Inspire.

Hi all-

So here is what I have been thinking about all day. Inspiration. As human beings, we constantly have the thought going through our heads of "Why am I here?" "What is my purpose?" or "Will I make a difference?" For me, it has always been very important that I make a difference in the lives of the people around me. I think this is the reason God led me to teach. I feel very blessed every day to be able to come to my classroom and touch the lives of the students that come in and our of my classroom every year. This then also leads me to another thought. Legacy. In order to really leave an imprint on the world, we must take a second to look at the legacy we are leaving behind. Not just our reputation, but also our affect on those around us, and how we've inspired them to do something to benefit the world {or not}. This takes me back to inspiration. Over the weekend, one of my students surprised me by emailing me a picture of something I inspired her to do. {pictured below} It got me thinking. The students in my class, your coworkers, or people you run into on the train, at the red light, or at the coffee store. They all are impacted, or inspired, by you. How are you inspiring others? Remember, smiles really ARE contagious, and a random act of kindness DOES bring beauty to the world.

The DIY steps for this are pretty simple and they are a GREAT way to spruce up any wall, whatever room in the house that wall might be in.

First- You need some canvases {You choose! This specific example was made with two 12x12's and one 12x16}.
Second- You need painter's tape, however, if the struggle is real, scotch tape will do
Third- Decide what colors you want {She chose white and black which made it so much easier for her}
Fourth- {If you are choosing a color other than white, this would be the step to paint and let dry, but once you let dry the rest of the steps, are the same} You get to choose whatever designs you want, laying the tape however you think fits your style best
{Remember wherever you lay the tape, that part will not be painted by your next coat of paint}
Fifth- You paint over the whole canvas and set aside to dry {Yes, even the parts that you covered with tape}
Last- Peel up the tape and Voila! you have your design

Try it out and let me know how it goes!

{It's a Minnie} Freebie Friday

Hi Moms & Dads!

My niece is ABOUT to turn one and we are SO excited! This is going to be HUGE! and we are {little by little} getting ready for her Minnie Mouse bash. We are doing a lot by hand and some I have done on my computer. Which, although not my tool of choice, I think some of the things we made came out REALLY cute.

Below are the images of what I created, and here is another FREEBIE that will be loved by anyone obsessed by the oh so adorable Minnie Mouse and her lovely polka-dot bow. Here are some Free Food Label Tents to print and get ideas.Also, I have included a beautiful little printable for your candy station! I hope you love these Minnie Mouse inspired printables.

Download Food Label Tend Cards Here       Download Candy Station Printable Here

Please let us know how it goes! 

Tissue Paper Garland

These little garlands are all the rage at the kid's parties, and some of us have spent so much of our time finding the right ones with the right colors. Here is where all the searching stops! Although they will be available on my store soon, you don't need to purchase them from anyone after this quick step by step.

First things first, what will you need? Well you need to determine how many tassles you want to make and what colors? In this case, we made 6 for the studio {2 pink, 2 black, & 2 white}. You are going to need a sheet of tissue paper for each. These sheets are Spritz brand and they are 16 1/2" x 24" {41.9 cm x 60.9 cm}. Spritz is available in the party section of any Target. You are also going to need string, scissors, and I love any opportunity to use Washi Tape, and this is one of those very opportunities.

You need to separate the tissue paper into individual pieces. You will then cut it down the middle {vertically} and then layer the two pieces, fold in half one way and then the other way.

Do you remember making fans in elementary out of paper? Well that same back and forth fold that you used then, you will use now. As seen below.

Then you are going to need to cut slits into your little folded tissue paper. I cut along the folds and then again in the middle. Keeping it folded, so that I don't need to cut so many individual slits. Each slit, leaving about 1 1/2" from the top of the paper. {Tip: For this step you need some really strong, sharp, new, good scissors.}

Then, it is very important that you separate {carefully} the strips you just cut. Be very careful. You want to completely separate them, and open up your tissue paper, like below.

You are now going to refold it. This step is important because it will give your tassel volume. {If only our hair were this easy, lol} Remember that back and forth fold we did earlier? Well do that again, with this larger piece of tissue paper. So that you get something like this below.

Then you are going to fold it in half over your string and wrap Washi Tape around it.

This is important so that wherever you place your tassel you can move it later! See?

Let me know how this works for you? I tries to simplify as much as possible, but if you are still having some trouble, you can contact me about purchasing a custom one. Thanks!

{Post Update}

Here's a little post update: So, as I told you here, it was my sister's birthday and I made her cake for her day. I just wanted to share with you my personal experience with making my first Ombre cake, as I am NOT a baker, whatsoever, and am in no way making the statement that I am. This was VERY difficult for me, but being the resourceful person that I am {or that I try to be} I tried to simplify {as much as possible} what seemed like an impossible fete. Here's how...

First: I gathered some simple tools, and ingredients to make my life easier.

(1}Good old-fashioned PAM {2}Yellow Cake Mix {3}Bake Pan {4}Measuring Cups and lastly not shown here {5}Food Coloring

So first thing I did was make the cake mix {just followed the directions on the box}. I then equally separated the cake mix into different bowls and added food coloring to each bowl. To create the ombre look I added no food coloring to the first bowl, then one dab of red food coloring to the second bowl, to the third I added two dabs of red food coloring and 1 dab of neon pink food coloring, and then the last I added 3 dabs of neon pink food coloring. {needless to say it was VERY messy}

     

Then it was time to bake. I sprayed the bake pan with {A LOT of} PAM in order to make sure that it wouldn't get stuck. 

{Not so pretty, but}I quickly started layering all the mini cakes, and put white vanilla frosting in between each layer. Make sure to not leave the cake in the oven too long because since it is so little cake mix, it cooks very fast. I put more frosting towards the outer rim of each layer, so that the finished product would look even and pretty! haha. Take a look for yourself. What do you think?

    

It was delicious too!

XOXO, Crystal                    

Party Time!

Hi readers:

What a long week it's been culminating, however, in one of my favorite days of the years! Besides it being a Freebie Friday again tomorrow, it's my sister's birthday. Happy Birthday Tina! Tomorrow should be exciting! She has decided that we all get our boots on and go down to the nearby Country Western Bar for some line-dancing. Before these festivities, I get to decorate my house for a beautiful cake cutting made by, of course, moi!

I plan on creating a Naked Ombre Frosting Cake. Sorta like this one below posted by the lovely crew over at Lovey Dovey Darling.

We me luck! and subscribe to see pictures of the finished product and get a beautiful freebie birthday banner! :)