Thursday, November 27, 2014

Great Christmas Gift Ideas for Girls

Christmas is less than a month away!  With 4 kids and a husband to shop for I've been combing the internet for the best ideas for gift giving this year.

Here are a few of my favorite Christmas gift ideas for girls!  Stay tuned for my favorite Christmas ideas for boys!




 

 

 
 

 

 

Wednesday, November 5, 2014

Craft Fail: When Homemade Goes Horribly Wrong





















It seems like just yesterday that the incredible virtual pin board known as Pinterest hit the web.  In actuality, it's already been 4 years!  In that time, we've all been inspired by awesome pins and perhaps have even dabbled in recreating a few--some with success and many, many that have been disasters (to put it mildly).  Public photos of these Pinterest flops have been far and few between, until now.  With the latest release of the book CraftFail:  When Homemade Goes Horribly Wrong by Heather Mann, you finally have a peek at some horribly hilarious copycat Pinterest attempts. Think of Pinterest, gone awry.  From "mutant Milano sheep" to a "possessed peppermint wreath", the pages of this book will have you laughing hysterically as you recall your own craft mishaps.



Wondering how this book came about? The author, Heather Mann (pictured below), was inspired by her own experiences crafting.  She gathered real-life fails in home décor, fashion, holiday & food prep,  kid crafting , and best of all those "high profile" fails where crafty people attempted to recreate highly viral pins with catastrophic results. The book is filled with over 100 full-color pictures with the side-by-side comparison of the desired outcome and the sad reality (plus captions pointing out what went wrong.)

























I love that despite the humorous photos and commentary, Heather appreciates the learning process and celebrates the attempt!  Your ruffled cake didn't turn out?  That's ok!  You tried!  As Heather says, "you learn more from trying and failing than not trying at all."   And when the cake hits the fan, as it inevitably will-- you can smile and laugh and know you aren't alone!

Purchase a copy of CraftFail for only $9.88 on Amazon for all of your crafty friends and family members and enjoy a good belly laugh together as you relive your own Pinterest flops!

Now take a peek at a few more of the outtakes from this funny book.  Have you tried any of these?
 
 






ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Heather Mann, the founder of CraftFail.com and DollarStoreCrafts.com, has been crafting with middling success all her life, but blogging expertly since 2000. She is also cofounder of The Blueprint Social, a social media consulting company and network of influential bloggers, and co-host of the web show “Get a Little Creative.” She lives and crafts in Salem, Oregon.

Photo credits: CraftFail- Workman Publishing