Green Bunny: Canvas!

Canvas art! This was a really fun project. I am thinking it might be something I offer when I start my little business venture. I started with an 8x10 blank canvas. Next, I painted the whole canvas with Making Memories scrapbook paint. Then, I sifted through a bunch of patterned paper scraps and picked some coordinating designs.

I used foam alphabet stamps for my words and attached my papers with sticky photo tabs.

I finished the projects with a layer of modge podge. The boys always get my 'first tries'. You R My Sunshine in Carter's room and I Love You This Much goes to Logan. Can't wait to try a couple more with other colors and sayings!

Mother's Day Craft

So if you haven't figured it out yet, I LOVE my kids' hand prints. There is just something so adorably innocent about them. I made these 12x12 pictures for the grandmas last Mother's Day and loved them so much that I made one for myself too. 

I used Crayola Finger Paints, crayons, and some cute 3-D bug stickers I had laying around. I would have wanted this to be more diverse in the color of hand prints (it makes sense for their feet to be green since they are the leaves), but at the time Logan LOVED green and there was no way around it. He was NOT gonna be talked into a red or orange flower! Oh well, I guess I'll always remember how obsessed he was with the color green!

Green Bunny: Special Dates Artwork

I saw this project on a blog called a.steed's.life and knew I had to make one. It is a bit more 'graphic design' than I usually do, but I loved the idea of highlighting our family's most important dates.

This was an inexpensive project. I purchased the 12x12 shadowbox frame for $9.99 at Target. I had everything else on hand. I used the Sure Cuts A Lot program with my Cricut. I love this program! It allows you to use any font you already have on your computer with your Cricut...no cartridge necessary. I used the same font as Andrea did: Modern No. 20.

Based on my 12x12 background size, I cut two inch letters using plain black cardstock for our birthdays. To change it up just a tiny bit, I used a black polka dot patterned cardstock for our anniversary.

Doodlebug Design Beetle Black Dot Grid

When I was ready to lay out the design, I drew a smaller box within the 12x12 cardstock using very light pencil lines (1/2 inch in from each edge). I started working from the outside inward placing the four numbers in the corners first. I used the smallest size glue dot available to adhere the number cut-outs.

After I got all the dates on the page, I cut a small heart from glitter cardstock using my basic shapes Cricut cartridge. Our anniversary worked perfectly for placing the heart since the year we got married had two zeros. Otherwise, you could place it in a random place on the page or not at all. I used a foam square to elevate the heart off the page and give some dimension. I also added small, black photo corners to finish it off.

I chose to change a couple things from Andrea's original project. First, I wanted the colors to be very basic so they would always work in our house. Second, I decided to do 12x12 rather than 8x10...just a personal preference. Third, I wanted to put some extra space between our birthdays and anniversary to highlight our wedding date a bit more. And finally, I wasn't in love with the decorative flourish and decided to keep it super simple.

Just a couple examples of how you can make a project your own and really make it work for your life/house/taste...

Meeska Mooska Mickey Mouse!

Carter was all about Mickey Mouse Clubhouse when he turned one in July. We hosted a backyard BBQ with lots of fun decorations and food...




I made the invites using the Cricut Mickey and Friends cartridge and two circle punches. I also downloaded a Mickey font for the inside info.



Amazing Mickey cake made by Sarah!



Specifically planned this party in the AM so we could have Mickey mimosas (a fabulous idea from a friend)! I found a small Mickey cookie cutter for a couple bucks on eBay and used it to cut Mickey out of cantaloupe to add to the mimosa glasses. I also used the cutter for fruity pebble treats (pictured below). Sarah created the deliciously adorable cupcakes...great to have a friend who bakes!



I framed an invite and placed it on a plate stand on the table along with a stuffed Mickey, sunflowers, and the mickey-shaped fruity pebble treats. Some of my bright Fiesta pieces came in handy for the color scheme.



This party was so colorful. What fun! I went with Mickey-themed supplies for the kids' table, but was able to purchase bright reds, yellows, and blues for extra plates, napkins, balloons, etc. Solids are much cheaper and more practical for future use.



I had saved this HUGE Disney store shopping bag (because I knew it would come in handy someday) and used it to decorate the play area with some multi-colored balloons. The sandbox was a birthday gift for Carter.



I made this banner that matched the invites for Carter's high chair.



The birthday boy with his banner & cake. I made the Mickey balloons behind him for the guests to take home. What a blast! I definitely suggest a Mickey (or Minnie) party if you have a young one. Look for great ideas on Disney.com and Disney Family too.



Happy - Heart - Day!

Just a little something I made for my man...hope he doesn't check our blog before Monday.

Historically, Valentine's Day is not one of my favorite holidays. I can take it or leave it. But this year, I am finding myself drawn to the red and the hearts more than ever. Today, I picked up a bunch of supplies (that were surprisingly well-priced) at Party City with the boys. Sidenote: When we got home, Logan said, "Mom, I had fun at the I Love You Store!"

Anyhow, I had a really fun idea for a craft or card with little ones. It's a simple project, but oh-so-cute! All you need is an ink pad, some white paper, and some adorable little fingers:

I did this with both boys. Place their pointer finger in the ink and then make two fingerprints in the shape of a heart. I made several hearts for each kiddo. I made sure to spread them out on the page knowing I would be punching them out with my circle punch. I added a digital element from Ali Edwards at DesignerDigitals.com and some ribbon and came up with this (Really...sorry, honey, if you happen to look at this post before Monday!):

One more: This was super simple. I cut out pieces of a paper doilie to create the flowers. Added the adorable pearl brads and rub-on sentiment and...voila!

Not sure yet what I will do with all the other fun stuff...

Green Bunny: Baby Name Art

I felt a creative urge when Sarah was pregnant with her third baby girl and [GASP] I was throwing the baby shower. Pottery Barn Baby was consuming my every thought. I was trying to emulate some of the adorable artwork on the bedroom walls in the 'I-want-it-all-please' catalog...

In explaining my love for all things Pottery Barn, I am reminded of an oh-so-classic Friends moment from 'The One With The Apothecary Table':

Ross: Phoebe HATES Pottery Barn???!!! She's so weird.
Rachel: Ross, she’s not weird, she just wants her stuff to be one of a kind.
Ross: Huh. Ya know what’s not one of a kind? A twin!

Anyway, back to the artwork, here's what I came up with:

This is 12x16. I framed it in a cream IKEA frame and displayed it on the table using a plate rack at the shower and then sent it home with Sarah...along with two others for Haley & Hannah!

This spiraled into making one for our MOPS auction:

and, one for my son (this one is 9x9):

Involved some cutting, some sewing, some chalking, some drawing, some tearing, some sanding, some major creative drive. All except for 'Kathleen' were before I owned my Cricut. (Yes...those are hand drawn and cut letters, flowers, birds, trees & bugs folks!) This is something I hope to include in my custom-made options when I launch Green Bunny Art....super fun project!

Carter's First Year - Paint Chip Album

Each grandma received a paint chip album at Carter's first birthday party. (I am only including a few of the 14 total pages.) I picked up large paint chips in coordinating colors at the hardware store. Then, I punched holes in the top and began to distress the paint chips with both an edge distresser (here's the one I like, but apparently it has been discontinued...I'll be on the lookout for a new one and get back to ya.) and sandpaper. I tried to choose photos that represented what stage Carter was in during each month. I also took a picture of him with a large teddy bear every month in his first year to show his growth.

TIP: I ordered my wallet-size photos through Snapfish. I do have photo editing and printing capabilities at home, but found that if I turned them black & white within the Snapfish website, the color was much more consistent than if I edited & printed them all myself. It is just a simple click of a button within the "Edit" menu. You'll find the color and tinting options in the "Fun" tab. Also, ordering the wallet-size photos cut down on my photo trimming time tremendously. (Which helped since there are so many tiny photos in these albums!) You have to order a set of four wallets for each picture, but I use the extras on other projects/pages or put them in my wallet.

Next, I embellished the pages (the fun part!) and started piecing it all together. I really enjoyed creating this album. My only regret is that I didn't make one for myself!

I used my Cricut to cut the Mickey shapes and the number 1 to create the invites for our Mickey Mouse Clubhouse BBQ. A picture of Carter blowing out his candle will go on this last page!