5 Spring Crafting Ideas

Since spring is finally in full bloom, I thought I'd do a roundup of my five favorite springtime crafts from blog posts gone by.

I feel like spring is the perfect time to refashion old clothes so they'll be more breezy, to make cute new accessories for freshly-bared arms, and to collect as many budding flowers as possible.

1.  Bust out those scissors and make a side-tie t-shirt.  It'll look great with a new swimsuit peeking out of the sides.

2.  Create your own beaded wrap bracelets.  They can cost a fortune if you buy them in stores and only a fraction of that if you make them yourself.

3.  Reuse old bottles to make painted bottle vases.  The flowers will look beautiful inside on the mantle or outside on a picnic table, plus the Earth will thank you for upcycling your trash.

4.  Use some scissors and glue to fashion a bow-back tank top.  It's perfect for the weather that's finally warming up.

5.  Embrace the arm knitting trend and make The Triplet Shawl.  It's perfect for wrapping over a swimsuit at the beach.

However you choose to celebrate the changing of the season and the long-awaited arrival of warmer weather, I hope you're loving it.

Happy spring!
xoxo
Laura

Creating Laura is turning 2!

Today is this little blog's 2nd birthday, and it's time to do a couple of big things in honor of the occasion!

First of all, I uploaded a new header.  I used to really like the polka dots, but lately I've been wanting something a bit more personal.  Do you like it?

Second, Creating Laura is now offering sponsorship opportunities!  Yay!  I want you to know, however, that I have absolutely no intention of "selling out."  I'll only be accepting ads that fit in with the content and aesthetic of the blog.  There will be no flashing diet ads.  Ever.  Seriously.

If you're interested in advertising here on the blog, click on the new button in the left column that says "Click here to sponsor Creating Laura" or shoot me an email at creatinglaurablog@gmail.com.

So that's what's going on around here.

In other news, there's no better time to reminisce than on your blog's birthday, so here's a list of my 5 favorite things that I've made in the past year:

1.  My circle skirt definitely takes the cake because it was my first-ever sewing project and because it ended up being a garment that I want to wear all the time.

2.  This robot stamp art is high on the list because I came up with the idea on a whim and I had no idea how much I would like the final result.  It's something that I want to hang in all my future houses forever.

3.  My favorite knitting project that I completed this year is the collection of hair bows that I made for all the ladies in my cast this summer.  It made me so happy to see the girls wearing them around backstage.

4.  I also loved my sticky note calendar project because it was fun to make and even more fun to use as time went on.  When I left Ohio and came back to Colorado, I re-made the calendar on my wall here because I simply couldn't go without it anymore.

5.  And last, but certainly not least, are the mason jar Jack-O'-Lanterns that I created for Halloween last year.  Spray paint is so fun.

Last year was great, and I can't wait to see what the new year has in store.  I have so many ideas for upcoming projects; I'm really excited about the future!

Thank you so much for reading my blog and participating in the journey!
xoxo
Laura

Mother's Day Craft Ideas

Mother's Day is this sunday, and I honestly don't think there's a better excuse for a craft project than that!  I looked around the web and there are literally hundreds of fabulous Mother's Day craft ideas out there.  Here are my 5 favorites:

1.  Fill this DIY fresh flower envelope garland with little love notes for mom, from Studio DIY.

2.  Make Mom a meyer lemon sugar scrub with Amy at U Try It.

3.  Learn how to make heart friendship bracelets for you and your mom with a Lovely Indeed tutorial.

4.  It wouldn't be Mother's Day without flowers, right?  Crafts Unleashed had a cute idea to put them in a hanging floral arrangement.

5.  If your mom likes to sew, a sewing kit in a jar from Funky Time would be the perfect gift.

All of the lovely images shown above belong to their respective blog owners.  Aren't they great?

I have one other Mother's Day craft project up my sleeve, but my mom reads this blog so I obviously won't be posting about it until after Mother's Day.  (My parents may be my biggest blog fans and I love that about them!)

Happy crafting!
xoxo
Laura

3 Quick St. Patrick's Day Craft Projects

Happy St. Patrick's Day!  I hope you're wearing something green!  I am not.  Truth be told, I forgot all about St. Patrick's Day this year.  Sometimes living on a ship in the middle of the ocean takes it's toll and I lose track of what's happening on land.  Oops.

Lucky for me, I'm on land today so I remembered that it's a holiday!

Here are 3 quick and easy St. Patrick's Day projects from around the web that can be done even at the very last second:

1.  Make a cute little shamrock stamp with Punk Projects.

2.  Learn how to crochet a 4 leaf clover over at How to Crochet a Heart.

3.  Print out some paper shamrocks created by Lia Griffith.

All 3 of these photos belong to the bloggers who came up with these craft projects.  Don't forget to click on the links to their sites to see more great photos!

I hope you have a great St. Patrick's Day, regardless of how long you had to prepare for it!
xoxo
Laura

Winter Wishing

I'm in sunny Mexico today, and I'm happy to be here but I can't stop daydreaming of snow.  I've been yearning for sledding on the hill behind my house and reading by the fireplace and wearing all sorts of warm, snuggly clothes.  Here are some wintery things I've been dreaming of buying on Etsy.

1.  These old school legwarmer/boot socks from Yoyo Vintage Life.

2.  A soft and floaty screen printed infinity scarf from Little Minnow Designs.

3. These insanely cute fingerless bow mittens from Gertie & Baxter.

4.  A big, chunky, soft, cable knit blanket from Lucky Hanks.

All of the lovely photos above are courtesy of their respective Etsy shop owners.

What are your favorite cold weather accessories?
xoxo
Laura

Creating Laura is turning one!

Today is a really big day!  This little blog has been around for 1 whole year now, and in my eyes it seems like it's been no time at all and forever all at once.  The blogging learning curve has been super steep and I know I'm definitely not to the top of that hill yet, but I love learning new ways to improve this blog.  And that's just the actual putting-things-up-on-the-internet side of it.  I cannot tell you how much this blog has made me grow as a person over the past year.  It has been an incredible confidence booster because each new project that I do makes me realize more and more that I am capable of doing pretty much anything if I take the time to think it through.  I don't even feel like the same person who wrote this first post.  Also, my world is so full of pretty things now!  And this blog and all those good feelings are addicting so the more I blog, the more I want to blog!  I can't wait to see where this blog and I go in the future.

In honor of Creating Laura turning 1, here is a look back at my 10 favorite posts from the past year:

1. XOXO coffee cup sleeve

2.  Nail stamping



3.  Sock Buns!



4.  Yarn Bombing



5.  Cutesy Tools: How to Decoupage a Screwdriver



6.  Ombre Nails



7.  Baby Crazy



8.  (Gluten-Free) Pumpkin Cookies



9.  Grownup friendship bracelets



10.  Little Knitted Flowers



It's been a great ride so far.  Thanks for keeping me company along the way!
xoxo
Laura