Personalized Water Bottle
B's grandparents had put a water bottle into his Easter package this year. Funny that I had been looking for a plain one to embellish and never got around to buying one, so this worked out perfect! We had received the package a few days before Easter so I had plenty of time to embellish it. I ended up using the Super B logo that I had made for B's second birthday invitations for one side of the water bottle, and then used the Super Hero Kid image from the Silhouette library that I purchased for the opposite side. I also personalized it with his name in the SF Comic Script font. I used some heavy duty Oracal vinyl that way it would withstand multiple washings and could also last through the dishwasher if it accidentally made it's way in there! (The green cape is 651 vinyl and the metallic grey is 951 vinyl). I love the way the bottle turned out and will definitely be practicing more layering techniques! (I know, it's only one layer, but gotta start somewhere!) In the past I've made a few of the personalized aluminum water bottles and double walled travel cups, but they've always been very simple designs, or just the name! (Of course, gave them away as gifts before I took pictures!) Now that I've been using my Cameo more and am more comfortable with creating on the software, I can think of a ton of fun personalized ones to make! Now I just need to get my hands on some more tumblers, water bottles, and travel cups- think a trip to Homegoods may be in store! I've been seeing some of the skinny tumblers with straws online but haven't been able to find them anywhere where I can just purchase a small amount at a time (I definitely don't need, nor can I find a place to store even 12 right now!) Hoping that once the trend of the skinny ones hit, then they'll be easier to find at retail stores!
Handmade Dolls
A few months ago I was in a pinch and needed a small gift to add on for a little girl's second birthday. I remembered my friend over at Pinkberry Patch who makes the cutest handmade dolls. In fact I have one of hers myself that sits on my sewing table! Since I was in a bit of a hurry (the gift was going out in the mail the next day!) I knew that I didn't have time to get one ordered and figured I would try my hand at doll making! I had all the necessary supplies, just needed to figure out a pattern! I came across this amazing blog that had a free template so I decided to go for it! It was the perfect size- about 16 inches tall once finished (with tendonitis/arthritis I honestly don't know how much smaller I could make a doll without killing my hands even more!) I love the two little pigtails I gave her as well!
I had also been wanting to make B a boy doll too. Every now and then he will carry my niece's doll around and it's the cutest thing! I had seen some super hero dolls on Etsy and decided to make my own using the free template that I had used for my cousin's doll. Since I was also planning my son's second birthday party which was a super hero theme it turned out perfect as an add-on to his gift as well! I had also made his invitations with a Super B logo and decided what better emblem to put on the front of his doll! I was excited to finally use some of the superhero fabric I purchased by Michael Miller- it worked out perfect as the doll's cape!
The last doll I made was for my niece's fifth birthday. Like every little girl, she LOVES dolls, so of course I had to make her one of her own! She even got to pick out the fabrics herself (though she had no idea what was being made, just that I was going to make something for her birthday!) I decided to give her dollie two braids, just like she requests to have her hair done nearly everyday!
I've had several inquiries about whether or not I'd sell dolls...short answer is I always refer everyone to my friend over at PinkBerry Patch!! She's much better at this than I am, and as much fun as it is to mix and match patterns and hairstyles, I think I will stick to making these as gifts for my friends and family! 
Super Hero Birthday Theme
I'm a little late in showing these, but figured in keeping with the birthday card theme better late than never! Back in January, B turned two. I had decided on a super hero theme a while back since he was really getting into little action figures! I used my Silhouette Cameo to make all of his birthday invites, thank you cards, and goodie bags! The city skyline and the "kapow" shape are available for purchase in the Silhouette shop. I was able to create the Super B shape and then use the offset tool to make the outside pentagon. The thank you cards are just simple card stock with Super B on one side and a solid white backing, which was perfect for writing special thank you's to all his buddies! For the goodie bags I ended up cutting out the names in black vinyl to make it easier to apply (rather than using card stock and gluing all the pieces on individually!) I love the way these turned out! It was actually really easy and low-key and I'm not sure if I'll be able to come up with something as cute (and easy!) next year!
Boys Birthday Card
Last week B and I were invited to a mid-week birthday party! The birthday boy was turning four and loved cars! The party had crept up on me and I realized I didn't have a birthday card to go along with the gift. I've been wanting to stock up on home-made cards made with my Cameo, but as always, it never seems like there are enough hours in the day to work on fun stuff! The day before the party I was able to whip up this card while B napped.
Front of card & envelope
I had a pack of the natural envelope and cards and decided to just embellish that instead of trying to create something too fancy. (Let's be honest, I probably sat in front of my entire collection of fancy printed cardstock before realizing I was trying to do more than I could in a short amount of time!) Since the birthday boy loves cars, I chose a race car image that I had purchased from the Silhouette library. The car is cut out of cardstock and the wheels, window, and race track are all vinyl. The font I used for "Racing your way" was Bauhaus 93. Instead of just scribbling the birthday boy's name on the front of the envelope I decided to cut his name out in vinyl using the font LD Royal Quiet Boxed.
Inside of card
Considering this was a quickie nap time project, I really like the way it turned out!! Wish I had thought of it then, but it probably wouldn't have hurt to cut out multiple cars while I was working on this that way I could've started my stockpile of cards!
Parmesan Popcorn
Parmesan Popcorn
Growing up my mom always made popcorn on the stove. Her kettle corn was always a treat and still to this day I cannot get mine to taste nearly as yummy as hers was!! Up until a few years ago I had forgotten how good fresh popcorn can really be- especially since it's so easy to make! Since I've been trying to cut back on potato chips, seasoned popcorn has been my new best friend!
I've been asked a few times by friends how to pop popcorn on the stove, so I thought I'd post about it so it would be easy to link to. I'm sure there are plenty of other techniques out there, but this is generally how I make mine!
Ingredients:
- about 3 tbsp oil (typically I use vegetable or canola oil, but kernels popped in olive oil and sprinkled with some sea salt is also another one of my favorites!)
- 1/3 cup popcorn kernels
- 1 tbsp melted butter
- about 2tbsp parmesan romano cheese (you can add more depending on how cheesy you want it!)
- sprinkle of garlic salt, thyme, and black pepper (or if you need actual measurements, I'd say maybe 1/8 teaspoon of each)
Heat the oil in a medium pan on medium high heat. Add a few kernels into the cold oil and cover the pan. Once the kernels start to pop, add the remainder of the popcorn kernels and cover. Make sure that the kernels are spread throughout the pan and not overlapping, you may need to toss the pot a few times. Once the popping starts to slow down, turn off the heat. Pour into a large bowl and add in your seasoning, mix around, and enjoy!
Hair Accessories
It's no secret that I'm OBSESSED with Pick Your Plum! Seriously, it is a crafter's dream! I can honestly say that the majority of the hair accessories I make come from deals that I've snagged off PYP! Now that spring is almost here, I've added a few new sets to the shop!
And because everyone has always been asking for more no-crease hair ties, I've decided to add printed elastic to my collection! I LOVE the peacock elastic I recently came across! Everyone still seems to be on the chevron train, so I've added printed colored chevron to my stash as well!
Bowtie Onesies
I know what you're thinking, thank goodness the moustache craze is finally dying down! As cute as the "Little Man" moustache shirts are, I'm glad that I am no longer getting as many orders for them and can move onto something new! I decided that since Easter and Spring are quickly approaching, what better time to start making bowtie onesies!
I've recently bought a bunch of great boy prints- who knew plaid could be so fun?! Can't wait to get started on more bowtie shirts, and of course bowtie bibs!
Infinity Scarves
Over the holidays I made a TON of infinity scarves, both as orders and as gifts! Every time I think I'm done with them I get more requests, so I thought I'd post some of the ones that I've made or have available! You can find what's left of my stock here in the shop! I do have several others that I am working on (I know I keep saying that, but seriously, I wish there were an extra five hours in the day!) I've even stocked up on some linen cotton blends for some fun Spring scarves!
Fun Shirts Using Heat Transfer Vinyl
I love making fun shirts for B! The other week I was at H&M and they had some striped shirts on clearance for $5 (originally $13!) The cutest thing about the shirts- they had contrasting elbow patches on them! I grabbed a couple just to add to his wardrobe- never hurts to have enough clothes for a toddler boy! I think we do at least two clothing changes a day! I went back in last weekend and found that the clearance shirts were an extra 50% off! I ended up grabbing a striped black and white one that I didn't originally the first time- seemed too jailbird-ish for me! BUT I knew that adding a design onto it would be just the thing! I originally wanted to put one of the new designs from the Silhouette shop that had the woodland animals- a raccoon or fox would've been perfect, but I didn't have all the necessary colors! 
I ended up doing a robot design and in order to make it stand out just a bit more I added a circle cutout for the background so that the orange robot would really pop out against all the black and white stripes.
Striped Shirt With Robot
With Valentine's day coming up I decided to make a couple other shirts for some baby friends who would be celebrating their first love day!
I absolutely LOVED this image I found in the Silhouette store! I ended up changing the colors of the whales and also their eyes around than what was originally posted in the Silhouette shop! The teal heat transfer totally pops against the pink!
I Whaley Love You!
Last year I had made B a "Heart Breaker" shirt and when I saw the cute little chevron hearts in the Silhouette shop I knew I had to make more! I can't remember the font I used (that'll happen when you spend a weekend downloading nearly a hundred fonts onto your computer!) but I loved the little heart cutouts in the font and thought it'd be perfect for the shirt! And in keeping with the chevron theme I added a chevron burp cloth for my friend as well!
Chevron Heart Breaker Shirt with Burp Cloth
Organizing in 2013!
Has anyone else gone on an organizing frenzy now that it's the new year! Since both my son and myself got quite a few things this holiday season I decided everything needed to be in it's own special place!
First, I upgraded one of my scrapbook boxes to be a bit larger to hold more of the paper I've accumulated now that I actually am using my Cameo a lot more than just for cutting out fabric or vinyl. I just used a cute frame image from the Silhouette store that had a bird on it and the font KG Love You Thru It (I love all the cute little hearts throughout!)
Scrapbook Paper Box
I was at Jo-ann's a while back and came upon this small tackle box container for crafts. I think I only paid $3 for the box! I bought it not really knowing what I'd put into it but knew it was too good a deal to pass up! (I'm a sucker for a bargain, especially when it has to do with organizing!) When I started getting into metal hand-stamping I realized it was the perfect container- there was a large compartment at the bottom, and when you opened the lid, there are two levels of trays that pop up as well, with smaller compartments in them! There's plenty of room for my alphabet handstamps in the main compartment, and I use the smaller ones up top to hold jewelry blanks, spoons, and anything else I can stamp!
Hand Stamping Tool Box
Next up was a rock box for my son! Every little boy needs a special place for their rocks right? Or maybe just me because I'm tired of pulling them out of the washing machine! I ended up using green duct tape sheet and cutting it with my pinking shears to make it look like grass at the bottom of the box!
Every little boy needs a rock box!
My son also got a huge container of Bristle Blocks that he loves playing with! I think the container itself was pretty self explanatory but of course I needed to add vinyl!
Bristle Block Container
And lastly my son received a set of Play-Doh and tools for his birthday. I ended up grabbing a container from Target and filling it with the set so that everything was in one place.
Play-Doh Box
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