Bachelorette Party Fun

I'm flying into Burbank tomorrow morning to kick-off a weekend of bachelorette party fun in honor of my best friend Briana. I'm looking forward to pool time, pedicures, and of course, the party itself, as this is a solo trip (kids are staying behind with daddy.) Thank God! This mama could really use a break.

Although most of Briana's party is already planned, I'm considering making something fun to add to the mix. Like a survival kit for everyone. Thank you Pinterest for having so many fun ideas!

Now if Saturday could only come a little quicker...

Snacks, water, bandaids, gum, Advil and breath mints.  

I love the title of this one. Very clever. 

I love the custom labels on this one.

A cute, cost-effective way to carry all the goodies. 

Vintage Jewelry Bookmarks

Old Things New has this DIY project for taking vintage jewelry and giving it new life in the form of a beautiful bookmark. With all the cool tech gadgets available for reading these days, do people still use bookmarks? I do! I can't help it. I just love the feel of a real book!

I'm excited about this project because I have some old costume jewelry that was passed down to me from my grandmother when she passed away a few years ago. Unfortunately, it's not my style so I haven't found a good use for any of it. Maybe this will do the trick?

DIY Sugar Cube Shapes

Nifty Thrifty Things has a sweet (pun intended) idea for turning sugar into adorable little shapes. I love this idea because I never would've thought to try it and it's so simple.  I can imagine doing heart shapes for Valentine's Day or stars for Christmas. So many possibilities!

You can read the full tutorial here.

Wicked Witches Legs

I love this Halloween-themed treat idea from Sweetology. It's a simple mix of paper, tape, plastic wrap and Oreo cookies and no baking or glue is required. I love the easy stuff! This idea works across other holidays as well (think: santa boots and red/green Oreos for Christmas treats).

The Amazing Ryan Berkley

Ryan Berkley is an incredibly talented illustrator whose work very much reminds me of something out of The Wind in the Willows.  Each print comes with its own story too. Aren't these characters great? My sister Katie is in love with this stuff and I can see why. These portraits really bring me back to my childhood. It's hard not to smile!

We're lucky enough to have Ryan's artwork on display here in Seattle at the Assemble Gallery in Greenwood. If you're ever in the area, you should definitely check it out. The shop is small, but it packs a mean punch of talent.

What To Do With Leftover Christmas Cards?

Happy New Year, readers! We spent the weekend celebrating with our out of town guests, Carrie & Eric. We had a great time touring our own city with them. We tried new restaurants, went for long walks, took a ferry ride, played games and cooked together. It was a fantastic couple of days, but sadly, it's back to reality now!

We spent yesterday cleaning up all the Christmas decorations, but when it came time to take down our Christmas cards from the refrigerator, I just couldn't do it. I thought, "Isn't there anything else I can do with these beautiful cards besides toss them into the recycling bin?" 

After scouring the Internet, I came up with a couple of suggestions for taking all those cards and repurposing them:

1. Turn them into confetti - with so many colorful cards and a hole punch handy, this would be easy to do. It's also not holiday-limited if you punch the holes small enough. It can be used for any occasion!

2. Create gift tags - if you select images from your Christmas cards that aren't necessarily tied to the holiday itself, (e.g. snowflakes, snowmen, wintery landscapes, etc.) you can make a gift tag that can be used well past the holiday season. Personally, I know many people with birthdays in January and February so this is a very viable solution.

3. Make a cat toy - with a pair of scissors, some paper clips and a large Christmas card, you can create a paper sphere that will keep your cat busy for hours. 

4. Keep them on-hand for kids craft projects - if the paper quality for your Christmas cards is decent, your cards will make for great construction paper.

Beautiful Handmade Wine Stoppers

A Lapin Life has this great idea for sprucing up a bottle of wine by simply adding a fancy doorknob to it! I think this wine stopper would look great with a vintage wine, since the knob also has a vintage feel to it. The ribbon and jewel embellishments are a nice touch, but you could use anything really.  Feathers, lace, twine, burlap, chiffon... anything goes!

Mustache Obsession

In recent weeks, I've grown obsessed with tack-on mustaches. I'm not sure what I like more: the hipster vibe they give off or that everything looks infinitely more ridiculous when you slap a mustache on it. Either way, I was tickled to find this mustache product gallery on Perpetual Kid. So many mustaches!

Why use an ordinary chip clip when you can add a mustache?!

Add some pep to your soda or beer bottles.

Disguise your Christmas tree with a mustache.

Mustache wrapping paper for all occasions.

Family Concentration Game

Concentration was one of my favorite games growing up so I love this twist that Make the best of Everything has added.  What a creative way for little ones to get to know their family members. It might also come in handy for newbies (boyfriends, girlfriends, fiances, etc.) who join our gigantic extended family and have a hard time placing faces with names. Love it!

Wooden squares - available in most craft stores.

Family photos + glue/Modge Podge

Unusual Wrapping Paper

I'm a sucker for a game of Scrabble so naturally, I'm in love with this wrapping paper by Fabio Milito. When you're done unwrapping you can jump right into an impromptu battle of word wits.  So cool!

Pom Pom Perfection

Here's another great craft idea - a pom pom necklace!  I'm not sure if I have the guts to wear something as bold as this, but I've seen it in stores lately so it must be a growing fashion trend?  Of course in stores this kind of thing goes for $20 to $40 depending on how ornate it gets.  It seems easy enough to make and I love the idea of cutting the cost by doing it yourself.

Keepin' it Thrifty has a link to the tutorial that can be found here.

Cutesy Coffee Cups

I'll admit it - I'm a sucker for silly coffee mugs.  Given that I was born and raised in the Seattle area, I think it would be blasphemy to not have a truck load of crazy mugs 'cause folks there tend to drink A LOT of coffee! In fact, I've just had my third cup today and holy sweet nectar of the gods, three cups sure gets you going!  Love it!

Anyway, if you're into coffee mugs like me or you know somebody who is, then you might enjoy this fun do-it-yourself project by Our Seven Dwarfs.  I'm thinking of making a similar set over the weekend -  they're so darn cute!

Duct Tape Fashion?

We all know duct tape can be used as a quick fix for just about everything, but did you know it's also being used for fashion accessories?

Nothing spells classy like a duct tape purse!

And a matching wallet?

Or how about a duct tape hat?

Free Stuff, Anyone?

I found the blog Swell Swag as I was doing some research for my next great arts and crafts adventure and it's AMAZING.  How did I live without this?  It's an aggregator site full of fabulous giveaways and discounts!  The latest offer is for 40% off Honey Bunny vintage prints, like this one:

Customizing Clutches

Julia over at Room For Dessert has this brilliant idea for a gift.  I love the thought of taking something so ordinary and turning it into something deeply personal and meaningful.

This week you can take 30% off clutches (like the one pictured above) at Bagatelles & Co's Etsy store - check it out!

The Blue Fawn

I wanted to take a moment to let everyone know about my sister Jessica's new Etsy store, The Blue Fawn.  She's always been one to express herself through art and her latest venture does not disappoint.  Combining her artful abilities with a little elbow grease, she's managed to breath new life into ordinary old things like buttons and bottle caps.  She also has a gorgeous collection of vintage brooches for sale.  Check it out!

Cheers to Cupcakes!

So I have a thing for cupcakes, but really, who doesn't?

This summer we went to a few weddings where cupcakes were used as an alternative to a wedding cake and over the last few months, cupcake shops have been popping up left and right all around our house.  This is both exciting and dangerous.  Very dangerous.  Still, it's great to see cupcakes growing in popularity.

How fitting then, that I stumbled upon this wonderfully creative way to make cupcakes more of an every day thing without all the indulgence.