Best of 2013

Hey Polka Dotted Friends!!!  It's hard to believe the year is coming to a close.  The past 12 months have been jam-packed with a lot of fun for my family and I.  I wanted to share some of the year's highlights with you.

One of my favorite projects was my craft room makeover here.  We put a pretty coat of aqua on the walls, added some contemporary pieces to the room for organization and a few vintage-inspired finds.  I was able to purge a lot of craft supplies I no longer need, but there's still more to do in 2014!  I see more shelving in my future :)

My new blog series "Saturday Spaces" kicked off in the early part of the year, showcasing some incredibly inspiring spaces that I plan to borrow some ideas from, like this one from lilhoneybeestudios here.  Look for more studios in 2014.

June brought our annual trip to North Carolina to visit close friends AND I met my awesome facebook friend Paula from Scrap Your World for the 1st time!  We met up with DonnaK and her sweet mama, Sandra, for hours of crafting, laughing and some serious fun.

July brought the surprise 50th anniversary for my parents I planned with help from my brother and good friends of my folks.  My parents are a true testament that love CAN conquer all ♥  Read more about the handmade party goodness in this post here.

In August, 2 of my kids were baptized in front of dear family and friends...a life-changing event for us all.

On the one-year anniversary of Polka Dotted Bliss, my sweet and talented friends helped me celebrate with a fun twist on a Halloween Blog Hop.  See all the Cute & Spooky goodness here.

At the end of 2012, I decided to make more of an effort to reconnect with long-time friends in 2013, and I am so glad I did!  While in St. Louis and here in Virginia, I got to hang with some of my oldest and dearest friends...you know the kind where you can just let your hair down (or out, in my case) and be YOU?  I plan on doing more of this in 2014 and I've got a lot more in store,
so hope you'll visit often :)  What  was the best part of 2013 for you?

Wishing you and yours a wonderful, prosperous, light-filled New Year!

{{Hugs}}

Kimberly

Count Your Blessings Upcycled Shadow Box

Do you see potential in other people's junk?  I sure do.  

A friend asked me to link up a project for a Thanksgiving linky party and I thought of this 50 cent yard sale find to alter. 

 A little gold paint sponged on, just the right sentiment, coodinating embellies and bam!  Sweet little wall hanging to go above the kids' coat rack, reminding them they are blessed.

Do you make re purposed or upcycled crafts?

Materials used:

White shadow box frame

Antique gold paint

Sponge brush 

Dimensional Stickers ~ Recollections

Felt flowers ~ Recollection 

Buttons ~ Hobby Lobby

This project is linked up to Craftin Desert Desert Divas here. 

Thanks for stopping by!

{{Hugs}}

Kimberly

Posted via Blogaway

Let the Craft Fair Prep Begin!

I can't believe how quickly this year is coming to a close, which means the holiday fair season is starting!  I was looking at doing a few different shows but decided on just one this year...between school events, holiday parties and fair prep, my house is complete chaos (not to mention cluttered) for a couple of months.  So I am going to wait until all my littles are in school to start doing multiple shows again.  I have a few weeks left until the Garfield Orchestra Boosters Holiday Craft Show, here's a sneak peek at what I'm working on...

The fair is held at a local high school, so my altered journals seem to go over well with this audience!

I saw this paper line, "Fabulous Girl" by Recollections and knew it was just sassy enough for these altered composition notebooks.

This distressed wooden box made a great display piece for my journals last year, by making it easy for shoppers to easily browse my selection.   I try to be economical with my booth display and use found items from the house, so I was surprised to read on Etsy's blog you should actually build your "dream" booth! Oooo, the possibilities!  Find more helpful craft fair tips here.

I'll be posting more on what I'm creating for the show and what my booth will look like this year, so be sure and stop in over the coming weeks!

Do you/have you done fairs?  What's the most useful thing you've learned?

Thanks for stopping by!

{{Hugs}}

Kimberly

Make it Monday ~ Upcycled Googly Eye Treat Bags

Now that the birthday celebration is over, it's time to get back to regularly scheduled programming LOL!  Many of you thought these googly eye treat bags were cute so I thought I'd share a quick tute.  The thing I love most is that they were upcycled from these mini paper sacks I used for packaging under my old shop name...yes, I am a bit of a collector, but these are so cute can you blame me?

 Here's what you need to create the accordion fold rosettes:

12 x 12 scrapbook paper

paper trimmer

scoreboard and paper scorer (I like to use a stylus)

small bits of scrapbook paper

hot glue gun

paper sacks

scrap paper

googly eyes

bull clips

Cut two strips, 1 1/2 x 12 inches, per rosette. Score the strips every 3/4 inch.

Once your strips are scored, accordion fold each one to look like those in figure three.  Take the ends of each strip and hot glue them together to make one long folded strip.  Then hot glue the other two ends together making a large circle.  Next, form a tight circle, as in figure 4.

Put a dab of hot glue in the center of the rosette and press the small scrap of paper on top, hold in place until dry.  Now it's time to embellish your rosette!  I used a Halloween-themed cupcake liner rosette {see the tutorial here}, large googly eyes,

I adhered the rosettes to the bag and added To some scrap paper, adhesive lace ribbon and a bull clip to seal the bag :)  These would work for any holiday treat bag!

Thanks for stopping by!

{{Hugs}}

Kimberly

Cute (&) Spooky Birthday Blog Hop

****This is a Sticky Post****

Welcome to my Cute & Spooky Birthday Blog Hop & Giveaway. All this week, I am celebrating the 1-year anniversary of my Blog and Etsy Shop, Polka Dotted Bliss. I have a spookalicious line-up of talented girls sharing polka-dot Halloween creations each day! AND, I'm giving away the kind of candy that won't rot your teeth, ♥blog candy♥, each and every day. So make sure you stop in all this week, catch some inspiration and enter the giveaways!

Here's the schedule of featured bloggers...

Here is a preview of the spookalicious prizes...

***Scroll Down for today's Featured Blog and Giveaway***

Cute (&) Spooky Blog Hop Day 7 ~ Polka Dotted Bliss

What an amazing week it has been, full of thrills and chills from my guest designer friends. Didn't I tell you they are a talented bunch? Each of them has inspired me in different ways and I couldn't think of a better way to thank them than featuring them right here! So, you know I had to get in on the fun and come up with a Halloween polka-dot project myself! I showed you the $3 shadowbox I planned on altering on FB. After a coat of black paint and lots of embellies, here is my very own little Haunted House!

This Cute (&) Spooky shadow box came together pretty quickly...the October Afternoon papers are the perfect back drop to all the fun accents I added. You see a lot of my favorite materials... 

 Buttons... 

 The twine wrapped around the potion bottle...

.

Isn't the witch on her broom with her book of spells fangtastic?

My little one was sooo excited when she saw it this morning. I know this project will be a Halloween favorite around my house for years to come!

By the way, did you spot the polka dots?!?

If you're just joining the hop, below is the line up for the guest designers, stop by, leave some comment love and be inspired!

Day One: http://CreatedbyDonnaK.blogspot.com

Day Two: http://karenskraftymoments.blogspot.com

Day Three: http://kristaspapercafe.com

Day Four: http://lilhoneybeestudios.blogspot.com

Day Five: http://scrapyourworld1.blogspot.com

Day Six: http://mywhimsylife.blogspot.com

Day Seven: http://mypolkadottedbliss.blogspot.com (today's post)

*****

Thank you for browsing, commenting and partying with me this week, hope you have a Cute (&) Spooky Halloween!

*****

♥♥♥The beautiful "Gratitude" journal below will be given away once I reach 300 FB fans, so visit my page here to help me spread the word and enter to win!♥♥♥

Gratitude Journal Altered Composition Notebook.

{{Hugs}}
Kimberly

Cute (&) Spooky Blog Hop Day Six - Whimsy Pics

I hope that you are enjoying all the Halloween-inspired works of art my amazingly creative friends are sharing this week; all this handmade goodness has me in awe! And today's project by guest designer and friend, Melissa, from WhimsyPics is sure to thrill you.

♥♥♥♥♥

I'm sure you've figured out by now the theme is Halloween!  Most of you know that I haven't really created anything new in ...well, a REALLY, really long time.  I'm so grateful to Kimberly for inviting me to participate in the Blog Hop Anniversary Party and giving me the impetus I needed to get my rear in gear! Of course, since it's been so long, I decided to take baby steps.  I used the Webster's Pages Once Upon A Halloween collection to make these ACEOs.  I love how these tiny pieces can pack a punch. And you all know how I loathe to throw out even the tiniest scrap of anything.  ACEOs and gift tags are perfect for using up those tiny bits!  A spooky series of 3 ... enjoy!

1st - A Haunting We Go

2nd - The Story

3rd - Chills and Thrills

I hope you've enjoyed the projects I've shared! I'm excited to get back to what I love - hopefully sooner than later!T

Thank you Melissa for joining the party and sharing your thrilling trio of ATC's!

*****

Below is the line up for you so you are sure not to miss a single chance to be inspired and to win something amazing!

Be sure to stop by each blog...I promise you won't be disappointed!

Day One: http://CreatedbyDonnaK.blogspot.com

Day Two: http://karenskraftymoments.blogspot.com

Day Three: http://kristaspapercafe.com

Day Four: http://lilhoneybeestudios.blogspot.com

Day Five: http://scrapyourworld1.blogspot.com

Day Six: http://mywhimsylife.blogspot.com (today's post)

Day Seven: http://mypolkadottedbliss.blogspot.com

*****

♥♥♥Trick or Treat Time! Enter below for a chance to win today's goodies.♥♥♥

1 altered Halloween Decorative Door Hanger

**Giveaways Open to US residents only.**

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Cute (&) Spooky Blog Hop Day Five ~ Scrap Your World

I'm excited to share today's fun, hair-raising project created by guest designer 
and ghoulfriend, Paula, from Scrap Your World!!

There are so many talented ladies on this week's hop that I was nervous about making my project. Kimberly is such a sweet heart for inviting me to join in today. We met on FB about 3 years ago and became friends through our love for the craft, I finally got to meet her this year for the first time face to face. Let me say she is even prettier in person, and is a hoot to hang out with. I wish we lived closer together so we could hang out more!! Here is my project for the hop.

Below is the line up for you so you are sure not to miss a single chance to be inspired and to win something amazing!

Be sure to stop by each blog...I promise you won't be disappointed!

Day One: http://CreatedbyDonnaK.blogspot.com

Day Two: http://karenskraftymoments.blogspot.com

Day Three: http://kristaspapercafe.com

Day Four: http://lilhoneybeestudios.blogspot.com

Day Five: http://scrapyourworld1.blogspot.com (**today's post)

Day Six: http://mywhimsylife.blogspot.com

Day Seven: http://mypolkadottedbliss.blogspot.com

*****

Thank you Paula for joining the party and sharing your wickedly cute creation! It is so much fun, just like you!

*****

♥♥♥Trick or Treat Time! Enter below for a chance to win today's goodies.♥♥♥

6 Googly Eye Treat Bags.

**Giveaways Open to US residents only.**

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Cute (&) Spooky Blog Hop Day Four ~ Norma Gomez, Little Honey Bee Studios

Switching things up today with a little altered art! Today's guest designer is my wickedly talented friend, Norma Gomez from Lil HoneyBee Studios.

Hello, hello, today I'm honored to help my scrappy friend Kimberly celebrate the 1-year anniversary of her Etsy Shop, Polka Dotted Bliss. She has a spookalicious line-up of talented girls sharing polka-dot Halloween creations all week long on her blog! AND, she's giving away some blog candy each and every day this week.

So do you follow me on Facebook? Well if you do then you saw me posting a couple of interesting items like a smashed Altoids tin and some Tinker toys. All of these items were for this project. So are you ready to see what I did with them?!!! Tada!!.

 "Come a little closer, I have a story to tell", she beckons from her trailer.....

I had so much fun making this piece and even channeled my own gypsy soul ;D.  I started out with a small box that I covered with polka dot paper and paisley fabric. Then I hung sequenced and beaded trim from the top. My beautiful gypsy is a clipart image from my stash.

 This is the smashed Altoids tin I found. I layered a Recollections foil frame on top of it and an eye die cut.

I covered the front with vintage fabric and then embellished the sides with flowers and bling.

A spider makes his way over the flowing ribbons and flowers.

Inside, I added a Prima door, book of spells, roses, skulls and K&Company potion bottles. They create the perfect scene for this gorgeous gypsy.

I painted the Tinker toys and sprayed them with Lindy's ink to turn them into wheels :D. I absolutely LOVE the way this turned out!! I think this one is going on display here in my office. I hope you love it too!

Thank you Norma for joining the party and sharing your spellbinding creation!

*****

Below is the line up for you so you are sure not to miss a single chance to be inspired and to win something amazing!

Be sure to stop by each blog...I promise you won't be disappointed!

Day One: http://CreatedbyDonnaK.blogspot.com

Day Two: http://karenskraftymoments.blogspot.com

Day Three: http://kristaspapercafe.com

Day Four: http://lilhoneybeestudios.blogspot.com

Day Five: http://scrapyourworld1.blogspot.com

Day Six: http://mywhimsylife.blogspot.com

Day Seven: http://mypolkadottedbliss.blogspot.com

♥♥♥Trick or Treat Time! Enter below for a chance to win today's goodies.♥♥♥

1 Altered Cute (&) Spooky Notepad and Matching Pen .

**Giveaways Open to US residents only.**

a Rafflecopter giveaway