Merry {Ugly} Christmas : )

Mike had an ugly sweater bar hop to attend and after seeing this on pinterest I knew that last minute craftiness was in order... I free handed all the shapes out of felt and then hot-glued on his buttons and booties and sewed down the rest.  It was the least stressful craft I have done since the whole goal was to make something ugly..... check : )

Crafty Cards

Card

A wonderful couple we know had their house warming party this last weekend and we were at a loss of what we could get them - so we decided to make something!  Mike gets most all of the credit for this project... We printed out the map, he pre drilled the holes and hammered in all the nails, then started lacing through the twine.  We finished it off by putting their name on it and a cute saying in vinyl.  We had seen this idea all over pinterest lately.... Also I looked around on piniterest and found lots of cute ideas like this for their housewarming card!!  Thanks pinterest-ers!!

State String Art

 

This past weekend I got a jump start on my Nutcracker gifts... Gail and my mom helped me make twenty some Nutcracker glitter ornaments for all the different dancers - putting vinyl on all of them and finishing them up will most likely be my November craft : )  I also made all of their cards -- Gail helped me cut out all the half circles and then I added stickers, snowflakes and stickles to make them more fun!  Thank you guys for all your help! 

Fronts

Backs

Happy Coffee Day!

I was recently informed that last Sunday was National Coffee Day so I decided that it definitely needed to be celebrated!  My friend Katie and I threw a party for the dancers to basically get together to drink coffee and eat sugar, I am sure our director would approve : )  We decided that if we were going to do it. we might as well craft it up a bit!  I think we almost had more fun getting everything ready: baking cupcakes, making a banner, making frozen sugar spoons, and decorating the labels.  The decorations were a hit and everyone left thoroughly caffeinated and happy : )

Coffee Filter Flower Banner

Close-up! We wrote coffee quotes on each filter

Our Full Table Set up (Sign was made by Gail!)

Close up of the Coffee Cupcakes with Chocolate Handles and Our Stir Sticks!

Super Sparkly Apparel for August!

So, I don't know if you all remember the Target holiday commercial from this last year, but there was a line in it that said "Have a super sparkly day!!" - Somewhere in the midst of our crazy Nutcracker run this became our catchphrase and goal to aim for "super sparkly" performances on stage!  We had our open house last night for the ballet school (which I had crafted last month for : ) and we decided that we should make warm up muscle tees to get ready for the new season/year and promote the idea that everyone works better with a positive attitude! : )  Some Silly end of the summer fun!

-Sorry for the poor quality photo-

Finished product: cut/ironed/jeweled

July Craft all put together!

 

Tutu Revamp!

I was rehearsing the Esmeralda variation for an August show and have been getting crafty with my ensemble!  I last used my tutu for Spanish-ey Paquita which meant it had all red decorations and lace.  My mom, Vicki, helped me take off all the red and resew two layers of green tulle that is tacked down with green rhinestones.  I also sewed/hot glued a green and black flower for my hair.  Finally, I bejeweled and ribbon-ed my tambourine that I use in the variation.  I completed all my preparations on Sunday night and unfortunately when I walked into the studio Monday morning, I found out the show had been canceled.  However, I hope to still perform it in the fall and (if I remember) will post a picture of the final look here at that time : )

You've Got Mail

First project on the Silhouette for me!  My husband helped me with this one - I think mostly to ensure that both sides weren't OU haha!  We sanded and spray painted the mailbox to make sure we had an even surface and then traced logos and cut them out onto adhesive vinyl with the silhouette.  Then we just peeled and stuck them on... GO STATE and BOOMER SOONER! : )  

Summer in the Snow

My husband coaches soccer and hosted the teams' monthly party so I thought it would be the perfect occasion to try out these beach cupcakes off pinterest.  Little did I know their outside 8 am game would be 33 degrees and have snow flurries - oh well... at least my beach theme was good in theory....
I used brown sugar for the sand, blue sprinkles for the water and then drink umbrellas and cherries for the beach balls to finish off the look.  I also tried out the theory that you can put marshmallow on top of your cupcakes the last five minutes in the oven and it will work as self-frosting.  It was definitely a time-saver and delicious but it made them a lot stickier and more challenging to eat....Thanks pinterest! 

April Showers....

 So this month's project kind of made me wish I had a sewing machine or at the very least was a faster sewer!  I sewed straps, velcro, and a letter on my towel as inspired by Sewlikemymom.  Bring on the April Showers : )   

Happy St Patricks Day!

For Christmas I got an awesome pair of "Kiss me I'm Iowish" underwear from one of my best friends as a funny gift.  (from American Apparel)  My Husband and I thought this was perfect for St Patrick's Day but unfortunately they don't make shirts of it and since I can't really wear my underwear around Sunday..I made our own!  I used iron on letters and patches. 

Anniversary Scrap

This month I decided it was finally time to start an anniversary scrapbook...but given that I had about four hundred some pictures from our first anniversary alone it was a little daunting.  So instead of a full on scrapbook, I decided to just add a little scrap touch here and there and make it more about the pictures.  Below are some of my favorite pages.

I also am attempting to get a little more organized in my scrapping department and I saw a quick idea on pinterest that I figure I can use until I decide for sure how I want to organize permanently.  I cut apart a Kleenex box, wrapped it with duct tape and hot glued on some flowers.  Then, I took toilet paper rolls cut to various heights so hold all my pens and make them easier to see.

Crafts revisited...

So January always seems to be the time when I remember how far behind I am getting on my scraping ... so I have been trying to get caught up again starting where I left off in the fall (of 2011 ...ugh) so here is a sample of the pages from our housewarming party.  

 

Also for birthdays and anniversaries this month Mike has helped me make a few more of the yarn wrapped letters with fabric flowers.

Wordy Thirty Birthday Party

Karen and I decided to throw our Middle Sister a Surprise Party for her upcoming 30th Birthday.  We decided a "Wordy Thirty Party" would be a great theme after we searched the internet/Pinterest for ideas. Val really enjoys a good read and is going to school to be a "Book Doctor." Here are some of the decorations that we did.  It turned out great and it was a lot of fun to put together.  We spent a fun night of playing games, eating and lots of laughing! (P.S. The only book harmed in the production of crafts was an old Encyclopedia for the letter A - the only one of the set that we found at my Grandparents house.)

Here is our version of a book wreath after seeing this one.  I cut 2 -  8 inch circles out of card stock to be more durable, glued them together, then I rolled and glued/taped pages down.  On top of that I cut 2 - 6 inches pieces of card stock, glued them together, then again rolled and glued/taped pages down.  Then I cut a 4 inch piece of card stock out, lettered it with stickers, inked the edges with black ink to make it stand out a bit.  Then I laminated it and taped it down onto the other rings with double sided tape.  Used masking tape on the back to attach a ribbon to hang the whole thing.

We made two of these hanging garlands.  The hearts were made out of the encyclopedia pages after seeing this tutorial.  (BTW, these were super easy to put together and I totally plan on doing this as a Valentine's Day Garland in Red Tones:)).  Then flowers were added to the ends to hide where we taped it up.  Found the tutorial for the flowers here.

Here is a closer look at the Garland.

Here we made several items.  Karen pre-made the poofs, so all that needed to be done party day was the "poofing" - Mike and Zoe took care of that:)  Here is how to make those.  We also had two vases that we  decoupaged encyclopedia pages onto and placed tea lights in them.  In the center is a mini sign with a quote: "Don't Drink to Get Drunk. Drink to Enjoy Life." - Jack Kerouac.  Instead of making Jack Kerouac's favorite drink we made Mojitos, a favorite drink of Hemingway.

Here is the "corsage" we made Val to wear.  We just took one of the flowers, cut out circles, on the Silhouette and attached them with double sided tape.  Then used a big safety pin to attach it to her!

The dinner table!  Made a table runner out of torn out book pages.  Embellished the ends with a fancy daisy punch.  Then cut the sides of the runner with decorative scissors.  Some light dinner reading - haha!  We used books Val had as a center piece, then took a bowl, filled it with cut and rolled encyclopedia pages.  On top of that was a sucker ball (Styrofoam ball with dum dums stuck in it).  Then we made a party sign with book worms and stuck that in there as well.  Beside the center piece was a "book" I made with the silhouette and then it was filled with book marks that we had all made.  Everyone that came to the party made a book mark with a special message, book quote, or drawing for Val.  Then I laminated them and tied ribbon to them.

Close up of our center piece.

Close up of the "book" that held our handmade bookmarks.

Sharpie Mug

Karen also made some Sharpie Mugs for Christmas Presents and Birthday Presents.  Here is one of them "Par-Tea!"  Some of the reviews on Pinterest stated that the Sharpie will wash right off (some reviews said the same thing of the porcelain pen).   She wrote on the mugs (purchased at Target) and then baked them at the 350 for 30 minutes.  She then tried washing them when it  cooled down and yup, it came right off.  So round two she baked them for the same amount of time and then turned it up to 400 for an additional 15 minutes.  That seemed to do the trick.  Several washings later and it seems to be sticking:)

Christmas Gift Craftiness

A select few of the Christmas Crafts that I can preview before Christmas gifts are opened. Thank goodness for Pinterest!  Merry Christmas Everyone! : )

 This will be the first Christmas without my husbands grandma and I found this quote on pinterest and thought it would work great on an ornament and be a special keepsake for his mom to help keep her spirit alive and part of the season : )  I used sharpie to write on a ceramic bell and then mod podged on some glitter.

 For Nutcracker we did secret santas so I figured it was a great time to sneak in some crafting.  Above, I made a gag gift "Hangover Recovery Kit" complete with emergency pjs and below is another pinterest find - a loofah tree with a coffee mug to hold the bubble bath salts : )  Hope she likes them!

Yarn Letters

I love all the many versions of these on pinterest so I decided to try my hand at it and thought "oh this will be a quick, easy, adorable Christmas idea to add to everyone's gift this year."  Well, the adorable part turned out to be true at least.... haha... I found it a little frustrating to wrap the curves on the S so if you have an easier letter you'll probably be seeing this in your stocking and if you have an "S"......we'll see. : )

Creepy Crafty Halloween

Coffee Coffee Coffee!!!

After seeing a Starbucks costume for little kids on pinterest last year I decided that I wanted to be a cup of Caribou Coffee this year!  Luckily I had the help of some awesome people to pull this together for me.  Vicki (my mom) made a pattern and then sewed the wonderful white dress and Gail used her silhouette to cut out (GLOW IN THE DARK!) and make the very professional looking belt which really helped pull this all together so people knew what I was!  And Thanks to Erin as well for the use of the heat press!!  Then to finish it off I wrote all over it with 'things that I stay awake for' as per the Caribou theme.  Overall it turned out great and was a hit!  Thanks Ladies!!  

mummy door and Halloween decor

Chick Magnet!

 So the night before we still hadn't settled on a costume for my husband so browsing thru target we decided some arts and crafts were in order... we made the magnet out of tagboard and then used silver duct tape and construction paper to finish it off... for the final touches we ziptied chicks to the magnet and used tent pole string to tie it together... very manly crafting.

all lit up

finished pumpkins

And of course there was some pumpkin carving - Mine was a minion from Despicable Me - Thanks Pinterest!!!

Jumping on the Baby Bandwagon!

Close-up cupcake

Cupcakes and Pacifier Emergency Box

So yall had so many cute new baby items this month it got me to thinking I should do something crafty for my next upcoming baby shower.  My brother and sister in law just found out they are having a boy so I got on good ole pinterest and decided to make some cupcake onesies!  I made them using 4 receiving blankets, 4 onesies, 4 candles, 4 coffee filters, ribbon, and lots of rubber bands.  I also stumbled upon the pacifier picture on pinterest and decided to throw in the pacifier emergency case using a small shadow box.  Hopefully they like it!