't gotten around to creating yourself - so we are going to help you complete those projects onboard!)

Why Merry? Imagine yourself going crazy at home, fighting the crowds at the mall, hunting for the best gift for Aunt Mae. Now, image yourself on a cruise aboard the brand new Celebrity Reflection, relaxing and taking part in fun, productive gift-making classes. Which do you prefer? Making something is one way to say "I love you." Come and be Merry with us!

 Why Bright? We realize that going away during December can seem to be a bit much. But if you could get off the ship and have 20 gifts made for your friends and family - think of how Bright you will be! This cruise will give you an incentive to be "ready" for Christmas before you go - then, when you return, you'll be relaxed and ready to enjoy the Holiday Season. Our previous customers who took part in a December Cruise & Crop cruise said "I want to do a December cruise every year. It was the best thing I could do to prepare for the holidays."

IT'S ALL IN THE DETAILS

This unforgettable crafting cruise will depart on November 30, 2013 onboard the brand new Celebrity Reflection (another first for Cruise & Crop - we are sailing on Celebrity Cruise Line!).  The cruise will sail from Miami, Florida and visit the Eastern Caribbean - St. Thomas (so you can pick up some jewelry and fancy table cloths for your own Christmas present), St. Maarten (oh yes - more jewelry) and San Juan (to see the fort - because it's cool).  Let's not forget about the 3 days at sea where we are going to hold 6 crafting sessions for you to complete your projects.

We will not be making all holiday themed gifts but might do one (we'll see).

I found these projects on Pinterest to represent the types of crafts we might be making.  I do not take credit for these designs and I have listed the blogs where they first came from.

So have to decided to join us yet?  If not, give us a call and we'll do our best to reassure you that booking this cruise is the Brightest decision you'll make all year!

Visit our website for rates and additional cruise details.
http://www.cruiseandcrop.com/CruiseAndCrop11-30-13.htm

Click here to view the Celebrity Reflection.

See you in November!

Show me your Blinkie Contest

Tomorrow, February 22nd is the last day to Show Me Your Blinkie!  If you are booked on a Cruise & Crop cruise, be sure to upload your cruise blinkie to your personal blog or website.  Read on.....

Blinkie Contest - do you have yours?

Welcome to the "Show us your Blinkie" Contest!!  Did you know we have created special Blinkies for each of our Cruise & Crop cruises?  If you are booked on a future Cruise & Crop Cruise, we want you to Show us your Blinkie.

Step 1
Visit our Cruise & Crop website to download your cruises' blinkie and then add it to your website or blog.  Link that blinkie back to your cruise's specific webpage (from our Cruise & Crop website)

Here are direct links to each of our upcoming cruises (you'll find your blinkie file there).

• embellish IT! 2/24/13
• Polkadots 2/24/13
• Lickety Split Scrapbooks 3/9/13
• Classy Girl's Social Cruise & Crop 10/7/13
• Lickety Split Scrapbooks 10/13/13
• Scrapping Turtle 2/1/14

Step 2
E-mail us a link to view your website or blog.  In the e-mail subject line say "I'm showing you my blinkie"

Two lucky winners will be announced on February 22, 2013 and will be mailed a Bella Blvd/Glitz Girls Prize pack from Cruise & Crop.


You must have a personal website or blog to participate in this contest. 

Coming in March:  An "I've been on a Cruise & Crop Cruise" Blinkie.  Which will of course coincide with another contest!

Card Contest Winner

Thank you to everyone who entered our Valentine's card contest.  You made it hard to choose a winner.

Congratulations to Lisa M. who submitted this elegant card.

Lisa will win this LOVE Sign....Enjoy!

Card Contest + Free .SVG file for Superhero Cape Valentines

This idea has been floating around Pinterest - I originally found this idea linked to this blog.  I am not sure if they were the originators or not.  Now on Pinterest there are many other superhero valentines that are adorable (some with felt!).  

I have now made these for my son's Valentine's and I wanted to share with you the .svg file I created.

FREE .SVG file - SuperHero Valentines - Sized for Dum Dums Lollipops
Depending on the machine you are using, you may or may not want it to cut out the holes.
To Download, click on image or link.  The files are loaded on Google Drive.

With eye holes and holes punched in capes:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B6hOrsG5SglFVVlCcXpoTVc2a1E/view?usp=sharing&resourcekey=0-2GQJbVrFNuey_PpB2vkqRg

Without holes (you'll have to draw on the eyes and use a hole punch to attach the cape to the lollipop):

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B6hOrsG5SglFRi1wRDZNOGtrQm8/view?usp=sharing&resourcekey=0-QCL7VQL_wFrDDllzFTLdNw

Have fun with it!  Cut them out on colored or patterned paper.  There are so many fun things you could stamp on them.  {Stamps used:  Close to my Heart, Technique Tuesday}

CONTEST:

We are having a home-made Valentine Card contest.  Submit your photos of your home-made Valentines to info@cruiseandcrop.com by 2/12/13.  Winner will be announced 2/14/13.

One lucky winner will receive a miniature version "LOVE" sign - made by Cheri - similar to the one on our 2/6/13 blog post.  Colors and style may vary.

Valentine's Day Mantel Display

I am very excited to be sharing with you photos of my new Valentine's mantel display.  I have been in my new home for 10 months now and I am enjoying having a fireplace mantel for the first time in my married life (10 years - going on 11).  My goal is to create special displays for all the holidays.  Some of you may think I'm crazy but not crazy enough to try to do it all in 2013.  But eventually, I'd like to have displays to celebrate Easter, Father's day, birthdays, thanksgiving (Christmas is already taken care of with the nativity scene), etc.  Do you think my husband would create a Mother's Day Mantel?  I'm not going to hold my breath.  LOL.

Having one specific place to decorate is nice because I don't have to feel overwhelmed to decorate the entire house - just one focal point.

Since my husband is in the process of building a tree house (tree-fortress), we have lots of scraps of wood piled in the back yard construction zone.  I dug through the pile until I found 3 perfect pieces to sand and paint "L, V, & E."  I enlisted the help of my artistic 4-year old boy who loves to paint.  I set-up a table in the garage for him, covered it well, and gave him one paint color at a time.  He did surprisingly well for his age.  I only had to smooth out a few lines.

To paint the letters, I sized/transformed letters in Adobe Illustrator and printed them out.  I then laid the print-out on top of the wood and pressed down with the tip of a pencil along the outline of the letter.  This left just enough of an impression in the wood to give me the outline of the letter to paint.  I applied two layers of white paint for each letter.

For the banner I cut out these hearts on my eCraft die cutting machine and glued them to some circle doilies   My son, always wanting to help (and spend quality time with me), helped to glue the tiny hearts onto the larger red ones.  It was his idea (with is pre-school math skills) to make a pattern with the hearts:  4 on the first one, 3 on the next one, 4, 3, 4, 3, 4....  Later when I added the words a few of the hearts were covered up.  So far he hasn't noticed.  :)

For this white shadow box, I taped some bakers twine on the back which allowed me to float this photo {Photo Credit:  Amanda Star Photography}  I love the effect it created - and it's so simple to do!

I found these mail boxes in Target's Dollar Spot (score!!).  I was hoping for bigger ones that hinged (which Target and JoAnn's carry) but I couldn't pass up this $1 deal!  The white one was perfect for my son and I had to get the pink one for my girly-girl daughter.

These felt roses were cut out with dies from My Favorite Things Stamps.

The kids know, when the flags are Up, they've got mail!  I think I better get to the store very soon and pick up some Valentine's treats for their mailboxes!

The full picture....

I'm thinking of embellishing the LOVE sign a bit more.  Any suggestions?  Do you think the letters need to be outlined?  Bling?

What is your favorite holiday to decorate for?