New Year's Eve Wedding

My daughter's friend, Keysha and her sweetie {Steven} are getting married tonite at the Wright House in Mesa {AZ}.  What a great way for a young couple to kick off the New Year.  I just finished wrapping the gift.  Loved the variety of paper Hallmark is carrying these days.  I couldn't decide between the two papers, so I bought em both and incorporated some of the stripe in as a band and pocket to hold the cards. 

The size of the gift made it difficult to wrap, so don't look too close.  Tulle has got to be one of my favorite things.  It adds so much to a package. 

Well, I better hop in the shower if I am going to make the 6:30 event.  Whatever you do tonight to ring in the new year...be safe and remember, the dieting doesn't start until 2012! 

Happy New Year! 

Almost 2012

It's hard to believe that 2011 is almost over.  Gosh, so much I wanted to do but never got to.  Hopefully this upcoming year will be filled with more resolutions and results!  I have 2 classes in January at ETC that I am super excited about.  I will also be at the Scrappin Sampler {1.21.12}, which is always a lot of fun! 

B Chic is 1.24.12 and Jamie and I will be making a cute Valentine banner with burlap and lace.  And on 1.31.12 I wrap up the month with Do Me A Favor.  In that workshop we will make 4 favors ready for gifting.  All supplies {except adhesive} are included in this little class.  It is perfect for gathering ideas and samples for weddings, graduation and birthdays.  Here's three of the four we will be making in January on the 31st.


These square bottles are one of my favorites to use as favors.  I love that you can see the goodies inside.  Bazzill cardstock and the adorable stripped printed paper from Bazzill makes an adorable band for this duo of plastic bottles.  The paper flower accents the red grosgrain ribbon and the "xoxo" tag finishes it off before filling it with red and white candy and giving it to the recipient.

These bags are the best.  They are so durable, plus they have a lining to keep baked goods from soaking through.  The cute little banners are made with the 6X6 printed papers from Authentique.  The foil lined cupcake wrapper is folded over the top of the bag, which is closed using a piece of lace. 

I am really loving these bags, so I used them for 2 of my projects.  This little bag has a band of Bazzill cardstock and My Mind's Eye printed paper.  The gray-ish grosgrain ribbon is lightweight and knots nicely on the front of the sack.  A small piece of pink jute holds the "valentine's day" tag to the package.  The cute love bird embellishment by DoodleBug adds some bling.  Chocolate bars are tucked inside for the recipient to devour.

The fourth and final favor is a generic one.  I would show you a photo, but it's not quite finished yet.  Give me a day or two!  :)

My mom is the MOST amaZing person I know

We loaded up and headed over to my mom's for Christmas dinner and as usual...everything was perfect.  She adds so many "little" touches to her entertaining.  Christmas is her favorite holiday and red is her favorite color.  Wished you all could see it in person to be inspired, but here's the next best thing.

 

Her house is seriously like a Christmas Wonderland!  Nobody sits at this little table, but that doesn't keep her from decorating it.  Such detail and TIME goes into all of her tablescapes.

This year, she decided not to put up all of her trees.  So only 5 were on display this year.  It takes her almost 2 months to put the decorations up and just about as long to take them down. 

The food was as good as it looked.  From tasters to full sized goodies, "granny" had it all!  If you left hungry it was definitely your own fault!

Kinda looks like a Martha Stewart or Matthew Mead or Colin Cowie set up, doesn't it?  

The table we ate it was just as amaZing!  

I am always amaZed at my mom's talent and ability to decorate, cook, bake and entertain.  She definitely has an "eye" for home interior and design.  Jenaye shares the same talent...but it definitely missed a generation!

Wherever you spent the holidays, I hope you made some memories and shared some laughs. 

Busy, busy, busy

I am sure lots of you are just like me and are busily preparing for the Christmas holiday.  You might be baking or buying, wrapping or mailing your last gifts (priority mail, of course!).  Here is what I have been up to.

This year I made BBQ Sauce for 63 people I work with at the City of Mesa.  I honestly enjoyed the process of making, packaging and giving this.  I started early and didn't feel as stressed as I did in previous years. 

I thought I would share this quick {and yummy} recipe in case you have some last minute "gifting" to do.

7 lb 2 oz can Ketchup
5 c water
2 c apple cider vinegar
1-1/3 c dark brown sugar
4 Tablespoons molasses
4 Tablespoons onion powder
3 Tablespoons garlic powder
4 Tablespoons black pepper
4 teaspoons celery salt
3 teaspoons cayenne pepper

Mix all ingredients on medium heat for 5 minutes, stirring constantly.  Reduce heat to medium and simmer for 20-30 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Allow sauce to cool before pouring into containers and refrigerating.

If you need some quick labels, email me and I will happily send you mine in a pdf document.  I tried to upload them here...but no luck!  :/

Holiday Centerpiece

OK...I admit it, I am addicted to "repurposing".  Guess that why I like second hand stores, they are filled with items that have been rescued from their landfill destination and have many possibilities for new life.

I love making centerpieces using books and there's no better place to find cheap books than at a secondhand store {or a public library in their books for sale section}.  They aren't like the ones I remember as a kid...angels and trees out of the paperback Reader's Digests, remember those?  These creations are a bit more "junked up".  You can use so many different little trinkets to personalize them.

Here's a close up shot from the top.  I loved this little mouse.  He is actually a ceramic napkin ring from the 50's.  I stumbled upon him at a second hand store in a bag of mismatched items.  If only I had a set!  Look closely and you can spy a long vintage ornament of mercury glass beads.

 

 Here's a close up shot of the completed project.  I just loved the way it turned out.  I have it sitting on my dining room table on a cute burlap runner I bought at Rust & Roses when I was out shopping "The Curve" with a friend last month.

This was the first time I had painted a book silver and I loved the look!  The wide green ribbon with silver glittery swirls was something I picked up at Costco a couple years ago and it was just perfect for this little project.  This was the first time that I made a 2 story centerpiece.  I have placed the wood pieces under the book or books, but never in between.  It's hard to see the nest behind the bottle brush trees, but I filled it with some jingle bells, glittered and plain silver, a miniature red and white polka dotted ornament and itty bitty tree like the green one in the front.  I bleached the trees, leaving some of them white and dying others a cute green.  Yet another purpose for re-inkers and Glimmer Mist.  :)

Hope your week is off to a great start!
Kelli
:)

Finally...a place to post projects for inspiration

A lot of you have been encouraging me to create a place to share my projects.  I finally did it...I am hoping that I can spotlight not only the projects I do for my DO ME A FAVOR & B Chic workshops that I teach at ETC in Mesa, Arizona, but also the things I create for family, friends and fun!  :)

The first thing I wanted to share was these wedding invitations.  They were just what the sweet bride, Miss D, wanted.  Very elegant and classy.  The mix of textures and color was absolutely "stunning" as my cute friend Lara would say.  We used the flocked damask paper by Anna Griffin, Sour Green Apple cardstock by the best cardstock manufacturer around....Bazzill Basics Paper, light weight vellum also by Bazzill and sheer black ribbon from ETC, our local paper crafting and fabric store.  All of the print work was done on the vellum.  The bottom piece of vellum has all the traditional wedding information regarding the ceremony and the reception, while the top piece highlights the letter of the groom's last name.  They were mailed in black Bazzill envelopes with Apple Green labels for splash of color.  The finished size of the invitation was 5.5" X 8.5".

This adorable bride was the babysitter of our children when they were little, making the project even more personal.  One valuable lesson learned during this endeavor...the post office charges more when you turn the envelope vertically to address to the recipient.  Good to know for future projects.