Monster Mash

Disclaimer: None of this was my work, but it is still cute.

Monster cake.  I love how the cake stand looks like little legs. I wonder if they planned that?  Of course, they did. (They being my mom and sisters.)

That colorful tabletop is nothing more than crepe paper streams run across in a crisscross pattern.

Monster cupcakes. Because who could resist red chevron cupcake holders?? And candy eyeballs?

Treat Station. With baby snacks. This party was for a one-year-old, so these are age appropriate snacks, like Trix and animal crackers (which are not crackers but cookies in case you have never had one, in which case you should have more variety in your foods. Or not. They don't taste that great.)

Treat bags. Say "Thank you for coming" with handmade felt monster bags. And handmade tags. With all sorts of monster goodness inside. 

Treats. Like monster band-aids. And a monster cup. That red thing? Obviously it is used to make homemade popsicles. And a handmade reusable zipper bag WHICH was filled up at the treat station with whatever you like. So if you don't like animal not-crackers then don't put any of those in your own personal baggie. But please wash and reuse as often as you like.

not pictured: unicorn suckers which look monsterish somehow

Spring Door Decor

 I made something new for Spring for my door, but I am not too sure...

This is not exactly how I envisioned it in my head, but you

  know. They don't all work out.

 I wanted the paint finish to look like a robin's egg. They made it sound so easy on Pinterest. All I did was make a mess with paint. The blue is too dark. The original ribbon was white on the back and did not look cute. The monogram is much smaller than I thought it would be. But it is done and it is staying. At least for now.

A Banner For a Baby

This banner was much cuter in person, but you can only do so much with a cell phone camera. This actually turned out to be one of my favorite banners ever. I used a Tim Holtz mask on tags to distress the letters of the baby's name. The set of alphabet masks came with different fonts which I like.

Above the table, I hung some grapevine and Chinese lanterns. These are easy to make. I have a tool, but I remember making these in elementary school. If you could look closely at the paper design, there are some crowns on some. Since we did not really have a certain theme, I used my Slice machine (am I the only one that has one of these?) to cut some large crowns in the same paper to put sort of like confetti on the tables. No pictures of those, sorry.

(This is the teacher's lounge at school, not my house. It was decorated nicely by some of the staff, but the ceiling sure is ugly.) 

Blue Cabinet

As soon as I saw this piece of furniture I knew what I wanted to do with it. Even though it had mismatched hinges, I thought they could be easily replaced.

Browsing through Pinterest, I remembered seeing this blue and white rug from Shades of Light and it inspired me.

I knew I had a gallon of blue oops paint that my husband got from Home Depot. (Not sure what he thought I would do with it or the "Blogger Orange" gallon, but it was only $5.) 

This was not an easy paint job, but there is something therapeutic about painting with a brush. Not that I would try it again. I like how it brings in more of the blue from the chandelier to my studio.

And no, it is not easy to find hinges. I am willing to swap out all four, but all I can find are shiny brass or hinges for inside. Where do you find hinges???

The former wet bar is now my stamping station. I guess it was a wet bar. It has real keyholes (you know-to keep rowdy teenagers from drinking all of your Kahlua or Courvoisier or Crown or...OK you get the point) and the top "drawer" actually folds down and is covered in a hideous laminate. The top flips up and there are various sized holes which I can only assume hold liquor. Anyway, it hides my ribbon and extra paper cutters and mats, not my stash of scotch or aforementioned beverages.

More Elf on the Shelf

Even with all of the ideas out there, it is still easy to get stuck in a rut with your Elf.
Here are a couple of ideas that I have not seen on the internet. Sparky found a perfect shelf in the tub to remind my forgetful little one to pick up in the bathroom.

Our sneaky elf got into my nephew's diaper bag and tried to steal some puffs. My daughter got a kick out of this one.

One night, Sparky got the envie (cajun for craving) for some candy. He tried to wheel the Christmas parade stash away in Marie Grace's shopping cart.  Marie Grace is our American Girl doll.  She is good at sharing. But I am not. Gimme back my banana tootsie pop. You don't find those every day.

Stationery card

Cross Stitch Joy Holiday Card

Turn your family photos into holiday cards this season.

View the entire collection of cards.

You know I don't normally try to sell you stuff, but Shutterfly offered to pay me (a VEDDY VEDDY small sum) to share my card with you. I actually like and use Shutterfly regularly, so I am okay with sharing.  They are professional, quick to get back to you with problems and I am very satisfied with them. So if you haven't already made your Christmas cards, its super user friendly to use their site.

DIY Dollhouse

Want a gift your little girl will remember forever? 

Get started now if you want the dollhouse complete by Christmas.  These kits take some time to complete. We bought one from Hobby Lobby (with a half-off coupon.) My husband did most of the work, but I did paint most of the small pieces. Want to get your mind off of something? Take up painting very small pieces of wood. If you ask me, it is worth the effort. This is the sort of thing people truly appreciate and keep forever.

I chose realistic paint colors instead of pink and purple. I even went to Lowe's to look at paint cards. I know, its ridiculous.

What dollhouse bedroom is complete without a custom bulletin board? Scraps of cardboard, ribbon, and fabric were used for this one. The fabric was left over from my daughter's real bedroom.  I used scrapbooking mini brads for tiny buttons. I just snipped the backs off and glued them on. We cut out index prints from online picture orders and they fit perfectly.

The same fabric was used to cover the crib mattress and make curtains. It doesn't take much fabric for all of this. (If you look closely, you can see where my daughter decided to "trim" the sides of the curtains. OCD is begging me to fix that, but I won't.) The rods are balsa dowel rods, but I haven't found anything that works better for finials than the little plastic pieces. The search is still on.

The painting was done on a small piece of chipboard from my scrapbooking supply. It's a teeny tiny bird on an alligator's snout. I may or may not have copied from a real painting in a catalog.

Why is the bedding and fabric on dollhouse furniture so outdated?? No wonder more people don't buy real dollhouses. I might have to recover and reupholster some things...