Friday 21 December 2012

Six Bands a-Beaded

On the first day of Christmas, Klutz gave to me…

 Beaded Bands under my tree!

Okay, so Christmas is still a couple of days away, but this is one present I'm sure glad I opened early! Beautiful, Beaded Bands has everything you need to make super chic and totally on-trend bracelets that look too good to be homemade. This year, I'm spreading Christmas cheer with these pretty little stocking stuffers.


On the sixth day of Christmas, I'll give six bands a-beaded to some very lucky friends!

And you can win your very own copy of Beaded Bands from Scholastic Canada.
Click here to enter! 

The countdown is on, only three more days to go...
Merry Christmas fellow crafters! See you in the New Year!

Monday 17 December 2012

Merry Christmas Mischief (with Gotcha Gadgets)


Dear Santa,

I have been such a good girl this year — doing all my work, keeping my room sparkling clean, even being extra-nice to my little sister — that I think I’ve earned myself a place on the nice list. So I hope you’ll forgive me this wee bit of naughtiness in the last weeks of December, because I've got a Christmas gift that's sure to get me into some mischief!

Gotcha Gadgets is a practical joker’s dream. This boxy beauty comes complete with four customizable electronic gizmos and a book filled with tons of mischievous ways to put them to use. Make a door alarm, motion sensor, sound machine and more to play pranks and jokes or catch people in the act! And with four hilarious sounds to choose from, like a bloodcurdling scream or a silly sound from the bathroom, the opportunities for hilarity and hijinks are pretty much endless! I’ve safeguarded my diary with a light sensor, planted a gaseous sound machine under my Lil sis’s dinner chair, and watched and waited for the mischief to go down, laughing all the way (ha! ha! ha!). And, hey, I even learned a little bit about the science of electronic circuitry along the way!

If you catch a glimpse of me setting a sound trap or playing whoopee cushion pranks, please try to remember the angelic Lynn of the last 11 months, and not the prank master that I’ve become.

Thanks and Merry Christmas!
Sincerely,
Lynn.

Wednesday 5 December 2012

A Pretty Great Gift (with Disney PIXAR Lightning McQueen Build & Race)



When I was really little, my favourite thing to do was play with dolls. But my little sis, Annie, preferred playing with her toy cars. I would watch her play for hours on end, driving those cars around the imaginary carpet town and, I must admit, I never really got what made it so great. My dolls could be doctors, teachers or princesses with just the change of a costume, but what kind of stories could people who could never leave their cars tell?

Time went by and I never bothered asking, and eventually I forgot all about it. Then one day, I was sitting at home watching Cars, and as the opening scene flashed across the screen, it clicked. Of course it wasn’t the people inside of the cars that my sis was directing in her playtime stories… It was cars themselves! Call me crazy, but I didn’t get it until then.
 
With my narrow mind newly expanded, I knew what I had to do. I dug into my magical Klutz drawer and pulled out Disney PIXAR Cars Lightning McQueen Build & Race, and with some help from my sis, I discovered a whole new way to play!

We built our favourite characters (mine: Guido, hers: Fillmore) and set out the giant fold-out mat complete with tons of cool peel-and-stick stickers to customize our cars with. We whizzed and zoomed around the racetrack on one side, then flipped it over to ride around Radiator Springs, stopping at all our favourite spots, like Tow Mater and Casa Della Tires. And when the fun was all done, we parked our cars in the cool pop-out garage to rest.

This year, think outside the box when picking presents for your family and friends, because you never know what someone will get out of it. This year, my sister gave me a new way to play and that’s a pretty great gift if you ask me!

If you're looking to be inspired by the bounty of Klutz, head over here for a complete listing of books.

Wednesday 21 November 2012

Holiday Fashion Fancy (with Paper Fashions)


It’s the most wonderful time of the year!

That’s right, now that my birthday has come and gone, I am finally ready to let the Christmas festivities begin! And with so many parties, get-togethers and family gatherings to attend, I’m planning out my perfect holiday wardrobe for all occasions.

But I don’t want to break the bank! Christmas is a pretty pricey time after all, so I’m planning out an imaginary Christmas closet for all of the thrill with none of the cost. And with a little help from the fabulous Paper Fashions from Klutz, this holiday season is starting to look very merry and bright!

Pretty peplum and a lacy skirt for those fancy dinners! A cool maroon coat with funky printed tights for a Christmas party with my friends! Santa-inspired outerwear to combat the chill! And a striped tee and jeans with a Christmas bow on top for the big day!

And here’s where the magic really happens… After I plan out my perfect holiday lineup, all I have to do is search through my closet for pieces and patterns that fit all the things I love about my fantasy fashions, and voila, my holiday wardrobe is complete!

Klutz's newly boxi-fied format makes it easier than ever to wrap and give crafty do-it-yourself-style gifts this year. Wrap it up!

Thursday 8 November 2012

Paper Flying Dragons Photo Diary

I must admit, when Paper Flying Dragons first landed (no pun intended) on my Klutz radar, I couldn’t really get into it. I mean, I love fantasy as much as the next nerd girl; I just wasn’t sure that would translate to paper-dragon play.

On a weekend trip to the cottage with all of my family around, it seemed like the best time to break out the book and rope some cousins into playing with me. My aunt and her two boys seemed totally on board, so we set up at the coffee table and got started. As we flipped through the pages of paper pop-out dragons, I started to feel some excitement. I picked out a purple hatchling, folded her up, then headed outside to put her in flight.

We hopped up on the deck to give us some height, then launched our dragons clear across the beach. These little beauties flew like a dream! As we watched our jewel-toned dragons soar through the sky, I started to feel a chill, so I popped inside to grab a sweater. And what did I find but a few more players at the coffee table, whipping up some paper dragons of their own.

Turns out our whirling, swirling spectacle had sparked some serious interest, and it wasn’t long before the whole family was outside, playing paper dragon battles, target practice, and racing up and down the beach. I wondered to myself how I ever doubted the power of flying paper dragons!


Friday 26 October 2012

Disney Princes Purses - Handmade for Halloween

Halloween can be a great time to get crafty, from carving pumpkins to making decorations and baking spooky treats! But when it comes to costumes, especially when you're young and this Halloween business is serious stuff, sometimes a homemade costume just won’t cut it. I remember the horror on a school friend's face when she walked in to class in a mom-made Raggedy Ann, only to find herself in a sea of store bought fairies, pirates, and princesses. I thought her costume was the coolest, but I could tell that she was silently wishing her mom had hit up the store instead of the sewing machine.

When I heard that super-cute little Miss Emilia was going as Cinderella this Halloween, I jumped at the chance to add a little craftiness to her costume. I shared my copy of the brand new and boxy Make Your Own Disney Princess Paper Purses and we gave this little princess some accessories worthy of her namesake!

Little Cinder-Emilia got down to business, donning her royal gown and breaking out her fabulous zebra print scissors to cut out accessories.  She decked out her royal purse in pom poms, sequins, and stickers, and laced the purses up all by herself! She was even kind enough to make two more purses to share with her friends!


If you need more ideas for Klutz-made Halloween fun, check out what I got up to last year! Stop by my One-Stop Halloween Shop for tons of fun, 100% Klutz decorating and costume ideas, or check out how I made my pumpkins pop!

Wednesday 17 October 2012

Can't Beat Klutz (with Fashion Forms)

One of the lucky perks of being 100% Klutz is that sometimes I get to try out stuff that hasn't hit the shelves yet. And, boy oh boy, getting first crack at those coveted kits is a great thrill for this craft-hungry gal!

You can imagine my excitement when I was presented with a very early production sample of the swoon-worthy, boxy, new Fashion Forms. This update on classic paper fashion fun is any style-savvy girl’s dream! Tiny, three-dimensional dresses, skirts, and shoes for you to make in all sorts of exciting prints. With a little help from Klutz, I figured I'd soon be well on my way to my own fashion label!

I got to work popping out pieces and setting up my mini-design studio. But my ambitions fell short when I discovered that this early book only had three sample pages of instructions inside. I paused for a second to regroup. Sure, the intricate paper outfits on the box looked complicated, but this is Klutz we're talking about, so I knew there would be some fun trick or handy tool to make it all a breeze. But, as I sorted through the materials and devised a plan of action, I realize that it wasn't the missing instructions I was worried about. What I missed most was the inspiration I get from the Klutz craft masters.

The first thing I do when I crack open a new Klutz book is to scan through the pages and earmark crafts and designs I want to try. And without that special Klutz magic to be my fashion muse, somehow things just didn’t quite come together.

I am so glad that I get a second chance, complete with pages of expertly-made Fashion Forms for me to choose from, because that’s when my clothing line really started to shine!

And that, my friends, is why Klutz can’t be beat!

Don't believe me? See for yourself!