Wednesday, April 29, 2009

Just a quick post today...

to share a link! I wrote a tutorial for a new blog called My DIY Wedding Day, owned by The Knot. Please check out the link, and learn how to make these Save The Dates that I designed especially for the blog! It's a little folder with a magnet inside... super cute!

Tuesday, April 28, 2009

news news news!

Ok, this is going to be a photo-heavy post! How can a girl have so much news from only two days?? Yesterday our power was out for almost the entire day (yes, that sucked!) so I missed out on a days worth of sharing. I wanted to start with this amazingly cute dress that I found at the flea market on Sunday.






Now, this dress was a VERY happy find. I loved the pink polka dot fabric and picked it up without even looking at it. I often cut up old clothing for the fabric. Anyways, got it home and thought... hmm this might fit me - and it did! I am not a small girl and cute vintage stuff never fits me, so this was a big score! and it was only $2! I also found a few pretty brooches:





Yesterday when the power was out I made a few things:







The first picture is a little collage made on recycled cardboard. I covered it in patterned paper, affixed the pink lace around the bottom, freehand cut the birdie out and attached with pop dots. Then I added some pearls and flowers :) just a little something to pass the time. The second two photos are of some pretty little ear studs - paper*cakes will soon start offering accessories! These are the first of the lot.. and you better bet I am keeping quite a few for myself!

This arrived in the mail for me yesterday:





From the ever lovely Elizabeth of Creative Breathing. Now I have one more craft to add to me E pile! hehe.. not that they are in a pile. Previously, Elizabeth sent me a very special embroidered heart, and a dutch girl pegdoll (because I am dutch!). She sent another pincushion to Chelsea Ann too. Please go read Elizabeth's blog - she posts great stories! And finally... a photo of a couple of notebooks that I recently picked up.





I'm SUCH a sucker for all things paper, especially notebooks! I love to make lists.. I just love writing on the unspoiled paper - lol :) The pink notebook is to make a little art journal about myself and my likes right now.. some self exploration. I don't know if can see the writing on the cover, but it reads "today I had a conversation with my true self. She asked me why I had abandoned her, why I had ignored all her constant advice. And then she reminded me of all the things I had forgotten. And never once did she say "I told you so".

That's all for now! xoxo

Sunday, April 26, 2009

My DIY Wedding on a Budget!

I got married in September of 2008, and in order to save money we (me, my mil, my mom, and her friend) made most of the decor elements of the wedding ourselves. This was really challenging as I got married in Alberta and was living in PEI at the time. It was a great idea to DIY because we saved so much money on wedding insidentals and were able to put that towards the travel expenses. I hope these pictures can provide you with some sort of imspiration :)






I wanted to talk first about the wedding invites, since these were the most labour intensive of all of the DIY projects we made for the wedding. My mom worked in the multi-media wing of the local college so she was lucky enough to know a graphic designer. He designed the image, and we based the invite around it. I designed and printed all of the cards, and designed the pocket fold set-up. Every invitation was printed at home and cut out on my paper trimmer! We used http://weddingannouncer.com to set up an online RSVP service which was awesome!

We got married in the atrium of a museum, and they did not allow any decor on the walls or hanging from the ceiling, so our decor options were limited. We decided to make the tables the focus. We rented two lanterns and two park benches, our only decor other than what was on the tables.


My grandfather and a little baldie Jude, sitting on the bench, in front of the lantern.



My mom sewed all of the table cloths - I found pink/gold satin fabric on sale so it was really economical - it worked out to about $8/ cloth. My mom's best friend made our centrepieces - white vases found at walmart with faux cherry blossoms. To make the centrepiece, she filled the vases with rocks, tucked in some branches (she spray painted these dark brown), and added flowers. The blossoms themselves were found at michaels. Then she tied a light pink ribbon around the vase. Cost was about $10/centrepiece.



This is a shot of the head table, decorated with more of the bolts of fabric we purchased ourselves. Wedding rental places offered table cloths to rent, but it was far cheaper to buy the fabric. I still have the pink fabric and use it as a table cloth for craft shows :)



Here is a better shot of the centrpieces, and the card box that I painted. I found it at michaels and used one of their coupons with it. I painted the outside white, the inside pink, and freehanded cherry blossoms on the outside.



We did a small candy buffet instead of favors. We purchased jars, and decorated them with ribbons/bows. I found heart shaped candy scoops at michaels. Guests were given little boxes to put candy inside. We saved a lot of time and money doing favors this way because only those interested helped themselves, and we could purchase candy at costco. This was a huge hit and was gone way before we even expected thanks to all of the children in attendance! (by the time this photo was taken, a lot of the good stuff was already gone lol)



I saved a lot by doing my own makeup, and the makeup of my bridal party. I am a makeup artist so this was not stressful for me :) My cousin is a hairstylist, and she did the hair for the bridesmaids. Ok, that's all for crafty photos... now onto some "just for fun" sharing!



I ended up wearing these silver flip flops instead of the shoes I bought for the wedding... much more comfy!



Here we are cutting the cake! I got a yummy coconut cake with buttercream icing, and then chocolate cupcakes and white coconut cupcakes. Yum! Too bad the only bite I got was right after cutting.. would have loved to eat more cupcakes.



This picture was taken at the Nikka Yuko Japanese gardens, in Lethbridge AB. We got our photos taken there and they have this giant gong.. makes for a pretty shot :)



This is pretty silly... but it shows the background of the japanese gardens.




Two photos taken during the ceremony. We chose this museum location because it overlooks a river bottom. In southern alberta there are "coulees" which were formed many years ago by glaciers scraping out channels in the land.. anyways, it makes for a nice view! My bridal party wore gold dresses that had brown bows, and matching bow necklaces.


This shot was taken before the reception, during cocktail hour. I love that it shows the windows in the museum :)



The cake, pro-spoiling! I requested buttercream icing and NOT fondant because fondant is not overly delicious!

Wednesday, April 22, 2009

She's HERE!

My kitty from Lori Marie arrived a few days ago! I am a bit late sharing pics since my internet in the studio was down.. which means I had no photo uploading capabilities!



Please visit Lori's Shop and get your own! She still has a pink kitty left.

The last few days have been busy busy, as usual. When is it not busy here? The weather today for Earth Day is kinda crummy - rain, wind, and grey skies. What is it like where you are today? Take a picture and upload it here to share it with everyone in honor of Earth Day!

Just wanted to share a quick recipe - I've been trying to make easy, healthy(ish) breakfasts that I can make ahead and cook quickly when needed.

Spinach and Sausage Breakfast Bagel

- 1 egg
- 1 bagel
- 3 large spinach leaves
- 2 pieces of bacon, 1 piece of ham, or 1 sausage
- a few pieces of cheese

Microwave egg in small bowl for 45 seconds - it comes out round. Toast bagel, and cook your meat. Place Egg on bagel, top with spinach and then add your meat while hot. Place cheese on top! Voila. This takes about 15 minutes to make in the morning or do what I do and make a bunch up ahead, freeze or refridgerate them, and microwave just before eating.

I'm off to do laundry! xoxo

Monday, April 20, 2009

Smoothie Recipe

We just made some really great smoothies, and I wanted to quickly share the recipe. I recently (I mean finally, whoops!) unpacked the blender we recieved as a wedding present and today I bought lots of smoothie ingredients at the store. Here is the recipe:

- 4 ice cubes
- 4-5 scoops of mango and mandarin flavored yogurt
- 1/2 can of each of pineapple and peaches
- some chunks of frozen fruit mix

All you do is blend. Super easy - yay! This is really quick in the morning and we can all enjoy it - I'm trying to make things that are Jude friendly as well as adult friendly.

Sunday, April 19, 2009

I have lots of stuff to share!

Jude's Birthday party was yesterday, and it was great! :) Here are a few photos to share..



Trying out the cake. He wasn't sure about it... and he didn't get as messy as I would have liked, but he was cute poking the cake with his fork. I made the Birthday crown that he is wearing, and the appiqued "1" onesie.



Pointing at the cake while Daddy tries to light the sparklers. Reccomendation - don't buy sparklers at the dollar store! They wouldn't light and left little bits all over the top of the cake - ew.



A shot of Jude's little cake before I iced it... I baked this in an oddly shaped pyrex dish with the mix left over from the cupcakes. Because of the odd shape, I cut it in half and layered it with a mixture of cake/cream cheese icing in the middle.
I think it looks like a giant macaroon in this picture...





"J" is for Jude!



Playing with his favorite toy, a Pooh car that Grandma gave him for Christmas.



He loves cars... everything is all about cars lately. He said his first word the other day and guess what it was? Yep, "Car".



Matt chilling in the corner.. I love the goofy look on his face :)



More food... yum! Cupcakes with home made cream cheese icing, and the chocolate bar favors. Most of the women from my husband's family who came to the party are involved in a diet challenge, so I ended up with lots of sweets left! I made the cupcake toppers and the chocolate wrappers (those are caramilk bars inside) with a graphic purchased from Http://Govango.Etsy.com.



Jude sticks his toungue out at his little friend Anneliese, who is 9 months old. Isn't she a cutie?



Chewing on the big puffy sheep, which was a gift from mommy and daddy. I found this sheep yesterday for $1.99 in the Easter clearance section at superstore - score! That's all for pictures for now... I took hundreds though and have yet to look at them all so maybe a few more will show up here later.



This is a blurry picture, but my friend Maria (Anneliese's momma) made Jude this robot pillow. It is super cute, with a little flap that opens and closes. She used vintage fabric and sewed it all herself (and designed the pattern, wow!). She commented that she thought I would like it even more than Jude... and that is probably true lol :)


I wanted to share a bit about the crafts that I made for the party. I was on a small budget so I wanted to do a lot of DIY. I made the crown using two pieces of felt, ironed together with stitch witchery (the "1" was applied with the same, and glittered with stickles). I attached an elastic in the back by hand stitching. Jude wore the crown for most of the day and didn't even try to rip it off! I would like to try to make another crown for him for play at some point - but it would need to be a little more durable and maybe sewn on the machine. Anyways, the crown ended up costing me less than $1 to make and I think it really added something special to the photos. The onesie was made using stitch witchery as well - I just cut a "1" out from some red fabric and ironed it onto a plain onesie we already had.

Also - since a lot of people on Twitter asked me for my buffalo chicken dip recipe - I thought I would share it. I served it at this party and usually make it for most occasions. It is super easy, and a crowd pleaser.

Buffalo Chicken Dip



- 2 softened packages of cream cheese
- 1 small container of sour cream
- roughly 1/3-1/2 bottle of franks red hot sauce or other buffalo sauce
- 1 shredded chicken breast

This dip is made in a crock pot and served warm. Add your cream cheese, sour cream, and most of the buffalo sauce (to your own taste) to the pot and set it on low. Place your uncooked chicken breast on a cookie sheet, coat in the rest of the buffalo sauce, and bake until cooked through. When chicken is done, shred it with two forks and add it to the now softened cream cheese mixture. Serve on crackers - voila! You could also bake this in a dish in the oven, but I like to use the crock so it stays warm.


Anyways, I'm going to wrap this super long post up. Thanks for reading!!

Thursday, April 16, 2009

Supply addiction anyone??

I have to confess, I am totally addicted to craft supplies! The reason I love crafts is really because I love supplies... I asked my twitter followers about this topic and you wouldn't believe the amount of replies I got! It seems I am not alone in my supply addiction.

On that topic.. here is a picture of my clearance haul from Michaels yesterday.





- Dollar bin Cupcake cards, $1.50
- American crafts spring ribbons, $0.75 - half price
- Making Memories little pink letter stickers - I am *addicted* to these - $2.99 down from $4.99
- Woodland critter stickers, down from $4.99 to $2.99 as well
- Dollar Bin chipboard circle thingies - $1.50

A pretty good score for around $20, if you ask me :) I also picked up a set of Martha Stewart clear stamps leftover from valentine's for $5 (Walmart).

I've been so busy with life stuff, packing orders, and spring cleaning lately that I haven't had much time to make new crafts... but I have some ideas in the works, like these new stickers.



Monday, April 13, 2009

Happy Birthday to You!

Today is my son's First Birthday!!



He is no longer a 0 and is officially a ONE!!! :) I am so proud of myself for getting through this first year as a mommy... and so proud of him for being a special, amazing little guy. He has brought so much joy to not only my life but the life of my Husband, and all of our family. I am so happy you were born little man and I can't wait to see what this next year brings!

Speaking of Happy Things... my good friend Jenny Holiday is having a great sale in her shop today! She has great things and I have never seen her put them on sale before so I think this is a BIG DEAL!! Please go check out her shop! This is a great chance to score some of her amazing art at a great deal.... spoil yourself!







Today is also the day that Chelsea Ann makes her first post on Paper*Cakes finds - check it out and leave her some love!

Friday, April 10, 2009

My day in pictures...

Today was a day of..



Playing with pretty little things..


Makeup Photoshoots..


Birthday Wagons..


Making Posies..


And Oatmeal baths to help soothe rashes..