Halloween Cupcake Idea

I am in love with these Cupcake Liner Witch Hats by Carrie of Half Baked .
Her creativity makes me swoon! Check out her tutorial for the cuties here. There is lots of sweet eye candy over at Half Baked so be sure to browse a bit.

Zoku Quick Pop Maker

We love making our own popsicles at our house, but my kids usually drive me crazy waiting for them to freeze. Are they ready yet? Are they ready yet? Are they ready yeeeeeet?? You get it, right?! Well goodbye whining, and helllllllo Zoku! This nifty gadget makes popsicles in 7-9 minutes. Amazing! And, the recipes sound quite delicious...marble cheesecake, key lime pie, and just peachy, to name a few. You can purchase the Zoku Quick Pop Maker here at the Zoku store or here at Williams-Sonoma.

DIY Fourth of July Decorations

Happy Fourth of July weekend! Here are some last minute, super easy DIY decorations from BHG. I love that these can all be created with basic supplies, some that you probably already have hanging around your house. Have a fantastic holiday weekend!!


Simply hand cut or use a crafting tool such as cricut to make a banner

Use red sand or small red beads to add a pop of color to small votive or hurricane vases

Slip colored lanterns over a glass for an instant vase

Star candy pieces attached to a plain white plate or tray with FROSTING

Pinwheels in rustic cans

Glue ribbon or raffia to paper lanterns

Grass, baseballs, and colored croquet balls help create this all American centerpiece

4th of July colored candies displayed in various containers

For more ideas and details head here.

Handprint Snowmen Ornaments

Have you heard about the 3 crafty sisters from Eighteen25? They have the best DIY projects and this handprint snowmen ornament is no exception. I love keepsake crafts that involve handprints, footprints or fingerprints. They are dear to the heart and for me those are the best ones! Check out the girls DIY instructions here.
I think these little cuties would also be adorable tied to presents for grandparents!

Children's Party Hats

I don't know about you, but for me a child's birthday party just isn't complete without party hats. It brings back fond memories of my cousins and I lined up with our party hats on after playing pin the tail on the donkey eagerly waiting to dive into my mom's homemade cakes { I'll have to dig out and share those pics another time! } Anyways, I love what people are doing with party hats these days. There are so many ways to customize them and truly make them your own. Such Pretty Things has a step by step tutorial you can view here and here are some ideas to get you going. If your short on time or if crafting isn't your thing there are plenty of Etsy shops to help you out, I just picked some of my favorites.

{ Image } How Does She.com

{ Image } Love and Kate via Celebrations at Home

{ Image } Stylish Celebrations Etsy

{ Image } Mary Had a Little Party Etsy

{ Image } Mary Had a Little Party Etsy

Image { Baby Boyd Blog }

These are the hats I made for Parker's ONE - Hundred Acre Woods Party

These I made for my son Connor's Carnival Party ( someday I will get around to organizing the pictures for a post ). Let me know if you give them a try!

Relay for Life Gift Basket

This Saturday I am participating in my 4th American Cancer Society Relay for Life. Relay for life is a 24 hour long fundraiser where teams of people camp out at schools, fairgrounds, and parks across the country, taking turns walking around the track or path. It offers people a chance to celebrate the people who have battled cancer, remember loved ones lost, and fight back against the disease. I relay to celebrate and support my Aunt Tammy who was diagnosed with leiomyosarcoma 5 years ago and continues fighting it to this day, to honor my sister in law Jill who is a cancer survivor, and to support my friend and former co - worker Rachelle who is a breast cancer survivor.

Each year I make a gift basket to be raffled off by our team. Last year I did a summer entertaining basket that included 2 tickets to the water slides.




This year I put together a Reno Aces basket complete with tickets to see the Aces in action. I found the perfect metal tub at Wal Mart. I was thrilled that the colors matched perfectly, but I really wanted it to have the Aces logo on it. After a little thought I came up with the idea to paint a white square on it and attach a clear Aces decal sticker to the square. Perfect! On the $1 aisle at Michael's I found red cow bell's which I thought would make great noise makers at the game. I added some ribbon to the top of them and painted baseball's on the front. I was very happy with how it turned out! { my apologies for the pitiful grainy pics }

You can find out more about Relay for Life or to find events in your area click here.

DIY PVC Water Playset

So, I know my blog is primarily centered around parties and occasionally children's interior design, but every once in a while I come across something that is too cute to pass up. Look how cute this DIY water play set is from Family Fun. It's constructed out of PVC and dressed up with some awesome details. It can be made with a few basic tools and costs only around $30!!! You can view the instructions plus a PVC guide here. My boy's would LOVE this. My husband is going to be sooo happy I have another project for him ;). Have a great weekend! Tracy

While checking out one of my favorites blogs today Stemparties I came across this Genius project. Amy always has great features and crafty projects! I couldn't help but repost this. I love this project for two reasons... 1. I am obsessed with servewear and 2. I love the Dollar Store.
Just look at what these trays were turned into. Visit Stemparties for the link to the how to's.


VOILA!!!

Seriously considering abandoning the laundry and dishes and heading to the dollar store!