(and cupcakes!)
Wednesday, July 4, 2012
Tuesday, July 3, 2012
More Birthday Fun!
Warning: This post is jam packed with fun birthday ideas, as well as photos. I beg for forgiveness in advance, but I promise you, you're sure to find an idea or two!
I've already shared with you two things I did for Little Peanut's birthday: the banner and the party hat makeover. I did a few other things too, like:
I made this garland and hung it in her doorway after she went to bed last night.
It was very easy to make. I used my 1" and 2" circle punches to cut out lots and lots of circles from coordinating paper. You could use any size punch, of course. Once I had an ample amount of circles, I sewed them together!
Simply sew one circle after another until you have a long "string" of circles. There was no rhyme or reason as to the order of circles that I used. I literally just grabbed one and fed it through the machine. I made sure the papers all coordinated before I began so I wasn't worried about which patterns were next to each other. I also wasn't too concerned if two or more of the same sized circles were next to each other. I wanted the finished product to be somewhat eclectic, not contrived.
When I removed the garland from the sewing machine I made sure to pull out a generous amount of thread so that I could use it as my anchor when taping it to the doorframe.
That leads me to the next step, once you have made your complete set of garland, simply tape it to the top of a doorframe. I used good ol' Scotch tape and it worked just fine.
I also blew up a bunch of balloons and threw them on Little Peanut's floor. It was a fun surprise this morning!
Downstairs I made a balloon doorway. I simply blew up some balloons, tied some thin ribbon to each and hung them from the doorway. I used painter's tape and secured them to the backside of the doorway so you don't see the "mechanics" from the front. When Little Peanut saw this, she smiled and said, "Car wash!" Ha!!
I made the table look pretty, sort of.
I placed a small pile (3) of presents on the table too and when Little Peanut saw them this morning, she opened them. I wasn't necessarily going to share this, but Cari said that she was curious what was in the packages (I texted a photo last night). Plus, she wondered what one buys a three year old for a birthday gift. So here you go:
We also took her to Build a Bear last week so she could get the "blue bear" she's been obsessing over for the past 4 weeks. A flyer came in the mail a while back and she set her sights on that thing. Every day she informed us that she wanted that blue bear. Well, she got it and she loves it! We will also be taking her to the local aquarium over the weekend. Presents and experiences? Wow! We may not do parties yet, but we certainly do celebrate!
Lastly, I made some cupcakes with pink frosting, just like she asked. Sorry, I can't divulge the recipe. It's top secret information but I will tell you, they are the yummiest things you ever did taste!
I've already shared with you two things I did for Little Peanut's birthday: the banner and the party hat makeover. I did a few other things too, like:
I made this garland and hung it in her doorway after she went to bed last night.
It was very easy to make. I used my 1" and 2" circle punches to cut out lots and lots of circles from coordinating paper. You could use any size punch, of course. Once I had an ample amount of circles, I sewed them together!
Simply sew one circle after another until you have a long "string" of circles. There was no rhyme or reason as to the order of circles that I used. I literally just grabbed one and fed it through the machine. I made sure the papers all coordinated before I began so I wasn't worried about which patterns were next to each other. I also wasn't too concerned if two or more of the same sized circles were next to each other. I wanted the finished product to be somewhat eclectic, not contrived.
When I removed the garland from the sewing machine I made sure to pull out a generous amount of thread so that I could use it as my anchor when taping it to the doorframe.
That leads me to the next step, once you have made your complete set of garland, simply tape it to the top of a doorframe. I used good ol' Scotch tape and it worked just fine.
I also blew up a bunch of balloons and threw them on Little Peanut's floor. It was a fun surprise this morning!
Downstairs I made a balloon doorway. I simply blew up some balloons, tied some thin ribbon to each and hung them from the doorway. I used painter's tape and secured them to the backside of the doorway so you don't see the "mechanics" from the front. When Little Peanut saw this, she smiled and said, "Car wash!" Ha!!
I made the table look pretty, sort of.
I placed a small pile (3) of presents on the table too and when Little Peanut saw them this morning, she opened them. I wasn't necessarily going to share this, but Cari said that she was curious what was in the packages (I texted a photo last night). Plus, she wondered what one buys a three year old for a birthday gift. So here you go:
We also took her to Build a Bear last week so she could get the "blue bear" she's been obsessing over for the past 4 weeks. A flyer came in the mail a while back and she set her sights on that thing. Every day she informed us that she wanted that blue bear. Well, she got it and she loves it! We will also be taking her to the local aquarium over the weekend. Presents and experiences? Wow! We may not do parties yet, but we certainly do celebrate!
Lastly, I made some cupcakes with pink frosting, just like she asked. Sorry, I can't divulge the recipe. It's top secret information but I will tell you, they are the yummiest things you ever did taste!
Monday, July 2, 2012
4th of July Mantle, Sort of
I had plans for an awesome 4th of July mantle to go with my front door hanger. As I kept working, things kept falling apart and so, Voila! My "Sort of" 4th of July mantle!
I got the idea for the paper crafted fireworks from one of my favorite blogs, I Heart Nap Time. She has a great tutorial.
Originally, I had the "fireworks" strung across the mantle but they kept swinging forward and backward. So then I used a ridiculous amount of packing tape to keep them straight up. But then they kept falling off the tape so I simply stuck them all around my frames and called it a day.
The Frames are from Hobby Lobby. They were 1/2 price and usually are, so call before you go! They're meant to be wall frames but I just leaned them against the wall and prayed for no Georgia earthquake.
I also love the Subway art from Bits of Everything.
I don't remember where I got the smaller printable but it says, "Baby, You're a Firework" on it. I think I'll make my own for next year with a little more oomph.
I was also going to make these adorable fireworks from Amber Packer, and even started them, but got lazy and left them in my craft closet where they'll either be forgotten or resurrected as something new later...
One last thing - once you look at the paper firework tutorial, you'll notice you have to do an accordion fold. I wanted to show you the neater way to do an accordion fold. I don't have any fancy shmancy tools for this so I used my cheap old paper cutter and a paper creaser bone-an overpriced plastic thing with a pointed end.
I simply set my paper to the width I wanted the folds to be and creased each time. For this one, I creased every inch.
And I ended up with this:
Which led to a very easy accordion fold!
I hope everyone has a happy 4th and stays cool!
I got the idea for the paper crafted fireworks from one of my favorite blogs, I Heart Nap Time. She has a great tutorial.
Originally, I had the "fireworks" strung across the mantle but they kept swinging forward and backward. So then I used a ridiculous amount of packing tape to keep them straight up. But then they kept falling off the tape so I simply stuck them all around my frames and called it a day.
The Frames are from Hobby Lobby. They were 1/2 price and usually are, so call before you go! They're meant to be wall frames but I just leaned them against the wall and prayed for no Georgia earthquake.
I also love the Subway art from Bits of Everything.
I don't remember where I got the smaller printable but it says, "Baby, You're a Firework" on it. I think I'll make my own for next year with a little more oomph.
I was also going to make these adorable fireworks from Amber Packer, and even started them, but got lazy and left them in my craft closet where they'll either be forgotten or resurrected as something new later...
One last thing - once you look at the paper firework tutorial, you'll notice you have to do an accordion fold. I wanted to show you the neater way to do an accordion fold. I don't have any fancy shmancy tools for this so I used my cheap old paper cutter and a paper creaser bone-an overpriced plastic thing with a pointed end.
I simply set my paper to the width I wanted the folds to be and creased each time. For this one, I creased every inch.
And I ended up with this:
Which led to a very easy accordion fold!
I hope everyone has a happy 4th and stays cool!
Thursday, June 28, 2012
Party Hat Makeover!
As you know, Little Peanut is having a Hello Kitty themed birthday. One day while shopping we picked up some "Kitty" party hats. When she saw them, she quickly claimed them as her own. They are perfectly fine as is, but they definitely lack pizzazz. Did I really just use that word? I did. In my quest to make all things cute and girly, I decided to give Little Peanut's party hat a makeover.
I'm going to show you how you can go from this:
To this:
There are a million things I could have done to this hat and I've seen a lot fancier, but I used what I had on hand to make it a little more "boutique." You will need:
1. I started off by making the tulle poof at the top. Now, before you think I am some magical genius with the tulle, I must admit that I used a tutorial to make that ball of fluffiness. I'm good with tulle, as you will see in coming posts, but I've never attempted a ball of fluff before. So, to make the poof I used this tutorial but modified it by wrapping my tulle around a piece of cardboard that measured 5 x 7 inches (she used a composition book as she was making larger ones).
Once the poof (or pom, or whatever you want to call it) was finished, I snipped off the tip of the hat and covered it with hot glue. I placed the poof onto the glue and held it here until it set. That thing is going nowhere people.
2. On to the ruffle. I used a double ruffle ribbon that looked like this:
I couldn't use it as is because it was too wide and would have covered Hello Kitty. So, I folded the bottom ruffle up to meet the top ruffle and sewed it down to create a tighter looking double ruffle.
Yes, I'm a bit pin crazy, but I didn't want it to shift around on me.
I then hot glued the new ruffle to the bottom of the hat, which (unfortunately) I did not take any pictures of. I used the square border at the bottom of the hat as my guide. I simply glued in sections and carefully lined the straight side of my ruffle up with the top line of the hat border. I started at the back of the hat so that it would end at the back.
There you have it, a very simple, yet uber chic, party hat makeover! Just one more way to make your little one's day a little less ordinary.
I'm going to show you how you can go from this:
- a spool of tulle (you won't use the whole thing)
- ruffly ribbon (I got mine at Hobby Lobby)
- a party hat
- hot glue
1. I started off by making the tulle poof at the top. Now, before you think I am some magical genius with the tulle, I must admit that I used a tutorial to make that ball of fluffiness. I'm good with tulle, as you will see in coming posts, but I've never attempted a ball of fluff before. So, to make the poof I used this tutorial but modified it by wrapping my tulle around a piece of cardboard that measured 5 x 7 inches (she used a composition book as she was making larger ones).
Once the poof (or pom, or whatever you want to call it) was finished, I snipped off the tip of the hat and covered it with hot glue. I placed the poof onto the glue and held it here until it set. That thing is going nowhere people.
2. On to the ruffle. I used a double ruffle ribbon that looked like this:
I couldn't use it as is because it was too wide and would have covered Hello Kitty. So, I folded the bottom ruffle up to meet the top ruffle and sewed it down to create a tighter looking double ruffle.
I then hot glued the new ruffle to the bottom of the hat, which (unfortunately) I did not take any pictures of. I used the square border at the bottom of the hat as my guide. I simply glued in sections and carefully lined the straight side of my ruffle up with the top line of the hat border. I started at the back of the hat so that it would end at the back.
There you have it, a very simple, yet uber chic, party hat makeover! Just one more way to make your little one's day a little less ordinary.
Wednesday, June 27, 2012
Door Decor for the 4th
We just moved into our new house a little less than a month ago and I wanted to add a little something to our front door for the 4th!
I decided to use our last initial as the base for one simple reason-it was the largest wood "thing" I could find at Hobby Lobby that wasn't completely out there for my 4th of July theme. I really want a jigsaw so I can cut my own wood but the hubs thinks I'm being ridiculous.
Since then I've found a website that will cut wood in many shapes and your choice of thicknesses and sizes. Stoked for my August door decor!
So back to my patriotic B. This was such an easy project that I was able to do most of it during my twins' nap time.
Here's what you need:
Any wood shape
Mod Podge (apparently I suck at getting all of my supplies in the same photo!)
Glitter spray or glitter
Red white and blue acrylic paint
Red white and blue ribbon in various widths
Glue gun
Wooden stars
Painter's tape
Blue sparkly stuff (I found the spool in the floral section-it comes in so many colors)
Floral wire-I found some wrapped in whtite but I could have also used jewelry wire
I don't have pics of the process because I didn't exactly realize I'd be starting a blog with my best friend!
But essentially, here's what I did.
1. I laid the painters tape vertically so I could paint the left side of the B blue-2 coats
2. Once it dried, I covered it with painters tape and then laid painters tape horizontally to paint my white stripes. I started with white so if I went out of the lines too much, the red would easily cover it. I didn't measure, just taped and painted.
3. I also painted the little wood stars white.
4. I spray painted the whole thing with Krylon glitter spray and then painted over that with Mod Podge. Another option would be to paint Mod Podge on, sprinkle glitter, and once dry, mod podge again. Might give a more sparkly end effect.
5. Once everything dried, I twisted my floral wire around a pencil to get that nice spiral shape and hot glued it to the B. I then hot glued the stars to the wire.
6. Finally I made the bow and hot glued it all to the corner with a star on top.
To make the bow, I simply layered three bows on top of each other.
I cut a length of ribbon and folded the ends across the center. Any length is fine as long as they're all relatively the same size.
Then I scrunched the center together and wrapped some floral wire around it to keep it in place. I did this two more times and stacked the bows on top of each other rotating as I went.
I could have wrapped all three in floral wire once they were stacked but I was lazy and just hot glued them to each other, threw another curly Q floral wire on top and added a wood star. Under the bow I glued some of that sparkly blue stuff. I really need to figure out what that stuff is called.
I added a ribbon for it to hang on and Voila! The hook I used is actually a 5 pound capable Command Hook. I just stuck it to the door. I liked it better for this than a wreath hanger. Although I'm sure I'll need something that can hold more weight soon enough.
And there you have it! My pretty little patriotic B!
I decided to use our last initial as the base for one simple reason-it was the largest wood "thing" I could find at Hobby Lobby that wasn't completely out there for my 4th of July theme. I really want a jigsaw so I can cut my own wood but the hubs thinks I'm being ridiculous.
Since then I've found a website that will cut wood in many shapes and your choice of thicknesses and sizes. Stoked for my August door decor!
So back to my patriotic B. This was such an easy project that I was able to do most of it during my twins' nap time.
Here's what you need:
Mod Podge (apparently I suck at getting all of my supplies in the same photo!)
Glitter spray or glitter
Red white and blue acrylic paint
Red white and blue ribbon in various widths
Glue gun
Wooden stars
Painter's tape
Blue sparkly stuff (I found the spool in the floral section-it comes in so many colors)
Floral wire-I found some wrapped in whtite but I could have also used jewelry wire
I don't have pics of the process because I didn't exactly realize I'd be starting a blog with my best friend!
But essentially, here's what I did.
1. I laid the painters tape vertically so I could paint the left side of the B blue-2 coats
2. Once it dried, I covered it with painters tape and then laid painters tape horizontally to paint my white stripes. I started with white so if I went out of the lines too much, the red would easily cover it. I didn't measure, just taped and painted.
3. I also painted the little wood stars white.
4. I spray painted the whole thing with Krylon glitter spray and then painted over that with Mod Podge. Another option would be to paint Mod Podge on, sprinkle glitter, and once dry, mod podge again. Might give a more sparkly end effect.
5. Once everything dried, I twisted my floral wire around a pencil to get that nice spiral shape and hot glued it to the B. I then hot glued the stars to the wire.
6. Finally I made the bow and hot glued it all to the corner with a star on top.
To make the bow, I simply layered three bows on top of each other.
I cut a length of ribbon and folded the ends across the center. Any length is fine as long as they're all relatively the same size.
Then I scrunched the center together and wrapped some floral wire around it to keep it in place. I did this two more times and stacked the bows on top of each other rotating as I went.
I could have wrapped all three in floral wire once they were stacked but I was lazy and just hot glued them to each other, threw another curly Q floral wire on top and added a wood star. Under the bow I glued some of that sparkly blue stuff. I really need to figure out what that stuff is called.
I added a ribbon for it to hang on and Voila! The hook I used is actually a 5 pound capable Command Hook. I just stuck it to the door. I liked it better for this than a wreath hanger. Although I'm sure I'll need something that can hold more weight soon enough.
And there you have it! My pretty little patriotic B!
Tuesday, June 26, 2012
Birthday Banner Tutorial
Well, it's that time of year again...my little peanut's birthday! I will usually refer to her as that, Little Peanut. This year is birthday number 3 and the theme is Hello Kitty. What can I say, Little Peanut has a slight obsession with "Kitty" and I may, or may not, have something to do with that. I digress. If she wants Hello Kitty, then Hello Kitty she'll get!
Please note that we do not yet do birthday parties. We're saving those for when she can truly appreciate them. I do decorate and do fun things to celebrate, however. This year I made some really cute decorations. I won't post them all here at once, but I am going to share with you the banner I made. And, here it is!
Super cute, huh? Last year I made a black and pink one with Minnie Mouse. It said "Happy Birthday" but it ended up being too big to hang anywhere (except awkwardly on my steep staircase) and it took forever because there were so many letters. This year, I kept it simple and simply spelled out the birthday girl's name.
To make a banner here's what you'll need:
1. Cut out a set of scalloped circles using the 5 1/2 inch setting. I used the Accent Essentials cartridge, but there are many out there that have this element. Cut out the number of scallops you need. I used seven-five for the lettering and two for the Hello Kitty accents.
2. Cut out a set of circles using the 4 1/2 inch setting. You will need a circle for every scallop. Again, I used Accent Essentials, but you can likely find this shape on many cartridges.
3. Glue the circles to the scallops using rubber cement. It might be stinky, but there is no warping and you can rub the mess away (I hate it when glue squishes out and then 'stains' the paper when you wipe it away).
4. Decide which order you want your scallops to be in and then cut out the letters. I used the Alphalicious cartridge and cut my letters using the 3 1/2 inch setting. Use rubber cement to glue the letters to the circles. If you use a different alphabet cartridge and are worried that the letters might not fit properly, cut them out using paper you don't care about until you figure out the correct size (Tip: I use the white page inserts that come in scrapbook photo albums which means I don't waste the good stuff).
5. Now that the word part of your banner is finished, you just have to create two end pieces. I used the Hello Kitty cartridge to to cut out her face (3 inch setting). Use any image that suits your theme/recipient. And, again, if you have to fiddle with the size use those white page inserts that come in the page protectors of scrapbook albums so you aren't wasting the good stuff. Cut your decorative pieces out and glue them to the two left over scallops.
6. Yay! All of the scallops are finished and ready to be laced together! You'll want to hole punch the left and right side of each scallop (along the edge, in the middle). I did not punch holes on the outer edges of my first and last scallops, but you could if you want to add ribbon embellishments.
7. Now, you're going to use your ribbon and/or tulle to lace the pieces together. I stacked 12 inch pieces of pink and brown tulle with alternating green and pink ribbon. I laced the stack through the back side and tied a simple knot on the front. You will want to trim any excess ribbon/tulle.
8. Your ridiculously fabulous banner is now finished! Hang it across a doorway, along a staircase, or over a mantle and admire it until your heart's content.
- a Cricut machine and cartridges (Hello Kitty is shown, but I also used Accent Essentials and Alphalicious)
- coordinating scrapbook paper (it's up to how many different patterns and colors you use)
- ribbon (5/8" or thinner) and/or tulle on a roll
- rubber cement (I'm bringing it back people)
- hole punch (not pictured)
1. Cut out a set of scalloped circles using the 5 1/2 inch setting. I used the Accent Essentials cartridge, but there are many out there that have this element. Cut out the number of scallops you need. I used seven-five for the lettering and two for the Hello Kitty accents.
2. Cut out a set of circles using the 4 1/2 inch setting. You will need a circle for every scallop. Again, I used Accent Essentials, but you can likely find this shape on many cartridges.
3. Glue the circles to the scallops using rubber cement. It might be stinky, but there is no warping and you can rub the mess away (I hate it when glue squishes out and then 'stains' the paper when you wipe it away).
4. Decide which order you want your scallops to be in and then cut out the letters. I used the Alphalicious cartridge and cut my letters using the 3 1/2 inch setting. Use rubber cement to glue the letters to the circles. If you use a different alphabet cartridge and are worried that the letters might not fit properly, cut them out using paper you don't care about until you figure out the correct size (Tip: I use the white page inserts that come in scrapbook photo albums which means I don't waste the good stuff).
5. Now that the word part of your banner is finished, you just have to create two end pieces. I used the Hello Kitty cartridge to to cut out her face (3 inch setting). Use any image that suits your theme/recipient. And, again, if you have to fiddle with the size use those white page inserts that come in the page protectors of scrapbook albums so you aren't wasting the good stuff. Cut your decorative pieces out and glue them to the two left over scallops.
6. Yay! All of the scallops are finished and ready to be laced together! You'll want to hole punch the left and right side of each scallop (along the edge, in the middle). I did not punch holes on the outer edges of my first and last scallops, but you could if you want to add ribbon embellishments.
7. Now, you're going to use your ribbon and/or tulle to lace the pieces together. I stacked 12 inch pieces of pink and brown tulle with alternating green and pink ribbon. I laced the stack through the back side and tied a simple knot on the front. You will want to trim any excess ribbon/tulle.
8. Your ridiculously fabulous banner is now finished! Hang it across a doorway, along a staircase, or over a mantle and admire it until your heart's content.
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