Crafty Rockers

Holiday Meal Guilt and Stress – Why Do We Do It

There are many of us who want to execute the most perfect holiday spread from the appetizers , the tablescapes, the main course – with side dishes and deserts – of course EVERYTHING from scratch! Then there are those who are content with pre-made everything ,paper plates, cans of pop and frozen pies and boxed cookies

I was always the first group for the longest. I will admit I was a major snob…

It’s that time of year again and I’m picking out my favorites. I reviewed last year’s holiday gift guide and I have to say that those are all still great gifts again this year! I’m going to add a few more to the list this year. Last year I included the Fitbit One. I’ve upgraded this year to the Fitbit Charge 2 and I LOVE IT! This one is much harder to lose! And it hasn’t gone through the wash…

I Inherited Yarn – Now What?

I inherited yarn!  That’s something you don’t normally hear from someone! I got a phone call from my father just the other day.  My stepmother Judy was cleaning out their spare bedroom and found a giant box of yarn that was once her mother’s.  Judy’s mom was an avid crocheter.  She was always working on something.  She actually had a stash of blankets ready for baby showers, bridal showers etc.…

Yarn, Atmosphere and Charity – How a Visit to a Local Shop Encouraged me

Today I visited a local yarn store by the name of The Black Purl here in Rochester NY. I’ve been meaning to visit this store for awhile, for it kept popping up in my Facebook Feed. The name alone really caught me as something really cool and something I needed to check out. I absolutely love the play on words. When I walked in the store, sorry to use this cliche , but, I felt like a kid in a…

Support and Appreciation for other Crafters,Vendors and Artisans, Why this is important for your own growth.

Often when I go to craft fairs and festivals, I find myself doing something that I really shouldn’t do , and that is… proclaiming “Oh I could easily make that myself for half the price! “ I know many of you have thought this same exact thing. I end up not buying the item, and let’s be honest, I never actually end up “making the same thing”, because most of the time I’ve forgotten about it anyway…

Top 9 Ways to Make Charitable Contributions

We all like to give and receive amazing presents. We love to see the look on people’s faces when we picked out that perfect present, or crafted that special item.  We like to look around at our decorations we put up with such pride.  There’s something else that I try to do every year, and that is to give back when and where I can, all year long through charitable contributions. I wasn’t always…

It is a constant struggle to get myself into a groove of actually accomplishing the items on my daily to-do list. Recently I’ve been listening to the Young Entrepreneur’s Lifestyle Podcast with Peter Voogd. He talks about your one page productivity plan. Now, his one page plan is more of a life and business plan to keep your goals in check. I decided to apply this to my daily to-do list and…

How to Apply Vinyl to a Guitar

I have a cover band with some of my good friends. We are called The Windshield Bugs. We dress and decorate with what we call Bug Green and Purple. My significant other is the guitar player and he decided he needed “splats” on his guitar. He’s a graphic designer by trade so he designed the splats himself and sent me the files to trace and cut on my Silhouette Cameo. We found a great vendor on eBay…

Snowman Glass Block Decoration

Recently I went into an A.C. Moore store and there was a lady crafting in the display area that caught my interest.  She was painting glass blocks with acrylic paint.  I’m new to crafting with glass blocks, so I asked her why she was painting them.  She showed me that it would eventually become a snow man and showed me what I would need in order to recreate what she made . I decided to try my…

Nancy’s Holiday Gift Guide 2016

It’s that time of year again! Time to start thinking about what to get for everyone (or maybe what you want to receive for gifts!) This week I’m sharing my awesome picks for this years gift giving in our Holiday Gift Guide. These are all products I use and enjoy and hope you will too! All items are available for purchase by clicking on the image. Happy shopping! Power Pressure Cooker XL 6 Qt I…

Shaye’s Holiday Gift Guide 2016

The holiday season is quickly approaching, and you may already find yourself asking, what on earth am I going to get for everyone? (or even more important what you are going to tell people you want). We try to be original and thoughtful with our gifts, but sometimes walking the mall for hours and hours kills my inspiration and makes me just want to give out cash and be done with it all. I’ve…

New Mom Hospital Survival Kit

  New Mom Hospital Survival Kit You’ve been invited to a baby shower, and now you need to come up with a gift idea.  Are you looking for something different and original to bring to a baby shower? You don’t want to get your gift lost in the sea of rattles, onesies , teddy bears and blankets, right? Odds are, the mom-to-be could use a little pampering herself.  No one ever thinks of the most…

How Not to Make Homemade Rose Oil ; A story of Failure and Discovery

I thought I would share a small blurb of what I thought would be a creative endeavor that became a stinky life lesson. When trying to be crafty and/or creative, sometimes there is a lot of miss before you get that hit. Being a perfectionist, I don’t do well with failure. Sometimes I may be afraid to try something, because I don’t want to fail. Case in point, I have been blessed with an over…