Thursday, November 6, 2014

The Presents

Did I mention there will soon be a teenager (GASP!) in the house? Well, since we have had a rough year (worst ever) we decided to do something a little different in the present department this year. We are doing countdown to Birthday presents. One gift, some small & some not, each day until THE day. Here is what she saw on November 1st.
The Loot Pile
Most of the gifts are from us, but a couple are not. We recruited the family if they wanted to participate.

Here is the list so far:
1. Purple Glitter Nail Polish
2. Journal Boxes for her Smashbook
3. Purple Tank Top (thank you Aero clearance!)
4. Movie Passes 
5. A Light in the Attic - She got so excited opening this one that she ripped the dust jacket a little and I thought she might cry. 
6. An empty box to fill at the old fashioned candy store.
7. Hand painted shell ornaments from Gummy with the Mad Hatter & Red Queen (Johnny and Helena style)
8. Archeological museum tickets
9. Zero candy bar
10. Phase 10 card game 
11. Socks with cats on them 
12. Brady jersey - he is number 12 after all 
13. Year subscription to Seventeen magazine 
14. Alice in Wonderland- of course! It was slumber party time!
15. Family secret.... Sorry ;)
16. Passes to the Phoenix Art Museum


To be continued.......


Tuesday, November 4, 2014

The Invitation

In our family, Birthday Parties went away at about age 8. Instead we have spent the past few years going out to nice dinners and shows or activities. This year is different. This year kiddo will be a (GASP!!!!!!) teenager. Yup, lucky number 13 has arrived my friends. And in honor of this (still gasping!) milestone year, we agreed to a party. Heck, we even said she could invite as many people as she wanted. She came up with a whopping 8. (whew!!)

Step one to any good party - the invitation. Our theme is the Mad Hatter's tea party - but more Johnny Depp and less Disney. I wanted to come up with a fabulous invite, and I think I did pretty well.....
These have screw on bottoms

She liked the vintage feel of these.
First we got these at our local Hobby Lobby. She liked that they were all different (mom liked that they weren't expensive). 
The Burlap has a paper backing

Jewelry Boxes were the perfect size. 
After cutting the burlap in to strips that were small enough to fit in the boxes, I wrote out the invite information on the paper backing. 
I tried to keep the language in theme. 
Rolling up the burlap was pretty easy and it gave me enough space to write all the information and still fit in the box. 

The "high tech" tool (rubber band) kept it rolled while I tied my fabulous little twine around it to keep it from unraveling in the box. Now it's time for assembly. Remember those cute little trinkets from the first photo? Well.......

Turns out, they look just like little door knobs. Don't forget those keys either.....

Ready to Deliver!
This key was one of the bigger ones. I like the smaller ones better, but all in all I think these were some great little invites. She was most pleased that they didn't look like the whimsy ones that she saw on the net while browsing. She wanted something more Victorian. I also think these would be great, maybe without the key, for a Monsters Inc party. 
Ready to Deliver!
As a side note, the two that I did have to mail, I used a padded envelope just in case. It cost me $1.10 to mail each of them.


Friday, October 24, 2014

4 in 14

Ok, so I started off the year with the best of intentions regarding my grand 4 in 14 idea. FAIL. It has gone off the rails, as life has just been crazy. In fact, hubby and I now literally refer to this as the worst year of our lives. Anyone who is privy to all we have been through this year agrees.

Regardless, we are still here plugging along one day at a time.

So, this month I got at least a little back on track and set up my pretty shelf.

The only new item I purchased this year was the pumpkin. The wood was left over from a decorating project at work, so I covered it in chalkboard paint (LOVE!) and decided this was the perfect thing to use it for. The orange tea light with the dancing skeleton design we have had forever and is one of my favorites. We use battery operated candles for safety.

Wednesday, October 22, 2014

Box Card Project

As I mentioned in a previous post, I was touring through blog-land the other day and discovered so many fabulous crafty people. I stumbled upon Cardz TV and their challenge to create a Halloween card that was not a traditional fold. One of the options they gave was a box card. Never in all my crafty years had I attempted one. Not sure why. Just hadn't. So, I gave it a shot.....
Inside
Outside

I wanted to stay with all one piece so it is a simple 12x12 cardstock with the corners cut away and scored to fold. I used some scrap pieces to mat the outside. The 3-D embellishments were some I picked up on a recent trip to Michaels. 

I also scrounged around in my sticker drawer and found these word tiles. 

I think the entire project took me maybe 20 minutes. It went a lot faster than I thought. Now I just need to find a little treat to put inside before I give it to my munchkin next week. 




Challenge Accepted

A couple of days ago I was lost in blog fabulous-ness following links from one to the next to the next. I discovered some very crafty ladies. Among them was a challenge to create a card using Purple, Orange, Lime, Black, and any sort of Die-Cut. I do love my Cricut machine....I know a lot of my crafty friends have moved on. I just can't let go. Anyway, I cut out a few different things, played with some ideas, used only scrap paper in the assigned colors and here we are.......

The words are a layered Die-Cut from my Cricut machine, and the squares were also cut with the machine, but happened to be left over from a previous project. Although it look more yellow in the photo, the paper behind the yarn is actually lime. Now I just need someone to mail this to......

Any takers?

Thursday, October 16, 2014

Fun with Letters

Although I am not quite up to an entire 31 day challenge, Randi has certainly inspired me to get some of my wood project done.

Sale Letters!

I got these on sale at Hobby Lobby a while back, and although I knew pretty much what I was going to do with them they have been sitting longer than I will admit. 

Shiny!
I didn't need all of the smaller letters, so I will need to think of something to do with those later. 
All Done!
The base coat of black is actually chalkboard paint (my new obsession) so I can draw on the "G". I put a nail above my door bell, and right now it says "Trick or Treat" and is hung up with a Happy Halloween ribbon that I just wrapped around the top and tied in an bow. I am super happy with how it turned out, and it really only took me a few minutes outside of drying time.

Wedding Day Kit

Recently I attended a destination wedding in fabulous San Diego. I don't know about you, but I hate traveling and realizing I forgot something. Especially for events. And because I didn't want my friend's special day to have any hiccups, I came up with my own version of a Bridal Emergency Kit.

The Bag
This is the bag I decided on. It is pretty heavy duty, and as you can see I had her name put on it. I ordered it well in advance from my fabulous friend Laura. And as anyone who knows me can attest, the next thing I did was scour Pinterest for ideas of what to put in this kit. 
Idea List
This was the list I originally came up with. Some were suggestions from Pinterest, others were things that I thought of from past disasters, spills, awkward moments, etc. Once I realized that not all the items on my list would fit, I prioritized them to make sure I had the most crucial covered. 
First Aid

Aches, Pains and Ailments

Beauty Essentials
Respect the Gown
I added some little notes, and grouped things in plastic sandwich baggies. I felt it important to mention I hadn't tried the powder trick, just to make sure I wasn't giving her advice that could potentially ruin her dress! (Gasp!) I also added a granola bar and some small bottles of liquid courage for good measure. 

Have you ever made a kit? If so, what did you put in yours?

Thursday, June 26, 2014

Stampy Storage Solutions

I have struggled for years to find the best way to store my stamp collection. Yes, I am old school like that and still have wooden block rubber stamps.
My collection
I could never decide or find the right bin or box to keep them in - until now!! I honestly can't remember where I saw this idea (Becky perhaps?) or in what application it was used but this little thing is my new BFF!
From Home Depot
I put some thought in to the fact that I didn't want a repeat of a previous problem - that if I can't see them I don't know what I have. So first I grouped similar stamps together to see what I was working with. Then I started dividing them in to drawers to make sure I maximized space and made sure the bigger stamps had a home. Then I did something that took forever.....ok, like 3 days but still....
Prints
I once bought out an entire Michael's bin of these chipboard albums. At ten cents each you would have done it too and you know it, so don't judge. Because I have so many of them, they were perfect. So I stamped. 
And I stamped.......
It took me several of these little albums to stamp them all but I finally got there. The images on a single page correspond to a single drawer in the little "dresser". And the cute tape? Identifies which drawer to go to!
Almost there..
So now I have these handy little flip books of images to peruse when I am looking for a stamp. And since they are grouped, deciding which "Happy Birthday" one to use is a snap! Then to make sure that the books were kept within quick reach I grabbed some Command Hooks. 

Ummm.....yes that would be the dresser full and my clear stamps waiting their turn to make reference books. You know what that means! Back to Home Depot (thanks Adam!) 
Fabulous!! I even had some of the smaller drawers still empty at the top so I added a few stickers to the front. 
Star Brads
The stickers help me remember which type of fun tidbit I have tucked in there. And finally, Adam the Amazing hung my organizers on the wall next to my book shelf. 
All Hung
Now I can find my stamps and inks quick! I love this new wall system! The rest of my craft room is under reorganization too, so who knows what else I might come up with! How do you organize your crafty corner?


Mother's Day Totes

My mom, the avid Pinterest and Facebook user, decided to "hint" at what she wanted for Mother's Day by posting the Pin on my Wall. Subtle, right? It worked. She got what she wanted, although it was a couple of weeks late because on the first try, my daughter was unhappy with the results. (Not too unhappy since she kept it for herself) So, handy (ha ha!) tote bags it was.

Dad

Mom
Part one of this process was that Adam and I had to stamp our hands on the totes. After that came the kiddo and a couple of details. Sadly I didn't get a finished picture of them, but I used yellow fabric paint to make a swirl in the center, and green to do the outline of a leaf in the corner of each.
Drying
When I mailed them I was a little nervous about the paint sticking to itself in the envelope (it's over 100 degrees here) so I made sure to fold them design out and they made it to their respective locations just fine.

Wednesday, May 7, 2014

4 in 14 May

As the month was turning yet again, I was trying to think of a cute theme for my May "pretty shelf". May brings to mind Mother's Day, but somehow decorating a shelf saying I was great seemed a little too far. (Although perhaps the kiddo gets a guest starring role next year!) So, I went a little on the lame side with the whole "April Showers, May Flowers" route and tried to find things I already had that reminded me of Spring and flowers.
May Flowers
Here is the shelf as a whole. If you have seen my other months, the bird and rabbit are March recycles, and the vase is a February recycle. This was a bit of a harder month for me, since I was really trying not to spend money on anything new.
February Recycle
 Next to the vase, I added this colorful little bucket that I picked up in the Target Special Finds bin for a dollar around Easter time either last year or the year before. They have them all the time in different designs at different holidays / seasons.
Kid Creations
If you have ever celebrated even one holiday with a kid in Pre-School or Elementary school, you know what these are. Yes, mine are now about 8 years old. No, I have never lit the candle inside. Yes, they did melt in the moving boxes at one point. Don't care. Still keeping them. In fact, hoping to get more when I get grand-babies ( a LONG time from now).
Silliness
The last little fun flower I added was this chipboard album I made a couple years ago. Since it is sturdy and on a ring, it stands up like an easel all on it's own. This is one of my favorite pictures of her - we are at the World's Largest Gift Shop in Las Vegas and the giant hat is made of foam, the poker chips are pillows. We were there waiting on family to gift shop, so we decided to get silly with some of the SWAG.

Friday, April 25, 2014

4 in 14 April - Project

Back around Christmas time I saw this fun idea on Pinterest to leave little gifts on your neighbors doors. For some reason I decided it would be fun to do it again for Easter. I thought it would be fun to leave little egg on the doorsteps for our neighbors with treats inside.
Printed "tags"
I started by printing a few sheets of these little "labels" on some pastel computer paper. 

All Trimmed

Thank you straight trimmer for making cutting these little guys a breeze. So far I think this project is about five minutes in and I am almost done. Loving that. Now for the treats....
Yum!!
I bought the assorted bag of non-melting candy. We already have temperatures in excess of ninety so chocolate was out of the question. We sorted it out so that no one person would get all the same thing. 
Pink!
Each of these little eggs held five little candy treats in them. The left over was my daughter's favorite part, as she is a fan of the Bottlecap candies. The last piece of the puzzle was to put the little strips in the eggs. 
Egged!
We folded it a little bit so that the "From the" part was tucked inside and all that showed was the "You have been egged" part. Our original plan was to leave them for people to wake up to Good Friday morning, but life got away from us. So instead the next morning they were found. My husband and daughter really enjoy their "ninja" skills slinking through the neighborhood delivery these.


Monday, April 14, 2014

4 in 14 April - Recipe

So this week I decided to "steal" from my husband his invention for dinner. Very tasty, and kind of pretty to look at. I think we may need to have this for dinner again soon!

Sunday, April 6, 2014

4 in 14 April

So, March was a bust. I had trouble just getting in one post. For those close to me, that comes as no surprise. My personal life has been craziness finding out my kiddo isn't well. Our family has undergone a serious life change. That being said, in an effort to regain some sort of normal I am trying to get back on track with my blog.

So back to my pretty shelf....


I scored all these items a while back at Hobby Lobby. The eggs came in a four pack, and are printed burlap. I love the little ceramic animals.

Wednesday, March 26, 2014

My Stitch Fix #2

It came!! Another cute little box with the lovely Stitch Fix logo. Again, promised myself I would try on everything. Excuse the slightly fuzzy photos. This time it was the kiddo as photog and she's still learning. I should also mention, I don't look at the price sheet until after I try on, since I don't want cost to be my only deciding factor if I really love a piece. And I know me......that would sway me.

Add caption
Rylin Pintuck Detailed Silk Blouse
$78.00

My first thought was that this looks pretty much exactly like item #1 in Fix #1. This one is black and that one was navy, but they are essentially the same and if you recall I returned that one as well.

Returned.




Hydie Geo Print Crochet Detail Blouse
$68.00

Same style....again. And not a flattering style for me. Also the black shoulders are a crochet type panel and the bra straps were showing. I. HATE. THAT. The fabric pattern was just so-so. I am not super in to the geometric patterns that seems popular right now.

Bye-Bye




Pierson Lace Detailed Short Sleeve Shirt
$48.00

Not a huge fan of lace or mint. And again, the bra strap issue. I did like that this was an actual short sleeve, which I had asked for, instead of sleeveless.

See-Ya




Hailey Geo Print Tie Waist Dress
$58.00

I didn't even bother to put shoes on and "style" it as they suggest because laying out I really liked it and was sure about this one. Then I looked in the mirror and thought......oh, what a cute potato sack. Sniffle. I was a little sad.

Tear Filled Goodbye



If you are familiar with Stitch Fix you are probably looking for photo number 5 right now. Scroll on back up to the first three pictures. The jeans were the fifth item. Johnny Skinny Jeans. I love skinny jeans with my boots. They were the right length, SOFT, stretch and comfy, smaller pockets on the bum (which makes a gal's bum look better) and fit like they were custom made for me. It was love. I was sure they were my new favorite jeans.
$88.00
I cried a little when they went back in the return envelope.