DIY Stationary

One of the Book Club girls is moving away...to Kansas City! We are going to miss her so very much, Book Club just won't be the same without her.

I wanted to get her something nice as a going-away present and remembered when I made these for Kelley over at The Lawrences for her bridal shower...They are easy to make and nice to give someone who loves stationary and might be needing to write some thank-you notes in the near future! I originally got this idea from my mom, but I don't know where she got the idea in the first place. I just thought they were so cute and such a clever idea!

All you need:

Stamps and an Ink Pad

Pretty Paper

Adhesive squares (I LOVE LOVE LOVE these things!)

Packaged sets of cards and envelopes (I bought these at Hobby Lobby and they had a plethora of colors to choose from!)

Seeds! (I purchased these at Sunflower Market, I really liked the vintage look they had to them and each packet was less than $2)

I didn't have my camera the day I made them, but they were really easy. Here are some photos of the finished product...

1. Cut the pretty paper to a size which will cover the majority of the front of the card. Do yourself a favor a use a paper cutter! It just looks so much better...

2. Affix the paper to the front of the card using the scrapbook squares. (You could also use a glue stick, but it just doesn't stick as well, in my opinion.)

3. Using the adhesive squares again, affix the seed packet to the left side of the card

4. On white or any corresponding color, stamp a message and cut it out accordingly! My stamps said:

"Wishing you sunshine and sunflowers all season long"

"Friends are flowers that never fade"

"If I planted a seed for every time I think of you, my garden would grow forever"

*Note: I totally poached these stamps and the aforementioned paper cutter from my mom!

5. Stick the stamped message on the right side of the card and you're all done!

Now your friend can send the cards to anyone they want, and the recipient will have a packet of seeds to plant! Cool, huh?

Would you buy this?

I posted a while back about DIY soap...

I met up with some of the Babes from Babes & Bullies over the weekend to do crafty stuff. (I'm beyond excited that some of the Babes are craft-dorks like me!!!) One of the girls makes homemade doggie treats, so I thought it would be cute if we sold treats for bullies AND treats for Babes (homemade soap!) at car washes and various upcoming events we have around Albuquerque.

I wanted to just make the one type, since we weren't too sure how well received they were going to be...Do you think Mojito Soap is trying too hard??? It's basically white soap that is lightly scented with vanilla and mint and has dried lime rings at the top. It turned out kind-of pretty, but I'm just not too sure about this one...


I wasn't able to take any pictures of our efforts, so I thought I would just provide a picture of a mojito instead...

Mmmmmmmm.......Mojitos!

DIY Soap! (Trust me, it's super-easy!)

I found this fun idea on the 100 Layer Cake blog for DIY soaps during a bridal shower. Guests can pick out which scents they like and the soap molds can harden while the bride-to-be open presents!

I ran the idea by my friend who is throwing a shower for her sister in a few weeks and she loved it! Lucky for us, we did a dry-run trial a couple of weeks before, only to find that it was a rather messy and time-consuming endeavor. Instead, we decided to make all the soaps ourselves, wrap them in pretty paper, and give them as party favors at the bridal shower.

Michael's and Hobby Lobby are really dangerous stores for me to go in to. I came out of there with my mind buzzing from all the projects I want to try, but I digress...

They have several different options for soap bases: Olive Oil, Avocado/Cucumber, Goat's Milk, and (our choice) Shea Butter. They also had a wide array of scents and add-ins to choose from. (We did Lavender/Lemon Verbena and Honey Almond/Orange Peel~they were heavenly!)

This is a fun project to just let your imagination run wild with: Coffee Beans/Vanilla, Chai Tea, Lavender Vanilla, Grapefruit and Dried Orange Peel, the possibilities are endless...

Cut the pre-scored block of soap base

Melt for about 4-5 minutes in the microwave

Add your scents and whatever other add-ins of your choosing

Pour into desired mold shapes (there are several options to choose from here as well, but we were looking for a more basic shape)

Let cool for about 45 minutes

We wrapped each bar in cling wrap

Pre-cut strips of pretty paper and wrap each bar

Affix a label explaining which scent is which

Fun idea, huh? They ended up being rather elegant looking if we do say so ourselves!

Luminaria Centerpiece

I came across these lovely babies in a Martha Stewart Weddings magazine and I just had to try them out. (Never wanting to miss a DIY opportunity!)

My friend M is getting married next summer and so I went over to her place to brainstorm on Invitations, Save-the-Dates, and centerpieces. It was lots of fun!

These are really quite easy to make, I don't have a full tutorial in pictures, but you can see the finished product right here. All you need is some vellum paper, (I think fabric would work nicely, too!) some ribbon, some mono glue, and a battery candle!

Cut the paper to size, adhere it to the glass with the mono glue (special glue that sticks really well and rolls out like tape, I love that stuff!) and stick a contrasting ribbon around it at whichever level you desire! (We decided the top third looked the best.)

Place a battery candle (those things are so cool!) and you're left with a lovely lantern which makes a special centerpiece~pretty easy!

A lovely flower arrangement for less than $6???

Daffodils have always been a favorite of mine. During springtime, I always love to purchase the pre-cut closed stems from Trader Joe's because it's fun to watch them open up after a couple of days. They are only $1.29 for 10 stems, people! I realize they aren't exactly eco-friendly, but I find fresh flowers to be such an easy and pretty way to decorate the home.

Masking tape is a florist's BFF because it can turn any vase into a beautiful centerpiece with little work or cost.






Tape across a vase in a grid pattern (make sure you fill the vase with water first!)






(Cut stems at an angle, so they will suck up as much H2O as possible.)



Arrange to your heart's content!

Keep in mind, that when you are using a glass vase, you have to "mind the downstairs" too! You want to make sure you don't have a beautiful bouquet of flowers up top with weird looking clumps of stems below!

Now, I know that it will look like a sorry Christmas tree for a day or two...


But after only a couple of days, here's what you'll have!



BTW, can we talk about how cute these place mats are? Potterybarn, baby! $2 each on sale!

Happy Springtime!