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Fabric {My “Crafty” Side}

Red, White & Drool

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Hosting a 4th of July fete or heading to a patriotic picnic this weekend?

Here are several sweet treats ranging from {semi-healthy} to {adults only}.

: White Chocolate Dipped Strawberries with Blue Sugar :

{via}:

: Firecracker Bundt Cake :

{how adorable would these be as minis?}

{via}

: Simple Cupcakes with Jolly Rancher Star Toppers :

{via}

: RW&B Mason Jar Cupcakes :

{via}

: Layered Jell-o Shots :

{via}

Hmmm….which one to whip up?

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Other festive treats to celebrate our country’s {Happy Day}…

Patriotic Pancakes

{separate batter into 3 different bowls and use red and blue color gels and leave one plain. stack ’em up with a blue pancake on the bottom, then regular and then red on top. drizzle with maple or blueberry syrup.}

Oreo Pops

{use a lollipop stick and push it into a double stuffed oreo. cover the oreo in milk or white chocolate and sprinkle with rw&b sprinkles}

Dipped Rice Krispie Treats

{dip about 1/4 of the square in milk or white chocolate and sprinkle with rw&b sprinkles}

Jell-o Parfaits

{make red and blue jell-o and alternate with cool-whip in a clear plastic cup for the kiddos}

Mixed Berry Shortcakes

{bake up some simple biscuits. cut up fresh strawberries, sprinkle with a little sugar and let sit for 30 minutes to macerate. mix in some fresh blueberries. slice biscuit in half, spoon berry mixture and a little juice over bottom half, put the top on and add some whipped cream}

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Is that enough to excite your sweet tooth?

Happy last day of June!

WOW.

Pinterested?

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There’s a new time suck in town…

It’s a fun way to create virtual bulletin boards of all your favorite things, ideas and inspiration.

View recipes, craftiness, home decor, diy, tutorials, on & on!

You could spend DAYS finding inspiration.

I spent 10 minutes and {pinned} some Summer Lovin’ goodness…

You can see it here.

I’ve only touched the tip of the Pinterest iceberg ~ still new and not quite sure what I’m doing, but I sure like what I see!

Someone even pinned my saltine toffee off this here blog! Kinda cool…

I need to figure out how to add {pins} to Pinterest.

Will have to wait ’til another day…we’re off to the pool!

Happy Friday!

Check This

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I thought it’d be fun to write out our summer list, display it and check off as we go. I figured if it were at eye level in a major traffic area, we’d be reminded of all the fun things we have planned for the upcoming hot months and be more likely to check them off quicker.

I just used the 8X10 frame from Elliott’s party that I hot glued mini rosettes onto and some Crayola Window Markers…

{amazon}

We did {pancakes & pajamas} today, but by ourselves….can’t cross that one off just yet.

Better get busy!

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Dance is wrapping up for summer, too, and I wanted to make a little {thank you} goody for Elliott’s dance teacher.

Check this out…

{loving this simple gift idea!}

1. Recycled TJ’s root beer carrier

2. Plain brown mailing paper {99¢ store}

3. Ribbon roll {Target dollar section}

4. Crinkle Shred {Target ~ $1.99…only used a tiny bit}

5. Seattle’s Best Coffee Iced Mocha {On sale for $1.25 at Pavillions, but I had a free coupon}

6. Six aqua straws {from our personal stash} tied with twine

7. Coconut M&Ms {49¢}

8. Chewy Tropical Lemonheads mini-packs {99¢ store}

{back….not as cute as the front!}

9. Martinelli’s Sparkling Watermelon Lemonade {79¢ at the 99¢ store?!?}

10. Watermelon note cards {Target dollar section}

11. Fun summer nail polish {Dollar Tree}

12. Pink Lemonade Lip Smacker {99¢ store}

I already had a little watermelon gift card and some leftover clothespins. I just cut a strip of the brown paper and glued it around the caddy. Then, on the front, covered the edges with a little ribbon and more Elmer’s!

Super simple.

I think it turned out pretty cute for under 10 bucks…plus I now have the supplies to make many more of these cuties.

Yay…it’s Friday!

Six Pack For Dad

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Father’s Day is a mere three days away…

I have cards that still need postage and to be dropped in the mail!

I came across this cute and simple gift idea…

Take an Izze soda or any six pack carrier and turn it into a little gift caddy! This one was for a sweet teacher gift, but I thought it’d be a fun way to present Daddy’s Day trinkets. I’ve been saving a Blue Moon carrier {for what, I didn’t know} and now I have the perfect use for it!

My Mom {AKA Gramma} mentioned getting some Dad’s Root Beer for Father’s Day. How cute would it be to tuck a couple bottles of root beer into the caddy along with some of papa’s other favorite treats and have some vanilla bean ice cream waiting in the freezer for some ice cold, frothy floats this Sunday?

{via}

Cute, cute!

{Trader Joe’s sells Vintage Root Beer that comes in a fun little cardboard 4-pack, as well}

Looks like the kids and I have our work cut out for us the next couple days!

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This caddy idea would literally work year round for any holiday or celebration.

Hot chocolate caddy for Christmas

Fill it with all things peppermint at the holidays

Mini bottles of champagne and a champagne flute for New Year’s Eve

Filled with red and pink for your favorite Valentine

A recycled Easter basket with a chocolate bunny peeking out

End-of-the-year teacher gift {again, as Seleta did above}

Get well goodies with a can of chicken soup, some cough drops and a rolled up magazine

Um, the possibilities are endless….don’t get this girl brainstorming!

LOVE. LOVE. LOVE this idea.

And I hope you do, too.

{a great way to reduce, reuse and recycle I might add}

Happy Thursday!

Rules For The Teacher

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I fell in love with this year-end teacher gift…

{You can download the FREE printable here}

I am NO way near as crafty as Crystal over at Little Bit Funky, but I DO know how to send this adorable download to Walgreens and put it into a frame for my kiddos’ teachers!

{my Walgreens is having a [2 8X10’s for $2 special] during the month of June….maybe yours is too ~ yes, I missed it by a day and a half!}

Going to get these cuties in some colorful frames and see what other rainbow goodness I can find to present to our sweet teachers at the end of NEXT WEEK! Where, oh where did this school year go?

Krylon, Take Me Away!

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I think I {may} be on the verge of quite possibly becoming addicted to spray paint{ing}.

It is the quickest, easiest, cheapest way to transform almost anything.

It all started when I spray painted the glass candle holders to make some little candy/snack dishes for Elliott’s upcoming party as seen again here…

I love them and they have perked up our mantel for Spring. I had visions of jelly beans in the little one and daffodils in the big one and haven’t gotten around to picking up either.

{btw, the color is krylon [pumpkin orange]}

Then, this past weekend we went to Lowe’s and I picked up another can of instant happiness and got busy yesterday morning…

{color is valspar [exotic sea]}

Keeping with the nature, outdoorsy theme of Elliott’s party, I have been collecting pine cones and branches on my Tuesday/Thursday morning hikes. Elliott even spotted a couple nice sturdy, long twigs down in San Diego last week.

I think they will add an organic, yet chic {and not to mention inexpensive} look to the outdoor festivities.

The aqua twigs will be fun on the mantel through summer, too. They also take on sort of a beachy feel.

Twigs and branches like these would be gorgeous during the holidays in silver or gold…oh man, I am already thinking about Christmas!

If you need some spunk or pop of color in your casa or backyard, grab a can of spray paint, shake, press with your index finger and watch the transformation take place.

And oh how I love the sound of the ball clanking around inside the can when you shake it!

5-Minute Silhouettes & Citrus Ginger Sangria Blanca

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Silhouettes are all the rage these days. I came across this easy tutorial and decided to give it a whirl.

It literally took me 5 minutes…

I’m sure I could’ve taken more time tracing, but I think they turned out pretty decent considering the time it took.

These are the pictures I used:

I literally just used some frames from the garage and cheap-o construction paper. I’d like to eventually spray paint the frames, maybe use some patterned scrapbook pages for the background and re-do their profiles, but these will do for now!

I think Holden’s turned out a little better ~ I had to capture those LONG lashes of his!

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Also, I finally figured out a quick white sangria recipe.

Citrus Ginger Sangria Blanca

One giant bottle {or two regular size bottles} of white wine…I used Chardonnay.

Half of a 2-liter {1-liter} bottle Ginger Ale…I used diet.

1/2 cup triple sec

1 orange, 1 lemon & 1 lime {sliced}

Throw all into a pitcher or beverage dispenser and stir well. It’s best to let the flavors marinate for at least an hour or so. Refrigerate until ready to serve. I like to serve on the rocks.

{I noticed Albertson’s has their own brand of Raspberry Ginger Ale…next time I will try this and add some fresh raspberries}

Grilling up a pork tenderloin with homemade wasabi teriyaki sauce ~ recipe to come.

Happy Saturday!

And The Oscar Goes To…

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{via}

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The nominees for the mint Havaianas in the {flip flop} category were:

Amy, Shauna, Vicki, Kathy, Leah, Michele, Erma, Victoria, Trish & Roxanne

Thank you Ladies for entering and sharing your Spring favorites.

Random.org selected the {winner}, but you’re ALL winners in my book!

And the mint Havaianas go to………

Shauna from Nor Cal!

Yay!

I hope you prepared your acceptance speech! 😉

I will get them packaged up and into the mail to you!

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Again, thanks for reading and entering…I will be doing another giveaway to kick off Summer, so please keep trying!

Looks like it’s going to be another splendid day in So Cal…

…may YOU have a splendid day wherever you are!

It’s Friday!

XOXO

Red Balloon

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February 1975

I was almost 4 1/2 years old.

This picture was taken after a day at the zoo with my {Gam}…my mother’s mother.

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I love this photo.

This photo has gotten me thinking. It has provided me with lots of ideas, but they are ideas that I’m not at all sure how to get off the ground just yet.

It’s been fun anyway to just think and dream and wonder and wish.

I hope one day to be able to let my {red balloon} go and see where it may end up.

Happy Wednesday!

Beginning Of A Mantel

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Trying to get the mantel {springified}.

Holden’s masterpiece from Art Night is serving as the anchor…I made a quick paper bunting out of some polka dot card stock with this template.  I just punched a couple holes in the top of each flag, strung twine through, then secured them in back with a small piece of tape.

I picked up some crystal candle holders at Dollar Tree and spray painted them orange. The idea came from here, but I decided to keep them a little more simple and streamlined with just a glass vase and small candle holder instead of the jars. First, spray paint with your color preference and then use some E6000 to marry the two. My kind of craft…wham, bam, you’re done.

When I originally saw this idea, I wanted to make them for Elliott’s party, but thought they would be fun in the meantime on the mantel to hold jelly beans and possibly some Cadbury mini eggs for Easter. They are so easy to make and can be tailored to any holiday or season…these will also make an appearance at Halloween!

It still needs something, but I’m not sure what…some good ‘ol jelly beans or chocolate eggs for a start and then maybe some daffodils in the vase…we’ll see!

Cannot believe next week is Spring Break! Where has this school year gone?

Happy Tuesday Eve!

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