Teddy Bear Picnic

Today was the first day in months I sat down 

and thought, "What am I supposed to do?"  

No list of crafts or projects that need to be completed.  

Yet, there are a few I know I need to do, 

but are not in need of immediate attention.  

I was relieved though a little confused.

This past summer, I worked on 

everything we needed for the birthday party.  

I choose Teddy Bear Picnic since it speaks 

to all children and adult and it would go 

perfectly with a BBQ style party.   

The girls thankfully have just in the past 

month fallen in love with Minnie Mouse and it's

 still not a priority to do character themed parties.   

After talking to my mom about the theme I 

wanted she offered her beautiful 

back yard as the location.   I was thrilled 

and just needed to get a move on.  

 In May I started planning and 

purchasing items as I found them. 

Checkered/Gingham items are hard to come by after

 Independence Day.  In June I started on the details.  

In July I was lazy but still working :), it's so hot here.   

First of August I was still finding more items 

I wanted to add to the party.   The one items that 

took me forever to complete because I just 

could make myself do it was the banner 

and of course it's one thing I didn't get a photo of :(. 

Welcome to the PARTY! 

Justin worked hard that morning getting 

the sign ready to welcome guests. 

He did such a great job!

Our Welcome Table. 

All little guests had the option to pick 

bear ears, party hats or both. 

Treat Boxes had small coloring books, 

lady bug bubbles and crayons inside. 

Just in case we had older guests we had treat bags 

with true fact books, puzzle balls and bubbles. 

We used the large teddy bear painting on the 

left for our pin the bow on teddy game. 

Our little guests enjoying the slide. 

We invited two beary important guests to 

the party and the kids loved cuddling with them. 

Felt ears were by far my favorite detail, 

but the hardest project. 

A friend helped me attach them to the headbands 

one afternoon and has made me swear no more ears, haha.

There were so many steps in the ear making process that I agree. 

For the girls theirs were the only ones with bows.  

They had matching bows for their ears and hair, 

to help us all see who was who.  

Ava in pink and Olivia in green. 

As an added activity and gift for all our little 

guests they were able to dress their own 

teddy bears with felt vests, party hats and scarves. 

This was a last minute add on activity. 

Ava trying to find Olivia, "You forgot your ears!"

We did hamburgers & hot dogs as our main meal, 

with regular BBQ sides like potato salad, 

pasta salad and chips.  As an added touch I made 

lady bug crackers, (Ritz crackers, cherry tomatoes, 

cream cheese, olives and chives.)

And I couldn't help but make Teddy Bear Trail mix.

Honey Combs, Teddy Grahams, 

Gold Fish, Pretzels, & M&Ms.

Another late addition to the party 

was a pull-string lady bug pinata.

The kids loved it.

And you can't have a birthday party with out Cupcakes! 

I did decorate the cupcakes myself and I am 

beyond happy with how they turned out, 

funky daisy flowers and all.  

I ordered sugar lady bugs and bumble bees to add on top. 

Candles for the birthday girls! 

Our cupcakes and ice cream table.

We did small cup ice cream with 4 

different flavors to choose from. 

Our birthday girls blowing out the candles.

Yes they did it all on their own. 

Don't you love Daddy's hat?

Olivia

Ava

 Elisabeth with Olivia with her very lovely icing face.

Papa, Ava, Olivia & Nana. 

Our big furry guest exhausted after the party.

How they got like this no ones knows.

The party was wonderful and everyone had a blast. 

We took so many photos it's hard to share them all. 

It's two weeks later and I still feel like those bears.

Happy Birthday to my beautiful little girls, Olivia & Ava.

Thank you all who shared in their special day with them.

Washi This, Washi That...

So many possibilities!

I love to decorate home decor and alter items.

Washi tape is a new favorite medium.

We recently did a busy bag swap at MOPS 

and it got me thinking about what else I 

could do to keep my {gasp} toddlers busy.

They are getting so big :(.   

For Christmas we bought them a 

quilted type fishing set and the love it.

So I thought miniatures would be perfect.

I lined the bottom of the tin with blue 

washi to make water as well decorated the

 top with washi tape in the colors of the fish.  

I then used a cricut image to top it.  

I used Paper Doll Dress Up and Animal Kingdom.

I made a template for the fish 

with chipboard and traced it onto felt.  

I just cut, sew and stuff and tada fish!

I used a small dowel for the fishing rod 

attached bakers twine, and asked my 

husband to sew Velcro on the end. 

These were perfect for the diaper bag. 

We put them to use on Mother's Day and the girls loved them.

Wooden peg dolls are adorable but with 

washi tape dresses they look so much fancier.

I drew on the faces then went to work with dress designs.

I found this little shelf at Marshall's on clearance a few weeks ago.  

Had it gone where it was intended it might have stayed just white.

But it didn't work there so I am using it in my craft room instead.

The washi tape just started wrapping its self lol.  

I did my light switch to match of course.

I used a bath tile to create this little piece of art.  

The background is all washi tape.  

What have you washi taped?

Washi Cards

I love that Washi Tape can be used just like ribbon. 

You can make flowers and even bows with it!  

Amazing stuff!

Here are the cards I've created.

For our National Scrapbook Day Crop I made 

each cropper a mini card set to take home.  

 These 3x3 cards were perfect projects to work 

on while in the living room watching Tv.  

Remember washi tape looks best on a light colored back ground.

Strips of washi tape going down with 

banner style ends help embellish a card.

Doing an actual banner is even better.   

You can also write & stamp on washi 

tape when you use permanent ink.

I used Stazon ink to stamp the little presents here.

This has been a card posted multiple times on 

Pinterest and I loved the idea so much I had 

to do my own.   I love it, so simple and adorable.   

I would love to make more for our Christmas 

cards this year, however I'll have to use 

some thing else to make the ornaments .  

Inspired by this card:

Another idea from a Pinterest card.   

Just line up your tape on a piece of 

copy paper and puch out your desired image.

Inspired by this card: 

I hope these inspire you as well. happy crafting!

Washi Layouts

Although most our class will be decorative items for

home, washi tape is fantastic for scrap booking.

I did three layouts using washi tape in multiple ways 

with inspiration from layouts posted on Pinterest. 

Looking at colors these inspire me most right now.  

How could they not with twin girls a house full of pink.  

This a photo take for their first birthday. 

Adding strips as part of the back ground is easy

and it engages the eye to both the background and photo.

Inspired by this sketch: http://stucksketches.blogspot.com/2011/08/august-bonus-sketch-1.html

I loved the way the washi tape framed the photos in 

the inspiration layout and just had to try it myself.  

Inspired by this layout:

 http://www.twopeasinabucket.com/gallery/member/434003-debduty/1822204-enjoy-the-ride/

With this layout I also added a little bit of doodling/zentangle around the circles.

Inspired by this layout:

http://pinterest.com/pin/45880489926707205/

Thanks for looking. 

Happy scrapping'!

Washi Tape Class!!

Getting ready to host a washi tape class and 

I can honestly admit I'm in love with all things washi!!

Ok ok fine I think I'm obsessed!  Lol!

Last month mom, two friends and I went to CKC Mesa.  

One of our classes was Washi 101 with Queen & Co.

We learned quite a bit like how there's a million different 

designs, it looks best on white or light color backgrounds,

and you can use it on any solid/non porous surface.

The possibilities are endless!  

Durning our class we'll be exploring some of those possibilities.

Class Project Include:

~ Note Book (Learn to make 2 types of washi flowers.)

~ Photo Frame (There are 4 different crafty quotes to choose from.)

~ 2 x Tea lights

~ Pencil

~ 3 x Tooth Pick Banners

~ 3 x Binder Clips

~ Birthday Tag (Learn to make a twist tie)

~ 3+ Paper Clips (Not Pictured.)

~ 2 x Clothes Pins (Not Pictured.)

The ladies in our class will be able to choose from many 

many styles of tapes as they have access to my personal 

supply as well as two other ladies will be sharing theirs.  

When ever I do a class I try to do a run through either on 

my own with the help of a friend or family member.

This time I lucked out and my wonderful mom helped me.

She had a blast and even said she can't wait to take it again :).

I'll be back again soon to show off a few of my sample 

projects using the super cute washi tapes I've acquired.  

*Looks like I'll be posting a little more often 

if my nifty new toy (iPad mini) allows me to.

Have I washi taped it yet? 

No but I have thought about it :).

Happy Bird-day to you...

I saw an adorable card the other day using a Dollie just like these and once I remember where I saw it I'll be sure to link you there :).

I made 3 cards with all the same design but slight differences in card bases. Birthday cards have completely vanished from my little stash so it's past time replenish.

I used Stampin' Up's "Love Ya Bunches" set. The set has long since retired :(.

Crappy Day...

A few months ago I ordered this adorable Itty Bitty stamp set from Unity Stamps and I love it! I'll be adding these to my stash for later use.

Mini Cards in Reused Cigarillos Box Class

Saturday, March 9, 2013

Class cost is $12.00

Mini Cards in Reused Cigarillos Box Class

           Cards would make a perfect addition to a small gift or just a quick note to let someone know you care.   The box can also be reused for a gift later on or as a whole set.   Cards are approximately 3x3 inches.    Most of the prep work is done for you in terms of card bases and layers, however during this class you’ll be stamping, embossing and coloring your card images as well as making your own flowers.   You will have your choice of flower colors ( die cuts will be pre-made).  Please bring old scraps to cover the inside of your boxes as wells as for embellishing the top of your box.  

Suggested Tools:

• Double Sided Tape
• Liquid Adhesive
• White Gelly Pen
• Glue Dots
• Paper Trimmer
• Paper Piercer
• Sanding File/Block
• Brown or Black Inks
• Scrap Papers (From previous projects you may have)

Full Set: 8 Mini Cards &

2 Cigar Boxes (attached)

8 Mini cards

Thank you, Friends, Thinking of You,

Miss you, Happy Holidays, For Baby,

Best Wishes, Happy Birthday

2 Cigar Boxes (attached)

"Simple Notes" tag was made using scrap paper.

Side view of boxes.

Inside the Boxes I used scrap

paper to line to tops and bottoms.

Getting messy...

It's been so long since I walked into my craft room and came back out with my hands all inked and messy.

I'm currently working on a class with mini cards that fit into a mini cigarillo boxes. I'm nearly done prepping for that class and have just a few more steps that require most of my work space.

In the process of cleaning I got this idea in my head that I just had to play with a few new masks I bought for glimmer mists.
It's been so long since I had my hands this inked that I kinda panicked when it didn't simply wash off.

But then as usual my husband came to the rescue. He told me, "Look you're almost back to the old you!" That being said made me feel so good. It's been a long 2 years. Yes the girls are only 18 months but while I was pregnant I began to lose myself. Maybe I am getting back to the old me with a new normal.

Photos of the class (no glimmer mists though) should be up soon, but for now I'll leave you with a couple photos of my little mess and my little Cupcakes.

Happy Valentine's Day

Our second crop this year is the day after

Valentine's Day, so I wanted to make a

special gift for each lady attending.

Something personal, something sweet

and something to pamper them.

My last post was my Zentangle piece

and I've been thinking about

shrink-a-dinks so I combined the

two to make little charms of art.

Each piece is the first initial of one

of the ladies. I used repeating patterns

in them all to make them a bit easier

and faster for me to complete.

Two have special designs.

The letter D for my mom,

has cupcakes :). And one of the

Ks has a butterfly for me.

Below is a mini tutorial on the steps

I took to complete the charms.

As well as the individual photos of the

other items I used to complete the gifts.

 

I used 4 inch letters and a pencil to

trace my template on to shrink-a-dinks.

 

I then cut out each letter.

 

I used a thin Sharpie

 to doodle my design.

 

I baked the shrink-a-dinks just as the package said.

2-3 mins at 300 degrees with a piece of parchment

paper under a the item and one on top.

 

Size difference from unshrunk to shrunk.

 

Once the initials were baked and cooled I then put

a thin layer of glossy accents on top to

make sure the sharpie wouldn't rub off later. 

 

The finished initials with jump rings attached.

Chalk board vinyl labels.

The charms, paper hearts &

baby food jar lids all done.

My husband used red vinyl to

cover the jar libs.  pretty nifty.

 

I made brown Sugar Scrub to fill each jar. 

As a tag I used business cards printed

here at home with the Sugar Scrub recipe

as well as a simple Valentine's Greeting. 

Because the cards were so long I

opted to score the card just below the

greeting to fold it under and make it shorter.

 

***

Brown Sugar Scrub Recipe:

 

 1Cup Brown Sugar

1/3 Cup Olive Oil

2  TBS Honey

 

Mix it all up and put it in a contianer.

 

Original source:

The Idea Room

***

 

I know one of the

ladies gets my blog updates so,

Bea, PLEASE act Surprised lol!

 

Happy Valentine's Day

Crafty Friends!