Printable thank you cards

When I find a printable anything I have to have it, especially these cards 

since they come with matching envelopes too!  So cute!

 

How to pick and cut a watermelon

Our Best Bites

Mmmmm, doesn't that look good!  Nice and cold straight from the fridge into my bowl, lots of it, then plop down in front of my favorite DIY show and enjoy!  There is nothing worse then lugging the perfect watermelon home to find it really isn't the perfect watermelon after all and I didn't know there was an easy way to cut watermelon so it doesn't get on your cheeks and down your shirt when you eat it. 

So here it is, what every good woman needs to know this summer! 

Canada Day printable

Oh, oh, oh...I found a Canada Printable for all my fellow Canadians!  (can you tell I'm pretty excited about that)  It's from Kiki Creates and she's one of my favorites favourites!

Happy Canada Day on Friday and I'll be home for a visit in a few weeks!

Wood sign stairs

I had to show you these awesome stairs from Funky Junk Interiors, it looks like she used original vintage signs but nope, she made them all herself.  Donna said her favorite part is where the dog splattered paint after knocking some over (that's when I would start to cry)!   

4th of July ideas

I had so much fun scurrying around my favorite blogs for Father's Day ideas that I thought I would do the same for 4th of July ideas too.  Here are a few that I am really excited about.

At Second Street

Lisa Storms

Eighteen 25

Nothing But Country

Kiki Creates

Poppies at Play

I Heart Naptime

An awesome wedding reception

My friend Sharon recently celebrated the wedding of her son with a grand reception held in her own back yard.  It was a sight to behold with the pale pinks and browns grouped perfectly throughout the space, look how beautiful everything is!  Sharon you are my design guru!

Kids safety tattoos

#1 - I don't like tattoos (my apologies to those who do) although this temporary tattoo is a creative idea.

#2 - I have a new Silhouette machine and I don't know how to use it.

#3 - How do you people come up with these ideas, I'm jealous!

When my kids were little and they asked for a temporary tattoo I made them put in on the bottom of their foot so I didn't have to spend hours scrubbing it off look at it.  But, I actually like this idea for when you're in crowded places where they might get separated from you, this I wouldn't mind looking at.

Becky at Infarrantly Creative came up with this version, using Temporary Tattoo paper for her Silhouette machine.

Camp mail

Like I told you a few posts ago, my daughter is away at camp for two weeks.  They can only call home on Fridays so the camp wants us and them to relearn the lost are of letter writing, what a grand idea.  Only I have an even better idea...
 (well actually I need to thank Giverslog) I will send my letters on and in unusual things.

  

The first thing I sent was a plastic water bottle filled with goodies, that was great fun taking it to the post office, but a few days later when I brought in an 18" ball with a note saying "I hope you're having a BALL at camp" written right on it, now that was really fun! 

 Today I wrote her letter on a frisbee, I'm sure the man at the PO is waiting with bated breath for what I'll bring in next. 

The camp has an info page for parents with a daily blog and pictures of what's going on, 

the bottle made it onto the blog yesterday, so at least I know she got it!  

This is so fun I'll keep you updated,  I'm on my way to prepare the next letter.

Homemade Twister game

Remember how much I love spray paint, well here's another fab idea for you.  

Your own outdoor Twister game!  Check it out here at Sassy Style.

I loved playing Twister when I was a kid, but the white plastic mat would always bunch up, you won't have that problem with this one!  Such a fun game for your 4th of July get together!!

Chandelier redo

I bought this at a yard sale a while back for $7.00!  It's been kicking around in my garage for a while and I finally decided to give it a makeover.

Here it is (minus the sparkling lights), what do you think?  There is nothing a can of spray paint can't do!

It will hang in my bedroom as a reading lamp, fancy!!

Summertime popsicles

My daughter is at camp for two weeks so I've got extra time to wander through blogland, today I found these cute push pops at Garnish for $1.75/ea that you fill with whatever your heart desires.  They give you the recipe for the watermelon icy, but check out the recipe from the Idea Room too.

Garnish carries all kinds of unusual containers for food, the possibilities are endless for gift giving of the edible kind!

Teapot totem pole

What do you think, I love it!!!  I'm always looking for something unusual to put in my back garden and I think I found something right up my alley, a teapot totem from Forever Decorating.

Ever since the Vancouver Olympics (and seeing as I'm a Canadian) I've thought I should have an inukshuk proudly displayed back there too, so now I'm on the hunt for clear cake plates, fancy tea pots and flat rocks, what a wonderful combination!

Tissue paper flowers

So we did a Mexican Fiesta Dinner to raise money for girls camp, very fun and well attended by the way!  Someone said we should make "those colorful paper flowers" to decorate with, okay paper flowers and how do you make these paper flowers I asked.

When I saw what they were talking about I was gobsmacked because I had just made some of "those colorful paper flowers" for a baby shower, duh! 

 I found an easy to follow tutorial on how to make them at 

Evelyn Kate Designs because I want you to know how to make them too, never know when you'll need some!

This (by the way) is not my mexican fiesta dinner, it's Evelyn Kate Designs  party!
Remember me, I'm the one who always forgets to take pictures!

Pretty downloads

I happened across The Wedding Chicks and their free downloads, so pretty! 

They are all things wedding, including these lovely monograms, have a peek! 

Happy graduation Delaney, have an apple

Happy 8th grade graduation to my favorite 14 year old daughter!  Wow, how did it come to this, wasn't it just not too long ago that you were in preschool, this has to stop, 

and I mean now! Okay, I know it won't stop and I don't really want it to either, you are a wonderful young woman and I am so very proud of you.

So, here's an apple pattern for your hard work.

Let's make one together tomorrow!

Handmade yarn lei

The week we spent in Hawaii was so close to graduation that the stores were filled with graduation supplies, like really cool colorful leis.  They were fascinating and I had to have one but Walmart was charging $10 a piece.  So I found out how to make them myself and I want to share with you, besides, as usual it's cheaper to make.

You'll need,

2 skeins of Fun Fur yarn (Walmart)

1 yard of ribbon

2 kukui nuts or fat beads (optional)

1 chop stick or pencil 

tape

scissors

1. Begin by inserting one nut or bead on one end of your ribbon, approx. 6" from the end and tie to keep in place (this bead stops your hard work from sliding off the end)

2. Tape the other end of the ribbon to your chopstick at the SKINNY end, tape it securely.  Now you have a yard of ribbon with a bead knotted at one end and a chopstick taped to the other.

3. You'll use both colors of yarn (if you chose 2 different colors) together as one, doubling the thickness of yarn.  Tie the yarn onto the middle of the chopstick with a square knot.

4. Now the yarn in secured onto the chopstick, the fun begins.  Holding the chopstick like a wand in your right hand and the yarn in your left, you simply begin wrapping the yarn around the chopstick, wrap, wrap, wrap... 

...not too loose and not too tight. You now have a chopstick full of wrapped yarn.

5.  Gently slide the yarn down the chopstick to the ribbon end, slide most of it off onto the ribbon but leave a few winds still on he chopstick.  Keep winding, keep sliding it onto the ribbon, repeat.

6.  By now you are seeing your lei, it may look thin but when you are finished you will slide the whole thing closer together and it will look fuller.

7.  When you run out of one or both colors of yarn you are finished wrapping.  

8.  Slide your completed yarn wrap off the chopstick so it's entirely on the ribbon, here's where you can make your lei as long or as short as you want by adjusting how much you slide the wrapped yarn closer together along the ribbon. 

9.  To finish it off one end at time, tie the end of your yarn and the ribbon in a square knot.

10.  Slide the nut or bead over the end and knot it off, leave extra ribbon beyond the nut and repeat for the other end that already has the nut. 

                                       

11.  Tie the two ends of ribbon together and you have your completed yarn lei.  Enjoy!  Mahalo!  

I think it took me all of 15 minutes from start to finish.