hand made crafts | peace, love, and crafts

DIY ~ paper accordion flowers

By Kristen | Published: February 6, 2012

a few of you have asked how i did my fav wall decor for miss P’s birthday. at the time when i was making the actual flowers, i managed to snap a few shots with my phone, so i will just post that. i know i can do it all over again and take better photos with my real camera, but let’s be real here guys. ;)

materials: paper, glue, and however you want to hang them. i used Christmas ornament hooks

*i used 12″x12″ scrapbook paper that i already had on hand (you can use a different size paper…the bigger the paper, the bigger the flower) ;)
1. fold the paper accordion style. back and forth, back and forth. i used 3 sheets of paper for each flower, so i folded all 3 of them together at once. all about short cuts.
2. trim the edges (you can do this several ways to create variety)
3. fold each paper down the middle.
4. glue the fold together for each paper
5. glue all three sides together to form the flower
6. determine how you will hang them and done!! (i used Christmas ornament hooks since i hung them on my blinds, but you can use tape, tacks, string, etc.)

when you have a lot to do, i suggest doing an assembly line. goes a lot faster. :) yay happy paper accordion flower making!

Posted in accessories, DIY | 6 Comments

homemade snickers

By Kristen | Published: February 5, 2012

guys, can i tell you how amazing this little dessert is?! homemade snickers. umm, yes please. we had a little get together with another family today for the “super bowl,” really just an excuse to get together. ;) we didn’t even watch it…actually i was too busy making this thing. it does take quite some time because you have to wait for each layer to completely harden, BUT totally worth it. this recipe is pretty darn close to the real deal. it is very rich i might add, but delish. gave 3/4 of it away to our friends. that stuff is dangerous.

just in case y’all don’t follow me on pinterest (a pinterest button will be added soon) then here’s the link to this amazing recipe that you must try at least once in your life. :)

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church/silpada fundraiser

By Kristen | Published: February 2, 2012

hello lovely people. do you like jewelry? do you like marvelous, hand crafted .925 sterling silver jewelry? (wish i could insert a fun comment about a giveaway here, but not this time) …however, my little church, Grace Outreach Family Church, is doing a fundraiser to help raise money to enclose the outside patio for expansion of the sanctuary. we are a small church so this is a big deal. :) (side note: i am the kid’s church pastor and the mister is the youth pastor and worship leader…all volunteer) :)

one of the ladies in our church is a representative for Silpada jewelry. she is giving the church 100% of her commission from all the sales that are ordered (by February 5th). so here’s where y’all come in. if you would like to order something from Silpada, then not only are you going to receive some fabulous jewelry but you will be helping out our church. you get to look good and feel good. ;)

here are some Silpada facts:
“Silpada Designs’ products are handcrafted from the finest .925 sterling silver and semi-precious, composite and man-made materials available while subscribing to the highest standards of excellence in craftsmanship. over 30 artisans touch and create every piece of our jewelry. customer satisfaction is Silpada’s number one priority; therefore, to ensure we always exceed your expectations, we stand behind our jewelry with a lifetime guarantee and 60 day exchange or refund policy.”

there really is something for every taste and style. our 2011-12 collection includes more than 477 bold, unique and highly detailed jewelry creations and accessories. 363 of the 477 items cost less than $100!

**if orders are placed online, at checkout be sure to assign your order to “Grace Outreach Fundraiser”
**the charge will not go through until after the order is submitted on Monday, February 6, 2012.

i, along with my church family, will be forever grateful. and if you aren’t interested in the jewelry then prayers for our expansion would be great! :) if you are interested please let me know!!! thanks everyone!

(ps…if i have the most orders then i can win up to $100 worth of jewelry. THEN i can do a giveaway!)

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january photo a day challenge

By Kristen | Published: February 1, 2012

if you aren’t on instagram then you probably don’t know what i’m talking about (although you can share it through any media: twitter, facebook, tumblr, flickr, blog, etc.) but here’s a recap of my january photo a day challenge. i love how it challenged me to take photos of other things besides P. ;) thanks Chantelle over at fat mum slim for this awesome idea.

you can follow me on instagram: kmcashan

**excited for february too!

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yarn painting

By Kristen | Published: January 31, 2012

i’m a fan of adding texture and using different mediums on projects…especially paintings. so remember this canvas i had hanging up in the kitchen, well i finally did something with it. (i did say i was going to finish it over the weekend…but monday will do). i saw this cute idea over at ruffles and stuff and wanted to do a little something myself.

all i did was paint the background (it’s hard to tell but it’s gold), sketch out the utensils, and then glued the yarn on! *side notes….try to use another glue besides hot glue because 1) it leaves those annoying strings that are extra hard to get off and 2) it takes off the actual paint (i used acrylic paint) BUT i am a slacker and use a hot glue gun for ummm everything. ;) fabric glue is probably the best bet.

one of my favorite coaches in high school gave me this little saying and it’s still with me. love it. -hi coach p!
**also, i’ve accepted that since i do all my crafts/work at night, i don’t get the greatest lighting for pics. oh well. i know y’all don’t mind. ;)

so yay for finishing a project that has been on my to-do list for a long time. :)

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daddy is back!

By Kristen | Published: January 28, 2012

i played single mama for a couple days this week. the mister went to a men’s retreat and miss p and i played and played and played…and slept a little. props to all those single parents or those whose spouse goes out of town a lot. we did have a good time. kept ourselves super busy (my excuse for not posting on here lately). ran lots of errands, visited the park several times with some friends, and just had some good extra bonding times. we even went to one of my fav kid’s consignment shops and got her some more shoes….because she is a walking fool now. :) she walks with her hands in the air. cracks me up. whatever works right?

well i’m glad the mister is back home. we missed him, but i think it’s nice to get away every now and then. it’s healthy for the relationship i think. makes you miss them even more, and appreciate them even more when they are here. :) well here’s to one more fun-filled, busy day of the weekend. be blessed!!

Posted in life | 2 Comments

projects lined up

By Kristen | Published: January 24, 2012

now that the holidays/birthday parties are done…for now, i have a teeny bit more time to focus on other projects that have been on hold. including these lovely blank canvases that have been hanging up for a few months now, reminding me each day that they need some tlc. ha. i have ideas ready for them, just haven’t had time. when i do finish them, people won’t have to ask if i left them blank on purpose. ;) my goal is to finish them by the end of this weekend! there, i said it…now you have to keep me to it! ;)

happy tuesday.

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penelope’s 1st birthday party

By Kristen | Published: January 23, 2012

this sweet girl had her 1st birthday party last weekend. we ended up doing a rainbow (not an actual rainbow, just the colors) and book theme party. i tried not to get too overwhelmed with all the colors, because well, it’s a lot of color, but i loved how bright and, of course, colorful it was. since her birthday is so close to Christmas, she didn’t need any more toys so i asked for books in lieu of toys. this girl loves her books (and now we have an awesome collection!!) the goal was to make as much of the decor as i could and use stuff around the house that i already had. i think i did pretty good. :) there were some things that i didn’t get a chance to do…so i will save them for her next birthday! (yes, i already thought about her next theme…too soon??) ;)

*my canvas portraits were very fitting since they are all about miss P.
*i made some circle garland with wonderful construction paper. :)
*i hung up this awesome vintage lace table cloth as a background, and threw up some finger knitted garland i made a couple years ago. then i pinned up this paper doily garland (thanks katy!) with the tiniest/cutest clothes pins ever. i loved how cute and handmade this turned out. :)

(don’t hate on my super creased table cover. didn’t have time to worry about that) ;)
*here we have the DIY table. kept it simple with balloons and streamers on the wall. (simple, but how cool does it look?) :) inspiration table here. (thanks mom!)
*to go along with the book theme: decorate your own bookmark station and decorate your own colored book (made from paint swatches. thank you home depot!)
*and DIY painted initial goody bag

*my favorite party decoration! it’s still hanging up too. i guess you can call these accordion paper flowers. even though it took awhile to do all of them, they were fun to make! (thanks M&D and husband for the hanging advice) :) this was my inspiration. super easy to make and hang up. (perhaps a DIY post coming up?)

*made this tent/reading nook for her. i followed this tutorial which was super easy, but there are tons out there. i made it with the vintage sheet that i’ve been wanting to use for something special but never knew what. :) and i love how it’s easy to take down/set up and put away when we’re not using it. i would keep it out all the time but we don’t have that much room.

*more paper circle garland over the window. so simple but looked really fun. i might have this up still too… :)

*i used some of her vintage golden books to display her photos by month. this was an easy and super fast way to show her year’s worth of pics. i simply used some hole punched circles and added stickers for each month..and of course used the cute, tiny clothes pins to hold them up on the books.

ahh the cake(s)! my sweet friend katy, who is mastering her baking skills, made P’s cake and smash cake (first time attempting this kind too!)
*i made little matching accordion flowers for the cake toppers.
*it looks like P is really loving the cake…but she’s really screaming in that pic. haha. she gave some to her daddy instead.

*LOVED how the rainbow cake turned out. (watch out martha stewart!) :) looked pretty AND tasted great too! you’re the best katy!

she didn’t care for the cake so much, but she went to town on her ice cream. it was her first taste of sweets! i think i was more excited for her to try it than herself.

*made just a few mini cupcakes for her play date buddies too. :)

*had a little something for the big kids too. printed out this fun “Alternative Names” children’s book titles quiz over here. some of those i didn’t know. i need to work on that.

well there ya have it folks. penelope ruth’s first birthday! yay! i can’t believe it’s already been one year since THIS! :) thank y’all for everything! she is so blessed and loved by many! *i have waaaay more photos from her birthday party, but i felt like this was plenty for now. ;) (any questions on how to’s or anything, feel free to ask!)

Posted in baby love, DIY, holiday | 7 Comments

365 days

By Kristen | Published: January 19, 2012

at 1:19pm on 1-19-11… :) a moment i will never EVER forget (especially since i wrote it down here) ;) we love you sweet girl. you are amazing. praise God.

Posted in baby love, holiday | 1 Comment

11 months…a little late.

By Kristen | Published: January 18, 2012

i said i’d do a birthday party today post but i feel i should get caught up and do her 11 month pics. so maybe she turned 11 months a month ago, but i’ve been busy. ;) but this was her at 11 months over the Christmas break. i actually didn’t have any non-phone photos of her so i had to ask my mom to send me some she took.

11 months was a fun time! P started taking her first steps (well technically at 10.5 months) and being even more adventurous as before…climbing onto everything possible and getting into anything and everything. with that brought more scrapes and bruises, poor girl. made her look tough though. ;) her fav word is still dada. and she learned “ackle” for apple! :) she had her first Christmas and i’m pretty sure she loved it, especially being with all her family. oh and ever since her daddy took off a few days for Christmas and was able to spend more time with her she’s becoming a daddy’s girl. i guess i’m okay with that. ;) it’s sweet. she stills gives me tons of attention, but it’s sweet to see her bonding even more with him. i know he loves it too. AND sweet girl learned how to give hugs!! my fav. she squeezes her stuffed animals so hard and leans her head on them. makes me smile EVERY time. (still working on kisses) can’t wait for those open mouth slobbery kisses!