Confession 45 - You are the MAC to my CHEESE

Hi there! I hope 2014 has started out with a bang, mine sure has! The gal that does my nails (part Vietnamese) says with it being the year of the Horse, it's MY year! Okay, I'm so up for it being "MY" year. Last year started out being that way and ended on a great note, but was so rocky in between, I'm ready, bring it!

I've been crafting and making so many things using my Silhouette, it's been fun. I just have not had the time to post anything. Life has really taken over. Raising two active girls, having a super active social life, a busy corporate job, freelancing, the list can go on and on. But once again, I want to commit to making some posts on here this year.  I have some fun stuff up my sleeve and have made some great partnerships in the the last couple months that I'll be showcasing.

Today, I'm confessing about a cute quick Valentine gift I put together. It all started when a huge box of Kraft Mac & Cheese was delivered to my my doorstep a couple weeks ago... I had it on Subscribe and Save with Amazon and totally forgot to cancel it despite the fact Amazon sent me multiple reminders, ARGH. Sound familiar. So, here they were, 15 boxes of Mac & Cheese and let me tell you, I did not want to eat them, nor did I want the girls too (I did a detox at the beginning of the year and am totally off white flour, pasta and most dairy, more to come on that in another post) so my conundrum ... how can I repackage them for Valentine's day? I started snooping on Pinterest, but really didn't find anything that caught my fancy. Then I started to see a lot of those love sayings... like " you are the peanut butter to my jelly" etc... and a light bulb went off, You are the MAC to my CHEESE! I had these yogurt cups from a BBQ party I did last year, added a pack of napkins and there you go, a super cute, extremely inexpensive gift!

I'm trying to figure out a way to PDF the print and cut file so I can put it here and all my readers can use it. In the meantime, if you have a Silhouette machine and want to email me for the file, I would be happy to send it. The circle stickers are in a PDF file, feel free to email me about them. I will get them to you!

Thanks for stopping by and I hope you liked my latest confession!

Confession 44 - Wrap your Crap Christmas Caddy

Hi there! I can't believe I'm actually making a crafting post! Yay, things are settling in with life and I've had time to wrap my head around craft projects. Today I'm confessing about my "Wrap your Crap Caddy". My BFF and I saw a similar idea on Pineterest last year and I actually used a similar concept to house some fabric of mine... and whoa-la! the concept was born. Well it might have taken a little more than that, but basically that's how.

Last year, we strategically purchased items at the end of the holiday season at 70% off or more off to use for our caddy. This way, we could keep cost down and spread the wealth!  Interested in how we made it and what's exactly in it?  Ok, here we go, below is a picture of everything we put inside (some of the caddies we added gift tags, it was omitted from this pic somehow, but use your imagination).

So the container we used is actually a beverage container from In-N-Out, for those of you out of state in a state that does not have an In-N-Out, first off, I'm really sorry, but you can grab a beverage holder from another fast food restaurant.

Next up, we added some embellishments for the sides to jazz it up and make it festive. You could use stickers or even wrapping paper. I used cut outs from my Silhouette Cameo. We used a color scheme that went with the other items in the holder.

Next, tie ribbon to the handle part. This again just makes it festive and whimsical.

Now you can start filling your holder.  We placed items in the holder strategically so you can see all the items, using adhesive or double sided tape to hold things in place.  The scissors being so heavy, kept flopping forward so we actually tied them to the handle of the holder with some twine.

Our last step was to tie on our snarky tag, "Wrap Your Crap Christmas Caddy".  My BFF and I thought long and hard to find a good name, something unique but yet identified what it was... figures we came up with something snarky!  I don't know about you, but this time of year, I really need to lighten things up and laugh!

Our final cost of the caddy came to about $10, with most items being $1. The most expensive item was the scissors at $3, but the holiday themed ones we used from Lowes I'm sure will be getting cleared out at the end of the season, so look out and grab some up for next years gifts and caddies.

We gave these caddies to some of our friends that we thought would get some good use out of them.  I gave one of mine to a friend who had been sick and knew was probably behind in her wrapping.  What a great gift to have all your items in one convenient location!

I can see so many different uses for a beverage holder such as this. Present a baby gift, transport meeting items ... the possibilities are endless.  Leave a comment and let me know what some of your other ideas are!

Happy crafting! Thanks for stopping by and I hope you liked my latest confession!

Confession 42 - Get your Painting On

Hi there! As promised, I'm bringing your more posts and trying to confess more these last couple months of 2013.  Today I'm confessing about one of my all time favorite whimsical self taught painters, Timree Gold.  I've been following stalking Timree for nearly 10 years now.  I first learned about her through a mutual friend and saw her amazing mural work, you can check it out here.   The pictures on her site are amazing, but seeing her murals in person are breathtaking.  So much detail and personal touches! She has painted for many celebrities and famous people and even had an appearance on the OC Housewives show.

This past Sunday, my good friend Diana and I visited her studio to paint.  This is the 3rd painting I have done at Timree's studio, and each time I'm amazed at how well I do. I start out nervous and unsure if I'm going to be able to complete the project, but in the end, I succeed with flying colors.  Painting at Timree's Studio offers me a creative outlet and let's me put something on the calendar that is just for me!

When you arrive at Tiimree's studio in Newport Beach there is a place setting of a palate of paint, a photo copy of the Timree "original" painting you will be painting and a blank white canvas on an easel.  She equips you with 4 brushes, in her technical Timree terms, 1. The Fatty 2. The Medium 3. The Tween and 4. The Baby.  It's her own vocabulary and made up terms for her painting technique that puts you at ease and allows you to relax to become creative and paint.

It's definitely a must for anyone to try once, twice or many times (some of my friends are addicts, I'm not mentioning any names).

Check out some of my pics...

London Calling Portrait

Easter Painting in the Spring

My First Class!  A Gift for my birthday from my BFF! 

Pretty professional looking huh? I know, she's a genius!   So hurry up and stop by Timree's site and sign up for a class and get your Painting On!  Make it a Mommy & Me session, a Girls Night Out or just a creative moment for yourself!

Thanks for stopping by and I hope you liked my latest confession!

Confession 41 - Repurposed Pill Box

Hi there! I can't believe it's been over 30 days since my last confession! Yowza! Life has really taken over my creative juices. Lately, I've been doing lots of crafting, so as long as I have time to write a post, you will be hearing a lot from me.  Today's confession is about a gift I put together for the girls.

A couple weeks ago I found out I would be gone the whole First Week of School for the girls. Ya, bad timing. We started school so late this year, normally the dates my company picked would not be a problem.  I was crushed to know that I wasn't going to be in town to pick them up after the first day and hear about their teachers, classrooms and friends. It was torture for me!  We talked nightly and texted, but it was still so hard!

So I saw this idea over on one of my favorite sites, Dating Divas, originally the post was put together for you to use with your hubby, but I altered the idea for my girlies.  It was so fun to put together and think about their little faces when they opened each box every night.

These came from Dollar Tree -
Yes I shop there occasionally, late at night -with hat - with a trenchcoat!

I altered the Hub notes, to kid notes.... email me if you want me to share them.

I couldn't find my normal 7 day Pill Box, but this ended up working out,
Candy/Surprise on one side and note on the other.

There are so many great applications for this idea. I would like to use it for the Hubs sometime, but he's not a candy lover... and well, the pill compartments are too small for anything else he likes... so on I will go, hunting for another solution.

Thanks for stopping by and I hope you liked my latest confession!

Confession 17 - DIY Keepsake Bracelets

Good afternoon! It's been a crazy week leading up to President's weekend and Valentine's Day. I'm looking forward to having some days off of school to get some R&R in on a little family vacay. Today I'm confessing about some cute Keepsake Bracelets I made for a dinner that I hosted for my friend's Sue's Memorial Dinner, I wrote about it here.  I'm making the dinner an annual tradition and with that, I love to give out a favor. Last year I did a cute plaque that had a beautiful saying on it :
                If I listen closely, I can hear the rustle of Angel wings, and I know Sue you are still with us.

This year, I decided to change up the favor with this really cute charm bracelet. Sue loved this look too, and I know it would remind us of her when we wore it.

All the items to make these I got at either Hobby Lobby or Walmart. These super cool bracelets that we added the beads to came from Hobby Lobby. Who knew these even existed.  I sent my BFF to scope out the supply section and when she came back with these, I was {{swooning}}.  How cool are these stretch bracelets! These would be great for a Girl Scout activity.

These are some of the beads I used. The Silkies stretch bracelets need a bead with a pretty large opening, that is the only thing that is tricky. [update: these are only found at Hobby Lobby] But there are many beads out there that work. You might have to do some trial and error.  Below are some of the ones I used:

The top beads I got at Hobby Lobby and the bottom at Walmart. Walmart prices are the bomb! and these beads can be rather pricey!

Here's the final favor and what it looked like in the box. I got these boxes off of Pick Your Plum a couple of months ago. I wasn't quite sure what I was going to use them for, it was a great way to display the bracelet.

Thanks for stopping by and I hope you liked me latest confession!

Confession 16 - Movie Treat Boxes

I hope you all had a great weekend! I had a great Girls Day out for my BFF's birthday. It was simply amazing. More to come on that in the next couple of days. But today, I'm confessing to you about a creative party favor I put together for our weekend birthday movie. As everyone knows, buying drinks and candy at the movie theater is soooo expensive! So, to help with cost and also allow us to bring in some "contraband", I put together these cute boxes. I had these plain white card board boxes from another project I did. I bought them off of ebay. They came in a 50 pack and are super inexpensive when you buy in this bulk. My sign was printed on cardstock and I just printed with black ink, "Movie Treats for my Peeps".

Inside, I packaged the red vines in pretzel rod bags. They were a little squished, but I didn't want to cut them, the fun of eating licorice is having the long rope right? Then I had small cellophane bags that we put M&M's into. Our "contraband" was a mini Smirnoff Kissed Carmel flavored vodka {{complete Bliss if you have not had it}} and a small Ginger Ale bottle. I lined the bottom of the box with one piece of tissue paper and then added some red crinkle paper. These treats were so yummy to enjoy during our movie.

Thanks for stopping by and I hope you liked my latest confession!

Confession 15 - Paris and a story told in Photos

Today I'm confessing about a a beautiful story told through photos in one of my all time favorite cities, Paris. This video touched me in so many ways ... a must see for each and everyone of you out there. Grab some tissues... I know you will need them.  Sue and Sara, this post is for you! xoxo


 Thanks for stopping by and I hope you liked my latest confession!

Confession 11 - 2 Year Anniversary

Hello readers! Today is a hard day to get through, it marks the 2nd year anniversary of my dear friend Sue's passing. I'm confessing about missing her today and everyday. If you take a look at the "About Me" section just to the right, you can see how this blog is dedicated to her.

I'm meeting up with some friends today at one of her favorite dinner spots to remember her. I miss her terribly every day. As I read blogs, craft, arrange parties, invites and just go through life being a mom, wife and friend I think about what Sue would have done. I know she is looking down so happy to see how her legacy is living on in her children with Jeff and her parents help. Love you my angel. 

I discovered this song a couple of weeks ago and it immediately reminded of Sue.  I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.



Thanks for stopping by and I hope you liked my latest confession!

Confession 10 - Monday Inspiration

With a sick kid and a migraine, I'm still managing to get Confession 10 out to you guys! I know, I rock right? I was in San Diego for the weekend and have some killer photos to share, but those will have to wait till tomorrow when I am feeling better now. Today, I'm confessing that I love inspirational quotes and poems! Sometimes, they immerse in the blogsphere at such opportune times, more times than not, they are just meant to be!

I read this one this morning on Becky Higgins blog, here, and had to repost it on my blog. It's so perfect for today. I might even break out my Silhouette and make a sign with it. I'm {{crushing}} that much over it!

This is a poem that was on one of the walls in Mother Teresa's home in Calcutta, India. It seems like they aren't all her original words, but some are. I hope they inspire and {{crush}} you like they did me...

People are often unreasonable, irrational, and self-centered. Forgive them anyway.
If you are kind, people may accuse you of selfish, ulterior motives. Be kind anyway.
If you are successful, you will win some unfaithful friends and some genuine enemies. Succeed anyway.
If you are honest and sincere people may deceive you. Be honest and sincere anyway.
What you spend years creating, others could destroy overnight. Create anyway.
If you find serenity and happiness, some may be jealous. Be happy anyway.
The good you do today, will often be forgotten. Do good anyway.
Give the best you have, and it will never be enough. Give your best anyway.
In the final analysis, it is between you and God. It was never between you and them anyway.

Thanks for stopping by and I hope you liked my latest confession!

Tags for an Easter Craft

I realized a couple years ago that anything I do for an event looks much better and more complete if I make tags for it.  So, whenever I'm helping with a party or event, I offer to do the tags.  BFF S did the craft at the Egg Hunt here in Coto so I made tags for all the different supplies (we also spent a number of hours cutting all the plate pieces, UGH! talk about sore hands).  This is a very affordable craft to do for a large group, just a lot of elbow grease!