Woodland Party Invitation

Every year we host a Holiday Party for my husbands staff.  Since he works in retail, we try to plan the party before the crazy fall holiday rush.  

Even though it is a Holiday Party - it's a bit strange to follow a traditional Christmas theme when the gathering is in early November.

Last  year we had a Harvest Party.  You can see more about the party here and here, and more about how we decorated for Fall here and here.

This year I decided on a Fall Woodland Theme for the Party.

I fell in love with the sweet critters on the Cricut Create A Critter cartridge and knew I just had to incorporate them into the invitations (I ended up using them elsewhere too).

Yes - I agree - the invitations are a bit "cutsie" for a work staff party - but I just couldn't resist.   

Plus, I think I ended up making other elements of the party "sophisticated" enough that it didn't end up looking like a childs birthday party.  

The card was pretty simple without a lot of details (other than the layers of the cricut cut squirrel).  I ended up making 18 of them, so after number 10 or so....I was pretty happy the elements were basic. 

I really enjoyed working with the primarily Green and Brown color palette (for the card, and other details of the party).  Even though it looks somewhat Christmasy with the pops of mushroom red - it definitely reads Woodland.  It also helps that my favorite color is Green - so I had lots of stuff already on hand to work with.

I'll be back to share more details of the Party soon.

Ten on Ten: October 2012

It's been awhile since I remembered to participate in Ten on Ten.  Somehow the beginning of the month always seems to sneak up on me. 

Not this month.  Today I was ready - with camera in hand (or in purse)...everywhere I went.  

My Kitchen Pharmacy - trying to get our kitty to eat.

Who knew choosing just the right outfit could take such effort.  Her room was clean yesterday.

The Drop Off.

In My Cup - finally!

Doing a little Party Planning.

Oh how I wish they were just a little bit closer.  Then again - that could be dangerous.

One Stop Shopping.  Thank Goodness Target has food or we might never eat dinner.

Sale - Score!

Some Day these will become the project I have in my mind. 

The Garden.

Can't wait to see what everyone else has been doing today.  I'm linking up here.

Have a great weekend.

Project Thursday

I am so excited to share the news that I have been asked by my sweet friend LORi to join the accomplished team at The Pink Elephant.  

 I'll be doing a monthly (maybe more) Post called ~ TPE Project Thursday.  

The Designers, Readers and Challenge Participants at The Pink Elephant are so talented - I am honored to be able to share my Crafty Creations with them.  

My first post at TPE (find it here) has the details on these fun Jumbo Printed Mustache Burlap Pouches that I made as a fundraiser for my daughters school.  

I Mustache You a Question...but I'll Shave it for later.

I would love to stay and Chat - but I really Mustache!

Sorry - I just couldn't resist the cheeky Mustache sayings.

Hope you are all having a great week. 

School is a Hoot - Back to School Breakfast

We were happy to host another Neighborhood Back to School Breakfast this year.

Although we cheated a little bit....

....and had it a week later - instead of on the First Day of School. 

Everyone was a bit more relaxed and over their first day jitters.

The morning started with a group of cute little Owls set up to greet the guests.

Yep - made from Toilet Paper (and Paper Towel) rolls.

Painted bright colors.  Embellished with dotted cardstock Wings, Bows and of course Google eyes.

The Owl Theme started when I came across these great free printables from  Delightful Designs.

The "Going Back to School is a Hoot" framed art is the front cover of a mini book (part of the free download).  I just enlarged the cover page and used it in a Frame. 

The polka dotted matte was made at the same time we were painting the TP Owls using foam daubers to create dots on a plain white matte.

I found these lightweight plastic frames at Michaels and added another copy of the same (enlarged) Art Print and hung them on the front door with a green ribbon. 

Little K and I had so much fun making these owls.  There was an entire army of them lining the table and counter tops.

We just couldn't stop. 

The bookmarks were also part of the Delightful Designs free download (find it here).  I mounted them on colored swiss dot cardstock and added a glittery ribbon and some iridescent glitter glue embellishments.

 I thought about adding more google eyes - but decided that would make the bookmarks too thick. 

Each of the kids place settings had their Name and another personality filled Owl.  I used the Cricut Hoot n Holler cartridge. 

On the inside of each of the Name Cards was a silly school Joke.  I used the pages from the mini book download from Delightful Designs and cut them apart so each child had a different joke to tell. 

Nothing funnier than a bunch of budding comedians and the breakfast table.

These Owl Snack Bags were made using the Cricut Lacy Labels cartridge.  The head is one of the scalloped frames folded over a cellophane snack bag.  Yellow and white punched circles for the eyes,  google eyes in the middle of the circles and a bright beak.

Inside they were filled with a tropical granola mix.  The brightly colored fruit bits worked perfectly with the colorful owl theme.  

I wanted to add a few bows, but ran out of time. 

In keeping with our annual tradition - we took pictures of all the kids (and the moms too).

I planned on using large paper mache numbers (painted in the tropical theme colors) for each of the kids Grade Numbers, but I couldn't find ones that were big enough.  So I modified and used a wooden heart, painted and embellished with a Cirucut cut Number.

Would you believe we already had this glass owl flower vase?  The perfect finishing touch to our Back to School is a Hoot theme.

I hope the first Days/Weeks of school are going great for you and the kids.  We are off to a great start - looking forward to a wonderful year ahead.