Wedding Season Gift Idea

I don't know about you, but its summer, and it is wedding season.
I'm the type of person that thinks that the idea of the gift registry is phenomenal
(hey, I took total advantage of it when we got married!)
But, I also like giving origional and memorable gifts -- for any occasion!

So when I saw this adorable gifr on Pinterest from Darling Doodles, I knew that it was

a) getting pinned in my gifts board
b) It was not going in the archives, I was going to use it!

(btw: you should go check out all the other adorable stuff she has there!)

We were invited a few weeks ago to a wedding shower (aka couples shower) for my husband's superviosr. Naturally they had a registery but I didn't want to go that route.
However, I also knew that I couldn't do the "pb&j" gift basket either (they're older then the typical couples that I see getting married). I knew that it would be kind corny for them
So I thought and thought about other things that "go together"

And I came up with:
"You go together like Marshmallows & Chocolate"
and made them a S'mores basket for an "at-home" date night.

Fairly inexpersive and completely memorable!

I loaded my basket with totally adorable roasting sticks that are retractable (easy sotrage and transport!)
Graham crackers
Marshmallows
Chocolate bars
AND Reese's Cups
(if you haven't tried that yet -- you MUST. Its the whole sweet/salty/peanut-buttery thing. It's delish!)

I'm sure that I could have added in some cute cloth napkins, or lined the basket in a picnic blanket if I was thinking more clearly then (so you do that for me, OK?).

I whipped up this cute card on my computer and tucked it in.
It was a huge success of "ooohhhhs, and ahhhhhs" :)

What other combinations can you think of that would make a good gift?

P.S. I'm totally doing the PB&J one for a wedding coming up in a few weeks, for an adorable, college-aged couple!

How to Host a Murder Mystery Party

My husband and I love to have friends come over to our home for dinner, or to have a group of people over for a party. There is something about socializing/ conversation over yummy food (have you seen my previous "I LOVE FOOD" post?) that simply makes me happy. I also enjoy throwing themed-birthday parties for my children and husband. One themed-party that I wanted to do for ages was a Murder-Mystery Dinner Party. When I asked my husband if this was something he wanted for his own birthday, I heard the hesitation in his voice. No matter, I said. Since my birthday is only six days after his, I decided I will give myself a Murder-Mystery Birthday Party.

Fortunately, I live in a city where there are a lot of "Gamers" and all I had to do was visit my local game store, Game Night Games, to view a vast variety of packaged games. For those who do not have something so fun and so nerdy available, Amazon.com is also a great place shop Murder Mystery Games.

The brand "How to Host a Murder" by Decipher Inc offers a variety of Murder Mystery Games. "Why?", you ask. These games come with everything needed to throw a successful party: invitations, menu suggestions, name cards, costume suggestions, a host guide and other things depending upon the game (like maps, diagrams, etc.). The game I chose for the birthday party was Episode Number 5: The Chicago Caper.

This was on our invitations:

 You have received an invitation to S.P. Keasys place, a private club near the headquarters of notorious gangster Hal Cappone. Upon arriving, Hal is discovered murdered! Come in costume and assume the role of one of the suspects; MOLLY M. AWBSTERR (society dame from NY, the ultimate flapper in Chicago for the action, maintaining a most exclusive penthouse apartment), ERNIE ("BET A MILLION") G. AMBLER (Chicagos most colorful millionaire), "SILKY" M. ADAM (shady owner operator of the The Everlay Club, Chicagos most prominent private establishment), EDDIE ("SOCKS") R. GYLE (smooth fashionable and clever, avid golfer and gambler, owns the exlusive gaming house Green Tables where the affluent gamble), MALISSA F. ORRTHOT ("Scoop" made a name for herself as a crime reporter for the citys leading paper The Trumpet, her considerable beauty and lively charm helped further her career on both sides of the law), S. TREIGHTON HARROW (US District Attorney and chief opponent of the criminal element), ANNA MARIA CARLOTTA SASSINE (sultry voice, exuberant style and traditional blues renditions have earned here the nickname "Torchy", this smoldering beauty currently featured at the Green Tables), or BILLY ("THE KID") THROWER (star pitcher for the Stock Kings, currently holds the league strikeout record, off the field The Kid is fun-loving, hard-drinking, warm-hearted, lustful, brawling and hell-raising). Imagine your home is a 1920s speakeasy in Chicago as you and your guests enjoy hours of suspense and intrigue but mainly humor as you solve the crime over a dinner.

SO MUCH FUN, ITS ALMOST CRIMINAL!

Does sound fun, doesn't it? I have to say, it was a BLAST! So much fun, in fact, that my husband I brought the game to a small family reunion and played it again... even though we knew "who dun it", it was so much fun trying to throw people off :)

 

Next time you think about hosting a get-together with six of your best friends, consider doing something other than a barbeque in the backyard (again!). Make the gathering a little more exciting with a party theme like Murder Mystery. If you want to be especially crazy, have people come dressed up (this REALLY helps everyone get into character!). 

Scoop, Torchy, S. Treighton Harrow, Ernie "BET A MILLION" G. Ambler, & Molly M. Awbsterr

Scoop, Torchy, S. Treighton Harrow, Ernie "BET A MILLION" G. Ambler, & Billy "THE KID" Thrower

My Inner Childhood

 

I have had the opportunity over the years to work with young girls in our church in various committees.  The girls have this fantastic effect on you...they make you feel young again!  Their energy and enthusiasm is infectious!  In deciding what to write about this week I got to thinking back on what activities we have done and what I learned or re-learned to do.  One of my favorite hobbies as a child was friendship bracelets.  Remember those?  They are a perfect craft for kids to do during the summer.  Its inexpensive and a little time-consuming so it helps with the constant "I'm bored!" mantras we all deal with in the summer.  You need three pieces of equipment...embroidery floss which you can find at any dollar store, scissors, and a safety pin to attach it to a pant leg or pillow (or clipboard) to give that all important tension.  There are a ton of websites online that teach how to make them.  Everything from the classic chevron or diagonal to how to put your name (of the name of your BFF!) on them!

http://www.how-to-make-jewelry.com/friendship-bracelet-patterns.html

this is a good site for basic patterns and learning how-to

 http://friendship-bracelets.net

this site has every bracelet under the sun!

and there are tons of other sites that all have fun and fascinating ideas for you to try out!

I hope you  have fun rediscovering the joys of childhood with your kids doing this fun, easy and inexpensive craft!

Father's Day -- Uh-oh, It's Here!

It's the proverbial: "What do we get Dad for Father's Dad?"
Am I right, or am I right?
We all wait until the week of, and then decide that a card will have to cut it this year.

However, I'm sure that you've all seen the cute little questionaire's floating around in the blos-o-sphere
(and hence Pinterest).

I liked all of them.
But, I either had trouble getting the link to work
OR I was asked to purchase it.
I didn't want to do that.

So, I made my own (don't you just love moustaches? -- I'm kind of hooked on them right now)
So I share with you --- go ahead and download it, share it, make it your own.
Have your kids fill it out and give itt o Dad with handmade, drawn card and he will cherish it for always.

you may download the pdf here

Cluster Necklaces

Hi, folks!

Holy geeze, it's MARCH! Crazy, eh? I don't know about where you are, but where I am we are having the most fabulously MILD winter EVER. I've missed being able to make a snowman with my kiddo this year, but I will take more winters like this over snowmen ANYTIME! :-)

With spring inching closer and closer I find myself turning ever so slightly away from my vast collection of scarves (I LOVE scarves) and back towards my increasingly fabulous jewellery stash! (I'm not going to lie, being able to make my own and having a small sellable inventory means I am NEVER at a loss for the perfect piece to complement whatever whim I'm having; it's accessorizing bliss. hahaha)

Here is one of my most FAVOURITE styles of necklaces to make and wear. It's an easy step up from the last how-to I shared with you, and goes with just about everything.

This particlar project was done for my darling dear friend who turned 14 last week. I chose purple as it has been her most absolute FAVOURITE colour since Justin Bieber came on the scene, and, honestly, it's a fabulous colour to work with. :-D

So, here's what you need:

• chain
• a whack-load of beads, charms, whatever you're adding to your cluster
• wire - I like to use 22-guage for this, because it's so easy to work with, but occasionally I use a chain that is so fine the 22 is too thick to fit through, so I'll use 24 gauge - I don't really recommend going thinner than that for this, but that's just me. I use 26 gauge for wrapping/weaving, not really for attaching. Anyway.
• wire cutters
• round-nosed pliers
• needle-nosed pliers

You're going to start the same way you started before, cutting a piece of wire long enough to go through your first bead but giving enough room to work on either side.  I'd say give yourself at least the bead's length plus 1 1/2 inches so you have lots of wiggle room, at least while you're learning. :-)

Then, this is a bit different - grab the wire with your round nosed pliers at the very end.

Then, turn the end of the wire up so it wraps around the pliers - you're making a little loop at the bottom that's going to be holding the bead on the wire. (If your bead has a big hole, make the loop bigger to accommodate it.  Generally this loop can be VERY tiny, and the smaller it is the stronger it will be.)

I like to bend my wire back a little so the loop is sort of 'centred' at the bottom instead of off-kilter, but it TOTALLY doesn't matter.  When I'm done, it looks like this!

Then, pop on the bead!  Sometimes when I do a cluster I like to use a nice big bead at the bottom and then build my cluster up above that - that's what I did here, so I have this giant purple agate going on the bottom.

This next part should look familiar - you're going to grasp the wire at the top and do the fabulous twist we learned before!

Grasp the wire above the bead with the round-nosed pliers

Bend the wire away from you over the pliers

Move the pliers in the bend from the side to the top

Bend the wire BACK over the pliers, and continue around to make a loop. Before closing the loop slip the wire through the end link of your chain.

Finish your loop by wrapping the end of the wire around the bottom of the loop above your bead 2-3 times.

Trim the tail off the wire.

Voila! The first bead of your cluster is attached!!  Then, all you do, is the same thing over and over with different beads. SO EASY!

I like to make most of my clusters pretty full, so I keep adding beads and charms until it's packed. This one used agate, amethyst, sparkly Chinese crystals, a tiny Swarovski crystal, glass beads, glass pearls, silver plated beads & charms...  Then I slip a jump ring or a slip ring on the top of the cluster, cut the excess chain off, and then put the NECKLACE chain through the ring and make it as long as I want - usually cluster necklaces I like to be nice and long so they sit slightly lower than the bust (which is why they don't work very well with scarves and winter bundles! BRING ON SPRING! hahaha)

And this was the finished product!  Isn't it gorgeous? (Even if I do gush about my own work...I love this one!)

For my bud's birthday I used a pin to shorten the chain and attached it to Scentsy buddy Ribbert (she has a thing for frogs, and a frog that smells like baked apple pie...let's just say this was a winner of a gift! hahaha BOOyah!)

Cute, right? I KNOW! hahaha

And that, my friends, is my big secret about how I make my most favourite pieces! 

Happy crafting! 

Framed Pages

Hi, everyone!

Sorry I'm posting a little tardy today - I'm in the middle of a FABULOUS paint job in my kitchen (it looks AMAZING) and haven't been near the computer to blog....but enough of that because I am here now! (I don't hear cheering....trying not to take that personally.... sob)

So, YES, I'm currently up to my eyeballs in paint and NOT so crafty at the moment, but with Valentine's coming up and my head on gifting - even though my hubs and I don't really recognize or care about Valentine's Day (I'm having a hard time shifting back into 'celebrating' it for my four-year-old! Whoops!) - I thought I'd show you some of my favourite ever gifts that will perhaps give you some ideas, if not for Valentine's Day then for some other special event in the future!!

I LOVE to give framed scrapbook pages.

What says "I love you" better than a personalized, handmade, BEAUTIFUL gift that the receiver can personalize even more by adding their favourite photo(s) than a gorgeously papercrafted piece of artwork for her home??

Here are a few I've done over the years:

This one was for my cousin's baby shower. She was expecting wee baby Emma to debut shortly thereafter!

A friend at church had a darling little girl after starting their family with two boys! Don't you just love the name: Shorleigh?

A wedding present for a girlfriend.  I LOVE this one. It was so simple but came out so wonderfully (in my very biased opinion)

This is a horrid photo, sorry, but I made this one for my parents for Christmas a year or so ago.  I LOVE this one in the large frame.  It's hanging in their family room. :-)

Aaaand....this one wasn't a gift. This is on the wall in my living room. hahaha But I LOVE it...which is why it's on the wall.

All you need is a killer scrapbook page, a 12X12 frame - Michaels, Ikea, www.feelingscrappy.com has some beautiful frames for a mere $15!!

So next event you have, try thinking INSIDE the box (I know, that was pretty bad. I couldn't help myself!) and prepare for some serious WOW.

I'll finish painting my kitchen and then get back into crafty stuff. Promise!  Cheers for now!

Teacher Gifts

I don't know if you're like me at all; but I have the toughest time coming up with a (half-way) deceent gift for my boys teacher's at school every holiday season.
So....since I had to figure out a post for the Betties, I thought that I would get prepared
(and hopefully get your creative juices flowing)
for a great holiday gift for a teacher, friend or neighbor.
(b/c if I'm not thinking ahead, it usually doesn't happen!)

AND the great thing about all this is that it is extremely affordable.
Practically everything I got was for about $1.00 (with a few exceptions, of course)

*When it gets closer to the end of the school, I will post a picture of the completed teacher gift, I just didn't want some of this stuff sitting around for another three weeks getting stale and yucky. But I think that you'll get the general idea*
Let's get started!
Here'a what I'm starting with:

The cute little box to put everything in I found at Target in the $$ bins.

Gloves: 2/$1 @ Dollar Tree

Candy cane sticks @ Hobby Lobby for.....well you can see it: $2.49 --- but this will make you more than one little box.

boxes to put the candy cane sticks in at Hobby Lobby for $1.99 -- 4 to a package.

Little jar @ Hobby Lobby for $1.99

NOW, here is the inspiration for all of my goodies for my boys teachers:

Aren't these adorable?!?!

Microwaved Popcorn wrapped with gloves for the hat! So clever

(and functional at the same time!)

You can find the cute sowman wrapper printable at Sherelle Christensen

LOVE this one.....dipped candy cane sticks for a hot chocolate stirrer

--- super-easy to make and pretty to give.

Found @ countryliving.com in their 14 homemade food gifts.

And finally some homemade lemon sugar hand scrub found at Stephanie Lynn

(I've made this for the girls that I visit teach and they have LOVED this stuff

--- I think I need to make some for myself!)

You must know, that the inspiration for all these little goodies, I found at Pinterest.

I love the people that are creative enough to even think this stuff up so that

I have something great to give as gifts.

I will aslo be throwing in a handmade card from my child and

 an ornament to complete my little box for the teachers.

I can't wait until they are actually all done so that I can show it off.

It's gonna be super-cute!

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas...

Well, it's officially December 1st, which, in OUR house, means we decorate! (Yes, we are THOSE people, who ban Christmas decorating and music until we're officially in the month. It's only a teeny bit Scroogey of us...right??)

And in honour of Christmas decorating (or whatever other holiday you're decorating for - I think the signs downtown say "Merry Christmas," "Happy Hanukkah," "Happy Diwali," "Happy Eid" - if there are others then our fair city has overlooked something and I apologize on our ignorant behalf) I thought I show you this really cool little decoration that one of my best friends taught ME how to make last year! She did up a bunch as parts of Christmas presents for her friends at work, and I'm not going to lie, I did a bunch because they look so FABULOUS on my Christmas tree!

So, here we go!

You need:

• 18 gauge [jewellery] wire (any colour) - I used approximately 12 inches for this one
• beads - use as many as you can fit or as few as you like! Here I used 5 fabulously sparkly Chinese crystals - these beads look FABULOUS on the Christmas tree next to all those lights!
• round-nosed pliers
• wire cutters

Step 1: Measure and cut your wire.

Step 2: Grasp the very end of the wire with the pliers and turn the pliers so that you make a loop in the wire.

Step 3: Now, keep your pliers in that loop, grasp the other end of the wire with your opposite hand, and gently keep the twisting motion going, as though to make a loose circle. Just don't come all the way back around - you're making the hook that you're going to hang on your tree.

Step 4: Thread your beads on the unfinished end.

Step 5: Grasp the wire again with your pliers below where you want the beads to sit, and bend the wire around the pliers so that it's at least about 90 degrees from the beaded portion.

Step 6: Let go and then grasp the wire 1/2 to 1 inch from the bend, and wrap the wire around the pliers so that it's going back the other way.

Step 7: Let go and grasp the wire again, a little further than you did last time, so it's a bit off-kilter. Then wrap the wire back around the pliers so it's going the other way again. Kinda' like a loopy-zig-zag.  Do this back and forth a few times, until you're either sick of it or you've just got enough wire left to finish off. I did mine so there are uh, I dunno, 4 zigs. Yes, that's for SURE the technical term. ;-)

Step 8: Use your fingers or your pliers, whichever is easiest for you, shape your zig-zag by squishing the middles...

Step 9: Once you've got them shaped how you like it, grab the very tail of your wire with the pliers and make another loop just like you did in step 2 above.  Then, just like step 3 keep your loop going around, more loosely to make a wee spiral. It should be tighter than your hook was, but still a bit loose, yes?

Step 10: Step back and admire your awesome work!!

It's fanTASTICALLY simple, just a few bends and twists in your wire, with some sparkling beads and voila you have a decorative masterpiece to hang on your tree! The sparkly-er the beads the better it looks next to a mini lightbulb on the tree!! When ours goes up tomorrow night I can't wait to hang mine!

Give them out as gifts, add them to your gift-wrapping bows, whatever you please! They're simple, inexpensive yet classy, and add that handmade specialness to the gift-giving season.

Happy Crafting!

DIY Pottery Barn Holiday Card Holder

Holiday Card Holder from PotteryBarn.com

My favorite stores include Restoration Hardware,Williams Sonoma and Pottery Barn. Often I can be found curled up in my favorite plush red velvet arm chair longingly browsing their catalogs, thinking of ways I can imitate the chic farmhouse look without having to pay the chic boutique prices.

This Holiday Card Holder can be found on the Pottery Barn website (or catalog) for the 2011 Holiday Season. In years past I have taped my cards from family & friends to cabinets in the kitchen, paper clipped them to twine, or tucked them anywhere I could to display the beautiful works of art.

That is, until now. This year, cards sent to my home (and yours!) can have a home of their own with this 6" x 72" DIY Pottery Barn inspired Holiday Card Holder.

Craft Ingredients:

Large gauge spool of wire (any major home repair store)
Wire cutters
Electrical pliers
Safety Glasses
Yard (Meter) stick
Floral wire (optional)
Black spray paint (optional)

Craft Directions:

1.) Measure & cut 5 strands of the large gauge wire at 80" in length. Four (4) of the strands will be the main body of the holiday card holder.

Steps 1 & 2.

2.) Measure 4" from one end of the group of four (4) strands, and using the 5th cut strand of large gauge wire, wrap around the group of 4 strands three times. This can be done either by hand or using the electrical wire pliers. Repeat every 12", or one foot. There should be more wire left open, or un-wrapped, at the top of the Holiday Card Holder.

Step 3.

3.) Now that the body of the Holiday Card Holder is in place, use the electrical pliers to curl the bottom of the four strands of large gauge wire. Repeat step 3 with the top of the strands of the large gauge wire.

4.) Using your yard stick, measure and cut three (3) strands of large gauge wire at 64". The wire for this step can be substituted with floral wire, though not shown in the pictures of this project.

Step 5.

5.) Beginning at the bottom of the Holiday Card Holder, wrap one (1) strand of wire around the body two times, and then make a loop two times to one side. Wrap wire around body once, and make a loop two times to the opposite side, as shown in picture. Repeat until wire is completely wrapped around the body of the Holiday Card Holder. Repeat Step 5 two more times with each remaining strand of wire. (HINT- the shorter wires allow ease in creating the loops and wrapping around the body of the holder. One long wire is REALLY difficult to work with as it easily becomes tangled with everything it comes in contact with.)

6.) Optional Step. If you used floral wire to make the loops on either side of the Holiday Card Holder, now would be the time to spray paint the holder black to give it a unified look.

Finished Product. Looks JUST like the one from PB!

All in all, this project only took me 2 hours to make and I didn't have to spend the $49 price tag at Pottery Barn to create a home for my holiday greeting cards.

Thanks for stopping by! Please feel free to leave a comment or post a question. :) Kristen

Close up of Finished Product.