Sprinkles Of Charm

LOVE decking those halls!!

This really is my favorite time of the year.  Pulling out the glitter, sparkles, bows and nostalgia are so much fun for my family. We are in full swing reading Christmas books each night and began our NEW advent calendar. We've had the same advent for several years and I knew we were due for something fun and creative.  With the HUGE snow day yesterday I stayed home and made this advent from things I had laying around. The kids LOVED it!

I just decorated mini-bags with paper, ribbons, buttons and glitter. I glued numbers to simple clothespins. I found some great stories and neat facts about the history of Christmas here (great resource for advent ideas). I included one story/history in each bag.

I attached the clothespins to a 3-tiered stand I already had. Next, I made simple treat packets by sewing 2 pieces of Christmas paper together and filled with candies. Each night my kids take turns reading the story and picking a treat pack to share with everyone. You leave the thread long when you're done sewing so the kids just rip and pour!  I filled them with m&m's, peppermints, chocolates, etc... There is a great tutorial for these here.

More fun decorations up...our house is feeling cozy and ready for fun!

Vintage ornaments in a large bowl...

Glass apothecary jars - I chose pink and green this year. I do have 3 girls after all....

Non-traditional Christmas colors in the front room...our favorite place to read books and have family talks....

My favorite - Nothing better than a HUGE bin of sparkle and pine cones...

Homemade garland from last year...still love!

Ruffles, Cakes and Giving Thanks

I did it! I made another project I found on Pinterest. I LOVED the no sew ruffle tree skirt the minute I saw it here. My mom and I whipped it up over Thanksgiving. But, my mom said if you know the right way to sew a ruffle then sewing the ruffles and then gluing them on would be way faster than hand gathering and gluing each ruffle. Well, I didn't believe her until she taught me a new way to sew ruffles. You do a zig-zag stich over dental floss and them simple pull the dental floss to make a super fast ruffle. I've always done the old fashion way of pulling the thread to gather. Anyway, we cut 3" strips from a simply cotton fabric, sewed the ruffles and hot glued them onto a painters canvas cut into a circle. The original website has a great tutorial. I LOVE this new skirt!!

Mmmmmm.... great buttercream. I made some cupcakes for a youth activity and finally found a wonderful buttercream that held up great for several hours on display. Yum!

Beat 8 oz cold cream cheese with 5 Tbs. soft butter and 2 tsp. vanilla. Gradually add 2 c. sifted powdered sugar.  Continue adding more powdered sugar until you reach desired consistency. Perfect.

It was such a blessing to have my mom here. The kids enjoyed every minute with Nana crafting and playing games. It was a wonderful day to count our blessings and enjoy or feast we feel SO blessed to have!

A Barbie Christmas Movie Night

I'm guilty....guilty of possibly bringing on the Christmas cheer too early. I usually make myself (and my kids) wait until after Thanksgiving but I couldn't resist. I decided to bring it all on this past week - the holiday candles, the Christmas music, the movies, the crafts...it's all out of the bag early this year. I'm trying it out this year to see if there is a chance we'll be tired of it by the time it rolls around. I love this season SO much - maybe stretching it out a few extra weeks can be a blessing. I brings such a feeling of love and warmth to our home - it's worth a try.

Needless to say, my girls love the Barbie movies so we made a night of it with the newest Christmas movie. Walmart had a cute pack with the movie and a free scarf...fun!  We had strawberry milkshakes complete with fun straws and topped with sprinkles and mini-presents from the craft store. These nights are such a fun tradition for us...my girls save all their little treasures and favors from them. Eventually I'd love to make a photo book full of all our movie nights. Cute movie...fun songs!

Snowmen Fun

Got the idea from here for these cute snowmen doughnuts. The original creator used clay (????) for the snowmen faces. They're so cute - it would be a shame not to get to eat them. I did a candy corn for the nose and pushed mini-chocolate chips (pointy side down) into the doughnut for the eyes and mouth.  We brought them to a neighbor family who just had a baby. Super fun for the kids to make too!

Pinterest Love & Crafts

Who else is in love with Pinterest?  I joined a while ago but never realized the potential until recently. WOW! What a fun place to get quick ideas when you need them. I have a large group of 12-13 year old girls that I do an activity for each week for our church group. The girls chose a craft night for last night and pinterest was my go to place for a few quick ideas. The girls had a ball making these darling t-shirt flowers for their hair. Thanks to this wonderful tutorial.  Look how cute they turned out (minus a few left over glue strings I needed to pull off):

 

We also made "Thankful Baskets". Each girl made one, filled it with mini-muffins and took it home to give to someone they are thankful for. I couldn't believe how cute these were - simply made out of 1 piece of 12x12 paper. Thanks a million to this tutorial:)

DIY Wheel Wall Tutorial (How to make Paper Rosettes)

Making a wall of wheels, or paper rosettes, is a great way to make a HUGE impact at a party without a lot of fuss or cost.  I bought a pack of paper and some doilies - that's it!  Here's a basic tutorial on how to make this great back drop.

You'll need;
scrapbook paper or card stock, doilies, a stapler and a glue gun

1. To make a large wheel; fold 3 sheets of paper accordion or fan style,

2. Fold each fan in half and staple edges together.

3. Next, staple all three folded fans to each other to complete your wheel.

4. For a smaller wheel you fold 1 sheet of paper into a fan. Cut it in half.

5. Fold those halves in half again and staple. You only need 2 sections to make a circle for this smaller wheel.

6. You can leave the large and small wheels plain or stack them with a doilie for added effect. I hot glued all the layers for the stacked rosettes.

7. I added my wheels to my wall by poking them through with nails. If you can't put nails in your wall, I've seen it done by using hot glue to attach them to a large poster board or foam core board.

8. Add as many as you want to the wall and layer with different sizes and papers.

I hope this helps! I'm sure I'll use this party backdrop trick again and again.

Gray & Yellow "NUTTY" Party Part 2

Ahhhh....dessert! The second batch of pictures comes from the second half of the evening. After some great laughs at the improv - we came home to these yummy treats.  I'm not much of a baker yet, but I'm always trying and attempting new things. Some were hits and some were misses, but overall we ate too much sugar!

I LOVED the huge balloons Amy Atlas used in one of her sweet tables so I bought two darling balloons from here. I thought they added just the right touch. The framed squirrel is another design from my sister enlarged to 16x20 and placed in a Hobby Lobby frame I spray painted glossy white. Find all the party printables at this store.  The darling grey squirrels were ordered here and I simply sewed them together using white thread to create some more detail to the backdrop. Inspiration for this came from Kara, here.

Lastly, just a little touch added to the mantel because I had a bit of tissue paper leftover from the tissue poms and I really wanted to try this. Not super impressive - but a fun touch!

Pumpkin Triffle Recipe from Paula Deen, here.

Nutty Butter Bars from The Cookin' Cowgirl, here.

Gray & Yellow "NUTTY" Party Part 1

I have an amazing group of ladies that I do a dinner group with once a month. For 5 years now we have been getting together one Friday a month and taking turns throwing a party. It's been an incredible experience to put something like this together and make friends I'll cherish forever.

We've done almost everything it seems! Roller skating, movies, plays, spa night/massages, beauty night, 80's night, cake decorating, tons of games and plenty of wonderful evenings spent eating great food and enjoying one anothers company. It was my turn to throw the party this month and I tried to think outside the box...what would be fun and new?  Some friends and Nolan and I have been to some improv clubs and laughed our cheeks off - voila! I based my party around an evening of NUTTY fun...what better to do with friends than laugh?

I chose a color scheme that I love - gray and yellow - and added a squirrel - appropriate for the fall season.  My inspiration came from a professional sweet table done here.  The result was a fun party that I completely had a ball putting together. We met for dinner and laughs, then headed to this improv club and came back for the dessert bar (Part 2 Pictures coming soon)!

My incredible sister is a Graphic Designer and a pro at Photoshop. Find all the party printables at this store.  She helped with all the design and graphics for the paper portion of the party. Here are the darling invitations. I attached them to a can of "pop-up" snake peanuts.

 

I love the pom-pom trimmed sign that greeted guests at the front door. I just sent the design to Costco and ordered a 16x20 print. I mounted it to a blank stretched canvas and glued on the trim.

For the dining room, I started by making tissue poms and punch paper garlands for the ceiling. I ordered my tissue paper from this source.

Honestly - there are few things I enjoy more than setting a fun dining table. I was lucky to find these gorgeous tableclothes and candles at Target. I ordered the squirrel placecard holders that came ugly brown and I spray painted them glossy white. The zig zag bags held jokes for each guest to read aloud at dinner - it was a fun touch. The straws and bags were ordered here. 

 

One of my new favorite tricks is to spray paint white paper doilies ANY color you wish. I thought they added a great pop of color under the dinner plates.

 

The mustaches, glasses and lips made great props for candid pictures of the ladies.

 

All the acorns and nuts were purchased from Hobby Lobby and spray painted in the party colors.

For the dining room wall I made a few dozen paper wheels with scrapbook paper. It's an incredible and inexpensive way to decorate a party wall and make a big impact. I still haven't had the heart to take it down! The party favors were a fun edition to the buffet table.









 My bakers rack housed the drinks...raspberry lemonade and citrus water.







Here are few extra pictures of the room lit at night right before the party.

And a few of the gorgous ladies.

Part 2 post coming soon...the Dessert Table!

Lunch for Girlfriends

There is really nothing I LOVE more than throwing parties - it's how I show my love for people. Plus it's a creative outlet and gets out a few ideas circulating in my head. I put together an intimate lunch for a couple of my best girlfriends.  Pulled pork, sweet potoatoe fries and a triple layer carrot cake were in order. Plus, the great cupcake liner garland I made was super easy and fun! Love you girls!

Real LIfe Happened Again

I'm not sure how it happens, but real life happens and blogging takes a serious back seat. It will never mean that I'll stop trying to make it happen more consistently! We had a wonderful summer....Arizona trip, camping, cabin with friends, lots of fun and adventure.

The girls successfully made it back to school. I have to say I'm really missing those kindergarten days with Hadley. She is full time now and so darling and big. However, Sawyer and I are serious buddies and enjoy our days together.

Nolan and I recently got to see Les Miserable in Denver. Always bring me to tears  - loved it!