Connie Hanks Photography // ClickyChickCreates.com // PRINTABLES on Etsy, mustache, tiara, cupcake toppers, easy, simple, DIY, father-daughter dance, ball, party

Tiara & Mustache Cupcake Toppers

March 16, 2015March 16, 20159 Comments

Welcome to another Make It Monday circle! I’m so excited to share these cupcake toppers I recently made for the Father-Daughter Dance “Mustache and Tiara Ball II” at my girls’ school! It’s an annual event and I LOVE that my girls and hubby enjoy their big night out, getting dressed up, going out to a nice dinner, and overall having a ball!

My baby is in kindergarten this year, so she was thrilled to get to go too. My 2nd grader wasn’t thrilled to have sis in tow as it’s she had 3 years of going solo with her Daddy! Ah, sister drama! But I digress… I had a blast making these cupcake toppers for the big night. Our school is definitely full of loving parents who volunteer their time and talents (along with their treasures!) to the school, and these toppers were going to be paired with yummy cupcakes prepared by other mommies!

Did you notice the “II” after “Mustache and Tiara Ball” earlier? Yes, this was the second year we’ve had this theme, so I actually made similar toppers last year. And I realized, I’m probably not alone needing toppers for this theme! So, what’s a girl to do? I added these printables to my Etsy shop! All that’s need after printing up the sheets, is a few different punches to create these perfectly adorable toppers!

You can purchase the instant downloads from my Etsy shop – the MUSTACHES alone, the TIARAS alone, or a COMBO of both mustaches and tiaras!

SUGGESTED TOOLS:

Fiskars Cameo (oval scallops) Squeeze Punch – LARGE for mustaches
Fiskars Cameo (oval scallops) Squeeze Punch – X-LARGE for backing cardstock on mustaches
Fiskars Round ‘n Round (circle) Squeeze Punch – LARGE for tiaras
Fiskars Seal of Approval Squeeze Punch (scalloped circle) – X-LARGE for backing cardstock on tiaras
Stickles in various colors (glitter glue)
your adhesive of choice, although I’m a huge fan of Scotch Quick Dry glue

They were super easy to make with the printable, a handful of punches and of course glitter! Once they were punched and glued onto bamboo forks and lollipop sticks, I added a touch of glitter to really make them look like a million bucks! I ended up volunteering the night of the party taking candid photos, and I was so happy to see lots of little girls who had devoured their cupcake treats, but were still holding onto the toppers! So cute!

I hope you’re inspired to make some toppers for your next party! But until you’re ready to get into party planning mode, continue our Make It Monday circle and head on over to the uber talented and creative Melissa Shanhun at Digital Scrapbooking HQ. Before you delete those toddler selfies, see how Melissa told the story of a day through her adorable and precocious daughter Emily’s photos! And knowing Melissa, you’re gonna be smiling and wanting to know more about her lovely family! So head on over!

True Stamp is almost here!

Before I say good-bye, I just have to remind you about True Stamp, since it’s less than 2-weeks away! True Stamp is a one-day, online, LIVE event on March 28. All six classes will come to YOU via the magic of the Internet in a state-of-the-art web room. You’ll watch class demonstrations, chat with instructors and other students, and have the time of your stampy life – all without leaving home (or even changing out of your PJs!). I hope you’ll join me and a few hundred other of your new stamp-loving BFF’s ❤ Click Here to Sign Up!

As always, thanks for stopping by. Have a joyful, creative, blessing filled day! Make sure not to miss any future posts by signing up for the Clicky Chick Creates email list here! You’ll get a great little freebie download as my thank you. What’s the freebie? My go-to shot list: 7-must get photos for kid birthdays!

Live creatively!
xoxo,
/c

Make It Monday // Green Watercolor Card

March 2, 2015March 4, 20158 Comments

Welcome to our Make It Monday: “Green” circle! You may have noticed some of our Monday’s have themes? Well today we’re sharing Green posts! I took it quite literal, but you’ll have to read along on the circle to see how the other creatives interpreted green! So, here we go…

It’s been a while since I made a watercolor card, so that’s exactly what I wanted to this week. I knew the colors I wanted to use and the stamps/embossing I wanted to do, too! I really do love when an idea or inspiration hits and it turns out like I was hoping it would!

The Tim Holtz Distress Inks are the easiest and most versatile way of creating gorgeous watercolor projects. Check out my YouTube videos – this one in particular walks you through the step-by-step process to make this, and I share lots of tips and tricks I’ve learned over the years! From saving money to using up all the ink on your craft mat…

Ready to continue to Make It Monday fun? How do you bring special attention to a special object of a story? Have you ever scrapped your shoes? Alice at Scrapbook Wonderland shares her lucky shoes with us! Check out Alice’s post – her creativity is splendid and she shares tips and tricks quite generously!

Need more inspiration?

Are you looking for some creative inspiration? Join me, my friend Carole from Scrapbook Campus and about a dozen other designers as we share Inspiration: A to Z – a free month long inspiration series, working through every letter of the alphabet and areas to scrapbook, make cards, projects and more! It’s free, so you’ve got nothing to lose! We just started yesterday, March 1st and it will run until March 26th, so jump in now before you miss any more of the alphabet!

Another great event to gather inspiration from is the annual True Stamp event. Whether you’re a newer stamper looking to advance your skills, a more experienced paper crafter wanting an inspiration infusion, or a stamping dabbler looking to use your supplies in new ways, you need to hear about True Stamp! My friend Lain Ehmann of True Scrap has pulled together six of the hottest stamping companies around to offer a full day of inspiration and fun… Including Lawn Fawn, Technique Tuesday, Paper Smooches, Mama Elephant, Raisin Boat, and Simon Says Stamp.

True Stamp is a one-day, online, LIVE event on March 28. All six classes will come to YOU via the magic of the Internet in a state-of-the-art web room. You’ll watch class demonstrations, chat with instructors and other students, and have the time of your stampy life – all without leaving home (or even changing out of your PJs!). I hope you’ll join me and a few hundred other of your new stamp-loving BFF’s ❤ Click Here to Sign Up!

Live creatively!
xoxo,
/c

P R O D U C T S U S E D / / A F F I L I A T E L I N K S

PS. I love playing along with card challenges like the Curtain Call and Simon Says Stamp! Where do you find your inspiration?

You are SPEC-tacular! {Feeling Crafty}

February 12, 201519 Comments

Exchanging Valentine’s was always an exciting day when I was a kid. Not just receiving them on the day of, but the love and care that went into making them! As a kid, I remember choosing just the perfect box of Valentine’s from the grocery store. Picking my favorites to give to my best friends. Signing each of them and adding doodled hearts (oh wait, I still do the doodled heart thing!) ❤

Now, as a crafty mom, I love that my girls enjoy making their own Valentine’s, using stickers, markers, glitter and googly eyes! My 8-yr old had the idea to make paper glasses for all her classmates with the “spec-tacular” quote, but that proved a bit more challenging! So she settled for these cards we made on the computer and embellished after printing. Adding Stickles glitter glue and googly eyes gave these cards so much personality! We washi taped them onto mechanical pencils (a new fave amongst the 2nd grade trendsetters) and they’re ready to go! She was thrilled beyond belief to share these with her friends at school today!

If you’re still in need of Valentine’s Day cards for your kiddos, hop on over to my Etsy shop and check out these spec-tacular printables!

As always, thanks for stopping by. Have a joyful, creative, blessing filled day! Make sure not to miss any future posts by signing up for the Clicky Chick Creates email list here! You’ll get a great little freebie download as my thank you. What’s the freebie? One of my go-to shot lists: 7-must get photos for kid birthdays!

Live creatively!
xoxo,
/c

Connie Hanks Photography // ClickyChickCreates.com // Rice Krispies treats with Hershey Candy Cane Kisses, Christmas, ornament, gift tag, DIY, quick, easy, hostess gift

Make It Monday // Holiday Treat and Tag {Feeling Crafty}

December 22, 2014December 22, 20148 Comments

Welcome to another Make It Monday! I have a major sweet tooth and love having treats year round. But when the holidays roll around, there are wonderful seasonal flavors that make the indulgence that much sweeter!

Have you tried Hersheys Candy Cane Kisses? They are amazing! Because of my sweet tooth, I have a hard time passing up seasonal candies, but truth be told, sometimes seasonal candies are better in concept than they actually taste in my mouth! So when I tried these, I was so delighted with how yummy they were!

Friends invited us over for outdoor movie night (yes, a southern California luxury in the middle of winter!) and I had decided to bring over some Rice Krispies treats. As I started making them, I decided I would chop up some of the Candy Cane Kisses to add to the treats. WOW! I seriously can’t even tell you how yummy they came out! If you are even a tiny bit into either of these treats (Rice Krispies and candy canes), then you MUST give this recipe a try!

Ingredients

5 Tbsp butter
one 10 oz bag (~6 cups) Jet-Puffed miniature marshmallows
6 cups Rice Krispies
20 to 24 Hershey’s Candy Cane Kisses, unwrapped

DIRECTIONS

Chop up kisses into tiny pieces, set aside.
Melt butter in large microwave safe bowl, approx 1 minute.
Add marshmallows to butter. Toss to coat. Melt marshmallows in microwave (approximately 1-1/2 minutes), stirring every 45 seconds.
Add Rice Krispies (2 cups at a time) to melted marshmallow mixture and stir well.
Once all Rice Krispies are incorporated, mix in half of the chopped Candy Cane Kisses. Stir well. Incorporate remaining chopped Candy Cane Kisses.
Place mixture into greased 13×9 baking dish. Press down and into place, filling in corners and evening out – using parchment paper and back of measuring cup helps to press down!
Set aside and let set for a couple hours or place in refrigerator to speed up setting time.
Cut up into one to two inch squares or use candy cane cookie cutters for shaped treats. Enjoy! Or share by place cut pieces into cupcake liners and stack in treat bag for your loved ones to enjoy, too!

What else could one need besides these delish treats? How about a gift tag to place on said treats to share with loved ones?! Here’s a quick video showing how I made a super fast (in just a few minutes!) ornament shaped gift tag using just a couple non-Christmas crafty supplies! Watch the video to see how you can easily make your tags!

Did you get here from Karen at Photos Kept Alive? She always has such great insights and tips on making the most of our photos! Don’t forget to continue the Make It Monday Circle and head on over to my crafty and generous friend Jen at Jen Wright Design. She has a freebie for you as she counts down to Christmas!

As always, thanks for stopping by. Have a joyful, creative, blessing filled day! Happy holidays!

Live creatively!
xoxo,
/c

PS. Are you in Southern California and looking to capture beautiful images of your family? Head on over to my Styling and Investment page to find out more and get in touch to schedule your 2015 session!

E Q U I P M E N T U S E D (Affiliate Links)
Canon 60D
Canon 50mm f/1.4
Tamron 28-75mm f/2.8
Photo edits in Lightroom and Photoshop
Check out all my camera bag goodies here!

Connie Hanks Photography // ClickyChickCreates.com // Advent calendar, Christmas, Etsy, activity, experience, family, Carta Bella, paper crafting

Make It Monday // Advent Calendar & Activity List {Feeling Crafty}

November 17, 2014November 17, 201414 Comments

Does hearing Christmas music put a smile on your face? Does the thought of Christmas traditions warm your heart? Does the anticipation of December make your heart skip a beat? Me too! Thanks for joining me for another Make It Monday post! I hope you’re ready to talk about having a Creative Christmas!

Last year I taught a class making a gorgeous Advent Calendar Banner and Mini Book. I couldn’t wait to recreate it this year with fresh papers from the 2014 collections and add new activities to the list! I fell in love with this Carta Bella “Christmas Time” collection and jumped right in… what’s not to love about those cute papers, right?! Then I decided to make my own numbers to punch out and use with the banner pennants and had fun making those digitally!

Once I created the digital numbers, I realized I wanted to make a digital version of my activity and experience based Advent calendar! I’m thrilled to announce that I did in fact create it and it’s going to be sold as part of a phenomenal “Creative Christmas Bundle! There are 15 designers contributing to the bundle, with goodies ranging from how to make photo gifts to printable Christmas cards, from scrapbooking templates to photo overlays, from calendar making to embroidery patterns and so much more! If you’re even a tiny bit creative, you won’t want to miss this bundle! It’s valued well over $200 and we’re selling the bundle for a limited time at just $29.99. Talk about a major bargain!

You can learn more about the items being offered if you head over to our “Meet the Designers” page right over here. The bundle goes on sale next Monday, November 24th and ends December 1st. I’ll post about this again next week so you’re sure not to miss out! So why are we bundling this and offering such a deep discount for a limited time? Our collective goal is to make this your craftiest, most enjoyable and stress-free Christmas ever! Getting a jump start on your crafting is certainly going to help ❤

Are you excited to learn more? I hope so! One of my amazingly crafty friends who is also part of the Creative Christmas Bundle is Gina at Messtaken Identity. For our Make It Monday hop today, Gina is sharing a hidden map in a Christmas card. Are you curious to check it out? I certainly am! Leave her some comment love when you hop on over there!

Live creatively!
xoxo,
/c

PS. Have you stopped by my Etsy or Society6 stores yet? I’m happily sharing my creative projects, as well as photography via prints, phone cases, pillows and a myriad of other products! If you check either out, be sure to let me know what you think?!

ClickyChickCreates.com // Blessed card with "stained glass" window

Blessed (Baptism) Card {Feeling Crafty}

June 9, 2014July 21, 201411 Comments

Last week I was honored to be part of a creative blog tour (if you missed it, you can read the post here) with friends around the world who share in this little passion called crafting! My friend Lisa from Recklinghausen Musings invited me to play along, and I was ecstatic to be in fantastic company with Lisa as well as Danielle of EcoScrapbook, both long time friends in the scrapbooking world! The tour is designed to share a bit about my current projects and creative process, as well as include three other creative friends in the tour. Have you done anything similar? It’s a great way to meet fellow crafters from around the world and find new and inspiring blogs to follow!

The crafter’s I linked to are running their “Creative Blog Tour” posts today, so be sure to see what they have to say!

Cara Vincens of C’est la Vie (ours anyway)
Kymona Tracey of Kreative Kymona
Alice Boll of Scrapbook Wonderland

In that post, I also mentioned a card I had made for my nephew’s baptism… isn’t he adorable?! He really wanted to grab hold of the Father’s bible and not let go! Maybe he has a future in the priesthood!?

Besides sharing my nephew’s adorableness, I wanted to share this quick and easy card I made, the hiccup along the way, and the final result. Let me know what you think of the video? How have you overcome any creative hiccups? And if you’re inspired to create after watching the video, please share it in the comments, too!

Many of the techniques, tips, tricks and ideas I’ve picked up along the way as a crafter, I’ve learned in classes and videos. Some videos (like mine) will focus on one project or technique, but honestly, the ones I’ve learned the most from are classes with more meat, like the True Stamp classes that are now available for individual sale!

Each class focused on a different aspect of stamping and offered lots of samples in the class, demonstrating how each was created. The girls from Lawn Fawn created the most adorable interactive cards; Raisin Boat had some yumminess that blew my mind; Mama Elephant was rockin’ and rollin; sheesh, truly – they were all amazing! If you’ve considered taking classes, do yourself a favor and check out True Stamp 2014 classes here! Currently, each class is only $9, or you can get all six classes for only $39 using code “SAVEBIG” at checkout – talk about a bargain!! Don’t miss out!!

As always, thanks for stopping by. Have a joyful, creative, blessing filled day! And if you haven’t signed-up for the Clicky Chick Creates email list yet, whatcha waiting for? You’ll get “7 Must-Have Kid Birthday Photos” printable photo tips as my thank you 🙂 Password is sent to you when you sign up for the email list!

Live creatively!
xoxo,
/c

P R O D U C T S U S E D (Affiliate Links) – Purchases made using the links below may pay me a small percentage for the advertising I’m providing. You don’t pay any more by using these links, but you sure do help fund my creative endeavors that I’m able to share freely with you!

Clear Bark embossing powder
Stampendous PEARLustre embossing powder