Baby Shower Title Buttons - DIY

With our baby shower coming soon, I wanted to throw together some fun buttons for the parents to be and grandparents to be to wear. I did not want to spend a lot of money on them though, because they are only going to be worn during the shower. So of course, I hopped into my car and went to the Dollar Tree and Walmart!

I purchased:

tan colored label stickers (Dollar Tree)

gold glitter alphabet stickers (Walmart)

ribbon (7 different colors and styles) (Walmart)

pin backings (Walmart)

I also used my hot glue gun and glue sticks that I already had around the house. I also used some leftover gold glitter and pink camo scrapbook paper that I purchased from Hobby Lobby to use for the  Pedicure Spa Jar that I made for baby shower game prizes!

here is a closer look at the ribbon styles and colors I used

 

I took white paper and used the gold alphabet stickers to write out:

Mommy

Daddy

Grandma (2 times)

Great Grandma (3 times)

 

I then cut those out and glued them onto the tan colored label stickers from the dollar store.

 

I peeled off those stickers and stuck them to the pink camo scrapbook paper.  I took scissors and cut those out, trying to match the shape of the sticker the best that I could, with leaving a fun pink camo border around the sticker.

I did the same exact thing all over again, but I glued the cut outs to the gold glitter scrapbook paper this time. I took my scissors and cut them out, again, trying to match the original shape as best as I could.

I then took my ribbons and cut them into various different sizes (2 pieces the same size of each ribbon style and color) I took my hot glue gun and started gluing the ribbons together at the top.

When the ribbons were all glued together, I used a dot of hot glue to attache the name tags I made to each set of ribbons. I also glued on a pin backing just above the glued on ribbons.

I let the glue dry for a few minutes, and then I flipped over the button to look at the pretty front of it, and I took my scissors to trim and shape each ribbon to make them look good together.

Here is the final product:

 

I am so excited to give them out on the day of the shower, and then be able to scrapbook ours afterwards!

If you make a version of these yourself, please share a picture of them in the comments below, or tag them on Instagram using #CreatingVirginiaAnne

 

I would love to see your creations!

Baby Shower Thank Yous - DIY

UPDATE: Our Baby Shower was just perfect. It was so full of love and amazing people who love us and who we love. It was a beautiful shower, and I couldn't wait to write out the homemade thank yous and send them out!

 

Our shower is on a Saturday, so Sunday I am dedicating most of my day to making the Thank yous and writing them out, so I could mail them out on Monday. (EDIT: These thank-yous took me about 5 hours to make and write out, but they were so worth it and I loved how they turned out.)

The items I used were:

1 box of plain white invitations (100 count)

 fabric (I bought quarters from Joanne Fabrics - I used 10 different patterns)

buttons - (Joanne's and I used 5 different colors)

Our computer printer

hot glue gun and sticks

black sharpie

black thin sharpie

gluestick

scissors

I started off by using our computer and printer to print out THANK YOU on the upper right hand corner of each invitation. I used an invitation layout in Microsoft Word, and just made sure that my paper size matched the sizes on the computer printer setup page. I also used colored font to match what color fabric and buttons I was planning to use on certain thank-yous.

I ended up printing 10 yellows, 20 salmons, 20 pinks, 20 blues and 30 purples. (totaling 100 Thank-yous)

I then took my fabric scissors and cut out a temp-let shape of a baby buggy. You can even Google baby buggy to print out the ideal shape if you wanted to!

I cut out 10 buggy's of each fabric pattern that I purchased.

 

Once your buggy's are all cut out, now it is time to make the thank yous!

 

Step 1: use a glue stick to glue on the fabric buggy into the spot on the paper that you want it. I did all of mine close to the bottom left hand corner (as you can see)

Step 2: Use your regular black sharpie to draw a small handle on the buggy

Step 3: Use the same sharpie to draw two black lines coming out of the bottom of the fabric buggy

Step 4: Use a small dot of hot glue to attach the buttons to the bottom of the sharpie lines to look like wheels

Now keep repeating these steps until all of the cards are done!

That was so easy wasn't it!?

Here is a mash-up of one of each pattern and wheel color that I made.

I made a total of 100 thank yous in this style, I will then my thin black sharpie to write out my messages to all of our loving and wonderful family and friends.

 

This project would work for Thank-yous or even invitations! 

You could even use it for baby announcements once the sweet little one is born and you could add a newborn picture to it as well! 

There are so many fun ways to use this project, and the colors can be changed and played with as well!

If you make a version of these yourself, please share a picture of them in the comments below, or tag them on Instagram using #CreatingVirginiaAnne

I would love to see your creations!

Pedicure Spa Jar - DIY

Our baby shower is just around the corner... and we are still working on prepping different game prizes for the guests to win.

I made 5 pedicure spa jars that were so cheap, easy and fun to make!

Here is what I used:

Nail clippers (pink of course & from the Dollar Tree)

A fun girly mini nail file (a pack of 5 from Five Below for $1)

Nail buffer block (3 for $2 at Five Below)

Mason jars (Dollar Tree)

Ribbon (I used pink from Dollar Tree)

Nail polish (Again, I used pink from Dollar Tree)

Toe Separators (pink and girly from Five Below - $1 each)

Scrapbook paper (I used pink camo & gold glitter - Hobby Lobby for $0.49 each)

Tissue Paper (I used a pretty white and glitter one from the Dollar Tree)

I took the cap off of the mason jars, and I traced the lid on the scrap book pages, and cut out the circles. I put one piece of pretty tissue paper in the jar, and left it loose. (I did not push it down, yet) I then took one of each item and placed them in the jar - one at a time. (this step pushed the tissue paper down on its own, without making it too squished.)

When the jar was filled, I placed the lid on with the scrapbook paper cut out on top, and screwed on the top ring. I then took two colors of ribbon and cut them to tie a bow. I tied the bow and TAH-DAH! It looks beautiful!

UPDATE: These favors were a huge hit at the shower and I wish I would have made more than just 5 of them! They were so easy and fun and the possibilities are endless with colors, toppers and items that you can use!

 If you make a version of these yourself, please share a picture of them in the comments below, or tag them on Instagram using #CreatingVirginiaAnne

I would love to see your creations!

Baby Shower Prize Ideas!

The shower is just around the corner, and we finally have almost all of the prizes, tagged, organized and wrapped. I took pictures of them before wrapping them, so I could share some game prize ideas. I will be doing a separate post on the games we are doing.

First off, here are the favors that we are going to be giving to each guest.

A pretty fuchsia mesh bag (Micheal's) with a Sweet Pea hand sanitizer (Bath & Body Works) and a tea light (I made them.. here is the post on how to make them yourself! HERE.)  

The tags are double sided, so I photographed both messages.

 

Some of the other prizes that are going to be given away are...

My mom worked hard making these prizes.

TOP LEFT PICTURE: Not made by my mom but collected, baking sets. It consists of a kitchen towel, two oven mitts and a hot pad. 

TOP RIGHT PICTURE: My mom made grocery bag socks. You can hang them in your kitchen cabinet, a closet or the pantry, and they have an opening on top and bottom, you can use it to store the plastic bags you get from shopping. So handy & creative! 

BOTTOM LEFT PICTURE: Hot Pads for bowls that my mom made. Have you ever placed a bowl of something in the microwave, only to not be able to touch it right away when it is done heating up?! This solves your problem! Place these around your bowl before microwaving them and the fabric will not get too hot to touch! Love this idea! (I told her I wanted a few of them for myself! ha!)

BOTTOM RIGHT PICTURE: Mini oven mitts that my mom made. They are small and padded, so you won't get burned taking something out of the oven, and they are small and compact so they don't take up a lot of room in the kitchen cabinet or drawer!

TOP LEFT PICTURE: My mom made some adorable jewelry pouches for traveling, and I placed a homemade bracelet hanging out of each one!

TOP MIDDLE PICTURE: Cute notepads (guests will win them in sets of 2)

TOP RIGHT PICTURE: Fun little garden accents

BOTTOM LEFT PICTURE: My mom put together travel packs. A caboodle package filled with: razors, mini first aide kit. Q-tips, mini sewing kit, sun block, hand lotion, and tooth paste. So convenient!

BOTTOM MIDDLE PICTURE: A travel pack for liquids!

BOTTOM RIGHT PICTURE: Hand soaps with chalkboard labels!

 

We also got scarves for one of the games, and there will be a guest at each table winning a centerpiece! The centerpieces were made by my mom and I and you can see how we did them and what they look like HERE! 

If you make a version of these yourself, please share a picture in the comments below, or tag them on Instagram using #CreatingVirginiaAnne

I would love to see your creations!

Chocolate Reindeer - DIY

Here is a fun and easy DIY for Christmas time! It is great for kids, or even adults! It is even great for a fun stocking stuffer!!

Here is what you'll need:

Hershey's chocolate bars

Brown construction paper

Red construction paper

White or Off-white construction paper

Googly eyes

Brown pipe cleaners

Scissors

Hot glue gun

 

1.  I started off by cutting the brown construction paper down to size, in order for it to wrap around the candy bar without having extra paper to hang over the sides. I just measured one, then cut all the pieces of brown construction paper to match. 

2. I then wrapped the brown construction paper around the candy bar and only used a small dot of hot glue on the corners of the paper, so that it didn't melt the chocolate bar at all.

3. I then folded one pipe cleaner in half, making a V shape, I then took two small pieces of another pipe cleaner and wrapped them around the ends of the V shaped pipe cleaner. I put a small dot of hot glue on the point of the V and stuck it inside the back of the brown construction paper that I had already wrapped around the candy bar.

4. I cut out cloud shapes from the off-white paper and sized them to the candy bar. I then used a small dot of hot glue to attach that.

5. I cut out off-white circles and smaller red circles and glued them together. (This is the reindeer's hair.)

6. I then placed them on the candy bar with a dot of hot glue as well. (This is the nose!) I added googly eyes between the hair and the nose, and TAH-DAH!!

You now have adorable and edible reindeer treats to pass out!

 

 

I passed these cuties out to all of the kiddos at our Christmas parties this year. They were a huge hit! Even some adults asked me for one to take home!

So make sure you make extra! Because everyone will want one!

These would even be great for your child's classroom or sports team around the holidays! As long as the chocolate is approved! But in all honesty, you could make smaller versions around granola bars and other rectangular snacks!   

If you make some of these, or a different version, please remember to share a picture in the comments below or even tag #CVA on Instagram! I would love to see your creations!

Frozen Yogurt Cones - DIY

This is such a delicious... healthy... easy.... fun treat!

 I think it is perfect for a hot summer day, or even as dessert. I know that I have my moments where I am just craving ice cream or something else sweet, and this way I get my satisfaction & its not that unhealthy!

Here is my shopping list!

• Waffle Cones (I bought Keebler brand)
• Light & Fit Greek Yogurt
• Nature Valley Protein Granola
• Blueberries
•  Raspberries
• Strawberries

Here is what I did to make these:

1. place waffle cone into a bowl or glass. (you want the bowl or glass to hold the cone upright)
2. in a bowl, mix together some yogurt, fruit and granola
3. scoop the mixture into the waffle cones, almost all the way to the top
4. sprinkle some granola and fruit on top
5. place in freezer for 2-4 hours. 

This treat was so simple & quick to make. 

You can really be creative with this healthy snack..

Note: I did make another batch of these and left them in the freezer over night... I personally think the yogurt got too hard and frozen. When I did my 1st batch and only left them in the freezer for 2 hours, it was almost a perfect frozen yogurt consistency.  

Comment a picture below if you try these! I would love to see what toppings you choose!

Eggplant Pizza

With my new & improved healthier lifestyle I have taken up... I have been really enjoying trying new things. Mainly foods & recipes.

Tonight I made Egg Plant Pizza's.

OH.     MY.   GOSH.

DELICIOUS!

Here is my shopping list:

• 1 eggplant
• 1 can tomato sauce
• fat free provolone cheese slices
• lean ham lunch meat
• lean turkey lunch meat
• Mrs. Dash Garlic & Herb seasoning (salt-free!)
• tinfoil
• light olive oil

 
Here is what I did:
(numbers according to the pictures above)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees, & cut up the eggplant into about 1/2 inch slices
2. Cover a pan with tinfoil and coat it lightly with light olive oil. Lay out eggplant slices evenly and dust each slice with light olive oil.You may also want to sprinkle on and seasonings. I used Mrs. Dash Garlic & Herb. Bake in the over for 20 minutes. Don't forget to set a timer! ☺
3. When your timer goes off, carefully pull out the pan, and carefully add a spoonful of tomato sauce to each slice.
4. Next, I placed one piece of provolone cheese over the sauce on each slice of eggplant.
5. Then I used my hands and ripped up a few pieces of lean lunch meat, ham & turkey. I placed those, covering each slice of eggplant, sauce and cheese. 
6. Put them back in the oven for another 20-25 minutes. Depending on how crispy you want them. If you leave them in for too long, they will either burn or the eggplant will get super mushy. 

This meal was fairly quick and easy. Which is exactly how I like them. Because I run around all day, and we have such busy lives, I don't like to or have the time to spend hours every single day making dinner. 

These could be fun to play around with. I only used turkey and ham, but really you could put anything on it that you wanted! I am thinking about trying ham & pineapple next time I make these delicious little guys! Another thing that is nice, is if you have family members that are picky or like only certain pizza toppings, you can easily customize these mini pizzas! SCORE!

These were delicious, and healthy. I really enjoyed making these, and eating these! It was so nice to try something new and have it turn out to be so delicious!

Honey Nut Turkey Rice

Here is a quick and easy 4 ingredient recipe that I through together tonight. Like I said, it was very easy & very quick. Nothing better than having a meal be ready like that!

generated by  Creating Virginia Anne

The husband & I really enjoyed it. 

You cold also add some seasonings to it if you really wanted to!

But I suggest trying it before you add them, because it has a lot of great natural flavors already!

Delicious Bonfire Desserts

We have a lot of bonfires. A LOT. 

I love s'mores... but I don't always want to abandon my new healthy lifestyle to indulge in some melted chocolate, gooey marshmallow, surrounded by gram-cracker calorie bandit! I have been eating these bonfire pies since I was a little kid, but they were never this healthy.

Here is what you need & what you do:

Start off with 2 pieces of whole wheat bread

 

 

Coat one side of each piece of bread with fat free cream cheese and center a couple of strawberries in the middle.

Using a campfire cooker and a campfire, place your cream cheese and strawberry sandwich in the cooker, and pull off the crust. 

 Cook it over the fire, until it is toasted & somewhat crispy.

 

 

Then chow down and enjoy your healthy bonfire snack!

They are easy, cheap & delicious! 

DIY: Beaded Bookmarks

(click on the pictures to make them larger)

 

Part of a present James & I gave to his Grandmother were two bookmarks. I made a thicker, more fun looking book mark,  for her to use with any book. Then I strung up a more dainty looking bookmark using seed beads and a cross charm on one end for her to use with her Bible.

She seemed to love these as well, and I have been having a blast making more bookmarks to gift away, as well as for James and myself.

These homemade bookmarks are so easy and there is really no end to possibilities, because so many color schemes can be used, and different beads and charms also!

To make each bookmark, I just collect a string (elastic, yarn, etc) and some beads. I also pick out a charm or two for the ends. I string on the beads. and TAH-DAH! Yes, it really is that easy!

Personalizing Your Space - DIY

I am in love. and I love love. I am proud of my relationship and of the man I am spending forever with. In our bedroom, we had a random, funny shaped wall that was empty and I really just wanted to put up something big.. but simple. 

I then remembered that in our place previous to this my mom and I had made these letters for our bedroom while James was away on a fishing trip. It was a surprise for him to come home to. He loves it by the way! Any-whoo... I knew I had them somewhere so I started searching. I FOUND THEM! tah-dah!

Here is how my mom and I made these...

We went to Joannes Fabric store and purchased a GIANT J and a giant R. I also bought the word 'AND' in smaller cardboard letters. I purchased some maroon and white spray paint, and from Michael's I bought two wooden words in cursive "dream" and "love". 

As soon as we got home we got to painting. We started off my spraying all of the letters with a coat of maroon spray paint, because we thought they might need 2 or more coats. While the first coat of paint was drying I spray painted the cursive words love and dream with white. 

We let those dry. The words ended up needing 2 coats of paint and the letters I did 3 coats, just to make sure we didn't miss a spot. 

When all of the letters were dry, we took a hot glue gun and carefully glued one word onto each giant letter. ( as you can see in the pictures above and below ) 

The giant letters came with hooks on the back, however the smaller letters did not. I hung the 2 giant letters with nails ( like you would hang a normal picture ) and I used 2 3M removable frame hanger tabs for each of the smaller letters. that way I can easily remove them ( to clean them or whatever )

Because this craft was done a little while back, I don't remember the exact prices but I am positive that it was under $40. which isn't bad at all! compared to our standard sized air vent in the top picture, you can clearly see that those letters are gigantic!

Do you have an empty wall that you want to personalize?

Try this idea and please feel free to share it with me! I would love to see it!

Bead Obsessed!

The other day, James bought me a ton of wooden and acrylic beads.... I had some stretchy elastic at home in our craft-office already and so I got to beading immediately! I made over 200 stretchy beaded bracelets... of all colors, sizes and styles. It is clear to say... I am obsessed. I did not do a tutorial on any of these... however, I still wanted to share them with you all because they are so self explanatory and so easy!  ( oh and fun too! ) All you need are some beads... ( wooden beads.. pony beads... paper beads... homemade beads... clay beads... any kind of beads! ) and some elastic or stretchy jewelry thread. Slide the beads on the string in the pattern you want and make it the perfect size for you or a friend as a gift... then stretch out the string a little as you tie the knot and bah-bam! you are done! So simple... easy and fun!

Below are a few pictures of the beads that I have been using and also some pictures of a few bracelets that I have made.

If you make some please share them! I am excited to see what styles you come up with!

 

Sharpie Art

Ever since I can Remember, I have been in love with Sharpies. They can write on anything and it lasts almost forever! They are a little pricey however... but sometimes you can get very lucky and find them on sale! That was my case with the packs above. I was not planning on buying four packs of Sharpies.. however.. I walked in the store.. (CVS) and saw that they were on sale so I just couldn't help myself!

I decided to start a new project with these... I took a plain white piece of computer paper... I drew shapes and lines all over it. Creating somewhat of a homemade coloring page. Then I simply just started coloring each shape a different color. Hopping all over the page until it was completed!

Here is my first and most favorite of them all!

I call it "Life" ...

If you look at it just at a glance... it looks like a crazy blob of random colors and shapes... ( which it sort of is.. HA! ) But if you look at it closely.. you will see different parts of a picture... a beautiful part of life. 

That is how I see life... it is crazy and hectic at times but when you sit back and look at your life.. it is beautiful.

What do you see?

If you make a masterpiece of your own.. please share it! All you need are markers ( or even crayons! ) and a little inspiration! ♥

Taco Balls - Foody Friday - Recipe

James and I are always trying to find or think of quick but yummy lunches and snacks. WE love to take a ton of ingredients and mix them together to see how they turn out. Well this is the case for us. James is part Mexican. I love Mexican food, As does he. We wanted tacos but did not have tortillas, we were both at home in our comfy clothes just relaxing so neither of us wanted to go to the store. I opened the fridge and saw that we had a few packs of crescent rolls. LIGHT-BULB! then they were born... and delicious! Taco Balls...

Ingredients:
* 1 pound of hamburger meat
* 1 packet of taco seasoning
* 2 rolls of crescent rolls
* sour cream
* shredded Cheese
* salsa

Directions:
1. brown your hamburger meat.

2. follow the oven preheating directions on the crescent roll packages
3. drain your hamburger meat
4. add taco seasoning
5. roll out each crescent roll
6. place 1-2 tbsp in the center of each crescent roll
7. sprinkle cheese on meat (if desired)
8. fold over all edges of crescent roll around meat and cheese
9. pinch all edges closed
10. sprinkle a dash of cheese on top to add a pretty look and some extra flavor
11. put in oven until golden brown or cooked to your personal preference
12. take out - let cool a little
13. top with sour cream, lettuce, salsa, guacamole, or any other toppings you prefer
14. ENJOY!

 

If you try them please share your experience! And I would love to hear of any adjustments or additional toppings added to your version!

Always Remember Your New Years Resolution!

For last nights New Years party, I made each guest a Resolution Reminder.

The women got twine bracelets with three beads on them, then med got key-chains, and the little kids got pony bead bracelets. (Pink/Purple for girls and Blue/Green for boys)

I displayed each item on a piece of navy blue card stock, and each one had its own saying.

Aim big or aim small, this little key-chain will remind you of it all!

and

Aim big or aim small, this little bracelet will remind you of it all!

 

This was a very simple, cheap and fun little add-on to the New Years party! I don't know for a fact if everyone uses this or has stuck to their New Years Resolutions, but I had fun making them and I think it is a very fun idea to do again in the future!

EASY Picture Board

 

I had a black foam board laying in my craft room so since James had to work today I decided to play with it. I used some of my favorite pictures that I had already printed out, and some mod podge :) I first set out all the pictures where I wanted them, then just simply glued them down.

 

I used the Velcro 3M removable tabs to hang it up in our hallway upstairs. James was excited when he came home from work and he loved it!

 

So easy, and now I cant wait to make a few more! We have some empty wall space that I was trying to figure out what to do with.

 

Hair Buddy

I have a ton of headbands, and hair clips that just sit in a boring old box and I wanted to do something fun with them. I took an old washed out lemonade can and covered it with cute and girly scrapbook paper.

 

 

On the outside I put some of my headbands around it and then inside I put my clips and hair pieces inside it.

 

So quick, easy, cheap and cute!