Baby Announcement Pictures!

I was so excited when one of my good friends asked me to take baby announcement pictures for her first baby...a girl!  She wanted the photos to be simple and make a statement, and I was really happy with how they turned out.  Here's a little peek into some of my favorites! Enjoy!

First of all, don't you love her shoes?! This gal is know for her good fashion sense, and I loved her sassy high heels. 

I used PicMonkey to edit the photos.  It is so super easy to use and has fun bells and whistles that are a sinch to figure out. 

Here's the same black & white picture, but I used a focal softening technique so the baby shoes stood out (when I say "technique", I mean I pressed the button that said "focal soften".  I promise it's simple.)

The Mom and Dad signs were easy to make...black construction paper and chalk. 

And by the way...these two are going to be the best parents! :)

I liked this picture, but the stairs in the background spoiled it.  I lightened it and used the "clone" button to add the rock over the stairs.

Now it looks much better!

I used the "clone" button on the shoes too.  They had a brand name on the inside of both shoes that spoiled the shot.  :(  Luckily it was another easy fix!

Here's another version in black & white.

 These pictures were tons of fun to take and edit.  I can't wait to meet this cute little girl when she makes her debut in a few months!

Have fun!

~Cindy Jane

Liebster Blog Award

What a fun weekend full of surprises (the good kind)! When I checked in on the blog last night, I found we had been awarded the Liebster Blog Award from Heather over at Stringtown Home!  ElleBee and I were so surprised and honored!  Stringtown Home has tons of great ideas on home decor, yummy recipes, and organizing.  If you haven't checked it out yet, head on over to stringtownhome.blogspot.com.

But that wasn't the only surprise!  :)  This morning when I checked in, I discovered Roudi from C is for CRAFT had also left a message giving us the Liebster Blog Award!  So fun!  Roudi is a super crafty teenager who lives in Egypt!  Her blog has lots of DIY jewelry, art journaling, and snippets into her life.  This is also one you should check out at c-is-for-craft.blogspot.com. 

According to some research Roudi did, Liebster is German for "favorite" or "dearest" .  To follow the rules, we get to pick 5 fantastic and favorite small blogs, with less than 200 followers, and pass the award along.  We're really excited to give some other blogs a pat on the back for their creativity and craftiness!

~ Cindy Jane & ElleBee

Weekend Pajama Party: Paper Rosette Tutorial

 

Oh, Baby!  I got to help throw a baby shower for two of my friends at work this week who are both expecting boys.  We had the shower in the library at school so we had an owl theme...owls like to read books, right?  I love paper rosettes but had never made any.  Well...I'm kind of an expert now, and they are super easy and fun to make for any party.

What I Used:

12x12 paper (double sided is best)

Martha Stewart scoring board (If you don't already have one, get one!)

hot glue/glue gun

Give a Hoot Cricut cartridge (for the owls)

The proportions for this rosette will make a 10 inch diameter rosette...the medium sized one in the trio.  Sorry I didn't snap pictures of the owl rosettes as I made them...they were a true pajama craftin' project.  :)

Step 1: Using one piece of 12x12 paper, cut three 4x12 inch strips.

Step 2: Score each paper at 1/2 inch.

Step 3: Fold the strips accordion style.  It's the same technique I used when I was little and would fold papers into fans during church.  :)

Step 4: Line the papers up and glue them together (keeping the accordion pattern)....

....until they look like a lampshade.

Step 5: Press down in the center until it looks like this.  Don't be afraid to force it down. 

You can't break it!

Step 6: I cut out a flower shape on my Cricut and hot glued a flower to each side to keep it together.

If you get the double sided paper, it's a fun bonus if you hang them from the ceiling. 

Here's the view from the back.

See how fun and easy?!  I cut out some owls using the Give a Hoot Cricut cartridge for the baby shower ones and I glued them over the white flower.  This made them extra sturdy.

Here's a cheat sheet for the paper sizes I cut and the diameter of each paper rosette.

Aqua: Finished rosette = 14 inch diameter

Uses four 6x12 inch paper strips (2 12x12 papers)

Orange: Finished rosette = 10 inch diameter

Uses three 4x12 inch paper strips

Green: Finished rosette = 6 1/2 inch diameter

Uses two 3x6 inch paper strips

I kept the owl motif going and made some extra mini owls as cupcake toppers.  :)

I made the banner out of burlap, cloth, and paper letters.  The burlap blocks are 6 inches and the damask cloth blocks are 5 1/4 inches.  I used spray adhesive to stick it all together.  :)

If you haven't already made some of these paper rosettes, I hope you'll give them a try! 

They definitely make the world a cuter place!

Have fun!

~Cindy Jane

Paper Prize Boxes

Oh, my goodness!  What a CRAZY month I have had!  I've dropped off of the blog world for a few weeks, but I'm back.  It's been one project after another from 70+ hour work weeks, baby announcement photo shoots (don't get excited...I was the photographer, not the photographed), to planning baby showers, and producing an opera with 24 talented 2nd Graders...I've seen a little bit of everything the past four weeks.  Here's a little peek into the craziness of my life.

Every year, my group of creative 2nd graders writes an original opera thanks to the Utah Festival Opera & Musical Theatre's Opera by Children.  The entire process takes about 8 months, but it is completely worth it!  I always give my kiddos a special prize after they perform for their parents.  This year I made them these oh, so cute prize boxes.  The best part is they were basically free since I had all of the materials on hand.  I had to glitz them up with cute little creatures on the front that matched their characters in the opera. 

I used the Cricut cartridge Tags, Bags, Boxes, and More to make the boxes.  It's a fun cartridge, but I wish the box sizes were bigger.  This is the Gable Box cut.

Sticking with my free theme, I got bright colored copy paper and put it through the paper shredder for the "stuffing".  It added a fun, bright touch!

Here they are, all lined up.  The animals on the front were cut from the Cricut cartridge Create a Critter...one of my favorites!  I cut little name tags out of the Storybook cartridge and they were done!  One thing checked off the never ending to-do list!

The kids loved their little boxes and the keepsake inside of it!  I told ElleBee I would cry if they ripped into the boxes in front of me, but I was SO impressed, because I didn't find even one little piece of paper on the floor. :)

Even 8 year olds appreciate it when you

make the world a cuter place!

~Have fun!

Cindy Jane