Paper Roses - Happy Birthday Grandma!

This weekend we had a family get together to celebrate my mother in law's 85th birthday.  Mom is such a blessing to our family.  We had a great time, laughing, sharing, eating tacos, candy and cake.  Mom's favorite color is blue, her favorite flower is yellow roses and her favorite candy is Turtles. I used those favorites to inspire our decorations.

This was our little favor box.  I found the idea for the paper roses here.  They were so simple to make.

I first cut a piece of cardstock into a 4"x4" square.

The instructions say to cut your square into a circle.  I found that it didn't have to be perfectly round so I just rounded the corners.

The petals look best if you cut your "round" kind of squiggly.

Starting from the outside cut your circle into a spiral, continuing to squiggle the line.  (How is that for technical terminology?)

Starting from the outside roll into a tight coil. 

Rolling tightly like this will help hold the shape of your flower.

Gently let the swirl/flower loosen in your hand.  It is fun to watch it become a flower.  :)

In the beginning I used my glue dots to hold the back down.  Eventually I changed to the hot glue gun and I liked it better. 

I have a die cut machine that I used to make leaves but they would be easy to cut out freeform. 

Hot glue flower and leaves on to the favor box.

Again, I used a die cut machine to cut out my boxes.  For this project I just cut out lids.  2 lids together were just right to hold one Turtle.

The small candy wrappers are printed on a regular address label.  Very easy to design and they fit a Hershey's Nugget just right.

Happy Happy Birthday to my sweet Mother in law!

Yee Haw!

One of my favorite themes is Western.  The food and decorations are easy and easy is my favorite kind of party!  Today I want to share a simple idea to go with that theme. 

Got any old jeans????

Messed up jeans are the best.  Gives this project personality.

Lay 'em out on the table.  You're going to need a pair of good sewing scissors and some pinking shears. 

Cut the bottom of the leg off from about the knee.  I save this part to use as a gift bag.  Just turn it inside out, sew the raw edges closed and turn it back.  It is great for a number of things.  Do you have door prizes for your party?  Use these as a gift bag.  They are just the right size to hold a bottle of your favorite beverage.  Use raffia to tie the top shut.  OR slide a vase into them and again, tie it on with raffia.  Fill it with sunflowers and you have a great centerpiece for your western table.

Now take your sewing scissors and do a rough cut around the pockets. 

Use your pinking shears to cut around the pocket close to the edges.  You can start with the pinking shears if you like but I have found that that they are hard to use over the thicker seams.

Use these pockets to hold the silverware and napkin for your table settings.

A friend got me started collecting pockets when she loaned me hers for a Cowboy Christmas party I hosted at church.  I've been collecting ever since.  Picture a red check table cloth and red napkins in the pocket.

Please Pray....

This is the week!  Please say a prayer for Miz Ollie Faith.  Her heart surgery is scheduled for Thursday.  For more information click on the link in my sidebar and it will take you to her momma's blog.  Thank you!

Wore Out.....

Hello, my friends!  Yes, I know it's been awhile!  What a month we've had!  Here is a photo recap of what we've been up to...

Becky's graduation from Arizona State University. 

High School graduation for Katy.

500+ students on the field.  Fortunately Katy was wearing red shoes so we spent our time looking for her red shoes amongst all of the blue and gold.  Please forgive my photo (non)skills.  I messed up the settings on my camera and almost all of them are blurry.  Don't judge....lol.

This was especially hard to capture but they were throwing all sorts of blow up beach balls, a whale, a pink flamingo and atleast one rubber chicken.  It was funny to see each new thing being tossed around. 

The ceremony ended with a fireworks show.

We hosted a combined party for both girls graduations.  Becky also celebrated her 22nd birthday on Katy's graduation night. 

I found a fun idea to use in place of a relish tray on Pinterest!  Unfortunately the link attached to it was broken so I can't tell you exactly where it came from.  Love the idea of veggies in clear glass! 

The party ended up going well.  The menu was simple.  We ordered bbq beef from a local restaurant.  I made bbq beans and cole slaw to go with it.  Added in chips, veggies, dip and grad cupcakes. I think I am much better at planning parties than hosting them.  Worrying is one of my "gifts".  At one point during the party, I looked out my kitchen window and the back yard was full of people, all of them visiting, all seeming to have a good time.  Guess that's what it's all about.  :)

In summary....

‎2 weeks, 5 visits to the airport, 1 college graduation, 1 high school graduation, 1 birthday, 1 party hosted, 1 party attended, much visiting, lots of family and friends, much joy, wore out.....

Stay tuned....I'm hoping to be back in the saddle again soon.....