4th of July {Decor + Recipe}

Can you believe that it is already July?!

One of my favorite things about July (aside from it being summer break!) is 4th of July. We usually barbecue, go to the beach or the pool or run around in the sprinkler, decorate the house and turn all the food I can red + white + blue.

Last year, we started with these flag toasts for breakfast. This year, we are starting with something a little bit sweeter...or maybe ending with it, because it is definitely dessert! But on holidays, you can have dessert for breakfast, right? ;)

Some of my favorite summer treats involve fruit, pound cake and cool whip. But I wanted to make it a little more special with cookie cutters + food coloring. Because I will use any excuse to use cookie cutters + food coloring!

For this year, I decided to try out two different breakfasts desserts. My original idea was to make kabobs with the stars and strawberries, and cover them in Cool Whip. But then I thought star sandwiches would be so much more fun (and easier to eat!)

In the end, I'm glad I tried it both ways, because I loved the little sandwiches best, but AJ liked the kabobs better! So on Friday, I'll just make both. They were definitely easy enough for that!

And the food isn't the only thing I decorate...just after we got home from vacation in June, I decked the house out in patriotic colors. And the best part was that everything came from my stash or from our "waiting to be recycled" pile.



the stars and stripes papers were all in a summer pack that I've had for years, the polka dot papers were from a paper pack I bought last year | the stars were cut from an old moving box and painted or covered in paper | the firecrackers are empty breadcrumb containers | the flag "canvas" is an old cheerios box that's been painted + covered with scrapbook paper

Oh man, I really can't wait to celebrate on Friday - we are just hanging out at home, cooking, eating and playing in the sprinkler! What are your plans?

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Make Your Own Vase Fillers with ThermoMorph {Review}

I was provided with this product free of charge for review purposes. All opinions posted here are my own.

Happy Weekend Eve!

While AJ and I were on vacation in South Carolina, Rizzi at ThermoMorph reached out to me and asked if I would review their product.

To be honest, I'd never heard of it before, but when I went on the website, the crafter + the chemistry teacher in me were totally intrigued by these polymorph molable plastic granules.

Basically, they are little white pellets, and when you put them in boiling water, they melt into moldable plastic, then they harden back into hard plastic. And you can buy them on Amazon in a giant tub (500g).

It was really easy to use. You boil some water and let it cool to around 150*F, drop the pellets into the water and wait two minutes for it to get clear. Then you can stretch, mold and play with the plastic.

When I started out, I wasn't sure what I was going to do with it.

I am not great with free hand molding of things, and I found that the material was hard to cut or trim into shapes with the scissors I have. So I tried a few different things, including making a "bowl" with my giant cupcake pan.

Fortunately, the plastic can be melted again and again, even after you've molded and hardened it. I loved that I could just "melt" my mistakes away! And trust me, I made a lot of mistakes creative attempts that didn't work out how I imagined.

When I'd had enough for that, I pulled out my molds. I tried out two different ones. The first one I tried was this red one. It is a soft silicone mold. It worked okay, but I found when I tried to squish the plastic into the mold, the mold squished with it, and so my pumpkin was a bit misshapen.

The second one I tried was this orange mold. I think its silicone too, but it is hard so it held up to my squishing!

These little plastic guys came out great! And a coat of orange + green paint made them look like real little pumpkins.

I ended up making this little piece of framed art with some of the pumpkins. {inspired by this pin} I can't wait to add this to my fall decor...in a few months!

Have you ever tried a product like this before? What would you use ThermoMorph for?

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Bachelorette Party {Scrapbook Layout}

Happy Tuesday!

This weekend AJ had his bachelor party. They went to New Orleans and went fished and ate and drank way too much!

Fortunately, he knows who he is marrying, so he took lots of pictures for me to turn into a scrapbook page :)

Of course, I don't have them yet, as most of them are on his friends' phones!

But, I do have the pictures from my bachelorette party. I used the Bella Blvd Engaged at Last line again...and I'm hoping to use the matching bachelor party paper to do a matching page for AJ's party...if he would just get those pictures!

The only thing I asked for was a bride sash. I love them and I so wanted to wear one (and wear it I did - I wore it from the minute I woke up until the minute I went to bed!) So of course, it had to be in my scrapbook!

This is my favorite picture from that weekend. So of course, it had to have its whole own page!

I am so excited about this layout. And I can't wait to make the matching one for AJ :)

And of course, there were a million more pictures, so there will definitely be a mini book going on too! I'll share that on Thursday.

Do you ever make "matching" layouts?

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Ribbon Bouquet {Scrapbook Layout}

Yay! Its finally Wednesday!

And this Wednesday is sort of like my weekend eve, since I won't be at school on Friday. So just 12 more classes and I can leave for the weekend!

This weekend will be jam packed with more wedding things. Getting our marriage license, meeting with our officiant, meeting with the venue, possibly skyping with the DJ...lots of things!

And I still have to pack and bake granola bars and slutty brownies before heading home. And tonight is Meet the Teacher night at school.

So I obviously spent a large part of last night scrapping. Priorities, right?

Even though I should have been doing other things, I had a great time making this layout. It was the first time in a long time that I actually sat down at my desk and created something. Plus, I got to break out my new Bella Blvd papers that I've been waiting and waiting to use!

And I was so excited to scrap this picture. I love my ribbon bouquet (you know, instead of the hat, because I've got curly hair, and hats and I don't get along!) and I just wanted to show it off :) And of course, I'll use it during my rehearsal at the church, as practice for my actual bouquet!

So, I'm not sure if this is a thing anywhere else, but in my family, you aren't supposed to use scissors to cut the ribbons that are on your shower gifts. Of course, there were tons of ribbons on the presents! But I had a great time trying open them without scissors!

Did you have any superstitions at your wedding shower?

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Paper Flower Topiary Centerpieces

Happy Weekend Eve! So excited for Thursday :)

I recently made these centerpieces for a friend. She was hosting a party and wanted something small but spring-y for the tables.

She also wanted something she could give to the girls who helped her plan that party (and the guest of honor) as a keepsake.

These Paper Flower Topiaries worked as both centerpieces and thank you gifts!

Fortunately, these are the easiest to put together.

For each centerpiece, you need:
1 terra cotta flower pot (mine is 5 inches in diameter)
1 small wooden dowel
1 floral foam for inside the pot
1 styrofoam ball (mine is 5 inches in diameter, just like the pot)
Ribbon
Straight pins
Moss
Paper flowers (I cut mine with my Sizzix, which was a tad time consuming, but to make this even easier, you could use pre cut flowers!)

1. Place the floral foam inside the pot. You can hot glue it in there, but mine was so snug, I didn't worry about it.

2. Wrap the wooden dowel in ribbon. I secure my ribbon with glue dots at the top, middle and bottom to make sure the ribbon stays put.

3. Push the dowel into the floral foam. Put the styrofoam ball on top of the dowel. A dab of hot glue may also help here.

4. Begin sticking the paper flowers into the styrofoam ball with the stick pins. I usually start at the bottom and work my way up, being sure the cover any blank spots. Continue around the ball until all the spaces are filled.

5. Place the moss around the top of the pot.

6. Enjoy your centerpiece!

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Summer 2013

Today is the last day of school! At noon today, summer officially begins!

Last year, I created a summer list for myself. I really loved it because it helped me make sure that I got to do everything I wanted.

So I created one for this year too :)

What's on your summer list?

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25th Birthday Tag

Last month, AJ and I were invited out for his coworker's birthday. We decided to pick up a bottle of wine, and since I was feeling a little crafty, I decided to throw together a tag...10 minutes before we had to leave!

I'm actually really happy with it. I really like the cupcake stickers. I bought them so long ago, but almost never use them...I'm definitely hoarding them!

Do you hoard your cutest supplies too?

Sticker Organization

Oh man. I've been so unproductive this week.

Well, not really. I ran errands. I cleaned. I worked every day. And I started doing Blogilates for an hour every night.

But I've been unproductive craftily. I didn't even share my desk yesterday, because its just a pile of things that need to be put away! How un-fun is that?!

Part of my cleaning last weekend did involve my crafty supplies though.

As Tracy would say, I defunkified my stickers.

Unfortunately, I forgot to take pictures before...but it was a disaster. Stickers everywhere, no order, no anything, just a messy mess of stickers in a tote. Then, I found a huge pile of alphabet stickers in another folder.

Obviously, something had to be done.

First, I went through all my alphabets and paired up ones that were the same. Then, I found this old binder.

Each alphabet, or alphabet set (letters that were the same font bug different colors, or extremely similar in design) got their own page protector.

I love that I can just flip through the pages to see what I have. I'm really excited about it for Project Life!

But, that was just the alphabets. And there were all of the other stickers to contend with.

I took all of my stickers out and sorted them into several categories. Each category got put into its own baggie.

I based the categories on how many stickers I had. So Valentine's Day, St. Patrick's Day, Fall, Halloween, and Christmas all got their own bags. As did travel, baseball, animals/random, characters, stars/flowers/jewels, friends/girly ones.

Then, I put all of the baggies back into the tote that they came out of.

And that's it! Now I actually know where all of my stickers are! Next up - organizing my scraps!

What organization projects are on your to do list?

Welcome Wreath

Hi everyone!

We are finally unpacked! My mom flew down last week and helped us get everything set up. She was such a big help, I had gotten so overwhelmed. There is just a touch of straightening up to do and I can share pictures!

But our front door is all decked out.

Inspired by this pin, I decided to head over to Hobby Lobby and pick up a wreath form + yarn + felt + ribbon (and lots and lots of stickers that were 50% off and a stamp...)

AJ wasn't home on Saturday, so I spent all day working on the wreath. Well, half the day. I spent the other half of the day at Hobby Lobby. I'd never been there before, so I just wondered around for a really long time looking at everything!

But when I got home, I spent the rest of the day making this wreath!

Since it took a ton of time to wrap the wreath with yarn, I would do a little, then take a break to cut out the flowers. Then wrap some more, and take a break to make the banner. Then wrapped some more!

I'm really happy with how it turned out, it makes the apartment seem more homey. I'm already thinking about what kind of fall wreath I can make!

If you had a day to yourself, would you spend all day crafting too?

A Baseball Throwback

Hi everyone!

Sorry to be posting so late in the morning. Next time I think its a good idea to take Nyquil when I have to get up in the morning, someone remind me that it isn't a good idea!

So, I have to say, I am the world's worst packer! Every time I pick something up to pack it, I have to look through it. Like my scrapbooks. Books I haven't opened in a long time, I'm now sitting and flipping through.

And that's how I came across this layout.

AJ and I are both big baseball fans, but we root for rival teams! Of course, when our teams play each other, we have to go to the games. I made this layout about our first Mets vs. Phillies game.

The top left picture is one of my all time favorites of us. Although I know I would change a few things about this layout around, I still really love the photostrip and the banners along the top!

Do you ever go back to your old albums? I need to stop reminiscing procrastinating and start packing!

{Valentine's Day} Treat Bags

Happy Tuesday!

Valentine's Day is in just 2 days! It is definitely my favorite holiday. I get so into Valentine's Day, decorating, sending cards, celebrating, everything!

One of my favorite things is to make treat bags for AJ.

This year, I bought these heart treat bags from Walmart and a whole bunch of candy - peanut M&Ms, heart shaped Reese's and Hershey's kisses.

Then, I used these K&Company Valentine's Tags. They've apparently been discontinued, but Michaels had a whole ton of them!

Every day, I find a cute place to surprise AJ with the candy. Usually I put them on his place mat on the dining room table, or by his wallet or cell phone before he leaves in the morning. Its such a fun tradition, and I can't wait until I have kids and can start doing this with my whole family :)

Some of the tags read:
You Make My {heart} Skip a Beat (Reese's Hearts)
I Love Your Hugs and Kisses (Hershey's Kisses)
you're aMazing
                 &
                 Magnificent (M&Ms)

Do you have any Valentine's Day traditions?

Happy Mail Video

Happy Weekend Eve!

I hope that you had a great Halloween and got some awesome candy!

So, a looong time ago, I won a secret giveaway from Tracy.

I really wanted to make a video of the giveaway, because Tracy always makes cool videos, and I thought it would be fun. Of course, it took much longer to do that than I expected!

But, here is my video! (Um, I was so nervous...it took me like 18 takes!)



Do you ever create videos for your blog? If you do, do you get as nervous as I do when recording them?

Third Thursday Scrapbook Stories {10.18.2012}

Happy weekend eve everyone!

Today I'm over at A Beautiful Day sharing a 2 page collage layout about our recent trip home over Labor Day weekend.

I'll be back tomorrow with Project Life Week 20!

Pink ATG Gun

A few weeks ago, I went a little crazy at Michaels - with coupons of course!

They had two awesome coupons, 40% off any one item, and 20% off your entire purchase.

I really wanted the pink ATG gun. I'd been hesitant to buy it before, because its a big upfront cost, but it saves so much in the end on adhesive - so I decided that if they let me use my 40% coupon for it, and then my 20% coupon for everything else I'd buy it.

Shockingly, they let me use both! I was so excited!

Apparently, as long as you are using two different coupons, you are allowed to split your order up and use them both. Its only when you want to use the same coupon twice that you aren't allowed to do that. That's something to keep in mind :)

When I got home, I really wanted to alter it a bit, just to make it a little more fun (of course, it was already really fun because it was pink!)

I decided to use some of the awesome pink papers I won in Christina's giveaway.

I decided to alter that little cardboard piece that tells you how to replace the tape. If I didn't alter it and keep it there, I'd probably lose it and be lost on tape replacement forever! The heart paper, and those pretty flowers are just so cheerful! The sentiment at the top says "A;ways take time to play every single day!" And ever since I've decorated this - I have scrapbooked every single day!

Do you have an ATG gun? How do you like it?

More Happy Mail :)

This weekend was pretty fun. AJ and I went to see Springsteen Friday night (not so great cell phone pictures to come!) and then Sunday AJ golfed while I went to yoga, lunch and shopping with one of my girlfriends. Very fun!

I also go some very exciting mail!

In honor of her 111th post, Christina at See Christina Scrapbook had a giveaway. And I won!! I was so excited!

How cute is all of this?! I can't wait to use it!

And Christina included this awesome card!

I love this, isn't she so talented!

Well, that was my weekend! How was yours?

Jillibean Soup Mystery Box

So, I had promised to share my Project Life Week 15 page today. I ordered the pictures at Walgreens and picked them up on my way home. Unfortunately, when I got home, I realized that I had ordered the wrong pictures!

But, I did have some happy mail waiting for me, so I thought I'd share that instead!

On Friday, Christina at See Christina Scrapbook wrote a post about the Jillibean soup mystery box she bought. Of course, as soon as I saw all of the awesome goodies she received, I had to get one too!

The shipping was awesome. I ordered the box on Tuesday, and it was here by Thursday! How cool is that?!

Rows 1, 2 and 3: 50 sheets of paper! How cool is that?! My favorite is the Atomic Soup Line (top row) I've used that line before and can't wait to use it again!
Row 4: Two sets of clear stamps ~ 3 packs of journaling cards ~ green corrugated alphas (I can't wait to use these with Project Life!)
Row 5: Tons of stickers and alphabets ~ canvas stars ~ ribbon and heart shaped pins (I love the journey ribbon, I think I may save it for a page about our next big adventure!) ~ 6x6 pack of paper

How cool is this box?! I am just in love with it!

Do you have any fun plans this weekend? AJ and I are going to see Bruce Springsteen. This will be AJ's 1st Bruce concert (and my 14th? 15th? I lost track a long time ago!) I can't wait, I just hope it stops raining before tonight, because its outside!

Project Life 25 {Week 14}

Good morning everyone!

I am so excited that it is Friday - and the Friday before a long weekend!

AJ and I will be flying home tonight to see my family. I can't wait, we are going to go kayaking, go in the pool, having a wine tasting party with wines from the local vineyards and go out with my brother and his girlfriend, and my cousin and his girlfriend! Yay!

But, before I can leave, I want to share Project Life Week 14 (oh, and I have to go to work all day too!)

Top: A layout I'm not revealing yet :)

Middle: Watching the sun come up while waiting for the bus

Bottom: "Enjoying" gatorade and saltines after being sick

Top: Another embroidered card ~ Waiting for the train to go home from work

Bottom: Trick or Treat candle holders ~ Watching the fireworks from my bed (another cell phone picture)

Do you have any plans for the last long weekend of summer? I just can't wait to jump in that pool!

Thanksgiving Feast Candles

School starts today! Well, for the new teachers it does, the students still have about a week and a half of summer left!

But, the start of school has got me thinking about fall.

AJ and I went to the Dollar Tree this week and picked up some votive candle holders. I originally had another idea for these candles, but they were much wider than I thought, so I had to change it up!

I already have a "give thanks" decoration, so I wanted something different, and it had to be 5 letters or less. Fortunately, AJ came up with the word "feast". Yay!

These were actually super easy to make!

First, I cleaned the votives using rubbing alcohol.

Then, I cut out the letters using my sizzix eclips Christmas and Traditions font. I ran them through a Xyron with temporary adhesive and placed them where I wanted my letters to show up.

After that, it was just painting left. First, I tried painting them with a mix of modge podge and a little brown paint and brown glitter, but I didn't love how it looked. So, while the modge podge/paint was still wet, I covered everything with fall colored glitter.

I pulled the letters off and let it dry overnight. The glitter was shedding a little but, so I covered it all with a clear coat of modge podge the next afternoon, and now the glitter isn't shedding anymore!

I can't wait to get the right candles and see how it looks all lit up, but for now, they are packed away until after Halloween!

Well, I am off to the first day of school! Do you have any first day of school traditions? My mom always used to take a picture of us on the first day of school, but AJ's already at work, so there is no one to take pictures!

Olympic Rings Embellishment Tutorial

Hi everyone! I hope you had a great weekend. Ours went by way too fast!

We watched (some) of the closing ceremonies last night, and I decided to make another Olympic rings journaling card to record to final medal tallies for Project Life.

So enter:

Supplies
1.5 inch circle punch
1 inch circle punch
cardstock in red, yellow, blue, black and green

Step 1
Punch out 1.5 inch circles in each color.

 Step 2
Punch out the center of each circle with the 1 inch circle punch.

Step 3
Adhere only the top of the blue, black and red rings onto your paper. You want the bottoms to be free so you can link the yellow and green rings to these.

Step 4
Cut a slit in the yellow circle.

Step 5
Link the yellow circle around the blue and black rings. Then adhere it so the slit is hidden underneath the black ring.

Step 6
Repeat Steps 4 and 5 with the green ring.

Step 7
Enjoy your Olympic rings!

Today is my last day of summer break. I have to say that I'm a little nervous about going back to school! I always am! Are you getting ready for back to school now too?