Wednesday, November 28, 2012

car themed birthday invitations tutorial!

So this is not an original idea of mine, I saw this treat holder here. I didn't use stampin ups top note die like on the other website, instead I used Spellinders labels 8 (the biggest die in the set).

When I want a stamped image from a disney movie I usually buy these cheap rubber stamps for kids, they cost about 5 euros and work well enough:)

 these are the other stamp sets that I used, the background set is from waltzingmouse and the party invite set is from Inkadinkado. My favourite inks for stamping are memento inks, I used black and red for this project.
 I love using Copic markers to color images, the colors are very vibrant and they blend very well together.
 I used my die cutting machine to cut out two labels 8 dies per invitation in dark blue plus one that had a background stamped on it.
 Used a little banner die from spellbinders for the sentiment.

 Cut your stamped labels 8 die in two and glue onto the dark blue labels 8 as shown in the picture below (for the stamped one I cut off the embossed edge you get with spellbinders dies so I would get a layered look)
 create the top flap by scoring, folding down and gluing a section of your labels 8 die.

 use a STRONG glue to adhere the front and back together, let dry completely before you add your treat.
 Now you can decorate the front!
 Oh and on the back I added all the information for the party


Thanks for stopping by!

Cars themed birthday party

My now three year old son is REALLY into cars (not just the movie), so for his birthday last week I went for a lightning Mcqueen/Cars theme. The colors I decided to work with were red, yellow, black and white.

 This year instead of spending 3 hours decorating the birthday cake I thought I'd spend a little extra time making a really yummy cake:) I used this recipe and it was delicious, in between the two cake layers I added some raspberry jam and home made whipped cream.
 I made these little party favors using kraft envelops from the supermarket (carrefour).
 I had to color at least 30 of those Mcqueen stamped images, it took forever!
 My favorite part of birthday parties is making the buntings, I usually make fabric ones so they are more durable and once the party is over I can hang it up in my son's room:)
 The drinks table (the guests were bringing more drinks)
 Lemon meringue pie (because of the yellow color:) and backed potato dip for the chips.
 Chocolate caramel brownies
 These are the invitations I made for the party, I'll be posting a tutorial on how I put these together!


Friday, November 2, 2012

Faux DIY fireplace

I've been wanting to make a faux fireplace for over a year now and I finally did it!! It took about 3 days to make with all the painting.

 I payed about 60 euros for all the wood, I already had the paint on hand and in the end I had extra molding left over (which will not go to waste!). It was hard to find a nice thick beam so I had to settle for something a lot thinner than what I had in mind but I quickly got over that:) We put the base together in three parts.

 And added molding until I liked the look of it.
 I used a nice dark varnish for my undercoat (the color is called Palisander in Switzerland or Germany).
 Then I added two coats of my favorite antic white.
 To finish it off I distressed all the edges with sand paper...I must confess I haven't yet covered the whole fireplace with a clear varnish to protect it...I was to excited to put it up on the wall:)
 The next day I was back in the wood store to buy the supplies to make the two big panels on either side of the fireplace.
 I love how it turned out. I would love to add a brick wall inside the fireplace but that will have to wait...
 A selection of pumpkins for fall, I'll be able to switch out the decorations in the basket depending on the season, so I'm happy about that too:)
 A closer look at the two wooden panels: