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In an old house in Paris....

2011-11-25T23:21:00.000-08:00

...that was covered with vines lived 12 little girls that walked in 2 straight lines!
I wanted to share some pictures from my daughter's birthday party. She really enjoys the Madeline stories, so I thought that it was a perfect idea to run with!
The colors are so very bright and fun!

My amazing sister was a huge help to me with this. She has a cricut and also has recently started a party business. The worst part is that she lives on the other side of the country, but that did not stop us! I mailed her the paper and she put that little guy to work!

Check out her blog here:

The Party Bees

When all of the cutting was done, I got this happy box filled with all kinds of goodies! All I needed to do was put them together. (I was trying to save her a wee bit of time!)
I embossed the Eiffel Tower just to add some glitz!

Here is the inside...I don't have all of it showing. I can't have everyone showing up to my house! But you get the idea! I also had made a little bookmark that went in with a picture of Madeline so they could get an idea what this was all about! Some of the girls had not heard of the story, so this was a perfect way to introduce them to this sweet story! Many of them headed off to the library to check out the stories.

The thing I loved about this party was the most of it was MADE, and it was made from paper! Just a few trip to the Dollar Store, and I was ready to go! Also, I used a lot of things that I had around the house. Want another way to add a real special touch to your event? Rent/borrow/beg to have nice linens at your party. I am so blessed to have a dear friend who has all kinds of different table cloths and chair tie's (if you want her contact info, send me a note in my contacts). You can even use scrapes of fabric to make a chair tie. Try an old scarf too. Don't forget to hit garage sales! You never know what kind of fabric that someone else might be getting rid of. It could be perfect for your event!

Here is a quick picture of what the table looked like before I added the rest of the chairs. How fun is the red and white stripes? The newer versions on the Madeline's story is a beautiful shade of red, blue, and yellow.

Here the table is set with all the rest of the chairs. Don't you love the colors? I had invited 12 little girls, but not all were able to make it. But that's OK, we still had such a wonderful time. And you know the best part? These little 4 and 5 year old behaved like such little ladies! I think that they just felt special and loved! It was a total little ladies party!

The table setting...the plates are all from the Dollar Store. I love the squares! And the square chargers are 12x12 scrapbook paper that I got on clearance at Michael's. I knew that I was going to have a nice linen on the table and I thought that this wold be a great way to add a splash of color and protect the fabric from the little French gals!

I know that the milk bottles are really popular, but they can be pricey and hard to find. And then there are the mason jars. Fun, and you can use them again for canning or gifts filled with goodies. I got some cupcake liners in the same color and used them all over the part. I purchased them in 2 different sizes and used them as a base for lot's of the decorations. Here you can see a Eiffel Tower that my sis cut out. I used glue dots for them and added the girls name to each one as a place card setting and a gift.
I love the straws! And they were a bargain! .08 each! You can purchase them here at thinkgarnish

The centerpiece were fresh roses and the iron Eiffel Towers were borrowed from a friend. I added a mini-flag banner. Thanks sis! So cute and I love the ribbon. I would wait till they were 50% to purchase the rolls of ribbon.

Of course, you can add a little Madeline Doll that was a gift for her birthday. The perfect addition! You can find these on-line a different stores.

Here is another fun and ver inexpensive way to add a fun touch to the party...decorate the window. Again, a total of $2.00 from a trip to the Dollar Store. I got two rolls of yellow wrapping paper and used painters blue tape to attach it to the window. I thought that this would be a fun backdrop to the table. As you can see, it does not cover it in a perfect sheet. But I have big windows here people! Plus, I am pretty sure that they did not notice this.

I really wanted to the girls to feel like they were in the book, or Paris. Plus, it make for a fun place to take a picture of them! I got a sharpie marker, and held the Madeline book in my hand to draw. The fun part is the illustrations are very free and not perfect,

so it was easy to draw. My daughter just loved it when she saw it.

And that made it worth it!

It was hard to get a good picture of it, but you can get the idea.

Of course, this was a great place to add another flag banner. All made from scrapbook paper and the circut.

$3.00...yes, that how much it cost for this banner. How much time? A bit, but it was worth it when I saw it up. I was originally going to have a total of 4, but that might have a been a bit much, and I was running out of time! Fishing line and crape paper! 2 rolls for a $1! Twist, twist,twist, pull...twist, twist, twist...that is how you make this! :~)

Of course I made these! Did you think I would not? I did...I was going to give up it, then they day before here party I just to make them. A couple of yards of felt, red ribbon, coupon, check! Leftover white trim and a hot glue gun and I am good to go! They were so cute on and Shelby loved handing them out to each girl when they arrived. They hats are...yes, Dollar Store. One set of paper bowls and one set of paper plates. I had some blue satin ribbon leftover that was perfect to tie them off with!

Let's eat! A cupcake tower is always fun, easy, and cute! With the help of a very excited birthday girl, she was all about icing and sprinkles! I made the pinwheels and the little cards.

Here is how to make the pinwheels: DYI on PinWheels

Sorry about the pencil lines on this picture! Yikes! Guess I forgot to erase those ones. Folks, this is what happens when you do these things at a very late hour of the evening...

More food...another pretty linen draped over the counter!

Here is a fun way to add some color...for almost free. These are some glass containers that were a hand-me-down. My son, who was a great helper that day, took on this project. A few drops of food coloring to water and you are good to go!
And for some reason, I had a whole other table filled with food, and I did not get a picutre of it! Such a bummer. I had croissants, a pretty tray of meat and cheese. A veggie tray and a bucket of waters. Oh well, by the time I was going to take a picture of that, the guests arrived it was gone from my mind till afterwards. Oh well!

Let there be favors! I am always on the hunt for something different and fun!
Plus a good deal!

These fun berry boxes are from the same place as the straws: think garnish

What a deal for .60! I had to dress them up a bit! Nothing that a can of spray paint won't fix. Add a label and there you go!

One of my favorite things were the Eiffel Tower crayons. I was going to make them myself...and etsy came to the rescue!!! Please visit:MyLittleOtter

Do you not just love these crayons! She has them is a ton of different styles! By the time your try do this yourself, it's just not worth it. She does all the work for you! And she has just the sweetest designs. Plus she can make custom colors for you and your party to match the theme! They even came in a little bag. I just tied a bow on them!

While the girls were eating I read them the Madeline story and we played Bingo. It's one of Shelby's favorite games!

Hard to believe that she is 5 years old! Love this face! Even though she has a silly smile going on! She loved her party!

Thanks for looking and I hope that this will give you some ideas!

Our Fairy Garden Get's Published!

2011-10-05T22:12:00.000-07:00

Check out the cover of our local Kids Celebrate Magazine! We are just so excited that our Little Boo is on the cover of this sweet publication!

Click on the link below to see the full article!

You can also search my blog for more details on how we built the Fairy Garden! Look to your right, and there is a link for "Popular Posts." Or you can search for Fairy Gardens!

Thanks for stopping by for a visit!

Please leave a comment if you found me from Kids Celebrate!

/http://www.kidscelebratemagazine.com/

How to age a Terra Cotta Pot

2011-09-05T14:34:00.000-07:00

Well, it's been forever and a day since I have posted anything. School stared, then preschool, PTO, and the list goes on!
I did this a while ago, but I still wanted to share this. It's a great way to age your plain terracotta clay pots. This would work on a new one, or even some that you may have laying around your backyard!

Here is what the set looks like. Now, these for some centerpieces at that I did for our church. When they were done, they had some silk flowers in the saucer. We thought that it sort of has a birdbath look to it.

Here is how to get the look:

Get yourself a clay pot. You don't have to add the saucer if you don't want to.

You will need:

1) All Purpose Joint Compound. This stuff is a miracle in a bucket. They are so many things that you can do with this product!
This bucket was from Home Depot for under $7.00

2) Cream paint or any other shade to your liking. Any water based paint would work. Plus you will want some earth tone colors for the aging process.

3)Sea Sponge. Remember when these were all the rage for faux finishing?

4) "Knife" or blade to spread the Joint Compound onto your pot.

First, you want to give your clay pot 1-2 coats of paint. Make sure that you get a nice even coat on. Let this dry...here in AZ that takes about 20 minutes! In this photo, you can see that I would just put the Joint Compound on in certain places on the pot. I used the blade to add the compound and then use a damp sea sponge to lift and give the mud a little more texture.
Now it's time to say goodnight and let this dry until the next day.

If you feel that your "peaks" might be a little too high, take a sanding sponge to knock and smooth this off. Make sure that you do this step outside and wear a mask.

Drywall dust can be nasty!

Brush on the earth tone colors in a random patter. I made sure that the acrylic paint was watered down a bit so that there was flow to it. And I also tried to keep the color on the "mud."

Time to bust out that sea sponge again! Make sure it is damp also, and blend in the brown color to give it a soft look. You could add a couple of different shades at the stage too. When the browns were about dry, I added a green just with the sea sponge to make it look like moss was growing in certain places.

So there you have a fun and really inexpensive way to age your pots! This gives them a look like there were in a garden for centuries!

How to attract a Fairy to your backyard...

2011-06-09T11:53:00.000-07:00

My daughter is in love with all things Fairy. She has such a great imagination! So I thought that this would be a good way to keep that going. She is always asking questions about Fairies...where do the live? Where do they go to the bathroom, and so-on. So with a few things that I had around the backyard and a couple of Dollar Store supplies, we made our very own Fairy House!

This really has to be about the most fun that we have had in a while. OK, so I admit, I went a little nuts with this one. But I could not stop. It was SO fun to dig through things and come up with things for this Fairy House!

Here is how you want to get started...It would have been cute to build this right at the base of a tree, but I was worried about the elements. Plus I wanted something that she could sit at. I found this old plastic pot in my garden. You could use any container. You just need to make sure that it is large enough to hold a good amount of dirt for your plants. I actually have this hooked up to our drip system, so it will get some water every few days in case the fairy mama forgets to water it.

Make sure that you fill the bottom with a hand full of small rocks for drainage. And add some good potting soil. ( I never have to buy this because we compost)

We had so much fun picking out "miniature" plants. I wanted a couple of things that would trail off the side of the pot. So that is why I got the ivy. But this little beauty works perfect for something small. I headed over to where the succulents were for something small. Doesn't this make the perfect fairy plant or what?

I am lucky enough to have a brother-in-law that does wood working. He always has scrapes of wood and bark around. He saved a few pieces for me and they worked perfect! You might be able to find scrapes in your own yard. Or a park, the beach, hiking in the woods, or maybe scrapes of wood from your local hardware store. I nailed a couple of piece to the top to form a roof. For the inside, I used wood glue to attach the different levels. I had some extra silk leaves that I hot glued to the roof.

S loved putting all the decorations around the pot. I got the moss covered rocks from the Dollar Store. We found some miniature wood craft sticks that we used for the picket fence. Gems and stones make up the different paths.

The swing was made from some grape vines that I cut back from the winter. I saved some because I knew that they would be perfect for fairy construction.

We have tons of shells that we have saved from the beach, and they are just the perfect accessory for building fairy furniture! I used some floral wire to attach the shell to our swing, Some extra silk flowers I had were hot glued to the top for some color.

Garden gazing ball.

Our fairy bed was a hoot to make! We found a small gift box lid. The added some batting and a scrap of fabric for the blanket. The mini-craft sticks make up the headboard. Flowers and beads finish it off.

Shells, flowers and sticks with a sunflower middle make up this sweet kitchen chair!

Little shells make great dishes! We used more craft sticks and shells to make the table. I am loving those little things!

A chandelier over the table.

A pedestal sink and a bathtub! We want our Fairy's to be clean!

S wanted a light on top of the house so that the Fairy's could find the house!

Let the fun begin! S loves her Fairy house! It's so fun for her to go and check on it every day to see if we have had any visitors! There are a lot of web sites that sell Fairy accessories. So if you feel like you can not come up with your own furniture and other fairy things, you can always order on-line. But for us, it was more fun to create our own with what we had!

Sorting out Summer!

2011-06-03T14:41:00.000-07:00

Kids are on summer break here! So it's time to get creative with things to do! I wanted to have a craft station for the kids. I usually keep things in the closet, but this is a fun way to

have it out to get those creative juices going!

I have seen a few ideas out there for organizing a craft station. But this was super cheap! Almost free!

I got the blue tray from the Dollar Tree. I try to always save and wash small glass jars and the lids. There are so many things that can be used for. So now, when it's time to make a craft, I can just pull this out and they are good to go! I am for sure going to go back and get more the of the glitter glue! You get 10 sticks for a $1! Plus they have a lot of other random crafts things that you can get. Why pay for a summer camp when you can do your own?

Sure, this is not very fancy at all. But the kids liked making it with me! I have a link here:eighteen25

These ladies have given you a print that you can print out yourself and frame it!

So cute! I hope that this can give you some ideas of ways to keep your kids busy!

Another fun teacher gift!

2011-06-02T22:36:00.000-07:00

This is super easy and fun! There are a lot of different ways that you can make this. I got the idea from
eighteen25
If you go to their site, you can download this sign for free!
I took it a step further and added some fun ribbon to the board. Check it out!

I printed it out on card stock. Then I got this clipboard from Wal-Mart for under $2.00. I happened to have some clear contact paper lying around. If not, you can get that at Wal-Mart too for around $5.00. There is always a use for that stuff!
I rounded the corners of the paper so that it would match the clipboard. I then traced the shape on the contact paper and cut it out. I had my son hold that paper very carefully so that it would not move around. You could also tack it in with a glue stick to hold it in place while you add the contact paper. I used an xacto knife to trim it once I had the contact paper on. Use a credit card to burnish it. Then add some fun ties of ribbon to the top to fancy it up! Enjoy!

Crayon Teacher Crafts!

2011-06-01T21:14:00.000-07:00

Here is another wonderful gift idea for your kids teachers! Or this might be a fun thing to make for their rooms!
I got this idea from:diy-crayon-initials
This is all over the blog world! But I do have a few pointers..

~ Print your initial in Word or other publishing software on card-stock. Cut out the letter and glue on your crayons. I used mostly "old" crayons, but I did need a few fresh ones for the tips of my letter.
When you are finished, then attach your crayon letter to your card-stock with the teachers name with a glue-stick. This gives you a chance to position it just the way you want with out having to waste paper printing it to get it right in the frame.
~ I got the shadow box from Hobby Lobby with a coupon. It was a light driftwood color. They sold it in black, but it was double the price. If you want black, go with that frame and spend the money. I about pulled all of my hair out painting this black. The glass does not come out, so you have to tape around it.
~You could just use a regular frame, but the shadow box looks really nice!

This was a fun teacher gift! So colorful and a good use of things that you might already have around the house!

Crayon Crafts!

2011-05-27T13:56:00.000-07:00

Hello Blogger World!
I am finishing up some teacher gifts this week. And in the process, my little princess want to help! We all have tons of broken crayons all over, so here are a couple of things that you can do with them! Today will be Part 1, and tomorrow I will show what else I am doing with crayons for a teacher gifts.

I am sure that you all have seen how to melt broken crayon in the oven, but how about the microwave??? I had this candy mold (you can pick them up at any craft store). They are perfect because they are plastic. Once the crayon has harden, they just pop out! Easy and super cute!
We sorted the crayons by similar colors. This was a great thing for little hands to do, plus it's a teachable moment! I have a small ceramic crock that we put the broken pieces in. We started with different reds. I microwaved it for about 2 minutes. Keep checking your microwave. Use a oven mitt to remove it.
Be careful!!! It will be very hot!
Pour your first color into each shape. Now, we were just melting a few of each crayon and color at a time. Fill about 1/4 to 1/2 full in your candy mold. Wipe out your microwave safe dish with a paper towel and add the next color of crayon to be melted. this is how you can get a layered look! When that color is melted, add that to your 1st color. By the time we added the 2nd color, the 1st color had already started to harden. Another option is you could use a toothpick to swirl the colors to give it a marbled look. Fun!
We then carefully put them in the freezer. By the time Cinderella was done with lunch, so were the crayons! We made enough crayons to give to the neighbors!
She loved using them on paper and seeing how the different colors came out onto the paper!
Enjoy and more crayon projects to come!

EGG-xactly!

2011-03-31T21:55:00.000-07:00

Hello Blog World!
I know, it's been over two month since I last posted! What has been going on? Lot's of sickness...not on my part, but my kids and hubby! And then there was Spring Break....for 2 weeks! Now, I have been working on tons of projects, it's just this TIME thing that I need to work on!
So I am going to start with a easy spring arrangement that can be made to go just about anywhere!

Are these not so fun?

Here is how to make them:

First, you need a box of cute little eggs. I scored with these babies! I got them for .50 a box at a garage sale, but I know that you can get them at Hobby Lobby or other craft stores. Don't forget to use coupons!

Next, you want to find a nice clear vase that you have in your stash. You can always get them at the Dollar Store. My neat trick here to save space is to put a empty toilet paper holder in the middle. This will save space and it fills the vase up faster!

Now I wanted mine to be taller...and look cute! So, once again the Dollar Store candler holder and hot glue are calling my name! Just put a ring of hot glue on top of the candle holder and put your vase on top, in the bottom center. Don't worry, you can always separate these! Just give a gentle tug and it will come off!

To top them off, I have some left-over white feather boa...what? You mean to tell me that you don't have any? Don't even ask what it was from! You can always get these at the craft store too! Or you may want to add something else!

Happy Spring!

And there will be lot's more to come! I promise!

I heart U!

2011-01-30T14:55:00.000-08:00

It's that time of year again! Valentines Day...or V-Day as I like to call it. Here's a shout out to all of the florist that will be working hard!
I have done this a bunch of times with different letters depending on the season. I love this as my "go-to" decoration. And the best part is that is so affordable! You can make it however you want! Here is what I did:

These picture frames are from Wal-Mart and they run about $3 in the 5x7. They are wood, so it's a little bit nicer.
I found this pink and white hounds tooth paper at Hobby Lobby. Do you not love that or what? I had to have that!
OK, so here is how it went together:

So the wood letters are from Hobby Lobby too. Just .99! Yeah! Gotta love that price. I got the unfinished ceramic heart there also. It was .99 but on sale for 40% off.
I usually glitter these letter, but I wanted to something a little bit different. Don't get me wrong, I love glitter just as much as any girl, but I did not have any in pink. I love my Valentines Day decor to have a more hand0made look to it.

I got some pink paper and tore it up into pieces. You can use ModPodge, but just to show you that you don't have to use that, I just used some regular school glue. I just added a little bit of water to the glue. After you have the paper torn, paint some of the glue on the back and press it onto the letter. I tore mine so that the white part of the tear would show. You can mold it and press it to match the shape of the letter. Let it dry.

I had a bunch of different ideas for the heart, but I went with this and loved how it came out. I spray painted the heart with some hot pink paint (left-over from another project). After it was dried I got out some paper doilies that I had...it's always amazes me what I can find in my garage...or other places that I have crafty things! Time to let it dry, but not for long because I am not very patient!

I laid the lace on top of the heart to see where I wanted to trim. Yep, I fussy cut it. What does that mean? You sometimes waste fabric or paper in this case because you want the patter in a certain way. Trim it so there is about 1/2" extra so that it can be folded in the back of the heart.

Next, add a thin layer of glue to the heat and cover it with the dollie. Wrap the paper around the back and add some glue to hold down the edges.

After it's dry, glue it to the outside of the paper. This is after you have cut the paper 5x7. Set it on top of the glass. I added a little extra ribbon on top of the heart. You can see some glitter in the heart...I had to use a little bit! And as you know with glitter, it ends up everywhere!

Here, I added a touch of glitter just to the edge of the letters. I like how that came out! It was glitter that I had from my days when I used to make cards. I used a heat gun to emboss the glitter.

So there you have " I Heart U".

Fun and easy to make!

You can see where I got the original ideas to make these frames at eighteen25

Love those Vegas ladies and the ideas they come up with!

A way to clean that floral vase...

2011-01-27T21:27:00.000-08:00

OK, so this is not earth shattering, but it can come in handy. We used to do this in the flower shop as a way to clean up vases. All you need is some Denture Tablets and you vase with some water.

Here the tablet is in the water, fizzing up. This is a fun thing for your kids to watch too! If you have a pretty large vase, you might need to add 2 tablets. You can get a box of these denture tablets at any grocery store or pharmacy. Get the generic kind to save money and this box will last you forever!

I am doing a few vases here at a time. I just let them sit overnight...

Now all you have to do is dump the water and take a paper towel to wipe out that ring and it really clean! Give it a quick rinse of clean water and let the vase dry upside down. Now they are clean and ready for that next bunch of fresh flowers!

Flower Art...sort of

2011-01-24T22:05:00.000-08:00

I just wanted to show you all a picture of some flowers that I did for a national design contest. I did not win, but it was so much fun to do! You had to work with the flowers that they gave you and the rest was up to the designer. Mine was inspired by my little girls love of fairies!

I added some green food coloring to the water along with all the gems and glitter garland to give it a little extra fairy touch!

Hope this year is filled with JOY!

2011-01-02T13:27:00.000-08:00

I hope that you all had a Christmas and New Years! We sure did! Nothing like Christmas with a 6 year old and a 4 year old. So much fun!
I wanted to post this sooner, but we have had house full of sick kids. This is a craft that I have done with the 5x7 frames from WalMart and the letters from Hobby Lobby. It's so fun and so easy!

See the instructions here: BOO

SnowMan art work for you tree!

2010-12-21T21:30:00.000-08:00

Here is a fun little craft that you can do with your kiddos!

Fun and EASY!

Make a snowman village!

I got the idea here: eighteen25

I got a small canvas at Hobby Lobby for $2.99. A little pricey, but I was short on time and could not check elsewhere. (I guess I am cheap!)

Step 1: give your canvas a couple of coats of acrylic paint and let it dry.

Step 2: give your kiddo's hand a nice even coat of white paint.

Step 3: gently set the fingers on the canvas and press those fingers to make a nice hand print.

Fill in the bottom to make a nice hill for your snow people.

Step 4: give them some fun colors of paint and let them paint the art with a toothpick! Genius!

I put mine on foil so that it can be disposed of easily.

They can add hats, buttons, eyes, carrots and snow to their little artwork!

Hmmm...what can I say about this one. I guess that there was a"black out" in this village! It takes everything in me to let it be! This is how she wanted it, so I guess that is what we are going with.

I forgot to get a pic of this on the tree, but I added some ribbon around the canvas and on the back to hang it up on the tree. Don't forget to add the date!

Here are some more examples from another blog

(see above link)

Super cute and fun! These would be great gifts for the grandparents too!

Rice Dream...a little on the messy side!

2010-12-12T20:48:00.000-08:00

I have no idea why I am doing this project this time of year, but I thought that it would give the kids somethings to do while I am in the kitchen. Mostly I guess to keep them from driving each other..or me, nuts. It turned out to be a little bit messy, but it was so fun! I think that I had more fun doing it!

So here is where I got the idea from:

pinkandgreenmama

She has great crafts to do with kids!

It's so easy and hardly cost anything!

Here are the supplies that you need:

~Large bag of white rice

~Rubbing alcohol

~Food coloring

I put about 2 cups of rice in each zip-lock. Add a couple drops of food coloring and about 1 teaspoon of the rubbing alcohol. Zip it tight with all of your might. You don't want this stuff to get out...yet!

Next, get mixing. At first I was not sure. I just rolled the bag back and fourth, and before you know it I had orange rice.

Here is what all of the bags looked like. It's so pretty!

So then I laid it all together in nice little rows. I put mine in a rubber maid.

I called the kids over and the mixing began!

Time to move it to the floor.

The next night when she played with it, I put down some paper. What can I say? She is a messy girl!

~If I were to do this again, I think that I might try to give the rice a rinse, so sift it. There was a lot of rice "dust" and that it was made it messy.

Let me know what you think and if you try it with you kids! They had a great time and this is a fun thing to do inside, or it might be great for the backyard.

It's that time of year!

2010-11-29T22:15:00.000-08:00

I know that a lot of you have already gotten your Christmas cards out, but I am still working on mine! The thing that I love best if doing them on-line! Can it get any easier? I love all of the options out there to make it personal. When the kids have gone to bed and I can have a cup of tea, I love to read all the cards and letters! It's so amazing to see how far things have come with Christmas cards! But they still mean the same, just like when I was a kid. My kids now get to see how exciting it is to get the mail every day and see what cards are in the mail!
Have you ever noticed that the cards that you enjoy the most are the ones with pictures? We just love to see how our friends and families kids are growing up so fast! It means so much, and it makes it seem more personal to get a card with a picture!

I just took some pictures over the weekend with the kids. Sure, I would have loved to have a professional photographer take them, but these days with digital cameras, it's so EASY to take pictures and upload them!

I really have love using Shutter Fly for my pictures, cards, and other gifts that I have ordered!
Here are some ideas that I am thinking about for Christmas!
Photo Cards Here
I like this
Square Cards

This would be great with my two kids. I don't a family picture, so I like this option!

Another fun option is the calendars! I LOVE these for the Grandparents! That way they can look at pictures of them all year long!

Calendars

I think that doing this poster size is different and really fun! What a great gift! This might work for the hubby's office!
Poster Calendars
There are some more beautiful ideas here:
SQUARE it here!

Find out how you can get 50 FREE cards HERE

Hair Bow Storage

2010-11-26T20:47:00.000-08:00

There are lot's of different ideas out there in the blog
world for hair bow storage.

I just made this up...and mostly because it's free,
is why I love it!

I had a memo broad that I had made when my baby was a baby, but now she is 4 and has a pretty serious collection of hair bows. Most of them I have made...I just love to make them, what can I say?!

Anyways. I wanted to make something that would go on the back of her bedroom door. I don't have a lot of extra wall space, so I have to use what I got!

So, go to your local Home Depot and head over to the paint department. I was going to buy a yard stick or two. The guy asked what I was doing and I told him. He said "why don't you use these...and they are free!"

Free is good! The yard sticks were only .60 so I bought one because I felt guilty. I am glad that I did because it came in handy for measuring this bad boy!

Here is what the paint stick looks like. Now this is for the 5 gallon buckets, this is not the small stick. Plus it's a little bit thicker.

Get out the handy-dandy miter box. If you don't have one, just use a saw a measure where you need to trim it. I cut off the handle end of both sticks. I needed two, and Home Depot was more than willing to give them to me!

Sand off the ruff edge if it needs it and give it a couple of coats of paint to match the room. I painted the side that did not have the Home Depot lettering on it, sorry Home Depot. Let it dry...

Here is where the yard stick came in handy. I laid out both sticks to the distance that I needed. The yard stick helped with the over-all measurement. Get some ribbon to match. I always seem to have that stuff around! Now I got different widths to hold different kinds of bows.

I opened up a stapler and got to work. Pull it tight to the bottom piece to match your measurements.

I happened to have these thumb tacks that matched. I knew that I would use these someday! I got these at Hobby Lobby. Anyway, this helped to hold the ribbon tight.

OK, plan B. I got out my mat and blue tape. I needed to secure this thing so that I could get the ribbon tight.

Once I got everything secure, get out the command tape or the 3M tape. This is the best stuff ever! It does not leave a mark and when you are done you just peal it off. There was no way that I wanted to nail this into the door, so this worked great! I even used a coupon when I got it!

Secure it to the door with a gentle push and enjoy!

Now, the fun part of putting up all the hair bows! I was pretty pleased with the way it turned out! What do you think?

Gotta love this! Pumpkin Latte!

2010-11-20T20:15:00.000-08:00

I got this from a blog that I love:

http://www.vintagedutchgirl.blogspot.com/

Scroll down till you find this! It's free! Hello!

This it what mine looks like. I got the frame at Target for $6 and used my own printer to print it out. I added a little bit of copper paint where the white edges where showing.

I just love this!

I think that I may keep this out for Christmas too, not just Thanksgiving!

Burlap to Fab for Thanksgiving!

2010-11-18T14:47:00.000-08:00

Need a quick fix for a centerpiece for your table? Or this really can work any time of year!

Check out the table cover! So fun and you can personalize it any way you want!

Get a couple of yards of burlap. Add a quick whip-stitch around the square. This was done with brown yarn.

On the corners, gather some silk fall leaves and glue them in a bundle and safety pin them to to corners. This was done so that you can change it out for different seasons!

Here is how I did the lettering:

I have a set of stencils that are

from Michael's...use your coupons!

I got some brown craft paint and went all around the edges spelling out different things that I am thankful for.

If you don't have a stencil, just free hand it! Or you can get some fabric makers and write things out.

Here is what it looks like done! Pretty fun!

This is what it looks like with the fall leaves.

Here it is on the center of the table. So fun! And you can make it all things that you are thankful for too!

This was a table that was done for our MOPS group. Lots' of different ideas on this table, but I really wanted to show you how to do the burl pap. LOVE it!

Thanksgiving Table for your kids

2010-11-12T21:29:00.000-08:00

Did you ever get stuck at the kids table when you were growing up? I sure did! Now it's time to make it fun for your kids! Even if they are toddlers, this is a great way to teach them about the first Thanksgiving!
I made this table scape for our MOPS group at church. The best part is that most of it's stuff from the Dollar Store and they are things that you can make yourself!

This table was set using a card table. Now I wanted to show using plastic and paper napkins. I know that it does not look as nice, but it's easier for clean-up!

One thing that I mentioned to the Moms was that you could go out and get some mix matched china from a thrift store and have the kids use that. Then they could take it home for a gift! You don't have to worry about them breaking your nice place settings and they feel extra special

with fancy plates to keep!

We used a round linen for the blue. They work great for a card table. You can also use a plastic party table cloth here too. I used some brown butcher paper to cover it and fringed the edges with some scissors.

The pots with the flowers is just a little something for the kids. I got those at the Dollar store and used some chalkboard paint on them. I wrote out each child's name in chalk for a place setting. It just adds a little color to the table!

I got the map at the dollar store to use as my centerpiece. The boat was purchased from Ross, but if you got to http://www.marthastewart.com/ she has free templates that you can print out.

Here is how to "age" the map:

Get a world map from your local dollar store and smashed it into a ball.

Flatten it our and distress it with some ink. Just rub the pad over the high points on the map.

Then I took the map outside and took a fire starter to the edges to age it even more.

Now place it on your table and the kids can imagine that it's an old map from 1620!

~I took at mason jar and tied it off with some cute ribbon and a lemon leaf. This would be great to add some apple cider or apple juice.

More ideas:

The napkin ring is a black piece of elastic with a feather that I just hot glued to it. I found that WalMart had the best prices on feathers. Who knew?

Have your kids wear these on their heads. I used my son's head as a guide to measure them. Would that not make such a cute picture with all of them at the table with these feathers?

The box is another map that I aged and wrapped with a label for each child? What's in the box? Crayons to color on the butcher paper with! Fun!

This would work well for a little bit older kids. Turkey Trivia!

Cut out the body and use some fun paper for the feathers. Then attach with a brad and you can write some history about the first Thanksgiving! The kids can play this game while they are waiting for dinner!

I hope that this can give you some ideas for your kids table this year! There are so many ways you can make this years dinner one to remember for you kids! Making memories!

Another Dollar Store Transformation!

2010-11-03T22:32:00.000-07:00

Holy buckets! It's been a long time since I did a post! Mostly it's because I had been working on a presentation that I did at my MOPS group...Mother's of Preschoolers in case you did not know what that was! So many of the crafts that I have been doing lately, have been for this. There are a lot fun things that I want to show you, but I will start with this one for tonight!
We must have talked about these Dollar Tree vases about 100 times. There are so many things that you can do with this. You can't even buy vases wholesale for this price! Of course, you can do this with any vase that you have sitting in that little cupboard above your 'fridge that never gets used. I'm all about up-cycle!

These are all over the blog world, but here is a different way to fill them up.

Now don't these look great? They would be perfect for your dinning room table or an entry table!

Grab the Dollar Tree candle stick too! So you see here I have the vase and the candle stick as two pieces. You can give the top of the candle stick a bead of hot glue and set that vase on top of it right in the center of the vase. That way, when you are done with this, and you think it's something that you want to change out, just pop it off and peal off the hot glue.

To fill these:

I used a couple of paper towel rolls here. There is a lot of wasted space in the middle that you would never see, so that is a perfect use of a left-over roll! Never get rid of those babies! So many uses for them!

Anyway, I just layered some gerber daisy's all around them.

This was my look for October. For November, I am using fall leaves from the Dollar Tree. They are like silk organza!

So pretty!

Hey sis! Want to send me a box of real leaves from New Hampshire? :~)

Here is what they looked like set up in my kitchen...

Now I'm changing everything out for Thanksgiving!

The worst part...It's still 93 degrees here! Come on! I still have to use my air conditioning on the afternoon!

*When I get some pics of how we used these on our table scapes, I will post those!

Things I am working on...

2010-10-25T17:32:00.000-07:00

I have so many wonderful things that I am working on would love to share, but it's a surprise!
My dear sweet friend and I are doing a presentation next week on all things Holidays and how to get your tables ready. We have piles of ideas...we could talk to these ladies for hour till their eyes glazed over with everything that we want to share. So we are going to work on "Break It Down"...do you know the song? Put your hands in the air like your really don't care...So you can see where this is going!
So I may post a few random things this week, but I am saving all things fab till next week! We are going to know your socks off! And we are talking about doing this on a
real budget here people!

Random thing #1

OK, I made these a while ago and they were a big hit! Even with the kiddos!

I am a big fan of chicken tenders. Why, you say? They are all ready cut up for you into these nice little strips and you can get them for really cheap sometimes.

So I cut mine up into nice little pieces and marinated then in Lite Cesar Dressing.

Skewered them and brushed on a bit more dressing. Pop them onto the grill until done. Bring them inside and add them to a plate of letus (I used spinach) sprinkled with fresh Parmesan. After your put the kabobs on there, drizzle with a bit more dressing and cheese. Can you say yummo?!

Each person gets a kabob with a bit of greens and you are good to go!

Scarey Soap!

2010-10-20T21:14:00.000-07:00

Here is a fun little quick gift that I made for the neighbors today. I saw the idea on another post...can't remember which one! But mine is a little different!

So you start with some soap making cubes. You can get them at any craft store. Mine are a milky color, but on the other blog they were a clear color. In some ways it's fun to have them this color. It hides the surprise!

Do you have these silicone plastic muffin pans? Well, now they have another use!

Cut the cubes and place 2-3 per mold.

Microwave this for about 25 seconds and check to make sure that it is melted. If it's bubbling, than let it cool for a bit before the next step. You may need a bit more time depending on your microwave.

I went to the Dollar Store today and got a bad of different plastic bugs. Place the bug upside down in the mold. I used a spoon and then a toothpick to hold the little bugger in there. It wants to float to the top of the mold, so you need to hold it there for a bit till the soap cools.

After it's cooled...about 1/2 hour or so, you have a soap with a surprise in it! There are just a million things that you can do with this idea! Don't forget to use a coupon for the soap cubes if you don't have any!

A cello bag would have been the best way to wrap these, but I was short of those. So I started with the cupcake holder. Why not? I added a tag that said "Scary Soap". My neighbor loves bugs! So I know that he is going to love the giant spider in here! And it's a great way to encourage your kids to really wash there hands!

Then I remember that I had these bags for icing! Score! That will do the trick!

I added a little ring and some ribbon. My son was off to deliver them to all the neighbor boys! I hope they like them! They were a treat to make! Ha Ha!

Halloween Door Decor!

2010-10-20T14:27:00.000-07:00

Here's your sign!

Boy, you can tell how short I am taking this picture! Follow the directions below to make this fun sign for your front door!

I wanted a fun and not scary decoration for my front door, and I think that this did the trick.

My expression that I have is 22 by 4 inches.

http://tamarag.uppercaseliving.net

Are you a dumpster diver? I am! I got this wood while I was visiting a friend. She is still having some new home construction in her neighborhood. As I was leaving her neighborhood, I noticed this bin filled with scrape wood that was in the dumpster. Whee! So I grabbed a few pieces...it's going in the trash anyways! I am just up-cycling here people!

So I measured my wood to be 24 inches

long and got the saw out!

Being that I always want to do things for mostly free, I try to always use what I have around.

I had this black and white paper left-over from some other crafts. Now, it was not the right size, so I went with a mosaic Mod Podge look.

I tore up the paper in random sizes and glued it on with our dear friend, Mod Podge.

When the paper was dry, I gave it a all-over coat. When that was dry, I went over

the edges of the wood with black craft paint.

I still wanted a bit more. I like the old looking Halloween...whatever that means.

So I wanted to antique this. I gave it a "dirty wash". I went over the whole piece with watered down cream paint.

Then take a paper towel or old tee, and wipe it down. You are removing most of the paint here. You want to move fast here because you don't want it to dry.

That looks better!

Then I cut around the expression and placed it on the wood when everything was dry.

I used some old wire that I had to tie up the sign. Then to add another fun touch, I used some crepe paper and got out the glue gun. I flipped it on the back side and glued a fancy edge to it. I am really happy with the way it turned out!

Here is some more decor at my front door. I have light that I am going to put in the lanterns for Trick or Treater's. And all the garland and the crows are from the Dollar Store.

Not just any old suite case!

2010-10-18T16:14:00.000-07:00

A while ago I posted that I had gotten a suite case at a garage sale and was really excited about all of the things that I could do with it! My mind was just going crazy with all of the possibilities! And I got for just $2! It still had the tags on it! Now, this was intended to be used just for decoration. I am guessing that she got it at Ross, or another home decorating shop.

So here it is before:

So cute!

Here is what I went with....

I made it into a doll bed for my little girl! Yes, she did have the pink plastic one already, but this so much better! (I am going to give the old one away)

It was so easy to make! I had to ask DH to give me a little help,

but anyone can do it!

I got the wooded legs from Home Depot. They were about $2 a piece. Not a bad price I thought! I just added a few coats of brown paint and the sealed it. Any home craft paint will do the trick!

He drilled 4 holes and we added the washer and the nut. The legs come with screw ends on them.

I had this fabric left over from a euro pillow sham. And her room is all brown and pink, so it was perfect. I just cut it to shape and put in there. I was originally going to get some thick foam and cover it with fabric. But then the dolls would have just sat on top and not in it. She likes to close it when they go to sleep! I think that I might make a pillow to go with it.

She loves it!