The Creativity Room

future family photographer

2011-08-03T23:44:00.002-06:00

(Elle's Doll Family Picture July 2011)

When we were at my parent's house in June, we had family pictures taken. I'm guessing that's why I keep finding Elle's dolls strategically positioned in portrait poses around the house and doll family pics on my iPhone. Love it!

(Mellor Family Picture - June 2011)

playing around with iMovie...

2011-07-29T00:12:00.002-06:00

Wanting to learn how to make video tutorials equals...

- shooting video on my iPhone late at night...tried earlier in the day but was impossible with kids

- wishing for a great lighting kit so shooting video at night would actually look ok

- jimmy rigging my iphone to a kids table on top of my craft table to get an overhead shot

- wishing for a really nice camera...

- thinking I'd like the Canon 5D for photos and video...anybody have suggestions?

- trying to figure out how to use iMovie

- trying to figure out how to export a movie so that the quality still looks ok but the file isn't ginormous...still not sure

- signing up for a youtube account

- staying up way too late and not getting any necessary things done like laundry and the dishes

- thinking tomorrow morning is not going to be fun...I hate waking up to a messy house - do you?

- wishing I hadn't woken up to a messy house all week - oh, laundry and the dishes why don't I like you?

So here's my first attempt...thinking attempt 2 will go much better.

Martha Stewart Wedding and the L Letterpress

2011-07-21T23:00:00.000-06:00

Martha Stewart has always been a favorite of mine so I was excited to see the L Letterpress featured in Martha Stewart Weddings! Here's the online version.

"We're all about personal touches, but penning a hundred save-the-dates seems excessive, even to us (save that energy for your thank-you notes!). Instead, write your message once, scan it, and send the PDF to Print Icon to have it made into a photopolymer plate. Then replicate it with the L Letterpress machine"

ebb and flow

2011-07-21T22:45:00.001-06:00

lately, my lack of posts and attention to this blog has been bothering me. i can only describe it as an "ache" to get back to formalizing and documenting the creativity in my life. i miss the structure it creates and the memories it documents.

so while i know the reality of kids...work...life will probably continue to result in inconsistency, for now i'm going to attempt to catch up on some of the things i don't want to forget...and someday hope to have the time to create the blog i dream about. :)

our valentine dinner

2011-02-15T12:46:00.003-07:00

For our Valentine dinner, we decorated the table with pop-up love napkin rings (created with this Lifestyle Crafts die) and ate heart-shaped mini pizzas with heart-shaped pepperonis and heart-shaped parmesan breadsticks with red (marina) and pink (creamy marina) dipping sauces. If it can be dipped, Liv will eat it.

Then after dinner for FHE, Adam gave the girls books, iTunes gift cards and jelly bean jars...which were really just my excuse for buying the large container of JellyBellys from Costco. And now after consuming more jelly beans than anyone should, I'm remembering why I tell myself the large container of mixed flavors is never a good idea. I end up eating them all when in reality I only really like a few of the flavors. Adam, stop me next time I'm flashing the $4 off coupon and remind me it's not worth it.

happy valentine's day

2011-02-14T14:37:00.002-07:00

lifestyle crafts valentine party post

2011-02-14T11:00:00.000-07:00

Below is the post I did on the Lifestyle Crafts blog showing some of the projects we created for Elle's Valentine Party. Visit the Lifestyle Crafts blog for more great ideas....

Hello! This is Michelle from Product Development, and I'm so excited to show you some of the projects I made for my little girl's Valentine party yesterday! I'll be honest when I was younger I hated this holiday. I specifically remember faking sick on Valentine's Day in fourth grade just to avoid any awkward moments with boys...boys were scary (and I'm hoping my girls inherited this sentiment - at least until they are much, much older)! But now, I can't get enough of the red and pink, the hearts, the cute projects and food...so I decided to plan a party with Elle - my 3-year-old party planner in the making.

One of my favorite things about dies is how easy and simple it is to make any project look professional. With just a few of the Love release dies, we created several projects that made our party a success. It was easy, fast and if I would have started sooner (we made most projects the night before the party) we could have created several more things to enhance the detail of the event.

Happy Valentine's Day!

---Michelle

VALENTINES

At the party each child was asked to bring valentines for a card exchange. For Elle's we used Mini Valentine (DC0044) and Banners and Bows (DC0046).

Each child also had a mailbox with their name to put all of their valentines (thank you dollar bin at Target!). To label we just die cut the smallest heart from Nesting Hearts (DC0042), wrote their name and adhered to the front of the mailbox.

SEQUIN HEART CLIP/FELT HEART PIN

We wanted something to give each of the kids when they arrived at the party. For the girls, we made sequin heart clips for their hair. For the boys, we made felt heart pins to wear on their shirts.

To make the sequin hair clip:

Step 1: Die cut 2 hearts from felt for each hair clip. We used the smallest heart from Nesting Hearts (DC0042).

Step 2: Glue strand of sequins to one felt heart starting at the outside edge. Hot glue works best.

Step 3: Cut small slit at the base of remaining felt heart and insert bobby pin or clip. Glue that felt heart to the back of the felt sequin heart.

To make felt pin:

Step 1: Die cut heart and banner from felt. We used the second smallest heart from Nesting Hearst (DC0042) and

Step 2: Stitch I (heart) Mom on banner with black embroidery thread.

Step 3: Glue banner to heart. Glue pin to back of heart.

HEART PICTURE WALL

At the party we also had each child get their picture taken in front of our chalkboard wall. We die cut several hearts in different sizes from Nesting Hearts (DC0042) then taped them to the wall. Because we were using a chalkboard wall, we just drew white chalk designs around the hearts leaving a space in the middle where the child would stand. If you don't have a chalkboard wall, you could easily create this on a large piece of butcher paper and hang up or simply attach die cut hearts and shapes to a wall or door where a child could stand for a photo.

HEART WREATH

I've seen these felt heart wreaths popping up on several blogs. I'd been wanting to make one but never seemed to find the time to go look for a stryofoam or metal heart wreath form so I figured I'd try to create one myself completely from die cuts.

To make the heart wreath:

(I used felt, but you could also use fabric or paper)

Step 1:

Nest the two largest dies from Nesting Hearts (DC0042) on your Epic platform and die cut.

Step 2: Die cut several circles of felt. I used Nesting Circles (L-CC-001)

Step 3: Place a small dot of hot glue in the center of a felt circle and fold in half. Fold in half again to make a triangle shape and glue to hold in place. Repeat with all felt circles.

Step 4: Attach the folded circles to the die cut frame. I alternated the direction of each circle.

HEART GARLAND

It seems like we make some type of die cut garland for every season/holiday in our house. It is such an easy project for kids. Elle made this heart garland all by herself which brings me to a quick "kid tip". The Revolution is the perfect tool for kids to use by themselves. They're back for a limited time, so if you have kids and don't own a Revolution I'd snatch one up before they're gone! It's used almost daily at my house.

valentine's party

2011-02-14T08:46:00.007-07:00

Last Thursday, Elle threw a Valentine party. While it was definitely filled with chaos, I think everyone also had fun! (thanks to Laura for the photos)

THE PARTY DETAILS

Attendees:

10 3-year-olds

9 moms

6 younger siblings

2 older siblings

Activities:

Photos on the chalkboard wall with sequin heart hair clips (girls) and felt heart pins (boys)

We taped die cut hearts to the chalkboard wall and drew white chalk designs around the hearts. Each child got a hair clip or pin to wear and their picture taken in front of the wall.

Musical Hearts

We put several die cut hearts on the floor and played music while they danced and moved around. Once the music stopped, they had to find a heart. Each time we took away hearts until we had a winner.

Valentine Exchange

Each child brought valentines to give away. We found metal mailboxes at Target in the dollar section for everyone to collect their valentines.

Snacks

It was mid-morning so we wanted a healthy snack. Heart shaped granola bars with fruit leather embellishments, grapes, apples, yogurt and a mini bottle of water.

Decorating Cookies

We rolled out sugar cookie dough on sheets of parchment paper for each child to cut out heart shaped cookies. We baked their cookies while they molded and played with the remaining dough. After the cookies cooled, the frosted and decorated their cookies to take home.

Balloons

We bought mini 6" heart shaped balloons and filled with helium for the guests to take home.

3-year-olds (minus Ayden and Nate who came a little later)

Chalkboard wall photos.

Musical hearts.

Passing out valentines for the valentine exchange.

Collecting all of the valentines.

Snack time.

Heart shaped granola bars with fruit leather embellishments. We made homemade granola bars and then cut them out with heart-shaped cookie cutters.

Yogurt with wooden spoon and fruit for dipping. We put vanilla in first and dropped spoonfuls of strawberry yogurt on top to make a heart.

Cutting out sugar cookies.

Frosting sugar cookies.

Playing with balloons.

happy birthday

2011-02-08T12:20:00.002-07:00

Happy Birthday Adam! I love you, and I'm so glad we get to create this life together!

fall/holiday projects

2011-02-06T23:20:00.000-07:00

Obviously the preceding posts should have been posted months ago...but in an effort to not forget about them, I'm finally posting them now.

Native American Headbands

Turkey Pie Crust Handprints

Turkey Cookies

Thanksgiving Dinner Menus

Christmas Kick Off Party

christmas kick off party

2011-02-06T22:47:00.007-07:00

Last year I heard about a family who let their kids sleep under the Christmas tree the night they put it up. I thought it sounded like such a fun tradition so this year I decided to start our family's annual Christmas Kick-Off Party. My hope was to create an event just for our little family that

- gave us time to be together before the start of such a busy season with friends and extended family

- let us talk about our plans for the season and how we wanted to make it special for ourselves and others

- gave us a chance to learn and remember the real reason we celebrate Christmas

Overall, I loved how the party turned out and can't wait to continue the tradition. (i only took video of the party so don't have many pictures - these are just images saved from the video file.)

This year for the party:

- Elle and I made invitations for everyone in our family, and she passed them out to everyone at Family Home Evening a week before the party.

- We planned the party for the day after Thanksgiving so we'd have the day to put up Christmas decorations. We spent that Friday putting up and decorating our tree and setting out other basic Christmas decorations.

- For food, we ate appetizers: sourdough and pumpernickel bread with hot artichoke dip, veggies and dip, sparkling cider and cranberry juice

- During the party, we ate, planned, read the story of Jesus' birth from the scriptures, and opened up one present (pajamas - traditionally my family always opens pajamas on Christmas Eve, but I wanted to use pajamas as part of our kick-off. For Christmas Eve, the girls got to open a book which we read before bed.)

- After the girls put their pajamas on, we all watched a Christmas movie together. This year it was old Christmas cartoon classics.

Other things I envision for party but didn't incorporate this year:

- Sleeping out under the tree

- Hot chocolate/popcorn during the movie

- Talking about memories/looking atphotos from past Christmases

- Writing letters to Santa

Here's a few pics of our Christmas decor - thanks again to my sis-in-law Julie.

Thanksgiving menus/placecards

2011-02-06T22:29:00.005-07:00

This year I wasn't very motivated about creating the Thanksgiving table decor so instead of focusing on the entire table, I just created the Thanksgiving menus for each place setting. (Thanks to my sis-in-law Julie for taking these pictures!)

I designed and printed the menu on Lettra paper in dark brown and orange. I also printed the name of each guest and then used an oval die cut to cut out each name with my Epic Six. The die cut name was adhered to the menu with foam tape for dimension.

On the top third of the paper, I printed Happy Thanksgiving and folded the paper so the menu/placecard would sit off the plate and the guest sitting across the table would have something visually interesting to look at.

We also used the traditional "go around the table and say what you're thankful for" as a fun way to announce to everyone that we're having a boy. Adam went first and said he was thankful for his girls. I went next and said I was thankful for our girls too but also thankful for little boys!

turkey cookies

2011-02-06T22:26:00.000-07:00

Elle and I made these turkey cookies for the kids Thanksgiving table. You can find a variety of how-to's and images online. For ours, we used oreos, fudge stripe cookies, candy corns, reeses peanut butter cups and chocolate frosting.

pie crust handprint turkeys

2011-02-06T22:25:00.000-07:00

Elle and Liv both had a great time making and eating these. I think it would also be fun to make decorated pie crust leaves. You could use leaf cookie cutters or collect and trace leaves from outside.

Trace outline of hand on piece of paper and cut out with scissors. Place on piece of rolled out pie crust. Use knife to cut around hand template.

Color sanding sugar in desired colors with food coloring. Simply drop a few drops of food coloring into a bowl of sugar and stir until color is evenly distributed. We made red, yellow and orange.

Spread melted butter on top of each handprint pie crust and decorate with sanding sugar.

Take obligatory photo for mom with handprints ready to bake. Bake pie crusts in oven until lightly brown. Unfortunately, we don't have any pictures of the final product.

Native American headbands

2011-02-06T22:09:00.002-07:00

Native American Headbands - Strips of dark brown paper plus paper die cut feathers = hours of fun running around the house together.

CHA winter

2011-02-01T12:39:00.005-07:00

Just got back from 2 days at CHA (Craft and Hobby Association Tradeshow) in LA where we released a ton of new products (lucky for me and my pregnant body, I didn't have to stay for the entire 4 days of the show). The new dies are great versatile basics you can use for all types of projects. And, we launched 2 paper lines with dies that coordinate - a new product category for us. I've got a few projects I've been creating with the new products that I'll post soon.

At the show, I spent most of my time demoing the L Letterpress and walking the tradeshow floor. It's always fun to talk about and introduce the product to new people.

party favor sneak peek

2011-01-22T19:22:00.003-07:00

Elle and I have started making one of the party favors for her Valentine party....sequin heart hair clips for the girls. I came across this post at Grosgrain Fabulous and loved the idea.

things i love

2011-01-22T09:14:00.000-07:00

Do you find yourself looking for blog posts when you google something you're interested in? I definitely do. I like seeing real people's thoughts and reviews on a product or idea. For some reason, they just seem more trustworthy.

Today I've been thinking about a particular cleaning product I love and use all the time.

Pledge Multi-Surface Spray

I use this on everything in every room of my house: granite countertops, stainless steel appliances, sinks, cabinets, mirrors, faucets, glass, furniture... Not only does it work really well, but I love that I just need one product to clean so many different things.

And while on the topic of cleaning...a quick tip for cleaning glass and mirrors I just tried and loved. I don't know about you, but I have a hard time getting the spray spots from hair products etc. completely cleaned off my mirrors. And our glass shower doors never seem to be completely spotless. I've tried a ton of different products trying to superclean the shower with only ok results...until I tried rubbing alcohol and a straight razor blade. The spots, soap scum, residue just scraped away...cleanest I've seen our shower in years. :)

these girls make me laugh

2011-01-21T16:15:00.008-07:00

Eating lunch together.

Waiting for Dad to get home.

Liv and her accessories...when I left her on the couch upstairs she was fully dressed no accessories. Next thing I know she's coming downstairs to find me - no pants and princess crown. For Liv, she's not fully dressed until she has a necklace, hat, crown, glasses, bracelet...

valentine card links

2011-01-16T22:07:00.004-07:00

For Elle's Valentine party, we're planning a valentine exchange. We haven't decided what valentines we're going to make yet, but here are two cute ideas...

Scratch and Win

Ah-choose You

Lifestyle Crafts - Love Release

2011-01-12T15:52:00.007-07:00

Here is the latest die release from Lifestyle Crafts...everything you need for the perfect Valentine's Day! It's a great collection of all things hearts and love. Elle and I are planning a Valentine's Day party and using several of the dies for invitations, decor and party favors...I love that she loves to plan, throw parties and craft!

If you think die cuts and die-cutting machines are just for scrapbooking, thing again...my continuous push at Lifestyle Crafts is creating products that are great for all types of creative projects.

bijou market

2010-11-19T09:45:00.007-07:00

Introducing RedRoko Kids debuting at the Bijou Market in Provo today and tomorrow!

Featuring our fun Play Crates in 5 different themes....

Mr. and Mrs.

Weatherman

Superhero

Baker

ABC Toss

- 26 bean bags with felt uppercase and lowercase letters

Come check us out and watch for RedRoko at the Beehive Bazaar December 2nd, 3rd and 4th!

halloween costumes

2010-11-03T12:47:00.004-06:00

For this Halloween, we were on a trip to Tennessee and Kentucky to watch my sister Lauren play volleyball, and my brothers, Matt and Sam, play football. Elle and Liv dressed up as Auburn cheerleaders and my nephew Case was Aubbie the tiger - the Auburn mascot - complete with jersey signed by Cam Newton. Unfortunately, Liv fell asleep at the beginning of the match significantly reducing our photo opportunities of the three of them together. Why does it always seem that whenever you want photos - they just don't seem to cooperate. :)

Lucky for me, I went home to my parent's house in Washington a few weeks before the trip so my mom helped sew the costumes. I'm sure it would have taken me much longer if she hadn't stepped in. Go Auburn!

hmmm...i've seen this before.

2010-09-29T23:14:00.006-06:00

Almost exactly 2 years ago, the exact same thing happened...I stopped posting on my blog. While work, kids, life, projects are all partly to blame, I really think it's due to...

...a baby. We're expecting baby no. 3 at the end of April.

It seems that the blue balloons and numbers subconsciously got featured more than pink -maybe a sign that a boy is on the way???

On a creative note...I love the parchment paper cupcake wrappers. I didn't have any on hand so I creased parchment paper around a glass and inserted it into a muffin tin. It worked great, and I love the result. Balloon numbers were made with adhesive vinyl and placed on the already blown up balloons. Cupcake picks are diecut numbers from cardstock with a strip of metal wire glued in between.

baby projects

2010-06-25T12:14:00.004-06:00

I love these two tutorials. I don't think you can ever have enough diaper covers (thanks for the link Cissy!) and these tights seem like they'd actually last more than 1 wear.

encyclopedia of sewing and fabric crafts

2010-06-10T15:28:00.003-06:00

Loving this book.

speaking of DIY popsicles...

2010-06-09T23:18:00.004-06:00

Have you seen this - the Zoku Quick Pop Maker? It freezes popsicles in 10 minutes.

Definitely think it would be interesting to try. I love the patterns and designs you can create. I've been wondering what the next big food thing will be after cupcakes...maybe this summer it'll be "gourmet" popsicles?!?

freezer pop molds

2010-06-09T22:58:00.009-06:00

I've been looking for a healthier alternative to Otter Pops and found these molds. I think they look perfect. Has anyone tried them???

I also think these ring pop molds are fun...maybe for a summer party!

iPad

2010-06-08T21:18:00.002-06:00

This is what Adam gave me for my birthday. It came yesterday and I don't think it's been put down since...I'm even writing this post on it. Now to find a stylish case that doesn't cost a fortune....maybe I'll make one. I've seen some cool DIY cases for the iPhone I'm sure I could modify.

twine and tape

2010-06-03T22:35:00.003-06:00

Check out my guest post on Sweet Symphanie where I talk about some of my favorite twine and tape finds.

liv's 1st birthday

2010-06-02T11:38:00.008-06:00

Liv turned 1 the day I got back from New York so we stuck a candle in a frozen Otis Spunkmeyer cookie to celebrate. She loved it, but I still wanted to do a little more for her birthday celebration at Sunday dinner. I didn't have much time and was way too lazy to even go to the grocery store (thanks Rachel for supplying more eggs Sunday morning when I ran out!). There are definitely a lot of things I'd like to do better or try in the future. Fortunately, we always celebrate with a porcupine theme for 1st birthdays (it all started with my first birthday and my parents made a chocolate cake with a cupcake head and decorated it with 6-month-old candy corns).

CAKE and CUPCAKES: Chocolate with pink marshmallow frosting. Small individual porcupine cake for Liv; cupcakes for everyone else.

PARTY FAVORS: I had resigned myself to the reality that I just didn't have time or energy to do much for this party. But when I woke up Sunday morning, I once again couldn't stop myself and decided to try making some party favors. I had to come up with something that used supplies I already had at home so I thought of no-bake chocolate cookies turned into little porcupines. In theory, I think the idea could still work - my execution this time around not so much. Next time, I'll buy chocolate kisses to use as the head - chocolate chips were too small so I tried using melting chocolate wafers. I wrapped each chocolate porcupine in a clear bag and attached a die cut pink paper porcupine printed with birthday text.

APPAREL: Pink porcupine shirt for Liv.

THE PARTY: After dinner we sang to Liv. As you can see from the photos she wasn't so sure about the whole thing. Papa pulled her hand away from the cake after she tried to grab it which resulted in lots of tears (no nap that day didn't help either!). Elle stepped in to help blow out the candle and then Liv got to eat the cake all by herself.

We love you Liv. Happy 1st Birthday!

What the L is That?

2010-06-01T16:45:00.006-06:00

(image from Envelopments blog)

I've been back from the Stationery Show in NYC for a little over a week and a half now. I think the show went really well, and the product and L brand got a lot of attention and support. There are so many fun products and ideas I want to share with you on the blog.

At the show we were lucky enough to be right across from Envelopments. Envelopments is a great company with fantastic products and even better people (both of my sisters used their products for their wedding invitations). Mark, one of the owners at Envelopments, has been a long time supporter of QuicKutz and the products we create. I've had several opportunities to meet with him and collaborate on new ideas and concepts. He wrote a really nice post about the letterpress on his blog. Check it out and visit their website to see their product line. You'll definitely want to incorporate their products into your next invitation, announcement or event!

busy...

2010-05-07T18:25:00.001-06:00

I've been crazy busy getting ready for this. Lifestyle Crafts will be at booth #2558, and I'll be doing one of the show's Daily Demos on Sunday at 2:30. If you're going, be sure to come to the Daily Demo and stop by the booth. I think the National Stationery Show is one of the coolest tradeshows out there. Not only is it held in NYC each year (which I love any chance I get to go back and visit), but it is full of such fun, creative, inspiring products and people. Other than the fact that I've still got a lot to do before the show, I can't wait!

opposite party

2010-04-19T22:04:00.010-06:00

This week is this girl's birthday...

We have Sunday dinner at Adam's family every week and celebrate a lot of birthdays with 2 parents, 8 siblings, 6 spouses and 20 grandchildren who regularly attend. Elle's birthday is only one day after her cousin so the plan was to celebrate both birthdays on Sunday. I told myself to keep it simple this year (I don't want to set an expectation for her that she gets a big party every year) and have a cake for her at Sunday dinner and then Pinkalicious cupcakes and dinner on her actual birthday for just our family.

But...I just couldn't stop myself. It became quite apparent I have issues. Friday I called my sister-in-law with an idea to throw an Opposite Party. I thought we could play off an "opposites attract" concept because they were born only one day apart but are opposite in so many ways...he's a blonde/she's a brunette, he's blue-eyed/she's brown-eyed, he's a boy/she's a girl. Luckily, she was on board and I think we pulled off a fun party in basically one weekend. I think it may become a tradition for our Sunday birthday celebration for Elle and Ayden.

Party Invite - sent by email.

Party Favors -

for the boys: gummy worms, gummy fish and candy rocks

for the girls: candy necklaces, candy lipstick, candy rings

Table Decor:

Elle side: pink, girly, flowers, sparkles, white ornate frame with photo, pink dessert plates, pink napkins

(notice the opposite silverware! thanks megan for that added touch)

Table Decor:

Ayden side: blue, boyish, rocks, sticks, simple

silver frame with photo, blue dessert plates, blue napkins

Table Decor:

We made the center of the table between the pink and blue more neutral and added dessert snacks to eat at the table.

silver candlesticks with white candles (big/small)

clear vases filled with chocolate and white opposites

white chocolate and milk chocolate pretzels (dark/light)

yogurt raisins and chocolate raisins (black/white)

hershey kisses and white chocolate chips (big/small)

Birthday Sign:

Happy: big, blue, uppercase letters, print

Birthday: small, pink, lowercase letters, cursive

Elle's Cake:

pink frosting (girl)/chocolate cake (brunette)

cake (round and small)/cake stand (square and big)

white sprinkles (small)

Ayden's Cake:

blue frosting (boy) /white cake (blond)

cake (small and square)/cake platters (round and tall)

white sprinkles (big)

Food (unfortunately only one picture):

The food was served on a variety of white square platters and white round bowls.

pink lemonade (sour)/blue rasberry kool-aid (sweet)

grilled chicken with dipping sauces

buffalo sauce (hot)/ranch (cool)

barbeque (red)/honey mustard (yellow)

peas (small, round)/sweet potato fries (long, square)

sticky white rice scooped into round balls

I printed out opposite words to describe the food, punched them into circles and squares and taped them to the serving dishes. I wish I would have had more time to really make this element better.

Party Outfits: I like our clothes to coordinate. I know it's cheesy but I can't help it. :)

Mom and Dad in blue (Adam had on a yellow tie that morning. When he came home from his meeting he saw our pink and blue and changed his tie to blue without me even asking him. He's learned that the tie must coordinate!) I used one of Adam's ties as a belt because I didn't have anything else blue. It worked great.

Elle and Liv in matching pink dresses with bows.

The two 3-year-olds

The Party Details:

We had dessert first (white ice cream with chocolate sauce)

Usually the mom's get food for the kids and themselves before the men, so we had the dad's get food for the kids and themselves first followed by the women.

Everyone sat on opposite sides/ends of the table from their normal seating place.

chevron rug tutorial

2010-04-07T16:02:00.003-06:00

I've hit the baby stage where all food ends up on the floor. I'm getting tired of scraping dried sweet potatoes, bananas, green beans, peas and who knows what else off the floor. Adam reminded me we went through this same thing with Elle and at that time I thought about sewing a oilcloth mat for the floor under her high chair. I never found any oilcloth I really liked (it seems a lot easier to find now), but I'm thinking about trying this diy rug/mat option. She painted the design on duck cloth followed by a coat of polyurethane. I love the chevron pattern.

[project] felt business card holder

2010-04-06T23:21:00.000-06:00

I made this felt business card holder in January the night before I attended Alt Summit. I wanted something cute that would hold my cards and keep them contained in one spot in my purse.

Future blogger.

diy milk glass

2010-04-06T15:25:00.005-06:00

Love this project. White seems to be my color of choice lately and spray paint will always be on the top of my favorite products list.

Found via Lucyisms via Ruffled

[project] puzzles

2010-04-02T11:38:00.000-06:00

Elle loves puzzles so I decided to make her a set of puzzles that would be a fun activity for her to work on during one of our meetings at church. They're the perfect size to put together right on top of a hymn book.

If you have a QuicKutz Revolution or Epic tool, I used the 4x4 puzzle die to create each puzzle. However, I'm sure you could create the same concept by just cutting out pieces that fit together.

Print out a photo and cut to 4x4. I just printed mine on plain copy paper so it would be thin enough to cut using my die-cutting tool. Adhere the photo to a thick material like chipboard. I used QuicKutz adhesive-backed white chipboard which made it really easy...no glue required.

Die cut or cut the photo mounted on chipboard into a puzzle shape. If you want the puzzle pieces to be thicker, die cut or cut an additional piece of chipboard and see step below. If it's thick enough for you, skip the next step.

Turn the photo/chipboard piece over and layer the other die cut puzzle pieces on top to add thickness. Be careful to line up the pieces exactly so the puzzle will still fit together nicely.

Take the puzzle apart and spray each piece with a clear acrylic coating to help make the printed photo more durable.

Create and print a label for the puzzle and place in small ziploc bag.

Repeat process with more photos - you're going to need more than one to keep her entertained during that hour of church.

Place puzzles in small clear file folder. I found mine in the dollar section at Target a while ago.

This project seems a little labor intense, but it was so fast and easy. I made the entire thing in less than an hour. She loved it and really enjoyed putting together the puzzles which had her picture.

tiny chocolate kisses

2010-04-01T21:33:00.004-06:00

Found this idea via my cousin's blog. Just wrap chocolate chips with foil to create mini chocolate kisses.

another tiny two party

2010-04-01T19:16:00.000-06:00

Elle's birthday is this month, and I've been trying to decide what to do...last year's Tiny Two party was so much fun to create. I think we're leaning towards a Pinkalicious theme.

Check out this Tiny Two party inspired by Elle's party. I love the mini caramel apples and tiny pennant bunting.

[project e] mr. or mrs. holiday man

2010-03-31T23:21:00.001-06:00

This project is designed and created by Elle. I love this little crafter.

I have an app on my iPhone from Michaels which has craft project videos. She loves to watch them. The other day while I was working, she sat on the couch next to my desk watching these videos. Later she asked me if we could make a heart with arms and legs (one of the videos she watched was a bag for collecting Valentine's Day cards decorated with a heart that had a whole cut in the middle for a mouth and legs and arms attached). She told me what she needed, and I helped her with the cutting and gluing. She carried her "Mr. Happy Valentine's Day Man" around for the rest of the day. She loved the project so much she decided she needed to create an Easter egg man and another Valentine girl the next day.

To create:

1. Cut a shape out of cardstock. Draw a face with crayons onto the shape.

2. Cut strips of paper and fold accordian style.

3. Glue accordian strips to shape for arms and legs.

4. Cut clothing accessories like shoes, ties, hats, flowers, etc. and glue to shape.

5. Spend the rest of the day carrying your new friend around the house involving them in all important activities like dancing, putting together puzzles and snacktime.

[project] ABC eggs

2010-03-30T22:34:00.005-06:00

For any QuicKutz crafters, here's a great way to use alphabet dies and any leftover vinyl scraps to dye Easter eggs. You see this egg dyeing technique all over the place typically using stickers or craft punches to create shapes.

Pick an alphabet die (I used Moonlight) and die cut the letters you need out of vinyl or contact paper. For our Easter eggs, we decided to make ABC eggs with the capital letter on one side and the lowercase letter on the other side. This gave Elle a great chance to practice finding both versions of the letters in the alphabet.

Stick the vinyl letter to the hard-boiled egg. Make sure you really rub the letter securely to the egg. We found that if we didn't the dye would seep in and ruin the image of the letter.

Place eggs in dye and wait excitedly to see what they'll look like (see Elle for example). We just used the basic food coloring drops from the grocery store with water and a little vinegar.

Remove the egg from the die and peel off the vinyl sticker. Place the egg back into the dye to color the letter or just leave the letter white if you want.

knitted hunting trophy

2010-03-27T18:34:00.000-06:00

This post is for my sister Lizzy...

This is the perfect combination of your and Devon's hobbies. I think the baby would love one in his room above the crib. :)

how to grow wheatgrass

2010-03-26T21:52:00.000-06:00

I love the look of wheatgrass, but have often felt intimidated about actually growing it myself. Here's a great tutorial at Make and Takes.

embellished shirts

2010-03-25T21:46:00.003-06:00

After my ruffle t-shirt post, my sister Lauren embellished several shirts for my sister Olivia. I love how with simple, inexpensive additions Olivia's wardrobe was refashioned.

pink shirt: added lace doily to back

black shirt: twisted thick black lace in loop design on front

white shirt: sewed white ruffles from old white t-shirt and added to collar

yellow/black shirt: added large black bow to front

fabric pots

2010-03-19T09:28:00.001-06:00

Love these pots covered with fabric. I think they'd be perfect for party favors or place settings.

ribbon storage clothespins

2010-03-18T08:34:00.001-06:00

I've tried a lot of different methods for storing ribbon (spools stored on wooden rods, scraps stored in glass jars, scraps wrapped around strips of cardstock, scraps folded and pinned...), but I still haven't found on I've been able to make stick. I think I'd like to try this clothespin storage idea.

rainbow jello

2010-03-17T05:30:00.001-06:00

Happy St. Patrick's Day! Isn't this rainbow jello idea fun? It'd be a great treat for today or a fun snack to make when teaching kids about colors.

wool sweater bag

2010-03-14T15:01:00.000-06:00

Love this bag made from a thrift store wool sweater.

ruffle tshirt

2010-03-13T23:43:00.002-07:00

You see ruffles everywhere right now. This DIY ruffle shirt is pretty amazing. Lauren - will you make me one??

[project] trip chart

2010-03-12T14:21:00.003-07:00

Elle and Liv left with Grandma today for a trip to Washington. While they're gone, I made them a chart to keep track of the days. The image above is an example of how the chart will look at the end of the trip.

It was a last minute idea and easy to make. I drew the chart in Illustrator and printed it on white cardstock. We took pictures on my Mac with Photobooth and then printed them on white label sheets. I glued the chart to a larger piece of colored cardstock and attached a mini white envelope to the bottom of the chart filled with face stickers.

Each day Elle and Liv can pick a new face sticker of mom or dad to fill in the chart. Of course, they'll be having too much fun to care about ol' mom and dad, but hopefully it'll help them remember how much we love them! Have fun girls (and thanks Mom and Dad, Lauren, Sam, John and Olivia)!

the graphics fairy

2010-03-06T20:37:00.000-07:00

When I found this blog, I instantly thought of my sister-in-law. So Cissy, I'm posting this for you. Let's come up with something fun to create with all of this vintage clip art - maybe your Valentine's card wreath or one for Christmas.

roman shades

2010-03-05T23:17:00.001-07:00

I've been searching all over for a good roman shade tutorial online. I'm thinking it might be something I want to make for the windows in my basement. This tutorial from ReadyMade is the best I've seen and actually creates the shade completely from scratch not an existing, inexpensive roman shade.

luggage tags

2010-03-04T22:58:00.000-07:00

I'm going on vacation soon. Every time I'm standing at the baggage carousel waiting for my luggage, I wonder why I didn't add something to my basic black luggage to make it stand out. This luggage tag idea from Martha reminded me that it's about time I personalize my suitcase. I'd love to create a really cute design to print out and slip into clear luggage tag. Although...I'm pretty sure the luggage tags will never look as good on standard, boring black suitcases.

plaster flowers

2010-03-03T22:38:00.001-07:00

I love this idea from Songbird where you dip flowers (or anything else) in plaster. I've always been intrigued by plaster, but it seems a little intimidating. This project seems easy...can't wait to try it.

abc book

2010-03-02T22:28:00.003-07:00

I've wanted to make an abc book ever since Elle was born. Now almost 3 years later, it's still on my list of things to create. If I do actually ever get around to making one, I'm definitely using this c page idea from Hippos and Dinosaurs.

so you think you're crafty

2010-03-02T07:23:00.000-07:00

I've been following the So You Think You're Crafty blog for the past few months and love to see the new projects posted each week. They follow the "so you think you can dance" format where you can vote for a winning project each week. The winner posts the step-by-step tutorial of the project. They also just started a So You Think You Can Decorate blog. Check it out!

sisters

2010-03-01T20:21:00.001-07:00

I love this picture. It fits them perfectly.

Elle being silly.

Liv watching in complete adoration.

Liv trying to be just like her.

Elle showing her how.

Side by side.

canvas envelopes

2010-03-01T18:25:00.000-07:00

I love these canvas envelopes. Definitely on my list of projects to try.

[food] heart hashbrowns

2010-02-27T12:35:00.001-07:00

While I'm posting about Valentine's Day, I think our new family tradition will be heart hashbrowns for breakfast. Hashbrowns are one of Adam's favorite food so this year we surprised him with heart shaped hashbrowns and pink milk (another favorite of his). He loves ketchup. I do not. Lucky for him, ketchup is red and added the perfect finishing touch.

[project] mini cookie matchbox

2010-02-27T12:25:00.001-07:00

Elle and I made these for Valentine's Day to give to her cousins and friends. I think mini or tiny projects are perfect when you need to create several...it can be faster to put together and mini always seems to be cute.

For these, we die cut and assembled the matchboxes several days before we made the cookies. Because the matchbox has an inside piece that slides in and out of a cover, we were even able to tie the ribbon around the box and still access the inside later. Valentine's morning we made small sugar cookies (they were less than 1 inch in diameter) and put two in a mini cupcake wrapper. We placed the cookies in the box, slid on the cover, and they were ready to deliver.

Overall, I really like how they turned out. I tend to prefer soft sugar cookies but thought a crisp cookie would work best for this project. Next time, I think I'll experiment with other crisp sugar cookie recipes to find one I really like.

Studio 5: L Letterpress and Baby Liv

2010-02-26T21:43:00.003-07:00

Megan Hoeppner from Creating Keepsakes featured the L Letterpress and Epic Tool as one of the "hot techniques in paper crafting" on Studio 5. Best of all, baby Liv's picture was shown on a baby announcement I created for her using the L Letterpress. Check it out here.

- Thanks Brock and Julie for reminding me to go watch the clip online!

[product] bamboo fun

2010-02-22T11:43:00.003-07:00

Adam gave me the Bamboo Fun tablet by Wacom for Valentine's Day! I've had fun just playing around and can't wait to really learn how to use it. Anyone have any tips or tricks I should know??

[place] hunt and gather antiques

2010-02-19T15:45:00.006-07:00

I tore out a feature on Hunt and Gather from a Southwest airlines magazine. Approximately 1.2 billion objects from bins of magazines and plastic letters to giant commercial signs and advertising displays. It sounds like such a fun treasure hunt! Plus, I love that the article had old letterpress type as an accent image. If I'm ever in Minneapolis, I plan to stop by.

black eiffel

2010-02-09T23:42:00.004-07:00

Do you read Black Eiffel? A few months ago I met with Rachel Jones to show her the L Letterpress. She has a fun blog that features posts on design, style, inspiration and more. Her blog is even part of Martha's Circle!

Luckily she lives right here in Utah so we could easily meet in person. It's always fun to get to demo and talk about the tool to new people. Right now, she's giving away an L Letterpress. Enter here!

cranberry cosmo

2010-02-09T23:32:00.000-07:00

In my perfect blog world, I took the time to remake these drinks in a variety of flavors and took amazing stylized photos to accompany exciting text on how to create a fun Valentine's day drink. In my reality, this will have to do.

The picture is of a cranberry cosmo drink I made in December for a Christmas party. Cranberry definitely seems seasonal, but I think you could also easily make it with other fruit flavors (any red fruits like strawberry or raspberry would be perfect for Valentine's day.) I found the basic recipe on the Food Network and modified it for my needs. Of course, my version needed to be non-alcoholic so I tried a few different sodas until I found the taste I liked.

Here's my version of the cranberry cosmo:

scoop of cranberry granita (see recipe below)

ginger ale (I also tried club soda but thought it was too bitter)

splash of fresh lime juice

Place granita in glass, cover with ginger ale and add splash of lime juice. Serve immediately. The frozen granita acts like ice to keep the drink cold and easily melts into the ginger ale. I also added a toothpick skewered with frozen cranberries to help keep the drink cold.

Cranberry Granita

2 cups water

1 1/2 cups cranberries

3/4 cups sugar

Place all ingredients in sauce pan over medium heat until berries start to pop (approx. 7 minutes). Remove from heat and puree. Pass the mixture through a fine mesh strainer into a freezer safe pan. (I don't have fine mesh strainer so I used a thin white dishtowel. It worked great, just turned my dishtowel pink.) Place pan in freezer until frozen. When ready to use, scrape with fork to create shaved ice texture.

vintage couch

2010-02-03T21:30:00.004-07:00

Last fall, I found this couch on ksl classifieds. I convinced Adam to drive an hour with me to check it out and help bring it home if I liked it. And liked it, I did. I love the look of tufted furniture.

Its been sitting in my living waiting for me to go figure out what I need to do to get it recovered. Eventually it will sit right across from my desk in my office downstairs. I'm thinking a gray velvet (not sure if I should go more silver gray or charcoal gray) with the wood painted glossy white. Any thoughts?

pics from alt summit

2010-01-26T19:25:00.007-07:00

I had a great time at alt summit! It was so fun to meet some of my favorite bloggers in real life, listen to great speakers and discussions, and demo and talk about the L Letterpress. It was chaotic getting everything ready for the event, but it reminded me how much fun I have creating with the L Letterpress Here are some pics from the event:

Opening Party: Old Hollywood Theme

Me, Andrea and Jennifer on

the red carpet entry.

They had a corner of the room with vintage glamour clothes and jewelry

where you could dress up in and get your picture taken.

Talking with other attendees at the party.

L Letterpress Demo Tables in the Alt Summit Lounge

alt summit

2010-01-19T22:26:00.005-07:00

This week I'll be attending this. I'm excited to get to listen to/learn from/meet some of the biggest design/lifestyle bloggers around. Are you going or know anyone that is?

letterpress giveaway

2009-12-16T15:34:00.003-07:00

We're giving away an L Letterpress Combo Kit and a custom printing plate at the L Blog ($190 value)! Click here to find out how you can win.

stockings

2009-12-13T15:42:00.005-07:00

I only have 3 stockings and this year we need 4. I tried to explain this tragedy to Adam, who wasn't very sympathetic. The problem is that I have a hard time finding stockings I really like. And, what I like really depends on the year and the basic design theme I end up with for my holiday decor.

If I had more time this year, I'd love to try making these stockings from Made. With the right sweaters, I think they could be fun.

[kid focus] snowman

2009-12-02T00:02:00.004-07:00

I had two sizes of styrofoam balls sitting on my table, and Elle instantly thought they were snowmen. She loved the idea of actually turning them into real snowmen, so I got out my glue gun, some yarn, black eyelets, twigs, mini clothespins and orange paint. The great thing was that I actually had all of those supplies just sitting in my craft room.

To create the snowmen, we glued the two styrofoam balls together (1 large and 1 small for the mom and dad snowmen and 2 small for Elle and Liv's snowmen). We took apart the mini clothespins and painted each piece orange. We pressed the painted clothespin piece into the styrofoam for a nose; stuck twigs in each side of the snowman for arms and pressed black eyelets into the styrofoam for eyes. I filled in the eyes with black Stickles, but you could fill it in with black paint, marketer etc. We then hand crocheted scarves and hats for each of the snowman. It ended up being a fast, impromptu activity which Elle couldn't wait to show off to her dad.

thanksgiving table

2009-11-30T23:34:00.000-07:00

This Thanksgiving, I went with a natural theme for the table decor so I focused on natural textures and elements in neutral colors with green accents.

I printed the menus and placecards on L Letterpress paper in cream and then used the L Letterpress to blind emboss the matching design on both pieces.

For additional table conversation, I printed Thanksgiving trivia on L Letterpress paper and then die cut it using a QuicKutz leaf die cut. The leaf has a fun pop up element that added extra texture and dimension to the decor.

I had originally anticipated going with a more modern design theme, but found these harvest -themed ceramic dinner and salad plates at Shopko for only $.50 each. Secretly I had wanted to purchase plates for the dinner, but hadn't figure out how I could justify it. I had been thinking white square dinnerware, but at only $.50 each for this style, it was a deal I couldn't pass up. I ended up loving the way the plates turned out.

The pictures below show how the finished product. There were 31 people seated at the table (my mother-in-law's dinner table combined with two fold up tables next to each other). I used branches, pumpkins (painted off-white), floral greenery for the centerpieces, votives, cream candles, bronze candle holders, twine and twig balls, wire twig garland, stick placemats and burlap.

thankful tree

2009-11-30T22:48:00.005-07:00

For Family Home Evening last week, we made a thankful tree. I die cut and glued a tree trunk to a piece of white paper and then die cut leaves from adhesive-backed cardstock. We each took turns listing things we were thankful for and then stuck the leaf to the paper. I'm not sure she really grasped the concept of being thankful - she was much more interested in getting to stick another leaf down. But, it was funny to hear some of things she was thankful for...family was followed by dogs and swimming at the hotel.

thanksgiving kids table

2009-11-29T12:18:00.006-07:00

For the kids table this Thanksgiving, I used kraft colored contractor paper from Lowe's as the tablecloth. I then drew a placemat for each child with a white paint marker. The girls had a scalloped border and the boys a plain square border.

The kids could then color and decorate their placemat with color crayons.

I also cut out several cardstock turkey feathers and scattered them on the table. The kids wrote things they were thankful for and then stuck the feather to the back of a turkey pumpkin.

baby O shower

2009-11-29T12:09:00.005-07:00

My friend Laura threw an amazing baby shower for her sister. Lucky for me, she made the invitations at my house so I got to watch the creativity in action. She incorporated several letterpress elements into the party using the L Letterpress. See more at Lucyisms.

knitting needle placecard

2009-11-27T21:46:00.000-07:00

This placecard idea from Real Simple uses a wooden knitting needle to skewer a printed card. Might be fun for a craft party....

canvas presents

2009-11-25T21:41:00.000-07:00

Love this simple holiday decor idea from Real Simple. Take blank white artist canvases and wrap with ribbon to create faux presents.

pumpkin turkey centerpieces

2009-11-22T22:17:00.003-07:00

After Halloween, I bought several small pumpkins on sale with the intent to use them in some way for Thanksgiving dinner table decor. I'd been thinking about painting them white and letting the kids color them at their tables, but tonight I had an idea to create a "thanks" turkey where the kids could each write things they are thankful for on paper feathers and add them to the pumpkin to create a turkey. I did a quick google search and found a lot of pumpkin turkey ideas. If you still have pumpkins around, here are a few links. I'll post what I end up making after Thanksgiving.

Pumpkin Turkey Centerpiece at Make and Takes

Pumpkin Turkey Craft at Kaboose

Pumpkin Turkey Centerpieces

Dora's Pumpkin Turkey at Nick Jr.

handprint turkey pie

2009-11-22T22:12:00.003-07:00

I love this idea from Family Fun....such a fun way to let your kids help out in the kitchen for Thanksgiving.

[kids focus] thanksgiving coloring pages

2009-11-22T21:58:00.003-07:00

While searching for some Thanksgiving images for Elle to color, I came across a great site -Artists Helping Children. The site has a ton of arts and crafts project ideas. I loved these coloring sheets for a few reasons - the actual artwork wasn't cheesy and they required some thought and interaction. Elle had a great time coloring and thinking about what features and color crayons to use on each face.

[kid focus] pasta necklaces

2009-11-22T17:35:00.000-07:00

For our Indian theme week, Elle and I made pasta necklaces. I naively thought it would be a great activity to entertain two 2 year olds while their moms had a meeting...not so much. It worked much better as an activity with just Elle and I.

She probably had the most fun helping to make the colored pasta. We put the pasta in a ziploc bag, added a few drops of alcohol ink (we used Tim Holtz inks by Ranger) and then shook the bags until the pasta was evenly coated. The alcohol inks dry quickly so it was fast and easy. We then used clear elastic thread to make the necklaces. Elle is really into matching and colors so she had a great time mixing up the pasta and then separating it back into color groups. I think this would also be a fun activity to use for teaching patterns.

another L giveaway

2009-11-19T09:12:00.002-07:00

My Favorite Things is giving away an L Letterpress Combo Kit! Enter now!

excitement

2009-11-19T02:31:00.004-07:00

I ran into Archiver's tonight to purchase a few items. When I was checking out, one of the Archiver's employee, Megan, found out that I had developed the L Letterpress. She was so enthusiastic about the product and excited that she actually was talking to someone that had created it. She even wanted to go get her L Letterpress box so I could sign it. While there is definitely room to grow and improve with the line, I love that people are excited about the product and its potential. Thanks Megan - you made my night.

iDiY L Letterpress Giveaway

2009-11-13T05:52:00.002-07:00

Here's a chance to win an L Letterpress from iDiY. It's a great blog for ideas and inspiration for DIY weddings. I'll keep you updated on more great L Letterpress giveways as they happen!

Latest and Greatest Craft Tool

2009-11-12T11:22:00.003-07:00

My friend just texted me saying she was watching a demo of the L Letterpress on Studio 5. It was part of a Latest and Greatest Craft Tool feature. It's fun to actually see the product get into the marketplace. She called it the hottest craft item this Christmas.

Here's the link to the Studio 5 website feature.

[kids focus] indian headbands

2009-11-11T09:30:00.000-07:00

Last week, Elle and I focused on an Indian theme...in celebration of the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday. She became my Little Talks-a-Lot and Liv was renamed Little Smiles-a-Lot.

For one of the activities, we made headbands using cardstock, QuicKutz dies (dots and bracket ) and scissors. We die cut the dots border twice and glued the strips together to create the headband. We then die cut the bracket shape to create two feathers. We just cut off the ends and center of the bracket and rounded the ends to make a feather shape. You could of course just hand cut strips of paper and feathers, but I love the finished look of using a die cut. Plus it's fun to see what alternative uses you can come up with for products you already have in your collection. Elle loves to use scissors so we tried to make the feathers look more realistic by cutting small snips all around the edge of the feather. Finally, just glue the feathers to the headband, place on head and spend the rest of the day pretending to be a little Indian girl.

Blurry pic of Little Smiles-a-Lot to show Grandma her 2 new teeth.

michaels contest

2009-11-10T01:08:00.004-07:00

Michaels is having a handmade holiday contest where the winner can win a trip to the Martha Stewart show in NYC. Two of my favorite things...New York and Martha. You can submit a project up until December 20th. I've got to start thinking about that perfect project....

Plus, the background pattern Michaels is using on the website looks like the QuicKutz Holiday Gift Set box design from last year. I love that diamond stitch pattern in a deep, rich red.

speaking of Ikea...

2009-11-10T00:08:00.004-07:00

I just spent 4 hours ordering cabinets for my basement workspace-through tomorrow you can save up to 20%. I'm going for an all white look. I'm hoping it turns out the way I'm envisioning. I've taken remodel pics along the way so I'll post before and afters when the project is done.

toy storage bins

2009-11-09T23:32:00.007-07:00

I'm working on creating a toy room in my basement. I have an Ikea Expedit bookcase I can use, and I want to find some cool storage bins that could go in the squares to store toys. I'm having trouble finding what I want. I had originally envisioned metal bins, and I'd love for them to look distressed/vintage. Anyone know of a great place to find metal bins? Or any other ideas??

Dare to Design Contest

2009-11-03T21:41:00.006-07:00

Dress Design for Shabby Apple Dresses

My sister Lauren created this entry into the Shabby Apple Dare to Design contest. We went to visit her at Auburn in September and got to go to one of her fashion design classes. It was so much fun and made me want to go back to college. I hope her design is selected!

Here's her description of the dress...

Design Inspiration:
This dress is designed for a young woman with confidence, poise, and flare. With the a-symmetrical front and fabric pattern on back, the woman wearing this dress will always make a statement.

Fabric Choices:
-With a silk bottom and cotton top this dress could be worn to a nice dinner party. Dark purples and grays would really make this dress stand out.
-Another option would be a wool top and linen bottom, making this style a more day time appropriate dress. Colors that would work for this option would be more neutral colors like browns, grays, or even a golden yellow.

confession session

2009-11-03T21:16:00.000-07:00

Confession session comes from my sister-in-law Julie, who kept us continually laughing with her confession sessions on a family trip to Denmark. Today my confession session is that I haven't had a working oven since May. It hasn't really been too much of an issue. With a new baby and the summer months, I've only really missed it on a handful of occasions. Most of the things I would have baked in the oven anyway would have been full of fat and sugar. However now with fall, I've got to stop being lazy and cheap and get it fixed.

When I get it fixed, these cupcakes are first on my list to try - perfect for using any left over candy corns. I can't imagine a much better combination - pumpkin, cream cheese and candy corns. Definitely my kind of treat.

[kids focus] leaf rub

2009-11-02T21:04:00.003-07:00

For one of the days during our leaf week, we took the leaves we had collected outside and made leaf rubs. Elle loves to color so it was a nice change from just coloring on blank pieces of paper or in her coloring books. She also loved to trace around the leaves. Just put the leaf under the piece of paper and use a crayon to rub over the leaf until the leaf images begins to show through.

[kids focus] leaf walk

2009-11-02T20:47:00.004-07:00

For one week, Elle and I focused on leaves. The first day we went on a leaf walk in our backyard and gathered all types of leaves from our trees. After we had gathered a sack of leaves, we took them inside and organized and sorted them by color.

Fortunately (or unfortunately if you are my husband and hate having to rake so many leaves every year - so far we've taken over 22 leaf trash bags to the dump), our backyard is full of leaves. Our "leaf week" fell at the perfect time where there were plenty of leaves on the ground and still in the trees.

If you don't have access to a lot of leaves, you can also make your own. Simply cut leaves (we made leaf die cuts with the Epic Die-Cutting Tool and QuicKutz die REV-0249-S) in several colors and let your child sort those into color piles.

With both options, she had a great time and loved practicing her colors on both the real and paper leaves. On another day, we used the paper leaves to make up "falling leaf" songs. As we sang the songs, we threw the leaves into the air to let them fall to the ground. Baby Liv found this quite entertaining.

a theme for the week

2009-11-02T20:33:00.003-07:00

For the past few weeks, I've been trying "themed" weeks in an effort to try and be more organized and interactive with my kids. I've found that if I take the time to plan out activities for the week, it's easier for me to make sure I'm taking time during the day to devote just to my kids. Working from home full-time makes my schedule pretty crazy, and if I don't preplan, my day can easily get overtaken with the demands of work and just the basics of childcare. I'm not the best at just sitting down to play. I totally admire moms who are great at that. For me, having preplanned activities helps give me a focus and ensures that I'm prepared and scheduled to "just play". Even if it is only for 10 or 15 minutes, these activities have given Elle and I something new to do together each day, and I hope it helps her feel and understand how important she and Liv are to me. To record these ideas for my own personal reference, I'm going to post these projects/ideas under a kids focus theme. Do any of you have any ideas for fun, fast, creative things to do with your kids?

little princesses

2009-11-01T20:32:00.000-07:00

This Halloween Elle decided she wanted to be a princess. My sister's and I used to make princess crowns with beads and wire when I was younger so I thought it would be fun to make these for Elle and Liv. They are super easy. You just string the beads on a strand of wire big enough to fit around your head. Then take another strand of wire and string beads as you wrap it in a triangle formation around the first strand of beads and wire. For Elle, I put the crown peaks in a complete circle, and for Liv, I just put the peaks in the front of the crown. I also made Elle matching jewelry with the beads and silver elastic thread. I ended up just buying Elle's princess dress and switched out the white rosette embellishments for sparkly buttons. For Liv's costume (pictured above), I embellished a onesie with silver jewels and sewed a pink princess skirt. Overall, I think they turned out ok and it's always fun to get to be creative with their costumes.

halloween treat bags

2009-10-31T16:03:00.005-06:00

Here are the treat bags Elle and Liv made for their friends and cousins. Clear bag was in the $1 bin at Target. We made the bag header with black cardstock and used a QuicKutz die to cut a spider web and spider to embellished the header. We put glossy accents on the spider to make it stand out against the black cardstock. We filled the bags with spider rings, bubbles, bracelets and vampire teeth. We can't wait to give them out tonight!

happy halloween

2009-10-31T13:06:00.005-06:00

I've been busy testing each of the final production printing plates for the L Letterpress product line. Here some projects I made with the Halloween printing plate set. Product started shipping this week and should be arriving in stores next week!

ps - the hard drive on my mac crashed about three weeks ago and I just got it back last night...upcoming is a bunch of posts.

so excited...

2009-10-04T21:47:00.003-06:00

On Friday, I got production samples of the L Letterpress Starter Kit. Tonight I tested each of the components of the kit, and I'm so happy with how it is turning out! I can't wait for the product to hit stores (looks like beginning of November). It's been a lot of work - especially these past several months - but I think it's going to all pay off. So excited...

traveling....

2009-10-01T15:30:00.000-06:00

Since Liv was born, I feel like we've been traveling, traveling, traveling. We've been to California, Florida, Idaho, Washington, Alabama, Virgina, Washington D.C. and driven through even more states. I think we're finally back at home for at least a few months. Luckily most of our travel has been with family or to see family which I love! Now, I can't wait to get back to my creative projects including this blog. In the spirit of travel, here's a great project I found to showcase your worldwide adventures....

This home decor project created at Brooklyn Limestone is the perfect way to showcase your travels around the world. I love how it creates a visual reminder of where and when you've traveled. Simply photocopy and mount the passport pages onto square wood blocks or mini canvases and hang on the wall. Add a frame around the squares to define the space on your wall. Check out the detailed step-by-step here.

I'm thinking that creating a collage of mementos from your travel locations like ticket stubs, maps, brochures etc. would also work well - especially for any domestic trips you'd like to highlight.