The winner of the four seasons of coffee cup sleeves is Deb.  When I mentioned that everyone’s country is on my bucket list I meant it, I love to travel, but I have to admit that Deb’s homeland of Australia is very close to the top.  She is also a blogger, so look her up at Two Cheeky Monkeys.

Blu is the winner of the fat quarters and sewing notions.  I’ve sent her an email, but haven’t actually gotten in touch with her yet.  I’m kind of hoping her actual name is Blu – how great would that be?

Again, thank you all so much for playing along.  I’m looking forward to doing it again next time!

I love the haphazard-but-not style of this Graduation Board from Creations from my Heart.

Cash is a very common, and usually welcome, gift for graduates.  This Graduation Lei from Your Homebased Parties probably had this kid running from his cash-plucking friends, but I’ll bet he didn’t mind.

This Photo Monogram Letter from Sometimes Creative would be a sweet way to share photos of a child’s school years for graduation and would make a nice dorm room decoration later.

What teenager doesn’t love candy?  Give them this Candy Pail from Fun Mom on the Go, then hide until the sugar rush is over.

These Smarties Diploma Graduation Favors from Dollar Store Crafts are just simple and cute.  Sometimes that’s all you need.

If you’ve had a kid in high school, you know every activity they get involved in comes with a t-shirt.  What better way to wrap up their school career than with this T-Shirt Quilt from CraftStylish?

Back to the cash, this Grad Money Holder from Splendiferous Creations is fairly simple, but looks impressive.

This Graduation Cap Money Holder Box from Extreme Cards and Papercrafting would be fun to give.

I love reusing those little Altoids tins, so this Graduation Gift Card Holder from Plaid caught my eye.

These Candy Cup Caps from Bakerella are on my list of possible graduation day food.

I also have a few graduation gift ideas right here:  Graduation Cap Gift Check Holder, Fabric Fortune Teller and Fabric Fortune Cookies.  I’ll be sharing a new graduation gift idea with you next week.

Do you have a graduate this year?  Have you gone through as many boxes of Kleenex as I have so far?

It’s Giveaway Day again!  Many thanks to Sew, Mama, Sew for continuing to host and organize this fun event.  This year I decided to participate in both the Supplies and Accessories categories, so check out my other post today for my Supplies giveaway.

For those of you who’ve never visited before, I’ve been blogging here at Crafty Staci for a while now, and love sharing simple, original tutorials and a few recipes.  You can see all of my previous tutorials here, and recipes here.  If you’d like to keep up with my adventures, you can subscribe over there in the side bar. ——————->

I have an Etsy shop and play around a bit on Pinterest, Facebook and Twitter.  In between all that, I make stuff.

My most popular tutorial ever is my Reversible Coffee Cup Sleeve, so it seemed like the perfect giveaway.  I’m always swapping the one I carry for a different one when the seasons change, so I couldn’t just give you one sleeve.   Instead, you’ll receive four!

You caught the “reversible” part, right?  So it’s almost like having eight sleeves.  Here’s the other side.

To enter to win this set, just leave me a comment.  Tell me a joke, what you’re working on, your favorite song, whatever.  The giveaway will remain open until 5 pm, PST on Friday, May 25th.  After that, I’ll randomly choose a winner (who I’ll notify by email, so make sure yours is linked to your comment somehow).  International readers are welcome to enter.  It’s a small world after all.

Thanks for visiting!  Be sure to check out my other giveaway and all the other great blogs and shops playing along this week!

It’s Giveaway Day once again.  I love the fact that Sew, Mama, Sew organizes and hosts this a couple of times each year.  It’s a fun way to discover some new blogs and shops.  Settle in with a warm, tasty beverage of your choice and do a little exploring.

For those of you who’ve never visited before, I’ve been blogging here at Crafty Staci for a while now, and love sharing simple, original tutorials and a few recipes. You can see all of my previous tutorials here, and recipes here. If you’d like to keep up with my adventures, you can subscribe over there in the side bar. ——————->

I have an Etsy shop and play around a bit on Pinterest, Facebook and Twitter. In between all that, I make stuff.

Last year, I gave away one of my Ninja Monkey Bags.  This time, in addition to a handmade item (visit my other post today for that giveaway – it’s not a bag!), I wanted to give you something to encourage your own creativity.  After all, that was my motivation for starting this blog in the first place.

Here’s what the winner will receive:  five lovely fabric fat quarters, a half yard of my favorite iron-on interfacing, a 7 inch white zipper, a spool of white thread, pink flower buttons and a blue butterfly button.

There are billions of fat quarter projects out there if you need a little motivation.  In fact, I recently spent a week focused on fat quarters, so there’s plenty here to get you started.

To enter to win everything here, just leave me a comment.  It doesn’t have to be long, I’d just appreciate something that will add to the quality of my day.  The giveaway will remain open until 5 pm, PST on Friday, May 25th. After that, I’ll randomly choose a winner (who I’ll notify by email, so make sure yours is linked to your comment somehow). International readers are welcome to enter. Every one of your countries is on my bucket list.

I appreciate all of you, both old and new readers! Be sure to check out my other giveaway and all the other great blogs and shops playing along this week!

I actually tried this Pinched Hem from Feathers Flights a couple of months ago.  My jeans are always too long, but I don’t like the look of my “homemade” hems.  This trick worked beautifully.

This Draped T-Shirt from One Avian Daemon is made from a piece of knit fabric, but I think it could also be done with a t-shirt or two.

I love these Faux Chenille Capri Pants from RoCa and Company.  I think if I made these with the chenille closer to the hem I could get away with it.

I used to have a sweatshirt with three-quarter length sleeves and I wore it a lot this time of the year.  I’ve been thinking about altering a long-sleeved one I already have to replace it, and I’d like to also use the neckline from this Sweatshirt Makeover from Irish Attic.

My short-short days are over, but luckily I have a daughter with lovely legs.  I think she’s going to need these DIY Vintage Lace Trimmed Shorts from Hippie Lace.  Living vicariously through my daughter’s closet.

The ruffle and buttons are a great details on this Men’s Polo Shirt to Woman’s Cute Shirt with Yolk from LauPre.  This would be equally fun with short sleeves for summer.

I’m not sure this Snowflake Cutout Tank from Honeybear Lane on Ucreate would be the same if she hadn’t used the black and white polka dot fabric.  It really adds to the design.

These little Ruffle Cuff Pants from The Mother Huddle are adorable.  How cute would this be for shorts?

I love how the braiding turns this big, boring shirt into something so stylish.  Scroll all the way to the bottom of the tutorial on Crafting Dreams to see what she did with the bottom of the sleeves.

Single-shoulder tops are everywhere right now, so why not make your own?  Find out how with this tutorial from Craft.

Also, in case you haven’t already heard, next Monday is the first day of Giveaway Day (which is really Giveaway Week) at Sew, Mama, Sew!  If you haven’t heard of it, you’re really missing something.  Hundreds of bloggers and crafters from all over participate by giving something away.  Some offer a premade item, others craft supplies.  Some give both.  Everyone has their own method of entry, but it’s often as simple as leaving a comment. 

I’ll be giving something away as well, so be sure to check back here on Monday to see what it is and enter to win!

If you’re not familiar with what a knitting knobby is, maybe you know it by another name, such as corking, Bizzy Lizzy, spool knitter, knitting mushroom, Knitting Nancy or French Knitting.  If none of those ring a bell, I might be sounding a little crazy by now.  But this is a craft that has been around for a very long time, and if you didn’t try it as a kid, it’s never too late.

A website called Needlepointers has lots of links to information about knitting knobby projects, including this PDF from Hasbro (yes, the toy company) from 1945.

I started this because I fell in love with that black and white yarn in the first photo.  I can’t knit or crochet, which limits my ability to use yarn in a productive way.  But I was also looking for an easy craft I could do while watching TV with my family and it doesn’t get much easier than a knitting knobby.

I started, with no plan as to what I was going to do with this long thing I was “knitting.”  I’d pick it up every once in a while, make it a little longer, then put it away again.  Sometimes it stayed there for months, probably even years.  At some point I decided I’d just stop when I ran out of yarn.

Fast forward to 2012, year of the infinity scarves and t-shirt yarn necklaces.  When I realized I could actually make something I could wear from my little project, I was kind of ecstatic.  No one wants to work on something for that long without a purpose.

I almost made it to the end of the ball of yarn, but once I decided what to do with it, my impatience won.  I finished it off, tied the ends together and here’s what I ended up with.

Of course, now that it’s finished it’s warming up around here.  I’ll will probably have to wait until the fall to wear it, but what’s a few more months for something years in the making?

I came across a few things that made me much less cranky though.  For starters, how could I, being a crafter, not smile at this little beauty?  It can be found at Joann, and I just can’t get over what a great job Singer did combining the old and new.

When I was a kid, in the olden days before computers, I actually loved to type.  My husband gave me a tablet for my birthday last year, so this USB Typewriter from Uncommon Goods just seems like a perfect fit.

Speaking of my little tablet, the reason I wanted one in the first place was to read books on it.  I don’t read a lot of non-fiction, but I think my next one will be Imagine:  How Creativity Works by Jonah Lehrer.  I always find it fascinating to hear a scientist try to explain why we do what we do.

If you understand the references on this t-shirt, you know why it’s one of my all-time favorite movies.  If you don’t, go find The Princess Bride and watch it.  Right now.  But don’t read the book – it’s truly awful.  Inconceivable.

I have ridiculously sensitive teeth.  Not because I’m getting older – they’ve always been that way.  I rarely even bother trying to drink something cold without a straw, so I’m pretty sure I need these Bent Glass Straws from Etsy seller ManyMinis.

I already got a fabulous coffee cup for my birthday from my sister.  It came from Amazon in a GIANT blue velvet bag, which made it extra fun to open.  In case you’re new here, I’m a big Wonder Woman fan.

I’ve been on a search for some cute red heels.  I don’t know where I’m going to wear them, it just seems like something that should be available in my closet when I figure it out.  This pair from DSW might be The One.

As a graduation gift, we’re taking our daughter and her friend to Disneyland.  This cute Dooney & Bourke bag might not be in the budget (after high school comes college), but I will have to find it there, just so I can see it in person.  No really, I just want to look at it.  Really.

When my husband and I got married, almost 21 years ago, we decided we didn’t need or want formal china.  A few years ago, I found my “china” in Fiesta ware.  I have quite a bit of it now, but there’s always a new piece or color on my radar.  Right now, it’s this chip and dip set.  Love.

Do you remember the brownie/cookie dough/cake dessert from last year?  It was heavenly.  This year, I’m leaning toward these Salted Caramel Dulce de Leche Cheesecake Bars from Made with Pink.  Tell me your mouth is not watering right now.

I’m off to do some celebrating.  Have a great Mother’s Day this weekend!

With all that assistance just there for the asking, they should be overflowing out the door of our little room.  Nope.  Teenagers are teenagers.  However, they can be bribed.  We aren’t above luring them in the door with treats.  We have new rules to follow though, and we aren’t supposed to give them anything over 200 calories.  That’s why I can tell you, my teenager-bait for today comes in at about 100 calories per cookie.

Caramel No Bake Cookies

1 cup granulated sugar

1 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup butter

1/2 cup evaporated milk (I use skim)

1/2 cup peanut butter

1 teaspoon vanilla

3 cups oats, either quick-cooking or old fashioned

Combine the sugars, butter and milk in a saucepan.  Cook on medium-high heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture comes to a boil.  Boil for 1 minute.  Remove from heat.  Add peanut butter, vanilla and oats.  Stir well.  Working quickly, drop by teaspoons full onto waxed paper.  Cool completely.  Makes about 50 cookies.

I also tried sprinkling a little bit of sea salt on a couple of these, and loved it.  They’re very rich anyway, so one or two goes a long way.  I’m off to see if the high schoolers feel the same way.

This canvas project from Virginia and Charlie has been popping up for a while.  I was surprised to find out when I tracked it back to the original post, she didn’t use glue, like all the pins say, and she didn’t paint it.  It’s puffy paint, and she left it white.  I still love it, and she shows some other versions she made as well.

I think I’ve mentioned this before, but a few years ago, we took our kids on an epic, two-week, cross-country road trip.  It was fantastic.  I’d love to embroider our path onto a map and frame it, like these from Martha Stewart.

I found this cute project recently.  It comes from a Hungarian blog, whose name, A Papír egy Csoda, Google translates as The Paper is a Miracle .  What a fun, beautiful way to fill the space under the stairs.

I love Christian Louboutin shoes.  You know, the high heels with the red soles?  And it’s really only because of those soles.  I could have something similar and sparkly for a fraction of a fraction of the cost with this tutorial from Could I Have That.

I like food with flavor, but not super-spicy.  Every once in a while though, I get in the mood for a jalapeno popper, and I think this Jalapeno Popper Grilled Cheese Sandwich from BS’ in the Kitchen would be a delicious substitute.

These bags from Jump From Paper look like cartoons, but are actual bags.  They’re pretty pricey, but kind of adorable.

This Thin Mints sign from Etsy seller Atlas Signs is my most liked and repinned pin.  And oh-so true.

I had to do some serious digging and searching to find the originator of this shadow box car display, which is Work in Progress Kits.  Totally worth it.  I’m digging out my son’s old Hot Wheels right now.

We’ll wrap up this week with one of my favorite new quotes, courtesy of SomeEcards.

You all know I have a shop on Etsy, but they’ve come up with a few new things recently that make shopping there even better.  The big one for me is that you can now purchase from an Etsy shop without using PayPal.  You can simply use a credit card right from the cart.  Yay!

There’s also an Etsy feature I like called “Gift Ideas.”  It’s in the lower left corner of the home page, under “Ways to Shop.”  It looks at your Facebook friends’ interests and suggests related items.  Some of them are pretty good.  Some are just entertaining.  I laughed when it suggested a whole bunch of Strawberry Shortcake items for my son who likes strawberries.  But the chocolate chip cookies are spot on.

I just noticed you can now create a wedding registry on Etsy (upper left corner).  My wedding was almost 21 years ago, but I’m hoping other types of registries will follow.

This might be surprising, but I just recently placed my first order with Fabric.com.  Fabric is one thing I rarely order online, mostly because I like to be able to feel it.  But the prices were too good to pass up, and I’m very impressed with them so far.  I ordered some swatches first, which were much bigger than I expected (about 8” squares) and came very quickly.    They offer very good sales and I found the colors and descriptions to be accurate.  I’ll definitely order again.

My most recent shopping discovery is called Tophatter.  It’s an auction website, but it’s different than any I’ve seen before.  It seems to be handmade, vintage and supplies, and from what I’ve seen so far many of the sellers are from Etsy, looking for a new outlet for their goods.  It’s fun to watch, if only for the little animated auctioneer.

Handmadeology will be hosting a Live Mother’s Day Auction on Tophatter on May 5th, which might be a good time to check it out.  It appears that Tophatter gives you a $5 credit to use toward your first purchase over $5.  I haven’t used mine yet, and it’s only good the day you register, so keep that in mind if you decide to check out the site.

Edit:  When I wrote this post, I had applied to be part of the Handmadeology Mother’s Day Auction, but didn’t know if I would be accepted – I was!  Also, I’ve been given 10 Tophatter invitations, so if you need one, email me and I’ll invite you.

Now I’ve got to give the shopping a break and get back to work.  Let me know if you try any of these out!