seven thirty three - - - a creative blog

DIY Marionette

2012-05-26T07:33:00.000-04:00

Olivia received a really cute Marionette kit for her birthday. It required putting it together and decorating it using stickers, bling and more. Mason was just as into it as she was. He kept asking, do they have a boy one mom? I really want one! And after she was built they kept taking turns and inevitably arguing whose turn it was.

As I was getting out some pasta for dinner the next night I pulled out my rigatoni and realized, HEY! This would be perfect for making a marionette! So of course, I called Mason and we set to work.

We didn't have a plan but just set to work. Once we got started I realized I needed a way to make a body, so I used a toilet paper roll and cut a slit down the back so I could make it more of a triangular shape and then glued it shut with hot glue. We used a large wood bead for the head and Mason drew on a face and I glued on some yarn for hair. I had some wood discs we used for hands and feet and popsicle sticks were used for the controls.

We didn't have a ton of time for decorating and he really wanted it finished so he could get some playtime in with it before bed, but for a first try I think he's pretty sweet. I'm thinking we might dye the rigatoni the next go around and maybe mod podge some scrapbook paper around the body for some added color.

See that smiling face? That's what this creation is all about!

Their favorite way to play with the marionettes? Singing in high voices and making them dance... and then breaking down into giggles. It warms a moms heart for sure!

Spoil Daddy this Father's Day!

2012-05-25T07:33:00.000-04:00

Today is the last day to enter the Little Chic Bowtique giveaway! I am unsure if I will have internet access at the campground we are staying at this weekend. If not, I will announce the winner next week.

I have updated my Father's Day Room Service free printable and made it available for download on Google Docs. Help your children spoil Dad with breakfast of his choice IN BED! My husband enjoys sleeping in on Father's Day so I have to convince the kids to wait until at least 8 before we bring him his breakfast... I'm nice like that!

Link Party Wrap Up

2012-05-24T19:33:00.000-04:00

Below are the standout links to me for this weeks parties.If I feature you here, don't forget to grab a button!

Seriously? No sew and super girly? I love it and I bet both of my daughters would too! Visit Free Stylin' to find out how to make one!

LOVE these Suitcase goodie bags by Kayla's Creations. How awesome are those? And EASY! I love unique party favors.

I'm going to have to keep this Girly Bling themed party by VixenMade in mind for my oldest daughter. It is so glam! I just love the colors and details - especially the backdrop!

I thought this Ninjago Pillowcase by Crazy Little Projects was fun and I know my boy would be beating it up on a regular basis.

I thought this Tin Foil Art by Quirky Momma would make for a great summer activity. I remember using a nail, hammer and frozen juice container lid to make ornaments and such. This is a simpler version.

My kiddos love creating books. They spend hours writing stories and drawing pictures. I love this dressed up book from Crazy Little Projects and I know my kids would too!

What are little boys made of? #113

2012-05-24T07:33:00.000-04:00

Grab the button!

Party Guidelines: 1) please link to your blog post (not your blog main page) so people can go directly to your project and 2) Enter your blog name and in paranthesis add the name of your project so we can clearly see what it is 3) Don't forget, these should be BOY RELATED (Big Boy projects are accepted too)! AND PLEASE grab my button!

Sugar & Spice #112

2012-05-23T07:33:00.000-04:00

Happy Birthday to my SIL Rebecca!

You will always be older than me lady! HE HE!

{BTW - have you noticed every Wednesday in May has been a birthday in my family? Busy month!}

And don't forget to enter the Chic Little Bowtique Giveaway!

Grab the button!

Copy and paste into your blog.

The party guidelines are: 1) please link to your blog post (not your blog main page) so people can go directly to your project 2) Don't forget, these should be GIRL RELATED (can be for us grown up girls too)! 3) AND PLEASE grab my button and add it to your post so that other crafty ladies can come join the fun.

Giveaway with Little Chic Bowtique

2012-05-22T07:33:00.000-04:00

You guys do not want to miss out on this fabulous giveaway! Heather from Little Chic Bowtique made my daughters GORGEOUS June bow that she wore for her Little Einsteins Birthday Party. In fact, Olivia is wearing the bow again today. :) She also made a Rocket version:

And these super cute bottle cap necklace favors:

I was so impressed with everything. The bow stayed in place the entire party (and that NEVER happens with Olivia, she is a rough and tumble kind of gal). I was also really happy with the necklaces. The character printouts were great quality and the clear shell over them had bits of sparkles to add a little flair. Of course not all of her stuff is Little Einstein related, check out some other fun bows in her shop:

Sports fan? Heather can custom a boy with any sports team!

Little one obsessed with LalaLoopsy? This is the perfect bow!

Or maybe you have a soon to be Kindergartener? To stay up to date with Little Chic Bowtique, like them on Facebook!
Today you have a chance to win a $25 gift certificate to Little Chic Bowtique? a Rafflecopter giveaway

A Little Einsteins Birthday Party

2012-05-21T07:33:00.011-04:00

It's here! The day I share my daughters Little Einstein's birthday party with you. We lucked out yet again this year and had AMAZINGLY gorgeous weather. 80+ degrees! We made sure to have lots of water and placed to sit in the shade. We also opened up the pool this weekend and a few of the brave kids jumped in.
As a recap, these are the invites I sent out:

I have a generic version available as free download here.
Because of the awesome weather we were able to hold the entire party outside. Here is the food table:

Note to self - close door and hide cups when photographing! Oh well, real life here people!

The birthday banner is available as a free download here.

I created a number three out of multiple pictures of Olivia over the last year.

I added clusters of white balloons and printed and cut out some Rockets as extra decor. Looks like they're flying out of the clouds!

The fruit kabobs were a hit! I shared how to make the table decoration here (includes free printable).

Because it was so hot we had to make sure to provide enough drinks. These custom water bottles did the trick! The generic wrappers are available for download here.

I turned red paper bags into Rocket's and added the children's name with washie tape and a sharpie.

I added personalized bubbles (generic wrapper available for download here), a Little Einstein Cookie, a bracelet, and a necklace. Along with the pinata candy it was a full bag!

I didn't sneak anything by you, huh? Those cookies and necklaces are both amazing, right?The cookies are from Decorated Desserts. I cannot say enough good things about Beth! Her cookies are amazing, both the decoration and the taste! She amazed me with the character detail and the #3 cookies were multi-dimensional. The staff lines were flat with the white and the notes actually were on top so it added so much depth! Want to stay up to date with Decorated Desserts? Like her Facebook page!

As you can see, everyone enjoyed them! My Memere has played piano for 73 years and she absolutely fell in love with the musical threes and brought an extra home with her.

The other nifty little favor is those bottle cap necklaces! They came from Heather at Little Chic Bowtique, along with my daughters super cute June hairbow:

I was so impressed with this bow! It actually STAYED IN PLACE the whole party. That's HUGE! Make sure you tune in tomorrow because Little Chic Bowtique has something special in store for my readers!

The picture above show's the type of bottlecap necklaces the girls received and here's a shot of the ones the boys got in their bags:

I had a table set up with recycled items, such as toilet paper and paper towel rolls, shoe boxes, bread crumb containers, rubber bands, glue, tape, streamers and markers. I called the kids over and let them know that Big Jet had broken Quincy's instruments and we couldn't sing Happy Birthday to Olivia until we replaced them. They got to work making some cool things! I don't usually do a lot of activities at parties, just tend to let them play, but I'm glad I did this one! The kids got SO into it. I kept having to say, "are you down yet? We're ready to have cupcakes!" and they'd be like, "ONE more second!". Once they were all done we got into a group, called everyone over to the food table and the kids started to play. It was too cute. We sang and the cupcakes came out and it really was fun. Here's a few of the kids making their instruments:

I didn't make an extravagant cake this time around. I had a lot going on this week (husband gram passed away and my mom was in the hospital). I made some simple cupcakes and added cupcake toppers, which are available for download here.

After cupcakes we did the pinata, which I made from a gift bag.

It worked well! We made it through 5 kids, but Landon is a baseball player and knows how to yield a bat, so he busted that thing right open! No one minded though when they saw the candy and other treats fall out!
The other piece of decor I had was a LARGE (48" x 60") Rocket! He was flying between two trees with all the characters inside. My daughter ran up to that thing and kissed it she was so excited!

You may remember that I made my daughters June outfit. She still loves it and we found some sparkly red shoes to go with it at Target.

It was a great birthday and Olivia asked me if we could do it again the next day!

Sporting some new shoes and shades while relaxing in her new camping chair.

I didn't include these in the party, but I made some cutlery wraps and they are available for download here.

The above free downloads are all hosted on Google. I have also made them available on 4shared.com for those that prefer that service:Birthday Invitation Birthday BannerBubbles Wrap Cupcake ToppersTable Decoration Water Bottle Labels Cutlery Wraps

Link Party Wrap-Up

2012-05-20T19:33:00.000-04:00

Oops! I just realized this never posted on Thursday! Soooo..... I've decided to get back into featuring some of the great posts you all are linking up to my two weekly link parties. I will post the party wrap up on Thursday evenings, so make sure to stop in and see if I featured you. And if I do.... make sure to grab a badge and show off! Here are my three favorites from yesterdays Sugar & Spice party:

When I first saw this file cabinet linked up by Little Yellow Barn, I thought she had used washi tape, but no, this puppy is painted. You HAVE to stop by and check out the before! Great transformation.

I've been researching sign designs so I can add one to my front porch. This Monogram Plaque that Made in a Day linked up caught my eye.

These Squirrel S'more pops from Kitchen Fun with My 3 Sons are just too cute. And my kids LOVE s'more pops. AND FOR THE BOYS:

You all know I'm planning an Army themed party for my sons upcoming 5th birthday, so there was no way I couldn't feature this amazing Army Party by One Thrifty Chic! I wish I had access to an Army Hummer!

With Father's Day approaching you'll want to check up this round-up of 50 Fathery's Day Gift Ideas by Craftionary!

And I love this DIY Avenger Shirt by Show Tell Share. This was not made with a freezer paper stencil. In fact, Show Tell Share had the very clever idea of using plastic file folders to create reusable stencils! So creative. Thanks to everyone that linked up. See you again next week! Can't see what you have in store for me.

Random Points of Interest

2012-05-19T07:33:00.000-04:00

Today is my daughters birthday party and I'm running around getting everything set up and ready to go, so make sure you check back next week to see the wrap up post. I'm a little down since my mom is still in the hospital and will miss today's party, but I'm determined to have a great day anyway. I'm going to share with you some random projects I've been doing that don't really warrant their own post. First, party related items:My daughter requested a birthday hat last minute, so I whipped this up with supplies on hand:

You can trace an existing party hat, or visit this post and download their party hat template.

Tooling around on her birthday gift.

I used a piece of 12x12 scrapbook paper, crepe paper streamers, and a small piece of elastic thread to create these. And of course, brother wanted one too, so we made this together:

Her actual birthday was the 16th. I had to work so she went to daycare and they had a mini party with cupcakes, so I didn't really want to do more cake that night. Instead I decided to dip some oreos in some milk chocolate chips and sprinkles I had. We stuck them on skewers and sang "Happy Birthday" and she loved it! SCORE!

On a sour note...my poor 6 year old front load Fridigaire Affinity Washer has been giving us horrible problems lately... seriously acting up. How you ask? By not going through the spin cycle. We'd go downstairs to check the load and it'd be hanging out in a boat load of water... bummer. After trying everything... that means I tried different cycles and powered it off, I decided to get the Hubby involved. He looked through the manual, but the E20 error we were getting could be a number of things. He proceeded to take my machine apart {and make a mess of the laundry room}:

After taking hoses and such apart looking for blockage he decided it was most likely the pump and asked me to look up the part information. While doing that I happened upon a post (this one if you're interested), where one guy was having the same problem and discovered that there was a boot under the coin catch that had become clogged with some unlikely items (considering the holes to get through the coin catch are pretty small)... I shared this with my husband who said he hadn't looked there yet and proceed downstairs to give it a gander.... and came back upstairs with a crap load of stuff! YEA... well, not that stuff managed to get there (design flaw, anyone?), but that we found the problem! There were 8 quarters, 5 nickles, a spattering of dimes and umpteen pennies... and my daughters sock. Now my washer is back together and we've ran several test loads and we're good to go! Phew! I really didn't want to buy a new washer.

We DO have to replace our 5 year old swing set. Bummer. For a $700 swingset, we have not been impressed. The wood was cheap and it just wasn't something that was going to last. For now we took the part that broke off (see that crooked part), so now we just have the slide and platform. My hubby is going to use some 4x4's to add some swings until next year when we will replace it (ghetto, I know, but we just spent MUCHO GRANDE on the house (see below for deets) and are going to Disney in October, a swingset has to wait!). The canopy was also shredded, and I didn't want to spend $30-$40 on a new one since I know we will be replacing it soon, so I purchased a plastic table cloth and ended up with this:

I know, I know. Still not GREAT, but better than before, right? RIGHT? Humor me here.

"Here lies Goofy. He lived a sheltered life, but was rarely crabby.

May he go to a lovely place that is full of empty, shiny shells that will never tarnish"

OK, so I totally stole that from my cousin who left it on my FB page. LOL.

Yes, Goofy the Hermit Crab, my sons pet, passed away. We created this little headstone to mark his place in our lawn... and of course my husband promptly ran over it with the lawn mower. OOPS! Guess we'll be making a new one.

My Husband's Gram passed away on Monday. The family asked me to create a slideshow and prayer cards for the service. I found this quote online and fell in love with it and put it on the front of the card. I had to share because I know there are others out there it will strike a chord with:

Now let's end on a happy note:

Another fun thing I did with the kids a short time ago was bring home glowsticks for them to play with in the bathtub. I saw this idea on Pinterest and new I had to give it a go. They had so.much.fun! I mean, over an hour, in the dark. I want to do this again this summer in the pool one evening... surprise them with a late night swim. Phew - did you make it all the way through? I've been a busy gal! I wanted to share with you my house upgrades - new siding, windows and shutters... but the shutters were just put up yesterday and I had a busy day with my husbands Grams funeral and my mom in the hospital. I'll share soon because I love the end result!

A Mini Gumball Machine

2012-05-18T07:33:00.000-04:00

My niece turned 6 earlier this month and I each year I give her a small gift based on gum... she LOVES gum. This is well known. She could spell GUM before she was two. No joke. She can sniff gum out from a mile away. This year, in addition to the mini sewing machine I gave her, I also made her a miniature Terra Cotta Gumball machine:I used a tiny terra cotta pot, this was not the smallest size, but one step up... 2" I think... and a votive holder for the glass portion.

Wouldn't these make adorable party favors for a birthday party?

What are little boys made of? #112

2012-05-17T07:33:00.000-04:00

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Sugar & Spice #111

2012-05-16T07:33:00.008-04:00

My baby turns three today. How is this possible? She is my sweet little pumpkin, full of sugar and spice... maybe a little more spice than sugar, but nothing wrong with that! HA. We will be celebrating her birthday with friends and family this weekend with a Little Einsteins themed birthday party, so make sure you stop by next week to see all the fun!

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DIY Jewelry Bust

2012-05-15T07:33:00.001-04:00

I am participating in an upcoming campaign with {styled} by Tori Spelling, a crafters dream jewelry line. I needed some way to display the pieces I created as well as make it easy for you all to see the steps I took to create the complete look. I really have no need for an expensive jewelry bust so I figured I could probably make my own.I had some cardboard that was used as a protective cover for a large item I had printed (60" x 48"!!!) so I took a piece of that, grabbed a pencil, scissors and my Xacto knife and created this:
I looked at pictures of busts online to get a rough idea of shape and then sketched it onto the cardboard.

I drew the right side shape of the bust onto a sheet of paper, cut it out and used it to trace onto the board. Flip over your stencil and do the same for the left side. If I do this again I would probably use freezer paper to create a stencil to use to draw onto the cardboard. That way I could fold the paper in half to create a nice symmetrical shape in the neckline.Use your Xacto knife to score (lightly cut the cardboard, but don't go all the way through) along the side lines and the neck fold line.

Fold along the score lines, add a punch on either side of the back flaps and add a string to secure in place. I'll warn you in advance that the following pictures were taken in my basement at 11:30 at night... when I realized I hadn't done so and this post was going live in the morning and I'd be at work and have no way to take pictures in natural light that day! {Phew! Can anyone say "run on sentence"?}

I covered mine with white felt (because that is what I had on hand) using spray adhesive and hot glue.This could definitely be "dressed up" using twill, satin, or other materials.

{It's currently hanging out in my craft room... until I'm sure I won't need it anymore, and then because it cost me nothing to create it, I can recycle it guilt free!}
Make sure you come back on June 7 to see the bust in action!

Retro Swing Top

2012-05-14T07:33:00.000-04:00

I sat down with some fun print fabric from the Ty Pennington Collection purchased via The Ribbon Retreat and ended up with this Retro Swing Top for my daughter:

Darn sun makes it hard to smile without squinting! I got the cute lace leggins through Pick Your Plum a short time ago and have been waiting for something to go with them. This top was perfect!

I also had a fat quarter just hanging out in my stash (also from The Ribbon Retreat) and it was the perfect coordinating color to the fabric so I made a nice wide headband to keep her hair out of her face.

She pretty much loved the whole ensemble and showed it off all day long.

Fostering Creativity - Create a Board Game!

2012-05-13T07:33:00.000-04:00

I love being a mom.I love my children and the joy they bring to my life.So to all the Moms out there,HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY.And in the spirit of being a Mom, I'm going to brag a little about my children today.***** I love fostering creativity in my children. I encourage them to try new things, and to also think of ways to entertain themselves beyond that big black box with moving pictures. So when they ask if we can go to my craft room and color, or cut or glue, I say "Let's go!" That is exactly happened with my son one Saturday morning. I had sewn a new top for my daughter the night before and went downstairs to pick up my mess and he followed me down. I have a game I created for one of my college art classes that was created out of wood, a wood burner and paint and we played a round of that. Afterwards he got out my paper cutter and asked if he could cut some paper and I said yes. And out of that he amazed me with this expansive game board:

Several more off shoots were added after this photo was taken and it ended up being a large rectangle with lines connecting in the middle. He called it "Snowing Wonder" and the concept is that you are a snow boarder and have to make your way along to the finish line. He had some warming huts along the way and a Hot Chocolate Station (his favorite part of skiing!). He asked if he could use one of my wood squares to make a di. He also created pieces using wood cutouts I had in my stash. And the game was born. He also asked his older sister to make him up some cards and then added colored dots along the way that held different meanings (ie: land on brown, draw a card, land on blue, visit the Hot Chocolate station). All of this came from his own imagination. He was so proud and asked me to write up the directions:

This was the first set, before the cards and other colored dots were added in. After playing this for a day I mentioned that we could get a board and turn it into a real game and he jumped right on that wagon! We stopped at my parents house because my dad has a bum load of scrap wood and found the perfect piece that was already painted and everything! We headed home, grabbed my acrylic paints, some paint brushes, foam pouncers and a sharpie and headed outside to craft in the sunshine. He was the director and artist and I was his helper and this is the result:

We have the starting box and you can go in either direction:

A couple of the game obstacles and a place to set the cards(he had me create the cards on the computer and laminate - not shown):

A few more obstacles and the finish line:

Not a bad game for a 4 year old! And each of the obstacles and the different dots were his idea, I can not take credit. I did help decide placement of the colors so that it made for fun game play; you know so you couldn't land on a purple dot your first turn and then get transported right up next to the finish line!
And yes, I plan on keeping this forever and ever and sharing it with him when he is older. He is so proud of the end result. He called his Grandparents and they had to come play a round. They made such a big deal about it and he was just beaming. I am so proud of my boy.
And he is not the only one with the imagination. Olivia, my youngest, helped my parents with their fountain the same day and came home with a rock.... a rock she dubbed a baby and asked me to paint and turn into a "real" baby. So my daughter is now walking around with this (thanks MOM):

She had me paint on a purple blanket so it looks like a swaddled baby... guess that was her way around the fact that it doesn't have arms or legs. She walks around petting it and kissing it and saying "Mama loves you"... and I giggle every time because I'm pretty sure this is something I would have done.

"Rockie" is currently wrapped in a paper towel, laying on a paper towel bed in a tupperware container because she "needs a crib!"
Tell me, what fun and creative things have your kids made?

How To: nRelate Related Posts Widget

2012-05-12T07:33:00.000-04:00

I know most of you have heard of LinkWithin, but how many of you have heard of nRelate? It is the same concept, but a little more of a heavy hitter with added features. For instance, with nRelate you can add in sponsored links to earn a little bit of extra money, they give you the option to have the links show up on your posts only or both homepage and posts (I shared a way to do this with LinkWithin a little while ago, but with nRelate it is just a click of a button!), etc. On top of that I have heard through the grapevine that LinkWithin actually takes a user "away" from your page, through their site and then back to you (not that the user can tell that), so all those clicks are coming from an "external" site rather than staying within yours.... what's all that mean? Basically it can negatively effect your SEO. Let's get back to some of the features that nRelate boasts:
Relevancy Level Control - Does just what it says, lets YOU control how relevant your post results are.Choice of Thumbnail Size - That's a biggie for blogs with smaller post areasAutomatic Content Sharing from your Favorite Blogs - This lets you spread the love to some of your fav peeps in your blog roll.Choose to include nRelate link - You can choose whether or not to display a link to their site. And if you are on WordPress, nRelate offers you a Popular Post widget and a Flyout widget. I went ahead and implemented nRelate to give it a go and see my thoughts. Just an FYI, after you install the widget it does take approximately 10 minutes to go into effect and show up live on your site, so don't freak if you aren't seeing it right away! I'm not saying I'm pro nRelate or LinkWithin, but so far I am loving the control I have with nRelate vs LinkWithin.

An Army Birthday

2012-05-11T07:33:00.000-04:00

Mason, my soon to be 5 year old son (gasp! Is it really possible that my sweet little babe is turning 5 in two short months?!?) requested an Army themed birthday party this year. He makes me laugh because he is JUST like me. As soon as he made that announcement he started making plans on what he wanted included. Example: "Mom, can you find those Army Men with the sheets above their heads, you know, the 'chutes? I want those in the goody bags please. Wouldn't that be cool?" Yup, I think I'll keep him!
I brainstormed for a short while on the invitations... and when I say brainstormed, I really mean browsed Pinterest. I saw a handful of invites and really liked one that was a draft notice. I closed my browser and opened Illustrator with a "draft notice" style in mind and then ended up with these:

Isn't funny how our creativity gets away from us sometimes? I don't know how my draft notice invite evolved into dog tags, but I'm pretty happy with them. I bought a 50 ball chain key chains for $5 on eBay, so these puppies will be pretty authentic, in a flat, paper sort of way. The invitees name will go on the front one and the party details on the 2nd. They look pretty cool hanging, but my camera lens busted and I just couldn't manage to get a good shot with my long range lens. The above picture was just the prototype, but I don't think I'll be making any changes.
Have you hosted an Army or Army Man party? Share some of your ideas! I'm in full planning mode and would love to see some fun examples.

What are little boys made of? #111

2012-05-10T07:33:00.004-04:00

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Sugar & Spice # 110

2012-05-09T07:33:00.002-04:00

Taking a quick moment to say Happy Birthday to my Mom! Love you Mom!

Hope you have a wonderful day.

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You Inspire Us! Mother's Day Printable

2012-05-08T07:33:00.000-04:00

Looking for a sweet little card to give to your Mom this Mother's Day? Then check out this free printable I put together for MY Mom this year. My Mom truly is an inspiration to not only me, but my husband and my children. She works hard, loves her family and puts others before herself. She is well known in our community, and everyone loves her and looks to her for advice in times of need. She truly is an amazing woman and I am so proud to have her in my life! Hey, I must love her since we live only six houses apart, right? The back is blank so you can add a nice little message to mom. I also printed one up for my MIL. Please excuse the horrible iPhone photo.

If you have an inspirational mom, print this off, cut it out and write a sweet little note on the back, or punch a hole in the corner, tie a ribbon to it and attach to a potted orchid or other potted flower. Something that says you care! Download the "You Inspire Us" printable here. {If the chevron background doesn't show up in the Google preview, download the file, it is there... not sure what the issue is with the preview!} Looking for another last minute Mother's Day idea?Check out my Room Service Printable!

DIY Paper Bag Pinata

2012-05-07T07:33:00.001-04:00

Browsing through some party sites I came across this cool concept on how to make a pinata, the super easy way! Have you ever heard of paper bag pinatas?I had not, but once I saw them I was totally on board. I found an exceptionally good tutorial on how to make one at Infarrantly Creative. Becky even shares how to hang it (since paper bags don't tend to have handles - or ones sturdy enough to hang the pinata with, especially full of candy). Of course, I then hit a big dilemma. I don't have any paper bags. And you know me, when I get an idea in my head I have to complete it ASAP. And running to the grocery store to get one wasn't in the cards at 9:15 at night. But of course I didn't let that stop me! As I brainstormed my options I kept going back to gift bags. They already have built in handles and are usually a little thicker to support said handles and the pinata contents. ANNNNDDDD - I have a whole tote full of them. So that is what I used! I turned this:

into this:A little hot glue, just under two rolls of crepe paper streamers and a printed image gave me an adorable, and easy pinata! UPDATE: I was asked how I created the ruffles and the answer is: simple! I laid a line of hot glue (about 1-2" at a time) and then laid the streamer on top of it and then pinched and gathered it over the hot glue. Just continue your way around the bag. When you get to your starting point, rip the streamer and secure with glue. Then move up to the next level and do it again. It is the same technique you see Kimbo use on her hot glue camera strap tutorial. I did the same thing on the back of my image so that it had a little more definition to it.
No paper mache; sounds good to me!

HOW TO - Enhance your SEO with Post Search Description & Picture Properties

2012-05-06T07:33:00.000-04:00

I recently shared how to add a search description to your blog (that little blurb that appears under your blog name in search results). You will need to take this step before being able to add a post search description.

With the new Blogger interface, Blogger has made a few changes that are a great benefit to us Blogger blogs. You can now enter a post search description for EACH post! It is really easy. Working in the new interface, go to a post. See the sidebar with the post settings? Click on search description and add a little description about your post (keywords are important!). Now click done and that's it.
Next up - changing your Picture Properties:
Insert an image and then click on it. In the little pop up click Properties.You can add an image title and alt text (alt text is text that will show should your image have a problem loading or takes too long loading).
Doing both of these steps helps enhance your SEO ratings, so definitely take the time to do them.

My Creative Classroom Giveaway Winner! Is it you?

2012-05-05T19:33:00.000-04:00

The winner of the My Creative Classroom is:
a Rafflecopter giveaway Congrats and check your email Angela!

Pedestal Birdhouse - DIY

2012-05-05T07:33:00.001-04:00

Browsing around Pinterest one day I came across several really cute Birdhouses on pedestals and just fell in love. They just look so sweet. One of my favorites were some DIY from Sugar Bee Crafts. Of course that put me on a mission to create my own. My kids and I painted some birdhouses a couple of years ago for my SIL's camping themed baby shower and I almost broke those out to make into pedestals but then I decided I wanted something a little larger for my porch.

I went to Michaels and picked up an unfinished birdhouse for $5 and an unfinished candlestick for $4. The other supplies I used from my stash.
Basically I painted the birdhouse and the candlestick using regular acrylic craft paint. I dry brushed brown onto the corners and roof ridges to give it a bit more of an aged appearance.

Once dry I used E-6000 to attach the birdhouse. I then sprayed them with a clear coat and put it outside on my front porch where it looked oh-so-cute...and kept falling down.

Yup, that little candlestick base just isn't wide enough to support the house against the wind. I stopped into Lowe's this week and picked up a little square piece of molding and glued it to the bottom of the candlestick and it solved the problem.
I love it and it is such an inexpensive project. This would also look really good on a mantle or a sidetable!
What have you made this week?

DIY Feather Bouquet and Table Decor

2012-05-04T09:00:00.000-04:00

Today I participating in the Crafterminds Wedding - a day full of DIY wedding ideas!

There is a linky at the bottom of this post with links to all of the other creative ideas that are being shared today so make sure to check them out!

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My little sister got engaged earlier this year. We've been brainstorming ideas here and there and one thing I came across and knew she would love is Feather Bouquets.

I showed her a picture of one I had come across and sure enough she fell in love. I thought I'd do a dry run using inexpensive feathers found at Joann's to see how it would look... and I must say, I'm pretty happy with the overall look, and was surprised to find how nice it looked sitting in a vase! So two-for-one, now you have simple table decor as well. Couldn't you see this in a super tall vase filled with twinkling lights, or some organza, maybe with tea lights surrounding it all? I think it gives off a super sophisticated, boutique feel.

I chose white feathers with a hint of purple for this dry run, but you can go with any color. I also would probably use a hint more of the purple if we do these for real.
Now I'll tell you there are many bouquets out there that are way more intense then these - feathers glued into flower shapes with pretty crystal accents, so on and so forth. I decided I wanted a nice fluffy bouquet, pretty and feminine, yet whimsy and not too full-of-itself. And the best part, SIMPLE. I bet some of you looking at this are saying you aren't crafty... that's fine. If you can stick a pin in a cushion, you can make this bouquet!
Here are the needed supplies:

All of these items were purchased at Joann's. 2 packages of white feathers - $2.99 each1 package of purple feather piece - $1.99Bouquet Holder - $2.99Jewelry Wire - On Hand (optional)Pearls - On Hand (optional)

First I opened my bags of white feathers and picked out the smaller ones.

I then poked those into the sides of the bouquet holder - straight into the styrofoam. I used about the same size feathers all the way around, filling in so it was nice and full. It took about two-three feathers per section. I made my feathers all go in the same direction, sort of fanning down. If you notice that green spot almost in the middle... yes, I filled that in after shooting this picture!

This is a top view of what I have so far.

Next I took medium length feathers and filled those around the top of the sides, right over the small ones. These I had fan up.

Now you are just going to stick feathers into the top creating a nice full bouquet. Keep adding them until you have the look you desire. You don't want any of that styrofoam showing through.

Cut the purple strip up so you can insert these randomly throughout the bouquet. After snapping this picture and inserting one of these I decided to cut it even more. I ended up with about 2 feathers per cut piece.

Using a pin with a white head, insert it through the fabric piece at the bottom and then pin into the styrofoam.

Eek! I'm tempted to break out my professional preggers pictures to show you my beautifully manicured nails... I've slacked BIG time and have now put all my energy into having beautiful nails again... I think these pictures just pushed me WAY over the edge! And as proof my co-worker accidentally took this shot of me at my desk yesterday - see, the nails are growing!

OK, now that I have that out of my system... back to the tutorial!

After stringing three pearls onto the metal wire, twist it around and underneath them and then twist down the stem. Make as many of these bundles as you want and insert throughout the bouquet to add a little more dimension and shine.
That's it, you're done!

My almost three year old got all dressed up and played "wedding" with this bouquet so I snapped a few pictures.... it gives you a sense of the size.

If you have a cat, watch out! These things draw them out! I had to shoo Diddy away about 20 times.

Looking for other DIY Wedding ideas? See what others from Crafterminds are up to: