Cupcake Birthday Party

Our daughter wanted a cupcake themed party. Never planned a party like this so I immediately

went to OnePrettyThing.com and cheated my way into having a great party. I made all the invitations using leftover scrapbook paper and embellishments from Valentines Day. I even found left over ribbon from various holidays. We invited her classmates and a

few neighborhood friends. I was shocked to discover that 15 girls would be coming. EEK! Guess the invites were a hit.

So, what do you do with 15 girls for 2 hours? I had a breakdown of events. Here is how it went:

12-12:30 backyard playtime

12:30 - 12:45 pinata time

12:45 - 1:30 cupcake decorating, lunch and opening presents

1:30 back outside!

For cupcakes, I baked everything the night before. I used 3 boxes of mix! I made 24 cupcakes and with the rest of the mix I made a small cake to decorate.

I purchased sprinkles from St. Patty's Day and Valentines Day on the cheap. I waited until everything was on clearance. Instead of cherries, I used Dots leftover from Halloween. This will also save on the sticky mess. I saved tons of money!

Decorations were things I shopped from around the house. I used a runner from a previous party. Placemats from my daughter's tea set. Streamers were used from old baby shower scrapbook paper. I borrowed and begged friends for a cupcake tower and serving dishes. I used balloons as decoration and as party favors for the girls. Gently curled ribbon were draped over the chandelier making the dining room a little extra girlie.

The party was a success.

Painting fabric using acrylic paint

I received this fabric letter 'G' from my mother-in-law for my son's room. The print is really not in his room colors so I decided to paint it to coordinate with his room.

I used some leftover acrylic scrapbooking paint in a vibrant blue. I mixed the paint with Textile Medium - no, I wasn't patient enough to follow the exact instructions. I just mixed it together. I probably could have spray painted the letter. My only worry would be since it is fabric that I wanted the fabric to remain somewhat soft and flexible.

It took 2 coats of paint and a few hours to dry. The paint does leave some streaks but not too bad or horrible. I'm pretty happy with how this particular project turned out. I saved this letter

G doomed for Goodwill.

Mantles can be so difficult.

I always have a difficult time with fireplace mantles. Why put so much pressure on myself? So, here's my first draft of the mantle in my current home. The mirror was purchased at Michael's several years ago. It has a blemish so the manager gave me another 10% off. The flowers came from Joann at the end of the summer for $14. The clock is an antique from my hubby's grandparents. Total cost for the mantle today is less than $40. I think I need to do more but not quite sure. I would like to tone down the white stone fireplace. It's just too bright. What do you think?

Goodwill tin

I found this little ceiling tile at Goodwill recently. It was an ugly white with a painted purple flower in the center of it. It was ugly but cheap costing me only $1.99. So, I took it home and sprayed painted it. It looks so much better above my pantry door. Total for this project was about $3.

Master bathroom mistreatments

I have a very tiny master bathroom. I mean tiny. For such a nice size house, 3100 square feet, you would think the master bath would be a little more ... well... nicer. So, to make it appear a little larger I placed a mirror right about the bathtub. At first I thought having a mirror strategically placed so I can see myself showering would not be a good idea. I was wrong. The shower fogs so you can't even see yourself in the mirror anyway. Crisis averted. The mirror does reflect a lot of light. Yeah! For the window mistreatment, I purchased some remnant fabric at Calico Corners for about $50. The faux roman shade is just a piece of fabric hemmed and stapled to a board. The two panels are just hemmed pieced of fabric. Viola. The curtain rod was here from the previous owner. This window looks like a professional but really only took about 2 hours including installation. So very chic and easy!

Wallpaper Artwork inspired by TDC

Sarah at Thrifty Decor Chick created some artwork from textured wallpaper. So, I did the same! I love to copy. This time I used foam board instead of the painters canvas that you find at Hobby Lobby. Foam board is a fraction of the cost of the canvas however, it will bend once dry. At first, I wasn't sure if this project would turn out because of the bend. It actually looks better! So, so simple. This project is definitely chic and easy. My good friend, Jennifer, was in town to help me out on this and we were amazed at how SIMPLE it was. We actually were waiting for us to screw it up.

Here is what you will need.

1) foam board (Hobby Lobby will offer it at 50% off)

2) textured wallpaper (Lowes currently has it on sale for $14 per roll. I halved with Jenn.)

3) black spray paint in satin ($.98 per can at Lowes)

4) a metallic paint in a brown, bronze, etc.

Cut the wallpapper one inch wider/longer than the foam board, wet (I didn't book it for the required amount of time and it still worked), stick to the foam board and neatly wrap your corners, dry, spray paint. Final step - with a small brush, paint the top textured layer. Viola. You're done. I was even lazier.... I just nailed through the foam board to hang on the wall. Total cost about $24!!!!

Mistreatments inspired by Nesting Place

Here is my window mistreatment (thanks Nesting Place) for my office. The rod came from Ross...surprised? I paided less than $20. The rings were a bit more expensive since I had to purchase them at Lowes. I think I paid almost $20.

The fabric from Joann were remnants and if you purchased the remaining fabric you received an additional 50% for a grand total of $18. I sewed the fabric together to make one continuous piece. Didn't even both matching the pattern. The topper was a coordinating fabric that I pieced together to make the topper. I created my balloon valance by using .... safety pins (inspiration by Thrifty Decor Chick -faux roman shade)! Please note: I did line these mistreatments but I think that is a personal choice.