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.

Homework Station

A trip down Pinterest lane and I found some wonderful inspiration to help me with the organizational wall I wanted to add to my kitchen. With the little prince entering Kindergarten this year, I have been inundated with papers of all sort from his school and the pile was beginning to grow {and he started just over a week ago...lol}. I decided that I needed something to help keep me ahead of the game - enter our 'Homework Station'.

First, let me show you a couple examples that I found on Pinterest that I loved instantly:

This great organizational wall was pinned from One Creative Housewife

Here is another from A Bright Idea {sorry, still trying to find the correct link}


After seeing these, I knew this was exactly what I wanted to do to stay organized this year but I needed to find something that would work for the small wall I had in mind. Pinterest wasn't my only inspiration, I found two other ideas flipping through the Pottery Barn Kids magazine.



This idea struck me right away and I knew I wanted to incorporate this into the design


When I saw this, my eye was immediately drawn to the bungy board -- another element that was a "must add"

Of course being the frugal shopper that I am and living on a pretty strict budget, I knew that purchasing the items from Pottery Barn Kids was completely out the question but that didn't mean I couldn't create my own! The art clip board shown above costs $39, I was able to create it for just $8.50 thanks to Michaels -- unfinished wood board for $7.99 with a 50% off coupon and the oversized clothes pins for $1.50 each found in their dollar bin section {the paint I had at home}. The knock-off bungy board {PBK cost ~ $35} was a bargain too thanks to Michael's -- two canvases at BOGO free with a 40% off coupon for a total price of about $5 {antique white grosgrain ribbon I had on hand}.

Love my versions!

A look at the "Before" and "After":

I am simply overjoyed with the way this turned out! All of the design elements that I wanted and the best part - it's functional and cute {and well we all know how important cute is!}.

Linky Parties where we have fun!

Collage Art Frame

If you are anything like me, you have at least a million photos on your computer. Okay, perhaps 'a million' is a bit of a stretch but I certainly have a LOT of them! So what do you do with them? Scrapbook with them, frame them, or simply forget about them...you know 'out of sight, out of mind'? That's the problem that I've run into and I wanted to make good use of at least a few of them, but how? Cruising through Pinterest, I noticed several projects that involved collages {ding, ding...I hear that creative bell going off}, so I decided that would be a great way to use some of those pictures.

Well, I've been working on my bedroom project for some time now. I realize that even with the best intentions this project is going to take way longer than I'd like, but I digress. The plan involves some fun things to go up on the walls - enter my collage art frame.

I purchased this great frame from 'the Will' {Goodwill for those not in the know...lol} and I thought it would make a great re-do project.



The center was painted with bears and had this great rough texture to it. Now, if I were a better artist this would have been gorgeous with a new painted design, but since I'm not and I know my artistic limitations I decided it would have to be designed differently.

The first thing to do would be to repaint the entire thing. Using both spray paint and the wall paint I used in my prayer board project (here), I gave the frame a new look.



I chose to use photos from a recent trip home and a day spent with my sister and son. We had such an awesome time that day and what a wonderful way to commemorate that time.

After editing, cutting and placing the photos, I used mod podge to glue and seal them. Here is the end result.



Fun, cute and an inexpensive way to add a little character to my bedroom - I love it!

Blog Challenge

Since beginning my blog, I've known that in order to grab the attention of my readers I needed to take great pictures of my work. So, I took my camera and began taking pictures of my crafts only to be less than thrilled with the results. Because I am admittedly naive, I thought all I needed to do was to point and shoot {how could I be so silly?} but found that I was coming no where near the quality photos that I desired.

Recently I've been saying {more to myself than anyone else} that I need to learn to use my camera AND take better pictures. Well, I'm now on the road to making that happen and I'm more than excited!

I signed up to take the SITS Girls' Pinterest Challenge - a challenge that not only helps bloggers learn how to use Pinterest to drive traffic to their blog but how to take great pics that people want to pin and who in turn might become a loyal follower of your blog.

I'm so grateful that this challenge exists and that I was able to be a part of it. The tips I've learned through this challenge will continue to help me make my blog all that I want it to be and more!

Here is what I've learned so far.

Day 1: The Rule of Thirds



Day 2: The Rule of Composition {and how to get rid of tilted horizons}



Day 3 & 4: Natural Lighting and Outdoor Photography {capturing those 'catchlights'}



Day 5: Self Portrait

I'm sure you expected a picture, right? Well, my intentions were good and honorable {snicker}. I even told my sister that I needed/wanted her help with this one...well, all I can say is this task fell by the wayside. Really, it's because I chickened out of doing it {pictures of me aren't my favorite}, but I've made a promise to at least give this a try....in the future {smile}.


Day 6: Pictures telling a story



I just love this pic and wanted to share. Pretty, right?



Using Pinterest, re-sizing pictures, and watermarking photos are also included in this challenge. I certainly feel more knowledgeable and a bit more daring {my camera scared me...sshhh, don't tell anyone} when it comes to showing off my crafts. Now back to practicing, that is if I can get my son to stay still long enough for me to get a good pic!

Preschool Valentines

It's that time of year again! Valentine's Day is almost here - can't you just feel the love in the air {or is that just commercialization in the stores...lol}?

Anyway, when I was growing up we had to constantly remind my mom to take us to the store to pick out those boxed Valentine cards. You know the ones - a piece of 2x3 paper with your favorite cartoon character and a cutesy quote {"Would you be my Valentine?"} written on them. Life was simple then.

My obession with crafting won't let me walk into my neighborhood Walgreens and pick those up for the little prince - what's unique about that{speaks the voice in my head}? So I make something - simple of course - but handmade for him to share with his class.

This year we focused on his love of all things cars. I found a great idea on Pinterest and rolled with it {pun intended}. Check it out....

Using Picnik, I created the Valentine bag topper

The little prince picked out the cars he liked from Party City

I bought some cello bags and heart shaped lollipops and here is what he'll take to school.



I love making special days extra special. I love you my sweet boy!