Zipper Flowers

I'll never look at zippers the same. Check this out! And this! And here is another. These are really simple and can accent tons of things.

Cupcake Stand

I hope you had a great Easter! It was so nice to be together as a family. If you haven't seen this cupcake stand already I wanted to share it with you. Three sundae/parfait cups, 1 dessert plate, 1 dinner plate, and 1 serving plate can make a simple and cute cupcake stand! I love this idea. Glue it together or skip the glue to make it easy to store. Watch out for dish sets that are on clearance (especially if it isn't a full set) to get a great deal on some dishes. I think this would be a great wedding/wedding shower gift, don't you? This idea comes from here.

Spring Wreath

Here is a clever idea using plastic bottles to make flowers. Isn't this a cute spring wreath? You can get the tutorial over at tatertots and jello. This could be a great gift idea for anyone that needs a little bit of Spring in their life right about now.

T-Shirt Fabric Flowers

I was inspired by this in making these fabric roses out of an old t-shirt. Check out the link for a great tutorial. They were easy to make even for me - just a little hand-sewing is all you need!

Cake Balls For Me?

I am the proud recipient of these delicious cake balls (or was - they are long gone by now). And what a great gift it was. My friend showed up on my porch unexpectedly with these little balls of joy a few days ago and it made my day. She even made the box. Do you like it? It's made with scrapbook paper.

She made three different kinds. There are red velvet cake balls with cream cheese frosting dipped in white chocolate and milk chocolate. And there are devils food cake balls and milk chocolate frosting flavored with 1 Tbsp. orange extract and then dipped in milk chocolate. And I can't tell you which was my favorite because they were all so good.

XOXO Letters

My grandma made this cute Valentine set for her mantle. She bought the wood letters (aren't they cute with the hearts in the O's) at the craft store and painted them pink. Then she traced each wood piece onto some scrapbook paper and cut it out slightly inside the traced line (so that the paper didn't totally cover the painted wood. She used mod podge to seal the paper on the wood. Then used embellishments like buttons, flowers, and ribbons to dress up each letter. I love her paper choices and embellishments. So cute.

Don't know how to mod podge? Go here.

Valentine Pillow Notes

Cute little Valentine pillows. Made from dish towels (simple sewing so even I could handle this one). With little pockets for "Why I love you" notes to your kids (or anyone special to you) for the 14 days leading up to Valentine's Day. I'll be starting this tradition next year for sure.

So click here for the details and the tutorial. And watch for the after holiday sales for those Valentine dish towels (these were 50 cents each). Aren't they cute?

Love You Banner

How could you not love this banner? Banners are another one of my new loves these days and I would be so happy to get one as a gift. If you have the storybook cricut cartridge then you are set. The black background shape was made using this cartridge (set at 5.5"). The patterned paper is cut to 4x6 and the letters were made from the same cartridge (set at 4"). Add a little ribbon and stuff here and there to add to each letter. I also like that she used eyelets to thread the ribbon through the top of the paper to prevent it from tearing.

If you love banners too then you should check out more: simple magazine Valentine Garland, a glittery Thankful Banner, Holiday Bunting made with Christmas paper and recycled Christmas cards, Trick or Treat banner using freezer paper, mini Easter bunting...

Don't you think it would be fun to show up on someone's doorstep with a happy little banner for any occasion? I know it would cheer me up!

Send a link of your banner or one that you love. I would love to see it!

Felt Fortune Cookies

I like this idea for packaging a little treat found here. You can make fortune cookies out of felt and put little treats and notes inside.

Here are the easy peasy instructions (slightly modified from website)...

1. Cut a 4 1/2" diameter circle out of felt

2. Cut a piece of matching ribbon slightly shorter than 4 1/2" and cut a piece of wire slightly shorter than 4 1/2" with wire cutters

3. With a hot glue gun, glue the wire across the diameter of the circle and then glue the ribbon over the top of the wire (as pictured in the second picture above).

note: you can also use matching pipe cleaner in place of the ribbon and wire and glue it down with hot glue

4. Fold the circle in half with the wire/ribbon going along the inside of the fold.

5. Take the two ends of the fold and pull them back towards eachother (but not touching), bending the wire in half, to form a fortune cookie shape

6. Carefully fold up the top flap of the fortune cookie and insert small treats and fortunes.

Variations: For Valentine's Day include a scripture reference about love or a quote about love instead of a fortune. But, this isn't just a Valentine idea. You could make the fortune cookies any color for any holiday or theme. Even a Christmas neighbor gift idea: "We are 'fortunate' to have you as a neighbor!" could be inserted into red and green fortune cookies.

Valentine Wreath

A little piece of holiday decor is always a nice gift. At least I think so. I think it's fun to have something new and exciting to brighten up my house. I found this valentine wreath here with a tutorial. It's made out of cupcake liners along with a little hot glue, a wreath form, and some ribbon. I loved the idea and hope you will too.

Fabric Flowers

I am in love with fabric flowers these days. There are so many cute ones that I have seen around the blogging world. And they are good for so many things: pin them on sweaters, headbands, purses, cards, or pillows. Or ALL of the above. I found the one pictured above here (via here) along with a really great tutorial. The great news is that it takes very little fabric and an even smaller amount of sewing skills (only a needle and thread and a simple stitch or two).

Here are some other links you should check out to fall in love like I did. Here is one with lovely polka dots and a tutorial. Here is a cute idea for using fabric flowers on cards that I love. And here is a totally unique version I haven't seen anywhere else with a template included.

If you make one, please send me a picture. I'd love to see how it turned out.

Nursing Bracelet

I got a nursing bracelet from my sister. It's a bracelet that you wear when you are nursing so that you can keep track of the last time you fed your baby. You just clip the charm in between the numbers that correspond with the time. If you last fed your baby at 1:30 then you would clip the charm next to the middle bead in between the 1 and 2 (as pictured in the second picture above). She made it with memory wire, beads, and a clasp with a charm attached. I kind of like the bracelet in itself, nursing or not. I think the numbered beads are a fun look.

Free Disneyland Tickets?

Free Disneyland Tickets for Service:

If you like Disneyland and you might be planning a trip in 2010 take a look at this cool service promotion Disneyland is sponsoring. Ages 6 and older can spend a day of local service and earn a free day pass to a Disney theme park. You must preregister so click on the link below. Type in your zip code and find out what you can do. What a great gift idea!

http://disneyparks.disney.go.com/disneyparks/en_US/WhatWillYouCelebrate/index?name=Give-A-Day-Get-A-Disney-Day

Heart Shaped Bouquet

Using two colors of carnations you can make a heart shaped bouquet found here. Click on the link for simple instructions.

Heart Wax Paper

A simple idea to dress up your baked goods found here. Just cut hearts out of tissue paper. On an ironing board lay down a layer of paper towels, then wax paper, tissue paper hearts, another layer of wax paper, and another layer of paper towels. Set an iron to medium heat and lightly iron over the layers to set the hearts onto the wax paper.

Consider all of the different shapes you could use to dress up your wax paper for baked goods. This could be great for any holiday or occasion.

Fudge Hearts

Maybe this looks so good to me because I didn't get enough homemade fudge over the holidays. I found this idea here for some heart-shaped fudgey Valentine treat. I need to get me a candy thermometer and try this out! Let me know how it goes if you decide to do this.

Here is the recipe and instructions:

(Makes about 4 dozen 1-inch hearts)

Ingredients

Canola oil for the pan and cutters

1 1/4 cups milk

3 1/2 cups sugar

8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, cut in small pieces

Pink gel food coloring, (optional)

Directions

Lightly oil a 9-inch-square pan. (A smaller pan will make the fudge thicker and more difficult to cut.) Place milk in a heavy 12-quart saucepan. Stir in sugar; add butter. Over medium heat, stir constantly, until sugar dissolves and butter melts. Increase heat to medium high, bring to a boil, and cover with lid. Let boil for 2 minutes, and uncover. Do not stir; clip a candy thermometer on side of pan, and let mixture boil, over medium-low heat, until it reaches 240 degrees (the soft-ball stage), 15 to 25 minutes. Meanwhile, prepare an ice water bath.

Immediately remove pan from heat, and dip the base of the pan in the ice water for 5 seconds. Let the fudge sit at room temperature without stirring, with the thermometer attached, until the thermometer reads 122 degrees and mixture is lukewarm, about 40 minutes. If using food coloring, add 1 drop. Stir the fudge with a wooden spoon until it changes from glossy to opaque and is thick and creamy, 2 to 5 minutes. Quickly pour into prepared pan. Use piece of plastic wrap to smooth fudge into the pan, creating an even surface. Let cool completely, 2 to 3 hours, and cut with 1/2- to 1 1/2-inch heart cookie cutters. (Oil the cutters with the canola oil inside and out before using.) Fudge will keep, well wrapped in plastic or in an airtight container, up to 1 week.

Treat Cups

I know it's really early to be thinking about Valentine's Day but sometimes I find really cute ideas a little too late and I always wish I would have started earlier. So here I go. This is one of my favorite packaging ideas because it is simple - found here. These are made with clear plastic cups with a piece of cardstock wrapped around it. And I love the heart cut-out window, don't you? Then you glue a piece of double-sided crepe paper around the top of the cup and fill it with treats or gifts and tie a ribbon around it. Click here to get a free template for the paper that fits around the clear cup.

Pearl Ribbon Bracelet

You can easily make this fun bracelet with this great tutorial here. Or you could buy it for $890.00. I love this! All you need is fake pearls (these are from an old necklace), embroidery thread, a needle, and some ribbon.

cake stand

You can make a one-of-a-kind cake stand...

with this. I found this great idea here. This cake stand is made with thrift store items: a candlestick spray painted and a plate. Put some E6000 glue or silicone sealer around the top of the candlestick and then glue it to the center of the bottom of the plate.

Movie Baskets

Give the gift of a fun family movie night or date night with this movie gift basket found here. I have seen movie popcorn boxes at the dollar store. Use floral foam or Styrofoam to stick your skewers into and then attach the items to your skewers (she used hot glue) and stick in the foam. Items to include could be: popcorn, movie candy, and hot chocolate.