More Craftiness from Beverly's Santa Maria

Sometimes I crave a new craft to learn.  I become accustomed to working with paper (which tends to be my go-to craft medium) and forget that there is so much more out there!  Today I was wandering around the store and I realized that the ladies have been busy making more cool stuff for the end caps.  I love looking at what they’ve made because every time I do I become inspired to step out of my crafty comfort zone.  Now, comes the hard part picking which craft to do first because I know I’ll end up doing them all sooner or later.  Craving fed!

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I love tutus! They're so cute and not just for ballet, dress-up or tea parties anymore!

Crocheted or knitted anything is really cool.  I watch the ladies of the knitting and crochet group and I’m in awe.

Embroidery requires a little more patience than latch hooking but both look great when they’re done!

Paper craft items are not limited to cards and scrapbook pages.  Here a page was made centered around a pretty quotation and the same items were used to create a paper mache box.  On the right, a variety of items were used to create a Halloween frame. 

 Little craft items equal big impact! Little beads and chain=pretty jewelry! Little glass pieces= beautiful frame!

 Children are very good at making things for the grown-ups that they love most. What if you surprised your favorite kid with something you made for them? Or you could pick a craft to complete with your favorite kid!

Mardi Gras masks are fun to make AND masks, feather boas and throw beads are all on sale this month!

There you have it…just a few of the things that we’ve been up to at Beverly’s in Santa Maria.  If you have a project that you’ve been working on feel free to email it to us and we’ll feature your craftiness on our Facebook page or maybe on our blog!

Now Go! Be Crafty!

Lincoln Plays with Yarn

Lincoln has been saying that his goal this year is to learn to make something out of yarn. He has since expanded on that goal and now plans to choose a different medium to work with every month!  Since he got a late start on the sock, and since it’s proving to take longer than originally expected to knit a sock, he might hold off on the next project or he might just have to overlap this project with the next one.  Either way it’s been rather entertaining to watch him knit away in his spare time. 

He started working on his sock on January 18^th and so far has enough sock made to cover some toes or part of an ankle!  Woo Hoo!

Lincoln works hard on his sock loom.  Sock looms can be found at Beverly’s in Santa Maria on Aisle 29!

Lincoln takes a moment to show us his sock! 

Thanks for checking in with us to see how Lincoln’s sock is going.  I have complete faith in him and know that this sock will easily be done by June or maybe July but no later than August or September…All kidding aside though, the sock is looking really nice and Lincoln is determined to get it finished soon!

Now Go! Be Crafty! 

Sweet Valentine Goodies

There are only a couple more weeks until Valentine’s day!  Don’t worry you still have time to get all the goodies you need to show the people you love most how much you care about them!  We have a table in the front of the store just covered in candy and fun home décor and the ladies have been busy creating samples of super cute gift ideas and decorations for the end caps.  AND if you can’t find or aren’t sure of what you’re looking for exactly our crew is always ready to assist!  They’ll help you find what you need or help you come up with the perfect project to make for that someone special.  Just one more reason to LOVE Beverly’s Santa Maria!

Things to make…

 One of the end caps in the kids crafts section of the store is devoted to Valentine’s Day felt pieces that can used to make or decorate just about anything.  On the right, a sweet Valentine (you could also glue a magnet to the back).  On the left a simple Valentine pencil is turned into a special Valentine pencil.

Valentine ribbon was used to wrap a foam wreath, a few embellishments and a beanie puppy and voila! You have a cute Valentine’s Day decoration or gift.  On the right, just a few of the Valentine fabrics available at the store.           

  

Pretty fabric was used to decorate a heart shaped paper mache box that is just aching to be filled with yummy candy for that special someone.  Fabric could also be used to create a valentine wreath.  Super simple---you don’t even have to know how to sew to play with fabric!

Maria made this really cool wall plaque using a canvas (it happens to be a great time to pick some of these up!  They’re on sale!) and a heart stencil.  I love it! 

Goodies and Bling…

Honestly, I am not quite sure what this little guy/girl is exactly but it’s super cute and made me smile so here it is!

       

Valentine BLING can be found at the front of the store.  You can also find the Valentine pencils that we used to make the cute felt topped pencils.

Paper Details…

Cute little paper and sticker embellishments help make that homemade Valentine card extra special!

Who doesn’t love sparklies and flowers?!

Thank you for checking out today’s blog post!  Check in with us next time…we’ll be catching up with Lincoln to see how his sock is coming along!

Now Go! Be Crafty!

Get Some Duct Tape!



Seriously, you are gonna wanna get some duct tape! We aren't talking about the silver duct tape that you have hanging out in the utility drawer.  We're talking about the colorful, fun-printed duct tape that you can get at Beverly's in Santa Maria on Aisle 8! AND it's on sale all month long for $3.88 a roll!  So, what does one do with duct tape?  Well, the possibilites are ENDLESS and a pre-teen insider told me that duct tape is WAY popular among the junior high crowd!  So, I'm telling you, if you want to earn coolness points with that special 'tween in your life, get yourself some cool duct tape, make a date with said 'tween and prepare for an evening of craftiness and bonding! 

Just a sampling of all of the cool printed duct tape we have on Aisle 8 at Beverly's in Santa Maria!  We also have a variety of solid colors!

So, apparently this is what the junior highers are doing with their duct tape.  It's the "in" thing to do with strips of duct tape.  I personally don't get it----but don't tell my 'tween that I said that!

 

I made the wallet and my 10 year old made the bow.  The entire thing is made of duct tape...except for the $5 bill).

 I found a bunch of different things that can be made out of duct tape.  I made a checkbook without a pattern, using another checkbook as a reference.  (This seriously impressed the 'tweens.  Coolness points scored!)  The only parts that aren't duct tape are the clear plastic used as a window for an ID and the magnets to help hold the checkbook together when it's folded.

                                   

                        

We only made a few different things but you could also make belts, book covers, bookmarks, headbands...the possibilities are endless.

The minute I handed her the duct tape my daughter got to work on ribbons for her hair.  She designed the bow by herself and then attached it to a bobbie pin.  Hair bows are another popular trend at the moment!

Once the girls got started making stuff out of duct tape they were unstoppable!

So, I'm telling you...get some duct tape and prepare for a few hours of creative bonding!  But you don't have to be young or have a youngster in your life to thoroughly enjoy playing with duct tape.  I'm not a 'tween and I have to say I'm addicted!

Now Go! Be Crafty!



Is that a salsa jar?!

Salsa jars are kind of cute.  I decided this while rinsing one out to put it in the recycle bin.  OK, so when they have a plastic label still on them: not so cute. BUT the cuteness potential  is there!  Here!  We'll prove it!

You will need...
                         *A Glass Jar
NOTE: DO NOT use a plastic container if you are
           planning on using it into a candle holder or  
           anything else that could cause the plastic to melt.
                         *Tissue Paper
                         *A foam brush
                         *Mod Podge
                         *Ribbon or string
                         *Beads

We used an empty (scrubbed clean &dried) GLASS salsa jar BUT if you want to start with a brand new jar we have them on aisle 13 at Beverly's in Santa Maria! We then removed the sticker which ended up leaving some sticky residue that actually ended up helping keep the paper stuck to the jar.

We cut a strip of tissue paper wide enough to cover the jar from top to bottom & long enough to go around the entire jar. We have tissue paper in the party supply department of the store.

We used Mod Podge (Aisle 8) and foam brushes (also, Aisle 8) to secure the tissue paper to the jar.

Once the entire jar was covered with thin, even layers of Mod Podge, we let it dry in the sun for a bit.  It dries pretty quickly when allowed to dry in fresh air and sunshine.

We added some ribbon/string (ribbon can be found on Aisle 16) around the top of the jar and made a bow.   We tied a couple of pony beads (in the kids section at Beverly's in Santa Maria) to the ends of the ribbon/string.

The completed jar! Cute, right? I think I'm going to use this one as a candle holder BUT I could also use it as a pencil holder or a place to keep small treasures.  The possibilities are endless!



Now Go! Be Crafty!

Welcome Signs Rock!

We have this rock that came with our house when we bought it.  We didn't get rid of it or anything. We just let in continue to hang out in our front yard.  Sometimes it attracts a snail or two but mainly it just sits there, soaking in the sun or rinsing in the rain.  The neat thing about this rock is that it's kind of big and flat.  Everytime I passed it I thought, "I really need to do something cool with that rock." And, finally I did!  Since it insisted on hanging out at our house I figured it might as well be useful! 

This project is super simple and everything you need (except the big, flat rock) can be found on Aisle 6 (paint & foam brushes) and Aisel 8 (Mod Podge) at Beverly's in Santa Maria!

Here is our rock hanging out, just begging for a make-over!

All of the necessities: paint, foam brushes & Mod Podge!

I painted the rock black, waited for the paint to dry then painted the letters and the flowers free-handed. If you aren't comfortable painting letters you could use stencils or stickers (we have lots of cool ones at Beverly's in Santa Maria)!  Once all of the paint was dry, I put on a few coats of Mod Podge.  Mod Podge goes on white but dries clear.  Just make sure that the coats are thin and without clumps.  If you put it on too thick it will dry white.

Thank you for checking out our latest blog post!

Now Go! Be Crafty!

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!