And the Custum Calligraphy Banner Winner is...

The winner is miss.alexis!  Congrats!

Email me at doeadeery+cat@gmail.com so that I can get your details and make your custom banner!

Thank you my deers for reading and entering the giveaway!

Custum Calligraphy Pennant Banner :: GIVEAWAY!

by cat:

We're having a little party for my daughter's third birthday and wanted to make the place a bit more festive. I made this pennant banner with card stock and ric-rac and then used a calligraphy pen to write out her name. 

The best part is that I enjoyed making it!

Thus, a giveaway!

One lucky reader will win a similar banner but with custom lettering and colors of paper.

To enter, leave a comment saying where you will use your pennant banner.

Thanks for reading and have a great day!

Doe Feature: Caravan Shoppe + A Giveaway!!

Life can be a balancing game but today I want to make that game fun for the little ones in your life! (And fun for you too!) 

I recently discovered an online shop that I fell head-over-heels for. Today I am very excited to feature Caravan Shoppe.  Not only is this shop oozing with creative and beautiful products it is also very affordable. Double whammy!! 

After scouring their site I decided I really wanted to make the Olliblocks for my two boys. How could you not want to make these blocks?! After following Caravan Shoppe's easy printing directions I got some of my girlfriends to join in the fun and one afternoon we pulled out our mod podge and got to work. These blocks instantly became one of my boys favorite toys. They love to balance the blocks to create all different characters. They have shown me with these cute blocks that the "balancing act" can sometimes be fun!  Wink!

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Love YOU! + j.crew giveaway (CLOSED)

It's February 14th, and like years past, you may have forgotten to celebrate that special someone who has been through it all with you. The bad perms, the braces, the pimples...have you guessed whom we're referring to? Not your mom, silly! We're talking about YOU, valentine! It's time to admire yourself for the wonderful person you are, so on this day of love, each of us deers have a an idea or two about how to love yourself a little more and a little better. Oh, and since WE LOVE YOU, we're giving away a $30 J.CREW gift card... {see details below}...

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Glitter and Trim Your Flats {tutorial} + Giveaway (CLOSED)

by Julie

They say imitation is the finest form of flattery, and if that's the case, then Mini Boden should be super flattered. I love stores like Mini Boden. I have been eyeing these darling little glitter ballet flats since they came out. It’s just not realistic for me to spend forty bucks on a pair of glitter shoes. Let's be honest, the glitter always rubs off the toes after a couple of months anyway.

When I realized I could make them for under $10, I decided to go for it. This project can be done for pennies if you already have everything on hand. Just grab a pair of flats and get started. Your local thrift store would be a great place to find shoes. It doesn't matter if they are worn; you are going to cover them with glitter. I didn't have a pair  to work with, so I headed over to my neighborhood Old Navy, where I found these silver gems on clearance for $5.49 (this was on Monday so run—don’t walk—to grab a pair). Honestly, I even thought of just keeping the shoes silver and adding the bias tape. Wouldn't that have been cute too?!

 I wanted big glitter, not the micro-fine kind (although you could definitely use it). I went to Michaels where I found Martha Stewart Tinsel glitter on clearance for $1.50 (regularly five bucks, woot woot!). I was on a roll. Then I stopped at JoAnn for yellow bias tape. I bought double fold, but upon returning home realized the single fold stuff would look better and, luckily, I had some on hand so all was not lost. I recommend not going to three stores, but somehow that’s how it played out for me.

Let's get our glitter on!

Supply List

• ballet flats
• tacky glue
• glitter
• bias tape (I used single fold, not the double fold shown in the pic)
• foam brush
• painters tape or masking tape
• newspaper
• paper clips or binder clips
  (whatever you have on hand)

If you start off with new shoes, I recommend scuffing them up a bit. You can use fine sandpaper, or just go the au natural route and let you kids wear them for a week. You don’t want to skip this part, otherwise the glue won't adhere as well. Also, mark off a quarter inch or so, so that you can attach the bias tape.

Next you want to tape off the sole of the shoe and stuff the inside with newspaper. This will keep them looking professional by keeping glitter from getting everywhere. Plus if you pack in a whole sheet of newspaper, you can use the paper as a handle, and keep you fingers clean.

Now get a bowl and mix a little Mod Podge and glitter together. Just eyeball it, you really can't screw it up. You want to keep a gluey consistency so it glides on well.

Using a foam brush or paint brush (I am not sure it matters what you use), brush on your first coat of glitter glue. Do one shoe at a time, and by the time you are done with the second shoe the first should be ready for another coat.

Brush on a second layer of the glitter glue. Get yourself a treat while you're at it for doing such an awesome job!

Now you just sponge on some glue on the spots you have missed. I like to sprinkle dry glitter all over the shoe after the second coat to give it a little definition and really make it sparkle.

Check for empty spots and fill in where needed.

Let the shoes dry for a while, maybe overnight, or maybe while you watch an episode of Project Runway—it's your call.

Now take out your bias tape and measure around the shoe to get the length you need to cut. Remember to add a little extra to fold and overlap. Iron one side of the bias tape open.

Initially I wanted to sew the bias tape on, and then I realized this was a physical impossibility when it came to sewing the area close to the toe. I was crushed, I didn't just want to slap the puppy on there, it would have looked too crafty. Then I had a brilliant idea—sew down the folded side of the bias tape to make it appear to be sewn on to the shoe instead of glued. Seriously pleased with this sudden burst of thought, pat on my back! If you really wanted to you could faux sew the toe and then sew the rest of the bias tape to the shoe. Just make sure to use an needle meant for leather. But I opted to faux sew the whole thing.

Now you just take a little tacky glue and wipe it around the rim of the shoe on the inside and out, just do three or four inches at a time.

Just use your finger to spread that glue on there, or use a paintbrush, whatevs!

Now is the time to use those trusty binder clips and paperclips. Clip one on every few inches to make sure the bias tape stays in place. Let dry for the recommended time on the bottle, or half a KU basketball game, which is what I did.

Touch up any holes in the glitter and in the bias tape to make sure it is secure.

Congratulations! You just made a pair of glitter shoes with a fancy bias trim for eight bucks when they retail for $40 online (plus $10 in shipping). You are also encouraged to spray a sealant of some sort to keep it from all coming off. Use whatever you have on hand, just make sure its glossy. otherwise you will lose all that glittery goodness!



Think of the possibilities: you could make shoes to match all of your little girl's dresses. If you made her dress you could also make bias tape from the dress fabric and make a perfect match. Think of how cute these would be with striped or floral bias tape. Oh the possibilities!

In the interest of full disclosure, I am not sure how these will hold up. My daughter has to wear sneakers to school, so really she will only be wearing these to church. I will keep you updated with how they wear!

Stay tuned for another "make it your way" project coming soon.

And since this is my first posting I am thinking a giveaway is in order!
I will be sending one lucky reader everything (except the shoes) you need to make and trim your own pair of glitter shoes for your favorite little girl.

Giveaway Rules:

• Leave a comment 
• One entry per person
• Open to those living in the U.S.
• Winner picked via random.org
• Giveaway ends 2/17/13 at 10pm est

Winner will be announced on Monday, February 18th.

May the odds be ever in your favor :)

And the winner is #29 Happy Homemaker And Momma  who said: Thank you so much for this tutorial! These are sooo cute! 

Featured on:

and Craftgawker

I shared this project at:

Show and Tell Saturdays at Be Different Act Normal
Strut your Stuff Saturdays @ Six Sisters Stuff
House of Smiths
Craft-o-Maniac
Skip to my Lou
So you think you're crafty

Catherine Ethington :: Art Giveaway! And the winner is...

This Valentine's Day, let's get festive! Not in a chocolate wrapped in pink and red foil kind of way, but in a "I like your soul," kind of way. 

by cat

8x10. hand drawn. ink.

Sometimes I still feel like my 16 year old self, the self who wants a valentine, like some cheesy cupid merchandise that's supposed to be a token of love. As if something from the holiday aisle would satiate my desire for affection...

These days, I'm not so much about the extras--not to say a bundle of fresh flowers from my guy doesn't go a long way--because it does; a handful of white peonies can definitely mend things the eye can't see. But now, the month of February is a celebration of having love in my heart.

Last year on the 13th of this month I gave birth to my son, my sweet, meek and mild child. Bringing him into the world was like meeting love for the first time--all over again. The next day being the 14th, I teased my husband by asking what I was getting for Valentine's Day, though the tease was just an attempt to mask my true eagerness of a gift. He said something funny that I can't remember now and then asked the same question of me. I retorted, “Our baby is your present. I made that tiny human and pushed it out for you!” As I heard myself saying the words they turned from a sarcastic quip into a genuine statement. The act of bringing our son into our lives was spiritual, authentic sincerity and romance. Our creation of love.

There was nothing missing, nothing to make it sweeter. Not even those amazing chocolate eggs with the cream inside, yes I'm talking to you Cadbury.

I long to feel that way again, and often, and keep it with me always--to become preoccupied in gratitude and distracted with love.

I'm happy, and I hope to capture that happiness by realizing that I have something to contribute. I hope to be receptive to love given as well as generously offering it to the world we are a part of.

Not there yet? Me neither. By miles. But I plan on practicing the idea that this is the month of love--an opportunity to embrace love more deeply and often.

So, in the spirit of practicing this, I made a little something for you.Yes YOU dear reader!

We wanted to celebrate the launch of Doe a Deery by having a fine art giveaway!

This illustration is hand drawn with ink and is approximately 8x10” framed in an 11x14” frame. I think the classic black really makes the detail pop, don't you?

Leave a comment about how you are going to celebrate love this month, and this original could arrive on your doorstep! I know you'll love it!

Updated Feb. 7... Thanks everyone for entering!

Kimber, our winner, writes a fun blog with five of her sisters! Check it out!