What has kept me away from blogger ...

Well ... as you may or may not know ... Baby Girl is having  a baby boy at the end of July.  Both my daughters are much like me. They feel they have to be in control of everything. (I have gotten better and know that it won't kill me to loosen up a bit.) So, Baby Girl had decided when and where her "Baby Shower's" would be and who needed to be invited. OH...REALLY???

Thus ... the "SURPRISE SHOWER". Baby Girl's best friend wanted to throw her a shower. So we snuck around making things, making plans, and getting ready. But most of all we listened to Baby Girl tell us what she did and did not want. Now, when I say "listen", it's kinda the listening your kids and husband do. Just shake your head and agree, get part of the sentence so that if asked, you can relay back a detail.

Here are a couple of the decor things I made.

Baby Girl registered for one of those Baby, Safety Kits. (Actually, she registered for a couple.) I bought the largest one and incorporated it into this "diaper wreath." There are 28 rolled, disposable diapers, secured with rubber bands, tied onto a wire wreath. The hardest part was weaving the blue ribbon in and out of the diapers. Along with the Safety Kit are things like socks, wash cloths, traveling size baby shampoo and powder.

Here is where Baby Girl sat. On the mantel you can see two blue pails. Those have "flower buds" made up of baby socks "planted" in them.  Those took a little time, you want to make sure to get the "buds" tight or they kinda fall apart when you are inserting the floral wire.

You can view a tutorial here.

Baby Sock Flower Buds

I also made cute little favors using canning jars and Jelly Bellies. Now... this was a little costly, using Jelly Bellies, but you could use small mints or M&M's and it would cost less and be just as cute.

The labels were made with my own computer. I found a "label making packet" at Michael's Craft store. The price was $9.99, but I used a 40% coupon to save on the cost. With this kit you get an on-line code to go to a website and make the your own label. There are a variety of fonts and pictures that you can choose from. You make a sample to make sure everything is how you want it and that it fits on the stickers. Once you are happy with your creation, you print it out on the sticker paper from your kit.

Come on back to see the shower and if Baby Girl was surprised ...

See ya soon!

~Vicki~

Better late than never ...

Happy Friday!
Yes, it is the Friday before Valentine's Day ... and FINALLY I am getting my act together. For 2 weeks now I have been traveling around blogland looking at all the wonderful crafts that you have made. I was inspired, I was in awe! There were so many that I would love to do myself ... but alas ... being sick for 2 weeks and having to go out of town took care of all my aspirations.

Last week, when driving back home from my travels, I stopped at HOME GOODS. Oh. . . how I LOVE Home Goods!! It is a wonderful store that sparks the imagination! The problem is, the closest one to me is 76 miles away. So of course, any time I know there is 1 around, I make time to stop and walk the isles.

While there, I was looking for several things and of course I found more than several that I would LOVE to have. One item was a Valentine Picture. BUT ... I didn't want to spend $14.99 on it. So I decided to make my own.

Now ... Does this ever happen to you? I knew exactly what I wanted to use and I know that I have seen the materials . . . someplace . . . but I could NOT find them. I came up with a picture that I like and that comes close to what I saw and ... best of all ... cost me about $7.00 to make.

So, what do you think??

Frame $4.99
stickers $1.00
craft paper $0.70
I'm also linking up to Boost My Blog Friday , another new linky party for me. :)