She's Crafty!

Last month my sister-in-law and I hosted a ladies lunch in honor of my mom for her birthday. It was a small group of ladies, so I thought it would be nice for them to have a few little [party favors. I chose to make personalized vases for the table centerpiece which doubled as a keepsake. I also made little boxes for some fancy chocolates, because who doesn't love chocolate!

The vases were purchased at Target for under $2.00. I used Heather's Silhouette machine to create a stencil on vinyl. I bought the bird design on their website for $0.99, and tucked in a 'J' into the branch as my mom's first name is Judy. I think "Happy Birthday Judy" would have made the vases less versatile! :)  I measured the area on the vase to make sure I didn't overlap the design. Since I hadn't used the vinyl on the machine, I watched a tutorial video, which corrected some mistakes I was about to make! 

After cutting the shape out on the machine, I used clear contact paper to peel the design off. I tried without the contact paper, but the design was to delicate and would have been a disaster trying to get it on the glass in the right shape. Above you'll see the stencil on the left and the inside shape on the right. I managed to save a few of the later in case I need a cute bird design on something in the future. I created one stencil for each vase, as the water and cream used would not make this a reusable stencil.

 Then I applied the stencil onto the glass. It was easy to peel the contact paper off with the vinyl remaining where I wanted it to be.

 

 Using Martha Stewart brand etching cream, I applied a thick coat to the stencil. This was the biggest issue I had- getting the coat even and thick enough. The directions said to wait 20 minutes before rinsing. I think next time I might wait 30 minutes to be sure.

After rinsing the cream off and peeling off the vinyl, this is what the final product! I was quite happy with how they turned out!

Here's the final flower arrangement, complete with flowers from the farmer's market. There were 7 vases in total, with the center vase containing the tallest bunch. All the ladies loved their memento of the day.

The Silhouette machine is also great for creating fun paper products! This was a simple box pattern I purchased and some scrapbook paper with a little weight to it. The machine cut out outline, and even dotted lines where the sides were to be folded. I simply taped the insides together, and added chocolate! Cute & functional!

Cheers,

K

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Fabric + Magnet = Awesome

This was an easy project that took little time to complete, once I figured out what I was going to do!  All I needed was 2 magnet boards from IKEA and 1 yard of fabric from U-Fab, and a can of spray adhesive.  The fabric was cut, allowing several inches on each side. 

 The top of the board was sprayed with the adhesive and the fabric was carefully layed on top, smoothing out any wrinkles.  I did this outside to avoid sticky floors. Next I used a hot glue gun to secure the sides. I used a LOT of glue.

I cut notches by the corners so there wouldn't be to much fabric, otherwise it was much like wrapping a gift. From there, I used a yardstick and a leveler to mark holes for the drill. I decided to leave a small gap in between.

And Voila! a perfect spot for crafty inspiration!

  

Cheers,

K

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Star Wars Chic

When our friend Meghan shared with us the news about expecting her and her husband's first baby this spring, we were over the moon with excitement! With her friend Mary Catherine taking the lead of her baby shower, we were happy to be a part of the planning. MC works with some stationary folks, and created the Yoda invitation we posted on March 5th. While we didn't want this to be a full on nerdy themed shower, we knew we'd incorporate Star Wars into the rest of the shower in a classy and chic way!

Yes, the force IS strong with this one!

With the help of Heather's Silhouette machine, Kate created a banner and mobile for decorations. The mothers of the soon-to-be parents helped by emailing baby photos of Meghan and Travis, which were added to the mobile. It turned out to be a fun centerpiece! Both the banner and mobile were given to the couple to help decorate for the April arrival of their little one.

Nothing cuter than a baby on the death star

Since we're at that age where games are a little too silly at showers, we decided that a personalized craft would be perfect. At a shower Kate co-hosted last summer, the guests decorated onsies for the baby's first year. Meghan had such a blast decorating, that we were inspired to find another fun, yet useful craft. Since Travis's dad is very talented when it comes to wood working, we asked him if he could create building blocks for the guests to personalize. They were beyond beautiful- we almost hated to write on them! Using special wood markers and letter stickers, the guests had a blast making their message for the new family. 

(If you don't have access to someone so handy, several craft stores carry wood blocks the perfect size for about $1.50 each)

Decorating baby blocks- sure beats the baby food taste test!

We also got a little crafty with the food with a "grown-up kids good" theme. Sure we served PB&J, but in sushi style! We also had mac and cheese bites, tater tots, Chick-Fil-A nuggets, veggies and dip, baked brie (with a Yoda imprint) and fruit with yogurt dip. We served a cranberry-pineapple-almond punch (see Pinterest for the recipe) that could be spiked with ginger ale or prosecco. The guests could choose between cupcakes from Pearls or made from scratch Whoopie pies that Heather made using Meghan's grandmother's recipe! We think it was a pretty good spread!

Melted cheese good

Why hello Mr. Cupcake!

This is how we will eat PB & J from now on!

 
What fun and crafty shower themes/decorations have you created? Share ideas in our comments below!

Cheers,

K&H

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Scrap booking!

Heather here,

I love to save everything and document everything. I'm on the fine line between historian and one-pile-away-from-hoarder status. Every once in awhile I get the urge to purge, and not hold onto junk, such as a parking ticket from an un-named event from 3 years ago.   

2013 has been a purge-a-thon so far, no pile, closet or drawer has been spared and it feels great to let go of the stuff I truly don’t need. This month, I had my sights set on purging the piles, binders and files of paper. I made sure every card, play bill, event ticket, note, magazine pull out, list, loose photo, you name it, made its way into a well organized binder, photo album, proper scrap book or the TRASH. The items that didn’t fit nice and neat into a book were tied with a pretty ribbon and put in a pretty box.  

 

Before- Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!!!!

I should have taken more pictures of the process along the way to show the hundreds of items I sorted through. The end result is that I now have beautifully sorted and organized memories that I will enjoy flipping through and no longer feel overwhelmed by the piles. Don’t get me wrong, there will always be piles! but right now there are a lot less.

After- Ahhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!

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Sew What!

Kate here,

I had to share my weekend project in the crafty realm. I was excited to use the skills we learned at our class earlier in the week. I purchased some fabric to make curtains for our kitchen and the downstairs powder room, in hopes that would motivate me. Since I have never made curtains, I decided it would be a good idea to make a practice panel. Luckily I had some remnant pieces from a while ago. I used a book my mom gave me for Christmas as my guide, and next thing I knew, I had made a panel!  It was a lot easier than I expected! The tread isn't the right color- But since I this was a sample, I didn't worry about it.

 Since that took a lot less time than expected, I decided to make a new toy for my cat, Lola. Lola is a plump kitty, who needs all the exercise possible! Last week I made a really basic "pillow" toy for her, stuffed with parchment paper (she loves crinkly sounds!) and catnip.  It was not a pretty toy, but it got her playing a little, until she got high on the catnip and took a cat nap. After a week, this toy was gross from her drooling on it and batting it around. Time to upgrade the material and design!  I have a bunch of felt from past projects, which I think will me more durable. I stuffed this one with more catnip and shredded felt.

 It's much cuter than the last one. So cute I don't mind that it sits in the middle of the living room in case she had the urge to exercise. I had to drag her out of her bed to test it out. And I must say, it was a hit!

I can just see those calories burning!

I hope to have the kitchen panels finished this month and hung as soon as we make the rods to hang them (more about that later).

Happy Crafting!

Kate