Plaque-ness

I'm in full babyshower decor mode so of course that means making beautiful pieces on a budget. On a trip to the Dollar Store I found this great unfinished wooden plaque and though I wasn't sure what I would do with it at that time - I simply couldn't leave it there (it was only a dollar) - I knew that it would make a very cute craft someday.

A friend told me about a baby blessing board that she saw at a babyshower and I thought what a great idea. As I do with so many wonderful craft inspirations, I filed it in my mental rolodex for later use. Well, later is now.

Time to share some blessings!

The plaque


I don't like the orientation of the ribbon, so time to change that. Out with the staple holding it together, add some glue and now we're headed in the right direction.


Traced the shape onto some scrapbook paper and cut it out.


Added a picture (to go along with the Winnie-the-Pooh theme) and the words 'Baby Blessings'



Now we have a sweet plaque to hang over the board for the guests to write down prayers/blessings for the new arrival. What a wonderful keepsake for the mom-to-be.

A Topiary

My sweet nephew is expecting his first child and I will be helping my sister with the decorations for the upcoming baby shower.

The mom-to-be has chosen Winnie-the-Pooh as her theme and though I am a huge fan of the cuddly bear myself, I was not so in love with the color scheme of the more current Pooh. So instead of opting for that bright orange bear in his micro mini red shirt, I decided to go for the original more classic Pooh with a color palette of sage green, cream and pale yellow.

I knew that I wanted some height to my table decor so I decided that would be the first order of business. Now what to create? On a trip to Michaels for craft supplies (one of my favorite places in the world...hehe), I walked past a topiary and began thinking that would make a great piece for the table. So I set to work on my own version for the shower. Check it out!

The materials I started with - styrofaom ball, pearlized pins, sage green acrylic paint, and fabric flowers





Time to paint the styrofoam ball and begin assembling flowers all around.



Now that the top is finished, I need to begin work on the stem. I used a wooden dowel that I had on hand. I originally thought I would do the stem like a traditional topiary using ivy but after purchasing some (dollar store find) and placing it around, I realized that it wasn't the right look. So back to square one I went. After a couple days of thinking about it, it came to me while cleaning (that's when my best ideas happen) that I should stick with the style on the top and that was...pearls! Why didn't I think of that earlier (hehe). So a trip back to Michaels garnered me the necessary supplies: jewelry wire, pearl beads and some beautiful transparent pale yellow ribbon (to be used as an accent). The stem is looking good!




Wow, this is beginning to come together well. Now to get this baby finished - time to paint the pot. I used a terracotta pot that I painted with sage green and pale yellow acrylic paint and finished off with a clear acrylic spray.





Now time to assemble and put on the finishing touches. I stuffed the bottom of the pot with newspaper to keep the stem from going all the way down. Used the half styrofoam ball (from the St. Patty's Day centerpiece) and cut off a portion to fit inside the pot. Carefully, stuck the topiary through the styrofoam and glued on some spanish moss to cover it. Took that beautiful pale yellow ribbon and glued it around the top of the pot then used it to make a flower (sewn together), took a button that I had around to create the center and then glued that on top of the ribbon.





Voila, my version of a topiary!



I can't wait to put this table together. I'm working on the plaque for the blessing board and the banner to either go over or on the table (not sure just yet...teehee). I promise to post pics of those soon!

~ Happy Crafting!

Party Like A Pirate!

The party was a blast! The kids were so excited when they arrived to help the birthday boy celebrate turning 4.


The birthday boy's pirate shirt


Pirate decorations


Once the party started, each child was given their respective pirate paraphernalia ~ eye patch, periscope and treasure map. Each map had three clues:
1 ~ Find Skully and you're on your way
2 ~ Look for gold doubloons in the palm tree
3 ~ Walk the plank ~ but be quick...tick, tock here comes a croc!



Ready, set, go...let's find our treasure!



Found the treasure!



Now time to sing Happy Birthday and have some cupcakes



It has been my absolute pleasure to help with this party. It was fun to plan and even more fun to watch the kids have such a great time. Thanks so much Tiffany for letting me be a part of your little prince's special day!

{Special Feature} ~ Wings

I just had to share this special feature. When I picked up the little prince from preschool today, he and all his friends were wearing these adorable handmade wings made by the mother of one of his classmates. She made one for each child in the class (8 in total) as a gift, a favor of sorts, because they were celebrating her son's 4th birthday. After professing my love of them (and her skills...lol), I decided on the ride home that I just had to post this so others could see.


An elastic band attaches the wings across the back, an elastic band holds them on the upper arm and a piece of ribbon is used to tie to the wrists (all sewn on).


A close-up. Wow, look at all those rows!


Aren't they just precious! The amount of work that went into one of these is amazing and she did 7 others!

Great job Ms. Robin! These are going to make a wonderful addition to the little prince's dress-up box.

~ Happy Crafting!

A Hot Pink Birthday

At the preschool where I work part-time, each teaching team takes turns to organize and celebrate the birthdays of the wonderful women we work with. My team is in charge of the summer birthday ladies and I volunteered to make the cards for them.

Though I'm not overly impressed by the way they turned out (this is what happens when I'm doing crafts way too late at night), here are the final products. My teaching partner will be in charge of the goodies - she's planning a cake with hot pink and zebra stripped fondant designs. The cards are color coordinated.




Happy Birthday Ladies!

~ Happy Crafting!

An Invitation

Now that the cupcake display is finished, I could get to work on the handmade invitations. His mom wanted a "map" feel to them so I used the brown wrapping paper and some scrap paper to create the invitations (the back of the invitations can't be shown because of personal information listed).



His mom plans to put area landmarks on the circle and square shapes to help the children identify areas near their house (the guests are all under five years old and can't read). She took her son and he happily hand delivered his invitations to his friends. I think I can safely say - another satisfied customer. Now to prepare for the party...pics to come!

Aaarrgh!

I'm so excited to help a friend with her son's 4th birthday party. He is in love with the new Disney show Jake and the Neverland Pirates - his theme for this year. During one of our conversations, I mentioned how I thought it would be a great idea to have a pirate ship that she could put cupcakes on. Now of course neither of us had a pirate ship nor were we able to find one that would accommodate cupcakes, but I was not to be deterred so I decided I could try to make one and make one I surely did!

I started with a shoebox (covered in brown paper) and black poster board cut in the shape of the ship. Here is the progression to completion:




My concern at this point is that it's not really looking much like a ship; a boat yes, but a ship - not so much.


A ship sail


The stern (boy this sure isn't coming together the way I thought...hmmmmm.)


The pirate sail came out great!




A little added height on the stern and some personalization


A completed ship!

I know that I say this a lot but, not bad for a first try! I've shown it to my friend and she is overjoyed. This was above and beyond either of our expectations when I started this project. I think her son is going to be thrilled as well.