D.I.Y.--Last Minute Birthday Party Treats and Decor

The best things about hosting a last minute party is that it won’t cost you a pretty penny, and knowing that you don’t have stress out about all the planning and organizing that usually come along with hosting a party. The theme I used for my nieces ‘last minute’ 2^nd birthday was a ‘colorful’ theme. Using a ‘colorful’ theme means nothing has to match! I didn’t have to spend time looking for matching napkins, table cloths, and sweets. All I had to do was dip into my crafting closet and figure out what I had on hand that could be used. As a crafter/blogger I like to have certain things; such as, paper straws, tissue paper, cardstock, icing, box cake, sprinkles, and more, in stock for my photoshoots—and for this last minute party I was grateful to have stored a collection of these items. Although if you’re not a crafter or a blogger most of things I used for the party are very cheap and easy to find. Here are some pictures of the stuff I like to keep stocked in my crafty closet:

Tissue paper…because I never know when I’m gonna need a pom-pom, haha!

Craft punches

Glue

Twine

Paper straws

Mason jars

Cardstock

Cupcake wrappers

Kraft treat bags (for party favors)

…and the ingredients to make cupcakes, cakes, or cakepops

For the table setting I hung three pom-poms from the ceiling and tied a colorful handmade garland to each one. We also bought a small set of multi-colored balloons, a colorful $2.00 table cloth, and polka-dot napkins (all of these things were under $10.00). 

Here’s how I made the garland: I used my heart shaped craft punch to make a few hearts in a variety of colors. Next I folded them, applied glue, and adhered them the twine. Once they were done I attached them to the pom-poms I made. If you’ve never made a pom-pom before you can go ahead and give it a google—You’ll find tons of tutorials. 

For dinner we got pizza, fried chicken, and chips (all of her favorite things, lol)—all of which were under $25.00. 

As far as her birthday treats my little sister used the boxed cake, and icing container to make the cupcakes and cakepops. As you know one box makes 24 cupcakes—so she made all 24 of them, iced 12 and used the other 12 to make the cakepops! Clever. (You can view more of her work here on her FB fan page). 

Once dinner was done, we opened presents and sang happy birthday to my little niece Sammy; and, as you can see from the images she was not at all disappointed with the absence of a cake. She was perfectly happy with her cheap cupcakes, lol. 

…but she wasn’t happy when her grandma’ tried to smash a cupcake in her face! We had to distract her from crying by putting a cakepop in her hand, haha! 

She wasn’t fooled—she replied with, “get out!” (jk, I just wanted a reason to use this cute sad face pic, haha).

Well thanks for stopping by again! I hope you've enjoyed this D.I.Y. last minute party idea! I found out about this party the day of, but I was super happy with what my sisters and I were able to come up with in such a short amount of time. I think that was the fastest I’d ever made pom-poms, haha. Overall, baby Sammy was super excited when she walked through the door and saw all we had done for her—and that was worth everything! 

How it’s made Monday—Making Thank You Notes

If you've been following my blog for a while now you’ll know that I take pride in packaging my items before shipment. I love to provide a whimsical experience for my customer; and I’m always trying new ways to make my packaging look super adorable. Not only do I enjoy trying new ways to say thank you to my customers, I also like sharing how I go about doing making them too.

I love to use paper-scrapes from previous crafting projects and I’m going to show everyone how I use my lovely paper-leftovers. Saving your paper scrapes is so crucial because you can sometimes use those scraps for other projects like tags, toppers, and stamp image paper piecing. I have a box filled of different color paper scrapes and I love to go back to that box and search for the color pieces I need before starting from a full sheet of paper.

This time around I’m scraping (pun intended) my ‘Thank you’ card and instead started making the ‘Thank you’ circular tag with a washi tap accent. Really quickly—if you’re unfamiliar with washi tap, it’s a Japanese tape that lots of crafters use for decorating cards, tags, etc. Go ahead and give it a google if you’d like to learn more about them; and, to find the store that I buy my washi tape from you can click here.

So, I’m using ivory leftovers for my ‘thank you’ tags, and as you can see I have lots of them!

I’m also using my ‘thank you’ stamp courtesy of Lawn Fawn. I absolutely love that they provide a free gift stamp with all their orders. It makes receiving their packages even more fun. 

I’m also using one of my favorite Lawn Fawn sets ‘Love ‘n breakfast’ for this thank you tag and I’m using my 2 inch craft punch. 

…and this is how I use the stamps

Next, I simply color in the images and place some washi tape on the back of the tag to seal my bag (but sometimes I skip this process if I’m not using a craft bag), then I apply some more washi tape over the tag to secure it. That’s it! It’s cute, simple, and whimsical. 

DIY Cupcake Décor for Brides on a Budget

Wedding season is here—and I’m so happy that the DIY 100% handmade scene has been spreading rapidly these past years within the nuptial world because that means I get to share my DIY projects with you all! Brides today not only want a beautiful and unforgettable wedding, they also strive to have the most unique handmade items that can’t be bought anywhere in stores. Handmade favors and décor are now signature stamps of individuality at weddings—and that makes them even more exciting to attend.

DIY favors and party décor are not only 100% OOAK—they’re also relatively cheap to make! And not spending excessive amounts of money in the favors and décor department can help if you’re on a budget. So, today I wanted to share a simple yet stunningly beautiful cupcake topper that is sure to make guests’ huddle around your desert table.

Let’s get started!

1. Your choice of glitter paper (There is an ultra wide variety of glitter paper at most Joann’s craft centers)

2. A heart shaped craft punch (Can also be found at your local craft store or online)

3. Toothpicks

4. Glue (I prefer to use Tacky glue when paper crafting—it dries fast and clear)

Step 1: Punch your hearts out (LOL, that sounds funny)

Step 2: Place some glue in the middle of your heart and add a toothpick. Once you’ve applied to glue and picks to the amount of hearts needed let them dry for about 20-30 minutes.

Step 3: Apply the glue to another heart and just match it to the back side of the heart covering the toothpick.

Wow! That was easy. Once they’ve dried they’ll be ready to insert into your cupcakes like so…

So cute right?! Doesn’t the glitter leave you mesmerized? LOL. Well I hope you’ve enjoyed this mini tutorial and hopefully this DIY project will spark more ideas in your creative mind!

Cute Things You Can Make Without a Cricut—Using Affordable Tools

    Every once in a while I’ll have friends over for a visit, and they (and their children) are always immediately drawn to my craft table. I’m always willing to answer any questions they may have about what certain things are, how they work, and how much certain tools cost. But one of the most common statements I get from visitors is, “I wish I could make these cards, or these cupcakes toppers, but I don’t have a Cricut.” Every single time I heart that I’m not convinced, lol. I always say, “You don’t NEED a Cricut to do most of the things I make.” Sure the Cricut can make tons of things—but to be honest most of the time I only use my Cricut for printing out tags, and making Hello Kitty items. I love being hands on with every step of my craft—the items I create with tools and my hands always seem to come out better and I feel that they have more value.

What are those tools you ask? They’re craft punches! –Craft punches, high quality card stock, stamps, ink, glue, ribbon, imagination, love, etc. Here are some of the craft punches I use to create cupcake toppers, tags, cards, and embellishments.

Once I’ve punched out the shape I want, I just use some stamps to decorate the paper and these are some of the items I’ve made using these tools (without a Cricut).

Therefore, you can create some of these too. Perhaps with every paycheck you can buy a craft punch, some paper (when it’s on sale), and other needed tools—to start creating and sharing these things with the world.