Simple and Inexpensive Party Invitation

My little pumpkin is turning 2 next month! How did that even happen?!?! We decided not to go the traditional route with invitations this year, as I wanted something unique, AND I always manage to mess something up when I attempt to design them myself online. Using this cute, chalkboard easel that I recently purchased at Michael's, I used chalk markers to decorate it with details of Claire's upcoming party and positioned her by it, in the hopes that I could catch a few sweet smiles and choose one of them to send to party guests.

I'm not gonna lie to you...it took us about 25 takes! However, I am really excited with how they turned out and have gotten quite a few compliments from guests. I ordered the chosen pose (above) in 5x5 prints from Costco and sent them on their merry way! Stay tuned for party pics in July...In the meantime, check out a few of the pics that didn't quite make the final cut, but that I absolutely adore!

Revamped Stocking Hangers

 

As much as I love my house and am grateful for it, Christmastime makes me realize each year how much I regret not having a fireplace to display stockings, decorations, flowers, etc., not to mention having to eventually explain to Claire how Santa gets gifts into our house without a chimney. Good thing I have some sweet, improvisation skills! I have always wanted to use weighted stocking hangers that can be found at any department or craft store but refuse to pay the prices they typically ask. Fortunately for me, I have a dollar store within 2 miles of my house (Yikes!) and a surplus of craft supplies to adapt my findings. See for yourself...

I found these little gems for $1.00 each and, while they are definitely not my style, I could definitely see their potential, so I got crackin' (literally...I had to really do some breakage to adapt these the way I wanted)!

Materials:

-stocking holders

-washi tape (I used red and green for festive funsies)

-small frames (mine were about 2"x3")

-glue gun/sticks

-scissors

Directions:

1. Remove the decorative tops of the stocking hangers (may need to use some tough love to really get the job done)

2. Wrap washi tape around the base of the hanger, starting with the hook itself. Cover the base with tape entirely, using scissors to cut any excess.

3. Remove backing and glass from frame. Cover the front and sides of the frame with washi tape.

4. Replace glass and back of frame and glue the top of the frame to the base of the stocking holder. Note: The opening of the frame should be available to insert pictures.

Q

5. Print and insert pictures into frames and proudly display!

30 Fab Father's Day Ideas

Lil' Luna recently posted a plethora of amazing Father's Day gifts! Here are some of my faves, but be sure to check out her page for the entire list of projects (all 30 of them!)!

Split Canvas Tree Painting

I know…I’ve been a total blog slacker this week, but with good reason! I recently changed teaching positions from working as a consultant in early intervention, where I traveled to various preschools, daycares, and homes to work with children with a huge array of delays and diagnoses, to a self-contained classroom of students aged 9-13 with varying severities of Autism. Needless to say, my life has been more than a little consumed by this teensy little change!

Split canvas tree painting

I absolutely LOVED creating this next project, not only because it was easy and looks awesome in my organic/nature-themed room, but also because it cost me a grand total of around $2!!! I don’t think they have sold them in a while, but the Dollar Tree used to sell small canvases in packs of three and, at the time, I stockpiled them to have for future projects just like this one. I taped the backs of four of these small canvases together so that they looked like one large canvas. Using a tree I had cut out of cardstock (you could use a stencil of virtually anything and wouldn’t necessarily have to cut it out yourself), I taped it onto the canvases and used a light green acrylic paint and foam brush to cover the canvases completely with paint. After the paint dried, I carefully peeled off the cardstock to reveal the tree then sprayed a sealant over the entire painting. Once the sealant was completely dry, I removed the tape from the backs of the canvases and placed each canvas about 1” apart on the wall.

The options for this project are truly limitless! Any sized canvases could be used and you could use as many or as few as you please. An alternative to painting on canvases would be to use Modge Podge and an exacto knife to blow up your favorite picture or print, lay it across multiple canvases using Modge Podge, let it dry, and cut each canvas apart using an Exacto knife to display on your walls. Here are a few other pictures of ways in which others (far more artistically talented than me) have used the "split canvas" technique.

A LOT of printing studios offer this type of canvas now...How cool is this?

I may have to make something like this for my British grandparents!

Very pretty enlarged and cut photo