party

A Fall Table Backyard Dinner

October 28, 2014 by Jessica 2 Comments

Every other week we hang out with our small group from church. We rotate houses and this past week it was at ours. Now, it’s usually plastic forks and paper plates kind of a meal, but I had been wanting to go all out one time when the weather was starting to cool down. And it really didn’t take much at all! The only things I bought for this was $4 clearance flowers from the grocery store, $4 of candles, and $2 for napkins. Everything else was stuff I already had. We just brought our kitchen table outside to fit all the adults. It was an easy fall table put together.

I had put up the lights a while ago after they had been sitting in our garage for months. I got them from Target. I put them up with no light bulbs in them, then once the wires were in place, I rescrewed the bulbs back in. The bulbs break super easy and I wasn’t taking any chances! The box states to expect them to last three months if put outside so I will update how well they last. They will be up for three months next month and are all still shining bright.

If you noticed, I am slowly repainting all of our kitchen chairs. I hope to share their complete makeover along with our kitchen table makeover soon.

I painted a 6′ by 3′ piece of plywood with chalkboard paint to have for special occasions and for the kids to write on. (and I totally copied a chalk art I saw on Pinterest. I needed an idea quick and chalkboard ideas do not come quickly to me lol).

I wanted my candles to look drippy, so I let them burn a bit before the event. Mason jars and vintage vases held all of the flowers. I added some greenery from our yard (bushes with berries, leaves and branches from trees, and a random vine growing in side yard). I love using things that are just there already. The yellow wheat was from a previous project I had.

The ironing board became a stand for drinks and I added a thankful sign that I made many years ago.

We used just about every single plate, bowl, cup, and spoon we had! It made for a fun eclectic look. This table was covered in fabric from my stash. It’s a bit too weathered and needed to be covered up. Those yellow glasses were an awesome thrift store find a while back. I hope to find more and add to my mismatch cup collection.

We had such a good time! I might have to do this a few more times before it gets too cold. Especially when my husband does all the cooking for me 😉

-Jess

Mason Jar No Sew Cozy & Pumpkin Pie Smoothie Tag

September 20, 2014 by Jessica Leave a Comment

I created this no sew mason jar cozy and pumpkin pie smoothie tag to be an idea for a party favor or a gift. It’s my second entry for the Cricut Design Space™ Star this month. I used my Cricut Explore™ to create each thing, from the cutting to the writing. All I had to do was hot glue the cozy together and add a piece of yarn to the tag.

You can see all the pieces I cut/drew with my Explore. I used shapes found in Design Space for each thing. I also used two small leather pieces as ties for the cozy.

Here is a quick pic of the machine doing it’s thing. It’s the first time I used the writing function and have some ideas on how to use this more.

I first glued on the leather ties and then the felt circles to a rectangular piece of felt. It didn’t take long at all. I think it would also be a fun party craft idea since it requires such minimal crafting to put together. You can make it in so many different color schemes. I used a Pumpkin Pie Smoothie recipe I found to add to the jar.

I filled the jar up with some paper shredding and then added the tag to the straw and it’s all ready to go.

Cricut has just announced the second phase of the Cricut – I Made It! contest and this time they’re awarding one winner their own Make it Now™ project line to be sold in Cricut Design Space™!

To help create your line, Cricut will fly you to their headquarters in Salt Lake City to work side-by-side with their design team. Then you and a guest will enjoy an all-expense paid stay at the Grand America Hotel – a luxury resort in Salt Lake City, home to the best skiing in the world.
The winner will be featured on Cricut.com and every time a Cricut user purchases your project, you’ll earn money. Cricut will even help with your publicity.

To enter the Cricut – I Made It! contest, all you need is a photo of an original project. You can upload up to five photos (which can be five individual projects or multiple photos of one project).

You have until September 30^th to enter. What are you waiting for? It’s time you Made It big! Head to cricut.com to enter today.

You can also see what my fellow teammates have been creating as well 🙂 It’s so fun seeing everyone’s creativity!
Follow Jessica Fediw’s board Cricut Design Space Star Team 8 on Pinterest.

Disclosure: I am part of the Cricut Blogger Network and have used affiliate links. I received a complimentary machine to facilitate my crafts and though I am not being paid for this post, I am submitting it for a chance to win some fun prizes.

Tissue Paper Flowers and Painted Frames Food Table Decor

February 27, 2014 by Jessica 1 Comment

Tissue Paper Flowers and Frames Food Table Back Drop

I still have one more thing from Valentine’s week to share before February is over and that is some decorations I did for a conference at church. I always feel very happy when I am able to use my passions to help and bless others, even if it is just in a creating some decorations. Since it was Valentine’s Day and all, I went with more of a girly theme. This type of decor would be great for a wedding. I made a ton of tissue paper flowers and cut out leaves from cardstock, found some frames at a thrift store and spray painted them white, and then learned a few lessons from trying to put this together.

I knew I wouldn’t be able to put nails in the wall, so I tried gluing/tying the frames together to stand upright while leaning on a wall. While that kind of worked, they were so fragile I was afraid it might fall and I didn’t want it to fall on a person or food. Fortunately we had a pallet in our garage I could attach them too that. If I had given myself more time before putting it all together I would have done something to create more contrast between the pallet and the frames/sign, but I am still happy with how it turned out.

The decorations are now waiting to be used at a bridal shower and whatever survives I hope to reuse in some fun way. I love that decorations can be inexpensive and yet look so wonderful!

-Jess

Rustic Arrow Theme Baby Shower

December 2, 2013 by Jessica 8 Comments

Last month was a very full month for me. It was full of so many amazing events, one of which was a baby shower I hosted for my friend. I have always been so blessed to meet and become friends with such incredible people in all the places the military moves us. There really are great people everywhere. It might take time to find them sometimes, but they are there.

I found out my friend wasn’t having a baby shower and knew immediately I wanted to throw one for her. Every child is a gift, so I wanted to at least have a celebration party or something if gifts were a concern. You know, like one last big party before her little boy arrives. I was inspired by some lovely ladies I follow on instagram to do an arrow theme. Some moms reference their children to being their arrows based on Psalm127:3-4 so I was going with that.

This will be my friends third arrow 🙂 I had wanted to do a little bit more with the arrow theme, but I just didn’t have enough time. I’ve learned by now to just let things go and enjoy instead of stressing out until the very last minute over little details probably no one else will really notice anyways. So I cut out arrows and sewed them together through the middle and used things from all over my house to decorate with. Hooray for arrows!

The tablecloth is actually a piece of fabric I had in my stash. The chalkboard is one my hubby made for me to use for the mini sessions I did (and I also used it at a craft show I did last month as well). It’s come in real handy! He made it from old fence boards. Then I sanded the middle some and painted on the chalkboard area. It’s a bit bumpy but it works.

I hung lights all over like crazy too and it got me super excited for decorating for Christmas. I love twinkle lights! I kept the food simple and added different dishes and bowls I had for some variety to the table.

In our living room, I added a big banner on some craft paper (well, it was technically gift wrap paper) with her sons name on it and taped up pictures from their family/maternity session I photographed. I will share pics of those soon.

We had a fun night and I didn’t even make them play any games! I did try a craft, but I should have tried to make the bracelet myself first because it did not go well at all. But it gave us some good laughs and was funny watching us all trying to figure it out.

I hope all my US readers had a good Thanksgiving! I should be having some Christmas type posts up soon. In fact, I just made our front door wreath tonight. We are keeping things simple and purposeful this year. It’s going well so far. Have a good week and be a good friend 🙂

-Jess

Oh, and I forgot I wanted to share the invite I made. We just did a facebook invite so I didn’t need to print this out, but I made the left side with the Studio app. I love that app! It’s free and just AMAZING. Seriously. Then I put it with a pic in PSE real quick. Simple and just right.

Woodland Creature Photobooth DIY and Free Animal Mask Template

November 21, 2013 by Jessica 2 Comments

Post and giveaway sponsored by OshKosh B’gosh, but all opinions are my own. Please see below for additional disclosure.

You guys, I seriously had so much fun prepping for this post. OshKosh challenged us bloggers to create a photobooth idea to share. I immediately thought of a winter forest and all the fun creatures in it. It could easily fit into a holiday party theme or even just a family get together. Most people love taking fun photos! My six year old really got a kick out of picking out her look and seeing her pictures when we did this.

Let’s start with what you will need. For the background, I used kraft paper, white paint, paint brush, pencil, tape, and black sharpie. Cut out a piece of kraft paper to the size you want. Tape it down to a hard surface. Draw on simple birch tree like shapes with your pencil. Then paint in the trees with white paint.

Once dry, mark black lines on the trees to look like bark. This took me hardly any time at all to create.

(Note: Forgot the fox’s whiskers in this picture)

For the masks, you will need the templates, which can be downloaded here. You will need the cardstock (size 8 x 11.5) colors listed below, scissors, a glue stick, and elastic thread (you can find it with the notions in the sewing section).
Rabbit: 1 white, 1 light pink
Bear: 1 black
Deer: 1 brown, 1 tan
Fox: 1 orange, 1 white

Cut out your templates and trace on back of cardstock paper. Cut out traced pieces.

Glue inner ear pieces on top of outer ear pieces. Then glue ears/antlers underneath of mask. Glue on fox whiskers on top as shown. Using a glue stick is easy and makes for quick drying.

Then cut out a 8.5″ piece of elastic thread for each mask. Make a small hole on both sides of masks. I used a nail to do this, but you could use all kinds of things.

Tie on elastic and they are ready.

When putting together your photobooth, consider who is coming when picking out props. You want things people will have fun using. I added some props that were taped on sticks, some hair accessories, bow tie, scarf, and silly glasses to name a few. It’s worth going through your own stuff to see what you can add in.

Place props in a basket near where the photobooth will be. Add some lights to look like they are hanging in the trees in the back if you want as well.

If it will be happening during the day, try to find a well lit area near a window for beautiful natural light. If at night, just make sure there are enough lights on for cameras to get good shots. We took ours as the sun was setting, so we had some natural light and tungsten lighting to get enough light because I really didn’t want to use my flash unless necessary. But most people would probably be using cell phones for taking pics. Tape the backdrop at a height where you think most guests will be. If only adults, you could put it higher so they can just stand. I put ours lower and added a bench for us grown ups to sit on. Not that miss E really got in any of the photos anyways 🙂 She was having none of that haha. Here are some pictures we took:

It was funny to watch and participate in the photobooth. Laughter is such a good thing! Thank you OshKosh for the challenge this month!!! I also want to congratulate Alisia for winning the $50 gift card. Have fun shopping! Don’t forget to check out all the awesome clothing that OshKosh B’gosh has out right now for the holidays. In fact both the girls are rocking OshKosh clothes in these pics. You can check OshKosh out in stores (find a location near you) or online in their holiday shop to see baby winter clothes and kids winter clothes.

For Girls:
–Embellished tees are perfect for playtime and all-day wear. Sequins, bling and bows make these tees super stylish!
–OshKosh B’gosh has darling dresses that are soft and easy-to wear. Pair them with a cardigan to keep her cozy and complete her spot on look.
–Dress up her outfits with sparkly ballet flats with comfortable tights.
–Let her make a statement with OshKosh B’gosh bangles, ribbon necklaces and headbands galore.
For Boys:
–Button-front plaid shirts are perfect for all occasions! Pair them with corduroys, khakis or jeans for an easy outfit.
–He’ll have fans all over the neighborhood after he carols in the handsome combo of fleece-lined jeans and a denim shirt.
–A cable knit sweater vest is perfect for dressing up his holiday outfits. He’ll look picture perfect.

“Like” OshKosh B’gosh on Facebook, mention @OshKoshBgosh on Twitter and follow them on Pinterest for outfitting ideas, vintage ads, deals and special events!

Disclosure Statement
OshKosh B’gosh partnered with bloggers such as me to help promote the OshKosh B’gosh Holiday Network. As part of the program, I received product or gift cards. OshKosh B’gosh believes that consumers and bloggers are free to form their own opinions and share them in their own words, and therefore did not tell me what to purchase or what to say about the products I used. OshKosh B’gosh policies align with WOMMA Ethics Code, FTC guidelines and social media engagement recommendations. The winner of any giveaway in this program will be randomly chosen and gift card fulfillment will be handled by a third party.