happy father's day

Remember how I thought it would be fun to make a tie that matched outfits for Elle and Liv?  Well, it pays to have your sister (a fashion design major at Auburn) living with you.  We made a tie, two skirts and an applique/embroidery onesie yesterday as a gift for Adam.  I thought it would be fun to get some pictures of him with his girls on Father's Day.  Unfortunately, the picture taking didn't go so well (the one below is the only one with Elle smiling and looking at the camera - she looks like she is choking Liv in at least 1/2 of them).  I also made a card to coordinate.

The card is letterpressed with QuicKutz die cuts embellished with Glossy Accents.

father's day toolbox

I attempted to make this tiny toolbox on Alpha Mom as a gift card enclosure for Adam for Father's Day.  I bought Altoid tins and even painted them red.  Unfortunately, I couldn't find the handle (metal eye straps) anywhere.  I even sent Adam looking for them using the excuse I needed them for a work project.  I still think it is such a cute project, and I'll keep looking for the handles or buy them online.

embroidery onesie

I saw this idea for adding embroidery detail to a t-shirt in a craft magazine - Altered Couture - and I thought it would be fun to try on a baby onesie.  It was super fast and easy, and I love the result.  I used a basic straight stitch and chain stitch to create the design.

father's day ties

This looks like a fun project for Father's Day.  I think it would be so cute to have Adam wear a tie that matches dresses or skirts for Elle and Liv.  Too bad Father's Day is only a few days away....maybe next year.

pics

My friend Heather took these pics of Elle, Liv and I today. I'm lucky to get to work with Heather and benefit from her creativity both personally and professionally. Thanks Heather...we had a great time!

LMNOP

I love the latest issue of LMNOP. The theme for the issue is the alphabet so it is full of creative letter and alphabet ideas....so fun! Best of all, LMNOP is a digital magazine so you can download it for free.

artisan bread

My friend Heather first made this bread after reading about it on A Little Sussy.  I tried it and loved the results.  It is so easy and makes the perfect "european or artisan" style of bread.  I passed the recipe on to my mom who was also amazed at the results and began baking it daily.  The ingredients are prep work are minimal.  However, it does take about 12 hours to rise before it is ready to bake.  Here is the link to the recipe.  Try it...you'll love it.

baby gifts

I've gotten so many fun, creative gifts for Liv.  Here are just a few I've had the chance to photograph...but there are so many more which I'll try and get posted soon...

Flowers: My friend, Andrea, created this flower arrangement which was simply amazing.  I absolutely loved it - gorgeous flowers, vase etc.  My husband, Adam, said it was the perfect arrangement...my sister, Lauren, said it was the most beautiful arrangement she'd ever seen.

Onesie:  My friend, Laura, created this cute onesie with an applique of a whale.

Burp Rags: My sister-in-law, Cissy, creates the best burp rags. I absolutely love them.

Blankets: My mom made this blanket for Liv and a small matching one for Elle's baby doll.  I had wanted to make these blankets before Liv was born and went with my mom to JoAnns to try and find fabric the night before I went to the hospital.  The crazy thing was my sister, Jaime, had made me a diaper bag and burp rags from the same fabric without even knowing I had picked it for the blankets.  (The bag she made is the pattern from this post.)  It turned out great.

baby sister

Introducing Liv...our most recent creative project.  She arrived Wednesday, May 20th at 12:59 PM.  7 pounds 0 ounces, 19 1/2 inches long.  

apron for Elle

I made this apron for Elle for her birthday.  I still haven't decided on what kitchen to get or make for her so I thought I'd at least start with some of the kitchen accessories.  I have an apron that is similar in fabric color and design so I thought it would be fun to make her a smaller version.  I based the apron from a pattern found here, but resized and made some design adjustments like adding the black ruffle to the pocket and bottom of the apron.  To make the pattern at actual size, I used some wrapping paper.  It worked great...definitely a trick I'll continue to use.  The apron was really easy and fast to make especially considering I'm on the beginner side of sewing.  It only took about an hour and a half, and I started and finished it the morning of her "tiny two" party.

another tiny invitation idea

I came across this idea here and thought it would be another fun idea for creating invitations for a tiny party.

cupcake frosting recipe

Here is the recipe I used for the tiny cupcakes (per Heather's request). I found the recipe here. It is supposedly similar to the Sprinkles Cupcakes frosting recipe. I eliminated the salt because I used salted butter and found it too salty for my taste.

Ingredients:

1 cup butter, softened

3 1/2 cups powdered sugar

1 t. milk

1 t. vanilla

1/8 t. salt

Mix the butter and sugar until blended (I let mine mix in my KitchenAid until they were completely combined and almost "fluffy").

Add the milk, vanilla and salt and beat for an additional 3 to 5 minutes.

I frosted my cupcakes using a Wilton Cupcake Decorator kit. I bought mine at Target, but couldn't find it anywhere online - not even a picture. It is similar to the Wilton Dessert Decorator Pro - but plastic. I thought it worked well and made it easy to pipe the thick swirls of frosting.

create in color

QK spring gift sets are available in stores May 2nd! Gift sets are some of my favorite products to develop and are usually some of our best sellers.  This year we went with a color theme creating 4 gift sets that explore the personality of color.

For blue, we created the RELAX gift set which includes fun summer/beach shape dies, a retro style alphabet set and a clear tote perfect to take to the beach.

For pink, we created the FLIRT gift set which includes a selection of girly shape dies, a flirty script alphabet set and a small pink tote perfect for make up, holding your wallet, keys etc.

For red, we created the ENJOY gift set which includes summer/BBQ shape dies, a fun alphabet set and a red tote perfect to pack full of things to take to the park, a picnic etc.
For green, we created the REUSE gift set which includes nature/earth/recycle shape dies, a classic versatile alphabet with optional leaf and recycle embellishments and a green reusable shopping bag.

All of the dies are in the Cookie Cutter format which work perfectly with the QK Revolution tool.  QK is also sponsoring a Create in Color contest where you can win a trip to Hawaii (I wish I was eligible - I could use a trip to a nice relaxing warm beach!).  Get yours before they're gone!

tiny two party details

Here are the details of Elle's Tiny Two party including a free PDF download of some of the elements of the party (at the end of the post). This theme worked great for a 2-year-old birthday party, but could be used for so many other occasions.

[invitations]

I wanted "tiny" invitations so I designed the basic size and then created a coordinating envelope template. I cut the envelopes using my Silhouette (Silhouette Users: download the envelope template and mini party hat template from the Silhouette download site soon). I also embellished the invites with glossy accents to give them some texture and dimension - everything looks better with glossy accents or diamond glaze!

[decor]

I hung chinese lanterns with fishing wire above the dessert area. I couldn't find the exact color of teal blue I wanted so I purchased a white lantern and painted it with the food coloring I used for the frosting. It worked great and was simple...just add food coloring to some water in a bowl and paint with a foam brush.

I also printed out several sheets of the patterned paper I designed for the invitation envelopes in both a teal and pink color to use on a variety of decor elements including:

- wrapping around the mini water bottles (I wanted to add a white circle label printed with 2, but ran out of time)

- wrapping around the condiment bottles

- creating food place cards

- embellishing Elle's wrapped presents

[food]

I think the food was a key element in making the party feel truly tiny. We had tiny hamburgers, tiny hot dogs and tiny veggies along with tiny cupcakes and ice cream scoops. Elle also had a tiny-sized cake. My friend Heather baked all of the tiny rolls for the hamburgers and hot dogs (thanks Heather!). She also found the tiny hot dogs at a local Albertsons (Oscar Meyer brand), and I made small 2" hamburger patties. For the veggies, I used the small baby carrots (some are bigger than others - get the small snack size packs), cut up tiny celery sticks, and cut up small peppers from Costco and lucked out with mini cucumbers from Costco.

I also made the cupcakes with 2" paper souffle cups and placed the scoop of ice cream in a 3.25 oz. paper souffle cup with the wooden spoon inserted into the center. For Elle's cake and the cupcakes I embellished them with royal icing shapes and letters....just pipe the royal icing shapes onto a piece of parchment and let harden over night. I loved the small 2 that adorned the top of each cupcake.

[games and favors]

We had about 40 people at the party - 20 adults and 20 kids so I was a little nervous about keeping the kids entertained (ranging in age from 2 to 14). Luckily the weather was nice so the kids could go outside but I also had a variety of tiny games set out including a small kids table covered in freezer paper with crayons, markers and small animal toys to play with and mini games I found at the party store (mini bowling sets, mini uno cards, mini pool).

For the favors, I made tiny notepads of games for two - hangman, tic-tac-toe and the dot game. I put the notepads in a clear bag with a tiny marker and filled with fun-size candy.

Overall, I think the party was a success. Here is a PDF filled with some of the elements I used to make it happen including:

- tiny envelope template

- tiny party hat template

- patterned paper in teal and pink

- tiny game sheets you can cut out and turn into notepads

Enjoy!

(thanks to Heather and Laura for the pictures of the party!)

back to basics QK release

My "day" job is Director of Product Development for QuicKutz, Inc. We release new products every month designed for paper crafting and scrapbooking. Today is the launch of our "Back to Basics" themed release which includes a variety of die-cutting shapes and designs including the instant photo die used in the image above (which features the fantastic QK sales team). This release is especially versatile making it great for a variety of projects. Check out the whole release here.

tiny two

We just finished Elle's "Tiny Two" party and had a great time celebrating with friends and family. Her party was filled with all things tiny...

...tiny invitations
...tiny cupcakes

...tiny cake

...tiny ice cream scoops

...tiny hot dogs

...tiny hamburgers

...tiny veggies

...tiny games

...tiny party favors

I'm lucky enough to work with two great girls who took photos of the whole event (thanks Heather and Laura!). Watch this week for more details and how-tos of several aspects of the party - including some free downloads so you can have your own tiny party!

Here's a quick look at some photos from the party....(photos courtesy of Heather).

happy to elle

Today is Elle's birthday - or as she calls it "happy to Elle". I can't believe she's turning 2. It has gone by so quickly yet I can barely remember life without her. She has such a funny personality that makes our lives better and entertaining.

Tonight we're having a "tiny two" party to celebrate. Watch for more posts on the details from invitations to party decor to food. Her party has been my excuse to try a lot of the "creative" things I've been wanting to do.

porcupine cupcakes

Elle's first birthday had a porcupine theme. I made her a pink porcupine cake based on the tradition that started with my dad creating a porcupine cake for each of us on our first birthdays (mine was chocolate with chocolate frosting and candy corns). Elle's was chocolate cake with pink "spiky" frosting and pink good and plenty candies used as the porcupine spikes. The cake was just for her so for everyone else I made pink porcupine cupcakes. The frosting was so easy and turned out just they way I hoped.

"spiky" frosting recipe:

1 cup white sugar

1/3 cup water

1/4 t. cream of tartar

2 egg whites

1 t. vanilla extract

- In a saucepan, stir together the sugar, water and cream of tartar. Cook over medium-high heat until the sugar is dissolved and the mixture is bubbly.

- In a medium mixing bowl, whip the egg whites and vanilla to soft peaks. Gradually add the sugar mixture while whipping constantly until stiff peaks form, about 7 to 10 minutes.

(I use my Kitchen Aid and it works great. This is one reason I love this recipe version of this frosting. Other similar recipes have you use a double boiler or place the mixing bowl over a pot of boiling water and mix with a hand mixer. It works, but is much more of a hassle.)