Simplified Water/ Pirate Themed Boys Party

Flashback to 2010: (ie I'm finally getting around to posting this..)  ;)

One of my boys decided he wanted a pirate themed birthday party.  I found a variety of pirate goodies at the dollar store, party store and Wal-mart.  There are eye-patches, gold coins (chocolate and plastic), a mini telescope/kaleidoscope, pirate earrings, compasses and treasure maps.  One was pre-printed and the other one is parchment looking paper I had burned around the edges which they drew their own maps on.  If you decide to try this, do it outside over concrete, and use something like tongs to hold the paper.

Note:  I later discovered tearing the paper and inking the edges in brown works much better.  

What's a pirate party without some water?  We obtained use of a funhouse type water slide.  This provided the bulk of the entertainment.

To display their goodie bags, I made use of a pirates chest that had once served as a Harry and David gift basket.  We had gotten it from my husband's work.  It was too cute to throw away and I've used it many, many times for parties.

I got the net at the dollar store.

Isn't it a great treasure chest?  The party plates are ones we picked up with a Pirates of the Caribbean theme.  Pirates is one of my favorite rides at Disney by the way.

My son and I decided on cupcakes for his treat.  We made these together with blue swirly frosting and Swedish fish to go along with our pirate/water theme.  This was before the age of Pinterest, so I didn't make or even buy cute pirate cupcake wrappers.  I love the cupcakes though because I made them with my son.  And isn't that what the best part of parties are--making memories?

 
Tee hee hee:  Someone is photo bombing my picture of the cupcake tower.

Enjoy your simplified pirate party!

New Project

I realize I haven't posted in many, many months. That would be because I've been busy working on my latest project--one that should be complete sometime in May.


Yep! Expecting! (Not twins, I just had to take two tests to be sure).

I spent many, many weeks feeling absolutely sicker than a dog. Then I started to feel better and it was time to try and catch up on family stuff and life in general. Then the kids got sick. Three rounds of strep throat this year. Not fun. (I'm honestly wondering if one of the munchkins is a carrier for strep.)

They also broke my laptop screen. One of the more rambunctious ones decided it was a great idea to shut my laptop while I was typing. My ring and knuckles did some serious damage to my screen. It was a while before I had a working laptop again.

I'm still playing catch up, (and part of that has been trying to get services for my children who are on the Autism spectrum), but the holidays are over, the decorations are put away (last week-finally), and I'm hoping I can begin posting again on a more regular basis.

One other piece of good news. We had planned on finishing the basement when we bought this house and have been saving accordingly. This new baby provides the impetus to get it done, and hopefully we'll be able to finish in the next month or two. The best part? One of the rooms we're finishing is a craft room for me! I can't tell you how excited I am. I haven't had a craft room in ages and ages! (I have just been hiding in nooks and cranny's wherever I can).

Look for posts regarding basement progress in the near future!

Believe

One of our biggest selling simple phrases is BELIEVE. I think it is because it can be interpreted in so many ways. During the holidays it can be intrepreted as a belief in Santa and the magic of the season. At Easter it means a belief in our Savior. During other times of the year it can remind you to believe in yourself, in others and in the basic goodness of mankind.

Belief can inspire us.

I know that my own beliefs hold me up when hard times hit. I am grateful for my faith.

What do you believe in?

Sad News

I have sad news. My lovely and talented sister, the Anne of Lizzie Anne Designs and her business partner, Tricia, have decided to close the doors on Lizzie Anne Designs.

The two of them are hugely talented designers and have created a fantastic product, but the current economy just won't support them continuing in their business. You can read all about their decision here.

You can still purchase merchandise at their website--in fact they are giving a 40-50% discount on their products.

I'll still post the pictures of cards I made with her products--and I'm going to make more (as soon as I uncover my inks from my in-construction basement)--I'm just really sad I won't be able to send you their website to buy anymore. In the meantime, check them out while you can.







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Happy Independence Day!

Happy Independence Day! Admittedly I'm a bit early, but I love getting into the holiday spirit. The Fourth of July is one of my favorite holidays. Who can resist hot dogs, hamburgers, grilled chicken, potato salad, fireworks and watermelon?

Not me.

I thought I'd post two twists on a similar glass block. Glass blocks are so much more readily available these days (Hobby Lobby anyone? Love the predrilled blocks). I love decorating for all of the holidays and the easier for me the better.

So do any of you have big plans for the Fourth of July? We're going to go to one of the National Battlefields and check out the fireworks.

Stay safe and have a good time.

Topsy-turvy Cake

Wow--I had no idea trying to make a topsy-turvy cake out of clay would be so difficult.

First of all, the amount of clay needed to create a full cake was more than I wanted to use. Secondly, to keep my edges clean proved more difficult than I anticipated. Thirdly, I had no idea just how many teeny-tiny balls of white would be needed, or how easily they'd be knocked off the cake if you picked it up the wrong way (even after baking!)

It's done--more or less--and it looks pretty cute, if a little imperfect. My daughter loves it, and that's what counts.

By the way, I built up the bottom by fashioning a support around a wooden dresser knob with white clay. This allowed me to use less clay for the green body of the cake.

If you look carefully in the picture, you can see Jenny's superior cake just behind and to the right of the cake.

Family Ties

May is a month of celebration in my family (mother's day, anniversaries, birthdays, etc). So I thought it was appropriate to post a sign that I love to make. I love the idea that my family can be together forever.

I know I am blessed. I actually love and get along with my in-laws (I think they are fantastic people truth be told). And while we are not perfect and we certainly have our ups and downs, overall I think we're a happy family. I am grateful for this blessing--words really can't express it enough--so I hope my actions do let my family know how grateful I am for them.

Baby Love

What can I say, I love babies. I love baby scrapbook pages, I love baby cards, announcements, clothes and blankets. I especially love that sweet baby smell of my own little ones. (Some of whom are not so little really anymore).

I was going through some boxes today (spring cleaning), and found this scrapbook page I had done for a swap. It's one of my simpler designs, but remember I like the simple stuff.

I hope you like it too.

(By the way the shiny centers are the flowers are microbeads I adhered with crystal effects).

Spring Cleaning and Organizing

I don't know what it is, but I find the older I get, the more I need lists and labels. (Could it be I'm just getting older?)

In any case, I love both my vinyl cutter and my label maker (for those tiny labels I can't possibly ever cut and pick without losing my sanity). I love having a home for each thing I own (I'm not there yet, but I can dream), and having it clearly labeled so no one can get confused at where an item belongs.

The pocket finds jar, by the way, is for my laundry room. I often go through pockets (too many melted crayons in my past experience) and pull items out that don't belong there. You'd be amazed what each of us leaves in our pockets. All finds go into the jar, and I don't have to worry about it. If someone is wondering where an item went--check the jar. Makes my life just that much easier.

And so it's April and if you haven't already, I challenge you to do some spring cleaning and organizing. I'm personally going to challenge myself to get rid of at least 1 item a day for two weeks. And I'm going to go back to my already organized areas and retidy them. I'll try and post some pictures. We are trying to grow our garden too, so I'll let you know how that goes.

Wish me luck! (And good luck to you too).

Monkey See, Kitty Do

We tried our hand at making two of the simpler cakes on the front cover of Jenny's book--the monkey and kitty cat cakes--out of polymer clay.

If you look closely at this picture, you can see the monkey and kitty cakes at the top.

I cut the monkey's face freehand, as well as cat's light colored area around the mouth. (What do you call that on a cat? The muzzle?) I used my new, handy-dandy clay extruder (which needs really soft pliable clay to work well) to get the pieces for the mouths, nose, whiskers, etc. I wish in hindsight I had paid a little more for a better quality extruder--one where you twist a handle or something instead of trying to push clay through with brute force.

Lastly, I found a packet of inexpensive disks that were the perfect cake platter size at the craft store. We painted them with acrylic paints I had on hand.

What do you think?

I've already got the next couple of polymer clay posts ready, but in the future, I will try and post some in process photos as well.

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A word to those working with polymer clay for the first time. Read the baking directions when you are rested or just take note of my blunder. I misread the directions in haste and when I was tired, and was looking everywhere amongst my friends for an oven that would bake at 130 degrees Fahrenheit. Ovens baking that low do not exist. Ummm, yeah--that was 130 degrees Celsius--not Fahrenheit. The cat and monkey got a little dusty during the two days they sat there until my brain kicked in after rereading directions on baking.

I also made the mistake of not realizing you cannot use the same tools you use for polymer clay on food items. Luckily I had planned on the shape cutters being solely devoted to clay beforehand.