happy birthday olivia

Today is Olivia's birthday! She is my youngest sister, and I love when she comes to stay with me and we get to create a ton of fun projects.

Here's an idea from a recent birthday idea book we created at QuicKutz. Just cut letters from vinyl on your Silhouette and apply to balloons for an easy and creative way to personalize party decor.

baby face thumbtacks

My little girl loves to name friends and family in photos. I think this project would be fun to make as magnets for her to play with on her magnet board.

glassine bags

Growing up, my Grandma Jerry would give us little white sacks of crackers to eat while we were out playing by the pool or hiking in the hills behind her house. I want to order some glassine bags or white bags to gocco. There are a ton of food packaging websites to order from so I just need to find the best one and place an order.

fingerpaint wall art

I think this project looks like a lot of fun. I'd like to try it on small, square mini canvases while e's hands and feet are still small. You let your child "fingerpaint" canvas and then help them personalize it with handprints and footprints. I think she'd love it.

cd calendar case

My friend Rachel gave my mom a calendar as a gift last year. I found this website which sells the clear cases the calendar is displayed in. They have a ton of sizes and options.

entertaining idea

Image from MSweddings

I'd love to have a party with these hanging in my back yard. Step One: Finish my backyard so I can actually have a party back there.

homemade photo booth

I think this sounds like such a fun photo shoot to do with your kids. I have an old set of filmstrip photo booth photos of me and my mom when I was a baby. I kept meaning to take e with me to a photo booth (I think Kmart has one) but never got around to it - now she isn't a baby anymore! I think I'll still have to actually make it to a photo booth as well as set up my own at home.

play kitchen

I'd like to make e a play kitchen for her birthday. Here's one idea made from products from Ikea. I like the basic concept but I think I would want to at least paint it and add some moulding for embellishment.

Here's another...

And another...

craft room countertops

Someday, I'm going to remodel our basement into the ultimate craft room. I'm wondering how concrete countertops would look in that space. If I do decide to go that direction, here is a tutorial to get me (really Adam) started.

fabric baskets

I'm thinking these fabric baskets would work well for organizing e and l's closet. I'm also wondering if they'd be strong enough to use as toy baskets. My wicker ones just aren't holding up with to the daily abuse. I love that I can make them in the fabrics I used for the bedding in their room.

craft supply organization

Craft supplies is definitely one thing I have a lot of. I'm always looking for new ways to store and organize my ever-growing supply (working in the craft industry definitely has its perks!). I like the look of this system. Last week I bought a few tin buckets in the dollar section at Michales.

happy birthday

Today one of my little brothers turns 13! Happy Birthday John!

I bought this party kit on clearance a few weeks ago at Michaels. It really is cute. I'd love to recreate it in my own patterned paper and cardstock.

spell with flickr

This is a fast and easy way to find letters on flickr. Just type in the word you want to spell out then click on each individual letter until you find a photo you like. You can then click to the actual photo on flickr and depending on the license on the photo, you could then print it out and frame to hang you your wall.

etched glasses

I love the way these glasses look. These were vintage glasses sandblasted and sold by Umbra. However, I'm wondering if you could DIY with glass etching cream? I just might have to try.

bird mobile

I've been thinking about ideas for decorating my little girls' room. I think they'll share (if we ever end up getting them out of our room!) which means I need to accommodate the crib and a bed. I saw this project idea a lot last summer and still really like the bird theme.

valentine idea

I think these are cute, fast and fun.

valentine card idea

I think this (from lucykatecrafts blog) would be a fun project to make and reuse every year with a new Valentine's love letter to my husband or kids. Plus, it would make me practice using my sewing machine which I would love to be good at but never seem to take the time to use.

mini cards

I love mini cards. They're fast and easy to make plus they are typically simple in design -a style I definitely prefer. These are mini valentine cards from BHG. This year I'd love to spend a day making a whole stash of cards to use for a variety of events.

doodle stitching

I got this book at Christmas. I really like the style of the book and projects it features. It even inspired me to hand stitch around an applique for a tote bag I made over the holidays.

valentine dinner

I like the concept of this table setting - plus it's a great way to use patterned paper which I tend to collect and not use! While it was designed with a Valentine theme, I think you could easily take the elements and mix it up for a variety of events...birthday parties, dinner parties, etc.

Flower Centerpiece: Place glass votives in a tray and fill with a single flower. Cut the stem short enough so the flower just rests above the tray.

Candy Favors: Roll a piece of patterned paper into a cone and fill with candy.