design. wash. rinse. repeat.

freebie:: bb8 valentine

This year my kiddos are absolutely obsessed with all things Star Wars (who isn't?!). So I naturally assumed we would use my old Yoda Best Valentine design again this year. Ohhhhh, how silly of me to think life could be that easy! With less than 24 hours until her school Valentine party my littles announced she wanted a bb8 Valentine. & it better be pink. so, one mini panic, one cute tagline (provided by my 10 year old), and a few hours of hard work later... voila. mission accomplished. kindof. she's now wanting a different saying! spoiled. for now, this is what we're going with. Hopefully it comes in handy for someone else as well.

 

freebie :: paper dolls!

Friends! I'm so excited to share with you one of my latest projects. The good peeps at modify ink recently commissioned me to illustrate a paper doll set to be given as a free download, and the finished product launched earlier today! The beauty of their addicting web app is that you can easily customize these little cuties to be whatever colors and/or patterns you want.

My sweet littles could seriously spend hours doing this. HOURS! Needless to say, they are in heaven.

Follow THIS LINK to  start customizing your own Paper Doll & get your free download! & enjoy!

{note: a bit of art direction credit definitely goes out to my littles... they were freely expressing their strong opinions, otherwise this doll would've had short hair! & their obsession with all things mermaid certainly influenced the inclusion of a mermaid tail.}

april fools day shenanigans!

Thrilled my littles at lunch today with mixed up treats for April Fool's. This simple, silly fun idea was once again adapted from my genius sister-in-law (let's all hope she gets a blog one day). I took some of my kids favorite treats and swapped the packages around so everything they opened up was "wrong". The Oreos were carrots, the fruit snacks were Goldfish, the Goldfish were Oreos, and the carefully hollowed out clementine was filled with fruit snacks! We even "fooled" the elementary school teachers!

I've had "how to" requests, but it's really super easy:

1:: Using an Xacto (or scissors), carefully slice along the back bottom edge of the package.

2:: Swap out the contents for something entirely different.

3:: Re-seal using a thin strip of packing tape (because it's ultra clear, and shiny like the package).

It's amazing how hard it is to spot unless you're looking for it. April Fool's Day is truly growing on me... if you have any genius ideas I should try next year leave a message in the comments!!

birthday bulletin board {the sequel}

A quick post just to prove i'm still alive! ;) The other day, while assembling the February birthday bulletin board for our elementary school it dawned on me that this design had yet to be posted. Since February's looks so pink and festive i decided to share.

Last year's "All Star" theme is still my fave, but the circles fit our schools new "United" theme, and most importantly, they are SIMPLE!!  The two "chalkboard" signs were created using black foam core and chalk paint (plus a dash of glitter, because glitter makes everything exciting to elementary school students!). Each month i switch up the colors & patterns of the circles to reflect the time of year and/or holidays, so the cost is just a few sheets of scrapbook paper each month. easy peasy.

I'm actually loving the use of foam core for quick fake chalkboards, and have been doing that for teacher birthday signs this year as well. However not all chalkboard paint pens show up well on the foam core since it's a bit porous, so be warned. (i've been using these Pentel chalk pens and they're great!). Along with the sign for our teacher's birthdays, each kid in the class made a card to put in a basket full of the teacher's favorite things (diet coke! chocolate, hand cream, etc...). 

drag racing illustration

last fall i was asked to design a hoodie and a hat to commemorate the 40th anniversary of Dan Richins and his Iron Horse crew's impressive race into The Cragar 5 Second Club. kindof fun to play around with something a little less girlie for once! plus i got to reference the 70's for a little inspiration! hot!

snow snow go away

this snowy afternoon has me seriously missing the sun and strawberries of last months trip to San Diego!

chalk art

chalked up this Wine Pull sign for a fundraiser my friend was planning recently. good times!

then a few days later, in literal design.wash.rinse.repeat mode, i created a second sign (for my friend's birthday bash featuring a private show by the awesome Honey Pine!) which used the original layout as a springboard. (Beehive illustration based on Honey Pine cover art by the talented Bob Moss.) & hallelujah, I've recently discovered that black foam core is a quick and easy substitute for a "real" chalkboard whenever i find myself with a chalk art emergency!

fantastic miss fox the valentine box

Last year, my littles wanted to make a fox for her class Valentine box (she appears to have a wild animal theme going!). She treasured it so much that a year later it's still hanging around in her bedroom, much to my chagrin. <sigh> Since foxes randomly seem to be all the rage right now (no thanks to a certain annoying song), I thought I would post this idea with a quick How-To.

and now for a gratuitous photo of my little fox lover in her adorable crewcuts fox shirt and h&m faux fox stole. oh the cuteness ;) 

backyard wedding

On a sunny afternoon this past July, my husband and I played hosts to the wedding of our nephew and his lovely bride. After the invitations were sent, their main request for the big day was a massive chalkboard backdrop for the ceremony. As a HUGE fan of Dana Tanamachi (who isn't?!) I was excited to give it a try. Since her skill far exceeds mine, I resorted to designing my lettering on the computer, and then with the help of a projector and my ever-so-patient mother we reproduced the lettering at full scale.

While we were at it, we also created a few smaller chalkboards to scatter throughout the yard. 

At the time I was completely obsessed with the gorgeous tassel garlands from Confetti Systems, but being that we were on a tight budget and under a time crunch I drew upon my crafting skills (and semi obnoxious superpower that allows me to stay up all night working) and created well over a hundred of these festive little bitties (great tutorial to be found on Linen Lace & Love). A tedious task, but I love the party atmosephere they instantly create!

Two large tents helped transform our simple backyard, giving us much needed shade, as well as a place to hang globe lights, ribbons, colorful lanterns, and tassels. The wedding favors were a simple little envelope full of mints, with an attached tag designed to match the invitations and chalkboards.

beautiful couple, beautiful day!

 

freebie :: bake shoppe kids aprons

At long last here here is the third and final chapter of the Bake Shoppe Birthday posts. Aprons. I knew I wanted to make these for the party, but I did not know it would be nearly impossible to find a decent pattern. So with the help of my patient Mother we took matters into our own hands and I sketched up a design. With 2 parties in the works, they had to be simple enough that we could make about 20 (without wanting to kill ourselves!), yet cool enough to satisfy the designer in me. I think we struck a great balance. Oilcloth fabric worked perfectly for the base, and trimming with bias tape and ric rac gave them a finished look, while also eliminating the need for hemming (other than the top of the girls pockets). For the girls we added a sweet scallop bottom and two pockets trimmed with ric rac. For the boys we did one larger pocket and kept the bottom straight. The oversize pattern is too big for a printable download, so instead i've provided the sketch with measurements and supply lists so that anyone interested can hopefully replicate the idea relatively easily. Just give me a shout if you have questions, & happy sewing!

{ Check out the rest of the party HERE. & the freebie invite printable download HERE. }