Mod Monkey Birthday Invitations

My babe is turning one! The countdown has officially begun!

I found a theme that I simply adore called Mod Monkey.
You can find it here.

Since I am trying to be thrifty and stay on a budget, I tried my hand at graphic design. I used a brand new (to me) program to make some invitations and announcments. I think they turned out darling and were much cheaper than purchasing them already made.

For this one, I just Googled "Mod Monkey" and the invitation came up. I copied the design, but I have no idea who to credit it to! Sorry!

New Beginnings 2010

Yeah, I know.  New Beginnings is supposed to happen at the beginning of the year.  But our stake had a giant reorganization so after things settled down a little, we had ours on April 6th.

The mutual theme for this year is  "Be Strong and of Good Courage" (Joshua 1:9) and I found an amazing program idea here.  She has it all planned out, lined up and ready to go.  I have to give her mad props because she helped us out so so much!  THANK YOU, MELANIE,  FOR SHARING YOUR AMAZING IDEAS!!!!

The theme was sort of Olympic centered.  We had the Olympic theme song playing and all the girls came in wearing each value color.  Our ward has very few Young Women, so we used each and every one who came and even a visitor!

I made a torch using a flashlight and can light gels, although I’m sure you could use anything.  On the blog, she suggests using tissue paper.  Then I took a piece of brownish 12x12 paper and rolled it to make a casing.  I dropped the flashlight into it and there we had a torch!  I didn’t get a really good picture of it, but here I am holding it… I think it turned out well.  I also think I am a giant dork.

For the metals, I wanted them to look nice but my resources here were very limited.  So I did what I could and it was a lot of work, but I am very happy with how they came out!

I went to the hardware store and bought some big washers.  Then I measured them and added a little extra around the edges so I could wrap the paper over the washer.  So I cut all the paper.

Then I wrinkled all the circles up so the paper was a little more manageable and pliable.

Then I centered the washer on the paper circle

And hot glued the paper down all the way around the washer.

Then I printed “Be strong and of a good courage” onto the same paper and cut out those circles.  I Mod Podged those babies on there and it gave them a little sheen.

 

Then I took my dollar store metals, took the ribbon off (they came with red, white, and blue ribbon) and glued them onto the back of the washers.  It gave them a little more weight and also a place for me to thread all the ribbons through.

  Then I took a ribbon from each value and threaded it through the hole, along with the original ribbon that came with the metals.  It worked out well that I didn’t have to buy red, white or blue ribbon because it was already on there!

They were a lot of work and I’m sure there is an easier way!  But I think they worked and looked quite nice.

I also made fruit pizza and it was so so so yummy!  I didn’t get a picture before it was devoured, but take my word for it!  It was beautiful!

Fruit Pizza Recipe

Crust: (I used my favorite sugar cookie recipe, found here.)

Blend together until smooth:
1 1/2 Cup Sugar
1 Cup melted Butter
1 Teaspoon Vanilla
2 eggs
1 Cup Sour Cream
Combined in separate bowl:
5 Cups Flour
1/2 Teaspoon Salt
1 Teaspoon Baking Soda
1 Teaspoon Baking Powder

Add dry ingredients to wet and mix until combined.  Make a ball out of the dough and wrap in plastic wrap. Store in the fridge 2-3 hours or until firm. I made mine the night before.  Roll it out to fit pan size, not too thick.  I was able to make 2 pizzas, one on a cookie sheet and one on a pizza pan.  Bake @ 375 for 15-20 min.  You want them just slightly golden brown to make sure the middle is done.  Let cool.

topping:

1 package cream cheese

1 12 oz package Cool Whip

1 cup sugar

1 tsp vanilla

Blend until smooth.  Spread over pizzas when cool.  Then arrange fruit on top.  I used strawberries, mandarin oranges, bananas, pineapple, blueberries and apples.  Mmmm.

All in all, it was a successful evening!  Thanks again to Melanie over at her blog!  You are a lifesaver!

Loverly Spring Wreath

I am so stinking sick of this weather! Sheesh already isn’t it supposed to be spring?!

Well, to maybe push Mother Nature in the right direction, I made a happy spring wreath for our front door.

Is cute, no?

It was a snap to make. I just bought a wreath form from the dollar store and wrapped it with ribbon.

Then I glued a whole lotta daisies all around and tada! Cute spring inspiring happiness!

If that doesn’t get Mother Nature’s attention, nothing will. Those are some bright and happy flowers!

Well, here’s hoping spring will be here soon…

My Version of Baby Legs

Baby Legs. Ever heard of them? Super cute, a brilliant idea if you ask me. I always wanted to get some for Izacc, but couldn’t ever get past the price. I mean, it’s not that they’re super expensive, but you don’t want to have only one pair, know what I mean? So I never bought any. Here comes Ian and he’s started crawling all around the joint! I need some Baby Legs and I need ‘em now!

I was wandering around Wal-Mart the other day ( I know, it’s like I live there or something) and had an epiphany right there in the women’s hosiery isle.

What if I took this

And turned it into this!

And it worked!

Here’s how I made it happen:

Get some knee highs. They don’t really make them for men and most of the women’s were pretty girly. My options were brown or black.

Cut them off at right about the ankle.

You can measure your baby’s legs to see what length you’ll need, but I figured he’s going to grow into them if they’re too long. (They were just right in case you were wondering. As if I could make anything too big for my giant manbaby)

I got this at Walmart for $1.38. A little goes a long way. I just hand wound my bobbin with it, fairly loosely.

Roll up edge to form cuff. I rolled it twice on one pair to give it more of a cuff look, but once works well too.

Stitch and enjoy. I didn’t stretch the sock as I sewed and they turned out fantastic!

Pretty close to the real thing if you ask me. And for much, much less!

They also work well as arm warmers. In reality, Izacc likes to wear them on his arms under t-shirts, but nekkid works too.

And just what do you do with the leftover sock bits?

I’m so glad you asked.

You make puppets of course!

A puppy,

This is Susan

A lion

And, of course, this is Herkey.

See what $6.38 can buy you!?

Neighbor Gifts

Picture it. West Jordan, Utah, 2006. We had just had our first baby in August and I was staying at home with him on FMLA leave. It was Christmas and I was incredibly bored wanted to be generous to all our friends and neighbors, so that year I made “Gifts from a Jar”.

Seemed simple enough, and so easy, WAY easier than making cookies, that’s for sure! I spent about a week lovingly measuring the ingredients, making them beautiful, taking far too many trips to Sam’s Club to acquire ingredients in bulk, and then for that extra special touch, vacuuming sealing them with our food saver. I mean, who wants stale cookies, right?

Oh and I had to have a variety! I made soups, brownies, cookies, quick breads, you name it. There were about 10 different recipe mixes made, to the tune of 80 jars. (No we are NOT that popular, my hubby used to work for KSL and there are a lot of people who work there who were “friends”.)

The next year, we were living in Wyoming and our new friends and neighbors did not know the wonder that indeed was “Gifts From A Jar”, so again, I went to work making the jars. I wanted to simplify it this year so I only made 60 or so and only 8 varieties this time. (See? MUCH simpler.) I spent my days with a funnel, a bag of flour, and a mantra of “This is so much easier than making cookies! It is so much cheaper! People will really enjoy these! If I have to stuff one more jar full of sugar and baking powder, I might give myself a frontal lobotomy with this here funnel.”

Needless to say, the next Christmas, jars were a no go. I thought I would save a crap load of money and just make goodies. After all, anything was better than stuffing jars with chocolate chips and brown sugar.

So I did THIS

”What can I say? I’m a slow learner.

In my defense, I was pregnant and nesting, and my other baby was with my parents, so I had A LOT of free time on my hands.

It is not an exaggeration to say I was 100% burnt out on neighbor gifts this year.

So here’s what I did.

I went to the Dollar Store and bout a bunch of wooden spoons. Used some leftover Christmas fabric from doing the jars, wrapped it around the handle, and Mod Podged those puppies right on there. After it dried, I tied a bow on. Cute, right?

Then I printed out some labels that said, “ We could all use a little extra ‘dough’ this time of year” and glued little bows in the corners.

Then I made bows with wider ribbon and a twist tie, punched a hole in a package of cookie dough, attached a little bag with a cookie cutter and some sugar sprinkles in it, and tied it to the spoon. (I know, I went bow crazy. I’m surrounded by boys, do you blame me? My femininity is being 

crushed!)

                 

I made a couple batches of brownies for people who I didn’t necessarily feel like making them make their own treats, i.e. my loveable elderly friend and a momma of 2 who just had another baby.

Their tags said “We’re going for ‘brownie’ points this season”

I know, I’m a cheese ball, but guess who didn’t go on a crazy killing spree with a funnel, a handful of waxed paper, and mason jar covered in flour? This mama, that’s who. Merry Christmas indeed!