Making More Time for Tutus and Tea Parties!

No crafty pics for you today, but I did want to share a big decision I recently made.  See my little soccer diva in the pic (yes, she pulled together her own ensemble to practice soccer).  She's the reason I will be scaling back on my Etsy Shop until the Fall when all the littles are in school full-time.  The shop will remain open but I won't be adding many new items.  
It hit me hard the other day that my youngest will be heading off to kindergarten in what seems like several months time, but will breeze by before I know it.  Our play time together will be relegated mostly to weekends and I am going to MISS my little fashionista-in-training.  Sooo, I guess I am thankful for the flexibility of not being a brick-and-mortar business owner, that I can reduce my hours as needed.  I don't want to look back years from now and say "I wish I had taken more time", so I'm doing it!  And yes, I'll still be blogging, there will be more tea parties and kid-friendly crafting going on but I will still be designing for the Divine Designs by Nancy florist and gift shop in Sanford, NC and doing challenges and linky parties. Thanks for stopping by!

All Boy Mini Album - Using Up My Stash

The secret's out...my bestie is having a baby and we just found out it's a boy!! I thought it would be fun to share the latest paperbag mini album I created, perfect for those baby pictures of a sweet little prince!   It's been awhile since I created a mini;  they are a great way to use up your supply stash.  I have had the wood giraffe for longer than I care to admit and decided it was time to put it to use...I love pieces like this for adding texture.

I decided to make this a book where you can record all of baby's firsts...I had a lot of DCWV's Nana's Kids paper lying around, this paper works for so many things.  I love the weight and texture the embossing adds too.

I tried something new with this mini, the cascading pages allow you to add more pictures. DCWV Basics Stack worked well for photo mats and coordinated nicely with the paper. The stickers and by Recollections.

 Plenty of pockets to tuck away more photos, journaling cards, and little mementos.

Hope this inspires you to use up some of that stash!

Thanks for stopping by!

Thrifty Valentine Gift Inspiration

I don't know about you, but I jump at the opportunity to show teachers some love throughout the year and Valentine's Day is no exception!  I wanted to share a few of my favorite ideas for spreading a little homemade joy and sweetness this year on Feb 14th.  You can even get your kids involved in making these, but remember to save some chocolate for teacher ;)

Altered Mailbox. Target generally carries these cute little mini mailboxes in the $1 spot and they are back in stock!  There are so many ways to decorate these little cuties and then fill them with teacher's favorite goody...I chose hershey kisses, but you could also use peppermint patties or mints too.

Upcycled Pencil Jar.  If you have any glass bottles or jars laying around, they make great pencil or pen holders.  Get out your favorite Valentine paper and embellishments for the jar and I used washi tape for the pencils (Staples has pre-sharpened pencils too).  I tied a DIY chalkboard label to the front of the jar.  You could even add a little tag with teacher's name to personalize it.

Altered Notepad/Matching Pen Set. These skinny notepads are fun and functional.  You can get the notepads from Papertrey Ink or an Office Supply store.  Dress them up with your favorite scraps, stickers, ribbon, trim and add a cute little stamped tag and a pen.

Altered Window Tin with Hershey Nuggets.  These hershey nugget filled tins were such a hit at my Christmas Craft fair, I decided to roll right into Valentine's Day with them!  You can order the rectangular shaped tins here.  They are item 6517060P. I  bought a big batch of hershey nuggets from Costco.  The kiddies helped me take 1 inch by 3 inch strips of coordinating scrapbook paper and vintage sheet music to wrap around the nuggets and secure with adhesive (I used my ATG).  Once you fill the tin with 12 candies, create a "wrapper" about 3 1/2 " x 9 " for the tin itself.  Embellish with your favorite love stickers, doilies, hearts and top it off with some pretty ribbon or tulle around.

Not into Do-It-Yourself?  These sweet treats are available in my Etsy shop here!  

Thanks for stopping by!

Winter Waffle & PJ Party

I love to throw parties for my kids but since I seem to go all out, they can be a little exhausting...I took about a year off, opting for taking the kids on outings with a few friends to celebrate their birthdays.  This year I am easing back into party mode, but keeping them simple and manageable.  So, when my son asked me to throw a Christmas party last year, I compromised and had a small Winter Waffle Bar and Pajama Party for the neighborhood, inspired by this Pinterest board here.

This turned out to be the easiest party ever!  As you can see the decor and set-up was kid-friendly and great for quick clean up.  Just a sheet of kraft paper rolled out with all the fixings. The kids served themselves (with instructions written with a sharpie) which meant the parents had some time to catch up over banana bread and coffee.

After the kids finished eating, we had a mini-dream board session, where the kids cut out and glued pictures of their dreams onto small poster boards.  They had a great time in their winter jammies!  I am looking forward to turning this into an annual thing :)   Do you  have neighborhood parties?

Thanks for stopping by!

A Little Glitz and Glam for a 5th Birthday

My baby girl turned five the other day!  Even though she is having a Build-a-Bear party, I decided to surprise her the morning of her birthday with some surprise decorations in the dining room.  I wish I had recorded her reaction when she walked in and saw them.  She actually had the nerve to say she thought her daddy put them up for her...really?  

 Here is the adorable little card I made by paper piecing a digi stamp.

My daughter loves all things shimmery, so her pinterest-inspired banner just had to have some glitter.  I made the center pennant from my burlap stash and ribbons I had on hand.

I made this reuseable "cake" by covering a couple of stackable round containers with wrapping paper, adding tulle and ribbon to it and filling the top with basket shred for the "frosting".  I can swap out the pictures easily with the attached bull clips :)  This is my little mama at 2 weeks old.

Do you enjoy decorating for parties?

Thanks for stopping by!

{{Hugs}}

Kimberly

Upcycled Christmas Card

Hope this week's series has inspired to reuse those lovely Christmas cards you've received over the years!   If you're just joining in, check out the 1st post here.  Today's project is one I've seen many times, but just haven't taken the time to do it myself until...

... I saw just the right embellishments on this card!  You know I love stickers, especially ones that pop, so these darling little ornaments were just what I needed to create a new card.

Here is my card with the cut-out ornaments attached to some thin, gold wired ribbon. I layered a couple of coordinating sheets of paper.

Added a little sentiment and I have my first card for 2014!

How early do you start on your cards?

Thanks for stopping by!

{{Hugs}}

Kimberly

Upcycled Christmas Card Ornament

We're on Day 4 of the Upcycled Christmas Card Series and today, I have another photo ornament for you!  Instead of a frame, this adorable ornament has a cardstock base.

I cut the incredibly sweet picture of a friend's daughter from an older photo card.

Next, I cut a base from an old macaroni noodle box.  After layereing the photo on top of coordinating layers of scrapbook paper and an embossed layer of Kraft-colored cardstock, I adhered them to the base.  A little hot glue adhered to attach the ribbon hanger and another personalized accessory for next year's tree!

Hope you are enjoying my ideas!

Warm Regards,

Kimberly

Upcycled Christmas Card Layout

If you've been visitng this week, you know I'm posting some ideas on how to reuse those sweet Christmas cards you received.  It seems like everyone is sending photo cards these days and they are just right for scrappin'!  When I looked through my growing pile of holiday cards for a great picture to scrap, this cutie pie and his infectious grin jumped right out!

 I cropped the picture and "Happy Holidays" sentiment from the Christmas card, added some bling, twine and layered it on top of a chevron gift sack and some coordinating holiday papers.

The Merry and Bright sticker is from "Soft Spoken" and the journal card is from Heidi Swapp's "Believe" collection.  Super easy, 15-minute 8 1/2 x 11 layout that I can't wait to send to this little cutie pie's mama!  This would be a great idea for your own cards as well :)

Have you ever scrapped any old cards?

Thanks for stopping by!

{{Hugs}}

Kimberly

Upcycled Christmas Card Ornament

It did occur to me not everyone still has their Christmas decor up like me :)  Most people know couldn't wait to take everything down.  So, why am I sharing Christmas-related anything?  Well, many people pick up gifts here and there throughout the year, so I thought why not share some ideas for those who like to make a few gifts here and there as well?  `

Today's project is an ornament you can make for gifting...wouldn't you love to have some presents ready before when Christmas rolls around?

For this project, I used some cute frames I picked up from the dollar bin at Michaels.  I cropped a family picture out of an old card and added it to the frame.  I hot glued some ribbon on the back for hanging and added a sentiment sticker.  Guess what this family is getting for Christmas later this year?

Thanks for stopping by!

{{Hugs}}

Kimberly

Upcycled Christmas Card Book

Thinking of tossing those Christmas cards or just tucking them away never to be seen again?  Waaaait!  I've got five, fast and fun ways for you  to repurpose them for next Christmas.  Each day this week, I'll be sharing a new project to help you upcycle those cards.

The 1st is so quick and easy, I wondered why I hadn't done it sooner!  To create this mini card album, grab:

- that stash of cards you've been hoarding saving- a coordinating piece of 8 1/2 x 11 piece of cardstock - paper trimmer - Christmas scrapbook paper (optional) - stickers or stamps for the date- 1 inch or smaller book ring and festive ribbon

I stacked the cards on top of each other (I like the look you get from using different sizes of cards).  I chose a landscape (horizontal) orientation for my book, but you could do a portrait (vertical) layout if you want.  Cut a piece of colored cardstock the same size as the top and bottom cards and you've got covers.

Next, I cut a strip of scrapbook paper from Heidi Swapp's "Believe" collection to fit the center of my front cover, adhered it and added the date with some really old silver stickers (using up that stash, baby).  To finish off your book, just punch a hole in the top left corner of your book, bind it with a book ring and ribbon.  Now, you've got a cute book to display for next Christmas!

What are you doing with your old cards?  

Thanks for stopping by!

{{Hugs}}

Kimberly