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 Crafty Back to School Gift

Welcome to another week! We hope everyone had a wonderful long weekend. We've been busy working on a ton of projects, mostly classroom decor. We have a few to share this week, but we'll start with our favorite!

Who wouldn't want to get this little gift for the first day of school?! There are a lot of teacher "survival kits" out there, with a range of things. This one is full of desk supplies that a teacher, and probably her students, would need for a successful year.

This is a picture of the paint can and top. These are a great way to use up all of your ribbon (and have an excuse to get more!!) And you can't give a gift without a card! It's a little hard to tell, but the paper used has a shimmer to it, to add a special touch. Of course we added googly eyes to both the owl and apple because everyone knows they make everything that much cuter!

This is a list of everything that was in the paint can. Our favorite? The last one about wanting a snow day! It's too bad we don't get too many of those.
We are entering our little teacher gift into this week's "Back to School & Classroom Favors" at Decorate to Celebrate.
Thanks so much for stopping by! Come back tomorrow for another (adorable) back to school project!

Slight Change of Plans

We hope everyone is having a great week so far. Look at that, it's already Wednesday! As you know, for the last few days, we have been showcasing some graduation projects. There were some more that we really wanted to finish (which could have been the start we needed to begin our own high school scrapbooks that had been planned years ago...) but things just weren't working like we wanted them to. We didn't want to show a half-hearted project, so we sort of changed the direction we were going in. Since graduation means the end of another school year, and that means thanking those who work so hard all year to get students where they need to be, we decided to make some gift sets any teacher would like to get! (OK, so if they're anything like us...)
Here is the first gift set we made. It doesn't have to be a "teacher" gift, per se. It would make a fabulous gift for a friend, for the holidays, or just for yourself!! This is a teacher one, due to the decor on the basket.

This is a perfect set for a coffee-drinking teacher, and what teacher doesn't like having everything she needs at her disposal?? The basket includes a bag of Margartitaville coffee(!), some individual creamers, and some snacks. It also includes a travel mug, complete with:

It's own little cup cozie! How cute is that pattern?? It's so fun and cheery- perfect for summer! (It is actually a homemade cozie- can't wait to make some more!) Below are pictures of two sides of of the basket.

Each little section has it's own little "theme". The first one is the arts and crafts, since that's the best part of elementary school! The other side is dedicated to the "specials", like  gym and music. And the last side is more "academic", with pencils and books.

This basket was a cinch to put together, except for some of the smaller cut-outs. And before we go, the last picture is of the matching card. The card is actually a little pocket. The little teacher can be used as a bookmark, too!

Phew! I think I covered it all! Now that that's done... We hope you come back for another gift set tomorrow! I have also entered this into the Cooking with Cricut "End of the Year" Challenge.


Today's Party Trivia:
- The first YMCA was founded in London in 1844
- Downtown Seattle was destroyed in an 1889
- In 1984, Everyone's favorite video game, Tetris, was released

You're Invited!

Welcome to another Sunday, which means it's time for another theme! In keeping with the fact that the next week is full of birthdays in our family, we are sticking to the birthday theme. However, this week is geared more towards "everyday" birthdays. (Meaning no more Wonderland- can't wait to have some cake tonight, though!!)
Anyway, getting on with this week's projects. Today's post is an invitation. It's mighty spiffy, in my opinion ;). It's one we haven't done yet. Here it is:

From the outside, it doesn't look like much. But, when you slide it out...

The cake pops up! How cool is that?! On this card, the invitation is written on the background paper. The slider ends at the top, so you can read all of the information. And the birthday cake itself is 3D, which you can see in the third picture. (FYI- "Riley Johnson" is the name I've decided to use for my invitations. It is not a "real name" and I do not know anyone with that name.)

This type of card doesn't have to be just for invitations. I plan on doing more of these in the future. They're relatively easy to do, once you figure all of the measurements and placements out.
Thanks for looking and join us the rest of the week for some more birthday ideas. This week's projects are more like birthday gifts, rather than decorations, like last week's.


Today’s Party Trivia:
- New York City's Chrysler Building opened to the public in 1930. It was the largest man-made structure at the time, standing 1,046 feet tall.
- The Three Little Pigs was released in 1933.
- The Golden Gate Bridge opened to pedestrians in 1937.

-          

A Sweet Treat

A bonus post! Not something we're used to, huh?! Anyway, after discovering the explosion box, we decided to take the idea and run with it. There are so many different things you can do with this idea. We have another birthday coming up and decided to make a sweet shop as a gift. This post is kind of picture-heavy, but that's because there is just so many layers and parts to it. Here is the outside of the shop:

The door is open- come on in! The sign is greeting customers, and says "The door is always open"! How great would that be, to have a bakery always open?! And then there is the cupcake border around the edges, with the frosting holding everything together! The next two pictures are the sides of the shoppe.

The first picture shows all of the goodies in the windows- all of the cupcakes, because who doesn't like cupcakes for their birthday?? And what's this?? A birthday cake?? With a candle? Let's take a closer look...Pop the top and:

This is the inside of the shot of the sweet shoppe. As you can tell, the shelves are filled with all types of little treats and the cake in the middle is just the icing on top! How sweet is that! As the other picture showed, the cake lights up, so the Birthday Girl can make a wish. (It's also the cleanest way to send a cake across the country) I don't know if you can tell, but there are also little purple curtain in the window, made from fabric.
I think that covers all of the little details. I hope you enjoy it, and I hope the Birthday Girl enjoys it, too! Thanks for looking and join us later today for another project!

We have entered this project into the Bitten by the Bug 2 Bakery Challenge.

Tile Coasters

On our Pinterest kick, we have found a LOT of DIY projects that we want to try. One of them is decoupaged tiles. We thought, what better use for tiles than coasters?! So we went to one of our new favorite stores- Home Depot. Go figure! We got some really cheap white tiles- 16 cents each!- and got to decorating. Our technique needs a little help, though. They came out slightly bumpy, but nothing a nice wine glass won't cover up! We printed out the design straight from the computer. Next time, I think I'll use slightly thicker paper so it doesn't bunch quite as much. Not bad for a whole coaster set for less than $1!! Just need to add some cork underneath so they don't scratch everything.

Happy February!!

I can't believe it's already February! This year is going by too fast already, with so much more still to come. Luckily we haven't had very much snow. I think that's partly why. Last winter was just waaaay too long.
Anyway, since it is February, here's a Valentine's project we put together for some colorful home decor. It's a wall hanging made with a ton of crepe paper flowers. The flowers are pretty easy, just time consuming since they are pretty small (about 1 3/4 inches). It took a while to make them all.

I know that it's a little hard to see the individual flowers because they're all squeezed in there, but these should help a little.

After almost a year of planning, it's finally time for our AMAZING roadtrip! In honor of our trip, here is the last picture I want to add before we start blogging about our trip. This is the card I made for Robyn, and I think it is fitting enough to put it up here today!!

On the inside of this one, it says, "Life is not about waiting for the storm to pass; it's about learning to dance in the rain." I saw this quote and knew that I wanted to use it for a card like this. And now, it's off to begin our "Summer of Awesomeness" as Po from Kung Fu Panda would say!!

Class of 2011

Since today is the last day of school, I have decided to show this card. It is one that we made for the seniors on the track team this year.

And now that summer is finally here, tomorrow is the big day! We have been waiting for almost a year to start our roadtrip. Hopefully we won't get sick of each other over the next two months, or I'll be the one left in Montana!!

Hello There!

Today is our last full day of school- finally! And to celebrate, here is another card I dug out of my collection of pictures. This one was for our sister in Texas, and she just loved it! I love these colors together. They are the same ones used on another card we made, but I'll post that one on Saturday!

Summer!

After a wicked winter, and a pretty decent spring, it's finally summertime! Time for some sun, and more importantly, relaxation! Here is the card we made to celebrate this time of year. The sunglasses are charms, and the bright colors remind us of the season. The itsy, bitsy, teeny, tiny, yellow polka dot bikini adds a nice touch!!

After this card, I can't wait for school to end and vacation to start!! Only have to make it through 3 more days!!

Another Project

Here is another card I made for a co-worker who is retiring this year. It's a nice and simple card, but I think it's just so adorable!! It's shaped like an apple, and there is white paper to write inside. I love the little sparkle added to it.

Only a few more days until summer vacation! I can't wait!!

Happy Father's Day!

So, today is Father's Day. We're lucky to have such a wonderful dad, who will do anything for us, and we'd do anything for him! He is enjoying some alone time this weekend, which he definitely deserves! Here's to the biggest fish in the pond!!



I got the idea for this card from another person, but I can't remember where I saw it. Unlike most of our projects, I can't take credit for this one.

Happy Mother's Day!

Just wanted to say Happy Mother's Day to the best mom in the world!

The outside reads, "Make Gnome Mistake..."

The inside reads, "You're the Best!"

 

 

This was our attempt at making a watering can cake to go with the gnome/garden theme. The spout was just a little too heavy, so we had to keep the can there. Hopefully next time, we'll get it right without having to keep anything up with cans!

Finally, our gift basket of gnome and garden things!

Happy Birthday!

So, today is our brother's birthday. He's getting so old!! We decided to put an owl on the card because he's the wise old owl of the family! I know the pun on the front is a little tacky, but it works for him!! ;0) I decided to post it because it's going to get to him late, so as long as he knows it's in the mail and it'll be there soon enough!!

Happy Birthday! Hope you have a wonderful day!! Love you! And I promise, it's in the mail and we didn't forget!!

It's Finally Spring!

After a super-long winter, it's finally spring! After spending our vacation doing some heavy-duty spring cleaning, we were able to sit down and work on some new projects. Most of these were cards. Seeing as yesterday was Easter, and I had all intentions of posting this card yesterday, here are some pictures of our card.

Who's hiding in there?!

Peek-a-boo! The Easter bunny, that's who!

Sorry, lame, I know! Anyway, there are more to ome, but I'll save those for later this week! Now I get to spend the night planning our road trip and thinking of ways to get through the next two months of school!!

Weekend Projects

It's another Monday morning, with another weekend that's gone by too fast. Here's what we spent our time doing. These are cards for our family and friends- just to brighten their days!

  

And now it's time to start another week...

Time to Unwind!

After "one of those weeks", it's finally Friday and time to unwind. And the best way to do that? Crafting, of course!! So, before I relax, I have some pictures to put up.
This is a picture of the card we made for our cousin and his wife- they're expecting a baby in October!! I think this card is absolutely adorable!!

And here is a picture our new adventure- keychain fobs. I love these because you can make a different one to match each holiday/season!! Now, if only it will help me keep track of my keys...

And now, it's time to get working on the next project!

Valentine's Day

Better late than never. Here are some pictures of our Valentine's Day cards this year. The first is one we made for our sister-in-law and the card says "Sending you tons of love". The picture doesn't really do it justice, in my opinion. The elephant is 3-D, but it's hard to tell. We made a matching box and paint can. The paint can was filled with paper fortune cookies with love-themed quotes. Unfortunately I don't have a picture of it, but it was adorable. The second picture is the card we made our mom, with a sock monkey on it. She kept mentioning how she wanted one at Christmas time, so I thought it would be perfect for her card. I used the Paper Doll Dress Up cartridge to come up with my own file. It was super simple. She loved it! There is also another card but I need to take a picture of it still. Once I take it, it'll come up.

  



Making the Most of Another Snow Day

As of today, we have had our 10th snow day. Three of them since Tuesday. To make the most of it, we decided to spend some time in the kitchen. Just like our last snow day. We continued to work on different cupcakes to add to our repertoire. We tried to make six different varieties, all of which were delicious, I must say!!

Up first: CHERRY CHOCOLATE CHIP

This is a chocolate cake, with chocolate chips and cherry chunks in the mix. It is topped with a cherry buttercream, and, of course, a cherry on top!

Next: ORANGE CHOCOLATE WITH GANACHE

This doesn't look like much from the picture, but it is a chocolate cake with chocolate chunks, along with orange liqueur. The ganache also has a hint of orange in it.

Next: PINA COLADA

 

Thinking of summer!! This variety is a vanilla cake flavored with rum and pineapple juice. It is topped with a pineapple frosting, with shredded coconut, pineapple chunks, and a cherry.

Next: WATERMELON SPRITZER

 

This is a watermelon cake with a 7-Up frosting. Simple, but delicious!



Next: CRANBERRY LIME

 

This cupcake is a cranberry-lime flavored cake, topped with a cranberry rum buttercream.

And last, but not least, STRAWBERRY DAIQUIRI

This cupcake has a strawberry banana mix, with a strawberry rum flavored filling. The frosting is also rum flavored.

It was a fun snow day, to say the least! Two of the best ways to spend a few snowy days!! Now it's back to reality and back to school. On a good note, it's Friday, on the bad note, another storm is on the way. We shall see what happens!!