All posts filed under: Celebrate.

dear ball-entine.

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Happy Ball-entine’s Day! For my work’s fourth annual Hearts & Crafts gathering we made Valentine’s surprise balls! We had lots of treats set up – some for snacking… …and some for including in the surprise balls. We also had animal erasers, confetti packs, trinkets, stamps, and stickers (all the small gift items!) for everyone to choose from. Plus ribbons and washi tape to embellish the outside of the surprise balls, too. Let’s make surprises! Materials: crepe streamer paper glue stick treats (toys, candy, anything!) scissors Optional: paper strips markers/pens stickers confetti pom poms ribbon How to: Start with 4 feet of crepe paper. Fold accordion style and cut in half lengthwise. You’ll need more than this, but it’s easier to work with shorter pieces. Wrap surprises with crepe paper strips, starting with the largest surprise object. If creating a shape other than a sphere (a heart, for example!), place a template (you can use thick card stock or cardboard) inside the ‘ball’ to help guide the shape. I find that it’s good to use bulkier …

i heart you.

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For all you lovers: watercolor hearts! Here’s a simple Love Day DIY! Materials: watercolor paint watercolor paper paint brush water scissors brush pens Brush water directly onto paper in a heart shape. Drop or brush on some paint while the paper is wet. Drop or brush on another color if you want colors to blend. Allow to dry. You can keep your watercolor hearts as is (I intentionally started with postcard size paper in case I wanted to use some as notecards), or cut out the heart shapes. I personalized some of the hearts for Galentine’s gifts. These would be fun as treat labels, too, for a Valentine’s parrrtay. Yay!

a box of love.

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I love creating and sending surprise gift boxes to my family for different holidays or just because. Here are some fun ideas for a Valentine’s surprise box! These postcards by 3 Fish Studios are perfect for sending hugs all around California to my family. And pretty much anything from the Target “dollar” section – Heart dishes? Yes please! These would be great for trinkets, holding keys, or an air plant. And now for the sweets – Valentine dates (get it?), heart-shaped cookies, love crunch granola bars, Chocolove chocolate bars, and a long-time favorite – seasonal heart-shaped Junior Mints. It’s fun to scour the snack aisle to find themed goodies. Other cute prizes: temporary tattoos and squishy happy faces for the kids. And to bring it all together: stickers for the box and the packaging. The goal is to pack the parcels so they ship safely. I like using photo boxes – they are study and can hold a lot of stuff – and I like to fill them with crepe party streamers (you can also tissue …

confetti of love.

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My most favorite crafting holiday is just around the corner! So, it’s Valentine’s confetti time! For this project you will need: A cross-cut paper shredder Paper in shades of red, pink, and white – 65 lb paper works great! Assorted confetti Dried flowers Washi tape Containers or clear bags Scissors Large sheet of paper Prep all of the ingredients. For this mix I chose gold and neon pink hearts and gold hexagons. I also found ‘XOXO’ confetti at Target this year! (And these cute heart dishes!) Trim the dried flowers to remove the stems. Shred your paper. You don’t really need to ‘mix’ the confetti. Just make sure you evenly distribute/scatter the ingredients all over. I like to combine my confetti on a sheet of paper (versus a mixing bowl) for two reasons: (1) The heavier confetti bits tend to drop to the bottom and ‘stick’ to ceramic bowls – nothing sticks to the paper! and (2) It’s easier to pour the mixed confetti into containers by folding the paper in half and using it …

winter picnic.

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To kick off the New Year, Hubby, Sis-in-law and her partner, and I planned a lil park picnic. Yes, it was 40 degrees outside, but the sun was shining and the air was fresh! I set up my 4-foot table and stools, brought out my picnic plates and indigo napkins, and adorned each place setting with a sprig of flowers because it’s a fancy grown up gathering, y’all! I put together a cheese plate of sorts with veggies, fruits, carbs, and dips. It’s always fun to use my tiny cheese knives, and I love mixing and matching snacks. I also attempted a lemon dressing/dip (recipe below!). We tossed together a salad (Trader Joe’s kale-cabbage-pistachio-ginger salad pack for the win ~ I’m a huge fan of all of their salad packs!) and I made roasted broccoli with dates and a lemon herb sauce (recipe below because it was delicious!) We also had homemade pumpkin soup! And homemade hummus! And more cheese! And more carbs! It was so lovely to spend a relaxing afternoon with great people in the …

pom pom crown.

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Happy New Year! To celebrate I made a pom pom crown in Pantone’s color of the year: living coral. Ooh la la! You can make one, too! Materials & Tools: Yarn, lots! Pom Pom tool Pom Pom trim guide, optional Scissors Container for scraps Embroidery floss, 3 feet per pom pom Craft needle Floral wire For the base, I used use two pieces of 18 gauge cloth-covered floral wire, shaped and twisted to fit where I wanted my crown to sit on my head. I used a Loome tool to create my pom poms. You can use other tools or even a piece of cardboard, too. I wrapped each pom pom for at least 160 revolutions; the largest pom poms were about 300 revolutions. Tie each with a 24-inch strand of embroidery floss. I tie a thumb knot (a “single knot”), flip the pom over and tie a modified thumb knot – this time looping the thread over twice before tightening, then tie a double knot to secure. You’ll know if your pom pom is tied tightly …

neighborhood christmas.

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This Christmas season Hubby and I discovered a couple of neighborhood Christmas time traditions. In El Cerrito (where we currently reside), the Shadi Holiday Display depicts a Bethlehem scene complete with the Angel of the Lord, the three wise men, and sheep. Mr. Shadi started the display in 1949 as a gift for his neighbors and over the years made more and more of the display items with upcycled materials. Talk about mega crafting! Now, the tradition continues via volunteers who put the display together each year for the neighborhood. It was really sweet to overhear older residents saying they used to come visit as children and are now bringing their own grandchildren to see the display. And in Chula Vista (where Hubby grew up), Christmas Circle has been a yearly tradition since 1957. Most of the residents on the circle decorate their front yards with a Christmas display and spectators can walk or drive through. It’s a short loop to walk; plus, going by foot means you get to admire all of the displays up …