Friday, August 26, 2011

Painted Puppy Rug

I have seen painted rugs all over blogland, and all summer long I've been planning to paint one myself.  I wanted a cool Chevron or Quatrefoyle pattered rug.  But, it's been said that necessity is the mother of invention.  So, without further adieu, I give you the Before:



 
We have this little rug outside our doggie gate, to keep from tracking mud inside after we have take Buttercup and Charlie Brown out to do their business.  But, they had gotten a hold of the little rug and puppified it!  Oh, you'd like to see who Buttercup and Charlie Brown are?


My 2 Angels with their 2 little angels.  Buttercup on the left and Charlie Brown on the right.

I couldn't find one of those cool rugs like the ones from Ikea that the other crafters were using.  I went to Big Lots though, and scored this one for $3!  I figured, if it didn't work out, I hadn't spent a whole lot on my little project.















This project was really simple.  I used my Silhouette and made some stencils.  I chose craft paint and mixed it with fabric medium, so that it wouldn't harden and crack with use.  Then I placed my stencils, and I got to work with my trusty stencil brush.  After I was done, I sewed on a little pink bow for Buttercup and a little blue bow-tie for Charlie Brown. 












And this is the finished product.  I love it!  It brings just a bit of personality into an otherwise boring little hallway.



 

Honestly! What some people will do for their dogs!  :)

Thursday, August 18, 2011

Pinkalicious Birthday Party

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(Warning- Tons of cute pink pictures in this post)

If you have a little a girl whose favorite color is pink, then a Pinkalicious party is a no-brainer!  We celebrated Ashby’s 6th Birthday 2 weeks ago and went totally PINK!  I can’t believe my little girl is 6 already!  I wanted to make this party really special- one she’d remember for a long time.  I was brainstorming and searching the web for Pinkalicious party ideas since her Ice Cream Sundae party last year!  I even went to Hobby Lobby after Christmas when they had their crazy 85% off sale and scored two pink mini Christmas trees to use for the party! 


Invitations:
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I made the invitations from clipart I found online. And the wording is similar to the invite used at seven thirty three's blog.


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The birthday balloon wreath I made last year.  I just changed out the hanging sign in the middle.

I invited 8 little girls and their mommies to celebrate and wear their most Pinkalicious outfit.  They were also encouraged to bring swimsuits.  After the party filled with sweet treats, we had a Pink Parade of golf carts as we rode to my neighbors’ pool.


I tried to limit the party colors to pink, bright pink, white, and lime green.  With linens and dishes borrowed from my mother in-law, mom, friends, and neighbors, I set to work on a Pinktacular  party…

First I moved the pink gingham curtains from Ashby’s bedroom into the dining room to serve as a backdrop for the food table.  I made a cute pink and green bunting garland from scrapbook paper.  I used my Silhouette cutter to personalize and embellish it.

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I had a pink table for the sweet treats.  All sugar baby!  We had such a fun time choosing pink candy for the party.  There were pink malt balls, pink jelly beans, pink taffy, pink gummy rings, pink lollipops, pink marshmallows dipped in chocolate and sprinkles, pink M&M’s, pink cupcakes, and pink chocolate covered strawberries dipped in pink sugar sprinkles.  The cake was a wonderful giant cupcake with pink icing piped around it with a cherry on top made with love by my mother in law.

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The cupcake toppers were made with my Silhouette
and inspired by these free printables. 
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In keeping with the Pinkalicious story, and to balance out all those sweets, we had a green food table.  We served chips with red and green salsa, green cucumber sandwiches, spinach dip and crackers, turkey roll ups made with spinach flavored tortilla wraps, pickles, green grapes, and green apples.

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I love that these small Granny Smith Apples
fit in the mason jars- cuteness!
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This little "Cure for Pinkititis" sign was also from a free printable offered here.

To wash it all down, we served Pink Lemonade, Pink Ginger Ale, and Pink St. Croix, along with the obligatory Coke.  Can’t do without the coke :)

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The girls all got a pink tiara when they came in the door.

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Even big brother got in on the fun…

The girls had their own room to eat their sweets.
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I saw these little napkin dresses here, and I knew I had to make them!
Ashby said "thanks mom for the vests".  Ha!  And most of the girls
unfolded theirs right away,so they looked like snowflakes.
But...one little girl said "can I please take this home and save
it?"  And THAT made it all worth it!
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As if they weren’t sugared up enough…

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…we sang Happy Birthday and cut the cake.

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Now on to the Pink Parade
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Which led to the pool….  It was HOT in South Georgia that Saturday, so the girls and some moms and dads were thrilled to cool off…


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I just couldn't resist all the cute little shoes :)
   
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After all of the girls went home.  We enjoyed a few minutes of quiet while the gifts were opened.

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 It was a wonderful party!  I enjoyed the preparation so much, and when I saw the girls enjoying it, it made every little detail worth while.  Happy Birthday Ashby!


Linking up to these great parties:

Southern Lovely: show and share

Serenity Now

A Diamond in the Stuff: Time to shine

30 Days Pity Party

Flaunt it Fridays

365 Days to Simplicity

A crafty Soiree

Just a Girl Show and share

Friday Flair at Whipperberry

Think Pink Sundays At Flamingo Toes

Simply Link Party

Sundae Scoop Link Party

Savvy Homemade blog party

Debbiedoos Newbie Party

Running with Glitter