Quick Update

I can't beleive that it is May already! I am throwing the Dragonfly baby shower on June 5th and I have been trying to get all my projects finished. The problem is that I keep seeing awesome new ideas and start new projects for the shower. I need to stop at some point or get professional help. Hopefully, in a few weeks everything will be ready and I can post the pictures on here.

I can't beleive that I did not post anything since March! My 18-month old hit her terrible twos and is not doing it half way. I really appreciate all of your coments and I look forward to posting some new stuff.

If you have any question about a project, please feel free to post a comment and I will try to get back to you in a somewhat timely manner. Thanks!

Pretty Girl Layout

This is a simple "girly" layout. I used Design Studio to weld the title letters together to make the background. I used Stampin' Up! paper - Whisper White, Melon Mambo, and Pink Piroette. I think the black is generic. The fancy swirl (I think) is from Storybook as well as the butterfly. The kitty is from the Hello Kitty Font cartridge. I used some sticky jewels and a white pen to add a little zing.

Favor Prototypes

Here are favor prototypes for the shower. My sister-in-law made baby jar favors a few years ago for a shower and I thought they were too cute. They would look better with candy inside but I did not have any in the house, Hmmmm? I might make a few changes like leave off the face on the dragonfly and use vellum for the wings. I feel slightly vindicated because my husband has been teasing me about saving all the baby food jars and now they have a purpose!

I am making two favors. I will use the Sweet Treat cups with these. They would look better with candy, too. I need to spoof them up a little.

Baby Shower Invite Prototypes

I started making my “prototype” invitations. I came up with two ideas. I have slight problems with both designs but I am generally pleased. I am not sure about the shades of purple yet.

This is so far my favorite but I feel like it is missing something. When I originally made it I left the Dragonflies off. My husband thought it needed them and I liked making sure I put that part of the theme on the invite. I am going out to a few craft stores and maybe I will find something to fix it. Tiny Clothespins? Patterned paper for the clothes? This was my original concept. I always knew that there would be a problem with the background and there was. I tried both green and blue behind the baby and EWWWW! It did not work. I tried making the baby bigger and I am not sure if that helped. I think that the purple looks the best. My husband likes the white. Maybe if I change the color of the fence it would be ok. If you untie the ribbon the fence swings open to show the daisies and “She’s Expecting”.

Simple Kitty Card

I like to be able to make cards in a pinch. I love the Hello Kitty Cartridge but found that it was too time consuming to make one kitty for one card. A few months back I cut out a bunch of kitties and have been using them to make cards. It has really been a time saver. I used Stampin’ Up! Paper so I could easily match it since I keep a pretty good inventory. The Kitty is slightly popped out with foam dots.

Materials: Stampin’ Up! Paper (Whisper White, Regal Rose, Barely Banana, Black, and Bashful Blue); Cuttlebug Embossing Plate (I am not sure what the name is); Flower jewels (from Michaels)

My First Explosion Box

After seeing all the cute explosion boxes that everyone has made, I had to give it a try.
The basic directions for the box came from the following blog http://glitteradventure.blogspot.com/2006/11/exploding-box-class.html. The instructions are pretty simple. I setup my cricut to do all of the scoring but I am not sure if it saved any time, maybe if you were making a bunch of these. I used the following cricut cartridges: New Arrival, Doodlecharms, Storybook, George, Plantin Schoolbook, and Accent Essentials. I used the following paper: Stampin" Up! Blush, Barely Banana. Bazzil Basics: Solid Textured Cardstock. The ribbon came from Michaels. When I make projects in the future I will try to pay more attention to the supplies that I use.

So, my friend found out that she is having a baby girl! Now I get to start making all of her shower decoratiosn! The theme is Dragonflies and Daisys in a garden setting. I am also making a clothesline so I might throw that in there. The colors are light purple, green, white, and a small touch of light gold. I find that purples are a bit difficult to work with but that is her favorite color so I will make it happen. As I start creating the shower decor I will post the pictures and materials on my blog. Thanks!

Thanks!

I am really excited that I have some new Blog followers. I added a couple links to the cupcake stand post. If you click on these it will bring up a PDF of the instructions. There are two pages so click both links.

I am still trying to figure out formatting on this blog, I hope it doesn't take me too long. I have some new projects that I am working on and trying to post. My 16-month old has been a little demanding lately so I have had a hard time working on the computer. Hopefully I should have a little more time.

Thanks everyone!

Luau Party

For my Daughter's first birthday we had a luau beach party. I had a lot of fun making up the invitations and decorations. When I was taking pictures, I accidently hit the landscape button on my camera so none of my pictures came out great - Wahhhh!

I made these large wooden surfboard using the Cricut and an art projector. I used the Cricut pens and drew out the images of the surfboards. I used the projector to enlarge them and trace them on a piece of plywood. My Husband cut them out with a jigsaw. I painted the surboard area with cheap acrylic paint. I used cheap paer and cut out the turtle, letters, number, and flower layers. I used them like a stencil and painted them on the surfboard.

I love making banners, they are easy an add a lot of fun to a party.

I found some really cute fabric with turtles and ocean life in the party colors. I stiched up the sides and used it as a tablecloth. I bought flower garlands and hung them all around.

These bags are the party favors. I made pink for girls and blue for boys. I made these little Honus for each kid. I am only medicocre at sewing but these were pretty easy. I filled them with dolly pellets and a little stuffing.

Cupcake Stand

I am terrible at making cakes but I am okay at making cupcakes. I decided for my daughter’s birthday that I wanted to make cupcakes but then I got a bit carried away. My husband built a cupcake stand out of wood for me. I made decorative background strips and attached them to the stand. I also made little picks with creatures to stick in each cupcake. The theme of the party was a Luau so this is supposed to be from the floor of the ocean on the bottom level, the top of the water on the second level, the beach on the third and then the island paradise on the top tier. I made a 6” cake for the top, which fell apart and had to be patched back together with frosting. For the cupcake wrappers, I made a template on Design studio using circles, it worked but there was a bunch of paper waste. I wish they had the Easter cartridge back in September.


I wish that the picture was in better focus, I accidentally hit the landscape button on my camera and all the pictures from the party are slightly off! What a rookie mistake! I am planning on posting instructions on my blog about making the cupcake stand. It might take me a while to get all the measurements done. Thanks!

My sister-in-law used the same stand for her son's birthday. It was a cute airplane theme.


To download the directions (PDF) click both of these links:




http://practicallyperfectparty.com/pdf/cupcakep1.pdf
http://practicallyperfectparty.com/pdf/cupcakep2.pdf

Bath Time

These two were so cute that I had to make a page with this picture. I used the New Arrival Cartridge to cut all of the shapes. I removed the shower head from the tub by cutting it off. The plain cardstock are Stampin' Up! I love the Bashful Blue and Apricot Appeal together. I also used Barely Banana, Going Gray, and Whisper White.

Luau Beach Party Invitation

I made these invitations for my daughter’s first birthday in September. I really wanted to throw a luau but I wanted to baby it up a little bit. I used turtles and the beach theme to achieve that. I had two versions of this invitation, one I was able to flatten down so I could send it in the mail. The main difference was that I used the umbrella from the “Life is a Beach” cartridge and did not add the Styrofoam.

I wanted these to resemble a typical “beach bag”. The invitation was supposed to be a book and was in story form. I am not sure if anybody got it.

The towel is made from a terry washcloth. I cut

it into strips. I added the Styrofoam to help keep the bag open and also to support the umbrella. I hot-glued a washer on the bottom so it could stand on its own.

The umbrella is my own design. I cut two circles (~6inch and the other a little smaller). The large circle I scored so that there were eight even “pie” pieces. I then added another score to every other pie slice. I folded in the pie pieces with the extra score and then flattened it back out. I glued the paper on the umbrella and then added an eyelet in the center. I folded the pieces in making the umbrella shape. I used an 1/8th inch dowel rod for the base. I had to sand the very top to fit it through the eyelet. I added a small wood ball to the top. I used white glue to connect the ball and the eyelet to the stick.

Baby Blocks

In June, I am throwing a baby shower for my good friend. She isn’t going to find out what sex the baby is for another few weeks but I wanted to try a few ideas out. I will post more of the baby shower decorations as I make them. I am not sure whether I am going to use these blocks as part of a game or as a party favor. When I finalize them I will post an exact cutting chart.
I used Cricut Cartridges: Tags, Bags, Boxes, and More; Old West; New Arrival, Storybook, and Accent Essentials. When I have the prototype nailed down, I will post the materials that I use.