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DIY Family Holidays Kids My Projects Projects

Father’s Day Hand Print Collage

Happy Father’s Day!

I wanted to share what we made for our very special Dad!
This family hand print collage is all over Pinterest, but I thought I’d put my own spin on it and include a paw print with our hand prints because Cooper Dog is definitely part of our family too.

I traced everyone’s hands (and took pictures of the baby’s and the dog’s as they were uncooperative, but still love their dad!) and scanned them onto my computer. Then I used Adobe Illustrator to create our very own Family Hand Print Collage. I used colors in the blue family because it will go great with our very nautical-inspired bedroom (navy and white) however, this would also work using a variety of bright colors too!  If you don’t have access to Illustrator, you could also trace the hands using your favorite scrap book paper.

This is a great gift idea for any holiday!

Happy Father’s Day to all of those wonderful dads out there. We hope you enjoy your day!

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DIY Family Kids My Projects Parties and Events Projects

DIY Tissue Paper Pom Poms

Here’s a fun and easy (and cheap!) detail from our son’s first birthday party!

What you need: Colored tissue paper, floral wire, scissors, and string.

What to do:
1) Stack 10 to 15 pieces of tissue and fold it up accordion style.

2)  Twist floral wire around the middle of the folded tissue paper and fasten into a loop.

3) For the party, we cut the ends of the accordion into a point to make a more spiky pom pom. You can also cut a scalloped edge for a more flowery look.

4) Carefully pull each of the sheets of paper away from the bunch to create your pom pom!

5) Tie a piece of string on the wire loop and hang your pom poms!

Here are some of the pom poms we made for the party:

6_11_13_TissuePaperPomPoms_JacksParty

We used the white ones for our Summer Party! Take a look to find other DIY party projects!

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Products

Father’s Day 2013 Greeting Cards

Father’s Day is right around the corner (June 16th) so don’t forget that special Dad in your life!  Here are a few of my Father’s Day cards available wherever Recycled Paper Greetings cards are sold or at independent retailers nationwide.

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Family Kids Toddler Wisdom

Toddler Wisdom: You’re wasting my time!

Over the weekend, my four-year-old had a Stewie from Family Guy moment:
“Mom Mom Mom Mom!”

Naturally, I gave him a taste of his own medicine and repeated his name over and over again.

His clever response?
“Mom. You’re wasting my time.”

Touché, son.

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Family Kids Toddler Wisdom

Spider-Man Birthday Party

Our oldest son recently celebrated his 4th birthday.  Like most boys his age, he is completely obsessed with Spider-Man because he’s super cool and also because he is mostly red, which is our son’s favorite color.  We made spiderweb cupcakes which featured a picture of our son’s face with a Spider-Man mask.  The cupcakes were very easy to make and were a big hit. Here’s how we did it:

5_24_13_spidermanCupcakes

1. Frost cupcakes with white icing.
2. Using red icing with a decorator’s tip, pipe two or three concentric circles on top.
3. Drag a clean toothpick from the center of the cupcake to the outside six times to create the webbed look.
4. Put pictures of the birthday boy’s face on toothpicks and stick in each cupcake.

So easy!

Happy Birthday, sweetheart! You’re growing up so fast!

P.S. Check out the Halloween version of these spiderweb cupcakes!

 

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Family

Happy Birthday, Cooper Dog!

Today is Cooper’s 7th Birthday!!  We started off the day doing his most favorite activity – playing frisbee in the backyard!

CooperFrisbee_combined_withFrame

Then we took him on a car ride and walked a local trail around a nice lake. Now he’s snoozing on the couch.  He should be resting up because we have more celebrating to do tonight!  We baked him a dog-friendly birthday cake and he LOVES to unwrap presents! He’s usually quite the helper when it comes to presents for everyone else so today he can thoroughly enjoy gifts just for him!

5_17_13_CooperBirthdayCakeByItself

For those of you looking for great dog-friendly cake recipe, here’s the one we used from allrecipes.com:

Doggie Birthday Cake

While it doesn’t sound all that appealing to me, I’m sure Cooper will love it! We topped it with peanut butter for frosting and added a little decoration.  We’re making real cupcakes so the kids can celebrate with him!

5_17_13_CooperBirthdayCake

We love you with all of our hearts, Cooper Dog! xoxo

P.S. Check out the “pup”sicle recipe Cooper loves!

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Family My Projects Products Projects

The Cooper Dog

This week I’m feeling extremely sentimental because it’s our first boy’s 7th birthday on Friday. We welcomed Cooper T. Dog (his official name – the “T” stands for “the”) into our lives when he was 12-weeks-old and we could have never imagined the joy he would bring to us.  He is our first ‘boy’ and continues to act very much like a toddler most days…although I swear he cannot only read my mind but can also spell words like “W-A-L-K.”  We shortened it to just “W” and when he caught on, we just called it “a letter of the alphabet” but now we have to say things like “stroll.”  He is the consummate companion – always ready to play Frisbee or cuddle. I’m sure all of the pet owners out there understand the special place in our hearts that is reserved just for Cooper.

I created this print a couple of years ago because it was a fun project and thought it would be a cool addition to our bonus room. Now we can look at a print of our sweet Cooper Dog every night. It is such a nice addition to our home that I know will be a part of our decor for years to come.

I’ve created similar prints for other special four-legged friends.  This first print I made for my brother and sister-in-law to feature their dog, Beamer (and yes, they are avid Virginia Tech fans as well).

5_13_13_BeamerDogPrint

This next print I made for a dear friend of mine who lost her dog Chewy. This was an emotional gift, but it was a nice way to commemorate such an important family member. We miss you, Chewy.

5_13_13_ChewyPrint

Okay, before I get too weepy, I just want to say: “We love you Cooper Dog!”

Check out my Etsy store where you can purchase some of the prints I have available as well as some of my canvas wall art!

Categories
DIY Family Kids My Projects Parties and Events Projects

Circle Birthday Party Garland

Here’s a fun and easy detail from our son’s first birthday party!

What you need: Scrapbook paper, circles to trace (we used some different sized circular things from the kitchen), a glue stick, scissors, all-purpose thread, and a sewing machine.

What to do:
1. Trace your circles with a pencil and cut them out.
2. If your scrapbook paper is only one-sided, use the glue stick to put two pieces together and let dry completely.
3. Put your circles in the order and length you’d like.
4 One by one, slowly feed them into your sewing machine, leaving a tail of thread at each end to use to hang the garland.
5. Hang your garland and enjoy!

DIY Circle Paper Garland | Vicky Barone

DIY Circle Paper Garland | Vicky Barone

We made another circle garland (this time all-white) for our Summer party! It’s a great detail that can add to any party.