TO DO/DONE

new finds

2011-01-19T00:46:00.000-08:00

Baby shower stuff:
In lieu of a traditional guestbook, guests were asked to write notes of love and good wishes to the new little Southern Belle and her Mama on fabric squares. The fabric squares were later sewn together to form a keepsake blanket for the baby.
4x4 blocks B O Y or C H A R L I E

Fairy Tea Party Run Down

2010-04-09T13:46:00.000-07:00

We started with handmade invitations - Fairy Wands of course. I just printed and cut out the details then attached to card stock cut into hearts, with a skewer sandwiched in between. Add some curly ribbon and Viola! Fairy Wands!

Decorations:Tissue Flowers hanging from ceiling - made last year for a baby shower, they have been hanging in Annagrace's room since then.
Flower table runner - from Target and part of my Spring Decorations
White tea set from IKEA - already part of Annagrace's collection
Pink plates - after Easter sale $0.50 each
Napkins - after Easter sale $1
Total for decorations: $3

Food:Jello Jiggler Flowers and Hearts - followed the instructions on Jello website and used fun ice cube trays for the shapes. They didn't come out of the silicone ice cube trays very well though.

Grilled cheese flowers - made grilled cheese in a frying pan and cut with flower cookie cutter

Strawberries dipped in pink candy coating - used a double boiler to melt pink candy pieces and dipped strawberries in.Mini-muffins - box mix in a mini muffin pan

Cupcakes - again, a box mix and canned whipped frosting piped on top
Pink Lemonade aka Magic Fairy Tea
Total for food: about $10

The Fun:Bubble wands - after Easter sale 1/2 off $1 each
Beaded necklace - kits from Michael's $1 each. I took the butterflies and flowers out of the packages and hid in the grass for the trinket hunt. While the girls were playing with their bubble wands I split their loot bags back into the full kits so they could string them together.
Butterfly Picture Frames - kit from Michael's with markers $1 each
Edible Wands - I started with pre-made sugar cookie dough and rolled it out 1/8 inch think on a floured surface and cut out butterflies. Place one on a cookie sheet, place skewer on cookie and place another cookie on top so that skewer is sandwiched in the middle. Bake according to package instructions.
I had icing, sprinkles, and tubes of decorative icing for them to decorate their own.
My only problem was the size of the cookies, they were too heavy and didn't stay on the sticks very well. The girls didn't care, they ate them anyway!
Total for activities: $18
TOTAL FOR PARTY: less than $35!!!

The Tree

2010-02-18T11:17:00.001-08:00

I found the idea here.
Except I was too impatient to find a picture, copy, get an overhead projector, trace, and then paint. Instead, I bought the white acrylic paint and free-handed it.

The contrast isn't as great as against the blue. But, the faintness of it makes it a little "sweeter" for a baby room. The whole project took me two afternoons, about 6 hrs, and $10.

Recent Finds that I love

2010-01-02T17:29:00.001-08:00

Adorable tree - maybe Emmalee's room???
Tortilla Soup
Covered wood letters
Panera Potato Soup
Crock Pot Chops and Gravy

Flower Hair Bows

2009-09-01T23:38:00.001-07:00

Sippy Cup Leash

2009-08-30T03:31:00.001-07:00

Hooded Towel - Decided not to make!

2009-08-30T03:26:00.000-07:00

I found adorable hooded towels on sale after Thanksgiving for cheaper than I could make this. So, this is a NO GO!

Fabric Magnets - SO EASY!!

2009-08-30T03:22:00.001-07:00

Men's Shirt Re-Purposed

2009-08-30T03:21:00.000-07:00

Doll Diapers

2009-08-30T03:20:00.000-07:00

Hot/Cold Rice Bag - CHECK

2009-08-30T03:19:00.000-07:00

I made two of these and gave them as gifts before I took a picture of them. They turned out great and the recipeants seemed to like them.

Pacifier Clips

2009-08-30T02:02:00.000-07:00

Fabric Thumb Tacks - CHECK

2009-08-30T01:42:00.000-07:00

SO EASY!! I made these along with a cork board and gave them as a birthday present. I need to make another for myself!Thumbtacks

Fabric Pom Poms

2009-08-30T01:39:00.000-07:00

Pom Pom
Instead of trying to take on tassel making, I thought these would be much easier and serve the same purpose for the look that I want. Plus, they are just so fun!

Welcome Pumpkins

2009-08-30T01:38:00.000-07:00

Refinish My Brass Door Knobs

2009-08-30T01:37:00.000-07:00

Door Knobs

Hats

2009-08-30T01:30:00.000-07:00

Toy Storage

2008-03-30T21:19:00.000-07:00

Doing the OH, OH, OH dance (bouncing and pointing). I want Tyler to build a slightly larger version to go behind our sofa to store all of Annagrace's smaller toys.

Clipies Galore!

2008-03-30T20:53:00.001-07:00

Well I finally made a gerber daisy headband and lots of little clipies! They are so EASY to make, well the clipies are anyway. Now, I'm constantly on the look out for adorable ribbons to make more.

Some of my new finds

2008-03-12T13:54:00.001-07:00

I found that the snap clips just won't stay in her hair yet but the aligator clips will, so I'm going to try these ... simple but cute!

These are perfect for Annagrace's room. She is now pulling up so we had to remove the canopy above her bed and I have been looking for something to hang up there that she can't reach, and wouldn't kill her if they fell off of the wall.

I'm so excited to make these! I already bought the flowers, I just need to attach them to a head band and a hat.

New Crafts

2008-01-26T19:27:00.000-08:00

So, I found this cute hair clip site on www.coolmompicks.com and absolutely love their simple like snap clips for infants. I can't wait to pull out all of my ribbons and just simply cover a simple snap clip or an alligator clip. It's so easy!! Why didn't I think of that?? I also love this clip holder, b/c I need somewhere to store all of Annagrace's upcoming clips!!! I will post my finished products soon.

Stamping Tees

2008-01-11T21:18:00.000-08:00

I know, I usually only post the things I've already done. But . . . I saw this on Martha (TV show). I don't really love the design, but I DO love the idea. The lady made her own stamps from rubber and then just stamped them on the tee with fabric paint. How easy is that? I don't know if I want to go as far as making my own stamps but I think some of my pre-made stamps would make adorable baby onsies. I think I'm going to try this soon. I'll let you know how it goes!

Fun with Photoshop

2008-01-11T21:08:00.000-08:00

I just love Photoshop!

Productive Day

2007-12-20T17:29:00.000-08:00

Annagrace took a long nap today, so I took full advantage and finally made the Taggie blanket and all of the "to do" fleece blankets!! I'm pretty excited about them. I don't know if it satisfied or intensified my crafting urge?!?

I decided to only put ribbons on two sides, I thought it might me a little too busy with them on all four sides. I probably would have done all four sides if I had put fewer ribbons on each side. But I'm happy with it. I made it from fleece so I wouldn't have to sew it on the reverse, flip, blah, blah, blah. I just placed the ribbons between the two pieces of fleece as I was sewing them together. That's the beauty of fleece - no hemming!

I just folded the one yard of fleece in half width wise and did a blanket stitch, by hand around the edge.

This one I folded in half again, but with the reverse sides together and sewed on the sewing machine, turned right side out and stitched up the hole. This one is made out of the softest fleece I have ever felt. Hopefully Annagrace will enjoy these! They are my homemade Christmas present for her. I want to make that a tradition every year: at least one homemade gift.

I can check them off of my list!!!

Ward Christmas Party

2007-12-17T19:26:00.000-08:00

COMPLETE!

I successfully planned a party for 100 people for under $150. The big SECRET: I already had the decorations and it was a pot luck! So, I purchased three hams (had three different ladies cook them for me) and purchased plates, napkins, and cups. I also purchased a bag of party favors at Walmart (32 items for $4.50) along with pencils and candy canes. And then had a friend stuff goodie bags with one of each of the three goodies and put them all in a basket for Santa to hand out to the kids. I used left over wrapping paper as disposable table cloths and draped garland on the doorway, stage, and piano. The table centerpieces were garland wrapped mason jars that I normally line my side walk with. (They are super easy to make!)

Jar instructions: Use 12 quart size Mason Jars. Fill each with about 2 cups of play sand. Cover sand with a single layer of red plastic beads (the more faceted the better!). Then center a tea-light in the beads. Cut garland and wire into a ring to fit snugly around base of the jar. (I'll have to get a picture later)

Dwindling List

2007-12-08T21:24:00.000-08:00

Check out my "To Do Soon" list!!! It's disappearing!!! I love lists. It helps me to not get to overwhelmed. If I can make a list, room by room for cleaning, it makes the task not so daunting. I can just work on one room at a time or one task at a time. And the BEST part of a list . . . crossing though what I have completed. I got my list obsession from my Mother. She also has a love of crossing out her completed tasks. (But, secretly, I think she has the memory of a gold fish and lists are the only way she will ever get anything done.)

Cards

2007-12-03T19:45:00.001-08:00

Well, thanks to my friend Jenn, I've gotten a little addicted to card making. The addiction has some what subsided since Jenn left for Utah. But during my "non-bow making" time today I made some cards. I'm giving sets of them as Christmas gifts, so it wasn't completely "for fun" it was on my to-do list. Added bonus - I got to use a new stamp!! Yippeee.

These are four of my favorites:

Christmas Decorating

2007-11-28T21:24:00.000-08:00

Mom's 10 ft ceilings deserved a 9 ft tree and all of the trimmings. I will post more picture of the rest of the house when the decorations are complete. I should post pictures of the entire house without the Christmas Decor. Her house was my biggest project (besides my own). And like my own, it is never really complete - an interior ALWAYS evolves.

Mom's Project

2007-11-28T20:43:00.000-08:00

Also at "Christmas Made in the South," they had adorable simple A-line dresses and pant suits (at $50+ each). Mom took on the project of copying them. We found the pattern and all of the fabric (50% off) at Hancock Fabrics. She also took the time to make the dresses reversable (double duty - gotta love it!) I did however ruin the reversable feature when I took two of the dresses to a local gift shop and had them monogramed (on a buy one-get one free day). I think one of the two dresses might still be reversable - I only put an A on it and it still looks decent when I reverse it.

Annagrace's tree

2007-11-28T20:30:00.000-08:00

I found the cutest ornaments at "Christmas Made in the South." They were pieces of candy in bright vivid colors (the color scheme for Annagrace's tree). However they were $10 a piece - out of my budget for her small tree, plus they were a little too big and out of scale . I took a gander at them and realized they were just thin wood circles, painted with swirls, glittered, with ribbon attached to the back to give the appearance of the wrapper ends. So I headed to the handy-dandy Michael's and bought 8 wood circles at 25 cents a piece the three larger ones at 79 cents each. My kitchen table was consumed with paint and glitter for a few days but the results are not too shabby! While I was at it - I also painted some for the outside, at the end of our driveway. (I picked up the wood yard stakes at the after Halloween sale for 1.99 at Michael's.)

I found this cute little gem at a local boutique. But I think this could easily be replicated!

First

2007-11-28T20:23:00.000-08:00

Well, I've decided I want a separate blog for my crafty projects and redecorating adventures. Most of my crafts I steal from other people, but hey . . . they posted 'em, so I'm takin' em