1st Birthday Party - Invitations

I say it every 26th.  "I can't believe she's another month old!"  As of yesterday Jayna is one month shy of turning a year old!  And we just pushed her birthday party 2 weeks earlier so it is crunch time!  I've got the invitations all printed and pretty much ready to go besides postage so they will be in the mail today!  I am having so much fun planning this party!  Thanks to Pinterest, I came across the perfect theme: One Year Old in a Flash.  Stacy at Elle Belle Creative threw her daughter an awesome party that I am borrowing LOTS of ideas from.  I saw her invitations and I tried to create something similar, but with my own style.  It didn't really work out.  My creative juices just weren't flowing so they turned out pretty much the same and I love them!

Since I don't have any fancy software, I turned to my trusty Microsoft PowerPoint to create them.  I got the camera and filmstrip from an online scrapbook store, here.  And I downloaded a couple of the fonts for free from dafont.com.  It was a little tricky getting those pictures to fit in the filmstrip though.  Lots of trial and error, glad that's over with.

This is the insert I included with the invitations.  I love the idea of a time capsule and am really excited to see what people bring!  I also thought it was a nice alternative to bringing a gift.

A couple of notes on printing:  

• Save your document as a PDF to get a clear printout when using Microsoft PowerPoint.
• I copied and pasted so that there were 2 5X7 invitations on 1 8X10 sheet, and 5 3X5 inserts on 1 8X10 sheet.  This will save you $$ when you print them.
• Before printing all of them I tested on different types of paper.  They looked the same hot off the printer, so I ended up ordering the gloss.  When I got home I liked the matte finish better.

Stay tuned for more party details!  The next few weeks will be jam-packed!!

Lamp Revamp

I've been meaning to give this lampshade a makeover ever since I bought it.  Since July's Create With Me project is just that, I decided to finally give it a little tlc.  And I didn't even wait until the last day of the month!  The Before and After:

The Ribbon/Trim aisle is quickly becoming a favorite section of mine.  I found this lacey, flowery stuff at Joann's.

And couldn't resist.  

With some:

and

I got to work!

I found it easiest to apply the fabri-tac to the lampshade rather than the back of the ribbon.  Simply squeeze some on and press your ribbon to your shade.  I started at the bottom, wrapping and gluing and then cutting each layer so it was not one continuous piece of ribbon, but rather 9 individual pieces.  You can't even tell where I began and finished with each layer!  This was such an easy and fast project that added some pretty little detail to Baby J's nursery.  

There is still plenty of time for you to join in the fun, so grab a lampshade and get crafty!

Chevron Cork Coasters

Introducing my latest creation...

RED.

 CHEVRON.

 COASTERS ! ! !

Are these hot or what!?

I needed a coaster, just a single coaster.  That tissue thrown underneath my cup just wasn't cutting it anymore. After I delivered Baby J, I became addicted to ice water.  Nursing makes you so thirsty.  I especially like to keep a glass on my nightstand, but quickly realized I would need something to protect it from getting drenched by my sweating beverage.  So I made a coaster, and it was cool.  I thought to myself, someone else might like one of these too.  So I made some more!  And that is how the lipstick red chevron coasters came about. Save yourself the time and tedious effort of tracing a pattern onto contact paper, cutting it out, adhering it to the coaster and then painting it by PURCHASING some already made!  Or if you're feeling froggy, make your own-I won't be offended (cuz that's probably what I'd do).   

Picnic Basket Tutorial

Summer time is sunshine, kite flying, sunburns, laziness, ice cream, bbqs, bike riding, hiking, family, and picnics!

I love laying in the park on a warm summer day after eating a crisp sandwich just soaking it all in.  Summer is the best.  And so are picnics.

To make a nifty picnic basket like the one above you will need:  a basket, a piece of corrugated cardboard, spray adhesive, fabric, purse handles, a glue gun, and a sewing machine.

I started by tracing the top of my basket onto a piece of corrugated cardboard.  Be sure you trace it so that the lines on the cardboard are going in the direction you want your lid to fold.  Cut it out.

Fold the lid so there is about 1 1/2 inches in the middle.  Unfold it.  Fold it.  Unfold it.  This will give it it's form. 

Then cover with fabric however you wish!  I used 1/2" strips of fabric glued with spray adhesive.

Now for the handles!  I purchased a set of braided microfiber purse handles at JoAnne's for around $3.00.  I attached them by sewing a small piece of fabric near the edge of the canvas lining.

Then inserted the rings of the handles and sewed the other end.

Lastly, I hot glued the lid on to the basket at the 1 1/2" middle.

And there you have it.

I linked up to the Parties and Picnics Challenge at: