It's My Party And I'll Drink...

My Mom & Dad are throwing me a party for my 30th birthday this Saturday. Lots of family and friends over for good food and of course, a few drinks. 

I decided to make myself a special birthday glass for my party using DecoArt glass paint pens. 

I have a small confession to make. I don't draw. I feel like my drawing skills are extremely limited to stick figures and the like. So I decided for this project to make a stencil out of vinyl and use that for the lettering. 

If you follow me on Instagram then you've already seen a sneak me of this project. If not, follow me here.

Now, this is when my craft fail comes into play. I've never used the DecoArt glass paint pens before, but was wanting to give them a try because it's good to try new things. I was surprised at how fast the paint dried, which was a good thing because I had to do a few coats to get it dark enough to make me happy. 

 The problem was that when I peeled the stencil off, most of the paint came off with it. 

Craft Fail!!! 

However, I was determined to make this work. 

Let's try a different tactic. 

I remade the stencil and used etching cream to etch the design into the mug. Once the design was etched in, I used the paint pens to trace over the etched design and give the mug a little bit of color. 

This time success!!! 

The best part is that once I was all finished with this project I realized that I could have just printed out the design and taped it inside the glass to trace it on. Oh well, maybe next time. 

Now my mug is all ready for my party on Saturday night. I'm sure it's gonna be a good one!


 

My Little Valentines

I was walking through Michael's the other day, trying to decide how to use my Christmas gift cards, when I stumbled upon a display that was all set up for the next major "holiday." 

Valentine's Day. 

Ugh!

Matthew was never really a fan of Valentine's Day, but we always did something, however small to celebrate the day. This year is different because it's the first year in a very, very long time that I don't have a Valentine. 

Then I realized, I don't just have one, I have 4... 

These sweet faces are all the Valetine's that this broken-hearted Auntie could need! 

 So I scooped up this package of heart shaped boxes to make little valentines for my sweethearts! 

 And a little Valentine candy for some inspiration...

 I pulled out my paints for the first time in way too long, and went to town! 

 I used my awesome Silhouette machine to cut out sayings graphics for my heart boxes with pink vinyl. 

 Then I applied the graphics to my little boxes.

 After applying the vinyl sayings, I applied a coat of polyurethane varnish to keep the paint from chipping off. 

Once they dried, I was finished.

 Now I have cute little treat boxes to give my nieces and nephew, and even a few extra to give to a few special people I know... now I just have to decide what to put inside. 

Have you done any Valentine crafting yet? 



I'm sharing this project at the following link parties: 

~ What's In The Gunny Sack @ The Gunny Sack ~ Tutorials & Tips Link Party @ Home Stories From A to Z ~ Take-A-Look Tuesday @ Sugar Bee Crafts ~ Tell Me Tuesday @ Him & Her ~ Time to Shine @ A Diamond in the Stuff ~ Too Cute Tuesday @ Funky Polkadot Giraffe ~ Lil Luna Link Party @ Lil Luna ~ Wow Me Wednesday @ Ginger Snap Crafts ~ Your Whims Wednesday @ My Girlish Whims ~ Wicked Awesome Wednesday @ Handy Man, Crafty Woman ~ Show & Share @ Southern Lovely ~ Creative Juice Thursday @ Momnivore's Dilemma ~ Transformation Thursday @ The Shabby Creek Cottage ~ Wildly Original Link Party @ I Gotta Create ~ BFF Open House Link Party @ The Answer Is Chocolate ~ Delicately Constructed Friday @ Delicate Construction ~ Anything Goes Link Party @ Bacon Time ~ Weekend Bloggy Reading @ Serenity Now ~ Weekend Wrap Up Party @ Tatertots & Jello ~ Free For All @ Young & Crafty ~ Strut Your Stuff Saturday @ Six Sisters' Stuff ~ Show & Tell Saturday @ Be Different Act Normal ~ Think Pink Sunday @ Flamingo Toes ~ Sunday Show Off Linky @ Twigg Studios ~ Sundae Scoop Link Party @ I Heart Naptime ~

Thank you for featuring this project!!!

Don't Spill!!!

I found the cutest idea on Pinterest (love Pinterest!) and decided to borrow it for my wedding prep. 

I decorated reusable drink cups with straws to reduce spilling anything on ourselves as we get ready for the ceremony. I made one for myself, my maid of honor, my Mom and my niece, Kirra since they'll be there for the getting ready part before the ceremony. 

I used my awesome Silhouette machine to cut out the designs, and names of everyone and applied the vinyl to the cups.  I'm pretty excited with how they turned out! 

 5 days to go!!!

In Case Of Emergency Break Glass

Awhile back I found the best little gag gift on Pinterest. 

via Pinterest

Of course I had to copy this idea!

Seriously, who doesn't have that emergency chocolate stash?


Wanna see how I did it? 

Supplies: 
picture frame (I used 5x7)
chocolate bar
vinyl or printer
glue dots or tape
spray paint (optional)


The first step I started with is completely optional. I spray painted my picture frames black so that they were uniform. If you have a frame that you are happy with just how you got it, you can skip this step and move on to the next. 

Next step was to install the chocolate bars into the frames. All I did for this one is use glue dots to secure the chocolate bar to the piece of paper I was using as a back piece.

press the chocolate bar down firmly to paper

Once I had the chocolate bar and paper in place, I put the back of the frame back on and slid the holding tabs back in place. The back piece is going to bulge a bit because of the chocolate bar being wedged in there, but if you press the back piece down, than press the holding tab down, it will stay put.

After the chocolate bar is in your frame, it's time to add the letters. I chose to use vinyl to add the letters to the front of the glass, but if you're not able to use vinyl, you could always print the letters out onto your paper that you mount the chocolate bar onto, or using letter stickers. 

Once you have your letters in place you're done! 

I think these are the perfect little funny gift for a few Moms that I know. 


So do you have an emergency chocolate stash?




I was featured!!!

I'm sharing this project at the following link parties: 

~ The Cure For The Common Monday @ Lines Across ~ Make It Great Monday @ Etcetorize ~ What's In The Gunny Sack @ The Gunny Sack ~ Craft & Tell @ Cherished Bliss ~ Talent Tuesday @ Vintage Wanna Bee ~ Tutorials & Tips Link Party @ Home Stories From A to Z ~ Take-A-Look Tuesday @ Sugar Bee Crafts ~ Tell Me Tuesday @ Me And My Boys ~ Tip Toe Thru Tuesday @ Crayonfreckles and Tiaras & Bowties ~ Too Cute Tuesday @ Funky Polkadot Giraffe ~ Time To Shine @ A Diamond In The Stuff ~ Show Me What Ya Got @ Not Just A Housewife ~ Love It and Link It Up @ The Little Giggler ~ Wow Me Wednesday @ Ginger Snap Crafts ~ Lil Luna Link Party @ Lil Luna ~ Your Whims Wednesday @ My Girlish Whims ~ Share The Wealth Wednesday @ Laugh, Love & Craft ~ Wicked Awesome Wednesday @ Handy Man Crafty Woman ~ Weekly Link Party @ Sew Woodsy ~ Show & Share @ Southern Lovely, My Lil Pink Pocket & Vintage Gwen ~ Spicy Link Up @ It's Just Called Spicy ~ Hoo's Got Talent @ Night Owl Crafting ~ Transformation Thursday @ The Shabby Creek Cottage ~ Creative Juice Thursday @ Momnivore's Dilemma ~ I Made This @ Grit & Giggles ~ Show Me Extraordinary @ The 36th Avenue ~ BFF Open House Link Party @ The Answer Is Chocolate ~ Creative Genius Link Party @ The Creative Paige ~ Delicately Constructed Fridays @ Delicate Construction ~ Weekend Bloggy Reading @ Serenity Now ~ Anything Goes Link Party @ Bacon Time ~ Weekend Wrap Up Party @ Tatertots & Jello ~ Free For All @ Young & Crafty ~ Whatcha Got Weekend @ Lolly Jane Boutique ~ Strut Your Stuff Saturday @ Six Sisters' Stuff ~ Show & Tell @ Be Normal Act Different ~ Saturday Seven Spotlight @ Positively Splendid ~ Think Pink Sunday @ Flamingo Toes ~ Sunday Show Off Link Party @ Twigg Studio ~ Sister Sunday Link Party @ Sisters Of The Wild West ~ Sundae Scoop Link Party @ I {Heart} Naptime ~