Monkey business!

Ever notice how much CRAP kids have these days?  I will digress momentarily into one of those cliche “when I was a kid” rants, but bear with me.  When I was a kid we got a couple of gifts from our parents and a little cash from grandma and grandpa.  A cake, some streamers, and maybe a few balloons that my mom blew up herself — no fancy helium.  And we thought it was great.  So I am always amazed at the massive pile of gifts that my nieces and nephew get for their birthdays.  I have on many occasions observed kids opening a birthday gift and giving it about 5 seconds of attention before tossing it aside to open the next 25. 

So Andy and I are trying to move away from toys and other random stuff for gifts.  For our niece and nephew’s (the twins) 6th birthday, we decided to give them an experience — a day of fun with Uncle Andy and Aunt Meghan.  Who wouldn’t want that?!  It’s as much a gift for their parents as it is for them, really.  The plan is to take them to lunch then an indoor playplace called Monkey Joe’s.  We will finish out the day with ice cream.  Andy might be more excited than they are.

Anyhoo, I didn’t want to show up empty-handed to the party, so I made them these appropriately-themed bouquets.

They were actually pretty easy to make thanks to my Cricut and my Xyron 500.  I made the monkeys using the circle shape from the Celebrations cartridge – I think I did 5″ for the head, 4.25 for the mouth, 2.75 for the ears and 0.5″ for the eyes.  The other pieces were made using Celebrations and Doodletype.  I used an envelope template from Paper Source and banana print paper from the Reminisce Monkey Business line for the envelopes (4 bar).  A note in the envelopes told them about the plan for the day.

I decorated the pots with ribbon and put flower arrangement foam in the bottom of each.  I then attached the cutouts to wooden skewers with hot glue.  Once everything was arranged, I topped it all off with some yellow crinkle paper.  Since I used scrap for the cutouts and raided the kitchen drawer for the skewers, the whole project cost me only about $6.  It probably took me about two hours total over two days to make them.

This type of project is also great for centerpieces.  I have made them for baby showers and birthday parties — I included a few examples below. 

The monkey bouquets were a big hit and most importantly,  the twins are super excited about their big day!

MP

 

My latest obsession: Etsy.com

As a DIY’er, I have a huge appreciation for things that others have made with their own hands.  I’m in heaven on State Street in Madison where you can find tons of handmade items in various little shops.  It was at a shop in Madison that I got the inspiration for my magnetic photo frames.  So when I discovered Etsy I thought I had died and gone to heaven.

The self-described place to buy and sell all things handmade is a mecca of cool stuff.  From photography to jewelry, all items are created by the people who choose to sell their items there (similar to ebay but without the bidding).  Many sellers even offer custom made items.  When I was looking for a chic purse in black and white, I stumbled on AbbaDabbaBags.  She didn’t have any bags in black and white at the time so I contacted her to tell her what I was looking for.  Not only was she willing to make the bag to my specifications, she was enthusiastic and had it done and shipped within a week.  I even got to choose the color of the lining (Tiffany blue, of course).  And all for about $40.  Seriously.  That’s my purse to the left.

Then I discovered the Scrabble tile pendant rage.  Seller HomeStudio makes some sweet designs for an sweeter deal — choose any four pendants for $28.  This was the perfect package because I would not have been able to choose between the four I fell in love with.  I have worn the bird pendant a few times since getting them and have gotten several compliments.  And this seller was equally great to work with — when my package arrived postage due they not only reimbursed me the $0.34 due, they refunded the original shipping costs.  It’s pretty rare to get service like that anymore.

Etsy is also a great place to satisfy my cupcake obsession.  I am in love with all things cupcake — wrapping paper, cards, baby onesies and even the real thing on occasion.  I saw that some sellers offer felt cupcakes that can be used as pincushions.  Adorable!  Determined to try this out, I bought a pattern from seller Umecrafts.  I don’t sew, but her instructions were easy and she even offers additional tutorials on her blog.  Again, another great buying experience.  My first pincushion turned out pretty well if I do say so myself.

Etsy is my “happy place.”  A place where creativity and consumerism converge for the ultimate shopping experience.  Check it out and I guarantee that you too will be hooked.

MP

I’m not kidding.

Happy St. Patrick’s Day, everyone!

MP

I love spaghetti.

nataliedee.com

A musical pick-me-up

We have been a little depressed over the live music scene as of late. None of our favorite artists were announcing shows in Milwaukee and we were actually considering traveling to other states just to hit up some good concerts. Then like magic, shows started getting announced and we bought tickets as fast as we could. Here’s our lineup for the next few months:

Brett Dennen – February 24, Milwaukee

Brett Dennen – February 28, Madison

G Love & Special Sauce – April 18, Madison

Flight of the Conchords – May 2, Milwaukee

Yes, Brett Dennen is so awesome that we need to see him twice.    Well, anyway, our blues have been washed away by the fantastic news of these acts coming to town.  What a nice winter pick-me-up!

MP & AP

Decorating tip: Pottery Barn “on the cheap”

I won’t pretend that I’m not flattered.  I have had several friends tell me that they dig my taste when it comes to decorating.  Some have even asked if I would come over and decorate their houses.  I wish they weren’t kidding.  The idea of spending someone else’s money to redecorate an entire room is my idea of the ultimate fantasy.  While I am no professional decorator I have found that friends like my ideas so I have decided to share some of my favorites here on my long-neglected blog.

I get a few catalogs that I like to think of as my own version of porn.  One example is the aforementioned Paper Source catalog.  But paper isn’t the only thing that gets me hot.  Picture me turning a Pottery Barn catalog sideways, carefully eyeing the gorgeous subject of a photograph from every possible angle, mumbling “Oh yeeeeeaaahhh” to myself.  That, my friends, is the life of a home decor junkie.

But let’s be real.  Pottery Barn is generally pricey — some would say overpriced — and I sometimes just can’t bring myself to pay their prices for the objects of my desire.  So I find an alternative or — no surpise here — do it myself.

Take for example these framed photographs that caught my eye this past summer.  Lovely, yes?

But this set of six framed photos will run you around $199 (although I think they’re on sale now).  Since something like this was perfect for the family room I was decorating I decided to create my own framed photos of nature.

While on vacation in Marquette I did some hiking in the woods behind our house, snapping photos of pretty greenery.  I tried to take advantage of the sunlight whenever possible.  I also took some pictures on the beach of Lake Superior.  Back in Waukesha I took some photos of plant life while walking Steve at Minooka Park.  I am not much of a photographer, but when all was said and done I had several great photos to choose from.

I enlarged the photos to 8″x10″ and purchased simple black frames with a white mat from Kohl’s.  A grand total of $40 later, I had my own series of framed photos .  These photos are not only special because they were taken in a place that is important to me, they look pretty darn good on my wall (if I do say so myself).

I would advise that if you decide to do a similar project that you order matte prints.  They look much nicer in a frame.  I neglected to check that box when I ordered these and I couldn’t bear to waste these prints.

Anyway, if this idea floats your boat but you don’t want to wait until spring to take your own photos, feel free use these photos that I took and never used.  And if you love the look of the apothecary jars, go to TJ Maxx or Marshall’s.  They have a wide selection at very reasonable prices.

Happy decorating!

MP

Where does the time go?!

What do a dog’s birthday party,  a trip to Florida,  a Jason Mraz concert,  Thanksgiving and lots of holiday crafting have in common?  They are all things I have been meaning to blog about.  Spare time is hard to come by these days but I will get around to the important posts.  In the meantime I leave you with wishes for a very Happy New Year.  Stay safe!

MP

Steve’s Spot

Steve helped me host a cocktail party this weekend.  By “help” I mean that he streaked through the house like a madman, stopping to accept love and admiration from each guest along the way.  He was a big hit with the ladies because he always dresses to impress and this night was no exception.

mp

Your magnetic photo frame questions answered

Hello!  Here are answers to some questions I have gotten about the magnetic photo frames.  If there are more questions ask away!

1.  What type of marbles do you use?
For the magnets, use the decorative marbles  or “gems” that craft stores sell in the floral section.  One side is flat so they are ideal for making magnets.  You can get them at Jo-Ann and Michaels.  Tip: make sure you use clear marbles — not the kind with the pearly sheen since it will make it hard to see the image below the marble.

2. What kind of magnets/what strength magnets are you using?
I finally found magnets that were strong enough at my local ACE hardware store.  FYI: I was not able to find them at Home Deopt.  They are small, round magnets.  I threw away the packaging so I do not have a brand name for you. 

3. Do you cover the whole piece of metal and how do you adhere the paper?  Did you use a roll paper or just single sheets of scrapbook paper?
Step one with the frames is to wrap them in solid color text weight paper — whatever color matches the patterned paper you use.  An 8 1/2 x 11 sheet of paper will not cover the frame completely but that’s fine – the objective is to cover the sharp edges.  Then I cut the patterned paper to size (usually from a 12 x 12 sheet of scrapbook paper) to cover the front and back.  Sometimes I use a solid color on the back.  Either way, I recommend text weight patterned paper — cardstock tends to be too heavy for the magnets.  I have tried different adhesives with the paper, but for the first layer but what seems to work the best is the glue I use for the marbles – E6000 craft glue.  To adhere the front and back panels I use double-sided tape since I am adhering paper to paper.  The double-sided tape keeps the surface smooth and free of the puckering that glue can sometimes cause.

Tip: If you are making a hanging frame, don’t forget to poke holes through the paper as you adhere the layers so you can keep track of where they are.  Putting the eyelets in later will be tricky otherwise!

MP

Bwah-hahahahaha!