Make Your Own HandCrafted Coordinating Drink Umbrellas

Who doesn't love a little flair in their drinks?  

We had a Babies & Bunco ladies night for our Sunday Connect class to celebrate the mommas that had a baby since we had started the class.  With a class for Parents of Preschoolers, we figured there were a lot of showers in our future if we did one for each momma so we decided to do a group celebration instead.  Eventually we will do this quarterly or twice a year.  Anyway, we wanted to keep the decorations gender neutral so I went with Stampin' Up's color, Crumb Cake.  I didn't have Designer Series Paper in that color so thankfully, with My Digitial Studio, I could just print out a wide variety of designs with this color.  That is the {one of many} nice things about that program because you have an endless suppply of designs & colors that can be instantly printed without the delay of purchasing and waiting.

My co-party-coordinator, Jennifer, asked if we could make umbrellas to coordinate with the Congratulations banner.  I hadn't caught that was the "new" thing but thought it was a fun idea.  Anything with paper, I am on board!  I should have known about them.  After I made them, I happen to notice one of the featured cover projects of the latest Summer Mini Catalog had them on it.  Way to go SU for being up with the trends, even if I was clueless.  ;)

I had to use my Sizzix, well, because I have one and it makes things so much quicker and easy.  I did find a nice tutorial of a gal that did them using the old plastic stencil and scissors way and it is here.

Here is my quick tutorial on them.

I punched out the largest scallop circle from Scallops Circle #2 Bigz Die then cut a slit up to the center.

I used hot glue because of the fast set up and the stiffness makes me think it is more sturdy.

I just lay the edges over each other till the edge kind of matched up. Some cut out a small triangle..either way would work I bet.

Next I used a dab of hot glue in center of the inside of the umbrella to adhere the lollipop stick.  You could also use small wood skewers {less expensive}.

Sorry it's blurry. :(

Ta-Da!

Not rocket science but fun what you can do with paper and a little glue!

I used a variety of designs with the same color which also coordinated with the banner {coming soon}

Fancy Hipsmatic pictures courtesy of Jennifer Cook.

 Thanks for stopping by!

Adoption Finalized ~Let's Celebrate! Cupcake Toppers

My brother-in-law and sister-in-law were blessed last year to finally have their arms filled after years of heartbreaks and waiting. 

This week, his adoption was made final and it was definitely a time to celebrate!
My mother-in-law baked the cupcakes and asked me to come up with a topper for them.  I {of course} turned to my go-to program, My Digital Studio.  

I set up 4 of his pictures within square "digital punches" filled with the Designer Series Papers that come with MDS.  That way, after printing, I knew I would have it spaced enough to use my 2 3/8 scallop circle punch.  I shadowed the circle of the photo so it might give the appearance of being layered.

For the backs of the cupcake topper, I created some with a saying "For this child I prayed" from the passage in 1 Samuel 1:19-20.  Others with "Our Little Blessing" and then a couple different little animals.  My MIL wanted the colors to be bright so I used Crushed Curry {the yellow} and Tempting Turquoise for the digital stamping of the animals as well as the background papers and solid colored "real" cardstock.  

I had them printed as an 8 X 10 at Sam's.  It is slightly higher than Staples but is much thicker since it is photo paper.  It also won't run/smear should it get wet with icing or whatever it is put in.

Then I punched them out, mainly using my 2 3/8 scallop circle punch and 1 3/8 circle for the animals.  

I layered where needed on solid colored cardstock to coordinate.

ready to assemble!

Next I used hot glue to adhere the fronts and backs to the sucker sticks.  Some say to use tape but not only is hot glue faster, it is also stronger, in case anyone chose to keep it like a souvenir.  

I got these sticks at Walmart, 50 for $2.  Wooden skewers would have been just as tall and half that price.  Either would have been fine, though, and these got the job done.

Ready for pick up from my MIL!

Here is a full shot of them in action, taken by the mama.

 And some close ups by my MIL {since I somehow forgot my camera}.

{The parents like Snoopy, hence those little guys thrown in there}

 Thanks for looking!  And Congrats Little "L" on a wonderful Forever Family!

Blooming Birthday Party~ Flower Sucker Favors and Banner

 A friend of mine recently asked me to make a flower banner & sucker favors for her child's birthday.  After we figured out the shape she wanted and colors, I got to work. 

I did not have pink & purple Designer Series Paper in real life and actually didn't have it digitally from Stampin' Up either.  So using My Digital Studio, I created designs using our various pink and purple hues that would match the solid color cardstock I did have in real life.  This program made it easy by allowing me to "stamp" many of the different flower designs in whatever colors I wanted, along with the "punches" in circles and such.  See the brilliancy of using My Digital Studio is that you have whatever color you want, both in ink and in paper!  That is not always the case in "real life".  I was able to also use some of the included-with-MDS already made Designer Series Digital Paper designs, as well.  To clarify, all of this is often called "scrapbook papers" if the SU term Designer Series Paper is throwing you off. 

I created the letters to punch out, too.  The all-one-color designs come with MDS, the others are what I designed myself.

I am not gonna lie.  Creating background designs is not quick and my computer chose to run slow the night I was working on them.  But in the end, I was satisfied with the finished designs. Also, I now have "scrapbook paper" that is pink & purple should anyone ask me to make another project with those colors.  :)

I then sent the background papers and the letters I created for the banner to my local Staples.  To print them on my printer would have zapped my ink supply and definitely not looked as good!   I had them print on cardstock for the designs and glossy for the letters.  I learned after the designs were printed that the cost difference was about 10 cents.  Next time, I would probably do all glossy. 

I used Scallop Circle #2 to cut out the letters.

Rolling through the Sizzix Big Shot.

Here is a video I took showing my Sizzix Big Shot cutting out the letters.  I figured some people have never seen it in action.  Forgive me.  I am learning.  :) 

Next I cut out the flowers using the Flower Folds die to cut the flowers for the spaces between the words on the banner and for the sucker favors.  

You can lay about 2 sheets of paper at a time with the this die because of the scored folds.  If you do more than that, it will often cut where it should fold.  And you don't want that!  For the dies that don't have a score line, 4 sheets is usually good, depending on the weight of the paper.

I did a variety of cardstock for each flower.

rolling through...

After they are cut out, there are often corners that might go to waste.  I am very frugal with my paper so I punch the center of my flowers from this area when I can.

I think hot glue works great to give a little height and stability.

I let it set a few second before I lay it on the next one so it doesn't sink it but sits up.

top layer

Side view..so you can see the depth.

finished flowers for the Flower Sucker Favors

 Thankfully, the mom took a picture of the finished product with the suckers in the center.  She cut a little X in the center and pulled them through.  I think they turned out great!

~

If you are not into DIY, I am now offering Custom Orders for these favors, your choice of colors, in my etsy store.  The banner will be coming on there soon!  Contact me if you need it before it is listed.
~

Now back to the banner.  I cut the squares [the mom's chosen shape for the banner] and felt they needed a little something so I ran them through with a variety of my embossing folders. 

Here they are:

And here is a video showing how it {easily} works.  Easy, but what a WOW!

She also wanted them tied together instead of one long string.  So I sat down and did that my the hubby and I watched a movie.  

She took a picture of the full banner and I hope you can see the cuteness.

I wish I had taken a close up of the letters and flowers spacers.  To add depth on the letters, I actually took leftover squares of the fleece I used to make the Flower T-shirts a couple of weeks back. I glued them to the squares and then the letter circles to the fleece squares.  Had I taken a close up, you could have seen the nice height.  I like height and depth.  Can you tell?  ;)

And by request, I kept the name separate so if her little sis ever has a pink & purple party, only her name need be created.  I like that!

Thanks for reading & watching another long entry.  At least it feels long to me.  

Happy Crafting!
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Blooming Quilted Flower T-shirts - Using your Sizzix with Material

Hello!  Who doesn't love a handcrafted gift, especially if it was custom made for them?

What does a one year old really need?  

Up popped inspiration and I decided to come up with this design to work on with my mom.  

 Hope you like it and try it for yourself!

Credit where credits due: My upline with Stampin Up, Beckie Kareck, created a tutorial to share with her downline on making Layered Fabric Flowers using the Stampin Up! Exclusive Sizzix Flower Folds XL die and the Sizzix Big Shot quite awhile back.  The original design was from Jill Olsen, who was part of pioneering Stampin UP into the fabric world and opening up so many other options!  Thank, Jill, for a great idea!

This project was made for twins on their first birthday.  Their parents are dear friends and the "Lemonade & Sunshine" party was fantastic!

So, onward, here is my journey with this project:

[Design outward] Fabric + Quilt batting + fabric [again, design facing outward]; Cut with Sizzix die; sew around the edge about 1/4" in= puffy flowers.  I did these using this techinique pictured below.  They are {coordinating} hair clips that I clipped to the bag for an added pop.  

The letters on the bag were made with My Digital Studio.  I just love that program!

Here is what we altered from the above idea for the t-shirt.  

I noticed the quilt batting was still visible.  Not a big deal but I was pondering about other options, when my mom suggested fleece since it is puffy [like quilt batting] but comes in a huge variety of colors [like felt] that could coordinate with whatever fabric I went with for their flowers.  Happily, it was on sale at JoAnn's.

This is what they look like just cut out.  Because this die has "scores" or creases, you can't cut as many layers and with some of the other dies.  I cut 2-3 at a time.

With the thicker fleece, I did 2 at a time.  Just lay it over the part of the die you want.  This die has 4 flowers to choose from.

 

Easy peasy and ready to applique as is, but we have more planned!

This is my test layout plan/idea of how I want it to look before the flowers were "quilted". Wanted to see how it might look.

Now I send it to my mom's because her sewing machine was already set up.  She loves to do this kind of thing.  I want to get my feet wet with sewing, rather than having my mom carry out my ideas.  I brought my grandma's sewing machine form Ohio that she & my mom made my baby clothes on.  Hoping to carry on that tradition.  

In fact, we carried the machine into my work area, got it all set up, only to realize the bobbins and threads and other necessary items were not on it and packed in some other box.  So she took the project back to her house to complete the steps needed.  Oh well, another day I will learn that.

So after she sews it, it looks like this.  I only wanted the bottom flower sewn to the shirt [and the rick-rack stem and leaves].

These are the other flowers that she sewed around the edge.  We did a funky color on purpose since the designs are whimsical.

I sewed the flowers together by sewing on the button.  I wanted the other layers to be more 3-D/floppy.

Side View to see the fleece that coordinates inside.

The completed sewn on flower.

over view of the completed flower.  I didn't use the smallest flower.  After all, it is for littles and I didn't want it to be too bulky.

Coordinating for the twins, and not exact, like the mama prefers.

Back to the gift bags, I made a tag with their lower case initial to hang on the other side [using MDS].

I added this little pop to the back of the tag and some glitter since everything could use a little glitter. ;)

Thanks for looking!  If you make one of your own, or have any questions, please let me know!

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