it's a month of birthdays!

August is going to be a fun month. First, my oldest son celebrated his 9th birthday yesterday! ScrapMatters is celebrating their 3rd birthday this weekend (stay tuned for lots of fun stuff to come). I started designing at SM a year ago. Okay, technically I started in July of last year, but July was crazy busy, so we'll celebrate now! I love to organize and plan birthday parties for my kids, so I thought I would share a few ideas of themes, cakes, games, etc. this week.

One of my favorite parties I had for my son was a "Knight Party". I got the idea from Family Fun magazine.

To start we created "Royal Proclamation" invitations. We rolled them up and tied them with string before delivering them.

I made a fun dragon cake. The instructions for this cake can be found here.

For one of the games we held a "Ye Olde Knights Tournament" which was really just an obstacle course we set up in our backyard. I made castle turrets that were part of the obstacle course. For the party favor, my husband helped me make swords out of pool noodles. We handed these out before the Tournament, and kids were able to take them home at the end of the party. I made the stick horses out of a dowel, paper sacks, polyfill, and googly eyes. They worked great.

At the end of the tournament we handed out ribbons. This was a last-minute idea, but if I'd had more time I would have printed the center circle. It would have looked nicer, but 6-year-olds didn't care.

Here's an easy idea for a birthday banner. I created a 12x36 document in Photoshop and had it printed at Costco. Super quick and easy.

This party was tons of fun and my kids still talk about it 3 years later! Here's a page I made about it back in my paper-scrapbooking days.

I'll post some more birthday ideas if you want to check back later. Better yet, if you follow my blog (over to the right of the page) then you'll know when I update!

Also, don't forget to check out ScrapMatters this weekend for a great sale!

new release

going on right now...

new mini-kit

I have a new mini-kit out today. I think the bright colors are fun for summer! Take a look:

fabric bookmarks (no sewing required!)

Yep, another bookmark post. I really do like to read. I first saw the idea for these here. I made some and really liked how they turned out and have since given a few for gifts. My process was slightly different, so I thought I would give a little tutorial. Super easy and pretty quick, too!

No-Sew Fabric Bookmarks

Supplies needed:
Fabric scraps
Xyron sticker maker or spray adhesive
cardstock
Fray Check (or something similar)
hole punch (optional)
ribbon (optional)

*Note: If you don't have a Xyron, the spray adhesive works every bit as well, it's just a little bit messier. I would recommend putting your cardstock in a big box before spraying the adhesive.

First, cut a piece of cardstock to whatever size you want your bookmark to be (I made mine 2-1/4" by 6-1/2"). I wanted a set of 3, so I just made them all at the same time. Run the cardstock through your Xyron OR spray one side of it with adhesive. Stick the bookmark to the wrong side of your fabric.


Trim around the cardstock.


Put adhesive on the other side of the cardstock. If you are using a Xyron, make sure to stick the bookmark in fabric side up so the adhesive is on the correct side.


Now adhere this to the wrong side of your fabric. I used the same fabric on both sides of my bookmark, but you could use different fabric if you want. Trim off the excess fabric.


Once the fabric is adhered to the cardstock, and you've trimmed off the excess fabric, I recommend using Fray Check (or something similar)on the edges to prevent the fabric from fraying. FYI, I found Fray Check in the sewing department of Wal-Mart. Just apply a small amount and let it dry.



You can leave the bookmarks as they are, or you can punch a hole in the top and add some ribbon. I packaged 3 together and gave them as gifts. Here are some I have made:

iNSD and NEW STUFF!

ScrapMatters is having an excellent sale right now for National Scrapbooking Day. I have two new products out today, too.

I had a lot of fun making this kit. It is definitely my favorite so far.


The alphabet is included in the kit, but if you don't want the whole kit, you can get the alpha by itself.


Look at these pages from the ScrapMatters Creative Team. I love how they used the kit!
From Michelle:


From Kat:


I also have a new hybrid template out. This is a fun one and very versatile!


I made this bag. I know Father's Day is still over a month away, but now I'll be ready. I'm just going to slip a gift card in the bag with the Tootsies.


Thanks for stopping by. Don't forget to grab the printable bookmarks from the post below. Today's the last day you can get them for free!

National Library Week

Did you know that it is National Library Week this week? Well, it is. My kids LOVE to go to the library, and we are a family of readers. We love books at our home. I created this set of printable bookmarks, and for the month of April, you can snag them for FREE! (For Freeeeeeeeee! . . . . Bedtime Stories, anyone? . . . oh, nevermind LOL). Just click on the preview to go to ScrapMatters where you can get these bookmarks.

*Note: these are no longer a freebie, but you can still get them in my shop if you are interested.