Easter Re-Cap

We had such a beautiful Easter Party! In big part to my husband and my sister-in-law who stayed up with me working till 1am the night before. I will never figure out how I can spend two months planning something and end up doing 75% of the work the night before. I was doing this in high school, college and even at work! It isn't procrastination, it is probably more about being unrealistic with what I have time to pull off without being up all night. Ah well.

This runner is from Williams of Sonoma (found on clearance a few years ago). 

 

Centerpieces are milk glass vases filled with tulips and Gerber daisies. 

I didn't exactly finish this runner before the party. It isn't lined and the bias tape didn't make it to the edges. But actually it still looked great on the table. 

These cupcakes are copies of these. I used gel icing tubes to decorate the cookies. 

This cookie recipe + this fresh strawberry cupcake and cream cheese frosting recipe. 

Napkin Rings made by my sister in law; tutorial here. 

They have carrot napkin packets ;)

So excited about the egg hunt! We must have done a good job with the build up. 

There was a cricut banner, by my sister in law again. For some reason you can't see any of the cute ribbons or flowers in the photo but they are there!

Oh these girls!

And the ham was delicious!

More Easter posts here. 

New Cricut Banner for the Girl's Room - seriously cute!

I have a new love for my Cricut because of the 'Once Upon a Princess' Cartridge (which I purchased for $16 on eBay). It  cuts hundreds of things including dolls, desserts, lots of clothes for the dolls and pop-up castles. I have done several really cute things with it and here is the first to share! This is hanging in the girl's new room which I will post photos of asap because it is really darling and has the sweetest feeling I think. Ava and I had worked on this together (she stuck the pieces on and then I fixed them) so she really thinks it is neat.

 L - R : Cowgirl (Ava's fav), Princess, Girl Cooking

L - R: Mermaid, Fairy, Swimsuit / Birthday / Umbrella Girl (my fav)

Cricut Tips for the 'Once Upon a Princess Cartridge' - Use double sided paper so you can cut multiple expressions without changing paper. Don't get hung up on using all the pieces to each layer just mix and match - for example on the girl's here I only used the mouths that cut once the other's just have left over pieces. My girl's are 5 inches any smaller than that and I don't think that they would have worked. When making the dolls you can put a small piece of any color paper behind their eyes to make them the color you want because there isn't an option for cutting them out otherwise.

For some reason some of my most popular posts revolve around these non-traditional Cricut ideas and you can find more Cricut Ideas at this link.

Which dress-up girl is your fav ?

Dora the Explorer Party Part II - Ava turns 2!

Did I mention, oh yes I did in Part I, that we had 18 out of town guests for Ava's second birthday at the end of July. The low points were that the heat index was 110 and we had major AC problems (right...) and also maybe that the two things I did make for the party ended up as always being 'night before projects'. But oh well such is life. The night everyone left the house did get back to a normal temperature which was of much relief to me considering I have tried so, so hard this pregnancy to avoid swelling.

But here are the high points! We had the party at the Daytona Beach, Museum of Arts and Sciences - lots of trains, hands-on children's exhibits, lots of art, and more! Museum's are a great place for a party.

So besides the cookies I made this cool Cricut birthday banner (other banners here)-  yes it did take about 5 hours thanks for noticing ;) For some reason you can't see how super fun all the sparkly ribbons are that are tied between each letter in the photo. 

When I realized that Dora figurines were like $6 each (robbery!) I decided to order the cake from Publix and just add the Swiper Ava wanted. 

Can you see the big paper stars on the table? My husband cut out like a million with a star punch because he is really awesome like that about any task you can mindlessly do while watching TV. This includes folding laundry ladies! Oh and Ava is wearing an authentic vintage Mexican dress from eBay. She really liked it!

Also, I made some big paper Mexican flowers to hang from the ceiling and they made a big difference in the room. You can barely see an orange one in this photo. I obviously wasn't taking pictures because there are mostly ones of people and not my decor ;)

Ava got some fabulous presents - I mean just perfect! This drum was among her favorites.

She also loved her Ladybug Western Chief Boots, Coat and Umbrella.

We made lots of Pizza in the children's museum area

We also checked out the trains before we left ;) Look closely at those little munchkins. 

Most importantly everyone had FUN! 

update - oh look I found a photo of the decor ;)

I have to say I am a big fan of home parties but after the Museum I am not sure I can go back! What about you have you ever tried a public venue for your child's party?

Halloween Inspiration

(Photo - Pumpkins die fast in the upper 80 degree weather we have all through October but I will still make these with Ava)

I have been doing lots of cooking, organizing, decorating, photo shoots, entertaining and even some sewing but when I sit down to write about my affairs I end up just reading my favorite blog archives or browsing new blogs instead of actually writing about what I have been up to... oh well maybe soon ;) Today marked week 34 of my second pregnancy and I am holding out at 25lbs total weight gain and can still easily wear my wedding rings and same shoe size ... which by now with Ava was getting very, very hard! When you move from your normal size 10 shoes to size 11 shoes you are not in a happy place...

(Photo - Print this card and more here)

I am really excited about Halloween. I will be on maternity leave and home with a new baby through out all the holidays this year! So I am really gearing up. Ava is at such a totally wonderful age too and at 25 months the amount she understands and can talk about is just fascinating. She LOVES 'monsters' and all things 'scary'... it is really funny to see her get so excited about all the 'trick or treat monsters' coming out - for example almost having a meltdown over having to put back a bloody plastic zombie head at Walgreens. I guess nothing really, truly scary has ever happened to her so to pretend to growl and run and hide is just lots of fun.

Here is some Halloween Inspiration in case you are as excited as we are about the upcoming holidays!

1. With Lilly due 10/25 I am thinking she might have a Halloween or Fall birth announcement - it will definitely be from KM Thomas Designs ... custom, fabulous and less than $20 for a digital version you can print - she has done two birthday invitations for Ava. If you have a fab Halloween party planned or like to send fun cards out get in touch with her and share your ideas!

2. Here are a whole bunch of adorable Halloween templates from entertaining guru Matthew Mead. I adore the pumpkin above and for me it is what Halloween should be - ya know pumpkins and candy corn - even though my 2 year old seems to think it is all about zombies and skeletons. More Mead Halloween ideas from past issues of his site in all the fall editions here. Oh and in case you didn't already you need to rush over and give Matthew Mead $16 so he will mail you his 195 page Christmas Magazine!

3. Printing several of these masks (scroll down), laminating them, and adding some elastic would create endless amounts of dress up fun for my toddler! She thinks playing Trick-or-Treat is a REALLY fun game! We will also try to make a craft or three from the Crafty Crow.

(photo - Ghost of Monte Cristo Sandwiches)

4. Does anyone do Halloween better than Martha Stewart? I apologize in advance for taking away hours of your life but here is her entire site index of Halloween projects, recipes, etc.

5. I am very sure we need to order some Halloween books and light candles and read them just like Design Mom - her list of books here is very good.

6. We are for sure going to be making some cookies, cupcakes, and maybe some candy corn cookie bark (photo above). Or what is more perfect for 85 degree Central Florida Halloween than Candy Corn Popsicles? Don't worry we just have a little of this fun food and I take the rest to work. Honestly, I like making all the junk way more than eating it or my favorite phrase "having it sit around".

7. I am not too big on lots of decorations sitting around - we have a small house with a lot going on. We don't really need a big display of apothecary jars full of spiders and cobwebs. But maybe a Halloween Cricut banner or some Candy Corn bunting would be fun and not make me crazy. Sometimes Pottery Barn makes me think I am wrong about the whole not decorating for Halloween thing though...

Well if I come across anything else I will update you!

Embroidery Hoop Mobile Roundup

I love these embroidery hoop mobiles, think: weddings, parties, kids rooms, nurseries, over a table, anywhere really! Almost all of these have tutorials for how to make one but actually it is pretty intuitive I think. You can also purchase them or something similar hand-made from Etsy, many sellers will work with you to match your theme exactly if you aren't up to DIY. This is a perfect Cricut project though!

Embroidery Hoop Mobiles for a Party. Just some big simple circles in your colors or something to match your theme - shapes, letters, numbers, characters, etc. 

Ribbon Mobiles also made from Embroidery Hoops. 

Not sure about the flowers used in this one, but it does show how to use an inner ring. 

Like the last one, this bird mobile is maybe not totally my style, but it does show you how to use the hoops in creative ways. 

I love the buttons on this butterfly mobile! 

Sweet little hearts! Cool string. Oh what if some of these were translucent!

So cute and little, felt beads, different heights.

 

So sweet, used to be sold by PBK but good for inspiration. 

You can buy this one that is similar to the one above for a wedding from Etsy for $38 - pretty good price really. I love how the ribbon is tied shabby all around the hoop. 

Do you have any cool mobiles in your home?

unique cricut ideas and a birthday

So, we had a lovely birthday dinner, cake tasted perfect, tall sparkler candles were perfect, Ava was perfect and I got the cutest video of her talking and singing and telling Joe happy birthday - cutest. video. ever. - but apparently I wasn't operating the camera correctly and so it wasn't actually recording but for a second - ah well! Also, that little bit of sick Ava was on Friday evening turned into a raging stomach virus which now Joe and I have both contracted from her - but for the few brief moments below she felt better and we weren't sick yet.

Oh, and that black, silver, and red birthday banner is from my new Cricut Expression! I finally bought it. I don't scrapbook or make cards that much so I was so on the fence about it but when my sister in law mentioned that she used it to cut fabric - I thought "my wall collage" - and that was it Joe was sent to Walmart on Saturday night for it. I am definitely foreseeing a Sure Cuts A Lot software purchase - because the cartridges are SO expensive and I want endless design freedom. So here is a list of links to some projects you can use it for that aren't scrapbook pages or cards. 

1. Kitchen Themed Invitations from Design Mom. Just think about 3-D invitations and using the cricut with objects. I agree with Design Mom my favorite template is the tag one. She also has a great idea for luminaries.

2. Vinyl Decals. There are so many great retailers selling vinyl like Uppercase Living (pics below). Buy your Cricut vinyl from etsy pre-cut to fit your machine / mat - it is so much cheaper and the color selection is much better than in the stores. I love the middle idea here because it utilizes the 'left overs' and you can use the flowers for something else.

 

3. Banners - see mine above or google image search ideas - I love the way the ribbons are tied between the shapes on this one at Creative Party Place. I want to make one for Ava's birthday in bright rainbow colors with lots of funky ribbon between each letter.

4. Paper sculpture like this bouquet. Instructions here via the Cricut message boards. Hint, hint pop-dots between the shapes!

5. Make fabric shapes - just line the back with the appropriate level of fusible webbing first. Applique' shirts. Make that wall collage. Oh the possibilities! The pic below of the flowers is from dear lizzy and you should go spend a few years of your life reading her blog because it is awesome! Here is a flower headband tutorial for the cricut inspired by the dear lizzy flowers.

6. Memory Games. Even my 18 month old can play a version of memory - I put them all face up and tell her to pick up the 'matches'. This one is from Petit Elefant. Ava would love one with familiar images or faces.

8. Tiny Shape Confetti. Also from Dear Lizzy is this picture of tons of tiny shapes in a shadow box frame.

***Update 2/26 Cricut mobile idea here.

***Update 9/28/10 I added a category just for Cricut ideas since everyone loves them apparently! Click HERE for all the posts with this label

Have any unique Cricut ideas to share? Feel free to post links below!