And the winner is.....

This was such a fun round! I loved seeing each project get more and more votes, you all really did fantastically! I was so impressed with all of your projects. But there was one particular project that you just loved, with a whopping 45% of the votes our winner for this round of 3...2...1...craft! is...........

Our email entry, Teri, with her adorable felt baby shoes.

(Announcer voice) Congratulations Teri! You will receive:

Forty sheets of wool felt from {BenzieBazaar}

Summer Combo pattern from {sweet emma jean} 

AND this adorable ear warmer with a bow from {Knit Cookies}

Thank you to everyone who participated in this round of 3...2...1...craft! All of you who entered, my fabulous and generous sponsors, and my lovely guest judge.  Thank you, thank you, thank you! This contest would be nothing without all of you!


Get your gears ready for next month! I still haven't decided on the theme, so I am open to suggestions!


If you would like to donate a prize for the next round in exchange for FREE advertising, shoot me an email!

3...2...1... craft! Top Five!

Power is back. Running water is back. School has finally started (after being delayed two days on account of hurricane). Putting a few things back in place and I am ready to start blogging again!

Can I just say how much I've missed you?

Because I have. A lot. You are all awesome. ((internet hug))

Moving on. This Top 5 choosing was so super hard. Even though this time I had help from our FABULOUS guest judge, Kara, it was still difficult! Somehow we managed to narrow it down to five, but believe me when I say I thought all our your projects were wonderful. I saw so many great things done with felt, and it has sparked my own creativity! I loved each and every entry, I wish I had a prize for everyone.

I am happy you are choosing the final winner, dear readers. Because I literally could not choose just one. So here they are, your Top 5! Kara and I chose our Top 5 based on creativity, wow factor, and how well the "ingredient" was used.

Loved these sweet little felt houndstooth baby shoes from Teri! She emailed me her entry, so these are a surprise for you! :)

This felt busy book from Kim over at {Bugaboo, Mini, Mr, and Me} was fantastic! She really took the felt and ran with it.

Michelle over at {Delicate Construction} made not one, but two felt car mats! The attention to detail here was really fantastic, you gotta check out both of them. She also linked up this cute {donut game}

Rebekah from {Somewhere in the Middle} created this adorable little mini album. Such a sweet gift!

And finally, this adorable little felt chicken (WITH pattern) from Stephanie at {Toastie Studio}. She also linked up this lovely {pencil case}

The poll will close Sunday at midnight (my time, which is eastern time), so get your votes in! Thank you to everyone who participated this round, I really do wish I could give each of you a prize because ALL of your projects were incredible.





GOOD LUCK!!

3...2...1...craft! Felt link up!!

Huzzah! The felt round of 3...2...1...craft! is FINALLY here! I literally cannot wait to see what you guys have done with felt. If you are still procrastinating your felt projects, check out this {felt roundup} to spark your creativity. Pinterest is a great tool too!

And don't forget what's in store for you if you WIN!

Awesome!! I am so jealous that I can't enter my own contest. Click {here} for full prize details.

Just a few reminders about the contest, please review before submitting

• 3...2...1...craft! is meant to be a motivational craft contest to help you try something new or finish an old project. Therefore, entries must be recent AUGUST 13TH or later. Anything linked up that was posted before August 13th will be deleted, and I don't want to do that!
• The 3...2...1...craft! button MUST be in your blog post somewhere. If it's not I will be very sad, because I won't be able to consider your project for the Top 5. 
• Stay within the theme please! This round is felt. 

That's it! Tutorials are not required but are encouraged, we want to see how your genius mind created your project! If you used another's tutorial that's great! Just make sure to give them credit. Feel free to link up as many projects as you'd like! If your entries follow the rules, you can link up 100 times if you want!

Kara {our guest judge} and I will be looking for projects that creatively use the theme "ingredient," projects that are well executed and have clear pictures, and that certain wow factor when we are choosing the Top 5.

Ok, I'm done talking. Let's see what your projects!

Guest Judge project- Mine for the Making

Are you all felted out yet? With a felt round up, my felt project, and now Kara's felt project, you might be on felt overload. But no worries, tomorrow is the LINK UP and then you can felt me out! Holy cow I am so excited. Ok, letting Kara take over. 

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Hi there KC&A readers! Are you all geared up for 3...2...1...Craft!? 

I am so excited to see all of the felty-goodness that is sure to be linked up to this month's competition! Thanks to Amie for inviting me to help judge : ) 

Although I won't be able to link anything up to this month's 3...2...1...Craft!, that didn't stop me from making a little something out of some scrap felt I had in my stash. Want to see?? 

Cute right? And the owl clip too? : )

Here's a list of supplies I used...

I'm sharing an easy tutorial on how to make this sweet felt owl over at my place, Mine for the Making. I would LOVE for you to stop by and say hello.

The greatest thing about this cutesy owl is that it's so versatile! Not only can you attach a hair clip to it, but you can attach it to a magnet, headband, pin, a loop of ribbon to hang from the Christmas tree...oh I'm sorry...am I jumping to the holidays too early for you? ; )

Thanks for having me today Amie!

I'm looking forward to seeing all of the felt projects!!

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Thanks for the inspiration Kara! Is it tomorrow yet???

3...2...1...craft! Sponsors, prizes, and a guest judge!

Woohoo! I am so happy that this round none of my sponsors dropped out and I can show you what you're going to win BEFORE you enter! Oh happy day!

Remember, this round of 3...2...1....craft! is FELT! Oh I love felt. Tomorrow I have a fantastic round up that is all things felt and will really kick start those creative juices. You will be amazed at what people can do with the world's most versatile fabric. And you'll be amazed at what you can have the chance to win this round! We've got some amazing sponsors donating equally amazing prizes!

First, we have the lovely and sweeter than sugar Renae, owner of the famous Etsy shop {BenzieBazaar}. If you've ever searched "felt" on Etsy, Benzie will be one of the first shops that pops up. Her shop is filled to the brim with gorgeous, GORGEOUS felt.

{Etsy listing, from guest curator Gingermelon}

She sells beautiful, high quality, wool felt. Yes, wool felt, not cheap plastic stuff. This is the absolute real deal. Once you've worked with wool felt, you will never be able to go back. 

{blog, facebook, felt shop, handmade shop, twitter}

Renae is generously offering you FORTY sheets of 6x9 wool felt. Yes, FORTY sheets! You pick the colors, there are 80 to choose from! Can you even imagine what you could do with forty sheets of amazing felt? Holla! Can't wait? {Buy it here}

So now you have felt, what to do with it? Next up we have the hilarious and witty Katie, owner of the pattern shop {sweet emma jean}. Don't even bother going to any other shop for felt food patterns, because hers are the very best. 

{Etsy listing, felt pizza pattern}

I mean, do you even see this felt pizza? It's what lassoed me into her shop from the get go. Look at the detail! Look at the little jar of marinara sauce, look at those bell peppers, look at the tiny little pizza cutter! Her designs are so intricate and detailed, I have never seen such realistic felt food. And the best part? They are wonderfully priced, you could afford buy every pattern in the shop!

{website, facebook, shop}

Katie is donating her Summer Combo pattern to our lucky winner! Do you see that cute little tub if ice cream? That tiny little deviled egg? Look at those little bow tie pastas! Ahhh! I can't handle the cute! I am so jealous of you right now. Can't wait to start sewing? Buy this combo {here}

Now, no prize package would be complete without a little something for yourself! Enter my real life friend Chelsea of {Knit Cookies}

{Etsy listing, knot headband}

I've known Chelsea since my freshman year of college. She lived a few apartments down from me in the dorms! And the coolest part? We got married on the EXACT SAME DAY! Not to each other of course, to our super cute husbands! So obviously she looks familiar to me...but why does she look familiar to you? She was the very first winner of 3...2...1...craft! Her rosette t shirt makeover won with well over 50% of the votes! 

{blog, facebook, shop}

Chelsea is offering you my favorite item from her shop, this pretty little ear warmer with a bow! Love this! And with the cool air of fall right around the corner, this is something you will not only love, but something you will need! Want it right this second? Buy it {here}, unless I buy it first. Because you know how I get with gray and yellow. {here} and {here}

Oh man, would it be rude to enter my own contest and choose myself as the winner so I could get all these prizes? 

Yes?

Dang. Fine. I won't. Party Pooper. I'll bring in a guest judge so I can't choose myself. I had the hubs help me choose the Top Five last round and let's be real here: I love him but he doesn't know anything. (About crafting, he is actually quite smart!) So now I will be bringing in some wonderful guest judges to help me make the almost impossible choice of choosing the Top Five. This round:

My newest sponsor and one of my bloggy BFFs, Kara of {Mine for the Making}. Kara and I will work together to choose the Top Five. We will be looking for projects that are creative, well executed, original, and projects that have that WOW factor! 

Contest starts WEDNESDAY, August 24th. The linky will be open for an entire week, so you have plenty of time to finish up your projects and link up. On Thursday, Kara and I will announce our Top Five, and then you will have a chance to vote for your favorite!

I. Can't. Wait. 

3...2...1...craft! theme for August!

I announced this on my {facebook page} last week, one perk of being a fan! But I have finally settled on this month's theme for 3...2...1...craft! You ready for it?

{source}

Felt! I LOVE felt! I chose it because it is the most versatile of any fabrics. It can be sewn and hot glued. It can be turned jewelry, wallets, purses, headbands, softies, home decor, accessories and a million other things I won't take the time to write down. You can really let your imagination run wild with this one!

The link up for this month will be AUGUST 24TH! That's next Wednesday folks! So you've got a little bit over a week to create something awesome, and then a whole week to link up, so really you have two whole weeks! Awesome. Just to jump start your creativity, here are a few of my own felt projects:

{Felt drawstring bag}

{Felt wallet}

{Felt jewelry}

{Felt cat toy}

I've got a few more, just click "felt" under my labels! This weekend I will have a felt round up to give you even more ideas! Keep in mind that ANYTHING felt is game for this round! Synthetic felt, wool felt, printed felt, embossed felt, sewn felt, glued felt, wool that has been felted, felted sweaters, it's all good! I can't wait to see what you come up with!

Don't forget to link up ANY of your headband creations to the headband linky pary {here} Closes Sunday and I'll have some great features!

Top 5!

You guys...this was SO HARD!!! So hard! I had a huge whirlwind of a day with my BFF suddenly moving 5 hours away and date night with my hubby that we can't miss, and I finally sat down at an hour ago ready to choose. Gah. It was so difficult. I had to enlist the help of the hubs! We've been sitting here for almost an hour trying to choose. So let me just say that all of your projects were amazing, I was super impressed with your creativity and effort, many of you had little sewing experience and still entered! That really blew me away!

I chose these projects for several reasons. I was drawn to creativity. I was drawn to beginning sewers trying something new. I was drawn to original designs and creative uses of the theme. And I was drawn to that certain wow factor. There were definitley more than give projects that did that for me, but here are the five that I chose, in no particular order.

I loved this dress from {Crystal's Craft Spot}. I thought the fabric was beautiful and it is just the epitome of a fun summer dress.

I was also impressed with this t shirt makeover from {Knit Cookies} I thought the pretty rosettes really made the shirt pop and and really added a summery touch.

I love a good knock off, and this one from {Southern Fairy Designs} was awesome! I thought the use of summer scarves was really creative.

This little owl from {craftyNHmom} was so cute! I was really impressed how above and beyond Kim went with finishing sew many summer sewing projects! (haha!)

And finally, this dress from a vintage pattern from {Sweet Little Chickadee} is just beautiful! The sleeveless dress and fun flowly fabric is so summery.

And there you have it! Now it is up to you to pick the winner! Vote for your favorite project below. The poll with close Saturday at 11:59pm eastern time. Thank you everyone who participated! I wish I had a prize for everyone!

3...2...1....craft! prizes and more free things!

Phew, rounding up prizes for this contest has been difficult! I had several awesome sponsors and prizes lined up about a month ago when I first got this idea in my head. And for one reason or another, all but one had to drop out! I guess these summer months have been hard on more than just me! Luckily, I've had some fabulous heroines come to my rescue (and by that I mean a female hero, not drugs.)

For all of you lovelies that have entered this round of 3...2...1...craft! here is what you can win!

This gorgeous seafoam green hair clip from {Pretty Bird Attire!} This little ditty is actually what drew me to this shop, I loved the uniqueness of it! I contacted Charly right away! She is a joy to chat with, she is so passionate about her creations and you really can tell through her beautiful pieces. A little more about PBA:

Hi, my name is Charly with a "y" and it's not short for nothin'. I live in the Puget Sound area of Western Washington. The most beautiful place on earth, in my humble opinion, surrounded by water, evergreen forests, and mountains! I love mountains. I live with my three boys, ages 6, 9, and 30. The 30 yr old is my amazing husband and best friend, Danny. I love being a homeschool mom to my boys and I sing in two choirs on my nights off.

Pretty Bird Attire started with a costume birthday party and the best birthday present ever: a great little sewing machine (thanks Mom!). Since then I've been utterly obsessed with sewing; especially anything historical. I fell in love with corsets. There's something so simple and feminine and beautiful about a corset. And they're wonderfully comfortable! 

I've always loved helping women feel beautiful.There is nothing better than helping another woman realize that she is God's special, BEAUTIFUL, creation. My little mission is to make corsets, clothing, and accessories that you just can't help but feel beautiful in.

See what I mean? She really is wonderful! Not only is she sponsoring a prize for the winner, she is also offering you 10% off your order from her {shop} using code KITTIES11. Fantabulous! She also has a {facebook page} with coupon codes, new listings, and highlights. Click on over, you'll love it. 

Next up, my lifesaver Julie from {Vibrant Designs} is offering you her one of a kind Heidi bag pattern! This is a great pattern, and I can say that because I have this pattern myself! This bag boasts "unique pleated style gives extra space throughout the base of the bag and still has the small handbag feel to it. Each Heidi Bag comes with 3 inside slide pockets, one handle, and magnetic snap closure. Each bag has a handle attached to two silver O-rings. Absolutely stunning!" (That description comes from Julie herself!) 

Julie really has come to my rescue so many times! She's guest posted for me, hosted a giveaway last minute, and now this! She's amazing! She blogs over at {Vibrant Designs} where she posts lots of fun sewing {tutorials} (she has a maxi dress tute that I am just dying to make!), monthly specials, and tons of wit an charm. 

Thanks Julie! (Said maxi dress I must have.)

And finally, your get three yards of pretty fabric to play with! After all, this is a sewing competition, shouldn't you be rewarded with new fabric to play with? I originally had a fabric shop all set and ready, but she dropped out at the very last minute! Lindsay from {The Craftatarian} came to my rescue this time! She went out and bought some fabric just for you!! Seriously, you can't get more awesome than that.

Except when you rescue animals for a living. Which she does! She's a vet tech! And she has cats. You know I love cats. And her boyfriend's name is David, which is my husbands name.  Lindsay describes herself as kinda hippie, crafty, generally easy going, natural, earthy, and simple. She posts over at {The Craftatarian} with all kinds of tutorials, inspiring animal stories, and {Esty} sneaks peaks. 

Thanks Lindsay! 

Just a reminder, the contest ends TOMORROW NIGHT, midnight eastern time. You still have time to finish up those projects and link up! On Tuesday I will post my top five (or I might not, I don't think I'll be able to choose...) and then YOU will get to choose the winner of all this loot! 

 Link up {here}

Oh, and in case you were interested in more free stuff, like free stuff that I make, you should check out {Put a Little Umbrella in Your Drink} because I am giving away a free filigree ring! Love those things! Click {here}

....You're still here? C'mon, I have you like...(went back to count) TWELVE different links to click! But, I love you for reading my posts. :) 

3...2...1...craft! Sewing for summer link up!

Huzzah! It's finally here! How has your sewing for summer been going? Hopefully you are almost done, because now is the time to link up what you've been working on for a chance to win some fabulous prizes! (More on that in a future post, still trying to work out the kinks...) Remember that you have one week to link up, then I will choose my top five favorite projects. I will post all five and then you will get to vote for your favorite!

Now, for the rules:

• Since 3...2...1... craft! is mean to motivate you to finish a project or try something new, all projects linked up must be recent, completed after July 12th.
• The 3...2...1... craft! button MUST be in the post you are submitting, otherwise I will not consider it for the Top 5 (get the code from my left sidebar)
• Stay within the theme, sewing for summer.

Tutorials are not required, but are encouraged! We would love to see how you came up with your project. If you used another tutorial for your project, that's perfectly fine, just give credit where credit is due. Multiple entries are allowed, so as long as you follow the rules, you can link up as many projects as you'd like! More chances to win!

And if you need any ideas, here are a few fun sewing for summer ideas.

Here is my sewing for summer project, a fun oilcloth picnic tote that I {guest posted} over at Bugaboo, Mini, Mr, and Me last week.

{Summer camp chairs} from Simple Simon & Co.

{Coastal curtsy skirt} from No Big Dill (this has been on my to do list forever!!)

{Summer vest} from How Joyful.

The possibilities are humongous! Ready, set, LINK UP!

Reminders and announcements!

Ok ladies, all five giveaways were posted this week! Did you get a chance to enter them all?

Win pretty leaf earrings from Law Student Crafts, click {here}

Win $20 to A.O.Kay designs, click {here}

Win an owl necklace from Mine for the Making, click {here}

Win your choice of earrings from Sweet Little Chickadee, click {here}

Win a non purse accessory from Neko Knits, click here {here}

So much prettiness! All five giveaways end July 27th, so there is still time to enter!

And in more exciting news, 3...2...1...craft! starts TOMORROW! Woohoo! The linky will open tomorrow at 10:00am eastern time and will close 11:59pm August 1st, so you have a whole week to link up your projects! Remember, the theme is sewing for summer.



I'm so incredibly excited to see what you guys have been working on! A few reminders:

• 3...2...1...craft! is meant to be a motivational tool, so your sewing projects must be recent.
• It can be machine or hand sewn, a little bit sewn or a fantastically elaborate project. As long as there is fabric stitched together with thread, it counts.
• Projects that will catch my eye for the top 5 will have clear pictures, creative designs, original ideas, and have a certain "wow" factor. 
• You have week to link up, and then I will choose my top 5 favorites. Then YOU will have a chance to vote for your favorite project!
• The 3...2...1...craft! button MUST be in the post that you are linking up! 
• Multiple entries are allowed! As long as you follow all the rules you can enter as many projects as you'd like!

Ok, lots of reminders! Also, I'm in a little bit of a pickle with sponsors for the contest. I had everyone lined up and ready to go three weeks ago, but as we know, life sometimes gets in the way of commitments and I had two sponsors that had to back out. I had a great friend come to the rescue and help me out, but I am still looking for a shop to donate a fabric bundle/yardage prize. If you know anyone that would be willing or a shop that I can contact, please let me know! There are still some lovely patterns and jewelry for you to win, but since it is "sewing" for summer I want the winner to have some new fabric to play with. 
Email me: kittycatsandairplanes{at}gmail{dot}com. And can I just admit that I giggled a little? I am so excited to see what you've been working on! 

Why I’m MIA and a craft contest announcement!

Monday.

Tuesday.

Wednesday.

Thursday.

FRIDAY 12:01 AM!

Yes. The hubs and I got tickets to see all 8 Harry Potter movies this week, in theaters. Two a night, with the midnight premier. Best. Week. EVER! I’m a huge Harry Potter fan, pretty much we can’t be friends if you don't like HP. Seriously, my ex best friend didn’t like Harry Potter. Notice how I said EX. So these movies are taking up my whole evening from 5pm onward, so I’ll be a little MIA this week.

But…let me leave you with something to think about! Like…the THEME for this round’s 3…2…1… Craft! Yes, I’ve decided on the theme! You ready…

You sure…?

Well, bust out those sewing machines, because this round’s theme is SEWING FOR SUMMER! Yai! It’s pretty wide open here! It can be fully sewn, partially sewn, sewn by hand, by machine, as long as there is fabric and some stiches it counts!

So get started on that skirt you’ve been meaning to do, finish that purse you started but never finished, and get creative! Entries that are unique and original, with clear pictures and appealing designs are likely to get chosen for the top five!

Also, I’ve decided to go with linky party for the entries. It will be so fun to see what everyone has come up with! Sew get sewing (haha, I’m so funny), this party is starting soon!

Crafty contests almost here!

Have you entered the Poppy the Shop giveaway? Ends 7.13!

I am finishing up the final details for the aforementioned craft contests coming to KC&A! I'm so ridiculously excited about it! I even named it.


{Please grab the button from my sidebar and spread the word! The more the merrier!} 
Woohoo! I'm finalizing sponsors and there will be a lot of fantastic prizes. I might even have a winner and a runner up! This should be starting in the next week, I planned to have it start the 17th but we are dangerously close to 500 followers and I also have some giveaways lined up for that, so I might push it back another week. We'll see. You are so lucky you read my blog. {insert humility here.} These upcoming weeks are going to be fantastic!
Well, almost. I need some help from you awesome ladies {and equally awesome gentlemen.} I want this contest to be a motivational tool, to get crafters to finish those projects or try something new. Which means that I want projects to be NEW, I want the entries to be made specifically for the contest. Nothing previously made, because then it's not motivational! There are two directions with this: Anonymous entries and public entries.
With anonymous entries, I will have anyone that wants to enter to email me pictures of their projects. I will then choose my top 5 favorites, and then you {the readers} will be able to vote for your favorite one. When it's all over I will have a post showcasing everything. The upside:  that the voting is a little less biased, and more "popular" blogs will not have an advantage over smaller blogs. Also, you don't need a blog to enter.The downside: the entries are a little limited, you can only attach so many pictures to an email.
With public entries, I will host a linky party where anyone who is participating can link up. I will still choose my top five and let you guys vote for the winner. The upside: your entry can be a little more in depth and you can showcase it a lot more. Also, more people will be able to enter this way since the word can spread and it's funner. The downside: contestants who have a larger reader base could have an advantage when it comes to the voting. 
So what are your thoughts? I've been debating over since the moment I conceived the idea, and I just can't decide. I am leaving up to you, since YOU are the ones who are going to be entering! {Though I will have an "inspirational" post to help give you ideas.}
Lay it on me. And spread the word!