Category Archives: DIY

a wreath …

July 21, 2011

i wanted to share with you a fun wreath i made for my door.  
i’ve been needing to make a new wreath for a while, and since i was getting ready for norah’s red, white, and two party, i decided to make a festive one.

here is a quick how to:
supplies
straw or foam wreath (found at the craft store, i found mine at hobby lobby) *if you do the straw wreath, just keep the plastic on.
cotton batting by the yard cut into 5 inch strips (about 3/4 yard)
1/2 yard fabric (cut into 3 inch strips), i used black and white striped fabric from hobby lobby
pin backs (optional)
hot glue gun, glue
wool blend felt (various colors for flowers, green for leaves) *i used the wool felt because it’s better quality and thicker, and when i use the die cutters, they cut out better.
scissors

directions:
wrap the wreath with the strips of cotton batting and glue or pin into place.  you can do one layer around the entire wreath, or more depending on how thick you want it.  next, take the strips of fabric and start wrapping around the wreath, and glue the ends into place with the glue gun, then keep wrapping until finished.

next, i used my lifestyle crafts epic six tool and the nesting blossoms cutter from the new possibilities release to cut out my flowers in various colors.  then, i used the nesting leaves to cut out the leaves.

next, i glued the flowers together, and glued the leaves to the flowers. then, since i wanted to be able to change out the flowers, i glued them to little pin backs and pinned them onto the wreath where i thought they looked good.

i’m excited to be able to change out the flower colors for different season!

*exciting news for my readers!  lifestyle crafts is offering you 20% off your entire order from their website!  just type in the code ARMELLE at checkout!

Party // red, white, and two: the party …

July 18, 2011

finally, i wanted to share the actual red, white, and two party with you!
we had a really great time at her party!  and, norah ran around eating as much junk as she wanted.  so, i know she had fun too!

since you bloggers are a curious bunch, i’ll be sure to share sources for everything at the end of the post 🙂 and, apologies in advance for so many pictures..

it is no secret that i love food, so i knew that i wanted to have some great food for the party.  i decided to stick with classic barbecue food, and a few red, white, and blue things!

fresh cut watermelon
corn on the cob on a stick
baby back ribs
various flavored barbecue sauces
red, white, and blue fruit
red, white, and blue salad
cupcakes
red, white, and blue cake
red raspberry lemonade
red, white, and blue goodies- i’m just trying to forget how much junk my kids ate that night..
details on how i made the paper wrapped around the glass jars below..
red, white, and blue bomb pops
red, white, and blue s’mores {which never made it out, we had way too much food..}

it was a little hard to get a picture of the fun paper decorations with the window light behind them, but you get the idea..
the birthday girl in red, white and blue
blowing out her candles

 we ended the night with sparklers and fireworks, great entertainment!
such a fun day!  it was fun to use the red, white, and blue theme since her birthday is july 1st, it worked out perfect, and there were so many options available this time of year! and, good thing that i love planning a good party, because it’s a lot of work!  and, i tend to go a bit overboard for norah’s party, because really summer birthdays are the best!
i know i say it every time my kiddos have a birthday, but i really cannot believe my norah is two?!!
party sources
paper accordion decorations- dollar tree, zurchers, party land
red striped table cloths- target
cake stands- martha stewart for macys
salad bowl- walmart
white platters- walmart, target, tai pan trading
bbq squeeze bottles- orson gygi
white portion cups- orson gygi
individual ice creams- wal-mart
candy- winco foods (red white and blue gummy candies, large gum drops), costco, orson gygi (gumballs, jelly bellies)
bomb pops- wal-mart
red and white cup cake liners- etsy
glass beverage dispensers with stands (they came black, but i sprayed them white)- winco foods
striped straws- orson gygi (available on etsy too)
striped plates- target
striped napkins- ikea
paper food baskets- sams club
aqua and white table cloth- thrifted
milk glass- thrifted
aqua glass vases- target
striped bowls- target
glass candy containers with lids- hobby lobby
norah’s dress- crazy 8
norah’s shoes- puddle jumper shoes
norah’s headband- lou and lee
barbecue ribs recipe
cake- made by me
salad recipe
specialty barbecue sauces- holy smokes bbq and grill, and jdawgs
paper decorations and labels
i was excited that lifestyle crafts asked me to use their new possibilities release for norah’s party!  it really made all the finishing details so fun and easy to make!
all of the food labels were made using the possibilities release.  i printed the food label with the stripes and used this nesting die to cut them out, then i stick it onto a tooth pick and used a large gum drop candy to hold it up.
the flags for the cake were made with the striped paper i designed and printed out, and cut out with the party flag dies from lifestyle crafts.
i also wrapped the candy jars with paper that i cut out using the petals wrap, the lattice wrap, the trellis wrap, and the diamond wrap.

*exciting news for my readers!  lifestyle crafts is offering you 20% off your entire order from their website!  just type in the code ARMELLE at checkout!
see more of the red, white, and two party, here.