Today I am doing a blog swap with Kara from Nest Candy. 

Hop on over to her blog and you'll see just how talented she really is! But that's not all you'll get...you'll also learn how to save some $$ here and there with her Money Saving Mondays {i love this idea}

Without further ado, Here is Kara!  

Hi everyone! I am so grateful that Caitlin agreed to do a blog swap with me. I adore her blog and all her great ideas. I am honored to be included among the posts! Let me introduce myself a little...

My name is Kara, and I recently started the blog Nest Candy to share my favorite crafting ideas, money saving tips, and network with other creative minds. So far, I have been really enjoying the friendliness of the blogging community. Please stop by sometime and share your thoughts. I'd love to get to know you!

Today I wanted to share an Easter Tutorial with you. Throughout the month of April, I will be posting Easter treats, decorations, and dinner ideas. This tutorial is the kick-start for a month of fun!

Easter Egg Tree

There are so many adorable Easter egg trees out there right now. While I was shopping my local Dollar Tree, I decided to pick up materials I could use to make my own, unique tree. The materials I used include:

• Hanging Foam Easter Eggs - $1 
• Purple Floral Wire - (2) $1 each
• Blocks of Floral Foam - $1
• Floral Moss - $1
• Flower Pot - had on hand
• Ribbon - had on hand
• Paint - had on hand
• Glue Dots (optional) - had on hand

Those items I already had on hand are not very expensive to purchase, making this project an easily affordable one. So let's get started!

I started off by painting my flower pot in the Folk Art color 2582 Light Blue. I gave it several coats and made sure to get the inside edges a little.

 Once the flower pot was completely dry, I stuffed the inside with a mishmash of the floral foam I purchased at the Dollar Tree. It didn't need to be pretty, I just wanted a good solid base for my floral wire to stick into.

The floral wire comes on a card like this. It doesn't look like a lot, but boy does it stretch out! I bought two packages for this project.

I cut my wire into several pieces and started to randomly stick them into the floral foam. I bent them and lopped them to give it a fun and whimsical look. The beauty of the floral wire is that you can always change it if you don't like it!

Next, I added floral moss on top of the floral foam. Be gentle around your wires so you don't knock them out of place. You really only need enough to cover the surface.

 

Now the magic happens! This is the part where you get to add the cute little eggs to your design. You may have to do some adjusting and re-bending of your wires to get the eggs to stay where you want them. I tried to keep my colors somewhat symmetrical, but you can arrange them however you want.

The last step is optional. I wanted to add a ribbon to my flower pot. To keep it stabilized I added a glue dot on the back of the pot. This will help keep the ribbon from slipping down.

Bring the ribbon around to the front, tie it, clip the ends, and you're done! Congratulations! You now have a completely adorable, unique Easter egg tree.

I hope you enjoyed this tutorial. Don't forget to check Nest Candy for more Easter treats, decorations, and dinners! Thanks again Caitlin for allowing me to share with your wonderful readers!

http://nestcandy.blogspot.com/

Thank you Kara! 

Blog Swap & a {GIVEAWAY}

Manic Monday? Not here at Caits Creates! Today we're celebrating a "Making Monday" with a Blog Swap (I'm posting on Leasa's blog) and a Giveaway! Today I have my blogging friend Leasa from Funkymom Cards here to tell us just how she makes her B-E-A-UTIFUL photo blocks! Not only is she going to share her secrets, but she will also be giving one of these darling photo blocks away! 

Without further ado....

LEASA @ Funkymom Cards

I am so excited to be here today on Caits Creates. I was thrilled when she asked me to do a guest post over here. Caitlin has such cute ideas and I love reading her blog.

I guess you may want to know a little bit about me... Here is a pic of me and all my boys

Let's see I am a stay at home mom of 3 boys(they all play baseball so my life is quite hectic right now), my husband and I are the children's ministers at our church, we lead a small group in our home, I am very sarcastic(its my second language), I laugh when I get nervous and cry when I get mad, and  I love crafts that's why I started Funkymom Cards. Ok enough and onto the tutorial...

Today I want to share with you a tutorial on a photo block that I have made. This photo block is really quite easy to make and the longest step is waiting for the glue to dry. So before I get to the tutorial I'll show you a picture of the finished project. Oh and by the way you could win this today.

The first step is to get some pretty coordinating papers. These are the three that I used. I'm so sorry but I do not have the names of the papers but hey are current. 

* Next, start with a 4x4 wood block paint it the color you want(I chose brown) it matches the papers. After the paint dries coat the front of the block with mod podge. I love mod podge so many options and things you can do with it.

* Take your paper that you cut to fit the front of the block and lay it on top of the mod podge be sure to smooth out the paper so you don't get air bubbles.

* After the glue dries use a piece of sandpaper to distress the edges. (I love distressing)

* Once you have done that apply a thin coat of mod podge to the entire block and let dry completely.

While your mod podge is drying  begin to cut, distress, and layer your flower.

* I cut the flowers using my Cricut in three different sizes(3 inches, 2 1/2 inches, and 2 inches). If you don't have an electronic cutter you could easily draw a flower pattern and cut it out yourself.

* Next distress the edges of the flowers

* Crinkle the flowers and then unfold them to give the flower some more texture

* Apply glue and layer the flowers on top of each other

* Last, add embellishment to the center of the flower(I chose a green jewel)

* Paint your clothespin to match the block.

* Cut a piece of matching paper to adhere to the front and back of the clothespin. I used my Xyron sticker maker to adhere the paper to the clothespin. You could use glue or doublestick tape.

* Cut a piece of grosgrain ribbon to size then apply to block

* Apply flower to front of block with 3d foam dot

Lastly, apply clothespin to block. I used E-6000 glue to adhere the clothespin. It dries clear and has a very strong hold.(it does stick though) Be sure to lay block flat and put another block or something underneath it so clothespin will dry level and not slide around.

That's it the finished block. The smile sign I just made so you could see how it holds the photo.

You could win this block and the smile sign that's in it by doing the following:

1. Hope on over to my blog and become a follower of Funkymom Cards. Come back here and post a comment on this post saying you are a new follower, or leave a comment letting me know you already are one (1 entry). 
2. Become a follower of Caits Creates and post a comment on this post saying you are a new follower, or let me know you already are one (1 entry). 
3. Share this giveaway on Twitter, Facebook, or your Blog--post a separate comment for each (1 entry). 

The giveaway will be open for comment Monday(today)-Thursday at 11:59 pm and a winner will be chosen on Friday March 18th by random.org.

Be sure to check out Caitlins post on my blog Funkymom Cards today and leave comments there on her post as well. She has a darling flower pin tutorial and giveaway.

Thanks again Caitlin for the opportunity to share on your blog today.