Crafting and Creativity

My Son's 5th Birthday Party- Pirate Theme!

2013-01-23T16:00:00.000-07:00

It's about time that I post about my son's birthday party from last month!

He had a Pirate theme and I had lots of fun putting everything together!!

I did a party for extended family the Saturday after his actual birthday. I made these invitations that we mailed out......

And then he had a "friend party" where he was able to invite a few friends from his kindergarten class.

It was the Friday before his birthday and I opted to do it in the afternoon right after school so that the kids could come right to our house, have lunch, then party! {I used this cute printable}

The set up in our dining room......

There were 3 banners for his party in total.

The first one was this pennant banner I made out of fabric......

Here's the table all set up with the treats!

Above the table I had another banner and a couple pirate balloons......

I used some pirate scrapbook paper and a couple pictures of my son dressed up as a pirate to made the second banner that hung above the table......

All right, let's explore the table a bit more closely, shall we?

I covered bottles of water in scrapbook paper that had a wood grain on it and then made a label that said "Sea Water" and stuck in in a big bamboo clothespin. (I had bought a few sets of those clothespins with his party in mind from the dollar store. I knew they would be perfect for holding labels at the food table!) I made all the labels on my computer, then distressed them like crazy so they looked like old paper. (Although you can't really tell in the photos!)

I had a couple 2L bottles of pop: Pirate Beer and Pirate Ale (and I put in brackets underneath what they really were, just to avoid any alarmed parents....ha!)

I covered 1L cartons of apple juice in pirate scrapbook paper.

I found some of those sword toothpicks which were just fit perfect for the pirate theme.

I made soooo many cupcakes!

I made cupcakes for his friend party.

I made cupcakes for him to take to school on his actual birthday. (Plus extras for our immediate family to celebrate together that night.)

And made more cupcakes for the extended family birthday party.

I just made 2 types and kept it simple. The white cupcakes were made in the blue pirate cupcake liners and had chocolate sprinkles and a pirate flag on top.

The chocolate cupcakes were made in white 'square' cupcake liners and then I topped those off with chocolate foiled gold coins.

Beside the cupcakes, there was a dish with chocolate gold coins & a 'pirate map', rolled up, and tied with twine.

I had found a couple of glass bowls from the dollar store that reminded me of fish bowls, so I filled them both with some "Catch of the Day" (gummy fish in one & colourful goldfish crackers in the other one).

The "Cannon Balls" were Whoppers chocolates.

And then there were come "Chips Ahoy Pirate Cookies". I was going to buy some of those Pirate Brand cookies (the peanut butter cookies), but I opted to stay away from anything with peanuts or nuts since so many kids have allergies these days.

I had some starfish shells on the table here and there.

The pirate chest was at request of my son. He told me a day or two before his party that he really wanted a pirate chest! So I made one using a box from mandarin oranges. I covered it with kraft paper, then painted on some details with acrylic paint, then distressed the edges with ink. He has played with it soooo much and still has it! So funny! On the table, it was filled with pirate loot!

I had a couple little tables set up with a pirate table cloth and a vase of plastic gold coins and plastic diamond jewels. When the kids ate, I had them kneel around the table, cause I just didn't have enough chairs for everyone. They're little and it worked! :)

In the living room, I hung up this humongous pirate banner & had the rest of the balloons there as well.

Since his birthday is in December, his party decor is always up with all our Christmas decorations.

I used some of the bamboo clothespins I had to display a few more of the pictures of him dressed up as a pirate......

I bought so so many foam pirate swords. Each kid got a sword to take home...... (I'm sure all the parents were thrilled! ha!)

Each child also got a treat bag to take home......

Here's the pirate loot that was in each bag......

The dollar store had this pirate photo prop for a couple dollars that I had bought almost a year ago with his party in mind. I took a picture of each kid at his friend party and guests from his family party as well. I printed a picture of each of his friends and gave them to the kids after the party as well as a picture of the group with a "thanks for coming" type message on the photo.

Here are my kiddos posing in the photo prop......

I'm happy with how everything turned out and how smoothly his parties went. And most importantly, he was such a happy birthday boy! That makes it all worthwhile! :)

I love doing fun parties for my kids' birthdays!

Here are the other parties we have had:

My son had a Cars theme for his 4th birthday:

My son had a Toy Story theme for his 3rd birthday:

My son had a Wiggles theme for his 2nd birthday:

My son had a Zoo Animals theme for his 1st birthday:

My daughter had a Black, White, and PINK theme for her 1st birthday:

My daughter had a Dora theme for her 2nd birthday:

Hopefully I will be back with a new post sooner than later!

My Heart Hurts.

2012-12-16T23:12:00.001-07:00

Christmas Gift for the Teachers

2012-12-07T12:21:00.001-07:00

Hi everyone, I hope your December is going smoothly!

I just wanted to pop in and share what I put together to give my son's Kindergarten teachers {there is a Teacher plus a T.A. in his class.}

I picked up these cute mugs from Superstore for $4 each I believe. I like that they aren't necessarily "Christmas" mugs. And they are neutral and kinda pretty.

Each mug will be given along with a gift card to Second Cup. With the gift card they can buy coffee/tea/hot chocolate or treats- whatever they like!

For chocolates, I bought them each a bag of Hershey miniatures and also added some Andes candy cane chocolates- yum! And of course, I stuck a candy cane in each mug.

Before wrapping the mug + goodies in tissue, I taped the gift cards onto the mugs with a piece of washi tape so they didn't get lost in the mix.

I used washi tape to pretty-up the simple kraft paper gift bags...... I {heart} washi tape!

There you have it!

I wanna know: What do you give your child's (children's) teacher(s) for Christmas???

My DIY Stocking Board

2012-11-29T22:54:00.001-07:00

I made this stocking board last Christmas and never got a chance to share......

I had this drawer front that my hubby brought me from work that was destined for the trash.

I knew the size was just perfect for a stocking board.

And I liked the finish enough that I didn't have to paint it or anything- a major bonus during busy December!

The other cool thing was that there were already 4 holes drilled in it for where the drawer handles would have gone. So I didn't have to measure out where I added my hooks. Sa-weet!

I bought these 2 packs of chrome knobs. Each package of 2 was about $6.

After adding on the knobs, the mister hung it up for me. He drilled through the board and placed it where the studs in the wall were. Then I added a little plastic cover on each screw, those somewhat blend in.

For the star in the middle, I used part of a glitter-y tree ornament that I already had. I used a few dabs of hot glue to keep in in place for the month of December.

The great thing is that I remove the star after Christmas and I keep the board up year-round.

It is in the hallway between both entrances so it is a great spot for my son to hang his school backpack & it's also where the library bag hangs.

I love how simple this project was to put together, and that the only cost was buying the knobs!

If you want to make something similar, a piece of wood that is painted or stained would be a good alternative.

We have started to "deck the halls" around here for Christmas.

When do YOU decorate for Christmas time??

Reindeer Thumbprint Ornaments

2012-11-08T15:49:00.000-07:00

Last year I helped my kids make up these tree ornaments to give my parents for Christmas.

(Then we made another set to keep for our tree!)

We just used acrylic craft paint for them to dip their thumbs into. When that was dry, I used a toothpick to add the red nose on rudolph, and then a black Sharpie to draw the eyes and antlers!

After making the set of green ones for my parents, I made a red set for our tree!

On the back I added their name and the year.

My parents really liked them!

If your're new to Crafting and Creativity, I would love to keep in touch!

DIY Christmas Pillow

2012-11-07T15:32:00.000-07:00

Hope you're enjoying your Wednesday! We are getting SO MUCH snow here today it is insane!

I made a few projects last Christmas that I never got around to posting about.

The first is this pillow makeover:

I had this pillow that wasn't really my style, stored in the basement......

I made a new case for it using this cute Christmas fabric my SIL had given me for Christmas the year before.

When I was finished sewing the cover, I made 5 rolled fabric flowers using some of the scraps. I like how the flowers jazzed it up a bit.

I am getting really excited for Christmas time and I look forward to decking the halls around here!

When do YOU decorate for Christmas???

Magnets for Kids` Masterpieces

2012-10-23T13:42:00.000-06:00

Last week I did a simple project. I made some magnets to display my kids` latest masterpieces on the fridge......

I had some magnetic picture frames that were empty, so I made the text on my computer & printed it off, then cut then to fit in my frames.

To jazz them up a bit, I added a strip of washi tape to the top and bottom of my text before slipping them into the frames......

My daughter`s......

My son`s......

Now they have their very own magnet to display their new pictures!

See how else I display their artwork in this post.

What do you do with your child`s artwork???

Halloween Decorations

2012-10-12T20:07:00.001-06:00

I'll level with ya, Halloween isn't my favourite holiday.

I do a bit of decorating, mainly pumpkins. I keep it simple & cute. I'm not into the "scary" stuff.

In our living room, I have this display on a shelf......

The printable in the large white frame is the "Happy Halloween' printable I shared here.

The printable in the small black frame is from Eighteen 25 & can be found here.

You can see read about the wood pumpkins I made in this post from a couple years ago.

Do YOU decorate lots for Halloween?

What is YOUR fave holiday?

Thanksgiving Crafts for Kids

2012-10-11T13:00:00.000-06:00

Since last weekend was Canadian Thanksgiving, I helped my kids make some crafts!

I helped them put together these Thankful Turkeys (I used this idea from Meet the Dubiens).

They told me what they are thankful for & I wrote things on the "feathers". Then we used glue & tape to put them together. All you need is: construction paper, toilet paper tube, googly eyes, and glue/tape.

We had a lot of fun putting these together and it was a great way to sit down with my kids and talk about our blessings.

They also made the classic hand print turkeys! They mailed these to grandparents & family members who live far away.

Check out more fun ideas for Thanksgiving on my Thanksgiving Pinterest Board.

Did you know I just joined Instagram? My username is: sarahcrafts.

If you're on Instagram, leave me a comment with your username so I can follow you as well.

'Happy Halloween'- Free Printable!

2012-10-01T06:00:00.000-06:00

Happy October 1st! With the countdown to Halloween on, I made this print to put with my other Halloween stuff in my living room:

And I am sharing the printable with you!

All you have to do is click on the link below to download the 8x10 printable.

Happy Halloween!!

Happy Halloween 8x10 Printable

Happy Monday :)

Big Brother Kits

2012-09-28T06:00:00.000-06:00

Before my sister-in-law had her 3rd boy recently, I wanted to make something for her older boys for when they visited in the hospital or for at home or whatever. You know, stuff to keep 2 little boys quiet & busy for a minute or two!

So I put together a couple Big Brother Kits for them:

Each bag had:

-a notebook

-homemade crayons

-a Matchbox car

-set of stickers with sticker album

-a juice box

-2 packs of raisins (one yogurt, one plain)

-2 different packs of gummies

-a container of mini M&M`s

Stuff for her 4 year old boy:

Stuff for her 2 year old boy:

I`ve shared before how easy these crayons are to make. Kids love them! (See tutorial HERE)

They were simple to put together. Hopefully her boys enjoyed them!

Batman Wipes Case

2012-09-26T06:00:00.000-06:00

I wanted to make a wipes case for my sister-in-law who had her first baby last month. She is all about the Batman stuff for him. She picked out this fabric for the wipes case & I think it turned out pretty darn cute!

Here`s the link to my Wipes Case Tutorial.

For some different ideas, here are the links to all the many wipes case I have made:

-Pink and Green Wipes Case

-Blue & Green Wipes Case

-Pink & Orange Wipes Case

-Pink and Brown Wipes Case

-Pink Wipes Case (the one I currently use)

-Green Owl Wipes Case

Have a great day, everyone!!

Baby Subway Art

2012-09-25T06:00:00.000-06:00

Hello!

My long absence from this craft blog of mine was not planned, but life has been busy!

I had 2 new nephews born last month & in addition to buying them cute little clothes I, wanted to make them a little something special for their rooms!

My brother & his wife welcomed their first baby and my sister-in-law is into yellow & black, and all things Batman for him! I made this pair for his room & put them in simple black 8x10 frames......

My hubby`s brother & his wife had their 3rd boy & I made coordinating subway art for all 3 of her boys!

They have some simple white 8x10 frames. My sister-in-law wanted colourful ones. I kept the fonts the same, as well as the same shade of blue so that they match.

I played around a bit with having some of the writing going sideways and different things like that, but I personally thought they looked best this way.

Be back sooner than later this time, I promise!!

Clothespin Photo Block

2012-08-14T17:50:00.001-06:00

I love my kids. I love taking pictures.

So you can imagine that I take lots of pictures, mostly of my kids!

I enjoy new, fun ways to display pictures in our home.

So I made up this little photo block........

I didn't make up a tutorial since it's pretty self-explanatory.

I painted some scrap wood. I cut a piece of scrapbook paper to fit & inked around the edges.

Then I adhered it to the block, then used my glue gun to add on the mini clothespins.

The clothespins allow for me to change the photo out as often as I like.

I can display one larger photo.......

Or I can display a couple smaller pictures together.......

I am all about the simple projects lately!!

Play Clothes Board {trash to treasure}

2012-08-13T18:30:00.000-06:00

Today I just have a simple DIY project to share......

This was a project I made when there was still snow on the ground!

I had this kitchen cabinet drawer front:

All I did was paint it white. Then I added the knobs to hang my kids' dress up clothes on. (A package of 6 knobs was $1.99 from Ikea!) I had my husband screw it into the wall. I just added white screw covers over the screws. That thing it not going anywhere!

It's hanging with a picture frame/mirror that was white until I spray-painted it aqua blue.

And the white frame was originally black. I painted it & added in some bright, fun alphabet scrapbook paper.

Such a simple set of things hanging together that cost me next-to-nothing to make!

This is a fun little area in the playroom for my kids!

Simple Ideas for Travelling With Kids

2012-08-08T14:14:00.000-06:00

A couple weeks ago, our family went on a little holiday around our gorgeous province of Alberta and even went a little bit into Montana. Over about a week we drove 2070 kilometres (or 1286 miles).

In the weeks before, I tried to think of some simple ways to make the time in our vehicle a bit more fun for the kids.... and easier for the Mr. and me!

We have a portable dvd player with dual screens, so the kids each got a new dvd and a toy set from the Disneystore right before we left. (Our 2 year old has had issues with bad car sickness in the past year so the dvd players have been a must ever since anytime we travel in the vehicle.)

At Dollarama I picked up these containers for $2 each......

I filled one for both of my kids with various snacks & a few treats that they both like......

I used my glue gun to add a chipboard letter onto each lid to personalize them a bit.....

I also added some scrapbook paper onto one side, where the sticker label had been. It made them cuter and made it so I didn't have to bother removing all the sticker residue! Win win!

Since we were going to be seeing lots of lakes in the mountains and spending lots of time outside, I thought a new bottle of bubbles would be something good to have on hand!

And I was super stoked to find Angry Birds gummies at London Drugs, so I bought one of each character and saved them for our trip.

I also like having some extra activity stuff to pull out during those moments when kids need some extra distractions. I bought a bag for both of them from the party section at Walmart for 97 cents. Character stuff is always a hit with my kids!

I filled each bag with some goodies from either the dollar store or Michael's to keep them happy.

They each got:

-a colouring book & a bag of cool shaped crayons

-a notebook & a little story book

-one of those magnetic drawing toys

-a water marker colouring mat set (they were $2 at the dollar store and were their fave things by far!)

Hopefully that gives some ideas for the next time you travel with your little kids!

Classic Craft Tutorials!

2012-07-27T06:00:00.000-06:00

Happy Friday & welcome to the fifth & last day in my series this week: Classic Crafting and Creativity! Each day this week I am sharing a round-up of my favourite & the most-viewed past posts.

Today is all about Craft Tutorials!!

Wipes Case Tutorial:

Hershey Kisses Popcorn:

Heart Map Shadowbox Frames:

Minnie Mouse Hair Clip:

Button Heart Frame:

Embroidery Hoop Wreath:

Flower Freezer Paper Stencil T-shirt:

Fabric-Covered Bulletin Board Frame:

I hope you enjoyed my series of Classic Crafting and Creativity this past week!!

Have an awesome weekend :)

Classic DIY Fabric Flower Tutorials

2012-07-26T06:00:00.000-06:00

Happy Thursday & welcome to the fourth day in my series this week: Classic Crafting and Creativity! Each day this week I am sharing a round-up of my favourite & the most-viewed past posts.

Today is all about the Fave DIY Fabric & Felt Flower Tutorials!!

How to make Rolled Fabric Flowers:

How to make T-shirt Pom Pom Flowers:

How to make Rolled Felt Flowers:

How to make Easy Felt Flowers:

How to make a Hand-Sewn Flower:

How to make a melted Shiny Fabric Flower:

How to make a Fabric Yo-Yo Flower:

See you again tomorrow for the last post in this week's series!

Happy crafting!!

Classic Kids' Birthday Parties

2012-07-25T06:00:00.000-06:00

Happy Wednesday & welcome to the third day in my series this week: Classic Crafting and Creativity! Each day this week I am sharing a round-up of my favourite & the most-viewed past posts.

Today is all about Birthday Party Ideas for Kids!!

I really enjoy doing birthday parties for my kids! Here are the parties they have had so far......

My daughter had a Black, White, and PINK theme for her 1st birthday:

My daughter had a Dora theme for her 2nd birthday:

My son had a Cars theme for his 4th birthday:

My son had a Toy Story theme for his 3rd birthday:

My son had a Wiggles theme for his 2nd birthday:

My son had a Zoo Animals theme for his 1st birthday:

In December my son will turn 5 and we have most of the stuff bought for his party as far as decorations and supplies go. He chose this year's theme over a year ago!

A couple popular posts that relate to birthday parties are:

How to Make Tissue Paper Pom Poms:

Marshmallow Pops tutorial:

Hope you enjoyed checking out my party ideas.

See you again tomorrow! :)

Classic Trash-to-Treasure Projects

2012-07-24T06:00:00.000-06:00

Happy Tuesday & welcome to the second day in my series this week: Classic Crafting and Creativity! Each day this week I am sharing a round-up of my favourite & the most-viewed past posts.

Today is all about Trash-to-Treasure Projects!!

My DIY Jewelry Holder was made out of a cabinet door destined for the garbage & wrapping paper...

The DIY Kids' Artwork Board was made using a scrap piece of oak & some clothespins. I love having it to display things my kids create in our playroom...

Last Christmas I made this DIY Board For Christmas Cards. All it took was a large cabinet door, white paint, and some baker's twine & mini clothespins...

My favourite Easter decoration is this Framed Easter Egg Art I made...

I still love my Spring Wreath that hangs on our front door...

See you again tomorrow! :)

Classic Organization Posts

2012-07-23T06:00:00.000-06:00

Happy Monday & welcome to the first day in my series this week: Classic Crafting and Creativity!

Each day this week I will share a round-up of my favourite & the most-viewed past posts.

Today is all about Organization!!

My Household Binder- I still use it daily & LOVE how it keeps me organized! I am also adding new sections as needed...

My Filing System- This system has worked so well for me over the past 3 years!...

Important Numbers On Our Fridge- I have our emergency numbers in a fridge frame & this is a paper I have all our family members' home & cell numbers on for quick reference...

The Organization of our Photos on CDs- This is such a simple solution that has made life so much easier...

Toy Storage in My Son's Closet- This system is awesome in his room! I have since labeled the little green bins to match...

Closet Dividers in My Daughter's Room- A great way for babies & little kids who have lots of clothes to grow into yet...

See you again tomorrow! :)

Wedding Subway Art {gift idea}

2012-07-16T18:43:00.001-06:00

Hello everyone!

I didn't intend to be away from crafting/blogging the past couple weeks, but I sure enjoyed the break! Hopefully I can start feeling creative again :)

My little sister got married at the end of June & I wanted to make something personal for their new space. I remember getting so many household items when I got married, that I really appreciated any decor items like picture frames, etc to decorate our place.

I made this wall hanging for my sister, she wants a colourful space, so I was able to have fun with the different fonts, as well as the colours......

I created the subway art and sized it to print off as an 8 x 10.

I thought a simple white frame was the way to go since their were so many colours in the image.

I wrapped it up with a Bed, Bath, and Beyond gift card (where they registered) & another Pom Pom Clothespin Magnet for their fridge. My sister seemed to like the gift- success!

Happy Crafting!

Pom Pom Clothespin Magnets {tutorial}

2012-06-29T11:15:00.000-06:00

Happy Friday everyone!

Today I'm going to show you how I made these:

To make the pom pom....

Step One: Cut out circles from your fabric of choice. (I used an Advil bottle to trace my circles.) You can fold the fabric a few times so that you don't need to cut out each individual circle. I use about 20 circles for each pom pom.

On a small circle of felt, begin adding your circles, one at a time. You fold each circle in half, then in half again before you glue it to the piece of felt.

Step Two: Add next circle beside & add extra dabs of glue if necessary.

Step Three and Step Four: Keep adding the circles in layers, until the pom pom looks full & you are happy with the result.

To finish making these clothespin magnets, I simply added the pom pom to one side of my clothespin, then added the magnet on the other side, using my glue gun.

I added one to the top of my sister's gift for her bridal shower recently.

These would be cute gift idea as well. A set with a few different colours that coordinate would be a great gift idea for a teacher, sister, mom, etc!

Happy Crafting!!

Maple Leaf Sugar Cookies

2012-06-21T03:47:00.000-06:00

Yesterday was a rainy day so I decided it was a good opportunity to make some cookies!

I busted out my container of cookie cutters & decided on a maple leaf shape.

And I got to use my cute new red maple leaf sprinkles!

The cookies were a big hit with my kids!

Crafting and Creativity

My Son's 5th Birthday Party- Pirate Theme!

Top 12 Posts of 2012

My Heart Hurts.

Christmas Gift for the Teachers

My DIY Stocking Board

Reindeer Thumbprint Ornaments

DIY Christmas Pillow

Magnets for Kids` Masterpieces

Halloween Decorations

Thanksgiving Crafts for Kids

'Happy Halloween'- Free Printable!

Big Brother Kits

Batman Wipes Case

Baby Subway Art

Clothespin Photo Block

Play Clothes Board {trash to treasure}

Simple Ideas for Travelling With Kids

Classic Craft Tutorials!

Classic DIY Fabric Flower Tutorials

Classic Kids' Birthday Parties

Classic Trash-to-Treasure Projects

Classic Organization Posts

Wedding Subway Art {gift idea}

Pom Pom Clothespin Magnets {tutorial}

Maple Leaf Sugar Cookies