CREATE STUDIO

My First Show

2012-01-24T06:32:00.001-05:00

My friend Honey Beth (yes, that's her real name... she lives up to it!) organized a night where a few of the ladies from our church who are entrepreneurs had a chance to share what they are doing with the other ladies from our church.

The idea was to support each other and share our gifts.

We had a mobile spa owner, a house cleaner and professional organizer, a wellness and life coach, a gym owner, a professional trainer and little ol' me.

Each of us had a chance to speak for two minutes, there were giveaways, coffee, sweets and mingling.

Oh and yarn, I brought lots and lots of it.

In the form of baby hats and infinity scarves.

I also brought a couple of other things I hope to get into the shop soon.

Business card holders.

Covered Moleskine journals.

All perched atop gorgeous vintage linens because they make me happy.

It was a really fun night and I learned a lot. Specifically that I want to do more shows, just not in heels!

A Good Chuckle!

2012-01-22T22:46:00.004-05:00

Oh my friends, I got a good chuckle in my inbox this week. Can I share it with you?

"You seem to have it all together and I would assume that with all the projects you complete, that you have to have some grand method of keeping up!"

So while you may see this on my blog...

Let's take a little peek to my left, shall we? Yikes!

Kid #1 has a belt tied around his forehead and is practicing "harate" (that's karate!) then gets sick of that and switches to hiding like a turtle under his toy box, while kid #2 looks like this. One arm in, one arm out! How did that happen?!

So now you know the truth. Psst, don't tell anyone I don't exactly have it all together!

Pinterest Weekend at the Lake!

2012-01-11T17:00:00.001-05:00

There comes a time in every mommy's life when she's itching to go away for a weekend, leave her babies in the secure arms of her hubby and connect with girl friends. Am I right?

Throw in a sewing machine, paintbrush, some sugar, a little junking, loads of laughs and it's the stuff dreams are made of.

Alicia and I have been dreaming of just such a weekend since we met. We read each other's blogs and met a few months ago when she moved across the country to NC. Our hope is to one day soon make a weekend like this available to you crafty friends so more of us will have the chance to meet and make the things we drool over on Pinterest.

Alicia arrived to my parents lake house on Friday night. We popped some popcorn on the stove (whoa, so yummy!) and talked until the wee hours of the morning. Saturday we got right down to business. After a quick Starbucks run we went to the Flea Market to look for some good quality junk!

We did some wheelin' and dealin' to find only the best stuff and boy, did we hit the mother load! Inspiration oozed out of every corner of this place.

Pinky promise... I didn't style the typewriter for this picture, but it's perfect for me, right!?

Here are our purchases... that sewing box filled with wooden spools... $10, the vintage patterns... 3 for $1! $1 for the linen dish towel with my parent's wedding year on it. $65 for the four-shelf metal rack that's foldable! *sigh!*

How awesome is Alicia's TNT box!? I can just see it filled with a ton of her new mixed media pieces to display at her first art show. (Yes, we dreamed about that too!)

Home again after a bite to eat at Ikea, we dug in to our crafting supplies. For the next few hours and in to Sunday morning there was a flurry of needle felting, painting, sewing, wood distressing, Mod Podge-ing, and hot glue gunning while we worked on our Etsy lines.

At one point I looked up from my projects and had a "moment." The table was filled with two sewing machines, a serger and paints everywhere. I had just spent a whole weekend with a girl I met through the internet, yet it was like I had just hung out with my sister. We are on the same page. Does that make sense?

I'm always the crazy one who brings my latest project to family gatherings and is glued to my camera. This picture is for my hubby, proof that other crazies do exist! :)

It's nice to have another creative mind to bounce ideas off of. She "gets" me!

And so my friends, you have lots to look forward to! First, our Etsy lines are coming out soon. Alicia's will be filled with yummy plaids and warm felts, just perfect for winter and valentine's day. I'm still dreaming about mine, but I'm thinking that I'll release a winter line called "Paper" and in the spring it will be all about the babies!

And sometime in the near future we will have a Pinterest weekend for the masses, wanna come?

(Read Alicia's post about our weekend here. She's a much better writer than me, so it'll be good.)

It's a new year... let's organize it!

2012-01-03T20:45:00.001-05:00

Writing lists, keeping journals, logging successes, learning from failures, setting goals, planning for the future... it's a new year, I want it to be an organized one.

Printable Lists- Office Workers by Wild Olive

I made a pretty big realization the other day after listening to this CraftyPod podcast. I'm not an organized blogger. When an idea comes to my head I'll make it, photograph it and post about it without a whole lot of forethought. I want to be better at planning out my projects and posting ahead of time, that way I'll have time to improve on my writing and hopefully a more thoughtful blog will result.

That takes discipline and planning, so I did a little Pinterest search for "blog planner" and got some ideas. Here's an awesome planner for a week at a glance.

Photo from Wild Olive

I really wanted a month at a glance so I created my own.

It has space to write in each of my posts for the month along with ongoing ideas on things to make, photo, contact, research and do.

Email me if you want a copy, for some reason Google Docs is mad at me.

Maybe I'll have a planning day at the beginning of each month to plan that month's posts. If you ever have any ideas for something you'd like to see or hear about or if you just want to know about my favorite Christmas gift, shoot me an email and maybe I'll make a whole post out of it. Oh and if you have any suggestions for improvement I guess I want those emails too... ok, seriously, I want to hear it!

A look back...

2012-01-01T21:12:00.000-05:00

What is it about the start of a new year that makes me sentimental? Between Christmas and New Years Day I always seem to have more free time than usual with the hubby home and the stores closed. I love quiet down time to think back and to plan for the next year.

We've been through a lot together this year, thanks for hanging out with me.

We've made things.

And all that while my babies have grown into big boys.

I'd say we have fun here, don't we?! In two of my first posts last year I told you about my new favorite things, Pinterest and the lickety knitter. I had no idea that by the end of the year they would grow into an obsession and a business! Wonder where we'll be next year. Thanks for reading! I love you guys!

My Soul Felt Its Worth!

2011-12-24T15:00:00.000-05:00

My favorite Christmas carol says it best, "Long lay the world in sin and error pining 'till He appeared and the soul felt its worth."

I know my worth because God proved it when he sent his only son to earth. I know my worth because Jesus proved it when he chose a horrible death for me. I know my worth because the Bible constantly reminds me of it and the Holy Spirit confirms it in my heart. I am valued, I am loved and I matter... so do you!

How do you know if God loves you?

How do you know if you have any value to him or if you matter at all?

I have good news! God sent his only son, Jesus, to earth many many years ago. Jesus didn't make any mistakes while he lived on earth. Not a single one. No one had ever lived a perfect life to that point and no one has since. He didn't come for accolades though, he came to be a servant. Living a life of obedience and dying a painful death. It was God's rescue plan. God wanted to rescue you and me! He knew that we couldn't live the perfect lives we needed to live in order to be with him forever in Heaven, so he made another way. Jesus is the way! Do you believe that?

For we ourselves were once foolish, disobedient, led astray, slaves to various passions and pleasures, passing our days in malice and envy, hated by others and hating one another. But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that being justified by his grace we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life. (Titus 3:3-7 ESV)

Merry Christmas, My Dear Friends! Happy Birthday Jesus!

Toy Car and Crayon Clutch... Part 2

2011-12-23T23:48:00.004-05:00

It's been a while... remember these?

It holds four toy cars, eight crayons and the attention of your active little man while you're out and about.

Now I'm gonna throw a ton of pictures at you, hold on. I just got a new camera lens for Christmas and these little clutches were so sweet to pose for me.

Heather, these are coming your way. I hope the little guys in your life love them.

New Hats in the Shop!

2011-12-13T17:17:00.002-05:00

Just popping in for a quick minute to let you know that I've finished a couple of larger hats for your wee ones. These will fit kids age 1 to 4 years old.

My favorite is the white hat with the removable poinsettia pin. Perfect for caroling, picking out a Christmas tree and sitting in Santa's lap. Come visit me at the shop and take home a little something.

Oh Geez, Christmas Tree!

2011-12-12T14:10:00.006-05:00

At long last, my Christmas tree skirt is done! Can I just tell you that I don't like sewing Christmas tree skirts? They require more than my year's quota of math.

When I was little my dad would call out math problems in the car while we were driving somewhere. Being the pleaser that I am coupled with the fact that I have a smarter-than-average younger brother made for many, many long and tearful car rides.

By the time I was... I don't know... a Junior in college... I had finally memorized my multiplication tables. Kidding, but seriously if you want to get me all flustered just say "Quick, seven times eight!"

"Circumference equals two pie r" or is it "pie r squared"? Just typing that makes my palms sweat. (And reminds me that I need to make a chocolate chess pie for a Christmas party tonight!)

There were three different variations of this skirt in my head. I ran out of fabric twice, pom pom fringe once, and I have a ton of ric-rack that will now be used for a different project. Ha! Seriously, I think I need to do a better job of planning.But my attitude changed when I saw how pretty the new skirt looked under our tree and when we put up our favorite ornaments. Good thing I'll only have to make one Christmas tree skirt in my lifetime. That thing better not wear out!

In other news, Pinehurst was wonderful! I've never experienced anything quite like the spa. Just to give you a little taste of the amazingness, when I got out of the shower at the end of my time there they had made me a smoothie to drink while I dried my hair. Who does that?! I loved my little taste of royal living, but honestly, it's good to be home.

Pinehurst!

2011-12-09T21:31:00.006-05:00

Kyle and I are at Pinehurst right now... kidless! My sweet parents offered to watch the boys so we could come for a little time away.

While he's doing a bit of this...

I'm the nerd doing this...

(And yes, it is possible to knit with gloves on if you were wondering!)

Kyle and I are convinced that God grew this bush on the 16th green just for this picture!

(Raspberry Ribbed-Knit Circle Scarf... in the shop now!)

On the agenda for tomorrow is a first for me... the spa (a Christmas gift from my parents)! Seriously, is it possible to feel any more blessed and pampered?!

Psalm 126:2,3

Our mouths were filled with laughter,

our tongues with songs of joy. Then it was said among the nations,

“The LORD has done great things for them.”

The LORD has done great things for us, and we are filled with joy.

Create Studio Shop Launch Party!!

2011-12-07T12:25:00.011-05:00

Hey Y'all! I'm so excited to welcome you to my new shop! Come on in!

I've been dreaming of opening an Etsy shop for a long time. I just love the idea of working hard to give you, my faithful blog readers, some pretty little makes straight from my creative room.

My idea is to have four different product lines, corresponding with the seasons, so I won't always be selling the same things. If you've been reading my blog for a while you know that I have a little bit of crafty ADD... I hardly make the same thing twice. Since I wanted my shop to be an extension of my blog I thought it would be fitting to offer you a little variety too.

I don't know if it's possible to be more excited about dumb ol' bubble wrap envelopes than I am! I get so giddy thinking about the pretty things that will be going all over the country (world?!) wrapped up in some pretty twine...

with a cute little note from me saying thank you!

So wanna see the winter line?

When I give a gift I love to tell the story of how I bought it, how it was made or why I thought it would be the perfect gift for my recipient. I like to give gifts with a story. Every gift should have a little drama and these pieces are no exception!

(Navy and Denim Ribbed-Knit Twist Circle Scarf)

There is a debate in the fashion world about just what to call these... cowl, infinity scarf, snood, tube scarf... but whatever you call it JCrew claims that this type of scarf is "one of the season's biggest stars." In fact, JCrew and Forever 21 have already sold out of similar styles this season!

(Charcoal Ribbed-Knit Twist Circle Scarf)

Made of a soft, warm blend of lambs wool and easy care acrylic, these circle scarves are also machine washable and I'm certain they will become one of your favorites this freezin' season!

(Cranberry Ribbed-Knit Twist Circle Scarf)

I've already worn mine over a little black dress or with jeans... to a Christmas party and to the park, so you know they are versatile too.

(Carolina Blue Ribbed-Knit Twist Circle Scarf)

But my favorite thing about these circle scarves is the fact that you can quickly throw it on over a shirt to elevate your whole look. And as a mom, quickly getting out the door and not looking like a complete wooly-booger is key! I hope you love them as much as I do.

(Grass Green Ribbed-Knit Twist Circle Scarf)

Come visit me at my Etsy shop and take a circle scarf, infinity scarf, snood... whatever, home with you!

I've also got knit hats for kids!

(Knit Navy and White Hat with Pom Pom)

(A big huge thanks to my husband, sisters-in-law, mom, friends and nephew who stood outside in the freezing cold usually in random people's yards to get just the right pictures for me. Get your portfolio's ready, I'm certain you'll be getting tons of calls from modeling agencies soon. Remember I found you first!)

Big News!

2011-12-04T23:53:00.003-05:00

I have some super duper awesome news for you guys...

I've started an Etsy shop!

I'm a small business owner!

I'm filed with the state of NC as a sole proprietorship!

I'm freaking out!

Want to come to my launch party this week?

Let me stock the shelves and give the windows a good cleaning then I'll open the doors for you.

Did I mention that I'm super excited? Well I am and if you want in on a little more of the behind the scenes, check out Facebook. See you real soon!

A Circus Party... the show must go on!

2011-11-28T14:40:00.008-05:00

Owen turned four last week! Right smack dab in the middle of the birthday festivities the stomach bug hit our house... but the show must go on, right!?

It was pretty funny actually. Saturday night I decorated the house, iced the cake and went to bed feeling pretty good about myself for being on top of my game. Owen's party was scheduled on Sunday night, but I knew I wouldn't have much time on Sunday to prepare, you know with church and naps and all. (I teach the 2 and 3 year olds at church, so Sunday naps are a must!)

Sunday morning Owen woke up sick, so all plans were scratched, but the table stayed decorated. He was so excited to see everything! Just the sight of all those boxes of Cracker Jacks brought a little hope of feeling better.

Fortunately it was a 24 hour bug, so Monday night we went to a little circus that was in town then decided to have our party. Tuesday morning I woke up with the ickies myself...

So that durn table stayed decorated from Saturday night until Wednesday!

I may be sick of looking at these decorations that outstayed their welcome at my house, but I really had a good time putting some thought into this special day for Owen. We had a big top made out of streamers on the ceiling.

One of my favorite things was the mantle decorated with beautiful library books.

(How cheap are those decorations!?)

Walmart surprised me with the perfect paper napkin for the event and there was pom-pom fringe too (be still my heart!)

Throw in a couple of elephants.

Kyle and I put on a small show in the living room...

It's a shame really that Owen wasn't able to have a better time!

Happy Birthday my sweet boy. We're so proud of you!

(I used both the invitations and the cake topper printables from One Charming Party... they are free! You can see my whole inspiration board for this party here.)

Big Top Birthday Coming Soon

2011-11-17T13:06:00.008-05:00

Owen is turning four on Monday and we're taking him to a little circus that's in town. He's never been to a circus and doesn't exactly know what one is, so I thought I'd give him a taste of it a little early. We're throwing him a "Big Top" birthday on Sunday.

Hot dogs, Cracker Jacks, popcorn, clown hats, a lion tamer... you know, the basics!

I always sketch out what I want my tables to look like before a party. I'm very visual and it helps me to remember what I want to put out and in what serving dishes. That way I don't forget anything.

I think I'll give you a few of my party planning secrets after the party is over. Right now I'm off to taste test the icing... someone's gotta do it!

Anthropologie: Why you gotta be so great?

2011-11-16T07:27:00.000-05:00

We spent some time in West Palm Beach last week and look what I found!

Anthropologie's handmade styling first captured my attention when I listened to this awesome interview. (Do any of you listen to podcasts while you work? I'd love to hear your suggestions.) Anthropologie hires talented artists and lets them really push the boundaries with the displays.

I've had the privilege of visiting the store a few times and each time I go I am blown away by the visuals. This time there was a huge chandelier made out of zip ties. (You can kinda see it behind my cute roomie and little boybarians in this picture.)

The last time I went there were light fixtures that would take your breath away made out of plastic bottles, book pages and things like that. Everything they do is innovative and their ideas are usually where handmade trends are born. Me, I'm a sucker for their drawer pulls.

This time the coolest idea award went to these little notebooks. The tag said the designers found old painted canvases at garage sales and cut them to make these notebooks... there were tote bags too. I also found this little headband beaded with lots of bling, but the price tag was a little less inspiring so maybe I'll make my own.
Looks like Anthro is into my new teal and red combo too.

Here's a Christmas tree made out of starched sheet music. $48? No, I don't think I'll bite.

Any store with a beauty like this in the window is sure to steal my heart. Anthropologie, why you gotta be so great?!

2 Hour Cowl

2011-11-15T08:08:00.006-05:00

I have a ton of great things to share with you from my trip to West Palm Beach, FL last week, so I thought I'd get this quick project out first. I whipped up this cowl in a couple hours last night. I don't knit, so I used my lickety knitter, or whatever it's called.

I love that thing! (Here are a couple of my other projects using it: blanket and hats.)

Here's the cowl inside out. Love it that way too! Don't really love taking pictures of myself in the mirror though... awkward!

Christmas Cards from Shutterfly

2011-11-09T07:00:00.002-05:00

I got one thing checked off of the list early this year... the Christmas card is done and ordered, yay!!

Even a few bumps and bruises couldn't slow us down.

Be sure to read this post to find out how you can get 25 free cards from Shutterfly!

The Latest...

2011-11-05T08:17:00.002-04:00

Just popping in for a quick update.

Working on: "Knitting" winter hats

Thinking about: Dreaming of starting an Etsy site. I don't know, it would be a lot of work, but after I made these I thought they would be fun to see in someone else's hands.

Mommying: Mommy business is booming. Baby #2 is getting his first haircut, so no more party in the back, sorry ladies!

Trendy Teal and Red. I've sold out.

2011-11-04T07:21:00.002-04:00

I picked up a few yummy craft supplies yesterday. (What is it about pom pom fringe that makes me giddy!?) All of this stuff is for different projects, but I'm noticing a trend here...

By the way, this is going to be my Christmas Tree skirt soon.
And this is going to be my first oil cloth project. A zippered bag. (Are you proud of me that I'm tackling two biggies in one project... zippers and oilcloth, oh my!)

What projects are you working on? Have you started thinking about Christmas crafting yet?

Marshmallow Gun

2011-11-03T14:40:00.000-04:00

My dad is a creative genius! He came up with this idea, but it was just too good to keep to myself. A Marshmallow Gun!!

Here's the deal, it's just a few pieces of PVC pipe cut to various lengths along with two T-joints, and an L-joint or two. There's no need for any glue, because part of the fun of this gun is twisting it apart and making different designs.

Like this one, Owen created a little holder for his extra marshmallow bullets.

**cheese**

After many different models, Owen and I discovered that the best gun has a clear shot down a straight barrel (That's not exactly rocket science, but I wanted him to come to that conclusion himself.)

Uh, clearly we went back to the drawing board on this one! ha!

This one had a little too many twists and turns too, but it's all a learning process and it makes for a great science lesson!

I'll let you in on our little secret, you have to roll the marshmallow in your hand a little bit to make it more dense, then stick it in...

no, no, no, stick it in to the end of the gun. (We had a few casualties!)

There we go... (love those blue fingers!)
And our final design, the prize winning sharp shooter.

You'd be surprised at how well these things shoot! Owen and his older cousin set up a target for some practice and they are actually pretty accurate too! I'm thinking about putting together a few kits for those hard-to-buy-for tweens on my list.

Farmer's Market Treasure Hunt

2011-10-26T22:49:00.000-04:00

I had the opportunity to guest post over at Simply Modern Mom while Tiffany was loving on her new little baby, but if you missed it...

One thing you should know about me is that I love the Farmer's Market. Friendly people, good eats...

Cute babies in a sea of pumpkins!

I mean, what's not to love about that?!

In an effort to share my love of the Farmer's Market with Owen, we went on a Farmer's Market Fall Treasure Hunt.

He searched for treasures like pumpkins, a plaid shirt, apples and (of course!) a John Deere logo while I filled my basket with lots of fall goodness!I just love the Farmers Market.... have I mentioned that yet?

(You can download my treasure hunt page here.)

Guest Posting Today

2011-10-25T06:54:00.001-04:00

I'm guest posting over at Simply Modern Mom today while Tiffany kicks back and enjoys her new little baby Eve. Come visit and see what we found at the Farmer's Market!!

Blogging in the Real World

2011-10-23T13:00:00.001-04:00

Have you ever met a blogging friend in "real life"?

It's funny, I've built relationships in this two-dimensional blogging world but then when I met Alicia face to face something strange happened... the reality that someone very real with a very real life and very real kids has been on the other end of all those comments and emails hit me. I don't think I'll blog the same way again. I think I'll be much more thankful for you, my readers. You're not just here to quickly skim the pictures of my latest projects and then leave without a trace, you really care. Thank you for caring.

Alicia moved to Asheville from South Dakota just a few short weeks ago. My husband had to be in Asheville for some business meetings this weekend, so we coordinated a trip with my parents to visit lots of family along the way to meet Alicia and her kids.

We met at Tupelo Honey Cafe to try the fare that has been raved about in Southern Living. I had the Sweet Potato Pancake. It's a large buttermilk pancake flavored with spices and sweet potatoes, and just to make things more interesting they added maple granola right in to the batter! A.M.A.Z.I.N.G!

Our kids totally hit it off! Owen even asked to hold Noah's hand at the end of breakfast on the way to our next stop. How cute is that!? I love how easily kids can make friends, it's like the only criteria is that you are remotely close in age. I wish it could be that easy for adults.

This picture was hilariously hard to take, but we finally corralled all of our kids just in time for a quick group shot.

Alicia really is a gem, one of those special people I can tell will be a friend for a long time. You know that feeling you get when you meet someone new and you kind-of experience your world in a fresh way through their eyes? You're always thinking, "I wonder what they would think about that?" and "I can't wait to hear what she'll say about this." Yeah, I have that feeling.

But just in case I didn't get a good feeling when I met her (I mean what if she were some crazy serial killer!?) I made her some pumpkin spice bread wrapped in a fun dish cloth. I guess the plan was to throw it in another direction and run if I had to! ha!

I appliqued North Carolina on the top there, can you see it? The fabrics don't stand out as much as I had originally intended, but I will be making more of these.
Side Note: Have you ever worked with sac cloth? It's pretty wonderful. Even after washing and pressing it still has all of these great, tiny little wrinkles. You haven't seen the end of the sac cloth projects, I can't wait to sew with it again. So it was a great weekend with wonderful company and tons of good food, and I have this little blog to thank for all of it... this blog and a very creative God who could coordinate the meeting of two perfect strangers from different sides of the country! Yay God!

Painting Party!

2011-10-22T19:10:00.008-04:00

I haven't really gotten in to the Living Social or Groupon deals, I just don't need another email telling me what I neeeed to buy... But I might be changing my tone soon.

Last week (or was it the week before, sheesh!) my college roomies and I got together for a painting party at Artistic Abandon. Amanda found out about it for us on Living Social and when we found out we could bring our own drinks and sugar we jumped on board!

I guess painting was a draw for us too, but what we really needed was a night to get away, laugh and have some craft therapy... oh and not clean up after ourselves, please!

Artistic Abandon is pretty new. The concept is awesome. You choose a date and a painting has been assigned to that date ahead of time. Everyone in the group paints the same thing and all of the materials are provided. The artist in charge gave us directions every step of the way and in the end we walked away with something we were proud of.

What I loved most was the fact that there was plenty of time to finish each step, so we got to giggle and catch up while we waited for everyone else.

If you're in the Raleigh area, I definitely recommend trying out Artistic Abandon. So fun!

(P.S. I'm pretty sure that trees don't branch up like that in real life, but you know what... I'm fine with that!)

From Sea to Shining Sea

2011-10-10T00:23:00.010-04:00

I've finally finished the embroidery work I wanted to do on my big summer project! Thanks for sticking it out with me through my first and second updates. We've come along way!

The funny thing is that I've never actually done any embroidery, so I studied a few picture tutorials and got to work, learning as I went.

Blanket stitch, running stitch, cross stitch, crazy made-up Sarah stitch... it's all there.

I chose to randomly embroider the states, but one state in particular got preferential treatment.

My beloved North Carolina, you hold my heart!

How to make a Paci Mustache!

2011-10-05T11:23:00.007-04:00

As promised, here's the tutorial for the paci mustaches.

I originally made these for our Little Man Party and my sister-in-law is reusing hers for my nephew's Halloween costumes. How hilarious are these costumes, I mean seriously!?

So here's what you'll need:

-Paci's (I used Nuk brand)

-Cate's Magnificent Mustaches Template

-Black craft foam

-Scissors

-Glue gun

Cut the template out first and use it to cut out the pattern on the black craft foam. Then attach it to the top of the pacis with the glue gun. (The nice thing about using the glue gun is that when your event is over you can remove the 'stache and use the paci like normal.)

Obviously you'll want to watch these pacis because the 'stache is a choking hazard, but it won't be too hard to take your eyes off of these hilarious little ones! From left to right you've got: The Fu-man-chu Stache, The Femi Stache, The App Stache, and The I-talian Stache. Oh my goodness my sides still hurt from all of the laughing!

Find tons more mustache goodness on my Pinterest board and my Little Man Party post.

A Sweet Baby Boy Shower

2011-09-30T11:05:00.002-04:00

I love any excuse to make lots of sweets! Our friends Rachel and Tyler are having a baby boy, Leeland, very, very soon. Our Sunday School class threw her a shower and I got to do what I love the most... bake and eat! This little man got the full treatment...

Chocolate pudding cups with homemade whipped cream and a sugar cookie to top it off.

And you remember those little man cupcakes back there? Oh yeah, they made another appearance!

I've got to share my "Perfected Key Lime Pie" recipe with you soon. My husband and I bit the bullet and did a lot of personal testing to get this one juuuust right!
Oh and I've saved the best for last! This was my take on a cookie cake.

Here's the deal, you bake two dozen slice and bake chocolate chip cookies and let them cool. Layer 4 cookies with my vanilla buttercream frosting then 4 more cookies and repeat this process until the cake is as tall as you want it.

There will be a hole in the center. Pipe homemade whipped cream in the center, spilling out over the top, and allow the whole concoction to set up in your fridge overnight. The result is out of this world! The whipped cream softens the cookies and the frosting holds the whole thing together with just the right amount of sweetness. Oh so good!
Thanks for the excuse to eat sugar Rachel and Tyler, we can't wait to meet your new little sweet thing soon!

Blogaversary Competition Answer...

2011-09-29T09:15:00.004-04:00

Oh my goodness, I'm still alive! I never intended to make you all wait this long, but life has gotten super-duper crazy lately. I'll spare you the details, and get right to the fun part...

The lie was... #13! I don't drink coffee, only fun "fru-fru" coffee when I hang out with friends. Some of these deserve a little more info though, so I'll share the details:

1. I've visited 5 of the 7 continents. (I've never been to Africa or Antarctica... burr!)

2. I won an eating contest in college. (True! I ate a giant burrito!)

3. I ate french toast for almost 2 solid months every morning. (Yep, I'm in love with French Toast and when I was in the hospital with Trey I ordered it every morning... my doctors actually changed my name, "What's going on French Toast?!")

4. I've lived in NC my whole life and just visited TN for the first time this summer. (OK, that's the one that I accidently lied on... my oldest friend Anna cleared that up for me. I forgot that I did live in VA for a little while... how did I forget that!, but yes I did visit TN for the FIRST time this summer!)

5. My husband and I don't own any pets and we don't want to. (True!)

6. I lived in London for a summer. (Studied abroad during college)

7. I hate (with a passion) roaches and chemistry! (Amen! Equally scary and yucky.)

8. My husband and I have been leading a local Fellowship of Christian Athletes huddle for 8 years. (Yup, we love those kids and that school so much!)

9. I'm on a co-ed flag football team right now. (True, we've played for years, this year I'm an alternate.)

10. I was the student body president of my high school. (True again)

11. My favorite Halloween costume was when I dressed up as Daisy from the Great Gatsby. (Because I scored a full length fur coat and October is cold!)

12. I've had a blood transfusion and stitches, but I've never broken a bone. (I've almost chopped my finger off, but never had a broken bone.)

13. I can't function without my cup of coffee in the morning! (Big Fat Lie)

14. I'm convinced I should have been a kindergarten teacher. (I missed my calling)

15. I have webbed toes and my fingers are webbed more than the average person too! (haha! true!)

16. When I was little I couldn't say my name so I called myself "Sayboo." (My oldest friends still call me that!)

17. I was a journalism major, but I've actually spelled "of" "uv" once before. (Ugh, can you believe that!?)

18. My husband is a scratch golfer and my son's first word to read was "golf." (what can I say, we like golf around here.)

19. My husband proposed to me at his rival college... my college. (What a good sport he is.)

20. I've held a koala bear. (Yes, and they are SO slow.)

A Friendly Blogaversary Competition... let's do this!

2011-09-21T22:48:00.009-04:00

It's the week of my three year blogaversary! Lots has happened since I started here on my little patch of blogosphere with this header.

Usually I spend a lot of time here sharing my latest creations, activities with the kiddos, cutsie parties or yummy baked goods. Well today let's just put all that aside, shall we? Let's take a look back at all of my funny little headers while I tell you a couple of things you may not already know about the person behind this blog... two truths and a lie style!

Do you know how to play? I'll list a ton of things here that are true about me and one of them will be a lie. Let's see how good you are at picking out the lie. Oh goody, this will be fun!

1. I've visited 5 of the 7 continents.

2. I won an eating contest in college.

3. I ate french toast for almost 2 solid months every morning.

4. I've lived in NC my whole life and just visited TN for the first time this summer.

5. My husband and I don't own any pets and we don't want to.

6. I lived in London for a summer.

7. I hate (with a passion) roaches and chemistry!

8. My husband and I have been leading a local Fellowship of Christian Athletes huddle for 8 years.

9. I'm on a co-ed flag football team right now.

10. I was the student body president of my high school.

11. My favorite Halloween costume was when I dressed up as Daisy from the Great Gatsby.

12. I've had a blood transfusion and stitches, but I've never broken a bone.

13. I can't function without my cup of coffee in the morning!

14. I'm convinced I should have been a kindergarten teacher.

15. I have webbed toes and my fingers are webbed more than the average person too!

16. When I was little I couldn't say my name so I called myself "Sayboo."

17. I was a journalism major, but I've actually spelled "of" "uv" once before.

18. My husband is a scratch golfer and my son's first word to read was "golf."

19. My husband proposed to me at his rival college... my college.

20. I've held a koala bear.

Alright, which one do you think is the lie? (And there's only one lie, I promise!)

Beans, Beans Good For Your Heart

2011-09-20T13:10:00.004-04:00

They're also good for busy little hands!

I've got two little boys who are super busy. They come up with some of the most creative ideas for fun and this is one of Owen's favorite. We like to pour a bunch of dried beans on a rubbermaid top and see what kind of fun can be made with them.

There are only two rules: 1. Don't put the beans in your mouth and 2. The beans have to stay on the mat. Other than that, it's a free for all. We push them with the bulldozers, slide them down tubes and into egg cartons, scoop them with spoons, or sort them by color. What do you do with your kids while you're making dinner?

Little Man First Birthday Party

2011-09-13T08:08:00.013-04:00

Trey is one! And while he hasn't exactly told us his facial hair preferences yet, we took the liberty to choose a mustache party for him.

Brightside Prints supplied the gorgeous custom invitations.

The paper quality was amazing, can you tell how thick that is?

Thanks Brightside!
The inspiration for the party came when I saw these mustache pacis on Pinterest. You can buy your own here. (Or check out my tutorial!)

I wish you could have heard us laughing when we saw the kids in these. I especially love the "femi-stache" on my niece Louisa! And who knew there was a mustache app too... hilarious!

Can you hear the giggles?

I made a "Happy Birthday" banner for Trey and attached pictures of him from the past year all 'stached out. (Thanks Picnik.)

Fortunately for me, my husband wears bow ties, so I asked if he would help me tie a few to the chandelier. (That's the old brass chandelier I saved a few years back.)

The table runner is something I dreamed up out of my husband's old dress shirts (I'm thinking those shirts have been pretty well re-purposed now, from work to baby quilt and now table runner!)

OK, maybe a couple more use for those shirts... I cut off the sleeves to cover the flower vases.

And cut off the collar to make the napkins look a little cuter.

Now on to the food table, shall we?

I had waaay too much fun with these mustache candy molds. We used them for cupcake toppers, favors and crayons.

I have a weakness for wedding cake, so I've been working hard to perfect a recipe that's as close as possible to that flavor. The cake was white almond cake with vanilla buttercream, it's the same recipe I used from my cupcake party baby shower.
I'm a sweets person, but for our salty friends, pretzel rods in old cigar boxes added to that "little man" feel. Judge me if you will for having cigar boxes at a one year old's birthday party, but those boxes are gorgeous aren't they?!
Now if all of this talk of sweets is making you thirsty, be sure to wet your whiskers.

And for the big kids, mustache crayons to color with while the little ones played.

Here's the whole fam (being photo bombed by our nephew Noah!)

It was such a great party, we're so proud of the little man that God has blessed us with.

But wait, before you go...

We hate to see you leave, but if you really "mustache" take this too!

(If you're planning a little man party, I have the water bottle wraps, little man paci sign and favor tags I designed and I'm happy to share them, just email me.)

Mustaches, Mustaches Everywhere!

2011-09-03T07:14:00.000-04:00

All of Trey's little buddies have big brothers Owen's age, so we knew we would need a little something to keep the big boys entertained at the "Little Man" party.

Owen and I took it on ourselves to make mustache crayons. To get in the mood, we started by watching the Mr. Rogers "How Crayons are Made" video. Bring back memories?!

We took all of the wrappers off of some old crayons, broke them into small pieces, then melted them in a tin can placed in a pot of boiling water on the stove. (There are only a gazillion and one tutorials for this technique online, so I'll spare you another step-by-step tutorial.)

Once the wax was melted we poured it into a mustache candy mold and layered the colors for a rainbow effect. It's definitely not uniform or very pretty if you ask me, but we had fun and that's what counts.

We set up the mustache crayons on a table for the big boys at the party to color with.
Which of course prompted lots of goofy pictures!

Owen the photographer took this one of me.

More "Little Man" party pictures to come!

My Baby is One!

2011-08-30T14:03:00.002-04:00

Today is my baby Trey's first birthday! We're having family and a couple friends over tonight to celebrate. I'm so excited to show you all of the little details we've worked up. Here's just a sampling, expect many more mustaches to come!

(Doesn't Trey look like he owns an Italian restaurant in this pic? Pass the parmesan please!)

Fear of Zippers, No More!!

2011-08-25T00:01:00.002-04:00

I used to be afraid of zippers. I didn't want to tackle a project with them because I thought they were scary. And hard. And scary hard.

My friend Rachel is expecting her first little boy very soon, so she is in nesting mode! She asked me to make some pillows for her and use (duh duh dunnnnnn....) zippers. Yikes, my biggest fear!
I did a thorough internet search and watched too many youtube videos in preparation. And you know what?
I did it! And it wasn't scary, or hard, or scary hard. I tackled my fear of zippers!
Do you have a fear of something completely irrational? Well, I'm here to tell you to hitch up your pants and get over it! Because just look at the pretty-ness that wouldn't be there if I had given way to my fears!

2 Timothy 1:7

"For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power,

of love and of self-discipline."

That's what I'm talking about! Next up, killing a roach by myself.

Three Burp Cloths, One Hour

2011-08-24T20:47:00.000-04:00

By far the most popular tutorial on my blog is my two-sided burp cloth tutorial. I haven't made one in a while, so I revisited it today.

It was like running into an old friend. Hey, I remember you!

I forgot how easy the tutorial is, so I ended up making three with my new fabric in a quick hour.

I paired them with a washcloth lollipop to give as a gift. If I get really productive maybe I'll stock pile a bunch.

Celery Roses

2011-08-23T20:26:00.004-04:00

I have yet to find a recipe that calls for a whole stalk of celery. (Is it a stalk? head? bunch?) What I'm getting at is I always seem to have leftover celery, so I thought it would be fun to try my hand at some celery rose stationery today.

I originally saw this idea on Homemade Serenity and just had to try it!

Celery, you so purdy!

Rainy Day Beach Project for the Wee Ones

2011-08-17T22:28:00.000-04:00

A week at the beach is fabulous, but if a rainy day hits and you've got a house full of wee ones you had better have a few projects up your sleeve. I learned this quickly!

Owen and his adorable second cousin, Raleigh, decided to beat the storm and decorate treasure boxes inside. We pulled out the paint.

Then we pulled back Raleigh's beautiful curls after learning (the hard way) that beautiful locks like that are paint magnets. Oops!

Clearly I am a mom of boys!

Owen and Raleigh painted away on those boxes for so long that the clouds finally broke.

So Owen raced outside for a little kayak lesson from his brother.

We made a shell elephant to guard over Owen's treasures. Ferocious isn't she?! Her name is Byrtle. Really strikes fear in the hearts of anyone who would dare to steal Owen's two baseball cards and pennies that now reside there.Grrrrr...

My Parenting Goal

2011-08-01T22:00:00.004-04:00

I desperately want to be better at memorizing scripture, so tonight I typed up the verse that is my parenting goal, Colossians 2:2-3. I'm going to frame it and put it next to my kitchen sink, where, let's be honest, I probably spend 75% of my day! Hopefully with a verse this pretty it will jump into my brain more easily.

If you'd like a copy for your own kitchen sink, just email me!
Thanks for reading.

In Celebration of 30 Years!

2011-07-26T21:45:00.008-04:00

My family has been spending a week together at the beach for 30 years. We started out as a group of 11 and now we've grown to 27! We all stay in the same house. Close quarters, yes; but we wouldn't have it any other way. (That's me in the shadow of my dad's arm below.)

This year to celebrate our 30th year together we played a little game. (We are a super-competitive group, always up for a challenge!)

It started with a stack of pictures, one group shot from each of our 30 years, and an empty pennant.
The first challenge was to put the stack of group pictures in order by year.
This, of course, brought on tons of laughter as we pointed out homemade jean shorts on the adult men, 80's hairstyles that we hope never return, and the awkward years... oh the awkward years!
The next part of the game was answering 50 questions that all started with "In what year did..."
In what year did

...we bring the big trampoline to the beach? (yes, we did... two years actually!)

...we make potato cannons? (that had a range of about 100 yards I might add!)

...we have our first Murder Mystery?

...we watch the sea turtles hatch?

...one uncle roast each one of us in his underwear? (true story!)

It was hilarious to relive all of the memories! My sweet grand daddy, Daddy Mac, had us all in stitches!
We ended the game by pinning each of our 30 pictures to the pennant in order so that we could enjoy them all week. Here I am with my brother and two cousins eating spaghetti in 1985 (one of the years we didn't get a full group shot.)
We have so much to be thankful for and here's 30 years of pictures to prove it!

Wanna see how we creatively feed that many people at the beach? I've posted about that here and here.

Fabric Love

2011-07-23T21:45:00.005-04:00

When I love something I kinda go all out, all my chips are in, nothing held back, all emotions are on the table. So the word "like" isn't very commonly heard coming out of my mouth.

Now you know that when I say I love fabric, I'm REALLY in love (bordering on obsessed) with fabric. If you've been reading this blog for any small length of time it's pretty obvious that my favorite colors are in the blue, green, aqua (is that redundant?) family.

My sweet friend Marty gave me a gift certificate to my favorite fabric store for my birthday and it burned a whole in my pocket until I had the chance to go. I would normally gravitate towards the cool colors, but today I thought I would be a renegade. Maybe it has something to do with turning 30, but here goes, I'm branching out...

Look at all of these beautiful new colors for me!

I mean, yes, that is a red you see there! I'm so crazy.
But don't worry, just to show you that I haven't completely lost my mind I bought this aqua pattern. Maybe these nice birdies want to help be "branch out" (cheesy pun most certainly intended). Birdies, would you like to be friends with the red dots?
Or the green floral? You had better speak up, because the non-renegade Sarah really likes this green floral.
I love blues and greens, did I mention that when I love something I really, really mean it? Oh yeah, I did.

Side note...

2011-07-21T17:12:00.001-04:00

Guess who is fully potty trained... finally?!

I guess he just needed the right gear!

Four Layer "Stocked" Potatoes

2011-07-07T16:19:00.001-04:00

I've never entered a recipe contest before, but when I heard about the "Knorr Four" Recipe Contest through BlogHer I thought I'd give it a try. I entered and the next thing I knew a brand new product was delivered to my door. It doesn't hit the grocery store shelves until August, but the Knorr Concentrated Homestyle Chicken Stock has made its way around my kitchen and I love the results!

Unlike liquid stock, Knorr Homestyle Stock is really versatile. It can be diluted with almost any liquid, so I diluted it with Corona beer to baste my chicken. I also used it in its concentrated state as a rub for my potatoes. I love the little tubs too, they take up so much less space in my pantry than the big cartons of liquid stock.

Here's my original creation. I call it "Four Layer Stocked Potatoes." The husband and kids gobbled these up! They are excellent as leftovers, or they can even be frozen and eaten another day too. Wanna make some?

You'll need:

2 large Baking (Russet) Potatoes

1 tub Knorr Concentrated Homestyle Chicken Stock

2 large Chicken Breasts

Pam cooking spray

1/2 cup Corona Beer

8 Tbsp. Tostidos All Natural Chunky Salsa- Medium (or your favorite salsa)

4 Tbsp. Shredded Sharp Cheddar Cheese

4 tsp. Real Bacon Bits

4 dollops Sour Cream (optional, but recommended!)

Serves: 4 Total Time: 1 hour

Let's get started. First, preheat your oven to 450 degrees. Wash your potatoes and prick them all over with a fork. Using a pastry brush, cover the entire potato in a thin coating of Knorr Concentrated Homestyle Chicken Stock. The stock is the consistency of jelly, so you may have some clumps, that's ok. You'll use probably about 1 tsp of the stock to coat the potatoes.

Next, wrap your potatoes in aluminum foil (shiny side in). Place the potatoes directly on the rack and bake for 40-50 minutes or until the potato is soft when squeezed. If you have a toaster oven, it would work perfectly for this!
While the potatoes are baking, let's work on the chicken. Place the two chicken breasts in a zip-lock bag and pound them until they are about 3/4 inch thick. This will decrease your overall cooking time and ensure that the breasts cook evenly. Set them aside. In a small microwave safe bowl whisk 1/2 cup Corona beer with the remainder of the tub of stock. Microwave for 1 minute and whisk to incorporate.

Place the chicken on a non-stick skillet that has been sprayed with Pam cooking spray. Using the same pastry brush from earlier, baste both sides of the chicken with your stock and beer mixture generously. Sauté the chicken on medium-high until it is lightly brown on both sides and the thickest part of the meat is no longer pink in the middle. This takes about 8-10 minutes.

When the chicken is done, place it in a medium sized mixing bowl and shred with two forks.

When the potatoes have finished baking, pull them out and decrease your oven temperature to 350 degrees. Half each potato with a knife and using a melon scooper or a spoon, scoop out the center of the potato, leaving about 1/2 inch of potato around the outside along with the skin. Place each potato half on a baking sheet.

Now comes the layering part! The potato closest to us in the picture below shows the beginning of the progression. Layer one: shredded chicken; layer two: 2 Tbsp. salsa; layer three: 1 Tbsp. cheese; and layer four: 1 tsp. bacon.

Bake the "Stocked" potatoes for 3-5 minutes in a 350 degree oven or until the cheese is melted. Top with a dollop of sour cream and serve with a side salad.

(If you would like to make a few extra to stock the freezer, allow them to cool completely at this point and place the "stocked" potatoes side-by-side in an air-tight container. Freeze up to a week.)

Knorr, thanks for the new product! It's super tasty!!

My Summer DIY Project... Part 2

2011-07-05T14:04:00.007-04:00

Update on my (huge!) summer project:

All of the states have been cut out...

And ironed on to a piece of canvas.

Now all that's left is to embroider the state edges and pray my fingers don't fall off! :) I love the way this looks hanging in front of my window with the sun shining through, but its final resting place will be framed and hanging next to my boy's bunk beds.
I tried to choose a fabric that reminded me of someone I know from each state. You could say I have too much time on my hands, but whoa... that's not the case, so I guess my best excuse for doing something that cheesy is that I'm just a nerd!

(Update: Here's the finished project... good news, my fingers didn't fall off!)

My Summer DIY Project

2011-06-30T22:57:00.006-04:00

I needed a good summer DIY project that was conducive to lots of car trips and hanging out by bodies of water while chatting with family.

Throw in a large USA road map, laminate it, cut it up, pair each state thoughtfully with my favorite fabric scraps, back it with adhesive, iron it on to a canvas then stitch the whole thing down by hand and you've got the makings of a great (very long!) summer project.

I'm happy to report that the East Coast is looking mighty fine and is well on its way to being completed before July even starts. (Whew! And miraculously my two boys and husband are still alive and wearing clean clothes!)

Can you guess which state holds my heart?! It's pretty bright, I know.
Silliest state award goes to Florida... gotta love those Gators! :) Tebow would be proud.

(Update: If you want to see more, you can check out my progress and the finished product.)

How to Make (the best!) Homemade Ice Cream

2011-06-28T00:02:00.003-04:00

Just in time for the 4th I thought I'd share our family's tried and true homemade ice cream recipe. This recipe is for a great basic vanilla ice cream. To change it up, add whatever mix-in you'd like. Strawberries, banana, Oreos, chocolate sauce, Rolos... the possibilities are as endless as your creativity! (I made one quart of strawberry and one of strawberry banana (a huge hit!) this time.)

I use the Cuisinart 1 quart ice cream maker and love it, but you could use any automatic ice cream maker for this recipe. I also have a special helper that costs a lot extra!

**Make the ice cream the day before you'll eat it.**

To make 2 quarts, you'll need:

3 eggs (if you're serving this to a pregnant woman, use egg substitute)

1 1/4 can (the 12 oz size) evaporated milk

1/2 cup and 2 Tbsp. heavy cream

5/8 can (the 14 oz size) sweetened condensed milk

3/4 cup and 3 Tbsp white sugar

1/2 tsp. vanilla

1 package (the 3.5 oz size) instant french vanilla pudding mix

2 1/2 cups milk (plus some additional)

Automatic ice cream maker

Freeze the freezer bowl(s) the night before.

Beat all ingredients well in a medium sized bowl. Turn on your ice cream maker and pour half of the mixture in. Add additional milk to the fill line.

Let the mixture spin in your ice cream maker for the appropriate amount of time (mine is 30 minutes) and it will have this consistency:

Then you can add your mix-ins in one of two ways:

Either add the mix-ins in with the ice cream and mix an additional 5 minutes in the machine or (and this is my favorite way) scoop all of the ice cream out of the freezer bowl and into a plastic or glass container then mix the mix-ins by hand. I like this way because the fruit doesn't break down as much.

The ice cream at this point is a little soupy, so you'll want to freeze it overnight. This is what it looks like right when it comes out of the ice cream maker:

Two quarts feeds a large hungry crowd... I'm guessing it's about 12 servings... maybe more! I hope you love it as much as our family does!! It's one of my family's traditions to make homemade ice cream for July 4th. Nothing quite says summer like it! What do you do for the 4th?

Party in the Barn!

2011-06-24T06:27:00.002-04:00

A quick wordless post with pictures from my brother-in-law's recent rehearsal dinner. These were just too pretty to keep to myself!

Our friend Donna did a stellar job transforming a local barn for the night. She and her husband Steve spent the night before scrubbing all of those horseshoes clean, so be sure to notice how beautiful they look!

Knit Car Seat Blanket

2011-06-23T05:52:00.001-04:00

I know it was 100 degrees outside today, but I was inside knitting, yes... knitting! I finished a car seat blanket for my best friend's new little one.

Do you remember the blanket I made for Trey out of my husband's old shirts? Well, I used it all winter for my little guy while he was in his car seat, but I had one complaint. It was too big and it would constantly slip off.

I didn't want to sacrifice warmth while I was making a smaller blanket so I used the Lion Brand Wool-Ease Thick and Quick. It was perfect!

Three navy stripes at the top that get gradually thicker and a soft curl at the bottom... love it! I even love how the back of the blanket turned out. I used my Knifty Knitter to make it super quickly. Did I mention I like quick crafts?! I feel like I've said that a million times. I think I have crafting ADD. I need to work on quick crafts before I change my mind and find something else I want to make!
So to my dear Mr. Rohrer, I can't wait to meet you! I hope this blanket keeps you warm this winter on the long trip to see your favorite Aunt Sarah who lives in the far away land called North Carolina.

Lollipops Made with a Secret Ingredient

2011-06-22T07:45:00.001-04:00

Every once in a while I'll find a tutorial online for something adorable that I have to make right away, the kind of project that just can't wait until tomorrow. That's the way I felt about these lollipops.

Sweet for a little boy...

Perfect for a little girl...

They are made out of two baby washcloths

and a baby spoon!

You can find the full tutorial at 320 Days of Sunshine if you need to rush out and make them right now like I did!

I stuck mine in some pretty pink flowers as a baby shower gift, but I think they would also be super cute as a gift topper. Now if only they were edible...

Tea Party Summer Baby Shower

2011-06-14T20:18:00.002-04:00

Cathy and I serve together in the children's department at church. She coordinates the whole department and I teach the 2 and 3 year old class. Pretty soon she will be welcoming Bethany Cate to the family! My mom and I threw her a shower with our friend Toni.

We went with a Tea Party theme and had lots of tea pots filled with fresh cut flowers from our yards.

What a spread! I can assure you no one left hungry.

It was a 4:00pm shower so we had lots of little finger foods, but mostly sweets, and I didn't hear too many complaints about that! (Be sure to notice the teensy-weensy tea pot place card holders we used to label the food... so cute!)

Monogrammed Cake Balls... because what's more classic southern than tea pots, garden flowers and monograms!?

Chicken Salad Tarts (shh... it's store bought chicken salad and store bought tarts, but who would know that!?!)

My mom made the most adorable fruit arrangement Edible Arrangement style. She threaded fruit on to wooden skewers (the pineapple was cut into heart shapes with a cookie cutter)

then she stuck the skewers into a grapefruit that was placed in a bowl and covered with kale. Isn't she creative!?

And to top it all off, mini Bananas Foster cups. Ugh, I feel full just writing this post days later!

'Tis the season for weddings!

2011-06-13T13:51:00.008-04:00

I think I may have told you that before I was a mommy I was a wedding planner. I just love this time of year because it usually means a wedding or two is in my near future... but, lucky me, this month I have a wedding 3 out of 4 weekends! (As you can imagine, my husband does not exactly share my sentiment!)

There's something about being a part of an event that has been planned with great precision for months on end that I enjoy. I think it has something to do with knowing that each detail was thought through and chosen carefully.

Periwinkle and White:
My sweet friend Heather was married in April (the perfect month to be married if you ask me!) She and her fiancee thought of everything and believe it or not this was a wedding on a tight budget! They made the cupcake stand themselves; and yes, the chocolate and vanilla cupcakes were as good as they looked.

Navy and Buttercup:

Tracy is my sister-in-law's sister who also happens to have a killer instinct when it comes to cutting hair! She chose Navy and Buttercup as her colors, check out those heels... wowzers! My favorite detail was the unity cross, and the adorable ring bearer (my nephew!) with his best buddy Owen.

Pink and Black:

I had the privilege of being in the wedding of my brother-in-law this past weekend. My husband is one of three boys. The oldest has 2 sons and we have 2 sons, so we say that the Tucker girls are members of a very exclusive club, we have to marry in! Olivia is the newest member of our club, isn't she beautiful!? She chose pink and black as her colors and my favorite part of this wedding was the super cute groomsman I got to take home with me!!

What about you? Are there any wedding details that you're loving right now?

Shabby Apple Review

2011-06-10T23:00:00.002-04:00

I wore my first Shabby Apple dress to my brother-in-law's rehearsal dinner tonight. Want to read my honest opinion about it? Click here.

American Letterpress: Hatch Show Print in Nashville

2011-06-08T15:17:00.001-04:00

Hatch Show Print is one of the oldest working letterpress printing shops in the country. We had the opportunity to visit while we were in Nashville and boy, was it a treat!

They have been printing on the same old archive machines since 1879 and their work is amazing! You can get a letterpress save the date, baby announcement, or a Bruce Springsteen poster! I'd say they have a pretty diverse clientele!

Hatch Show hand inks and presses each poster. They honor the heritage of their old archive by using it! (I feel like I could learn a lot from them, since I'm the girl who has been married for 7 years and still hasn't used her china!) Their motto is "preservation through production," meaning that rather than putting the old wooden and lead type in a glass case and stare at them in a museum they keep the dust off by putting them to use doing what they were made to do!

We had a total blast looking through the posters that were in the shop... everywhere!

Want to see a short clip of what they do? I'd definately recommend a visit if you're in the area, even if you've never done letterpress it's still worth a stroll to see beautiful artwork like this:

Last two images from Theresa Williams Design, all other images are my own.

1,700 Mile Road Trip, No DVD Player, How We Did It

2011-06-05T00:40:00.002-04:00

We just made it home after a 1,700 mile road trip with our two boys, Owen 3 1/2 and Trey 9 months. You read that title right, we didn't have any electronic toys or DVD player and seriously, we didn't pull our hair out either! I'll let you in on a few of our secrets.

1. Pack new little toys

No need to spend a lot of money. Stash away McDonald's toys before they are played with or trinkets from birthday parties and pull them out slowly throughout the trip. The key here is to pack only things your kids haven't seen yet.

For pre-schoolers, think about bringing: coloring book, stickers, Highlights magazine, toy cars. For babies, think about bringing: baby toothbrush, ball, water bottle, chew toys, books with plastic pages.

Bring only one new toy out at a time, don't offer them all at once. When you control the amount of time each toy is played with you can stretch it out a lot longer.

2. Set up a work station

Give them a place to work or eat. I bought Owen this lap board at Target before we left. It was $9 and has a place for storage and a magnetic drawing board on top. It was great for snacking, drawing roads for his toy cars, he even used it as a pretend drum set!

3. Pack smart snacks

One thing you don't want to feed your kid when they are going to be stuck in the car for a while is a lot of sugar. Pack snacks that are easy to eat, but not messy. Drink water, not juice. Some examples of smart snacks might be: apple slices (that you cut up ahead of time), trail mix, goldfish crackers, and dried apricots. Don't forget to throw in a few small trash bags, wipes and napkins before you leave to clean up spills. (I love this idea for collecting trash!)

4. Set up a reward system

I created a ticket system for rewarding good behavior. Here's how it worked: When Kyle and I saw Owen have good behavior (being patient while Trey cried, sharing toys, saying "excuse me" when he wanted to talk to us, having a good attitude) we would give him a "ticket." Five tickets earned a special surprise for him. I chose a surprise for him out of my bag (a new matchbox car, bubble gum, a go-fish card game etc.) Again, not letting him see all of the other surprises to keep the element of suspense alive.

It took a while to earn 5 tickets and we had a rule that he wasn't allowed to ask for a ticket. This was a fun way of turning our focus towards the good behavior. The tickets were just small, laminated pieces of paper that said:

1. "Way to go! Ticket numero uno!"

2. "Look at you! Ticket number two!"

3. "Wow-wee, ticket number three!"

4. "Only one more, ticket number four!"

5. Owen's the man! Ticket number five! (OK, so the last one doesn't rhyme too well... whatevs.)

5. Stock up on books

I know I say it all the time and you're probably super sick of hearing me talk about how much I love my library (and have my 14-digit library card number memorized... a feat for me!!) but I have to say it one more time... I'm obsessed with my library! We go once a week. Before a big trip I stock up on books for Owen that have lots of interesting pictures and I make sure that they are hidden so that he sees them for the first time in the car. He'll flip through a book for a good 10 to 15 minutes! This time he "read" about electricity, race cars, trucks, trains, and space. The Eyewitness Books are our favorites and spur many interesting conversations.

6. Scheduling

Three hours of driving was our limit. Maybe yours is different, you'll just have to wait and see. Owen and Trey would hit a wall at three hours and we would need to take at least a 20 minute stop, get out, run around and play. We found that these breaks were so very important.

Try to keep your normal daily schedule like you would if you were home. (Meal times, nap time, snack time, bed time routine, etc.) A quick note here about lovies: I tried to keep the blankets and Trey's paci away from them until it was nap time, then we would try to soothe the boys with calmer music and quieter voices. Bringing out their blankets and Trey's paci then would usually do the trick to put them to sleep. Don't expect a normal nap in the car though!

7. Play games

Some of our favorite car games are:

I spy (To make the game a little more generic, we also say "I spy a circle" and Owen has to find anything that's a circle.)
Rhyming Game (I say a word and he has to say a word that rhymes with it and then we switch)
Color mixing game ("What two colors make purple?" or "How do you make green?")
Active listening game (we listen to music and try to tap to the drum beat or listen for the clapping or name the different instruments we hear)

There's a great road trip bingo and other printable games Owen enjoyed here. It also helped to have a map of our trip laminated so he could see where we were going and where we had been. I laminated a small map from our local AAA office that he loved to check.

So are you planning a road trip with the kids this summer? Don't be nervous, you can totally do it! It's really only as hard as you make it and I hope these few tips will help you out. Here are a couple of additional resources that might be helpful too:

Disney World Tips for Traveling with Toddlers

Moms Minivan

Strawberry Pickin'

2011-06-02T22:44:00.003-04:00

Owen and I went on a special date to pick strawberries a couple weeks ago. They were juuuuust right!

If you ask him about it though, you're sure to hear about the hay maze...

Or how yummy they tasted...

He may even tell you about the cows on the hay ride. "Mommy! Those silly cows are wearing ear rings!"

One thing he probably won't tell you about though is the actual picking that went on.

Because after 30 minutes of picking, that's mommy's bucket on the right and Owen's bucket on the left!

So, while he sure does love those strawberries, he left the picking up to me. And I'm fine with that!

I ended up making one batch of strawberry jam (recipe from the liquid pectin box), a batch of strawberry syrup (to drizzle over pancakes and ice cream), I dried a few (but that didn't work out too well), strawberry popsicles, and smoothies. I've also got a batch of puree ready to make fruit roll-ups. That is, if we're not totally strawberried-out by then!

Strawberry Fields Forever!

2011-05-13T21:56:00.006-04:00

I'm going strawberry pickin' this week! And to prepare for the onslaught of berries, I'm trying to think outside the box with some things I can make. How about these?

Strawberry Butter

Strawberry Shortcake Cookies
Strawberry Marshmallows

Homemade Strawberry Fruit Roll-ups

I'm so excited! The other recipes I've got up my sleeve are: Dried Strawberries, Strawberry Danish, Cake, Crisp, Limeade, Strawberry Pound Cake, French Toast, even Deep Fried Strawberries! Yippee!! See all the pics for the other recipes here.

The Royal Wedding Party!

2011-04-29T09:06:00.005-04:00

Today was the big day! Were you one of the crazies who got up at the crack of dawn to watch William and Kate get married? My friend Jenn had a fabulous Royal Wedding Party... complete with regal tarts and breakfast casserole served on silver platters!
The party started at 5:00am... here's the proof:
We donned our royal jewels...

And put on our most refined faces!

But underneath all of the pomp and circumstance we had on our PJ's and fuzzy pink slippers... it was 5:00am after all!

We squealed at all of the right parts and loved every minute of it!

Congrats Will and Kate! Thanks for the good excuse for a party!

Quick Clipboard Facelift

2011-04-27T11:38:00.002-04:00

I just finished a year of Bible study on the book of Revelation (a toughie, but sooo good!) and I wanted to thank the teachers who have been watching my boys each Tuesday morning. I decided to whip up a couple of thank you gifts.

In the past I've made chocolate sauce with gingerbread spoons and pumpkin spice bread, but I thought it would be a good time to break from the food gifts. Here are the clipboards that got a little facelift:

Wanna make some too? You'll need:

Clipboard
Mod Podge
Wide sponge brush
Paper
Ribbon
Old credit card

First, measure your paper by tracing the clipboard on the paper you chose and cut on the inside of your line. Cut out a piece of paper for the front and back and set these aside for a minute. I've made these before with tissue paper, wrapping paper, even old maps, but this time I used card stock and I was really pleased with how they turned out.

Put a thin layer of Mod Podge directly on the clipboard.
Use your wide sponge brush to spread it out like this:
Then place your paper on top of the Mod Podge layer and smooth out the bubbles. You can use an old credit card or a food scraper. This is an important step so that you don't get any bubbles, don't just use your hands, I promise you'll miss some bubbles.
After the bubbles are smoothed out, put another layer of Mod Podge on top of the paper to seal it. Allow that side to dry. Repeat these steps on the other side of your clipboard. Once both sides are done, prop up your clipboard and allow the whole thing to dry for a couple of hours.
After it's dry you can attach the ribbons. I threaded the ribbons under the clip and tied it around rather than through the loop at the top.Then package them in cellophane, because what girl doesn't like getting a gift wrapped in cellophane?! I love that stuff!

A Lesson in (Learning to Love) Sewing

2011-04-18T13:21:00.004-04:00

Is it possible to move from nervous anxiety about your sewing machine to a love of that gentle whir in one night? I think so!

I did a little experiment last week with my college roommate Amber and her friend Allison. There are plenty of sewing classes that you can take and come away with an elastic waisted skirt or a tote bag, but still have a fear of your machine. Sure you've mastered one small project, but you're still not sure what to do if your needle breaks on another project or why you would even need to change your needle in the first place.... oh yeah, and what the heck is tension?!
I really wanted to teach them more than just how to sew, but how to be comfortable with their machines and hopefully play match-maker for a new love of sewing! We talked about the basics... what's a pressure foot and how to change it, winding a bobbin, threading your machine, but we also talked about the fact that every time you put your needle to the fabric you're acting as a designer. You don't need an expensive pattern to design great things for your house, it just takes a little bit of understanding.
We started with some threadless practice on paper, then moved to the fabric. Two and a half hours later we emerged with two envelope pillows and a new excitement for sewing! What a blast!

Cupcake Recipes

2011-04-10T18:40:00.006-04:00

So many of you have asked for the recipes from my cupcake themed baby shower that I thought it would be easier to just make one great big post. I hope you enjoy these, feel free to email me with any questions you may have!

White Almond Cake

INGREDIENTS:

1 (18.25 ounce) package white cake mix

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 cup white sugar

3/4 teaspoon salt

1 1/3 cups water

1 cup sour cream

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

1 teaspoon almond extract

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

4 egg whites

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Grease and flour an 11x13 inch cake pan.

2. Stir together the white cake mix, flour, sugar, and salt in a large bowl until well mixed. Pour in the water, sour cream, vegetable oil, almond and vanilla extracts, and egg whites, and beat with an electric mix on low until all the ingredients are mixed and moistened but some lumps still remain, 4 minutes.

3. Pour the batter into the prepared cake pan, and bake in the preheated oven until the top is a light golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean, about 25 minutes. Allow to cool before frosting.

**This recipe is for a cake. For cupcakes, decrease baking time and watch them carefully. They will be done when a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.**

Vanilla Butter Cream

1 lb confectioners sugar (4 cups)

1/3 cup shortening

1/2 cup unsalted butter (I've found that Target brand is the best!)

3 Tablespoons milk

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla

1/2 teaspoon salt

Beat half the sugar with the shortening and butter. Gradually add milk and continue beating. Add vanilla and gradually add remaining sugar and salt until the right consistency is reached. Makes enough frosting for 24 large cupcakes.

White Almond recipe above. To make the coconut frosting, just add a little coconut extract to the Butter Cream recipe above (2 tsp or to taste) then top with flaked coconut.

Lemon-Cream Cheese Cupcakes

INGREDIENTS:

1 package (2-layer size) white cake mix (I always use Betty Crocker mixes!)

1 (3.4 ounce) package JELL-O Lemon

Flavor Instant Pudding

1 cup water

4 egg whites

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

1 (16 ounce) package powdered sugar

1 (8 ounce) package PHILADELPHIA

Cream Cheese, softened

1/4 cup butter

2 tablespoons lemon juice

DIRECTIONS:

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Beat cake mix, pudding mix, water, egg whites and oil in large bowl with mixer on low speed until moistened. (Batter will be thick.) Beat on medium speed 2 min. Spoon batter evenly into 24 paper-lined 2-1/2-inch muffin cups.

2. Bake 21 to 24 min. or until toothpick inserted in centers comes out clean. Cool in pans 10 min.; remove to wire racks. Cool completely.

3. Meanwhile, beat sugar, cream cheese, butter and juice with mixer on low speed until well blended. Frost cupcakes.

Chocolate Chip Cupcakes

INGREDIENTS:

1 package double chocolate chip cake mix (I always use Betty Crocker mixes!)

If there's not enough chocolate chips, add more! Bake as directed.

Peanut Butter Frosting

INGREDIENTS:
1/2 cup unsalted butter
1/2 cup smooth peanut butter (I always use Jiff)
3 cups powdered sugar
4 Tablespoons milk
2 teaspoons vanilla
DIRECTIONS:
Combine butter, peanut butter and 1 cup powdered sugar, beat with mixer until creamy. Add remaining 2 cups powdered sugar, milk and vanilla. Bet until fluffy. Yields enough frosting for 1 dozen large cupcakes.

To ice the cupcakes, I used a plastic piping bag from Michael's. I cut the tip about 3/4 inch. You could also use a plastic bag. Start in the center, circle around clockwise, then end with a little more pressure in the center again where you started.

Published!!

2011-04-06T13:44:00.002-04:00

AllFreeSewing.com has published my Easter Basket Tutorial in their latest free eBook, "8 Easter Sewing Projects."

Do you think an eBook counts for me to say that I'm "published"?

Of course it does, who am I kidding! I'm also quite certain now that I'm kind-of a big deal that I'm exempt from changing diapers and unloading the dishwasher too. It's so nice to be a famous craft star!

Hope you enjoy the book! (I've got to go deflate my head now!)

Glass Etching...again!

2011-04-05T22:57:00.001-04:00

You know how much I love doing glass etching. I think it's the perfect way to spruce up a Target find to make it a one of a kind fancy-smancy wedding gift.

I mean, have Q-tips ever looked this good? Seriously, they are actually cute! I don't think the word "cute" and "Q-tip" have ever been in the same sentence!

Love it! Check out the full tutorials here and here.

Sock Dog Tutorial

2011-04-03T13:28:00.000-04:00

Remember Bernie and Barkley the sock dog brothers?

Meet Bertie, their cousin! She has been very generous to agree to let me show you how she was made.

You'll need:

One men's sock (the bigger the better!)
Stuffing
Ribbon for the collar
Needle and thread
Button for the nose (optional)
Sewing machine (optional)

So, here's what you're starting with. The heel of the sock will be the top of Bertie's head. There are really four parts to this process: ears, body, tail and legs. I'll organize this tutorial that way so you don't get too confused.Ears: Cut the toe of the sock off about 1.5 - 2 inches in a slight arch, the more of the toe you cut off, the floppier her ears will be.
Now comes the tricky part. If the toe of the sock were a bowl, cut down the center of the bowl.
Separate the two halves of the toe of the sock and fold them in half with the right sides of the sock facing each other. I'm pointing to what it looks like before it is folded in half. The one below my hand is what it looks like folded.
With your sewing machine, sew along the straight edge, leaving as small a seam allowance as possible. You'll finish by turning these inside out. The ears will not be stuffed, so you can set them aside until the body is done and you can sew them on.

Body: Now let's move on to Bertie's body. Turn the sock inside out and stitch along Bertie's mouth in a slight arch.

Before you start stuffing we need to cut out her tail and her four legs. This is what the entire sock looks like cut up. From the far left: her four feet, tail, body and two ears. The legs are cut in straight rectangles, the tail and body have a slight arch to them.

Stuff Bertie's body.

Each time you stuff a limb or her leg I would recommend pinning it like I did below before you stitch it on. The trick is to slightly tuck the edges in a bit and then whip stitch it closed.
Tail: Grab the portion of the sock that you cut for the tail. It should be a full loop, so cut one end of the loop, turn it so that the right sides of the sock are facing each other and stitch up the sides with your sewing machine like the picture below. Be sure to leave an opening so that you can stuff the tail. Turn the tail inside out and it will look like this, ready for stuffing. (Stuffing the tail isn't easy, I would recommend that you use a small amount of stuffing and stick it in with a chop stick little by little.)
Legs: With each of the four legs, you will sew along three of the sides of the rectangle, leaving one of the short ends open. Just like the other appendages, make sure the right sides of the sock are facing each other, sew, flip it inside out, stuff, pin to the body, and whip stitch it on.
You can finish with a button nose or some eyes and a collar. Share with your favorite wee one!

Rag Rug Meets Slouch Bag

2011-04-01T22:23:00.004-04:00

What do you get when you combine two Goodwill sweaters and an old grey t-shirt?

Rag rug meets slouch bag!
Perfect for my knitting treasures.

Shabby Apple Dress Winner!!

2011-03-17T23:32:00.001-04:00

The winner for the Shabby Apple Dress giveaway has been posted to the Create Studio Facebook Fan Page.

Congratulations!!

Make Your Own Macro Photo Studio

2011-03-17T10:57:00.010-04:00

For a long time I've wondered how some people photograph their handmade items to make them look like they are floating on a white background. I didn't know enough about photography to even think of how to search for that technique. So I was super excited when I saw this tutorial on how to make your own macro photo studio.

First I'll show you how to make the macro photo studio, then I'll show you what it does!

You'll need:

Large Cardboard Box
Duct Tape and Regular Tape
Tissue Paper
Exacto Knife and Scissors
White Poster Board

First, cut large squares out of three sides of your cardboard box, leaving one inch of cardboard around the edges. Do not cut the bottom of the box and one side. This uncut side will be the new bottom of your box and the original bottom will now be the back of your photo studio.

Next, attach tissue paper to the three sides of your box. The easiest way to do this is to secure the tissue paper with regular tape in the corners and then go over the entire side with duct tape. The tissue paper will diffuse the light around the subject you are shooting.

The last step is to cut your poster board to the width of your box. Secure one end of the poster board strip to the top back of your box then allow it to drape naturally down the back of your photo studio. This will create the white background for your pictures.

Now that your photo studio is finished you can experiment with different lighting to see what you like the best. I have three examples below of how to set up different lighting effects and what it does to your subject. Remember my Little Man Shoes?

Place the photo studio in a room with lots of natural, diffused light and this is the effect you get:

If you put it in bright, direct sunlight you get soft shadows:
And with artificial light you get a more warm glow to the picture:
It's really a personal preference and I imagine you'd want to photograph different items in different light. Which is your favorite?

Mine is the first, with natural light:

The Color Treasure Hunt

2011-03-15T22:31:00.001-04:00

Owen and I are still learning about colors (remember our color mixing activity?). This time it's colors we can find outside. Let's go on a treasure hunt, a color treasure hunt.

All we need is an empty egg carton with construction paper circles glued to the bottom of each section.

The idea is to find something outside that is the same color as the circles and then match them up. The treasure hunt is over when you've found something for each of the 12 colors.
Brown acorn, red flowers, green ivy, yellow leaf, blue piece of trash... hey, I never said I was a great gardner... which reminds me I once planted bulbs with a crowbar because I didn't have a shovel, true story!
We did pretty well for our first treasure hunt. We found everything except something pink and purple. (Must be some kind of macho aversion!)

On another note, I started a Facebook page for Create Studio. I plan to put pictures of my projects there before I post about them here.

Oh, and the Shabby Apple Giveaway ends tomorrow at 10pm Eastern time. Good Luck!

Shabby Apple Dress Giveaway

2011-03-10T08:04:00.008-05:00

Easter is almost here! Want to celebrate with a new dress for your little princess from Shabby Apple? Find out all of the details HERE.

(Giveaway dress is any size 0-6 months through size 8.)

Giveaway ends Thursday, 3/17/11 at 10pm (Eastern Time).

Cupcake Stand Tutorial

2011-03-08T20:24:00.000-05:00

As promised, here are the cupcake stand instructions. See it back there beyond the coconut yummyness?

You'll need:

2 cans
3 circles cut out of cardboard (mine are 11, 8, and 5 inches in diameter)
3 sheets of 12x12 inch scrapbook paper in a solid color
1 sheet of patterned scrapbook paper
glue gun
scissors
ribbon
spray adhesive

Start by tracing your cardboard circles on the scrapbook paper, cut those out and prepare to spray them. I only covered one side of the cardboard. There really isn't a need to cover the underneath side of the cupcake stand.
I made a spray station out of a brown paper bag because I didn't want the adhesive going everywhere. I would recommend you spay outside, but the paper bag is a good alternative if it is a rainy day.
After all three of your circles are covered set those aside and cover your cans. I covered mine in a patterned paper to add more interest. Here's a tip to make this step easier: line up one end of the can on the bottom edge of the paper and put a pencil at the top of the can. Slowly roll the can to the other side of the paper keeping the pencil at the top and you'll get another straight line parallel to the bottom of the scrapbook paper and perfectly sized to cover your can!
No need to cover the whole can in glue because you may want those green beans when this whole cupcake party thing is over! I put a line of glue at the end of the paper, wrapped it around then put another line of glue at the other end of the paper. Worked like a charm!
So here's where you are in the process right now, except that those edges look ratty. Let's cover then in some ribbon.
Using your glue gun, put a line of glue about 3 inches long then place the ribbon on and repeat this process until the top two circles are covered. No need to cover the bottom circle.
Quick and cheap with a big "wow" factor! Love it!

See more pictures of the stand and the cupcake party baby shower HERE.

Cupcake Party Baby Shower

2011-03-06T09:15:00.001-05:00

Last week I hosted a baby shower for my friend Annie. It was the easiest baby shower I've ever planned and possibly my favorite!

Seems like all of my friends were having boys there for a while, so this is the first girl shower I've planned in a long while! Maybe that played in to why I loved this shower so much, but I'm guessing the biggest reason was that some of my best friends from high school were there!

I made well over 200 mini cupcakes for our party with Owen (he's becoming quite the little sous-chef!) We made them about a month in advance and froze them. (Recipes here.) I made the frosting a week in advance and kept it in the fridge until the night before. I'm telling you, this was an easy shower! I decorated the dining room the week before the shower so the only thing I had to do was frost the cupcakes the night before and clean my house... easy, peasy! This was our menu:

I also made homemade strawberry ice cream because if you're cheating on your diet, might as well make it really worth it!

In the center of the table each of the four types of cupcakes were placed under a glass and labeled with a little cupcake label so everyone knew what they were eating.

I'll show you how to make the cupcake towers later this week. They are made out of cardboard boxes and cans of green beans!

I can't wait to meet baby Hailey, she is one loved little girl already!

The Ten Minute Necklace Tutorial

2011-02-25T15:24:00.006-05:00

Ever walk through the bead aisle at a craft store and think that a strand of beads would look good as a necklace just like that? When I saw these teal beads that's just what I thought, so I'll show you how I made the strands into a necklace in just 10 minutes.

You'll need:

1 clasp set (I think these are also called findings)
Wire thread
2 crimp beads
crimping tool
2 smaller clear beads (these come on the bead strands)
Enough bead strands to go around your neck and drape where you want it to (you can measure this length with a measuring tape in front of a mirror at home before you head out to the store, or just hold up the beads in the store and look silly like I did, no shame!)

Start by cutting a length of wire about two inches longer than your determined necklace length. At the end of the strand of beads there are two smaller usually clear beads. Reserve these.

On your wire put: a crimp bead (not crimped), clear bead, and one end of your clasp in that order.
You're going to loop the end of the wire through the clasp, then back through both the clear bead and the crimp bead.
Holding the two ends of the wire, push the clear bead and the crimp bead close to the end of the clasp, then crimp the crimp bead. Thread your decorative beads on and repeat the exact same steps to finish the other end of your necklace with the other side of the clasp.
Done. 10 minutes. Now that's my kind of craft!

CREATE STUDIO

My First Show

A Good Chuckle!

Pinterest Weekend at the Lake!

It's a new year... let's organize it!

A look back...

My Soul Felt Its Worth!

Toy Car and Crayon Clutch... Part 2

New Hats in the Shop!

Oh Geez, Christmas Tree!

Pinehurst!

Create Studio Shop Launch Party!!

Big News!

A Circus Party... the show must go on!

Big Top Birthday Coming Soon

Anthropologie: Why you gotta be so great?

2 Hour Cowl

Christmas Cards from Shutterfly

The Latest...

Trendy Teal and Red. I've sold out.

Marshmallow Gun

Farmer's Market Treasure Hunt

Guest Posting Today

Blogging in the Real World

Painting Party!

From Sea to Shining Sea

How to make a Paci Mustache!

A *Sweet* Baby Boy Shower

Blogaversary Competition Answer...

A Friendly Blogaversary Competition... let's do this!

Beans, Beans Good For Your Heart

Little Man First Birthday Party

Mustaches, Mustaches Everywhere!

My Baby is One!

Fear of Zippers, No More!!

Three Burp Cloths, One Hour

Celery Roses

Rainy Day Beach Project for the Wee Ones

My Parenting Goal

In Celebration of 30 Years!

Fabric Love

Side note...

Four Layer "Stocked" Potatoes

My Summer DIY Project... Part 2

My Summer DIY Project

How to Make (the best!) Homemade Ice Cream

Party in the Barn!

Knit Car Seat Blanket

Lollipops Made with a Secret Ingredient

Tea Party Summer Baby Shower

'Tis the season for weddings!

Shabby Apple Review

American Letterpress: Hatch Show Print in Nashville

1,700 Mile Road Trip, No DVD Player, How We Did It

Strawberry Pickin'

Strawberry Fields Forever!

The Royal Wedding Party!

Quick Clipboard Facelift

A Lesson in (Learning to Love) Sewing

Cupcake Recipes

Published!!

Glass Etching...again!

Sock Dog Tutorial

Rag Rug Meets Slouch Bag

Shabby Apple Dress Winner!!

Make Your Own Macro Photo Studio

The Color Treasure Hunt

Shabby Apple Dress Giveaway

Cupcake Stand Tutorial

Cupcake Party Baby Shower

The Ten Minute Necklace Tutorial

A Sweet Baby Boy Shower