March is a big birthday month for us and my husband, is having his birthday this weekend. Instead of a traditional dude birthday, I wanted something bright. I was refilling my printer ink and noticed how cool the CMYK colors really are together.  I’m also a bit of a design nerd, so a little light bulb went off in my head.  I’ve wanted to make something with tissue squares ever since I found them at the craft store, so I grabbed some of my white lanterns and started gluing. This is something you can do in mere moments and is a great way to customize your party.

Click through for all the instructions.

You will need: white paper lanterns, tissue paper squares, mod podge, and a paint brush.

You can make your own tissue paper squares of course, but the precut squares are ready instantly.  Do you remember these squares from elementary school when you put them on the end of a pencil and stick them on to things? Here we will just be using them flat. Set aside the colors we will be using for CMYK: blue, pink, yellow and black.  Paint a little mod podge on a spot for a square and press it on gently with your finger. Paint a second lighter coat on top.  Repeat around the lantern, making a random but scattered confetti style pattern, sometimes overlapping colors. Here’s a hint, when overlapping colors, always put the lighter color on top, it helps brighten the mixed color.

Let dry.  Hang.  Party.  Mix them up with some solid lanterns in CMY and you are set.

You could customize these lanterns in any color, use the squares or get a 1” punch and do confetti dots. Now with the endless assortment of colors in tissue paper http://www.dickblick.com/categories/tissue-paper/ , you could layer large squares on your lanterns in any shade to match your party or décor.

I love wearing dresses when we go out but more often than not I don’t have a lot of time to get ready so I end up just modifying what I wore during the day. In this case I switched out a cardigan I was wearing for this green blazer I got at the thrift store (I love the color) and threw on some heels. I also had my friend Rubi put up my hair in a crown braid (see her awesome video and tutorial here.) Paul and I try to go out once a week. It is totally a pain to find a sitter but it’s so worth it. ps: I loved Joanna’s trick for meeting her husband for a date.

Crown Braid by Rubi / Green Blazer from Thrift Store / Polka Dot Blouse from H&M / Levi’s® Slim Jeans /Heels from Corso Como / Sparkly Purse is Vintage

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When I was younger, I used to be a scrap-booking queen! I would throw mini parties with all my friends & we’d sit on the floor for hours, making pretty things!! I remember I loved looking into everyone’s craft boxes to see what supplies they used. Enlighten your creative side by inviting your crafty friends over to see how & what they use when DIY’ing!! You never know, you may discover a new favorite line of markers or get to swap different color tapes & papers.

Images taken by Leslie of A Creative Mint / 01. String / 02. Animal Paperclips / 03. Tape / 04. Twine & Twine / 06. Pink Pen / 07. Kraft Stickers

01. Morrocan Rugs. They definitely lived up to the hype. I wanted to buy all of them and bring them home to live with me. Instead I bought (and bargained) for two that were old and worn. Only $200 for both!

02. The Big Leather Satchel. In Morocco they had a giant satchel similar to this one except it was yellow. I bargained down to $70 but ended up not buying it. (I had just bought the rugs and was feeling poor.) I’ve been dreaming about it ever since. It was the bag that got away.

03. Churro Maker. They make beautiful industrial machines or you can pick up a $10 little guy. I can’t wait to make my own chocolat con churros!

04. Joaquin Sorolla Art Book. Paul made us go to an out of the way museum to see Joaquin Sorolla’s work. I absolutely loved it. His paintings are amazing. I picked up a book for our collection (though it isn’t the one pictured here, I couldn’t find it online.)

05. Catarina Martins Handmade Shoes. I came across a little boutique in Lisbon where they sell these increadible handmade shoes. They are honestly the prettiest shoes I’ve ever seen. The leather is soft and the edges are unfinished. Really really beautiful. For handmade shoes they weren’t priced outrageous either. Each pair was around $130.

06. Juicer. Drinking fresh juice everyday is such a luxury, it has me wanting a juicer. Anybody have one they recommend?

07. Baby Shoes. I found an entire baby shoe store in Sevilla where all the little leather shoes were only $20. We were in a rush so I didn’t have time to shop. I wanted to stock up so every time a friend had a baby I could give them an amazing pair of shoes. This picture is going to haunt me the rest of my life. (I didn’t write down the address but I think it was on Avenida de la Constitucion near the Cathedral.)

Do you have a uniform? Something you wear everyday to feel pulled together? I really started having a “uniform” after I had kids. I realized that I wasn’t able to pull off the same kinds of clothes I used to. Partly because I needed something more practical and partly because my body shape was changing (I was always getting bigger or else losing the baby weight.) My uniform is always evolving a little bit based on the season or what feels fresh to me. Here is my current spring “mom uniform” that I’ve been wearing all over the south of Spain. My goals when I dress are the same as with my traveling uniform. First to be comfortable and second to try not to have food stains all over my shirt (Errr-from them, not me of course.).

A. Green Necktie /B. Pink Necktie /C. Blue Necktie These are amazing little ties to add some color and to feel more put-together.

D. Silk Blouse (bring it in the bathroom while you take a steamy shower and you don’t have to iron it!) The number one item in my wardrobe right now is a white button up. I have a few but I wear them so much they always seem to be in the laundry.

E. Thunder in our Hearts Bag I love this black bag I got last summer. I take it everywhere with me so people know that we have thunder in our hearts.

F. Levi’s® Slim Jeans These jet black skinny jeans are slimming after I’ve eaten too many churros con chocolat.

G. Wedge Sandals I buy a neutral pair of low wedge sandals every spring and wear them out. They are easy to walk in and I can wear them with jeans, dresses, and shorts.