Gifts for the Bride….

With my newly engaged sister starting to plan her wedding, I knew I wanted to make her a few gifts. So, for the engagement party last weekend, I put together a little package in addition to the ‘money’ we gave her. We all know newly engaged couples want money to use towards their wedding…LOL!

There are so many things that I want to make that I had a hard time narrowing it down. I wish I had more time to spend crafting, but I don’t, so I chose three different items for now. Everything else will have to wait for the bridal shower and the wedding.

Today I will show you the ‘Bride’ flip flops that I made. I have seen some really cute one’s on Etsy that helped me to figure out what I wanted mine to look like.

Here are the completed flip flops…


My good friend Silhouette helped me to add the word ‘Bride’ in vinyl….


I wrapped some what satin ribbon around  the sides with glue. Then I used my Hot Tools to add some bling. Every bride needs bling…LOL!


The flower was a new ‘burning’ technique that I tried. You cut your fabric into circles and then ‘burn’ the edges with the tip of a candle. I liked how it came out, but it probably would be better on a different colored fabric as the burning on the edges made it look a little dirty…LOL! And finally I added a cute embellishment to the center.


Lastly, I tried them on to make sure they looked cute :)






Have a great weekend!

Almost Wordless Wednesday..

This is the awesome cake my sister had at her engagement party. It looks like it came from 'Cake Boss.' The sad part is, I was so busy chasing my kids around that I forgot to eat it...LOL!



Happy Hump Day!

Engagement Party…

What a week!! The weather has been UNBEARABLE here and we have been busy, busy, busy!! The big news was this past weekend was my sister’s engagement party. She had gotten engaged a few months back and I have been helping her plan her party. I think I am also going to be the ‘unofficial’ wedding planner..LOL! I enjoy it though. Having planned my own wedding and been through the process before, I know what mistakes not to make this time.

We did a few things before the party, including making the favors and wine glasses for the bridesmaids. We went back and forth on the favors and finally decided on chocolate candy bars. I have done them in the past and knew it would take me no time to whip up a wrapper. The ‘theme’ per say was Kim Anderson’s images of the little boys and girls getting married. Funny, I did the same thing at my engagement party 9 years ago. I guess sister’s think alike..LOL!

Here is what we came up with….the front image matched the balloons on the tables so it was all cohesive.


The back image had a saying that she liked…“behind every great love is a great story’ along with the cutesy ingredient wording.


We wrapped plain Hershey’s bars in foil and then added the printed wrapper and we were done!

I then used my handy Silhouette machine to add  the names of all of the bridesmaids on to wine glasses. She saw this idea on Etsy and was going to buy them but I knew I could do it for virtually nothing. She picked up the glasses at the Dollar Tree and I went to work again.

In addition to the names, I added an engagement ring next to the name (you can’t see it, sorry my picture is bad!). Wrap a ribbon on the bottom and stuff with some printed tissue and call it a day.


The party was fun. My sister Jeanna and her fiance Greg had a great time as did everyone else. The music played and the kids danced and it was a blast. It was nice to get ‘dressed up’ with the whole family and close friends for a good time.

Here is Jeanna and Greg….


Me and all of my sisters….


And of course, me and my kiddos (with my nephew giving Christopher the horns…LOL)!


More engagement posts to come…..

Project Fail…..

This week has not be so great for us. The weather has been HOT, the kids have had fevers, I have gotten thrown up on twice and I worked on project and after completion, it FAILED!

Christopher has been obsessed (like most the world) with playing Angry Birds on my phone.

Now that this game has become so popular, there is merchandise popping up all over the place. T-shirts are in all the stores but I also saw some cute flip flops online. I thought to myself “I can make those.”

Joann’s had flip flops on sale for $1 so I picked up a white pair and went to work.


I wasn’t sure what I was going to do…then I thought that Sharpie’s might do the trick. I drew the red angry bird on the flip flops with a pencil first and then went back over it with the Sharpie.


I waited until the next morning to make sure they were dry. I was really excited that they had come out great. But as soon as Christopher put them on, the marker was all over his foot. Okay….how can I fix this? My genius idea was to Modge Podge the bottom and that maybe that would act as a ‘sealer’ and keep the Sharpie from running.

Well, we went to a backyard bar-b-que and Christopher wanted to wear them to show all of the kids. Needless to say, my idea FAILED.

They looked like this after only an hour of playing!! The marker had run and the Modge Podge all peeled. Oh, and I had added the words ‘Angry Birds’ on the straps (after I took the first picture above) and that all peeled off too!


Sadly, I threw them in the garbage. I thought Sharpie’s were permanent?? What the heck??

Does anyone have any ideas what medium I can use to try and make these again??

Hopefully this project and the rest of the week will be a little bit better for us :)

Almost Wordless Wednesday….

This pic speaks for itself…..


I scored a pair of jeans at Target for $5.98!!!
Happy Hump Day!!

Can I patent a phrase???

I am in love with all of these type of signs…..


I just think they are so fun and actually quite inspiring! But I was thinking about it the other day and it appears that there is one “Keep Calm” phrase that seems to be missing. I decided I am ‘patenting’ the phrase and maybe I can make some big bucks….LOL!

I grabbed a plain white tank, fabric paint and I used my Silhouette vinyl to create a stencil. Here is what I came up with…..


Hot Tools rhinestones added a little ‘bling’ to it…LOL!


I love it…I may even make more in different colors. I just want to see if there is another stenciling option that will work well. Seems like using the vinyl from the Silhouette can  become costly :)


I will be taking orders too…LOL!! So 'Keep Calm and Mom On'....




Happy Friday….

Almost Wordless Wednesday….

Happy Hump Day!!

Since the weather has been so HOT, I have been taking the kiddos to the splash area at the beach to cool off. Thankfully it is fenced in so I am not chasing them all over the place…LOL!

When we were there the other day, there was a woman wearing this…..

Do you see her in the background with her shower cap on??? Forgive me if she has some kind of illness where she can’t get here hair wet!! But I think she really did just not want to get her hair wet…LOL! I was hysterical. Could you imagine, shower caps are the new fashion summer accessory??

Have a great day :)

To Etsy or not to Etsy….

Good morning!! Hope everyone had a lovely weekend.
Today I am in need of some advice. I have been thinking about this for a long time…..


I love shopping on Etsy. There are so many amazing items out there that are handmade. The creativity is so inspiring to me.  I love to create as well. It is so satisfying to see a project or an idea come to life.

My issue is this….I have been wanting to open an Etsy shop for a while now. But I can’t decide on what I want to sell. I love to sew but I also love to craft. If you have been reading my blog for any length of time, you know I have made a million and one things. From tutu’s and wipes cases to dresses, aprons and bow holders. I can’t decide on that I want my ‘niche’ to be.  I want to do it right and come up with a name, a logo and a product selection that is going to really brand me.

I need your thoughts on which items I should consider making. I think I need to focus on just a few items and not make it mish mosh of stuff. Once I get this going, then I will try to take it to the next level and do some craft fairs.


Thoughts or ideas?? Are there any items that you feel need to be on Etsy but you have a hard time finding? What are your favorite Etsy shops??


Thanks ladies and have a great day : )

“Park’ bag….

Happy Friday!! I swear, the days and weeks are flying by. I look at the clock and it is already 9pm before I know it. The summer really does keep us busy.

Part of the reason we are so busy during the day is that we are always here……


My kids love the park!! They are could go everyday and spend hours there. That is the reason that I have not invested in swingset for the backyard. My kids love going to different parks and we are fortunate enough to have a lot of great parks in the area.

But, when I go, I never sit still. I am chasing Anthony all over the place. With that said, I really do not need to take the stroller, but I do need something to carry a few of the essentials. I always need drinks, wipes, my wallet (because the ice cream man always so conveniently shows up at our parks..LOL) , my phone and a little snack. 

I knew I need to make myself a ‘park’ bag. Something that would go across my chest and be small, but big enough to hold the essentials. Here is what I came up with…..


I used denim since that will ‘go’ with almost anything that I am wearing. I knew it needed a little something, so I stenciled on the butterflies. I still think it needs something more but haven’t decided what that is yet : ) 



The bag has a fun summer print on the inside with  2 pockets.


It is perfect for our trips to the park!!




Have a great weekend!!

Almost Wordless Wednesday…

Happy Hump Day!! I hope everyone had a great holiday weekend. Ours was filled with lots of family fun and sun.

This picture was taken while out on our boat over the weekend….

It makes me so thankful to be able to enjoy the water and the calm that it brings.

Like most of blogland, you may have noticed that things are a little quiet around here. I am trying to keep the kiddos entertained, the house clean and the fridge full. That means, fewer posts. But don’t worry, I am not going anywhere (not that you were too concerned…LOL).

Have a great day!