Easter Treat Boxes

These were our neighborhood Easter Egg Hunt treats for this year. The candy is from Jelly Belly, Sour Bunnies and Sunkist Fruit Gems. It helps if you can get them in bulk on a wholesale account. The acrylic pillow boxes are from Clear Bags, the food safe kind. And, the Easter Egg embossing folder is from Darice. Yes, you can put acrylic boxes in your embossing folders without damage. I just used my Big Shot multipurpose platform with no tabs on my machine. Just to get rid of some random pieces of ribbon, we used just about every ribbon scrap I had, and then some I didn't like. It helps keep the boxes closed.

Succulent Spring Wreath

I was asked to post a picture of this wreath when I finished it. It's a wreath kit from S.E.I. that I bought at the ScrapbookUSA show last month. I liked the colors in the kit and that it used some foam flower shapes with the double sided paper flowers.

It has almost everything you need to make it. The kit says that hot glue is recommended. I say it's required, or all those pinned flowers in the foam will pop off really fast. I added the lavender grosgrain ribbon as a hanging loop. I don't know how they hung that one up. It's kinda soft styrofoam you're building on.

I'm sure you can take all your personal flower punches and dies to make lots of layered flowers out of your own designer paper to create your own wreath. This particular kit has tons of leftover flower pieces that you can use for other projects. I had enough leftover that I could probably make a second wreath.

Color Block Quilt

Hey! It's a new blanket for a baby shower...again. This time it's a co-worker.

This was a fast one. While finishing the crocheted blanket below, hubby cut all the fabric for me. Then we finished putting it together in two days. Let's not do that again.

This one is flannel backed with a stripe of color down the middle. Mostly because the fabric wasn't wide enough. If you must count, there are 12 different colors plus the backing. Had 6 of them and got the rest at K&H Quilt Shoppe. Oh, and the co-workers loved it.

Bavarian Stitch Crochet Blanket

I finally finished it...a year's worth of Sundays and a rush at the last two weeks before gifting it away to my sister-in-law for her baby shower. It's mostly Caron brand yarn, my favorite Simply Soft, and the white is the One Pound yarn (about 3 of them). This is the kind of blanket you make when you have a big yarn stash and want to cut it down, it uses a lot of yarn.

I had a picture in my head of what colors I wanted in it, and it turned out really big after I got all the colors in. That is hanging over the railing off my kitchen. It will probably drape really nicely off a twin size bed.

The pattern is a variation of a Catherine wheel stitch with the back post treble crochet in the tops of the fans that give you the diamond shaped ridges. The back is smooth and flat, and just as pretty. You work in the round and each color stripe is two rows. Here are the instructions to get you started, on Sarah London's blog for the Wool-Eater Blanket.

P.S. Sis-in-law loved it!

My Stampin' Up! Sale-A-Bration order

It's my usual brag of how much I saved on my Stampin' Up! order during Sale-A-Bration. Here's the pile of boxes from my workshop order.

Then, here's the pile of stuff I paid for...fun!

And, here's the pile of stuff that was free with hostess dollars and my 50% off items. There should be another 5 free things in that pile from SAB, but I sneaked them in the bags of my other guests' orders. Hope they like them.

Ruffled Ribbon Topiary

I made 15 of these topiaries last year for party centerpieces. The ribbon and elastic took the longest to complete. And a LOT of straight pins.

They cost about $20 each in supplies. Good luck finding matching color ribbon all over town if you're making more than one. I found the tutorial for making them here: Ruffled Ribbon Topiary They use a smaller styrofoam ball and therefore a smaller amount of ribbon. I think there were about 8 yards of ribbon on each 5" ball of mine.

There are a few places that make it easier to find some supplies. I used 4" terra cotta pots from the hardware store ($0.79) and the Dollar Tree actually had green styrofoam pot inserts that fit the pots. Then I could push the dowel through and pin the red tulle to the foam better. Paint your pots and dowels first of course. Try your own color combination.

New Daddy Survival Kit

My brother-in-law is going to be a new daddy soon, and we thought this kind of kit would be fun to give on his birthday before the baby is born.

It's kinda hard to tell what's in it since my hubby already packed it up and "wrapped" it. He says he made a bow out of the strap. But, there is a list of everything in there with instructions on how to use it for the baby.

Here's the instructions so you can read them. (Yes, that's sloppily on purpose duct tape)

How to Change a diaper

Please read all instructions, as any hesitation, uncertainty or mistakes may result in the need to call in a Hazmat team, and psychologist to aid with emotional scaring.

Prepare Yourself:  It is vitally important that you do not skip any of these steps.

• ·         Put on the poncho.
• ·         Securely fasten the face mask and safety glasses.
• ·         Put on a pair of rubber gloves.

Prepare the Baby:

• ·         Ensure the pacifier is properly used, offer correctional advice and demonstrations if needed.
• ·         Remove the babies clothes to expose the diaper area.

Diaper Removal and Cleanup

• ·         Before proceeding warn all people within a 15 yard radius that things are about to get dangerous.
• ·         Ensure that all people are at least 2 yards away (safely outside the ‘Splash Zone’).
• ·         Remove the diaper attempting to clean any soiled areas, use words like ‘eeew’, ‘yucky’, and ‘poo-poo’, as this reassures the baby.
• ·         Wrap the diaper back up and place in a hazardous waste bag.
• ·         Clean the baby with the baby wipes.
• ·         Use tongs and turkey baster in extreme cases.
• ·         Apply a clean diaper following all approved manufacturer instructions.

Sanitizing and Disposal

• ·         Clean all supplies thoroughly using alcohol sanitizing wipes when needed.
• ·         Dispose of the Diaper at the nearest Hazmat drop-off.
• ·         Pack everything back in to your kit, and mentally prepare for next time..

Q: What if I don’t have my kit with me?  A: Without your kit, you are no better than ancient caveman dads, and unfortunately cave-children typically score in the lowest 10% on standardized tests… Coincidence? … not likely.

Q: How do I know if I am ready?  A: You are not ready, embrace that fact and prepare for anything.

Q: What should I do if the situation gets out of control?  A: Call in backup! Never wait or attempt to handle it yourself.

Q: Isn’t this a bit excessive? A: Safety is never excessive, follow all instructions.  Don’t give in to peer pressure.  Remember, you want your child to be successful. 

(Caveat: I did not write these instructions, my husband did. It's all his own opinion on how to care for a child)

Seeing as my hubby left some supplies out of the instructions, I guess I will list them here:
Toolbox
Diapers
Baby Wipes
Poncho
Safety Glasses
Dust Mask
Rubber Gloves
Ear plugs/nose plugs
Tongs
Turkey Baster
Pacifier
Hazardous Wastes bags (Ziploc with hazardous waste symbol taped on)
Hand Wipes
And a small photo frame