a fiesta!!!

 

We had a fiesta this weekend.....luckily the rain held off for about an hour during the party so that we could enjoy the fun.  This was the invitation. I added confetti to each envelope to make it even better!

Guests were greeted by a large sign telling them to "take a stache & smile." They then got their pictures taken. I hung a large sheet across our shed and snapped pictures when each guest arrived. I emailed each of them a copy of their picture.  (unfortunately it rained and smeared my sign and I quickly had to rewrite it before guests arrived...sorry so sloppy. I guess you can't have everything perfect...)

I made these paper tissue pom poms using Martha Stewart's simple instructions. I borrowed a sombrero from a lady in my neighborhood. And I made the paper mustaches using a silhouette and bamboo skewers. Super fun!

These are a few of my favorite guest photos...

Me and my husband, Chris.

Tom & Judy (our neighbors---and may I add the best neighbors in the world!!!) He's the one that helped us build our deck and fence and put in pavers! Amazing!

Kyle and Maribah (my husband's cousin's cousin---true story. She's also my massage therapist.)

 

These are my sisters, Rose and Penny. Isn't it so funny how short Penny is? She's 5'3" and I'm 6'1". We call her Penny little for a good reason!!! And I know, we look nothing alike... 

My sister, Penny and her husband.

Isn't she so photogenic, I love it!

More great faces! 

Here's the delicious food. Most of the recipes are from the cookbook from Our Best Bites. Their recipes are divine!!! Chris and I spent 3 hours rolling the taquitos the night before and froze them. We made a total of 60 of those babies....Chipotle Beef Taquitos and Creamy Baked Chicken Taquitos. Then we had 4 different kinds of salsa, one of them being pineapple salsa. Yum!  

 

I also made cilantro lime rice with crushed pineapple and margarita cupcakes (non-alcoholic, as the sign says....)

 This is the cake which everyone told me was super moist and delicious. The secret is get a recipe that calls for a pudding mix in it. I used a chocolate chip one from the Cake Doctor. I didn't get a piece...it went so fast.

 

Here's my hot husband getting ready to blow out his pretend lit candles (there was too much wind).

 

 

And here he is taking a swing at the piñata. I let them use my broom stick handle, which eventually bent in half. (I secretly wanted it to break so I had an excuse to get a new one.....)

This is a banner I made out of Dollar Store table cloths and the silhouette. I'll post a tutorial later this week (I hope, no guarantees.)

These were the party favors. Super simple. I'm hoping to post the tutorial on these too. I just designed the tag and then used the silhouette to cut them out. Attached them with multi-colored raffia ribbon from World Market and the little pots were from a local craft store. I got all of the starters for the hens & chicks from a friend in the neighborhood.

Come back later in the week to get free downloads for these cute favor tags & the banner to use with your silhouette! That is, if I can figure out how to make it work with a PC...I use a Mac, so we'll see.

free printable mother's day card & last minute bouquet

If you're looking for a last minute mother's day card and gift idea, you've found the right place. Show Mom you love her with this cute bouquet of tissue paper flower pom-poms.

First, you'll want to download the FREE Mother's Day card here {right click to download}. This card is for personal use only and may not be resold. Print out the Card and right a sentimental message inside. The pdf includes four different pages. One has a blank card with just flowers, one says "to my GRANDMOTHER", one says "to my MOTHER", and the last one says "to my MUM". Print which ever page you like.

Then, you will need to make the tissue paper flowers, but not finish them. (That's what your Mom gets to do).

I used the tutorial from Martha Stewart and just changed a few things.

Instructions:
1. Stack four pieces of tissue paper on top of eachother.
2. Cut out 10x5" rectangles.
3. Make 3/8-inch-wide accordion folds.
4. Wrap twisty tie around center.
5. Cut ends of tissue paper to be either rounded or pointy.

This is what your tissue paper flower should look like when you send it in the mail. You will want to mail it flat.





Then, print out this tutorial card here {right click to download}. Which is also FREE and for personal use only. Put the tutorial card in the envelope, along with the tissue paper flowers and FREE card!

Now you have an easy, quick last minute idea for Mother's Day, and the best part is....well, you decide!

knit fabric flower tutorial & a wreath

My friend asked if I would help her to make a Spring wreath. She sent me a link to this wreath . I found it very cute and it gave me some ideas of what I'd like to do for my own wreath.

I wanted to use a foam wreath shape from my local craft store, but it was super expensive, so I turned to the dollar store. I found a willow wreath that I knew would work out great.

KNIT FLOWER TUTORIAL
I saw something similar to these knit strip florals at Target the other day and decided to give it a try myself. Here are the steps to this super simple floral.



1. Cut strips of knit fabric, about 1/2 inch in width. I used an old tank top.
2. Pull the knit strips length-wise, so that they curl.
3. Cut strips into 4 inches in length.
4. Layer on top of each other in flower shape.
5. Using needle and thread sew strips together in center. You can stop here and sew on a shirt or something, but I decided to take it one step further.
6. Wrap thread around all of the strips so that they flare out.

I used a few other tutorials for my flowers to make the wreath come together.
felt flower , loopy felt flower , rolled fabric flower , fabric yo yo's (I added a button to the middle of mine), and for the leafs I used this tutorial again.

fiesta party invitation sneak peek

My husband is turning 30 this year. I know, so hard to believe. To celebrate I've decided to throw him a FIESTA!!! I first did a little research online in search of great ideas. I knew that the invitation would be the precursor for everything else, so I wanted to make them fun. Here is the inspiration.....






















1. boden, 2. mexican sugar skull banner, 3. invitation via style me pretty, 4. amols party banner,
5. fiesta invitation via the sweetest occasion

In order to make them a little more unique I added some confetti. I just used my 3 hole punch to cut out circles from colored paper. I'm trying to do this party as festive and as cheap as I possibly can. I already scored some great party decorations at my local thrift store, and I'm going to be making a lot of the decorations and food myself, which will help to save some money.

I'll make sure to post some more pictures after the party!

black & white design contest

This is just another design for Spoonflower .

rolled fabric flower button

So, I couldn't find any buttons that I liked for Char's Easter dress, so I decided to make some cute rolled fabric flowers to go on an existing button. The tutorial is below. Super simple...

I started by using this tutorial for rolled fabric flowers. Cut a one inch strip, fray one side, and iron in half (length-wise).





Glue the rolled fabric flower onto a loop button (it has to have a loop, or else this won't be able to sew the button onto anything).



 

 Continue to glue the fabric all the way around the button, twisting the fabric as you go.



Glue the fabric onto the back of the button, making sure NOT to glue the inside of the loop on the button.

Here's the finished flower. You can see the loop on the back of the button.

Then, sew the button onto your project. In this case, mine is my daughter's Easter dress.

Here's the finished dress. I'll make sure to take pictures of Char in it on Sunday and post them next week!

I also made a matching bow. So cute!

giveaway winner!!!

The winner of the giveaway is Jenette who said... "I voted! Very cute!"

Congrats Jenette and thanks everyone for voting for me! I didn't make the top 10, but that's ok.....it was a good experience.