Happy 4th Birthday Banner!

Happy Tuesday!  We're all waiting for the 'big' snowstorm to arrive here in MN (I'm crossing everything I own, that it won't) so I thought I'd share with you a banner that I made last week.

If you remember my little memory card fiasco (read about that HERE), I wasn't able to take pictures before I sent it to my girlfriend.  Thankfully, she took some pictures for me so I can share them with you!

Her daughter's birthday was Snow White themed, but I don't have any of the Princess cartridges and Snow White paper is hard to find!  So ...I went with Snow White's colors (red, dark blue, light blue, yellow) :).  

The tulle was glittery and the lighter blue, it looked really nice with the darker blue.  This was also my first time making rosettes!  For the most part they didn't give me any trouble.  The tricky part was making sure they were the same size.  

I think it turned out great and can't wait to make another :)

Remember, next Monday I start my Guest Designer Month with EAD Designs!  Don't miss it!!! :)   

EAD Color Challenge Winner!

Hooray! I won! (This is me doing the Roger Rabbit, LOL!) Every month EAD Designs has a Color Challenge in which they challenge us to create something fantastic with the colors of their choosing.  This month it happened to be black and white.   EVERYONE that participates received a 25% coupon and one person, randomly chosen, wins a $20 gift card AND an invitation to be the Guest Designer the following month.  You can see my winning submission HERE.  They also have a weekly blog hop (each Monday) that is spectacular!  

I cannot even tell you how excited I am to have been chosen!  YAHOO!  I have always been a HUGE fan of EAD so I'm super pumped to be able to help showcase their awesomeness for an entire month!

I hope you'll join me :)

See you soon!

Love

Hello!  Long time, no talk :)  What. A. Week.  Let me take this moment to do a little PSA...

Earlier this week I went to take some pictures of some work I had just finished, only to find out that my memory card called it quits.  UGH.  {insert huge groans and LOTS of tears from yours truly}  Unfortunately, that little memory card still held all of the pictures we've taken since about December 1st.  All of my Christmas pictures--GONE!  My sweet little lady's 2nd birthday party--GONE!  All of the extraordinary pictures of our ordinary days--GONE! I cannot even tell you how many hours of sleep that I have NOT gotten this week or how many tears I have cried.  While it could have been a lot worse (we've had that darn thing completely FULL before), my heart shatters into a million little pieces everytime I think about it.  So PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE clear your pictures off of your camera! 

Thankfully, I have some awesome friends that have been supportive and have pointed me in some directions that *might* result in salvaging some.  It may be a long shot, but I'm willing to do anything to try!

Ok...off my soap box :)  On to my project!  I wanted to try to sneak in a little EAD Color Challenge action before it was too late.  The colors this month are black and white. 

 

Please forgive the horrible lighting!  I didn't have time to get a new memory card until today and of course, it was dark by the time we got home.  

I had a great time with this!  Black and White aren't colors that I typically use as the primary base for my layouts, but I LOVE how it turned out ;).  I also used the LOVE rub-on from EAD.  SO awesome! 

I also have a double layout to show you but I think I'm going to wait until I better lighting.  I hope the Sun is 'on-duty' tomorrow. HA!  

See you soon!

Happy Birthday my Sweet, Sweet Baby!

At the risk of sounding like a total cliche, where DOES the time go?!  It seems like yesterday I was wondering, OK-maybe pleading, with this sweet little blessing to come join our family and all of a sudden, it's her second birthday! 

Well after 30+ hours of labor and 6 hours of pushing, my perfect little sunshine joined this big ol' world and man, she has given us all a run for our money.  She's spunky, determined, sweet, snugly, stubborn as they come, and ever-so-smart.  Absolutely everything a mama could ask for!  She is AMAZING!

 

2 weeks

2 years

Happy Birthday my Sweet, Sweet Lauren!  You are loved more than words could ever express. :)

I survived the Barnyard Bash!

I did it!  I survived!  The 'Barnyard Bash' for my almost-2 year old went wonderfully!  We had her birthday party yesterday and despite a not-so-great start with my homemade cupcake fiasco--we had so much fun!

 

 So here's the cupcake story:

Plan A: I would make homemade cupcakes with homemade frosting.  All of my guests would RAVE over how wonderful they were and I would be crowned the "Homemade Cupcake Queen."

What really happened:  My vanilla cupcakes were dry and eventually turned into hockey pucks-despite keeping them covered and adding an apple slice to keep them moist.  My vanilla frosting was too soupy, no matter what I did or how much powdered sugar I added.  My chocolate frosting was great for all of 3 minutes.  After that, I couldn't even squeeze my piping bag-it was SO hard.  My husband thought it was fudge! Oops?  I swear I followed the recipes to a T, especially because I had never made them before.  I didn't want to mess with them before trying them!  Needless to say, I was so bummed!  I spent 5 hours trying to make them and make them work and it just didn't happen!  The recipes I found were just off the web--note to self: don't use them again.  Off to Plan B ...

Plan B: Run to Target and PRAY they have 1) birthday cupcakes and 2) enough for all of my guests!  

Plan B was a success :)  

Here are a few more pictures from the shin-dig!

 I love fresh flowers!  I think they add so much to a nice display :)

Here is the birthday girl GLOWING with excitement when I put out the "Cow Patty Cakes."  She was in awe with amazement, LOL!  My little lady is almost 2 ... it's so bittersweet.

Now we're on to the Mermaid Party Scene for my almost-4 year old.  Maybe first I can sneak into my craft room for a little "me" crafting time?  :) I have some challenges I want to join in on before time runs out!

Thanks for stopping by!

Hello!

Hey, Hey my crafty friends!  (Hello to my non-crafty friends too! He-He)

My apologies for my scarce postings this week ...I've been kicking it into overdrive with birthday party prep for my little one.  Her birthday party is on Sunday so I've been cooking, cleaning, and creating party 'stuff' in between pre-school, swimming lessons, and all the other daily chores.  Phew! 

I'm really, really excited to pull it all together, it seems like I've been working on party prep for MONTHS! :)  So ... I'll be back on Sunday {post-party} with all the pictures and details on how much a success the party was ;).  I've already decided that after our guests go home, I'm hitting my craft room!  I've seen SO many challenges I'm dying to create for and I really need a break from the barnyard scene, LOL!  

Hope to see you then!

Cupcake Toppers

Hello!  Happy Sunday!  It seems like I was just writing that ...where did the week go?  It's crunch time around here as Round 1 of the birthday celebrations is a week away.  I've been busy making t0-do lists {I'm totally a 'list' person} to make sure all of my i's are dotted and my t's are crossed :).  What can I say, I'm a planner!

I finished up the cupcake toppers for the homemade cupcakes that I'll make closer to the party.  Much like last year, I wanted to try my hand at something new for my little one {See my Elmo cake-pop adventure HERE).  I'm hoping that this year goes just as well as last. Wish me luck! 

This little project was so fun and OH-EM-GEE, EASY!   

Using my Creative Memories Scalloped Circle Punch and Circle Punch, I create the layers.  I decided to use 4 different color combination's for more POP!  The scalloped circle design matches the banner that I made last week--check it out HERE.

Originally I wanted to put a cow, pig, horse, or sheep on each topper ...but, the smaller circle is only 1 1/4" and well, I just couldn't get anything cut cleanly at that size.  So, I did the next best thing!  I used "2" because my little beauty will be 2 and I used "Moo," "Oink," or "Baa."  The font is from Country Life.  

What do you think? Cute, right?  I am so pleased with how they turned out, being this was my first venture into cupcake toppers and I am SUPER excited to see them on my homemade cupcakes!  I'll share those with you next weekend :)

We'll see you soon!  Thanks for stopping by!