A Sweet Blend of Hydrangeas, Clematis & Pears

Obsessed with the bounty of summer!

 The vibrant hues of our hydrangeas . . . 

. . . and sun-kissed pears ripening on the branch . . .

. . . and the delicate beauty of our clematis.

My DIY table runner (fabric from Maui)  and matching half circle napkins (above) go well with the color of the hydrangeas. While I was at it I got out my sweet little dried Hawaiian Pineapples (from Maui) to use as the jar filler. 

Just a pear-ent who loves her hydrangeas, clematis and pineapples! 😉

Have a Terrific Tuesday!

Getting a Jump on FALL PROJECTS

DIY PUMPKIN Goodie Pouches !!

A fun project for fall.

These will be great for Halloween.🎃

Now to decide...how many to make??

Only time will tell!

HAPPY MONDAY!

Pumpkin Season is Almost Here

It is hard to believe that our pumpkins are just about ready for picking.

On August 6th they were still green with just a hint of orange.

That is a lot of change in a few weeks.

In only twenty days to be exact.

They had completely changed from green...

...to orange!

It is fun to have our own little pumpkin patch.

We sure won't have to go far to pick pumpkins this year!

Happy Saturday!

DIY Zipper Bracelets / Fidget Toys

These fun Zipper Bracelets were a quick and easy weekend project. 

They have been a great and unique toy to give to kids at school when they are anxious, stressed or in need of a distraction. Not only can they be worn on the wrist but you can wear multiple bracelets together. Another fun feature is to make some into a chain and/or clip it on a backpack or purse. So many options.

The bright colors are fun to mix and match and they are quick and easy to make.

Fidget bracelets can also be made to fit any size of wrist which is great and makes them very versatile. The clips and zippers can also be mixed and matched making each one unique.

It has been nice to have a variety of them to have on hand.

I made some in school colors and even made a few in favorite Team Colors which will be great for game day. You can be sure one will be on my wrist!!

These fidget bracelets were so quick to make and even more fun to give away! 

Have a Happy Monday!

DIY Recipe Box for the Bride~to~Be

Last week was the Despedida de Soltera for our soon to be daughter~in~law. While I was making the invitations I thought it would be fun to ask guests to bring a recipe to share with the bride.

So I slipped a small recipe request tag in a pocket on the back of each invitation. 

Then I made a framed sign that coordinated with the invitations to let the guests know where to put the recipe they brought or to take a recipe card and write down a favorite recipe.

A recipe box was also needed to collect all the recipes that the guests had brought with them and also the recipes that were written at the shower. So, I searched for a recipe box. I could not find one online that fit the theme or their kitchen decor so I decided to paint one myself. It was harder to find an unfinished wood recipe box, or any recipe box for that matter, than I had expected but I did manage to find one. Then I needed to come up with an idea for a design to paint.

While I thought about the design I sanded and painted the box and lid with a base coat of paint. While gathering my supplies I and came across the cute leftover brackets I used for the Library Tea Party so I set one aside as a possibility for the front. Once the recipe box was painted and drying I sketched a few flowers and then added a little paint. When they were dry I cut them out and positioned and repositioned them to get an idea how they would look. Then drew some similar flowers with chalk on the box as a guide for painting. 

At this point I still was not certain about the flowers so I painted a few more samples and then started on the box.

At this point though I was not sure about the flowers and changed the plan. I thought it would coordinate better with the theme if it was just blue and white with the label holder on the front. So, I sanded the flowers off and painted the lid white. 

It was not at all what I had intended however I liked it much better. 

The great part is that the recipe box can be repainted later with something the bride chooses unless she likes it just the way it is. So stay tuned, it may change again.

These are the cute recipe cards and dividers that were purchased separately.

The recipe box is beginning to fill up with recipes so it is off to a good start. Also, the DIY table runner under the recipe box was not only a decoration for the gift table but was given away as a prize to the person who chose the Piñata Cupcake. We also played some fun games so I will be back soon to share the DIY prizes we gave to the winners. 

Happy Saturday!

White Coat Ceremony :: diy cards & more

We recently attended our very first White Coat Ceremony which is such a special event that I thought it would be fun to make some things to take and give to a few extra special students.   

Cards were at the top of my list and these cute little White Coat cards were easy to make once all the ideas were narrowed down.  As always, that takes the most time however the details are what make it so fun. Eventually the vision all came together and this is how they turned out. 

The stethoscope was hand cut out of card stock and the small heart was made with a punch. For embellishments I glued on 2 black beads for the ear pieces and a black button for the diaphragm. To make the bell I punched a small dot out of a silver glitter foam sheet and then glued it on top of the diaphragm. The buttons on the coats were threaded first and then glued in place.

Once the cards were finished it was on to making HERSHEY'S® Bar treats. The candy bars were also wrapped in White Coats and donned buttons and pockets to match the cards and White Coat bottle covers. More information about the cute bottle cover project can be found by clicking here. It would have been easy to keep making White Coat theme related gifts however there happen to be some other fun projects in the works around here so need to be disciplined and keep on schedule. 

The ceremony was so nice and we were very happy to be there to celebrate with them. 

Happy Friday!

Easy Peasy DIY Pumpkin Decorations

This has got to be the most simple little craft project ever! It is not only cute but practical too and that is exactly what inspired me. 

It all started a couple weeks ago when we were getting ready to go spend the weekend with Miss E. I thought it would be fun to take her a holiday decoration which usually means something handmade and likely seasonal.  Pumpkins were the first thing that came to mind however I had to consider the size and whether it would be disposable or something reusable that might need to be stored as space is limited. Well, these cute pumpkins fit the bill!

That is because they are

no~sew

TOILET PAPER PUMPKINS. 

Yes, toilet paper! No stuffing, glue, or stitching required and so quick and easy to make. Just fabric wrapped around a roll of TP.  The other great thing about them is when pumpkin season is over you just remove the fabric which folds flat and makes storage easy and the TP can go back on the shelf. Easy Peasy! Of course choosing the fabric is fun and so is picking out the stems and leaves. I tried cinnamon sticks for stems which was really cute and smelled good too. Then I remembered that we had a pile of branches from a tree we trimmed so I asked the hubs to cut one into some varied short lengths. They worked great also. To complete the the pumpkins I just added some silk leaves and ribbon. The variety of fabrics and embellishments make each one unique. Once I got started it was hard to stop so I ended up with plenty and gave some to each of the girls. 

For November I decided to change the fabric and dress them up a bit so used some Velvet instead which gives them a completely different look. 

It doesn’t get any easier than that!

Happy Tuesday!