Creative Mom Cafe

I am sorry to say that I am going to be stepping down as the writer here at Creative Mom Cafe. As much as I have loved writing here and sharing all the fun, creative, and crafty ideas with everyone I just am running out of time in my days. I realize that my posting here has become sporadic and sloppy lately, and I apologize for that.

I am certain that whomever takes over this blog will do an even better job and will make Creative Mom Cafe exactly what it deserves to be.  A blog that shares the creative side of moms, a place where moms can share their ideas and obsessions, and a place where arts and crafts isn’t just for the kid’s table.

I know my time here was short but I have had a wonderful time writing here. And though I am stepping down from here you can still find me yacking away for 451Press at Mom Is Teaching and The Attached Mother.  Thank you for making my blogging experience here fun. I hope to see you all elsewhere on the net!

If there is anything I love more than making my own creative goodies it is wining someone else’s. Are We There Yet Mom has a cute give away going on right now from Under My Umbrella. This is one of the cutst Etsy shops I have seen. Melinda, the creater, makes adorable little magnets and decorative letters cut from wood. You don’t often see a woman working the jigsaw, but she does it well.

I found another great giveaway going on at Tea time with Valerie. This one is a box full of cute scrapbooking and card making supplies. This givaway has a little of everything. Paper, cardstock, stickers, embellishments, and tools. All of the goodies were donated from Sara of Stampin’ Up, so definitely go over and check out what she has. You might just get inspired.

For those with love in their hearts and creativity flowing from the fingers there are two very cute hearts being given away by Saucy. Now this is pure creativity. Cute heart shaped candy boxes filled with the kinds of goodies creative moms love. Ribbons, buttons, glitter, a stamp, and more. It will at least get you into the coming Valentine’s day spirit.

At The Apronista you could win your very own apron and autographed copy of EllynAnne’s “The Apron Book”. Doesn’t every mom need a good apron? Especially the creative ones. This is a great contest even if all you’re looking for is a good read that takes you on a stroll down memory lane.

Not a giveaway but still worth mentioning is that Sara from Crafts of Texture is having a 10% sale at her Ebay shop right now. If you’re in the UK and want some inspiration and supplies check out what she has. Like this great embroidery/needlework kit for begginers. Perfect for anyone interesting in learning a new creative art.

Look for more giveaways popping up all ovr the internet soon. The quarterly Bloggy Giveaway Carnival will be coming up January 28th. The last time I gave away some crafty books and had a huge turnout. Who knows what I’ll be giving away this time. You’ll just to stick around and see!

giveaways, contests, crafts

I’ve got a great gift idea for anyone who has taken the homemade pledge this year! I shared a post on how to screen print your own clothes to give, but for those of you who don’t want to do it yourself Skutterfly has the answer. This Friday and all weekend long they will be having a BOGO sale.

Skutterfly is a great t-shirt shop ran by an awesome mama. She knows all about being creative! I alrady own two of her funky shirts, the Swirly Skull shirt for myself and the I Need a Nap shirt for my oldest son. I’m thinking this sale might just give me an excuse to buy my youngest the Breastfed Baby shirt and buy the Iron Cross Skull shirt for the dad of the house.

All of her shirts are screen printed by herself. Or, as her site says:

Dreamed up in my head, silk screened in the shed

gifts, screen printing, t-shirts, sale

It seems I’m not the only one who go the idea to share gift ideas all through november. If you want to be inspired head over to Sew, Mama, Sew! and see what crafts are bing shared each day during November. And as if craft ideas weren’t enough each week 2 lucky commenters will walk away with $25 gift certificates.

Sew, Mama, Sew, craft ideas, crafts

Are you excited to find out who the winner of my Craft Books Give Away is? I know you are.

Everyone give a big “Congrats” to Laurie! It was lucky number 19 for her.

But, I promised that everyone would win here. So here it is, the complete listing of all the great links offered by commenters. If you need to know where to go to get inspired here you are:

• CraftyDasies.com
• myrecycledbags.com
• http://soulemama.typepad.com/
• http://fairealamain.blogspot.com/
• www.splitcoaststampers.com/gallery/
• www.craftypod.com
• http://www.marthastewart.com
• twopeasinabucket.com
• http://realwomenscrap.typepad.com/scrapbook_lessons/.
• http://familycorner.blogspot.com/
• Annie’s Attic
• Trading Spaces
• bernat.com
• lionbrandyarn.com

give away, Fall Y’all, craft books, books

It’s Fall, Y’all! So says Shannon from Rocks In My Dryer. And to celebrate the autumn goodness she’s hosting a super give away. Bloggers from all over the web are signing up to give away free goodies to lucky commenters. I’m not one to pass up peer pressure so I had to join! I’ve got 2 fun creative books up for grabs. These are absolute treasures that I found collecting dust in my local thrift shop. But I am sure that with a little love they could become favorites for any creative and crafty mom.

• The Complete Soapmaker by Norma Coney, and
• The Complete Candlemaker by Norma Coney

Wouldn’t these make great additions to any craft lover’s bookshelf? Well I’m giving them away to one lucky person! All you have to do is leave a comment sharing your favorite creative online resourse. What site do you have to visit, what blog gets your inspired, what forum always has the best tips? I want to know where you go online to get creative! Leave me a comment letting me know from October 29th until November 1st. On November 2nd I will choose a random person to win both of these great books! I will also share a list of all the great online resources everyone shared. It’s a win-win!

Also if you are a homeschooling mom or are thinking about it check out my book give away at Mom Is Teaching.

Fall, Y’all! Giveaway, giveaway, contest, books, crafts, soap, candles

It’s the final countdown to Christmas, are you nervous yet? I know many people are running around trying to figure out what they are going to give to everyone on their lists. Choosing the perfect gift can be stressful, time consuming, and eat up a budget. But crafty moms have an advantage over all the holiday fuss! If you can sew, paint, knit, cook, or even just glue you can create special one of a kind gifts that are sure to be huge hits. No really, I promise!

Of course there is still the problem of finding great crafty gift ideas to make. I’ve decided that I’m going to try to help with that. All during the month of November I will post a different gift idea. Every day there will be a new creative gift that you can make yourself. From beginners to the experienced I will have ideas for everyone. You can stop back in here all during the month of Novembr to see what I’m sharing each day. You can also look in the 30 Gifts category to see just the daily posts with gift ideas.

If you would like to share the word you can use the cute little button below. Just copy and paste the code to stick it on your own blog.

I can’t wait to pull out the ton of creative gifts ideas I’ve got saved away in books and on the computer. And I’m sure I’m not the only one. If you have a great gift idea for creative moms I hope you’ll share it. If you write about gift ideas in your own blog let me know and I will put up a link to it. I hop everyone gets into the holiday spirit with this and shares some great ideas. No matter how big or small, complicated or easy, detailed or plain there is sure to be a great gift idea that anyone can make. And that will help check off another name on the gift list this year.

gifts, holidays, Christmas, homemade, handmade

Hello everyone!

I’m super excited to be taking over Creative Mom Cafe. For those who do not know me I’m Summer, mom os two little boys, and the writer of Mom Is Teaching. I love being creative and crafty, and even more when I do things I can share with my sons. I am also a huge fan of WAHMs and love to see what fun new things moms are creating in their own homes. Hopefully I can blend the two and make this a funky, creative, exciting blog to visit.
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