Party: She's About to POP!!

OK...first and foremost, my computer charger refused to work. I have been without a laptop for the past 2 weeks. It died with all of my photos on it. Hence, the no posting for 2 weeks. I don't like blogging from our desktop. There's no TV, no hubby, I feel stuck at a desk.

So how am I posting now? Tomorrow, January 16, is my 25th birthday. I got an early birthday present in the form of a new laptop.

ANYWHO....on to today's post.

One of my nearest and dearest friends is 4 weeks away from her due date. So, I helped co-host a shower for her today. It was beyond what I was hoping, so much fun! I found the Buhl blog with a "She's About to POP" theme. The party was for a boy and so we really had to modify what we found. I bought invitations at Target that we could print on. One of the woman I co-hosted with was amazing to make this on her own.

This is what the set up looked like at the shower:

 Coffee Punch with Ice Cream

 Caramel & Peppermint Popcorn

My mom & I made these Marshmallow Pops. (tutorial here)

Favors:  M&Ms in Pacifiers. "Thanks for POPping by!"

My mom & I made this diaper cake! (tutorial HERE!!)

Printables & Decor: Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving!!!!!

I decorated the ranch & even cooked a few things. I will be cooking one breakfast this weekend and I have two recipes for leftover turkey. I will definitely be sharing later!

I hope you have a wonderful & blessed day today with your families!

Update: (I know this is late but I finally uploaded the pictures from my camera.)

I found a link that had many free Thanksgiving printables. I found 2 banners I liked and couldn't pick which one to use...so I used both. =) 

The first banner was found on the blog At Second Street. I was able to hang one under the mantle with the help of my mom. The mantle is 10 feet long and about 6.5 feet off the ground.

This is to show you how big the fireplace is. =)

All I had to do was print the banner on white cardstock and cut it out on the brown border.

I then cut slit in both upper corners and threaded jute string behind each letter.

 The other was above the buffet table that ends up being a big dessert landing. I will link where this came from if I can find it again. =)

 This banner was printed on white cardstock and cut out on the rectangles drawn.

Then, I poked holes in each upper corner and used jute string again.

These were some of my favorite printables that I had found, printed and framed. The Harvest subway art and the verse were found at Betty Crocker Wannabe.

 In the background, you can see my pumpkin vase. I found 3 cylindrical, over-sized votive vases at Michael's. I filled them with popcorn seeds, having the seeds being at a different level in each vase. Then, I just placed tea lights on top of the popcorn kernels. Next year, I hope to have fall colored candles instead.

The last touch was food labels. I found the blog Flamingo Toes that made "Get Your ______ On" dinner label cards. I thought they were so fun and totally necessary so that everyone at the ranch knew what the food was.

 Get Your Turkey On

Get Your Cranberry On

Get Your Sweet Potatoes On

Get Your Potatoes On

Get Your Veggies On 

Get Your Gravy On

Get Your Rolls On 

 Get Your Stuffing On

This is Green Beans & Macaroni and Cheese (no signs though)

Get Your Drinks On

Happy Thanksgiving from my family and our dogs!

Twenty Dozen....In with the new.

So, I have many projects in the works. I'm helping host a baby shower January 15. I have made a menu board and I'm starting to use it today. Well, tomorrow when I get back home. I'm starting the tutorial and hope to publish by the end of the week. I also made a present for my brother's girlfriend this Christmas. That tutorial will be up this week too, fingers crossed! My resolution is to post on here more frequently. Hopefully, at least once a week. I hope your new year is blessed. God was good to us this year. Even when I lost my job and grandmother within the same week. I was able to get out of a bad sitution, rely on Him fully over the summer, get a job at the elementary school I attended, and fall in love with teaching again. I can't wait to see what this year holds. Jerome going back to school to become a physical therapist (no official news yet), hopefully moving out on our own (again), and celebrating 4 years of marriage. And of course my 25th birthday in 2 weeks!! =)

DIY: BOO!

 This was the inspiration picture off of Pinterest. I had just bought a seasonal pack of scrapbook paper at 50% off for $9.99 and two Halloween themed cricut cartridges.

 I bought these letters at Hobby Lobby for about $2 each. Maybe that's expensive to you but I know these will never fall apart.

With black acrylic paint, I painted all of the outside edges of the letters. Perfection was not a concern because the imperfections would be covered with scrapbook paper.

I set the letters backwards on the white side of the scrapbook paper. I then traced the letters onto the paper and cut them out. Using homemade Modge Podge (half glue, half water), I attached the paper to the letters.

Then, I used my black ribbon to tie the letters together. I tied the ribbon in a bow and used some craft glue to help keep the ribbon in place.

 Hanging on the wall.

After I hung the BOO on the wall, my Halloween Cricut cartridges arrived. I cut out three 2" ghosts and used my Modge Podge to attach them.

DIY: Halloween Bat Wreath

I found this on Pinterest and thought, "I could make that!" I've seen so many cute wreath ideas and thought this would be a good one to try and build my confidence for making my own wreaths.

This is what I bought: a 0.5 inch foam PVC covering for $0.97, a package of yarn in Light Gray for $3.69, 2 piece of yellow felt & 2 pieces of black felt for $1. I had previously bought a craft hot glue gun for $5, refills for $2, and a 75 pack of popsicle sticks for $2.

I may agree with the name now.

Step 1: Prepare the foam to be a wreath.

The PVC covering was 6 feet long so I folded it in half and cut it. I removed the plastic to allow the two sides of the foam to stick together.

Then, I used duct tape to secure the foam into a circle shape. I'm gonna try and make the duct tape a little less bumpy on my next wreath.

Step 2: Wrap the wreath with yarn.

I chose a starting point on the foam circle and tied a knot with the yarn.

I then wrapped the yarn around the foam. I did not cut the yarn from its bundle. I wrapped the whole bundle of yarn around the foam circle...every time. And I wrapped around the foam 2 complete times. As you can tell, I was slightly OCD and made sure the yarn didn't overlap itself. I would throw the yarn bundle around the foam circle at least 10 times, pull it tight next to the yarn already wrapped, and repeat the process. This is what the wreath looked like wrapped twice.

Step 3: Make the moon.
I cut two pieces of yellow felt in semi-circles, hot-glued them together, and hot-glued them to the back of the wreath. I used 2 pieces of felt because 1 piece was too see-through.

Step 4: Make the bat.
I found a bat template online but it ended up looking too skinny on my wreath. I used it to help me free hand a bat shape on a piece of paper. I pinned the paper onto 2 pieces of black felt.

I then cut around the picture (through the felt) to get my felt bat cutouts.

I hot-glued a popsicle stick in the middle of the two felt bats to give it stability. Most of the bat was not going to be touching the wreath and I was worried it would fall and not look great. But the popsicle helped!

=)

This is the wreath hanging on a door in our hallway so you can see it perfectly.

Here it is on my parents front door Halloween day.

See why I took a picture on a white door?

Hope you had a safe & happy Halloween!