web analytics
You are here: Home / 2012 / Archives for July 2012
Mini Strawberry Blueberry Pies
Coffee Party Ideas #coffee #party
worlds funnest dad giveaway
White Chocolate Cupcake Recipe

Finding The Perfect Craft Desk

July 16, 2012 4 Comments

I have always wanted a craft room, a space where I can display every craft supply that’s hidden in kitchen cabinets and my bedroom closet. But due to the lack of extra rooms my crafting area happens to be the kitchen counter. It’s not the best locations since most of the time the space is needed halfway into a project. I’m constantly having to clear my craft supplies, store them in the cabinets, only to take everything out again. Last week I finally decided it’s time to create a craft area in my master bedroom. We have a fairy large room and definitely have the space for a desk and shelf to hold my craft supplies in. I keep asking myself why it’s taken me this long to make this decision. I’m really excited to create a space that is big enough to store my supplies and still have room to craft in. I’m envisioning a desk with a hutch or a desk and shelves to display my supplies on. I need to be able to store my sewing machine, Silhouette Cameo, and my MacBook to blog from. What I’m most excited about is making it as pretty as possible. I’m anxious to find a desk already so I can get started on the decor!

Over the past week I checked every local store we have and nothing has appealed to me, so I’ve turned my search to online stores. I’m leaning towards this Martha Stewart corner desk available at Home Depot. It doesn’t have any reviews yet and I tend to buy online based on reviews just so I know the pros and cons of the product. If anyone has this desk would you please let me know how you like it?

The EZ View would be my dream craft desk. Just look at all that storage! To be able to see my supplies right under the acrylic glass desktop would be amazing.
This antiqued desk with hutch is another favorite. I like that I would be able to display some of my supplies on top and still have room for my Silhouette Cameo and laptop.
This is my last choice but I can see myself making this work. It definitely doesn’t have as much storage space but I could then use a bookcase or shelving to hold my supplies.
source
Here’s where I need YOUR help with finding the perfect craft desk! Have you purchased a craft desk online that you recommend? I would love, love, love any suggestions you can offer. This whole desk shopping thing is becoming a little overwhelming. Once I get find the perfect desk I’m going to get started on decor projects. I will definitely share every project tutorial along the way. :)
p.s. Happy Monday my friends!
Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: ,

Yellow Bathroom Accents

July 15, 2012 33 Comments

Like I mentioned a few days ago, my son’s 1st birthday is this week. We’ve been busy getting the house ready to welcome around 40 guest to help us celebrate. While my husband has been working on the yard, I’ve been focusing on the inside of the house. My main goal has been to get one of the bathrooms ready for guest.

Remember my stenciled bathroom makeover? Well, I still love the stenciled wall but since then I’ve done very little decorating in there. I had mentioned last time that I didn’t want to add too much to the bathroom because I thought it might look busy. My style is very simple, too many accessories and I start feeling overwhelmed. With the grey walls I knew I wanted to have yellow bathroom accents, so I decided to add onto the touch of yellow I had with the orchid. In case you’re wondering, that pretty little orchid didn’t make it past the first few months. Apparently you have to remember to water them. Who knew, right? ;)

This time around I used silk hydrangeas and went from there. To me the best way to have a bathroom guest ready is to have plenty of towels on hand. While we won’t have anyone staying the night there will be plenty of people here coming in and out of the bathroom during the party. That is why I recently purchased the new Kleenex hand towels to display next to my regular towels. This way people have the option to use either or.

I didn’t want to just sit them on the toilet so I made a little holder for the box. It was a quick project that worked great with my Kleenex hand towel box and added a nice pop of color to the bathroom. Something pretty and functional? Now that’s my kind of project!

To make the holder I bought an unfinished wood crate at Hobby Lobby then painted it mustard yellow. After the paint dried I sewed a flower out of ribbon and glued it onto the crate. I originally planned on making a small flower for the corner of the crate but I like how the large flower in the center looks.

Another favorite addition is this beautiful white and yellow flower print rug. I seriously smile every time I see it! My awesome instagram friends helped me pick it out. :)

I also bought soap and a pretty holder for it on clearance at Bath & Body. Gotta love their yellow sign sales! The cup was also on clearance at Target.

Now my bathroom is guest ready and the countdown begins!
How do you get your house ready for guest? This is our first time hosting a party at our house so I’m a little nervous, but it should be a lot of fun!
Join the 14 million people who have already joined the Clean Hands campaign by using Kleenex Hand Towels, and click here for savings and more!
Linking up to these parties, TCB
I was selected for participation in this campaign as a member of Clever Girls Collective.
Filed Under: Decor, DIY Tagged With: , ,

School Supply Cake

July 12, 2012 44 Comments

I’m trying to ignore the fact that Summer vacation for my son is halfway over, I just love having him home everyday! Back to school really is right around the corner for us and I’m starting to notice the displays of school supplies at stores. Every year as soon as I see the displays I squeal with joy. I don’t know what it is about school supplies but I love buying them every year.

Do you remember picking out a new backpack, pencils, crayons, and enough glue sticks to last you all year? I remember going to the store with my mom and sisters to pick out our items, I always wanted the Lisa Franks supplies. But what I also remember are the years when my mom struggled to provide us with all the clothes and supplies we needed for the new school year. My father passed away when I was four and raising three girls alone wasn’t always financially easy for my mother. At the time I didn’t really understand why I couldn’t always get new supplies like most of the kids in my class. Or why I had to use my old pair of shoes and couldn’t get Sketchers like every other girl. Although those memories weren’t the best I try not to dwell on those hard times and instead use them as a way to teach my children the importance of giving back.

Earlier this year I learned about the Elmer’s Bag It Forward program and I knew right away that I wanted to participate. I also wanted to tell you about it and encourage you to take part of this small act that can make a big difference in a child’s life. Another way you can help is by checking out the Elmer’s 1st Day app. You can find a QR code on the back to school display that will take you right to the download page or find it in the app store.

The app is free and you can use it to capture memories of you child, whether it be their first day, their first sleepover, or soccer game. Every time you upload a picture Elmer’s will donate a school supply to the Kids in Need Foundation. Elmer’s has partnered with the Kids in Need Foundation to help ensure every child has the chance to succeed by providing them with necessary school supplies. We all take pictures of our kids on the first day of school right?  This really is the easiest way to help a child have the right tools to learn.

Right now is the best time to purchase school supplies for a fraction of the normal cost. Walmart has their Elmer’s Glue Sticks for 10 cents! You can also find 10 cent notebooks and folders. You can see all the deals I found on Google+. If you need any donation ideas check out my top ten back-to-school supplies here.

Knowing me I had to create something with this donation. I’ve been pinning a lot of crafty back-to-school inspiration and knew I wanted to make a school supply cake. I’ll have a tutorial for it soon, promise! It’s going to be my son’s teacher gift this upcoming school year. I know the students are provided with supplies at school but I thought this “cake” would be great for the teacher to give to students who are unable to purchase these items at home.

I also made a bag of supplies for a sweet little girl who means a lot to me. Her mother is currently unemployed and I know things are hard on them right now. I wanted to buy some necessary back to school supplies to help ease the financial stress off of her mother. I’m taking her to pick out a new backpack and lunch box next week. She’s doesn’t know about the supplies yet so it’ll be a surprise. My kids know and they’re so excited to give them to her, I’m afraid they’ll spill the beans. :)

The Bag It Forward program means a lot to me and I highly encourage you to participate. It can be a small donation of pencils, glue, paper, and a folder that will make a big impact to a child in need. If you write about it please send me a link, I’d love to help promote your post.

To learn more about the Bag It Forward program please visit Elmer’s on
Linking up to these parties, TCB

I am a member of the Collective Bias™ Social Fabric® Community.  This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study forCollective Bias™ and Elmer’s #BagItForward #CBias

Filed Under: DIY, Gift Ideas, Holidays, School Crafts Tagged With: , , ,

Safari Party Ideas

July 10, 2012 15 Comments
In 8 days we will be celebrating the baby’s 1st birthday. I can hardly believe it’s been a year since we welcomed the little guy into our lives. He was the perfect addition to our family of four and I couldn’t picture life without my sweet curly-haired boy. For the past month I’ve been planning his Safari birthday party and I am so excited to share the party details with you in a few weeks. Here is a quick recap of the inspiration I found on pinterest.
First off I have to show you the fabulous invitations Kim from The TomKat Studio made for him. In case you missed it, Kim designed an amazing young explorer’s party for Pottery Barn. Since the young explorer’s party was my inspiration for Zach’s Safari party, she customized the printables with his name and party info. I don’t actually live on 1234 Safari Lane, but Kim is awesome and made me a “fake” invitation to share with you. THANK YOU, Kim! :)
This is the young explorer’s party that inspired me to create a safari themed party for Zach. I plan to make the large hanging rosettes and use A LOT of burlap.
This party is amazing as well. I love the rustic feel of the table display.
If I can pull it off, I’m going to make lion shaped cookies and give them away as one of the party favors in these brown & white graphic pattern bags.
I like the way the mini chalkboards look on paper bags. I don’t know how I can incorporate these just yet but I may add chalkboards somewhere in the table display.
I really like the burlap and Hawaiian table skirt idea.
I have these brown straws that I’m going to use with mason jars for lemonade.
I have yet to come up with a centerpiece for the tables but I am going to use a burlap runner on each one. Any ideas for a centerpiece?
I’m having a two layered fondant cake made and it’ll have 3 fondant characters on it. I haven’t made up my mind on the design but I’m pretty sure we’re going with a giraffe print on the bottom. How awesome are these cake pops by the way? Those are some pretty amazing skills righ there!
I can’t wait to show you the party favor boxes with these tags. I may post a little tutorial on them next week. ;)
This party is going to be so much fun, I’m excited to tell you all about it!
Linking up to these parties
Filed Under: Parties Tagged With: ,

Framed Canvas Prints

July 9, 2012 4 Comments

The baby is turning one next week, can you believe it? Didn’t I just announce his arrival? Lately I’ve been compiling pictures of his first year and I realized that I don’t have very many of all three kids together. Maybe because it’s nearly impossible trying to get all three to look at the camera at the same time, but I’m happy to at least have a few. I recently had the opportunity to review a UPrinting Canvas Prints and knew right away that I wanted to use it on a picture of the kids.

UPrinting offers a variety of products from business cards to custom magnets, and even greeting cards which are perfect for the holiday season.

What I like about UPrinting is that you can order samples and see proofs of what you plan to order. This makes it easy to know what you’re buying before you actually pay for your order. Have you ever ordered something online then disliked it once you saw it in person? Yea, me too! The proof and sample options available at UPrinting take the guesswork out of the buying decision and let’s you see exactly what you will get.

Since this was my first time ordering from UPrinting I thought I’d show you just how easy their website is to use. Right away I noticed the current promotions on the home page, I love that!

Once you click on the canvas prints link under products you’ll find that UPrinting offers two canvas prints options, rolled and stretched. I wanted to frame it so I chose the rolled canvas.

Once you select the type of canvas you have the option to customize it, select the size, and add a border if you’d like.

I uploaded my picture and chose to get a 16×20 rolled canvas without a border. I was very impressed by the fast shipping. I ordered my canvas on Friday and received it by Tuesday. Now that’s great customer service!

Once it arrived I unrolled it and placed in an old frame I had lying around. I was happy to see that it fit nicely without any added materials.

Eventually I’ll turn it into actual canvas but for now I like it framed. Maybe I’ll even spray paint the frame for an upcoming makeover I plan to share. :)

Connect with UPrinting on Facebook  Twitter  Pinterest

 

Linking up to these parties, TCB

Disclosure: I wrote this post as part of a paid campaign with Uprinting and Blueprint Social. The opinions in this post are my own.

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With:

Distressed Coffee Sign

July 8, 2012 41 Comments

I’ve wanted to make a sign for an awesome friend for a while now. You see my friend Hailey is one of those girls you just love right away. She’s funny, outgoing, supportive, super crafty, and will let you have a cup of dish soap when you realize you have a sink full of dishes to wash but loading 3 kids up to take to the store for the third time is too exhausting to even think about. Ahem, not that that’s ever happened. ;)

When I was taking the photography course she came across some cute mini trifle dishes that she thought would be great to stage photos with, I of course loved them. I knew I wanted to give her something in return but I wasn’t sure what would be. Then a few weeks ago when I talked about my love for turquoise accessories she made me some pretty turquoise earrings.  So while in her kitchen one day I realized I could give her a handmade coffee sign. Her kitchen has a fun coffee theme and she’s always talking about adding more to it. I knew then that I wanted to make her a distressed coffee sign as a thank you gift.

Material used:

unfinished wood plaque

Folk Art acrylic paint in burnt umber

light brown vinyl from My Vinyl Direct

transfer paper

I only used one coat of paint for the sign. I planned on sanding it down a bit so the one coat helped give it the distressed look I was going for.

My three favorite appliances: MacBook pro, Silhouette Cameo, and Kitchen Aid stand mixer. Sigh someday I won’t have to craft in the kitchen.

Once my designed was cut I used transfer paper to apply it onto the plaque.  And that’s it! I love the way it came out and luckily she does too. :)

 

 

Check back soon there might be a vinyl giveaway coming up. ;)
Linking up to these parties, TCB

 

Filed Under: Decor, DIY, Gift Ideas, Silhouette Cameo Tagged With: , ,

Candy Dipped Waffle Cones {4th of July Celebration}

July 6, 2012 17 Comments

Hi friends, how was your 4th of July? I took take a little break from blogging this week to enjoy some much needed family time. We had a fun time celebrating independence day with family and friends all week long. Four days in a row we sat on the lawn with all the kids from the neighborhood and watched fireworks. On the 4th My husband had to work so I had a very laid back approach to the holiday. I actually didn’t put much thought into what our plans were until the day before. One thing I knew we would have plenty of is fireworks and tasty treats!

We started off our day by getting together with our neighbors for some fun crafting time. I brought over craft supplies to make popsicle stick flags and my neighbor set up the table with cute patriotic party
supplies.

 

They had a basket filled with patriotic accessories from the dollar store. I loved the mini hats, especially on my curly-haired boy. ;)

The kids made fruit pizzas for a snack. I wish I would have gotten a video of the girls trying to make their pizza. Trying to convince two toddlers to not eat the fruit prior to finishing their pizza was actually pretty funny. They kept sneaking strawberries off the pizza.

 

 

Since I didn’t finalize our plans until the 3rd I had to go shopping for food and supplies at the last minute. Yikes, I think I was a little naive as to how busy they would be. While there I picked up some TCBY Vanilla Bean frozen yogurt, M&M’s, waffle cones, and patriotic plates.

 

I tried to find patriotic sprinkles and all four stores I checked were out of them. :( So I ended up making these patriotic M&M waffle cones. Candy dipped cones may be a new favorite around here, the kids loved them!

For the frozen yogurt cones I used:

TCBY Classic Vanilla Bean

Waffle Cones

CandiQuik

M&Ms

I dipped the cones in the melted chocolate then placed them upside down on a baking sheet. Before the chocolate hardened I pressed M&M’s then put them in the fridge to set. This was super easy and fun for the kids. We finished the night lighting fireworks and playing with sparklers. It was a very relaxed day filled with good food, delicious treats, and lots of fun. :)

Join the #TCBYGrocery Twitter Party on Thursday, July 26, 2012 from 1:00 PM – 2:00 PM EST for a fun chat about TCBY and prizes!
Stay connected on facebook, twitter, and pinterest 

Linking up to these parties, TCB

I am a member of the Collective Bias™ Social Fabric® Community.  This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias™ and TCBY#CBias #SocialFabric #TCBYGrocery
Filed Under: Desserts, Holidays, Parties, Recipes, Summer Activities, Summer Crafts Tagged With:

Midway Through 2012

July 1, 2012 8 Comments

Last night I was talking to my husband about my blog, no surprise there since blogging seems to be a constant topic in our house. The first thing he says to me every morning is “what do you have going on today?” He doesn’t mean what errands do I have to run or what I’d like to get done around the house. He means “what project are you working on today” or “what blog post do you need to write?” I without a doubt couldn’t write my blog without the tremendous amount of support he gives me. I’m going to be honest and say that I haven’t been a very good housekeeper since I started blogging regularly. My husband has been great at picking up the slack when I’m up until 1am writing a blog post. He not only plays with the kids every minute he’s home but also has been helping out with the chores. Yesterday was the first time I cleaned my master bathroom is 7 months! This is a big task my husband took over when I started blogging regularly. And you know what? I forgot hot much I love cleaning! So it had me thinking how blogging has pretty much changed our family situation. When I started blogging I had NO idea how time-consuming it would be to keep up. Sometimes it can be a little overwhelming and I need a break. But blogging is my passion, I enjoy creating and sharing ideas with all of you! Even though I never would have guessed I’d be doing this a few years ago, it’s what I love and what I want to continue doing. So THANK YOU! Thank you for being a reader, thank you for the sweet comments and emails. It’s because of you that I keep this blog going. :)

Now like I said, I started blogging regularly last Winter and I spent a good hour or so last night reading my posts from this year. Since we’re halfway through the year today I thought I’d share a roundup of some of your favorite posts from January-June.












Thanks for stopping by, I’ll be back soon with a new tutorial! :)
Filed Under: DIY

To the Top