Eek! We've got TWO book page crafts being featured this week! I know--someone take my torn up books away from me. I'm obsessed.

The first one is this cool decoupage Halloween pumpkin we created for our monthly post over at Make and Takes. It's cute but creepy! Go there to find out why I'm thinking spiders this Halloween.


Our other feature has been months in the making--it's so fun to finally see it in "print!" I was asked this summer to contribute a project for the Create feature of Latter Day Woman Magazine, a magazine created for women in the LDS church, of which I'm a member. This is an amazing online publication, with great photography, a wide variety of topics, and a very hip feel. Check it out--it's for women of all walks of life. And don't miss my book page wreath tutorial on PAGE 8!

We are so thrilled to have SewCute Shop offering another giveaway to our readers! We love this shop so it is fun. They have adorable creations! Women's apparel, kids apparel, aprons, camera strap covers, you name it!

Look how fabulous...


SewCute Shop even has little dresses for American Girl Dolls. How adorable!!


Today, one lucky reader has a chance to win a $40 gift certificate to SewCute Shop. All you have to do is visit the shop and find your favorite item. Then come back and tell us what it is. For a second entry you can become a fan of ours on Facebook. Good Luck! This giveaway will end Tuesday, October 19th at 11:59 pm PDT.

I am never one to sew my kids' Halloween costumes, although I see so many other amazing women who come up with the cutest costumes! I came across a great article posted on Parenting website for no-sew costumes. It has 35 ideas for really cute costumes that don't require much effort. Now that has my name written all over it!

Here are a few of my favorites....

Bubble bath, anyone?


And this snowball costume is adorable!


My big guy would think it was so cool to be a lightning bolt!


You can read the full article here. Hopefully it will get your creative juices flowing. Happy Halloween planning!

We have our winner of the Japanese printed masking tape from Ginko Papers! Congratulations to:

We have already sent you an e-mail, Stephanie, so just e-mail us back so we can get you your prize!

Thanks to everyone who entered! If you haven't already, get over to Ginko Papers and grab that pack of tape you loved--it's my favorite new product!

Have you ever heard of Aladdin products? No, I am not talking about the movie, although this stuff is about as cool. With my son starting first grade this year, I knew I had to think of some great lunch options. My friend told me about a lunch bowl where you heat food in the microwave in the morning and it stays warm until lunch time. I ran out and got one right away!

I found this bowl at Target and told my son he had to tell me if his soup stayed warm until lunchtime. He came home and proudly told me it was indeed warm soup for lunch! I also love that it has a built in spoon. So perfect for school lunch and we use it all the time. My son thinks he is so cool when he brings it!

Aladdin recently gave me two drink containers to try out. I was thrilled since I love the bowl so much.


The Fern Clutch Water Bottle on the left is fabulous to take on all my errands throughout the day as well as hiking. I love that it is leak-proof and also that it has a little ring so I can hang it on my finger while walking. I also love that it has a spout. I prefer to drink out of a spout than a wide mouth on a water bottle. I take this bottle everywhere and it stays really cold!

The mini lunch bottle is perfect for school lunch! One day we actually had a water bottle spill and get all over papers in the backpack. Not cool. This bottle will not do that. You can also use this for soup to sip if you wish because you can heat it now and eat it later just like the bowl. You could also use it for hot chocolate on the road, if your kids like that! The outside of the bottle stays cool so kids can hold it. I also love that it has a built in cup on the top if they want to pour soup into that part and eat it.

I really love Aladdin products. They are also really affordable which is a huge plus in my book. If you are looking for innovative products for school lunch or even just products to take on the go for hot or cold beverages or food, this is the stuff!!

Thanks to all who entered the Creativity for Kids giveaway. The two winners of a Designed By You Special Occasion Fashions Kits are:

Mandy and I have boys that share a birthday. Today her son is 5 and mine is 1! Happy Birthday boys! Remember this little guy we featured last week?



Yep, that's my little guy. But here is what he looks like now...

He has grown up so fast and I cannot believe he is already 1! For his birthday I wanted to make him a special cake. I saw a cake on my friend's blog and it was just fabulous. She found the idea from the Texas Monkey blog.

Here's the cake I made my little guy. Isn't it adorable? I love that it looks like a big bowl of candy!

It is two 8 inch round cakes frosted with kit-kats lining the outside and M&Ms on top. It was super easy, but looks so great!

Their site has all the tips and instructions and also has other versions of easy candy cakes. I love this one for Halloween...


And this Christmas one...


Go visit Texas Monkey. There are cakes for each holiday!

We are big fans of Bakerella as I am sure are many of you. Lucky for us, our friend Stacy found out there was going to be a book signing near us, so we planned a girls day out! We dropped the kiddos off to various sitters and headed to the mall. After picking up our books and numbers for the signing, we decided to have a seat and chow down on some delicious cupcakes. I mean, we were waiting to see Bakerella so it's fitting, right? Nothing better than a feast of cupcakes for lunch. We offered one to the sweet girl who we pegged with the task of snapping about 10 photos for us. She politely declined. She must have more will power than us.



When the wait was finally over we got to hear a question and answer session from Bakerella. It was very interesting to hear her tips and tricks on getting her cake pops to turn out just right.


Then it was on to the book signing. Aren't we lucky? She sure is sweet and we sure admire her talents.


After the signing, Mandy was so excited that she went out and got the stuff to make these cute robot pops from the book for her son's class birthday treat the next day. They were a ton of work, but the kids went crazy for them! Thanks for helping us win mom-of-the-year awards, Bakerella!



This was one of my favorite girls outings of all time. Bakerella is headed to a bunch of other cities (Seattle was only her second stop), so check out her book signing tour schedule to see if she's coming to a Williams-Sonoma near you!

I have a strong affection for fall, but I wouldn't call it love. In autumn I'm usually too busy mourning the end of summer to fully enjoy the new season. But we've had some gorgeous fall weather here, so I decided to snap out of it and try to cherish all the beautiful things about fall before they're gone. I extended my new attitude toward autumn to the kids in our little co-op preschool, so here are a couple of fun autumn ideas to use in preschool or with little ones at home.

Fall Walk Wreath

Help kids make a beautiful fall wreath using items found during a stroll outside. I was worried about taking 5 preschoolers on a fall walk all by myself, so I did a little prep work with my own kids the day before. We went on a fall walk and gathered leaves, acorns, and pinecones. Then I cut 5.5" wreaths out of thin chipboard (like the stuff that comes in a pack of scrapbooking paper to keep it from getting bent--I always save it).

I spread out all the findings in the middle of the table and let the kids pick what they each wanted on their wreath. Then it was gluing time! I let them use Tacky Glue to glue their pieces on. Then, while they were busy at free time, I added a little hot glue to the heavier items, just to make sure they stayed put. It was so fun to see what they made!


Apple Cut-Outs Snack

For snack time I cut thin slices of apple (about 1/4" thick). Then I broke out my Wilton Harvest Collection mini cookie cutters and let the kids cut shapes out of their apple slices. I was amazed to hear several times, "Can I have more apples?" They couldn't get enough of cutting out the shapes and eating them! This would work for any season--just change the mini cookie cutters. I found mine on sale at Michael's for $1.






Oh, lovely fall, I think we could be friends after all!

Jessica and I haven't said anything about this, hoping that it wasn't true, or that she'd change her mind. But alas. . .here's a note from our dear friend Stacy.

Howdy! It’s been a while, I know. As some of you know I decided earlier this year to take time to simplify my life which included stepping away from the blog. Yep, our little trio is now a dynamic duo (an amazing one at that). I realized that juggling a family, work, volunteer activities and the blog was too much. I am sure a lot of you know where I am coming from and the challenges some of us face trying to be the best mom, friend, worker, volunteer, etc. If only there were more hours in the day.

Since there are not I have to make do with what I have and that meant leaving the blog. I apologize for not getting this note out months ago when I decided to take my break but better late than never right? So, here I am to say “THANK YOU” to all of you. Thank you darling readers for being so supportive of my creative endeavors and cheering me on. I loved reading every single one of your comments and I loved the feeling of having friends all over the world. Thank you to all the sponsors. You are some of the most amazing and creative people I know. Thank you to all the other bloggers out there that I got to know through the blog. I love the sense of community that blogging brings and it was so fun to be a part of it. Rock on!

Of course, I am saving my biggest “Thank You” for Mandy and Jessica-the Little Birdies. Thanks for letting me be a part of this amazing adventure. You go girls—I am your biggest fan.

Love,
Stacy

So I guess it's true. Well, we want to say thank you to you, too, Stace. This blog wouldn't be what it is today without you and all your amazing ideas. It was your determination (and persistence) that got the ball rolling, and your follow-through that kept it going, even when only our friends and family were reading. It's a good thing we still get to hang out--we just feel badly that we don't get to share you with our readers anymore! You are a crafting genius, the Cupcake Queen, and our own personal social planner. We love you!

~Mandy & Jessica

Just finished my second butterfly quilt (Stacy, you're brilliant--love this pattern!). Are you getting sick of it yet? Cause I'm not. After the last one, I had a ton of people ask me how I quilted it. They couldn't believe I did it on my little Kenmore machine, and that I didn't use a pattern. I often "stipple" my quilts because it's fast, it looks great on almost every quilt, and it's hard to notice the mistakes. And it's way easier than it looks.


Side note--don't you love the backing on this one? This print is from the original line and I just adore it.


Okay, here's my little stippling video to give you an idea of how to do this. Hopefully you've already learned how to make the quilt sandwich and pin your layers together. I didn't go over that in the video.



Here's a close up of my stippling pattern. I used a pretty large pattern on this one, but I've done tiny versions, too. Both look great, but I've learned the the bigger pattern creates a softer, less stiff quilt.



This is a hand-drawn version of what I'm doing, since my stitches are the same color as my quilt top. I did this really fast, and I actually think my drawing on the quilt is better than the hand drawing! It feels really organic to me--almost like you're drawing tiny lifeforms, like amoebas.

My best advice is to 1. practice first, and 2. floor it! When you move your needle fast, everything about stippling becomes easier. Oh, and I have to say that I am a huge believer in using Kona Cotton when you're using a solid color, like I did here. They cost a little more than the broadcloth options at the fabric store, but they crinkle so much better, and have such a rich feel after they're washed! Good luck with your stippling!

I can't believe I can say this, but I was actually productive at last week's craft night at my house. I usually avoid working on my scrapbook each month at craft night, because I feel guilty that I'm so behind, but I was determined to use my new scrapbooking goodies from Blue Moon before I put them away and forgot about them. Here's the back-to-school layout I did using this year's photo. Crazy, I know. I still haven't finished this kid's baby album!


I used bits and pieces from Crate Paper's School Spirit line (love it!) as well as paper from Basic Grey's Wander line, and of course, more Japanese masking tape (I told you I was obsessed!). I just like using a little bit here and a little bit there. Can you spot it on this page? I'll give you a little help. . .



I've been so obsessed with the stuff that I persuaded Ginko Papers to do a little giveaway for our readers. So let's do it (wow, two giveaways in a row!). Leave us a comment with the name of your favorite tape bundle from Ginko Papers, and you'll be entered to win a bundle of your choice! Join our e-mail subscription list (on the left sidebar) and you'll be entered a second time (no need to leave a second comment--we'll see you on the subscription list).


Okay, so I'll start. This is my favorite NEW item from Ginko. I love the roses overlaid on the polka dots! And they're turquoise polka dots no less! Perfect. So tell me which one you love, but do it by Monday, October 11, 2010 at 11:59pm. Good luck!

Today we have a great giveaway for you! Creativity for kids has a great new product called Designed By You Special Occasions Fashions. From pearls to lace this ultimate set has everything you need to design wedding dresses and special occasion fashions. Featuring even more supplies than the original, this deluxe version includes a dress mannequin, satin dress, yards of fabric, trims, sewing essentials, tape measure, thimble, sketch book, sketching pencils, fabric swatches, satin pincushion, sparkle fabric paint, scissors, veil accessories and more. Bonus! Keep all your supplies together inside the handy storage bag.

You can watch the video below to see how great it is!


Wouldn't this be fabulous for a little girl in your life? Well, Creativity for Kids is giving away A Designed by You Special Occasion Fashions Activity Kit to two of our readers! All you have to do is visit their site and tell us another one of your favorite products. For a second entry become a fan of them on facebook. And for a third entry become a fan of ours on facebook! Good Luck. The giveaway will end on Sunday, October 10th at 11:59 pm PDT.

Here at Little Birdie Secrets we love to make cards! Mandy and I have had several card-making nights in the past few years and although we always chat way more than craft, it is always fun to share ideas and make cards to keep on hand for friends and family. Today is World Card Making Day, so to celebrate we thought we would post some card ideas to inspire you!

The first card Mandy made from the sketch uses One Fall Day from Bella Blvd. This paper already had strips built in, so the work was already done for her!


You saw a sneak peek of this one yesterday. The Japanese masking tape was layered over the strips of paper to create more strips. Don't you love the button? It was made by our friend London at Such Sweet Tierney. It was the color inspiration for this card.


The first card Jessica made using the Earth Love mini deck from Cosmo Cricket. I chose a paper, that had several strips layered on one patterned sheet.


Jessica's next card uses all Stampin Up! supplies. Mandy and I both used the the Mojo Monday 156 layout as our inspiration. That's why they all feature a similar pattern!


The next two cards come from our friend, Kayleen. Remember her site Berry Stampin'? Check it our for these cards and many more!


The last two cards come from our friend, Anne Beale. She is one talented lady and you can see more of her creations at her Mukibug blog.


Happy World Card Making Day! Go create something!