Quilt Along: Plus Quilt

I've been gone for such a long time I feel like I don't even know where to start.  So many things to catch up on, I figured my most recent gifted quilt would be a good start.  

For a long time I have wanted to do a quilt along, take you on the quilting journey and give you a chance to join in.  I want to show you each step of the way until you get to the finished product...

The inspiration came when I saw a quilt design from THIS site and I knew I wanted to make one.  I just had to.  Then the who..... I hold her near and dear to my heart.  

Growing up she was my little buddy.  We played together and of course fought with each other.  

As she got older [and so did I] I tried to be more of a role model to her and guide her through the teen years.  Avoiding mistakes I had made.  In this picture, I couldn't believe she was turning 13!  

Before I knew it, I was dropping her off to her first day of high school!  She was starting her life and we were moving across the country.  And even when we moved across the world we still stayed close.

That was then and now she's all grown and a high school grad.  We are so proud of the young woman she has become.  Beautiful inside and out.  I'm proud to say she is smarter than me and even more talented.  

And now that she is heading off to college I knew this quilt would be perfect for her.  Plus signs all bunched together.  As cheesy as it sounds, when she sees it I want her to always remember to make a positive impact wherever she goes.  If she gets homesick, sad, or is going through something tough, she can snuggle up to it and remember to stay positive because things will work out. 

So do you want to make this quilt too?  Think of someone to give it to and start choosing some prints. Here are the ones I chose from fabric.com and of course elephants because she loves them.  I'll be back next week to share the pattern and the how to. 

Happy Thursday

"Relationships, not achievements or the acquisition of things is what matters most in life." 

"The importance of things can be measured by how much time we are willing to invest in them."

I read these two sentences in my devotional [Purpose Driven Life] and it pushed away my feeling of being "behind"... Behind on blogging, late on my monthly email update, slow at starting my next craft and delayed on my upcoming party endeavors.  It reminded me that these things are important, but not as important as time with my hubby and little miss. 

I know I got back from vacation two weeks ago but before that trip our family was separated for a few weeks thanks to a temporary deployment [a short one].  We weren't just recovering from the trip but  rebuilding life together as a family.  Getting back into the swing of things, back into a routine usually takes some time.  Whether the hubby is gone one week or six months it always feels like we have to "start over".  It's not easy.  

I really don't like doing anything until I feel like my world is back in order and I don't just mean a clean house.  So, now that things are coming back to normal I thought I would share what has made me happy these past two weeks...

Spending time with my better half, mostly watching Downton Abbey.  I got it for my birthday, we started it two weeks ago and yup already on season three.  It's so GOOD!

  

  Hanging out with my little lady has filled my heart with happiness.  Going for walks, feeding the ducks, trips to the park, watching movies, teaching her to cook, and a little crafting [even if I am the one doing most of it.]

Having a clean house, empty laundry bin [and having all the clothes put away] makes me SO happy.  It doesn't happen often but when it's empty even just for a day I'm happy.  

So now that our entire family is back to our normal routines I finally have a little peace.  Back to my routines, lists, and world of crafts

.

Happy Thursday!

Firetruck Party

Ever have so much to do that you don't want to do anything?  That's pretty much me these days.  Playing catch up and keeping up with all the holidays and events.  I'm pooped.  

Anywhoo, before I left on vacation we had the firetruck party and I never even got a chance to share the party [just the invitations HERE].  I'm pretty behind on all this sharing stuff but one day I'll catch up.  The party was at the park and the mama wanted it simple so her wish was my command.  It still came out really cute... I mean cool.   

The kids had hot dogs, chips, and sodas and we filled the table with yummy firetruck inspired treats.  Match sticks, fire truck tires, hot pops, and fire hoses.  The kidos [and adults] loved it.  Turns out my potato salad was a hit too.  

Special thanks to Mary from Posh Little Party Shop for providing the graphics for the food labels.  Aren't they adorable?!  Be sure to like her on facebook too! 

Along with the food labels she also did cupcake toppers.  She actually has a firetruck themed party bundle [invitations, food labels, cupcake toppers, and an iron on for shirts].  She pretty much does it all. 

A lot of the food was of course inspired from Pinterest.  You can check out my board HERE.  The only thing I really had to make were the matches.  Pretzel, red chocolate melts, dip, and dry on wax paper.  Easy peasy. 

I fell in love with THIS cake on there.  Of course mine doesn't look quite as good but I think it came out nice.  I'll share more about the cake on another post.

Just a random idea but I didn't know what do to with the forks, straws and napkins so I painted different sized tin cans, added some ribbon and WALA.  Didn't cost me a thing and it held everything perfectly.

The kiddos got goody bags of treats and these fun little fire trucks.  I found these for super cheap on amazon. 

It was a great first boy party for me and the adorable little birthday boy had a good time.  That's what matters the most!   [More about the iron on's from Posh Little Party Shop coming in another post]. 

Happy Friday everyone!

Daiso Haul

During my trip to Canada I made sure I took time to visit one of my favorite stores... Daiso! Daiso is a Japanese $2 store with lots of cool stuff from the kitchen, to food, cosmetics, and just about everything. I absolutely love Daiso since I was a kid because they have so many cool things (like post its, pens, and stationary - those were the things I was addicted to as a child). Here is a little haul of some of my favorite purchases.

1. Plastic Wooden Tray, Tea Tumbler Cups, Saucers

2. Lace Printed Plastic Tray, False Lashes, Compact Lash Holder

3. Icing Tips, Small Narrow Spatula

4. Pocket Notebook (silver and gold)

They had a ton of organization bins, if I could I would've bought them, but wasn't sure I was going to pull off packing it into our luggage.

There you have it! I love Daiso! Have you ever visited a Daiso store before?

I'm Back... Kind of....

As Patty was on vacation so was I. I recently just came back from a trip to Seattle and Canada. It was such a blast visiting family, but it is also something about being home that is nice. Prior to the trip I was super busy with my little business doing dessert buffets for weddings. Now that I am back, I have to look forward to getting all four of my wisdom teeth pulled out this Thursday. To say the least I am a bit nervous and not looking forward to all the pain. Please be sure to comment below to share some recovery tips, I would love to get your imput! Once all of this is done I am excited to start blogging again.

I'm Back from Vacation

If you didn't know, for the past two weeks we have been on vacation.  My sister and her boyfriend flew to Germany and we went to Paris and Tuscany.  It was a lovely trip but no kidding I am wiped out!!  My hubby always manages to fill our days with activities.... every moment.  But I love him for it.    Because of him we got to see pretty everything we wanted to.  I can't wait to share about the trip and how I jumped my way all through Tuscany.

But priorities first... house is almost back to normal, laundry is almost done, just about back on our routine, which means I am almost back to work on the blog.  See you soon!

How to Make Pom Pom Balls with Tissue Paper

I love pom poms.  They are cheap, easy to make, are great to decorate a kids room after the party, and fill up a room fast!  I have done a tutorial on how to make these bad boys using Ikea napkins HERE.  This tutorial is a little more in depth if you need more pictures and details.  It's the cheapest way but using tissue is really the easiest way.  It's a little more costly but saves time.  

I start with a stack of gift wrapping tissue paper.  Since we are overseas it's hard to find these in bulk for a good price.  I buy mine from amazon and sometimes you can get such a great price.  I bought a stack of 200 hot pink sheets for $7!  What a steal!

Now you can make a variety of sizes.  Large, medium and small.  To start, you take a stack of tissue [large: 8, medium 7, small 6].  The more sheets the fuller the pom looks.  Fold it accordion style, like a fan.  Then repeat so you have two [top picture].  Stack them one on top of the other and cut slits in the center on each side [bottom picture]. 

You can use thread to tie the two stacks together but using these twisties you get from bread bags of those pack of clear bags is the easiest.  Twisty the center part and add tie your thread.  You can also use ribbon to hang poms it's up to you. 

Once I cut the ribbon, I like to use a piece of paper to hold the extra thread.  I cut slits in each side and start winding the thread.  This makes it easier to hang the poms.  Add masking tape to the paper and bam it's on the ceiling.  This also makes adjusting the height of the poms easier. 

Scallop or cut spikes on the edges and lay it like so.  You will then start pulling one sheet at a time to the center.  Pull the bottom left in, then the top right one in [where the arrows are pointing].  

Pull it all the way to the center like so.  Do about three sheets on each side, turn it over and repeat.  It will start to look like a pom pom in no time! 

Before you know it you will have a whole bunch of them for your party!

Aren't poms so fun and festive?!  I love them.  Happy Monday everyone.