College Survival Gift Basket

So the time has come when your child must leave the nest... thank goodness I do not have to know how this feels for 17 more years! But, it's just as hard when your kid sister goes off to college... especially when there is a 10 yr age difference. Yep, the big 3-0 is not too far down the road for me. Back to happy thoughts :) So being the big sister that I am, I wanted to get her something nice and that she's going to need for college. And... being the big sister that I am... it had to be down right funny!

 

We made 2 baskets- 1 for my sister and 1 for her friend

 

Inspiration from: funkypolkadotgiraffe who created a super cute back to school survival basket for her kid's teacher and giftsucanmake for a survival kit for sisters.

 

So I got with my mom and we brainstormed, then went shopping! Honestly, it was quite fun making. We had an idea for most of the items, but others just came up with on the spot so forgive us if some are just super corny.

 

 

Our items and its corny uses (sisters basket) :

 

BAND AIDS for when things get a little rough

CHEWING GUM to help you stick to it

CRAYONS to color your day bright and cheerful

ERASER to remind you everyone makes mistakes

LIFE SAVERS for when you've had one of those days

KLEENEX for when your day just blows

UNDERWEAR to remind you it is time to do laundry (haha sister in me)

RULER for when you need to be slapped straight

AIR FRESHENER for when life stinks

TWIZZLERS for life's little twists

PAPERCLIPS to hold it all together

HAND SANITIZER to keep you healthy and happy

GLOBES for when you feel powerless (found squishy globes to squeeze- DT)

FIRST AID kit for life's little emergencies (accident-prone sis used within the week)

POP-UP flags to help you find your place

BUBBLES to help you get away

FLARP for when there's no one else to blame (haha its putty and sounds like gas when squeeze it)

PICTURE FRAME for when you're homesick

ICE PACK to help you keep your cool

CUP to help you suck it up (Travel cup with straw)

FLOWERS to brighten your day (yes they were black- sister humor- DT @ Halloween)

STAR BURSTS to give you a "burst" of energy

TOOTHPICKS to help you "pick out" the good qualities in others and yourself

MARBLES to replace the ones you lost :)

 

 

Other basket contained some of the above, but was altered for a boy:

 

SOCKS to remind you its time for laundry (great alternative if not family)

CAR SAVER PEN to save you a call back home

STICKY TUMBLER to remind you to be flexible (one of those sticky men you throw on the wall)

TOOTHBRUSH to wash away the cobwebs :)

 

 

The baskets were found @ Dollar Tree (DT) as were about half the items. The baskets and tissue paper inside were their college colors. So lucky they had those baskets in those colors. The rest of the items were found @ Walmart. Thankfully it was back-to-school time so they had a lot of school supplies to help personalize the gifts more (Superman, Hello Kitty, etc) and make it that much funnier.

 

All in all, it cost about $50 to make both. Very fun to make and a lot more personal gift in my opinion.

 

Best of luck in college, Michaela and Colby! Go Islanders!

 

Till the next inspiration...



Upcyle Those Cans!

I've never been one to recycle or actually look at things I have thrown away and think I could do something cool with that until... Pinterest. Yes, I said it! I'm one of those Pin junkies! I mean look at all the cool things people are doing with things I just throw away and never think twice about. For instance... these vegetable cans.

 



 

I have to thank http://lilyboxdesigns.blogspot.com/2009/12/vintage-freebies.html for the inspiration on this project.  I, like  most people in her comment blog, had a hard time finding the labels she used for her cans, but that did not stop me. I was on a mission to make these. So I went to my trusty search engine, yahoo this time, and searched for free vintage labels. The main ones I used were found here here and the pink eucalyptus apothecary label I used. I right clicked on the labels I found and opened them in Paint where I edited them. I then pasted them in Word to stretch them to the size I was wanting and then printed. There are several options out there, so just pick the labels that you like.

 

First thing I did was take the paper off, rinse the cans and send them through a load in the dishwasher. Be careful if hand washing! Some cans have an inner rim and can be sharp :)

 

Supplies needed:

cans

Mod Podge ($3 for small bottle @ Michaels)

foam brush (25 cents @ Michaels)

printer

extra scrapbook paper

double stick tape ($2.50 @ Hobby Lobby)

spray paint in color of choice (if want- $4 @ Lowe's)

 

Once the cans were clean, I took one of the labels and used double side tape to hold it in place. Now, unless you find an awesome label that fits all the way around the can, you are going to have a gap in the back. Here is where the scrapbook paper comes in. I went through my scraps of paper and found solid page colors that matched the labels and cut a piece to fill in the gap and taped it down (shown below).

 

 

Now this is what the can looked like with just that. If you like the way this looks (which I initially did because the can had some rust on it & made it look rustic) then just mod podge with a brush over it to seal it and Voila! You're done! I however was looking for something more classic looking... so I took the label off (hadn't sealed it yet) and went to find some spray paint.

 

Valspar Metallic in Gold

 

 

I sprayed the inside first and let sit for few minutes. The paint dried within minutes... sometimes the humidity in Texas is a good thing. Then placed a stick inside(so wouldn't get any on my hands) and turned them upside down and sprayed the outside. Again, only a few minutes to dry.

 

Next, came putting the labels on the all the cans and filling in the gaps with the extra scrap paper. I was nervous what it was going to look like with the plain paper in the back, but it came out great!

 

 

After all the cans were taped with their labels, I used a foam brush and brushed mod podge over all the cans to seal and keep the paper together. My mod podge was glossy so I have some shine to mine.

 

 

My completed "vintage" cans!

 



 I had this tray that at one time held candles and was perfect for these cans. I was looking for something for my craft desk that was vintage looking for putting pens, scissors and other misc items and this is going to look great. All in all, this project took 2 hours and cost me nothing since all items I already had. If you didn't have the items, under $10 to make and you'd have leftover supplies for another project!

 

Once I get my craft area all done, I'll post pictures of all these pieces in action.

 

Till the next inspiration...



Valentine's Day Wood Sign

 

 

I love this piece I saw on pinterest and just knew I wanted to make it for our own house. I had to agree with the artist, I'm much more partial to red pieces when it comes to decorating my house than the traditional pink for Valentine's Day.

 

Inspiration from: http://www.landeeseelandeedo.com/2012/01/valentines-day-mantel.html

 

I'm going to tell you how I made mine, hopefully best I can step-by-step,

so you can attempt your own or if you like... Landee makes and sells hers on etsy for $34.

 

Supplies Needed:

10x24 wood board, 3/4 inch thick

Liquitex Acrylic Basics in Naphtol Crimson (Hobby Lobby)

Liquitex Acrylic Basics in Mars Black (Hobby Lobby)

foam brush (25 cents Michaels)

thin paint brush (basic brush from paint art supply)

brush to seal with ($1 Lowe's)

Anita's All- Purpose Acrilic Antique White

Cricut

Cricut cartridge Plantin Schoolbook in shadow font

twine (any string or ribbon in color of chosing)

scrapbook paper

Minwax Polycrylic Satin (Lowe's)

 

I had all these supplies on hand so I cannot give you an exact price on how much each thing cost.

You can use any stencil you want if you do not own a Cricut. I liked the ease of it so that I could make different sizes, but again not necessary.

 

 

1) Cut your piece of wood to your desired length. I used the 10x24 since it was the dimensions  Landee used and I like the length, but again, you can cut yours to the size that fits your space.

 

2) Paint the wood. I painted a base color of the Liquitex Acrylic Basics in Naphtol Crimson and let dry for few minutes, then added a few drops of the Liquitex Acrylic Basics in Mars Black and painted over the base color. I love the rustic look it gave to it instead of having just one color. Again, personal preference.

 

3) I then used the Cricut and cut out my words. For me, I like to use the actual letters and place them out first to make sure size and placement works. Then I use the word part for a stencil and fill in the letters using the Anita's All-Purpose Acrylic in Antique White with a thin paint brush. It does not take long to dry so by time, I was finished with the word and got the letters in place for the next word, it was dry. I did not worry about getting the letters filled in exactly or perfectly. The paint is thin in some areas. I did this to add to the rustic charm I was going for.

 

4) *If want step* I then took my sander and sanded a few areas to age it more.

 

5) Seal the wood sign with a brush and Minwax Polycrylic in Satin. Leave to dry for few hours.

 

6) Grab your twine or ribbon and wrap it around the board leaving the start and end piece in the front. I had this red & silver twine left over from an art project I did in 3rd grade if you can believe it. No I'm not a horder, I just have always loved crafts and kept pieces here and there as I was growing up for future projects... like today! Anyways I was super excited to finally have a use for this twine (dork I know). Unfortunately, the red in the twine does not stand out as much as I would like, but for now it stays :)

 

7) Cut out a heart from any scrapbook paper you have lying around. I had a small piece left over from a Valentine's scrapbook page that was red with black and white hearts on it. I used my Cricuit again to cut the heart, but any heart stencil you have or the original fold paper and cut half of heart will work too. Then take your heart and punch a hole near the top in the center. Thread the piece of twine that you left in the front of the wood thru the hole and tie it with the other end of twine.

 

You're done! All in all took about 7 hours (mostly for drying time).

 

 

Ours ended up by our bar and I added a few red and pink tulips for decoration.

 

 

It ended up perfect!

It fits our decor so well and isn't overly sappy or to girly for my husband.

 

Till the next inspiration...

Repurposed Goodwill Frames: Bathroom

Been in the process of helping my mother redo her condo.

It's been a few years in the making, but its slowly coming along.

In our recent trip to Goodwill, I found these white box frames that in itself

had no design purpose, but the frame had potential.

Got them for $3 a piece so figured worth a try.

 

front

back

Trying to take it apart was a little harder than I thought. They had placed tiny nails all along the side of the box to keep the back in place, but some needle nose pliers took care of that... eventually. You would think carrying a toddler around all day would give you upper body strength, but nope not the case. When finally got the back off the box, I had to get the box off the frame. It was glued to the frame and even though figured no one would see the back I still didn't want to ruin it. I tried running an exacto knife along the side of the glue- not a success, so don't ever try! So light bulb came on and I got a screw diver and popped it apart. Much better and much quicker. Don't ask why I didn't take a picture of it all taken apart... sorry. I promise I'll get better with my step-by-step pictures.

 

 

Supplies need for this project:

Frames ($3/each @ Goodwill)

Scrapbook paper (59 cents for 12x12 @ Hobby Lobby)

shells (already own)

clamps

Elmer's Glue-All (already own, but roughly $2 @ Walmart)

Elmer's Wood Glue (already own, but roughly $4 @ Lowe's)

Weldbond (already own, @ Hobby Lobby)

 

You can use any glue you have around in my opinion,

but these are the ones I had on hand and I liked how all of them worked.

 

 

On the back of the box (remember I took apart from the box frame) I used the Glue- All and brushed the back with glue. I then took a 12x12 scrapbook paper that I got from Hobby Lobby for this project, cut it to the size of the box back and laid it on the glue. I tried smoothing out the bubbles with a credit card, but ripped the corner (cannot see when I put the frame back on- yeah) so found out my fingers worked just as good and no rips! Once dried I used the wood glue and glued the back to the box frame. Then, clamped the back and frame overnight. Yes, that is a wrench being used as a clamp- don't judge :)

 

 

Next morning, I went through the shell collection my mom had and picked out the ones that I liked the most or had the most importance to my mom. Obviously because of the height of the box, it did limit my shells, but overall I think she got the ones she wanted. I then used the Weldbond glue and glued down the back of the shells. Takes an hour to bond, but bond is stronger longer you wait. After an hour I was able to turn them upside down and they held wonderfully! Next was to put the frame back on. Used wood glue and sealed the frame back to the box. Then, went old school and placed heavy books on top :) Hey, it works!

 

The final product!

 

Before & After

 

Did not take much work and only cost $7 to repurpose.

Simple, but perfect for the project in mind.

 

 

Here they are up on the walls in the bathroom. Believe it or not, the lantern was also found at the Goodwill ($3 still in its packaging) and filled with the remaining shells and hung with a cup hook from the ceiling.

 

So were did my inspiration come from...

http://www.horchow.com/p/Faux-Coral-Shadowboxes-cake/cprod89510050___/?eItemId=cprod89510050&cmCat=search&searchType=MAIN&icid=&rte=%252Fsearch.jhtml%253FNo%253D60%2526Ntt%253Dcake%2526_requestid%253D4559%2526N%253D0&ecid=HCALRQFGLnEolOWg

 

Obviously, our project looks nothing like the inspiration, but at $195 each...

I think mine worked out just fine :)

 

 Till the next inspiration...

 



Ella's Minnie Mouse 1st Birthday Party!

 

Seems only fitting that my first blog be about my daughter.

I love crafty things, hence the point behind this blog,

and knew that I wanted my daughter to have a one-of-a-kind birthday

with everything handmade. Figured I better do it before there are other siblings (hopefully) and can't devote this much attention. My daughter took to Mickey Mouse Clubhouse very early in life, responding to the theme music almost as quickly as she recognized mommy & daddy. So obvious choice when planning...
was a Minnie Mouse party!
Most parties I looked at for inspiration was zebra print- not for a 1 yr old party in my opinion, so I opted for pink and yellow. I researched for 5 months, trying to get every last detail perfect. So hopefully now you can find some inspiration from me! 

 



 

Invitations:

 black and yellow card stock, pink polka dot scrapbook paper, yellow ribbon,

thin pink polka dot ribbon, glue stick and printer

The dimensions I used came from believe it or not... the envelope I was going to use. We had left overs from our Christmas cards (knew I was keeping them for a reason) so didn't have to buy any :) On the yellow insert part you can't see was just the basic where and when. The font is Disney font that I downloaded for free (google it). I couldn't get the Cricuit cartridge with Minnie Mouse (MM from here out)- parties are expensive enough & they discontinued the same week I was searching for them so price tripled! Eek! So searched for MM silhouette, traced it on the black card stock & cut it out- simple enough & much cheaper!!!

Inspiration from: http://atsecondstreet.blogspot.com/2009/03/handmade-minnie-party.html

 

 

Cupcake toppers:

Regular toothpicks, black and pink card stock paper, glue stick

I did find a Mickey Mouse cutter from Hobby Lobby http://shop.hobbylobby.com/products/disney-mickey-icon-craft-punch-652974/ (with 40% off coupon) and stamped out the MM & glued 1 on each side. For the bow, I again searched on google (seeing a pattern) for MM bow & traced onto pink card stock & cut it out. I then took a pencil & added in the bow creases & glued to the silhouette. Inspiration used the Cricuit cartridge, I think, which makes them probably alot easier, but I think mine came out just as nice!

Inspiration from: http://www.etsy.com/listing/74864197/minnie-mouse-cupcake-topper-minnie-mouse

 

 

Cupcake Stand:

cupcake stand ($2.50 @ Walmart), pink and yellow tissue paper ($1 each @ Walmart), pink polka dot wired ribbon, yellow ribbon & a wood #1 (99cents at Michael's), glue stick

The cupcake stand I considered making out of cardboard like you see a lot of people do, but when I was at Walmart, I saw these cupcake stands in the clearance for $2.50 so figured I would save me some time. But who wants a plain white stand? So first I glued the yellow ribbon along the sides & added pink polka dot wired ribbon bows. Why wired? It held the bow shape better in my opinion. But, the stand still looked so plain... so I added the tissue paper on each level. Much better I think. The wooden #1 I painted with pink paint & added white polka dots with white puff paint (both things I had on hand). It was original going to be hot glued to the middle tier in front of bow, but didn't stand out so took some cardboard, cover in tissue paper, and glued the #1 to that.

Inspiration from: http://www.heavenlybloomsblog.com/2010/01/kates-minnie-mouse-birthday-party.html

(FYI- I loved this ladies Minnie Mouse party! A lot of my inspiration came from her so go check her blog out too!)

 

 

Cupcake stand looked pretty good with the cupcakes on it huh?! Pink lemonade flavored cupcakes btw! I added a white boa I had lying around for extra flare. What's funny is I had the ONE letters lying around the house too. We didn't want to know the sex of our baby so we had gotten both names for the baby room. So... had the letters from the boys name still. But, you can buy the letters for $2.99 @ Hobby Lobby if you don't have any lying around :)

 

 

Other decorations included Minnie Mouse flower bouquets (close up below). I lucked out & in the clearance section of our Hobby Lobby was lettered pails & wouldn't you know it... I found 3 E buckets for 79 cents each! Filled bottom with rocks for weight & green Styrofoam in middle that I poked the Minnie Mouse into and surrounded with flowers (50% off @ Michael's- all about the deals when I do crafts!) The Minnie Mouse head was 2 small Styrofoam balls (came in a 6 pack I believe @ Michael's) and bought some medium size balls (think they are 5"). Spray painted them black. Added the 2 small ones with tooth picks to the large one & took some of the pink polka dot ribbon & hot glued a bow on! I read problems people were having with spray painting Styrofoam, but I maintained 6-8 inch distance & had no problems with Styrofoam melting. I placed 1 on each side of the cake & 1 on the food table.

Inspiration from: http://www.etsy.com/listing/80098750/minnie-mouse-birthday-centerpieces-hot

 

Gift Bags:

pink and red favor bags (Walmart 5/$1), Minnie Mouse & Mickey Mouse favors

Traced a Mickey Mouse head (google image) onto black card stock & a Minnie Mouse bow (google image) onto pink polka dot paper & glued onto the bags. Filled the bags, folded the top down, hole punched & tied white ribbon in the top.

Inspiration from:http://www.etsy.com/listing/79150312/mickey-mouse-favor-bags-red-white-and?ref=exp_listing

 

 

Cake:

Way to much to try to explain that so needless to say lots of trial and error, but I had to make her own cake too! The smash cake was more my speed, but it was fun making the cake. My added tip... the ears I made from rice krispies dipped in chocolate! They were a hit with the kids at the party!

Inspiration from... http://sliceatatime.wordpress.com/special-occasion-cakes/

 

 

The final product of the dessert table...

I covered the table in 2 pink & 1 yellow table clothes (Party City).

From the ceiling I hung tissue paper pom poms

Inspiration from: http://www.marthastewartweddings.com/226101/pom-poms-and-luminarias

 

Happy 1st Birthday Banner:

yellow ribbon, black and yellow card stock, pink polka dot paper, glue stick

Traced & cut out MM image (google image) on black card stock. Traced & cut out bow (google image) on pink polka dot paper and glued onto MM. I used my Cricuit and used a cartridge that came with it, Basic Font, and cut out the letters & glued them on MM. Of course, you can use any method for getting your letters... you can even buy them from craft stores already cut. Punched holes in each ear & strung them on yellow ribbon. I used some left over tulle & alternated strips of tulle between the MM. I did have to use some tape on the back of a few of them to keep them straight since I was hanging the banner across an open archway. If you can believe it, I also made a 12 month Minnie Mouse banner & placed a picture of my sweet girl from each month, but forgot to take a picture of it!

Inspiration from: http://www.etsy.com/listing/100781244/simple-minnie-mouse-birthday-banner-red?ref=sr_gallery_7&ga_search_query=minnie+mouse+birthday+banner&ga_view_type=gallery&ga_ship_to=US&ga_search_type=all)

 

 

Kitchen table all set up with food & ready for smash cake!

 

 

Front door entry table:

Card table covered in pink tablecloth. A sign that stated Boutique (like Minnie Mouse) and feel free to grab some ears & jewelry and join the party!

Inspiration from: http://www.heavenlybloomsblog.com/2010/01/kates-minnie-mouse-birthday-party.html

Minnie Mouse ears:

Black headbands (Hobby Lobby in the wedding section when 50% off), black ribbon, black felt, pink polka dot ribbon

Used a jar bottom & traced it on black felt. Cut out the circles & glued 2 together. I left a little tab on each circle & used that to hot glue it onto the headband. I then wrapped the headband with the black ribbon using hot glue on the underside to help keep it in place. Final touch was adding a ribbon bow! Placed them in a glass bowl found around the house & stuffed yellow tissue paper inside.

Inspiration from: http://www.heavenlybloomsblog.com/2010/01/kates-minnie-mouse-birthday-party.html

Sign In Mat:

Instead of going with a book or plate or something that would never be seen, I opted for a signature mat (5X7). Mostly seen for weddings, but I think it worked :) I took a few pictures days before of baby girl in her birthday outfit & put my favorite one inside. Added another MM for decoration. Placed pens for everyone to sign. By end of party, it was completely full. Haven't decided yet if want to frame for her room & place in her scrapbook...

 

 

Last, but not least... my favorite, the birthday girls outfit!

white 12 month onsie ($2.50 Walmart), yellow and black fat quarters (99 cents Walmart), white felt iron-on letters (Hobby Lobby)

Please, please don't judge me on my sewing skills :) I am by no way familiar with a needle, but just had to make my little girl an outfit. I cut a MM image (google again) out of the black fabric. I cut a #1 (yes google image too) out of the yellow fabric & sewed it onto MM. Then, I sewed MM onto the shirt. I ironed on the letters & sewed on a polka dot bow. Did the same for a diaper cover (see cute baby below)

Inspiration from: http://www.etsy.com/listing/89889420/minnie-inspired-tutu-outfit?ref=sr_gallery_38&ga_search_query=pink+minnie+mouse+tutu+outfit&ga_order=most_relevant&ga_view_type=gallery&ga_ship_to=US&ga_page=2&ga_search_type=handmade

 

 

How to make a Tutu:

pink and yellow tulle (Hobby Lobby 50% off), pink polka dot ribbon (Hobby Lobby), 1/2 inch elastic (Hancock Fabrics for $1)

Inspiration from: http://www.momdot.com/howtomakeatutu/

 

 

diaper cover:

Inspiration from: http://www.amazon.com/Minnie-Mouse-Bloomers-Diaper-Cover/dp/B0063OXH02

 

 

The wonderful birthday girl!!! One already!!!

 

 

I'm such a bargain shopper & always try to do research for the best prices before I start a project. I'll try to always tell you where I got it and how much. Feel free to copy me/pin me, best form of flattery I think, just please give credit where do. If I forget anything or you have a question- feel free to comment.
 

Till the next inspiration...