12 Crafts of Christmas-Day 8

12 Crafts of Christmas-Day 8- Beer Glasses!
Okay okay, so this isn't my best work, but it gives you the idea of what you can do as a gift for a guy! The Dollar Tree has these awesome beer glasses and they have some beer mugs as well that when painted make a great gift ;) Give it to him with a 6 pack of his favorite beer and he won't even notice if the art on it isn't perfect. Bonus tip: If you want to give him an assortment of beer visit a tap house that sells by the bottle and get 6 different bottles to give with the glass!


Items you will need:
* White Folk Art Enamels Paint
* Black Folk Art Enamels Paint
* Q-tips
* A Beer Glass
* Assorted brushes
* A cookie sheet
* An oven
* Styrofoam Plate
* Rubbing Alcohol

Instructions:
1. Clean the exterior of the Beer Glass with rubbing alcohol.
2. Pour a little paint onto the Styrofoam Plate and paint any image you want onto the glass.  Don't paint the bottom. Let it sit to air dry 30 minutes.
3. Pour another color of paint onto the Styrofoam Plate. After letting the first layer dry paint additional colors on top of it. For example-in the above photo I painted the white layer for the cards first and let it dry before adding the details in black. Let is sit to air dry an hour
4. Place a cookie sheet into a COOL oven and place the air dried painted candle holder onto the cookie sheet.
5. Close the oven and set the oven to 350 degrees. Then set a timer for 40 minutes.
6. When the timer goes off turn off the oven immediately and leave the item in the oven until it is completely cooled down.
7. Once the oven is cooled down voila! you have a hand painted Beer Glass! Add beer and you're all set!

Other crafts for the 12 Crafts of Christmas:
Day 7 SnowGIRL ornament
Day 6 Red Ball Snowman Ornament
Day 5 Christmas Wreath
Day 4 Snowman Banner
Day 3 Candy Cane Ornament
Day 2 Polka Dot Votive Holder
Day 1 Snowman Votive Holder

12 Crafts of Christmas-Day 6

Day 6- Snowman Ornament. Okay okay...if you have not figured it out by now...I really like snowmen. Maybe it's because of my frustration over the fact that in Florida we can't build them?

Items Needed:
1. Red Ball Ornament (You could also use green or blue. Silver and Gold don't work as well with the paint)
2. Sponge brush
3. Assorted paintbrushes (Could just use Q-tips for a simple snowman)
4. White acrylic paint
5. Black acrylic paint
6. Orange acrylic paint
7. assorted acrylic paint colors for the hat
8. Red fabric ribbon (again could use a different color ribbon depending on your preference.)
9. Styrofoam plate

Instructions:
1. Pour a little white acrylic paint onto the Styrofoam plate. With the sponge brush sponge a circle onto the front surface of the red ball ornament. Let it dry for a few hours.
2. Pour a very small amount of black paint and orange paint onto the Styrofoam plate.
3. Then with either a q-tip or a brush paint on the nose with the orange paint and then eyes and mouth with black paint. If you don't want to "draw" or don't think you can create the details just use dots for the black eyes and mouth. Let it dry again for a few hours.
4. If you are happy with just eyes, nose and mouth and having a simple snowman, then feed the red fabric ribbon through the hook on the top of the ornament ball. Tie it into a bow so that you can hang it on the tree and you're done.
5. To add extra detail use additional colors to paint a hat onto the snowman, then dry again, add the ribbon and then hang it on the tree ;)


Other crafts for the 12 Crafts of Christmas:
Day 5 Christmas Wreath
Day 4 Snowman Banner
Day 3 Candy Cane Ornament
Day 2 Polka Dot Votive Holder
Day 1 Snowman Votive Holder

12 Crafts of Christmas-Day 5

Now before you all freak out on me and run away with your tail between your legs, you should know that making a wreath for Christmas is much easier than it looks. All you really need is to figure out the colors you want in it and that is the hardest part.

Items needed:
1. Green Wreath- Joann's sells these as cheap as $1.99 during its sales for the season!
2. A bow. You can either make it by hand or they sell lots of premade ones
3. Ornaments. There are lots of little trinkets that are perfect for wreaths in the floral section at Joann's that you can get as cheap as $1 each or less depending on the sales. The floral picks that have flowers and other adornments attached to a long piece of green wire have always worked best for me. The above wreath has about 12 floral picks in it along with one big bow
4. Green floral wire
5. Wire cutters or heavy duty scissors that can clip wire

Instructions:
1. Place everything on top of the wreath to see how it will look. Arrange it and rearrange it until you think it looks perfect. I often will take a picture once its perfect so that I remember how it looked as I'm securing everything to the wreath.
2. Insert the floral picks into the wreath one by one and twist the wire around the back to secure it.
3. Add the bow to the top, middle or side. Whereever you like it and secure to the back of the wreath with floral wire.
4. For added security I often go back with floral wire and wrap it around my picks and my bow just to make sure that while its hanging nothing falls off. Some folks I know will secure it with a hot glue gun. I personally don't because I prefer to change out the picks annually so that my wreaths are different each year.

Other crafts for the 12 Crafts of Christmas:
Day 4 Snowman Banner
Day 3 Candy Cane Ornament
Day 2 Polka Dot Votive Holder
Day 1 Snowman Votive Holder

12 Crafts of Christmas-Day 4

Wooden Snowman Banner:
Why make it difficult by finding all the supplies when you can just buy the Wooden Snowman Banner Craft Kit from Oriental Trading Company? Buy this awesome kit HERE and you can make 12 Wooden Snowman Banners. They can either be used as hanging decorations on the wall or ornaments on a bigger tree. Final products end up being about 6" in length. They are so cute and come with instructions for the best way to put them together.

12 Crafts of Christmas-Day 3

Day 3. Sorry I'm posting this a little late, but hey- it's still December 3 in California for a little while longer. Therefore-here is Day 3's Craft!

Candy Cane Ornament:

Items Needed:
*Pipe Cleaners
*Red Beads- the three pronged beads are preffered
*White Beads- again the three pronged beads are preffered

Instructions:
1. Cut a pipe cleaner in half and at one end place a red or white bead and wrap the pipe cleaner around it once to secure it.
2. String the beads onto the pipe cleaner. Red, then white, then red, then white until you get to the end of the pipe cleaner.
3. Secure the last bead on the pipe cleaner by wrapping it with the end of the pipe cleaner.
4. To form a "cane" simply bend the pipe cleaner into a J shape.

12 Crafts of Christmas-Day 2

 

Today's Christmas Craft is green and red polka dot candle holders.  See day 1 HERE

Polka Dot Candle Holders

Items you will need:
* Red Folk Art Enamels Paint
* Green Folk Art Enamels Paint
* Q-tips
* A Glass Votive Candle Holder
* A cookie sheet
* An oven
* Styrofoam Plate
* Rubbing Alcohol

Costs to expect: Enamels paint is about $2 each. You can get votive holders for $1 or less at Wal-Mart and the Dollar Tree.


How to:
Super simple!!!
1. Clean the exterior of the Glass Votive Candle Holder with rubbing alcohol.
2. Pour a little green paint onto a Styrofoam Plate. With a Q-tip paint dots onto the glass in whatever pattern you would like.
3. Pour a little red paint onto a Styrofoam Plate. Now take the Q-tip and make red dots on the exterior to foll in the spots where there is no green paint. Let is sit to air dry an hour.
4. Place a cookie sheet into a COOL oven and place the air dried painted candle holder onto the cookie sheet.
5. Close the oven and set the oven to 350 degrees. Then set a timer for 40 minutes.
6. When the timer goes off turn off the oven immediately and leave the item in the oven until it is completely cooled down.
7. Once the oven is cooled down voila! you have a hand painted Polka Dot Candle Holder! Add a tealight and you're all set! (Giving it as a gift? Place it in a little party bag and twist tie it shut-you can get 20 at Wal-Mart with twist ties for just $0.97- then either wrap it in a gift bag or give as is.)

12 Crafts of Christmas-Day 1

In an effort to prove that you don't have to be Martha Stewart to make gifts by hands for folks I took a page from the Dealicious Finds site to show the readers of The Famous Ashley Grant and Tampa Bay Freebies my 12 Crafts of Christmas!

So, without further adieu...today is Day #1!!! The Snowman Candle you see at the top of this post is easier than you can imagine to make!

Items you will need:
* White Folk Art Enamels Paint
* Black Folk Art Enamels Paint
* Q-tips
* A Glass Votive Candle Holder
* A Sponge brush
* A cookie sheet
* An oven
* Styrofoam Plate
* Rubbing Alcohol

Costs to expect: Enamels paint is about $2 each. You can get votive holders for $1 or less at Wal-Mart and the Dollar Tree.


How to:
Super simple!!!
1. Clean the exterior of the Glass Votive Candle Holder with rubbing alcohol.
2. Pour a little white paint onto a Styrofoam Plate. Sponge it onto the exterior of the Glass Votive Candle Holder. Don't paint the bottom. (For best results dab the sponge to coat the surface, don't stroke in lines.) Let it sit to air dry 30 minutes.
3. Pour a little black paint onto a Styrofoam Plate. Take the Q-tip and make black dots on the exterior to create a face. Let is sit to air dry an hour
4. Place a cookie sheet into a COOL oven and place the air dried painted candle holder onto the cookie sheet.
5. Close the oven and set the oven to 350 degrees. Then set a timer for 40 minutes.
6. When the timer goes off turn off the oven immediately and leave the item in the oven until it is completely cooled down.
7. Once the oven is cooled down voila! you have a hand painted Snowman Candle Holder! Add a tealight and you're all set!

Come Meet Me or Just Hang!

When:

June 29 : 6 p.m. - 7:30 p.m.

Event Phone Number:

813.265.2625

 

Anthony's Coal Fired Pizza

Neighborhood: Lake Magdalene

13020 N Dale Mabry Hwy

Tampa, FL 33618 813.265.2625

As far as social media goes, Twitter is a polarizer—either you can’t get enough of hearing about what your friend had for lunch/reading what Ashton Kutcher is up to/telling the world about your promotion or the only definition for the word “tweet” you know is the sound a bird makes—and you’re totally fine with that.

We happen to love Twitter because it lets us get to know you, but we want to take our relationship to the next level. That’s why we’re hosting #WellDoneMix - the first Metromix Tampa Bay and Anthony's Coal Fired Tweetup from 6 p.m. until 7:30 p.m. at Anthony's Coal Fired Pizza.
 
Come out and meet Metromix Managing Producer Jacqui Anderson (@captnjac), Marketing Coordinator Brandon Thompson (@Brandonpromo), Community Blogger Wrangler Summer Lott (@summerlott) and Photographer Ashley Grant (@TheAshleyGrant), as well as your fellow Anthony Coal Fired Pizza tweeters, have your photo taken and, most importantly, have some pizza. 

Make sure to follow us at @Metromix_Tampa and @AnthonysCFPizza to get details on the Tweetup. And if you're planning on coming out, let us know in the comments section below or just tweet us.

Anthony's Coal Fired Pizza will provide pizza, wings, and meatballs for 100 people as well as t-shirts, and three $20 gift cards. Not to mention there will be tons of Metromix.com giveaways, free movie screening passes, and a raffle for DVD prizes.The first 7 people will get a Metromix swag bag at the door!

Tweeting in public is not only encouraged, it’s a must. If you’re part of the Twitterverse, mix and mingle with your fellow tweeps.

What Inspired Me to get Freebies

One of the number one questions I've been asked lately (aside from how do you get your freebies) is why did I start this site? It is difficult to say but it started like this...I've been obsessed with getting free stuff for a while but getting even more free stuff happened out of necessity when the number of gigs I was getting as a freelancer began to dwindle.

I heard about this cool site called Addicted to Saving and then attended one of the savings classes taught by the blogger herself Liza Ford. She was already helping me through her blog to save more than 50% on my grocery bill and as I followed her blog I even got as good as saving up to 80 and 90% on my groceries. In fact, the best I ever did was $200 worth of groceries at Publix for $0.76 out of pocket.

Still needing more ways to get free stuff I made it my mission for 30 days to see just how much free stuff I could get and by the end of the 30 days my futon in my living room was literally covered in miscellaneous products that I had gotten FREE!!! Then, I decided it was time to get SERIOUS! So, on 10-10-10 since it was an epic date anyway I bought the domain http://www.tampabayfreebies.com After a couple of days of fighting to transfer stuff I had already written through blogger over to the domain, I was in business and ready to share all the freebies I get with anyone who cared to read this.

I still view the awesome website Addicted to Saving almost daily and even post some of Liza's awesome deals on this site and give her credit for everything I get from there.

Although I'm starting to get work regularly again my obsession with free stuff is growing not only for myself but for the many people who I struggling to bring down their expenses.

I honestly believe that even if I won the lottery or had some other windfall I would still be seeking out freebies and sharing with everyone in cyberspace how I get what I get.

I hope you have been enjoying this website and I hope it can continue to grow by leaps and bounds. Thanks to everyone who has viewed it so far and for all the nice comments and amazing support. I love my readers and I LOVE FREEBIES!!!

xoxoxo~ The Famous Ashley Grant

lots of the freebies I got in my 30 day challenge to myself:

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas to you and yours from
The Famous Ashley Grant
Tampa Bay Freebies
The Photographic Times
and
We Are Full of Bull!!!

May you be blessed this Christmas and may all of your dreams come true in the New Year!