Friday Favorites: April 22, 2011

Today is Good Friday--the day Christ was beaten and died on the cross for our sins. Because of Him, we can be right before God and declared righteous in Christ. I am so thankful.  I pray you all have a beautiful Easter weekend, and a wonderful celebration of Christ's resurrection and conquering of death for those who are in Him! He is risen! He is risen indeed!

Now, here are some of the wonderful projects I came across this week! Enjoy!

Crossing the Bugger-Dixon Line made an April Showers Party, and it is FAN-TAS-TIC! Oh, the clear umbrellas with paper lanterns inside made me smile. Each picture gets better and better . . . I am in awe of this cute party!



One+One=3?4? shared a tutorial on making homemade laundry detergent.  I am lazy and buy a huge tub of liquid scent free stuff at Costco, but I can dream about having the time to make my laundry detergent at home.  I don't know how she does that with three (fourth on the way) kids! 



This bathroom project caught my eye because I used this EXACT beach set from Bed, Bath, and Beyond in my boys' bathroom.  I, however, did not make their bathroom extra cute with the wall murals, paint and a SO cute shower curtain.  Wannabe Crafty did.  I love it!



I have a lot of dark colors in my home, and I love black trimmed accents.  The Casabella Home Project made a spring mantel that has dark trimmed accents and a beautiful spring air to it.  Someday I will get a wider mantel so I can decorate, but for now I will just admire hers--gorgeous! (And I am in love with her Fruits of the Spirit sign).



504 Main had a guest post from Craft Buds about making your own bean bags.  I love this, and my boys would love it too.  Even with my tremendously limited sewing skills, I think I could do this!  I can tell you right now my fusible numbers wouldn't have zig zag stitching, but it still would be darling!



Crafts by Holly gave a very easy ruffle tutorial.  I love ruffles.  Yesterday I got a ruffle-ific sunglass case from The Pleated Poppy.  It is gray and mustard--of course.  I need to just learn to make ruffles quickly so I can put them on creations.  This article is a good start!



I continue my love for coasters with this post by Crazy Wonderful.  She made chalkboard coasters!  Think about it--messages on them for a baby shower, Christmas song titles on them for Christmas parites, verses on them to share with visitors, cute kid writing on it and you don't care--the options are endless!  I am a big fan of the way she packaged them too--teacher appreciation gifts!  Yay!



I am in tea table mode right now, though I'm taking a break for Easter.  In early May, I am hosting a themed tea table at our church.  I am not giving away the theme--it is a healthy competition amongst the tea tables.  However, I very much appreciated looking at these party tables from WhipperBerry.  Her details are amazing.  My tea table is NOTHING like these fabulous tables, but it is fun to dream!



Evelyn Kate Designs gives a very easy tutorial on making the ever popular tissue pom-poms.  You have seen these all over the trendy parties, and they are not that hard to make.  Plus, they make big impact for a little time and cost. 



Have a wonderful weekend, and use up all those scraps and crumbs of creative time you get!  Happy Easter!

Calico and Cupcakes Has a Facebook Page

I wasn't sure I wanted to do a Facebook page for my blog, but I think some of my peeps on Facebook are getting tired of me posting about crafts, fabric flowers, and party ideas.  I can't understand it, but not everyone is into crafting and creative endeavors.  Crazy, I know. 
So, I thought I better get a Facebook page started where I can update those who WANT to be in the loop.  Plus, I find it a great way to share good ideas and link to other blogs.  Fun!
So what are you waiting for?!  Go "like" the Calico and Cupcakes Facebook page.  You can find all the creative fun at this link.  Hope to see you there!

Baby Shower Flower Favors

I'm cohosting a baby shower in May, and favors are my part of responsibilities.  The mommy to be is being really patient and is not finding out the gender of the baby, so we chose buttery yellow and a soft, almost pistachio green as our color scheme.

I decided to make chocolate dipped pretzel sticks, but I wanted to make the packaging extra pretty.  So, I made 30 fabric flower pins to pin onto the clear pretzel favor bags.  The guests will get something sweet to eat and wear!

I am also in charge of games, and I have a fun game to share with you all in a little while.

First, I traced 300 circles on fabric.  Yes, I said 300.  Half were traced on yellow and half were on the green fabric.  I had 2 yards of each.

I cut out the 300 circles (10 were needed per flower).  I also cut out 30 smaller circles of "cardboard" (I used paper plates as my "cardboard" backing).

I also cut out 30 green felt circles for the back.
                            

I glued the cardboard to the felt to give it weight and sturdiness.
      

I then glued flower "petals" to the cardboard side.  Here is how to fold a flower petal. 

I placed five petals on the bottom layer, I put three more petals spaced out on top of that layer, and then I glued two in the middle, which were standing "up" for puff effect.

When it was done, I glued a pin on the back.

I think they are pretty and will give the pretzel bags some pizzaz.  I'll be sure to post pictures of the final favor "look" when I take pictures at the shower.

I linked this post to:

Friday Favorites: April 15th, 2011

What a busy and fun week! Between a short get away with Ryan, a sick kid, and a busy calendar, it was a blur! I didn't get tons of crafting done, but I have to get a move on--I have a tea table I'm hosting in early May, an end of the year party for our marriage ministry to organize, a baby shower I'm co-hosting in May, and I'm hosting Easter at our house! Hmmm. . . no worries. It will all get done!

Are any of you readers going to Blog Sugar in September?  I finally have a crafting workshop near my home, and it is faith based!  Getting to talk about crafting with women who love God and the creative juices He gave them--win, win.  Let me know in the comments if you are going!

I get my great ideas from all of you, and I had fun getting inspired this week. Here are some of my favorite posts out in the crafting world . . .

Jac O' Lyn Murphy made beautiful invitations and thank you cards for a kids' cooking party.  I have seen these little rolling pins at the Target dollar bin!  What a fun party idea too!  I'll have to file this idea away for the future . . .



The V Spot changes her chandelier shades for the season.  I have never thought of doing this, and it doesn't look that hard.  I love that sometimes she uses fabric and sometimes paper.



Thrifty and Chic (Do you remember her beautiful scrollwork using cut pipes) made Ballard knock off Garden District Mirrors.  I love these!  I am seriously considering this for a space above my living room fireplace.  Like her, I LOVE mirrors and the light they give to a room!



The Life of the Party made garden cupcakes.  I love these.  I have seen the edible candy grass at Michael's and thought, "What would I do with that?"  Here ya go.  Darling!



Craft Buds shared an alphabet and number wall display.  She gives a very clear tutorial on how to do this, and you can adapt the colors, fabrics and patterns to fit your room.  How cute would this be for a nursery or a baby shower gift?!



 1st Lady of the House made beautiful utensil jars using formula cans and some fabric.  This is an extremely easy and affordable project, and if you don't have formula at your house, try using coffee cans or other recycled jars.  Easy!



Moss and Clover made a Strawberry Cream Cake from scratch, and it is making my mouth water.  It is gorgeous.  How great would this cake look on the Easter brunch table?  I am absolutely loving all the strawberry sales right now, and a dessert with strawberries is perfect for this time of year!



Craftomaniac made a darling monogrammed chevron artpiece.  If you follow crafting trends, chevron stripes are all the rage right now.  She does a great job giving us a tutorial on how to recreate this awesome piece!



Speaking of Chevron stripes, Just Our Style made some gorgeous chevron monogrammed plates.  They used vinyl and a Silhouette machine to cut out the pieces.  The result is gorgeous--I am always a fan of mustard and gray together.



Room by Room did a great job updating her half bath downstairs.  I love the chandelier and the green wall art popping against the paint.  I am inspired to start thinking about my downstairs bath . . .



Vintage Gwen gave a great tutorial on a spring door hanger she made.  It is cotton candy pink with fluffy, white flowers and mini bunting.  What a fun and easy spring project!



I'm hosting Easter, and I immediately thought of trifle for dessert.  I love everything about a trifle--whipped cream, layers of taste, textures, and lots of sweetness.  There is one downside--as you spoon out trifle to serve, it always looks, well, messy.  Here is a fun solution.  How fun are these mini-trifles over at Life is a Party?  Plus, she uses raspberry, which makes any dessert worth eating.



May your weekend be filled with scraps and crumbs of creative fun!