Super Easy Quotation Frames

Every new year I seem to become acutely aware of all of the projects that I’ve been meaning to finish but haven’t.  I find myself cleaning up that closet that I rarely open, that junk drawer that’s become a catch-all, that corner that insists on collecting clutter…you get the idea.  So, this year as I began my little tradition I quickly came across a set of frames hidden in a closet, full of dust and just begging for something crafty to happen to them!  I decided to combine 2 of my favorite things: paper crafting and quotations!  The project was SUPER simple to make; I didn’t even use stickers! (I KNOW! Craziness! BUT, I wanted the quotes to stand alone without the distraction of too many embellishments.) I just used some scrapbooking paper that I already had…if you don’t have paper on hand, I HIGHLY recommend you run over to Beverly’s in Santa Maria and get some! J  



The 3 frames: just hanging out, collecting dust.

Anytime I need a cool quote, I go to The Quote Garden!(http://www.quotegarden.com/)  I can always count on finding the perfect quotation from a selection of people WAY wiser than I am!  AND you can search for the perfect inspirational quote by topic! 



I picked a quote that I liked, highlighted it and copied.

I then opened up a new word document and pasted the quote.

Picking a font is always fun!

I ended up choosing 3 quotes that I really liked.  I picked out fonts that I thought suited the words best and then printed them onto cardstock.  I then chose different papers to layer them with.

The finished product: 3 quotes that will remind me and my family of what is most important throughout 2012.

This project was super easy, inexpensive and (of course) fun to do.  I think I’m going to paint the frames though. (They’re too dark, for my taste--maybe that’s why they were in the closet in the first place!)  If you don’t have frames hidden in a closet you could always get them at Beverly’s in Santa Maria!

Now Go! Be Crafty!

Beverly's Santa Maria's Crafty People

One of the coolest things about working at Beverly's in Santa Maria is that you get to be crafty a good part of the time you're at work!  Right now, the crew has set their focus on beautifying the end caps!  End caps are the first thing you see when you walk down any given aisle of the store and at the moment you can find cool projects popping up on the end caps throughout the store!  We thought we might just have to feature some of the very inspirational craftiness in our blog.  So, here it is:





Glass bowls,

scrapbooking sparkles,

candles,

beads,

ribbons...cute

& Spring-y!

Not to mention,

Inspiring! 

All of the goodies you need to make this basket

with the little bird and the ivy are all on the end cap!

 Easter Aprons= Super Cute! 

 It might be too early for some of you to start thinking Springtime BUT Valentine's Day is just around the corner!  Now would be the perfect time to start planning out those Valentine crafts!

   



I think that the stenciled box is my favorite end cap so far (but I kinda have a thing for boxes)!  They used sparkles (who doesn't LOVE sparkles) and butterfly stencils.  The rest of the end cap has many more stencils to choose from and boxes in different sizes!



So,  there you have some craft inspiration from the folks at Beverly's in Santa Maria.  These crafts are all easy enough for pre-teens to do on their own and since winter break doesn't end until mid-January it might be a good time to stock up on some cool craft projects! 

NOW GO! BE CRAFTY! 

Janelle's Apple Cider

We had a great time at the Open House a few weeks ago!  Not only did we have some pretty awesome deals going on but we also had yummy goodies for our customers to enjoy.  (They needed something to keep their energy up while they shopped!) Because it was a special occasion and because we were getting all geared up for Christmastime Janelle made her most delicious apple cider. Just about every person (and I am NOT exaggerating!) that came up to the cash register to pay asked where the cider came from.  It was a HUGE HIT!

I don't know how you all feel about apple cider but I could really take it or leave it...until I tried some of Janelle's Apple Cider.  YUM!  I've been craving a cup ever since but haven't gotten around to making some. I've actually been thinking that I might have to impress the in-laws with some scrumptious apple cider for Christmas!  So, just in case you have someone that YOU want to impress on Christmas we decided to include Janelle's recipe in our blog.  We hope that you enjoy it as much as we all did!

Janelle’s Apple Cider

Ingredients:

1 Gallon Apple Juice

2 tbsps. whole cloves

5-6 cinnamon sticks

A few dashes of nutmeg

5-6 unpeeled orange slices

1 cup brown sugar

Stir all ingredients in a large pot and bring to a simmer.  Janelle says, “The longer it simmers, the yummier it gets!” 

Serve with a cinnamon stick.  Please use caution when serving, the cider will be HOT. Be sure to allow it to cool a bit before serving to children.

Thank you for checking out our
Apple Cider blog post! 

We hope that you have the happiest of holidays filled with love, peace and craftiness!

Now Go!  Be Crafty!

Super Easy No-Sew Stocking

Nancy (our Beverly's Santa Maria resident elf and way talented sweet lady) made this stocking and has it on display in our store.  It was so cute and sounded so incredibly easy to make that I had to include it in our blog!

You will need:

*2 pieces of felt ot other fabric, each piece big enough to make a stocking the size you want

*Duck tape (aisle 8)

*Felt scraps, fabric markers, glitter glue, puff

  paint, etc.

*scissors

1.    Cut out 2 pieces of felt in the shape of a stocking.

2.   Take one of the felt stockings and use Duck tape to cover the top cuff and the toe.

3.    Lay the 2 felt pieces on top of each other and bind the edges with duct tape, leaving the top of the stocking open.

4.    Fold over a strip of tape and tape to back top to form a hanger.

We wrote Lincoln’s name on ours but you can decorate it with other felt pieces or with iron-on letters.  Or you could iron-on a picture!  Make it your own!

Now Go! Be Crafty!

Ornaments

We all know that we have some awesome talent working at our Santa Maria Beverly’s (if we do say so ourselvesJ)!  Some of that talent is featured in the beautiful trees that have been expertly put together and displayed around the store!  We have, as we mentioned before, Linda and Bev to thank for the magnificent eye candy that they have created out of a few trees, some ornaments, a bit of ribbon and a whole lot of creativity!  What gets their creativity flowing? It all starts with inspiring ornaments.  Beverly’s carries a variety of ornaments in a variety of themes.  Since it is Christmas time and it is highly likely that you might be invited to a get-together or two, we have another suggestion for what to do with the ornaments.  It’s a simple one:  Pick up a few unique ornaments to have as hostess gifts.  Ornaments are a great gift to give right before Christmas since they can be enjoyed right away.  They are also the perfect gift for someone that you want to do something nice for but can’t afford to spend a lot of money on.  Here we are featuring just a few of our cute, beautiful and fun ornaments.  There are many more to see, so make sure to take some time to explore the store. 

Cute and fun for the dog lover...

For the angel(s) in your life... a teacher, a crossing-guard, a doctor, a nurse, your favorite cashier at the grocery store, the mailman/mail-lady, the babysitter...

    

For the Christmas party hostess (who happens to be an awesome cook)... 

               

The wine lover and party animal...

For the diva, the girly-girl, the hairdresser...



For the Naughty and the Nice...

    

For the one that holds the key to your heart...

For the "pickle" or the "roadster"...

       



 The actor/actress or maybe the person that does your facials...



For the sweetie...

              

And these are just A FEW of the ornaments that we have!  We have many, many more in the store! So, come on in and check'em out!  Thanks for taking a peek at our latest blog post and make sure to keep a look out for more blog posts about Christmas crafts and ideas.

Now Go! Be Crafty!











A Quick No-Sew Thanksgiving Tablecloth

This tablecloth took me about 2 hours to make and honestly, I’m not that great with fabric. For those of you that are, it’ll probably take you about an hour, if that!  The one we made is, of course, for Thanksgiving but change up the colors and add some holly leaves and berries and you’re all set for Christmas.  Burlap is super easy to work with and awesome this time of year!  I personally love the rustic look and feel of anything burlap.  There is something very comfortable and homey about its texture and color.  If you don’t get a chance to make this particular tablecloth, I hope that at the very least it serves as inspiration for other holiday projects!

  

MATERIALS:

2 ½ Yards of Burlap (in Fabric)

1 bottle of FabriTac (aisle 8)

Artificial Glittered leaves (Seasonal)

3 different patterned/colored fabric pieces or fat quarters (aisle 22)

4 pieces of brown felt (aisle 22)

Fabric Pencil

Trace the letters G, I, V, E, T, H, A, N, K, & S with the fabric pencil on the brown felt.  Cut out the letters and place on the fabric pieces.  I alternated the letters between orange, green and yellow patterned fabric.  We glued the felt letters with FabriTac onto the fabric then cut them into squares but you could cut out the squares then glue down the letters...totally up to you.

 Once the letters are cut and glued onto their squares of fabric we arranged them onto the burlap, centering them where we wanted them to go.  Using the FabriTac, we glued the squares onto the burlap.  We then took the glittered fall leaves and glued them randomly on the burlap until it looked the way we wanted it.  Done!   We actually think that this tablecloth would work best on a buffet but you, of course, can do what ever you want with yours!

Thank you for checking out our latest blog post.  We hope that you are as inspired by us as we are by all of you!

Now Go!  Be Crafty!

Quick Gifts & Stocking Stuffers for Kids Under $10

Quick Gifts and stocking stuffers are probably my most favorite things to shop for!  It’s fun to find that perfect little something to stick in that someone special’s  stocking or that cute little something for someone that you don’t want to forget.  So this blog post is devoted to just  A FEW of the Christmas goodies that we have at Beverly’s in Santa Maria.  The coolest part about this particular group of items:  They’re all under $10!  Cool, right?

Kids Stockings....

Painting by number and color penciling by number is fun and entertaining, not to mention a perfect stocking stuffer! 

 These are super cute for that crafty tween or teen!

Have you ever tried these?  Perler beads are fun to do with your child and easy enough for them to do on their own.  They are not for small children who still put things in their mouths. 

Don't underestimate the power of the Beibs! Justin Beiber stickers..you can't go wrong!

This silly putty glows in the dark...how cool is that?

The little animal erasers are all the rage with the elementary school kids and they're on clearance!  Woo Hoo!

But the coolest of the cool (no pun intended) goes to Magic Snow!! Ok, seriously, how fun would that be for any California kid to do on Christmas morning?

  

Teachers and Co-workers....

The scarves are pretty and colorful!  Perfect for that person that you know that loves to accessorize!

Ok, so when I first saw these I thought, “Really? A donut that turns into a washcloth? Why?” BUT, they’re super cute AND actually would be an awesome addition to a spa goodies gift bag. Now...I get it.J

                                   

Teachers like getting little ornaments that tell them how wonderful and appreciated they are especially if they come a small plate of yummy cookies or some delicious homemade peppermint bark!

These little crown ornaments are sooo cute and sparkly...perfect for the head-nurse or queen bee at the office!  They inspire smiles!

               

These wall plaques are perfect for the animal lover in your life…we all have at least one.

           

Sometimes giving away smelly stuff seems a little impersonal so I try to avoid it but then I saw these!  The bottles are really pretty and fancy looking: decorative and functional.

There you go! Just a few of the goodies that we have at Beverly's in Santa Maria just in time for Christmas!  AND we haven't even gotten into Gifts you can craft...but we will!

Now Go! Be Crafty!