Entertain / Food & Drink

Circus Birthday Party – Homemade Cracker Jacks

April 11, 2013

Recently a friend is threw a BIG Circus Birthday party for all 3 of her kids at once.  I love this idea, it’s one party to plan, prep for and clean up after.  Pretty brilliant, right?

Yesterday I shared with you the fun DIY for Greatest Kid on Earth Badges that I made for each of them. And I also shared that we used Minted‘s Greatest Circus Party Decorations to help out.  Minted has the BEST party decor guys.  Party favors can be put together in no time at all with their glassine favor bags and Greatest Circus Scalloped Stickers.  I simply filled the bags with homemade cracker jacks and sealed them with sticker.  

Homemade Cracker Jacks
6 quarts popped popcorn
1 cup butter
2 cups brown sugar
1/2 cup corn syrup
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. vanilla
Melt butter, stir in sugar, syrup and salt.  Boil 5 minutes without stirring.  Remove from heat.  Stir in vanilla, then stir in baking soda.  Pour over popcorn and mix well to all kernels are coated (you can add 1 cup dry roasted peanuts if you like).  Spread onto two cookie sheets and bake 1 hour at 250 F.  Stir every 15 minutes.  Cool completely.  Store in airtight containers.  
We also ordered the fun Flag Stickers, and the fantastic custom bunting. 

This is my mom’s recipe and it never fails me. Be warned though, it won’t last long. Once you start munching on this sweet treat, it’s hard to stop. It’s always a party and holiday favorite.  

DIY / Entertain

Circus Birthday Party – Greatest Kid on Earth Badge

April 10, 2013

A Circus themed party is a classic right?  It’s great for boys or girls, there’s animals and it offers a fun bright color palette.  I made these “Greatest Kid on Earth” badges for 3 special birthday kiddos to wear to their circus themed party recently.   
And don’t these Birthday Badges go great with Minted’s Greatest Circus Party Decor.  I also added a little of the extra pleated ribbon to our circus animals.  I think they look pretty festive and happy.
For the full tutorial on how to make these and a free download of the badge front, head over to Minted‘s blog, Julep. I’m sharing this birthday DIY there.  
Come back tomorrow for a DIY Circus Themed party favor.  How does Homemade Cracker Jacks sound? 

DIY

DIY West Elm Monogram Towels

April 9, 2013

Last week I shared on instagram these fun West Elm style monogram towels I made. I love West Elm’s monograms, they are large and modern and not stuffy or preppyish. I thought it would be fun to make my own set of monogramed tea towels.

I used this set of 3 IKEA towels that are the perfect yellow and tan/grey. Stripes are just happy, almost as happy as polka dots. And at only $5.99 for all 3 towels, that’s a steal.

I simply made 3 freezer paper stencil’s using my Cricut machine, but you could easily trace and cut out your monogram with an x-acto knife. If you are lucky enough to own a Cricut, here’s how I cut freezer paper stencils. Cut of piece of freezer paper to fit your cutting mat. Place the freezer paper shiny side down on the mat. Set the pressure to 3,  blade depth to 4, and the speed can be on 5. Then cut just as you would with any other paper. The stencils come out beautifully every time.

I chose 3 different fonts to make each towel unique. And then I just followed my freezer paper stenciling instructions (and if you like an ombre effect, these instructions might be helpful).

Wouldn’t these make a great bridal shower or wedding gift?  

I was away for the last 4 days to our Church’s Women’s Retreat.  My BBF was in charge of the event this year and I was on the planning committee.  It was a lot of work, but the whole weekend turned out amazing. I was in charge of the craft, so I taught the ladies how to make these towels.  There ended up being over 50 women for the craft session.  It was a little crazy with that big of a group, but they all came away with some really cute towels.

Food & Drink

Orange Almond Bundt Cake

April 4, 2013

I made this yummy cake a week or so ago.  I’m a fan of a bundt, they are such simple cakes to make and they always look pretty (especially on my jadite milk glass cake plate).  This cake is fragrant and moist. It’s the perfect partner to a good cup of coffee.

Orange Almond Bundt Cake
1/2 cup butter
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
zest of 1 orange
1 tsp. vanilla
1 tsp. almond essence
1 1/2 cup flour
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 cup butter milk
1/4 cup slivered almonds (lightly toasted)
juice of one orange
1 – 2 cups powdered sugar
In a mixer, beat the butter and sugar.  Add the eggs, zest, vanilla, and almond essence.  Beat until smooth.  Mix in the butter milk.  Add the flour, baking powder, and salt. 
Pour into a greased and floured bundt pan.  Bake at 350 F for about 40 mins or until a tooth pick comes out clean.  
Mix together the orange juice and powdered sugar to make a glaze.  While the cake is still warm, pour the glaze over the cake and then sprinkle with the almonds. 

Adapted from this Taste of Home recipe.

DIY / etc.

Ask a Crafty Person

I’ve got a fun new title over at Whimseybox, I’m a “Crafty Person”.  I’ll be writing a bi-weelky column for their fabulous blog.  Readers can write in with questions, and I’ll do my very best to answer their DIY dilemmas.  So, if you’ve got crafty tip, tool or technique questions – ask away.  

As a little introduction, I’m sharing the 4 must-have tools for cutting  there today.  Come on over and leave me a question.

DIY

Storm Cloud Surprise Pillow

April 2, 2013

I’m really excited to share this DIY with you today.  I recently shared with you my girl’s mini room makeover.  And to add to the more funky, and playful style I was going for, I made this cute throw pillow. I like to name things, like my vintage trailer has a name, Riley.  So, I’m calling this pillow Storm Cloud Surprise because of the fun glittery pink rain drops that are falling from the fluffy cloud.

I’ve had a thing for clouds for the last year or so, I’ve been pinning lots of cloud ideas.  Now I have my own little cloudy accessory, but I’d love to throw a whole cloudy themed party.  I also made the geometric heart pillow seen below, you can see the full DIY instructions for that one here. 

I am so pleased to tell you about the new product I used to make this pillow.  Cricut has come out with a new Iron-on product!  Yes, you can cut out ANY shape out with your Cricut and then simply iron it onto fabric.  How fabulous, right?  Cricut’s Iron-on is a decorative heat transfer film you can use to quickly and easily personalize clothing, fashion accessories, home decor and so much more.  It comes in Cricut Iron-on Lite (I used the grey and pink) and Cricut Iron-on Glitter (I used the pink).

Here’s how I made my pillow.  I first played around in Cricut Craft Room to come up with pattern and shapes I wanted to cut out.  And then to just be safe, I cut out the cloud and rain drops on card stock first, so that I could play around with the design and layout.  I used the cloud from the cartridge Wild Card 2 and the rain drops are the petal shape from the Close to my Heart cartridge. When I was happy with it, I simple applied the Iron-on film to my cutting mat and cut out my shapes.

Then I simply followed the instructions and ironed on the shapes where I wanted them.  Really!  It’s as simple as that.  Then I just added a back to my pillow and stuffed it.  I can’t wait to play with this product some more.  The finished product looks absolutely so professional with Cricut’s precision cuts.

If you want to try this new product, it’s actually not available until April 11th, but I’m able to share a special Iron-on Bundle for you to try right away.  And if you don’t own a Cricut yet, you might also be interested in this Cricut Machine Bundle that has a the Iron-on products and the handy tool kit.

DIY

Easter Window Art

March 31, 2013

I want my whole neighborhood to know why I celebrate Easter.  It’s not for the chocolate bunnies or egg hunts, it’s because my savior LIVES.  He died for me, and paid the ultimate price.  I am so grateful and humbled by His love for me.  And He is not in the tomb, He has RISEN!

This is becoming a fun habit.  I’ve decorated my front window for Thanksgiving, Christmas, Valentine’s Day and now Easter.  It’s such an inexpensive, simple way to share what your celebrating.  I think I’ll do this for birthday’s as well.

I hope you have a lovely Easter with your friends and family.

Entertain

Let’s have an Easter Party

March 30, 2013

I know this is a little last minute, but I’ve been trying to post this post all week.  We’ve been out camping all week, and I’ve tried to find wi-fi.  But I just didn’t have the time our access.  Oh well, it was nice to be off the grid for awhile. And although Easter is just a couple days away, I’m glad I put this post together. Because I think these are really timeless Easter decorations that I’ll want to remember for future Easters.  

Happy Good Friday!  I am so grateful for the sacrifice my Savior made for me.  What a unimaginable GIFT!

And for more Easter and Spring fun, check out my pinterest board.

Design / DIY

DIY Gold Polka Dot Lamp Shade

March 27, 2013

I’m enjoying Spring Break.  We’ve been far from cell reception, camping in Joshua Tree National Park. We’re in San Diego for the day before we head out again for a few more days of camping in Anza Borrego State Park.  I managed to get to the important places yesterday like West Elm and Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf.
But, I wanted to share this easy DIY I did for the girl’s “new” room.  The full tutorial is over at Land of Nod‘s blog, Honest to Nod.  I made this gold dot lamp shade to go with Denali’s fabulous new sheets.  

Design

Small Space Book Shelves

March 20, 2013

Today the girls’ new room is being revealed over at Land of Nod‘s blog Honest to Nod.  But, I’m making little improvements all around the house.  It’s Spring, so that means Spring Cleaning.  I’ve got the organization bug something bad these days, how about you?

Our little 1920s bungalow is little.  The bedrooms are not super spacious, so we need to be creative with storage and furniture placement.  My two older kids are avid readers (thanks to their father), and although we mostly check out library books, they do own a lot of books.  Finding space for them without having a huge bulky bookcase was a must.

So that Dylan could enjoy his bigger picture books and have them on display, I put up 3 Ikea picture ledges to act as book shelves in his room.  We have the longer version of these in our hallway and I often rearrange our family pictures there.  These offer great, low-profile book storage (and they come in both black and white).  And with IKEA prices, this only set me back $30. They only take about 4 inches of the room and absolutely no floor space.

I was able to fit quite a few books on these these ledges.  This whole stack fit nicely on the shelves.  Aren’t you impressed?  I am.