Faux Fire Crackers

I "pinned" some crafty wood fire cracker decorations last year and after saving our old 4 x 4 posts from the backyard redo, I thought I should use them up. I like using things up because then I can clean out a cupboard or nook & cranny that they are holding up in.
I added my little touches without purchasing anything except a new jar of mod podge. Pretty good deal.
I sent some to my two girls for their homes and my DIL who lives close by helped by saving me some postage.

 When I'm in the middle of a craft project, my kitchen island tends to look like .... a huge mess. This time was no exception.

I used one power tool, and this cut a 1 1/2 inch circle in the top of the square crackers so I could insert a tea light candle in case some one really wants to "light" it up. I had our carpenter from the house project cut up my firecrackers last year when he was redoing the back yard so that saved me a few minutes.
Always thinking ahead.

 I had plenty of fancy papers to use for what ended up to be 6 sets of "firecrackers."  I made 4 inch square ones in 3 heights, and 2 inch circular crackers also in 3 different heights. One of my favorite additions was these cute old fashioned advertisements from the early 1900's. I just glued them right onto the sides of the crackers.

 I also had some little candles that look like pop bottle rockets that made a fun addition to some of the sets.

Hope everyones July was fine and Yankee Doodle Dandy!

Bridal Shower

My bowling partners daughter is getting married and my friend Carolyn suggested we throw her a shower. We opted to have it at my house and so I, of course, did the decorations and invitations.
The bride has chosen blue and peach for her wedding colors, so I took the peach and used the analogous colors toward yellow to create a comfortable matched combination.

The yellow paper clip has the couples registry information and the hostesses of the party clipped to the main invite. I added some colorful ribbon and string to the top of the clip.

 Even the stamps matched the envelopes. Awesome postal service we had.

I finished the card with a little flower to close up the insert.  Then into the envelope goes the invite.

 I made a bunch of paper medallions and borrowed a few from Jamie at church, for the decorations.

 Put some at the entry door.

Made a funky chalkboard and placed some medallions on it. I used old wood pallets and plywood for the chalkboard. Just painted it with black chalkboard paint in 2 coats.

 Entryway in its fullness.

Carolyn made some Canapé's and cute chicken stuffed shells, Barb made cheese and grapes, I made Rosemary Caprese Skewers, Sarah put together some yummy cakes and munchies to go round the room.

 The dessert table was in the dining room and I just hung the paper fan medallions from the chandelier. Whatever works, eh?

I made some Macaron Cookies. I'm getting better at them, and these had peach jam in marscapone cheese for the filling.

Also these Orange Meringue Cookies that were pretty easy to make, but one batch of them was a bit sticky the day of the shower, so I stuck them back into the oven on low heat and they crisped right up.
They were so pretty I took a picture and sent it to the other ladies helping with the shower.

A lot of work but it did turn out nice.

 Part of the group.

 And of course the bride,

who was joined by the groom during the final moments of the shower.
Nice kids. Best wishes to them.

Birthday Tutu's

My DIL had the most adorable party for her oldest little 5 year old yesterday.  The previous few weeks were filled with plans and crafts that I also became a part of. We put these cute little tutu's together for the party favors.

Lots of different pinks that the birthday girl picked out. (I would probably avoid the very sparkly, glittery ones for this project in the future, as they don't tend to hang as nicely in the finished skirt, or gather as well in the making of the project.)

Then Kara also made these cute pom poms for a festive touch and we also made a banner for general birthday celebrations.

I still have a menagerie of different scrap booking papers at my house, even though I haven't scrap booked the old fashioned way for a couple years.

A fun time had by all.

Good job!

Shower Decor

Thought I'd show some pictures of our table and decor from last weeks shower.

We set the brunch table up in the dining room table, and then the dessert table on the far wall of this same room.

I had made sugar cookies in the shape of onesies. (on the left)

Hand dipped strawberries from my favorite roadside stand. (on the right center)

We had cute little handmade boxes of Acia/Blueberry Chocolates, and "Juicy Pear" Jelly Bellies for favors.
I cut these boxes out on my Sizzix Big Shot that I mentioned in the previous post, then taped them together.

I also used some of the little boxes and onesie invite look-a-likes in the banners that were hanging in a few places, such as above the dessert table and mantle.

The main dessert was little buntlet cakes from "Nothing Bundt Cakes" in town.
Also on the dessert table were fine little chocolate bars that I wrapped in the matching papers, and purple and green rock candy and lolly sticks that I stuck into white matching vessels.
I also threaded matching ribbons through my white holey plates and tiers cake stands to go with the whole place.

Here are the busy hostesses in the wonderful kitchen.

We ate outside, and the day was so lovely that we decided to open gifts out there as well.

Such a beautiful setting. The yard is magnificent and the view unmatched by any other home I know.

Okay, camera girl, just turn around and snap one. .....  Sorry, sometimes I don't think past my nose.
Again.

We ate beautiful homemade quiches, (by Debbie and Laurie), and a great grilled pineapple salad, (by Carolyn, who also did the flowers beautifully). I also made Rosemary Mozzarella Skewers that I got of of PW's blog. Yum! (I added little grape tomatoes to the skewers)

What a great group of friends to throw a shower with, and it turned out just right for the "mom's" friends and family to celebrate the new addition with her.

Thanks, ladies!

Onesies Cont.

Last month I had a post about some baby shower invitations that I was making. They were the inspiration for the entire shower that some friends and I put on this past Saturday. (Yes, I know I was up all night Friday doing Grad Night, but this was the only time the Aunt could be in town for her dear nieces shower, so we just did it.)
There were no games played at this shower, but if you wanted to decorate a onesie, we had some items on hand to help you accomplish the task.

Here are some ladies in Laurie's kitchen nook decorating away. We had iron on fabrics, fabric markers for writing and drawing, stamps with baby themes, stencils, etc.
Notice the cute little baby carriage I found at the nursery. I filled it with about 25 onesies of different sizes (and a few odd colors), and the women used all but 5 of them.  Hopefully the sweet new baby will get good use out of them.


This shower was for our friend Debbie's daughter. She is due at the beginning of August, and is such a gracious recipient of gifts. The new mom's Grandmother and a few Aunt's were there with gifts in hand.
So were the new Grandmothers-to-be. It is a first grandchild for both of them and excitement is all around.


I had previously decorated my onesie, so that I could help out others when the shower was in progress.
Here's how I did it.

I chose a colored one, and I used some fabric that I was making into a dress to match. There are so many patterns and ideas on the internet, and I used the ruffle buns idea, so that when baby girl crawls away in her new dress, her going will look as cute as her coming.


I changed it up a bit. Here are the differences.
  * I used 4 rows of ruffle and started at the top of the leg curve and went down from there.
      (the first one I made last fall, seemed to be too high on babies hiney, this lowers it a bit and adds a bit more ruffle)

  * My sewing machine has this GREAT rolled  hem foot and it finishes the seams off so sharp.

The ruffle is finished very nicely. I do think that one of these days I'll do one that is "pinked" instead of serged or sewed at all, giving it a frayed look for a chic up-to date finish, but for now this is what I did.
Then on the front of the "shirt" I ironed on some flowers.
I just got a "Big Shot", or "Sizzix" machine and it cuts the shapes out for me.

Problem is, you have to buy each shape to cut, and they aren't cheap enough for me.

This one ($20) cuts out 4 sizes of daisy flowers. I better cut a lot of daisy for that, but you know me, I get tired of one project, so I move on and that is wasting my $$$.
Anyway, it does look cute on the front of the baby shirt.  I had ironed on "Wonder Under" to the fabric before cutting it out, so then after the cut I just peeled off the attached paper and ironed it onto the fashion fabric.
Perfecto!

And you can see the ruffle buns in the mirror.
BTW, I had Michael come into the sewing room to hold the hanger the onesie was on for the picture. I was having a hard time seeing the back and front at the same time for this shot, but Michael quickly assessed the situation and said, "Why don't you just hang up the onesie on the ironing board and take the shot sitting down."
Sometimes I just don't see beyond my nose.  Kinda embarrassing how I didn't think of that myself.


Shower post coming up.

Memory Board?

A couple of peeps have asked me ...

Wait ... side note here.  My funny son really has a tough time not saying "aks" in the sacrament prayer every Sunday. It always makes me smile during the prayer, which is not entirely appropriate, but I think it's cute. He has a mental block about it, 'cause it happened once, so he says that one word, "ask" just slightly slower than the rest of the prayer. I'm sure no one else notices it at all, but like I said, I always smile.
As I write this, we are listening to the commentators talk about the Laker/Celtic game and we are coming up with other words that they can't say. "Ask, both, length," have turned into "Aks, bofe, lenth." I guess it is the Ebonics thing, and Michael, in making fun of the interviewers a few years ago, started saying "aks." He really never says it in actual conversation anymore, but because he messed it up once in the sacrament prayer, it makes him nervous. Kinda cute?

Okay, back to my original topic.

At Los Gatos High School, the seniors parents put on a big, fancy "Grad Night" the night the kids graduate. We have planning meetings for at least 6 months before the event and there are numerous committees to sign yourself up for to help in carrying out the biggest party any of us has ever seen.
I am in charge of the "Midnight BBQ" this year. It isn't a very big job, but at least I'm helping out some. In past graduations I have been the treasurer for the whole event, involved in decorating bathrooms, outside venues, and the salon.  There is a casino, a stage where a magician and bands play, a beach side fire pit, bumper cars, blow up games, etc. It is truly an overwhelmingly amazing night for the kids. The Hubby and I have always run a shift during the all night party and sometimes have stayed all night, depending on our commitment.
The event is being set up all this week for the Friday night deadline, and so I thought I'd talk a little about it here.
One room that we let the kids into during the week prior looks like it is nearing completion.

As you enter the small gym, there are moms working on the wallpaper of pictures that go all the way around the entire room.  I turned in about 40 old pictures, blown up to 8.5 x 11, and so did many other parents. These picture the wallpaper is made up of,  have to include more than one senior and can be taken from their early childhood up to current photos. There are many pictures of birthday parties, grade school field trips, just playmates, etc lining the room.

Then, in the center of the room are about 300 "Memory Boards." One is made for each child, usually by their mother, and it tells the story of the young life.  It is truly amazing to me that you get nearly every parent participating in this endeavor. It literally takes me hours to accumulate the pictures I want on my board, then copy them, then plan how I want to place them on the board.
Some are more simple, some are done professionally, but it is still a time sucker, and I think it's pretty cool that we have so many participants.
In the picture above, you can see one with a theatre curtain. This girl is in drama, and it is showcased along with her family, friends, and other interests. You also see one with a "path" through the child's life. People come up with all sorts of unique boards.

Here is Michael's board.  I put a few basketball pictures in the center, but all around the edges there are over 100 small thumbnail pictures of his play. That way I could reserve most of the center for family, trips, friends, school, and other activities. I got it into the room early enough that I got a good eye level spot for displaying it. Kinda out of the main stream of walking around, so as not to be too in your face,
but still a great spot.
He went into the room yesterday with several friends after school. He really liked it.

It is my very super favorite room at the grad night.

With our first couple of graduates, the room wasn't opened until the grad night itself, but there is so much to see, and so many other things to do that night, that someone decided to have it open to viewing during the work week. I think it is a great idea.
The surrounding pictures in the room all get taken down in 5 x 5 foot sections and saved for later use in reunions and the like. The individuals boards get sent home with the graduate, on the morning after grad night.

My Stephanie still has hers prominently displayed in her apartment bedroom. I think it tells her that her mom loves her whenever she turns around. She sent me a picture the other day, and it doesn't do it justice, but here it is.

And here is Kathryn's, a little worse for the wear.

I just found David's and I Jonathan's in the spare bedroom under the bed. I knew they were around here somewhere, and looked under my bed to no avail.  Then when I went into the front bedroom to wash sheets for Stephanie's visit home this weekend, I spotted something that looked familiar under there. My clean home?  You get the picture. (teehee)

Looks like someone took off a couple of pictures that were too cute to miss.  These last two were done on regular poster board, before the committee's were telling us just how things worked best.

This first attempt was even done in the direction of a portrait instead of a landscape. I'm sure we didn't have specific directions. (or I didn't follow them very well)  The really obvious thing about this one is that I literally copied pictures from J's photo album onto regular copy paper. They are flimsy and don't hold the color very well at all. I'm sure it looked fine at the time.
Memory Boards at LG have really progressed over the past 12 years since I started working on these grad nights.
Just wait a few days and I'll show you the night itself.

So this is one thing I've been working on for this special son of mine.
More later.

Onesies

This next month my buddies and I are throwing a baby shower. The grandmother of the new baby-to-be is one of our "walking buddy" friends and this is their 1st grandchild on both sides.
So EXCITING.
I, being the invitation guru of the group, opted to do the invites and asked if they all thought a onesie theme for the shower was okay. We could have the guests decorate onesies, make onesie cookies, and best of all I could make the cute onesie invitations that I found on the internet.
They all agreed, and the new grandma even said she and her daughter had attended another shower where they decorated onesies and both would love for us to do that for their new baby.
So FUN.
First, we had to figure out the color scheme, and Laurie, the real hostess of the party because it's going to be at her house, said the yard should lend itself to orange and lime green by mid June. We stuck purple (lavender) in there with the mix because it's going to be a girl and we thought it would be less gender neutral with lavender. Don't you agree? Hello??

I found great papers by basic grey. I won't use some of the more pinks and reds, but these papers are quite beautiful. I'll mix them with ...

these Bazzil papers. The Scrapbook Island store in San Jose has about a million colors of plain card stock. You can find a match for nearly everything.

So then I set to making my cute little onesie invitations.  I didn't have a 1 3/8 inch round punch as called for, but my 1 1/4 punch worked just fine. It left a good amount of space between the larger scalloped punch so the collars look cute.

A couple more added touches, giving a little glitter to the snaps at the "crotch" and purple writing for the

invite itself, 

and then I was done. The lavender ones will be sent for invitations and the others will be used as hanging decorations for the shower itself.

A bit of a long process, but they did turn out ...

So CUTE.