Hunger Game Birthday Invitation

HUNGER GAME INVITATIONS

 Makenna is having a Hunger Game Tribute training birthday party! Say that three times fast.

Step 1: I used PowerPoint to type up the invite, played with the fonts, bold, arrow clipart, and lines. I outlined the invite with a black frame. 

Step 2: Print in black the invitations.  Then realize I forgot the address! Redesign the invite and account for enough room to now mount the yellow invite to black paper to hide the mistake side without the address.  Flipped those sheets over and printed a correct version. 

Paper buying tip: I purchased paper in Yellow and glitter/gloss black from Hobby Lobby. Not on sale and .59cents a sheet and I was thinkin this is not a perfect situation.  Add the mistake of missing address and the need for more black paper had me exploring inexpensive solutions. So here is the tip… Tuesday Morning. I discovered they sell crafts and scrapbook paper and not by the sheet. They sell the bundles of paper that look like the wholesale package of one color that stores like Hobby Lobby unwrap and slide into the trays for .59 cents each. All bargain stores are a hit or miss but in this case I was flexible and lucky to find a yellow orange package and a pearlescent black for $1.99 a package (8.5 x 11). $4.00 for 25 sheets of each color… SCORE!

Step 3: Cut out the invites.  I line up the black frame under the guide of the paper cutter and get a near perfect yellow border around the black and reliable size for the envelope. 

 

Step 4: Black glitter paper medallion for the top of the invite. 

I imagine if you don’t have a cutting tool you could buy stickers, print the logo on the invitation, or print it on contrasting paper and cut it out by hand or with a circle punch.  I used my Silhouette Studio software and paint as follows:  

If you don’t have a cutting tool you could buy stickers, print the logo on the invitation, or print it on contrasting paper and cut it out by hand or with a circle punch.  I used my Silhouette Studio software and paint as follows:  

• Copied and pasted from a random website the logo into Microsoft Paint.  Save the image as a .bmp.  Note I was not too worried about blurry or anything as I only wanted the outline.
  
• Silhouette Studio open the image and select Trace > Select Trace Area option TRACE (traces every line) I learned how to do this at:
  http://www.kwernerdesign.com/blog/?p=4882

• Right click on traced image.  Select Release Compound Path. Select and delete all inside lines and shapes until I had the outline I wanted. 

• Cut one inch sizes across a single sheet of the Black paper.

We glued the logo to each invite with a ball point glue pen.  We used photo squares to mount the yellow to the black background. I didn’t use glue because the mistake printing on the back bled and made a mess with the glue.

Next Project: The goody bag contents

Mint Chocolate Chip Cookie

Mint chocolate chip cookie

I struggled with this one.   I started with a delicious looking pin for cookies made from http://tidymom.net/2011/mint-chocolate-chip-cookies

They included crème de menthe chips and a simple combination of instant ingredients. I am well know to honor the art of “Magic” food.   This fit the bill.

Magic = Simple combinations of ingredients (preferable 3 or less) that I almost can’t fail with. 

The bummer was I couldn’t find mint extract or the chips. I fear these are holiday type ingredients. I even tried Tony’s meats where more quality and specialized ingredients can usually be found but no luck. 

I pressed on!  I wanted to make these cookies…  I failed mightily with a homemade extract of peppermint oil and vodka mixed with everything except the crème de menthe chips. It was not minty enough and the color I used barely registered in the cookie.  So… after finally finding the mint extract at the craft store in the baking isle I tried a new version that Kaden really liked. Here it is and it the cookie pictured above. I think it is yummy with vanilla ice cream.

Cake mix cookie base from Duncan Hines: http://www.duncanhines.com/recipes/cookies-bars/hackshins/cake-mix-cookies

I use this base for lemon cookies, chocolate, strawberry cookies, etc. I prefer to find the mix with the flavor and keep it simple but in this case I went with white cake and added the prescribed mint portion from the previous recipe.

1 Duncan Hines White cake mix

2 eggs

½ cup of oil

½ teaspoon mint extract

Green food coloring ( I used wayyyy too much and they are a bit hulk looking)

1 ½ cups milk chocolate chips 

In large missing bowl cream the eggs, oil, food coloring, and extract. Add cake mix and combine thoroughly. Fold in chocolate chips (use any flavor of chip you like).

Drop by tablespoons full onto cookie sheet and bake at 350 degrees for 10-12 minutes.

FYI: I can’t wait until I find the mint chips they will be especially delicious.

DIY Gymnsatics Award Display

Level 4 gymnastics display shelf

My daughter is a budding gymnast. She has just started competing and we needed a way to organize and protect her new treasures. I created this shelf to display her brochures, photos, score books, and metals.

I purchased a shelf from Home goods, a white frame from IKEA, and couple of precut letters from JoAnne Fabric. I applied a couple of hooks that could hold a dowel rod to wrap the metals around. The letter, number, and dowel rod are painted her favorite color I still need to print a picture for the frame.

Mak loves it!

Men's 3x goodwill shirt refashion

Shirt Refashion!
Finally, I came up with an easy (for my limited skills) men's button down shirt refashion!

The shirt was a really pretty blue and white button up in a size 3x. It was brand new, $2.00 at goodwill and had a pretty little Paula Dean embroidered pocket. I have been scouring Pintrest for ideas that will work but never found one that looked easy and/or had rockabilly flair.

Soo... The inspiration went like this.  I happened to notice the top a country singer was wearing in a video at my friends house.  I didn't get a great look at it and can't find any decent internet pictures but it was a cross between Alabama Chanin and Steampunk.Side note: I can't afford Alabama Chanin, but I love it! So this video got me dreaming about tubetop corset thingies in unfinished and fluffy greatness in many variations. I have two tops I am making from this inspiration and the men's shirt refashion is the first. Really looks nothing like it but you know how inspiration goes:)

http://www.cmt.com/artists/az/band_perry/artist.jhtml
inspiration

This is not so much a tutorial as a running event catalog. I ripped more seams in this project than I have ever imagined possible.

Supplies: Big shirt from goodwill, white ruffle (2 yards and way too much) with bias tape top.






Event sequence:

• I laid a cotton tube top on the men's shirt laid out flat. Specifically centering the the outline to include the buttons down the front staying down the front.
• To keep the buttons from gaping I sewed a matching seam down the outside line of the button series. I overlapped it on an existing seam so it doesn't look wonky.

• I folded over the top and ironed down a straight line with a white button perfectly centered. I used a silly swirly seam (no reason really, wanted to try it:)

Fail events:

• I copied the fold over in the back and ran elastic through it. But when assembled the back looked puffy and unfinished. So I ripped that out and shirred a few inches of the top. I wish I had shirred almost the entire back.
• Original ruffles were sewn upside down and I imagined I could iron them down (rightside) and have a polished row/line. Nope they were too puffy and did not lay flat. so I made strips of bias tape and sewed the ruffle to the bias tape and then sewed it to the shirt. Before I found success I had all the rows sewn on. The seam ripper was the salvation because I didn't have fabric to turn to and I had cut up almost the entire shirt.
• I wanted unfinished edges on the gingham but the direction I had to cut the fabric has it fraying. Fray check to the rescue. 

Success events again:

• Prior to sewing the pieces together I shirred the back piece. Time consuming but looks very neat. This is the first time I have done so many. I used instructions from: http://www.makeit-loveit.com/2011/11/sewing-tip-shirringsmocking-with-elastic-thread.html
• I shirred the top of the ruffle pieces and sewed them into the bias tape I made in equal lengths. I cut matching lengths of white store bought ruffle. Working from the top down I layered the ruffles. It helped to have the shirt still in pieces for this. They were easy to line up with the pattern of the fabric so I just eyeballed it. I have each ruffle starting up against the button line.

• Ran a piece of elastic accross the top back for extra stretchy. 
• Right side together assembled the pieces. 
• Flipped right side out and started cleaning up all the threads. I still need to add the fray check to each blue ruffle but I am in love with it. I am wearing it today with a white jean jacket. With the shirt tails from the original shirt I can tuck it in or wear it un-tucked cute either way.

Next up a cream and lace shirred top more similar to the video inspiration.

Sugar Skull Sturgis Jewelry

Prototype 1

Sugar Skull Prototype 1:
I am gearing up for my annual Sturgis vacation. I can't meet up with all my besties without a cool gift (or at least my idea of a cool gift:)
Last year I made pinup girl necklaces and glitter mustache rings using shrinky dinks, necklace bezels, and art specific and unique for each. This year I am making something Sugar Skull.

This is my first prototype.










Supplies:

Tori Spelling necklace components: (from craft store Michael's and Joann fabric have the line - I purchased them on sale)

{styled} By Tori Spelling TM Glitz-Connectors Black 3.99

{styled} By Tori Spelling TM leather top half black necklace 3.99

Howlite Skulls: Etsy (4.00) vendor Smartparts




Had in supply box:
Freshwater pearls
Wire, tools etc.

How I am going to improve it:

• Better photo next time! 
• Instead of a wire loop as large as I have I am going to tighten the wire to the pearl and the loop will be to a silver jump ring. I think it will look more professional that way. 
• Also need to play with the findings and the glue. The gorrilla glue did what I wanted and created a surface for the flowers to adhere to but the foaming nature of this stuff caused it to grow between the flowers and I can see it. 

Organizing inside the cabinets

Necessity is the mother of invention.
Cabinet organizers are way too expensive but I desperately needed them. Luckily I have alternatives.
$50 dollars + a couple of hours = Kitchen declutter happiness
Where did I get the supplies: Extra Building supplies in Denver and a gift from my mom from ikea.

Why in the world are cabinet pullout supplies so expensive? Well I can't afford to do much with the retail options so I picked up the essentials at Extra Building Supply and applied a few hours of work installing the glides and sorting the junk. Now I have a great organized answer to the pans, tupperware, and baking dishes. The ikea stretchy variera is incredible for keeping everything in place.