Bowling, Sweet Stuff & Texas!

I haven't been bowling in FOREVERS! A couple nights ago my family went. And I sucked. I used to be pretty good. It was fun anyway! We all came up with nicknames...mine was "Cupcake"! The bowling pics were taken by my friend Tia.

Yesterday the Caramel Apple Fairy knocked on my door & brought me this sweet treat. Five minutes after this picture was taken, the girls & I devoured our goodie to bits. Caramel & white chocolate. Who could resist?

I guess I'm really writing to say 'goodbye'! Tomorrow my blog will be co-hosting Kara's Virtual Baby Shower & the next day I'll be on my way to Texas. Early in the morning my best friend Tia(a.k.a. Caramel Apple Fairy) is picking me up. Four of us will be traveling all day long to Dallas & we don't get in until 6pm. Ugh. But I've already got my carry-on bag packed with lots of fun stuff to do!

Hey, why are things 'bigger in Texas' anyways? I think I'm going to make it my mission to find out. I'll let you know what I discover.

It seems when kids & hubbies are not present that massive giggling & silliness ensue. And I'll have 4 days of it! Bring it on.

I'm looking forward to the MOPS convention (Mothers Of PreSchoolers). I really have no idea what to expect. I'm just going by what I've heard & read. I'll be hangin' out with thousands of other moms from all over the US, listening to great speakers, awesome worship, & going to workshops & sessions about parenting, being a mom, etc & I'm even signed up for a session (which I'm most excited about!) for the Creative Activity leaders. I'll get to meet with other crafty MOPS peeps!

There's also an opportunity for me to display some samples of my handmade items--along with hundreds of others-- to help other MOPS groups get ideas. I've gathered together some small things that will fit in my suitcase. AND, I'm planning on taking LOTSA photos of other crafty ideas I see too! Hopefully I'll have some cool project ideas to bring back to my group-- & share with you too!

Here's some dorky fun little biz-type cards I made up to place next to my samples in case anyone has questions about them, etc.

Oh! And I hope to meet up with some other MOPS chiks/bloggers who frequent my blog & will be there too! Won't that be neato?! How will we see each other amidst the large crowd? I was thinking of giving a signal. Or wearing something random. But we never worked out the kinks, so hopefully we'll bump into each other somehow...

Anyway, I'll leave all my little WhiMSy lovers with a treat while I'm gone, so you don't miss me too much: I've got a tutorial scheduled to post while I'm gone. Wheeeeee!

Please come for a visit to Kara's Baby Shower tomorrow. There will be prizes, & links to other blogs with giveaways as well!

Have a super duper day!

Peace & Cupcakes,

Nikki

Wacky Feet Tutorial

The girls & I had some fun today with some wacky feet. We learned how to make them from a book we recently borrowed from the library. I changed the directions a little to suit what worked for us.
The supplies you'll need are: corrugated cardboard boxes, paints, marker, scissors & not pictured: razor blade & hot glue gun.

The book showed four examples of wacky feet: frog, pig, clown & duck. Choose which feet you'd like to make & trace the shape on the cardboard.

Cut out one foot & then trace it onto another piece of cardboard so you have the same shaped feet.

Paint your feet in appropriate colors.

Also, paint some strips of cardboard. The strips should be about 2" thick & long enough to wrap around your feet/shoes & under the cardboard wacky feet. You'll see what I mean later on in the tutorial.

Let all the pieces dry really well.

When your wacky feet are dry, step onto the cardboard shape & make two marks on each side of your foot.

Cut along these marks with a razor blade...
...& slide the cardboard piece through.

This is what your wacky feet will look like on the top & the bottom.

Step back into your wacky feet & make sure the cardboard strip is snug around your feet. Decide whether you'll be using shoes or bare feet in them. Once you glue the strips on the back, you won't be able to change the size.

That's it! Have fun walking around in your wacky feet! I'll quote the book: "These zany feet are funny to look at, but tricky to walk in. Be extra careful when trying them out! The trick to walking is to lift your knees high & keep your feet at a good distance from each other."

Writing on the Wall

2 DAY SALE!! Writing on the Wall book art is now $20.00 OFF at WhiMSy love!! Today & tomorrow ONLY! Get your unique Christmas gifts early--while they're on sale! (FYI: They won't go on sale again before Christmas.)

And don't forget the SUPER DUPER SALE is still going on through September!

(Ok, that's all. More fun stuff to come later in the day....)

Accordion Envelope Book Tutorial

I taught my MOPS group how to make these a couple years ago & thought I'd give a tutorial. I learned how to make them from Paper Source. The first one I made kept things inside like receipts, to-do lists/grocery lists, coupons, & stamps. I made this red & brown one as a portable shipping book--to keep my packaging goodies handy when orders go out: stamps, labels, biz cards, stickers & notes.



Here are the supplies you'll need...

-envelopes (you can make your book however big or small you want. The one I'll be showing today uses 5 envelopes.)
-scissors
-glue stick
-razor
-ribbon
-scrap papers
-pencil

The first thing you'll want to do is put glue on the flap of 4 out of the 5 envelopes...
...& glue them to the front side of each other. The flap of the first envelope will not be glued. It will become the front cover of your book.

Here's a different view.

After they're all glued you'll fold them, accordion style, back-n-forth to form a book.

I decorated the front flap with some scrapbook paper. Trace around the flap onto the paper...

...& cut it out.



Use some decorative scissors to cut the straight edge & make it a bit more interesting.


Open your book all the way & measure the very last envelope to find the center point on both sides.
Cut a small slice through the envelope, on each side, just large enough for your ribbon to slide through.

You'll have to reach inside your envelope to slice the side where the bottom of the last envelope lays. It's easier this way.

Now slide your ribbon through both slots. When your book is closed, your ribbon will tie everything closed nicely.

Now decorate little tags or labels for each envelope. You can use your computer printer, stamps, your own handwriting, etc.

Here's a close-up view of each envelope in this book:

This one uses large 5 1/2" x 8 1/2" envelopes & it was made with only 3 envelopes. It's a kit to help you stay organized for a party. The first envelope holds the invitations/thank you notes, the second envelope holds address labels, & the 3rd holds pre-printed templates to keep track of RSVP's & your "Party To-Do Lists".

You can use whatever size or color of envelopes you want. This one was made using small 3 1/2" x 4 1/2" envelopes. It was created to keep track of memories. (Stay tuned on October 1st for Kara's Virtual Baby Shower & I'll show you what's inside!)

These are super quick & easy to make & you can accommodate them to fit any theme you'd like! They make fun little gifts!