Introducing...CafePress!

I was recently introduced to an awesome website that does custom designs on, well, just about ANYTHING. Seriously. They have just about everything you can imagine AND you can get whatever you want written/printed on it! 

Let me just take you on a little tour of CafePress:

- Custom T-Shirts:  

They have an amazing array of t-shirt designs to choose from. But what's super awesome is that you can design your own custom T-shirt. They have options for everyone. Just choose the style and color and you can go from there.

If you're looking to customize an article of clothing other than a shirt they also have sweatshirts, tank tops, baseball jerseys, dry-fit shirts, polos, pajamas, underwear, maternity, plus-sized, workwear, and yoga pants. The options seem endless!!

-Gifts: 

Okay, so if what you're looking for is more gift-oriented than clothing-oriented, they've got you covered there, too. They have a whole section of personalizable gifts. You can shop by recipient, such as men, women, kids, pets, and teachers or you can shop by occasion, such as back to school, marathon, anniversary, birthday, or wedding. 

Here are some personalizable gifts I found on CafePress that I love!

1. Owl Glass Cutting Board

2. Pins

3. Canvas Pillows

4. Beach Totes

5. Christmas Ornaments

6. iPhone cases

Invitations: 

They also carry cards you can personalize and order for any occasion, such as baby's 1st birthday, birthdays, and Christmas.

Okay, have I at least convinced you to at least go peruse the website? I KNOW there's something there you'll want to order because every time I get on it I see something new and awesome I want!

Easy Chevron Baby Quilt

One of my good friends is expecting a baby boy in just a couple of weeks and so I made her a baby quilt for when her little guy decides to make his appearance (she's pretty pumped to be done with this pregnancy!). 

She picked out the colors and the back fabric and she has good taste, because it turned out lovely! (If I do say so myself.)

So, to start I purchased:

- 1 yard white broadcloth

- 1 yard gray broadcloth

- 1 yard gray minky

- package of crib-sized batting 

(use a coupon or wait until they go on sale!)

I washed my fabrics, ironed them, and then cut the white and gray broadcloths into 6-inch squares (set the minky aside for now). I just used up all the fabric, I didn't count how many squares I made.

Then I cut those squares across so they formed triangles.

Then you need to sew one white triangle to a gray triangle to reform a square. Iron the back so they lay flat. Then lay them out on your floor to form the pattern, because trust me, it can get confusing!(Obviously in the picture below I hadn't ironed yet!)

Tip: Your squares will have a little bit of fabric that goes over the sides. I chopped those off so they would sew together a little better. See picture below.

Then sew the squares together to form rows. Then sew the rows together. Once I was done with that, I laid the quilt top on the batting to quilt it. 

Tip: I pin my quilt top to the batting to keep it in place. It helps the back stay in place so there's no tucking when you can't see the underside. It takes a little time but trust me, it's worth it!

I only quilted the white zig zags but you can also quilt the gray ones if you want. Then once it was all quilted I laid it down on the wrong side of the minky fabric. Depending on the width you want for the border, cut the minky respectively. I wanted a 2-inch border so I cut my minky 4 inches longer than the where the edge of the quilt is. Kind of confusing, sorry.

So above is the picture of the minky 4 inches wider all the way around the quilt. Then I folded the minky over once to line up with the quilt edge,

Then I folded it over once more to be on top of the quilt. That's your quilt border. It's just an alternative to bias tape.

But I wanted as much softness as possible, since it's a baby blanket, and a minky border just seemed the best option. Then I stitched up the border, sewing along the edge closest to the inside of the quilt. And then you're done! Not so hard, right?

I love how it turned out! And I think my friend liked it, too, which is what really matters.

Ahhh, sooo soft!!

A Cinderella Rocking Chair Story

Once upon a time I bought an ugly rocking chair from a consignment sale. It was only $25! How could I pass that up?!

It was beat up and unappreciated (probably) and the fabric was just...ick.

So I took it under my lil wing and decided to make it my own. I gave it a little makeover. Trust me, the rocking chair and I are much happier now because of it. And so is my husband. He hated that ol' fabric. I bought a pattern but I could have just used the old fabric and traced that.

I had a hard time finding just the right fabric. This chair is in one of the main parts of my house, so I wanted something cute but not flashy. I bought some fabric online but when I opened it the color was way brighter than I had anticipated. Fail.

Then I went to trusty ol' Joann's and found some warm, buttery yellow fabric that I loved. And I covered that chair. I covered it good.

Doesn't it look better? I also made a fun little pillow. You know, for back support. Or just to be cute. See how cute it is??

Favorite Things Party

I know most of you have probably heard of a Favorite Things Party because they have gotten really popular on Pinterest. I remember hearing the idea about 2 years ago but I just recently teamed with a friend to put one together. And it was AWEEESOME!!!

So here's the lowdown: Every girl brings 5 of her favorite things (Sidenote: all but one of us brought 5 of the same things. One girl brought 5 different things and I personally think that way is better!). Anyway, you bring 5 things under $6 (or whatever budget suits you). 

Then when the guests arrive they write their names on 5 slips of paper and put them in a bowl. Each girl stands up, explains her favorite thing and why it's so awesome, and picks out 5 names out of the bowl. Those 5 girls get the favorite thing! The girl who gets pulled last goes next with her favorite thing.

I don't think I can explain to you how much I loved this party! I think we'll be doing another one of these around Christmas time. Wouldn't that be so much fun?!! We also asked each girl to bring one of her favorite snacks to share. Some of the snacks were popcorn, Airheads, carmelitas, ice cream, cheese...

I'm kind of proud of my board, so I had to share. I drew this freehand on a dry erase board I had lying around. I got the idea from THIS. 

Our table spread was amazing! We kept the decorations to a minimum and it helped keep the feel of the party fun and casual. 

Each girl got a bag to take all her goodies in. It was a lot better than trying to carry out the loot in your arms!

Here's some of the loot! There was sleek hair spray, Oreo truffles, Meyer's counter top spray, Trader Joe's Mini Peanut Butter Cups, French soap, Honest hand soap, Nsync cds, and more!! If you're thinking of throwing a Favorite Things Party, stop thinking about it and do it! You won't regret it!!

Two other helpful links were HERE and HERE.

Need different party ideas? Check out my Party Ideas Pinterest Board!

Sharing here: Ginger Snap Crafts, DIY Dreamer, Rae Gun Ramblings,   

Felt Board Idea: Chicka Chicka Boom Boom

My son came home from preschool the other day with a new love for the book Chicka Chicka Boom Boom. And when I say new love, I mean he was able to recite to me the entire book! I was amazed!     And a little proud. 

So when I was thinking about what story ideas to use on my Travel Felt Boards, Chicka Chicka Boom Boom was a no brainer. 

My son loves to recreate the whole story on the felt board:

"A told B and B told C, I'll beat to you to top of the coconut tree!"

My son's favorite part is when, as he puts it, all the letters "fall down!" 

Chicka Chicka BOOM BOOM!!

To create all the letters and the coconut tree, I just sat down and used the book as a template. I free handed everything and cut them out. I used embroidery thread to create the detailing on the tree. It took me a couple hours (not all in one sitting) but I think it was well worth the effort! I also tried to stay close to the same coloring as the book, as far as the letters are concerned.

I snapped a shot to show you how the Travel Felt Board stands using the Velcro straps.

Next up, The Hungry, Hungry Caterpillar!

Sharing here: See Vanessa Craft, I Heart Naptime, Flamingo Toes, Lil Luna, Ginger Snap Crafts, Rae Gun Ramblings,    

Travel Felt Boards

My 2 kids and I are going to embark on a plane trip next month from North Carolina to Washington state. 

It's going to be a loooong trip. I started looking on Pinterest for some ideas on how to possibly entertain two toddlers for that long. One idea I found and LOVED was a travel felt board. I found the idea and the tutorial at Miss Lovie. 

I have mixed feelings about this tutorial. But I think a lot of my troubles came from me cutting the tutorial in half because I wanted a smaller version. My suggestion is to play with the proportions and do what works for you. I had to add and snip and cut stuff off but in the end I'm happy with it and my 4-year-old boy is IN LOVE with it!

You may have noticed there are some funky Velcro tails on them. (Another problem I had with this tutorial). They're to make it so that it can stay standing like an easel, making it 2 sided. Which is nice. Just kinda funky looking. 

Here was my first attempt at a felt kit. A little pizza kit. My daughter loved it, but I also make a Chicka Chicka Boom Boom kit and that's the one my 4 year old went gaa gaa over. I'll post that one a little later.

I like that they're the right size for my littles now. They'll fit in they're backpacks & they'll be ready for the airplane ride!

Feel free to follow my Felt Fun Pinterest board for more ideas!!

Mickey and Minnie Birthday Party

Wow, it has been a looong time! 

So sorry for the absence! My mom was here for 3 wonderful weeks and right after that we moved... and it has been crazy! But I wanted to share the details from my kids' Mickey and Minnie birthday party. They had a blast!

My little cutie pies! My mom made the Mickey shirt on her embroidery machine and I made the Minnie dress.

The set-up:

It was SUPER windy that day. I would've complained more but the weeks leading up to the party and the weeks after the party were all crazy cold. The day of the party it was in the 70s. I'll take windy and warm over chilly any day!

1. I had one table as a "craft table." There were little baskets with foam Mickey/Minnie heads and face foam stickers to decorate. The littlest littles weren't that interested but there were a couple kids who loved the activity.

2. I made these adorable little gumball machines after seeing something similar on Pinterest. Not very practical and I have NO idea what I'll do with them now, but I thought they were so cute!

3. The kids' table! I found the Mickey fabric at Hobby Lobby and knew it would make the perfect table runner.

I decorated some cardboard letters from Hobby Lobby to look like Mickey & Minnie. It was so windy they wouldn't stay standing up, so my mom piled rocks around the bottoms to keep them upright.

1. Mickey & Minnie cupcakes. I used regular and mini-sized Oreos to create the Mickey heads and for the Minnie effect, I just piped on a red bow.

2. Sugar cookies! Yum.

3. Pigs in a blanket. If you've ever seen Mickey Mouse Clubhouse on the Disney channel, they sing a Hot Dog song. I had to incorporate hot dogs somehow!

I made a bean bag toss with a presentation board you can buy at Target or Wal-Mart. I used an X-acto knife to cut out the Mickey head shapes and made bean bags out of felt and dry beans. They had fun chucking those bean bags!

My wonderful, awesome husband made a backdrop for a little photo booth. He created the Disney castle with scrapbook paper. It looks like all one piece but the castle is made of little pieces of paper. He's so creative!

We had so much fun celebrating my little ones' birthdays! They sure have some wonderful friends!

Sharing here: Craftomaniac, Sumo's Sweet Stuff, Be Colorful, Lil Luna, Ginger Snap Crafts,