Sami’s Holiday Guide: Craft Your Own Canvas

So you waited until last minute to get all your Christmas gifts and it’s already the Saturday before – now what?

Well, this time, readers, is for you to break out your paint brush and craft gifts from the heart. Avoid the craziness of the malls and mile long lines by crafting. A personal favorite gift of mine to craft are canvases!

Here are some canvas ideas from myself, a fellow Alpha Delta Pi sister from Florida State University, and some Pinterest faves that are on my Crafting Queen Pinterest Board to make.

Here is the canvas I made for my little for Christmas:

Over the summer, I got in touch with Madie, a fellow ADPi sister who had an Etsy shop. She took a break from her Etsy shop recently, but by visiting the page, you can sign up to receive an e-mail for when she returns! Here are two of Madie’s canvases, that I have hanging in my dorm room at school:

And for more ideas, here are some of my favorite canvases that I have recently pinned:

Hope that these examples can help inspire you for any last minute gifts.

Happy crafting!

18Dec2014

Sami’s Holiday Guide: Simply Monogram iPhone Case

by sparkleandshinesami

This is a sponsored post. However, all thoughts and opinions are my own.

Someone please tell me how Christmas is one week away and for all of you readers who celebrate Hannakuah, you are already celebrating! I feel like I was just starting my Black Friday shopping list and now I’m baking cookies for Christmas Eve and wrapping gifts.

Now let’s be honest, most of us are still getting our last minute gifts. Look no further because Simply Monogram, from Etsy, has the perfect gift.

It’s 2014 – almost everyone has a smart phone. More importantly, a large number of these people have dropped their phone and shattered their screen. (I know I’m not the only guilty one). Well, Simply Monogram has the perfect protective cases with your monogram on it.

The Etsy shop sent me this full wrap case and I have never been more satisfied with a phone case!

Whether you love chevron, glitter, stripes, or flowers, Simply Monogram has all the designs that you could imagine.

The site offers over 300 items for iPhone 4s, iPhone 5s, and iPhone 6s. They even offer cases for your iPads. Don’t own an Apple product? If you have a Galaxy, they have cases, too!

The site has over 25,000 reviews – all positive – so you know that you can trust both me, as well as these other users, that these phones will be well worth the price.

As if you needed another reason to purchase a case from Simply Monogram, I have a coupon code just for you! Enter SIMPLY10OFF at checkout to receive 10% off your purchase.

Now head on over and purchase a phone case for whoever is left on your shopping list – or even for yourself.

24Nov2014

Sami’s Holiday Guide: Treat Holiday Cards

by sparkleandshinesami

Hello, readers!

In about one month it’ll be Christmas Eve – which means that the next 30 days will be filled with shopping trips, crafting, and online shopping to make sure that you have the perfect presents for friends and loved ones for the holiday season.

However, with daily life stressors – this can become rather hard. This is why I am stepping in and creating Sami’s Holiday Guide to help you all find the perfect gifts, crafts, and more for this holiday season!

In the first installment of Sami’s Holiday Guide, check out the perfect place to make all of your holiday cards – Treat.

Treat is a subcategory of Shutterfly, the popular photo gift site. Treat offers a variety of different options for your holiday cards this season. You can shop by certain recipient for your holiday card, such as grandparents. The site also offers a variety of photo or non-photo cards for different holiday occasions. The new feature, the card multiplier, allows you to make a personalized card and then duplicate the card for multiple recipients. Treat prides itself on being personal, convenient, and helpful.

I worked with Treat recently – and can gladly say that the site truly is personal, convenient, and helpful.

Four of the most important people in my life have birthdays within weeks of each other – my mom, my big, my little, and my best friend. I worked with Treat to personalize birthday cards for each of them. Check them out!

My mom’s card:

My big’s card:

My little’s card:

My best friend’s card:

As you can see, the cards came out absolutely amazing! They all loved their cards – they add a much more sentimental touch than any card I could have bought at a Hallmark store. More importantly, I loved the quality of each card. Plus, they came in super quick.

I don’t think I’ll ever buy a card from a site other than Treat, including my holiday cards! Stop by the site to place your order for holiday cards and stay with “Sparkle and Shine” to see what else will be added to the gift guide!

13Nov2013

DIY Sharpie Mug

by sparkleandshinesami

To make my best friends birthday gift, I let my sorority girl/Pinterest addicted self shine through by crafting a DIY sharpie mug with our favorite “Sex and the City” friendship quote – “Maybe our best friends are our soul mates, and boys are just to have fun with.”

The quick craft came out absolutely beautiful & better than I could have ever expected. More importantly, my coffee chugging bestie, Julia, loved it!! With the holiday season now here, a DIY Sharpie mug is a great gift to make and give to any coffee or tea lover in your life.

The make the mug, the steps are:

1. First, you need to get the supplies you need! They’re all very cheap and easy to get – Sharpie markers and a mug! Most mugs can even be found at the dollar store if you are trying to keep yourself on a budget.

2. Decide what you want to write on it. As I said, Julia and I always tell each other that we are soul mates because of the SaTC quote, so it was perfect! You can write any quote you want, draw a design, or even write a note if you would like! You have complete creative freedom!

3. Once you know what you want to do, start designing! Take your time, remember you can’t undo it once you start, so do not rush.

4. Once it is finished, place it in the oven for 30 minutes at 350 degrees. This allows the Sharpie to not come off after washing it and multiple uses. Once it bakes, let it cool.