Wedding Wednesday: DIY Craft Ideas

According to my JoAnn Fabric & Craft Store app, March is National Craft Month.  Seems like a good excuse to talk about a couple of DIY ideas to use for your wedding. 

 These painted hangers are a nice & special touch for hanging your wedding gown and bridesmaid's dresses on.  They can cost quite a lot each to have painted for you.  

Don't think you can wield a paintbrush steadily enough to pull this off?  No problem!!  Craft stores carry decals that can be rubbed directly onto the hanger with a popsicle stick.  

Paint pens have made me look like an actual artist in the past!!  This marvelous invention is a pen that writes with paint instead of ink.  Perfect for handwriting names or sentimental sayings onto projects.

When you are done, paint on a layer of Mod Podge to seal it all in. 

Personalized clear glasses are a really nice project too.  It's a very thoughtful touch that your wedding party can take home to remember your wedding every time they drink out of it.
Click here for a good tutorial on painting and heat-setting your glasses.  I used this as a guideline to make some glass coffee mugs for Christmas gifts, and they have held up nicely.

A few sample ideas for some patterns that you can try.  

Next is the very best tip I have ever come across for making this craft work.  (Yes, once again, thank you Pinterest!!)  

Print out or draw your design on a piece of paper, tape it INSIDE the glass, then trace. 

Oh yeah!!  Way easier than trying it freehand.  

Go ahead, set aside an evening or afternoon and give one of these a try.  You can do it!! 

Holiday How-to's: St. Patrick's Day

 St. Patrick's Day will be here in just one week, although most celebrations are probably happening over the weekend just before it.  Even if this isn't a big holiday for you and yours, there are plenty of simple things that you can do to make the day special and fun.  

What does St. Patrick's Day make pop into your mind?  For me, it's the color green, shamrocks, corned beef & cabbage, rainbows, and beer!!  All of these (with the exception of the beer, of course) can be geared toward a kid-friendly crowd or a bunch of rowdy adults.  

Green someplace on your body is an absolute necessity if you don't want to get pinched.  If everyone at your party already has on their green, you could add some variety to this game by picking a taboo word, (cheers, beer, leprechaun, etc...) to use instead.  Catch someone saying it in conversation and pinch away!!  It's always best to pick a word related to the festivities, but still very common in everyday speech so that it's more difficult to not say it.  

If you are lucky enough to find an actual four-leaf clover, hang onto it.  Mostly you will run across the much more common 3-leaf variety.  I spent plenty of time optimistically looking as a kid, and it's comparable to finding a needle in a haystack.  A much easier (and quicker) way to find one is to just make your own. 

You can find all of these on my Pinterst board.  Above are shamrocks cut
from a spinach leaf, below are green peppers, and to the right is an
adorable hair-do that I was not able to replicate myself, but if you have
any skill at all with hair, you should be able to manage it.

Next on my list is corned beef & cabbage.  I am more of a sauerkraut than cabbage kind of gal.  Even though I am not a huge fan, it has kind of become tradition since every restaurant on the parade route in my town has it ready to eat and usually (bonus!!) for free.  I wish I had a recipe to share with you, but unfortunately the only one I had that I actually loved the taste of has been lost.  (sad face)  As soon as I can find it, or a similarly good one, again I will put it in a safe place to share with everyone another year.  Until then, I will be leaving that cooking up to someone else!!  Do you have a favorite recipe for this dish?  Please feel free to share with all of us below or on my Facebook page.


  Now for my favorite...RAINBOWS!!  While I do like the color green, I prefer this excuse to use lots of colors to decorate and party with. 

 One of my successfully attempted pins from the past is simple to execute, but it does take a little extra time to separate, color, & layer the cake batter.  The actual recipe link is included, but the picture is the product my very own handiwork!!  

Rainbow cupcakes

Here is another pin that worked when I tried it.  Skittles Vodka!!  These turned out to be a LOT of work, but the shots were super yummy.  I wasn't able to find cheesecloth to strain with, so I did coffee filters.  I do NOT suggest this to you.  I believe the cheesecloth might have made things go a little quicker.  This year I believe I will try my hand at making colored ice cubes to be added to a clear beverage.  If it works, I will put pictures up on Instagram.  (and Facebook, and Twitter!!)  

"Taste the rainbow!!"  Skittles vodka shots

One more idea I would like to share in the rainbow section of this post is this adorable rainbow of fruit.  This pic is from my Pinterst board because I don't think there will be enough people at my home this year to eat all of the fruit I would need to buy to make this.  Personally, I would switch the mini-marshmallows for a yummy fruit dip.  My fave is simply 1 block of cream cheese & 1 small jar of marshmallow creme mixed together.  

Rainbow fruit and "gold coin" bananas

And finally, beer!!  I myself am not a big beer fan (unless hot wings are involved), but it's hard to not have just one green one on St. Patrick's Day.  Wanna know the big secret?  Drip a drop of green food coloring in the bottom of a mug, then pour in the beer.  Super-duper simple!! 

 Last year we stumbled across an alternative much more interesting to me.  We decided to watch the annual parade from a local winery which was offering their delicious wine blend in green for the day.  Yet another option, green mimosas.  While the same trick would work, this time I added a dash of Blue Curacao to the champagne and orange juice mix to give it this tint.  These are great for a pre-parade brunch.

Green "Casa Cooler"

Green Mimosa

  Well, there are a few ideas I want to try, and a few that have been successful for me in the past.  Please feel free to share your ideas, too.  I LOVE finding new things to try!!

Great ideas for crafty moms, scout leaders, room mothers...

I loved doing crafts with my children when they were younger.  Sadly, they outgrew it.  Not me!!  If I could get them to sit down and join me, well, that would be a glorious thing.  Maybe that can be one of my wishes if I meet a leprechaun this St. Pat's, !!  Oh well, someday my grandkids will craft with me again. 

While researching some St. Patrick's Day craft ideas, I stumbled onto www.makingfriends.com  

This site came in very handy when I used to be my daughters' Girl Scout leader.  Free printables, including crafts, mazes, color pages..., plus all of the instructions you need to complete the projects.  

 

This adorable shamrock garland would be an easy decoration to make, and at very little cost.  Thank you Someday Crafts for blogging about it.  You can find the tutorial at Bless This Mess.

  

I would absolutely love to see your creations- crafty, edible, or otherwise!!  Head over to my Events DEE-signed facebook page and upload your pictures.  

Keep the kids busy at Thanksgiving...

     At most Thanksgiving gatherings, there is plenty for the adults to do.  Cooking, setting the table, watching football, or just catching up with each other.  The kids can probably find plenty to do, too, but if you have a few things prepared to keep them busy, maybe they can stay out of trouble!!

     Coloring placemats are one of my favorite things to use anytime I am making a place setting for children.  They are easy to make, and add an activity to any celebration.  For this holiday, I printed a placemat with 2 sides.  Thanksgiving on the front, and pre-Christmas on the back.  The front has pictures to color, but you could also find word games or puzzles for free online to print out.  The most important part is the box for each person to write what they are thankful for this year.  The back is a Christmas Wish List.  Those Black Friday circulars are full of gift ideas and toy catalogs.  There are spaces for both gifts "To Get" & "To Give."

(made by Events DEE-signed)

     I LOVE this tablecover idea from the  Sweet Paul Blog.  You can get this type of wrapping paper at your local dollar store.   

(from Sweet Paul blog)

     Simply draw the placemats directly on the paper, put out some crayons, and let the kids decorate the entire table cover.  After dinner, you can either cut out each child's artwork for a keepsake or, if the table is a mess, just fold everything up in the paper and throw it all away in one quick sweep.  Then the table is ready for board games, or maybe some after-dinner crafting.

     Always have a couple of board games for indoors, and a couple of outdoor game ideas along with balls, frisbees, etc... in case you are lucky enough to have nice weather.  We still have Thanksgiving in my grandparents 2-bedroom house, even though the family has grown to 20+, so if we can send the kids outside, that's just one more enormous thing to be thankful for!!  The kids' table can be board game central, or they can set up in a spare room on the floor.

     Some kids will want to help in the set-up.  There are plenty of simple napkin folds that a child could master.  You can always find tutorials on YouTube.  This one from Danielle's Place is adorable.

(from Danielle's Place)

     Maybe they could help with a very simple appetizer that requires no cooking. This does the double-duty of keeping the kids busy and the adults from sneaking any turkey while everyone waits!!   Most children can arrange pre-cut vegetables or cheese squares onto a plate.  Another cute idea I found on Pinterest (I LOVE that site!!) is to put fruit pieces on skewers and make this Fruit Gobbler from Family Fun Magazine.  They used a cantaloupe, but I think a small pumpkin would be great.

(from Family Fun Magazine)

            I hope some of these ideas will work for you, or at least get your own imagination flowing!!

      

Quick & Easy Mummy Cupcakes

     These cupcakes are super easy and quick to make.  Perfect for a last minute homemade Halloween treat!!  All you need is cupcakes, white icing, and some candy corn (or any small candy for the eyes.)

     The cupcakes in the picture are chocolate and cherry chip.  For the mummy wrap, just pipe on plain white icing in strips, leaving a slit for the eyes.  I used candy corn for the eyes by cutting off the fattest stripe and inserting the pointy part into the cupcake.  The leftover candy corn makes a perfect tray garnish. 

     Hope you all get to have a fun Halloween!!    

A SpongeBob Squarepants Luau

This particular luau had lots of handmade items to make it one-of-a-kind.  Below is an example of each place setting.

I glued coloring pages onto colored construction paper, and then onto brown shipping paper (which you can find in rolls at Dollar General) to make the placemats.  The kids were able to color while waiting for their food, and they could take their artwork home after the party.

These cups started out plain yellow, and I just used a black permanent marker to draw SpongeBob's face.  Since the cups were short, I also cut the straws to fit without falling out.  These are sturdy plastic and washable, so the guests were able to take them home.

These "chum buckets" are made from clear plastic cups with pipe cleaners glued onto the sides to resemble a handle.  Gummi fish and worms, plus oyster crackers and Goldfish crackers make a pre-lunch snack for all of the guests.  I got the little "shovels" from a local ice cream shoppe.  They are the little spoons used to give out ice cream samples.

Raffia with a seashell hot-glued on holds the silverware bundles into place.

The treat bags were a huge hit.  Everything inside came from either the dollar store or Oriental Trading Company.  The bag itself started out as a plain brown lunch sack.  A few snips with scissors, a marker, and a sticker, and there you go!!

It's simple to personalize the favors.  A return address label fits perfectly around these tiny bubble bottles.

A tropical playlist specially selected for the birthday boy and girl was a special keepsake of their party.  I used a permanent marker and some stickers to decorated the cd.

Dollar Junction Inspiration - 4th of July

I LOVE walking through Dollar Junction for inexpensive things to spark my creativity!!  If I spend a couple of dollars and an idea doesn't work, I'm not out too much money.  If the idea does work, I either have a very inexpensive new idea, or a base for a project that works, and I can confidently spend a little more to make it just right.

This time through, the red, white, & blue was catching my eye.

Okay, I admit it, I am usually drawn to the candy aisle.  The wrappers have done most of the decorating for me already!!  Just plopping these in a bowl on a table looks plenty festive, but I did think of a couple of different possibilities.

Tying the curling ribbons around the Tootsie Pops, I was trying to make the streamers look like bursting fireworks.  It seemed to look better when I didn't curl them, but cut them plenty long.  I used red hots in the bowl to hold the sticks up.  You could even hold the stick between your palms and twist back and forth to make the ribbons "fly."

This red pot with the star border fits right in with a "star-spangled" theme.  It was too deep for the sucker sticks, so I placed a shorter bowl on top of old ribbon spools to make it sit higher. 

These tootsie rolls look great in this star dish (also found at Dollar Junction!!)  If you place them under the upside down dish, you can put a candle or other decoration on top.  Looks good, but the guests can't really get to the candy.  Hey, perfect for saving a few for yourself after the celebration!!

Above is just another option combining both kinds of candies.  Below, I was attempting to make a tootsie roll star, but it could also easily be decorated as a "4th of July guy."  You know, a couple of googly eyes in just the right spot.  

•                    

Some of you may have noticed that I didn't use the fudge-filled candy stars in any of the photos.  Well, I re-learned an old lesson with those.  If you are shopping on a warm day, DO NOT leave any type of chocolate in your hot car.  I ended up with a red, white, & blue lump!!  Still tasty, but not very pretty.  The bright side is that it was only $1 lost, and I've got enough time to get back to the store before July.  The stars would be great sprinkled on cupcakes or used to decorate sugar cookies.

I really hope some of these ideas sparked a little of your own creativity.  What holiday things have you found lately to inspire you?

I'll plan, so you can party!!

Visit me at Events DEE-signed.com

and follow along on your favorite social medias:

Facebook      Twitter       Google+      LinkedIn
      
         Pinterest                     Instagram

Cinco de Mayo Celebration Ideas

This is a great holiday for me to research right now, because I am currently working on a reunion for my fellow Tres Hombres employees.  I had the pleasure of working with some very special people when I worked there.

The first thing Cinco de Mayo makes me think of is MARGARITAS!!  These are very simple to mix.  The main ingredients are:

1 shot of tequila

1/2 shot of triple sec

fill with sweet & sour

Personally, I add a splash of Sprite.  Some people prefer a splash of orange juice.  Shake the ingredients up and pour over ice.  The most important thing is finding a sweet & sour or margarita mix you really love the taste of.  For a virgin mocktail, leave out the alcohol and add orange juice to taste.

For a Peach Margarita (my personal FAVORITE!!) substitute Peach Schnaaps for the triple sec, and add a splash of grenadine (mostly for color.)  This one tastes especially good with sugar around the rim instead of salt.

A taco bar is great because you just have to set out all of the toppings, and your guests can help themselves.  Having a variety of salsas and hot sauces gives everyone a chance to try something new.

I found a really great (and simple) mini-pinata favor on Family Fun's website.

  

I can't imagine a party without some type of special cupcake or cake.  This one is super easy, but super festive.

Whatever you end up doing, make sure you have fun!!  And always take lots and lots of pictures!!

Fun Use For Plastic Easter Eggs

     
     I used this idea to invite my neighbors to an Open House.  It was close to Easter, and I wanted something to peak their interest.  Everyone loves a candy surprise!!  (Plus, I feel my creativity is terribly stifled if I have to use an invite that I didn't make!!)


     After you decide exactly what you want to say, and how you are going to say it, print up your invitation, and place it inside a colorful plastic egg along with some type of small, wrapped candy.  Remember, it has to fit inside a small egg, so short and sweet.  

     Next, take a piece of ribbon, and tie the ends into a knot.  This is to help it not slide out of the egg.  Place the knot between the 2 halves of the egg and close it.

     Since I was only leaving these around my immediate neighborhood, I walked around the block and used the loop to hang my eggs on the front door of each house.  If you really feel like being artistic, use markers, stickers, or whatever else you have lying around your craft room to decorate the plastic eggs.

                                                   


     These adorable Spring hangers also work great for making an Easter Treat Tree.  They are perfect for hanging on a branch as a centerpiece on a table.  Go another step further, and number the eggs for a countdown, like a Christmas Advent Calendar.


                                                     

Garden Week

According to holidayinsights.com, this week is GARDEN WEEK.  Above is a photo of some garden cupcakes I made for a friend with instructions from one of my very favorite cupcake books, "Hello Cupcake."  You can read more about them at hellocupcakebook.com  I highly suggest picking up one of their books.  The ideas are brilliant, yet the instructions make it seem so simple.  The vegetables in the picture above are all CANDY!!  I also used their tips to make this rose cupcakes from Starbursts and sugar...

If you are lucky, the weather this week is beautiful in your area, and maybe you can actually get out and do some gardening.  At least take a walk and enjoy the beauty of Spring.  If it's rainy or chilly out, maybe you can whip up a batch of these cupcakes to keep you in the GARDEN WEEK mood!!