A birthday card in a hurry

One of my friends makes the cutest cards for every birthday and holiday. I'm always inspired by her talent and tell myself that from now on, I'm making cards. The reality is that I rarely get store bought cards in the mail.

In an effort to do better I've made my friend a birthday card! I actually made three so I have two extras. They were so easy that making them in multiples seemed like the right thing to do.

This has to be one of the easiest cards to make, all you need is paper, glue and a sharpie.

I used two different colored card stock, one brownish and one white. I cut the brown paper to fit envelopes that I already had and then cut a piece of the white card stock to fit on the brown card with a small border around it.

I didn't take pictures of the process because it's pretty simple. I found a font that I liked and wrote happy birthday, then sized it and printed it out. I took that and the white paper and held them against a window so I could trace the font onto the front of the card. Then I glued the white to the brown. Next I traced happy birthday with the sharpie.

While all of that was drying I used a hole punch and punched lots of circles from different colored scrapbook paper. The part that took the longest was gluing all those little dots to the front of the cards. I just glued in random designs and stopped when they felt completed. You could do more or less dots depending on your preference.

You can google quotes to go inside your card or just write from the heart. Either way, your friend will have a unique, handcrafted card that could only have come from you!

Train tables for my littles!

  My grandson loves trains. Really he loves anything with wheels. Cah (car) is his favorite word right now. I wanted to get him a train table for Christmas but was not at all excited about paying $200 for one. I knew I could do it my self, and I did, for about $35, including the track and train!

Supply list

Ikea Lack coffee table
Ikea Lillabo 20 pc train set
craft paint
ModPodge
E6000 adhesive

I had everything but the table and the train set so it really was only $35. Now, I must warn you, I am a by the seat of my pants DIYer. I know there are tried and true methods of getting things done but I usually don't have the five million things or the expensive tools needed to be a true DIYer. Plus, I'm super short on patience. So quick, easy and done works for me.

First I assembled the table. This is very easy and the best part is there is a shelf on this coffee table so you can put bins under there to hold trains or miscellaneous cars, trees and buildings.

Once the table was assembled I put some painters table around the edge of the top so the paint wouldn't run down the sides. Not only am I not a rule follower but I'm a messy crafter too!

Next I mixed several shades of green together and painted the top of the table. Don't worry about getting great coverage because you will do two more coats. Let dry well between each coat and vary the direction of your brush stokes.


After the top dried I mixed some darker green, but not too dark, and just  dabbed it all over with a sponge, trying to make it look like grass. Good thing toddlers aren't picky about their scenery!

While this was drying I spent about an hour trying to come up with a configuration for the track that would be super cool. I bought several different train sets from Ikea and wound up only being able to use the one listed above.



The table is smaller than the train tables you can buy so not a lot of room for multiple tracks, if you want something bigger, buy a bigger table and do the same thing.

  After I have my super cool track design, I set it up on the table and traced a river leading to a pond and a road for all those matchbox cars.

 I removed the train ( it doesn't get attached until the last step) and painted the water and the road. When they were dry I took another sponge and some really dark green paint and blotted on some tree tops.

Let everything dry for 24 hours. After that time paint a coat of ModPodge over the entire table top. When that dries, add one more coat for durability. Again, let it dry for 24 hours.

Now attached your tracks using E6000 ( I'm sure you could use something else but that's what I had on hand) making sure the edges line up well so the train will roll smoothly.

That's it! You are now officially the best momma, grandma, auntie, friend, whatever to the toddler in your life!

Sundried tomato pesto pasta

Wow, it's been a while since I posted anything on this blog but I intend to change that! My first post of the new year is recipe, which is insane because I do not cook!

 I found some amazing pesto at the grocery store and threw together this Sundried Tomato Pesto Pasta ( try saying that five times fast!)

  It's super easy and can be modified to suit your family. The ingredient list is short:

Sundried tomato pesto
pasta
anything else you want to throw in!



I put chicken and a can of chopped tomatoes, it would have been great with grape tomatoes, maybe some black olives.  Shrimp, zucchini, the list goes on and on
, and you could serve it hot or cold. Just do whatever works for you.

It was quick and yummy, a twist on traditional spaghetti. I only used about 2 tablespoons of the pesto, a little goes a long way!

 Give it a try and let me know what you add to make it for your family.

Little Monster baby shower

   Hailey's best friend is having a baby boy! Crystal lives in Idaho but still has tons of friends and family in Utah so Hailey is throwing her a baby shower.

   The theme is little monsters and we have been working hard to come up with some fun stuff, in a short period of time!

   I'll take some  pictures of the shower to show all the food and other details but here is a sneak peak of two really cute things we made.

  Crystal is going to cloth diaper so instead of the traditional diaper cake we made a cloth diaper wreath!

  The base of the wreath is just a cardboard circle and we used 14 pre folded diapers tied with riboon to make the wreath. Once we had the base we decorated with some baby sock flowers and the first letter of this sweet boy's name and our diaper wreath was done!


  We wanted a way for Crystal to remember everyone who was at the shower so we made a guest book of sorts. I free handed this little monster and added some balloons for everyone to sign. Super quick and easy, the longest part was waiting for the paint to dry!

  The shower is on the 12th so I will have lots more pictures then!

Craftaholics gift exchange

  I can't believe it's been a year since I participated in the last gift exchange. One of the blogs I follow, Craftaholics Anonymous,  hosts a gift exchange twice a year. So far I've only participated in the summer but I'm looking forward to the winter one.

  It's so fun to make something for someone you don't know. The anticipation of your secret elf receiving their package is almost too much to take. And, to make it even better, your secret elf makes a  little something for you as well!

  This year I stayed with tried and true, I may change that up for next time. Gloria's little gift from me contained two dishtowels that I added fabric and rickrack to, they were soooo simple to make and I love the little pop of fabric.

Two little, reversible tote bags Aren't those fabrics incredible? Each tote bag used about a yard of fabric and they are completely washable and reversible.

Finally, I made a collage. I've never made one before but I have recieved one as a gift and thought it would be fun to do. I used a little bit of everything, fabric, paper, bottle caps and buttons.

   I loved making them and got some really nice compliments on them! I think I'm going to put the tote bags in my Etsy shop,

Quick and easy toddler toy

   My little grandson is obsessed with magnets! Since he is just a little guy,  most magnets need to be kept out of his reach, he puts everything in his mouth. I love this picture of him, it's so rare that he is still!

  Anyway, little guy loves magnets. I have the alphabet on my fridge but wanted something else his little hands could play with. I went to the thrift store and found some chunky puzzles,

All I needed were some magnetic sheets.  I cut the sheets to fit and even though they are sticky on the back I still used glue to make sure they wouldn't come loose, but even if they do, they are not the little round button magnets that are a choking hazard.

  Once the glue dried I stuck them on the fridge and he has a blast transferring them to the stove and dishwasher.  The puzzle pieces still fit in the puzzle so he can use it either way.

   Not only is this fast and super easy, if you get the puzzles at the thrift store its cheap and you are recycling!

My gifts for my secret elf

 I finished these a while ago but didn't want to post them until my crafty pen pal received them, but here they are!

  This was my first exchange so I wasn't sure what to do, what to make, what would make my crafty pal happy?

   I sent her a little of what makes me happy and right now I'm crazy about Mason jars. They are all I use for travel mugs anymore so I made her some cute little cozies and bought a pack of lids to go with them.

Then because it was a July 1st exchange I thought this little wooden flag was cute.

And then must be an owl, and this little one makes me happy!

I hope my pal liked receiving these as much as I liked making them. Can't wait for the next exchange!