Archive for July, 2009

So of course I couldn’t just have fun food for my little boy’s third birthday bash, I had to have some really fun decor too. We decorated the entire backyard, but these are a few of my favorite crafts.

The banner was a no-sew project. You’ll need:

• 2 yards of a cowboy bandanna print
• 3/4 yard of black
• 3/4 yard Heat n Bond iron on adhesive
• roll Stitch Witchery hemming tape
• 4 grommets (grommet hand tool is easiest, but you can use a hammer)
• twine

And here are the simple steps:

1. Enlarge your letters in Word and print them off as a template
2. Iron the Heat n Bond adhesive to the black fabric (per the package instructions)
3. Cut out your template letters, pin them to the black fabric and trim them out
4. Take your cowboy print, iron down 1/2″ hem and secure it with Stitch Witchery (follow instructions on package)
5. Insert one grommet in each corner about 2″ from each side
6. Place your black letters on your banner, peel off the adhesive backing and iron them down

Okay, on to the (saw) horses. They in themselves are not new; I blogged about this idea almost a year ago. However, the little covered wagon in the back is all us! I only wish I had gotten a better shot of just it. Here’s how you pull these two crafts off. The horses are just my hubby’s saw horses with a neck (2×4) and a slightly mitered head (1×4) embellished with raffia mane and tail. Very simple, but the kids loved it!

The covered wagon, a little more complex, but well worth it. The wagon itself is just our garden wagon. The side panels were covered with cardboard, Hodge Podge and scrapbook paper that looked like wooden planks. {wink} The top was created from:

• a white twin sheet,
• three 6 ft. long tubes, and
• a 9 ft. roll of thin elastic

  And here’s how you make it:

1. Trim off 18″ from one end of the twin sheet (make sure and measure your wagon and modify as needed) and hem it back with a small opening.
2. Third the 18″ into 6″ strips and use those to create three pockets in your sheet. One centered and the other two 4″ from each end
3. On each end insert your thin elastic and pull the fabric in to look like the opening of a covered wagon (stitch the elastic in place or plan to tie it to your wagon)
4. Insert your flexible tubing and then using wire ties attach it to the wagon

Happy crafting and Yee Haw!

You can never go wrong with clean simple elegant designs when planning a baby shower or bridal shower… hence, “simply blue.” We launched a pink version, “simply pink,” several weeks ago and quickly realized that we needed to represent the baby boys and the something blue bridal showers.

We chose a zen blossoms blue and brown plate and napkin and paired them with a number of bridal shower and baby shower cookie cutters. Take a peak, I’m sure it will not only calm your mom-to-be or bride-to-be’s jitters, but it will be a beautiful backdrop to such a fun day.

Okay, say what you will… BUT I swear I was planning to make the exact cookies tomorrow and of course post them here for you. Oh well, I’ll still make them, but now you’re getting them a day early from Martha. Here are the how tos.

And since Independence Day is upon us, I thought I would repost my flag cupcakes. I really enjoyed making these! Here’s the original post with how tos.

Happy 4th everyone!