Kindergarten Book Bags

At our curriculum night, Kai's kindergarten teacher asked if anyone "crafty, or good at that type of stuff" would be willing to write the kids names on their book bags. Ryan nudged me...I think he was hoping that by volunteering, I would get "in" with the teacher. I, of course, was up to proving my craftiness. I decided to freezer paper the names on (against the advice of two friends!). I had to do the paint pretty thick to get it to show up on the black, so it did seep through a bit, and they are definitely not perfect. But, black sharpie works wonders, I tell you!



The question is, does it need anything else? A blue star underneath? Or should I just call it good & be glad that they are done. All 22 of them.

Oh, and as a word of advice on freezer paper stencils:

--You do not have to trace onto the freezer paper first. The paper is sheer enough that you can use your exacto directly over what you are tracing. It eliminates a step.
--Rulersare a great help for keeping straight edges straight.
--For some reason, the freezer paper left residue where I had ironed it on some of the bags. Just be forewarned that this could happen to you on dark surfaces (again, thanks black sharpie!)
--Use a Cricut to cut out your design! (finally wishing I had one)

By the time I do this again, I hope I have a silhouette instead. Then I could just heat transfer the letters. Hmmm...I need to win one of those give aways.

Jam Jars "cutification"

Can I just tell you how grateful I am that this is my only job in regards to jam & bread? I made the labels & cut the burlap...and they are now in the hands of the USPS on their way to Utah.


My sweet mother is making 70+ mini loaves of bread and 70+ mini jars of jam. She is a saint.

The best thing about these labels is that I was JUST talking to my mom about how we could make the jam jars cute when Amy at The Idea Room posted a link to a bunch of printable jam labels. Hooray! Perfect timing Amy! I chose these because the wedding's at Sundance so the brown seemed to fit, and, well, she had mixed berry all ready to go! I took her file into photoshop & got rid of the stuff I didn't want & added the stuff I did.

I think the guests will be thrilled to find homemade bread and jam in their rooms when they arrive. Mmm...I know I would!

PS--did you know that Costco's frozen mixed berries make fantastic mixed berry jam. Yum.

Birthday Banner

Last fall, I made this beauty.


Unfortunately, though I have had a few opportunities to use it, I have failed to do so. Finally, I remembered to pull it out for some special days in our family this month. We loosely followed this tutorial. But sometimes, simple feels so good!

Oh, and if you want to see MUCH prettier pictures of the finished product?  Here is my friend Sarah's post about it.  The colors in our homes are very similar so it was easy to join forces on our fabric purchases.  Plus, isn't always more fun to have someone to create with?  She can capture things much better than I (still hoping for a photography tutorial Sarah!), and yes...it was almost a year ago.

Silly Putty

We made Silly Putty the other day during T's nap. Ours was a little hard, which makes me think we maybe used too much Borax? We had tried her recipe for slime before, so this was a simple variation.

I like the slime better. Just don't let your son sneak it out of the fridge and leave it on your hand made quilt until it "melts." Granted, it all came out. But I was not a happy mama. This time, when were done with the slime, it found it's way to the trash can.

Summer Reading

Lets just be honest.  Summers are MEANT for reading.  So instead of whipping out my sewing machine in my spare time, I'm getting sucked into other people's creative minds.  Sorry for the sporadic postings.  But until school starts, I'm going to spend my time with my cute kiddos and my new friends like Katniss, Emma, and Melanie.  I'm especially into easy reads...any suggestions?

Oh, and here's a pic of my cuties at Grandma's house.  

The Wedding Invites

One of my big projects.

Designed.  Printed.  Cut.  Addressed.  Stuffed.  Stamped.  Mailed.  Done.



Congratulations Matt & Michelle. We can't wait for Michelle to join our family!

The Bachelorette!

{Spoiler Alert}

Last night was my traditional Bachelorette Finale Party. I love watching the show with a bunch of my friends every week...especially when there are characters like Jonathan and Kasey to admire and love.

Thanks to the dollar store, I was able to make some cute party favors. Decorated with some Valentine's Stickers I've had for five years :) Stuffed with wedding cake bubbles & ring pops to celebrate the pending marriage of Ali & Roberto.

Now, does anyone want to make any bets as to whether or not that actually happens?