confetti

colleen's candy bar {part 1}

this post has been a long time coming!  i finally sifted through the tons of pictures we took of colleen's candy themed sleepover birthday party and picked out the ones that tell the party story the best.  actually it will be two posts long!  first, i have the invitations and decorations, and then, the activities--and lots of candy all around!  after one of big sister's friends had a "lilly wonka" sleepover that i did the invitation for a couple of years ago, colleen has been determined to have candy as the theme of her first sleepover party.  she loves dylan's candy bar so instead of doing the chocolate/wonka theme, we came up with "colleen's candy bar" and went with a more overall candy land theme.  we still did candy bar birthday invitations, but skipped the golden ticket, making the whole label the invitation.

welcome to colleen's candy bar!  the girls were welcomed by an official sign, foam core/printed lollipops, and...

"plumpy" trees!  (wait 'til you see what else was outside tomorrow!!)

inside, the party table was decorated with a variety of candies, "lollipop stick" straws, and toothbrushes!  most of this was for prizes & party favors.  we got a lot of the fun specialty candy at a cute local candy shop, lucky you!  they even had a small version of the piñata--a sweet keepsake!

there's the full-size piñata--a cute decoration for now, ready to be beaten apart later!  and look at the cute mini candy bins we got from dylan's online, filled with a few of colleen's favorite sugary treats, complete with mini scoops.  the disks in the bucket (also in the big jar on the table) are "flying saucers" from lucky you!  they're flavored wafers filled with sweet and sour sugars and are a huge kid fave--i loved the bright colors they added.

and last, but not least, logo labels on mini water bottles added to the candy store feel--a quick and easy touch!

this was definitely a great theme for decorating--bright colors + candy, candy, and more candy!  we came up with lots to do besided eating candy, too, but you'll have to come back tomorrow for that...

sweet dreams!
:) lexi

meet daisy & more ribbon

i recently purchased a blythe doll.  her name is daisy--isn't she pretty?  i've always loved dolls and this one reminded me of my childhood and just totally sucked me in!  do i really have time for another hobby?!!  anyway, i've been having so much fun attempting to sew clothes, fixing her hair, and setting up little photo shoots--a few new crafty challenges and a great way to practice taking better pictures, especially when i get my new digital slr for my big bday next month.  i figured i'd show her off a little today since this week of the a*muse*a*palooza countdown is all about ribbon and i used a little fabulous a muse stitched ribbon on her outfits in these pics--as a belt on the white dress she arrived in and for straps on the sundress i made.  it really is the perfect ribbon for all kinds of things, not just cards!  if you want to see more pictures of daisy, you can check out my fledgling photostream on flickr.  and to my stamping readers, be sure to "a muse yourself" with stamps and ribbon before tomorrow night for a chance to win free a muse goodies!

:) lexi

it's all about the ribbon!

i've been busy stamping behind the scenes and working on orders lately, but i managed to find time to create a card inspired by ribbon for this week's a*muse*a*palooza challenge #2: ribbon!  as soon as i saw that ribbon was the challenge, i thought of the rooster card i did last summer and wanted to create a new version of it.  i love all a muse ribbon, but since yellow is my favorite color, i'm pretty partial to this one--and it makes such a fun sun!

so have you created with ribbon for the ap challenge #2 yet?  you have until sunday night, so get stamping!  you can also still participate in the badge contest, and play this week's game--how many yards of ribbon?  so much fun as the countdown to a*muse*a*palooza continues...

:) lexi

eat dirt!

david and his dad both requested dirt dessert for father's day this year, so the girls and i delivered.  david helped, too--he likes to lick the bowl!  i lost the metal bucket that i usually use for this in the move, and my flowerpot glasses are still in storage, but i think it came out nicely in this bowl.  like in the glasses, you can see the pretty layers.  the recipe makes quite a bit, so we were able to make a mini "terrarium" for david's dad to save for later...

it's so cute!  and it looks so real!  actually not only do the crushed oreos look like dirt, they kinda feel like it too--but they sure don't taste like it!  yum!!

:) lexi

happy father's day, dad!

my dad loves his harleys.  so when su! introduced the born to ride set way back when, i had to have it.  and every year, i try to think of something different to make with it.  last year, was a piece of art for his garage/showroom, another year was a photo album, and yet another, note cards.  he travels a lot, so i came up with luggage tags this year!  i wanted to keep them simple and include blue since that's his favorite color, and i thought a touch of ribbon would help him spot the luggage even easier.  i hope i can think of something else next year--any ideas??

:) lexi

gator fest

i have a backlog of invites to share, so i thought i'd quickly post one today.  this was for a company retreat and was sent via email.  there's no reason why an e-vite has to be plain and boring.  you can do almost anything you would do on paper--minus the printing, of course!

:) lexi

feeling square!

the countdown to a*muse*a*palooza 2009 is here!  it's the 4th annual of this fun a muse event and i've actually participated every year since surfing into the countown for the very first one.  of course, back then, i never imagined i'd be on the a muse design team!  there will be lots of fun & games over the next few weeks as we get closer to the big party in july.  my favorite is the weekly challenges, so i stole a few minutes today to stamp something for ap challenge #1: square!  having such an open ended challenge was perfect, because i've had this idea forming every time i've walked by my girls on the computer.  they've been playing club penguin quite a bit, and this week is "adventure party" in penguin land.  palm trees, surf boards, and other summer island objects have popped up all over the ice, which made me think of pairing old faves baby penguin and igloo with open palm tree, surfboard, and sun from the recent summer fun release.  and "square" gave me the perfect backdrop--an older square a muse card, with square layers behind the cool summer scene.  i think it's a little cluttered, but as mignon said, so is club penguin!  and since she's the expert on that, i didn't take anything away.  so go play with squares--i can't wait to see the different ideas the a muse fans are sure to come up with.  and don't forget to check back daily for more fun on the a muse news blog--the badge contest and secret squares game are going on now...

have fun!
:) lexi

breakfast at brennan's

we went to brennan's, followed by a walk in the quarter, for our twelfth anniversary today.  yum & fun!  this is our waiter brian preparing the bananas foster.  i snapped the pic at just the right moment--that's one high flame!

cheers!
:) lexi

sweet soft serve

here's one more quick project using the kitschy digitals images.  this time, it's purely digital!  at the same time that I was working on my article for craft critique, a good friend who is moving decided to have a last minute sleepover in their almost empty house for her girls who were both in my girls' classes at school.  i offered to help send out the email since she was busy with orchestrating the movers, etc.  and of course, i couldn't just send out a plain jane email!  so, with kitschy still on the brain & ten minutes later, i had a cute completely digital email invite to pass on--gotta love easy & cute!! don't forget to leave a comment on my article and any of the other spotlight articles by friday night for a chance to win your own kitschy kit...

:) lexi

kitschy digitals ~ craft critique

so posting every day right away was a little ambitious!  yesterday ended up being pretty hectic, but i'm back today with a card from the new craft critique article i was working on.  the article is part of a vendor spotlight on kitschy digitals by danielle thompson.  kitschy digitals offers "digital kits, paper goods & embroidery patterns for the kitsch-lover in you."  really cute, fun images and papers that you can use in digital layouts, or print and use on other projects.  and since it's digital, you can do all that as many times as you want.  the soft serve and green bubble talk paper in this card are two of my faves, especially when paired with "you make life sweet" from a muse.  bright, kitschy fun!  click here to read my article and see more cute pics and here to look through the whole vendor spotlight--and be sure to leave a comment over there for a chance at free kitschy digi fun!  if you've ever wanted to try digital scrapping or designing, these kits would be a fun way to start.

enjoy!
:) lexi

iron on tshirt transfers ~ craft critique

we're back!  it was a fun week at the beach, but i'm glad to be home.  i've had quite a bit of catch up the past two days, wrapping up an invitation/party order and working on an article for craft critique.  that article will post some time this week, but i also had another one posted while we were gone.  internet access was hit or miss, and i was only able to write once, so i thought i'd share the link today in case you missed it.  i love to make personalized tshirts for the various parties i do, so the wilton ink jet tshirt transfers i use were the perfect product to review--click here to read all about it.  i even stamped a couple of the new a muse critters from the summer fun release on a transfer scrap for a very special alligator shirt!!  i still have a long list of fun stuff to share from my busy last month of school, so i hope to be back daily now that i'm home.  no guarantees, though--summer does have a way of messing with the schedule...

'nite!
:) lexi

school's out for summer!

i'm away from my desk for a few days of summer fun in the sand and sun, but i'll be back to stamping & designing soon!

:) lexi