So…

Awhile back I was contacted by someone from Parenting Magazine.

They wanted to know if they could feature one of my creations in an upcoming magazine.

Did I even hesitate?  Ummm – yes!!!

The magazine came out last month, but I felt silly blogging about it and then I realized, “You know what. This is a big deal for me!!” It’s not like my name, site and picture are in magazines all the time (this is actually a first!)

And I don’t want you to think I’m bragging or tooting my own horn, because I’m not… but I did want to share with you what I learned because of it:

WHAT I LEARNED:

1. This tutorial is not even on my site. It was a contributor/guest post I did for my good friend, Amanda from Amanda’s Parties To Go. My site isn’t a party site, and I know that for a fact they found me through her and her site. It made me realize it’s good to make friends and guest post and what not for others. You never know what could happen because of it.

2. It’s not even the best pic… was definitely before the DSLR days, but it was an original idea and it made me realize it’s important to try and be original in a copy-cat world.

Have I seen an increase in traffic because of it? No.

Did they pay me to do it? No.

Have I gotten numerous emails from other magazines wanting to feature my stuff? Of course not!!

I just wanted to share what I learned.

{My feature – on pg. 82}

{A close up of my Pin-the-Eye on the Crepe Paper Monster Game I did for Gav’s birthday}

{Love that I was on the same page as my good friends at The TomKat Studio!!}

{My name, site and web address in really, really small print along the crease of the page}

To sum up the whole reason why I thought anyone might be interested in reading this is even if you don’t have the connections, or the photography skills, all you need is a simple, fun and original idea.

And I know it’s not much to be mentioned in a Size 4 font on the inside margin of a magazine, but to me who in my mind is just a mommy putting my ideas on a blog, it was a pick me up and definitely made my year!

ENJOY!

One of my favorite girl friends is having a baby girl! This is her first baby and my very first time being able to host a baby shower, so I wanted to go ALL out! The theme is “This little Piggy” I saw this super cute idea for a game on Pinterest.com and I decided to theme a whole party around it! The game is called “Never Have I Ever”, all the guests are asked to bring coins to the shower, when asked the questions on this list, if they HAD done the thing stated then they are required to make a deposit to the Piggy Bank! Once your game is complete and you’ve broken the ice between all the guests, the mommy-to-be should have a Piggy full of Pennies to save for her baby or to use as she wishes. Although this idea was for my friends first baby, this is a perfect idea for a second or third baby where the mommy-to-be, may already have all the basics, and loading up a piggy bank would be the best gift for the new baby.

Throwing a baby shower always requires lots of help. Any guest who wanted to help out I would assign a food dish for them to bring. I told them the theme so they could have something to go off of. We had items like mini HAM sliders and piggy cupcakes. Having the guests help out with food left me plenty of time to do other planning.

I created these Free Piggy Party Printables! and I wanted to share them with you. Food Toppers, Wishes for baby (which we folded up and stuck in the Piggy Bank), Napkin Wraps, Thank You Cards, Sign In Tags, and “This Little Piggy” Invites. When guests started to arrive I had them start filling out the wishes for baby papers and had them sign in on envelopes writing their name and addresses. This gave the mommy-to-be pre addressed envelopes to make writing thank you notes a breeze!

(photos taken by Ariana Heinrich Photography)

I hope you enjoy my free Piggy Party Printables! And thanks again Kristyn for letting me stop by and join in the fun over here at Lil’ Luna!

I hope everyone had a great Mother’s Day!

I sure did!!

The hubby made me an amazing video with the kiddos and a homemade card. He also made me breakfast and changed the diapers all day long! Talk about NICE!! {Thanks, Lo!!!}

I hope you are all ready to get your link on cuz I can’t wait to see what you have been up to!

Let’s get this party started!!

LAST WEEK’S MOST VIEWED LINK WAS:

Free Mother’s Day Prints from A Night Owl Blog

OTHER TOP HITS AND FAVS:

TOP: Teacher Appreciation Gift from Organize & Decorate Everything – Paper Flower Wreath from Scissors & Spatulas – 50 Free Summer Printables from Craftionary

BOTTOM: How to Curl Your Hair from Junk in Their Trunk – Paint Your Own Lamp Shade from Somewhat Simple – Whoppers Cake from Stars & Sunshine

TOP: Handmade Cards from I Heart Naptime – Chocolate Caramel Chex Mix from The Taylor House - Vintage Scale Makeover from My 3 Monsters

BOTTOM: Wooden Message Board from Choose Craftiness – Window Makeover from Today’s Fabulous Finds – DIY Painted Filigree Earrings from the Crafted Sparrow

Thank you to all of those that linked up!

You guys rock!

Be sure to grab a featured button for those that were featured.

On to a bigger and better party…

1. Link to the specific post for something YOU have created – craft, recipe, idea (and not to your main blog page).

2. No ads for shops, giveaways, etc. please

3. Be sure to spread the love and visit other posts and leave them a comment!

4. Grab the Linkin’ with Lil’ Luna Button to add to your blog:

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When the other two kiddos go down for naps in the afternoon, it’s Mommy/Lily time and we have so much fun together!

She recently mentioned that she wanted a crafting apron, so I thought it would be fun to Tie Dye one for her.

She has an obsession with hearts {she called them “valentines”} so I knew I wanted to do that on her apron. This is how it turned out:

Lily LOVES it!!

Here is how you can make it too:

SUPPLIES:

- Tulip Tie Dye Kit

- Surface Cover

- Washable Marker

- Saran Wrap

- Kids Apron (bought mine at Hobby Lobby with my coupon for a few dollars)

DIRECTIONS:

1. Gather all your supplies.

2. Prep your area. Tie Dye is messy and can stain so you want to make sure to cover your area and put on gloves.

3. With your gloves on add water to the line on the tie dye bottles. You will shake until the powder has dissolved. Set aside.

4. Pre-wash your apron. To get it ready to tie dye a heart this is what you will need to do: While still damp you will straighten it out, fold it in half and then draw on a heart with a washable marker.

5. Fold your apron all along the heart you drew so that it forms a straight line. I started at the bottom and then folded all along the line gathering the fabric as I went.

6. Start tie dying. I did the heart purple and then added a line of blue right at the end of the heart section and then just alternated colors the rest of the way. Flip, and does this to the other side. Cover apron with saran wrap and let set for 6-8 hours.

7. After 6-8 hours (I waited about 7) I cut off the staples and rinsed with hot water until no more dye came out and then dried it. Be sure not to wash this with other items for the first few washes.

Lily LOVES her apron and has been wearing it all over the place!! And I am so happy that the heart turned out really well!!!

ENJOY!

Fore more inspiration and fun ideas for Tie Dye be sure to check out iLoveToCreate.com’s sites:

• Twitter: http://twitter.com/ilovetocreate (@ilovetocreate)
• Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/ilovetocreate and http://www.facebook.com/ILoveTulipFashionArt
• Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/ilovetocreate

Tulip Tie Dye Kits are available at Walmart, Walmart Canada, Michaels, JoAnn, A.C. Moore, Hobby Lobby, Hancock Fabrics, Meijer. Tie dye kit contents and colors may vary by store.

This post was written as part of a paid campaign with iLoveToCreate.com and Blueprint Social. All opinions are my own.

Did you even know that was a holiday? I didn’t until recently but when I found out I knew I HAD to post this specific recipe just for today.

Let’s begin by making a true statement: I have yet to meet someone who doesn’t like Chocolate Chip Cookies.

Am I right? Or am I right?!

Well, being from the family I am we are all about homemade goodies, especially our COOKIES! The thought of a store bought chocolate chip cookie actually makes me want to cringe. I know, it’s kinda pathetic, but I’m just spoiled, k?

My mom is a great baker and has always tried out all sorts of cookie recipes. She was one of those moms that would have cookies fresh from the oven waiting for us when we came home from school. Well, although she has tried a TON of different variations of these cookies, our favorite happens to be from a family friend {thanks, Delora!!} I use her recipe as the base to almost every cookie recipe I do. It’s just good and soft! I know it works, and it’s what I’m comfortable with. Today, I will be sharing that recipe with you. It is definitely the Best Chocolate Chip Cookies Recipe ever!

So soft. So yummy. I seriously LOVE this chocolate chip cookie recipe. And I hope you do too!

For more Cookie Recipes that were made using variations of this recipe see below.

1 – White Chocolate & Butterscotch Chip Cookies

2 – White Chocolate Candy Corn M&M Cookies

3 – Mint Chocolate Chip Cookies

4 – Mint M&M Oreo Cookies

YUMMMMMMMY!

ENJOY!

Luckily the wood floors were throughout the WHOLE first floor! 

Unfortunately a small section in the kitchen was damaged beyond repair, SO if you don’t have hardwood, but WANT it for cheap.. I will show you how to get it!!

We went to Lumber Liquidators and got 5in unfinished pine for $1.16 sq ft! 

We got just enough to replace the damaged stuff.. 

I wanted to run it the opposite direction as the rest of the wood, to ‘define’ a hallway. 

Super easy! Cut it to the length you need it, rent a staple gun made for tongue and groove floors, and go to town! 

We used a table saw to rip a few down the middle to make them fit.

After the damaged wood was replaced with the new stuff, we rented a floor sander, bought LOTS of sandpaper, and started sanding.. and sanding.. and sanding.. and sanding

Start with 60grit, and sand the whole floor, then move to 80 grit, then 100, then 160-ish.. don’t go higher than that {even though the floor sander rental peeps recommend it} 

If you do, it makes your floors TOO smooth, and the stain can’t penetrate as well.

Just make sure you go over the WHOLE floor, in the same direction as the wood grain EACH time you change grit on the sandpaper. OH- and wear earplugs!

I can’t even believe these were what the floors looked like! NASTY! 

Sorry this pic was taken after dark, but I wanted to show you how bad they were, and can you tell where the small section is that I sanded?

OH.. if you have nail holes, you can fill them with wood floor putty, just make sure you do this BEFORE you sand. I only filled a few of the big ones, because I feel like that is one of those things that just adds character! 

I get a little teary looking at this picture… this is when we knew the end was near! 

My hubs made fun of me because the minute the paint was dry on the fireplace, I started to decorate it! ha ha

Anyway at this point you just carefully pull the stain across the wood, in the same direction as the wood grain, then leave it ALONE for 2 to 3 days.

After that, apply the polyurethane in the SAME way as the stain…

It needs to set for about 32 hours, then you LIGHTLY sand it with regular 100 grit, then apply another coat. {We did 3 coats} You DON’T sand the final coat.

Wait about 3 to 4 days for it to harden completely before you start moving furniture onto the floors.

OK I KNOW my rug covers MOST of the floor, but isn’t it pretty! The only drawback is that dark floors show dust and scratches easier than lighter floors… but I knew that ahead of time.. it was a price I was willing to pay for dark luxurious floors

The loss of a loved one is a strange surreal reality. Life is completely normal except for one large, gaping hole. Each day the pain seems to become more real and defined as the actuality of what has happened sinks in.

Heidi of Honeybear Lane, lost her sister-in-law, Alice Hansen, this week to complications following the birth of her third baby. She fought a hard fight to stay on this earth with her husband and three little children who love her dearly. But God wanted her with Him and there is none who can stop Him. Her husband, Heidi’s brother, was left behind to take care of their two little boys and newborn daughter.

Heidi’s family opened a donation account for Alice and her family. This money will go towards funeral costs, residual medical expenses, and the costs of raising children without a mother or a job. Her brother is going through a very difficult thing and while nothing can replace the ache of losing his sweetheart, any sort of donation will help to ease the burdens a little.

If you would like to donate money directly, please visit Heidi’s blog Honeybear Lane. You can donate easily by clicking the “Donate” button on the right sidebar. You can donate through Paypal, credit card, or e-check (a check directly from your bank account.) Any and all donations are appreciated. Expressions Vinyl has also agreed to donate $1 (up to $3,000) for every LIKE they get on their post about Alice on their Facebook Page. Go on over there to LIKE it so that donation can be made.

Please also spread the word by sharing any posts you see about it. You may use any of these beautiful printables that the talented Lara made for Alice. These printables represent the music that Alice made in her life–being a PhD in music. In addition to being a wonderful wife and mother, she was a very gifted pianist who traveled the world before getting married and having children. She shared that passion with her husband, also a pianist. Music brought them together.

Music was her passion. But her family was her life. She figuratively and literally gave her life for her children. “Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.”

Message from Heidi: From the bottom of our grief-stricken hearts: Thank you.

Just know that any help at this point is much appreciated, and especially with it being Mother’s Day, I have a feeling it will be even harder to cope today.

This one is super easy and Lily loved helping me with it. We wanted to make something fun for her tumbling teacher and decided on this Berry Best Teacher Gift:

I was able to make the basket using my Lifestyle Crafts Epic 6 and their new berry container die. Here is how you can make it as well:

SUPPLIES:

-Epic

-Cutting Dies (Berry Container)

-Scrapbook Paper

-Berry Best Teacher Tags

-Berry Candy

-Grass

-Ribbon/Twine

DIRECTIONS:

1.  Pick out your scrapbook paper you want to use for your basket. Cut it using your Epic.

2. With this die you cut it twice. You will glue the bottom pieces as a criss-cross, and then glue on the strips around the top. I just used a glue stick. Then I filled it with paper grass.

{For an in-detail tutorial of how to use the Die Cuts on the Epic 6, go HERE.}

3. From there I saved, printed and cut out my tags. Attach the tags with ribbon or twice.

{Available in BLUE, RED. PINK and PURPLE – to download go HERE}

4. Fill your basket with goodies. We got these Jelly-filled Strawberry Marshmallows, but you could fill it with any berry-related candy.

A cute and inexpensive gift that says that they are the BERRY BEST!!

If you would like to order this Berry Container, you can get 20% off your Lifsetyles Craft purchase by using COUPON CODE: LUNA

Sweeeeet!!

ENJOY!

After making the money lei it reminded me of my love for accordions, and I thought it would be fun to make Money Cupcake Toppers from them.

Now, this probably isn’t a good idea if you don’t trust your family and friends to give the actual toppers to the person graduating, but if you do trust them, this is an easy and adorable way to shower the graduate with some $$

 SUPPLIES:

- Crisp Dollar Bills

- Elmer’s Glue Spots

- Popsicle Sticks

- Printable Cupcake Toppers

- Cupcake/dessert

DIRECTIONS:

1. Begin by gathering your $1 bills. You will need about 30-35 of them.

2. You will then turn your dollar bills into accordions. To do that you will zig-zag your dollar bill like Image 1 and finish with image 2. As a hint, I folded mine half way between the number 1 on the President side of the bill in the top left corner (if that makes sense). Folding it there made it come out pretty even at the end. From there, I folded the bill in half to create an indent. Then I stuck 2 glue spots and pulled the sides of the bill down so it stuck. I did that for the other side as well. Glue Spots work perfect because they stick really well, but also come off pretty easy so they don’t ruin the money.

{Save and Print by going HERE}

3. From there you will add the popsicle sticks to the back with a glue spot. You will also save, print and punch (I use my 1 inch punch) out your topper labels. Add those labels also using a glue spot. Then you will add them to your dessert and you’re done!

Cute. Practical. Good if you don’t think people will steal them.

For more fun Graduation ideas go HERE, HERE, and HERE.

ENJOY!

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As previously mentioned my BIL graduated from ASU recently, so I’ve had graduation on the brain. As I’ve thought about graduation, I realized that there are so many fun things you can do with this theme!! One of things I wanted to do was figure out  how to make money leis since I featured one last year and thought it was awesome! I mean, let’s face it – it looks so much cooler than a gift card or check, right?! And this version of the lei doesn’t take as many $1 bills which means you can get away with giving an awesome gift for $30-$35!

Although this project does take some time, it is really easy and the end product looks FAB!

{Thank you to the hubby who modeled this grad gown and lei since I didn’t have it finished in time for my BIL to model it!! – LOL!}

Here is what you’ll need…

SUPPLIES:

- 30-35 Crisp $1 Bills

- Printing paper in whatever color you choose (I did white)

- Elmer’s Glue Spots

- Hot Glue Gun & sticks

- Ribbon

DIRECTIONS:

1. Begin by gathering your $1 bills. You will need about 30-35 of them.

2. You will then turn your dollar bills into accordions. To do that you will zig-zag your dollar bill like Image 1 and finish with image 2. As a hint, I folded mine half way between the number 1 on the President side of the bill in the top left corner (if that makes sense). Folding it there made it come out pretty even at the end. From there, I folded the bill in half to create an indent. Then I stuck 2 glue spots and pulled the sides of the bill down so it stuck. I did that for the other side as well. Glue Spots work perfect because they stick really well, but also come off pretty easy so they don’t ruin the money. NOTE: Don’t put the glue spots too close to the indent because that is where we will be sticking the ribbon through to string the dollar bills.

3. You will then do the same thing with the bills to pieces of paper that are cut out that are the size of a dollar. You can do all dollar bills if you want but this looks just as awesome and saves you half the money! You will also need 30-35 of these. Instead of using glue spots on these I hot glued which was quicker. NOTE: Be sure not to glue all the way to the indent so you can fit your ribbon in.

4. String your dollar bills with ribbon alternating between the accordion dollars and the accordion papers. When you are finished, tie it off. NOTE: You can also stick other items in between the bills/papers if you want to do even less money. I had thought of Butter Rum Lifesavers since they are a gold-ish color. Just a thought.

Voila!! Practical and fun at the same time. What more could you want?

For more fun Graduation ideas go HERE, HERE, and HERE.

ENJOY!

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