Personalized Halloween Lollipop Cards

Want a fun, personalized way to say "Happy Halloween!" to your family and friends? How about an adorable Halloween Lollipop Card?!

Start by taking a picture of your kids. Have them fist up one hand and hold it out in front of them (or in this case, Nate wanted to hold his arm out to the side)

Edit your photo with a little wording:

Have your photos printed on 4x6 or 5x7 paper. I like to print my photos at Costco. They are quick & cheap.

Cut 2 small slits (using a box cutter) where the fist is and insert a lollipop.

There you have it! An adorable way of saying "Happy Halloween!" Try this for Valentine's Day, Christmas (maybe us a candy cane instead of a lollipop), or maybe even to say Thank You.

Pantone Fashion Color Report – Fall 2011

So, after this chilly East Coast weekend, I'm ready to admit it really is FALL. And to kick off the season, I decided to update my blog colors.

Don’t you just LOVE it? These colors inspired my new blog color scheme for Fall 2011.

Cedar, Teal & Bamboo

Hope you guys like love it too!

It's her blogiversary... her blogiversary.

Happy 1 year blogiversary, Mindy!

Mindy is the creative mind behind the photography, crafting, mommy blog, "a {day} with lil mama stuart", and her stuff is fantastic! Check out her space in the blog world, I know you'll love it as much as I do!

And to celebrate the birth of her blog, she'll be hosting a few give-a-ways! Yay!

To Pierce or Not To Pierce — Part Deux

So.. remember when I ask this? Thank you for your advice and experiences. After a few more discussions with the Hubster, we decided to pierce Jules' ears! And man oh man it is super adorable!

We ended up taking her to the Piercing Pagoda at our local mall -- recommended by both a family friend and a friend of a friend. We went early afternoon on Sunday after both kids were fed and happy. I was totally nervous. We walked around the mall for about 20 mins and finally ended up at the Piercing Pagoda kiosk. I browsed through they selection of piercing friendly earrings. I knew I wanted a pair that had the safety backs on them -- this limited my selection a bit. But we found a pair that both the Hubster and I liked. It wasn't too small that the earring might pull through the hole itself, and it wasn't too big that it looked Gotti on my little Jules. We ended up with a pair that was 14K white gold with a little lavendar stone in the center.

The piercer (is this what you call someone who pierces ears??) had me sit down in a chair and hold Jules in my lap. She put on a pair of latex gloves and pumped hand sanitizer into her hands. She grab a little alcohol swap and wiped down both of Jules earlobes. She then took a little pen and marked a dot in the center of each earlobe -- this is were it got fun. We went back and forth a few times to get the dot just right, and the entire time the piercer (?) was super patient and helpful. We finally got the dots just right. She told me to hold on tight to Jules arms with one hand, and her head with the other.

Squeeze! Cry! Cuddles! First ear done!

Squeeze! Cry! Cuddles! Second ear done!

Jules maybe cried for a total of 15 seconds before she was back to her normal self starring at all the sights of the mall.

I love it and am so glad I got them done.

DIY - Picture Frame Bow Board

Want a cute way to organize clips and bows? Make a Picture Frame Bow Board! Like all my other craft tutorials...this is way, way easy to make. And I'm sure you already have all the supplies on hand.

What you'll need:

• Picture frame
• Scrap fabrics
• Ribbons
• Glue Gun

Step 1: Remove the backing and glass front from your picture frame. You won't need the glass front for this project, but don't throw it away, I'm sure you can find some use out of it!

Step 2: Hot glue your scrap fabric directly onto the picture frame backing. (Don't you just LOVE the fabric I dug out of the reminate section of JoAnn's?)

Step 3: Lay out your coordinating ribbon in a crisscross patter directly on top of the fabric wrapped backing. Adjust your pieces to your liking. Add a dab of glue to the ends of each ribbon and glue to the back of wrapped backing.

Step 4: Put your frame back together. And there you have it! A beautiful bow board! You can even add a little decorative ribbon flower to give your board a little "oomph"

I'm so excited I get to start making cute little handmade bows and clips for Jules. If her hair is going to be anything like mine as a child, she'll need PLENTY of hair bows to tame the wildness!

To Pierce or Not To Pierce...

That is the question.

So, Jules is 2.5 months old and since that day at the hospital when the doctor announced, "It's a GIRL!", I've been debating on when to get her ears pierced.

I think it's ADORABLE to see a little baby with tiny earrings on her tiny little ears. But I am totally torn. Do I pierce her ears after her 4 month shots? Or do I wait until she's older and let her make that decision on her own? Will she tug on her ears and get them infected? If I want too long, will she be too scared to get them pierced?

I don't know what to do!

Do you have a little girl of your own? Does she have her ears pierced? Yes? When and why did you decided to do it when you did.

DIY - Barefoot Baby Bloom Booties

Try saying that three times fast!

Aren't these the cutest!? They are super soft, and super cute! Make one in every color to pair up with a little cute outfit. LOVE!

What you’ll need: (Note: I made this pair to fit just right on Jules (2.5 months). So you’ll need to adjust the measurements for your kiddos feeties)

• T-shirt (I used one purchased from Michael’s, on sale for $2)
• Glue Gun
• Coordinating Needle & thread
• Coordinating felt (you only need a little for each shoe, so go digging through your scrap pile!)

For this project, I wanted to do AS LITTLE sewing as possible, so for the straps, I trimmed off the finished hem of the t-shirt (be sure to cut as close to the hem line as possible). Each shoe will need two-3 inch straps. 

Cut out a coordinating felt circle (approx 2.5 inches) and sew on both straps (I think the picture better describes the process)

Next, create a 5 petal flower template on a piece of paper. My flower ended up being approx. 2.5 inches.  Pin the template on your t-shirt and cut out 18 flowers (9 for each shoe).

Take one petal and fold it in half. Then fold it in half again. Do this with 4 petals. Arrange each petal onto your felt circle so that the corners meet in the middle. Now hot glue the puppies on. You’ll want to also hot glue each petal fold to itself… again… the picture probably describes it better than I can.

Now take your next 4 petals and fold them the same way. This time when gluing them on, rotate your felt circle so that the new petals are lying across ½ of 2 bottom petals (yes, yes, just look at the picture)

Take your last petal piece and fold it in half. Roll one corner into the other, kind of creating a cone shape. This will create the bud of the flower. Hot glue the bud to the middle. Take the top layer of petals and add a dab of glue to the center and adhere it to the bud. This will give your flower more fluff and body.

And there you have it! SOOOO adorable! I could probably make 10 pairs outta 1 XL youth t-shirt! Less than $0.20 a pair! It would look SOOO cute on a diaper cake!

Photoshop Tutorial: Rounded Photo Edges

Learn how to go from this…

To this…

It’s super easy, and it gives your photos a “finished” look.

Open up your photo in photoshop. 

On the tools window, select the Rounded Rectangle Tool. Adjust the radius of your rectangle to 20px (or more if you like it rounder) Draw a rounded rectangle around the parts of the image you want. (note: if you change the opacity of the rounded rectangle, you’ll be able to see what will be kept and what will be discarded.)

Next using the keyboard shortcut, hold down the “Ctrl” and “Alt” key at the same time while also clicking on the rounded rectangle layer on your layers palette. You'll know you’ve done it correctly when you see the dashed lines around your rounded rectangle.

With your rounded rectangle still selected, go to Select --> Inverse.

Now click on the photo in your layers palette. Then hit “Del”. Now go back to Select --> Deselect

Crop away the white area… and there you have it! 

 That was pretty easy, no? Now go and try it out for yourselves.

Google is retiring Blogger...

... the name that is.

Looks like Google is trying to rebrand Blogger and Picasa. Read the CNN article here.

DIY Baby Feeding Rag

What do you do when you have tons of newborn baby hats and your infant is now 1) too big for them and 2) living in a hot and humid state?

Turn them into handy Baby Feeding Rags!

Now, I really know nothing about sewing. Heck, I'm just happy I finally learned how to get my sewing machine up and running! I'm sure there is a better (even a correct way) of doing this, but this is how I did it.

Here is what you'll need:

• Newborn baby hats (one hat yields two feeding rags). I used Gerber hats.
• Coordinating towel
• Thread
• Sewing Machine

First disassemble the baby hat. It will look like this when you are done.

Next cut your towel to size. Lay the wrong sides of the fabric and towel together and pin.

 

Now you'll want to sew them together leaving about a 1/4 inch seam. Sew only 3 of the four sides (I left the shorter side open) You'll need this to turn the rag right side out.

Trim the excess fabric so it'll look nice and neat.

Turn the rag right side out, sew the opening closed.

And there you have it, a cute, handy and absorbent feeding rag! 

You can also see this posting over at:

Craft-O-Maniac, 

Oven-Baked Blueberry French Toast

Ah yes, summer is finally here! And with summer comes sweet, juicy blueberries! Kick start your summer weekend with this yummy recipe for Oven-Baked Blueberry French Toast. (Recipe from Cripple Creek Bed & Breakfast Cabins)

Ingredients:

• 2 (8oz) packages of cream cheese (room temp)
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 2 large eggs
• 1 1/2 cups milk
• Day old french bread, cut 3/4 inch thick
• 2 cups fresh blueberries
• Syrup for serving

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease a 9x13 baking dish.

Beat together the cream cheese, sugar, vanilla extract and cinnamon with a mixer until well blended. Then add the eggs (one at a time). Next add the milk.

Arrange the bread in the baking dish and spread the blueberries on top (little people do well with this step!)

Next, pour the cream cheese mixture over the bread. Let it sit for at least 15 minutes before baking.

Bake for 40-45 minutes, until golden brown. Serve this yummy dish drizzled with maple syrup. Now that's how I like to start my weekend!!

Freezer Paper Onesies

Looking for a way to dress up a plain old white onesie? I've got 2 words for you -- FREEZER. PAPER.

Really! Freezer Paper is similar to wax paper, but it's only waxy on one side. It's PERFECT for cutting out stencils and ironing them on to fabric.

I put together a couple of personalized onesies for my new little god-daughter. Here are the instructions.

What You'll Need:

• Onesies
• Freezer Paper
• Fabric Paint
• Assorted Paint Brushes
• Pencil
• Scissors
• Iron

First, Pre-wash your onesie. While your onesie is being washed, stencil out some designs on the non waxy side of the freezer paper. For this design, I decided on a cupcake pattern with baby's intial on it.

I traced the cupcake top and bottom separately since I knew I wanted to use more than one color.

Ok now cut out the pattern and iron it onto your onesie (remember... waxy side down).

Choose your fabric paint and start filling in your pattern. I found it best to use a sponge brush and blot the color on rather than painting it on with strokes.

Let your paint dry for at least 30 minutes (longer if you have the patients) before you peel off the freezer paper. Once you've peeled off the freezer paper, be sure to heat set the color into the fabric.

For this cupcake pattern, I did one layer at a time, starting with the bottom of the cupcake, then the top, then I finished by free handing the sprinkles and initial.

Wah-Lah! Adorable personalized onesies for the little people!

1 2 3 Peanut Butter Cookies With Chocolate Chips!

This is one of those cookie recipes that you can quickly whip up in minutes -- Literally! And you probably already have all THREE ingredients in your pantry/fridge!

Here's What You'll Need:

1. 1 cup of creamy peanut butter
2. 3/4 cup of sugar (if you like it a little sweeter, bump it up to 1 full cup)
3. 1 large egg
4. 1/4 cup of mini chocolate chips

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Mix your peanut butter, sugar and egg together in a bowl.

Once mixed you can stop here and scoop on to an ungreased cookie sheet ... OR ... you can add Mini Chocolate Chips! I added Mini Chocolate Chips to 1/2 my batter and left the other 1/2 as plain peanut butter.

Bake your cookies at 350 degrees for 10 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool.

Hope you enjoy these cookies as much as our family did!

Easter Egg Wreath

I've seen many-a-craft blogs on decorating your own wreaths, that I decided I'd try one out for Easter. This is my first, so don't be too harsh! :)

What You'll Need:

1. Wreath (I picked up this one at Jo-Ann's for a couple of bucks.)
2. Plastic Easter Eggs
3. Ribbon
4. Glue Gun

There really isn't much to it. Just glue the eggs on, following a pattern that looks pleasing to you. Slap a big bow on top. And hang on your front door for everyone to enjoy!!

I realize that the wreath looks like its missing something... perhaps I should glue on more eggs? What do you think?

Valentine's Day Cupcake Liner Topiary

Now isn't this just the cutest! I found this tutorial over on Craft-O-Maniac the other week. I had to give it a try.

I picked up most of the supplies at the Dollar Tree (Gotta love Dollar Tree!) Click here for the tutorial.

I'm def going to make one for each holiday to add color to my foyer table.