4th of July Crafts and Entertaining Ideas

(Click on the pictures for the source)

Happy 4th of July AMERICA!
XOXO

Ground Hog Day Cupcakes (Feb. 2nd)

I first saw this idea at The Party Blue Prints Blog but the idea originally came from the great creators at Disney Family Fun.

I can so *see* my friend Kim making these!

XOXO-

Groundhog's day is Tuesday, February 2nd.

Thanksgiving...

I am off in the morning to spend the rest of the week with my family. I can't wait for the story telling, catching up conversations, football watching, drinking & eating to commence. Fun times ahead...

In the meantime, enjoy these post...

Turkey Cookies

Setting a Formal Table




My Favorite ALL TIME Creative Mastermind
Love you KM!!!!!!


~Happy Thanksgiving~
XOXO

Thank You

~XOXO~

Great Father's Day Ideas from around the Web

1. Style Your Life

2. My Insanity

3. The Stories of A to Z

4. Living Locurto

5. Katherine Marie Photography

6. Here is my idea that I used for Valentine's Day.

~XOXO~

Mother's Day Gift Ideas - Books!

Mother's Day is May 9th

What makes a better Mother's day gift than books?  Add this personalized bookmark to the book and you will give the woman in your life the best gift for her day!

1. Go to Living Locurto and download the free Mother's Day bookmark
2. Print it on heavy card stock and laminate (or not)
3. Punch a hole in the top and add a ribbon

Check out these books for Mom:



Review from Beachbrights















Review from Cym Lowell














Review by Bloggin' 'Bout Books














Review by My Reading Room














Review by Rundpinne














Review by One More Foggy Notion













Others to consider:
      















~XOXO~

Cheap Father's Day Idea: The Coupon Book

Max and I made this little coupon book and gave it to Byron for Valentine's Day but this project would make a great Father's day gift.

What I did: I scanned in several of Byron's neckties. I then used www.picnik.com to add text to the top of the necktie pattern. After I had several different looks and coupon sayings, I cropped, printed and stapled them together at the top. Very Easy!

Pick out your ties and scan them into jpg files

Use some kind of photo editing software, I used Picnik, add text

Crop, print and staple

Ta-Da!

The last coupon says "Coffee on Us" and it included a Starbucks GC

Have fun with your own version!

~XOXO~

~Happy Valentine's Day~

I received this amazingly funny Valentine shout-out from the beautiful and talented Katherine Marie Photography. She new exactly what I needed. You picked a winner my friend!

~XOXO~

My Valentine Idea via other Smart Women

I totally stole this Valentine's Day idea from LA*T*DA (via KatherineMariePhotography).  My plan is to make 20 of these for Max's Valentine party at school.

Here's what you need:
Sugar Cones (I bought from Kroger)
Cotton Candy (Dollar Store, 1 bag = 5 cones)
Cone Shaped Baggies (Hobby Lobby)
Ribbon
Card

Of course, these would not be Max's Valentines without some Star Wars gift cards.  You can download these cute Lego ones from Living Locurto.

What are you doing for Valentine School Gifts?

XOXO

Resin Jewelry & Sprinkles!

Yes, I had trouble with the title. So much to share!

This was my first attempt at making resin jewelry. I was surprised at how easy it was and how cute it turned out.  I plan on giving these to Max's special Valentine friends (i.e. girlfriends, teachers etc.).

Here's the scoop:

1. Buy this ebook.  I followed the instructions exactly but screwed up my first batch on the steps that suggest adding glitter to the back. It was a "hot mess" but then again I am craft challenged. So, I made another batch and just left off the last couple of finishing steps. No big deal. I am happy with the finished product.

2. I bought everything I needed from Hobby Lobby. The resin, molds and bales are with the candle making and tiles. The sprinkles are with the birthday/cake stuff. The ball chains are with the jewelry beads etc.

3.  Allow lots of time for drying and setting.

4. After you have allowed them to "set". Then you can add rings or bales (for necklaces).

5. Enjoy! These would be really cute with photographs, letter beads, stickers...really the sky is the limit. Be sure to watch the video links & tutorials at the bottom of this post. They will help you to understand resin and give you some more ideas.

Here's my work:

This one is mine :)

Good Luck!! If you decide to make your own, please post pictures to my Facebook Page!

HELPFUL LINKS:
Skinner Studio: How to embed paper into resin
If you want to buy them & not make them: Little Cupcakes Co.
Two Kitties and a Video - Really GREAT
Little Birdie Secrets
John W. Golden Part 1 Video

XOXO-

I am participating in

ASPTL

Peace & Happy New Year

~XOXO~

Happy Birthday MOM

12 Drinks of Christmas

This is the 12 Days of Christmas I'm talking about!  This article is from Coastal Living December/January 2010 (pages 106-109).

2. Happy Elf

1 ounce melon liqueur

2 ounces citrus vodka

1 ounce white cranberry juice

Combine in an ice filled shaker. Shake vigorously and strain into a cocktail glass. Add cherries. Makes 1 cocktail.

6. Candy Cane Martini

1 1/4 ounces vanilla vodka

1 1/4 ounces white creme de cacao

3/4 ounces peppermint schnapps

Combine in an ice filled cocktail shaker. Shake vigorously and strain into a cocktail glass. Garnish with peppermint candy. Makes 1 cocktail.

12. Holiday Mojito

3 teaspoons (rounded) marinated cranberries**

3 lime wedges

3 orange wedges

3 fresh mint leaves

1 1/2 ounces rum

1 ounce orange bitters

1 ounce cranberry juice

1 ounce fresh orange juice

1 ounce mint syrup**

Rub a lime wedge around rim of a glass and dip in sparkling sugar. Place marinated cranberries in glass; muddle until berries are crushed. Add lime, oranges and mint. Muddle all these ingredients together. Stir in rum, orange bitters, juices and mint syrup. Add cracked ice and top with club soda. Stir. Makes 1 cocktail.

**Marinated Cranberries

Cover fresh cranberries with orange flavored rum for 2 days to 2 weeks.

**Mint Syrup

Combine 1 cup of water, 1 cup sugar and 1 1/2 cups fresh mint in a saucepan over medium-high heat. Bring to a boil, stirring until sugar dissolves. Remove from heat and let stand for 30 minutes. Strain and chill until ready to use. Make 1 1/2 cups.

{Hiccup} Enjoy {Hiccup} XOXO-

Max's Personalized Santa Video

Max loved this video that he received from Santa (wink, wink)!

I was not able to embed the video but you can click here to see Max's video message from Santa. Yes, my son want's a LuLu Cat for Christmas - Don't judge.

Thank you Treasure for Tots for letting me know about this great video!

XOXO-

Lovely Christmas House Papercraft

The 25 Mini Christmas House Papercraft Ornaments were last year's xmas gifts by Delphine Doreau (Non Dairy Diary), this year, the gifts are twice the size and eve more cuter. One house per week, so stay tuned for more.

Lovely Christmas House Papercraft [Download]

Happy Christmas Tree Papercraft [Related Posts]
Christmas Tree Papercrafts
Build A Christmas House Papercraft
Princess Zelda Christmas Papercraft
The Original Christmas Classics

Mini Christmas House Papercraft Ornaments

25 cute mini house ornaments by illustrator Delphine Doreau, fun and festive designs for the winter holiday. Hang them on your Christmas tree or in your office.

Mini Christmas House Papercraft Ornaments [Download]

Happy Christmas Tree Papercraft [Related Posts]
Christmas Tree Papercrafts
Build A Christmas House Papercraft
Princess Zelda Christmas Papercraft
The Original Christmas Classics