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Tag Archives: Invitation

Hello Birthday

Posted on April 15, 2013 by Jennifer

Amy’s Designs has a new kit out called Hello Birthday. It is a birthday themed kit and the colors were inspired by Hello Kitty. It is the free with purchase kit for the second half of April at Scraps N Pieces, but you can also just purchase it outright.Amys_HB_Preview

 

Amys_HB_PaperPreview

The coordinating alphas are awesome. The blue, pink and green alphas are full alphas with upper, lower and punctuation. The orange, yellow, purple and red flair style alpha are just lower case.Amys_HB_AlphaPreview

I have two things to share using this kit.

First, I made an invitation for my nephew’s birthday party. It is sized 4×6, so my sister could simply print it out as a photo.

2013-04-15_LO_Cameron's-5th-Birthday-Party

Digikit: Amy’s Designs – Hello Birthday
Template: DigiPreserves – April 2013 Printable Challenge 4×6 Invitation
Font: KG Be Still and Know

Second, I made a layout with the best photos from the birthday party Jessica and I attended for her school friend Mia. Journaling from Jessica’s point of view reads: April 7, 2013 Mia, one of my classmates at Abiding Love, invited me to her birthday party. It was held in her backyard and our classmates Madeline and Harper were there also. The party started at 2:30, but Mommy and I didn’t get there until almost 3 and Mommy had a hard time getting me to leave, I was having so much fun. Mia had a trampoline and a fun swing set to enjoy. We also went inside near the end of the party and I really enjoyed Mia’s dollhouse.
2013-04-15_LO_Mia's-3rd-Birthday-Party

Digikit: Amy’s Designs – Hello Birthday
Template: Memories by Digital Design – April 2013 SNP Template Challenge
Font: Hamelton Hand

Amy’s Design is hosting a speed scrap tonight. I hope you can make it.

2013-04-15_Amys_13April15-SS

The participation prize is pretty awesome.2013-04-15_Amys_SS_adHave a great week!

Posted in Digital Scrapbooking | Tags: Amy's Designs, Birthday, DigiPreserves, Invitation, Memories by Digital Design | Leave a comment |

Olivia’s 60th Birthday Party

Posted on June 16, 2011 by Jennifer

A lot has been going on in the past month, so I have some major blog posting to catch up on. We’re going to start off with pictures from James’ Mom’s birthday party. It was a surprise party put on by Joe, Olivia’s good friend Liz and me.

I took care of invitations and putting together a party book that attendees signed and some non-attendees virtually signed. I’m currently working on adding pictures from the party to it, so give it two weeks and then ask Olivia to see her party book. I made the invitation in Serif Digital Scrapbook Artist 2 using Missy’s Bits Sugar Plum kit. I then printed them with Costco’s 6.5×7 photo card option that comes with envelopes.

Olivia's Birthday Party Invitation

Olivia actually arrived early, 10 minutes early. It was kind of ironic since she is usually late. It was very difficult to keep it a surprise, but she was definitely surprised when she arrived.

Surprised Olivia

Olivia, Joe and Dawson

Olivia and Liz

Liz took care of the cakes and some decor. She also found a really great 60 beaded necklace we insisted Olivia wear.

Olivia Blowing Out the Candles on the Chocolate Cake

Nana got some help from her grandkids in opening the presents.

Olivia with Jessica and Dawson Helping Out a Gift

Overall, the party was a huge success and I think everyone had a great time.

Posted in Crafty Goodness, Family & Friends | Tags: Birthday, Invitation | 1 Comment |

Jessica’s Circus Birthday – Part 1: Decorations

Posted on October 24, 2010 by Jennifer

When I first started thinking about Jessica’s 1st birthday party back at the beginning of the summer, I wanted to do a cowgirl theme. James didn’t like the cowgirl theme. Mainly, because part of my idea was for Jessica to wear cowboy boots and he thought that was a frivolous expense considering she might not be walking by her birthday (which she wasn’t). I didn’t really have any other thoughts, but then I took a trip to one of my local scrapbook stores, Scrapology, with my friend Kristy. In the clearance section, I found the most wonderful paper that would be perfect for a banner and to scrapbook the event. Thus the circus plan was born.

Birthday Banner

The banner jumpstarted the theme and the invitation. The paper (Creative Imaginations) that started it all was double-sided with one side being divided into four squares with each square looking like a circus tent in red, blue, green and yellow. I cut the sheet of paper into four squares, added a coordinating pinked circle and white letters that I cut out using Scrapology’s Cricut. I added eyelets for stability and strung the banner pieces using some green string. I am extremely pleased with how it turned out. Plus, since I made a few extra banner pieces, I can theoretically switch out Jessica’s name for the next kid’s name and use it again. Or at least use just the happy birthday again.

Happy Birthday Jessica Banner

Banner Close-Up

Invitation

Back in July or maybe August, I started searching for a verse to put on the front of the invitation. I found the perfect four line verse, but it ended with birthday boy and Jessica is a birthday girl. James helped me come up with a number of different options for the 3rd line which needed to be changed to rhyme with girl. I got some input from a few friends and family and then ironically, I changed the 3rd verse to something new right before printing the birthday verse on the red cardstock.

Originally, I had wanted to include a picture of Jessica on the front of the invitation. That just wasn’t working and I kept putting off making her invitations. Kristy prodded me into gear and they were made fairly quickly. I received lots of compliments on them and I think they turned out super cute.

Invitation

Stamps: Imaginisce Lion, Elephant and Giraffe
Cardstock: Stampin’ Up Ballet Blue, Daffodil Delight, Real Red, Garden Green; white card blanks
Ink: Stazon Jet Black; Dell printer
Embellishments: Stickles Xmas Red
Tools: markers; Nestabilities Pinked Circles; dimensionals

Another verse I found went on the inside of the invitation (also printed on my computer). Don’t ask me where I found them, because I don’t remember. Just know, that Google is my best friend.

Inside of the Invitation

Of course, I had to round out the invitation with a clever note on the back. I kinda wonder if anyone even noticed it.

Back of Invitation

Cupcake Toppers

I had a few elephants and giraffes left over from making the invitations, so I decided to make cupcake toppers. I used wooden coffee stir sticks (thanks Will for hooking me up!) cut in half with sticky strip to attach the animals’ circles to them. I made two dozen, eight each of the elephant, giraffe, and lion. Based on a few comments, the kids especially liked the cupcake toppers and some even thought they were something edible.

Cupcake Toppers

Other decorations

Back in August when I was shopping for supplies for the family tree project we did at the family reunion, I found this super cute circus train car kit. It came with an unpainted wooden train car and three painted animals. It was perfect for the party, plus it was on sale, so I bought it. I spray painted it yellow and then last minute (one of two things finished the night before the party) painted the rest of the details with paint and glitter glue (leftover from the family tree project). Of course, I made the mistake of forgetting the animals when I set the train car on the food table, so I’m sure people were confused by it.

Circus Train Car

Kristy had found these super cute Martha Stewart lion and bird hand puppet kits at Big Lots for me. They were a breeze to put together. Unfortunately, I forget to set them out for the party.

Lion and Bird Puppets

While shopping for party supplies, I came across this cute circus tent at Oriental Trading Company. It wasn’t very expensive, but initially I hadn’t planned on getting it. I showed it to James and he thought it would be fun for more than just the party, so we went ahead and got it. It’s slightly bigger than I expected, so we’re only going to leave it up for a little while. We’ll then bring it back out every once in a while. Based on a review, we bought closet pole end caps to put on the ends of the tent stakes at the top to keep the stakes from going through the nylon. I know the kids at the party enjoyed it, but I didn’t get any pictures of them at the party. Jessica is definitely enjoying it now.

Jessica Enjoying the Circus Tent Days After Her Party

I rounded out the decorations with two dozen balloons in red, blue, green and yellow. One dozen said “1st Birthday.” I sent the kiddos home with a balloon in addition to their favor bag.

Stay tuned Part 2: The Party, Part 3: Favors and Thank Yous and Part 4: Food.

Featured on

Posted in Crafty Goodness | Tags: Banner, Cupcake Toppers, Invitation | 8 Comments |

A Bridal Shower for Julia

Posted on June 24, 2008 by Jennifer

The Sunday before last, I hosted a bridal shower for my future sister-in-law, Julia. Julia and I have a really good relationship and I’m looking forward to her joining the family in 11 days. The shower had a small turnout as most of Julia’s friends have moved away from Austin since graduating from college, but we had a really great time.

Below are two versions of invitations I made. I decided to go with the option without spokes to the umbrella. The umbrella I made by drawing onto pasteboard and cutting out. I then traced it on the designer paper and free-handed the handle with a white gel pen.

Shower Invitation Option 1

Shower Invitation Option 2

Shower Invitation Option 2

Stamps: Stampin’ Up Big on Spring; Stampabilities Sophie Alpha Lower
Cardstock: Stampin’ Up Summer Sun, Wild Wasabi
Designer Paper: Certainly Celery Prints
Ink: Stampin’ Up Wild Wasabi
Accessories: Stickles yellow, purple turquoise and Xmas red; white gel pen


Julia Modeling Her New Apron

Julia Modeling Her New Apron

The shower was a Pampered Chef shower. My consultant Virginia Bettis did an awesome job. She had Julia try out and demonstrate a number of the products Julia had registered for, which was really cool as we got to see how they worked. The picture to the left is Julia modeling her new Pampered Chef apron that I decorated with her new name and kitchen checklist using colored Sharpies Virginia brought and we all signed and wrote a little best wishes note.

I had planned to make a cake for the shower, but I didn’t want to go overboard since the number of people expected to be somewhat low. My hubby tells me I have a tendency to do that. He’s probably right, but you didn’t hear me say that. The Melon Fruit Slush was delicious. My Mom liked it so much she plans to make it for the “sip and see” she wants to host to show off her first grandbaby, my nephew. The recipe makes a lot, so I actually have half of it in my freezer for a later date. The Ham Florentine Wreath got rave reviews. I have made it once before and it was just as tasty as the first time I made it a few years ago. The Salmon Tartlets was a new recipe I tried. They were delicious the day of the shower, but as leftovers the next day they were kind of dry. The Blond Toffee Brownies is a recipe my Dad often requests from my Mom.

Melon Fruit Slush

Melon Fruit Slush

Melon Fruit Slush

Source: Reiman Publication insert

Ingredients:

  • 1 20-oz. can crushed pineapple
  • 1 10-oz. package frozen sweetened sliced strawberries, thawed
  • 4 medium ripe bananas, cut into chunks
  • 1 cup cubed cantaloupe
  • 1 cup cubed honeydew
  • 2 1/2 cups water
  • 3/4 cup orange juice concentrate
  • 3/4 cup lemonade concentrate
  • 6 liters lemon-lime soda, chilled

Directions:

In a blender, process the fruit in batches until smooth. Pour into a 3-quart bowl, preferably one with a spout. Stir in the water and concentrates. Divide into two freezer containers. Cover and freeze until icy. To serve, spoon 1/2 cup into a glass; add about 1 cup soda.

Yield: 20-25 servings

Ham Florentine Wreath

Ham Florentine Wreath

Ham Florentine Wreath

Source: Pampered Chef Season’s Best Spring/Summer 2001

Ingredients:

  • 2 8-oz. packages refrigerated crescent rolls
  • 8 ounces thickly sliced deli ham, diced (to save time, I used cubed ham)
  • 1/4 cup green onions with tops, thinly sliced
  • 5 ounces Swiss cheese, grated (I used a 2 cup bag of already shredded cheese)
  • 1 10-oz. package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and well drained
  • 1/4 cup mayonnaise
  • 1/4 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper
  • 2 plum tomatoes, sliced (I used grape tomatoes, halved)
  • 1 egg white
  • 1/4 cup almonds, chopped

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375°F. Unroll crescent dough; separate into 16 triangles. With wide ends of triangles toward the center, arrange 8 triangles in a circle on a large round stone. Corners of wide ends will touch and points will extend 1 inch beyond edge of baking stone. Arrange 8 remaining triangles in center, matching wide ends. Seal seams. (Points will overlap in center; do not seal.)

In a mixing bowl, combine ham, green onions, 1 cup of the cheese, spinach, mayonnaise and black pepper. Scoop filling over seams of dough, forming a circle. Arrange tomatoes in an overlapping circular pattern over filling; top with remaining cheese. Beginning in center, lift one dough triangle across mixture. Continue alternating with outer triangles slightly overlapping to form wreath. Tuck last end under first.

In a small bowl, beat egg white lightly; brush over dough using pastry brush. Sprinkle chopped almonds over wreath. Bake 25-30 minutes or until golden brown.

Yield: 10 servings

Salmon Tartlets

Salmon Tartlets

Salmon Tartlets

Source: Reiman Publication insert

Ingredients:

  • 1/2 cup butter, softened
  • 1 3-oz. package cream cheese, softened
  • 1 cup all-purpose flour
  • 2 eggs
  • 1/2 cup milk
  • 1 tablespoon lemon juice
  • 1/2 cup dry bread crumbs
  • 1 1/2 teaspoon dried parsley flakes
  • 1/2 teaspoon rubbed sage
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt (I used less)
  • 1/4 teaspoon pepper
  • 1 14.75-oz. can salmon, drained and bones removed (I just realized I only used half the salmon called for. Maybe that was why it was a little dry.)
  • 1 green onion, sliced

Directions:

In a mixing bowl, beat butter, cream cheese and flour until smooth. Shape tablespoons of dough into bowls; press onto bottom and up the sides of greased miniature muffin cups.

In a bowl, combine eggs, milk, butter and lemon juice. Stir in crumbs, parsley, sage, salt and pepper. Fold in salmon and onion. Spoon into shells. Bake at 350°F for 30-35 minutes or until browned.

Yield: 2 dozen

Blonde Toffee Brownies

Blonde Toffee Brownies

Blonde Toffee Brownies

Source: my mother

Ingredients:

  • 1/2 cup butter or margarine, softened
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1/2 cup brown sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1 cup English toffee bits or almond brickle chips

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350°F. In a mixing bowl, cream butter and sugars. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in vanilla. Combine the flour, baking powder and salt; gradually add to creamed mixture. Stir in toffee bits. Spread evenely into a greased 13x9x2-inch baking pan. Bake at 350°F for 35-40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack. Cut into bars.

Yield: 1 1/2 dozen

Posted in Baking & Cooking, Crafty Goodness, Family & Friends, Parties | Tags: Beverages, Cards, Invitation, Stampin' Up | Leave a comment |

Baby Shower Invitations

Posted on May 5, 2008 by Jennifer
My sister, Sarah, had a baby boy in March and back in February, her sister-in-law Becky put together a baby shower for her. I offered to make the invitations. Here’s what I came up with.
Closed Invitation

Closed Invitation

Open Invitation

Open Invitation

Stamps: Stampin’ Up Jumbo Wheel Wash Day, Stampin’ Up All-Year Cheer II
Cardstock: Wild Wasabi, Ballet Blue, Whisper White
Ink: Stazon Jet Black, VersaMark
Markers: Stampin’ Up misc. Spica clear and red glitter pens
Ribbon: Stampin’ Up double-stitched Wild Wasabi

Based on the invitations, Becky came up with this cute decorating idea.

Party Decorations

Party Decorations


Becky also had these fun games/activities for us to enjoy:

  1. As people arrived, they could spend time decorating a 6×6-in. square of paper with stickers and what we wanted to tell the baby.
  2. A fun game where you placed a piece of paper on your head and drew a baby. It was neat to see what the “babies” looked like.
  3. Two baby bottles. One filled with Q-tips and one filled with plastic safety pins. Guess how many are in the bottle.
Posted in Crafty Goodness, Parties | Tags: Cards, Games, Invitation, Stampin' Up | 4 Comments |

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