Look What I Made

Look at this darling sign I came across while shopping the other day:

Welcome Blocks

Look how cute this idea is by Super Saturday Crafts

Tile Magnets

Now that I have my Silhouette, I am looking for fun vinyl projects. There are so many out there! This is a cute idea from Super Saturday Crafts:

These guys aren't vinyl but they are so cute!!

Vinyl Board

I love this idea from Super Saturday Crafts
When I make mine, I think I will put the days of the week in the menu section:

Coasters

Look at these Beautiful coasters from Jill's Card Creations. I love this idea:

Dr. Suess Baby Shower

Oh my word! One day when I have lots of money, I will throw a party like this! Seriously, this is amazing! check out all the details over at Design Dazzle. It really is amazing!

Child Frendly Nativity Sets

Since I can't find the Me and my big ideas nativity stickers to make these, I thought I would share this idea that I found on The Creative Crate:

How many of us have those non-child friendly Nativity Sets that we set out every year... and HOPE... that they won't get dropped or broken in some way??? Yes...I am SURE they are very BEAUTIFUL...but wouldn't it be FUN to have one that your children or grandchildren can play with and really learn from?!!

Check out what Mckay from SayItOnTheWall came up with!!! I think these are AbSoLuTelY AdOrABLe!!! Not to mention their functionality. How FuN would these be for your kids:

9 PIECE NATIVITY SET:

The nativity story block is a neat idea because it has a different picture of the Christmas Story on each of the 6 sides. It's a great tool for both teaching and telling the story. Mckay says that her kids have been loving looking at each side... and telling that part of the story!

NATIVITY STORY CUBE :

Also...here are pics of two of her most popular products:

TILE CLOCK :

GLASS BLOCK NATIVITY :
I LoVE them!!!
Wouldn't any one of these make a great Super Saturday project!!!
If you would like to order...or check out more FuN projects and ideas... with awesome prices......CLICK the banner below!!

AND...

FOR ALL OF MY AWESOME READERS...

YOU WILL RECEIVE...

10% OFF YOUR ORDER...

BY USING THE CODE:

"CRATE"

at CHECK OUT!!!

THANKS a bunch Mckay!!!



Happy Crafting!!

Confetti Popper Rockets

If you are up to the mess, check out these Confetti Popper Rockets from Alpha Mom:

Fourth of July Confetti Popper Rockets
By Brenda Ponnay

Who says you can't have fireworks in the house? With these confetti popper rockets you can blow things up inside without ever catching anything on fire! Explosive, yet completely safe and super fun for kids: That's how I like to celebrate my independence. Get your vacuum cleaners ready cause we're gonna blow this craft up!

I know paper rockets have been made before but this rocket has a trap door in the bottom. When you pull the string, that dangles there ever-so enticingly at kid height, a small compartment opens up and a tiny bucket full of confetti will land on said kid's head. It's great. We tried it and my kid definitely gives this craft a thumbs up.

This craft is fun for many ages. My kid liked it because she got to decorate the rocket and what's not to love about confetti raining down on your head but I think older kids would really enjoy the engineering part of this project. You can get creative with it and maybe have a contest to see who can build the best rocket. Some explode spectacularly, some are a bit of a dud. There are lots of ways you can make these. They also make great decorations for a party!

Here's how you make it:

First you will need to gather your supplies.

1. Paper towel or toilet paper tubes cut to rocket-like lengths


2. colored paper (we chose patriotic colors and used everything from origami paper to scrapbook paper), make sure you have at least one sheet of something stiffer, like card stock too


3. tissue paper (we used red)


4. stickers and marker pens (feel free to get crazy here) to decorate with


5. confetti (homemade or store-bought


6. bakers twine or string


7. tape


8. glue (any kind that works on paper will do)


9. beads (these will not show so it doesn't matter what they look like)


10. ribbons for streamers

Tools you will need:

1. a stapler


2. scissors


3. a craft or needlework needle


4. fun craft punches for confetti (if you make your own)


5. hole puncher

Now to build it! First you will build the "propulsion system." Of course this rocket isn't really going to take off and fly around the room but the confetti is housed where a normal propulsion system would be so we call it that.

Cut yourself a small square of tissue paper that will be big enough to cover the bottom of your cardboard tube--about three inches across. Cut a small disc out of a sheet of card stock that will fit just within the radius of the cardboard tube. With some glue attach this disc to the center of your tissue paper. Let it dry for a few minutes. Thread about an arm's length of twine onto your craft needle and tie a bead to the end for a not. With this, puncture the center of your disc that is attached to the tissue paper. This is the trap door.

Next you will need to glue this tissue paper trap door to your cardboard tube with a small line of glue around the bottom of the tube. Make sure you attach it with the bead side inside the tube and the string (or fuse) side hanging outside of your tube. You can add a pull tab to your long dangling fuse or just let it hang. We added stars to some of ours. Let this dry and you're done with that part! Now onto decorating!

There are lots of ways you can decorate your rocket but the most important part is to cover the tube with some decorative paper so that you don't see that it used to be a toilet paper roll (or paper towel tube). This decorative sheet (roughly 6.5x4.25 inches big, depending on your tube) also holds your tissue paper trap door on, or at least covers the ruffles of tissue where it is glued to the tube. We attached ribbons to the bottom inside of our decorative covering so that the rockets looked like they were flying--or just pretty and festive.

Roll your paper around the tube and staple at the top for strength. You can't staple the bottom because your tissue paper trap door keeps the stapler from getting inside but I found that a couple of pieces of tape did the trick.

Now you can fill your tube with confetti. We just put in a few handfuls but feel free to load this sucker up. Just think about how much confetti you want to clean up later and act accordingly. I say the more the better but then I'm a bit of a free spirit who doesn't mind a little mess for the sake of some good old fashioned American fun.

Attaching the cone to the top of your rocket can be a bit tedious. It's purely aesthetic so if you opt out of this part that's totally fine. I just really wanted my confetti poppers to really look like old fashioned Fourth of July fire crackers so we made rocket cones.

Here's how you do it:

Cut a circle about 3.25 inches wide across, then cut one snip all the way to the center of the disc like you see above. Take the edges of your cut and pull them together, probably about a half an inch or more. When your cone has reached a desirable height, staple it at the base.

Now for the tricky part: attaching the cone to your rocket. The important thing here is creating a strong holder that you can use to hang your rocket from. Since these rockets will be tugged upon, it's important that the rocket holds together and doesn't come crashing down on your head instead of releasing it's payload of confetti. I found the best way to hang these rockets was to put the weight bearing string through two holes punched in the top of the rocket body. Then I strung the two sides of the string through a center bead (just to keep it centered) and up through the center of the cone so that it came out of the point or top of the cone. The cone itself can't really hold the rocket together so taping it wouldn't work.

An easy way to string the cone is to open up your stapled cut from the inside of your cone and pull your string through the gap. This will take some patience but you can do it!

Here's a super scientific diagram (it's rocket science hee hee!) in case you've gotten confused along the way.

Now you can hang them up and let the festivities begin!

I found that I needed to "prime" some of the rockets to ensure maximum explosiveness. You can do this by simply poking some small holes (or cutting with a sharp blade) around the bottom of the trap door. Just make sure you don't cut it completely out because the ripping sound of that trap door being yanked out is probably the biggest part of the fun.

That and the confetti party you can have afterwards! Woot!

P.S. I wanted to step this craft up a notch by adding those strings that pop with real explosives but I couldn't find any at the time of this writing. If anyone tries this, I'd love to hear how it goes. Of course exercise caution. I don't want anybody really burning down their house!

Treats to keep the kids cool for Summer

Cute Picnic idea from Make and Takes:

Here’s some yummy treats to help keep the kids cool this Summer, as it’s already a HOT one. I think even you’ll be tasting these cold concoctions to stay cool too!

• Frozen Watermelon Pops by the Hungry Housewife (pictured above)
• Frozen Grape Pops by Make and Takes
• Strawberry Sorbet by Our Best Bites
• Oreo Pudding Pops by Gourmet Mom on the Go
• Ice Cream Pie by Make and Takes
• Mint Lemonade by Make and Takes
• Ice Cream in a Baggie by Make and Takes

If you’ve been making some yummy “cool down” sweets, share them in a comment below!

Harry Potter Party

This is an amazing Harry Potter party idea post from Design Dazzle:

In celebration of the new movie release Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, I've included some fun ideas for a Harry Potter party. Wouldn't his flying blue car be a hit at a Harry Potter party? Fun, fun photo op!! Some very good art skills would be required to paint the moon and car - photo from here.

Hogwarts Express from here.

"Minerva McGonagall" from Seattle put on this fabulous party for her daughters 8th birthday. These photos are from the Potions Class.

Hogwarts Express Platform 9 3/4 sign
Not interested in making your own sign?
Harry Potter Hogwarts Express Wooden Sign

This is my favorite idea of Minerva's. The platform 9 3/4 brick wall made out of an old curtain. Check out her blog for fabulous Harry Potter birthday party ideas.

Awesome and amazing Ace of Cakes Hogwarts Castle Cake - image from here.

Harry Potter Cupcake Tower - image from flickr.

Download paper Harry Potter glasses. Via blog.miragestudio7.com

Fold-up paper models would be an inexpensive way to make a castle. This would be a time consuming but cheap way to make a paper castle - not quite Hogwarts.

Dalen OW6 Gardeneer 16-Inch Molded Owl

It's a free down loadable label for drinks at your very own Harry Potter Party. My family loves root beer, but cream soda is a close second! Since wizards love "ButterBeer" (cream soda), I made these drink labels for fun. Budget wise the 2 liter bottle makes sense for a large group. A fun activity for party guests would be to make their own butterbeer - add butterscotch syrup to cream soda!

The label reads:

Ingredients:
Cream Soda and Butterscotch Drops
Concocted for Centuries

I hope this post helps you get started with some fun ideas for planning a Harry Potter party of your own. Some of these ideas are over-the-top party ideas, but hopefully they inspire you to create your own Harry Potter party - whether it's a simple party or over-the-top celebration! Keep a look out next week for another party post with more Harry Potter party ideas - table decor, favors, etc...

I missed it this year, but this is for next year. These Fire Crackers from Heartland Paper are so cute!

Celebrate your Independence with these cute fire crackers!

Supplies: Life Savers, pattern paper, cake stem, tag, & tiny clothes pin.

Just take the outer wrapper off the Life Savers leaving the silver wrapper on. Cut three strips of pattern paper 5/8" x 3 1/2". Glue strips to Life Savers. Poke a cake stem into the top where the hole would be. Add a cute tag with a tiny clothes pin.

*Note: You can buy the cake stems at stores who sell cake decorating supplies.

Happy 4th of July Bakerella Style!

I loved this post from Bakerella. I am proud to be an American! My husband became a US citizen this year. It is his first 4th of July as an American citizen. Thank you to all of you men and women who are fighting, and have fought, for our freedom!
And now for Bakerella's thoughts:


Freedom, independence & a marine named Carlos. Last week I was trying to decide what kind of Fourth of July sweets to make or if I was even going to make anything at all. Then I received an email from a reader's boyfriend and I knew I wanted to… had to… do something for the holiday.

Here's his letter. And by the way, I couldn't make anything sweeter than this.

Hi there Bakerella!

My name is Carlos and I'm a United States Marine, and have been one since 1998. If you wouldn't mind just giving my e-mail some thought, I'd be grateful. Here's the story:

My girlfriend just went away to Marine Corps bootcamp not yet a month ago. She LOVES to bake, but unfortunately didn't get much time to do so because her job took up most of her free time, so she lived vicariously through you. She's a fan of photography also, so your blog was a welcome reprieve from a long, hard day at the office. As you may or may not know, bootcamp for Marines is 13 weeks long; the only contact with the outside world is through snail mail. I miss my girlfriend immensely and while I know she's doing something for her country that she's always wanted to do, it's hard on me. I digress, she loves your blog. I know the 4th of July is coming up and I ask you this not only for her, but also for the men and women in the Armed Forces who really know and FEEL the meaning behind this holiday. I think it would be very patriotic and meaningful to bake and decorate something in the spirit of the military, not just flags and sparklers like everyone else is doing - but something to show people that our military needs support and we need to remember them while we're lighting off fireworks at the family BBQ. You know?

Now, I'm asking this because I think it would touch a special place in some of your reader's hearts. I'm willing to bet you have quite a following amongst military wives and/or girlfriends. How nice would it be to show your support? I've served 3 tours in Iraq and am due to go to Afghanistan for a year in the next few months. I won't get to see my girlfriend graduate from bootcamp in September, I won't get to see her looking sharp in her uniform, I won't get to see the pride on her face as finally, at 28 years old, she joins the ranks of The Few, The Proud... so this would be my chance to show her I thought of her. This is your chance to show you think of our military, as many others should be doing. Maybe it'll get people to look for ways to support us with baked goods? During the colder months overseas, my girlfriend would bake cookies and anything else she could that would hold up to the travel and heat, and send on enough for my whole platoon. A taste of home, a taste of love... opening up a box with the smells of back home was something you just can't explain. It was magical. My girlfriend didn't stop there though, she adopted Marines, Soldiers and Airman through Anysoldier.com and sent them care packages and notes of encouragement.

I realize I'm all over the place here, but trying to get my point across is difficult without writing you a novel. I think you get the gist. 4th of July is about more and I'd love to write my girlfriend a letter and say, 'Bakerella appreciates the Armed Forces, when you get back to the real world and have access to a computer... go see her 4th of July post.' Now, I don't know if you'll do this or not and it's fine either way. I just wanted to tell you a little story and hope that maybe a tiny blurb in your blog would entice your readers into caring just a tiny bit more and thinking just a bit deeper on our Independence Day.

I appreciate your time in reading this!

Carlos

What a sweetheart. When I read his letter, I immediately wanted to make and send something to surprise his girlfriend. I thought, how cute would it be for her to open a box of colorful cake pops! Then, Carlos informed me that they can't receive food during boot camp. I pictured her being forced to eat all the pops at one time and then made to run 10 miles or something. I don't think she'd like that too much. Picture it. Cute little cake pops. Marines. Lollipop sticks. Marines. Sprinkles. Marines. Not the best idea for her sake.
Now, I can't send her anything sweet, but I can send her these sweet simple words of appreciation.



It's not much, but I hope that if you do see this when your 13 weeks of boot camp are over, that it puts a smile on your face. And know that you and all members of the armed forces were thought of this July 4th.

Plus… that Carlos… he sounds like a keeper.

What about you? Is there someone on your mind… or in your heart… this holiday?

Hope you all have a happy, safe and sweet Fourth of July!