Birthday Pics :)

I had a coupon that expired today, so I went and got B-day pics of the girls. Just 2 weeks early for Cora, and about 3 weeks early for Elsie. No biggie :).

Cora really did not want her pic taken at all - and so I only got very few of her, and only ONE of the two of them together. Oh, well - got some super cute ones of Elsie.

11 Months old - and an EARTHQUAKE!

Elsie is 11 months old today. I can't believe that she will be ONE next mont. And, don't forget - Cora will be TWO next month!!

I will have to upload some recent pics of the kids. Everyone is getting so big.

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On other news, there was an earthquake today in VA. However, my house TOTALLY shook in NJ. I was confused at first, then the whole house was swaying. It was pretty scary.

Lil J started screaming that his bed was shaking - he was napping.

I am sure I will always remember that the earthquake was on the day that Elsie turned 11 months :)

Paper Globe from Paint Chip Samples

Again, crafting for the party. I made these paper globes out of paint chip samples. Everyone usually has these hanging around the house, right :)

I loved using the paint chips, since there are shades of the same color on one strip.

The strips I used were 2 inches wide and 9 inches long. I cut them into 2-one inch wide strips. Each globe used 12 full strips, so after I cut them - it was a total of 24-one inch strips.

Here is a quick tutorial for Paper Globes from Paint Chips.

Butterfly Crayons out of broken pieces

I told ya, I am being super crafy for the birthday party. A lot of the ideas were suposed to done last year, but Cora's party was cancelled. So, I have been wanting to do the crayon craft for a LONG time.

I am claiming that these are made from broken crayon pieces, but truth be told, I bought them last year when the 24 packs were on sale for $0.25 a box. I probably broke up about 6 boxes, have 12 cut out already, and will still probably get another 10-12.

It is not hard to do, just kinda time consuming. Basically, you break and melt crayons, wait a bit to cool, then use a cookie cutter make shapes.

But, here are some "tips"

• Peeling the wrappers off of crayons is a total PIA, I got the tip to use a knife and score down the side. The wrapper come right off. MUCH faster.


• I separated the crayons in like colors. All the red, orange, pink, peach, etc in one batch, and then the blue, green, purple, yellow in another. Oh, and then the random colors in another (brown, black, white, grey). You don't have to do it this way, do it YOUR way :)


• I used disposable trays, thought this was easier. I used the same one on round two, but must have had a small hole in the pan - it dripped all over my oven. oops. I then put the tray on a cookie sheet (you can see my mistake below)


• I sprayed the pans with cooking spray, no real reason other than I figured, "why not"


• After breaking the crayons, I put them in a sandwich size ziploc bag (until I could melt them), and it turned out that that was a great amount to fill my (probably) 9X13 pan. I just covered the bottom of the pan in a single layer. It does not have to be deep.


• I put my oven on 300 degrees and then kept the light on to figure out how much time


• It took longer than I thought - each batch took about 17 minutes to melt down


• After taking the wax out of the oven, let it sit for about 5-7 minutes. Enough that it is still soft.


• Take a METAL cookie cutter in whatever shape you want. Really press and wiggle a little to make sure to get a nice cut-out


• Wait a few more minutes (maybe 2-3) and then push up on the bottom of the pan and pull out the shapes. I used a disposable pan, you obviously can not put on the bottom of a non-disposable pan lol


• I had a lot of "waste" but I will use that for more crayons.

Over all, I think they came out really cute. They will go into goodie bags, but I was concerned that someone would eat them. So, I made up this little poem:

They look so cool
They look so neat
But, these are crayons
So, please DON'T eat!

And, here are some pictures for your enjoyment :)

Birthday Outfits for Elsie and Cora

The girls' party is just around the corner. I have been busy with the craftiness for the party. But, of course, I just had to make their outfits. They are mostly the same - but with different color accents.

I think everything came out cute, and I think the tulle adds a bit of fancy to everything lol.

I have tried to put the crowns and the bows on the girls, but they quickly come off. I hope I can get them to wear them long enough to snap a picture.

Tissue Paper Pom Poms

My niece is here for a few days this week, and then again at the end of the month. I figured it was a great way to start on the craftiness for the girls birthday party. Of course, it is a lot of DIY stuff.

The party is not until the end of Sept - but I have a bunch of stuff that I am making - so I figured I could start early.

So, tonight we started making the tissue paper pom poms. I think they look ok. Much better from "far away" than up close. Now, I only have to make a million more. :)

I can't wait to show all the decorations, etc that I have planned for the party.

Oh - pom poms are really easy to make. I used 10 sheets, but probably could have used more. Just fold it accordian style, tie it in the middle, cut the ends in a point or curve, then pull apart each layer. Easy Peasy.

Totally Random

On this season of P.roject Runw.ay there is a guy that is asian with blonde hair. And, I can't help but wonder if this is what Lil J will look like as he gets older. Lil J has blue eyes though.

Obviously, no one is cyber land knows what Lil J looks like (soon, I hope) - and really the only thing "asian" about Lil J is the shape of his eyes, the (lack of) bridge of his nose, and the texture of his hair.

So, I wonder what he will look like in 15, 20, etc years.

Here is the guy - kinda cute ;) OK - if you actually know me, you would know that (for me) he is more than kinda cute