April 19, 2014

Scrabble Date Night

Date night.  You know what that is, right?  You and your sweetie talk it over, make plans, find a sitter and off you go to share some much needed time out on the town with one another.  Yeah, I remember when date night actually happened for us - prior to the birth of our son.  I hate to admit it but we don't get out as a couple much these days.  We find it hard to fit it in with work and family obligations.  So how do we keep the spark alive?  Date night at home!

My blogging buddy Denise over at Go Cheap or Go Home hit the nail on the head when she posted her now famous 52 Stay At Home Date Night Ideas.  This list gives you some amazing ideas of how to enjoy a date night without ever leaving your home.  That's right, no need for a sitter because these can happen after you've put the kiddos to bed.  Check out the list for yourself.  Of course the crafter in me was immediately attracted to #18.  A fun night and a craft to boot...what could be better!



I started with the last of the three wood tile boards I purchased at Walmart a while back {the other two were used for my It's Fall and Christmas Countdown boards}.  


Each tile was painted in an antique white acrylic paint.  The best part -- the little prince stopped playing crossing guard to come help me with the painting.  What a good assistant {smile}.


Using a pencil and ruler, I created a grid in each tile to match that of a true scrabble board.


I painted over each pencil line with white acrylic paint.  Note: if I were to do this again, I would use a paint pencil to make the lines.  I hand painted the lines and they are a little wonky...lol.  And speaking of wonky, I should have created the star with my Silhouette using vinyl.  Boy am I awful at hand painting stars.  Aren't all preschool teachers supposed to know how to make those!?!


Fast forward.  The frame is painted blue, I've completed the colored tiles, and added some fun lettering.  This is really coming together.



The letters were printed on regular printer paper.  I cut each letter out carefully and glued them in place.  I needed to make sure that I protected the letters, so I used Mod Podge Dimensional Magic.  This was my first time using the product and I loved it.  Remember that a little goes a long way.  I used a toothpick to spread it around on each little square and let it dry.


The finished product.  I'm so happy with it, little imperfections and all.


What's next?  Put the kids to bed, make a dessert to share, grab the scrabble board and make it a date night -- bringing the 'love in' house.  Not fond of playing board games?  Seriously, there are 52 ideas on the list, I'm sure there is something on it that will fit your fancy.  Go ahead, I dare you.  Date night doesn't have to break the bank and the creativity goes a long way to strengthening your relationship!


April 8, 2014

All Wrapped Up

When you think of cheerleading, what does that bring to mind?  Cute little girls in their uniforms performing massive acrobatic stunts and perfectly choreographed routines?  Yup, that's what I envision too.  But I've recently learned that there is a place for a craft lady like me in cheerleading...behind the scenes.

My fav customer's daughter is a part of a local cheer squad and they have kept me quite busy this cheer season.  Originally the plan was to blog each thing I did for them, but let's be honest here -- most of my crafts happen after 9pm so the idea of getting them completed on time, staging and taking pictures AND getting up a blog post was way too overwhelming for me.  So I decided to do one post with pics of the items I did.  *Warning:  Poor picture quality*  Late night crafting means I forgo the Canon for my phone camera and pray for a good result (don't judge).

Here is my season with the Cheer Jewels all wrapped up!


These are the awesome cupcake toppers.  After each competition (monthly), the girls receive a 'cheer' inspired goody bag.  A couple of the bags included cupcakes topped with these personalized toppers.


February was all about "love".  Red, pink and white M&M's in candy containers that I purchased from Pick Your Plum were included in the bags.


Year end girls' gift - a framed group picture.  I hand painted each one with the squad's colors and a megaphone then used vinyl for the name.


The end of season card made for the two coaches -- each girl signed {forgot to take a pic...again, don't judge}


The ultimate coaches gift - a spa basket which included a luxury spa gift card to a well known local spa, monogrammed spa robes and several goodies from The Body Shop.  The assistant coaches (two high school students) received a mani/pedi at another local establishment.  Oooh-la-la!


What fun it's been this season helping out behind the scenes for the Cheer Jewels.  Now it's time to sit back and relax...that is until next season!


UPDATE:  My customer sent me a forwarded messages from the head coach.  Here is what she had to say  "I'm not sure who all helped put the basket together so please pass along to whomever.  I just wanted to say how awesome the whole basket was.  The Cheer Jewel card is adorable!!  The robe is my new best friend and the lotions and shower gels are heavenly!  Thanks again for all the time and work it took to put that together.  Very nice!!!"

And this is why I do what I do!  This note has had me smiling for over an hour.  I'm so happy that they are happy -- SCORE!

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