Pink Craft Room Reveal: Two Workspaces

Islanders, we've had this conversation.  I'm the kind of person who needs her own Christmas tree because I have a thing for ornament placement.  I'm the person who needs a craft room to hold my craft supplies but ALSO to have my own space because it makes me happy and increases my productivity and creativity.

Soon after my craft room approached a done state, Munch started to call the space OURs. She started finding excuses to pull out my papers and paper punches.  She was playing school.  Her friends came over and they were all in the room playing and crafting and -- hold up.

DO YOU THINK I CREATED A SPACE OF MY OWN TO SHARE WITH ANY AND EVERYBODY?

I'll give you the answer.  No.  No, I did not.

Despite threatening stares and promises of punishment, she kept finding reasons to be in my space.  I started to look into purchasing a desk for the kid. ** eye rolls all around*  I found a few but I didn't budget for anything too fancy or expensive.  Then, on a trip to Goodwill, I hit the jackpot!  I got a desk for $9!!!  It is dark stained wood with  a small drawer and is the perfect size for Munch.

Over the desk, I hung the painted peg board and a photo display. I'll share her total workspace in the near future because we incorporated some cool storage techniques and it has worked out pretty awesomely for her.

All-in-all.  The craft space is a functional, bright and beautiful room we BOTH enjoy to use!

Pink Craft Room Reveal: Tweaking the Design

Howdy, Islanders!  I've hinted at the completion of the new craft room in a few posts lately.  For the record, it came together pretty quickly.  I used the same formula and decor for the previous craft room.  Oh, don't tell me you've forgotten it already:

I know.  The first craft room was pretty awesome.  For more details on the process of pulling it together, click here.  The only difference between my original plan and the new space was the wall color and the size of the room.

The plan above was tweaked slightly - there'd be no room for a work table (gave the other away), there'd be a different desk chair (I inherited a clear acrylic chair I loved) and I had no room for all of my pretty artwork to fit.

That wasn't going to work.  I love my wall art so, I had to make changes to incorporate the gallery wall decor.

I couldn't fit a wall of artwork and a wall for my pegboard storage.  I had to combine two of my favorite elements.  It became a simple math problem.

This:

Plus this:

Equals this:

Tsum Tsums: A New Tradition and Storage Idea

Hi, Islanders!

We've spoken of some of the trends in girl toys.  The popular toys include Shopkins (the 2016 class valentine's and the storage idea) and emojis (the 2017 class valentines).  I've shared free printables, projects, and room decor.  Today, I'd like to talk about yet another popular collectible and toy.  My reason for sharing isn't to convince you to buy another meaningless toy but rather to possibly manage the amount you already purchase or to present a new tradition for your consideration.  In our case, Target was offering the tiny plush toys on sale for $2.99.  They were  cute.  They weren't cheap.  I turned down the request to purchase a few times.  Missed the sale.  Missed the point.  Totally didn't care.

One day, Mrs. Doubtfire was on tv.  My kid was captivated.  She was wondering where this movie had been all of her life.  I explained it was a classic and I realized something, Islanders.  My kid was missing out on many of the classics I remembered from my childhood.

The next trip to Target was quite informative.  The tsum tsum plush toys were on sale again.  The request was made again. She wanted an Aladdin plush.  My curiosity grew.  Had this child even seen the Aladdin movie?  She responded.  I was shocked.  NOPE!  She'd never heard the songs.  She didn't daydream about owning a pet monkey.  She had never giggled at the Genie's jokes.

Clearly, I'm failing. How could I-- well, wait.  She knew all of the characters' names.  Yet, she's never seen the movie.  

We bought a few.  I promised we'd watch the movie and that she'd grow to appreciate the stories behind the Disney character costumes, clothing and toys.

Over time, the collection has grown and so has her exposure to the Disney classic movies.  I found a storage shelf on a shopping trip to Michael's.  It was cute but a little out of my budget.  I waited.  Then, two weeks later, I spotted several of the cute shelves at my local Goodwill.  Priced at $2.99, one of them was sold and came home with me!

It looks great on the gallery wall in the kid's room.  The above photo is one side of the wall.  I really like the idea of encouraging family time while allowing Munch to collect toys she likes.  Family time, limiting meaningless purchases, and a little throwback Disney fun?  I'm all in!

Here's hoping you collect memories more than things!

Space-themed Party: A Collaborative Effort.

As a party planner, I've been hit with all kinds of party themes.  In the case of the space-themed birthday party, the party plannin' mom wanted to host a fall festival but the birthday boy insisted on a party that incorporated his favorite thing, SPACE!

I was privy to conversations among family members and I knew the challenges they faced.  I wasn't, however, prepared for the request to design a party invitation for a space-themed fall festival.

You read it correctly.  Leaves.  Hay.  Bobbin' for apples.  In space.

... because there are trees, seasons, and hay.  In space.

Mom and I had a heart-to-heart.  I wasn't going to allow the invitation to reflect BOTH themes.  It would be too much.  As you can see, I settled on the space theme.

 I arrived with the spaceship favors and realized Mom was determined to incorporate fall festival elements. 

Spaceship Favors: An Out of This World Craft!

Awhile back, I was asked to design the party invitation for a special little one's third birthday.

The birthday boy's mom loved the design so much, she asked for space-themed favor tags.  I obliged and I also offered to provide the favors. 

White paper cups, gray card stock, star stickers, paper shred, and the birthday boy's favorite sweets combined to create adorable BLAST OFF favors!

I dabbed hot glue on the back side of the lid to hold it in place and the favors were all ready to go.  As I was working, I took my job very seriously but my nephew reminded just how silly my 'super serious' work really was.  

A Lumberjack-themed First Birthday

Howdy, Islanders!

If you follow me on Instagram, not only are you cooler than most but you probably recognize that photo up there.  I'm super excited to share the deets from Axel's first birthday.  It was lumberjack themed and guess what.  I'm sharing a few FREE printables at the end of the post.

I loved all of the sweets but those cake pops are pretty amazing!

A lumberjack cake pop?!  BAM, WHAT?!

Maya Mondays: Unbeatable Combinations.

"The quality of strength lined with tenderness is an unbeatable combination, as are intelligence and necessity when unblunted by formal education." ~Maya Angelou

Dollar Tree Faves: The Mini Recycle Bin Uses

I have declared my love for Dollar Tree (DT) more times than I can count.  Today, I’m sharing one of my recent DT finds, the mini recycle bin!

I know what you’re thinking and at first glance this may seem like a random purchase and blog post but just hear me out, okay?  I love several things about the mini trash/recycle bins at DT:

-          - They’re mini.  I mean, everything is cuter when it’s mini!

-          - The flip-top design. 

-          - The fun colors.

-          - The life-like semblance to its full-size counterpart.

I picked one up and I knew exactly how I was going to use it.  On the ride home, however, I came up with multiple uses for it and thought I’d share them with you... ya know, because maybe if I talk about it, I can avoid buying more. For now.  Because I luh you.  Because you’re awesome... let's get to it.

WW: New Craft Room Sneak Peek

Wordless Wednesday