Here We Go Again, Disney Countdown!

So as much as my wonderful hubby hated the price tag of our first Disney cruise, it didn't stop him from wanting to go on a second cruise.  Disney announced cruises leaving from Texas, and later a kids sail free promotion and BAM!  We were booked.  :)

I decided to make a simple countdown for my kids to enjoy.  I vinyled "Days 'till we set sail" in a Disney font on blue cruise paper.  I placed it in an acrylic frame.  On my next trip to Home Depot I collected several paint swatches in a bright rainbow of colors, and added Mickey heads with number cutouts. 

Let the countdown begin!! :)

Gobble Gobble!

I must be in the mood for turkey.  Usually I am all about the pumpkins this time of year but I am feeling very inspired by the feathery creatures right now.  I love this sign I made for myself.  I was walking in Hobby Lobby and came across a blank sign with a metal turkey.  I had no clue what I was going to do at the time but I really love how it came out.  And I really love my new green polka dotted vinyl!

I am also working on a turkey home decor project.  My Tom isn't finished yet, but I love how he is coming out so I'm posting a preview.  This fun bird will be the subject of my next crafting party!  :)

Halloween Buckets

Here are pictures from this year's batch of Halloween buckets.  :)

My eldest dressed up as Ash from the Pokemon series.  He decided he wanted a Pikachu on his bucket:

 Isn't he just so handsome??  Oh wait!  Off topic!  Sorry!  ;)

My kindergartener decided to be a ninja for Halloween.  He has been all about karate and ninjas this year.  But wasn't just any ninja, mind you.  He was a ninja with a mustache (snicker!).

I found a great free font with ninja silhouettes with letter cutouts online.  I simply spelled his name and had the most awesome of ninja accessories:

Finally, my toddler dressed as his idol, Mickey Mouse.  I wrote his named in a Disney cartoon font and added Mickey heads of various sizes in classic Mickey Mouse colors.

 I can't wait for next year's challenges!  :)  Happy Halloween!!

How Crazy Is Your Week?

A friend wanted a week-at-a-glance calendar to keep track of all her family's weekly activities.  Between three children in a combination of sports, scouts, study sessions, play dates, and church activities she was starting to feel overwhelmed.  Add to that her exercise classes, book club, and volunteer work, and her husband's (random) part time job and it was getting a little impossible to keep track of who was supposed to be where on what day.

I suggested a dry erase frame.  I have a 16x20 inch frame with a vinyl calendar grid.  Every family member has their own color, so I can easily see the week's events:

I also have an 11x14 inch frame in my kitchen for menu planning.  Whereas my calendar has no backing (the glass is glued to the frame), I chose to frame some colorful fabric.  I also added chipboard letters, buttons, and homemade fabric flowers to dress it up.  Unfortunately I just realized I do not have a final picture with my lettering, I added the days of the week in a dark turquoise color.

My friend opted for a cute idea she found online, and I absolutely adore it!  She picked out a frame with seven openings and asked for colorful paper and vinyled days of the week.  It came out super cute.  I think this idea would be equally cute for a menu board, or with each window having a name of a family member rather than a week day.  I have also seen seven windowed frame collages arranged as clusters rather than in a row so don't let this large frame scare you.  Here are the before and after pictures:

 

Wedding Tile

I made this as a gift for a very special young woman I had the privilege of teaching at church.  She has grown in to a strong, smart, incredible woman.  I am so happy she has found a wonderful man to love and cherish her!  I selected colors based on her reception colors of royal blue and silver.  I also know she loves so I added some pearls.  I wish them much love and joy as they begin their journey together!!

Olympic Fever!

I have a sports nut.  He loves pretty much every sport.  He loves to compete.  He races home from the bus every day, he just doesn't know that no one is racing with him.  :)  My son is also extremely patriotic.  He asks for the Star Spangled Banner as one of his nightly bedtime songs.  I knew the Olympics would be a huge hit with him, and a great way to show American pride and learn more about other countries around the world.

To celebrate the the Olympic event I hung a huge world map in our hallway.  And then I spiced up our experience with some vinyl.  I cut colored rings to recreate the Olympic rings on my wall.  Next I cut two large circles out of dry erase vinyl.  On those I added lettering so that we could keep track of the USA medal count (gold, silver, and bronze) and the list of the top five medalling countries.

 

Pokemon Party!

 So my latest vinyl adventure was a birthday celebration for my awesome son.  His newest passion is the Pokemon empire.  I'm talking about a complete, total obsession with the cartoons, books, figurines, and playing cards.  When deciding on a theme for his party at home, it was an easy choice.  But I couldn't find anything in the stores!  After a lucky paper plates find, I was completely stuck.  I hit the wall so I turned on my creative juices and my Cricut!

I purchased a bright yellow tablecloth.  I hunted online for free Pikachu coloring pages, and turned those pages in to cutting files.  I cut a black outline of the creature and some red facial highlights, then applied them to the tablecloth.  It wasn't easy, the tablecloth was a bit slippery.  But the end product totally rocked!  And my son absolutely loved it!!

I also decided to create a simple game of pin the tail on Pikachu.  I spent less than a dollar for a sheet of white poster board.  This time I cut a black under layer, a yellow body, and red facial highlights.  I applied all pieces except for Pikachu's tail.  I cut several yellow tails out of vinyl to use for the game.

The game was hilarious fun!  We loved blindfolding the boys and making them insanely dizzy.  In the end both of the older boys did get fairly close, but we also had some stray tails end up on the stairs and a neighboring chest.

Now I am excited to start working on an adorable two year old's Mickey Mouse birthday!!!