Scrappin' Wednesday no. 12

This week I've made a page dedicated to my mom.  We don't get to see her very often, as we live in different states, but she is always there for special moments like the birth of one of our children.  The kids miss her a lot, and I was really glad to have her help.

The quote at the bottom of the page is a quotation from www.quotegarden.com and is attributed to "Anonymous".  I think it would be great on some sort of gift for a special grandparent.  Ideas?

Ahoy! A "Jake and the Neverland Pirates" Birthday Party!

My oldest son turned 4 on Saturday.  To celebrate, we threw a pirate party.  But it couldn't be just a pirate party- it had to be a "Jake and the Neverland Pirates" pirate party.  If you don't know, this is a brand-new show from Disney Jr.  It's so new there is no merchandise out for it yet.  So, I did my best to combine "basic" pirate stuff with some homemade "Jake" stuff.  My son even insisted on dressing like Smee- so he wore his blue and white striped shirt and I made him a red stocking cap out of a dollar store t-shirt.

All "Jake" images are copyrights of Walt Disney.  I'm sure they'll have their own stuff out soon, but until then, I'd like to think that old Walt would understand a parent trying to please their child.

To begin with, I downloaded the "Jake" image from Disney Jr. and made my own invitations.  I used a free skull background, then put the Jake image in the header.

For decorations, we had "basic" pirate stuff- a treasure map tablecloth, black, blue, and red balloons, some skull and crossbones signs, etc.

When the kids got there, we gave them bandannas, eyepatches, and earrings, and they decorated a "Jake" spyglass, found here:

Then we played a few games, jumped on our new trampoline, ate lunch, opened presents, ate cake, went on a treasure hunt, and jumped on the trampoline some more.  Who knew pirates had trampolines :)

For food I served pirate themed food.

Fish n Chips- (goldfish crackers and potato chips)

Swords (pretzel sticks)

Cannonballs (grapes)

Golden Nuggets (chicken nuggets)

X Marks the Spot breadsticks (pizza dough shaped into x's)

Crocodile Blood (Red Kool-Aid)

For activities I tried to incorporate some "Jake"-style games-

Pin the Hook on the Captain (I sketched this from a clipart image I found online)

Search for gold Doubloons (Jake and his friends earn these through their adventures)

A treasure hunt for their goody bags (not pictured)

The cake was from FamilyFun magazine and can be found here:  

For the goody bags, I made my own labels, filled brown paper lunch sacks and tied them with jute rope to make them look like loot sacks.

Inside I put a pirate compass and pirate paddleball from the dollar store, bubbles that I wrapped with a "Jake" logo I printed out, pirate stickers, a "Jake" coloring page (found here) and a bag of Hershey's nuggets and individual Rolos.  They also got to keep all their pirate gear and gold doubloons.

P.S.  If you have a "Jake" fan and are headed to Disneyland anytime soon, make sure you check out the Disney Jr. show in California Adventure!  It truly was a magical experience for my kids!

(If you're planning a trip, book through Get Away Today- I've used them several times and it has been awesome every time- no bumps or goof-ups, and we always save a little money with their hard-to-find ticket discounts!  Use code OCRAFTY to save an  extra $10 off any 2-night or longer Southern California package (hotel and 2 ticket minimum).

The kids had a great time, and I had fun being a pirate!  Maybe these ideas will help someone else until Disney gets its Jake party gear out, so I'm linking up to some of these parties: 

My new lamp

Remember when I was trying to decide what lamp to choose for my bedroom?

I chose one.

I decided I should probably save money and makeover one I already had.

So I stole the lamp from my toddler's room, since we haven't used it once since he was born.  It was a wooden base with a plain white shade that I had attempted to make look like a baseball by drawing in the stitching of a baseball.

It wasn't very cute.  I didn't take a picture.

I chose the rolled rosette lamp from The Idea Room as my inspiration, and got to work.  I think her lampshade was bigger, or maybe my rosettes are.  Anyway, mine looks a little different.

 I cut up one of my husband's old t-shirts from the "donate" pile.  It was a size XL and I used every bit of it except the colored logo.

One thing about having RA, my hands and other joints are weak and get tired easily, so repetitive crafts like this are really hard on my hands and fingers.  I have to do a little at a time.  So, while it only took a few hours, I had to spread it out over a few days.

Finally, I spray painted the base.  I am not a good spray-painter.  I had to sand down the first layer after it dried and try again.  I need a spray paint tutor.  But in the end, it turned out okay.

I love the finished product, even with the bigger rosettes.

I've got to accessorize the nightstand now....

On another note, can you guess what kind of party I'm throwing tomorrow?

Details on Monday :)

Scrappin' Wednesday no. 11

This is one of my favorite scrapbook pages- not because I think it's any kind of genius layout or anything, but because I just love the pictures.  It's easy with all the embellishments and fancy designs to forget that that the purpose of a scrapbook is to showcase your PHOTOS.  Most of us scrapbook for ourselves- to have a beautiful reminder of the moments in our life that we treasure.

I can't say I "treasure" the screaming grumpiness portrayed in these pictures, but I will always remember the challenges I went through with this  difficult baby.  It made me closer to him and more appreciative of the good moments.

How do you keep your treasured moments in your memory?  Do you journal?  Blog about them?  Scrapbook?  I'd love to know.

**Edited** I am sharing this as part of the "Family Photo Fun Challenge" at the CSI Project.  Am I a terrible mother for having so many photos of my crying child?  At least I can laugh about it now.....

Ready for Spring? Spring Vinyl Plate

Here in AZ, we don't necessarily long for spring.  March is our perfect weather month, our respite before the 100 degree days begin, sometimes in April.  Still, there is something about this time of year.  Two of my three children were born in the spring, so I definitely feel the "renewal of life" vibe that spring brings.

I'm getting my spring decor up, and this year I decided to add this plate:  (I apologize for the bad light- the only time I could take this was at night!)

I found a quote I liked (credited as "Proverb"), created it in my Silhouette software, and slapped it on a dollar store plate.  I planned to do some more vinyl shapes at the bottom, but I thought some rolled fabric rosettes would give it that spring feeling too.  I had everything on hand, so it was free to me!

I hope Spring comes quickly where you live!

I'm linking up to some of these fun crafty link-ups:  Go check them out!




Edited:  Thanks for featuring me!

I'm Guest Posting at Funky Polkadot Giraffe!

Have you been to Funky Polkadot Giraffe?  This is one of my favorite fun, cute blogs.  Today, I'm sharing how to make a knock-off Pottery Barn Cottage Frame.  My version cost $1 to me- theirs cost $29.  Go see how I did it here:

Scrappin' Wednesday no. 10

It's been fun reliving the early days of being a mother of three.  They are so small, so sweet, so precious.  And they smell WONDERFUL!  My third was born via c-section, so while the early days were somewhat foggy and painful, I still remember the love and joy I felt holding him in my arms.

This is when I'm thankful for the idea of photo books, or scrapbooks- however you keep your pictures.  In the digital age, there are so many photos stored on my computer that I forget about.  Every now and then I'll open up the files and scroll through them, but when I have something tangible like a scrapbook page in an album, those memories are fresh and easily accessible.  My kids love to pull down my scrapbook binders and look through them, "remembering" each event that is documented.

And hopefully, having those photos really will help them remember.

In Case You Missed it: Shamrock Button Shirt

Just in case you missed it, I'm re-posting the tutorial I shared over at Liberate Creativity.  

 Today I'm going to show you how to make a cute St. Patrick's day shirt.  I know it's coming up quick, but seriously, this only took me a little over an hour to whip up!  And the great thing is, you can adapt this idea, using different shapes, for any holiday!

Materials needed:
Shirt
Shamrock template (see below)
Green buttons- various sizes
Needle and coordinating thread, embroidery floss, or glue (if you don't sew)

Directions:
1.  Cut out your shamrock template to use on your shirt.  I traced a clipart image. You can print out mine by right-clicking on the image below, then save it to your computer, resize as necessary, and print.  Or just trace your own!

2.  Trace your shamrock onto your shirt.  (Shh---I used a pencil because I knew it would be covered up, but if that makes you nervous- go for the disappearing ink fabric marker from the craft store).

3.  Determine placement of your buttons.  I only had two sizes of buttons, so I had to adjust from my template a little.  

4.  Hand stitch each button to the shirt.  This is EASY but a little time consuming.  What worked best for me was to put a tiny dot of hot glue on the back of the button and press it into place.  Then, after all the buttons were adhered where I wanted them, I used a needle and embroidery floss to attach the buttons to the shirt.  Hot glue will not hold up in the wash, so this makes them secure.  Feel free to experiment with fabric glue and such if you don't want to sew!

5.  Put it on your little lass and let her dance around the yard.  Or snuggle by the heater if it's still cold where you live :)

Happy St. Patrick's Day!  Linking up to some of my favorite parties- and some new ones!  Check them out here!

Creative Girls Blog Hop

The Girl Creative is now sponsoring a "Creative Girls Blog Hop" every Friday.

I love reading crafty blogs, and this is a way to find some fun new ones.  (And hopefully, some new people will find me!) Go check it out!

 If you've visiting from the blog hop, welcome- I hope you'll take a few minutes and look around!
Leave a comment and I'll be sure to visit you back!

CSNStores.com WINNER!

Thank you to everyone who entered the CSN Stores Giveaway!  Welcome to my new followers, too!  I hope to see you around here often!


So, who won the $35 Gift Certificate?  Entry #36, as chosen by Random.org from all eligible entries!  And who had entry #36?


-  Twifanheather who said "I love the pink lamp from The Idea Room! So cute!"


Congratulations!  You'll be recieving an email from me shortly with all the details!


A lot of you liked the rosette lamp.  I'd have to say it was pretty close between that and the burlap ruffle lamp.  I like it too, but as I've mentioned before, I'm not exactly best friends with burlap.....  either way, I guess I'm going to be crafty for this lamp replacement! Thanks for all your input :) !


Have a great weekend, everyone!

Scrappin' Wednesday no. 9

Don't forget to enter the CSNStores.com giveaway!  It ends Thursday night at midnight!

Click here or scroll down to enter.

There is something tangible in those last days before a baby is born.  The excitement and anticipation (and discomfort!) has built to the highest level!  You are so excited to hold that baby in your arms- and get it out of your belly!

When I was deciding what to do with these ultrasound pictures, I thought of how much the pictures showed me of who my little baby really was!  I could see his pouty lips, his squishy cheeks, his grumpy face.  When he was born, all those things were real (especially his grumpy face- wait until you see that!)  Really, his ultrasound pictures were a "preview" of what was to come.  I love previews!  They are one of my favorite things about watching a movie.  Is that weird?  Anyway, I thought a movie preview theme would be perfect for the page.

I hope you enjoy it!