DIY TARGET-THEMED PARTY DECOR

TARGET-THEMED CAKE & COOKIES

MORE TARGET-THEMED PARTY DECOR

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Which style is your favorite? Leave me a comment and tell me which table you’d most like to sit at for your Christmas dinner!

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Let’s start with the supply list, and then I’ll show you how to make them. This post contains affiliate links for your convenience (read more about that here).

I have the Cricut Explore Air but I’m wishing for Santa to bring me the fancy new Cricut Maker, which you have a chance to win at the end of this post!

• Cricut electronic cutting machine
• Images from Cricut Design Space
• LightGrip Adhesive Cutting Mat
• Corrugated Cardboard Set, Basic Sampler
• Corrugated Cardboard Set, Bright Sampler
• Kraft Board, White
• Fine point glue
• Bamboo Skewers or Wood Craft Sticks
• Washi Tape

• Santa Hat: #M188702D
• Santa Beard: #M1AABE3C
• Elf Hat: #MF1C57
• Rudolph Nose & Antlers: #M1AABDDD
• Mistletoe: #M45AC3
• Kiss: #M46686
• Naughty: #MF670B
• Nice: #MF66FF
• Ho Ho Ho: #MF6713

… and then select “Corrugate Cardboard” from the drop down list of materials in Design Space.

These settings worked perfectly with my standard blade.

This was my first time cutting corrugated cardboard, and I was excited at how clean and nice the cuts turned out!

I used the corrugated cardboard for most of my photo props, but for a few things – like the speech bubbles – I decided that non-corrugated would be better. Fortunately, the Corrugated Cardboard Sets also came with a couple of sheets of flat cardboard in each of the same colors. I left the dial set to “Custom” but chose “Flat Cardboard” from the drop down list instead.

This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Cricut. The opinions and text are all mine.

The post Christmas Photo Booth Props Made with Cricut appeared first on Blue i Style.

Cupcake Mix

Black Decorating Gel – for pig and cow noses

Finally, I placed the eyes and pink Starburst noses on the cows, added two black gel dots, and used two black jelly beans for ears. I planned to use the Haribo cola bottles for the horns, but they were just too big straight out of the package. Instead, I used my craft scissors and cut the soda bottles down to be quite a bit narrower – continuing to trim until the size looked right for the cows.

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Next, I decided to add the set of inexpensive glass salad plates {affiliate link} that purchased back in the fall. I justified the purchase for my Thanksgiving table because I knew that I could use clear glass plates for any season or holiday. To brighten up my spring table plans, I decided to employ the same trick that I used for Thanksgiving, by adding a colorful piece of scrapbook paper below each glass salad plate.

I traced the bottom center of the plates onto four different colors of gold-flecked scrapbook paper…

…then quickly cut out the circles.

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I don’t often share recipes here on the blog, but I sure do love to eat! And since I’m really not a morning person, brunch is timed just right for me. It’s the perfect meal for those who love to sleep in, and then wake up starving!Today I’m joining with the ladies of the All Things Creative team and we are each sharing our very favorite, go-to recipes for brunch!

EIGHT AMAZING BRUNCH RECIPES

Strawberry Scones with Lemon Icing	Mexican Brunch Tacos
Instant Pot Lemon Blueberry Breakfast Cake	Low Carb Quiche
Chicken & Broccoli Pockets	Raspberry Limoncello Mimosas
Maple Glazed Sweet Potato Scones	Bacon & Egg Birds Nests

Be sure to pin this image so that you can find your way back to all of these recipes!

Now that you’ve got the menu covered, head over to my other post of the morning to see how I created a beautiful spring tablescape without buying anything new. I’ve got four tips to help you set a gorgeous table on a budget!

 

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As a result of these common sentiments, I have two favorite go-to baby shower activities that always prove popular with the guest-of-honor and guests alike. I’ll share them both with you, starting today with a fun little activity that asks the question “Who Will Baby Look Like?”.

I call it Baby Face Mix and Match, and it always results in lots of laughs!

When I was pregnant with my first son, I just couldn’t wait to see what my baby would look like. Would he look more like me or Scott? Would he have my big blue eyes and Scott’s rosy cheeks? {Yes and Yes} And I know all mom’s to be are wondering the exact same thing.

They say a photo is worth a thousand words, so that must mean two photos are worth even more. The Baby Face Mix and Match game takes photos of mom and dad, cut into strips, and asks guest to combine the features together to predict what the baby might look like.

Here’s what you’ll need:

• Copies of mom and dad’s photos, cut into strips {eyes, nose, mouth, etc}. Give each guest a ziplock bag will a full set of strips from mom and dad’s photos. I have a Photoshop tutorial below that shows you how I like to do it so that the pieces fit together well and are quick and easy to cut.
• One sheet of paper per guest, for gluing down the face they create. I like to create a page with mom and dad’s faces at the top and the question “What will baby look like?” because it creates a great keepsake for mom. Photoshop instructions for this background sheet are below.
• Glue Sticks. Make sure you have one per guest so that this can be a quick and fun activity. You can buy a box of 30 on Amazon {affiliate link} for under $10.
• Clothespins. I generally like to hang a couple pieces of string across the wall in advance, and I sit out a bowl of clothespins so that the guests can clip up their baby face creations for all to see.

I have created this Baby Face game for quite a few baby showers over the years, and it always proves to be popular across all the generations. You can either invite everyone to create their faces at the same time, or you can just sit the pieces out on a table and invite people to create a face at their leisure.

My favorite part is seeing all of the faces hanging together on the wall!

It’s really amazing how different they all look, and how some combinations create much cuter “baby faces” than others!

*Big thanks to my friend beautiful friend Rebekah for allowing me to use the photos of her and her husband for this post and tutorial!

STEP 1: SELECTING THE PHOTOS  
To start the process, find photos of the mom-to-be and dad-to-be where is each is facing the camera straight on with nothing covering either of their faces. To print clearly, the photos need to have a minimum resolution of 300 dpi (meaning that photos pulled down off of Facebook won’t work well). Additionally, the closer up the photos are, the better. If the face is very small in the original photo, then it is likely that the image quality will not be sufficient when the photo is blown up to the final head and shoulders dimensions of approximately 5.5 inches wide by 7 inches tall.

STEP 2: PREPARING THE PHOTOS
Begin by opening each photo up in Photoshop and cropping each down to just the head and shoulders.

It is also important that heads not be tilted in the photos. The easiest way to ensure that the heads are both straight enough is by using the guides in Photoshop.  Pull down one guide line to determine if the pupils of both eyes are more or less in a straight line. {If you are not familiar with guides, here is a quick and easy tutorial from EHow.}

If the head is tilted (if the pupils are not lined up), this can be adjusted using the “Image–>Rotation–>Arbitrary” option in Photoshop.  Rotation of just a few degrees either clockwise or counter clockwise will likely be enough to straighten the photo up.

STEP 3: LINING UP FACIAL FEATURES  
In this step, you’ll be making minor adjustments to the size of one or both of the photos so that both of the heads are approximately the same height from top of head to bottom of chin. There are numerous ways to do this, but the method I find easiest is to copy the dad’s photo (CTRL+C) and paste it on top of the mom’s photo (CTRL+V).  Then adjust the opacity of the dad’s photo to be 50%. This allows you to see the mom’s photo below the dad’s, and allows you to see how the facial proportions compare. {Here’s a quick tutorial on adjusting opacity, if you need further instructions.}

In the image above, you see that the mom and dad’s eyes, nose and mouth line up pretty closely.  The dad’s face is a bit wider than the mom’s, but that’s ok.  The two faces will never have the exact proportions, but the important part is for adjust the sizes of the photos until the facial features line up approximately from top to bottom {side to side is less important}.

If the size of either photos needs to be adjusted, select the layer you want to adjust, click CTRL+T {or choose “Free Transform” from the Edit menu}, and then hold down the SHIFT key and drag the corners of the selected layer to adjust the size while keeping the proportions the same.  Continue adjusting the two layers until both faces are approximately the same size from the top of the head to the bottom of the chin.

Finally, crop out any excess around either of the faces so that the final image dimensions are exactly the same {I usually aim for a final image size of 5.5″x7″}.  Once the faces are sized correctly, save each file. I suggest naming the files, “MomFace” and “DadFace” {using their names in place of Mom and Dad}.

STEP 4: DETERMINE WHERE TO PLACE THE CROP MARKS
The next step is to prepare the images to be printed and cut into strips, but before this can occur, you need to determine where to cut. Open a new document (CTRL+N), and set the dimensions to 8.5″x11″, the resolution to 300 pixels/inch, and the background color to white.  Now open the mom and dads’ photos that you saved in the prior step.  Copy each photo (CTRL+C), and paste each onto the document (CTRL+V).  Both will automatically be centered within the new document, meaning that when you paste in the second photo it will be placed directly on top of the first photo. Just as you did before, change the opacity of the top photo to 50%, so that the lower photo can be seen through the top photo.

Now, begin pulling down guide lines to determine where the crop marks should be placed so that the images can be cut into the following strips: top of the head, forehead, eyebrows, eyes, nose, mouth, chin, shoulders. {Again, refer to this tutorial from EHow if you need instructions for inserting guide lines.} Once the guide lines are in place, it will look something like this:

By inserting the guide lines while the two faces are layered, you can selected guide line placements that work for both faces {in other words, placement that won’t cut through the middle of the eyes on one of the faces}. Once the guidelines are in place, change the opacity of the top face layer back to 100% to get a better look at the top face. Double check that the guide line placement doesn’t cut through the center of any facial features.

Then bring the face on the lower layer to the top by right clicking on the photo and selecting “Layer 1,” then from the Layer menu, choose Arrange–>Bring to Front. Again double check that the guide line placement doesn’t cut through the center of any facial features.

STEP 5: INSERTING THE CROP MARKS
Once you have confirmed that the guide line placement works for both faces, it is time to insert the crop marks.  The guide lines will not be visible when the images are printed, so it is necessary to insert lines {crop marks} that will show up on the printed documents. However, you don’t want the lines to cross over the actual face, so begin by adding two vertical guide lines on the right and left sides of the photo.

STEP 8: PRINT AND CUT
This step really doesn’t require much explanation, other than to say that it is definitely best to cut one “mom face” and one “dad face” at a time, then place the cut strips of each into an envelope or a ziplock bag before moving on to cut one more of each. If you cut all of the “mom faces” at once, it will become a big headache trying to make sure that you get the right pieces paired together. {TRUST ME!}

STEP 9: OPTIONAL: CREATE AN ONLINE MORPHED IMAGE
This is the optional step, but I think it’s a fun addition. I aways like to use an online morphing program, like MorphThing.com to take mom and dad’s faces and blend them together to create become one. Just follow the instructions on the website to upload mom and dad’s individual photos and morph them together.

I always think it’s the most fun to wait until after all of the baby shower guests have created their baby faces, and then present the morphed photo to mom as something to hold on to and compare to the real baby later months later.

There you have it! I promise it’s not as complicated as it might look. Once you get the hang of these quick steps, it becomes really easy to recreate this game for each baby shower you help to host! If you have any questions about how this tutorial, feel free to leave them in the comments below!

The post The Best Baby Shower Game: Baby Face Mix and Match appeared first on Blue i Style.

CHALKBOARD FABRIC BANNER SUPPLY LIST:

This post contains affiliate links. If you buy something that I recommend, you pay the same price, but I may receive a small commission.

STEP 1: CUT CHALKBOARD FABRIC

Continue cutting triangles until you have reached the end of your strip of fabric.

You will need two triangles per pennant, so continue cutting as many 8″ strips and as many triangles as necessary, depending on the number of pennants you would like to create. Think about the various works and phrases you might want to spell out, and then make a few more for good measure.

With all of your triangles of chalkboard fabric cut, begin pairing up the triangles, placing them back to back. They may not line up exactly, but that’s ok – I’ll address it in a later step.

STEP 2: CUT VELCRO STRIPS

Next, unroll a length of One Wrap Velcro and cut it into two
inch strips. You will need one piece of Velcro for each pennant that you make.

Now you are ready to sew your chalkboard pennants together. Take one pair of triangles {laid back to back}, and fold them in half to quickly find the top center.

Using black thread, sew around the triangles, stitching the Velcro in place as you go. Leave about a quarter of an inch seam allowance around all edges {error on the side of a larger seam allowance, rather than a smaller one}.

Now that the pennants are sewn together, it’s time use a rotary pinking blade to clean up the edges of the triangles that may not line up perfectly. 

Lay each pennant on your cutting mat cutting mat and place a cutting ruler on top of the fabric to give you a straight edge to cut against. Then use a pinking rotary cutter to trim off the very edges of the triangles being careful not to cut into any of the seams!

The pinking cleans up the look of the edges, and make the chalkboard pennants extra cute! 

If you do not own a pinking rotary cutter, just use a pair of pinking shears. As is true anytime you are using scissors on fabric, make sure the pinking shears are nice and sharp. Do not attempt to use scissors that have previously been used to cut paper. Paper quickly dulls scissors, and dull scissors do not cut fabric well.

You’re chalkboard pennants are now complete and ready for
use!

TIP: Preparing the Pennants for Use with Chalk

Chalkboard fabric {or blackboard fabric as it may be called, depending on where you purchase it} can be used with regular chalk, or with chalk markers. If you are going to use regular chalk on your pennants, you will first need to prime the fabric by rubbing the side of a piece of chalk over the entire surface, then wiping off the chalk with a soft cloth. If you don’t prime the chalkboard fabric first, it may result in the chalk becoming permanent, or not cleaning of well.

If instead you plan to write on the pennants with chalk markers {my preferred method}, you don’t need to prime the fabric with chalk before use.

TIP: Cleaning Chalk Markers Off of the Chalkboard Pennants

Chalk markers should wipe off of with a damp cloth, but I have found a Magic Eraser is the fastest and easiest way to clean off you chalkboard pennants. Simply dampen the Magic Eraser to erase the writing, then use a dry paper towel to wipe away the excess. If any residue remains, simply repeat the process.

It best to clean off the pennants immediately after each use, but even when I’ve been lazy and left the chalk marker writing on my pennants for months at a time, I’ve never had any trouble erasing the writing. When you first wipe off the pennants, you may notice a faint shadow of the writing remains, but that shadow quickly fades away.

HANGING YOUR CHALKBOARD PENNANT BANNER

After you’ve written on your chalkboard pennants, you’re ready to hang it with coordinating ribbon or twine. Because the One-Wrap Velcro sticks to itself, all you need to do is wrap the Velcro around the ribbon or string, press it together, and it will hold securely.

Once your pennants are on the string, you can easily adjust the spacing by sliding them back and forth. This makes it quick and easy to get your banner centered and hanging just the way you want it. The pennants look great spaced apart or overlapping.

I generally end up hang my chalkboard banner in front of a wall, but because the pennants are double-sided, there is no right and wrong side. That means that if you want to hang the banner along a railing, or between two pillars or trees for an outdoor party, you could easily write on both sides of the pennants for added effect!

I use my chalkboard pennant banner all around the house for all of our celebrations and to decorate for the holidays.

Last summer we hung the banner in the backyard for the 4th of July, spelling out “STARS AND STRIPES” on my chalkboard pennants above our outdoor dining table. That flag inspired centerpiece for the 4th of July was a simple IKEA hack, and filled with citronella tea lights it helps keeps the bugs away when we dine outdoors.

For Halloween, I like to spell out “TRICK OR TREAT” and hang the banner above our kitchen fireplace. If you’re already looking forward to Halloween, or just like to plan ahead, you can check out my full Halloween Home Tour, complete with lots of fun seasonal DIYs.

At Christmas, we set up our tree in our basement between our family room and the boys’ play area. The last couple of years, I have strung the chalkboard pennants up above their toys and spelled out “NAUGHTY OR NICE” as a cute little reminder that Santa is always watching and they needed to be good if they wanted to find presents under the tree on Christmas morning!

You can find a lot of paper chalkboard banner options at craft and party supply stores, but these paper banners are really only good for use only. I love that my chalkboard fabric banner can be used over and over again for every party and every season! 

I also like that I can use as many or as few of the pennants as I need to spell out my message, and they are virtually indestructible! No, really…

A couple of summers ago, I hung a chalkboard banner in the backyard for my son’s first birthday party. The weather was forecast to be nice, but right before the party started, a huge storm moved though with crazy amounts of rain and hail, and even tornado warnings. We quickly grabbed as many of the decorations as we could and ran into the house, but some decorations – including the chalkboard banner – were left outside until after the storm ended. Fortunately, all I had to do was wipe the pennants down and lay them flat to dry, and they were good as new!

The post How to Make a Reusable Chalkboard Pennant Banner appeared first on Blue i Style.

This post contains affiliate links. If you buy something that I recommend, you pay the same price, but I may receive a small commission.

Since I didn’t want to spend much money, or much time. I had to get creative! Here’s what I started with – an empty one-gallon paint can {it was an extra that I already had on hand from organizing our paint supplies in the utility room}; a red metal planter {sent to me by a fellow blogger with the challenge of upcycling it}, and an inexpensive plastic serving tray. Each transformation took me only about five minutes!

Let’s start with the tray. I didn’t want to mess with painting stripes, so instead I affixed strips of black electrical tape to the bottom of the tray, pressing down firmly to eliminate any air bubbles under the tape.

I totally love the way the champagne bucket turned out! So much more stylish than that dirty, red planter it used to be.

I staged the bar cart using my new Kate Spade-inspired creations, and what a big impact!

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INGREDIENTS: 
4 large, ripe avocados

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