Apr 24, 2012

DIY: Washi Tape & Clothespins

As friends and I decorated for the baby shower over the weekend, we hung an animal silhouette banner across the mantel.  The animal silhouettes were clipped to yarn with clothespins and to add a little more color to the clothespins, I used washi tape..... super easy!


I used pink and white striped washi tape to cover the front of the clothespins..... it took less than ten minutes to make.  Here's how to cover clothespins with washi tape:
  • Gather wooden clothespins
  • Cut or tear washi tape into pieces about 1/4" longer than the length of the clothespins
  • Place one piece of washi tape over a clothespin
  • Press down on the sides
  • Fold over on the ends
  • Done!

Clothespins & Washi Tape

Clothespins & Washi Tape

Clothespins & Washi Tape

Clothespins & Washi Tape

Clothespins & Washi Tape

Washi Tape

Once the clothespins were done, I attached the silhouettes and clipped them to yarn across the mantel.

Party

Party

I've also updated clothespins using scrapbook paper here (for the playroom) and I'm sure there's plenty of more ways to spruce up clothespins.  What's your favorite way to decorate clothespins?

Apr 22, 2012

Baby Shower & Yogurt Bar

For the past month, a couple of us have been planning a double baby shower for two friends.  On Saturday, we were able to see all the planning come together, shower the mommies with love, a few gifts, and celebrate life!


The baby shower was at my house and since the timing of the shower was between lunch and dinner, we decided to go with light, simple food..... a yogurt bar was the perfect solution!  The yogurt bar included bowls of fruit and extra yummy toppings (we also added mini quiches and a dessert table).

Yogurt Bar
  • vanilla yogurt
  • strawberries
  • blueberries
  • pineapple
  • raspberries
  • bananas (lightly coated with pineapple juice)
  • kiwi
  • chocolate syrup
  • caramel syrup
  • chocolate chips
  • mixed nuts
  • granola
Party

One mom's baby nursery is designed with animals and the other mom adores girly colors, so we agreed to decorate for the shower using animal silhouettes and a variety of pink colors.  We spread tons of pink dots in several shades and sizes all over the yogurt bar (we used scrapbook paper and a circle craft punch to make the dots).

Party

Party

Party

Party

On the dessert table, we had chocolate covered pretzels and three cupcake flavors (I tasted them all, they were delicious!):
  • Gingerbread cupcakes with caramelized mango buttercream frosting
  • Nutella filled chocolate cupcakes with Nutella buttercream frosting
  • Nutella filled chocolate cupcakes with Nutella buttercream frosting (gluten free)

Party

Hanging over all that sweetness were pink, white and gold balloons.   Yarn was knotted on the end of each balloon and the opposite end of the string was taped to the ceiling.

Party

We also added balloons in the living room, several balloons were bunched together (held by string) and hung from the ceiling light.

Party

A banner of animal silhouettes attached to yarn with clothespins covered in washi tape was hung across the fireplace mantel (this is also where the two mommies sat while opening gifts).

Party

Party

There were a few things around the house to keep guests busy and talking.... on the entry table was a place to sign the baby books and address envelopes (to make it easier for the moms when writing thank you cards).

Party

Party

We also had a Bible verse and tree with bare branches printed on paper for each guest to stamp their thumbprint in an image of a leaf.  We used green ink for this tree (sorry no after picture) and purple ink for the other mom's tree.  This was later framed and given to the mommies.

Party

On another table, there was a guessing game.... how many q-tips and cotton balls?

Party

Party

One other activity we had for the guests was to complete a prayer card for each baby.  There were slips of paper that read one of the following:
  • I pray you learn to  ___________________________
  • I pray you become  ___________________________
  • I pray you respect  ___________________________
  • I pray you love  ___________________________
The guests filled in the blank and dropped their prayer card into a jar that the mommy took home.  The baby shower was a lot of fun and I know the moms were blessed.

Party

Before each guest said goodbye, we handed them a thank you gift bag....

Party

Party

Inside the pink and white striped bag was a bird feeder (I used this tutorial, just like for the Star Wars birthday party and Easter gift).  The gift bag was sealed with a reminder to pray for the mommies and babies each time they see their hanging bird feeder.

Party

I love baby showers... the planning and work definitely pays off when you see a mommy smile.  And of course, I also love after the shower too because leftovers surround the house and my kitchen table holds these goodies (thanks Amber!)!

Party

If you love shopping for a party, here's a few of the shops where I found lovely supplies for this party (I am not paid to link their sites, I purchase my supplies for actual cost, I just honestly love their products and service):  Sweet Lulu, Cute Tape, Paper & Present (on Etsy).

And later this week (or next), I'll make several of the graphics I created for this baby shower available to you for free!  Keep a lookout and enjoy your week!

Apr 19, 2012

DIY: Soup Can to Flower Vase

A simple soup can could be reused in so many ways.... this week, I transformed my soup can into a flower vase.


The process was quick and easy.  I removed the label from the soup can (if the label leaves behind stickiness, a little Goo Gone always helps).  I opened the soup can with a can opener that doesn't produce sharp edges (the Kuhn Rikon is my favorite), then saved the soup in a separate bowl and washed the inside of the can, let it dry and painted it.

I spray painted the soup cans with Krylon's Brushed Metallic in champagne.... a few light coats covered the cans.

Flower Vase

Once the paint was dry, I clipped a variety of blooming pinkish colored flowers from my yard, filled the can with water and added the flowers to my new metallic vase.

Flower Vase

A few vases are now spread out around my house in preparation for this weekend.  Some friends and I are getting ready to host an exciting celebration on Saturday!  Here's a glimpse....

Flower Vase

Flower Vase

 I'll show details next week.... enjoy your weekend!

Apr 17, 2012

Free Printable: Star Wars Thank You Cards

After my son celebrated his 5th birthday Star Wars style, we sat down to write a few thank you cards (it also turned into his handwriting lesson for the day!).


I created Star Wars thank you cards to carry over the theme from his birthday party.... and of course everything ends with "May the force be with you"!

Thank You Card

The thank you cards are also available for your personal use for FREE!  So go ahead.... download, print or just pass along the link... enjoy!

Star Wars Thank You Cards

Click the link above to download the pdf file and print on white/cream colored 8.5x11" cardstock paper, then trim along the black lines to cut out each card.   I used black envelopes to hold the cards and wrote addresses in a gold marker. 

More free Star Wars printables available here and here!

Apr 13, 2012

Free Printable: Husband's Birthday Card

The husband's birthday is today.... while the kids were busy drawing, cutting, folding and coloring birthday cards for him, I created a another birthday card for my handsome husband.


As he ages, I think he gets even more good-looking!

Handsome Husband Card

I printed the design on cardstock, trimmed the edges, then signed the card using a gold marker.

Handsome Husband Card

Go ahead and let your husband know how handsome he is..... the card is available for your personal use for FREE.... download, print or just pass along the link: handsome husband card

Click the above link to downward, then print on 8.5x11" paper (preferably white/cream colored cardstock), trim, then sign (or write a sweet note on the back).

We'll be celebrating the husband's birthday tonight, so right now the kids and I have some birthday decorating to do before he comes home from work.

Enjoy your weekend!

Apr 9, 2012

Egg Sandwiches

Our Easter weekend was great..... on Friday we had dinner with a sweet family, all the kids swam in the pool late into the night while we enjoyed adult conversation in an oasis of a backyard!  Our friend's backyard is absolutely beautiful and on the drive home the husband and I were dreaming of how to turn our backyard into a vacation paradise (we'll begin by mowing the lawn).  The kids swam again on Saturday (I love TX weather!), we went to an awesome church service and then ate at the kids favorite restaurant.  On Sunday, we celebrated Jesus' resurrection with new friends, ate delicious food and had yet another Easter egg hunt with the kids (they're always up for more chocolate!).

When our weekends are busy and what feels like non-stop-going, I want to make something quick and easy when Monday night dinner time rolls around.  So, tonight we had egg sandwiches..... actually, we've had these A LOT lately.  The husband and I love them, the kids love them, and the sandwiches are so, so easy to make (and super yummy!)


To get the egg sandwiches ready, I made sunny side up eggs (just like my heart-shaped eggs, no need to flip).  While the eggs were cooking, I sliced tomatoes, red onions and gathered some greens (tonight we used arugula and romaine, but I've also used kale, spinach, basil, even asparagus).

Egg Sandwich

I then toasted the bread (we used flat bread/buns).  Once the bread was warm and toasted, I spread mayo, then layered lettuce, tomato, onion, and topped it with a cooked egg.  After sprinkling salt and pepper (and sometimes a little hot sauce), it was ready!

Egg Sandwich

Egg Sandwich

I used to top the egg sandwich with another slice of bread, but after watching my kids inhale three sandwiches (each!), I cut back and now we have open faced sandwiches- I gotta save where I can! Sometimes we'll fold the sandwich like a taco and eat, other times we just stuff it in our mouths, and sometimes we actually eat like civilized people and use a fork.

Egg Sandwich

What's your favorite quick and easy meal?

Apr 3, 2012

Free Printable: Easter Gift Tags

This week we've been preparing our hearts to celebrate Easter by reading about Jesus' amazing Resurrection (this is a great guide), making a few crafts, hunting for eggs with friends, of course eating chocolate and later this week we plan to make Resurrection cookies so the kids have a visual of the last days of Jesus' life on earth.  It's been a good week!

One of the crafts the kids and I made was a bird feeder in the shape of an egg.


We followed the bird feeder tutorial on Hellobee.... it was easy and fun!  Once the feeders had dried, the kids and I packaged them to send to their far-away-cousins.

Easter Gift Tags

Easter Gift Tags

I created the gift tags, both for the bag and the feeder... the bag tag says "happy easter" and the tag for the feeder says "feed the birds".  The tags are available for your personal use, for FREE!  So, go ahead.... download, print or just pass along the link... enjoy!

Easter Gift Tags
Feed the Birds Tags

Click the links above to download and print.  For the gift tags, print on 8.5x11" white/cream colored paper, then cut 1/4" around each pink border (or use a scalloped punch).  For the bird feeder tags, print on 8.5x11" white/cream colored paper, then cut out each tag, fold in half and attach to string with adhesive.

Happy Easter!

Apr 2, 2012

Free Printable: Star Wars Party

I created a few Star Wars printables for my son's birthday party last month.  And today, I made them available for your personal use, for FREE!  The kids and I had a blast planning the party.... I hope you have fun planning a Star Wars party of your own!  Here's some free Star Wars printables to get started (more info about how they were used here): 

Star Wars Food Labels


Star Wars ID Badges

Star Wars

May The Force Be With You Tags

Star Wars

Jedi Certificate

Star Wars


Click the links above to download the pdf file(s), print on 8.5x11" white/cream colored card-stock, then trim.  I also posted a Star Wars birthday banner free printable here

I hope your week is off to a great start!
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