Guest Post: Halloween Trail Mix

Hello my lovely readers!  Thanks for stopping by!

Today the talented Ashley from Me and My Boys is here to share a spooky snack with you.  But before I let her take it away I just wanted to remind you all to go enter the giveaway for the super hero cape pattern we have going on right now.  

The pattern is customizable and has templates for both boys and girls, making it perfect for Halloween or just for day-to-day dress up.  So go check it out!

And now, without futher ado, here's Ashley!

Hi LADIES! I'm Ashley :) I blog over at Me and My Boys! BUT I am SOOOO excited to guest post here today! I wanted to do something in the HALLOWEEN spirit for ya :) 

I thought to make some HALLOWEEN trail mix.

You will need:

your choice of trail mix

cheese its...or knock off brand (still delicious) 

Halloween candy mix

AND anything else your little heart desires...

then a cute little container to put it all in

I'm all about the cheap brands. I think they taste just as good...and are so much less.

Pour all ingredients into a large bowl and mix it up!

This cute little container I found at our local dollar store and loved it!!!

Pour it in....Easy as that!

Super Duper DELICIOUS! and fun for the Halloween spirit!

If you want to make a cute container you can. I found this tutorial for the jars. This is a little more personal for gifts.

Hope you liked it!!

Come see me at Me and my boys.

Giveaway: Super Hero Cape from Kirstikoo

Today I’d like to introduce you to Kirsti of Kirstikoo Handmade Gifts.   You may remember her from when I reviewed her St. Patrick’s Day Shamrock Garland back in March. 

But if you don't, allow me to introduce you to her!  Kirsti has a lovely blog with lots of neat tutorials and she even has her own Etsy shop.  She's here today so we can get to know her a little better and to do a cool giveaway for her Super Hero Cape patterns, so read on to get the scoop on both!

1. Can you tell us a little bit about yourself? Hi there!! I have been married for 8 years, have a degree in Art Education and now I am a stay at home mom to 2 sweet boys-- 2 and 4 yrs old. They have been my main inspiration in deciding what I want to create next.

2. When did you learn to sew? When I was 12 I took lessons from my aunt. I did sewing projects with her for about a year, but it didn't "click" for me until after I had my first baby. I wanted to create projects for my home and children, and realized there's a whole world of art in sewing- between colors and designs, I'm constantly able to apply that knowledge I graduated with into my everyday crafting.

3. What made you decide to start an Etsy shop? Hehe, this actually started because I became almost obsessed with Etsy. I wanted everything, but couldn't buy anything... It was in seeing the other successful Etsy shops and sellers that motivated me to create my own shop. It's so rewarding to be able to make some extra money and still be home with my kids.

4. What is your favorite product in your shop? My favorite thing to make is the diaperdoo pouch. This was my very first item, and for awhile was my most popular. I loved picking out 2 totally different but coordinating fabrics to create new and fun color combinations. But since then, my shop has sort of evolved into super hero costumes. I think it's because I am not carrying diapers anymore, I am fighting the world with batman and spiderman.

5. What keeps you motivated and inspired? Definitely my children-- when I was raising babies, my most popular and developed items were the burp cloths and diaper pouches. Now that my babies are running around crazy (aka, batman and spiderman) I have been developing those ideas instead. 

6. How do you come up with new ideas? I usually start with a basic project that I have seen somewhere- a magazine, blog, or etsy shop. And then I change it up by adding my own twist- Searching for a fun color scheme or knowledge base using tools I'm familiar with, or supplies that are available to me.

7. How do you balance time between your family and business? It's hard!! I recently hired my aunt (who taught me how to sew) to do most of the sewing so I can run the business, create new products, develop patterns, and still be a stay at home mom. It could be a full-time job for me to manage my store and create the items but I'm not willing to give up my family time. So it's the perfect arrangement right now. I have a whole post on helpful tips for SAHM working an etsy business HERE.

8. What do you think is the most rewarding thing about crafting? Definitely seeing the finished product! I also love to see all the supplies in it's raw form: a scrap of felt, a roll of thread, a yard of satin and some velcro-- step by step turn into a finished product. AWW I love that!

9. What advice would you give to someone new to sewing? Start with the basics. I always hear "All I can do is sew a straight line" and I say, that's all it takes! But it is still important to start with beginning projects- if you are new, avoid projects with zippers, buttons, ruffles, and other added steps that may be overwhelming. There are SO many great beginning sewing tutorials out there! And then work your way up. Practice a lot- make gifts for friends and family while you perfect each project!

10. And finally, in the spirit of the superhero cape giveaway, who is your favorite superhero and why? Hmmm... SuperMOM! Because that is my ultimate goal! I've talked about juggling responsibilities and SuperMom can do them all-- she can cook, launder, keep the children educated, happy & productive, all the while managing a clean home, happy husband, is kind to friends, and don't forget creates a handmade project in there too... But let's face it- Supermom's weakness isn't kryptonite. It's herself. We have to be careful not to think we can do it all. I try to pick 2 or 3 things to focus on a day and remember to be patient with ourselves. So often we forget how special. We all have out own unique talents and abilities.

 So now that you know Kirsti a little better, let's get to what you've all been waiting for...

The Giveaway!!!

Kirsti's newest pattern is her Super Hero Cape Pattern (for boys and girls!), and it’s just in time for Halloween!  The pattern comes with a template and step-by-step photos/instructions for the cape.  You can even buy expansion templates for superhero accessories (everyone needs wrist protection and face disguise!) and templates for your favorite superheros’ logos (including Batman, Wonder Woman, Spiderman and more).  Aren’t these adorable?!  What kid wouldn’t want to dress up in these?!


Don’t have time to sew an outfit before Halloween?  That’s okay, too.  You can buy a Super Hero Cape set premade in Kirstin’s Etsy shop.  Even better news?  Today you’ll have the chance to win one of her Super Hero Cape patterns AND the expansion pack for free!

To enter the giveaway leave a comment and include your email address.  You can write it out like this to avoid spam if you like:  mseaber (at) gmail (dot) com

But I definitely need it to be able to reach you if you win!  For additional entries you may do any or all of the following:

• Follow Crafty Critique
• Follow Kirstikoo
• Like Crafty Critique on Facebook
• Like Kirstikoo on Facebook
• Follow Crafty Critique on Twitter
• Favorite/follow Kirstikoo’s Etsy shop
• Pin /Tweet about/Write a status update for this giveaway

Leave an additional comment for each entry.  I will use a random number generator to choose a winner one week from today.  Good luck and thanks for reading!

--CC

Guest Post: Glazed Pumpkin Pull Apart Bread

 Hello my lovely readers, and welcome if you're joining us from Creative Spaces!  Today I'm excited to introduce you to Genevieve.  She's a talented crafter and she has so many great tutorials on her blog.  For example, you might remember her from when I reviewed her party skirt and pint-sized party skirt tutorials earlier this year.  

 

But if you haven't met her yet, she's here today so you can get better acquainted.  So take it away Genevieve!

Hey there Crafty Critique readers!  How are you?  So I'm Genevieve from Creative Spaces and I'm so excited to be here guest posting today and I can't wait to share this delish fall recipe with ya'll!  I first saw it on Pinterest about a week ago and it just made my mouth water.  Then when my hubby saw the pic, he just asked- so when are you making that?  I thought this past weekend would be perfect as we were getting together with friends and I wanted a yummy but different fall treat.  And let me tell you- it was a hit!  We finished it very quickly.  So let me share with you Glazed Pumpkin Pull Apart Bread.  Ooohhhhh... yum!

The recipe was originally posted here and then I found it here at this blog and made it with only 2 minor adjustments.  Mine looked a little different from hers but I'm not a great cook...  that tells you that even if this recipe seems intimidating to you, try it!  It wasn't as hard as it seemed and turned out great.  Sure to impress anyone!

Now in fairness to the original blogger (I'm all about giving proper credit where due folks!), I'm going to send you to her for the recipe and directions.  She explained it all so well and clearly and explains her adaptations.

But my adjustments- before you go!  When you get to greasing and flouring the pan, I greased and sugared my pan.  To do this, after spraying your pan with Pam, sprinkle sugar over the entire thing.  Then just shake it out over your sink.  Your whole pan should be coated with a thin layer of sugar.  This gave it a nice sugary crispy edge.  See that crispy goodness:

And then after stacking all the bread in the pan, I scooped up all the excess sugar mix and sprinkled it on top.  I loved this extra sugar on top!  I mean if you're going to have a sugary bread, might as well live it up right??  

And then the last thing, next time with my glaze.  (...I used vanilla instead of rum...)  I will thin mine with milk.  It was pretty thick. It was really good but thick so it didn't really spread and run like I was hoping.  Oh well- next time.

Ok well there you have it!  I know that this recipe seems intense- I almost didn't try it.  But do it!  It is delicious, has great presentation, and is different.  I loved that it had a taste of pumpkin but not an overwhelming taste.  I'm not a super pumpkin fan... do I dare say that?  Thanks for walking through the recipe with me and thank you for having me guest post today and stop on by Creative Spaces sometime for my latest crafting adventure!  Have a great day!!

Free Fall Printable

Now, I'm no graphic designer but I saw this quote about fall somewhere recently and decided to try and make it into a printable.  Here's what I came up with:

You can download and print it for free here.  I hope you like it!  It's my first attempt at a printable so go easy on me, okay?  ;)

Anyway, thanks for stopping by today.  Hope to see you again soon!

--CC

Ruffle Cuff Pant Legs

Just a quickie to share something great I found today.   If you liked my Knot No-Hem Pants tutorial, I'm sure you're going to love these from A Mother Huddle:

Source

This Ruffle Cuff Pants tutorial shows you a great way to transform pants that are either too short or too long into ones that fit and are completely adorable.  I wish I were younger so I could make some of these for myself! 

Thanks for stopping by!  Happy crafting. :)

--CC

Tutorial: Bow & Whimsy Tank Top

You might remember few weeks ago I showed you my "A Bow and Whimsy Tank Top" in another post. 

Well, that same week I also shared a tutorial for the blouse over at a blog called Sunny Vanilla.
 

But just in case you missed it, today I thought I'd share the tutorial here at Crafty Critique.  You can follow me after the jump for the how-to.  Enjoy and let me know if you have any questions! :)

Looking for Guest Bloggers

Good news everyone!  I got my first "big girl" job offer this week and I'll be starting my first full-time, post-college job very shortly.  I'm excited for the opportunity, but also a little nervous about how I'll manage my time once I begin.  I'm sure I'll adapt quickly, but I'm not too sure how much free time I'll have on my hands for blogging and crafting over the next couple of months.  So that's where you come in!

I'm sure I'll be able to make time for sewing and blogging eventually, but while I get settled into my new job I thought some of you might like the chance to guest post on my blog!  If you're a crafting blogger, I'd love to have you come post a tutorial.  It can be something new or old.  I don't mind!  Or maybe you have an Etsy shop and would like to host a giveaway to promote your business.  That's fine too, and I'd be really glad to team up with you!

If you're interested in guest posting on Crafty Critique, please send me an email at mseaber (at) gmail (dot) com with subject line "Guest Post."  Please let me know these things in your email:

1. Link to your blog
2. Link to the post you'd be sharing, or if it's a new post please send me pictures and/or a description of what you'd like to post about
3. When you'd be ready to schedule your guest post

I'm not sure what kind of interest to expect from this post and as I've already mentioned I've kind of got a lot on my plate right now, so please be patient with me just in case I get a whole bunch of emails and can't respond to you right away!  ;)  I promise to do my best, though!

As always, thanks for stopping by!  I hope to hear from you soon. :)

--CC