Wednesday, September 28, 2011

Baby room, and a DYI HIGH!

Last week, my friend Kristen painted the MOST DARLING canvases for her nursery. It reminded me that mine is still not finished. I decided I needed to do something about it! (Thanks for the nudge Kristen!) So, I went to DI on Monday, and spent $22. I got SO many things! I wanted to share a few with you. And, let me start by saying... Before this baby, we gave away, or loaned out 95% of our baby stuff. When we had this baby, I basically had to start from scratch. The only thing in his whole nursery that is from my other babies, is the glider.

I wanted a shelf, and was so happy to find this quilt shelf for $5 - yes $5!!! I knew all it would need is a little paint. I just happened to have a can of white spray paint in the garage. Perfect!

Then, I found these elephants for $1 each. I was having a thrifting high when I found them, because just that morning, I was at Homegoods, thinking about getting a few elephants for $10 each. That's a 90% savings, and you don't even have to pay tax at DI!!!


I decided to make book ends out of them. We are finishing our basement, and our contractor (who is fabulous, by the way) was down there working. I went down, found a few scraps, and he cut and brad nailed them together for me. Thanks Curtis! You rock!

A perfect fit!

I spray painted the wood blue to match my changing table. Do you remember my changing table? You can see it HERE.

See the "Silly Sally," book on the shelf? It is one of our favorites. When I got the baby books out, the kids were loving having a walk down memory lane, and reading all the old books. They totally LOVE, Silly Sally.

The next thing I did, was make a letter "r" to go on the shelf. I was all ready to go to Hobby Lobby to buy one, when I remembered that my AWESOME HUSBAND bought me a scroll saw a few weeks ago. It is my new favorite thing. I really love it. LOVE IT! Thanks Honey!

I went to picnic, found a font I liked, and printed and cut it out. Then I grabbed a piece of pine and traced the letter. I cut it out in two minutes.

Then I traced the letter onto some scrapbook paper I already had. I cut it out, and masking taped it onto the wood.
It was SO easy! I was on another high... not a thrifting high, but a DIY high.

By the way... here is the before picture.


Did I mention the crib was free from the classifieds? People are SO nice. I may paint it some day, but probably not. The thought of that makes me tired.

I got a few more things for the nursery at DI that day, but I haven't finished them yet. I can't find my little people vintage circus animals. (Like I say, we are finishing our basement, and all the toys and things are in bins in the garage.) When I do find them, I will post pics of the next project!

So, for $7 and some spray paint, I totally changed the room!

Have a Happy and Creative day!

Risa


Monday, September 19, 2011

All about GINGHAM, and The Littles...

I admit it... I have had a slight obsession with gingham lately... gingham ribbon, gingham fabric, gingham paper... you name it, I am drawn to it. Maybe it reminds me of my childhood? I learned how to cross stitch on gingham.

I have another obsession with using real linens at meal time. Forget about the paper stuff. I love cloth napkins, and if I can't find what I am looking for, I don't mind making them.

Part of my gingham obsession may have to do with the fun things I have found for a Wizard of Oz themed party. If you follow me on pinterest, you may have noticed my, Wizard of Oz, pins. If not, you can check out my board here.

I found this blue gingham fabric at Wal-mart for $1.50 per yard. So, of course, I bought all they had! I was home yesterday with a sick daughter, who was glued to Net Flix. She watched The Littles all day! I decided to join her, and make some napkins with my gingham.

This is how they turned out.


I put lace on only one side, because two sides is too much time and money, and no one really sees it anyway.

I like them folded this way... I think it is unexpected.


My daughter likes them this way, which is also cute. I may use them for an upcoming party for my son, and not even have the lace showing! That would be more boyish - right?


A little about, The Littles... I used to LOVE that show! I watched it every Saturday morning. I was convinced that little people lived in the walls of my bedroom. I think my kids now think The Littles live here. That's fine with me ;)


Back to the napkins. I am loving the flat lace that I got 1/2 off at Michael's.



(These are the same napkin, just folded different.)



They turned out SO cute... I think I will add them to my Pinterest board. I have never pinned anything from my blog before. There's a first time for everything - right?
Have a Happy and Creative Day!

Risa

Thursday, September 8, 2011

A few things I neglected to post... Baby Blessing.

We blessed Rhett in June, but I was so crazy busy that day, that I forgot to take any pictures of the set up :( I have to say... it was beautiful! When my brother saw it, he asked me if I was on meth, and that's how I am able to get so much done. No... no meth ;) I just like to make things pretty, and... I start FAR in advance.

Here is the invitation (made in picasa of course)


Here are the coordinating treats.


Remember my mom's sugared popcorn recipe? You can find it HERE.

I always love sugared popcorn, as it can be made in advance, and can be made to go with any decor, as you can make it any color or flavor. I decorated the bags in advance.

I got these drinks at the dollar store, 6 for $1. I did this part way in advance. I made the labels in picasa, and punched them out.


This is what the sheet looked like before I punched it out:

The drinks were really cute, and the straws were from Gygi, in Salt Lake City. I hooked them on with glue dots.

I made mini lemon cupcakes with a lemon creme, fluffy delish frosting. I made it up as I went, or I would provide the recipe. The mini papers were from Gygi as well. I baked the cupcakes in plain white papers, and put them in the fancy papers after the fact.


I had to do marshmallows on a stick. You can see the first time I did it HERE, and for the cowboy party HERE. I did these with yellow almond bark, and silver sprinkles from Gygi.


It turned out cute.


I made a darling runner, and had a banner as well, but didn't get a picture of either. I plan to use them in the next few months for an upcoming party for my daughter's dance class, so you will still get to see them. The banner is fabric with interchangeable wooden letters.

Oh, and here's the menu. I made all the food, except Rhett's Yiayia brought homemade rolls, and his Grandma brought hummus. I am kind of a control freak, and wanted everything to look and taste just the way I wanted. And, it did :)

All these were cut into labels, backed with coordination yellow or gray papers, and placed in front of the food. I did every bit of everything I could before hand, so I just had throw things together, and mix them up. I didn't want people to have to wait. I even had empty dishes sitting out and in place ready for food to be out in them. My husband thought I was nuts, but again... the control freak in me took over, and I was glad to be prepared.

Spinach Salad

With Feta,

Strawberries and

Roasted Almonds

Quinoa Salad

With Black Beans

And Cranberries,

Tossed in Cider Vinegar

Antipasto

Peppers, English Cucumbers,

Tomatoes and Mozzarella,

Tossed in Balsamic

Vinegar and Olive Oil

Chicken Pasta Salad

Bowtie Pasta, Chicken and

Shredded Parmesan, Flavored

With Olive Oil and Herbs

Hummus

Made Especially by

Grandma Baker

Rolls

Homemade by

The Yia yia

Marshmallow Pops

Adorned in Almond Bark

And sprinkles

Lemon Crème cupcakes

Mini Lemon Cupcakes Dressed

With lemon Creme

Sugared Popcorn

With Banana Essence

It was such a fun and memorable day. Thanks for letting me share!

Have a Happy and Creative Day!

Risa

Linking:


Thursday, September 1, 2011

MOON-Themed Travel Idea

The family is heading out for a road trip to
CRATERS OF THE MOON
You know how I like to try to make road trips fun and memorable?
(If not, you can check out my travel kit HERE.)

Well, I am way excited for the MOON theme!!!

This is a fun little package I came up with for the kids...


Instead of letting them pick treats at gas stations,
I thought I would pack it all, and have it be themed.
Here is what I packed.
I forgot to include the punch balloons in the photo.
(Every time we go camping, the kids LOVE glow sticks, love them!)


You can't go to Craters of the Moon, and not take moon pies! ;)

We are also going to the site of the testing place for the first nuclear reactor, from the 1940's. It is now a museum, and I hear it is really fun for kids, and they get to push buttons and things in the control room. The pics on line look really retro, and I wanted the candy in the little packages to have the same vintage feel.


I got most everything at Cracker Barrel in the gift shop.
Have you seen the gift shop???
They have all their Halloween out already.
I had to control myself!


I got the Astronaut Ice cream at Hobby Lobby.


My daughter's is girly, only because they were out of the fun jaw-breaker suckers in the multi-color kind, and I had to get pink. The glittery tulle and tinsel ribbon are both from Hobby Lobby.


Yep... I made a printable in Picnik, in under 5 minutes.

I hope this kit will make this trip even more memorable for the kids.

They will probably say when they are older... "My mom was nuts! She used to give us these themed packages whenever we would go anywhere. I don't know why she did that!"

I hope they will see a moon pie, and remember traveling to Craters of the Moon as a family, in 2011.

Have a Happy and Creative Day!

Risa


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