A Pinterest Party!

I LOVE Pinterest!  I am such a visual person that this site is like Christmas all year round for me. If I can see it, then I can make it {or at least my version of it}.  I've been pinning and planning {mostly in my head...LOL!} for over a year now.  Part of the plan involved getting friends together to create something, a ladies night out of fun and crafting.  I mentioned this to my friend Tammy and she was all for it.  She was the push I needed to actually make it happen.  So this weekend, we threw our very first Pinterest Party!

We all know that a good party is about the spread, right?  Well, this was an evening affair so we offered light refreshments with a Pinterest inspired theme -- check it out!

Our lovely food table

Of course a party for me is as much about the small details as it is about the activity itself so I took the time to throw a little fun into the evening.

Pinterest Water

I created Pinterest water bottle labels using Microsoft Word, removed the other labels and replaced them with these.  Such a simple thing but a big impact.  Perfect!

Snack cups

I found this idea, where else, on Pinterest!  Cupcake baking cups filled with Chex mix and red M&M's.  The logo in the middle of the plate certainly makes it 'Pinterest'ing, doesn't it?  {smile}

Pigs in a blanket for those who might feel hungry after all the crafting

Pigs in a blanket with their own individual Pinterest toothpick.  Don't you just love these added touches?  I know I do!

After a little snack, it was time to get down to the business at hand -- crafting!

One of the ladies was a complete novice when it came to crafting and she even mentioned how "out of her comfort zone" she was coming to a crafting party.  We reassured her that all she had to do was keep calm and craft.  We promised that it would be okay and it was.

The two crafts for the evening

Tammy's dad had these amazing mason jars that he no longer needed or wanted.  Score!  Free materials -- the beginning of a wonderful craft project...HA!  Now if you've spent any time at all on Pinterest you know that there are pin after pin of crafts that involve them.  We chose to create a Fall inspired craft with the jars then picked a Christmas inspired one that involved a $1 paint brush from Walmart.

The ladies got right down to work.

Cathy thought that she was in over her head, but she Mod Podged like a pro!

Thasha was excited that one of the crafts involved Mod Podge -- a medium she had been dying to try out.

Rachel is a crafter in her own right, she makes and sells bows at her Etsy shop so she felt right at home with this craft.

Tammy was so inspired by the paint brush project that she decided to make two.

The frame used as a backdrop did double duty at this party.

But I have to show the comment love first.

It was time for our photo-op.  Since the party was at night and we were in my basement with overhead lights, it made taking good pictures a bit challenging for me {sorry, I know I REALLY need to learn to use my camera...lol}.  So when we asked Rachel to take a pic she suggested laying down on the ground to try and reduce the shadow.  As you can see, that didn't work because we were laughing too hard to be serious about it.  I'm sure Tammy is going to kill me for sharing this one but I just had to.  I promise not to share the others of us though...way too embarrassing!

Co-hosts

After the giggles were over, we got ourselves together enough to take one standing up.  I think we look great, don't you?

Here are two of the paint brushes.  Cute as a button, right?  Everyone had such a great time making these and can't you just imagine how cute they'll look added to a decorated Christmas tree?

Thanks ladies for joining us.  See ya at the next one!

We had so much fun that Tammy and I are planning our next party.  If you've been thinking about doing something like this, I say jump right in and give it a try....I don't think you'll be disappointed.

Before Meets After -- Linen Closet Organization

Do you find that you have several unfinished projects going on around your house?  I've had a "to do" list running in my head for several months now, always with the promise that I will take care of it...soon.  Now that school is out, "soon" as arrived and it's high time I get these items checked off.

My linen closet has been begging for my attention for at least a year {probably longer, but who's counting}.  It's such a small space so it only needed a little organizational TLC.

I went shopping for baskets in Hobby Lobby.  I found several that I loved but wasn't crazy about the prices.  I knew that I only needed three, preferably three different sizes - something like this.

Natural Rush Basket set with liners {picture from Hobby Lobby}

With a $54 price tag {or larger},  I needed to start thinking of other options.  Back to my favorite store to shop for bargains -- The Goodwill!  It took me several weeks to find what I was looking for but I got lucky and found these great containers.

Containers made of wood

They are heavy and very sturdy containers and I was over the moon when I saw them just sitting on a
table.  Seriously, I almost ran over a little old man trying to get to them before someone else did {hey, bargains bring out the worst in a person...lol}.  The best part of this find was the price.  All three together only cost me $11.  Major score!

Though I loved the containers themselves I wasn't so in love with the color, so time to get that small flaw taken care of.  I grabbed my sand paper and tack cloth and got right to work.

Sanding time

They only needed a little sanding work to get them ready for painting.  Then outside I went to get them spray painted.  I used Valspar spray paint and I'm in love with the coverage and finish of this brand.

Sanded and ready for painting

Great coverage -- only required one coat

The finished product - beautiful!

To finish them off, I used my Silhouette machine, scrapbook paper and some great chalkboard vinyl from Pick Your Plum to create the labels for each container

Labels on each container

Here is where my Before Meets After:

It feels great to have one thing crossed off my mental to do list.  I'll be working hard over the next few weeks to get several more checked off too!  What are some of your 'to do' list items and how do you plan to tackle them?

Halloween Sweet Treat

Are you scrambling around trying to come up with a fun treat to send with your little one to school for their Halloween/Fall party? My best customer found herself in such a bind and contacted me for some help. Thanks to Pinterest and its 'Pin-spiration', I was able to find several ideas to show her and she chose this cute little treat.

Pumpkin Treat from Parenting.com

To create these all you need is orange tulle, orange candy {we chose candy pumpkins due to the cost of orange jelly beans....very expensive, who knew!?!}, and green pipe cleaners. After cutting the tulle to size, each one was filled with ten pumpkins apiece {yes, I counted them out...giggle}, tied closed with string and wrapped with a pipe cleaner. I decided to add the little "leaf" effect as well. Using my computer, I created a tag to attach to each one -- easy peasy!

Cute, simple and fun! If you need a quick solution be sure to try this one.

Little Blue's Room is having fun at these linky parties: