design. wash. rinse. repeat.

freebie: lion king birthday invite & tags

In typical fashion i spread myself so thin this summer that it's a miracle i didn't implode. Picture six weeks straight of daily swim lessons. SIX weeks!! rain or shine. not to mention tennis, dance, and gymnastics, all gloriously piled on top of a full work schedule. did i mention the potty training? Who needs sleep?! (and before wagging your finger at me for overbooking my children and effectively ruining their childhood you should know they were 100% on board... with the occasional 1% day mixed in of course).

Summer is bonkers busy, as every mom can attest. Which is why i had visions of nothing more than a glorified playdate for my sons 3rd birthday. What toddler needs anything more than a sunny afternoon mixed with a couple friends and a slip-n-slide? That's how it started, but as the big day loomed closer and other parties were attended, his expectations were clearly light years beyond what i had anticipated. The mommy guilt got to me. Next thing you know, i'm frantically whipping up last minute "Lion King" themed invitations, scouring party stores for décor and favors, and staying up til the wee hours of the morning stressing over a menu. note to self: one should not lose sleep over what to feed 3 year olds. Ultimately the only thing we needed was a Piñata. Voila, it's a party. Best $8 dollars i ever spent. 

All in all it was an easy event, and loads of balloons made for a festive atmosphere. Our itinerary included: a slip-n-slide (or rather, a huge sheet of plastic from Home Depot), squirt guns, trampoline covered with colorful plastic balls, buffet of "bug" candies, a taco bar, piñata, and of course cake and party favors! We also had lion masks for the kids to color but ran out of time for frivolous extras.

So as not to waste any effort, i'm sharing the invitation and tags. Click on the "freebie" link below if you'd like to adapt these for your own fiesta! 

Now that my little man is three he's developed a major new obsession... any guesses as to the likely theme of next year's party?

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teacher door décor

The room mom from my daughter's elementary school class somehow got the crazy impression that i was artistic, and asked if i would be willing to decorate the door for Teacher Appreciation Week. Being that this is my first experience with elementary school, this stressed me out like you wouldn't believe! But since i love my daughter, and apparently her teacher, more than the prospect of ever getting a full night of sleep, i agreed. Despite my panic the project turned out fairly cute, so i'm sharing the results just in case any of you lovelies are in the same position next year.

i decided to go with a hot air ballon as the main focus (drawing inspiration from "What's Up!", my most recent product line for BasicGrey). Chatting with my little bean about tagline options we ultimately settled on "with Mrs. McCandless, learning is an adventure " ("seriously, it really is!", my daughter proclaimed). Rather than the usual butcher paper i utilized large maps as the background, a quick and easy way to add texture and visual interest with little effort. Then using my cricut (& SCAL) i cut out a variety of patterned birds, and had each child sign one to adhere to the door. Both teacher and students were thrilled, which was my measure of success... but fingers crossed i'm not asked to do this again next year!

freebie :: teacher appreciation

I couldn't let Teacher Appreciation Week come to an end without creating a little something special to honor these incredible educators who are shaping our children, and our future (and sadly underpaid in the process). If it weren't for the encouragement of my High School art teacher I may never have realized my potential talent (thanks Mrs. McConkie!). Colorful pens were specifically requested by my daughter's teacher, so after picking up some brightly colored Sharpie's and a gift card i set out to design a tag to match. The frosty plastic shape of Crystal Light packages are endlessly useful, so i "upcycled" some of my stash to use as the gift container, and simply printed and attached the tags. voila! and since i love to share, below is a free Download of the tags. Hopefully you'll be inspired to thank the teachers in your own life!

freebie :: lion valentine

One of these days i'll figure out how to manage my life well enough that we're not cranking out Valentine's in the wee hours of the morning the night before. My first grader wanted to match the Lion Valentine Box she created over the weekend, so with inspiration from Fiskars we set about making Lion lollipops. After she sketched out her design (complete with heart shaped face!), i recreated the artwork as a cutable svg and trimmed the pieces using my Cricut and SCAL. The project was incredibly slick, and she couldn't be more pleased with the result. In case anyone is interested in the process, below are directions (and free svg cut files!). These would also make fabulous party favors. 

:: supplies ::
patterned paper (i used BasicGrey of course! the lovely Sweet Threads line)
googly eyes
printer
Xacto
adhesive
pen
lollipops 

:: directions ::
Trim lion mane and lion face using your cutter of choice (the svg download should work for most personal cutters, or can be printed and trimmed by hand). Print "I'm wild about you" sentiment on patterned paper and trim with Xacto. Draw the lion face onto the heart center, and adhere all elements together. Finish by attaching to a lollipop.

 

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how to :: locks of love

 

The other day my hip young nieces swept up my daughter's hair into these divine little heart shaped buns. They make such the perfect style for Valentine's Day that I thought I would share the idea.

1 :: Start by pulling the hair into pigtails.

2–5 :: Between the scalp and the elastic, gently split the bundle of hair in two and pull the length of hair up through the middle.

3 :: Finish by twisting and pinning into the shape of a heart. Repeat for the other side. Voila! simple and sweet.

Speaking of hearts, we can't seem to get enough of them around our house. I love surprising my littles with the occasional heart shaped sandwich for lunch, and they are absolutely convinced they taste better this way. (uh huh, yes, i am a sucker for the whims of my children, especially if it means i can elicit squeals of delight over something as trivial as PB&J!)

freebie :: valentine's tea tag

i can't think of a better way to spend Valentine's day than enjoying a spot of tea with my favorite loved ones. use these "be mine" tags to transform your favorite tea into something a bit more festive this holiday. and if tea is just not your thing, they would certainly be lovely attached to a box of chocolates.

enjoy!

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what's up!

konnichiwa! with CHA on the horizon the BasicGrey blog has been ramping up with exciting sneak peaks of their fabulous upcoming products. i'm thrilled to reveal i'll have 2 lines included in their 2012 winter release! the first line, Konnichiwa, is a product of my obsession with japanese kawaii. i find endless inspiration in the graphic simplicity of this childlike look. it's a good thing T keeps my hoarding in check, otherwise our house would be overflowing with products from the empire of cute, Sanrio! i'm continuously making up for all those teen years spent moping around in black.

The second line is Whats Up! with three toddlers and a full time job my jet setting days are somewhat limited, but a girl can dream of a day when there's time to be whisked away on a hot air balloon adventure. I started this line shortly after the birth of my son, Oliver (affectionately known as Pi), in hopes of creating something a little less girlie than my normal creations... was i succesfull? eh, kinda-sorta-maybe. florals can be found, but it's not quite kawaii! and the theme will be perfect for his 2nd birthday party. fyi, leave a message on the BasicGrey blog before midnight tonight for a chance to win this collection before it's in stores! who wouldn't won't those toothpick flags and mini envelopes?!

cheers.

{imagery courtesy of BasicGrey}

freebie :: secret elf gift tag

Something about the holidays always fills me with an increased desire to do anonymous acts of kindness. A trait surely inherited from the example of my incredibly generous parents. growing up, there were countless "troubled" kids they took in, sub-for-santa's we worked on together, and families in need we surprised. Even now, my parents only request for Christmas is that my 4 siblings and i participate in some sort of service project or charitable donation. As something i look forward to every year, i hope to instill the same spirit of thoughtfulness in my own children. We never know how much even just one small act can mean to someone, especially those who are lonely or in need. In that spirit, I though this gift tag would be lovely for anyone feeling inspired to anonymously pay it forward in some way, even if it's just a loaf of fresh baked bread or treats for a special neighbor. click on the link below to download and enjoy!

{ pictured above are images of a small token the littles and i created for her first grade class earlier this week. so much fun to see how excited all the kids were as they came running out of school at the end of the day! the paper used is from the "Eskimo Kisses" line i created for BasicGrey. }

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favorite use of cranberries

Anyone living in arctic temperatures like me and in need of a solution to their barren flower pots? good news, i stole a festive idea from my mom! quick, easy, and most importantly maintenance free. Simply spread a bag of cranberries over the dirt ... and then "put a bird on it", of course.

freebie :: halloween favor bags

This sweet little last minute halloween freebie is brought to you by my creative six year old daughter. As i was packing her up for school last week she sketched up a funky little heart and proudly showed me. Checking on her progress a few minutes later, i discovered she had filled the shape with a web, including a bitty spider hanging down in the center. 

I loved her concept of combining something sweet with something scary, so i asked if we could collaborate and make the design into a freebie project on my blog. needless to say she was thrilled. after a quick lesson in illustrator, and a bit of guidance to finish up, she re-drew her artwork on the computer, and i adapted it into a design for tiny Halloween treat bags. talk about mother-daughter artistic bonding!

To create the bags pictured, the black & white designs were printed on kraft paper for more of an aged feel. I then stitched the co-ordinating tag onto the bags with black thread (If you're feeling overly ambitious, it's a nice touch that complements the web theme!).  enjoy.