the scrappy frog

a froggy farewell

2010-06-21T10:05:00.000-07:00

Hello friends!

This is just a quick post to let you all know that I will no longer be posting craft and home decor tutorials here on The Scrappy Frog. All previous tutorials and posts will still be available - just search under the appropriate term - but any new craft and home decor tutorials will be posted to my other blog Temporary Insanity.

Thanks for your faithful readership, and I hope that some of the tutorials were helpful to you.

Here's to making lovely things always, and please drop by for a visit at Temporary Insanity sometime. No strait jackets, I promise - just a very large delicious slice of life (with cream cheese frosting and sprinkles on top, naturally!)

Thank you! - Jeanette Foster

writer at Temporary Insanity

artist at The Framed Frog

Flower Power Art

2010-05-11T09:19:00.000-07:00

Fun girly decor doesn't have to be expensive or difficult to make! My 4-year-old recently made these bright daisy plaques for her bedroom with only a little supervision.

You will need: three square wood plaques (ours were 5"x5"), acrylic paint, sealer, and three large artificial gerber daisies in the colors of your choice

***tools needed - paint brush, scissors, hot glue gun***

First, paint your wood plaques with the base color. My daughter chose green because it would look great behind the flowers and also ultimately because it is her favorite color. :) Let dry completely and paint a second coat. (This is a great time to show your child how to use smooth, even strokes while avoiding "blobbing" the paint.)

Next, choose some contrasting colors for the polka dots. Using one color at a time, dip your paint brush into the paint and then "dot" the brush on the plaque. Use this method to put as many or as few polka dots as you would like on each plaque. Let dry and then seal each plaque.

Cut the stems off your gerber daisies (adults please!) and use hot glue to adhere firmly to the center of each plaque.

We decided to put sawtooth hangers on the backs of our plaques for easy hanging, but you could also staple on ribbon hangers. These bright and cheerful art pieces are now hanging in a row in my daughter's room. With butterflies hanging from the ceiling, they fit in perfectly. :)

Wordless Wednesday - No Greater Joy

2010-05-04T22:07:00.000-07:00

a recent custom order I did.

very appropriate for the upcoming Mother's Day :)

Message Central Made Pretty

2010-05-04T10:46:00.000-07:00

These days I never know if I am coming or going. Our calendar and white board are vital to keeping our schedule sane and normal (whatever that is!)
Since our "message central" needs to be on the hallway wall leading into the dining room, I wanted it to be attractive and not too boring. :) Here's what I came up with:

You may recognize the fabric from the curtain panels I made for our front windows. Message Central is very close to our entryway: so I wanted it all to coordinate. I made a french memo board and a calendar board, and the center white board/pocket board/cork board was a Costco find a few years ago.

I posted a tutorial last year on making a French memo board. This particular board was made with a 16x20 stretched canvas, a half-yard of blue/brown damask fabric, brown satin ribbon, and amber rhinestone brads (you can find these at Michaels). To achieve the spacing shown on this board, mark off every eight inches on the 16 inch side and mark off every five inches on the twenty inch side. To make your board sturdy and long-lasting, apply a little hot glue to the back of every brad and glue down all ribbons and fabric in the back (in addition to the stapling.) (see the tutorial for full instructions on making a memo board, or order a custom one from The Framed Frog)

I thought that my calendar looked too plain hanging by itself on the wall; so I made a calendar board of sorts to dress it up a little. It's super easy - all you need is a piece of cardboard that is at least an inch or so bigger than your calendar on all sides, a piece of fabric to cover the cardboard, and some ribbon.
To make my calendar board, I covered my piece of cardboard with the blue/brown damask fabric as if I were wrapping a present, pulling the fabric tightly around the back and securing it with tape. (you could also staple it if you like.)
Next, I used an Exacto knife to poke a small hole in the cardboard where the top of the calendar would go. I cut a length of blue ribbon to go around the bottom of the calendar board and secured it with tape in the back. I also used a leftover rhinestone brad from the memo board on the center of my ribbon.
To hang the board, I placed the board against the wall where I wanted it. I put a screw through the hole I had made earlier and screwed it into the wall, leaving enough of the screw to hang the calendar on. Then I hung the calendar on the screw - all finished! The ribbon at the base is a great place to hold stamps, tickets, coupons, etc.
The more I look at my calendar board, the more I feel it is missing something. I think today I'll make a brown ribbon bow to put above the calendar.

Oh, and if you would like to see the sweet birds and other things I used to decorate the rest of the dining room, check out my post at Temporary Insanity!

Too-Easy Dinosaur Cake

2010-04-07T11:05:00.000-07:00

What do you do when your three-year-old informs you that he wants a dinosaur cake for his birthday and you have already planned a big extravagant cake for his birthday party the following week? I wanted to say "Too bad, mister! Mommy is already making you a cake for your party and there is no way I am spending tons of time in the kitchen on TWO cakes for your birthday!"

However, it's a little hard to resist those big blue eyes. Add the plea, "Momma, you're the best cake-maker in the whole world!" And I'm a sucker.

So I made my kid a dinosaur cake, but I still didn't want to spend a lot of time on it. So here's how to make a Too-Easy dinosaur cake:

1. Use a cake mix and bake it. :) I did half the cake mix in a round cake pan and the other half in a cupcake tin.

2. After the cake cools, make (or use canned) frosting and liberally frost the cake.

3. Crush up some graham crackers and sprinkle in various sections of the cake for "dirt". Use green sprinkles (or green shredded coconut) for the other sections for "grass."

4. Take your kid's favorite plastic dinosaurs (or purchase a pack at the dollar store) and arrange on the cake.

5. Use leftover robin egg candy from Easter and make a "dino egg" border.

6. Dye the remainder of your frosting blue, or whatever color that makes your kid happy, and use a ziploc bag with the corner cut to pipe your kid's name. (I used the rest of my frosting to ice my cupcakes.)

So, my charming three-year-old was more than satisfied with his "awesome" dinosaur cake, and Momma was pretty happy to spend minimal time in the kitchen and still catch an episode of Dr. Phil that day.

Wordless Wednesday - Fire Train

2010-03-23T22:13:00.000-07:00

a recent name train completed for a customer in a dalmatian and fire truck theme...
This one was definitely fun:)

more wordless fun at 5 Minutes for Mom!

Making Curtain Panels for Small Windows

2010-03-23T10:03:00.000-07:00

We recently moved to an older house with lots of quirky features. Apparently the previous resident could not figure out what to do with the two slender windows flanking the front door, so she took some lace curtain panels from JCPenney, cut them shorter, and tacked them up with thumb tacks. Yikes!

I wanted to change them right away, but I refrained myself as I knew some unpacking was in order. As soon as I got a free moment, however, I was off to JoAnns' to get some new fabric for those windows. I wanted the curtain panels to be flat, not gathered.

So here's how to make your own flat curtain panels for any window in your home.

1) Measure your window. My windows were 6" wide and 36" long. You will need an inch more for each dimension in your fabric for seam allowance.
2) Choose your fabric. I did not want lace or any kind of sheer fabric; therefore I knew I would need enough fabric to make my curtain panels double-sided. I chose this gorgeous chocolate/blue damask because it complements our blue front door. Note: If you choose a directional fabric like I did, make sure you have enough fabric to keep the pattern going in the right direction. I went ahead and purchased two yards, as I am planning on making some other items with the remaining fabric.
3) Cut your fabric. I was making two curtain panels - double-sided - so I cut the fabric into four 7" by 37" pieces.
4) Lay the fabric pieces back to back (make sure your fabric design is going in the same direction!) and sew the long sides together, leaving about two inches from the top for hanging the curtain panel later. I hand-stitched mine, only because I have yet to find my sewing machine in the piles of boxes...
5) Next, iron side seams open and turn right side out.
6) Fold bottom seams up a half-inch, iron, and then stitch closed.
7) Stitch any trim you like to the bottom of your curtain panel. I used a tiny brown pom-pom trim to accent the little brown dots in the damask pattern.
8) Fold down top seams a half-inch, iron, and then stitch closed. Insert a small wood dowel through the opening on each side of the panel and use small hooks to mount just above the window.

And, voila! You have perfect flat curtain panels that can be viewed inside and out. They are a welcoming touch in our home, which is still a little chaotic from the move. :)

Wordless Wednesday - Bird Bath!

2010-02-16T19:54:00.000-08:00

can you guess what room this custom set of artwork was for? :)

Valentines Projects

2010-02-12T10:48:00.000-08:00

Hello all! I have one more Valentines project that I am hoping to get up by tomorrow.

Meanwhile, don't forget about all the great Valentines projects from last year, too!

1. Make some sweet stuffed elephants out of winter gloves. Find the Love Glove Elephants here.

2. Super easy for kids - try these Love Bug Valentine Cards!

3. Use these very adorable cupcake and cookie papercrafts to decorate gift bags, picture frames, and more.

4. Decoupage these Groovy Collage Hearts for instant wow!

And of course bake up some lovely cupcakes with extra frosting and decorate them with conversation hearts, or cut out some yummy heart-shaped sugar cookies and dip the edges in pink and red sanding sugar.

Happy Valentines' Weekend!

Wordless Wednesday - Allyson

2010-02-09T20:48:00.000-08:00

a dear friend is having a baby girl soon, so I made this wall letter for her sweet nursery

here it is on the crib bedding - so pretty in purples and pinks and greens...

and a close-up of her name - Allyson! :) Can't wait for her to arrive!

The Framed Frog

Lattice Hearts Frame

2010-02-04T11:37:00.000-08:00

Special photos always make great Valentines' gifts, and they are even better when put in a lovely frame or handmade scrapbook. Here's a beautiful frame that you can make in a few hours that is perfect for Valentines' Day and will look perfect in the house all year long.

You need:

~a unfinished wood frame (mine is an 8x8 frame you can get at Michaels for a dollar)

~white acrylic paint

~scrapbook paper (mine is Loopy Vines in Pink)

~ribbon to match the paper

~modge podge

~tissue paper

~hot glue gun

Now make your frame!

1. Paint the wood frame white and let dry.

2. Use your tissue paper to trace the top of your frame. Cut it out as a template for for your scrapbook paper. Trace it onto your paper and cut it out. (Remember, if your paper has a one-way design like mine, match it up before cutting.)

3. Line up your scrapbook paper cutout on top of your frame. Cover back of paper with modge podge and adhere to the frame.

4. Paint over the top of the scrapbook paper with modge podge and let dry completely.

5. Next, measure out your ribbon and lay out on your frame as shown in the above photo. Use a hot glue gun to first attach the ribbons to each other (where they crisscross). Then hot glue them securely to the front of the frame.

6. Turn frame over and glue the ribbon ends to the back of the frame. Run a thin line of hot glue along the ribbon end to prevent fraying.

7. Next, cut out three hearts of various sizes from the same scrapbook paper you used to decoupage the frame. Line them up smallest to largest on the vertical ribbons as shown and hot glue in place. Carefully paint a small amount of modge podge over each heart and let dry completely.

Not into pink? This frame would look great in other color combinations as well. Make the frame without the hearts for an elegant piece of home decor.

And of course, this frame is already available for purchase at The Framed Frog. If you don't want to go to the trouble of making it yourself, go ahead and get it now in time for Valentines' Day.

"Sin" Cake

2010-02-01T07:46:00.000-08:00

Valentines' Day will soon be here, and it's the best time to surprise and impress your sweetie with something sweet and decadent. I have made this cake several times - it's hubby's favorite - and a friend calls it "sin cake" because of its richness. If you're a peanut butter lover, this cake is sure to hit the spot!

Here's the list of ingredients:

CAKE: 3 eggs

1 2/3 cups sugar, divided

1 1/2 cups milk, divided

3 squares unsweetened baking chocolate

1/2 cup shortening

1 tsp vanilla extract

2 cups flour

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

FROSTING:

2 pkgs of cream cheese (8 oz each), softened

1 can (14 oz) sweetened condensed milk

1 1/2 cups peanut butter

1/2 cup salted peanuts, chopped

Hershey milk chocolate bars, broken into squares

1) First, finely chop the squares of unsweetened chocolate.

2) Next, whisk one egg until blended in a saucepan.

3) Stir in 2/3 cup sugar, 1/2 cup milk, and the chopped chocolate. Continue stirring over medium hear until chocolate melts and mixture comes to a boil. Remove from the heat and cool to room temperature.

4) Meanwhile, cream shortening and 1 cup sugar until light and fluffy, as shown.

5) Add two eggs, one at a time, and beat well after each addition. Add vanilla extract. The batter should be a creamy yellow.

6) Combine the dry ingredients (flour, baking soda, and salt). Add them to the creamed mixture alternately with one cup of milk, beating well after each addition.

7) Now add the cooled chocolate mixture and mix well.

8) Pour into three greased/floured 9 inch round pans. Bake at 325 degrees for 25-30 minutes, until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean.

9) Cool in pans for ten minutes: then remove to wire racks to cool completely. Level each cake layer and wrap in plastic wrap tightly before putting in the freezer. (This helps the layers to be firm and not as crumbly when you ice them.

10) To make the frosting, beat the cream cheese until light and fluffy. Alternately add the sweetened condensed milk and peanut butter, beating well after each addition.

11) Spread frosting between layers of cake.

12) Spread frosting over the top and sides of cake generously. Sprinkle the round edge of the cake with the chopped peanuts and decorate the sides of the cake with the milk chocolate squares. Keep the cake in the refrigerator when not consuming. :)

It takes some extra time to make this cake, but I assure you the results are well worth it!

Wordless Wednesday - Framed Frog Projects

2010-01-26T22:23:00.000-08:00

just some recent custom work I did for my shop The Framed Frog...

more wordless fun at 5 Minutes for Mom...

Ribbon Corset Gift Bag

2010-01-25T10:39:00.000-08:00

Here's a fun method to make your own gift bags for any occasion. I am going to demonstrate this project by using paper and ribbons suitable for a baby shower gift bag, but the style adapts well to wedding shower gifts, birthday gifts, anniversary gifts, and more. Just change up the paper and ribbon to match your occasion!

Here's what you need: 2 pieces of 12x12 scrapbook cardstock(matching), glue stick, hot glue gun (optional), ribbon, hole punch, sharp scissors, ruler

I chose this fun baby alphabet cardstock for my bag. (its squares make it super easy to fold and cut!) I also liked that it was double-sided, so the inside of my gift bag would have a design as well.

1) First, decide what size you want your gift bag to be. I wanted my gift bag to be medium-sized; so I cut off 2 1/2 inches on one side of each piece of scrapbook paper. Then I decided that the sides and bottom of my bag would measure 2 1/2 inches. Using a ruler, I measured 2 1/2 inches from the corner of my paper and then made a cut 2 1/2 inches straight up, as shown.

2) Next, crease the paper along that line the rest of the way up. (this fold is 2 1/2 inches from the edge of the paper.) Also make another crease in the paper along the bottom, 2 1/2 inches from the bottom edge. Do this to both pieces of paper.

3) Fold the corner up and in, as shown in the above photo. It should look like you have two half-boxes. :) Use a glue stick and secure that corner in place.

4) Using a hole punch, punch ten evenly-spaced holes along the side edges of each of your "half-boxes". As you can see in the photo, this is forty holes total, ten on each side of both boxes.

5) Now, stand the boxes on end, facing each other, so that the punched edges match up and there are five sides to your bag. The top should be open. Glue the bottom two pieces together securely. (I used a hot glue gun for this to make sure it held.)

6) Measure your ribbon to be 3 1/2 times the length of the side of your gift bag. Starting at the bottom, pull the ribbon through the bottom two holes, making sure your ribbon is equal-length on both sides. Lace up the edges together as shown and tie a knot at the top. Do the same for the other corner.

7) Next, punch two hole in the opposite corner of each beribboned corner, as shown.

8) Finally, bring the remaining ribbon from each corner across the bag to form a handle and tie it into a bow through the two punched holes.

You can use this method to make very small bags suitable for giving jewelry or perfume or gift cards as well as the size shown here. To make larger bags, you will need to cut individual sides from paper and lace up all four corners as well as the bottom to achieve the size you need.

Snow Ice Cream

2010-01-19T10:32:00.000-08:00

For many of you, the world is covered in a white blanket of snow. You've done the snowman and the snow angels and the sledding and the snowball fights. What other fantastic entertainment can you derive from the wonderful frozen stuff?

How about making some snow ice cream with your kids? We had the opportunity to do this a few weeks ago when we got a freak snow storm here in Oregon. (we rarely get snow here!)

Here's what you need:

2 bowls of clean fresh snow (cereal bowl size)

1/2 cup milk (or cream)

1/4 cup sugar

1/4 tsp vanilla extract

All you do:

Take your milk, sugar, and vanilla and mix them well together. Combine this mixture with the snow in a large bowl and stir carefully until it is completely mixed together. As you stir, it will form grainy pieces until it becomes nice and smooth.

Eat it right away! We drizzled ours with chocolate syrup and enjoyed it immensely.

:)enjoy

Yummy Pop Tart Cozy for your Ipod

2010-01-15T10:07:00.000-08:00

I have had an Iphone for a few months now, and let's just say we are inseparable! Poor little Iphone gets tossed in purses and diaper bags and car dashboards, and I think it needs a little TLC.

I decided to make a soft case for my Iphone inspired by all the junk food I shouldn't be eating right now. :) Isn't this Pop Tart case just the cutest?

It fits my Iphone perfectly with room to slip in headphones or my Bluetooth headset. It is also the right size to hold an Ipod or Blackberry. You could even use it as a cute bag to hold your credit cards and cash.

Here's how to make this fun pop tart Iphone cozy. You will need:

1) a piece of tan felt, 4 1/2" by 6 1/2"

2) another piece of tan felt, 4 1/2" by 8"

3) a piece of brown felt, roughly 3 1/2" by 5 1/2" cut in a similar shape to the one in the pic above

4) embroidery floss, in chocolate brown and tan

5) needle

6) various colors of seed beads or bugle beads

7) button (I had some vintage orange buttons on hand)

First, thread your needle with three strands of the chocolate brown embroidery floss and use a running stitch to attach the "frosting" to the 4 1/2" by 8" piece. (Place the "frosting" about an inch up from the bottom, as shown.)

Next, still using your needle threaded with the chocolate brown floss, stitch on randomly placed seed beads.

Then, place your button at the top of the shorter piece of tan felt (4 1/2" by 6 1/2") and center it. Sew in place firmly.

Place the frosting piece and the button piece back to back, lining up exactly. The frosting piece will extend higher than the button piece. if you need to, use a few sewing pins to secure the two pieces together. Thread your needle with three strands of the tan embroidery floss and sew the two tan felt pieces together with a blanket stitch. (if unsure how to do a blanket stitch, see this helpful tutorial).

Continue the blanket stitch along the top of the button piece of felt. (please do not sew this part to the other piece of felt. :) )

Fold over your longer piece of felt to find where the button hole should be. Cut a slit slightly larger than the diameter of your button and stitch around the slit for durability.

And that's it! Slide in your Iphone and accessories, button it up, and you're ready to go! It's sure to draw attention and be a conversation starter wherever you go.

***Change it up! Make it a strawberry poptart with pink frosting. Don't like beads? Make small stitches with colorful embroidery floss instead, or use fabric paint to make your sprinkles.***

Fun Fringy Fleece Scarf

2010-01-04T22:06:00.000-08:00

Here's a quick project you can complete in an hour, and it will be sure to keep little (and grown-up too) necks snuggly warm!

All you need is a half-yard of green fleece and a half-yard of pink fleece (or whatever colors you want!) A pair of sharp scissors and a ruler will be used as well.

1. Cut your fleece into 6"by 8" pieces, four from the green and three from the pink. This will make a scarf about 42" long - suitable for a child. You may want to add a few more pieces to make a scarf long enough for an adult.

2. Along each 6" side of each piece, mark off every half-inch. Make a cut one inch deep at each mark, so that each piece of fleece has a one-inch-fringe on each 6" side.

3. Take a green piece and a pink piece and line up the fringed edges. There will be 12 "fringes" on each colored piece; tie the first pink fringe to the first green fringe in a firm knot. Continue with the rest of the fringes, being careful to keep the knots even, not too tight or too loose.

4. Add another green piece and do the same. Add a pink piece with the same tying technique, and so on, until all seven pieces have been knotted together.

And you're finished! This project is easy enough for even a child who has the ability to tie knots to do.

Make it in your favorite colors, your team colors, or even patterned fleece.

Merry Christmas!

2009-12-22T21:12:00.000-08:00

Well, as you surely noticed, the Scrappy Frog took a back seat for a while in order to let The Framed Frog drive! :) From mid-October until now, I have been kept busy by a constant flow of custom orders, not to mention three little children and their messes. I am so thankful for this Christmas rush of orders, but I am also a little relieved to have some time now to myself. Thus, I will be contributing more regularly to the Scrappy Frog and bringing you more craft ideas, better ways to scrapbook, interesting ways to re-use things around the house, and of course plenty of kid-friendly stuff.

But until I get some of those posts up and running, go on over to my other blog Temporary Insanity to get the tutorial on making this yummy Yule Log.

Merry Christmas and have a wonderful time with family and friends!

Sweet Felt Pumpkins

2009-10-11T21:39:00.000-07:00

I recently tried out a new fall decor craft from the October issue of Family Fun. Family Fun is a fantastic magazine chock full of great ideas for crafts, activities, parenting tips, recipes, and more. Each issue I own is dog-eared from all the use we get out of them! :)

This particular craft involves making some fabric 3-D pumpkins to display in your home. The original directions call for furry and fuzzy fabrics, but I decided to use felt instead.

You need:

some orange or yellow felt, twigs gathered from your backyard or street, needle and thread, plastic grocery bags, and a hot glue gun

1) First, trace a circle on your piece of felt. An 8 or 9 inch diameter is a good size.

2) Next, cut out the circle. (please disregard the fact that yes indeed my kiddies are still in their pajamas in the photo)

3) Using the needle and thread, knot off one end and then stitch around the perimeter of the circle in large running stitches. (about a half-inch from the edge)

4) Pull both ends of the thread to gather the felt into a pouch. Crumple a plastic grocery bag and place inside the pouch before pulling the thread even tighter and tying it off.

5) Insert a broken twig into the opening of the pouch and hot glue in place.

6) I decided that my pumpkins needed a little more pizazz and so glued on some green ribbon "leaves" as well. My daughter helped me make the basket by cutting slits around the edge of a paper plate, weaving a ribbon through the slits, and pulling it tightly into a bow to pucker the plate up into a basket shape.

These were so simple to make, and can be a chic way to add some fall to your home. Try using different fabrics (we also made one from a fat quarter of orange fabric) or use a cinnamon stick instead of a twig for the stem. Stuff the little pumpkins with potpourri or add black felt features to turn them into jack'o'lanterns.

It took me less than an hour to make three of these pumpkins, and I plan on taking them to a friend's house as a house-warming gift.

I Need More Contest Entries!

2009-09-21T17:11:00.000-07:00

Just a quick note to remind everyone about the Fantastic Froggy Fall Craft Contest? There is still time to enter - in fact, I extended the deadline to September 28, 2009. You have plenty of time to get your creative skills working!

Don't forget - you don't have to have a crafty entry to be a part of the contest. I also have prizes for those who spread the word via Twitter, blogging, and Facebook.

And finally, I have some fall crafts just about ready to post for you all to enjoy. I picked up some beautiful fall foliage, votive holders, pumpkins, and fabulous ribbon at Michaels to make some new projects.

Please send all craft submissions for the contest to jfrogster@gmail.com. If you tweet, blog, or facebook about the contest, leave a comment at the contest post.

Perhaps You Need Some Inspiration...

2009-09-17T08:57:00.000-07:00

Inspired yet?? There's still time to enter The Fantastic Froggy Fall Craft Contest! Just email me with your craft idea for one of the four categories described here, and you could win Starbucks cards and a host of awesome goodness from The Framed Frog.

I need people to spread the word too, so head on over to the contest post and leave me a comment on how you blogged about, tweeted about, or mentioned it on Facebook.

I need some more entries! Help me out please!

Announcing - The Fantastic Froggy Fall Craft Contest!

2009-09-03T14:57:00.000-07:00

It's absolutely my favorite season of the year - time to visit the pumpkin patch, jump in piles of leaves, send those kiddies back to school, and bake dozens of pies for no reason at all.

In honor of my favorite season, The Scrappy Frog is hosting a Fantastic Froggy Fall Craft Contest with fabulous prizes, sponsored by The Framed Frog. So get your crafty self ready!

Here are the details:
Categories:
1. For Kids - these should be crafts that are easy enough for kids to do with minimal help from adults. These could be fall-themed cards, fall treats, gifts for their teachers, etc., as long as they follow a fall theme.
2. Halloween - these should be crafts geared towards the Halloween holiday. These could be decorations, party favors, costumes, treats, etc., as long as they follow a Halloween theme.
3. Scrapbooking - these would be paper crafts. These could be scrapbook page designs, mini albums, cards, etc., as long as they follow a fall theme.
4. Fall Mania - these would be fall-themed crafts that do not fit in any of the previous three categories. These could be storage ideas, decor, jewelry, apparel, etc.

Prizes:
The winner of each category will receive a $5 Starbucks gift card(or something similar if the winner does not have a local Starbucks, poor thing!). A grand prize winner will be chosen out of the four category winners to receive a custom gift package from The Framed Frog - this includes a French memo board, two photo frames painted to match the memo board, and matching candles. Finally, one of the entries will be chosen at random to receive a $25 gift certificate to The Framed Frog.

Rules:
1. Submit your craft entry in the correct category. You may enter every category, if you like, but only enter each category once.
2. Your craft idea must be original. It can be a twist on an old favorite. Please do not copy an idea off a website and send it to me .
3. All craft ideas must be presented in clear logical steps and with at least one photo or diagram. They should be sent to jfrogster@gmail.com to count as an entry.
4. Most entries will be featured in The Scrappy Frog during the month of October with full credit given to you for your idea.
5. Deadline for entries is 12:00 midnight PST on September 28. Winners will be posted on October 2, 2009.
6. Winners will be chosen after all entries are reviewed and tested by Jeanette Foster.

Finally, I have one more special prize for those that help me spread the word. Leave me a comment below indicating that you have either tweeted, blogged about, or mentioned the contest on Facebook, and you will be entered in a drawing for a special surprise. Do all three if you like, but please be sure to leave me three separate comments then to increase your chances of winning.

I can't wait to see all of your great ideas!
(By the way, since I am a big football fan, football definitely counts as a fall theme! If you have any questions about the contest, please email me at jfrogster@gmail.com).

And don't forget, there are lots of great giveaways and contests out there! Hop on over to the next blog to enter one!

Silly Soapy Play Clay

2009-09-02T09:57:00.000-07:00

Hello all! I know, I know, it has been far too long since I last posted on The Scrappy Frog. This summer, The Framed Frog has really taken off, and most of my extra time has been taken up with custom orders. This is great of course, but also very time-consuming. It's hard to find time to come up with extra crafts, make them and photograph them step by step, and then write all the directions to making them.
However, since fall is upon us and Christmas will be here before you know it, I am going to do my best to get as many crafts and clever things to you as I can this season. In fact, I am going to be holding a fall craft contest in the very near future. Prizes will include a gift certificate to The Framed Frog, gift cards to Starbucks, and a few other ridiculously awesome things. You don't want to miss it!
But for now, here is an easy recipe for Silly Soapy Play Clay. This stuff is great because when your kiddies (and you perhaps) play with it, their hands end up smelling like they just washed them. (instead of that strange Play Dough odor)

You need: 2 cups of flour, 1/2 cup of salt, 1 TBS of liquid soap, water, and food coloring

To make:
1. Take the flour, salt, and soap; and mix all of them together in a large bowl.
2. Add 8 - 10 drops of food coloring to the mixture and blend in.
3. Add water slowly and continue to mix until the mixture turns into a workable dough.

And that's it! You can leave out the coloring entirely if you want, or make several colors. The play clay should be stored in an airtight container when not being used.

My children loved this and played with it for hours, concocting birthday cakes and pancakes and little aliens. We also created a a totally yummy play clay that you can mold into awesome creations and then eat them! The recipe for that clay will be in a future post.

Froggy Pond Cake How-To

2009-07-15T16:08:00.000-07:00

It's once again time for the Birthday Cake Round-up at Life As Mom. This time I am giving a tutorial on a cake I just did for my daughter's half-birthday. Yep, we love birthdays around here and so celebrate our half-birthdays too! She wanted a frog pond cake (so maybe her momma's obsession is rubbing off on her a little) and here's what I came up with.
You'll need: a 2-layer 9" round cake, enough blue frosting to fill the layers and cover the cake, a small amount of green frosting for the frogs, three bamboo skewers, five large marshmallows, green candy melts (or white ones tinted green), and a tube of black gel frosting.

1. Cover the cake with blue frosting. Lay the back of a spoon against the frosting and pull away to make waves.

2. Toast three of the marshmallows (or use caramel swirl ones like I did) and skewer them. Break the skewers at three different places to make three different hieghts and insert the "cattails" in the cake as shown.

3. Make the lily pads by melting the candy melts (I use the defrost setting on the microwave and stir it every thirty seconds). Pipe the melted candy on wax paper in the shape of lily pads and use a knife to spread it evenly.

4. After lily pads harden (this goes faster if you put them in the fridge), place them on the cake.

5. Next, make your frogs by placing a marshmallow each on two lily pads. Frost over the marshmallows in green frosting and add two frosting dabs to the top of each frog's head for eyes. Also pipe legs on each frog. Make a third frog in the water by piping a large ball of frosting with two dabs of frosting on top.

6. Finally, add detail with a little white icing and the black gel icing. Pipe some green ripples around the bottom edge of the cake. (use a ziploc bag with the corner snipped off).

Add an adorable kid, and you're done! In future posts, I will share some of the froggy crafts we came up with as well. :)

The Framed Frog Announces. . .

2009-06-30T07:50:00.000-07:00

Time for another giveaway! This one is being hosted by the Etsy Chatters Team blog - you can go here to read all about me and my artistic endeavors!

Then you can enter the giveaway simply by commenting, twittering, etc. to get entries to win a $25 gift card to my store The Framed Frog! That can get pretty much anything in the shop or at least be a good chunk of change toward something bigger. Please go check it out and enter the giveaway here. It'll cost you like five minutes. If that. How can you pass this deal up? And why are you still reading this? Go, go, go!