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Here are some fun posts I did for Spoonful this week...

Graduation cap pops are simple to make and very fun to eat, too!

Get some great ideas on how to throw a golf themed party for Father's Day!

This sparkling strawberry ginger lemonade recipe is so refreshing and delicious!

 For more party planning inspiration, check out all my posts on Spoonful!

Here are some fun posts I did for Spoonful this week...

These bright party ideas will help you and your guests have a Sunshiney day!

A colorful drink umbrella wreath is easier to make than you think!

Many boys love motorcycles, so why not throw a motorcycle party?

For more party planning inspiration, check out all my posts on Spoonful!

Here are some fun posts I did for Spoonful this week...

This Vanilla Sugar Scrub is simple to make and it smells amazing!  Perfect Mother's Day gift!

Want to throw a fun Monster party? This post has lots of great ideas!

Check out these 13 great graduation party ideas, plus FREE printables!

For more party planning inspiration, check out all my posts on Spoonful!

Have you ever wanted to design your own party printables, but didn't know where to start? Well, Beth Picard of My Friend Beth and Great Graphics, put together this video to show how simple it is to design a banner. And the best part is you get to create it exactly as you like! 

Hi, I'm Beth, and in this video I will show you a quick and easy way to make a banner. To do this, all you need is Photoshop Elements (version 10 or 11). If you don't have Elements, you can download a free trial from Adobe.

There are two ways you can change your pennant letters. You can save each page you make with 2 flags on it by going to "File: Save As" and choosing where to save it, and name it something like "Banner 1."

Or you can print out your banner pages as you go. If you print as you go, you can simply change the letters right on the two pennants you have, by highlighting the text (it still works when it is sideways), and just changing the letters.  I suggest saving each page, however, because if something doesn't print out correctly, you may want to redo it later.

What's so fun about creating your own printables is the possibilities for creativity are endless!

Here are some sample banners people have made using this same technique.

Fiesta Banner by Bella Grey Designs

Football banner by Church Hill Charm

Under the Sea Banner by Pink Wasabi Ink

Thanks, Beth, for this easy-to-understand tutorial. I definitely get intimidated by graphic design (although I'm getting braver) so thanks for breaking it down and making it look so easy!

Beth Picard teaches people how to use digital paper and clip art through her Photoshop Elements tutorials on her membership site, My Friend Beth.  She also sells digital paper backgrounds and digital clip art for invitations, party decorations and other crafts on Great Graphics.

 

Melissa Newell from My Party Passion, is here with this easy Earth Day DIY. Look for her Earth Day Party on a Budget post tomorrow!

Happy Spring!  The flowers are blooming, the trees are alive, and the snow is still in melting mode (hehe).  Regardless of the weather, April is HERE and there is no going back!  I am excited that Earth Day is fast approaching. We always have a great time learning about our planet and what we can do to help preserve it.

TODAY, I am bringing you a tutorial on how I made our Earth Day banner for this year’s celebration -  using recycled maps.

Our public library holds a “used book sale” twice a year.  Books, to our home, are like GOLD!  A few sales ago, I found this HUGE hardcover Atlas with pretty maps in it for $ 1.00!   SCORE!   I knew that I would use them for our schooling in years to come.

diy-earth-day-banner

When I was thinking on what colors and “theme” to go with for Earth Day this year, I decided blues, greens and whites (typical Earth colors) and what better way to incorporate those colors then to use MAPS!

Using my Circle Cutter (Martha Stewart brand), I picked a few maps that would show off  vibrant colors in hues of blues and greens (even snuck in some browns).

Cutting 7 inch circles out – using them for the base of the banner.

Next I found some scrap cream paper to use for the 2^nd layer of the banner.

Cutting – 6.5 inch circles from this paper.

earth-day-party-banner-diy

For the next layer, I enlisted the help of my Silhouette SD Machine (one of my party planning staples)!   I cut the word EARTH and some leaves for embellishment.

Layering these elements, gluing them all together and using some curling ribbon to tie it all together…

Here is the final product!

I bought nothing at the store and used all scrap and materials we already had. My daughter helped and we love the final results!

Be watching for our Earth Day Mini Party on a budget coming tomorrow!   Until next time  - Party On and Protect the Earth!

To learn more about Melissa, visit her at My Party Passion.

Talk about creative! Nicole from Tikkido and Tradewind Tiaras is back with this ingenious DIY as a way to help you bring a little romance back into your relationship! 

Picnic season is nearly upon us. One of my favorite easy "date nights" with my husband is to walk with the family to a nearby park, set up a picnic blanket, and enjoy dinner and conversation and a glass of wine as the girls play on the playground.  It's nice to get a little bit of romance and quiet adult time, even when we don't have a babysitter.

Materials:

• Heavy Duty Pliers (I use lineman's pliers)
• Thick bamboo skewer
• Floral grapevine wire
• hot glue gun
• silk flowers (optional)

 

Directions: 

First, cut a 30" length of the grapevine wire (available in the craft department of major craft stores).  Bend 8 to 9 inches back over itself, and twist to create a double-strong length of wire at one end.  Leave about an inch of the wire sticking out like a tail.  Wrap the single-thickness portion of the wire tightly around the bamboo skewer, starting at the non-pointy end (you want to leave the pointy end free to push into the grass).

Coil the double-thickness portion of wire into an open C shape that gets wider as it spirals upwards so the wine glass can sit nicely in it.

The wire should be pretty secure already, but I give it a little extra permanence with my hot glue gun.  Embellish with a few silk flowers, if desired.

These wine glass holders take only a few minutes to make, and are such a wonderful tool to use on a picnic.  What's your favorite way to bring a little romance to an average evening?

My way, Nicole, is for my husband and I to ask each other what made our day special and really listen.

 

I'm a huge fan of Laura's Little Party. She makes the most original treats and throws the most gorgeous parties!

Here's a photo of some marshmallow pops she made for her Hoppy Easter Party. If you'd like to make some yourself, check out this decorated marshmallow pop tutorial I did on Spoonful.

 

I love fresh flowers! Having them in my house makes me sooooo happy! And now that all the spring flowers are blooming, I thought I'd make a pretty vase so I can have a great  way to display them (like the tulips that are exploding around me). The vase was so simple to do, it took about 15 minutes, and I love how it turns out!

SUPPLIES:

• Glass vase
• Rubber bands
• Spray paint -- I used frosted and glitter
• Newspaper

Place rubber bands around the glass vase.

Stuff with newspaper so you don't get the spray paint inside the vase.

Spray with the frosted paint first (I did 3 coats, waiting 10 minutes between coats),. Then add a light spray of glitter. To finish add another coat of frosted paint. The frost really comes out when the paint dries.

Let dry overnight. Remove rubber bands. Scrape off any extra paint that might have gotten under the rubber bands. Here's Lainey after I took the rubber bands off, super excited about the new vase.

I put in some gorgeous tulips and look how pretty!

I made this plastic Easter egg garland as a decoration for my Arts & Crafts Easter table. It was so easy to make! To see the whole tutorial, check out my post on Spoonful!

Nicole from Tikkido and Tradewind Tiaras is back with a great DIY for spring -- real leaf placemats! 

Years ago, I went to a wedding. A huge, amazing, extremely expensive, extraordinarily beautiful wedding. A food-we're-still-talking-about-13-years-later, $30k-just-on-the-favors wedding.  Everything at this wedding was perfect, including the flowers.

In particular, I've never forgotten the gorgeous tablecloth made entirely of real leaves that covered the cake table.  So lush, so natural, yet so elegant!  I've always wanted to duplicate that look--though on a smaller, more doable scale.  And so, with warm spring breezes on the air and fresh leaves on the trees, I figured out how to bring a little bit of that floral magic to my own home.

Materials:

• Leaves
• Paper towels
• Glue gun

1)  Gather a big pile of leaves, whatever is fresh and abundant in your yard.  Here in Phoenix, that meant lemon tree leaves.  But this would work with absolutely any type of leaf.  The larger the leaf, the less gluing you'll have to do, however!

2) Tear off a length of paper towels to the size you want your placemat/table runner to be.  You can also use scissors to trim the paper towels into any shape.  I particularly like circle-shaped leaf chargers under plates.

3)  Use the glue gun to glue the leaves to the paper towel, overlapping the leaves so that no paper shows through.

That's it!  Fast, easy, dramatic, inexpensive. Just the kind of craft I love!

Thank you, Nicole, these would be perfect on a spring Easter table!