Everyday Celebrating

Folded dress napkins

These folded dress napkins couldn't be cuter!  These would absolutely wow at your next baby shower!

Head over to How Does She for the tutorial.   One fold and 2 cuts and add a bow. That's it!  EASY!

Vellum mobile

  

Great tutorial on making these vellum mobiles on Project Wedding.

Great for birthday parties, showers, etc. These would be a great addition for a Cinco de Mayo party in reds, oranges and yellows!  Vellum lets the light shine through!

Don't sew?... no big deal... just use a dab of hot glue or even tape to string.

Easy wrapping touches

This definitely is NOT my best photography.  LOL   BUT.. you still can still get the idea.

I like to add a little somethin' somethin' to my gift wrap.  I've talked previously about adding half of the famous Martha Stewart pom onto gifts.  I love the pop and height they give. This was a baby shower gift and as you can see, I added a name.  That's the baby's name - Karsyn.  These great sparkly rhinestone type letters are available in the scrapbook sections and they are just peel and sticks.  While you have to be extra careful with them because the "stones" are delicately held together, I think they really add to gifts.

Momma to be, Katy, if you're reading... can't wait to see Karsyn in all her fabulousness soon!

Cake in a Can

Anne over at A Party Style showed this great idea of celebrating a friend's birthday by sending them a cake that YOU MADE.  By baking the cake in a tin itself and then decorating, it's able to be shipped securely.

This would work for any occasion, not just birthday.  Graduation, Christmas, wedding or just thinking about someone and they love cake!

I LOVE this one she sent to a friend in New York representing the F train she'd take to go visit if she could. 

Visit Anne on her blog for this and more fabulous celebration ideas!

DIY floral arranging party!

I love this idea!  These ladies are attending a get together/class to learn how to transform flowers you buy at the corner store (or the Bodegas like in NYC).  It's a flower arranging class featuring flowers you can find everyday.

My favorite part?  Two things:  (click on the photo to enlarge)

1.  The kraft paper covered tables with the places of each participant and their names marked.

2.  The packages that await them:  their own pair of scissors and an apron.

 

Results!  See more photos here.

This week: on someone ELSE'S desk

Yesterday was a day to celebrate Administrative Professionals.  I put together this arrangement to celebrate the fabulous woman in our office who answers all the crazy questions and keeps things straight.  The tricycle planter was found at Goodwill and was originally a dark bronze.  I gave it a new coat of paint for a spring look.  Added a green pot to match the flower stems and not take away from the pop of the pink.  Finished it off with pink and white tulips.

The moss was added to hide the lattice work of the floral tape.  I forgot to take a picture of it, but here is a picture I found of what it looks like.  This is how you get flowers like tulips to stand up in a pot or vase. In this case, I used both wet floral foam and created the lattice design with tape.

Here's to celebrating those that help organize the chaos of everyday!

Mother's Day Gift idea - SmileBooks!

As we all know, Mother's Day is quickly approaching.  What better way than to put together a beautiful coffee table book of your family photos?

My friends at SmileBooks have TWO great offers for you - both are great ways to celebrate the upcoming holiday!

1.  Want a FREE book?  Sure ya do.  Click on the ad of theirs on the left of my site and get one!  All you have to do it sign up for their enewsletter.  

but here is something better....

2.  Do you have a LOT of photos and no time to put together your own book?   SmileBooks recently started a Design Service.  This is perfect for those folks that either don't have the time to design their own book OR maybe just wants a book, without going through the effort of putting it together.

Here's how it works:

Go to this link on the SmileBooks site.

Log in using your usual SmileBooks user data or register if you are not a SmileBooks customer.

Select the book size and design style you'd like.

Upload LOTS of pictures! The beauty of the image service is you don't even have to choose the best, the designer will do that for you.

SmileBooks designs a book for you

You preview the draft

You then make comments on any changes you'd like and repeat the review process

until you are entirely happy with the result.

And guess what?  When you're ready to order a custom designed book, just enter coupon code EVERYDAYDS and the fee for the design services and image selection will be ZERO.
(Make sure you click "update" once you've entered the code.)

When you're ready to order, enter the coupon code EVERYDAYDS which will
set your shopping cart amount for design services and the image
selection service to zero (please click on the "update" button once you have entered the code).

This code is valid on all photos uploaded to Smilebooks before May 9.  So get busy!!!

It's one amazing deal from my friends at SmileBooks.

SIDENOTE:  These books aren't just for Mother's Day.  Think about ALL the celebrations or memories you want to keep in a beautiful book.  Graduation, Father's Day, birthdays, weddings, anniversaries, Prom, Births, etc.  Gather your photographic memories and create a book that will archive them for a lifetime!

Crab cake!

 

First, have you entered my Goodwill Gift Card Giveaway?  If you're someone who loves thrify crafts and redo and even clothes... go enter!  Entries will be taken until Thursday!

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Is this cake cute or what???   I'm saving this idea. Would be great for a summertime beach type gathering.

"The body is a 9" double layer chocolate cake.  The legs are Twinkies cut in half.  The claws are chocolate chip cookies.  I baked cookie dough in an 8" round cake pan and then just cut the claws from that.  The eyes are a marshmallow cut in half with a mini M&M.  Orange mini M&Ms are on the body as well.  The sand is made from ground animal crackers (which by the way taste awesome with cake and ice cream!!  Might have to make this a regular topping!)"

See the rest of the party here

Everyday Events: Airplane birthday party!

First, have you entered my Goodwill Gift Card Giveaway?  If you're someone who loves thrify crafts and redo and even clothes... go enter!  Entries will be taken until Thursday!

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Oh how I love when someone takes some of my ideas and runs with them!  I love hearing from readers and seeing how they used ideas they saw right here.  Remember my airplane party?  Dawn of Not Just a Mommy recently threw this airplane party and it had great details!  Here are a few of them!

The dessert table.  For those that LOVE Amy Atlas and most do, part of what makes Amy's presentations so striking, if you'll notice, is that she always ALWAYS creates a backdrop behind the table that matches/compliments the desserts.   This sky background worked perfectly..

She used the infamous Martha Stewart poms to create puffy clouds

She created "propeller pops".  The props were made out of chocolate and mini m&ms.

The lunch counter was decorated as a runway.  Children's meals were served in clear containers while the adults grabbed sandwiches and personalized water bottles.

The guests were remembered through the Pilot's License photo prop

Guests picked up their favors of an airplane treat, a toy airplane and homemade playdough complete with airplane cookie cutter

More photos are on Dawn's blog.  Head over and compliment her hard work!  And remember, I love to hear from readers!  Show me YOUR parties!  Do you need an airplane party invitation?  Check out my etsy shop for editable invitations!
   
   
  

Give it to Goodwill! (and a giveaway!)

Taking a small break from crafts and parties to talk again about Goodwill (again)!  Did you know that Goodwill is the ORIGINAL recycler?  Sure, the traditional recycling efforts are great (bottles, cardboard, cans, etc) but recycling items that you can no longer use does a great deal for Mother Earth as well!

My local Goodwill is Goodwill of Middle Tennessee and since they were founded over 50 years ago, they have diverted millions of items from the landfill here in the Nashville area.

With Earth Day coming up, why don't you take the opportunity to donate something of yours to a greater cause.  Divert something from a landfill?  While clearing out the clutter!

My son and I recently did.  While cleaning up our yard for the season of backyard play, we decided these two items were great to recycle for other children and it kept the items out of landfill.

We have a brand new Goodwill location that just opened by our house so we drove over to drop off this donation and then go in to check out the new selections.  Like how I donate and then go in and buy?  LOL

The staff at Goodwill is always friendly and grateful for the donation.  They help unload everything out of your car and handle your items with care.  Before you leave, they always thank you and ask if you need a receipt for your donation.  Great people!

In honor of Goodwill's Community Donation Drive, Everyday Celebrating and Goodwill are giving away TWO $10 Goodwill Gift Cards.  

One card will go to a resident of the Middle Tennessee area so they can support my hometown Goodwill.

The other card will go to one Everyday Celebrating reader outside of the Middle Tennessee area.

I'll take entries through next Thursday, April 22nd and announce the winners the following day.

To enter:

1.  Leave a comment about an experience you've had at Goodwill (donation or a good find!)

2.  If you are from Middle Tennessee, make sure you say so!  One gift card if especially for a Tennessean!

For additional entries (make sure you tell me in your comment if you are a new follower):

1.  Join the Everyday Celebrating Facebook Fan page

2.  Follow me on Twitter

ALSO... Tennesseans, my friend Jamie is hosting a Goodwill gift card giveaway on her blog, Savvy Housewife.  Enter there too!  Can't hurt!!!  You may win BOTH!