Candy Land Theme Birthday

My good friend is throwing her daughter a Candy Land theme birthday party for her 5th birthday coming up. I have been helping with the decorations. Even though I'm miles away (her being in Hawaii and me in Alaska) I am still able to help. I have created a lot of things digitally and have emailed them to her. All she has to do is print and cut! Above is her invitation I created (minus the real info for privacy reasons). My friend sent me a sample of what she wanted it to look like. I took that idea and changed it to fit with the theme I've already created. I had already illustrated cupcakes for Shutterstock.com (where I sell stock images) so this made it easier to create her invite. I can't wait to see how the party turns out. I wish I could be there!

Homemade Board Book

I made Addison a board book this morning. It's not perfect by any means but I think it turned out cute. It has pictures of all her family. Grandmas, Grandpas, Aunts, Uncles and our dog on the cover. She instantly wanted the book when I was done and began flipping through all the pages pointing to each person. I made it from cut up illustration board that I tapped together and printed photos. I printed the photos on paper, cut them out and pasted them to the pages. I hope it helps Addison remember and learn all of her family members that she doesn't get to see all the time.

Monster Brownies

Tomorrow we are going to a Halloween party for the kids at my friends house. All the moms were told to either bring a Trick (something for the kids) or a Treat (something for everyone to eat). I have to bring a treat so I made some fun brownies. I had 2 different brownie mix boxes in my pantry so I started with those. I topped one pan of brownies with butterscotch chips and spread them once they melted and the other pan I topped with mini marshmallows and candy corn M&M candies. I then took apart chocolate oreos, put a little white frosting and a chocolate chip on them for eyes. I stuck the oreos in the brownies when they were done baking. I think they look fun and I came up with them all on my own. I call them Brownie Monsters!

Holli's Blossoms

My good friend Holli makes the cutest handmade hair bows and headbands. She made this adorable felt flower headband for Addison for Christmas. I had to put it on her yesterday to take her picture. She is so talented and makes the most unique things. She even does custom orders! I don't know how she finds the time since she has 3 small children and another on the way. She is one busy momma! Check out her sites if you are looking for some cute clips and bows for your little girl...

http://www.etsy.com/people/HollisBlossoms
http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Hollis-Blossoms/117921318278423

Garage Garden

When we moved to Kodiak, Alaska at the end of June we suddenly found ourselves in shock over the lack of good produce and the high prices. We knew coming here that we wouldn't have the amazing produce we were used to when living in Sacramento, California. Sacramento had the most amazing produce! My husband came up with the idea of growing our own produce in our garage. Since we do not have a fenced it yard and it gets so cold here we couldn't have a garden outside he decided to build one in the garage. He built a huge planter box (it takes up the center of our garage and is about the same size as a pool table). He came up with the design all on his own and even installed sprinklers. He hung grow lights from the celling and purchased a small heater for the garage. Our garage is now at a cozy 80 degrees all the time. He put installation in the window and door to keep the heat in. This is also a great project for Joe (my husband). He needs something to tend to and keep him busy when the weather is bad. So far just about everything is sprouting and our beans even have flowers! I'm hoping for fresh green beans for Thanksgiving. I will keep you all posted!

Homemade Mini Bean Bags

I woke up this morning to no cable or Internet. The wind was so bad last night it knocked down a tower. We usually don't watch a lot of TV during the day but it's nice to have some background noise or watch a show when Addison naps. With no Internet meant no Pandora, which we love to listen to. It was also nasty outside so Addison and I would not be venturing out in bad weather. I decided to make a game for Addison and I to play today. I made bean bags! I used old squares of fabric that I had (they were from old baby clothes that I had cut months ago). I pulled out my sewing machine and sewed two pieces of fabric together inside out then turned them right side out and filled them with dry beans. My husband had bought a few bags of dry beans last week upon my request. I knew I would want them for a craft soon. They were only $1 a bag! After I filled them with beans I hand sewed the ends close. Addison (my almost 18 month old baby girl) loved them!!! They were very fast and easy to make and once Addison had a hold of them she was tossing them all over the living room. We set a basked in the hall and played a game with tossing them in the basket from the couch. Once my husband woke up he joined in on our game. It was a lot of fun!

**WARNING**
 If you make bean bags with dry beans we aware that the beans are a choking hazard. Do not let your small child play with the beans. If you are worried your child will be able to get the beans out of the bag once made supervise them while playing with the bean bags.

My Zazzle Store

Check out my new Zazzle store!!! I'm very excited about it. I made my first sell yesterday. It wasn't a lot but it was exciting and gave me motivation to create more. I enjoy designing on my own time and what I want. Zazzle is a great site to give me this opportunity. I hope more of my stuff continues to sell!

http://www.zazzle.com/emcreative

Cat in the Hat Birthday

Today was a very fun day! My good friend's little girl turned 2. She had a Cat in the Hat theme birthday party and I helped with the decorations and food. We made a hat cake and even thought there were complications with the cake wanting to fall over I still think it turned out pretty cute. Her mom came up with the idea of using Swedish fish for the red stripes on the cake. What a hit that was! Everyone loved the fish. She also had a great idea of giving out Cat in the Hat board books as favors for all the kids. The kids loved them! They were mostly toddlers so they were so excited to pick out a book. I made the sign and cupcake toppers which also turned out pretty cute. All in all it was a very fun party and the kids had a blast!

Halloween Boo Sign

My friend texted me a picture of a cute BOO sign she made out of wood with a little paint and ribbon. I thought it was so cute and wanted to make one. My house is lacking in Halloween decorations big time! I asked my husband if he would cut me some wood squares. Well he never got around to it so today I took it upon myself to make a sign out of cardboard instead. It won't last as long as wood but I think it still turned out pretty cute. I cut three strips of cardboard from a diaper box (which I always seem to have) and folded each once twice into a square. I used a small piece of tape to fasten the end. I covered each square like a present with brown paper I found in my husbands toolbox. Then I painted each square with orange paint and then used white and black paint to create the dots and letters. Once it was all dry I used ribbon and a hot glue gun to attach all three squares. I think it turned out cute enough to hang in my house for Halloween. Maybe next year I will make one out of wood.

A Cookie Inside a Cookie

Yesterday my husband came across a picture online of an Oreo cookie inside a chocolate chip cookie. Of course he begged me to make these for him to take to work. I always seem to have a bag of chocolate chip cookie mix in my pantry so we picked up some Oreos at Walmart and I made them this evening. They were a little tricky to make but I think the way to do it is put a little chocolate chip cookie dough on each side of the Oreo. It's okay if the sides are not covered because as it starts to bake the dough will form around the Oreo. They turned out as good as you would think! Actually amazing! A cookie inside a cookie. What could be better than that?

Cardboard Box Dollhouse

I woke up this morning wanting to make something fun for Addison. I have recently put us on a tight budget so I've been looking for fun things I can make at home to entertain Addison. Today I decided to make a dollhouse out of old diaper boxes. If you are a mom you know how many diaper and wipe boxes you end up with around the house. Ours usually end up in a heaping pile in the garage. My Cardboard Box Dollhouse was super easy and fun to make and I was able to use things I already had around the house. Here are my step by step directions...

Supplies: 3 medium size cardboard boxes, scissors, duct tape, white glue, water, paint brush, wrapping paper, construction paper & fabric (optional), ribbon, hot glue gun.

1. Cut the tops off of two boxes (try and get two boxes the same size). Using the duct tape tape the boxes together. This makes the two main stories of the house.
2. Cut the third box to make the roof and tape it to the top of the other two boxes. Should look like a triangle on top.
3. Once the frame of the house is tapped together you are ready to decorate your house. I used wrapping paper for the outside and construction paper and fabric for the inside. You can use whatever you like to decorate the house.
4. Mix together your glue and water to make a paint texture. With your paintbrush paint the glue/water mixture on the back of your paper and begin applying to the walls. 
5. Once your walls are all covered you can use ribbon to cover the edges of your house so it looks cleaner. I used a hot glue gun to apply the ribbon.
6. Once the house it all decorated let it dry before giving to your child to play. 

Here are the before and after pictures of my house!