Hap-PEA Birthday!

I adore this 

REAL Party from the 

Fabulous Anj over at

Snowy Bliss

(yes that's the same "Amazing Anj" who inspired my daughter's

7th Birthday ~ "Night Owl Sleepover" Party)

Hap~PEA Birthday

"The Princess & The Pea"

Party

The "bed" table is wonderful & whimsical!

The "flip up" invites are TDF!!!

Every detail is sweet perfection!

Yes, she made the cake!

Fabulous Favors!

I'm lovin' that party ball!

Be sure to click on over to 

Snowy Bliss

to get ALL of the details

(and there are oodles of delicious details)

and learn more about this party, 

where to get the goods, and so on...

And yes, you can buy the party printables 

& the entire party package at the 

Snowy Bliss Etsy Shop

Thank you Anj, 

you & your parties are 

an inspiration!

Printable Xmas Gift Tags

I love these

"not so typical" 

Christmas gift tags from

cake.

and even better 

they are FREE!!!

Just click on over to 

cake.

to download yours now!

C-U-T-E!

Holiday Project Inspiration!

It's not too late for some 

Holiday DIY Fun!

Check out these "34" 

great holiday crafting ideas from

Tatertots & Jello

BIG Thank You to 

Jennifer of Tatertots & Jello

for allowing me to share 

her compilation of 

craft-i-licious ideas!!!

Happy Crafting...

Fresh & Easy DIY Wreath

We just got our Christmas tree,

and I was looking for simple ideas of 

what to do with the extra beaches 

that we cut off the bottom of the tree...

Specifically, how exactly 

do you make a wreath out 

of fresh branches?

When I came upon this 

awesome tutorial from

Chewing The Cud

I was inspired!

You must click on over to 

Chewing The Cud

to get the step by step 

"how  to" on this, 

you'll be glad you did!

So Simple,

So Fresh,

So Festive! 

"Be Good" Reward Jar

This 

"Be Good"

Reward Jar 

and FREE Printable from 

My Sisters Suitcase

is the perfect idea to get us 

through the final countdown 

until Christams!

Supplies:

• "Be Good" Printable labels (found over at My Sisters Suitcase)
• Jar or Container
• Pom-poms or something else to fill up the jar (these cute sparklies are from Target's $1 spot.)

Just click on over to

My Sisters Suitcase

to get your FREE printable & get all 

the "deets" on how to recreate 

this yourself!!!

(plus, while you are there, you'll get to check out an awesome blog, 

and meet Nat & her sister ~ they are crazy creative... 

oodles of fun projects to be discovered!)

Heck, I maybe using this 

idea all year long...

Ho, Ho, Ho!!!

Crafty Christmas Play Date

Every year I try to come up with 

a little something special

to celebrate the season 

with my daughter... 

This year we decided on a 

"Crafty Christmas Play Date"

To get started I needed the 
perfect invitation and when I 
found this "Cool Yule" invite at Tiny Prints
it was the beginning of everything!

Once I had the invite,

the party really came together...

We started with a 

signature cocktail of 

"Snowman Milk"

(and I made the sock Advent Calendar 
shown in the background, isn't it cute!?)

Since we had plans to be crafty & creative, 

we were going to need a cool headband

to get in the mood! 

Gingerbread Houses 

were waiting to be decorated...

And the girls loved it!

Letters to Santa were written & mailed!

(it's so convenient having a mailbox right across the street!)

 And don't cha just love the "Jumbo Pen"?!

Sweet Treats were made...

Dipped Jumbo Marshmallows 

are always a good idea!

And Sweet Treats were consumed!

 

I must say, the add-on of the 
coordinating "Cool Yule" stickers 
really inspired some fun favor 
ideas as well... 

These were some of the contenders 

for the Party Favor! 

(and now I have some neighbor gift ideas as well)

Ultimately, we went with the 

"S'mores Kit"

But my daughter loved the dipped 

Jumbo Marshmallows so much, 

that we made them one of the kitchen crafts!

The girls ended the playmate 

with popcorn & a Christmas movie!

Thus our

"Crafty Christmas Playdate" 

was a smashing success

and the perfect start to 

a wonderful holiday season...

Ho, Ho, Ho!!!

Christmas Eve Surprise Box

How fun is this???

from 

The Imagination Tree

I will be

doing this!!!

Snowman on a Stick!

So easy...

So delicious...

So very cute...

Snowman on a Stick!

from Flickr

I found this picture so inspiring,
here's what I did...

Directions:

3 Jumbo Marshmallows

1 Long Lollipop Stick

White Candy Melts

Colored Candy Melts (for stocking caps)

Mini M&M candies

Colored frosting for eyes, nose, mouth & arms 

*********

Stack 3 Marshmallows on a stick

Melt Candy Melts

Dip Marshmallows in white Candy Melt

Add M&M buttons

Once hard Dip colored hat & add eyes, nose, mouth & arms

Really stinkin' cute!

Peppermint Popcorn Bark

PEPPERMINT

POPCORN BARK

INGREDIENTS:
2 bags microwave popcorn, popped (18-20 cups)

1 6oz box candy canes, crushed

1 package Almond Bark or white chocolate candy melts

1 tsp peppermint extract 

HOW TO:
Place popcorn in the largest bowl that you have.  

Pour crushed candy canes on top of the  Melt almond bark according to instructions on the package.   

Add the peppermint extract to the almond bark & pour over popcorn.  

Stir until all the popcorn is coated, pour popcorn on wax paper.  

Allow popcorn to cool, firm up and "set". Then break into pieces and enjoy!

from Plain Chicken

What a yummy 

Christmas Treat 

to share with neighbors!

Homemade Holiday Ideas

You must checkout

Talk Crafty To Me

it's a fantastic blog & 

this is a really fun post...

I just had to share!!!

I hope you enjoy these 

great ideas & DIY Christmas 

fun as much as I did!!!

Thanksgiving Leftovers

As you start planning your 

Thanksgiving Feast

I suggest that you begin with 

the end in mind, specifically...

LEFTOVERS!

That said, you've got to 

get yourself these darling...

FREE Printable

Leftover Labels

from The TomKat Studio

And while you are there 

getting your free labels... 

take some time 
to check out my 
Most FAVORITE Blog/Shop 

ever!!!

Holiday Cards!

I just received my 
Tiny Prints
holiday party invites & supplies 
in the mail and I was

 THRILLED with how they turned out, 

here's a sneak peek...

Don't cha just love 

this rockin' Santa?!

(note: of course, for privacy purposes,  I removed some of the personal content)

And the matching favor label 

is pretty stinkin' cute too...

Anyhow, we'll save the details of this 

fun holiday play date for another day...

Let's get down to the business of:

"HOLIDAY CARDS"

Well it must be said 

(and you all know what a tough critic I can be) 

the Holiday Cards over at
 Tiny Prints
are darling this year!!!

I am drooling over so many of them...

So far, these are some of my favorites...

Let's start with

"Little Black Dress" 
of Holiday Cards... 

The 5x7 Flat Card

"Merry Always"

Too cute for words!

"Naughty or Cute"

Love it!!!

"Antique Dream"

While this one doesn't fall 
into the "cutesie category"... 
I do love the retro vintage 

fabulousness of this card!

Last but not least...

I must admit, the Circle (ornament) Cards, 

have really gotten my attention...

"Handwritten Love"

Perfectly Precious, and a gift in itself... 

Grandma & Grandpa will put that right 

on their Christmas Tree!

There are so many fab choices, 
that the easy part this year will be picking the card.

It's the rest of the process that can come with some angst! 
For me, the usual list of worries goes like this:

• What to wear in the picture?
• Where to take the picture at?
• When to take the picture?
• How to make time to get together to take a picture?

And so on...

History has taught me

(and now I'm sharing this super secret, life changing advise on to you!)

to PLAN EARLY!

Also, by getting it done early,

you can also take advantage of all those 

early-bird fabulous coupons & discounts...

So get busy people, 

the holiday's will be here 

before ya know it!!!

Ho, Ho Ho!!!

"The Shortcut" Fall Ice Cream Sandwich

What a fun fall treat...

Snickerdoodle &

Pumpkin Ice Cream

Sandwiches

aka - "The Shortcut"

Inspired by Pennies On A Platter
a VERY tasty blog that 
you must check out!!!

OK, so here's the scoop on
"The Shortcut"...

The source of this post made 

HOMEMADE 
Snicker Doodle Cookies 

+

HOMEMADE 
Pumpkin Ice Cream

Which is super impressive. 

(I'm so not worthy!!!) 
And this is what makes her blog so awesome!
(again, you MUST check it out!)

But I must admit,
my busy life is not conducive 
to that kinda of time commitment!

Yet, I was VERY INSPIRED 
by the idea & discovered that 
my local grocery store bakery 

makes awesome Snicker Doodles 

& the freezer section sells 

yummy Pumpkin Ice Cream.

And thus,
"The Shortcut"
Fall Ice Cream Sandwich 
was born!

And it's delish...
ENJOY!