Will Work for Free!

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Happy frugal Friday, islanders!  Did you know today is Baskin Robbins' .31 cents/scoop day? It's not FREE but it's so darn close you MUST celebrate!

I love FREE.

How many things do YOU know work well and work for free?  The list is short which makes this post (and future posts like it) that much more valuable...

I am going to put several FREE printables to WORK for Munch's birthday party and the list starts today. I'll show you what I plan to do with each.  Maybe my doing so will help your pockets or give you some inspiration to think outside the box when you see free printables in the future!

FREE PRINTABLES

I just printed a darling monogram for Munch's party (and her bedroom collage maybe) using this free template.  You can select the colors and the letter.  I may spray mount it to foam core board and use it in the middle of a cute welcome wreath for the party.  Isn't it adorable? 

I also created one for God baby's shower because I plan to use framed art as shower decor and then to re-use it in her nursery.  Don't worry, I made sure it matched the decor for both.

I have searched high and low for CHEVRON paper. I am amazed at how something SO popular is also so rare - Grrr!  You can imagine how excited I was when I found these free printable pages in a variety of colors:

O, I will put these TO WORK!  Tags, paper bows, paper punches and even a bunting are definitely in store!

Speaking of bunting, I found a free template for perfect bunting triangles and I love it! You can bet this template will be used!

I love this birthday printable from iHeartNaptime.  Wouldn't it be cute by the desserts?  I'm unsure if I'll use it because I really want to stick to the gray, pink and white color palette BUT it might be too cute to resist!

Can you see it framed in the background? I love it.

I told you the little guests will decorate their own 'play' baked goods and make jewelry for their dolls. When they dry, we'll put them in little bakery boxes with ribbon and custom favor tags BUT how cute would these labels be on the back of the boxes for us to know whose box is whose? I love them:

I like the chef hat, the oven and the pie for Munch's party...

...

Be sure to click the hyperlinked words in this post and check out the other FREE printables each of these sites offer. O and don't worry, I'll pass on other FREE printables every now and then!  Matter of fact, did you see Monday's freebie? 

For more inspiration, follow me on pinterest.

Happy Frugal Friday!

Cookies & Dirt: Planting with Munchface

"Mommy are we going to make something for my class?... NO?! BUT it's a holiday on Sunday; EARTH DAY IS SUNDAY, Mommy!"

I didn't know Earth day was last Sunday, April 22, 2012.  Honestly, once I got out of Elementary school, I didn't keep up with when Earth day was... So, no, kid. We won't be making something for your classmates.  Not that I don't believe the awareness the holiday brings is benficial just... I don't have it on my mental calendar of holidays to "celebrate."

BUT now it all makes sense!  That's why she stops at the seed packets in every store begging to plant something... That's why she's started a rock collection (which consists of bringing rocks home in her pockets)... and THAT's why she has been nagging me several times a day to please plant something... OK, I got it.

FINALLY, after 2 weeks of her asking, I decided to run to Home Depot during my lunch break and pick out some hearty kill-proof plants.  Yes, I said kill-proof.  I know my limitations and plants freak me out!  Cut flowers are expected to die but plants can live forever, ya know?

:::

Planting.  OK.  HERE GOES NOTHING...

I purchased:

- A self-watering planter.  It's designed so I only have to fill a slightly larger planter with water then place the smaller planter in it.  Apparently, the smaller one will absorb enough water to keep the plants alive without the worry of drowning the plant (which I've done).

- Some succulents and a cactus.  They're tough low-maintenance plants that don't require me to *like* sing to them everyday or something...

- Dirt. Yea, I KNOW. Why must I buy dirt when it's all over the outdoors? BUT you do.  So, I did (and it's special cactus dirt too. SEE, I'm trying). 

We went on the balcony and Munch was so excited that Pee Puppy could sense it and needed to be close to whatever was going on (as you can CLEARLY see above).

 I cut a water bottle in half and Munch used it to scoop the dirt (into the wrong pot at first but we fixed it).  We removed our plants from their temporary pots, broke up the roots (like I saw done on The Nester's site) and, as long as we didn't break OFF the roots (which I'm not so sure we didn't), I think they'll be fine.

Munch positioned the plants around the planter and VOILA! We're done.

O but the rocks will help hold the plants in place (and removing the rock collection from my entry table is great). We added those too:

 She announced we might need to paint our rocks and, after they dry, "redecorate" the planter... For now, however, we're done.

Wait.  Her Easter Barbie came with a cute little rabbit and, before I could toss him in the small toy bin, Munch said the planter is "supposed" to be its home... So, Mr. Rabbit stands guard over our plants and we hope he does his job because, if not, they might die.

 Did you do anything for Earth day?  Can you offer any tips for our poor plant?

 

 I promised Munch that if she can keep these alive, we'll get a larger planter for the balcony and plant tomatoes or something.  Though, I never claimed to have a green thumb; wish us luck!

Here's to trying something new!

... even when you're not so sure about it! 

DIY Cupcake Toppers

Operation baby shower and birthday party are well underway!  Because these events are only a few weeks apart, I am looking for party elements and DIY projects that can serve double duty.

::Paper enters stage right:: 

Do you remember when I told you a $5 paper purchase saved a baby shower decor dilemma here?  If not, check that post for more quick and easy party paper ideas!

Today, it's all about DIY cupcake toppers.  I love how adorable toppers serve as a dose of unexpected cuteness and tie the decor together. I also, however, hate to pay the BIG prices for such small things (they're usually sold by the dozen and I need *like* 4 dozen and even the affordable print-your-own options require printing).  Well, I set out to make my very own last night. I mean, Who needs a fancy pants printer? I DO! Just... not for every-single-thing when I'm trying to make every-single-thing fabulous!  Check out what I came up with... 

CUPCAKE TOPPER TUTORIAL

1. Gather Supplies

- Paper (I chose a variety of prints and colors that coordinated with our themes)

- Hot glue/gun

- Wilton lollipop sticks ($2 at Walmart):

2. Hole punch 5 circles (I used a 2" punch):

3.  Fold your circles in half with the print inward:

4. Place a dot of glue on one side of your semi circle:

 5. Place another semi-circle on top and repeat this process, a "ball" should form:

6. For the last piece, dot one side with glue and smoosh (it's a very technical term) the 2 together to close the "ball."

7.  The reason we only dot the center is so you can gently pull the bottom apart with your fingers to insert your lollipop stick.  See:

8.  Place a glob (technically speaking, of course) of glue on a lollipop stick and place it inside the "ball" to finish your topper!

 9. I embellished my topper with 1 of these mini bows (purchased from Michael's - 60/$3?! LOVES!):

Finished product:

 Just stick these in your iced cupcakes and BOOM! You have a fabulous cupcake topper that was O-SO easy to make!  We're having a dessert display at God Baby's Ruffles and Bows baby shower, so I need more than one type of topper... I used 2 hole punches (different sizes) and some coordinating paper to make some other easy toppers:

O and I forgot to tell you when I took my 60% coupon to Michael's and snagged a Martha Stewart bow paper punch for like $4!  Sign up for their emails, they're always sending 40% and/or 60% coupons and I use them on the purchases that will give me my money back (like hole punches and craft tools).

 

Tip: to save on paper AND to ensure you get the RIGHT shade of your color... use those FREE paint swatches!  I got a stash of pinks from Walmart and used my ribbon punch to make mini bows but can you see the little circle cutout?

It made for the perfect CENTER dot in this topper:

 

Here's the topper with the paint swatch bow:

Free.99 are you out of your MIND?!

I even made some with gray/white paper for Munch's birthday...

 These would make easy but fabulous:

- Toppers for favor bags or boxes

- Card embellishments

- Glue them to yarn for a garland

- Water bottle embellishments

- Cake topper

It's amazing how many you can do with just 1 piece of paper! I've got a few other topper ideas so stay tuned... Although these events aren't until July and August, I'm going to keep the shower/party updates coming!  

Cheers to celebrating!

Linking up:

   

   

On Your Mark. Get Set. Wedding Season!

Coming to you LIVE from... no where cool enough to report, let's talk busy weekends, shallll we? 

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If you follow me on twitter, not only are you a cool person (HA) but you saw the state of my car most of last week:

Trunk

Backseat

I was driving these wedding supplies for a bridal client whose wedding was this past weekend.

Friday. My shy bride served up something fabulous for her rehearsal! Hair, makeup, dress, shoes...Everything was on POINT. She's beautiful isn't she?

Saturday. Although the wedding was scheduled late in the afternoon, I was up and out of the house at 11AM to pick up the reception dress and, as is typical, to put out a few fires... No biggie, just an elevator ride up:

AND 1.5 hours later, with my package in hand, I rode back down:

We had a lot of set-up (did you see how my SUV was full??) and the bride had very high standards so Sheena and I  snuck her in for the reception space reveal:

You see the shoulders, she was all "aww...it's so pretty... It's prettier than I ever thought."
Yep, it's what we do.

SHE LOVED EVERYTHING!

Of course, the success was in the details:

Card Box!

Ribbon wand send off!

The view!

... and many more! I'll be sure to share the professional pics on our company's blog!  I'm just so glad Ericka and Robert had a stress-free day!

O... Wait.  Were we talking about my weekend? Well, that's about it. Sunday, I went to church to get Munch from Grandma and Pop-Pop, then it was off to the Nunnally family's house we went... HANGING out late (8PM is late for us, ok?!) with great friends makes waking up tired Monday morning totally worth it!

How was your weekend? What'd you do?