Pssst... I got a temporary craft room! Wanna see it???

 

What’s the matter? Not what you expected?

So here’s the scoop, We cleaned our (unfinished) basement last weekend. Sorry no pictures, it was an even worse hot mess then the above room! For serious.

Now it looks Ahhhhmazing. I’ll have to take some after pictures.

Since I am trying to expand my craftiness I've been eying a few new toys to add to my collection. Thanks to the husband, the sisters, (early Mommy’s day gift) and the tax refund I am now the proud owner of a new sewing/embroidery machine and even a (low end) serger! I am beyond excited, and can’t wait to dive in.

My old craft corner was in the basement. It got kinda lonely (and cold) down there, so I always brought my work upstairs. Our house is kinda on the small side so the place I chose to work at was at the kitchen/dining room table. My family was getting tired of eating on TV trays and I was kinda tired of my dining room table looking like a craft store threw up on it.

The solution? Move the craft room upstairs (temporarily until we finish the basement or until there happens to be a baby (sister or brother) which ever comes first.) and move the playroom downstairs!

Happy sisters. Happy mom. Happy husband. Happy family!

 

But…………. I think I got a lot of work to do.

Stay tuned to see all the ideas I come up with to turn this…

Like the way I “stamped” my pictures? (As if somebody would really want to commit photo-theft on that hot mess! Hmph! I can’t believe I’m even claiming it. )

Into a happy, little, inspiring craft room!

That’s all.

 

Karsyn County Fair. The Party!

Thank you everyone for the awesome response! I have had a lot of requests for the printables for our party so I decided to go ahead to create a blog post just containing the printables. So wait no longer here is the link! County Fair Printables!.


Don’t have much time today so you won’t get my normal longwinded blog posts. I am sure you are all so sad! *wink*

The little sister had her Birthday Party over the weekend and it was a blast! Most things went as planned. A few did not, but hey if it all went off without a hitch it wouldn’t be as fun!

I’ll let the pictures do the talking…..

The main party table. One of the things that didn’t go as planned. I had big dreams in my head for an awesome birthday table scape but I guess when you don’t start planning it until the night before the party it might not be as fantastic in real life as it was in your head.

Fish in a bag soap. Sooo cute. Want to make your own? Check out this awesome tutorial from cap creations.

I did find time to design my own tags for these. If anyone is interested in a free printable let me know….

Farm Animal Ferris Wheel. Rubber ducks from Oriental Trading CO. Ferris Wheel from Hobby Lobby.

 

What’s a Carnival without Cotton Candy?

And for the adults…. (don’t worry this was not left on the kids table!)

The Cupcakes….

Cotton Candy Cupcakes. These are so fun and yummy. All you do is make up your fav. cake mix bake as directed, and add a handful of cotton candy to the frosting. Frost as usual. Add cotton candy as garnish! YUM! Here is where I found the idea

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Popcorn Cupcakes. These were my favorite! I chuckle a bit every time I see them. I didn’t follow any one tutorial for these as there are so many but here is how I made ours. Break mini marshmallows in half and add to a bowl. Keep breaking and adding. I used 1 whole bag for about 24 cupcakes. Bake and frost cupcakes as directed. Then scoop up a handful of your halved mini marshmallows and add to top of cupcake. At this point your marshmallows will be sticky and automatically take the shape of what looks like popcorn. Continue until finished. To make the “popcorn” look buttery add a few drops of yellow food coloring to a small amount of water. Using a paint brush, brush mixture over top of marshmallows. Here is what your finished product will look like. Too stinkin’ cute if you ask me!

If anyone is interested in the cupcake wrappers let me know. I would be more than happy to share!

As if cupcakes, and candy was not enough….. more SWEETS!!

and some yummy hul-less popcorn.

And of course tickets for winning games….. the games were another thing that didn’t go as planned. The kiddos were too busy playing outside with the farm animals to worry about games!

All in all the Karsyn County Fair was a blast! Here is a picture of the little sister with her favorite Birthday gifts….

And Daddy even brought home one more, so now we have 3 little piggies! Needless to say the little sister is in hog Heaven!

Linking up to these fabulous parties...

Cotton Candy. The Mini Monster Bag(free printable)

 

I’m sure you are all familiar with these giant bags of pure yumminess!

source

But, how about these little cuties?

I knew that cotton candy was must for the little sister’s county fair birthday party. With funds being a too short to rent a cotton candy machine I decided to do the next best thing….

Hit up the $$ tree baby!

But, to my unhappy surprise, the ever faithful $$ tree let me down. Their cotton candy supply was pretty sparse. I bought all they had and decided it would just have to make do.

I got home and set the cotton candy on the table with the rest of the party supplies in dismay. That’s when the bell in my head went *ding* and I thought of this genius pretty cool idea.

Here’s how you can make your own:

First start with this free printable made by myself (pat on the back) I have “un-personalized” this set so that anyone may use them. If you need them personalized contact me and I’ll see what I can whip up!

I think you should be able to right click and save this as the original 8.5x11 size. If I am wrong can someone please point me in the right direction?

You will also need the following items:

• Scissors/circle cutter
• Clear cellophane bags ours were made by wilton and purchased at Walmart
• cotton candy
• ribbon for tying off your bag
• optional measuring cup

 

Start by printing out your Mini Monster Bag labels. We used white cardstock. Each circle tag measures about 3” in diameter. For easiest/best results I would recommend using a 3” circle punch. Or, if you are like me and don’t have one you’ll have to endure it the hard way. Scissors! Ugh! I hate cutting circles. Side note- the sisters found it quite amusing that I stick my tongue out while cutting.

If you are using a measuring cup, measure out about 1 1/4 cups of lightly packed cotton candy to put in your bag.

Transfer your cotton candy into the bag.

Next take one of your precut labels and slide it into the bag so that it is sandwiched in between the the front of the cotton candy and the inside of the bag.

Tie up your bag with your choice of ribbon. We used pretty short ribbon pieces so ours were just tied in a knot. Bows would be ADORABLE!  *note* for an added seal you can use the twist ties that probably came with your bags. However we skipped this part.

After your bag is tied. Shape your cotton candy as desired to give it that fresh from the fair look!

And that’s it! How cute are these? Perfect as birthday party favors or even a baby shower. Think Baby Monster Bag! *wink* Too stinkin’ cute!

         

For anyone wondering if I’m still going to finish my Disney trip blogging I Promise I will! Just as soon as we finish with all this birthday fun stuff!

 

Linking to these great blog parties

Karsyn County Fair…. The dress.

I know, I know. I still have a few more days left in my Disney trip report and I promise I will finish. I will.

Remember when I told you the little sister was turning 5? Well if you don’t and you want to read about it go here.

We are getting so excited for the Karsyn County Fair that we are practically bursting at the seams! Our Kitchen counters are filled with brightly colored lollipops and other yummy treats!

Before I show you all of those goodies though, let me show you “the dress”.

The little sister was very specific on what her dress must consist of.

Lots of farm animals, a ruffle or two, and a big bow!

OK. I got this.

Off to the fabric store I go. Nothing. On to the next one. Nothing. And then one more. Nothing.

My last resort, Wal-mart. PERFECT!

Check out all of this farm animal goodness,

Now for the dress….. While checking out Mallard Cove Mommy’s absolutely adorable 3 bears Birthday party I happened to notice the sweet little dress that she made for her daughter. It was just what I was looking for! Mallard Cove Mommy was able to make her own dress without a pattern but I had to turn to the link she listed to the etsy shop that inspired her dress. Enter Kissing Kumquats. I {heart} this shop more than you will ever know! Kissing Kumquats not only creates OOAK gorgeous clothing they also share their patterns with you! To make the little sister’s dress I purchased this downloadable pattern.

It was mailed super quickly, and in no time at all I was creating this

I had to make mine a tiny bit different because how could I ignore the little sister’s request for a ruffle?

And remember I’m just a wannabe sewer so you know this pattern ROCKS!!

I also got to use my early Mother’s day present

Yup I got a new sewing/embroidery machine! I LOVE it!

The little sister is oh so pleased with her big bow in back!

 

 

Linking up here