A to Z with a little J

UPDATE:  The invitation and party game are now available to purchase at my Etsy shop. https://www.etsy.com/shop/AbbyLynDesigns My first niece/nephew will be arriving in just a few short weeks.  I'm not one for surprises so the fact that my sister-in-law has decided to be "team green" and not find out the gender has driven me crazy.  I have to admit however the closer her due date comes the more exciting it is to finally find out what she is having.  So in typical Abby fashion I went into overdrive planning her baby shower and I couldn't be happier with the turn out. The Invitation The Spread The Cake I made a cupcake bouquet (which was not as easy as I expected).  Using a styrofoam ball on top of the metal bucket base and toothpicks to attach the cupcakes.  I found this idea on Pinterest and after my first trial was a disaster I went to YouTube and watched a few videos to help perfect the technique.  The cupcakes ar...

Time to start blogging again!  Finally after an exhausting pregnancy and chasing around 2 children I am back to crafting and hopefully finding some time to blog.  Pinterest has only fueled my obsession and triggered my latest craft. I found the idea for an advent calendar on Pinterest and modified.  Makoodle even provided print outs for their calendar.  Instead of just doing straight rows I opted to make mine in the form of a Christmas Tree and made my own print outs. What I used: - 2" favor tins - 2" circle punch or scissors - Print outs - Magnets - Hot glue gun - Goodies to stuff in tins I used these 2" Wilton Favor Tins from Michael's.  You will find them in the wedding supplies aisle for $19.99 but Michael's always has coupons in your Sunday paper so be sure to check for those.  I had 50% off for these. I cut out all of the circles using scissors but if you had a 2" circle punch life would be a lot easier! For the magnets I ...

One more project complete!  I am slowly getting there but have picked up the pace since the party is only a couple days away.  All I have left now is food and the birthday banner. These were very simple to make once I found all the candy I needed.  I never thought it would be so difficult to find Lifesavers in a roll.  I went to 5 stores before I finally found them at the gas station. What you need: Hot Glue Gun Hard round candy such as peppermints or butterscotch Roll of Lifesavers Pack of Bubble Yum Gum Reese's Peanut Butter Cup Hershey's Kiss Mini Chocolate bars

With Jameson's 2nd Birthday only 2 days away I am am working in high gear trying to get ready for his birthday party.  With the invitations done and sent the next thing to address, what to wear?  I decided to tackle my first applique project and it turned out better than I expected.  What do you think? Up next..Birthday banner!

In my last post I showed an adorable little picture of my crochet monster for Jameson's 2nd Birthday party.  Well, this is what I get for getting an early start to my party planning.  Jameson is obsessed with trains now!  So what does a good mommy do (or at least this mommy)?  Scraps all her hard work and starts over.  So here I am, starting from scratch.  This time I started with the invitation.  All the cute decorations will follow. I had the idea to make the invitation into an activity.  So I spent hours searching online trying to find just the right idea.  Finally I found the folding train idea and I customized it to fit my needs.  It turned out so much better than I ever expected.  The inside of the card is the folding train and if you bring it with you you get a prize. I am beyond happy with how it turned out!  So what do you think?

I have decided for Jameson's 2nd birthday to do a Monster theme.  I know, I know, you are thinking I am crazy because his birthday is still a few months away but I may as well get an early start.  Hopefully by getting an early start I won't be rushing around and stressed out come January. Onto my first project...crochet monster beanie babies for a bean bag toss game.  I made my first one this weekend and it turned out pretty well.  I will be making a few changes to the next one but it will be mostly the same. I got the idea from another  blog  and am modifying it to fit my needs.

I have been asked several times in the last couple years exactly how I created Jameson's mural wall in his bedroom.  It was actually much simpler than it looks.  Unfortunately I don't have step by step pictures from when I did it but I have recreated a few of the steps for you to see. I took my inspiration from his bedding, you can see the quilt hanging over the front of the crib.  I matched the paint colors using a paint deck but you can easily take your inspiration colors to a paint store and they can custom match the colors for you. After selecting paint colors I painted 3 walls green and the mural wall brown.  I used Sherwin Williams Low VOC paint with a Satin Sheen, since I was 7-8 months pregnant.  The circles come next... What you need: Paint Polycrylic String T-Pin Pencil Paint Brush Tape Measure 1. Using a tape measure find the center of each circle and mark it on the wall using the pencil. 2. Create a large compass using the T-Pin,...