What's This?! What's This?!

This is Halloween! Good morning! I hope everyone is having a fantastic week. With now less than a week to go before Halloween, I guess a "Nightmare Before Christmas" post is better late than never. (Hey, it's before Christmas, so there's that!)

I started this project, or at least came up with the idea, a few weeks ago, but finally got around to putting the finishing touches on it. This picture includes a "Happy Birthday" banner and a 10'+ garland. The banner features two little Jack Skellingtons, and of course I included a little Zero in the middle!

The garland has some of Jack's facial expressions. To top it off, both pieces feature purple sparkled cardstock because glitter makes everything better! (It's not a great picture. Apologies.)

These will be up for sale later today, along with some place cards and party favors! (I understand it's a little late for Halloween, but hey, maybe there's someone out there who wants a "Nightmare Before" Christmas!!)
Thanks for stopping by! Enjoy the rest of your day!

Getting Ready to Head Back to School

It's that time of year again, when the temperatures drop 20 degrees in a day, the leaves start to change colors, and the little (and big) kiddos head back to school. Most of our teacher friends have already gone back to school or will this week. Luckily, we still have another week and a half before our new school year starts. In honor of the new year, I decided to make a banner to mark the occasion (because, why not?!)

I was inspired by another chalkboard banner I was working on and thought a school one would be perfect (of course!) To add some special touches, the heart has been glittered and I added some tissue paper fringe, since glitter and fringe make everything better- even the first-day-of-school jitters! I think it's pretty awesome, even if I've already gotten a complaint or two about it. It was totally understandable, though. He's just not quite ready for school to start and would much rather have it be summer all year!
*Also, FREE to any teacher or staff member who might want a banner to decorate their space this year!!*
Thanks for stopping by this morning! Have a fantastic day!

It's Time for Oktoberfest!

Good morning! I hope everyone is having a great start to their weekend. It's going to be another scorcher here today- the last few days have all been in the high 90's (which is saying a lot for us out here). Luckily, the mornings are nice and the cooler weather gives you some time to think clearly, instead of just wanting to nap and not do much of anything- hence the reason I'm writing now!
One way to look at it is that with the "end" (??) of summer begins fall! We're getting closer and closer to cooler temperatures, leaves changing, Pumpkin Spice-everything, and Oktoberfest! This week has been occupied with getting items ready for a few of these parties. We're currently working on two- a "Gardenfest" party (which sounds like a lot of fun ;) ) and a Little One's First Birthday. Here are a few pictures of what we have so far:

 

There are a few more items that need to get finished this weekend. Hopefully a good chunk will get done this morning before it gets too hot and no work will get done! 

Oktoberfest items available here.

Thanks for stopping by! Have a great day!!

May the 4th Be with You!

After all these years, I finally broke down and hopped on the Star Wars bandwagon. I guess it's about time, too, especially when you have more than a handful of family members, both young and old, who are fans... I have two "inspired" projects to share with you today. The first is a birthday banner:

For the banner, I used a font similar to the one used throughout the franchise. To add a girly, yet subtle, touch, the letters and pennant backgrounds were made in "galactic gold" (perfect name, huh?!) Of course, everything is multi-layered, because that's what I do! The two banner pieces are book-ended with some favorite characters.

 This is where it got a little tricky, because of the characters. I didn't want to just print and cut the characters out (Eww, yuck. I never liked the look of that. Anyone can print out pictures and glue them on.) After a little work and maneuvering, and patience with the small pieces, everything came together, better than planned! (I may be a small fan now, only because of this)
The second project is a matching birthday card for the Brother (talk about old fan...) I had one card designed and (somewhat) ready to send out, but then this idea came into my head and I decided to go with it. I hope he's OK with it 1.) being late and 2.) not a surprise...

The inside of the card, which I unfortunately don't have a picture of, is printed out in the same font as the banner and reads "Wishing Yoda Happiest Birthday, I am. Celebrate, you must." (obviously read in Yoda's voice)
Who knew Star Wars could be so fun?! Now, maybe I'll continue working on the matching party favors I started like two years ago...
Have a great day!

We're Back! (And Brought Along a Few Friends!)

Oh, my!! We're back! It has obviously been quite a long time. I'd love to be able to use some amazing, awesome excuse as to why we haven't posted anything here in such a long time, but after trying out some new endeavors, this little piece kind of got pushed to the back burner. Not forgotten, just kind of like the week-old leftovers in the fridge. In the meantime, we have been working on putting a cohesive look to our little business, a new "stand-alone" online store, orders, and every day life (who knew naptime for the Little One would turn into naptime for the Big One, too? Or at least the Big One being used as a pillow?)
After debating internally for a while, we have decided to take the next step and open an on-line store. Not that we don't love our Etsy store, but we thought maybe it was a good time to branch out and try something new, and hopefully bring along a few friends and make some new ones! We have more items available in this store, including many new invitations (for now. One section at a time!) The link to this new store is www.twoearlybirds.com/our-store. Like everything in life, it's a work in progress!
I guess now that the mundane is done (tried to keep it quick and simple!) we have a few new projects planned over the next few months. (Hopefully we can keep on top of things and not let it slide like we've done in the past...) With the new movie "Finding Dory" coming out later this summer, we decided to start Dory-themed party line. We probably should have started with invitations, but sometimes an idea comes to you and you have to run with it! This was one of those projects:

This piece features everyone's favorite Blue Tang and Clown fishes.

The fish and letters are pop-dotted, of course!And the middle space features a little under water scene, with a little Peach and a seagull in the corners:

I can't wait to see what the rest of the decorations will look like! A few other banners and the circle garland are next up on the to-do list!
Thanks for stopping by! Have a fintastic day (get it?!)!

You're One in a Minion!

Happy Wednesday! I hope everyone is having a fantastic day! I've been quite busy, and somewhat successful, in my crafty creations over the last few days. I have set a few goals for this summer, one being to create and list a new project or two every day. So far, I have posted a total of two new items. Another goal- to update our website. Success? Nope. Not yet. Good thing there's still plenty of summer! Anyway, as promised, here is a sneak peak of what I've been working on:

How cute?! I decided to create some minion-inspired items. I love seeing the new commercials with these guys and can't wait to see the movie! I know, not your typical almost-30 year old, but oh well! Anyway, over the last few days, I have been working on these projects, with a few more planned for the rest of the week. The first round includes some banners, a garland (which, unfortunately, didn't win the fight after being tangled), and some adorable confetti! We also have some invitations/cards and favors, of course! Now the next step is get them all posted on Etsy!
Thanks for stopping by! Have a great day!

A Little Man is on His Way!

Good afternoon! We hope everyone is having a fantastic weekend, apart from the new snow back home. This has been a busy week here. I feel like I say that all the time... The days were spent at work and all of my free time was working on orders, party decorations, and shower gifts! I was fortunate enough to have three pretty large orders this week, including an order of 60 invitations and another of 30 party favors. I also started work on a (almost full-fledged) Spiderman birthday party. Today was also Sister's family shower, and fortunately, I had most of those decorations done beforehand. We went with a "Little Man" theme, and decided that the use of the Seahawks colors would include Dad in the decor.

There were a few more decorations, including matching invitations and centerpieces, but the pictures didn't come out nearly as good as I was hoping. Grr. Here is a picture of one of the banners I did make:

 I plan on setting them up and taking more pictures this week, so I can also post them on Etsy soon. There was also a matching cake, which was just too cute (and delish!)

(As it has been pointed out, Baby's real name is not going to be 'Rocky'- it's a nickname that was picked up because of his initials. We wouldn't want to confuse the little guy!) In the little free time I had, I worked on some gifts for the family, which are absolutely adorable (don't mind if I toot my own horn...) The gifts were fabric projects, and let's just say that, although they are uber cute, I'm  definitely not even close to Aunt Debbie-level sewing skills. I'm just happy that all my pieces are sewn together and will hopefully stay that way! Here is one project I did get a picture of- it went over quite well in the sea of Hawks fans...

The back has the last name and a '15' for the year. I didn't get pictures of the other two projects, but they included a blanket and a nursing scarf (that would be super cute any time!) I'm pretty sure there will be plenty of time to take those, though! Only 2.5 weeks to go! Hopefully Grandma and Grandpa will make it out of the snow and get here in time!!I think it's time for a nap now, even though I should really take those pictures so I get them done. Oh well! Thanks so much for stopping by! Enjoy the rest of the weekend!

A Plethora of Projects!

Good morning, friends!! It has, unfortunately, been quite a long time since we’ve posted something new. Between the usual, school and work, we’ve been pretty busy. And on top of that, the kiddos have passed on the cold bug, so we had been fighting that, too. That was a huge pain, but it seems to have cleared up. Hopefully that’ll be the last of it, although the fall/winter season is in full swing here. The rain does help with the productivity- who wants to go outside in the rain?! In the little bit of healthy free-time we’ve had, we’ve been uber busy with our crafting projects, and a few projects for ourselves. We’ve had a handful of superhero projects- some invitations and a ton of bags, and this little set of a card and a banner we created for our little cousin’s Hulk-themed birthday:

We were also tasked with creating a few new bag designs. Here is a picture of some of our new ones, which include The Incredibles (no capes!), Robin, and the Ninja Turtles, though only two are shown

We also worked on some cards in the last few weeks, including these two “punny” cards. The first one is a card we sent out to our family and friends- a little farm-themed card that reads “Cow’s it Going?”. The other is one we wanted to post a while back, but never got to it. It is a fall inspired, little shape card that features a fox in a pile of leaves. The inside of the card reads “Sending you piles of smiles”

 

The biggest, most exciting news of the last few weeks is that our very close friend (hopefully she still thinks this…) and her husband are expecting a little one this April!! It’s all very exciting! We made a few cards to send to congratulate them:

How cute are these two?! The Winnie the Pooh card was inspired by the scrapbook paper that was used in some of the details, like the crib sheet. It’s kind of hard to see, but it’s there. And the paper has been in our collection for a while now, so we figured why not use it?! We also included a little basketball because they both used to play and are now gym teachers. And like all of our projects, we used a ton of pop dots! The second is a super cute side step card designed to look like a baby’s nursery. We included the dresser, with clothes and all, along with some toys and dolls. We couldn’t forget the crib with the sleeping baby and the mobile hanging over!

The last two projects we have to share are some Halloween ones we were working on. The first was a set of cards we made for our sister-in-law (don’t mind the pajama pants in the background- we got an early start that day!). These easel cards feature a little googly-eyed witch and her broom. We also embossed a spider web on the background and added some rhinestones in the corner of the card. The inside of the card reads “Witch-ing you a Happy Halloween” and a little bat that holds the easel up. And as with all cute, “girly” cards, there’s some sparkle, too!

The last project we’ve worked on was a banner we made for a customer. This one was a personalized Halloween banner that features two teddy bears, one a ghoulish witch and the other a spooky jack-o’-lantern.

We, of course, used pop dots on the characters and letters. We finished off with some rhinestones on the letters. Each piece is tied together with multiple colored ribbons and some glitter tulle!

Phew! Quite a long post today, huh?! Sorry about that! We probably could have (and maybe should have) done them individually. Hopefully we’ll finish and post some of our new holiday items that we've been working on and some holiday projects we have planned! Thanks for stopping by! Have a great day!

This Year Will Be A Hoot!

Good evening! We hope everyone had a fantastic week and we're sure everyone is looking forward to the long weekend. We are looking forward to enjoying our last weekend of summer (it's official, Fall has started here in western Washington- the pools have been emptied!! It's all good, though!) We'll be spending it working on some last-minute finishing touches in the classroom(s).
Today's post features some of the classroom decorations we've worked on this summer. These pictures are from Robyn's adorable wise owl-themed room. It is a little picture-heavy, sorry! The first picture is probably the cutest part of the classroom:

It is the AR chart for her classes. The tree is divided into sections, representing the students' reading progress. Each 25% increment has a cute little owl. Each student has their own leaf, which will get moved once they improve through the school year. Hopefully they'll all be at the top of the tree at the end of the year! (The desk was clean at one point!) The next picture is a set of two bulletin boards.

The first one will be for writing tips, to help the students become "wise writers". The other board is one of three student "brag" boards, that will hold some of the students' work. Each kid has their own labelled clothespin to hold their work. The tree is conveniently placed to cover up an unsightly gap between the two boards and pulls the design together. (And why wouldn't the Harry Potter collection make an appearance in a 6th grade classroom?!) The next two pictures are of the other two 'brag" boards:

You can also see the classroom set of star students (so much easier than cutting them all out by hand!) The picture also shows off the classroom library. You can't tell in the picture, but we spent a few days painting it teal and adding some sparkle to it. It's super cute! There is one more bulletin board, but it isn't quite finished. The last is a little banner we made to tie everything together:

The banner is surrounded by two more owls, ready to learn. We decided to not add close-ups of the banner (it would have been too many pictures), but the two end pieces also have little owls on them, sitting on a branch. We used quite a few pop-dots on them, and added some googly eyes! Then there is last year's apple wreath (which matches somewhat quite nicely!) (Also, side comment- the building was just power-washed and the windows look terribly dirty, but it's water-stained) We also made some matching owl name tags for each student, that will be put on their desks. Phew! Here's to a new school year!
We have a few more pictures we want to share from some other classrooms, but wanted to start off with this one! Thanks for stopping by! Have a great night!

We are entering these projects into a crafting challenge or two:
Fantabulous Cricut: Back to School (owls- Wild Card 2; Letters- Birthday Cakes, Nate's ABC's)

Cute New Halloween Projects!

Good afternoon! We hope everyone is having a fantastic weekend so far! We are enjoying one of the last weekends of summer, hoping for fall to come along with its cooler weather and pumpkin flavors- both perfect for getting those creative juices flowing! While we have been busy with some finishing touches on classroom decor (which is super adorable and pictures will be shared once everything is complete!), we have found some time to add new items to our Etsy shop. Our newest listings are some Halloween party decor items we've created. This is the start of our newest line:

The first project we want to share is a party invitation featuring the cutest little witch and her cauldron. Of course we used a ton of pop dots on the embellishments! This party theme would be perfect for any little ghoul or boy! The next picture is of a matching banner:

This banner reads "Happy Birthday", but we also made one that says "Happy Halloween". Both banners feature the same little witchy teddy bear and her cauldron from the invitation. The last spacer has a cute little teddy, all ready to go trick or treating in his pumpkin best:

These little guys, and the letters, are also pop-dot embellished. We wanted to add a special touch to the letters with some rhinestones.
Thanks for stopping by! Hopefully we'll have some more items to share later!

A New Superhero Banner to Share

Happy Thursday! We hope everyone is having a wonderful day, and week so far. As you've might have noticed, we've been staying busy trying to primp up our Etsy shop. We're hoping that the more items we have for sale, the better chance it'll help us grow. So, our goal for this month is to post at least two new items every day. So, as many of our followers know, we've had a lot of interest in our superhero bags. We decided it was time to make some other superhero things (and hope it helps us!) For today, we have added two new banners. Since they are relatively similar in design, we'll show the first one, which is a superhero "Happy Birthday" banner:

This one features Boy's favorite superhero Batman (he also happens to be one of the easier ones to create!) 

 The first spacer is Batman, with his little cape and crime fighting outfit, and his googly eyes (of course!) The middle space features three matching stars, and the last is the city in distress (or in this case, Gotham, I guess). Each letter and image has been pop-dotted, for the extra special touch, while each piece is tied together with multiple ribbons and tulle.
The other banner was a personalized banner, in this theme. For superheroes, he's quite a cutie! We're going to create a few other heroes, especially because we've also created a little Superman superhero for a valued customer a few months ago:

Thanks so much for stopping by! Have a great day!

Relaxing in the Summer Sun, Just Letting off Steam!

Good afternoon! We hope you are having a wonderful week so far. It's been quite hot here- feeling like a snowman in the summer (hence the title!) So, how do we let of our steam? We craft, of course! No surprise there. But, we have a few new banners to share with you today. They go along with our new "Frozen"-inspired party decorations. The biggest one is our 'Happy Birthday' banner:

The banner is bookended with Queen Elsa and Princess Anna, with Arendelle Castle in the middle. (For those of you who haven't seen the movie and have no idea what we're talking about, the movie is great, and should definitely be watched! It also makes winter seem a little closer on those hot days.)

 

We also made two other banners. We don't usually make all of these banners, but we wanted to add some listings to our Etsy shop. So, the first one we wanted to share was a high chair/"I am 1" banner and a personalized name banner: 

 

Everyone's favorite snowman makes an appearance in the "I am 1" banner:

Each snowflake piece features a popped up image, either a character or letter. And of course, we added glitter with the writing and tulle, which is a little hard to see. We also added matching ribbons to hold the pieces together.
Thanks for stopping by! Hopefully we'll be able to post the rest of our complete "Frozen" projects tomorrow. And then we can go on with a new set! Have a fantastic day!


View our Listings Here: "Frozen"-Inspired Banners on Etsy

A 'Frozen"- Inspired Preview

Good afternoon! We hope everyone is having a great weekend! I hate to brag (most of the time!) but we are having a fantastic weekend! It has been warm (hot, according to the people here) and sunny and just absolutely beautiful. Not quite like the weather in the East. Hope everyone stays safe in these storms (especially those two awesome bike riders in Kentucky!)
Since it has been unseasonably warm here, it has put us in the mood for some cooler weather, and projects! We have been busy working on a new set of party decorations. It's not quite done, but here is a hint of what's to come:

We're quite excited for this set! The first project to be done will be a banner, as long as we can find the hole punch! It always seems to disappear when it's needed...We will post the pictures when it's done!
Thanks for stopping by!

Happy New Year!

 Good morning! We hope everyone has had a safe and wonderful night yesterday.  We can't believe how fast this year has gone by. We have a lot to be thankful for this year, including seeing our entire family, including an awesomely planned road trip back East this summer. We were most fortunate to have some guests out here, as well, which is always welcome, unless it's Boy and our apartment is in a state of organized chaos ;) At the end of summer, Robyn began working in fourth grade and made some new friends (although I take a teeny tiny amount of credit for talking her into interviewing for the position.) 

Now that most of our Christmas presents are at their destinations, and have been used a few times, we have a little more time to design and create new projects. We wanted to make a quick banner to hang on our mantle. The flags are smaller than normal, but it ended up being a perfect size. We used bright colors, with some shimmery silver-gray for our letters and images. And they're a little hard to see, but we also used a bunch of rhinestones, especially on the two noisemakers on the end.

  Thank you so much for stopping by! Here's to an even better 2014!