"Pin"spired~Wizard of Oz

I had pinned this quote/photo on Pinterest a while back and as I was cleaning out my pins I rediscovered it and thought it was so perfect to print out and frame it for my daughter as a surprise.

I realized as I was going through my paper stash that I had the perfect glitter paper .  It is 5x7 from the Heidi Swapp Oh What Fun line.  I like it because it is sturdy unlike some of the other glitter papers I have collected.

I cut 2 pieces of white cardstock to figure out which border looked best--one with a 1/2 inch border and one with a 1/4 inch border.  Without the frame, I thought the 1/2 inch white border (second photo) looked great, but once I put it in the frame, I realized the frame takes a bit of the 5x7 size away and the 1/4 inch is what I used.

At Hobby Lobby, I was looking for a black frame, but I didn't want anything too flourishy and didn't find what I had in mind...so I bought a white frame and I am so glad that I did.

I just love the way this turned out and I hope she loves it too--even though she is nearly 21, she is still my little girl :D

**I don't think this is a direct quote from the movie/book (kinda like "Luke, I am your father" isn't the real quote from Star Wars--haha).  It is more behind what is implied by Glinda's quote in the movie.

Thank you for looking.

Vintage Crocheted Coaster

After a brief hiatus from crocheting (for no reason other than to focus on scrapbooking), I finally crocheted a coaster for myself to use in my craft room.

I found this vintage pattern (via Pinterest), so I thought I would give it a go.

It was fun (and easy) to make and it will save my table from those dreaded cup rings.  I swore I'd never make doilies or any type of cozies (well except for coffee cup cozies), so if I ever make a cozy for the toilet paper rolls, please put me in a home :D

Thanks for looking.

I am a crochet Minion :)

Early in October, my co-worker told me her daughter wanted them to all dress up as Minions from the movie Despicable Me (and Despicable Me 2).  I told her to look on Pinterest for all the cool ideas.  As we were browsing, I mentioned I could totally make the crochet hats we seen.  So I was "hired" to do the job (hired as in I only charge for materials--hey I am already just sitting there watching tv, might as well be crocheting something :D then she surprised me with a Starbucks gift card and lunch--woo hoo!).

I made 2 children's hats with detachable goggles (patterns are linked).  I only use the goggles pattern as a guide though.  I actually used pipecleaners as the base of the eye part to make it a bit sturdier.  Also, I used elastic in the back so that they would be a little less prone to fall off their heads.

They looked exactly the same--so I won't post them both :)

Then I made this adult hat with arms for my co-worker.  When I showed my son the pattern, he told me that I would not be able to do it--Challenged Accepted (totally got that phrase from How I Met Your Mother).  In the end she opted to not have the mouth, but still wanted the arms.

Then I made a men's hat and small teen hat out of the same pattern.  I used a combination of patterns to put this one together.

And finally, I made a slouchy hats for the teen.  I used a pattern I found via Ravelry.  

Edited to add:  But then she wanted it a bit more slouchier and the eyes connected, so I changed the above to this

My co-worker wanted me to make the eyes to be "rolled" eyes like most teens do on a daily basis :)

All the "hair" is made from black pipecleaners.  I could have used yarn, but my co-worker gave me this better alternative idea.

They were a hit!  They got compliments all night and both of the kids teachers wanted one.  Since I had extra yellow yarn, I made her two more hats for the teachers :D  (A total of 8 minion hats!--that is more than 1/2 the kids that came to my house for candy this year--ha ha ha...we got 13 trick-or-treaters.)

I have only watched the first movie...maybe when I am not tired of looking at minions anymore I will watch the second movie :)

Pumpkin French Toast Bake--Pinterest Recipe

I pin lots of recipes on Pinterest...I mean with photos like this, who wouldn't?

But it is rare that I actually make the recipes I pin--Mostly because I don't cook very well.  Baking is another thing though :)  Before I had kids, I baked all the time for my extended family and for my now husband (he still complains every once in awhile that I don't make him white chocolate chip cookies anymore).  

So I finally decided to take a stab at this recipe because I LOVE pumpkin bread and french toast, so why not combine them?  I know technically it isn't Fall yet, but close enough...Pumpkin everything is everywhere!

Sometimes when you click the pictures on Pinterest, it turns out to be just a picture, but luckily this one was linked to the actual recipe from The Minimalist Baker.  I used almond milk and I didn't have any pumpkin butter so I used pumpkin puree doubled the vanilla, pumpkin spice, and brown sugar, plus I added a few dashes of ginger and cloves.

(letting it set overnight)

I just used regular white bread.  If I like raisins in my food, I would have loved to try cinnamon raisin bread.  

The result (I didn't use any nuts because I don't care for nuts in my food either--ha ha ha):

ok...it looks wet which the recipe says to bake until no longer wet...but this picture was taken after transporting it to work under foil--so it is just the condensation--I promise you.  Why did I take it to work?  My husband doesn't like French Toast and my son doesn't like Pumpkin...I know, right?

This was at the end of the day.  It wasn't as sweet as I had hoped it would be, but everyone told me it was good (I hoped the 5-6 of 10 people in my office that tasted it really liked it and weren't just being nice :D )

Would I make it again?  Probably not, because my family wouldn't enjoy it.  But it would be cool to try with either pumpkin butter or more sugar in the bake so syrup wouldn't have to be added.

I can't wait to try out more pumpkin recipes this fall.  With my daughter off at college and my husband taking some classes twice a week (plus off watching football on Sundays), I have some extra time to be creative.

Graduation/18th Birthday Beach Themed Party

I wanted to share my Pinterest inspired Graduation/18th Birthday Beach themed party.

**PSA--if you decide to blog about something that inspired you via Pinterest, do not delete the board until you blog about it!!  I deleted my "graduation party" board on Pinterest so I had find all my inspiration all over again and some weren't found :(  Oops

For some reason, I was adamant that the party was a California Beach theme and not a Luau theme...I think it worked out :)

Let's begin with the invitations I made.  I found this inspiration via Pinterest for the invitations.  I was all ready to spend the weekend cutting out sandals and making the invitations...but then I texted my husband and told him that I "needed" to buy a new Cricut cartridge--Life is a Beach.  I am so glad that my local Joann's had it on sale and it was in stock.  It made my life so much easier.  

Using Cricut Craft Room, I was able to make the sandal fatter and shorter than just cutting it from the cartridge.  I also used the Fleur de Lys from the Teresa Collins Sophisticated Cartridge and added bling to the sandal.

From the beginning, I knew I wanted to use buckets to put the chips and snacks in and I did...I just forgot to take a picture!!!

Here is the gift table which I placed a bucket on for cards.

My daughter decorated the tables.

We used spray glue to keep the sand and glitter down onto the table.

Also found via Pinterest was the photo display...for the life of me, I cannot find the idea on Pinterest or anywhere on the internet!  I had a bunch of ideas in mind, but when I ran across one that used fisherman net, I knew I had to do that.  I wish I would have just gone with the heavier duty brown net instead of 2 of the flimsy blue nets though.  I spray painted clothes pins from the dollar store orange.  I wanted to use something (paperclips perhaps) that looked like fishing hooks, but the idea was vetoed by  my husband and 2 kids :/

It came out cute though.  The photos were a bit time consuming though.  I could have just printed 3 1/2 by 3 1/2 photos (or cut them to fit) and pasted onto white cardstock and wrote the events and dates.  But instead, I used Photoshop and had them printed on 4x6 photo paper then cut a strip off the bottom to look like Polaroids.  

Here is a close up of one of the 4x6 pictures I had printed.

I did not make the cake, but I found a bunch of good ideas on Pinterest.  Of course they have the multi layered cakes with fondant, but I just wanted a sheet cake.  We went to Peter's Bakery in San Jose...one of our favorite bakeries.

I was a little scared that it wouldn't come out just like I had envisioned, but it did!!  I took four photos to  them (This one, this one, and this one.  There was one more, but of course I can't find it!!)  I did find this one on Pinterest, but I wasn't interested in the dead body washing up onto shore look!  I know someone really tried their hardest, but they could have gotten a tan looking doll instead of an alabaster looking one.  But not this bikini wearing Barbie because this one is just plain wrong...gross!!!

I was so happy when the lady taking my order asked "but not Luau theme?" without me even telling her!! :D  I did have to go back and let them know I wanted Orange and Blue though (school colors) and I was afraid the second lady wouldn't know what the heck I was talking about.

It was perfect!  The "sand" was a bit sweet though, but it looked so real.  My cousin's 4 year-old wanted us to take off the sand...she opted for the water--poor girl will be tormented the rest of her life that there was sand on a cake--ha ha ha.  It was pretty cute.

Now for the not so great.  I wanted to do a PhotoBooth.  I had been collecting items for ever!  But with so much going on I was going to ditch it.  But my daughter really wanted it and told me the day before she already told her friends.  During the party, I got a sheet and did a sad version of a photo booth.  (There were so many kids running around, I couldn't just leave my camera on the tripod, so I took a good amount of pictures of her and her friends.)

See my crappy make shift PhotoBooth--boo!

Yes, it is easy to crop and fix, but I wanted to print the photos with my Epson PictureMate Charm right after...I did print the ones with my daughter and her friends acting silly...it was fine and not so much distraction like this one ha ha ha.

One thing that I really wanted to do, but didn't, was have this wall of envelopes and have people place advice inside.  I just didn't do it on time...because I am a slacker...she knows to behave and have fun...not sure what else people would tell her anyway :)

A week after her party, I remembered this story (again found via Pinterest) about a dad giving his daughter the book "Oh the Places You'll Go" which he had been having teachers and coaches sign for the past 13 years!  Too cute...of course I wouldn't have been able to go back in time, but I could have had the party patrons sign it for her.  Oh well shoulda, coulda, woulda...

Thanks for reading and getting to the end!

Gift Card Holder via Pinterest

Every year, I give out gift cards for Christmas.  Not because it is easy (I mean fighting the mall traffic and standing in those crowded lines isn't easy!), but because it allows the recipient to choose a gift they truly like/want and not have to either return the gift or give it to goodwill.

Normally I just wrap the gift card by placing it in a cute box or bag.  This year, I thought I could make some cards!  So off to Pinterest I went and found lots of ideas.

This idea came from Inking Idaho.

I used white card stock as the base.  Then I dug into my Christmas paper stash and everything else I used are papers/stickers from the Holiday Slab by Rob & Bob Studio (back from 2006!!!).  I rounded all the edges because I am currently into that look.

Here is a peek inside--this is not the gift card that will be accompanying this card--just the only one I had on hand.

Dimensions of the card:

White Card Base- 6.5 x 5

Striped paper-6 x 4.5

Green solid-5.5 x 4

Burgundy/Pink-4.75 x 3.75 (made from the Cricut Elegant Edges Cartridge) Here is the link

Plaid paper-5.75 x 3.75 (made from the Cricut Elegant Edges Cartridge)  This time I only put paper in 1/2 the size of the cut so that the paper fit--you can always just trace and cut the plaid paper without the Cricut machine though. 

One down...(I haven't even started shopping yet--shhhh!)