Must Have Monday

I love this fragrance, Persimmon Plum, and the body lotion is divine.  Free of pretty much anything bad you could even think of, its sweet, sultry and smart.  Find it here at Love and Toast. 

Image Credit, Love and Toast

Mermaid Tea Party

Well - It has been several weeks since the mermaid tea party.  I had a complete and total blast from start to finish.  I loved every piece, from the planning to fixing food and of course hanging out with my girl friends. The really are the most spectacular part of any event.  So here is the break down, sum it up, main points of interest and all around good stuff.

The table setting was a compilations of thrift shop finds, white dishes, bits and baubles I either already had or borrowed. I made the old shipwreck bottles myself  as shown here. I wanted it to look like little bits and pieces that the mermaids might have taken off old shipwrecks and stashed about.

 I placed it all on a basic white cotton table cloth accented with pieces of broad cloth in earthy tones and deep teal.  Thank you to my mother in law who let me borrow from her cast iron mermaid collection, they set the tone perfectly.

Food!  I love to eat.  I made scones posted here, orange mascarpone (melt in your mouth) tartlets found here on pampered chef and mini cupcakes with butter cream frosting.  For the savory selection; cucumber and chicken salad sandwiches.  To save time I picked up a local favorite chicken salad the day before.

Of course I had a selection of tea that I had gathered over the past few months. I made a tea menu describing each tea and the caffeine content to help guest make a selection.  Water was kept hot in insulated carafes.  Just a hint, if you go this route splurge on a new one so the tea wont taste like coffee.

Mermaids have to be dressed for the occasion, so as we sipped idly on tea, drifting through conversation we all had little starfish hairpins, made here, for fun.  The hairpins were placed in a little silver dish, a little dressing area set up with a mirror.

As a little thank you for helping to make the party complete, everyone took home a little bath bomb.  I ordered them here from SweetBath Confections.  They were affordable in a box of twelve, and perfect as they were individually wrapped.    I kept a few back for myself and loved them!

Well I think that about does it for the highlights.  Whew, it was so enjoyable.  I cant wait to plan another party!  Any birthdays out there????   HA!


~ Want to see how my mind wanders?  Follow me on pinterest, better yet start with my mermaid party board!

Must Have Monday

Pretty little summer scarf.  Hmm perhaps I might try to dye silk as my next crafty adventure.  Until then, find it here at Garnet Hill.

Image credit, Garnet Hill

Unravel my Travel - Guest post

KC is a college student who loves to travel and is enthusiastic about doing it on a budget!

He has traveled Europe several times and done so on a college student dime.  He also shared with me that she can do it with ten pounds of luggage!  I don't think even my purse weighs less than ten pounds!  So, when He asked to share some travel tips I said "yes please!".   Be sure to check out the link to his blog after the article, He just got back from Europe!  Enjoy!

Top 5 Travel Tips

Traveling around the world is a wonderful experience that can have a lasting effect on your life. Whether you taste a pastry in Paris or a new brew in Germany, traveling can be a rewarding way to spend your time off. There are many beautiful countries to visit and it doesn’t matter which ones you stop by but we recommend that you get out there and see a few. Go ahead; take a vacation, you deserve it. To help you get wherever you need to go, here’s a list of savvy tips to get you on your feet.

1. Book your trip in advance.
1. The beginning of any vacation is the plane ticket. The best time to buy a plane ticket is two to three months before your vacation actually starts. Once you buy your ticket, be sure to continue to watch ticket prices because most airlines will give you a better rate if one arises.
2. Be sure to finance your trip properly-especially for a family vacation.
1. Do some research and educate yourself about your financial options that are available to you and your family. There are many travel rewards programs through banks, which can be helpful. If you cannot put money down on your vacation, this might be a viable option for you. Finances can be the most stressful part of your life, why worry about that that during your vacation away from stress?
3. Sleep somewhere outside the city.
1. If you plan to tour a big city, then be prepared to pay big hotel bills. This is fine if you’re a city-person; personally, I try finding a smaller bed and breakfast outside the city limits. It’s always a little quieter and less damaging to my wallet. Plus, this way I can relax and see how the culture really is and not just how commercial cities look and feel.
4. Utilize technology, it’ll save you a few dollars and a few headaches.
1. Everyone has a smart phone these days, why not use it correctly? There are thousands of (free) travel apps, which help plan and organize your vacations. Planning to take a lot of pictures? Upload pictures to an online sharing platform for free in case your camera breaks or is stolen. Family and friends back home can look through these pictures without you and your family being smeared all over Facebook. This is a much safer and more personal way to share pictures with the ones you love.
5. Flexibility is crucial for any trip abroad.
1. Nothing is more frustrating than having to follow strict guidelines. Relax. You’re on vacation to enjoy yourself, remember? Make sure you stop and take the time to browse through markets, walk through parks and pose for memorable pictures.

KC Owens has written and submitted this article. KC is a college student who loves traveling, college life, fitness and a good survival kit. He enjoys studying different cultures, meeting new people and leaving his footprint somewhere most people only read about.

Must Have Monday

Well Gosh, I have been looking for something understated to go above my kitchen sink.  Gorgeous!  Find it here at Restoration Hardware.

Image Credit, Restoration Hardware

Diaper Cake Not Quite Tutorial

Diaper Cake Not Quite Tutorial

The first diaper cake I made was years ago for a shower that was here at the house.  The same one I made the jungle themed party decorations for.  They are pretty simple so this is more of a guide than a step by step tutorial.

Supplies
New born diapers (42 total)
Fleece blanket
Flannel receiving blankets
Cake "topper" stuffed toy
Other decorations, think small and easy to attach
Assortment of ribbon
Safety pins
Rubber band assortment
Wooden skewers or chop sticks
Hot glue gun or stapler





The first step takes the longest and is the least amount of fun so its good to get it out of the way. Roll all the diapers!  I find its best to roll starting from the waist band to the bottom of the diaper.  This way the loose flappy edges are to the inside, making the diaper easier to work with.

Now to assemble the individual layers.  Using a rubber band, bind together four diapers.  Repeat this process two more times for a total of three sets of four.   Set one aside, this is the top layer of the cake (4 diapers) .

Now to each remaining set of four add eight more diapers to the outside.  Set one of these aside to be the middle layer (12 diapers).

Add the remaining diapers to the last set to make the bottom layer of the cake (26 diapers).

To assemble the cake, and make it stay together, I use a wooden skewer threaded down the middle to keep the layers from shifting. 

Then wrap the cake with the blankets.  I like to use a fleece one for the bottom and the lighter flannel for the top two layers.  Secure them with clothes pins.  If you choose to, wrap the ribbon around the base of each layer, secure the ends to themselves with either staples or hot glue. 

For the cake topper I tied a bow around the lions neck, slipped another skewer in to it from behind and used that to attach him to the cake upright. Finish by adding all the other decorations around the cake.  

Must Have Monday

Love this little punch of summer color.  Find it here at Garnet Hill.

Image Credit, Garnet Hill

Must Have Monday

With spring brings plenty of birds to my yard, and all my hanging potted plants.  I wonder if I gave them something prettier to sleep in the would take me up on it......probably not.  Well either way, this bird house is very cute and comes in three styles.  Find it HERE at Anthropologie.

Image Credit, Anthro

Must Have Monday

I adore birdy things, and gold and shinny.  So these are perfect! Find them here at BANCHI.

Image credit, BANCHI

Must Have Monday - Month of Handbags

Its pink, what else do you need in a purse.  Oh and there are lots of pockets and a leopard print lining.  Bonus!  Find it here at Zappos.

Image Credit, Zappos

Must Have Monday - Month of Handbags

I picked this one for the month of handbag must have, because I like green and the simple line clean lines give it and understated appeal.  Find it here at Nordstrom.

Image Credit, Nordstrom

Mermaid Hairpins DIY

 The tea party is getting closer and closer.  I want my mermaids to feel pretty so I made a few mermaid hairpins.  

You will need small dried starfish, hair clips, quilt batting scraps, scissors and hot glue gun! 

 To each starfish I glued a small piece of scrap quilt batting to the back, felt would work too.

Then after the glue was dry I attached a small hair clip to the back.  Be careful not to glue the clip shut.

 Done!

Must Have Monday - Month of Handbags

I chose this one for its lived in, traveled the world, bet it has some good stores look.  Find it here, pre world traveled, at Macy's.

Image Credit, Macy's

ShipWreck Bottles using Water Decals Almost Tutorial

Water Decals Tutorial

I can remember being a teenager and loving those little decals that you soak in water then stick to your nails.   Well now you can get printable paper for creating your own grown up decals.  The product web site is HERE, however it is available from many sources.  I picked mine up on Amazon.  It comes for both laser and ink jet printers so be check and make sure you get the correct one.  Okay – on from what sounded like a public service announcement to the project.

I was looking for old bottles to add to the table-scape of the mermaid tea party.   So once again think; vintage meets ship wreck.  However, much like the mercury glass it wrecked my budget.  I found a really cool old whiskey bottle at an antique/junk shop that would have been perfect except it was $30 … um no, especially since the whiskey was all gone.   I set out to make my own, for about $15 and some free wine bottles I was ready.

Supplies

Wine bottles, with existing labels removed

New Labels to print (see sources below)

Printer

Decal paper

Water filled Spray bottle

Digital software (optional)

 

I used Photoshop to do a little editing on the images but that really isn’t necessary.  Simply print them on the decal sheets following the instructions that came with the pack.  Then cut them out, you will be able to see the edge slightly after the transfer so you might want to be as neat as possible.  

Transfer the decals to the bottles, again following the instructions that came with the paper.  Tip; spraying the surface with a little water allowed me to manipulate the decal and push out air bubbles before it set up.  Allow them to dry over night before handling them. 

It is recommended to spray a clear coat over the decals.   However, I was concerned this might look messy on the clear bottles if it wasn’t perfectly even so I opted out.   Have fun!   I’m sure there are tons of uses for these decals!   

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Graphic sources:

 I found the French design here at Graphics Fairy.    The pharmacy label is from here at Altered Artifacts.  As for the Witch Hazel label, I have seen it everywhere and have no idea where it came from.  However best I can tell Love Mansion is the original creator, find it here.