Teacher Thank You Gift

It is the end of the school year here in Utah.  My kids are getting so excited for summer!  It can be a challenge for them to continue to attend school when all they want to do is play with friends.  Or  go play outside and enjoy the sunny weather. I am sure that their teachers are also looking forward to summer vacation as well.

So I began thinking of ways we could thank my children's wonderful teachers for a great year.  I decided to keep with a summer time theme.  I chose this super fun kit Lemonade Stand from Daisy's and Dimples.  They have some great digital scrap booking kits to choose from. I have attached the link.

http://daisiesanddimples.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=2044:e00a8f60fc5268ff9623f0510c09d4f4

I thought the lemonade theme went perfectly with relaxing summer days.  So I downloaded the kit and designed some cards.  I thought they turned out perfect.  I picked up some plastic cups and some lemonade packets from my local store.  I then added a card.  The dimensions are 4 inches by 11  inches.  I then folded it and I slipped a gift card inside.

While I was thinking about lemonade I picked up a large jar of simply lemonade and made another card and attached it to the jar with some fun paper straws. The card dimension were 4x8 inches.

I picked up the straws at my local Partyland store.  Hobby Lobby also stocks them.  I thought the lemon tag went great with the lemonade jar. You could also attach a gift card inside

I decided to make up a batch of lemonade cupcakes. I picked up a Betty Crocker Lemon flavored cake mix. While the cupcakes were baking. I used one of the fun elements from the Lemonade Stand digi kit to design a card for the cupcake. Then I printed out a polka dot paper from the collection. You can get free cupcake topper printables here. I added a decorative edge with some craft scissors and  wrapped the paper around the cupcake liner and dropped it inside a plastic cup.

 The finishing touches were a lemon candy for the cupcake.  Cellophane and a clear tied bow and the card.


Below is a fun lightly lemon flavored frosting recipe for you to try!  I found some coordinating papers and lemon elements from the Lemonade Stand kit to put this together.  Heritage Storybook made it super easy to arrange the cards and elements  Enjoy!  Summer will soon be here.

Fabric Flower Wreath

My front door was in need of a little something new.  I haven't had anything on my door for spring and summer for a long time. So it was time for my door to get some color to celebrate warmer days.  I started with the items you see in the photo.  Some bright cheery fabrics.  I started with the print and then took my color scheme from there.

I found the wooden bird from the wood connection.  I then chose a favorite color and painted on two coats of paint.  When it was dry I distressed the edges of the wood just a little.

Once I arrived home with my fabric I got to work making these fun fabric flowers.  I was amazed at how easy these flowers were to make. I learned from a friend and also this tutorial. Literally only a few minutes per flower. They would be fun to add to a headband, a bag, or a little girls dress.  Tons of possibilities!

http://www.ourbestbites.com/2010/12/tutorial-rolled-fabric-flowers/

Here is a close up of the flowers and the little bird I used on a grapevine wreath.  I picked up my fabric from Hobby Lobby as well as the grapevine wreath.  I love using the 40% off coupon for craft projects!

The finishing touch was my curvy frame and of course the digital print I sized to fit in Heritage Collector Storybook.  The frame had a 2 x 4 inch opening and so I had to size down a bit with the digital print. I printed it out from my personal printer.  But if you want the print to last in the bright sunshine it would be better to do a photo print and laminate it.

What to you think?  Are you ready to go make one for your front door?

Mothers Day

This weekend is Mothers Day.  I have been thinking about the wonderful mothers and grandmothers in my life.  I love that I have a chance to celebrate them on a special day!  So as the week has progressed I have been busy as most mothers are with birthday parties, household chores and a sick child. As well as trying to get a garden planted.  You all know I share the busy life of a typical mother! So I haven't had as much time to create a card that I wanted to make for the special women in my life.  So you can imagine how thrilled I was to find this beautiful quick page.  That's right it was all created through the generosity of a great designer.  http://bcdolls.com/blog/ I signed up for her newsletter to receive the quick page.

So all I had to do was pull the quick page into Heritage Collector Storybook.  Once the page was downloaded I could pick from any of my family photos and slide one behind the page.  Once that was complete I was able to add a little of my own personal touch to the card.  I sized the page down to a 4x6 size.  I think this would also be great as a 5x7.  I sent my print to Costco and it should be ready just in time!  Because I didn't get this card in the mail earlier this week it may arrive on Monday.  So I can also email this to each special lady as well.  I love how easy it is make a beautiful project with a quick page and this is so simple to do. What I love though is the personal touch it adds to a card that probably won't simply be thrown away but can be enjoyed for a while.

Happy Mothers Day to all of the beautiful mothers this Sunday!

Mothers Day Door Hanger

Mothers Day is coming in a few weeks!  I wanted to make something simple for my kids to fill with a few of Grandma's favorite things.  I have seen a few creative door hangers and the other day I saw one on a blog that caught my eye.  The instructions I followed were found here.  http://www.doodlebugblog.com/2012/01/tuesday-tutorial-valentine-door-hanger.html

There are a lot of ideas you could use for this simple project.  Fathers day, birthdays, Christmas, school teachers, a neighbor gift.  Really anything you would want to create and slip a treat inside and hang on a door.  I made mine about an inch wider than the directions.  Instead of using plain card stock I altered it to create digitally in Storybook. I used the digital Maggie kit from Lori Whitlock found on Jessica Sprague.

We are excited to add some flowers, a card and a little treat to our bag.  Hope you have fun creating your own.  Don't forget to check out Heritage Collector Storybook that makes it easy to personalize and create your own unique gifts!

I am already planning to make some more of these door hangers for my sons birthday and for my children's teachers, I may even create some for a new neighbor who is moving in soon.  Endless possibilities! Check back soon for a Mothers Day card idea.

Happy Spring!

Spring Fever

It was a long winter this year in Utah.  So you can imagine how much I was looking forward to spring.  I was thrilled to see my daffodils and tulips beginning to grow in my front yard.  I spent some time this past week clearing out all of the debris left over from winter.  While I was working in my garden beds I began brainstorming what I could make to celebrate spring for my home.

I decided that I needed to bring a little spring sunshine indoors to enjoy too!  So I designed a print to put in a frame for the kitchen.  I used Heritage Collector Storybook to pull it all together.  I used some graphics from a kit from Jessica Sprague called Springtime.  http://www.jessicasprague.com/index.php?page=shop.product_details&flypage=flypage.pbv.tabs.tpl&product_id=1213&category_id=10&keyword=spring&option=com_virtuemart&Itemid=295

It didn't take long and I even tried out a new font.  I think the print still needs a few more flowers to frame the text. Even if I do nothing more it was fun to design.

 I had to alter the size of the print just a little to fit my 5x7 frame.  This was very easy to do in Storybook.  If you are like me sometimes the frame has a slight lip on the inside of the frame.   I discovered that when you slip your print inside the frame you lose a 1/4 inch on all sides.  I can now personalize my print to fit that slight difference for a perfectly framed print.  Happy Spring!

Treat Topper and Popcorn Recipe

I love Spring!  When the flowers start to blossom and the warm sunshine comes out after a long winter I feel happy.  This seems to bring out my creative side.  Because I was feeling some joy I wanted to share it with my neighbors and friends.  So I made some springtime treat bag toppers.

I created these in Heritage Collector Storybook in a 5.5 x 10.5 size to fit a little larger treat bag. I purchased the digital scrapbooking kit from Echo park paper on Jessica Spragues web page. The kit is called Springtime.  http://www.jessicasprague.com/index.php?page=shop.product_details&flypage=flypage.pbv.tabs.tpl&product_id=1213&category_id=10&keyword=spring&option=com_virtuemart&Itemid=295

I popped up 2 bags of microwave popcorn and then whipped up some candy coating with a little yellow food coloring added. Recipe came from chocolate, chocolate and more.com.  For the flavoring I used vanilla and coconut.

Keep freshly popped popcorn warm in a large baking pan in 200 F. oven. Combine sugar, corn syrup, butter, salt and cream of tartar in medium saucepan. Cook to 250 F without stirring. Remove from heat. After boiling action ceases, add flavoring and soda. Stir in quickly but thoroughly.  Pour at once while foamy over warm popcorn.  

The kids and I love this popcorn and what better way to share it wrapped up with a cute spring topper! These would also be fun to mold the popcorn while still warm into an egg shape in any color you choose.

Dry Erase Shopping List

I have been working on a little more organization when it comes to grocery shopping.  I seem to end up writing a list several times.  I decided that creating an erasable menu planner and shopping list that I could write on the fridge and then take with me to the store worked great.  If you are worried about the ink smearing you can slip it into a zip lock bag or write on it with permanent marker that easily wipes off with a little rubbing alcohol.  I have found that a fine point works the best for writing.  I attached a simple magnet to the back so I could have this on the fridge for easy access as I remember what I need to put on my list. This method also works great for the kids to make a note of something they need if I am not nearby.

I created this in Heritage Collector Storybook.  Completed dimensions are 6x4.  I printed on card stock and had it laminated.  A little glue and a round magnet to the back made it perfect!  Below is the finished project. The cards were designed with a kit from Lori Whitlock from Jessica Sprague.